“Enough is as Good as a Feast.”

What is Enough? An idle dream!

One cannot have enough, I swear,

Of Ices or Meringues-and-Cream,

Nougat or Chocolate Eclairs,

Of Oysters or of Caviar,

Of Prawns or Pate de Foie Grar!

Who would not willingly forsake

Kindred and Home, without a fuss,

For Icing from a Birthday Cake,

Or juicy fat Asparagus,

And journey over countless seas

For New Potatoes and Green Peas?

They say that a Contented Mind

Is a Continual Feast;— but where

The mental frame, and how to find,

Which can with Turtle Soup compare?

No mind, however full of Ease,

Could be Continual Toasted Cheese.

For dinner have a sole to eat,

( Some Perrier Jouet,‘ 92,)

An Entree then ( and, with the meat,

A bottle of Lafitte will do ),

A quail, a glass of port ( just one ),

Liqueurs and coffee, and you've done.

But should you want a hearty meal,

And not this gourmet's lightsome snack,

Fill up with terrapin and teal,

Clam chowder, crabs and canvasback;

With all varieties of sauce,

And diff'rent wines for ev'ry course.

Your tastes may be of simpler type;—

A homely glass of “half-and-half,”

An onion and a dish of tripe,

Or headpiece of the kindly calf.

( Cruel perhaps, but then, you know,

“‘ Faut tout souffrir pour etre veau!” )

‘ Tis a mistake to eat too much

Of any dishes but the best;

And you, of course, should never touch

A thing you know you can n't digest;

For instance, lobster;— if you do,

Well,— I'm amayonnaised at you!

Let this be your heraldic crest,

A bottle ( charge ) of Champagne,

A chicken ( gorged ) with salad ( dress'd ),

Below, this motto to explain —

“Enough is Very Good, may be;

Too Much is Good Enough for Me!”