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

B. II. I 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, Peculiar 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, Who 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. Some even the generous nutriment detest Which, in the shell, the sleeping Embyro rears. Some, more unhappy still, repent the gifts Rh