Wessington Springs herald. (Wessington Springs, Aurora County, Dakota [S.D.]) 1883-1891, 1884-10-24
Costly Water.

The most expensive thing and the
hardest thing to get in Europe IS plain
water, At the hotels even in Switzer-
land, where the ~ice-crowned Alps are
in sight. they charge you for ice water
to drink. There is no water on the
cars and at the stations they look at
YOU in amazelnent if you ask for it. To
protect myself l now carry a bottle OF
water strapped to my carpet bag. One
dav in the Bon Marche in Paris. where
they employ at least two hundred clerks,
nv wife. who was making purchases,
asked the clerk to be kind enough to
give her a glass of water.
ga 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.
ssBut in this great store what do you
do when you get thirsty?" asked my
wife.
"Why, we wait till noon or night and
rink a bottle of wine."
But if it is hard to get a glass of water
in France, Switzerland or Germany 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 cen
ter of Europe, my wife wanted a hot
bath. In America, when u guest wants
ahot bath, he rings for the chambermaid.
turns on the hot water, takes it, and
finds twenty-five cents charged for it in
his bill. Well, 1 went down to the
office and saw the clerk about it. He
seemed half dazed at the idea of a bath.
and went off to see the proprietor. The
proprietor came putting back to the
Office and asked me what | wanted.
"My wife wants a bath" I said.
"All over-bath all over?" he asked.
Eyes, all over, in hot water"
"Hot water-hot water all over
meme Colt in Himmel!" he exclaimed,
throwing up his hands.
Eyes, q hot water BATH" I 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!" l said in surprise, ''send for
a bath tub and hot watershed out for
itp''
EYES," he said, handing the connnis-
sioner a note, sit will be brought here
in an hour"
Invent up to the room and awaited
results. the hotel was in an uproar.
1t was a great event to take a bath in
Dresden, and I've experienced the same
trouble and surprise in Berlin and
Cologne. After waiting an hour there
was a great noise and chatter in the
hall. Pretty soon a mar and his wife
came to the door. They were carrying
something that looked like a coffin. It
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 bring
ing up hot water in large tin buckets.
This water had been heated in the bath
house a half mile away. They soon had
the tub full and my wife took her bath.
Then the thing was carried down stairs
again.
When I paid my bill 1 was charged
three marks (s~evcnty-five cents) for
this bath and thirty cents for the COM
missioner. You can never get a bath
in Europe for less than sixty cents. 1t
is five cents for a drink of ice water
even with your dinner in Paris restau-
rant and from two to five cents for 90
ing into a cabinet pour danes or a cab
met pour hommes (water closely. 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 oma in the wash
room had a pint of water in a tin basin
and wanted half a franc for the use of
it. [ told her was not going to destroy
the water but would simply use it a mo-
ment. She was memorable, and 1 paid
the tax that cleanliness always has to
pay in barbarous Europe.-Cor. De-
troI Post and Tribune.