The Mineral argus., 1884-10-16
COSTLY WATER.
Countries Where Water Is Only ussa .,
NAVIGATION.

NAVIGATION
A European correspondent writos.
The most expensive thing and a.
hardest thing to get in Europe Is nIo;u
water. At the hotels even in Switzo-
land, where the ice-crowned Alpsaroia
sight, they charge you for ice water -
drink. There is no water on the e.ro
and at the stations they look at Won N
amazememt if you ask for 1t. To pro-
tect myself 1 now carry a bottle of wa.
ter strapped to my carpet bag. One
day in the Bon Marche in Paris. where
they employ at least 2OU clerks. nv
wife, who was making purchases, asked
the clerk to be kind enough to give her
a glass of water.
"a what?" he exclaimed in utter
amazement.
"a glass of water-plain, wet water"
repeated my wife.
"There isn't such a thing In the store"
said the clerk.
"But in this great store what do You
do when you get thirsty?" asked my
wife.
"Why, we wait till noon or night and
drink a bottle of vine"
But if it is hard to get a glass of
water in France, Switzerland or Ger
many to drink, how much harder it is
to get enough for a bath. The idea of
water enough to battle in all over sets
them wild. At Dresden, the boosted
art center of Europe, my wife wanted a
hot bath. In America, when a guest
wants a hot bath, he rings for the
chambermaid, turns on the hot water,
takes it, and finds % cents charged for
it in his bill. Well, / went down to
the office and saw the clerk about it.
He seemed half dazcd at the idea ola
bath, and went off to see the pro
prietor. The proprietor came putting
back to the office and asked me what |
wanted.
"My wife wants a bath, said.
"All over-bath all over?" he asked.
ayes, all over, in hot water"
"Hot water-hot water all over
meme Colt in himmel" he exclaimed,
throwing up his hands.
eyes, a hot water bath" 1 said, tell
the girl to turn on the hot and the cold
water"
but there isn't any hot water"
said the landlord; 'we will have
to send a commissioner to the bath
house on Frederick Strasse and have it
brought here"
what ~ 1 said in surprise, "send for
a bath tub and hot water -send out for
it?"
eyes" he said, handing the commits
sioner a note, cit will be brought here
in an hour"
1 went up to the room and awaited
results. The hotel was in an uproar.
It was a great event to take a bath III
Dresden, and I've experienced the
same trouble and surprise in Ber-
lin and Cologne. After waiting
an hour there was a great noise
and chatter in the hall. Pretty soon a
man and his wife came to the door.
They were carrying something that
looked like a coffin. 1t proved to be a
long, black, rusty bath tub. They
placed it in the middle of the room.
Then they went down two pair of stairs
to a wagon standing in front of the
hotel and commenced bringing up hot
water in large tin buckets. This water
had been heated in the bath house half
a mile away. They Don had the bath
tub full, and my wife took her bath.
Then the thing was carried down stairs
again.
When I paid my bill I wa charged
three marks (75 cents) for this bath
and thirty cents for the commission
er. You can never get a hot bath
in Europe for less than sixty cents.
1t is 8 cents even for a drink of ice
water even with your dinner in a Paris
restaurant ard from 2 to 5 cents for
going into a cabinet pour danes or a
cabinet pour hommes (water closet.
The other day l felt smoky and sticky
on the train and looked around at the
station for a chance to wash. The big
Seine river was running the other side
of the depot. An old woman in the
wash room had a pint of water in a TN
basin and wanted half a franc for the
use OF it. 1 told her 1 was not going to
destroy the water but would simply
use it a moment. She was memorable,
and 1 paid the tax that cleanliness al
ways has to pay in barbarous Europe.