Waterbury evening Democrat. [volume] (Waterbury, Conn.) 1887-1895, 1892-11-03
THE SUMMER HOTEL HOP.
A Dissipation That FlourIshes Mildly %
Saturday Nights.

A Dissipation That FlOurIShes Mildly On
Saturday Nights.
The seaside hotel hop is an institu-
ton peculiar unto itself. 1t is general
ly held on Saturday evening, when 8
few extra dancing men come down in
the pursuit Of Sunday rest (O. There
are usually from two hundred to six
hundred people looking on, and occa-
sionally as many as six couple on the
floor, though this high water mark is
not often reached. The music varies
with tho character of the hotel, but is
likely to consist of wailing cornet and
piano, which resemble u Christian
who hath not charity, in that it long
ago became as sounding brass and
tinllling cymbal. The music plays
right along by the hour, whether any
body is dancing or not Occasionally
the hotel proprietor looks in, rubbing
his hands and beaming on the scene
with an air that says, Enjoy your
solves, my people. these riotous festivi-
ties are given away with every package
of twenty meal tickets"
Early In the evening the floor is taken
up by skinny little girls with curls,
white dresses, and superabundance OF
blue ribbon, who perform dancing in
the barn" and other gems of the dane
ing school, to the delight of admiring
parents. After an army of nurses have
cleared the floor of the small fry, the
sunbrowned summer girl comes in from
her retreat around on the dark side of
the vCranda. Her ball dress is evident
ly cut lower in the neck than her bathing
suit, which makes her look like a doll
with II bronze head on Il porcelain body.
She dances somewhat recklessly us one
who is aware that the eyes of seventeen
ancient and honorable spinstcrs in the
front row are upon her, and has deter
mined to show her contempt for and
independence of the horrid old things"
Her partner is a young man with ten
der, ycarning eyes, II struggling mus
tachc, Il tennis shirt and russell shoes.
lie holds hcr-well, as if he were afraid
of losing her.
When a set is made up for the lancers
it is composed of people from seven
different states. AS the figures for the
lanccrs are never danced alike in any
two localities, and there is no prompter,
n general tanglc results Brother
Tam, from college," creates an addi-
tional ruction by pressing all the girls
hands in the grand right and left, ~
and swinging them off their feet at
"balance the corners" A number of
men In evening dress wander YEARLY
about and do the heavy standing
around" but never dance. Only the
men In tennis shirts dance.
In the hotel dining-room or parlor
where the hop is going on it is hot as a
furnace. The windows are blocked up
4
of life to dance, and with visitors from
the ncighboring boarding houses which
have not risen to the dignity of u hop.
In a secluded corner of the veranda the
cotcrie of dashing widows and young
married women have ensconccd them
selves with their following of mature
admirers. Throughout the evening they
| dispose OF endless lemonades containing
ii certain percentage of woody fiber
| commonly called stick"
At ten minutes to twelve o'clock the
curnct walls its last wall and the piano
thumps its last thump. The bronzcd
maidrns of the dance drag themselves
upstairs jingling their room-keys and
| dropping an occasional joke for the
benefit of the night clerk The mer
smoke their goodnight cigars on the
v"randn while they cool Off and listen tc
the booming breakers on the shore
Sunday quiet settles down over tn,
frail fabric of summer hotel, unless
the forty-seven babies wake up anC
| howl their midnight chorus, or the fat
man with the thirtytwo foot diapasor
snorc gets east" on his back and rouse:
| the furthcrInost echoes of the whisper
ing gallery into which five hundred
| people are paclled.-N. Y. Tribune.