The Neihart herald. [volume] (Neihart, Mont.) 1890-1901, 1891-07-24

mean? Why, that hybrid hoaselcep-
ing creature.
''Our first encounter with the new
tangled specimen was when cards came
asking us to tea at Mr.. VS. rooms.
II esitatcd about accepting, but yielded
and went. Still, l felt for the poor
fellows natural pcrplexities, and bought
a nice bag Of jumblcs, some lump
sugar. and took a few extra spoons
along to help him out in a tight place.
well, bless your heart, when a neat,
white capped maid answered the cleo
trio bell, and pushing aside long shadow
curtains uslc,ed us into an elegant
parlor. | began making every apology,
being sure we had stumbled into the
wrong place. But, no; here came our
host. bowling and smiling, begging US
to take off our wraps, and cxcusing
himself for preoccupation-just as l
have done Il thousand times at home
by saying tho kettle refused to boil.
Well, willie he talked to the girls l be-
gan looking round for some place to
hide those odious cakes and heard the
spoons rafting in my pocket.
with each survey took that paper
bag grew bigger and the silver jingled
under the folds of my dress. But the
polished mirrors, bowls of roses, en-
broidcrcd scarfs and charmingly dec
grated walls were as nothing to Il scene
over in the left hand corner next the
fireplace.
There sat the tea table, in all it's
glory. with Mr.. v lowering round
it like n protecting spirit. lie had a
lady ostensib!y presiding, but no old
maid could have kept IL sharper eye Oh
the tea cups. lie discussed the differ
ent varieties Of tea with warmth, de-
Tended the infusion process, gave his
reasons for %patronizing a particular
bakery. and in the meantime handed
round bonbons and salted almonds to
his half dozen men and women guests.
From confectionery the talk drifted to
napcry. and with a glow of genuine
pride our entertainer exhibited IL set of
exquisite doilies lately added to his
linen closet. lie advocated drawn
work and the outline stitch in white
floss rs rather superior style at after
noon functions, and then got on the
of china, which was evidently
his hobby.
Each fragile cup and saucer was
dilated upon in turn, the delicacy and
beauty of the porcelain naturally lead
ing to a wholesale abuse of servants.
Mr.. v and man (D friend sitting
near agreed that they never permitted
Biddy to lay a finger on the properties
of their pantry. They Numbered every
piece of china and plate personally to
insure safe handling. and used only
pure linen towels in order to avoid lint.
AS you may imagine I sat aghast to
hear suclI conversation between two
bearded creatures, and was scarcely
surprised aftcrward, when u woman OF
the party vcntured an opinion on the
subject of sweeping, to hear both of
them summary suppress her.
Nov, ! want to know who our
sisters and nieces are 10
marry" continued the wrathful lady.
"Certainly not those finicky Miss
Nancys; and there are no longer any
bachelors, it appears-nice, jolly fell
lows. who couldn't tell n mop from a
range or a broom from q lambrequin,
who went buttonless, and with holes in
their socks, till some nice girl took COM
passion on them; who were lonely and
needed companionship, helpless and
wanted IA wonan's hand to keep a neat
hearth and warn their slippers.
Since that first afternoon | have
been to twenty teas of the same sort in
as many different apartments. New
York fairly swarms with this new type
Of humanity, and with each exhibition
Of his etfcininacy | grow more dis
gusted. My girls are atllletic-ride,
swim, hunt and use the horizontal bar.
Naturally. when their hosts talk bread
and butter they become painfully en-
barrassed, feel cut of their element and
make absurd mistakes. New York
Sun.