The Abbeville banner. [volume] (Abbeville, S.C.) 1847-1869, 1859-09-29
CHARLES MACKAY ON HOTEL LIFE IN
AMERICA

in New York, Philadelphia, Baltimore
Washington, New Orleans, Chicago, Bos
ton, etc.-are conducted on peculiar sys.
tenn, style Of much magniliccncc. Tho
British Isles present no such caravansarics.
Even the monster Hotel du Louvre, in
Paris. is scarcely to be compared with such
establishments as the st. Nicholas, the
Metropolitan, Astor House, aud many others
in New York. Some Of them make up
from five hundred TO Il thousand beds ; and
Others from two to five hundred. The
country is SO immense, the distances
from point to point are so great, sucl,
rs from New Orleans to Boston, or from
New York to Chicago, Detroit anil the far
West; the activity Of commerce is So
lnccssant, and its ramiiications so extensive
that a much larger class of people than
with us is compelled hy business public
and private, to he continually upon the
move. In England, hotels are conducted
III a sly lc suitable to the days Of solitary
horScmcn, gigs IN! the mail coach, and
moulded upon such limited necessities rs
then existed .; but in America the hotels
ard the railways grew together, and have
been made to fit into each other. Large
hotels arc OF positive necessity and were
they solely confined to travellers, woull
deserve the praise of Icing what they really
are, the finest, most convenient and best
administered establishments in the world.
1t Is not their fault, that t! cy have in the
course Of time, and by the force Of cir
cumstanccs, been devoted TO other uses,
and that they have become the permanent
homes Of families, instead of remaining
the temporary residence Of strangers.
For a fixed charge Of two dollars and a
lralf day (about ten and sixpcncc Eng
]isln) the traveller has comfortable bed
room, the use Of drawing room, the use
dining room, reading room and smoking
room, and the full enjoyment Of liberal
tariff, or bill of fare, for breakfast, lunch
con, dinner, tea and supper. The two dol
lars and a half include all charges for SER
wants, and every charge whatever tha: can
he fairly included under the head Of board
and lodging, except wine, beer and spirits.
There is no charge for wax lights-tl,at
tlaring pretext for extortion in England
Tie cookery is in general excellent. The
breakfast is bounteou:, aud at the leading
hotels is spread from eight o'clock till
twelve, between which hours fish, flesh and
fowl, fresh meat and salt meat, eggs, ONE
let's, wheaton bread, rye bread, corn bread,
corn cakes, rice cakes and buckwheat cakes,
(the last mentioned a greater deicacy than
England can show) are literally distrbu-
ted. From twelve o'clock till two the
luncheon is spread with equal profusion :;
and from two to six there is succession of
dinners, the getting up Of which at tho St.
Nicholas, the Metropolitan on New York,
would do credit to the Reform Club and
its excellent chef de cuisine. AS soon as
dinner is over, tea commences, and us soon
As tea is cleared away, the cloths are laid
for supper, so that from eight in the morn
ing until midnight, there is one continued
succession OF feasts, at which Governors
of States, Members Of Congress, Judges,
Generals, Ex-Presidcnts Of the Republic,
tho magnatcs of commerce and the law,
and nll the miscellaneous and less distin-
guished public, male and female, sit down.
Whether tho traveller do or do not partake
it is the same TO the landlord lie may
cat once, twice, thrice, or all day long, if
he pleases. The price is two dollars and a
ffalf even should Ire be a popular celebrity
have many fricnds-and take all his
meals abroad. If ladies and families pre-
fer to have apartments of their own, the
price Of lodging varies from three to five
or ten dollars day, according to,the extent
or elegance Of the accommodation required.
IN like manner the board Of each ndivdu.
al, supplied in private apartment, is raised
from two and ahalf to four dollars per diem.
The consequence is that very few persons
board in their private rooms, and that near
ly all breakfast, dine, and sup in public, cx-
cept the very young children, for whose
convenience there is a separate taJlc dAotc.
# will thus be seen that for the travelling
community these hotels are very comfort
able, very luxurious, very cheap, and very
lively. In consequence Of the great diff
Guilty which private families experience in
procuring cooks and house,naids, in a
country where menial service is considered
beneath the dignity Of native born Ameri-
can, where service is called help to avoid
wounding the susceptibility Of free citizens,
and left almost exclusively to free negroes
and newly-i'nported Irish, who, too COM
moulu r,orn esnaciolIy tho f,,,,lo. ,>a..: