Public ledger. [volume] (Memphis, Tenn.) 1865-1893, 1875-01-26

by some families, rs slid in most unex-
pectedly, and it has come SO rapidly and
so abruptly that | have occasionally
missed it entirely, hearing only the
word about" preceded and followed by
a subdued whistling-there being no
abatement in the work Of the table at
the time, tended to make the impression
the less, distinct. The giving Of thanks,
where it is the custom, at the end Of the
meal, has frequently cut of a mouthful
OF food, so swift and un DESTINATIONS has
been its coming; and che conversation
and happy laughter flowed along with
scarcely a break in its current, and
those who were to finish did so, and
everybody felt contented and looked ed
fled.
Tins Is quite in contrast to our New
England fashion Of doing ,srace. | have
sat under a grace which fr oze the gravy,
irretrleyably damaged the mutton. ana
im1ued the greater part of the guests
with the gloomiest forebodings; in which
the African and the South Sea Islander
were looked after and secured beyond
harm; and all political crlbals were Ia
ken under the fifth rib, completely
d~umD-founded, and their evil machina-
tons scattered to the four winds of heav.
en-. 1t was a fine performance and a
good thing for humanity at large, hut it
made the dinner look sick.
NOT OBSERVATIONS.
The English are as unostentatiouss in
their names as in other things. John. is
the common male and Jane is the Dol ,u-
lar female cognomen. l begin to Thu ak
that nearly all the fem ale servants a re
called Jane" | am not sure there Is
not an act Of Parliament to that effect /,
The term servant is used in a broade,
sense than in our country The en-
ployees OF a company are called ser
wants. whether they are at the head or
foot Of the list. Imagine an American
railway ticket seller called a servant.
But 1t is too dreadful to think Of, and,
fortunately, no one would dare do it.
h HIEGLIsH HI-GLAss.
We exceed the English in building
cars, but they completely distance us in
wearing an eye-glass. 1t is not a double
glass, understand, but a single disc with
a silver or gold rim, and secured by a
cord about the neck from which it dan
giles when not in use. 1t is worn only
by the English exquisite, and he gener-
ally dons 1t as he asks a question, or on
entering a room where there is anybody
to see him. Sometimes it is suddenly
put up without any apparent provoca-
ton. imagine that it is worms. The
wearer has a baggy costume, parts his
hair in the middle, and has in his face
an expression of mild idiocy which is
much strengthened by the glass.
lie wears 1t in the depression Just be-
tween the bridge Of the nose and the
brow OF the eye, He places it there
without any effort and holds it by a
slight depression of the brow. he could
carry 1t more easily under his arm, but
he prefers wearing it as | describe,
where it rides as calmly and peacefully
as a babe on his mother breast, or a
wet dog on a clean oil cloth. Initiative
Americans vainly strive to capture the
fashion. There was one Young man
from Marlborough, Mass, stopping in
London last summer, who devoted three
whole months, but in vain, to make an
eye glass stay on his eye. / could al
ways tell when he failed, by hearing him
howl and swear and kick the furniture.
AT the end Of three months he went
home, as both his time and money were
exhausted. When his room was cleaned
two full quarts of damaged eyeglasses
we're gathered up.
GREAT BRlTAINOUs HABITS.
Although the English chew but little
tobacco, they consume great quantities
OF the weed in smoking and shutting, |
have seen a number Of young people
addicted to the latter habit. / don't
care who snuffs if he will only keep
away from my vietuals. In many of the
old-fashioned English inns snuf.boxes
or snufi-horns are to he found in the
smoking rooms, from which the guest
helps himself without charge. The
same inns keep a stock of long stemmed
clay pipes on hand for the use of pat
rons. Clay pipes are in such favor here
that some OF them are dignifed with an
amber mouth piece
1t Is marvellous the amount of soda
water which is consumed here. But il
IS nearly all bottled. / have seen less
than q half dozen ~soda-water fountains
in the past summer. | don't suppose
they can afford the ice TO run them.
The soda-water comes in bottles as we
have it, but it is plain soda, as devoid of
flavor as o billiard ball is devoid of
whiskers. 1t is used largely with spirits
and as = head-easer in the morning after
seeing a few friends; but it is not popu.
lar as a beverage by itself. II makes a
nice companion for brandy, but alone its
society is hardly worth looking after.
You see no cakes of ice on the side.
walk here, and / can readily imagine
that an American city street in the
morning must ELL an Englishman with
surprise. An American misses the
great variety Of vegetables, meats, and
breads served up at his home hotel, and
the equal variety Of mixed drink dealt
out at his home bar. but think he miss,
es ice more than all these. | feel safe
in asserting that seyen.eighths of the bar
rooms, and full that proportion of the
hotels, are not regularly supplied with
ice; and | have yet to see the restaurant
with a single pitcher of ice-water. And
of the two countries England stands
more in need of ice than we DO, as its
drinking water is generally inferior.