LOAFERS I HAVE MET.

Mataura Ensign, Volume 6, Issue 310, 4 January 1884, Page 2

LOAFERS I HAVE MET.

By One op Them. I now proceed to unfold my delineation of the last remaining class of "Loafers I Have Met." lam perhaps wrong in calling myself " One of Them," seeing that they are females,' -bixt tlie seeming inconsisfceiH-y may - not seem, so great when I. mention that they also belong to our numerous family. I must readily confess that we of the sterner sex must yield the palm of proficiency in the art to loafing to our fair sisters. When once a woman becomes infatuated with a desire for drink, her capabilities of compassing the object of her longing become truly feline in their cunning. The initiatory stages of the art are pleasant travelling. She visits her friends in the afternoon. They talk a little scandal about their mutual acquaintances, and dilute the conversation with a little stimulant. By-m-d-brc "he cultivates the acquainti auce oi. some iaudia-dy, and her visits to j the hotel become more and more frequent. eoi-Q one being crowned with, apJv.l^^^^y^^BS^.^^hor^r afterwards she always carries a Hand-Hag, and i£ an-v person were curious enough to euguire, he would find hi ifc a amid! bottle. I3y-and-bye .•■he becomes holder. She then sends openly for liquor, it does not particularly matter who the medium of communication is. The formula of purchase is somewhat as follows : — The messenger goes to the back door, and bespeaks the help of one of the servants, " and mamma will pay you when she comes." After this the descent to Avernus is facile. Promiscuous drinks are accepted, and after that — the deluge. But there is another branch of this sisterhood I should like to immortalise. Some one has a female friend in humble circumstances. She invites her friend to " come and see her." The friend comes, armed with a p;ij). r parcel destined to support her tmvu^h the necessary laundry changes for an indefinite period. The visit is prolonged. At length, growing bolder by immunity, our visitor becomes more daring. First, collars are borrowed. Then, some articles I do not care to mention in print. Next jewellery is levied, and finally the exile shines forth in an entire fit-out of borrowed plumes. Thus she keeps herself in the numerous minor articles which women so ardently desire, and men grudge so much to pay for. There is another class of feminine loafer which is worthy of a much longer description. They include in their ranks all those young ladies vulgarly called " stringers on." Any quantity of barmaids are " stringers on." In fact, it seems to turn out the destiny of most of those who have good looks and 1 c wme engaged at hotels and other phves o: public resort. The sole aim of the f stringer on " is to obtain^ornamei t and pleasiire. The one consists of peri-pnal adornment and the other of treats, .bless you, I know several girls who in full war-paint carry about with them a whole history of flirtations. So-and-so gave her that ring, such and such a one that brooch, somebody else the earring, and Jso on through the whole list of her weapons of offence. Then there cannot be a ball or an excursion to which they do 1 not go, and most frequently are the most expensively dressed if not always in the best taste. Their method of : warfare is, next to my own, the one requiring the most skill. They nqver allow' one of their] admirers to obtain a marked degree of preference. They skilfully check the ardor of the impetuous when others are present, but they- are not likely' to o.bject to a little ■ m ore familiarity when tete-a-tete, and thus rivet the chains they have thrown around their victim. I myself i have seen one of this class play off half a dozen admirers against each other, and I in such an artistic manner that each one hugged himself with the fond delusion that ho was the favored one. Of course this is only a b.aser form of flirtation but nevertheless it will 'secure : the operator any quantity of drives and invitations. Concerning the effect upon themselves, I shall say nothing more than that it must make them unfit for the prosaic details of k domestic life and that they are lucky if ! they come thorough the ordeal with unsmerched names and reach unharmed the ! goal of a happy marriage. The ranks of the lowest stratum of female life are i mainly reinforcect'from thq classes I have mentioned. What their life is I will not venture to say. It is enough that it is fcoo horrible for description. What was formerly' an innocent desire for adornment becomes a means of attracting attention, and what was at one time a consciousness of beauty becomes ah article of merchandise. I have now concluded my little collection of portraits,and will say in conclusion that after all any employment

' however niean, and however poorly paid, is preferable to the precarious, shifting life endured by the " Loafer I hare Met. S.