The Ottawa free trader. [volume] (Ottawa, Ill.) 1843-1916, 1890-02-15

full what you say PIS
But why must be
careful, and why sLoHhN'h o. 'onN'
can't say that l love my home bestG"
Now isn't this too bad.
Then the interviewer asked her: "What
predominant American characteristics do
you noticew
Whereupon she said something which, II 1t
didn't make the American woman's ears burn,
they must be made of fire brick:
'Oh, curiosity and hurry more than any
thing else. Why, they are regular Paul Prys,
all of them. am introduced to lady, and
abe looks me all over from my feet up, and
when she has finished she knows just how old
am, and what have on, and how much 1t
cost, and all that The other day stood for
a moment looking at some pictures OF Mrs.
Kendall in window, and a lady recognized
me, went back to tell her two friends behind
her, and then they all three stood and dis
cussed my costume in sufficiently loud tone
for me to hear"
And this about their dress:
''They told me American women were such
good dressers, but have failed as yet to see
the we'll dressed American lady, for directly
they are handsomely dressed they are simply
French women. There seems to be no Amer
lean style of dress; everything comes from
Paris. You could quickly detect an English
woman in Paris, but an American would
scarcely be. distinguished from the French
women. They are so dreadfully frightened
of unbending, and they live so much on what
other people may think of them, that they
freeze up such Bohemian as | am until
am not myself.
"The other day was introduced to one,
and she took me all in with that sweeping
glance Of hers-my eyes, my teeth my hair,
my very soul-and after a long time she said
she would like to know my thoughts, and
almost laughed in her face"
Perhaps the lady to whom she refers may
take little comfort in knowing those
thoughts if she happens to peruse this article.
There's just one thing more notice, and
that is the little slow drawl in speech. Now
they call me Saint John. What's the use
in being all the morning in saying name.
Run it all together and call me "Sinjin" and
be done with it and ready for something
else. Why, when they ask me question I've
got it all answered in my mind, and have
forgotten what it was before they finish it,"
The American naturally wonders how
Englishmen pronounce st. John the Evange
list and st. John the Baptist. Do they call
them Snjin the Evangelist and Sinjin the
Baptist!
But here is a novelty, indeed. The pro-
verbal stupidity of an Englishman in catch
ing the meaning of joke seems to exist
everywhere except in England What must
be Brother Jonathan's dizziness If he is behind
his cousin in this respectl
"You are very much slower to catch joke
than the English, and laugh much less heart
al nt fNCn nff for
q joke before any one laughs, and if the fun
is little broad the ladies look all around to
sec il any one is going to smile, and by that
time the men are laughing, so. under cover OF
it, they litter little, The play on words and
puns do not seem to amuse them at ALL and
have to wait so long for the laugh after
sing, Don't follow me where live; that is a
thing l can't forgive that wish for ham,
mers to pound it into their heads with Then
the applause is SO much less spontaneous
and hearty that don't know an encore when
get one, and have to be sent on by some one
else fancy the Americans consider us as
sort of interlopers and don't like us very we'll
anyway. l feel their lack of sympathy very
much"
Miss Sinjn, you are giving your English
sisters away. 1t seems that they laugh openly
with the men at the "broad" parts That
isn't nice of them at all It's very naughty.
Miss ST. Johns imputations upon the
American youth are, principally, that he
crowds and stares at her. "They seem to
have cheek enough for anything" she says.
"Our Johnnies aren't quite so awfully
proper in dress as your dudes. Occasionally
you will see one with his overcoat on his
shoulder and looking as if lie were alive. We
call 'em Dresden china tissue paper when
they get so very fine and look as if they'd
blow over if any one breathed but, poor
things, their heads are just the same-empty.
l sing a little sweet bit of Gounod's music,
and they glover at me and try to swallow
the knobs of their sticks, and then they say:
oh, come, now, Sinjin, sing something jolly
something like "Will you be my Holly
hockr'' Oh, their poor brains, their poor
brains!"
"Did you bring your little boy with your
asked The Suns bright young man Tor maybe
it was one of The Suns bright young
women).
"No; he wouldn't come. He is in London
with his grandmother. don't see what the
nursery has to do with Faust Up to Date
Here / want to pose as a young and innocent
dan,sel, and they keep dragging the poor
baby ill., and worst Of all say he is 4 months
old, which is rather embarrassing, as I
haven't lived with my husband for eighteen
months, and the child is years old"
Who can wonder that the poor woman pre-
fers her English home, where the Dresden
China" young men call her Sinjin, though
they do glover and try to swallow the knobs
of their sticks, and call for will You Be
Mine, Ny Hollyhock," to a land where they
are SO indelicate As to impute 4-monthsold
child to q woman who has lived single for
eighteen months. ''Oh, come now, Sinjin,"
give Us something jolly.