The sun. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1833-1916, 1876-12-03
a TRAvELLINg PRTSCE's DIARY.

md simnlv lafRe,ss nd ugly. od-fashioned town.
i call ancient the appearance Of a cisy like
Nuremberg. York, or Bureos. There is per
fume OF centuries In their very atmosphere.
But this Ia neither nsh nor flesh II lie neither
modern nor ancient The streets are narrow, III
paved, md III kept. The red brick houses are
small and clumsy, with three monotonous mar
ble eteps, which some poor female is scruobioe
all day long. or Quskers, there are none to be
seen u all, while the negroes are as plentiful AZ
everywhere. have not yet seen a monument
or building worth looking at. The thorough
fares are 40 narrow that tho street horse cars
have to take one street going down town and
another going up. Two tracks Of rails on the
same street would have stopped all trafhc. The
principal street, Chestnut by name. 10 probably
the Darrowest ir the whole city. IL has for all
ornaments a dozen hanosomely decorated shops
and half q dozen large hotels The colossal
building OF newspaper called the Ledger.
belonging to a man who used to sell pc nuts.
and is now one Of the richest and most con-
spicuous men In Philadelphia, IL an exceedingly
bideous affair. There a few public squares
10 the city. but they neglected, Ill laid out.
and rendered ridiculous by a large numper Of
round iron seats. resembling In form something
between mushroom aud a music stool. am
told that these stupid sests have be n substi-
tuted for the usual benches out Of care for pub
lilo morality. Young lovers are thus prevented
from sitting too close to escn other on moon
shiny summer nights. This Is the only indica-
ton OF Quaker influence have observed vet.
The streets OF an old city can. OF course, not
be expected to De wide, aud 1t is not the wild b
OF a street that makes all Its attraction. The
streets of all our Spanish towns are narrow, but
they have odchtt about them. So hive
the streets OF most of the old Eurot can
Co 90
Boston, too. But here some OF the quar-
tiers Of the city look. l should imagine, as
penitentiary settlement In some dist INT Eng
lish colony would look. Everything IL at right
angles, everything Is uniform. everything is red
brick and white steps. II one adds to this an
rfernal heat. unrefreshed by the slightest cur
rent OF air, and hosts OF mosquitoes eating us
up all day aud night, the picture will be COM
plete.
The only redeeminR feature Of Philadelphia
streets are the numerous trees which border
most of them. and the many pretty women
which are frequently to be met with. Just az
Philadelphia chickens are the best we have yet
eaten 10 this country, so are the Philadelphia
women the prettiest We have seen. They are
mostly small. but nicely built, and show an I'M
common large proportion of pretty faces. pretty
feet. aud pretty hands The great majority OF
them are dark-eyed and dark nsred, aud some
Of them, " dressed In our fashion, could be
easily tsken for Spanish women. From what
have 90 erved. however, on Chestnut street
during the hours OF promenade. | am afraid
they are addicted to Irritation. L. and NJ. IN ourn
many charming acquaintance they have missed
through sheer want OF knowledge Of the Eng
lish language.
The hotel we are in, the Continental, is a very
large. but a very poor one. ! he rooms are COM
Portable enough, but the negro service Ia ex-
tremely pad, ard the cooking miserable. there
are said to be about Que thousand guests und,
the same roof with us, and II Ia natural that
none OF them can be well attended TO. This
caravansary system for hotels can never become
successful. The so-caed American pl n IL also
avery expensive one. You have o pay so much
day whether you take your meals not. and,
as the food Is bad. you naturally try to nnd some
better place to eat at. Happilv enough we dis.
covered tod the restaurant OF the ruis
Frercs on the Exhibition grounds. an going
to take our meals there. But the old General
gruInbles at this project, as one watch will
double our expenses.
! have Just had an instance how inat'entive
and impudent the American hotel keepers are.
met my brother and my sister-in-lsw on the
Exhibition grounds. lhey had Just arrived
from a trip to California, and, not knowing at
the grouuds. We had not seen each other for
nearly two years, ana were naturally anxious to
spend the day together. When the exhibition
was closed in the evening and We return to
the city. asked them To come to take supper At
my hotel. P.'s order 10 have nice supper for
SIX persons served about II o'clock In our parlor
was met with a refussl. The cooking hours
were over Ot was about 7. NJ, aud all that
could be obtained consisted Of tough cold beef
or mutton. Fancy eating chops and st-aks for
supper! The General went down himself to
see the proprietor, told him that sny extra prlce
could be CHI rged for tns supper; but tie re-
Spouse was the same-it was out OF tue regular
line OF business OF the house and could not g
done. The old gentleman grew perfectly savage
at such an answer, yet nothing left for us but
to sup on cold meat and pickles. And IL must
u the s me time be borne IN mind that wine, as
well a. all Kinds OF drinks, are never refused to
be served, and drinking In private rooms, es-
peeially on Sundays, appears TO be going all
day long.
they seem to be gceping hotels here for their
own, not their customers. convenience. At all
events the only house In which IA vet We have
been property served ana attended to is the
Arlington at Washington.
July Is 1t the city Of Philad elphia ls not at
trac I'VE, Its environs certainly are. There are
plenty of handsome drives in the neighbour
hood; one or two OF the bridges over the
scnuy XII river I'VE all broke our tongue. in try
ing 10 pronounce this nam,) are magnificent. es-
ct lily the so-called Girard avenue bridge. whi q
the irmount I tk Is perfectly beautiful Hut
the up roaches to the Exhibition, and q whole
of the route which thousands upon thousands
OF people daily take on their way to tue ere I
show are miserable. The road itself Is .Domi
II BILE, and on both sides OF II, for more than
three miles, the eye does not meet anything be-
yond wooden shanties erected for the \ le uf In
toxic ting hquors. II Is really surprising 10 see
what "a w.nt Of artistic taste, and, sometimes,
wnat an amount OF cynicism the Amerir, ms
display a. nation. An undertaking OF he m q
nitude Of this EXhihition, especially since II Is
the first display Oftns sort ever held In ths youni
co ntry, ought to have been rendered as imures-
sive AS possloie. II ought to have heen m de "A
national solemnity; instead Of that, II o. r been
m, de n colossal fair Of. Nothing has been d lone
To impress the Imagination Of the masses, to 4 [
the level OF their ideas but everything 5
been done TO advertise aud make money. On
SUNDAYS, when the poor workman IL olsen
. ged, and might have gone To visit the EIhioi-
ton, the grounds are closed but he - left -
lbe " to get drunk In the rum and beer shops
omen al around. The General says that TO MS
mi "a ~ ha gha a .