Iowa County democrat. [volume] (Mineral Point, Wis.) 1877-1938, 1895-01-10

Music Is peculiar-Surprises for
the Spectators.
In the artistic development of the
banquet John Chinaman has passed
all rivals, ancient and modern, by the
creation Of the sing-song girl. This
is a wonderful combination of waiter,
valet, vocalist, instrumentalist, recon
teur, steward, pipe bearer, cigarette
holder, flirt, and, above all, a thing of
beauty and a joy forever. There is
nothing like unto her in the heavens,
the earth, or the waters beneath the
earth. She came into being about a
thousand years ago, q century or so
after the sages and philosophers of the
flowery kingdom had established the
system of keeping the sexes as far
apart as law, custom and the police
can separate them.
In the good old days women and men
met together at the banqueting board.
The new system shut them out alto
| gether. They were forbidden to at
tend public functions; then to dine
with any man save their own i'm
mediate relatives by blood or mar
riage, and lastly, to eat at the same
table with these unless especially in
vited. so 1t has remained ever since.
At the great dinners of high officials
no woman Is ever present. At the
parties given by merchants, man
darins, bankers, and rich property
owners, the wives and daughters are
absent, or, ut the furthest, are looking
at the guests through Venetian blinds,
| loophoes in the walls, or the narrow
slit between the door and doorway.
But no matter how much you legis-
late and make foolish customs to the
contrary, men cannot get along with
out women. So by degrees the sing
song girl came into existence. Who
| first invented her is matter on
which history preserves a discreet ST
lence. In the beginning there is no
doubt that she was Il person of not
the highest type morally. Then 1t oc-
Cured to some Sapicnt person that
there would be more satisfaction, even
If there were less fun in a moral and
| so successful that 1t was tried by
everybody and became popular The
respectable sng-song girl and the. OBJ
jectionable feast are now the univer-
sal rule.
To meet Il sing-song girl In all her
! glory you must go to dinner where
the guests are congeniai and of about
In MI To-,
great banker and his friends small
merchants, or where he Is a powerful
mandarin and they inferior officials,
there are always certain condescen-
sion on the part OF the former and Il
nervous uncasiness on the part of the
latter, which play havoc with good
fellowship. A birthday party and a
banquet In honor of the birth of Il son
are about the best events In which
to participate.
You arrive at the house, and, amid
the barking of house dogs and ours,
you are ushered into the reception
room which adjoins the banQueting
hall. Here you are met and welcomed
! by the host. The apartment is large
and high. handsome chairs and ia
bes range the walls. On two sides
are hunks or Chinese bedsteads, large
enough for eight people to lie upon,
| on which are handsome opium layouts,
scissors cleaners, Spongcs, matches
and decorators. On center table is
Il tea eaddy, filled with oolong or
souchong cups and bowls On sec
ond table, for those who have acquired
European tastes, are champagne, sher-
ny. whisky, brandy and bottled soda.
In corner of the room are the sing
song girls. They range III number
from three upward. AT a very lux
urious dinner there may be two to
each guest. This, however, is rare.
The cost Is very great, and when there
is such multitude they Interfere
with one another. One to Il guest Is
] the most convenient number, and
seems to be preferred by regular d.
nerS out. One to every two guests is
also common. The artists are young
/ women whose ages are anywhere from
! l6 to Is. They are very pretty from
Il Mongolian standard. and attractive
even from our own. Their lips and
/ cheeks are delcately tinted, and their
brow and necks lightly powdered with
1 poudre de riz. Their hair is marvel
Gus work or art, brushed, oiled, stiff
/ fened, perfumed and set full of won
derful pins. Diamond or jade earrings
hang from exquisite ears; Il necklace
cucircles the throat; bracelets, ban
giles. and Jade rings half conceal fair
arms, and a score of rings load down
slender and graceful fingers. As for
the costumes their splendor battles de-
scipt '. Each suit consists of a coat
and r of trousers of the finest silk,
satin or brocade.
"he coat Is cut yery much like n
FIX I'll workingman's blouse, but 1t Is
far more neat and shapely. The trou-
sers are simple cylinders which fall
TO the ankle, and disclose the finest
Silken hosiery and the daintiest EN-