The morning news. [volume] (Savannah, Ga.) 1887-1900, 1898-02-03
DANCING DOWN DINNERS.
Expedient by Which GOrmandizing
Is Greatly Facilitated.

EXpedient by Which Commanding
Is Greatly Facilitated.
From the New Orleans Picaqune.
One of the most painful facts in life is
the apparent impossibnity of reconciling
fashion and common sense. One may be
long on style and short on comfort or he
may have comfort to burn and give fash,
ion the shake; but there seems to be no
all-around good thing, so one may be swell
and comfortable at the same time. You
must choose between them. There is no
good reason for this. II is an arbitrary
and unnecessary infiction laid on a suf-
fering world. and one is forced to the con-
clusion that nothing short of utter malig-
nifty could have inspired many of the fash
ions under which we groan. There is not
even the excuse for beauty, for which one
might well endure many pangs of discom-
fort. There is nothing artistic in linen
collar so high and stiff 1t looks like an
understudy of a terra Gotta chimney flue.
But it is full of suffering and style No
one since the days of Mephistophlese ever
had feet built after the architecture of
the pointed-toe shoes. There is no beauty
in them-nothing but aches, and corns and
fashion. When nature made lovely wo-
man il wrote beauty in every soft curve
of her body, but fashion never rested un-
til it squeezed and compressed her into
the shape OF an hour-glass. She was too
comfortable in flowing draperies that fell
in loose grace, and she was girded up In
stays, and smothered in frills, and weight
ed down with ornaments in the interest of
the theory that style and comfort could
not be amalgamaled Such being the
case, IL gives great pleasure to notice that
4
happily combines The very latest wrinkle
of fashion with the most admirable com
mon sense.
Recent dispatches from New York bring
the information that it is now customary
among the smart set to have dancing be-
tween the courses of elaborate dinners. The
swell dancing is varied with cake-walks,
skirt dancing and other edifying aids to di-
gestion. The possibilities this opens up to
people Of epicurean taste are simply Amit-
less and 1t is also beyond praise as a kind
of life-saving measure, as every one at a
long dinner must have some time felt that
the next course would be the death of him.
Then. too, this scores heavily for us as
showing the advancement in refinement
that has been made since the days of the
banquets of Lucullus and other swell din
ner-givers of antiquity. When their faded
appetites gave out, they took a disgusting
If simple. means of refreshing them, so
as to be able to take fresh start all over
again. Now, we will simply arise and exc
cute a short but violent dance, and be
ready to do justice to the further triumphs
of the chef No more dishes served with
sauce piquant of sauce Hollandaise, but
with an accompaniment of Virginia reel,
or cake-walk. or a highland fling, and
good digestion will wait on appetite. An
other advantage It offers is the suppression
Of the after-dinner orator. Fellows like
Chauncey Depew viii no longer have a
monopoly on a good thing because they
can talk, don't yon know On the contra
ry young fellows whose brains are in their
heels will be the bright particular stars
that people who give fashionable dinners
will seek out. on the whole, this readjust-
ment of the etiquette of dinner giving has
everything to commend 1t, and will stand
as monument TO the genius who devised
il.