The San Francisco call., 1895-12-01

| body offers stale beer or cold vegetables to
| her friends, but these long-standing drugs
are counted as proper, and the lady who IS
receiving thanks the girls who stew the
| tea for being so sweet and industrious.
Another way of making tea, favored by
young ladies who like to firt, and who
| think nothing of the stomachs of the lady
| callers is to put the tea in the copper ket-
tie, keep adding fresh leaves. and letting
1T boil all the afternoon. Strong? 1t
would not only make your hair curl, but
it would raise the top of your head. Still,
the dear girls are capable of doing any
thing when it comes to choosing between
work or play. 1t was ladies' luncheon
that the other letter was about. In giving
luncheon to women alone the dishes are
usually fancy and uneatable. What
else can be expected? When woman
has to put all her money in favors and
decorations, there is so little left for food
that, what in England are called hashes
and in France entrees are the only things
possible. The charm of the ladies' lunch
con is, that as one plays with the dishes
offered there is much time for talk, and
lovely woman can lie-I didn't mean to
say that word, for it isn't nice-I mean
lovely woman can accept the compliments
about her frock. and shrug her shoulders,
and say it is a little thing that was made
for her in Paris and only cost 5000. This
gives the woman next to her a chance to
pinch the leg of the woman next to her
and whisper, "It was made right here in
New York, and she was cheated if it cost
over $50."
Then the unmarried women are sweet
and humble, and tell of the men who pro-
posed to them in the years gone by. and
whose wives are now present They look
at Mrs. Jones ano say, 81 know, sweet
heart, you won't mind, but, of course,
Charlie hadn't met you then, and 1 was
his first love-" But Mrs. Jones does mind,
and later on Mr.. Jones has an unpleasant
quarter of an hour. Then, with the coffee
there usually appear two or three of the
cheap compounds sold at the large
shops, where you can get a diamond
brooch or a scrubbing- brush, Worth
frock or rat-trap, and called by the
saleswoman "liquors" Ekkers,"
she explains. The hostess has told her
husband how much cheaper she can get
them there than at the wineshop, and
after he has tasted them he wonders that
they are not given away with the guessing
contests in the Sunday papers. However,
the women drink them, and the first
woman to depart is the one who suffers.
Her hostess says: 81 don't want to seem
inhospitable; like all my friends to have
the best that have and as much as they
care for, but did you notice how many
glasses of liquor dear Ethel took? ?'' And
everybody sighs and groans, and one
woman closes her eyes in lackadaisical
sort of manner and says: II will not dis
cuss it, but, dear child, will say prayer
for her." And then everybody sighs softly
again, and, after the lady who is so gener-
Gus with her prayers departs, the girl who
sat next to her makes face and SAYS:
"Old hypocrite? She's a good sight better
be praying for that son of hers and let
Ethel alone"
By this time everybody had verged
around to Ethel's side and had their
glasses filled, and the hostess plaintively
asks: docs anybody suppose l would say
a word against any one of my guests? ?"
And her most intimate friend answers:
mo, Clarice; you are too honorable"
Then Tor few minutes everybody talks
about Clarice's honor, ana she is rosy red
with delight and indigestion, and inquiries:
Are you asked to the Browns dinner
dancer" Everybody is except one girl,
and she remarks, never mentioning the
fact that she hasn't got a card: 'Well,
of course, you can all go if you like to, but
mamma objects to seeing my name
among the people present, for we
know how MI Brown made his
money" Then she says good-by to
everybody, and one woman pins a
bunch of violets on her coat, and another
N,
decorated her with flowers murmurs, as a
sort of eulogy: Poor Mollie, it is funny
to hear her talking about what her mother
won't let her do, for it is many long day
since she clapped hands for mamma"
The girl who kissed Mollie says: "Oh,
Mrs. Jones, that's slang. But. indeed,
dear Mollie is too utterly ridiculous And
so it goes on until at last there is nobody left
but the hostess and her dearest friend and
she inquiries, "Ain't you glad it is over?'
and the hostess answers, Indeed l am,
but have wiped off my list all that tribe"
This is the average dove luncheon. OF
course, there are hospitable women, and
there are times when two or three meet to-
gether, two or three pleasant women, and
that exists just at present for calling
women friends by over-affectionate names
is especially noticeable at dove luncheon.
Somebody addresses the hostess as 'tSweet-
heart" a square-jawed woman, who looks
as though she had never known the mean
ing of the word, is called Love" girl who
lisps addresses everybody as Dearest
while "Dear" is as common as postage
stamps. l confess to not liking it. A
woman wants to be dearest" and ''sweet-
est" and Glove to man, and when she
calls anybody by these endearing terms
she wants to address baby. Hence their
between women.
The other letter that came to me about
etiquette asked about an afternoon visit.
From its tone I imagine the writer is one
OF the kind who arrives prom pity at
and remains until 6:15 o'clock, and then
finds you are not quite pleasant because
you don't ask her to stay to dinner.
Twenty minutes Is long enough for
lady caller to inflict herself on q kind
hearted hostess, and the brigb and more
delightful she is the more certain will she
be of appreciation if she departs while her
charms are still fresh. She who writes
wishes to know what constitutes small
talk. scarcely know myself. SO listened
to five lady callers. The first one told all