The record. [volume] (St. Maries, Idaho) 1913-1918, 1913-12-26
A CULINARY TREAT
Served In a Little Cake Shop In
a Little French Town.
THE COST WAS LITTLE ALSO.

Surprises Came Thick and Fast In the
Way Of Meals. but the Greatest Sur
prise Of All Came After the Castro
nomie Conquest Was Ended.
They were talking about dainty dia-
ners when the man who goes abroad
said. THE best meal ever got was
in the back parlor of small shop IN
one horse town. and il cost me 80
cents"
Urged to tell his story, he continued.
1t was in a small provincial French
town-Blois. A friend of mine called
Boddsh enticed me there by looking
me up in Paris and throwing dt
about the delights of the town
1T has a castle. he told me. and
moat and ramparts and a little cake
shop run by charming old woman
Enough said /. me for Blois.
I'VE went there and we castled
and we moated and we mmpartpd
and then we blew into the little shop
to cake The proprieuess. very
pleasant old woman indeed intro
duced us to her son. who was mod
estly hiding behind his mustache in
corner
I'VE got into conversation with him
that is. Bodfsh and plunged into
French and he diving in heroically
after us. was pulled under IN oW
drowning struggles. The upshot of g.
all was that we agreed to hire room
in his mothers house for the night
we meant to stay just one night ln
Blois
'And-er-dinnery asked Bodnsh
"'If the messieurs will permit I will
do myself the honor Of cooking them
a dinner. said the cake lady's son
bowling most courteously
"Thereupon Bodfish and went
buthely to an attic 5lS years old at q
conservative estimate. washed the cas-.
tie and the moat and the ramnarts
from our hands and faces and descend.
ed to the dining room. small apart.
ment in the rear Of madame's cake
shop.
"Our landlady's son was there ready
for us. SO was soup
"That was. by actual count. the
grandest soup ever produced by I'M
man being have Travelled all over
the world. tasting the best every coun
try has to offer in the way OF soup. but
at the first taste Of that Blois sample
all my memories OF other soups hud
died together in a dark corner OF my
mind and froze to death.
II looked at Bodhsh. He was nos
lively half witted with delight Tie
looked as II he wanted to spend the rest
Of his life as high priest ia a temple
devoted to the worship-and manufac-
ture-of that soup
+. More. messieursT
Between us we razed that soup TO
the ground
'Entree. messieursr
Don't ask me what TINT entree was
Bodfsh ate it with his eyes shut and
, his head bowed reverently
"Bodfish and ! stayed IN BlOis Tor
twenty-nine meals Don't ask me how
many days that makes; we knew only
two sorts Of times-meals and between
] "A
see much more than our plates. be-
cause after each meal IN the back par
lor Of that celestial cake shop we were
, so chock full that we hihernatpd IKE
snakes. lay SPRAYING on touches Nh
able to bulge. blinking sleepily. grunt
ing grunts Of Flysian contenbnent
Time and again we would ask that
Frenchman how he had come by DIS
culinary skill. but I'm vain. Tie would
merely smile and give us another help
ing You may get some idea Of wha'
sort Of meals that cuss gave MS whei
I tell you that Bodfsh summed up hi.
ability I'm these words:
"'At times he seems To lose his Gull
/, nary grip and descends to mere per
lection
after the twenty-ninth meal Bod
fish and ] remembered that we be-
longed somewhere. had a number O
relatives. were engaged in business
had FESTIVE careers to coax along s
we called our cook. announced that ~
were leaving and wanted to kno'
y how much we owed.
"'Six francs for each day. ines
o sieurs. said he One for tie roor
9 one for breakfast. one and a half 70
lunch. two and a half for dinner
"Bodfsh and fell heavily agains
each other Then we paid and starte
for the door
Is await said our host 1. too. trav'
away today.
whittier are you boundT we aske'
Ito St. Petersburg he replied.
= came away but to see 10y old moth'
in the cake shop / had not seen d,
for Eve years / must thank you. me-
" sieurs. for giving me this chance {
keeping up my art Had you not dor
so. fear that. after getting back
St Petersburg. my art would surel
have suffered
'Whuh-whuh-what are you In S
Petersburgg we inquired huskily.
. "'Chef' he said. bowling, TO his ma
~ y. esty the czarr New York Times.