Omaha daily bee., 1883-11-09

topping Of on frejoles, neverl Some
pour piloncillo (molasses) over their
beans, others mix them with sour milk,
or crumble cheese into them, but many
prefer them ''straight," and in that man.
ner we take them. To neglect to eat
~frejoles after each meal is not only q
breach Of etiquette, but is considered All
indication of bad breeding and execrable
taste. At frequent intervals during the
meal, t~ortillas are served, smoking hot
from the griddle, and always either ma.
tive wine or imported claret. After
frejoles, we sometimes have fruit or
"dulcie," Gelly), but generally no des.
sert, and then the repast is concluded
with small cups of strong, black, bitter,
native coffee, with sugar il desired, but
no milk. This ceremonious meal
requires much, time but nobody
is ever in a hurry in Mexico.
If the servants are slow and keep you
waiting a quarter Of an hour or 30 be-
tween the courses, the hostess is not in
the least disturbed thereby, for converse
ton never flags, and there is nothing to
be done after dinner but take a long
siesta till chocolate time. If bread is
used at dinner it is laid, in the loaf, upon
the table cloth, and if one desires a piece
he cuts it to suit himself.
ToTILLAs
are not brought in on plates, after the
manner of our griddle cakes, but the
servant puts them in a pile upon the
table-cloth, beside the master or mistress
of the house, who distributes them
around the table with a dexterous toss,
exactly like shutting cards.
During more than half a years resi-
dence in Mexico / have not seen a bit of
butter, a potato, beef-steak, chop, cake,
pie, pudding, tea, or the usual vegetables
which we consider indispensable. Nap
kins are rarely used, but each person
wipes his or her face and hands upon that
portion of the tablecloth nearest himself.
Eating with forks is not at all according
to etiquette, but the knife or spoon must
be used, or, still more properly, a tor
tilla. They manage the latter with as
much dexterity as the Chinese does the
chopsticks, curving it between the fingers
till it forms something like a spoon, and
scooping up the food with it. The very
old people and the lower classes use tor
tillas altogether in lieu Of knives, forks
and spoons, the latter being of compare
lively recent introduction. 1t requires
considerable practice to successfully man
age the tortilla scoop, as j have learned
by sad experience.
After the meal is finished, and at inter
walls during its progress, if one feels SO
inclined, the mouth is filed with water
from the goblet, rinsed with more or less
emphasis, and then the water is squirted
between the teeth upon the floor. In this
process all become expert, from the mis-
tress Of the mansion to the smallest
child. When fresher water is desired,
that in the glasses is carelessly tossed on
the dirt floor, where it does no harm.
While waiting for coffee, and afterwards,
and during pauses in the conversation,
the gentlemen of the family, and very
frequently the ladies also, settle back
gracefully in their chairs and smoke a
cigarette or two. ! learned a lesson at
the very first dinner l took in Mexico.
1t was at a hotel table, and a stranger
Mexican seated beside me, having fin
ished his dinner first, ~innocently leaned
back to enjoy his usual smoke. l, in my
ignorance, regarded it as q personal in
suit, and made an idiot Of myself by in
dignantly leaving this table. But since
then / have become LEARNED in the ways
of the Egyptians, "and can not only toll
crate the natural custom with equanimi-
ty, but (be not Mortified, oh fastidious
friendsD occasionally
TAKE A 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
"Eslados Unidos del Norte." These are
not much larger than a straw, the husk
is sweet to the taste, and they have a
delicate fragrance while burning which
is exceedingly pleasant. In Mexico
everybody smokes, at all times and in all
places, at the theater, in the ball room,
everywhere. In making formal calls or
more extended visits, politeness demands
an immediate and frequent exchange of
cigarettes and 'lights,' with many DO.
lite bows and courteous words, exactly as
our ancestors were wont to offer and &C.
cept the civilties Of the snuff. box. Every
Mexican lady's pocket is supplied with
cigarette holder and match box, of more
or less elegance, and the dainty fingers of
many a fair young senorita, who would
scorn to touch the slightest thing per-
tanning to household labor, are discolored
at the tips like polished bronze from much
cigarette rolling.
In a Mexican household, at 8 p. m, we
| hox-a a1uraxya chocolate -. .-T~z -.-I
with bread as at breakfast, or with little
cakes resembling sweetened crackers.
Late in the evening, at any hour from Q
o'clock till midnight, is supper-which is
almost as ceremonious a meal as the din.
ner, and its counterpart as to menu
minus only the broth and the boiled
meat.
MEXICAN kITCHEN
is a study, and to do it and all its strange
utensils justice would require a columns
space. There are no stoves, or ever
anything like the tire-places of our great.
grandmother's days. One side OF the
room is occupied by q
sort of shelf, built into the wall, about
breast high, in the center of which a lit.
tie heap of wood is kept burning, and
around it the earthen cooking vessels are
set. If the family is small, this smoky
method is sometimes improved upon by
building a charcoal fire in an earther
pot, and setting the smaller cooking pots
within it. Many houses have a mud
oven at the end of this shelf or some.
where out of doors, lin which a fire mus
be built to heat it), but generally ar
oven is quite unnecessary, as