Upstairs Is A Large
Room Furnished With A Rare Combination Of Splendour And Taste, Called "The
Ladies' Ordinary," Where Families, Ladies, And Their Invited Guests Take
Their Meals.
Breakfast is at the early hour of seven, and remains on the
table till nine; dinner is at one, and tea at six.
At these meals "every
delicacy of the season" is served in profusion; the daily bill of fare
would do credit to a banquet at the Mansion House; the chef de cuisine
is generally French, and an epicure would find ample scope for the
gratification of his palate. If people persist in taking their meals in a
separate apartment, they are obliged to pay dearly for the indulgence of
their exclusiveness. There are more than 100 waiters, and the ladies at
table are always served first, and to the best pieces.
Though it is not part of the hotel system, I cannot forbear mentioning the
rapidity with which the Americans despatch their meals. My next neighbour
has frequently risen from his seat after a substantial and varied dinner
while I was sending away my soup-plate. The effect of this at a table-
d'hôte, where 400 or 600 sit down to dine, is unpleasant, for the swing-
door is incessantly in motion. Indeed, the utter absence of repose is
almost the first thing which strikes a stranger. The incessant sound of
bells and gongs, the rolling of hacks to and from the door, the arrivals
and departures every minute, the trampling of innumerable feet, the
flirting and talking in every corridor, make these immense hotels more
like a human beehive than anything else.
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