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Show .'J ' "" JI""S!Saiag '"' "' '' !"!" ' I Charm of Berlin Society y (Special Correspondence.) "Tho Horr Doctor is at dinner, but ho will wish to sco you," said tllb servant ser-vant who answered tho door-boll at a hnndsomo Berlin dwolllng, whoro, with a compatriot, I called ono ovenlng. Wo woro shown into tho recoption room, and In a moment our frlond appeared his namo would bo recognized tho world over as ono very eminent In sclonco. "Como right out into tho dining room!" he said cordially; "wo aro nearly through dinner but why did you not como earlier?" Places woro mado for us at tho ta-bio ta-bio and wo wero welcomed by tho Frau Doctorln with a heartiness as genuine as that of her husband. "At any rato you must Join us In a cup of coffoo," Bho said. "But first do try a bit of this Bweot." And sho handod us a Baucor of something that looked very tempting. Indeed, It was delicious; de-licious; chestnuts, boiled and grated, .nixed with whipped cream. Wo attomptod to apologize for tho Intrusion upon tholr dinner hour, but wero at onco checked. "There Is no occasion for apology; you would bo supremely sagacious If you woro ablo to keep run of tho dlnnor hours of all your Berlin frlonds and regulato your calls accordingly. Wo never attempt It oursolvcs; wo aro likely to find our friends dining at any hour from 2 in tho aftornoon to 9 In tho ovenlng. Thoro Is no such thing as a conventional conven-tional dinner hour In Berlin society." That was really tho case. Few peo-plo peo-plo aro moro unconventional than tho Germans; they simply consult family or Individual convonlenco In tholr social so-cial arrangements. They do not allow Mrs. Grundy to lay down arbitrary rules to which everybody must conform con-form or fall from grace. Business affairs af-fairs may mako an early dinner hour, for instance, convenient for ono family fam-ily and a lato ono convenient for another. Public cntortatnmonts begin very early, as a rule; usually at 7 o'clock, and sometimes at 6:30. Among tho leisurely classes tho dinner hour Is likely to bo arranged with referonce to that circumstance. In somo families the hour for dining is elastic, according to tho program for tho clay; today It may bo at 4, on account ac-count ot engagements for tho evening; even-ing; to-morrow dinner may bo served at 7 o'clock. Thcro Is, of courso, much social olo-ganco olo-ganco in a great capital like Berlin, not only In tho court circles, but among thq wealthy and intellectual classes. Thcro Is far less formality, however, than in England or Franco, or In nny of tho eastern cities in tho United States. Full dress Is tho rule for all ceremonial occasions, ovon If It takes placo In tho morning, and It is oxpected at formal dinners. But it Is rarely In evidence nt public entertainments. entertain-ments. Ab to tho proprieties of dress for concorts, tho opera and tho theater, tho German idea is that people go for tho sako of enjoying tho music or tho play, and not for tho sako of tiTsplay-Ing tiTsplay-Ing tholr toilettes and looking each othor over. Honco full dress is held to bo out of keeping with tho spirit t tho occasion. At tho Royal Opera ono ovenlng wo attended a particularly particular-ly attractive performance. Tho house was crowded with a brilliant audlonco that represented the flower of Borlln society. But I did not see as many as six gentlemen In full dross. Quito likely ovon they had not drossed cs-ikclally cs-ikclally for tho occasion, but had come from somo moro formal gathering. Among tho upper classes iu Berlin tho food and tho stylo of table sorvlne are so much Uko what wo are accii3- i i. i tomod to at homo In corrospontKng circles that In most things ono notes but llttlo difference. Oystors aro not common on German tablos; tho European Euro-pean oyster has a coppory tasto and is oxtromcly repugnant to tho averago American. Tho most distinctive feature feat-ure is tho Gorman luncheon, which usually consists of cold dlshos. In the "cold buffet," as It Is called, tho Gorman Gor-man cooks aro hardly oqualod else where. These cold dishes aro ro-markablo