Year: 1873

Mr.. Henry yVssterson's Opinion.


But I wander away from my text,
which was the living in Paris. Let
us return to our mutton, for it is, with
beef, about the best we shall get. The
two staples form the basis of every
thing. BY the aid Of truhies, mush-
rooms and olives they are tortured into
a thousand forms, and, to this extent,
one has no right to complain. He can
not complain OF good beef. He cannot
complain of good mutton. He is an
ass if he complains Of trufies, mush-
rooms and olives But, in the long run,
z man grows tired of cen those luxu-
ries, and begins to "hoan after some
thing plain and simple, after something
aas natUreI, such as bit Of stewed ter
rapin, or a crisp soft-shell crab, or a
canvas-back duck, or pompano, or a
plump, fresh partridge, or a young,
coatraband prairie hen, or even q
broiled chicken. He can get none of
these in Paris. Their game is nearly
always foul. If you get it pure and
sweet it is by chance. In cities Of such
magnitude as this the keeping of game is
a sort of necessity. This being the fact
the Paris caterers long ago got out the
notion that game is better the longer it
is kept-a rank and poisonous lie.


lam indebted to John Churchill for
the practical and conclusive lesson that
the sooner a bird or fish is cooked af-
ter it is taken, the better it is at table,
and I believe this applies to every
species of delicate animal foed. Nor is
this all Game is priced for its game
flavor, and whenever it is snaothered by
extraneous appliances it is spoiled. A
partridge, fat and tender, is as good as
mushroom. Trufies do not improve
woodcocks. The birds can afford to go
it on their own hook without any as
sistance whatever. So with such fish as
the pompano, the mountain trout, the
jack salmon and the shad. They are
able to stand alone. Over here they
don't stand at all. Their best shell-fsh
are the erawfsh and the snail, for the
lobster is indigenous everywhere, and is
not to be counted in the list. They
know nothing of the soft-shen crab, of
the terrapin, or of the oyster as cook
able Wand. Their turbot viii not COM
pare with our halibut, nor their sole
with our shad. The English white-bait
is simply a minnow, and only a trihe
better than the smelt In soups, which
is a thing of condiments, they do excel
us. As a general rule their service is
neater than ours. But you can give,
on a few hours notice, better dinner
at the st. Nicholas in Cincinnati, or at
Rulers in Louisville, wines included,
that you can give In Paris at the cafe
Anglais, or in London at the Burling-
ton. The American prices viii range
somewhat higher, certainly. But we
pay high duties on wine, and it is there
that figures viii chiefly tell in the bill.
Not very much difference will be found
as to the dishes.


A word or two about these prices and
I may as well bring this roundabout
essay to a close. To be sure there is
considerable art in ordering dinner,
involving both a knowledge of the
French language and knowledge. of
the particular restaurant where you are
dining. The American who under
stands neither may expect to pay thirty
per cent. more than other people, Who
do. Ignorance of every sort, and ali ever
the world, has TO be paid for. But at
the best, he who expects to dine like
swell must also expect to settle like
swell. I have heard of good, a first
class, cheap dinner in Paris. At the
Diner de Paris, where they charge you
six francs, a dollar and half in green
backs, the food is all messed and the
wine is sour. There is no thoroughly
good table oYsote at fixed price in
Paris. When you order a Ia carte you
viii have to take the Consequences, and
three or four dollars a head will secure
a square, well-served meal, not gorgeous
or elaborate, and that is all. 1t is
sheer nonsense to talk about chespness
in Paris. If one is to live like dog
let him stay at home. If he is to live
like q nabob he must fetch plenty of
money with him, and spend it freely.
There is not the least doubt of this,
and the old, contrary idea, founded on
by-gone prices, ought to be dissipated.
It is a sheer illusion. It is gone ~


Like tenants that quit without warning,


Down The back entry Of time.