MODERN HEBES.

Waikato Times, Volume II, Issue 102, 24 December 1872, Page 2

MODERN HEBES.

{Examiner.) Wjieee will the historians and moralists put the patrons of a barmaid show lo hazard an, immediate . answer might very poss.blv lead to the employment of unpleasant adiectnca ; and yet tie patrons arc in such respccLablo T 8 " l rn! 1 ' p09ll: ' lOn ln Inotleni English society ought stmlv £1 1 heir mental characteristics must bo Worth study. J. hey Line taken the .trouble, fJ urine the nasf- mnnih to go down to North Woolwich ".in thj two rows of forty, or fifty examines man/ bar engines and bar servers—try the esprit of one barmaid and spirit o-.anther,bar—and; thpn solemnly record their reT n i " V ° fcin S tickGt » ballot box. The* «n£f. 'n S the proprietor of the., "show" has just -allotted to barmaid: INo 8 the first prize, consisting 0 f a handsome gold watch and chain; to No 17, an equally rich locket and chain ; and to the next two candidates respectiv,,]y, of .earrings." It is further stated that. ■a grave doubt had arisen as to the comparative merits of' the lust and speond. pri«j winners. No 17 had collected most suffrages, and 2s o 8 had received mos,t money, and the juages, alter an anxious consultation, dccidpd that the barmaid who had taken the most money was best entitled: loisear the laurel crown. The voters who contributed to these triumphs, albeit not yet classified, arc .not. thoroughly incomprehensible phenomena. Indeed, they are met rather too frequently and known rather to well. Tl ley ore amon? the admirers of "premier comjqucs" an.d "great" celebrities; they dictate our ! ash ion, in a great-meaSure they represent the national taste abroad ; they have invited a vocabulary a jargon,., a/'patter," that pais for Entrlish on t-ie Lois uc .Loulogne : and nerlnns tho i <.1 * lure to thank & is " tsfrJ"" clMa,> »p «* - been laid ,n the W0 ( most of them. Tn-f frlk the fostering influence, the incubiHnrr lion,, the, have bccndra „, m »">« Hebcs who, have just beer, and soliciting votes at Xprth Woolwich g g g ' ■ poS in r UP7 i a Car,oU3,y cons Picuous and courted Bloods'' in lAr , n 9 ° cia l system. What did the. h ir- Mohawks do without them ? How did m ZrfafT"' an ,V hC ™*> i» . jj inaidJess taprooms,? They appear to bo f . f cccssors of the romantic houymtieres of years ago (perhaps because beer has replaced bouquets m our aflectioiiij, the .chesses, tlio horsebreaLrs, and mem eu o all those exceptional professions which vulgar and juvenile mmds have invested vdth mystery, romance', danger and glory. ISpbody has. been, able to define the modern Jlebi? s charm : she is not irresistibly beautiral—a healthv houscniaid is her compeer m. that respect; she is not ovei> whelmingly epigrammatic—most fish fags could beat her in » wa.r of words ; and yet her charm is potent and owS* n wide InfJu9n.ce, Proof of the fact is to be' found'in nearly every .publichouse m London. Young raen,-av, and oldcierks, shop-lads, "gentlemen," lean, oyer tbn * ' or zinc, and seem to hear meaningless syllables that fall froiri the nvpwl™ , or serve them.. All binds, of girls-who create that upquenphabje thirst which rp nCC ° ( . en 01 * of them L J 6 "" l T°" d the.,, to the ».[„ ■ S' ™'' Ml art aids the materW beneit, in ***** many a mmmm , bKlmi<l . The idle > ent Se"T4S^

ffi« • ;cci loungers who sacrifice—do they know what ?—at her nitar, forget lli.it IJebe is a Bpceu.i picador "at the bar," that, h.ic holds a brift (or the publican, and is bou.i.l to serve her client, by emptying hii butt, and bottles and filling hit till. lllclli;c 11 tc smiles lire. 1 .-■<> many iuru.H, and I.i:i; poor repartees so many invitationsto refill. Tim Marquise de Brinvdtjrs was astonished to find that she had drunk a bueketwater diirin.r | UT torture to quench the fire within iier, and wo keep her alive lor execution. The admirers of (iufler tin; .-am: process. .'dim provides the tlame, an amorous one— tho publican strong waters ;"onty the victim pays, and the ultimate execution i-i a work of a sheriff's ofliu.i , for in this, or in worse, the influence of that showy system that has gilded gin-palaces, created and bedizene'd barmaids, if uncontrolled from without or within the victims must, end As to the girls themselves, the evil is patent : there can he 110 dobbt concerning its character, though of course, its degree varies according to individual temperament, intelligence, and outward circumstances. Placed behind the bar, forced to listen to ribald and inane witticisms, brought into hourly contact with drunkenness, idleness, and debauchery, taught, a taste for finery and a need of noise and glitter, there must be few girls who will not fall sooner or later. J.he " liarmaid .Show" itself is not likely to produce any remarkable moral results, good or bad. About the good taste of the exhibition it is pcrmissable to have a very decided opinion ; as to its legitimacy there can be no doubt—■ it is simply Iho pulling to profit of a foolish fashion, which must 1)1.- destroyed before such speculation) can be reached. Ihe proprietor of the exhibition gave it to be understood thiil. nealiies-t, cleanliness, and promptitude were the chief ipi.'ilities to be rewarded in the competing barmaids, and, viewing the question from behind the bar, he has certain j claims to the title ot reformer, lint, unfortunately, the majority of (he public see I Ijc matter from another standpoint and when the evils this culture of modern llcbes produces are more fully known and felt, that majority will require something more than reform revolution. Ijarmaids are not necessary blessings ; are not an improvement on J wailers, either in point of promptitude, noiselessness, or dexlerily. Drinkers did without t hem fori vor fifty years ago, they do without them nuy/ in France and Amcrica. I Ami were barmen, on tin: .American plan !o take the place of I the Hcbes, there would lie less at traction in the public- I bouses, and many more ipiick and intelligent women in the I shops and telegraph olliccs. I