ro-markablo for variety, delicacy and flavor. fla-vor. There are, to bo Biire, certain things that a foreigner often finds It hardly possible to arrive at familiar oatlng terms with, such as somo of the many kinds of sausages cut into thin slices and arranged so nicely on various vari-ous plates. Somo sorts of cheeso may also provo too peculiar though the highly offensive varieties, like Hm-burger, Hm-burger, aro really no more common than aro equally pungent grades upon English, French and Italian tables. Delicious salads are almost Innumerable Innum-erable in their variety. In somo of these salads various sorts of pickled fish, Uko herring and anchovies, give tho distinctive character. Rhino wine is tho drink that consorts on most favored terms with these cold dishes. At dinner the fish is customarily sorved in boiUfrbrnn Trout aro sorv-cd sorv-cd curled up with tall in mouth. Potatoes Po-tatoes aro Email ns a rule rarely larger larg-er than walnuts; largo potatoes aro ro-garcd ro-garcd as too coarso In flavor. Thoso llttlo German potatoes aro delicately baked; a slight squcczo between tho fingers transfers tho mealy contents to tho plato. The best potatoes In tho American markets aro said to como from Germany, and largo quantities aro annually Imported. Ices nro far leas abundant at a German Ger-man dlnnor than with us. In tho autumn au-tumn a fcaturo of Uio dessert is tho fresh watnnts. Thoy aro esteemed a great deltcacy, and nro eaten with salt, after carefully removing tho skin i BBBBBBBBBW BBBBBBBBBBBBBBT -JbbbbbbbbbbbbbbbbbbbbbbVSbbbbbbbbbbbbbbbY -MiaBB0Saf'PSHBBsMPjJK9PwKirS 9a3flsalKMM1BFM-a4SBBBBBBBBBBBBBBH MPptI11' 1 1 ii '' mPmi m lv5tivVJi'5nfM' ar& tajHatBBBDBBBBBaSaiaV -"' hi JiVBBBfV 1 THfcaJssSvaif,iX, rT-ullC'Kv-Wt'aU MKflfl&JlBBBBaBBBBBBBBBBBH HaEjkU LM92aWBaBBBBBBBMasBBBBBBaBBBBlKlBUi 2SBsi!MBBBKaBBBa'MBlaBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBn inil in JSttJa.im fc.-AMjL . . T?"-r a11"1 "i i i BMBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBW BBBBM tvi xJ.v aBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBY!BBBBBZaBBBBBBBBBBBBBB3BBHMBn:jBBBWB t - .. . i . i ij . tV' aBBBBBBBBBBBf BBBJBBBBBBBBBJLSSJIIhiIHb Statue of Frederick the Great. from tho kernels with tho edges of tho nut pick. This skin, when fresh, Is astringont and very bitter. Tho process pro-cess takes tlmo, and correspondingly prolongs tho stay nt table, with Its opportunities op-portunities for conversation. Ono appreciates ap-preciates the monnlng of tho saying, "lingering over tho walnuts and wlno." As elsowhero on tho continent, the Gorman breakfast Is light simply a cup ot coffee and a roll or two. Tho coffoo Is almost Invariably good, particularly par-ticularly at the cafos, where It Is sorv- 04 with whipped cream In a fashion dorlved from Vienna. A bovorago in favor at tho cafes is "chocolato-cafo," a mixture of chocolato and coffeo, that blonds tho quality a of tho two. In Berlin, ns In mast largo cities, tho fnvorlto rcsldcnco section Ib at tho west ond, hero known ns tho Frlod-rfclistadt. Frlod-rfclistadt. In tho neighborhood of tho beautiful great park, tho Thlorgartcn, aro many hnndsomo villas. As a rulo, however, people llvo In Hats, oven In th6 upper classes. But It is not a cramped sort of dwelling; tho nroa is so groat that upon a single floor there Is usually as much room as Is a capacious capa-cious city houso In Now York, Boston or Philadelphia. Tho houso entrances aro usually In tho center of tho block. Tho halls aro bbbbbI aVat)IiagBPrMpaS BBBBBaaHfLaBBsPMMBHHH Koenlg's Platz, Berlin. spaciouB and dlgnlflod, with columns and arches, and broad, easy stairs. So, with tho first glimpse of tho Interior the Impression is agreeable. Tho exteriors ex-teriors of theso first-class Berlin dwellings dwel-lings aro usually very handsorao; the proportions nro oxcellont, and thoy are frequently cnrlchod with elaborate carvings and sculpture. Somo houses may havo an elaborato frlozo In rich relief, Illustrating somo event In Ger-mnn Ger-mnn history, and others may havo sur-faco sur-faco decorations In sgraffito, or In colored col-ored mosaic. |