The Savannah morning news., 1900-08-21

of excessive heat. but of many calamities
With the advent of our deg Gays We al
revert 10 some sunerstitious usages,
among which is the s=tting up of the "cooI
tankard' as an appropriate symbol 1t IS
the office Of the devout professors of
thirst TO keep this vessel constantly re-
plenished. And with such cheerful alac5
rity is the duty fulfilled that not few
brothers OF the order appear to drink,
not because they are thirsty, but lest
they should be by and by"
The philosophy of thirst is a dry SUBJ
ject.. II may, however. be treated with
/ humidity and open mind-say in the
calm and shaded library, an iced hook and
settler being within easy reach. Other
kinds of philosophy may be discussed on
similar terms, which have the advantage
of constituting each moralist his own AR
bitter bibendi" But the really thirsty
| man recognizes that he is animal.
deep deep draught of something COOL
/ homely, mildly fragrant. and almost neu-
trail in point of flavor best fits him This
is no time for finicking drinks. Water
however pure is not universally whole
some or acceptable. 1t needs a something
"a medator-to turn IFS crude and assert
i've edge. Now, for bare thirSt-quenching
qualities few beverages can equal
draught of oatmeal water with a squeeze
of lemon. 1t is not a full-dress drink; it
has no pretensions TO elegance; and it is
SO dreadfully cheap that no modern res
taurateur could dream of taking 1t up. 1t
is only wholesome, refreshing. and suffic-
ing; that is for man, the animal. In which
CHARACTER some people have even called
this drink sublime. OF course, 1t all de-
ponds upon circumstances. A man in
frock coat and a top hat must not go
about seeking for unsophisticated drinks.
His character is at stake. What should
he do with pitcher? He might as we'll
go in for a brown toby" Nor can he
carry his own oatmeal and enjoy himself
at a drinking fountain. Eccentricity is
perhaps a worse social malady than down
right lunacy. So he samples the bowls of
vapid claret cup; wearies himself with
lemon squashes-" cigarette obligato" ac-
companiment-toys with various special
mixtures" including probably one of his
own, and finds that he is more uncoyn-
Portable than ever. He has only estab-
! lished the truth of the proposition that
! there may be intemperance with diluents
as well as with stimulants, bringing on
! dropsy instead of delirium tremens."
! Water is a good servant. but bad mas
| ter; nor is the case altered when 1t is fro
zen Iced "quenchers' are a contradic-
ton in terms; while oobblers, juleps and
| all such plausible impostors are nothing
/ less tndn lnCen0ldTleS. 1Dey are NlOlcnb
delights which have mostly violent ends.
Many of them are "heady" while yet
more of the so-called summer drinks are
too syrupy and luscious to be really re-
| freshing But led astray by their allure
ments we crunch their 10y particles, and
! allow them 10 soald our threats. In more
| point of tempersture-"the point in hot
| weather-the ideal of an acceptable bev-
erage is that it should suggest the cellar,
1 -, .Prfe nra So ka
| romantic of poets has set up the true sci
enufc standard when he thirsts for a
draught.
Cooled long age in the deep-delved
earth"
! That is easily realized at the foot of
Mount Parnassus. as in the most limited
and prosaic of city gardens. But there is
no earth to delve In Flatland. And its
only cellars are coal cellars, so there must
be refrigerators. Still, little understand
! ing of their purpose and discretion in
| their use will work wonders. Our bever
ages. then, should be cool; not ice cold.
A wonderful little feat of parlor magic
may be performed by simply wrapping
wet cloth round bottle or vessel of
| earthenware, and standing IL where you
! can establish a thorough draught. A leafy
tree makes splendid natural refrigerator,
which will never go beyond the judicious
mark And even sunshine will not hinder
/ the process provided that the wrappings
! of the vessels are kept constantly wet.
| Thus treated, such homemade refreshers
| as natural lemonade, apple drink, and a
score of others are perennially welcome
1t need scarcely be said that afternoon tea
is now properly included in the list of
coolers"
| Though by no means perfect our sys-
| TEN of summer drinks is certainly great
| Improvement on that which contented our
ancestors Their jolly good ales and headv
/ elders were quite as unreasonable and
| probably n orr dangerous, than our over
| do: cup" drinks. At all events. we have
a number of light and tonic beverages
which they would have scorned We i'm
bite more wisely, IL not quite so well
And we have discovered that one of the
! best means of irrigating the human sys-
TEN in hot weather is by judcous top
dressings" of fruit and salads. No less
| than IS per cent. of the constituents of
| the lettuce are water and VIXEN It is crisp
| cool succulence rot grateful to the palate?
| The cucumber holds just the same pro-
! portion of water. while the tomato yields
about 80 per cent. Most of our fresh fruit
and vegetables con something like so
per cent. Of water. This suggests a nat
ural form Of Vegetaranism, which hap
! PLY needs 10 proselytism. And we have
not a few popular and delightful summer
| d inks, which teetotaler may trace 10
/ their source without so much as blinking
! But after oil the only true temperance
consists in not too much of anything
even of unfermented beverages. Nor is II
wise to set w the ice idol as the great
object of worship in the dog days.