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235
The Private Papers of Henry Ryecroft
·
George Gissing
197
VIII.
As
so
often
when
my
thought
has
gone
forth
in
praise
of
things
English,
I
find
myself
tormented
by
an
after-thought--the
reflection
that
I
have
praised
a
time
gone
by.
Now,
in
this
matter
of
English
meat.
A
newspaper
tells
me
that
English
beef
is
non-existent;
that
the
best
meat
bearing
that
name
has
merely
been
fed
up
in
England
for
a
short
time
before
killing.
Well,
well;
we
can
only
be
thankful
that
the
quality
is
still
so
good.
Real
English
mutton
still
exists,
I
suppose.
It
would
surprise
me
if
any
other
country
could
produce
the
shoulder
I
had
yesterday.
Who
knows?
Perhaps
even
our
own
cookery
has
seen
its
best
days.
It
is
a
lamentable
fact
that
the
multitude
of
English
people
nowadays
never
taste
roasted
meat;
what
they
call
by
that
name
is
baked
in
the
oven--a
totally
different
thing,
though
it
may,
I
admit,
be
inferior
only
to
the
right
roast.
Oh,
the
sirloin
of
old
times,
the
sirloin
which
I
can
remember,
thirty
or
forty
years
ago!
That
was
English,
and
no
mistake,
and
all
the
history
of
civilization
could
show
nothing
on
the
table
of
mankind
to
equal
it.
To
clap
that
joint
into
a
steamy
oven
would
have
been
a
crime
unpardonable
by
gods
and
man.
Have
I
not
with
my
own
eyes
seen
it
turning,
turning
on
the
spit?
The
scent
it
diffused
was
in
itself
a
cure
for
dyspepsia.
It
is
very
long
since
I
tasted
a
slice
of
boiled
beef;
I
have
a
suspicion
that
the
thing
is
becoming
rare.
In
a
household
such
as
mine,
the
"round"
is
impracticable;
of
necessity
it
must
be
large,
altogether
too
large
for
our
requirements.
But
what
exquisite
memories
does
my
mind
preserve!
The
very
colouring
of
a
round,
how
rich
it
is,
yet
how
delicate,
and
how
subtly
varied!
The
odour
is
totally
distinct
from
that
of
roast
beef,
and
yet
it
is
beef
incontestable.
Hot,
of
course
with
carrots,
it
is
a
dish
for
a
king;
but
cold
it
is
nobler.
Oh,
the
thin
broad
slice,
with
just
its
fringe
of
consistent
fat!
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