Page:The Art of Preserving Health - A Poem in Four Books.djvu/39

95I could relate what table this demands,
Or that complexion; what the various powers
Of various foods: But fifty years would roll,
And fifty more, before the tale were done.
Besides, there often lurks some nameless, strange,
100Peculiar thing; nor on the skin display'd,
Felt in the pulse, nor in the habit seen;
Which finds a poison in the food that most
The temp'rature affects. There are, whose blood
Impetuous rages thro' the turgid veins,
105Who better bear the fiery fruits of Ind,
Than the moist Melon, or pale Cucumber.
Of chilly nature others fly the board
Supply'd with slaughter, and the vernal pow'rs
For cooler, kinder, sustenance implore.
110Some even the generous nutriment detest
Which, in the shell, the sleeping Embyro rears.
Some, more unhappy still, repent the gifts