The Truth About America Part 9

The other, styled "English breakfast tea," is a compound of Chinese black teas; and into this (the percentage very small, for all received will give no more) is sometimes put a little Indian. Bad as it is, 'tis better than the Java beverage, but, as compared with the general tea sold in England to-day, which is more than one-third Indian, it is a tasteless mixture.

In two words, I conceive all, or nearly all, the Indian tea sent to the States has been used up in New York, and consequently it would be strange if it were known elsewhere.

I travelled much in America, south to New Orleans, west to San Francisco. I asked as to Indian tea in many places. I found it in two only. At a tea-store in San Francisco (excuse the word "store," there are no shops in America) I found one kind, an inferior Souchong, with much red leaf. Still it was very drinkable, and I used no other while on the western coast. It had come, I was told, from Bengal, across the Pacific.

Ordinary as the tea was, the store-keeper told me he sold much of it.

The only other place I got Indian tea was at Denver, the capital of Colorado. But it was in a shop kept by an Englishman named Cornforth. He had a large and very successful grocery business and made tea a speciality. He knew all about Indian tea, and had some of the very best, a high-cla.s.s Pekoe Souchong, said to be from a.s.sam. I was some weeks in Colorado (I bought a ranch there for my sons) and drank Mr. Cornforth's tea all the time.

I used to give it to the Americans who came to my house, and they invariably liked it. Mr. Cornforth sells much of it in Denver, and many, his manager told me, drink it pure. Shortly, my experience leads me to believe that Indian tea could be easily introduced into the States.

Were it done, think of the result. The Americans drink individually far more tea than we do. As a rule, they are a sober race. When they drink alcohol, it is a big drink, lasting two or three days, and then for weeks nothing but tea and coffee, but far more of the former. I have not the statistics handy, but I doubt not for "tea per head" the denizens of the United States equal the New Zealanders, who I had previously thought the largest consumers on earth. Then, again, consider the area covered by those tea-drinkers. If Indian tea ever becomes popular with them, the Indian and Ceylon plantations will have to be increased threefold to satisfy the demand.

Tea, I well know, is an aquired taste, and it is not easily, or quickly, that even a better produce will make its way, opposed as it is, to the flavour which has become familiar. But we had exactly the same difficulty in England, and have conquered. We _can_ do the same in America. We cannot expect them, they will not (they did not in England, even few do so here now) drink it pure.

It will run in the States as it has here, and runs in a great measure still. Used to mix with and give body to weak teas, our trans-Atlantic cousins will be _taught_ to appreciate the improved flavour, ignorant as the many will still be of the cause. The taste will grow. More will yearly be demanded, and in time, a long time I admit, may happen what will now certainly occur in England in five years more, half the consumption will be Indian.

But how is it to be so introduced? Certainly not by the very puny efforts made hitherto. The quant.i.ty sent should be multiplied many times, and arrangements made to forward it on arrival, to some, if not all, of the great cities in the interior. There it should be sold at auction to the highest bidders, as done here in the Lane.

Were this done for two or three years, the introduction would be accomplished (it has not been begun yet) and the tea would then make its own way.

But how as to the financial result? Losses at first there would be. Some sacrifice must always be made to carry out large enterprises, but they would not be heavy or of long duration, and every rupee embarked therein would eventually bring back a hundredfold to the tea industry.

Only the Tea a.s.sociations of London and Calcutta can carry it out, and even they cannot do it if the garden owners in India and Ceylon do not help.

You can a.s.sist likewise. Will you kindly do so?

London, 22nd January, 1886. EDWARD MONEY.

I have spoken of the American Press before, but have more to add here, as during my stay on the ranch I saw much of papers published at Denver, the capital of Colorado. If a tradesman wants his goods advertised successfully, it is merely a question of money to get the Editor to allude to them in the body of the paper. Not as done at the bottom of columns with the word "advt." joined on, as some papers print such in England, but in the editorial articles, and as if the notice was put in by the Editor himself, struck with the superiority of what is recommended! Here are one or two examples. These were in the body of the paper, among items of news, &c.

REMOVED.--Gallup, the florist so long at 370 Curtis street, can be found hereafter at 321 Sixteenth street, still with Tunnel & Co. A competent lady floral worker has charge and all orders will receive prompt attention. An abundance of fine flowers always on hand.

Telephone connections with greenhouse on Broadway.

MADAME STOUFFS is in charge of Joslin's costume department, and is prepared to receive orders for all kinds of costumes, satisfaction guaranteed in every respect.

HALFORD SAUCE, for uniform use.

YOUMAN'S fall stiff hats are now on sale at J. A.

McClurg & Co.'s.

JOSLIN'S have the finest line of dry goods to be found in the West.

COLD WEATHER is coming on, and the little ones must be shod accordingly. If you wish to save money, go to 232, Fifteenth street, just below Holladay. W. H. Moore.

SEE the a.s.sortment of fancy plated jewelry at Joslin's.

