“A noisy, rambunctious crowd filled the floating restaurant. The wooden tables, sticky and awash with streams of spilt drink, were covered with half empty glasses and surrounded by half-tipsy customers. The crowds sang and shouted and brawled. Red faced, belligerent men, their hats tipped at the backs of their heads and their eyes glassy with booze, prowled like animals spoiling for a fight. The women, cadging free drinks in the meantime, were seeking their prey for the night.”
Guy de Maupassant, “Femme Fatale”, b 1850 d 1893.
A Bird's Eye View of Fashion, Food, Travel, Culture, Beverage and Curiosity 