The semi-weekly miner. [volume] (Butte, Mont.) 1882-1886, 1882-04-29
InO Woman Who Doto.

Tno Woman Who Dato.
Come Of - who are middle-aged have
. vivid recollection Of q time in Ameri-
can social history when Il was fashion
able and "genteel' toeschew eating -
. vulgar and sensuous matter. These
were the time when Il was the custom
for high-bred and refined people to dis
cuss only the most ethereal diet.
The dear creatures who (non,inally, at
least), diDed on . canary-bird's wing, or
suffered . surfeit when they had absorb
ed . spoonful Of clover honey, are no
more. How we'll We remember them!
They wore white muslin and blue rib
hons. They seldom danced. They
ad0red Byron byron who hated to see
. woman eat,) and talked Of Kant and
wished that there could be new mOo,,
oil the year round. The younger por
ti0n Of that generation ate slate pencils
to improve their compilations, and
smelled 1T vinegar cruets to make them
loek pale and Interesting. To look at
one Of these girls one would say that
they had never seen any food more sub
stantial than tea and toast. To follow
them into the privacy Of home would
be to and them secretly addicted to ba-
con and greens. The public scorn for
al solid fOOd was an a1fectati0n. 1t
was fashionable to eat next to nothing.
1t was needful to eat great deal. And
fashion carried the day.
Of the great Samuel johnson it was
Thought 1T and proper for young women
in high life to b0ast of their gastrOnOmic
achievements aud to announce their
preferences for certain dishes. A charnl-
Ing young friend of Nine. d'Arblay,
clasping her hands mpturOusly, and
looking DR.. Johnson in the face said:
''Oh, do love mashed turnips ~ The
aged cynic, slowly pulling himself to-
gether, said: my dear young lady, a.
the experiences Of life accumulate, and
the attractions Of this mortal existence
sink to their true valuation, hope you
will lind something more worthy Of
your affections than mashed turnips."
1t was after Johnson g time that young
ladies at boarding schools adOred Byron
and were content with y diet Of slate
pencils and water. When the muscular
cricket-playing and brawny school BE-
gan to b popular with men, the women
very naturally took to advertising their
liking for what our plain-speaking Cali
fornia friends call square neal" The
dear creatures No longer pretended that
they lived on air, and that eating aud
drinking were vulgar. The languish,ng
die-away creatures whom we meet In
old-fashioned novels. exist no longer.
The young lady Of the present time IL
not afraid Of sunshine, rain, fog and
freckles. She IL robust, athletic and
hearty. She can tell burgundy from
Bordeaux, knows the difference 6etwfxt
.fr0nsa0e ROquefort and GorgOnzOla, and
10 critical ~ to the exact tune required
for the cooking OF y t7,nvas-back, and
the number Of minutes safe for the prop
er boiling Of lobster. Something goOtf
fashion. Such one, describing an
unusually swell. The gentlemen were
was simply heavenly"
merely y reaction from the lackualaisicul
and sentimental age Of our graldn,"tl,-
ers. The days Are gone when it was
fashionable to wear thin slippers, laced
tightly, assume languishillg air, and
pretend to live ON next to nothing. IL
the matter-Of-fact eating and drinking
generation Of young women that has
come in does sometimes trcl,cl, nearly
on the bounds Of genuine retincme nts
we can forgive the apparent tr.~lass.
Even u coarse and bOisterDlls affection Of
hearty liking for gOt,d eating an.l drink
ing Is better than dcc,itfil prctel,s<. Ot
abeteniOusncxs that dapiv.@ MOlN,dy.
Men and women must cat tO live. 1t ix
y high state Of society in whicl, the
pleasures Of the table are made t. minis.
ter tn the stern necessities ii cxi~tel,&y
1t Is u low state in which I,cl, and
women I'LL themselves mechanically,
never considering anything but the
volume Of tllt: ftnhl absorbed. And there,
is no reason why women who are not
cs,nvivial. ut least. should not liz. conn.
petent judges Of what is best in fahnl an,l
drink. Of course, We admit tI..t all
women are angels, hut 80 long a~ angels
dwell among men they must lmrtakc of
the nature Of n,ortals. The woman who
cannot appreciate, gs"nl dinner is u
libel on her sex.
Let no man say that the change ot
woman from the sentimental, insipid
and angelic creature Of tll'. last century
to the vigorous and hearty person "f to.
day il change that begins :ml ends
with eating and drinking habits. Let
tOc pCstSSuSSStS S;ty WISut u'rv Will, tOc
present il an age of scnuincn.>~ and
can.lOr. There is less nl",:k nunl..sty,
less Of the hu,lll'lg Of seeming, that in
any generation that has gone before us,
il we may except ~ true the pictures 0i
life given US by S,n0lIett, Fielding. Fan
ny Burney Thackeray AMI the writers
Of the time If Queen Anne. The rivili-
zed world atllnircs the delicate and
fragile beauty Of American women. But
it is the pride Of the country that feeds
the world with beef, grain AMI game
that the rare flowers Of American love-
illness is no dollhouse plant, reared in u
nicely adjusted atmosphere. The wo-
manliness and the nEtnliness Of our
country spring from II rich and nutri-
tive soil. We have the best provision
for the table in the WORLDLY. y I;mr.
Six Oonvicts Dragged to Death.
CHICAGO, April ::7.-A horrible affair
is reported from Georgia. 4 gang nt
four hundred State c1,mvict~, chained to-
gethcr, were l"ing transported on plat
form cars en- route for work at wOkl
cutting. The train stopped ut Il station
n,HA ,Optsn,s ~ ...,.,.~ :.,.....l