The Indianapolis journal. [volume] (Indianapolis [Ind.]) 1867-1904, 1883-10-20

distributes them around to the guests with a
dextrous toss, precisely like dealing cards at
casino. If bread is used it is laid in the loaf,
on the cloth, and when one wishes piece he
cuts 10 suit himself. After frijoles we some
times have fruit or dulce Gelly or maIma-
ladeG but generally no desert, and the repast
Is concluded with cups of strong, black, bitter
native coffee, with sugar, if desired, but no
milk. This ceremonious meal requires much
time, but nobody is ever in hurry i'll Mex
leo. If the servants are tardy between
courses, and keep you waiting a quarter OF
an hour or so, mine host is not in the least
disturbed thereby, for conversation never
flags, and there is nothing to be done after
dinner but take long siesta
During eight months residence in Mexico,
l have not seen bit of butter, potato, egg
cooked by ITSELF chop or steak, tea, sauce,
cake pie or pudding, or those ordinary veg
etables which we consider indispensable.
Napkins are rarely used; each person w,ping
has or her face and hands on that portion of
the table-cloth which is nearest, and
mentioned corner wash-stands. Eating
with the fork is not at all
| according to etiquette, but the knife or spoon
must be used-or, more properly, tortilla.
| Mexicans manage the latter with as much
| dexterity as the Chinese does his chop-sticks,
curving it between the fingers till it forms
something like spoon, and scooping up the
| food with it, eating spoon and all. The very
| old people and the lower classes use tortillas
| altogether, instead of knives, forks or spoons,
| the latter being of comparatively recent in
PRODUCTION. 1t requires considerable practice
to successfully manage the tortilla scoop, as
l have learned from sad experience.
| After the meal is finished, and at intervals
| during its progress if one feels so inclined,
the mouth is filled with water from the goblet,
rInsed with more or less emphasis between
the teeth, and then squirted upon the floor.
L In h1cN oil 49, L.
| lady OF the house to the smallest child.
| When fresher water is required that in the
! glasses is carelessly tossed upon the dirt
floor, where it does no harm.
SMOKING AT THE DINNER-TABLE.
While waiting for coffee, and afterwards,
during pauses in the conversation, the gen.
tlemen of the family-and not infrequently
the ladies also-settle gracefully back in
their chairs and enjoy cigarette or two.
learned lesson at my very first dinner in
Mexico. 1t was at a hotel table. and a
stranger Mexican seated beside me, who hap
pened to finish his dinner first, innocently
lighted his cigar for the usual table smoke
| which l, in the depth of my ignorance,
regarded as a personal insult, and indig-
nantly left the table. Since that day l have
become Learned in the ways of the Egyp-
al custom with equanimity but (be not hor-
rified, oh! fastidious friends) occasionally
take dinner cigarette myself! When one
| is in Rome it is we'll TO do as the Romans do.
These tiny Mexican cigarettes, rolled up in
corn husks or tissue paper are not at all like
the strong-smelling things we have in the
| United States. These are not much larger
than straws, the husk is sweet to the taste,
and they have delicate fragrance which is
very pleasant. In Mexico everybody
smokes, at all times and in all places-at the
theaters, in the ballroom, every
where. In making formal calls
or more extended visits, politeness
demands an immediate and frequent ex-
change of cigarettes and "light"--with many
courteous words, as latter you, sonora" ire
ferring to the match) -precisely as our an
cestors were wont to proffer and accept the
civilities of the snuff-box. Every Mexican
| lady's pocket is supplied with matchbox and
cigarette-holder, of more or less elegance,
and the dainty fingers of many a fair young
senorita are discolored like polished bronze
at the tips from much cigarette rolling
In a Mexican household at P. NJ we have
always chocolate or coffee, served with bread
as at breakfast or with little cakes resem-
bling sweetened crackers or with pan-de-
pulque-biscuits made of pulque-the ma
| tional intoxicating beverage, distilled from
| the century plant.
Later in the evening, at any hour from 9
| O'Clock till midnight, is supper which is al
most as ceremonious repast as the dinner.
and its counterpart as to menu minus only
| the broth and boiled meat. Every body goes
| straight to bed from the supper table, and
what with hearty food at unreasonable
| hours and the eternal land INTERNALLY grease,
garlic and chill, the wonder is that the ma
ton has not long since died out from dys-
| pepsa.
| Let no one imagine that have been guilty
| of the slightest exaggeration in this descrp-
| ton of Mexican dinner. On the contrary,
under a grateful appreciation of kindness
everywhere showered upon me by this most
hospitable of people, | have given you only
the softer outlines of the picture, emitting
much that might be said 1 beg you to
bear in mind that the customs of
all countries differ, and doubtless a Mexican
| would find as much to dislike in our land as
| we do in theirs
A Mexican kitchen is a study, and to do
it and all its queer utensils justice would re-
quire columns space. There are no stoves,
or even anything like the fre-places of our
Observation-Disclosures days. One side of the
room is occupied by sort of shelf built into
the wall about breast high, in the center of
which little heap of wood is kept burning,
and around it the earthen cooking-pots are
arranged II the family is small, this exceed
ingly smoky process is improved upon by
building a charcoal fire in large earthen
pot, and putting the smaller controversies
within it. Some houses have mud oven at
the end of this shelf, or built somewhere out
of doors, inside of which fire must be made
to heat it; but an oven is generally quite I'M
necessary as baked things enter not into the
household economy. In the center of the
kitchen stands the metate for tortlla max
ing-a followed stone the size of an ordinary
breakdown. The cook kneels upon the dirt
floor at one end of the metate, and, the corn
having previously been slightly boiled
or ChnC1 into ncfn
bin: When QUANTITY t has s,oT been IOit thus
crushed it is rolled into balls and left
until required. 1t is surprising what
an amount of corn a family of
ordinary size will consume in day in the
form of tortillas-the Mexican staff of life. I"