The Saint Paul globe. (St. Paul, Minn.) 1896-1905, 1899-12-31

those which society encourages or at
least condones. Not a few of them come
from social ambition. They are the means
employed to gain the ends al which that
aims. a very common ambition, though
it is almost the meanest and most des-
p:cable, is to appear richer than one is.
The amount Of social sin that springs
from this source can scarcely be exag-
gerated. Think of the vulgarity and posi-
tive evil that the phrase keeping up ap-
pearances" suggests
The world We know is deceived by or
nament. and thinks more Of the shadow
than Of the substance: accordingly we
overwork and overfret ourselves ''to keep
up appearances" Having food and raj
ment W., are not content unless we have
a larger house than Mr.. So-and-So,
greater number of servants than he Is
tyranized over by, and more gorgeous
furniture and equipages Who attends TO
tho good old maxim eight hours sleep.
eight hours work eight hours recreation"
in days when ambition and competition
have made a murderous compact to work
us to death, or at least to cause US to
swell the number of the insane?
20, that way madness lies; let me shun
that"
To deceive their neighbors people on the
verge Of bankruptcy give what they call
dinner parties, but which really are
coarse meat-shows. From o'clock till
10 people sit over feasts Of unreasen,
moistened certainly by gooseberry cham
payne. but utterly arid as regards flow OF
soul or sparkle OF conversation. The
business Of the evening is not friendly IN
tercOurse. Guests are collected merely
to witness the fact that their host enter
tains with larger number Of entrees
than appeared at their tables when no
was guest. It IS air a great social SIN
against our bodily health. not to speak
of the other kinds of health. Only to
taste half of the superhuous dishes in
sures a headache next day And when
such dinners are given by persons Of
limited incomes, there invariably follows
a period Of starvation to make up for
1t that cannot fail to be unhealthy. It
Is no wonder that the words 'tin friend
ly way are now generally added to invi-
tations where sociability and moderation
are preferred to snobbishness and excess.
They certainly are more friendly TO the
stomach. Under glass case In Bethnal
scientific" Dill OF fare. 1t is the amount
of food proved experiments on con-
aEicts and others to be necessary to keep
al adult person in perfect health for
- twenty-fOur hours Some of our gour-
NETS would think 1t painfully little, and
yet anything more than this must do
p harm on the principle that what We leave
at table often does more good than what
We take, and that the man who eats lit
tie eats much, for he does not dig his
grave with his teeth. but 1vas longer TO
eat. The head waiter Of a large hotel
at which I was lately staying told me
that the habit Of most of the guests is
this They come down to a great break
fast at 10 o clock, they lunch at 30 On
getting up from this they ask the waiter
what time dinner IS. To sustain life, how
ever until the table q hote, there Is
O'Clock tea, with many kinds Of sand
witches and cakes. Before retiring to
their nightmare slumbers many take sup
per, not because they are hungry, but be-
cause they do not like to go to bed when
there is anything else to be done. At the
hotel referred to I congratulated a lady
between eighty and ninety on her robust
hearth. Yes" she replied, 81 am quite
we'll" and then added, locking around,
you see do not eat too much 1t was
to save his life that Abernethy gave to
his rich patient the well-known piece Of
earn IT."
4 few years ago we hoped that the
habit Of tipping was becoming less COM
mon. Afternoon tea seemed to be salts
flying even men With the revival OF
trade, however, came a revival of drink
ing which showed that the number or
people who drink as much as they can
afford is large one. Even young ladies
may now be heard in hotels ordering
WHISTLES and sodas in the morning.
very intelligent woman said lately Of
q sister in public life: II never cared for
her very much until I found she really
loved a new bonnet as a woman should"
Yes, women should dress becomingly, so
as to make the most OF themselves. An
other legitimate reason IS in order that
they may gain the admira ton Of the other
Sex A large number, however, of these
gentle beings are urged to extravagant
dressing by envy, hatred and malice.
They want to put to shame a rival woTn-
an; they would force some hated sister
to take a back seat. They are as mali
cious in f1aring new gowns before other
women as the bull fighter is in goading
to madness his antagonist. This tgnoble
rivalry and the aforesaid desire to appear
wealthy explain the milliner's bills. which
furnish such pleasant reading for hus-
bands of our time. What Judas kisses
women give to each other while slaught-
ering character behind backs. Some time
ago I listened to a class of police recruits
being examined in a catechism of police
duties at the Royal Irish constabulary de-
pot Phoenix Park, Dublin. One question
struck me-'If you knew anything in the
prisoners favor would you tell it?'' The
answer was, Certainly" A hint from this
might be taken by those who assist at
tea parties and such functions. Instead
of trying to make their conversation spicy
by talking against people they should do
the opposite, and If they know anything
IN the prisoners favor say It.
Perhaps the most fertile source Of social
sins IN our time is the rapidly Of the
age. Everyone is now trying to go the
pace. the speed of the telegraph and tele-
phone has infected our nerves. Prof.
Huxley was staying at Belfast when the
British association met there. He want
ed to go to a breakfast party but was
rather late, so stepping on car he told
ing to mention where he wished to be
brought. Remembering the omission, he
said to the man, Where are you going?"
He replied, "Troth I don't know, but
didn't I drive you fast?" AS little do
many people know to where they are 60
ing when they start a fast life Most of
them do this merely to be in fashion, but
their nerves soon get into a state OF
chronic unrest. They scorn the simple
pleasure Of life and vote everything slow
which Is not exciting. This is the ex-
PLANTATION Of the gambling which Is now
so rife among all sorts and conditions Of
men. women and even of children. That
poor innocent animal, the horse is not
responsible for half the gambling that
goes on. Certainly there are asses who