The Ashburton Guardian. Magna est Veritas et Prævalebit. MONDAY, DECEMBER 5, 1889. A DINNER EXTRAORDINARY.

Ashburton Guardian, Volume VII, Issue 2297, 9 December 1889, Page 2

The Ashburton Guardian. Magna est Veritas et Prævalebit. MONDAY, DECEMBER 5, 1889. A DINNER EXTRAORDINARY.

Somebody has said (Sydney Smith or somebody else) that if London were destroyed by an earthquake the survivors would assemble among the ruins and celebrate the event by a dinner, which is only an exaggerated way of stating the undeniable fact that to the average Englishman a good dinner represents the summum lonum of mundane enjoyment. We open a new building, wo launch a ship, we hold an exhibition, an agricultural show, or a convention and a dinner is almost invariably the beginning or end of the business, and while we are about it we generally manage to dine well too. But far and away the biggest thing, m the way of a dinner which has ever taken place m modern timeß, nay, it is said, ever recorded since the world began, took place m tha Palais de I' lndustrie Paris on the 18th of August last, the whole of the ground floor of the vast building being crowded with tables, to which no less than thirteen thousand guests sat down, all, with the exception of the President of the Republic and his Ministers and a few other high officials, being Mayors of communes or municipalities. We raad that " the dinner wob the talk of Paris even the day before it took place. Prices went skyward m the neighborhood of the Palais de l'lndustrie, the invariable explanation being that it was all owing to the mayors' banquet. Every available concierge m the quarter who knew something about waiting at table had been pressed into the service. Most of the fish was cooked the night before, and from an early hour m the morning the matins d'hotel were bußily engaged m carving the viands, and preparing the enormous salads. 80,000 plates had to be provided with 52,000 glasses of divers shapes and sizes, and knives, forks, and spoons m proportion ; and that 75 cooks were recruited for the meal, with an additional personnel of 1300 waiters, scullions, cellarinen and helps of all degrees. Twenty-seven thousand bottles of wine had been provided for the feast, cot to speak of mineral and other waters, while soup, fish, meat, and poultry had been accumulated by the hogshead and the ton for this 'army corps' of guests. Thirty thousand rolls constituted another feature of the com* misßariat* The setting of the table began the day before. Everything was done methodically, the mayors, with few exceptions being seated according to their respective departments, some of which had sent 300, 400, and even 500 men, some barely a score. One mayor represented a commune containing only 18 inhabitants." The procession of guests on their way to this wonderful banquet is described as having been the event of the day and the month m Paris. Early m the afternoon hardly a chair was to be had m the Champs Elygees, through which the procession was to pass, and when the hour drew near at which the head of the procession was to approach the Palais de Plndustrie it was hardly possible to obtain standing room. The vast concourse held valiantly every place m the Champs Elysees, m the Place de la Concorde, m the Tuileries Garden, and ail along the Rue de Hivoli. The people from the country had mustered strongly. All the hearty old peasants, with their bronzed visages, and their helpmates, with their laces looking hardly less tanned under their neat little white caps, had made it a point of honor to attend. They were all anxious if possible, to spot 'our mayor' m the line. The Algerian mayors attracted much notice. Several of the Oran mayors wore the fez, while one — a stalwart Arab — stalked proudly along m a white turban and a long light robe to match. Some of the mayors were m evening dress, but the majority wore frock coats, with their tricolor sashes round their waists. One from the neighborhood of the Alps was m a green costume. Many walked bareheaded between the files of cavalry of the Republican Guard, which lined the route, while others moved along m every variety of headgear. All appeared m the best of humors, and acknowledged smilingly the salutations of the crowd. The Breton mayors, many of whom wore the picturesque old costumes, shared m the applause." It took an hour an a half from the time that the head of the procession entered the dining hall till the last of the guests had entered, after which the dinner, which began at 7, was served with such admirable quickness that the toasts wero able to begin m less than two hours from the opening of the feast, or about 9 o'clock. Of course there was speechmaking after the big dinner. The ' Marseillaise' announced the President, •nd the enthusiasm Revoked by his rising was very great, President Carnot speaking with great spirit, and, m concluding, proposing a toast to i( the Republic, one and indivisible, to liberty, and the grandeur of France," Alltogether this phenomenal banquet appears to have been an immense succosb, and showed conclusively that, whatever else we may be able to teach them, the French people do not need to come to England to loam how to dine.