The New York herald., 1868-02-24

In another place in this days HERALD We
print letter from the pen OF our special cor
respondent in London. The letter contains
many interesting items Of intelligence To
most Of our readers 1t will be interesting from
the account which 1t gives Of the famous horse
dinner which was given at the Langham
Hotel, London, on Thursday, the 9th instant
1t is, after the fuss at Washington the latest and
most startling novelty. For full account OF
our correspondent
Covers were laid for one hundred and nfty
persons. Three horses had been slaughtered
for the occasion. One of the animals was an
old white cart horse, aged twenty-five years.
The second was young brown cart horse,
aged four years. The third had been cele-
brity, had run in q brougham, had been reck-
oned the best stopper in Lonlon, and had at
one time changed hands for seven hundred
guneas These, as will be seen from the bill
OF fare which we print elsewhere, were
cooked aft r the most approved fashion, and
served up in great variety Of style.
II is not recorded that any Of the one
hundred and fifty guests were enthusiastic in
their admiration Of the horse flesh but neither
is it recorded that any Of them were particu-
larly Disguised. On the whole, Judging from
the opinions expressed in the London papers,
the experiment was reasonably successful.
We are not convinced that horse flesh is at all
likely at an early day to becom, popular as on
article Of food in London but it is something
that prejudice against it has so far been sue
cessfully overcome II is a noteworthy fact that
there ore now in Paris twenty-three butchers
shops ct which nothing but horse 6e'h Is sold
There is no reason known to US why horse
flesh should not be as much in demand In Lon
don or New York as in Paris. 1t is sold, OF
course, at . price much below that OF beef
and ir on fair trial It be found to be nutri-
tous and palatable article Of food prejudice
must yield In it, favor.
It is rather . curious circumstance--t0 ex-
plain Il we pretend not--that the flesh Of the
twenty-five year old horse was quite a. pala-
table ~ that Of It's younger rival Twenty
two years Of service, backed up by
so many pounds avoirdupois Of good,
wholesome meat, is an economical reason
not to be lightly esteemed. In the event Of
horse flesh becoming popular II will not be
necessary to do more than convert to food
that which Is annually destroyed. Strong sus-
picion has long existed that horse has been
common article Of food in some of the very
best restaurants in Paris. The suspicion is
not discouraged by the flct that at the London
dinner the feeling was general that the meat
had . singularly Partisan flavor.
On the whole, perhaps, we ought to be
thankful for this fresh att ,mpt to increase the
luxuries Of life. 1t Is quito possible that by
yielding to absurd prejudices we are depriving
ourselves of much that is really valuable In
the shape OF animal food. The Chinese have q
liking for dog flesh and do not despiss . well
cooked rat Some OF our readers Will remen-
Der how happily Fremont dInsd on the summit
OF the Sierra Nevada on mule and dog soup.
1t Is by no means certain that we are fully
aware ofall the good slat exists around US.