ORIGIN OF BEEFSTEAK

New Zealand Mail, Issue 1676, 13 April 1904, Page 66

ORIGIN OF BEEFSTEAK

Charles Lamb has told uis how the great/ discovery of roast pork was maciie; now “Health ’ explains the origin or the beefsteak. It appears that Lucius Plaucus, a Roman or rank, was ordered by the Emperor Trajan, for some offence, to act as one of tiie menial sacrifioem to J up.ter ; he resisted, -but was at length dragged to the aitar. There the flagmen is of the victim were laid ‘.upon tno fire, and the unfortunate senator was forcibly compelled to turn them. In the process oi roasting, onia of the slices fell off the coals, and was caught by Plaucu's in its fall. It burned his fingers. as he instinctively thiyuist them* into iiis mouth. In that moment he had made the grand discovery that the taste or a slice, thus carbonaded, was infinitely beyond all the old sodden cookeiy ‘of Rome. A new expedient to save his dignity was suggested at the same time, and he at once evinced his obedience to tiie Emperor by seining to go through' the sacrifices with due regularity, and Ins scorn of the employment by turning the whole ceremony into a matter of appetite. He swallowed every slice, deluded Trajan, defrauded Jupiter, and invented the beefsteak! A discovery of riiis magnitude could not be long concealed ; the sacrifice began to disappear, with a rapidity and satisfaction to the parties too extraordinary to be unnoticed. The priests of Jupiter adopted the sacrifice with delight, and the King of Olympus must have been soon starved if ho depended on any share of the good tilings of Rome.