Urbana union. [volume] (Urbana, Ohio) 1862-1872, 1865-01-11
The CuriOs1ties of French Restaurants.


The Correspondent of the London Star
writes as follows:
Restaurants for the working classes in
Paris have, nowadays, recourse to every
species Of invention. Last week one Just
opened in the Fanbourg Montmarte promises
a dinner of two courses and desert to who
ever writes, in a legible hand, the answer to
8 rebus redeyery morning for solution BY
the dame de eouaplOir. Another in the Eau
boug St. Antoine, hit on a still more strange
expedient. He chose for his ensign a gigan-
tic golden sausage, which he swung enticing-
ly over the door of his restaurant, the words.
"a la saucisse dor" in huge gold letters,
blazing beneath. His saloon was large, its
white walls decorated by festoons Of the
tempting edible so highly appreciated on the
other side of Rhine, and in every fftieth
sausage five franc piece in gold. His prin-
ciple was that, as his customers called for
sausages, they should be cut off in nregnlar ro-
tstion from the string so artistically arranged
round the dining hall The result may be
better imagined than described. The eager
anxiety depicted on the couutenance ofevery
ouvrier as he nervously examined and finally
ate his sausage, would have supplied phre-
nologist with many good subjects for study.
The expedient proved most remuneratige to
the proprietor, but the quarrels that ensued
were Of so serious nature that the police
have interfered, and the master of the estab-
lishment has received orders either to shut
up his shop or to proceed on less exciting
system. - .r-s
You must constantly have remarked in the
windows ofrestaurants of the class, triumphal
arches, columns, and every species of archi-
tectural device, constructed with marveloas
ingenuity CT hundreds of snails piled up in
moss. 1 have often been puzzled to know
what was the ultimate destiny of these my
riads of snails, whose shining shells evince an
amonnt of care bestowed on their outward
aspect, which proves that they must be there
for purpose. In France, you must remem-
Der that snails did occupy public attention,
an electric sympathy having been discovered
between the male and female snail, which
suggested to some enthusiastic savant the
idea, thai the expense Of electric wires might
thereby be saved. At this period in their
history, their name in French, which, from
the days Of the Pharamonds, had been lima
con, was changed to escargot, which patrony-
mic they retain. The race, however, sank
into oblivion, and one was only reminded Of
his merits by apothecaries' advertisements
announcing the most delicious syrups lozen-
ges, &c, made Of snails, and warranted to
cure every cold and cough that ever was
caught. Yesterday, however, missieurs les
eseargOts occupied the attention of the police
court. Snails, it appears, are eaten at taverns
and public houses, not in hundreds or thous-
ands, but in myriads, and snail gournets as
sert-I shall not dispute the point with them
that they possess a delioacy Of favor which
exceeds that of oysters.-Soit
A shop at St. Dennis was let few months
ago to a milkman, who underletit to a certain
Lancray. Extraordinary sounds. as of rat
Ting chains, were heard at dead of night,
emanating from a back premises, and-faugh
"a vapor, feted and sickening arose in black
fumes, penetrating the closed and curtained
windows of sleeping Deighbors. What could
it be2 Evidently the smoke. came from
Lancray's yard. What dark trade did he
ply2 The police were applied to, and the
milkman proceeded against at having under
let his shop to a systerious and awful a per-
sonage as his tenant proved. Lancray stated
that he was a wholesale snail merchant: that
he employed agents who bought up snails in
different parts of France, but the most es-
teemed came from Burgundy, and to prepare
his snails for the Paris market the process of
cleaning must first take place This he was
in the habit of doing over night, by putting
several thousands into tubs of water and then
stirring them with iron forks which was the
cause of the rafting sound so terrifying
to Mr.. Lancrays nervous neigebors; and
that the next process was that of boiling,
which, unfortunately, resulted in the rancid
smoke SO offensive to their olfactory organs.