It Must Be
Remembered That The Foregoing Is Not A Description Of A Dwelling Here And
There, But Of Fifty Or Sixty Streets, Or Of 4000 Or 5000 Houses, Those
Inhabited By Merchants Of Average Incomes, Storekeepers Not Of The
Wealthiest Class, And Lawyers.
The number of servants kept in such
mansions as these would sound disproportionately small to an English ear.
Two or three female servants only are required.
Breakfast is very early,
frequently at seven, seldom later than eight. The families of merchants in
business in the lower part of the city often dine at one, and the
gentlemen return to a combination of dinner with tea at six. It does not
appear that at home luxury in eating is much studied. It is not customary,
even among some of the wealthier inhabitants of New York, to indulge in
sumptuous equipages. "Hacks," with respectable-looking drivers and pairs
of horses, fill the place of private carriages, and look equally well.
Coachmen require high wages, and carriages are frequently injured by
collision with omnibuses; these are among the reasons given for the very
general use of hired vehicles.
The private equipages to be seen in New York, though roomy and
comfortable, are not elegant. They are almost invariably closed, with
glass sides and front, and are constructed with a view to keep out the
intense heat of the summer sun. The coachmen are generally blacks, and the
horses are stout animals, with cropped tails. The majority have broken
knees, owing to the great slipperiness of the pavements.
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