WHAT PARIS EATS AND DRINKS.

Grey River Argus, Volume IX, Issue 632, 5 February 1870, Page 4

WHAT PARIS EATS AND DRINKS.

The people of Paris, although many of tjhem are obliged to live in an exceedingly frugal manner, in the aggregate eat a great deal. They consume annually about 70 million pounds of meajk, two million of worth of se^ fis^, five million dpl-latfa'-^br^fli of pohiltry and g^mVien niii- ' lion eggs, and an incalculable quantity of 1 vegetables and snails. Yea, snails. J. those 1 slimjrmolluscsi which thrive in damp, gar^i dens and vineyards, and love the mould and mosa which galther on stone walla and M Tounddead men*s graves." These may be seen in the windows ci the cheaper eating-houses in Paris, where, they are ex- ! ppsed-as * tempting bak, and they may also' be procured at sonte of the first-class restaurants. The man who first dared to eat an oyster was, no doubt, a hero deserving immortality ; but what extraordinary courage he must have had who made the. 'first'' essay upcaithesp slipperygaaterppbds, no^so muoli esteftmed in thecuiane, of the "most refined natiou of the... world !" Who he was, or where he made j the heroic " gulp," ;whickgave a newsensatfon to his palate, we shall probably never know, for snail-eating dates from a remote period. Pliny, indeed, mentions one Fulvus Hispinus, who cultivated the snail, as well as a taste for him, : and who constructed a grand snailery, in ? which'h© 'fattened -hi^. pete ».with >bo»led parley, and served them wine to drink spiced with aromatic herbs. In che time of Pliny, snails, imported from abroad, were a popular article of food int^>mej those coming from Sicily, the Balearic Isles, and Oapri being esteemed as highly as in these degenerate days are " Ohicaroras," "Blue Points/ "Princess ßays," , wad. " Eas.t.Jlivers.", Puring many, centuries the fattening of snails 1 for the taole has been a profitable business on the Con . tinent, the monasteries and convents having almost the entire monopoly' of this co'mmerbe. Addisbii has" related his visit to the snailery of the. Oapu.ehin convents : ofLTJlm'aiid- Fribpurgj where the delicate creatures were kept in shady court-yardß, an4 furnished with mossy stonesto lounge upon, and favorite plants on which to feed, while above the walls and around them a net was spread to prevent the; lively animals from too freely indulging their vagabond propensities and straying away from home. The snails ciftisumed in France come mostly from the. ancient Provinces of Burgundy, Champagne, and-ihe Frfinclie Cotapte, where they are gathered from )Ehe grape vines^ of the leaves of which they are particularly fond. The original producers sell them in the Paris market for about 12 sous a hundred, and the market men retail them at from one to two francs, according to size. After boiling in. the shell, which is then stopped up with a batter made of butter, eggs, herbs, and pepper, the animal is drawn out and eaten, batter •and^ajl. I tried, a doztjn one day. JAb"stractly speaking they are riot bad, but upon my uncultivated taste a flavor in- . trsided itself which'seeiriedi across between that of a clam and a cockroach. The people of Paris, numbering 1,700,000, consume annually about forty-four millions of gallons of wine of all descriptions; of alcohol and alcoholic liquors, about one million seven hundred and, sixty ; tnousajpd galjoijs/j of cider, four hrtndrea apdfoiity h thPifsiwid gallons ;'ahd r ofbeef; six million Bix^hundrecl and sixty .thousand gallons ; which ia nearly twenty-eight gallons^ "of wine, beer, and spirits combined, annuallyconaumed by each man, woman, and child Avithin the city limits. The consumption: of strong liquors has been gradually increasing for some years past, while that of win© has^ met wjth a proportionate diminution, and drunkerinesa, with its attendant evils, follows in the trnbft. It is a great mistake to suppose that there ~is~"no intoxication in the wine growing countries pf Europe ; although my observations .correspond, with those of other travellers who state that, as a rule, the abuse of liquors is confined almost entirely ■to-the* cities and. larger towns. Ceitrin it is'that Paris:is by no meana. exempt ! frbm .th"is" vice, which, however, does not exhibit its evil effects in^ aiiytTiing like the; .glariiig colors- that it does ia ijpndpn ' and^ tlie American cities. As a' rule, also, drunkenness" is confined to the lower : classes ; of ithe petipleV A' sbl^jier' will drink as lbrig as fiirjtbility'tb pay, or the good-nature of the keeper of tjie cabaret, last¥ ;;vand one may often see the repre; sentatiye of the brave army of France creeling; through the streets of Paris. The chiffonniers, or nig-piokers, seem to con* Bider it si 'religious duty to got. drunk daily : and workmen who make the half holidays on Sunday and Monday after^ noon, often go drunk to bed on both these occ|sipris.: ' S^lIJ, i^ith fiif a^oWo^ "ment" of^ tlie""existence of rriebriety in f Paris to a amsiderable extent, it is safo to say that onewiU.no^^ men in the s"^©^''^^^^^^^''^'^^^!!!" in a day in London, , or a >jre»ek in New "York. '.']..: ■::.Z-''Z^.. \'~. ...'.' , : ."