The Manchester journal. [volume] (Manchester, Vt.) 1861-current, 1873-11-20
rus AVERAGE HOTEL CLERK.


60 be- lost:
They bad planned TO stop over At Roch-
. ester iill tie morrow, tba. they might
arrive ct Niagara By daylight aad At
Uu1a lbcy had suddenly resolved 10 make
the rest Of thr days journey Ga draw,
iug-room car. The change gave them an
added reason for content; and they rca'
lized how much they hsd previously sac
fideed 30 the idea Of oftrayeliug Ia the mosl
American manner, without achieving il
q after aii for this seemed a touch Of Amer.
iraui,m beyond the old-fashloued car,
. They recIlucd in luxury upon the easy
cushioned, revolving chairs; they sur
yeyed with iuhllite satisfaction the ele.
gaueo Of the Dying parIor in which they
sat, or turned Their eon'euted regard
thrungh the broAd paie-Rlass windows
upon the landscape without. They ssid
that none bat Americans or enchanted
princes ia the Arabian Nights ever trav-
eled in such state; aud when ia steward
of the car came round successiyely with
tropical fruits ice cream and olaret puucb.
es, they felt a heightened assurance that
they were either enchanted princes-or
Americans. There we're more ladies and
more fashion than in the other cars; aud
prcttly dressed children played about on
the carpet; but the general appearance
OF the passengers hardly suggested great
er wealth than elsewhere; and they
plainly in that car because they were OF
the American race, which finds nothing
too good for it that its money can buy.
They knew none Of the hotels in Roch.
ester, and they had chosen certain one
ia reliance upon their hlnd-b book. When
they named it, there stepped forth por-
ter of an incredibly cordial and pleasant
countenmce, who took their travelling
bags, aud led them to the omnibus, As
they were bic only passengers. the porter
got inside with them, and seeing their
interest in the streets through which they
rode, be descanted in a strain OF cheerful
pride upon the city's prosperity and char
scter, aud gave the names Of the pc, pie
who lived in the finer houses, just as if it
had been an Old World town, and he
some eager historian expecting reward
for his comment npon it. He cast quite
glamour over Rochester, so that in pas
sing body OF water, bordered by houses
and overlooked by odd balconies and
galleries, aud crossed in the distance by
bridge upon which other houses were
built, they boldly declared, being at their
wits eud for comparison, and taken with
the unhoped-for picturcsqueness that il
put them in mind of Verona, Thus they
reached their hotel in almost spirit Of
foreign travel, and very willing to verify
the pleasant porter's assurance that they
would like it, fer everybody liked It,;
aud it WAS with sudden sinking Of the
heart that Basil beheld presiding over the
register the conventional American hotel
clerk. lie was young, be lad neat
muslachc aud wel-brushed hair; jewel
led studs sparked in his shirt iront, and
rings Oh his white hands; b gentle dis
dain of the travelling public breathed
from his person in the mystical odors OF
lhlangihlaug. He did not lift his haugh-
ty head 10 look at the wayfarer who
meekly wrote his name ia the register;
he did not answer him when he begged
for cool room; he turued to the board
ON which the keys hung, and, pIucking
oue from it, slid it towards Basil on the
marble counter, touched a bell for call
boy, whislled bar of OGenbach, and a.
he wrote The number OF The room agains;
BusiPs name, said to a friend loungng
near him, a. ii resnming conversation,
Well, she's mighty pooty gul, any wsy,
/ Cbawlcy,
When | reflect that thi, was a type Of
hotel clerk throughout the United States,
behind unuumbered registers at this mo.
meiH he is Stumbling travellers into the
dust, aud that they are suffering aud per-
peluatiug him, | am lost ia wonder al
tie national meekuess Not that am
one TO refuse the humble pie his jeweIlcd
iugers offer me. AbieclY take my key,
aud creep of up stairs after the caIl-boy,
aud Try to give my.elf the geutee air Of
Que who has not been stepped upon. But
think homicidal things, all the same,
aud rejoice that in the safety Of print
can cry out against the dcspot, whom
have not the presence to defy. You Vnl-
gar and crucl little SOUL say, aud i'm
agius myseIf breathing the words 10 bis
teeth, why do you treat weary stranger
with this ignomiuyY sm TO pay well
for all get, aud shall not complain Of
that. But look al me, and own my hui
manily. confess By some citil action, by
some decent phrase. that | have rights
and that they shall be respected. Ans
wer nv proper questions; respond to my
fair demands DO not slide my key at
me do not deny me the poor poIieness
of nod a. yoa give il in nay hand.
arn ns, your equal; few men are; bat
shall not presume upon your ecmeucy.
Come, also am human
Basil found that, for his an in ssking
fer = cool room, the clerk bsd given them
a ehamber into which the suu hsd been
shining the whole afternoon; but when
biz laggage had been pui in It seemed
useles. 10 protest. aud Ike true Ameri-
can. Ike yog, Ike me-, he shrsnk from
ssscrtiug himself. When the snu went
down q would he cool enough; anil they
turued thsit u.onghts to supper, not ven