A FAMOUS EPICURE.

King Country Chronicle, Volume VII, Issue 562, 26 April 1913, Page 2

A FAMOUS EPICURE.

A curious instance of the influence of good cookery in prolonging life was found in the case of the Marquis de Bechamel, a famous epicure in the days of the old Monarchy in France. Bechamel achieved the distinction of having a sauce named after him which survives to this day. It was said that his marriage to Valentine de Rochemont was due to the fact that she was a wonderful cook, and ' besides possessed an extraordinary appetite. Though this might seem to be an insufficient basis for a happy marriage, it proved quite enough in this case. The Marquis and Marchioness cooked and ate together for fifty years in perfect accord and perfect health. They were said to have almost passed their lives at the table, and when they were not at the table they were generally in the kitchen together. That their cookery was wholesome their long life testified; that it was delicious all the famous eaters of their time were agreed.

On the occasion of their golden wedding they had a famous feast. For many years, in anticipation of this event, the Marquis had been saving a bottle of priceless Constance wine from the Cape of Good Hope, and every guest was to have a drop or two of it.f At the celebration a dramatic incident occurred. Just as the bottle of precious wine was being brought out the Marchioness de Bechamel sank to the floor. It was seen at once that she was dead. She appeared simply to have reached the term of her existence, and her death at such a festival was regarded as a most beautiful and touching one. The bottle of famous Constance wine was put away unopened. Ihc Marquis was inconsolable. Before long he became apparently hopelessly ill. In this emergency, his physician having informed him that his end was surely near, the Marquis called for the bottle of Constance. •

"When I meet my Valentine on the other side." said the Marquis, "she will ask, 'What perfume is that, mv dear, which I detect on thy lips?' And I will answer, 'lt is the Constance wine, my Valentine, that we had saved for our golden^wedding.'' Bechamel drank of the wine, and his head fell back upon the pillow. All supposed that he was dead, but as a matter of fact he had merely fallen asleep. An hour later he called his nephew, and sent him with a key to open a drawer in a secretaire and bring from it a box. The dutiful nephew made _ all haste, supposing that the box might contain the Marquis's will, or some other document that he desired to sign or modify before his death. To the utter amazement, therefore, of the nephew, the box was found to contain a pi 6, and it was a wonderful pie a Perigard pie, dressed with truffles of Sarlat. Ihe Marquis ate freely of it, and again sank back on the pillow. Again it was thought he was dead. But the Marquis was merely asleep. Though he was then 75 years ofcf, k/v lirirl \yarc lcno-pr. 2