San Antonio daily light. [volume] (San Antonio, Tex.) 1886-1907, 1889-06-18
THE STAFF OF LIFE.
GIVING UP THE GOOD OLD TIME
PRACTICE OF LEANING ON 1T.

A PrinceviIlian's Observations i'm Co
tham-Deseription of Vienna Bread.
1t has become questionable in New York
society to eat bread. Long ago the -Four |
Hundred gave up eating pie, for it is so vul- |
gar to eat pie, don't you know. Now they |
are in the midst of another great social revo-
luton, and are about to give up eating bread. |
l spent a few weeks in New York, and |
after had been there few days there came |
over me an indefinable desire for something |
to eat not for something to eat in general, |
for, luckily, l had been eating regularly |
every day, but for something to eat in par |
ticular. l felt an inward craving. was
like the opium smoker without his pipe, or
the drunkard without his tipple 1t finally |
came to me that what | wanted was bread |
had been brought up to eat bread. In the
various restaurants where l had been eating
had been supplied with bread, but it was
Vienna bread. Consequently, had had no
bread. New York Vienna bread is not
bread, but bread crust. 1t is baked in loaves
in the form of a baseball bat, about six feet
long and three inches in diameter
The outer surface, of course, is crust, and
owing to the intense heat to which it is sub
jected in the oven and to the coating of var
nish which is spread over it this crust is of
the consistency of fire clay. The interior of
the loaf is q hole A loaf of Vienna bread
looks more like section of drain tile than
anything else. Clinging to the inner surface
of the crust is a layer of bread about Ike the
nap on q plush lap robe. There isn't enough
real genuine bread in a loaf of Vienna bread
to furnish meal for hen. | will wager a
small sum of money that can eat a wagon
load of Vienna bread at one sitting il | can
| bar the crust.
WILL NOT BE FASHIONABLE
But it has become questionable to eat
| bread in New York-that is, among the
| -Four Hundred and their followers. A
confidence man, friend of mine, induced
me to dine with him one evening at a fash
ionable private ''hotel" on Thirty-third
street. At dinner each individual was served
with portion of Vienna bread about the
size, shape and consistency of a glass ink
stand asked for more bread, but didn't
get it. began protest which might have
amounted to kick, when the man who sat
beside me and who is gentleman of fashion
and well bred, and who had in his converse
ton with me shown great familiarity with
the dry goods merchants of Chicago, in
formed me that it was not the proper thing
to eat bread-that potatoes had recently
taken the place of bread at dinner.
was inclined to dispute the possibility of
bread being displaced by any other article Of
food, but when considered that everybody
in New York is forced to eat Vienna bread l
did not wonder greatly that they are being
weaned from it. am sorry that must quit
eating bread if I would be fashionable. But
somehow although ! am rapidly becoming
lumtum IN many respects, am too much Of
plebeian to eradicate from my system that
Unborn desire to eat bread. must eat bread
if everybody in the world points the finger Of
scorn at me.
Ever since | was little boy down in
Princeville when l would come into the
kitchen on I summer afternoon, tired from
fighting bumblebees' nests, and my mother
would give me a piece of bread about the
size of saddle flap, spread thick with golden
butter and thicker still with raspberry jam
ever since then l have had an uncontrol-
liable hankering for bread, which l fear no
amount of social polish will ever rub out of
me. Even when l get to the social point of
wearing pigeon tailed coat and shirt col
lar cut clear to my wish bone l will no doubt
retain that low born passion for bread which
rankles in all plebeian blood.
1t has long been impossible in New York
society to get piece Of pie. Pie, one of the
corner stones Of the American constitution,
has been abolished by good English form
But, speaking of eating pie, there is still
one man of fashion, one swell in New York
society who eats pie and who will have pie
when he thinks he needs it. His name is
Plummer. He is known in some circles as
Uncle Billy" Plummer. He is in business
on Worth street. he is a handsome gentle
man. faultlesS in his dress and manner, well
| known elubman, first nighter" at the the
aires, and when the winds astern he steers
his own yacht around the bay. He would
rather forego washing his face when he gets
out of bed in the morning than to neglect to
dress" for dinner. He is a pink of perfec-
ton in everything that appertains to good
| form, but he will eat pie
He with several other swell gentlemen
| dined at DelmOnicO's one evening. When
| Mr.. Plummer had finished his roast, to the
establishment of everybody at the table he
| called for pie. The waiter shrugged his
shoulders, spread his hands, and elevated his
| brows i'll mingled establishment and dismay
| while all the assembled gentlemen, after the
manner of the famed fllaloo bird, "evolved
| themselves within themselves to withdraw
| from the communicating presence of a man
| who would eat pie.
| Again Mr.. Plummer demanded pie and in
| quired of the waiter if there was any pie in
| the house. The waiter found words to tell
| him there was no pie.
Then Mr.. Plummer said: Call me a mes
senger boy" The boy came. Mr. Plummer
| gave him fifty cents and said: go to the
| nearest second class restaurant and buy me
| whole huckleberry pie. I'll see whether