New-York tribune., 1899-07-30
SOME WAYS OF THE WORLD.
THE SERVANT QUESTION HOME
+ TROUBLE IN SOUTH AFRICA.
SERIOUS BREAKS MADE IN SOCIETY BY TALK
ING ABOUT ONES NEUTRALITY-SUSPICIOUS.
AND HER GREAT HABIT OF

THAT is Mrs. X, and she has Just returned
from South Africa" said hostess at a seashore
cottage TO one OF her guests. as refined pretty
woman foated into the room. ethereally gowned In
a flmy lace trimmed organde.
Americans not familiar as their Enghsh
cousins with the Dark Continent and an actual
resident from the Transvaal presented possibilities
of interest. SO Introduction was requested ana
effected.
you want me to tell you about my life at
bome?" oueried the stranger a few minutes later.
after the conversation had been deftly turned In
that direction There is really not much 10 tell
II is very monotonous. The bane OF pioneering TO
q woman is that the difficulty or. rather, the i'm
possibility Of getting servants makes OF us all DO
mestic dredges 1t is impossible to live decently
without personal supervision OF everything ana one
comes quickly to the conclusion that 1t is easier 10
get on with one Hottentot or Zulu or Basuto, as
the case may be. and work ones SELF than to uy
10 enlighten the intense stupidity Of several
my home Is up country farm, isolated from
every one Our nearest English neighbor lives
twenty miles away and although have occasional
visitors from an adjacent native kraal. they seem
10 intensity. rather than lessen the loneliness
When we first went out we lived in regular native
hut but now feel grand in six roomed shahy
OF corrugated iron lined with wood, covered with
SORT OF plaster on the outside for the sake OF cool
ness This makes really most comfortable dwell
ing and is in fact the only thing that can stand
the torrentlal downpours of the wet season
"Our furniture is somewhat scanty and chieny
home made but with knickknacks and chtntzes the
rooms look pretty and attractive-at least think
they do There is coal up country. and all our
ares are made of wood Provisions outside of our
own raising are dear. We XIII our own veal, pork
and mutton, and raise our own vegetables
.sTbe great pest OF all housekeepers are the white
ants Not only do they invade ones larder and
toreroom but they attack clothes and even leather
oortmanteaus boots. hats and harness. Nothing IS
safe from these narauders. To find the queen ant
ane destroy her is the only way OF getting rid OF
swarm, and II is frequently necessary to pull up
the flooring to find her majesty.
1.-THE dust storm is another South African plague
lEometimes the fierce storm OF fine red dust VIII rage
for hours and will penetrate everywhere. This Is
an evil that knows no remedy from Cape Town TO
the Zambesi. The only consolation 10 those who
live up country is that there. at least the dust Is
clean.
"The weather is glorious; clear sunshine and the
finest air In the world may be counted upon for
seven months at a stretch The atmosphere is most
bracing and under its exhiarating influence petty
troubles lose half their annoyance When first
went there thought should never be recon-
ciled and / long TO be back
UNFORTUNATE SPEECHES.
A break in modern social parlance means some
thing that had better have remained unsaid and 1t
goes without saying that the number Of such uh-
fortunate speeches each season is legion.
In fact there seems to be some peryerse imp that
make remarks that horrify US even while we say
them and which remember afterward 10 our
sorrow At the same time he forget
all the pretty speeches which have carefully
prepared fc- certain occasions or possible contin
eencies and tantalizes us with the c,everest and
most opportune -repartecs observations which
would have been so well timed II we had only
remembered 10 say them on certain occasions. in
stead Of having them 10 us when 1t all
TOO late.
There is no ossibe reason for and every reason
against our bringing into our conversations deroga
tory remarks that might apply 10 the person with
whom we are talking Still all know how, in
spite OF ourselves apt 10 speak OF big noses
70 the man or woman who is sensitive on account
of the prominence OF this particular feature; OF
the unfortunate badness OF some one to an indi-
.fduai who has lost his hair or OF the dwarfed
stature OF some friend 10 his counterpart In that
particular and so on ad infnitum. II is like fatal
whirlpool toward which feel ourselves drifting
with no power to stop while perfectly aware
Of the approaching vortex
Breaks made in society by insufficient know-
edge of ones companion frequent. One is in
froduced TO a stranger. and the couple plunge into
small talk which, II It becomes personal often
proves disastrous.
do you think that girl pretty?" Gueried young
woman OF a comparative newcomer 10 whom she
had fust been presented She pointed nearby
debutante and added Some people consider her
x "Soi % %psrticulsry," answered the man.
( do you admire herr
] Me Oh not at ail.' the decided rejoinder.
s II consider her particularly bad style but then,
~ am told her people are very common. ,. ..
! SSst the ha lighter part parts may not suffer
4 When the fadding In has become thoroughly