of the meat with his fingers, and on that account they were much stained with saffron, which was then put into sauces and soup. He praises the king for eating without a fork, yet conversing at the same time, and never dirtying his clothes.

That in France, at the end of the sixteenth century, forks even at court were entirely new, is proved by a book, already quoted in a preceding volume of this work, entitled l'Isle des Hermaphrodites.* It will, therefore, excite no wonder that in the same century forks were not used in Sweden. †

But it must appear very strange that Thomas Coryate, the traveller, should see forks for the first time in Italy, and in the same year be the first person who used them in England, on which account he was called, by way of joke, Furcifer.‡

* Ils ne touchoient jamais la viande avec les mains; mais avec des fourchettes ils la portoient jusques dans leur bouche, en allongeant be col, et le corps sur leur assiette, laquelle on leur changeoit fort souvent; leur pain mesme estoit tout destranché sans qu'ils eussent la peine de la couper, et croy qu'ils eussent fort desiré qu'on eust trouvé un invention qu'on n'eust point doresnavant la peine de mascher. Car à ce que j'en pouvois voir, cela les travailloit fort aussi que beaucoup d'entre eux avoient des dents artificielles, qu'ils avoient ostées devant que se mettre à table. Description de l' Isle des Hermaphrodites. A Cologne, 1724, 12mo. p. 105.

↑ Dalin Geschichte des Reiches Schweden, iii. 1, p. 401.

Coryate in the year 1608 travelled, for five months, through France, Italy, Swisserland, and a part of Germany. An account of this tour was published by him, in 1611, under the singular title of Crudities, a new edition of which appeared in 1776. Of the latter

In many parts of Spain, at present, drinkingglasses, spoons, and forks are rarities ;* and even

a German translation was begun in 1798, with the same title (Cruditäten); but I believe that a part of it only was printed at Berlin. The passage to which I allude I shall quote from the original; but I must first remark that this Englishman travelled afterwards to the East Indies, and in 1615 wrote in that country some letters which may be seen in Purchas his Pilgrims, vol. ii. and translated into Dutch in Naaukeurige versameling der gedenk-waardigste Reysen na Oost en West-Indien --- zedert het jaar 1611 tot 1616. Te Leyden 1707, 8vo; also in the edition of the Crudities published in 1776. A more particular account of this singular character may be found in the Biographia Britannica, second edit. vol. iv. p. 273. In page 90 of the Crudities the author says: Here j will mention a thing that might have been spoken of before in discourse of the first Italian towne. J observed a custome in all those Italian cities and townes through the which j passed, that is not used in any other country that j saw in may travels, neither doe j thinke that any other nation of Christendome doth use it, but only Italy. The Italian, and also most strangers that are commorant in Italy, do alwaies at their meales use a little forke when they cut their meat. For while with their knife which they hold in one hand they cut the meate out of the dish, they fasten their forke, which they hold in their other hand, upon the same dish; so that whatsoever he be that sitting in the company of any others at meale, should unadvisedly touch the dish of meate with his fingers from which all at the table doe cut, he will give occasion of offence unto the company, as having transgressed the lawes of good manners, insomuch that for his error he shall be at least brow beaten if not reprehended in wordes. This forme of feeding j understand is generally used in all places of Italy; their forkes being for the most part made of yron or steele, and some of silver, but those are used only by Gentlemen. The reason of this their curiosity is, because the Italian cannot by any meanes indure to have his dish touched with fingers, seeing all men's fingers are not alike cleane. Hereupon j myselfe thought good to imitate the

*Fischer's Reise nach Madrid, p. 238.

yet, in taverns, in many countries, particularly in some towns of France, knives are not placed on the table, because it is expected that each person should have one of his own; a custom which the French seem to have retained from the old Gauls. But as no person would any longer eat without forks, landlords were obliged to furnish these, together with plates and spoons.

Among the Scots highlanders, as Dr. Johnson asserts, knives have been introduced at table only since the time of the Revolution. Before that period every man had a knife of his own as a companion to his dirk or dagger. The men cut the meat into small morsels for the women, who then put them into their mouths with their fingers. The use of forks, at table, was at first considered as a superfluous luxury; and, therefore, they were forbidden to convents, as was the case in regard to the congregation of St. Maur.

The English, Dutch, and French have adopted the Italian names forca and forchetta, given to our table forks; though these appellations, in my opinion, were used at an earlier period, to denote large instruments, such as pitch-forks, flesh-forks,

Italian fashion by this forked cutting of meate, not only while j was in Italy, but also in Germany, and oftentimes in England since j came home, being once quipped for that frequent using of my forke by a certain learned Gentieman, a familiar friend of mine, one Mr. Laurence Whitaker, who in his merry humour doubted not to call me at table furcifer, only for using a forke at feeding, but for no other cause.

furnace-forks; because in the low German, forke is a very old name given to such implements. The German word gabel, which occurs first in dictionaries for these large instruments, is of great antiquity, and has been still retained in the Swedish and Dutch. It appears to have been used for many things which were split or divided into two; at any rate, it is certain that it is not derived from the Latin word gabalus.

LOTTERY.

Ar present two kinds of lottery are employed in Europe. One is called the Italian or Genoese lotto, or merely the lotto; the other is the common lottery, well known in England. Of the former, which has been long proved to be attended with great deception, and must soon be universally ac knowledged to be hurtful, I do not mean here to treat, but only of the latter, which, at any rate, may be honourable or harmless, if we do not take into account the delusion it occasions to credulous and ignorant people, by exciting hopes which have little probability in their favour. I however do not promise a complete history of this invention: it experienced so many changes before it acquired its present form, that to give a full account of them would be tiresome to me as well as to the reader.

I shall not either, as some have done, reckon among the first traces of lotteries every division of property made by lot, otherwise it might be said, that Joshua partitioned the promised land into lottery-prizes, before it was conquered. In my opinion, the peculiarity of lotteries consists in this, that numbers are distributed gratuitously, or, as in our public lotteries, for a certain price, and it is then left to chance to determine what numbers are to obtain the prizes, the value of which is previously settled. The various conditions and changes invented by ingenuity to entice people to purchase shares, and to conceal and increase the gain of the undertakers, are not here taken into consideration, because they do not appear to be essential.

In the whole history of antiquity, I find nothing which has a greater resemblance to our lotteries than the congiaria of the Romans; and I am inclined to think that the latter furnished the first hint for the establishment of the former. Rich persons at Rome, as is well known, and particularly the emperors, when they wished to gain or to strengthen the attachment of the people, distributed among them presents, consisting of eatables, and other expensive articles, which were named congiaria. In general, tokens or tickets called tessera* were given out, and the possessors of these, on presenting them at the store or magazine of the donor, received those things which * And in Greek συμβολα.