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E. T. Bell also has an amusing story about Condorcet. Condorcet was a French aristocrat and during the Revolution had to disguise himself as a commoner to esca

E. T. Bell also has an amusing story about Condorcet. Condorcet was a French aristocrat and during the Revolution had to disguise himself as a commoner to escape France. However, when he was stopping at an inn, the innkeeper asked him how many eggs he would like in his omelette. An an aristocrat, he had no idea how many eggs went into an omelette so he said a dozen, thereby outing himself and ending up in prison. But as far as I can tell, Bell just made that story up, too.

svat 4y ago
Great story, thank you :) This one seems to precede Bell's writing, though: it's mentioned in the 1911 Britannica biography https://en.wikisource.org/wiki/1911_Encyclop%C3%A6dia_Britannica/Condorcet,_Marie_Jean_Antoine_Nicolas_Caritat,_Marquis_de https://en.wikisource.org/wiki/1911_Encyclop%C3%A6dia_Britan... and this 1905 book: https://www.gutenberg.org/files/24492/24492-h/24492-h.htm https://www.gutenberg.org/files/24492/24492-h/24492-h.htm so it may be older.
- eesmith 4y ago
  The 1902 Britannica as well - https://archive.org/details/encyclopaediabri06kell/page/254/mode/2up?q=+omelette https://archive.org/details/encyclopaediabri06kell/page/254/... . Also, October 29, 1896 "The Youth's Companion" p 583 at https://archive.org/details/sim_youths-companion_1896-10-29_70_44/page/582/mode/2up?q=Condorcet+eggs+omelette https://archive.org/details/sim_youths-companion_1896-10-29_... . The details have changed a bit from the Britannica story. That in turn cites Edith Lichel's 1895 "The Story of Two Salons." https://archive.org/details/storytwosalons00sichgoog/page/n148/mode/2up?q=omelette https://archive.org/details/storytwosalons00sichgoog/page/n1... , which does not give further citations. The Britannica biography says 'On the evening of the 7th April 1794 — not, as Carlyle says, on a " bleared May morning,"'. Using Carlyle" and "bleared May morning" as search terms finds it comes from "The French Revolution" by Thomas Carlyle, first published in 1837. However, while that does describe the story of how Condorcet was identified, it does not mention omelettes or eggs only "asks breakfast". Quoting https://archive.org/details/frenchrevolutio16carlgoog/page/n378/mode/2up?q=condorcet https://archive.org/details/frenchrevolutio16carlgoog/page/n... > Condorcet has lurked deep, these many months; Argus-eyes watching and searching for him. His concealment is become dangerous to others and himself; he has to fly again, to skulk, round Paris, in thickets and stone-quarries. And so at the Village of Clamars, one bleared May morning, there enters a Figure, ragged, rough-bearded, hunger-stricken; asks breakfast in the tavern there. Suspect, by the look of him! "Servant out of place, sayest thou?" Committee-President of Forty-Sous finds a Latin Horace on him: "Art thou not one of those Ci-devants that were wont to keep servants? Suspect!" He is haled forthwith, breakfast unfinished, towards Bourg-la-Reine, on foot: he faints with exhaustion; is set on a peasant's horse; is flung into his damp prison-cell: on the morrow, recollecting him, you enter; Condorcet lies dead on the floor. They die fast, and disappear: the Notabilities of France disappear, one after one, like lights in a Theatre, which you are snuffing out.

svat 4y ago

Great story, thank you :) This one seems to precede Bell's writing, though: it's mentioned in the 1911 Britannica biography https://en.wikisource.org/wiki/1911_Encyclop%C3%A6dia_Britannica/Condorcet,_Marie_Jean_Antoine_Nicolas_Caritat,_Marquis_de https://en.wikisource.org/wiki/1911_Encyclop%C3%A6dia_Britan... and this 1905 book: https://www.gutenberg.org/files/24492/24492-h/24492-h.htm https://www.gutenberg.org/files/24492/24492-h/24492-h.htm so it may be older.

eesmith 4y ago
The 1902 Britannica as well - https://archive.org/details/encyclopaediabri06kell/page/254/mode/2up?q=+omelette https://archive.org/details/encyclopaediabri06kell/page/254/... . Also, October 29, 1896 "The Youth's Companion" p 583 at https://archive.org/details/sim_youths-companion_1896-10-29_70_44/page/582/mode/2up?q=Condorcet+eggs+omelette https://archive.org/details/sim_youths-companion_1896-10-29_... . The details have changed a bit from the Britannica story. That in turn cites Edith Lichel's 1895 "The Story of Two Salons." https://archive.org/details/storytwosalons00sichgoog/page/n148/mode/2up?q=omelette https://archive.org/details/storytwosalons00sichgoog/page/n1... , which does not give further citations. The Britannica biography says 'On the evening of the 7th April 1794 — not, as Carlyle says, on a " bleared May morning,"'. Using Carlyle" and "bleared May morning" as search terms finds it comes from "The French Revolution" by Thomas Carlyle, first published in 1837. However, while that does describe the story of how Condorcet was identified, it does not mention omelettes or eggs only "asks breakfast". Quoting https://archive.org/details/frenchrevolutio16carlgoog/page/n378/mode/2up?q=condorcet https://archive.org/details/frenchrevolutio16carlgoog/page/n... > Condorcet has lurked deep, these many months; Argus-eyes watching and searching for him. His concealment is become dangerous to others and himself; he has to fly again, to skulk, round Paris, in thickets and stone-quarries. And so at the Village of Clamars, one bleared May morning, there enters a Figure, ragged, rough-bearded, hunger-stricken; asks breakfast in the tavern there. Suspect, by the look of him! "Servant out of place, sayest thou?" Committee-President of Forty-Sous finds a Latin Horace on him: "Art thou not one of those Ci-devants that were wont to keep servants? Suspect!" He is haled forthwith, breakfast unfinished, towards Bourg-la-Reine, on foot: he faints with exhaustion; is set on a peasant's horse; is flung into his damp prison-cell: on the morrow, recollecting him, you enter; Condorcet lies dead on the floor. They die fast, and disappear: the Notabilities of France disappear, one after one, like lights in a Theatre, which you are snuffing out.