GERMAN GLUTTONY.

Manawatu Standard, Volume XLIII, Issue 1516, 23 April 1919, Page 6

GERMAN GLUTTONY.

The modern Teuton is tho greatest trencher-man of all nations, and a glutton to boot (writes Henry de Halsalle in the Daily Mail, after quoting classical authority for a belief that the ancient .Germans had similar qualities) As he will himself remark, “ I must eat till it hurts.” ’.l hose facts wo should bear in mind when, from Central Europe, wo hear the wail that the German people* are “ starving.” Tins “ starving,” wo should also recollect, was a perpetual lament in Germany ttHcw months after tlie outbreak of war, and the Gormans have “ starved ” ever since, though no German newspaper appears to have recorded one solitary death from actual starvation. Eating in Germany, besides being a pleasurable necessity, would seem also to bo a pastime; hence the continual “snacks eaten between meals by both sexes. At any place of amusement, by day or night, you could witness this ceaseless munching of sandwiches and cakes. Even at tho Berlin Opera tlie German—expensively dressed •Frau and Fraulcin—will nibble something or other in the way of comestibles. Oranges used often to be in evidence in tho sfalls. “ Quantity, not quality,” is the motto of the Teuton as regards food. If his appetite fail him to the extent of his not being able to help himself twice from every dish, ho has dire misgivings as to the state of his health. A good story was told by a resident Englishman in Berlin who had occasion to engage a charwoman. Said she, “I shall come at 6 in the morning, and as that will be very early I shall feel hungry. So you must let me have coffee, ham, and bread and butter directly I arrive. At half-past 8 I shall want some more ham and a glass of beori' At half-past 10 it will do if you give mo some bread and dripping and some coffee. My dinner-time is 1 o’clock, and I shall want some Soup, and meat and vegetables, with beer and coffee.’’ At 4 o’clock I don’t think I shall need more than soma coffee, or tea, and bread and butter and a sausage sandwich might be enough for mo at 6. But at 8, you know, I shall expect a good supper. As for payment, my charge will bo 2s 6d.”

“ And if I should ask you to keep on eating all day,” rejoined the Englishman, “ how much would you charge then ?.” Ho might have further enquired if the lady would also have liked to eat all night —in accordance with the practice of so many Berliners, whoso unflagging voracity is suggestive of disease.