Thefall Of The Toothpick

I f the re is one thíing more than anotlivr which need.s oorrectiion, Ín tlia ramks oí whiat pass for cultivated people, it fe tJiíe promLnence of the tootlrpick. No Slght is more eommoa aboiit the dnirner hour, than to see anote oí men gatliered in front of hotels aaid boardiing houses, standing ou street comeré, ríding in pubilic conreyaauoee o-r elsewhere -with a, toothpii-k ostentattooisly protruding froni tíie mtwiith, ot wlith tiie said woodea splinter in diligent use as an excavar tor. Il --e go fartbier back toward the diming tablie, we shajl Hnd tliat the dissusting habit grows even more )rooiounced, and thait the table itseli' is ofben a wiitmess of tlve indelicate proceedimg. It ás a matter oí congratulaitton, then'iorc, thiat a betteï niiiit te aesertioxg ltself, in wltness oí Wh'lch the folloiwiing extract from ;i i'iii'i jimrual may bc quoted: "The practice of seryiing toothpictoB, as a course, is 310 longer observed in polite society. Keither are they used as a sWeboani decoraitloBi. and a centerHiecc ttoe table. Xcithor are thcj served alomg with aiter-dtaner-coffeej ü-il 1 ifa nn; polite to piek the teeth at the tatole; it Ie rather the aci of ascaveager, even if the face and notrth are co.véred by a napkin, as sonie peoiple seem to Uiiink is correci Barely refimed people suffer pain rather tlian pjck llieir teeth at the e. A person ïnisht as well bj-ueh tli teeth at a meal, amd it would be ïuite as aüiceable a diiversioin-. The toDthpi.lc is properly an articl toilet aud for the bathroom and the dresejmg-roioim, and not for the diningroom. IVople do not clean tlicir alle at the table, which wonld be far more preierabje th&n tlio opening of cavci-noiis mouths. The time has really come whem something should be said about th,is disgusting toothpick fad. Better go to the dentisf and have the lióles plugged up -ivith gold and cement, instead of prying me'at out witu a toothpfck. The ■svhble thimg is pandering to a Iotv taste instead of a high one, and it is hliigh tinne that it ceased to be a c-ustom, or to be tolerated as sueh .'