Another feature is sensational headings. No matter what the subject, the most sensational heading that can be devised appears in large print above it. Political leaders, social news, financial articles are all treated the same way. I had many but lost them. Here are two examples however.

ABDUCTION AND ATTEMPTED MURDER: THE PUEBLO SENSATION.

SILVERTON TREATED TO SOME HARMLESS REVOLVER PRACTICE.

Here, in England, expressions are occasionally made use of in the House which would be better omitted, but the perpetrating delinquent is quickly called to order. Not so in the States. It is difficult to say from the following political leader, if, at the scene described, the combatants came to blows or not, but as it is stated the Sergeant-at-arms failed to keep the peace, and the heading says they "had it out on the floor," I incline to the belief that Messrs.

McGilvray and Montgomery _did_ indulge in a sparring-match, doubtless to the delight and edification of their brother statesmen.

The first heading would be unintelligible did I not state that "dukes" mean fists. Sensational enough in all conscience!

"NOW, PUT UP YOUR DUKES."

STORMY AND DISGRACEFUL SCENES IN THE DEMOCRATIC STATE CONVENTION.

BOSS MCGILVRAY AND B. F. MONTGOMERY HAVE IT OUT ON THE FLOOR--JUDGE W. F. STONE NOMINATED.

The proceedings of the State Democratic Convention, held at Turner Hall, yesterday, were disgraceful enough to bring a blush even to the cheek of a Democrat. "Liar," "snide," "put up your dukes, if you want to fight," cat-calls, hooting, and yelling filled up a greater part of the deliberations of the august body. Boss McGilvray, of the Seventh Ward, and B. F.

Montgomery, statesman-at-large, vented their personal animosities towards each other. McGilvray said that Montgomery had prost.i.tuted every trust, both public and private, ever given into his hands, and Montgomery retaliated by saying that it could not be charged against him, that he was an apostate in the ranks of the party, a Republican who had been brought up in the slums of Chicago.

This was a dig at McGilvray, and he responded by calling Montgomery a liar, and offering to fight him on the floor of the Convention.

The breeze grew out of McGilvray's opposition to Montgomery for Chairman of the Convention. The Committee on Permanent Organization reported in favor of Montgomery for Chairman, and McGilvray moved to strike out his name, and subst.i.tute that of G. Q. Richmond, of Pueblo. It was a bitter fight, and the result was a McGilvray victory.

Montgomery was thrown overboard by an overwhelming majority.

Martin Currigan, the irrepressible, was on hand, and was made Sergeant-at-Arms; but he failed to be of any avail in keeping the peace.

Judge Wilbur F. Stone was nominated for the Supreme Bench without opposition.

The resolutions endorse the administration of President Cleveland, favor the free and unlimited coinage of silver on the present basis, denounce the fencing of large bodies of public land, and insist upon the strict enforcement of the Chinese restriction act.

Interviewing is a science in America. Who has read "Martin Chuzzlewit" and not laughed over d.i.c.kens' description of it? Woe to the man or woman who goes to the States with anything in the way of a reputation. He or she will have no more peace than a t.i.tled individual has, for remember a lord with no reputation, or a bad one (the latter for choice), is as much an object of curiosity and adulation as the most renowned intellectual genius. It is amusing when any woman, famous for beauty, wealth, intellect, or anything else, visits the States. No sooner does she land than everybody would do anything for her. "She must at once be interviewed" is the dictum at each and every newspaper office, and interviewed she is, by one or more of that artist cla.s.s, on some pretence or other, whether she likes it or not. I say "artist cla.s.s" for, considering their wonderful ingenuity in pursuit of their object, they richly deserve the name. If the lady, and thank G.o.d many are, is modest and retiring, and cares not to see her name and antecedents blazoned forth in the public prints, and resolutely refuses to see _any_ strangers on _any_ plea,--what happens? Do they desist and leave her alone? Not a bit of it. They _will_ see her, _coute que coute_, and what's more they do! Cases are recorded, when in the guise of a waiter the opportunity by interviewers to see her at least has been found. Or, should she send out for any article, the individual bringing it is an interviewer, and in this capacity, in some ingenious way, the pretended tradesman is sure to get hold of something. If all other means fail, the chambermaid of her room is pressed into the service, and as regards the poor lady's clothing, if not more, she can and does tell much. _Anyhow_ the victim does not escape. Information is highly paid for and obtained somehow. If she be a celebrity, something has appeared in the English or Continental press about her long ago, and with due foresight has been cut out, and labelled with her name, on the chance of her visiting America later. There it is ready in the office, and is duly made use of. But, if the information get-at-able is in any way insufficient and scanty, the editor or manager of the paper quietly remarks that "_Some_ antecedents there must necessarily have been, that it's a tarnation shame of the said lioness not to a.s.sist them to do her honour, but that as she is so blind to her own advantage, and it's a positive necessity that an article about her should appear next morning, the deficiency must be made up." Well he, or some one he deputes, sits down at the last moment (for there are many on watch, and information may drop in during the night) to write the article, which in any case is highly coloured, and as antecedents are scanty and the public _must_ not be disappointed, plausible ones are invented.

