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A GKEBMAN COFFEE-PARTY IN 1862. 253
Note: This text has been automatically extracted via Optical Character Recognition (OCR) software. The text has not been manually corrected and should not be relied on to be an accurate representation of the item.
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Transcript
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Note: This text has been automatically extracted via Optical Character Recognition (OCR) software. The text has not been manually corrected and should not be relied on to be an accurate representation of the item.
Additionally, when viewing full transcripts, extracted text may not be in the same order as the original document.
¦ ¦ ^ It Would Probably Be Difficult To ...
" But ladies never worh in _^ England , do they ? " persisted a very . sceptical friendand this really seenis the general impressionnot-r
, , ¦ of withstanding a sock alread my y testimony advancing to in the my contrary hands towards , enforced rap b id y comp the disp letion lay .
I zealously bolster up my cause ~ b y quoting friends and cousins innumerablewhose skill might rival Penelope or Arachne at least
but speedily , have to turn and undertake my own defence , for ' my , handiworkthough of the orthodox kindis objectionable in colour .
, , '" Aberroth ? " cries an astonished voice , and then succeed queries hy the dozen , as to whether it is possible that English ladies wear
red stockings , to which I am obliged to confess that they are sometimes guilty of that enormitybut hasten to explain that my work
, must not fall under this condemnation , being simply night socks for an invalid mother .
" Ach Gott ! fiir die Mutter ! " is now the exclamation , and this very small bit of information circles all round , and is received with
Interest enough to make a real . struggle necessary to preserve _one's gravitytill the half satisfied " Ach ! so ? " sets that question at rest
, all round the circle . After an interval of about half an hour came another edition
of coffee and its train , and then more talk , talk , talk , at a rate and pitch which rendered all sounds about equally unintelligibleand
brought one rapidly to the conclusion of Mrs . Gatty's " Inferior , Animals" that any noise . much more harshwearyingand
un-, , , musical , than a number of human voices whose words cannot be distinguishedcan hardly be conceived . By the byI find here a
, , _^ complete reversal of the received opinion in England , that no cultivated voice is ever to be heard above a moderate itch
for here the attempt "to talk each other down very , " in quality p as _> well as quantity of voiceseems no metaphorand exhortations
, , . are oftener given to speak loudly and distinctly than softly and musically . Certainly the result only confirmed one ' s belief that
a sweet ( and soft ) voice is _" an excellent thing in a woman . " But though such criticism might occur to a foreigner , it was
impossible to withhold sympathy and even admiration from the . genuine good humourready mirthand simple enjoyment of all
, > around that has always such a refreshingly contagious character , and does one as much good as a sunny day , simply by its
atmosphere . As far as I could judge , there seemed so much less gossip and scandaland so much more healthy fun in the wind , that one
, willingly compounded for the want of dignity that made one continually fancy oneself rather at a children's party than in art
assemblage of grave dames and matrons . But when I say " want of dignity , " I must not by any means be supposed to mean absence
of ceremony ; for , indeed , continually , little ceremonious interludes came inwhich made one terribly inclined to laughbringing up
, , . as it did old memories of childish " playing at company . "
And this association might be all the further strengthened by
A Gkebman Coffee-Party In 1862. 253
A GKEBMAN COFFEE-PARTY IN 1862 . 253
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Citation
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English Woman’s Journal (1858-1864), Dec. 1, 1862, page 253, in the Nineteenth-Century Serials Edition (2008; 2018) ncse.ac.uk/periodicals/ewj/issues/ewj_01121862/page/37/
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