And whence that difference? Whence but from himself?

For see the universal Race endowed
With the same upright form. The sun is fixed

And the infinitemagnificence of heaven
Fixed, within reach of every human eye;

The sleepless ocean murmurs for all years;
The vernal field infuses fresh delight

Into all hearts. Throughout the world of sense,
Even as an object is sublime or fair,

That object is laid open to the view
Without reserve or veil; and as a power

Is salutary, or an influence sweet,
Are each and all enabled to perceive

That power, that influence, by impartial law,
Gifts nobler are vouchsafed alike to all;

Reason, and, with that reason, smiles and tears;
Imagination, freedom in the will;

Conscience to guide and check; and death to be
Foretasted, immortality conceived

By all -- a blissful immortality,
To them whose holiness on earth shall make

The Spirit capable of heaven, assured.
..............................The smoke ascends

To Heaven as lightly from the cottage hearth
As from the haughtiest palace. He whose soul

Ponders this true equality, may walk
The fields of earth with gratitude and hope;

Yet, in that meditation, will he find
Motive to sadder grief, as we have found;

Lamenting ancient virtues overthrown,
And for the injustice grieving, that hath made

So wide a difference between man and man."
Chapter 13. Dinners, Banquets, Etc.

Dinner, as we all know, indicates a certain hour and a certain habit
whose aim is the nourishment of the body, and a deliverance from hunger;

but in our modern civilized life it possesses other purposes also.
Man is a gregarious animal, and when he takes his food he likes company;

from this peculiarity there has sprung up the custom of dinner parties.
In attending dinner parties, however, the guests as a rule do not

seek sustenance, they only go to them when they have nothing else to do,
and many scarcely touch the food that is laid before them.

Their object is to do honor to the host and hostess, not to eat,
but to be entertained by pleasant and congenial conversation.

Nevertheless, the host, at whose invitation the company has assembled,
is expected to provide a great abundance and a large variety of savory dishes,

as well as a good supply of choice wines. Flesh and wine are indispensable,
even though the entertainers eschew both in their private life,

and most of the guests daily consume too much of each.
Few have the courage to part with conventional practices

when arranging a social function.
American chefs are excellent caterers, and well know how to please

the tastes of the American people. They concentrate on the art
of providing dainty dishes, and human ingenuity is heavily taxed by them

in their efforts to invent new gustatory delicacies.
The dishes which they place before each guest are so numerous that even

a gourmand must leave some untouched. At a fashionable dinner no one
can possibly taste, much less eat, everything that is placed before him,

yet the food is all so nicely cooked and served in so appetizing a manner,
that it is difficult to resist the temptation at least to sample it;

when you have done this, however, you will continue eating
until all has been finished, but your stomach will probably be a sad sufferer,

groaning grievously on the following day on account of the frolic
of your palate. This ill-mated pair, although both are chiefly interested

in food, seldom seem to agree. I must not omit to mention however
that the number of courses served at an American millionaire's dinner

is after all less numerous than those furnished at a Chinese feast.
When a Chinese gentleman asks his friends to dine with him

the menu may include anywhere from thirty to fifty or a hundred courses;
but many of the dishes are only intended for show. The guests are

not expected to eat everything on the table, or even to taste every delicacy,
unless, indeed, they specially desire to do so. Again,

we don't eat so heartily as do the Americans, but content ourselves
with one or two mouthfuls from each set of dishes,

and allow appreciable intervals to elapse between courses,
during which we make merry, smoke, and otherwise enjoy the company.

This is a distinctadvantage in favor of China.
In Europe and America, dessert forms the last course at dinner;

in China this is served first. I do not know which is the better way.
Chinese are ever ready to accept the best from every quarter,

and so many of us have recently adopted the Western practice
regarding dessert, while still retaining the ancient Chinese custom,

so that now we eat sweetmeats and fruit at the beginning, during dinner,
and at the end. This happy combination of Eastern and Western practices is,

I submit, worthy of expansion and extension. If it were to become universal
it would help to discourage the present unwholesome habit,

for it is nothing more than a habit, of devouring flesh.
One of the dishes indispensable at a fashionable American dinner

is the terrapin. Those who eat these things say that their flesh
has a most agreeable and delicateflavor, and that their gelatinous

skinny necks and fins are delicious, but apparently the most palatable tidbits
pall the taste in time, for it is said that about forty years ago

terrapins were so abundant and cheap that workmen in their agreement
with their employers stipulated that terrapin should not be supplied

at their dinner table more than three times a week. Since then terrapins
have become so rare that no stylish dinner ever takes place without this dish.

Oysters are another Western sine qua non, and are always served raw.
I wonder how many ladies and gentlemen who swallow these mollusca

with such evidentrelish know that they are veritable scavengers,
which pick up and swallow every dirty thing in the water.

A friend of mine after taking a few of them on one occasion,
had to leave the table and go home; he was ill afterward for several days.

One cannot be too careful as to what one eats. The United States
has a Pure Food Department, but I think it might learn a great deal

that it does not know if it were to send a commission to China
to study life in the Buddhist monasteries, where only sanitary, healthful food

is consumed. It is always a surprise to me that people are so indifferent
to the kind of food they take. Public health officers are useful officials,

but when we have become more civilized each individual
will be his own health officer.

Some of the well-known Chinese dishes are very relishable
and should not be overlooked by chefs and dinner hostesses.

I refer to the sharks' fins, and birds' nest -- the Eastern counterpart
of the Western piece de resistance -- the terrapin.

From a hygienic point of view sharks' fins may not be considered
as very desirable, seeing they are part of the shark,

but they are certainly not worse, and are perhaps better,
than what is called the "high and tender" pheasant,

and other flesh foods which are constantly found on Western dining tables,
and which are so readily eaten by connoisseurs. Birds' nest soup

is far superior to turtle soup, and I have the opinion
of an American chemist who analyzed it, that it is innocuous

and minus the injurious uric acid generated by animal flesh,
the cause of rheumatic and similar painful complaints.

The "chop suey" supplied in the Chinese restaurants in New York, Chicago,
and other places, seems to be a favorite dish with the American public.

It shows the similarity of our tastes, and encourages me to expect
that some of my recommendations will be accepted.

Will some one inform me why so many varieties of wines are always served
on American tables, and why the sparkling champagne is never avoidable?

Wealthy families will spare neither pains nor expense
to spread most sumptuous dinners, and it has been reported

that the cost of an entertainment given by one rich lady
amounted to twenty thousand pounds sterling, although, as I have said,

eating is the last thing for which the guests assemble.
I do not suppose that many will agree with me, but in my opinion

it would be much more agreeable, and improve the general conversation,
if all drinks of an intoxicating nature were abolished from the dining table.

It is gratifying to know that there are some families (may the number increase
every day!) where intoxicating liquors are never seen on their tables.

The first instance of this sort that came under my notice was in the home
of that excellent woman, Mrs. M. F. Henderson, who is an ardent advocate

of diet reform and teetotalism. Mr. William Jennings Bryan,
the Secretary of State, has set a noble example, as from newspaper reports

it appears that he gave a farewell dinner to Ambassador Bryce,
without champagne or other alcoholic" target="_blank" title="a.酒精的">alcoholic drinks. He has a loyal supporter

in Shanghai, in the person of the American Consul-General, Dr. A. P. Wilder,
who, to the great regret of everybody who knows him in this port,