"AMERICAN DRINKS." 189 



see a man pay with a " Qve spot " (i.e., five-dollar) note, and take as 

 part of his change a railway ticket for a place which he does not 

 mean to visit. 



The " American drinks," of which so much has been said, are 

 really very harmless affairs. There is barely a tablespoonful of 

 spirit. Then there are several flavourings, then pounded ice, then 

 it is shaken violently, then iced water and pounded sugar, then more 

 shake, and then a shell-shaped silver colander is put over the mouth 

 of the glass, and the mixture strained through into a tumbler. 

 " Cocktails," I am informed, are taken before breakfast, and never 

 afterwards. If you take a " straight," it is another business. The 

 man hands you the bottle, a glass, and iced water. You may fill the 

 glass with the spirit, if you choose, or only wet the bottom. This 

 last is the plan usually adopted, where a refusal, no matter how well 

 grounded, is taken as an insult. 



There is a new fashion for ladies' dress. Instead of leaving a 

 little bit of white handkerchief sticking out of the bosom, they put a 

 stuffed bird spread out flat, the colours being due to aniline dyes. 

 If they have no bird, a bouquet (pronounced " boh-kee ") takes its 

 place. 



The Lowell lectures were delivered bi-weekly, on 

 Tuesdays and Fridays, and as, by the terms of the 

 agreement, my father was precluded from lecturing 

 elsewhere until the series (of 1 2) was concluded, he had 

 during the earlier part of his visit a good deal of spare 

 time on his hands. The second lecture was delivered 

 on November 2nd, and seems to have been a great 

 success. 



Such an audience (runs the " log "), and such a success. Some 

 six hundred of them were grey, white, or bald, with beards to 

 match, and I heard that almost every man of science was there. 

 Mr. Lowell was present, and I have established my reputation as 

 originating a new epoch in lecturing. Mr. Lowell told me that the 

 audience generally thought that I was the son of the author, and 

 happened to bear the same name. People seem wild to procure 



