Delaware gazette and state journal. (Wilmington, Del.) 1883-1902, 1886-12-02
rREAKs or ORE RoMEN.

putting on his overeoat.
s'What do you want money for. gave
you Sc yesterday morning.
Eyes. I know, but had 10 buy some
things.n
"What thingsp"
"oh some ribbon for my bonnet and
a sxein Of silk
For S."
"well, no; bought some needles and
pins, and"
"There, that will do. It's the same old
story. Here, that's all can spare" and
the irate husband filings two-dollar bill
on the table. He understands how easily
n ave dollar bill will melt away in liquor
and cigars, but woman has no such way
NJ getting rid OF money. That is just
where he is mistaken. Women don't
smoke and drink as rule, but they have
us fascinating way of spending their
greenbaeks and silver dollars as the most
inveterate smoker. How They spend
their cash in lunches. Women take TO
| lunohipg as men take to drinking-by
degrees. A frequenter of ladies' lunch
room, connected with large drygoods
Rtore in this city, has seen this lunching
habit.in all its phases. He has noted tho
timid, retiring young woman who VEN
lures in the lunch room for the first time.
She looks slyly around, and in mild
voice asks for glass of milk and a piece
Of cake. As she sips the milk, she slowly
drinks in the Intoxicating spirit Of
the scene-the crowd of easy-goine
well-dressed women, the array of
hats and bonnets of every size and
shape and every variety OF color, the
murmur Of women's voices with its clat
tering accompaniment of spoons and cups
and saucers-sbe drinks 1t all IN. The
first step is taken. She will lunch there
again. Then there is the poderat6
luncher. She is a self possessed woman,
She can lunch there as cheaply as any
where else, and every day finds her seated
az one of the tables, She always orders
something solid and substantial. Then
in prominent place-genernlly right by
the door--where everybody can see her,
sits the luneher who is confirmed in the
habit. She sits all alone and browses Ia
supreme satisfaction. She always orders
as much as her puTee wi;l allow, and de.
lights her soul in the multiplicity
Of the dishes and the hetero
i gently of the debris surrounding
her. When she rises to leave sh'
scans the table aud its piles of plates and
sauceTs with the same pride that an oil
veteran will ogle the sixteen bottles b.
1 has got away with at one sitting. Th'
drinking habit in men is mostly matte
of appetite, but appetite has very litt!'
to do with the lunehing of women. Shi
: becomes regular frequenter of th'
ladies' lunch room because she loves
crowd. She delights in variety, aud be
cause of her innate vanity. If ever.
| L. DO 20 b.,
there would be no lunchers. There is ii
/, consequence q spirit of rivalry in thes
lunch rooms which makes them as fas
cinating Us horse race. Every womal
. means to be ahead of her neigh6or, eithe
in the quantity or quality OF the lunci
i she orders. There is no hanging bac
and the women will start race with th
% same lunch and they come in neck an
neck with the same steaming fourth Gu
% of tea.
Sometimes it is like watching gam
:. of poker. Four women strangers {
II each other, will sit at the same table
They are all regular lunchers. Each
ia reluctant to give her order first, becaus
each is DESTROYS Of bettering her neigl
boris repast. At length one of then
2. With the air Of man who holds two jach
key and cup of coffee. Her neighbC
:, Immediately orders plate of turkey,
cup of coffee and plate of ice cream
!, The next one sees that plate of turke.
y the cup of coffee and the ice cream, an
J. goes one better and orders a ohicke
70 salad. Tho fourth, seeing how matte
a stand, decides on her play. She has NJ
IS SO much money as the others. She can
g go the turkey, the chicken, the ice crea
I. and the coffee. So she quietly scans Il
ii boards and then makes q magniticei
bluff with an oyster pattie. "Ill tai
g that first" she remarks to the waitres
By Then she dallies with the bill of fare al
be sits out the other three, winning the gan
on with rs cents. Underneath this spirit
M rivalry there is sort of confidential III
'' ' = Thy know tlat everyboC
~ is atsggiRg Nrd that everybod
n know fr.t bodv else is bra
Us ging. They know TINT when
hy woman orders a big lunch it does II
ne follow that she can really afford to pt
NJ for it. They expect that somebody
M. something will have to suffer. Son
&C. times they deny themselves little articl
lGt of dress which they want to purchase;
sa- pair of shoes will be bought for
he which they intended should cost IS.
ne it may be that the husband has col
- missioned his wife to purchase him sol
aes new socks or a new tie, and these Co
MI missions are the luncher's opportunii
,on A pretty woman was heard to say, as 6
Ice buttoned on her glove, toher companiC
M well, that's what | call an elega
a lunch. Have you got any change"
mo; whyY Doyou want to borrow any
Yes find l have only SO cents lie
and Fred gave me - this morning a
!, asked me to get him tie.
- I'm tell you what to do. Go 10 Flyn
NY on Sixth avenue. You will get tie u
IA will look inst az good AZ he would get
. l gents furnishing store for $l.50 for
tit cents
70 '.Yos. but Fred
aA Hell never know the difference. Co
W, along I'll 80 with you. I've tried
~ Then the pretty woman and her co
ha pailion hurried out to buy the tie VIII
IN "a. The ignorant husband was to understa
.1e cost Sl.50 Most of these luneiers
~ at boarding. houses, so that the b
ee, baud not only pays the lundlady in CT
~ for bis wife's lunch, but phys u seco
M time for meal Gbunt which he kno
~ n thing, out Of his ties, his socks and
~, e, cOllsrs and nnifs.
=. Besides the large crowd Ct Women "
eat regularly in the lunch rooms, there
:, the casual luncher. lhes5 eRSuals
ieis always interesting ritd enslly distinguish
VI FROM the regulars There is the sW
'h young woman who looks upon tn
ee5 placesin much the same way that she Loo
ne" upon variety theatres and dime mussui
tae She thinks il is proper 10 Wink tho LEM
W OF the lunch room win her hGnds in
~ y. pockets ct her i9unty jacket She loo
ihe around iler WITH MI amused air
'hiS superiority, and %ith chin appraised an
> u cool stare AZ snnt woman opposite to h
will order - cup 81 coffee without II
and biscuit Il.rn tdcfe are
women who have first tnAe back fr
+ n Europa. lHb II Tins kial Of cast
,ant were seen ilnehlng las; week. III
.ller wore English ju kcts English hats, q
itFs English shosa They tried bard to
5. an English neeent, bat thry only 9
ceeded in producing aoin1!hiag With
combined ehgrae;eristics VI an 0xf
tile student accent and EoW Jer
~ farmers They treated everything .
. sort Of joke n was great fun, one
rs them said, Ihey didn't know 8
" thing IbJut anything on the
i 'a9a Of fafe Ebey looked around
Wy tLe host Of American Iunehers witt
81 da2s3 ao1t Of stare and evidently desi
to be taken for foreigners One Of Il
asked an old ln5y if the things were re-
81 nice you know. Toe old lady replied