The morning Astorian. [volume] (Astoria, Oregon) 1899-1930, 1908-02-09
SCOTCH TEA-ROoMS.
An American Girls View of Lunch
in and Shopping.

| III may NOT StFike All UaNcicl'
newly landed in Glasgow and athirS
for information that its tea-room'
form the brightest, and its othel
shops the darkest. spots in that inter
esting city, but it did us, Why III,
tea-rooms should have so captured
our imaginations | do not know, un-
less it was that we were touched by
the spectacle OF so much for so little
Is there any place but a Scotch tea.
room where you can lunch to reple-
ton on sixpenee az eents), and
where (added charmD the feminine
tooth can satisfy its taste for sweets
without shame. since nearly every
thing in sight is sweet and what is
not in sight is not to be had'
Cranston's, the tca-room par excel
lence OF Glasgow, is not an inspiring
spot in itself The main shop on Blu
chanan Street is long. dark, narrow
room where one comes solely to eat,
not to indulge a rowing eye But
who would not fix his eye. from
choice, on table spread with every
variety of bread known to Scotland
scones, soda sconcs, potato scones,
sweet milk scones, currant scones,
brown scones, all rather heavy and
suggesting indigestion, but all good /;
bread and butter, brown and white;
bread and butter with carvies (cara-
way seeds covered with sugar), "baw-
bee" oat cakes, and endless other
varieties of doughy CONNECTION Then
comes cakes, and cookies, and buns,
and little tarts to further distract the
eye; and then, best OF all, arranged in
a neat square in the center of the
table, diminutive pots OF jam. hold.
ing each enough for one person OF
good but not too greedy appetite.
Having taken bird's-eye view OF
all these glories, ones difficulties be-
gin. In the first place, it is most
distracing matter to decide whether
to take strawberry, raspberry, black
currant or damson jam, and, having
decided, to chase the last elusive
berry around and around the bottom
OF the jar before catching and deposit
ing it on ones plate Then unless
you are OF such an extravagant turn
OF mind that you disregard the price
list propped up in a neat frame in the
middle of the table, there are most
complicated calculations to be made.
"lf potato scone and butter cost
penny, and sweet milk scone costs
twopence, and bun also costs
penny, shall cat a sweet milk scone,
which | like, or potato scone and
bun, which | do not care for, but
which will fill larger chink in my
internal economy" 1t is a dreadful
problem, but no more so than to de-
eide whether to take small cup OF
tea for twopence, on the chance OF
not wanting another; OF to take the
large cup for threcpence in the begin
ming, and in the end save a penny.
On the whole, the way to enjoy
Cranston's to its utmost is to say
Hang the expencc," and eat regard
less. Then, when, having consumed
so many scones and cakes that the
suggestion Of another bun" is a
deadly insult, you begin a laborious
calculation of what you have really
eaten, you receive an unexpected
thrill at discovering that you have
devoured the enormous sum of eight
pence halfpenny
Glasgow's retail stores surprised
our American minds much less pleas
antly than did the tea-room. Nine
o'clock is supposed to be the opening
time; if it is more convenient to make
it later, why, later it is. Scotch mer-
chants must have angelic dispositions
or perhaps it is only stray Ameri-
can who arrives on the dot--so that
it really doesn't matter if the sales
woman is IS or 20 minutes late. On
the morning we were leaving for the
Highlands | found to my horror that
had left my umbrella behind and
must buy another at literally the last
moment | flew painting UP Renheld
Street to a nice little shop | knew, to
discover the shutters just being
taken off. ! made breathless entry
and demanded an umbrella of the
shop boy, the only person in sight
He looked at me with a hurt express
sion.
"The shop amt open yet, num-" he
said.