The Works, In Verse and Prose, of Leonard Welsted ... Now First Collected. With Historical Notes, And Biographical Memoirs of the Author, by John Nichols |
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APPLE-PYE. |
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 | The Works, In Verse and Prose, of Leonard Welsted |  |
APPLE-PYE.
Of all the Delicates which Britons try,
To please the palate, or delight the eye;
Of all the several kinds of sumptuous fare;
There's none that can with Apple-pye compare,
For costly flavour, or substantial paste,
For outward beauty, or for inward taste.
To please the palate, or delight the eye;
Of all the several kinds of sumptuous fare;
There's none that can with Apple-pye compare,
For costly flavour, or substantial paste,
For outward beauty, or for inward taste.
When first this infant-dish in fashion came,
Th' ingredients were but coarse, and rude the frame;
As yet, unpolish'd in the modern arts,
Our Fathers eat Brown Bread instead of Tarts:
Pyes were but indigested lumps of Dough,
Till time and just expence improv'd them so.
Th' ingredients were but coarse, and rude the frame;
As yet, unpolish'd in the modern arts,
Our Fathers eat Brown Bread instead of Tarts:
Pyes were but indigested lumps of Dough,
Till time and just expence improv'd them so.
King Cole (as ancient British Annals tell)
Renown'd for fiddling and for eating well,
Pippins in homely Cakes with Honey stew'd,
“Just as he bak'd,” the Proverb says, “he brew'd!”
Renown'd for fiddling and for eating well,
Pippins in homely Cakes with Honey stew'd,
“Just as he bak'd,” the Proverb says, “he brew'd!”
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Their greater art succeeding Princes show'd,
And model'd Paste into a neater mode;
Invention now grew lively, palate nice,
And Sugar pointed out the way to Spice.
And model'd Paste into a neater mode;
Invention now grew lively, palate nice,
And Sugar pointed out the way to Spice.
But here for ages unimprov'd we stood,
And Apple-pye was still but homely food;
When god-like Edgar, of the Saxon Line,
Polite of taste, and studious to refine,
In the Desert perfuming Quinces cast,
And perfected with Cream the rich repast.
Hence we proceed the outward parts to trim,
With Crinkumcranks adorn the polish'd brim;
And each fresh Pye the pleas'd spectator greets
With virgin-fancies, and with new conceits.
And Apple-pye was still but homely food;
When god-like Edgar, of the Saxon Line,
Polite of taste, and studious to refine,
In the Desert perfuming Quinces cast,
And perfected with Cream the rich repast.
Hence we proceed the outward parts to trim,
With Crinkumcranks adorn the polish'd brim;
And each fresh Pye the pleas'd spectator greets
With virgin-fancies, and with new conceits.
Dear Nelly, learn with care the Pastry art,
And mind the easy precepts I impart:
Draw out your Dough elaborately thin,
And cease not to fatigue your Rolling-pin:
Of Eggs and Butter see you mix enough:
For then the Paste will swell into a Puff,
Which will, in crumpling sounds, your praise report,
And eat, as Housewives speak, “exceeding short.”
Rang'd in thick order let your Quinces lie;
They give a charming relish to the Pye.
If you are wise, you'll not Brown Sugar slight,
The browner (if I form my judgement right)
A tincture of a bright vermeil will shed,
And stain the Pippin, like the Quince, with red.
And mind the easy precepts I impart:
Draw out your Dough elaborately thin,
And cease not to fatigue your Rolling-pin:
Of Eggs and Butter see you mix enough:
For then the Paste will swell into a Puff,
Which will, in crumpling sounds, your praise report,
And eat, as Housewives speak, “exceeding short.”
Rang'd in thick order let your Quinces lie;
They give a charming relish to the Pye.
If you are wise, you'll not Brown Sugar slight,
The browner (if I form my judgement right)
A tincture of a bright vermeil will shed,
And stain the Pippin, like the Quince, with red.
When this is done, there will be wanting still
The just reserve of Cloves and Candied Peel;
Nor can I blame you, if a drop you take
Of Orange-water, for perfuming-sake.
But here the nicety of art is such,
There must not be too little, nor too much:
If with discretion you these costs employ,
They quicken appetite; if not, they cloy.
The just reserve of Cloves and Candied Peel;
Nor can I blame you, if a drop you take
Of Orange-water, for perfuming-sake.
But here the nicety of art is such,
There must not be too little, nor too much:
If with discretion you these costs employ,
They quicken appetite; if not, they cloy.
Next, in your mind this maxim firmly root,
“Never o'ercharge your Pye with costly fruit:”
Oft let your Bodkin through the lid be sent,
To give the kind imprison'd treasure vent;
Lest the fermenting liquors, mounting high,
Within their brittle bounds disdain to lie;
Insensibly, by constant fretting, waste,
And o'er-inform the tenement of Paste.
“Never o'ercharge your Pye with costly fruit:”
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To give the kind imprison'd treasure vent;
Lest the fermenting liquors, mounting high,
Within their brittle bounds disdain to lie;
Insensibly, by constant fretting, waste,
And o'er-inform the tenement of Paste.
To chuse your Baker, think, and think again
(You'll scarce one honest Baker find in ten):
Adust and bruis'd, I've often seen a Pye,
In rich disguise and costly ruin lie,
While the red Crust beheld its form o'erthrown,
Th' exhausted Apples griev'd, their moisture flown,
And Syrup from the sides ran trickling down.
(You'll scarce one honest Baker find in ten):
Adust and bruis'd, I've often seen a Pye,
In rich disguise and costly ruin lie,
While the red Crust beheld its form o'erthrown,
Th' exhausted Apples griev'd, their moisture flown,
And Syrup from the sides ran trickling down.
O be not, be not tempted, lovely Nell,
While the hot-piping odours strongly smell,
While the delicious fume creates a gust,
To lick th' o'erflowing juice, or bite the crust.
You'll rather stay (if my advice may rule)
Until the hot is temper'd by the cool.
Oh, first infuse the luscious store of Cream,
And change the purple for a silver stream;
That smooth balsamic viand first produce,
To give a softness to the tarter juice.
While the hot-piping odours strongly smell,
While the delicious fume creates a gust,
To lick th' o'erflowing juice, or bite the crust.
You'll rather stay (if my advice may rule)
Until the hot is temper'd by the cool.
Oh, first infuse the luscious store of Cream,
And change the purple for a silver stream;
That smooth balsamic viand first produce,
To give a softness to the tarter juice.
Then shalt thou, pleas'd, the noble fabrick view,
And have a slice into the bargain too;
Honour and fame alike we will partake,
So well I'll eat, what you so richly make.
And have a slice into the bargain too;
Honour and fame alike we will partake,
So well I'll eat, what you so richly make.
| The Works, In Verse and Prose, of Leonard Welsted | |