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sitate, to some extent, the existence of what is known
as a bar-room; a peculiar home institution, typical of
the American people, which other countries could not
and do not copy, foreign nationalities being so thor
oughly dissimilar to the natives of the United States.
Even in this great country where the conditions exist
that have made the bar-room a popular institution,
great changes have occurred of late years, and the
bar-room has lost some of its characteristics, for the
reason that the old-style American, who only cared to
patronize it, has largely passed away, and the younger
generation, trained to more general knowledge, has
approved and adopted the customs of many other
countries. The glory and the nature of the old-fash
ioned genuine American bar-room is, therefore, some
what disappearing, and present-day establishments are
drifting toward the scope of the European style, which
consists of having a so-called cafe, in some slight imita
tion of the foreign namesake, always, more or less, in
connection with a restaurant or a place to eat. This
meets my approval, for I don't believe it to be bene
ficial to any man to drink too much, without having
the stomach sustained with the proper food. A man
is liable to be "toned up" by drink, during business
hours, even with an empty stomach, when his con
stitution seems to demand a stimulant; but if his sys
tem is inherently weak, while one or two glasses of
liquor may be cof-rect, it would be wiser to regulate
his habits by combining eating with his drinking. As
every one knows, a glass of wine or of malt liquor,
a cocktail, or a punch, in moderation, goes well with
the meal, tones up the system, strengthens the weak
nerves, and gives vigor to the entire body. There is
a wrong way of doing many things;—one can drink too
much water, eat too much or too little, which all re
sults in breaking down one's health. There are excel
lent reasons for comparing a strictly drinking place