establishments is sometimes reduced to produce an attractive dish. The
material sometimes would not bear a close examination--much less the
_cuisine_.

[Illustration: JARDIN DU PALAIS ROYAL.]

I was astonished to see the quantities of bread devoured by the
frequenters of the eating-houses, but I soon equaled my neighbors. Paris
bread is the best in the world, or at least, it is the most palatable I
ever tasted. It is made in rolls six feet long, and sometimes I have
seen it eight feet long. Before now, I have seen a couple dining near
the corner of a room, with their roll of bread thrown like a cane
against the wall, and as often as they wanted a fresh slice, the roll
was very coolly brought over and decapitated. The Frenchman eats little
meat, but enormously of the staff of life. The chocolate and coffee
which are to be had in the French _cafes_, are very delicious, and
though after a fair and long trial I never could like French cookery as
well as the English, yet I would not for a moment pretend that any cooks
in the world equal those of Paris in the art of imparting exquisite
flavor to a dish. It is quite common for the French to use brandy in
their coffee.

People who take apartments in Paris often prefer to have their meals
sent to their private rooms, and by a special bargain this is done by
any of the restaurants, but more especially by a class of houses called
_traiteurs_, whose chief business is to furnish cooked dishes to
families in their own homes. In going to a hotel in Paris, the stranger
never feels in the slightest degree bound to get his meals there. He
hires his room and that is all, and goes where he pleases. The _cafes_
are in the best portions of the town, magnificent places, often