Daily Kennebec journal., 1893-01-09

~ AZ e>kNat AftI n. tklft utt,Alk II
say that the people are naturally stupid
Many of them are a. bright as new silve,
COINS and have made their regulations
in the world in some phase Of intellectual
effort.
But it would take more than com
nion mortal. male or female. TO be bril-
hant, or even interesting, in mob lik.
this There is no conversation-mert
singing Of a few sentences at one an
| other. No one sits down. If you attempt
to stand by a friend long enough to have
DIT OF talk a current of humanity oI
storm of gown or train or something
comes along and separates you. II you
are not interrupted in this manner some
woman rushes up and whisks your friend
OF to be introduced to some one else, OF
brings her friend up and plants him OF
her between you and Your acquaintance,
with whom you are trying to carry on
conversation. and drives you away in
disgust.
1ou notice that every one is moving
toward the dining room, where table
is gorseously spread with things and
you can't for the life of you tell what
they are. but they look good enough to
eat. Here the crush is at high pressure.
In the excitement and enforced contact
OF the moment you feel your neighbor's
heart beating against yours. This may
or may not be interestingly depends
altogether upon the identity and char
aeterlstics of the neighbor whom the
fates have awarded you for the moment.
1t seems impossible to get near the table.
where from the edges of the crowd you
get glimpses of men and women eating
red stuff and drinking from pretty cups.
lou envy them and wonder how they
ever got there, You are in despair.
But while you are waiting and grow
ing hungry an experienced tea fiend
comes up, inserts a shoulder in the near
est opening, says Il beg your pardon, >
smiles and pushes in. A series of inser-
tons of the thin and well trained shoul-
der, of pardons and smiles, and the ex-
perienced pnsher has pushed her way
or sometimes it is his way, to the very
front. where he or she presently stands
with plate in one hand and fork in
the other as calm as a sleeping dog. Not
withstanding the crowd every one is
studiorsly polite and considerate. There
are no disgraceful scenes. As the
throng shifts to and fro, forward and
back. a trained eye would observe, how
ever, that it is the accomplished and ex-
periencrd tea attender that gets 10 the
front, while the tyro remains in the ont
skirts and sucks his thumb. Politenes.
is here cloak to pushing people cut Of
ones way, as | fancy it is in any of tho
other affairs Of life.
Of course it is absolutely necessar'-
that some idiot should come along with
ice cream and dash it against your best
trousers. And an old woman loses cor
troll of her glass of punch and spills it
upon your coat. Another old woman. II
whom you We're so unfortunate as to lie
introduced, asks yon to get her an ice,
and after yon have skirmished for abort
ten minutes, perspired and had your
clothes ruined, walked upon the gowns
of half dozen other women. You rc-
turn triumphantly with the ice in yorr
trembling hand only to discover tn, /
some other dupe has been before you
and supplied the old DANES wants. 1t
if favorite trick of the experienced tca
attender i'll Washington TO ask four or five
men to get her something from the tahl,-.
One or another is pretty sure to me-
with success in his quest in her behal
and if two or three Of them come ~
with cups and plates, why, SO much tho
better.
1t is queer iumble of humanity. Tho
highest officers of the government ara
here and also the lowest in rank. Most
of the women are married Half of the
are old enough TO know better. The yours
and interesting women do not like 10
waste their strength in such unsatisfac-
tory endeavors, for there are no corners
to sit down in and sole possession of any
sort of n man is impossible. The men
are either old FOUNDERS, who live on I, a
tables in order to save expenses at their
clubs or restaurants, diplomats old and
.lum or Young and extensively dudish,
Dr politicians who are here not so much
for societv's sake as for their wives AMI
their reelection.
They are nice people. Many of them
are famous people. A few are brilliant
people. But the idea itself is absurd,
stupid, harassing. senseless. 1t ong't
never to I've. While a dinner Statistic
and develops or areccption with a sIna'
number of grirsts-so that repose and
genuine conversation is possihle-hriag5
people close together and makes thc'l
friends in fact, a tea is a hop-skip-ana
jump social function in which ever
one is trying to remember some or
else, avoid being run over and to e,
something to cat without loss of life cr
limb or clothing. The tea shoull 60
At any rate I'll have no more of il.
WALTER WEIJ.JAN.