The Savannah morning news. (Savannah, Ga.) 1900-current, 1900-08-26

to society.
Greatly as she despises money, she is
ever ready to accept the benefits in the
way of hospitality from those who pos
sess it, and all the pleasures and distrac-
IONS which wealth offers she is more
than willing to share
Yet she is forever discoursing upon her
nigh Ideals" of life and begging us poor
mundane mortals to despise money and
position and to ignore gain if we would
be worthy of the smile of Art
There is great deal of talk of late
years in the newspapers says the New
YORK Tribune, of strange insects and the
effect that their bites have on the human
constitution, and we have all heard of the
Iapuious tarantula, whose sting causes it's
victims to dance in madness. The Scotch
expression of "a bee in his bonnet has
become an accepted term for any marked
eccentricity, and now we have the so
ciety bee.' that numbers its victims by
thousands. 1t is curious the effect that
TINS society bee has on the character. II
Is undoubtedly very stultifying. A man
OF woman who has the craze for purely
social recognition and prominence is apt
10 attach such undue importance to the
really petty distinctions that their nobler
ambitions and aspirations become com
pletely stitied by the parasitical growth
that creeps over and DESTROYS the health
ful Interests of life. This may sound ex-
IRENE, but it is really curious TO note how
many clever people appear to feel that to
achleVe an acknowledged place in the
fashionable world is the acme of human
good. They will devote time and ener-
sy towards an object which they
Know to be puerile and unworthy of such
EFFORTS. To be asked to Mrs. Tiptop's
dinners; to be on terms of familiarity with
Mrs. Smart and her set; to be intimate
with the Croesuses and Midases-in short,
to succeed socially" seems to be the
goal which is worth the greatest strIv-
ing.
Some of the best known symptoms of
person who has been bitten by the 80
clety bee" are as follows: Old friends are
forgotten and lost sight of; relatives if
not IN the swim, are ignored scheming
ana calculation takes the place of honesty
and loyalty; snobbishness and arrogance
OF kindness and true friendship, while
every act seems subordinated to the one
great object of getting nearer the charm
ed circle of high society! This may seem
an eXaggeration. but IN thinking over the
changed character of some friend who has
been bitten by the society bee" do we
not recognize al least some of these char
acteristics? 1t is the social aspirants to
whom these charges are applicable, and
those who wear the purple by natural
right note with langud interest the efforts
of those who seek their society.
Il took quite a fancy to that little Mrs.
Clymber at one time" said one of these
great ladies recently. II used to meet
such clever people a her house. She really
had the elements of a salon if she had
been wise enough to see It. Through some
tl
the stage, and her husband, who was a
publisher, knew many celebrated authors,
and she herself went with a musical set
that was delightful. l always made
point OF accepting her invitations, as l
felt sure l would meet some one worth
knowing. Now that she is what is called
socially launched, she has entirely chang
ed her guests. and if I should go TO her
house now l would meet only vapid would
be fashionable whom Mrs. Clymber, with
her short sighted policy, fancies to be
'smart'-peqple whom we know and have
to tolerate, but who certainly are not
worth the trouble of meeting. 1t seems
a pity that really clever woman like
Mrs Clymber should have played her
cards so badly, and instead of becoming
a parsonage, which she might very easily
with her opportunities have succeeded in
doing, she is only uasi-fashionable, who
hangs on the SkIIS OF society.
What has become of young X-?"
asked a college professor not long ago. st
always predicted a successful future for
that young man. What is he doing with
himself?"
Dancing attendance on Mrs. Topnotch,"
laughed the person whom he addressed.
HE has been bitten by the society bee
goes only with smart people, and has for
gotten, or rather appears to forget. his old
friends. In the meanwhile he gets
small salary in some office that pays for
his clubs and his clothes. You might as
will give him up. A man that has got
into a grove like that never gets out of it!'
The women of China, says the New
York Sun, are said to favor the Boxers,
because, like the women of most other
lands, they are the religious sex. Look
ing at foreigners, whether they be en-
gagged in evangelizing or commerce, as
the enemies of their religion, they want
them driven out of the country. They
look 20 the Boxers to accomplish this.
Women in China have in several in
stances shown themselves capable of acts
of great heroism, measured by the stand
ards of their own country. The great ii
Hung Chang petitioned the Empress to
reward two women of position for acts
which would never have been selected
here for particular distinction. One of
these was daughter of the Chinese min
lister to London, who married at very
early age man whom she had scarcely
known, for, in accordance with the Chi
nese custom, she had no hand in the Sc
lection Of her husband. Her family look
ed after that and she married him at
the appointed time. . 1t is a lucky thing
for the women of a country that has
such customs that they are sometimes
able to fall in love with their husbands
after marriage. This 17-year-old bride
was able to do that and her devotion to
this husband took a form that seems re-
markable to Western ideas. When he was
i'll and could eat nothing she cut off a
slice of her arm and put it in the broth
prepared for him. Wheeler she thought
This treatment would cure him or not, he
died. Then she took poison and when
the physicians saved her life against her
win she refused to eat and starved to
death. LII Hung Chang petit;oned the
Tlronress for some mark of the esteem
In which such a faithful wife should be
held and Il was granted to the woman's
family and also 10 her sister-in-law, who
was sister to no less a person than the
Narouis Tseng This over she tried 10
kill herself after her husbands death,
but welded. after several unsuccessful
a.tamnts TO the persuasion of her rela-
lives and consented to live on condition
That she he allowed to devote her time
~ managing estates of her husbands
father, who was at the time Chinese am
hassador to London. This privilege was
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