Doctor Gaster, who, though neither a
philosopher nor a man of taste, had won the squire's fancy by a learned
dissertation on the art of stuffing a turkey.

In the midst of an animated conversation the coach stopped, and the
coachman, opening the door, vociferated: "Breakfast, gentlemen," a sound
which so gladdened the ears of the divine, that the alacrity with which
he sprang from the vehicle distorted his ankle, and he was obliged to
limp into the inn between Mr. Escot and Mr. Jenkison, the former
observing that he ought to look for nothing but evil and, therefore,
should not be surprised at this little accident; the latter remarking
that the comfort of a good breakfast and the pain of a sprained ankle
pretty exactly balanced each other.

The morning being extremely cold, the doctor contrived to be seated as
near the fire as was consistent with his other object of having a
perfect command of the table and its apparatus, which consisted not only
of the ordinary comforts of tea and toast, but of a delicious supply of
new-laid eggs and a magnificent round of beef; against which Mr. Escot
immediately pointed all the artillery of his eloquence, declaring the
use of animal food, conjointly with that of fire, to be one of the
principal causes of the present degeneracy of mankind.

"The natural and original man," said he, "lived in the woods; the roots
and fruits of the earth supplied his simple nutriment; he had few
desires, and no diseases. But, when he began to sacrifice victims on the
altar of superstition, to pursue the goat and the deer, and, by the
pernicious invention of fire, to pervert their flesh into food, luxury,
disease, and premature death were let loose upon the world. From that
period the stature of mankind has been in a state of gradual diminution,
and I have not the least doubt that it will continue to grow _small by
degrees, and lamentably less_, till the whole race will vanish
imperceptibly from the face of the earth."

"I cannot agree," said Mr. Foster, "in the consequences being so very
disastrous, though I admit that in some respects the use of animal food
retards the perfectibility of the species."

"In the controversy concerning animal and vegetable food," said Mr.
Jenkison, "there is much to be said on both sides. I content myself with
a mixed diet, and make a point of eating whatever is placed before me,
provided it be good in its kind."

In this opinion his two brother philosophers practicall