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130 DAYS IN THE SUN
soft or hard. Food is rather uniform in the various
classes of society, and it may at first disturb strangers
somewhat, on their first visit to the home of Lawyer
So and So, or Editor So and So, to find him lunching
on a mixture of chunks of bacon and vegetables, of
which he will amiably invite the visitor to partake.
No one ever thinks of issuing a formal invitation for
dinner or supper, since dining is not considered one of
the great enjoyments, and no one ever thinks of offer-
ing you anything between meals. Furthermore, very
little taste is displayed at such meals; to be perfectly
frank, the Spaniard eats like a pig. When you pay a
visit, you will sit opposite your host or hostess over a
carafe of water or a bottle of wine and sugar-bread.
Even in higher circles, which consider it their duty to
live in the French style, the question of arranging a
large number of courses is easily disposed of. First
they have soup, then the vegetables that were boiled
in the soup, then the pieces of meat and bacon whose
broth imparted strength to the soup. The fourth
course is usually a salad, cold water being drunk with
it, and the fifth course some fruit or goat-cheese.
There are fresh plates for each course and the re-
quirements of social decency are thus fully complied
with.
In our country it would be an offense to a plain man
to offer him water as a beverage—because it costs
nothing. But in this country, whenever the train stops
at a small station, you may often see the wine peddlers
out-distanced by the water peddlers, although their
wares are of exactly the same price—about a cent a
glass. For his world-famous wine the Andalusian has
only the words “quite drinkable,” but when he speaks
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