CHAPTER VIII.
THE PICKLED OLIVE.
The pickled olives appear in Europe on all tables as hors d'œuvres, or side dish, as an aperitive condiment; and the culinary art knows how to employ them in a thousand different ways.
In the United States they are found in the French, Italian and Spanish restaurants with a few exceptions, as also on the tables of the wealthy classes who, having traveled abroad, have learned and adopted this most pleasant habit. They are also found quite extensively in the best bar-rooms, where they are offered to consumers with the traditional cracker so as to predispose them to enjoy the drink they are going to imbibe.
They are a great resource for the poorer classes of the old countries, and in the southern regions of Europe they are still one of the principal elements of their sober alimentation. A piece of bread under his arm, a flask of wine and a pocket full of olives, such is the equipment for the noon meal that many laborers carry away
