The morning news. [volume] (Savannah, Ga.) 1887-1900, 1888-02-22
TIE NEW SOCIAL FAD.
Paid Sir gers and Performers at After
noon Teas,
From the PtHGde'Dhin Press.


From the PtGndel Dhi1 Press.
The ancient and hon lrable institution
| known as the afternoon tea has acquired a
| degree of favor in fashionable society that
can not be shaken easily, 1t is favor
that rests not a little Bit on broad basis
/ OF economy. Long searching round his
! apparently convinced people who wish 70
entertain broadly that nothing makes SO
| big show for so little as tea IL is "a
kind of entertainment that enables woman
/ to honor all her acquaintance with Inc
/ tormality of an engraved card, for She
| may send one TO whomever she pleases, ana
! a clever woman knows that friendship IS
! better than an cnmltv always. Everybody
[ may use the cards and no one objects par
! tcularly whether n tea Is or is not what Is
sometimes called mixed.
Then the expense is about rs near nothing
as anything called expense can be. Aside
from the cost of the cards and the delivery
of them, the money laid out is trihlng All
the people may expect 10 eat or drink Ia
cup of coffee or glass of sherry, with
biscuit and a bit Of ice cream. True, the
ice cream is usally served under the more
aristocratc name of frappe, but 1t doesn't
cost any more for the French. Fifteen dol
lars will support n menu like that for
gooily number of callers, and $40 Will re-
gale a houseful. If people wish TO be more
generous they may extend their tea time
an hour-that is TO say, make il from TO
Z instead Of from to 4, and add brolled
oysters and a salad to the collation.. Even
that addition isn't likely to make serious
draft on fairly healthy bank account.
DRAWBACKS TO PLEASURE.
Until recently there has been one draw
back TO complete glory in connection with
teas Society grew so much accustomed to
a l.l
tamty as TO people going to them IN mum
bers sufficient to make "a showing good
enough to assure a hostess that she was still
popular and possibly socially influential
woman. A wet day meant sure failure, for
society made up its mind early in the win
ter TO take no water with its tea. story
IS told of a woman whose tea had the bad
luck to strike q particularly rainy an windy
day. She had sent out 400 invitations, and
in the summing up she found that she had
just six callers and 394 regrets and cards"
1t was even further given out that the call
ers were the husbands of the SIX women
whom the hostess had asked to receive with
her But that may not be true.
All sorts of other reasons besides that of
wet days have been pleaded as excuses for
remaining away. headaches, nerves and
slippery pavements were favorite themes
Men could scarcely be induce1 to 20 at all,
and several ladies IN society have seen how
ineffective tea cards were with men, left
men out altogether and gave only womens
teas. But these entertainments We're not
much of 90. For, as a rule, no one cares
less for a women's tea than a woman.
THE DRAWING ROOM SINGER COMES.
But Mrs. Richard H. Townsend, Jr., hit
upon an idea that quite completely changed
the fortune of the afternoon tea. Mrs
Townsend, who is adaughter of millionaire
Congressman Scott, of Erie, spends much of
her winters in Washington. When she
gave a large tea as a kind of house warming
at her residence in this city, in December,
she added as an extra4eOus attraction some
good singing. The singer was it was said,
a member Of a swell English family III re-
duced circumstances. He has good bari
tone voice. which he used with discretion
and effect. He made 50 great a hit that,
instead of running away after five min
utes' chat, the people stayed IN a crowd UNI
til the hours of entertaining were over.
The singer, it is said, received a fee of $50
almost q novelty as a circumstance con-
nacted with entertaining in Philadelphia.
1t was a novelty that suggested a big al
1ition 10 the cost of the old-time tea.
Nevertheless, it has been widely taken up
in society. Not only that, but the simple
idea has been much improved upon, and
Mrs. Townsend's entertainment would seem
primitive compared with some of the other
musical teas that have followed it. At one
given recently by the daughter of million
stire banker there was a long roll of singers
and players, whose aggregate fees would
make a snug sum.
SOME BIG FEES ASKED.
The demand is so great that popular
singers and players ask large rates. A
woman who tried tosarrange a programme