Evening journal., 1893-05-23
Rim AND TEA.

Periodically, at short intervals, there
are always stories Of exaggerated wicked
ness Of the society women Of New York.
Sometimes these stories, varying little
in form, come from ST Louis, San Fran
cisco, or Chicago, rarely from Philadsl.
phia, but never from Boston and Balti-
more.
The women OF the latter places seem
devoted respectively to improving their
minds and cultvating their compilations.
From the smaller towns we never read
Of any delightful wickedness except that
Of opium eating.
When a reporter in a city the size of
Wilmington for instance, considers
himself bright. and whom the people look
upon pitylngly as they give him the
credit for being young, very young,
wishes to do something brilliant, he in
vents the opium story. That is the only
sort Of wickedness story that can be
loated in a city of this size. Not so,
however, with New York Anything
goes there
We have had any number Of stories,
some of them really well written and
entertaining, Of cigarette smoking; Of
Summing In mans clothes; Of dancing as
chorus girls Of posing as artists models;
Of photograrhing an arm, shoulder, an
ankle or dainty stocking; Of drinking
brandy and soda after the theatre, and
Of other things too dear or too risky to
mention Bat now we hear Of the tea
tipple. It is only few days since this
came out, through a newspaper woman
who met a society woman. The society
woman said:
'This talk about tea being the bever
age that cheers but does not inebriate
will have 20 be revised Now, II | should
take one of my little tea cups and looh
at you and say with or withoutY what
would ysu think ] meantY'
why, cream or sugar, / suppose,
said the newspaper woman, who had
enjoyed only limited afternoon tea eX-
perience
"Cream" echoed the hostess, with q
gesture of despair my dear, have you
really been living on this earth2'
mo, said the newspaper woman.
I've been on The Sun.
"Oh / should have said you came from
an extinct star. said the hostess, with
mild scorn. Now, try 1t again With
or withoutG'
"With or withoutY' repeated tn,
newspaper woman as she tried TO thinl
Of all the things ever put into tea
Finally an inspiration came. "Ho
wateri' she exclaimed In triumph
The society woman looked at her will
pity
81 see that you are hopelessly benin,
the times. You don't know any NOR
about modern fashionable tea drinking
than Queen Elizabeth did. Now, III
enlighten you. When ! say with oi
without2 that means rum.
"kum"
That's no truer than the other stories
D In fact Il is not true at all
5 There are some women everywhere, an
perhaps some high spirited young girls
who don't know any better who do som
s Of these wicked things but the womer
S generally are too careful Of their health
their persons, their compilations, thei
s breath, their mouths and teeth; to 50
e naught of their regulations to do thes
{ things These are all newspaper special
s written by space writers and sold
r papers which cater for class of peopl
u who love scandaious nonsense in lieu @
e salaoious scandal
e II is not true that the women of Ne
'e York society drink tea "spiked" wit
n rum, because the men would soon joi
n them in the rum, and the men would NJ
a consent to spoil rum with tea.