The daily dispatch. [volume] (Richmond [Va.]) 1850-1884, 1856-06-12
THE DAILY DISPATCH

VOL. X.--NO. 136.
THE DAILY DISPATCH.
Thursday aIernins, june 12, 1850.
An Engiishman's Impressions ofau Anne RI
can Hotel.
Thackery. IN Dickens Household Words, gives
the following description of the 81. Boblink no
tel. New York. which Ia an interesting and faith.
fni description Of that great establishment and of
American hotel living:
The Saint Boblink House Is a mighty edfce of
pure white marble. Saint Boblfnk Is much too
noble saint to be cannonised in compo The
windows sparkle like gems In . queens diadem,
ana seem rs numerous as the facets in CRYSTAL
Wide yawning is the doorway; countless are the
columns; lofty and serial the balconies vvdly yer.
dant the verandahs and high above the topmost
balistrade floats, self assentingly in the air, the
great banner of the stars and stripes Tkis is
hetel with vengeance; but run not away with
the impression that it is unique-a solitary mon.
ster. like the Sphinx, the Grand Hotel du Louvre
or the Great Western Hotel, Paddington 1t has
brothers and cousins and children "a capacious II
rot more so than itself, on either side and up and
down, as far as the eye can reach in the great
trans atlantic Boulevard--the Parvarer House the
st Hominy House, the Golden Gate House. the
Amagamated Squash Hotel and other hio sound.
ing hostelries The st. Boblink is q vast eating
and drinking factory; an eastern carayanserai
opened by American enterprise; an Emperors
palace let out in room lots at three dollars day;
Vatican for voyagers
People say that there are above two thousand
rooms In that same Vatican. / should not like to
make bet; but, TO guess from the hordes of tray.
eliers that the st. Boblink gives shelter TO- it
would really seem as though his holiness the Pope
nad the smaller house of the two. The ear of man
has not heard how many the St. Boblink would
accommodate at pinch; and no one is in posi.
tion to dispute the boast of Washington Mush its
landlord (now travelling in Europe with Q sereta-
maids for his family) that he could take the whole
of Congress in to board; provide beds in addition
for the British House of Lords il they felt inclined
to come over and See the workings Of the Ameri-
can Constitution; and find, without much trouble
shake downs into the bargain for the House of Com
mons
You may have rooms, and suites of rooms, at
the st Boblink at sliding scale of prices. If you
are inclined to do the Sardanapaius, you can revel
in spendor, and ruin yourself il you like; but if
you are but simple, sensible, single traveller,
who has travelled perhaps twelve hundred miles
with no more luggage than yaiise or shiny car
pet bag you may board and lodge and enjoy your
thousandth share of all the luxures in this hotel
palace fer the moderate sum Of three dollars or
twelve shillings and sixpence per diem. There
are even cheaper and not much less splendid ho-
tels-but the St Boblink is a first ehop-an A One
house.
of all the public apartments, noble billiard room,
where you may win or lose dollar bills of to ex'
citable Southerners and Senator'S. in want of ex.
citement, to your hearts content: reading rooms
where the ten thousand newspapers of the Union
all printed ON the largest possible paper in the
smallest possible type, are spread on the green
baize tables; smoking rooms, where you may taste
the flavor of real Havanas, or luxuriate in the
mastication of the fragrant pig tall writing rooms
audience rooms clock roooms; lavatories; conver-
SAT nd / Y
know whether they have fitted up whiting
room at the Saint Boblink yet, but dare say that
convenience will be added to the establishment on
the return of Washington Mush, Esquire, from Eu-
rope. At the same time, perhaps, it would be as
well to erect apartment devoted to the national
pastime of expectoration. AT present, for want
of special location, the whole palace is one huge
spittoon, which is inconvenient to foreigners.
The bar room of the Saint Bobnk may be imi
tated, but it can never be equalled in Europe. No
efforts of plastic art, of upholstery ingenuity, of
architectural cunning of licensed victualling cum
ming could produce such result as is here appa-
rent. The green velvet spring ceuches, with carved
oak arm rests, that artfully invite you to lounge
the maj BILE mantlepeces and stove tops that seem
to say, seductively, Come raise your heels above
the level of your heads and show the European
stranger a row of chevaux de frise of black pants
the rocking chair the dainty marble and bronze
tables (trans- atlantic "reminiscences of Partisan
cafes j arabesqued gas burners; the cut glass
looking glasses; gilt frames and Venetian blinds;
the splendiferous commercial advertisements that
80 orthily usurp the place of stupid high art pic
tures-for who would not rather see "Fts, fits, fits
in chrome TYPOGRAPHY, or doctor Turnipseeds
medicated mangelwurzel," or "the Patent Hera-
cleidan Detective Padlocks," sumptuousiy framed
and glazed, than Sir Edward Landseers Deer
stalking" or the Queen after Winterhalterl But
do the bar of the Saint Boblnk injustice. There
are some engravings. The massive head of Daniel
Webster frowns upon the sherry cobler drinkers
proudly tn PRINT in the muddy Mississippi def
ant of snags and sawyers, steams along the Peeg
Potter steamer, huge, hurricane decked, many
portholed, high pressured and hideous-her engines
working in sight, as if her boilers were impatient
to burst, and had come up from the engine room
to see how many passengers there were bsfore
bursting
Then there is grand view of the palace itself
the st. Boblink-as large life (at least scale
of half an inch TO the foot,) autographed by
Messrs Saxony and Mayor. The bar room has
almost made me forget the bar ITSELF though sure
ly one visit to it is sufficient to stamp it on our re-
memberanee forever. There, on that great mar
BILE field of Bacchus, sold the most delicious
thirst quenchers in the two hemispheres. 1t is
not nece sary that / should enumerate them. The
names at least of egg noggs, juleps, brandy smash
ers timber doodles and stone fences are known in
Europe. There are already several buffets in
Paris where you can be supplied with the cool aud
cunning drink known-whereof am ignorant
as a fiscal agent. The bar keeper is scholar and
a gentleman, as well as an accomplished artist cap.
tain of fire company, and believe a man of con.
siderable property, and has unapproachable skill in
compoundng and arranging these beverages, and
making them not only exquisite to the taste, but
delightful to the view. His drinks are pictures
See that tall tumbler, gracefully propertoned and
elegantly chased. See through its pellucid walls
and artfully chselled blocks ice, the frozen pow
der at the top the crispinches, spear. arrow, hal
bert headed, that clngs about the rim like bronze
scrolls on buhl cabinet See the blessed liquor
within, ruddy, golden or orange tawny, dancing
in the sunlight, sparkling in the CLASSY depths,
purling through assures, ripping through the in.
terstices of the ice and seeking the lowest depths
the remotest cavern where the seaweed (repre-
seniing mint) is, and the mermaids dwell. See
the summit, crowned by blushing pink crested
strawberry Do you not feel inclined to sing with
the poet:
"Hide, oh hide those hills of snow,
Which thy frozen bosom bears,
On whose tops the pinks that grow,
Are those which April wears"
You feel inclined at least to hide the pink straw
berry by swallowing it. and to melt the bills of
snow by sucking them up through delicate straw
together with the dancing golden liquid and all the
delights that lie hidden in that glorious drink
Then you may retire into corner and, kicking
up your heels even unto an attitude of six feet
from the ground rest them there on some friendly