The Lambertville record. [volume] (Lambertville, N.J.) 1872-1968, 1875-03-10
MISCELLANY.
mERIcaN ADVANTAGES ovER Paris.


On the average we dress better fare better,
sleep softer and combat the cold 10 Winter
and the heat in the Summer with more scen-
tific persistency than do any of the so-called
luxurious nations of Europe. Take, for in
stance, the matter of heating and lighting.
A few of the leading hotels in Paris and
small minority among the most expensive
suits of private apartments have gas intro
duced into all the rooms, but as general
thing it is confined to the public rooms, aud
the unfortunate wight who longs to see be-
yond the end of his nose is forced to wrestle
with dripping candles and unclean lamps
known only by tradition in our native land
The gaslight which is common necessary in
the simplest private dwelling in an American
city, is here luxury scarcely attainable save
by the weathiest. And we do not know how
precious our gaslight is till we have list it.
To sit in dim parler where four lighted can
dies struggle vainly to disperse the gloom. to
dress for opera or BAH by the uncertain glim4
mer of those greasy delusions, is enough to
make one forswear all the luxuries of Paris,
and flee homeward forthwith.
Then in Winter comes the question of
warmth. What is moro delicious than to
plunge from the iced champagne atmosphere
of sparkling Winters day in America into
the nest-like, all pervading warmth of an
American home? Here such company is
wholly unknown. The cold, though less
severe than with us is damp raw and insidi-
Gus, and croeps under wraps with a treacher-
GUS presidency that nothing can shut out
door-like fashion, let in every breath Of the
chill outer air. A fire is handful of sticks
or half dozen Jumps of coal. The calorifere,
poor substitute for our powerful furnaces,
is luxury for the very rich--an innovation
grudgingly granted to the whims of the occu-
pants Of the most costly and fashionable Of
private apartments. Warmth, our cory, all
pervading warmth is a Winter luxury that
VIE leave behind us with cheerful light Of
our universal gas burners. In Summer we
sorely miss the cold, pure ice water of our
naive land, and we long for it with thirst
which oin ordinaire and Bavarian beer are
powerless TO assuage. The iil-tasting lime
stone-tainted water Of Paris is poor substi-
ttte for our sparkling draughts Of Schuylkill
or Croton. Ice pitchers, water coolers and
refrigerators are unknown quantities in the
sum total of Partisan Injuries
The s'cup of cold water" which the
traveller in our country finds gratuitously sup
Piled in every waiting room, and railway sta
ton, every steamboat, every car ,and every
hotel, is here something that must be specially
sought for, and paid for at an exorbitant
price. Ice can be purchased only in small
quantities for immediate consumption. Ten
cents for few Jumps swimming in water on
a tepid plate is the usual tariff for this our
American necessity, this rare Partisan luxury.
Nor do all the delicate articles of French
cookery suffice wholly to replace for an
American palate the dainties of his native
land. The buckwheat cakes and waff1es, the
delicately favored, luscious oysters, the
canvass-back ducks, the Philadelphia GRO
quotes and terrapin, find no substitutes on
this side of the water. The delicious shad
and Spanish mackerel have no gastronomic
rivals in these waters, and the sot' must be
accepted in their stead. We miss too, our
profusion and variety Of We etables, our
4 stewed and stuffed tomatoes, green corn,
oyster plants and sweet potatoes. Ltppin-
colts for February.