Ashtabula telegraph. (Ashtabula, Ohio) 1874-1880, 1878-08-16
PARIS LETTER.
FROM our Regular Correspondent.

CNA -@AA@r ESAAAA~%Ats
Pas. July 81 1873.
Amongthe euriosities of Paris life are
:he small carts that call at be hack gates
Of the anbAssies. palaces, nstaarants, hO-
tels and grest HOUSES in general 10 reseiye
the remains Of the dinner left, not by the
upper ten thousand cnly. but likewise by
their servants; and sold every morning by
the cooks to the emissaries Of a race of
castermongers whose STALLS at the great
markets are furnished by these stale vict-
uals. which have made their debut on the
tables of the wealthy. These carts are
closed in, but recognizable by sort of
chimney in the top which admits Of free
ventilation. The secondhand viands are
thrown pell-mell into the carts, and are
paid for by weight. Imagine the appear
ance Of this pOt-pOurrie called Arlequins
when it reaches the stalls Of the marEet.
The first process is the triage or sorting,
a work of no small difficulty when portions
of lobster besmeared with soup, must be
extracted from the remains of fruit tarts
in which they are imbedded. The most
presentable morsels are pared, cleaned and
laid ON a dish; this process takes place IN
some remote corner out of sight, but the
selection is soon completed, and, strange
to saw, by twelve o'clock these scraps from
the plates of the rich. are eagerly bought
up by certain class Of the poor who pre-
fer their savOry flavor to more wholesome,
simpler and cleaner food. Whatever can
not be sufficiently pared and arranged for
human food, is disposed of for pet house
dogs, Italian grey hounds and such little
aristocratic quadrupeds. The bones, how
ever, found in these deposits are laid aside
and sold to the manufactures of eoncen-
trated meat lozengers. and by them, after
having been boIled down are got rid OF to
the compounders of animal black, so much
in demand by house painters. But to re-
turn TO the Arlequins; this trade of buy
ing the remains of dinners IS by no means
a bad one, many of those who pursue it re-
tire 1T the expiration of few years on
comfortable little incomes Of four or five
hundred year.
To witness the preparation of food de-
seribed, as well as similar manipulstiens
no less curious and interesting, it will be
necessary to go to the great markets or
Halles Uentrales between the hours Of four
and five in the morning. This great mark
ct place is opposite the celebrated church
Of st. Eustache. The cellers are well
worth seeing. They are the receptacles Of
incalcuable quantities Of fish,, fowl, meat,
game, cheese, butter, etc., and may easily
be visited upon application at the over
seer's lodge. s.. - I,
The next branch Of this trade is the
bakers en- Tieux. 1t is also quite renum-
erative. To collect the crumbs thrown
away by school boys, or dropped by these
careless youngsters in their play grounds,
tramped on, and, oftentimes bedAubed
with ink or mud, has proved to I've lucra-
tive occupation. The least filthy Of these
soiled and uninyiting fragments are
bought by seeond-rate bakers, who after
having had them dried in an oven, sell
them for the ''croute au pot, with which
soup all familiar with French cookery are
well acquainted. furthermore these choice
bits Of old bread are cut up into three
cornered morsels, which, fried in butter,
adorn some of the vegetable dishes we en-
JOY at the grand restaurants. But there
vet remains a mass of mud-stained, dust
soiled scraps, which once were bread.
These, worked up in a mortar and pulver-
lied. are soldas the ehapeEurs blanche with
which outlets are dressed. There still how
ever remains dust which it has been impos-
sible to work up, this is blaekened in the
oven, reduced to an impalpsble powder
mixed with honey, to which is added q few
drops of peppermint, and sold as an in
fallible cure for toothaehe, for which agony
1t is said to be quite as eficaciOus as any
thing recommended by the faculty"
Many Of the most delicate dishes found
at the innumerable restaurants are con-
cocted of things we would reject as garb-
age. The soups especially, of which there
are as many varieties as there are depart
ments in France, are compounded Of ma
terials which we would never dream of
utilizing Indeed, there is no part of an
animal, horse, cat, rat, goat or crow, from
which certain restaurants in Paris will not
serve you sayory dish, assuring you, Of
course, that your horse steak is the very
best cut of beef, that the cat is hare, and
that the crow is pigeon.
About so, 900 Of the inhabitants of this
gay capital rise in the morning without
knowing where or how they are to get a
dinner. These poor wretches, who for the
greater part, have no regular employments
manage to dress decently nevertheless, to
keep up appearances. and between six and
seven o'clock, you will find them seated at
some Of the cheaper restaurants enjoying
the luxury Of twenty-five sou dinner.
Ea C. A. S.
ETADDTA AGEC