Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1888-10-20


sroRr-ESGIIsH DESSERTS AND PADs-surxRIosrrY
or FRENCH cooKs-0ERNAN GR.AsB AND SEASON.
ING.
tcopyri<ht 1881
Special Correspondence Of The EVENING stan
The solemnity OF Englishmen at dinner is an
unfailing source OF amazement to Americans.
Nowhere In the world can men be seen dining with
such funereal and awful melancholy as In the Lon
don clubs and cafes An air OF deep and
CHASTITY gloom pervade it all, from the soup to
the coffee The diners will walk blocks to lnd an un-
occupied table, and by the assduity OF years of hard
labor and constant study they have succeeded In
cultivating an expression OF countenance while
chilly and aastere. IN The wv" waters ~, 0' have
caught 1t from the guests, and they look
as though dealing out death and destruction
70 tneir dearest friends when waiting at table.
mink the funniest sight ever saw In my life was
dinner In well-known London club where a
party OF sixteen eminent men were singing so, He
The pst yo %as geOr az tne end Of sne daner
OF that long, iank, and melancholy man standing
with bent back and singing the GLORIOUS OF
! cheerful as ruined comm In a moonrt
country graveyard Irvtngs long hair hung
ABOUT his face, the corners Of his mouth were
uraWn uown 10 an almost CHASTITY extent, his
large eyes almost started from his face with mel
ancholy intensity, and he spoke the words OF the
the table stood the other Engilshmen with set
Iaces and expressions OF reserved and exclu-
sve respectaDiiity. Compared with the registering
ooiStefousnesS OF crowd Of Americans, tesufy1ng
" tile goOd fellowship OF friend, the exhibition
was absurd and Whimsical.
AT DINNER. .
SOMEBODY told me that night Of story, which
Is current In England, which hits on this particular
Characteristic or the nation. One heavy dragon
ana mighty swell had invited a brother oficer TO
cine with him at his club. They sat down to a
dinner OF sixteen courses, and for the first half
nour neither spoke. Then the host discovered o
pretty little actress tripping across the street
under the club window.
,s Ia" ne SAID there goes Miss Jigger-whats
The other pondered deeply and In the course bf
the next hall hour the dinner progressed steadily.
Inen the guest struggling under boom OF recol-
"JudkinS."
ma AN hour passed and not a word was uttered.
Flnaly, after the coffee had been finished, light
broke upon the face Ut the host and he said:
all" "0'N -'''''o was "D' "-'e'
Hall an hour later they shook hands and parted
The curious part Of It all Is that the Englshmans
his d!gnlfied and monstrousiy solemn exterior he
ness, for ne IS always ready to enter into CONVEX
satlOn with man who Is not dIStinctively and
pointedly an outsider. The mental wear and tear
caused by his efforts TO dodge the possibility OF
expression which indicates that he must be suIer.
ing keen remorSe Ior the commission OF some
capital crime.
APPLE-rARr.
Eating in London is largely affair Of solids. The
reign Of the applicant is still supreme. 1t is In
many instances, the only sort OF dessert pastry or
sweets that one can get after dinner do not
speak raShly IN this respect. mean 10 say that
the big hotels, like the Victoria and MetropOle,
which accommodate thousand guests or more
very often have nothing more attractive to offer
their diners than the celebrated applicant II is
not composition OF great tntrtcacy or internal
NJ
some dough, and baked In dish. The dish Is
placed On the table, and you take spoon and cut
out as much tart as you think will materially aid
you In seeing your grandmotherS ghost.
PEACH-AND-GIN FAD.
Despite their prejudices for things that are
English and old, the London men are curiOusly
given to fads. Once when was there the whole
town had taken up the practice OF drinking peach.
Then they got tired OF 1t and let 1t go never to
take II up again probably. In all likelihood the
anglomaniacs will begin to AFFECT the drink over
here IN the course OF the next Two years. They
are usually about that much behindhand In aping
the Old country. Personally, peach-and-
gin is to me what the nunkeys OF England would
describe as "a VERY tidy sort OF a sWizzIe" MY
first experience OF IL came from a captain In the
army whom met In the st. James Just as he was
."COme and do peach and-g1n with me,n he
SAID AND went and did 1t with him, after the
fashion or all good Americans 10 strange coun-
tries. The peaches are cut into long and rather
thick slices, and six OF these slices were laid in
claret glass with the ends sticking above the rim
The glass was then half filled with gin. Some OF
the men drank the gin so as TO get the flavor
| OF the peach, and Others ate the peach SO as
to get The flavor OF the gin. and swallow
difference which way the combination began:
both gin and peach eventually disappeared. Little
and 1t was rather diverting sight TO see lot Of
heavy Jowled Englishmen sitting around a table
carefully spearlng bits OF peaches with Lneir tiny
| forks, swiriing them around In the gin and then
carrying them TO their lips.
FRENCH COOKING
so much has been written about eating In France
that 1t would be difficult to say anything new 1t
is an amazing thing, though, how clever the French
are In the kitchen. have known many illustra-
tons OF IT. While travelling Ia Canada recently 1
had about given up all idea OF eating on account OF
| the wretched Character OF the hotels when heard
OF FrencnInan who Kept boa ding -house down
him and found that he had small tables placed in
all his rooms upstairs instead OF beds. Half the
statesmen in Canada when they visited the capital
went 10 the dingy den Of the little Frenchman,
and after the f1rsJ meal lived there all the tillle
for there was nothing In the whole D0mi mon that
that he had been Obliged 70 leave France
and that he had never cooked over there,
but that the wretched character OF the
cooking throughout Canada had led him TO try
his hand at it, and his success had been very great
IL comes natural 10 the nation for some reason or
other Even In The little inns in the smaller villages
OF France one can always get a dinner that would
pass muster at DeimOnlcOS.
CREASE IN GERMANY.
This Is not true OF Germany by any means The
cooking there is intoleraby greasy and unpala-
table TO Americans, Engllsh, and French. It
pleases the Germans, but that doesn't prove that
II Is good cooking, for Germans show the effect
that the-r cooking has upon them. Everything Is
drowned In grease, lard, aud butter, and The
seasoning JakeS away the flavor OF meats and
vegetables alike. The most striking Character
istlc about German restaurant Is the entire
| dissatisfaction which pervades 1t, from
the sculiOn girl TO the proprietor I was
often amused when in Berlin at tue Efforts OF En-
glish, French or American travellers 10 get away
from the reign OF grease. One case was typical OF
them all ! remember famous American who
came In the train OF Henry Willard ana Carl Schurz
one day. sat down al table and said in the tongue
OF the Fatheriand:
waiter. do you speak English better than 1
every much" said the waiter instantly. in very
bad English.
swell, then, want you TO bring us something
| to eat without butter or lard"
The walter raised his eyebrowA whiaked Crumb
from the corner OF the table, smiled in plying
! way, and remarked that the restaurant was SUP.
| posed TO nave the best cooks In Germany
"Wei, that Is saying mighty LITTLE" said the
American calmly. "Ive had better food az a dog
| nght In America than ever GOT in the Germ H :
| empire. What l want now Is q SOUP without
grease. nsh without sauce, and q steak broiled
| ana served without any gravy or seasoning what
| ever. Bring me some olives, little OIL hard
| boiled egg, some pickles, and mustard, and Pu
make the sauce for everything"
THE HEAD wAlTyK ExPosruLATHs
4 Tho waiter LIST ehIv xyssn a.