“I should like,” he says, “something irrelevant—­gargoyles,
     perhaps.”

     I think that Mr. Symonds has hit on something there.

     I would suggest, if we Americans can pitch into this great
     movement, some gargoyles designed by Mr. Rube Goldberg.

If the memorial could be devised so as to take on an international scope, an exchange fellowship might be established between England and America, although the exchange, in the case of Stilton, would have to be all on England’s side.

     We might be allowed to furnish the money, however, while England
     furnishes the cheese.

     There is a very good precedent for such a bargain between the two
     countries.

     Robert Benchley, in After 1903—­What?

When all seems lost in England there is still Stilton, an endless after-dinner conversation piece to which England points with pride.  For a sound appreciation of this cheese see Clifton Fadiman’s introduction to this book.

Taleggio and Bel Paese

When the great Italian cheese-maker, Galbini, first exported Bel Paese some years ago, it was an eloquent ambassador to America.  But as the years went on and imitations were made in many lands, Galbini deemed it wise to set up his own factory in our beautiful country.  However, the domestic Bel Paese and a minute one-pounder called Bel Paesino just didn’t have that old Alpine zest.  They were no better than the German copy called Schoenland, after the original, or the French Fleur des Alpes.

Mel Fino was a blend of Bel Paese and Gorgonzola.  It perked up the market for a full, fruity cheese with snap.  Then Galbini hit the jackpot with his Taleggio that fills the need for the sharpest, most sophisticated pungence of them all.

Trappist, Port-Salut, or Port du Salut, and Oka

In spite of its name Trappist is no rat-trap commoner.  Always of the elect, and better known as Port-Salut or Port du Salut from the original home of the Trappist monks in their chief French abbey, it is also set apart from the ordinary Canadians under the name of Oka, from the Trappist monastery there.  It is made by Trappist monks all over the world, according to the original secret formula, and by Trappist Cistercian monks at the Abbey of Gethsemani Trappist in Kentucky.

This is a soft cheese, creamy and of superb flavor.  You can’t go wrong if you look for the monastery name stamped on, such as Harze in Belgium, Mont-des-Cats in Flanders, Sainte Anne d’Auray in Brittany, and so forth.

Last but not least, a commercial Port-Salut entirely without benefit of clergy or monastery is made in Milwaukee under the Lion Brand.  It is one of the finest American cheeses in which we have ever sunk a fang.

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