The Sun.
London, England, 1853-09-26 00:00:00

TO THE EDITOR OF THE SUN.

SlR,—The Times of to-day winds up a long article
against hotelkeepers with this paragraph—" If it were
possible to obtain in English towns as comfortable ac-
commodation, and at as moderate charges, as in the
hotels of the United States, we should be content.
What stops the way ? Why, I will enliven his dull in-
tellect (correspondent and leading article writer though
he be to the Times). This stops the way. In England,
I am happy to' say, we have three classes, viz.—the
upper class, commonly known as the aristocracy
and gentlemen of the land ; secondly, the middle
class ; and, thirdly, the lower class ; and above each of
these we have royalty. In America, or rather the States,
it is altogether different—all, no matter who, sit down
together and are for the time " hail fellow, well met."
This is the slight obstacle that stops the way—(not Mrs.
Fergusson's carriage.) I will just ask you, sir, of all the
people who are writing and abusing the hotelkeepers,
how many out of each fifty would not turn up his nose,
and think he was all but poisoned, if a, man known to be
a mechanic or working man were to take his place at a
table d'hote (supposing one was established in this coun-
try on the United States plan) at this said individual's
elbow ? I will guarantee to say, from. what I know of
the pride of our English middle classes, and the way in
which they most want to be thought as belonging to the
upper class, that I am striking a fair average when
I say that out of each fifty, forty-five would say
'Wow disgusting'; what a nuisance. I hope Mr. or
Mrs. will not see me in this company," and other
similar expressions. But, put these people down amongst
their betters, and—" Oh! yes, it's just tfte thing, and every
thing so nice, and so very good, &c."—with, "I should so
like Mr. and Mrs. So-and-So to drop in and see me in
such good company. How envious they would feel to
think I have the means to live in this society." But,
when the paying department arrives, they forget all at
once they have been out of their element, and find the
charge more than they like, and it ends in their writing
to the Times, with a please to show the public how I
was imposed on.

Now, Sir, let each of such individuals remember this.
There are houses for each class—one class for the aris-
tocracy, of course the most expensive—another for the
middle classes, which is lower (if their pride will suffer
them to keep to their own class of hotel, instead of
thrusting themselves on the first class) ; and another I
for the poorer classes. From what I know
of gentlemen (not half bred), they do not want
such people to use the first hotels, or what is the use of
establishing them for the aristocracy ? And as to the
comfort of our best London hotels, -which the Times
writer treats so lightly, there is more attention and more
comfort three times over than in all the United States
put together. Let me ask this genius, "How are the
English hotel keepers to charge the same prices as the
States, looking at the difference in price of corn alone,
which they put into this country cheaper than we can
grow it ourselves ? There is another mistake made, in
classing London and provincial hotels together. Sir, I
keep a large hotel in London, and my rent is two-thirds
more than it would be in the country, while I have no
farm handy to grow my things, and keep my live stock,
which would save me quite another 100 per cent. The
London hotel keeper gives a good article at less than
some of the provincials charge for a bad one, and they
pay more rent and much higher for provisions, to say
nothing of bad debts.—l am, sir,
AN HOTEL KEEPER OF LONDON.
1 September 21, 1853.

