At the beginning of the 18th century, a man of my rank takes his main meal — dinner — around the middle of the afternoon. Dishes are not served one after another as in the French style today, but by courses: a first course where soups, boiled meats and pies cover the table all together, then we "remove" them to set down roasts and entremets, and finally the sweet dessert, fruits and whipped creams. As a court physician, I add to this the broths and caudles prescribed for the sick, separately, according to the regimen.

Born and trained in Scotland, I kept oats as a staple, whether made into brose in the morning or caudle at the bedside. But my true signature as a surgeon inoculator is the preparatory regimen: before variolation, I imposed on my patients a light and "cooling" diet — little red meat, broths, barley, creams — to, as was then believed, temper the blood and soften the inoculated smallpox.