The Breckenridge news. (Cloverport, Ky.) 1876-1955, 1905-03-29

This is Arab courtesy and hospitali-
ty, and If the guest is well bred he will
open his mouth to receive this dainty
morse and thus accept his hosts mark
of favor With this signal the meal be-
gins. Then. turning up their wide
sleeves to keep them well out of the
dish, the company set to work hastily
to devour the contents of the dish be-
fore them, and suddenly eight or ten
dirty hands are plunged into the dish
at once.
There is an unwritten law which APP
points to each man his own portion for
digging in the dish"-that is. the part
nearest to his right hand-and 1t would
be as gross lmpoliteness for him to help
himself to that on his left as for west
erners to put knives in their mouths.
lOnly one hand should be used, and
with this balls are made out of the
greasy mess, which are chucked into
the mouth by a deXterous movement of
the thumb. But rules of savage ETH
quette are broken in the orient as often
as those of good breeding are in the
occident, and so one often sees groups
of men in Palestine eating together in
a rapacious manner putting both soil
ed hands in the dish at once for great
er ease in more quickly securing large
mouthfuls of food.
The Arabs have a saying about any
one who helps himself too greedily
from the dish: "He descends like the
foot of a crow, but ascends like the
hoof of a camel"
A meal consists Of one course only,
and all the different Messes are mixed
| together. whether meats, sweets or
acids. The only pretense made for
plate or fork is the thin fiat cake OF
bread which breaks up easily. With il
persons sop up the fluids and vegetables
and they dish up the handfuls of food
which they squeeze into the bread, thus
making the latter serve for the outer
wall of the ball of greasy substance
which Is to be thrown into their
months. 1t is then eaten with much
smecklng Of lips and other vulgar
sounds to demonstrate to their host
their thorough appreciation and relish
of his repast. Not to do this is to APP
pear most ungrateful and impolite.
! Each person. after well filling his
mouth, shakes his open hand over the
dish to throw back any grains of food
! which might have adhered TO his
greasy palm, lest any be wasted. 1t
would seem as though the fact of their
! handling the common meats would be
| disgusting enough, but it is the climax
to see them rubbing off the crumbs that
stick TO their dirty hands into the bowl
| from whence their neighbors must take
their next mouthful. This process is
repeated every instant until every one
| is satisfied.
| Even in land Of such customs there
| are grades of barbarism. Thus the
| more civilized Arabs consider it rude
to put the whole of one hand into the
| dish and only use three fingers to help
themselves more delicately to the food
/ from the common dish. Whenever
| they do attempt to use table utensils it
| is merely to find favor in the eyes of
some European guest. and they appear
ludicrous and clumsy in their handling
of these modern tools and not infre-
| quently cut their lips with the knives
or prick them with the forks.
Where cups are provided the drink
ing is done in common. just like the
eating. for only one or two cups are
| considered necessary for the whole
party. But the usual thing for them
| to do is to finish eating their meal
without drinking and then all rise up
and go together to the well and drink
| till they are satisfied.
Whenever there is meat to be carved,
or, rather TO be divided among the
| company, the host does this with his
! hands. but not without abundantly
| splashing the garments of the partak-
ers of the feast as he tears the meat
| violently asuuder. The clothes of the
! guests are in constant danger during
| the meal. for if the host becomes very
genial and happy he is liable to have
sudden fits of affection for some of
| his friends and, with the usual eXag-
| gerated demonstrativeness of the ori-
ent, will hug the victim with both his
sticky hands or else will throw dainty
morses of meat toward him, torn OF
! the bone especially for him, as a mark
of favor and delicate attention.
A European once asked some natives
why they did not use knives and forks,
! and one of them answered Indignantly:
"The idea of using manufactured uten-
sils! 1t is an insult to God Almighty,
who created our hands," Another e.
| planned that their mode was by far the
cleanlier, for he exclaimed: How can
| you bear to put into your mouths
knives and forks which have been used
by other people? We prefer to EFT
with our hands. which are absolutely
! our own."-New York Tribune.
CROWD AT GAINESVILLE.
Between forty and fifty citizens OF
Cloverport attended the Thursday
evening service at the Methodist