Anyhow, next morning articles appear, possibly to the effect that the lovely and talented Mrs., or Miss, A. B. landed yesterday from the Cunard steamer, and took up her abode at the Fifth Avenue Hotel, where s.p.a.cious rooms had been previously secured. That the editor, from exceptional sources of information, is able to lay before his readers the following short sketch of the talented artiste's previous life, and that it will be his endeavour to supplement this by more facts on the morrow. Then follows a biographical history from the cradle upwards, closing with the _menu_ of yesterday's dinner. Too much is not said in this first notice, the subject must not be exhausted, and materials for further articles are reserved. Poor Mrs., or Miss, A. B., at breakfast that morning, reads much about herself of which she had been previously ignorant!

But this is only the beginning of the campaign. The next day, thanks to the chambermaid, the waiter and others, a more or less accurate list of the wardrobe appears, the jewels she wore the previous day, and those still in the jewel-case, what time she got up, what she ate at breakfast, where she went in the day, how well the hat she wore suited the dress, what a lovely colour her hair is, how her fringe (if she had one) gave her a childish grace, how (if she had none) wisely she acted in discarding that woful fas.h.i.+on, and what a patrician look the absence of it gave to her lovely face, &c., &c.

From early morn till she goes to bed (the description kindly halts there) her movements are recorded, and on morning No. 3 the public are informed that Mrs., or Miss, A. B. slept well, and awoke with a fresh colour to add to her other charms!

I need not dilate more. The excitement is kept alive by daily notices. Paper vies against paper in describing and commenting on her European antecedents and her life since she landed, until some new star appears, or until, often the case, the poor lady, in spite of the press a.s.sertions that all this homage delights her, is fairly driven out of New York. Some, alas! cannot seek safety in flight, their avocations oblige them to remain; such, it can only be hoped, grow callous, until, the subject being well threshed out and grown threadbare, they are left at peace.

I give here, complete, an article on one of such poor victims, cut out of a Denver paper, which, in its callous indifference to the pain it must have caused the lady under discussion, is a good example.

But, as I would not drag this lady into further publicity, I have subst.i.tuted an initial for her name, which was plainly given in the newspaper. "Madeline's Mash" does duty for Madeline's Lover. The sensational headings, and interpositions in large type, are worthy of notice.

MADELINE'S MASH.

THE APPEARANCE IN DENVER OF A DISTINGUISHED SOCIETY LADY.

RECALLING A TRAGEDY WHEREIN AN ENGLISH ACTOR WAS THE LEADING ARTIST.

The train hence to Kansas City via the Burlington road on yesterday afternoon departed, as usual, on time and, as usual, heavily laden. There was indeed more than the ordinary complement of pilgrims, remarked the Depot Superintendent, and made up of the cla.s.s who travel luxuriously--of the cla.s.s to whom luxuries are every-day experiences and whose journeyings, whether from lands of snow to lands of sun or to lands of snow from lands of sun, are accompanied by holiday pleasures. Among those whom the train bore Eastwardly was a fair daughter of Eve, about whose life has been woven a romance, a tragedy as dire in its effects upon two families, at least, as was the tragedy woven out of the warp and woof of the romance born of Paris and Helen. She is related to one of the wealthiest and most prominent families of the country, both socially and financially, and though upwards of forty years of age is yet youthful in appearance and hoydenish as a Va.s.sar miss proud in the possession of her first beau.

Twenty years ago she was a Gotham belle, and related to the L.'s, occupied a position of social distinction, which wealth, beauty and graces of character perfectly combined inevitably procure.

In the heydey of her youth and beauty she was married, but scarcely mated, to a representative of the Knickerbocker regime and, as is represented, barely consented

TO ENDURE THE BURDEN

officiously ambitious relatives had buckled on her back. It ended as all other matches wherein affection is made to pay tribute to other considerations end, in separation, infatuation with another, death, disgrace, exile. Her home is said to have been unhappy, a cheerless place, unwarmed by an atmosphere of love, whence an impulsive woman unconsciously went out to one who appreciated and was a friend to her. Of course she was obliged to encounter opposition, ostracism, social annihilation with the cla.s.ses whereof she was at once the peer and superior. But little she cared, and in the _salons_ of Paris, Berlin, Vienna, and St. Petersburgh, she found the salad of variety that was denied her at home up to 1867.

She was a regnant queen at Was.h.i.+ngton, Cape May, Saratoga--in short, at every point she honored with her presence. She was the objective point of attraction to the grave and gay, to the solemn and severe. But while she outwardly accepted, and with pleasure, the homage men deemed themselves privileged to bestow, those familiar with the skeleton in the closet of Madeline R.'s heart, speak of her as one who suffered in silence, until it was a change or a mad-house, and she sought the change.