M'arthur Democrat. (McArthur, Vinton County, Ohio) 1853-1865, 1858-03-25
A Chinese Rnnanet.

GUS business of the day. Each guest
was supplied with saucer and por-
celain spoon they had brought their
own chopsticks. A folded towel, just
saturated with hot water, was placed
beside each saucer; this is the Chi
nese napkin; and two tiny metal cups,
not SO large as egg-ccps, were allotted
to every guest. At my side, to share
our feast, and see that the "ritesn were
properly performed, sat the gravest Of
Cinnamon. Ilo wore his mandarin
summer cap, for he was the interpre.
ter at one Of the consuates.
Birds Nest SOup.--The first dish
was, in accordance With all proper
precedent, the BIRDS nest soup. |
believe some of us were rather sur
prised not to see BIRDS nests bobbing
about |. che bowl, and to detect no
flavor Of sticks, or feathers, or moss.
What these birds nests are, in the
natural state, l do not know, for have
no book G. ornitholOgy, and have
never been birds'nesting in the straits.
Their existence at table is apparent in
thick muciIage at the surface OF the
soup. Below this you come to white
liquid and chickens flesh. 1t was
objected that this was a fade and
tasteless delicacy. But remark that
these two basins are only the sums Of
little systems. The same hands that
brought them in scattered also an en-
tourage ofstll smaller basins. These
are sauces ofevery flavor and strength,
from crushed fresh chillies to simple
soy. Watch the Chinaman. how
cunningly he compounds! "But, sir,
you do not mean to say that you ate
this 'mucilage' with your chopsticks?"
No, madame; we scooped it with
our saucers, and ate itwith our porce.
lain spoons"
The next course was expected with
very nervous excitement. 1t was q
stew of sea,slugs. As | have seen
them at Macao they are white out
US served at Ningpo they are green,
credit the imperial academician's as
the orthodox dish. They are slippery
and very difficult to be handled by in.
experienced chopsticks but they orc
most succulent and pleasant food, no
at all unlike in flavor to the green ia
Of the turtle. If q man cannot ca
anything of kind whereof he has no
seen his father and grandfather eat be
fore, we must leave him to his oysters
and his periwinkles, and his crawfsh
and not expect him to swallow til,
much more comeIy sea.slug. Blu
surely Briton who has eaten himself
into q poisonous plethora upon mus
cles, has no right to hold up his hands
and eyes at a Chinaman enjoying hi.
honest well-cooked stew OF 6eches d
nler.
Sturgeon skull.oqpand Shark ste,o
The next dish was sturgeon skull car
rare and gelatinous, but think moi
so peculiar in its flavor as to excuse the
death OF several alfsh. This dish
being taken from its brazen, lamp
heated stand, was succeeded by a stew
of shark fins and pork. The shark
fins were boiled TO so soft a consisten
cy that they might have been turbo
fins. The Chinaman must have smiled
at the unreasonable prejudices of tn,
occidentals when he saw some OF III
tasting the pork but fighting shy 0
the shark. He, probably, however
did not know that the same occidental,
would eat with relish of fish which
they themselves enticed to their angle
by worm or maggot. Next in order
came a soup composed of balls of crab
| have tasted this better prepared at
Macao. 1t assumes there the form oil
a very capital salad, made Of crab ant
cooked vegetables. Meanwhile the
ministering boys flew and futteret
round the table forever filling tht
little wine glasses with hot wine from
the metal pots. There were three
kinds: the strong samshu, for every
occasional "spike :" the medicateC
wine, for those who, having once ex
Iperiepced its many fsvors, chose t,
attempt it second time and the or
dinary wine, which is so like sherr,
negus, that any one who can dlini
that preparation may be very wei
satisfied with its China substitute.
The Chinaman had drunk with eacl
Of his cOnviveS almost in English fash
ion, but in strict obedience to tn
: Chinese rites, and very ungallantl,
challenged the male part of the com
+ pany first. And now we became
clamorous for bread or rice. After
: succession Of not by any means gross
but certainly nutricious and mucilagi
nous dishes, the palate and the stom
, ach craved some farlnaceous food
Nothing was easier to procure. Th'
, hoys, our own boys, accustomed t
f wait at our English dinners, brough
in leaves atthe slightest intimation
; but our dr6iter sdendi interpUsed.--
. Rread AT q Chinese feast is contrar,