The true northerner. [volume] (Paw Paw, Mich.) 1855-1920, 1880-07-09
TIPPLING WOMEN.
Excessive Drinking Among All Glasses the
Gur.e Ell England.
London Letter to San Francisco Post.

London Letter TO SAN Francisco Post.l
In the course OF n decade the drinking
propensities of English women have in
creased ut marvellous rate. Women of
all classes drink. Those who can afford
1t drink wines-always very expensive in
EnShnd-and take an occasional draught,
perhaps, of spirits. Those who cannot
afford wines do not stop with small beer
"a cask of which is to be found in every
cellar-but they patronize the licensed
vlctualers, more commonly known as
''publlcans. 1t is considered to be
hardly the proper thing for lady of
good social position to go into liquor
store alone, even ut the private entrance,
which most of the larger public houses
have for their accommodation. If her
husband is with her, OF she has a gentle
man attendant, it is not considered to he
III any way derogatory to her character
to go III at the private entrance, after at
tending the theatre or a concert or per-
haps prayer-meeting for n stimulating
drink. Under these circumstances, be
she young or middle-aged lady, the
way is clear for satisfying her appetite,
provided her attendant thinksitis proper,
IN his own particular case, to be seen with
lady mt a public bar But what can
lady do for drinks from sunrise TO sunset?
1t Is not unnatural to ask Unless the
head of the family objects, for economic
and other reasons (Which is not uncom-
NOM, the celler may be stored with bot
ties of spirits. But, knowing the hard
heartedness and miserably inclination of
many men, grocers have made a satisfac-
tory arrangement for the ladies. OF
course, when a lady is seen going into
grocer's shop, it is taken for granted that
she goes there to buy groceries. Her OBJ
ject may be groceries, it may be glass
of whisky-very likely it is both. There
is no sign outside to indicate a drinking
saloon, but men, rs well as women, know
that many grocers are licensed to sell
certain kinds of liquors In the rear of
the shop, out of sight of the passerby,
there are a couple of small marble-top
tables, with chairs. The customer sits
down, gives her order, and having leis-
urely drank her whisky or her gin, she
mods to the grocer, and he knowingly in
serts in the bill, to pickles or sauce, six
pence OF ninepence, whatever the price
of the drinks may be; and the good
housewife succeeds, as well as ever the
most inconstant, signOra ever did, in de-
ceiving her unsuspecting husband. Ulti-
mately, of course, he discovers her
scent.
Sometimes he comes home in the even
ing earlier than she had expected him,
and her breath and unwonted exhilera-
ton betray her; or the monthly grocer's
bill may be sent in. He takes it with
his pipe and his newspaper into the
smokingroOm, and pretty soon he calls
out: "Why, madam (our Scotch friend
always calls his wife madam), here's
three and six for pickles, and I'm sure l
haven't seen pickle these two months"
Then the cloud gathers and bursts with
a report like the opening of another
bottle.
A person who studies London society
high and low cannot fail to discover in
passing through the lower streets that
drunkenness is lamentably common
among the lower classes of women. At
midday, as well as in the early morning,
they may be seen, with flushed faces and
noisy mouths, going IL and coming out at
the public entrance to the bar. They
are apparently working women-women
with families-rather than women of bad
character But their presence at the bar
does not cause any surprise; it does not
check in the least the boisterous CONVEX
sation of the loafers The Difference
which even a loafer i'll America would
grant women is gone. BY sharing his
public privileges he feels that she has
brought herself down to his own level.