I Had Arranged To Travel To Cincinnati, And From Thence To
Toronto, With Mr. And Mrs. Walrence, But On Reaching Boston I Found That
They Feared Fever And Cholera, And, Leaving Me To Travel Alone From
Albany, Would Meet Me At Chicago.
Under these circumstances I remained
with my island friends for one night at this establishment, a stranger in
a land where I had few acquaintances, though I was well armed with letters
of introduction.
One of these was to Mr. Amy, a highly respected merchant
of Boston, who had previously informed me by letter of the best route to
the States, and I immediately despatched a note to him, but he was absent
at his country-house, and I was left to analyse the feeling of isolation
inseparable from being alone in a crowd. Having received the key of my
room, I took my supper in an immense hall, calculated for dining 400
persons. I next went into the ladies' parlour, and felt rather out of
place among so many richly dressed females; for as I was proceeding to
write a letter, a porter came in and told me that writing was not allowed
in that saloon. "Freedom again," thought I. On looking round I did feel
that my antiquated goose-quill and rusty-looking inkstand were rather out
of place. The carpet of the room was of richly flowered Victoria pile,
rendering the heaviest footstep noiseless; the tables were marble on
gilded pedestals, the couches covered with gold brocade. At a piano of
rich workmanship an elegantly dressed lady was seated, singing "And will
you love me always?" - a question apparently satisfactorily answered by the
speaking eyes of a bearded Southerner, who was turning over the pages for
her. A fountain of antique workmanship threw up a jet d'eau of iced
water, scented with eau de Cologne; and the whole was lighted by four
splendid chandeliers interminably reflected, for the walls were mirrors
divided by marble pillars. The room seemed appropriate to the purposes to
which it was devoted - music, needlework, conversation, and flirting. With
the single exception of the rule against writing in the ladies' saloon, a
visitor at these immense establishments is at perfect liberty to do as he
pleases, provided he pays the moderate charge of two dollars, or 8s. a
day. This includes, even at the best hotels, a splendid table-d'hóte, a
comfortable bedroom, lights, attendance, and society in abundance. From
the servants one meets with great attention, not combined with deference
of manner, still less with that obsequiousness which informs you by a
suggestive bow, at the end of your visit, that it has been meted out with
reference to the probable amount of half-sovereigns, shillings, and
sixpences at your disposal.
It will not be out of place here to give a sketch of the peculiarities of
the American hotel system, which constitutes such a distinctive feature of
life in the States, and is a requirement arising out of the enormous
extent of their territory, and the nomade life led by vast numbers of the
most restless and energetic people under the sun.
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