St. Johnsbury Caledonian. [volume] (St. Johnsbury, Vt.) 1867-1919, 1880-05-21
Imposition on Americans Abroad.

N"'0 'SOShtly ndppeneu at one OF
the large hotels in Geneva, where an
American lady had been stopping for
several days, and was only able to get
her bill as she was upon the point of
leaving In the omnibus for the station.
Glancing hurriedly over the items to
see what there was to make so large
an amount, she saw a charge of SO
francs which she could not understand.
"What is this?" she asked.
''For toilet set, madame,n said the
Obsequious landlord.
but | have had no toilet set"
Pardon; but madame broke the set
in her room.n
She remembered that she had acci-
dentally shivered piece, the size of a
six-pence, from the cover of soap dish,
which she explained.
81 am very sorry, madame, but the
set is ruined"
sit is not ruined, and l shall not paw
for it" said the lady, her anger rising.
"But the madame must pay for it if
she wishes her baggage" Time did not
admit of further parley, but she was
in a rage.
''If | pay for it the set is mine, is it
not?" she asked, as she placed the re-
ceipted bill in her purse.
Certainly, madame, certainly said
the landlord, pecketing the gold. and
thinking how easily he had plucked the
down from off this goose.
The lady thought she must have
dropped a glove in her chamber, and
disappeared like flash. Soon return
ing, she jumped into the waiting omni-
bus, and was driven away. Half an
hour after, when the maid went to reg
ulate the chamber, she found the toilet
set, every piece of it, shivered to pieces
on the floor, and not a relic left the size
of her hand. As the incident became
nOlsed abroad among the travellers,
the hotel for long time was not IA
vorIte resort for our country people.
Another case which happened at one
of the large hotels at Naples two years
ago created much talk among the trav-
cling fraternity. Two American ladies,
who had been boarding at the hotel for
several weeks, and paying eXtravagant
prices for everything, accidentally set
fire to one of the muslin window cur
tains the night previous to their intend
ed departure. The carpet was little
wet, and some of the furniture, in the
efforts to put out the fire, and the room
suffered a little from smoke, but S25
would have amply paid for all the dam
age. The ladies told the proprietor to
charge the amount, whatever was right.
in their bill. Judge of their surprise
when they found the item entered in
their account at $500 francs. They
were wealthy, had spent their money
lavishly wherever they had been, and,
fuln ho1
bills unchallenged all over the CONT
nent. But this was an attempted swim
die that they demurred against. They
told the proprietor that they could not
submit to such an extortiOn, but that
they were perfectly willing to pay gen
erously for the damage. Their time
was limited, and it was necessary for
them to leave at once, in order to catch
Liverpool steamer by which they had
engaged passage to New York. The
proprietor was firm as adamant, claim
ed the charge was not enough to cover
his loss, and would not discount a
franc. The ladies offered 500 and then
1000 francs but no, they were at his
mercy, as he supposed, and he should
have the full amount. They happened
to think of the American consul, and as
last resort went to his office and stat
ed the case to him and asked his ad-
vice. He accompanied them back to
the hotel, and saw the amount of the
damage for which the exhorbitant claim
had been made, and attempted to make
compromise, but it was no use. He
then had the ladies give him a power
of attorney to settle the matter, and
told them they could take the next
train for Rome, and leave the case in
his hands for settlement. But this they
were prevented from doing, as tile ho-
tel-keeper refused to give up their
trunks until the claim was paid in full.
The consul then had recourse to the
civil authorities, who, for wonder,
were willing that the ladies should have
justice, even though they were foreign
ers. After much delay the prefecture
of police finally gave the consul an or
der on the hotel proprietor to deliver
up the trunks, and after two or three
days detention, the ladies went on their
way rejoicing-though they were too
late to catch the steamer. The case
was finally settled by the consul, and
cost the ladies about 100 francs, not one
of which went into the pocket of the
hotel-keeper. The attempted swindle
proved losing business for the hotel,
as the Americans, who had been its
best patrons, have ever since given II
a wide berth.
A similar case to this happened in
Rome two or three winters ago. A
wealthy American who had been sick
at one OF the hotels with a fever, was