Reporter and farmer. [volume] (Webster, Day County, Dakota [S.D.]) 188?-1946, 1895-08-22

! passers-by gape with gluttonous ap-
prevail. Surely there is nothing grace
full about such a commemoration of
the birth of Christ as this. nothing
| picturesque, nothing poetic, nothing
even orthodox, for Christ was born in
the East, and the Orientals are very
small eaters, and are particularly spar
ing in the use of meat. One wonders
what such an unusual display of yul-
gar yictuals has to do with he COM
ing of the Saviour, who arrived among
us in such poor estate that even a de-
CEN roof was denied Him. Perhaps,
though, the English people read their
gospels in a way of their own, and
understand that the wise men OF the
East who are supposed to have
brought the Divine Child symbolic
| gifts OF gold. frankincense and myrrh,
really brought joints Of beef, turkeys
and plum pudding" that vile and in
digestible mixture at which an Italian
I shrugs his shoulders in visible disgust.
There is something barbaric, l sup
/ pose. in the British customs still
something that reminds one OF their
ancient condition when the Romans
conquered them-when their supreme
| idea of enjoyment was to have an OK
1 IOsASttu NlOlt bCIpIS tLiC - AhSs
drank "wassail' till they groyeled I'M
der their own tables in a worse condi-
| ton than overfed swine. Coarse and
vulgar plenty is still the leading char
acteristic at the dinners of English or
American parvenus; they have scarce
ly an idea of the refinements that can
be impaired to the prosaic necessity OF
eating-of the many little graces of
the table that are understood in part
by the French, but that perhaps never
reach such absolute perfection of taste
and skill as at the banquets of a cult
ured and clever Italian noble. Som
OF these are yeritable "feasts Of the
GODS and would do honor to the
tabled Olympus, and such al n l
had prepared for Guido Ferrari as q
greeting to him on his return from
Rome-a feast Of welcome and fare
well.
All the of the hotel n
which / stayed had been brought into
requisition. The chef. a famous cor.
don bleu, had transferred the work
of the usual table d'hote to his under
lings, and had bent the powers of his
| culinary intelligence solely on the pro-
duction of the magnificent dinner |
had ordered. The landlord, in spite of
himself, broke into EXPLANATIONS of
wonder and awe, as he listened TO and
wrote down my commands for differ
ent wines of the rarest kinds end
choicest vintages. The servants rush
ed hither and thither to obey my vari-
Gus beheSts, with looks of Immense
importance; the head waiter, q superb
official who prided himself on his ar
tistic taste, took the laying out OF the
table under his entire superintendent
and nothing was talked of or thought
of for the time but the grandeur of my
proposed entertainment.
About 6 O'Clock / sent my carriage
to the railway station TO meet Fer
rari as l had arranged; and then, ut
my landlords invitation, | went 10
survey the Stage that was prepared for
II important scene of my dramatic
see If the scenery, side-lights and gen
eral effects were in working order.
To avoid d~isarranging my own apart
ments | lad chosen for my dinner
party a room on the ground floor of
the hotel, which was often let out for
marriage breakfasts and other pur-
poses Of the like kind; it was octag-
onal in shape, not too large. and | had
bad it most exquisitely decorated for
the occasion. The walls were hung
with draperies of gold-colored silk and
crimson velvet, i~nterspersed here and
there with long mirrors which we're
ornamented with crystal candelabra
in which twinkled hundreds of lights
under rose tinted glass shades. At
the back of the Don a miniature c"n-
servatory was displayed to view, full
Of rare ferns and subtly perfumed
1 nynyfno In f1,n - NA. - rrAsal~ m -,
tain rose and fell with regular and
melodious murmur. Here, later on, a
band of stringed instruments and a
choir of boys voices were TO be sta
toned, so that sweet music might be
heard and felt without the performers
being visible. One. and one only, of
the long French windows of the room
was left uncurtained, il was simply
draped with velvet as one Grapes a
choice picture, and through 1t the Eyes
rested on a perfect view Of the Bay
of Naples, white with the wintry
moonlight.
The dinner table, laid for fifteen per-
sons, glittered with sumputous ap-
pointments of silver. Venetian glass
and the rareSt flowers: the floor was
carpeted with velvet pile, in which
some grains of ambergris had been
scattered so that in walking the feet
sank, as II were, into a bed of moss
rich with the odors of a thousand
spring blossoms. The very chairs
wherein my guests were to seat them
selves were of a luxurious shape and
softly stuffed, so that one c.uld lean
back in them or recline at ease-in
short. everything was arranged with
a lavish splendor almost BETTING the
banquet of an eastern monarch, and
yet with such accurate taste that there
was no detail n could have wished
omitted.
/ was thoroughly satisfied, but as /
know what an unwise plan it is to
praise servants too highly for doing
well what they are expressly paid 10
do, l intimated my satisfaction to my
landlord by a mere careless nod and
smile of approval. He, who waited on
my every gesture with abject humil-
ity. received his sign of c~ondescension
with as much delight as though it had
come from the king himself, and I
could easily see that the very fact of
my showing no enthusiasm at the re-
suit of his abOrs made him consider
me a greater man than ever. I now
rx.n,+ 20 ~ r-. l. -