The morning news. [volume] (Savannah, Ga.) 1887-1900, 1896-06-21
AMERICAN BAR.
ALL KINDS OF AMERICAN DRINKS

am bound to say that in these estab-
/ lishments they do sell all kinds of Amer
lean drinks. Indeed, they sell more kinds
of American drinks there than they do in
New York. An "ear twister'' may be a
delicious exhilarating beverage, and d
morning livener" everything that it's
name implies, but one must come to Lon
don to learn that they are American
drinks.
Englishmen do not habitually patronize
these places, but once in a while they
make up a sort of bibulous Summing par
ty, for the purpose Of sampling the wares
that are offered under such mirth-provok-
ing names as those that 1 have quoted.
Americans, however, visit them, partly
because they are lured in by the name of
| Columbia, and partly because they hope
TO meet other Americans there; for my
travelling countrymen are very fond of
fraternizing with his own kind of meet
ing somebody who turns out to be Jarvis
of Rochester, the brother-in-law of his
neXt-door neighbOr in Peoria, whose name
is Tomkns. He likes to sit down and
drink with Jarvis and compare notes about
the different places they have visited, and
| denounce the various schemes Of pillage
from which they have both suffered
Americans of this sort frequent these bars
and SO do the noble army of impecunious
| ones, Of whom there are thousands in the
| town at the moment of writing.
In some of these bars visitors are serV-
| ed by cockneys incorporating as Ameri-
can bartenders but in others the British
| barmaid abounds. She is a national in
/ stitutton, this barmaid, and one of very
4 old standing, too. There have been many
! changes in English fashions and customs
! since she first appeared upon the scene,
| but her style of dressing her hair remains
! the same and serves as a pleasant re-
| minder of the period Immediately antedat-
ing our great civil contest, when the wa
for fol n he omit of tic r1ar
| ity.
I had a long and serious talk with one
of these barmaids the other day. 1t came
| about in this wise:
1 had already discovered that in in
| trusting one OF them with the task of
mixing drink for you it is necessary to
| maintain as close watch of her move
! ments as you do of the barber who cuts
your hair and who will purpOsely distract
your attention for moment by holding
| his tongue or doing something equally
unexpected, and then squirt pink hair tom
| ic over you.
This particular barmaid was construct
ing for me what she imagined was a gin
| cocktail, and l was watching her far more
| intently than she knew.
! Pleasant dyer she remarked. with tho
| rising infection which is one of the
| principal charms Of the London barmaid.
[ agreed with her, for 1t is always we'll
| to agree with a woman, even when you
l agreed, ] did not take ny eyes off her.
Stop! My clarion voice echoed through
| the pup, my QmDTella SnOI across the
bar and It's crooked handle descended
firmly on her wrist. Never go into an
| American bar and order a drink unless
you have an umbrella or cane with you.
and are prepared to use it a the very first
| proVocaton). She paused in her work and
! looked up at me with an expression of
eyes. --'
whats that you are going to put into
that cocktaiI|' l inquired in a tone SINH
lar to that employed by Mr.. Goff when
/ a NIT
| ness.
And she with her eyes stnl fixed on
mine, and with the light of truth and in
nocence in those dewy orbs, made answer:
Raspberry vinegar, sir; 1t goes in near
ly al American drinks, sir"
"Weu, there's one drink it wont go in -
L retorted, and that is mine"
And then, as she replaced what looked
like a bottle of hair tonic on the shelf, 1
Gypsy, there are so few things requir-
ed in the construction of a cocktail and
| SO many things in the world that should
not be put in 1t, that l wonder how you
| vinegar may have its rightful place in the
economy of nature-though 1 am rather
inclined to doubt it-but it does not belong
in the gin cocktail any more than sawdust
or kerosene oil, or chloroform."
Very well, sir" relied the maid, cheer
fully, I won't put any in, SIR" and
Selling suspicious looking bottle. She
prepared to add some of its contents to
the concoctlon in the place. Again and
again 1 called upon her to pause
Why, that's not raspberry vinegar I'm
putting in, sir" she said, in tones that
indicated her grief at my want of con-
1dence in her. Il promised you I'll nor
| put any raspberry vinegar into it, Don'r
you believe me- sir?"
Then what is it that you were irving
to put in when 1 called upon you to
| pause2"
That! Why that's the cherry cordi,,.
sir. You can read the name on the Dor,
tie II you don't care to. take my word
for it. sir"
I saw that her feelings were hurt thar
her great, wide open, blue eyes were
beginning to full up, and that there was
something like a culver in her voice as
she spoke.
Gypsy" I said, leaning over the bar
ana getting as near as possible to her
brown curls, Il come of an old-fasbfoned
superstitious race, and we have aiwaVe
believed that the presence of cherry cor
dial in gin cocktail was a sure sien
that there would be death in the fam.
lily before long. In the same Quaint
fashion my parents reared me in the he
lief that cocktail with raspberry vim
egar in it signifed the shroud and wind
| ing sheet, the tolling of midnight belle
the swift approach of the male ridsT
sy?" Typ
Why I've only just begun it. sir. I've
| got nothing in except a little ice ard tbs
GIN ana the bitters, sir, and a little sugar
70 Sweeten 1t, sir Now I'll put in a dash
of Jamaica rum"
stop! Give me that glass! There, YOU
see l put my hat over 1t a moment illsf
1or luck; Now cut a small piece of lemon
| peer ana as soon as you see me remove
| the nat squeeze the oil out of the pee1 in n
the glass; But you'd better take those