A PAINFUL CASE.—A most distressing scene was pre-
sented in this city on Thursday, in the removal of three
orphan children from a boarding school to a union !
Three little girls, of the respective ages of seven, nine,
and eleven, having lost their mother, were consigned to
the care of a lady in St. Dunstan's, who has educated
and maintained them, without a halfpenny assistance
from their unnatural father. He is now in the Indies,
but was two or three years ago an officer in the Maid-
stone, and afterwards in the Canterbury, garrison. All
persuasion or threat failed to extract from him any pecu-
niary support, the "foster mother"--than whom none
could have behaved more kindly to her infantile, help-
less charge—was compelled to resign them to (what is
usually ironically termed, though they were real in the
present instance) the " tender mercies" of a poor-law
official ; and the little innocents were conveyed by him,
in the miserable weather of Thursday morning, to
Blean Union. Their sobs and crying were most har-
rowing ; but to the credit of the poor-law official (Mr.
Mount, the relieving officer, whose name we are
glad to record) he did everything he could to soothe
the helpless babes ; and to the commendation of the
guardians, be it said, they deliberated while yet the
children were in the cart at the union, and saved them
from the misery and prostration of being consigned to
its gloomy walls, granting at once an order for their
maintenance out of the house. This, with the sympa-
thising, Christian interference of the Rev. F. Holland,
who has also interested the commander-in-chief in their
behalf, will, it is hoped and believed, save the children
from the extreme sacrifice of a transit from a boarding-
school to the last refuge of the friendless, destitute, and
helpless. But it is a matter of regret that the inhuman
father cannot be reached and compelled to maintain
them. Being a soldier his pay cannot be attached for
this purpose, while to send the children out to him
would be a poor prospect. The commander-in-chief has
remitted a 51. note for present exigencies, which example
we doubt not will be followed by other charitable indi-
viduals, till some means can be devised for duly pro-
viding for the children.—Kentish Observer.
EXTRAORDINARY OCCURRENCE AND MIRACULOUS
PRESERVATION OF LIFE.—An occurrence of a most sin-
gular character, which was well nigh attended with a
fearful loss of life, took place a few days since, and is at
present the subject of conversation in Norwich. It ap-
pears that in St. Giles's-wood, near the Norwich city
prison, resides a master plumber of the name of Bunting,
and whilst his wife and daughter were sitting in one of
the apartments, the flooring opened, and both mother
and daughter fell into a cavern below, 27 feet deep.
Their screams brought a man living next door to the
spot, and he having procured the services of some of the
neighbours, a rope was obtained and a man was lowered,
when he found Mrs. Bunting in a state of insensibility
at the bottom, and embedded in mud. He made a rope
fast to her waist, and she was drawn up almost dead.
The rope was sent down again and tied round the waist
of the daughter, but as the man was stepping on one
side, he sank a depth of 5 feet in the mud, which covered
his shoulders. The daughter having been pulled out,
the rope was again lowered, and the man was at last
pulled out in an insensible state. The cause of the oc-
currence is enveloped in mystery ; it is, however, well
known that there are in the neighbourhood some exten-
sive caverns and pits of unknown origin and purpose, at
a great depth from the surface, and it is supposed that
the earth at the top had given way, and hence the
accident.
IN
jisflac:l‘l; rGe
fRe Er
eRnNe
eC
tEO3
tEhT
eE Ri
nYt.
_I:CREASED FEES FOR INTERMENT OF THE POOR AT
e-r
mAe
nc
ti r
ofc u mt
the
tea nce
poorerhas
at Rensal Green C
able Cemetery, which has created consider-
northern and dissatisfaction amongst the humbler classes of the
namely, an
enormous
districts of the metropolis,
ing from the ;security
increase in the rate of fees, result-
out or the bilinftoyr ofth their monopoly by the throw-
ingby the House of Lordseltarsleden Green Cemetery
Harlesden Green Cemetery Bill being
Prior to the
charge at Kensal Green for commonbeingthrown out, the
follows :—grown persons, li. ;f. the intermentsbody
h was
k a s
into did chapel, U. 10s. ; children. 16s. Bd., takenifetaken
chapel, lir is. Bd. The charge has now been raiisnedo
and no difference is permitted to be made, whether the
body be taken into the chapel or not, viz., for interment
of a grown person, 2/. 25., for. a child, 1/. 12s. When
the Maulebone Cemetery at
advantage
is completed, the
poorer classes will have theha of interring their
n half the sum charged deceased relatives at less t by
the Kensal (4reen
Cemetery Corn pithy. —Obeerver.
EXTENSIVE SFI7UPE OF STOLEN PROPERTY.—on
wan the useful officer of the G
Saturday Inspector Bren
division, was induced, from private information, to search
the premises of a greengrocer residing in the Kingsland-
a vast quantity of stolen
road, and in so doing discovered
property, a great
portion of which
has since been identi-
fied by Mr. Wilde, of Worship-street, Finsbury. The
remainder yet to be owned comprises different articles
of ponlate, jewellery, and watches. Mr. Brennan is of
opini that each of the watches has been
forcibly taken
been
from the person, the pendants thereof having
various
bro-
ken off. Mr. Brennan retains possession of the
goods, and his prisoner has been remanded.