Abhorrent Fad in Paris — Blood Drinking

1900

Parisians Now Have Taken to Drinking Blood

Paris has a new fad — blood drinking. In this country consumptives sometimes go to an abattoir and drink the warm blood of the slaughtered beeves, but in Paris blood drinking is a fashionable fad, and is done in fashionable cafes.

The jaded man about town, the nervous belle, who calls for a glass of this abhorrent drink, names it simply "beef juice." The method of its preparation, however, leaves no doubt in the mind of an ordinary observer as to the name it rightly owns. Every one is now allowed to see the process, which is simple, but ingenious. A block of raw, gory beef is put into a powerful hydraulic press, and jammed down until the last drop of moisture is extracted, leaving a hard white mass resembling a half-tanned leather and a glassful of scarlet blood. The latter is artfully flavored with cayenne and spices, darkened in color, and handed out to the consumer in the shop, who pays four or five francs for the drink, and goes away under the impression that he has swallowed the king of pick-me-ups.

Certainly the "beef juice cordial" is nourishing and stimulating, but it is doubtful whether it is really worth more as a food or fillip than the common and cheap beef tea.