The News-Herald. [volume] (Hillsboro, Highland Co., Ohio) 1886-1973, 1914-08-13
ATE and WAS SAD
Yet 1t Was Dish For Which He
Had Yearned For Years.
A TRAGEDY IN GASTRONOMY.

and as Served In a Famous Mar
settles Resort Proved Very Different
Propositions to an English Epicure.
We all know that famous poem of
Thackeray's which begins,
A street there is in Paris famous
For which no rime our language yields.
and goes on to tell Of the tavern where
the genial Titmarsh in the days when
he was a Paris correspondent late and
drank the bouillabaisse"
AS result of that delightful poem
tens of thousands of Englishmen have
yearned to eat bouillabaisse. Thacke-
ray puts it SO beautifully! The steam
ing dish Of stewed fish that he con-
jures up In his lines-how appetiZing 1t
seems! | know that II was quite early
in my teens when j first read that
poem. and from that moment there
was formed in my mind a firm resolve
to eat some day Of bouillabaisse.
My opportunity came not long ago
when I visited Marseilles. 1t was
nearly half past 8 when | sat down In
the dining room of the hotel
There is no bouillabaisse on the
MENU" said severely to the maitre
d'hotel. II have come to Marseilles
specially to eat it." He replied that It
was not a speciality of the house, but
that it could always be prepared. How
long would it take? Twenty-Five min
utes. perhaps little longer. But 1
think monsieur would find ii rather
heavy at such a late hour"
He was not encouraging, this maitre
d'hotel. | did not accept for a moment
his suggestion that bOuillabaisse was
too heavy dish for half past 8 at
night. Thackeray had not talked about
heaviness. But twenty-five minutes!
l ordered an omelet
At midnight, walking down the IA
nous Cannebiere. back to the hotel, 1
was hailed by familiar voice 1t was
that of friend whom | had not seen
for long time. Gratefully | grasped
his hand and told him that intended
to eat bouillabaisse as soon as possible.
And my respect for him was consider
ably enhanced when he told me that he
had eaten some that very afternoon,
an hour after his arrival in Mar
seilles. Here was the true spirit, and
l related to him, with some bitterness,
my experience with the maitre d'hotel.
well, 1t is rather heavy stuff" he
said But brushed this aside, and we
arranged to meet at lunch on the NOR
row. when | should have the best that
Marseilles could give me.
There are, as every body knows, two
places at Marseilles for bouillabaisse-
Pasca's and Basso's. on the Vfeux
Port. We decided on Basso's.
"Bouillabaisse," | said laconically.
paid no attention to what my friend
ordered. No other dish interested me.
But in minute or so a curious look
ing mess was set down before him.
whats that stuff you're going to
eatT I asked.
That's bouillabaisse," he said. but
it's not NINE"
started. This bouillabaisse this Gu
riOus looking stuff with indigestible
looking Jumps of fish floating in a bill
ious and oily saffron liquid! | know
not what ! had expected bouillabaisse
to be, but it certainly was not this.
There was piece of fish which rec
ognized as eel, and ioathe eels. The
broad tail of another and unknown
fish stuck up out of the Opaque liquid.
But it was the yellow liquid itself
which repelled. 1t shouted biliOusness,
and the smell of saffron that arose with
the steam made me feel ILL., Oh. Thack-
cray!
pecked at the eel-or it may have
been amprey-explored the various
other fish, tasted gingerly of the thick
saffron liquid on one of the pieces of
TOAST that 1oated in it. But mine was
no palate for bouillabaisse. made
the waiter take the mess away and
bring lamb outlets.
But had tasted Of bouillabaisse and
was not to forget 1t. All day long the
terrible taste of saffron remained with
me- Nothing would shift it; not Mar
seilles tea. nor many golden books. nor
dinner In fact, the bouillabaisse of
lunch spoiled the dinner. And at mid
night. in a cafe on the Cannebiere, my
friend confided a secret to me. When
we fell in with each other just twenty
four hours ago." he said, 81 was suf-
fering just as you are now. The hor-
ribe taste of saffron had remained OBJ
stinately with me ever since lunch and
has not quite gone even yet But you
told me you had come to Marseilles to
eat bouillabaisse. and ! knew nothing
could say would dissuade you. But
no doubt the bitterness Of this moment
will fade away. and as time passes you
will tell your friends in England how
excellent is the real bouillabaisse If
only you have 1t in MarseiIles."
Never. | would die 6rst" ex-
claimed tirmly. London Standard.
Africa's Pygmy Anteiopes.
The pygmy antelope OF the Gold
Coast Of Africa is the smallest OF cud
chewing animals. II stands about ten
inches high AT the wifhers that Is.
about as high aS fox terrier. The
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