of abstinence.

The original therefore of this _barbarous custom_, I take to have been
merely accidental.

The Chaplain retired, out of pure complaisance, to make room for the
removal of the dishes, or possibly for the ranging of the dessert. This,
by degrees, grew into a duty; till, at length, as the fashion improved,
the good man found himself cut off from the Third part of the
entertainment: and, if the arrogance of the Patron goes on, it is not
impossible but, in the next generation, he may see himself reduced to the
Tithe or Tenth Dish of the table. A sufficient caution not to part with
any privilege we are once possessed of!

It was usual for the Priest, in old times, to feast upon the sacrifice,
nay the honey cake; while the hungry Laity looked upon him with great
devotion: or, as the late Lord ROCHESTER describes it in a very lively
manner,

_And while the Priest did eat, the People stared_.

At present, the custom is inverted. The Laity feast while the Priest
stands by as an humble spectator.

This necessarily puts the good man upon making great ravages on all the
dishes that stand near him; and upon distinguishing himself by
voraciousness of appetite, as knowing that "his time is short."

I would fain ask these stiff-necked Patrons, Whether they would not take
it ill of a Chaplain that, in his grace, after meat, should return thanks
for the whole entertainment, with an exception to the dessert? And yet I
cannot but think that in such a proceeding, he would but deal with them
as they deserved.

What would a Roman Catholic priest think (who is always helped first, and
placed next the ladies), should he see a Clergyman giving his company the
slip at the first appearance of the tarts or sweetmeats? Would he not
believe that he had the same antipathy to a candid orange or a piece of
puff paste, as some have to a Cheshire cheese or a breast of mutton?

Yet to so ridiculous a height is this foolish custom grown, that even the
Christmas Pie, which in its very nature is a kind of consecrated cake and
a badge of distinction, is often forbidden to the Druid of the family.

Strange! that a sirloin of beef, whether boiled or roasted, when entire,
is exposed to his utmost depredations and incisions; but if minced into
small pieces and tossed up with plums and sugar, it changes its property;
and, forsooth, it is meat for his Master!

In this Case, I know not which to censure [_blame_], the Patron or the
Chap