Ashtabula telegraph. (Ashtabula, Ohio) 1874-1880, 1875-05-14

IuS4 SaAASAdpH1s Wes9 sal ~ AoSN "
find in this so-called benightet
country that even the coolie chair
bearers could read, while at homl
few cabmen were so advanced. Thil
education is insisted on by Govern
ment, merely for the purposes o.
their trade, and not from any ab
stract idea of acquiring knowledge
Invited to a grand Chinese dinner,
the hour named, is II a. m. and the
locale boat. Having heard much
of the obnoxious stuff / should have
to eat, and been duly cautioned that
| should be i'll for week at least, af-
terward, l intim ated to a medical
friend that I was about to ''dine a
la Chinoise," and should probably
require his services that evening.
He gave me the prescription, "Take
a very little of each dish, and take a
very long time about it.'' OF the
latter had no choice, for we began
at IL and did not conclude until
$50. l felt a little squeamish but
was not actually sick, and the doc
tor said I had the digestion of a
horse.
To enumerate the dishes we ate
and the prices paid for them would
seem fabulous. We commenced
with tea and finished with soup.
Some of the intermediate dishes
were sharks fin; birds nests brought
from Borneo costing nearly gum
ca a mouthfuD; fricassee of poodle,
a little dog rather like pig, except
for its head; the fish of the kOask
shell, an elastic substance like pax
wax or India rubber, which you
might masticate but could not pos
sibly mash; peacock's liver, very
fine and recherche; putrid eggs, new
theless very good; rice, of course;
salted shrimps; baked almonds; cab
bage in a variety of forms; green
ginger; stewed fungi; fresh fish of a
dozen kinds; onions Gd libitLra; salt
duck cured like ham, and pig in ev-
erv form, roast, boiled, fried; Fou-
chow ham, which seemed to me
equal to Wiltshire. In fact, the Chi
nese excel in pork, but Europeans
will rarely touch it, under the SUI
perstition that the pigs are fed on
babies. Of course a pig will eat a
baby, if it finds one, as it will de-
your a rattlesnake, but that does not
prevent us eating American bacon,
where the pigs run wild in the wood,
and feed, from choice, upon any YER
min they can find. When in the
Southern States 1 got two magnif-
cent rattle snakes, and my pigs ate
them both. That did not prevent
the pigs being eaten in their turn
and l think | would as soon eat
transmutation of baby flesh as of
rattlesnake, especially the rattle.
Bpt l believe the whole to be libel.
The Chinese are most particular
about their swine, and Keep them
penned up in the utmost cleanliness
and comfort, rivaling the Dutch IN
their scrubbing and washing! They
grow whole fields of tdYo and herbs
for their pigs, and do not believe
that one porker in. a million ever
tastes a baby. About 2 o'clock we
rose from the table, walked about
looked out of the window. Large
brass bowls were brought filed with
hot water, and towels. Each one
proceeded to perform ablutions, the
Chinese washing their heads. After
which refreshing operation we re-
sumed our seats, and recommended
with another description of tea. Sew
en- different sorts of SdnlSh0O we par
took of, made from rice, from peas,
from mangoes, coeoa-nut; all fer
mented liquors; and the mystery re-
mained-that / was not fnebTiated-
Perhaps it was following the doctors
advice, the length of time which
and the small quantities.
The samSho0 was drunk warm, in t.
ny cups, during the course of the
dinner. The whole was cooked with
out salt, and tasted very insipld to me.
The birds nests seemed like glue or
but the cocks esRbs were
palatable. The dog meat was like
very delicate gizzard, well steYed-
a short, close fiber, and very tender.
The dish which / fancied the most
turned out to be rat; for upon taking
a second help after the, first taste, l
got the head, and I certainly felt
rather sick upon this discovery. But
consoled myself by the remem-
branee that in California we used
to eat ground squirrels, which are
first cousins to the fat-tailed rats;
and travellers who would know the
world must go in boldly for manners
and customs. We had tortoise and
frogs; a curry Of the latter was supe-
1or to chiekse. We had fowls
hearts, and brains of some bird
sHipe l think. We had chow-chow
Of mangoes, rGna6GstaR preserved,
salted cucumber, sweet potatoes,
vans, tdro, all sorts of sweats made
from rice, sugar and cocoanut. Ev-
cry dish was separate. And the sonP
which terminated the rePast was
surely boiled tripe, or some interior
arrangement, and l wished | had
halted little time ago. The whole
was eaten with chop-stieks, or
spoon like SNAIL spade or shovel.
The sticks are made into kind of
fork by being held cross-wise be
tween the fingers.
Twas the only lady-fCT it is not
the usage for the sexes to meet to-
yether in society," dined with the
aides, and was crammed in the same
way, but with larger mixture of
fruits, sweets and tea. Rice is the
for bread, and poultry and
pork for MUTTON and beef; though
occasionally there is mutton and goat
.beef very rarely, except for Euro
peans. The greater part of my time
was spent upon the rivers; and .
life it was. went INTO
all the back streets or creeks, and
with nv FIVE senses on the alert, ex-
amined everything / could.
The novelty, IS | have remarked,
was incessant aad never-ending, and
..,o,,s tba traveller. in interest