River Falls journal. [volume] (River Falls, Pierce County, Wis.) 1872-2019, 1892-08-04

noise as possible In the process OF mas
tication. for the more made the
greater is supposed to be the enjoy
ment experienced. Between courses a
basin and towel are passed around.
and the guests mop OFF the face and
wash the hands. The more food
is consumed the better, for the
more the host is honored, and if il
seems necessary to refuse a second
helping the polite thing to say is: 20,
no, dare not, for I'm afraid you
haven't enough" A host in properly
exercising his hospitality must press
his guests to eat, and the distressing
importantly with which one is urged
makes a foreigner feel very uncom-
Portable.
Because elaborate dinner sets come
from China, it must not be supposed
that these are used by the natives
themselves. They are manufactured
for foreign trade only. A native set
consists of simply great number of
bowls Of different sizes. colors and
shapes, chopsticks, and chinaware
spoons, about the size of a dessert spoon,
with short, curved handles. The chop
sticks are of silver, ivory or wood, and
are held in the hand much as we would
hold a lead pencil. A very slight mo-
ton causes their tips to approximate,
and pieces of food are easily grasped
by them, and they are only used in
grasping and showing, for Chinaman
can no more eat liquids with them than
we can eat soup with fork The dex-
terity with which they are used is rash
ly over-estimated, for food of semi
solid nature. such as rice, is eaten by
placing the bowl to the lips and push
ing the contents into the mouth with
the sticks; and one viewing a family OF
the best cultured eating a meal In the
most approved fashion thinks it any
thing but dainty process.
A cup of tea finishes every repast,
but ii is not such cup as would satisfy
our depraved taste, for the native arti.
Gle is tiny affair scarcely larger than
a thimble. Tea is taken upon all oc-
casions, by both sexes and all classes,
and a tea-drinking is simple yet al.
ways formal affair. A native tea set
consists of a large pot for water,
smaller one for tea and ever so many
tiny handleless cups set in groups OF
six upon little trays of lacquer or OF
china. Boiling water is brought In the
larger and poured over the tea in the
smaller pot and then almost immedi.
ately poured off into the cups. The
host or hostess then takes a tray in
both haSds-it would be very impolite
to take it in one-and bowling low of
fers it. The guest selects the very
nearest, bows low and receives it IN
both hands. lie must then ask the
host TO drink with him, and both con.
sumo the amber liquid in little sips.
In China tea is never drank with milk
and sugar, and, though always very
strong, never has that ''puckery" taste
that comes of long boiling All vari.
cites have a flavor much like our best
grades of black tea, for the green tes
OF commerce is vile compound not even
tolerated on native soil. The reai
green tea cannot be exported, because
it is very liable to undergo fermenta
ton when exposed to the damp sea air
1t then turns black, and the substitu
ton for expectation that comes to ouI
market is made by coloring the leaves
with Prussian blue and gypsum. None
of the exported teas possess their orig
| inal flavor for all that are intended
for shipping are submitted to an extra
drying process at the seaport. This is
very injurious. for it drives off much Of
the flavoring principle and aroma
The caravan teas" of Russia owe theii
superiority to having escaped this last
port drying, which is so fatal to a fine
| fiavor.-Detroit Free Press.