Morning journal and courier., 1883-10-05
A Sunday Ball.

Hsvv Foreigners Amuse Themselves in
 Londen-Beer as a Peace-Maker.
 From the St. James' Gazstte.l
 When 8 foreigner comes to this country one of the first things that strike him is the dullness of the English Sunday. In Paris in Berlin, and indeed all over the Continent, the day is observed as hoi- day and even devout persons, who go to church in the morning and would not for the world shirk any of their religious du- ties, see no harm in spending the evening at theatre, 8 concert-room or an opera house. England offers no facilities for re- creation of this kind. Foreigners who are not SabbRtarians can scarcely be blamed, therefore, if when they are in England theY chafe under the pressure of customs which differ so widely and so paradoxically from those to which they are used Of late years they have taken the remedy into their own hands, and, as they are by law prevented from going on Sundays to pub. lie entertainments, they have established clubs at which they provide amusements for themselves. The Central club, in Tot tenham Court road, is one of the most representative of these social organizations. It was founded about two years ago, and has since been joined by several hundred members, who upon payment of a modest entrance fee of half 8 crown and of a monthly subscription of eighteen pence a head are admitted to the club premises These at present consist of bar at which liquors and light refreshments are served, 8 billiard room containing both English and French tables, and large ballroom pro- vided with stage for dramatic and musi- cal performances. The club-rooms are open every day but it is on Sunday that they are most crowded; and it was on Sunday that, by permission of the presi- dent, I visited them in order to see how E1 FCra in hi for the chilling dullness of the British Sabbath. The members belong, for the most part, to the artisan and shop-keeping classes, and are chiefly Germans or French men. Some, however, are people of tole- rably good position; and 8 few are Eng lishmen who, having French or German acquaintances in London, have been in duoed by them to join the unorthedox so- ciety and to take part in It's revels.
 In the ball room, at 9 o'clock, found half hundred young men and women al- ready assembled. At 8 grand piano, in front of the stage, sat a fair, long haired, sad faced musician, Uho was playing one of Waldteuffers vRlses, and on the floor g dozen couples were dancing in a manner which was, perhaps, more remarkable for vigor than for art. I had but just come out of church, and the contrast was 6 rather startling one. It was strange to see the girls, with gravity that was blind to buS aD6uEulGy LII GU0 oAbOet4On, IeSt4HR LAS1E heads, in true German peasant fashion, against the cheeks of their partners. The attitude might have suggested to Byron an additional line or two of satire for inser- tion in ''The Waltz ;" but, although to my insular prejudices the position seemed curi- ously affectionate, there is nothing in it which clashes with a German estimate of the proprieties. British matron would probably open her eyes very widely if at a ball she saw Amaryllis with her hair inter- mingled with Captain Oorydon's moustach- jos and such thing would certainly not be tolerated in Paris, save in resorts Of questionable reputation. But the standards of good manners are not quite so rigid at the Central club as they are in Mayfair and in England society allows considerably more freedom to FrauIein ArnaIie Grungarten than to Lady Amaryllis de We're
 The valse over, most of the dancers went to the bar and refreshed themselves with claret or lager beer; and, when they returned to the ballroom, they were entertained by 8 young Frenchman, who, borrowing a new silk hat, mounted the stage and sang comic song, which to great extent depended for it's effect upon the singer at irregular inter vals jumping down the hat over his eyes in 8 way which provoked the most pathetic re. monstrances from the too confiding owner This humorous performance vas followed by more dancing and further adjournments for beer, or for saussges and potato salad. I do not know how much lager healthy German is capable of consuming in day; but saw some choice spirits who apparently made g point of emptying glass every quarter of an hour; and the French members of the club seemed, am bound to say, every bit as thirsty as their German colleagues, and swal- lowed the German national beverage with Q gusto rivalling that of their Teuton associ- ates. So rapidly, indeed, is the taste for lag CT beer spreading, even in Paris, that that section of French society which looks for ward with eagerness and confidence to the result of the next war with Germany is said to be fearful lest France may be Teutonized by her growing fondness for the exotic Ii- uuor, and so rendered incapable of harbor- ing revengefGl feelings. If beer can make all men brothers, 1t is to be hoped that it's in- Auence will be allowed full play. In Tot tenham Court road it's consumption seems to lead to nothing save friendliness and good fellowship; but whether it will ever exert an equally pacifying effect in diplomatic circles Is problem that time alone can de- eide.
 It is not only at the Central club that the foreign population of London finds coneenial amusement on Sunday evenings. At the headquarters of the Communist WorkinRm0n's society, in Tottenham street, hard by, there is either 0 theatrical per- formance or a political debate at the Uni ted Dramatic club, in Upper street, Isling- ton. there IS play RG the Wslb6rs Onlon in CLipstone street, there is 8 social enter tainment at the Social Democratic Work ingmens club, in Featherstone street, there is ball; and at the German club, in Foley street, there is 8 concert or 8 comedy. En- tertainments of some kind are also given weekly by the German Dramatic club, in Brunswick Place; the Oak club, in Lambeth street; the German City club, in Sun street, Finsbury and other societies, French, Ger man aRd Italian. I visited the Central club because it occupies an intermediate position
 between the pOt-houso clubs on the one hand and the sem1-fashionaDle societies, like the Deutscher Verein, on the other. It is 6 type of many institutions much frequented by the German LOndoner, who is eminently a social animal delighting greatly in converse ton, dancing, music and dramatic entertain ments of certain kind, and enjoying these diversions all the mora when they can be ac- companied by Q certain amount of lager beer