Long after the voices had finished, the rolling
notes of an organ continued the loud outburst.
"As we sat down, the conversation was again resumed and I noted then the
singular clearness and suavity of this Martian language. I must hasten
my narrative. I have so much to tell you. We ate the great cereal of
Mars--the Rint--a delicious food, in which, as it seemed to me, the
substance of a sort of rice was mingled with a creamy exudation in all
of which was enclosed the flavor of the orange and the peach. This, with
a fruit, a kind of milk, and many wines, forms the nourishment of the
Martians. The fruits are most various, and every hidden or patent fancy
of the gourmet seems elicited or satisfied in them. I cannot now
describe them even if I recalled them. One commended itself to my taste
strongly, a sort of nodular banana, holding a fragrant nucleus, like a
large strawberry immersed in a savory juice, and coated with a rind
stripped from it by the hand. It is of most stimulating qualities. It is
called Ana.
"Few implements are in use; the Rint is taken in short spoons and the
fruit is usually manipulated with the fingers. The milk and wine are
drunk from the most ingeniously devised and ornamented glasses, napkins
of the Tofa weed are used, a pale green cloth, and large bowls of
acidified water in which floats a morsel of soap are served at the end
of meals. Great variety prevails, and individual fancy, taste, desire,
or invention sway as with you on earth.
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