Little Falls transcript. [volume] (Little Falls, Morrison County, Minn.) 1876-1894, 1885-01-02
COSTLY WATER.
Countries Where Water is Only Used for
Navigation.

COU0EG1e0 whore " ateG Is O01y USED t0y
Navigation.
A European correspondent writes:
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
amazelnemt if you ask for 1t. To pro-
tect myself now carry bottle of wa
ter strapped to my carpet bag. One
dav in the Bon Marche in Paris, where
they employ at least 200 clerks, my
wife, who was making purchases, asked
the clerk to be kind enough to give he1
glass of wafer.
IA what?" he exclaimed in utter
amaZement.
"a glass of water-plain, wet water"
repeated my wife.
"Thcre isn't such thing III 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 bottle of wine"
But if it is hard to get 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 ell over sets
them wild. At Dresden, the boosted
art center Of Europe, my wife wanted o
hot bath in America, when d guest
wants q not bath, he rings for the
chambermaid, turns on the hot water,
takes it, and finds IS cents charged fol
it in his bill. Well, [ went down to
the office and saw the clerk about it.
He seemed half dazed at the idea of q
bath, and Went off to see the pro.
prietor. The proprietor came putting
back to the office and asked me what ,
wanted.
INV wife wants a bath, said.
"All over--batll all over?" he asked.
Eyes, all over, in hot water"
"Hot water-hOt water all over
moline Colt in himmel!' he exclaimed
throwing up his hands.
eyes. u hot water bath said, "tel1
the girl to turn on the hot and the colo
water"
But 5here isn't any hot water,
said the landlord; eve will have
to send commissioner to the bath
house on Frederick Strasse and have il
brought here"
"What" I said in surprise, "send for
bath tub and hot water send out for
it,"
eyes," he said, handing the commits
sioner q note, 1T will be brought here
in an hour"
I went up to the room and awaited
results The hotel was III an uproar.
It was great event to take bath III
Dresden, and I've experienced the
same trouble and surprise in Ber'
lin and Cologne. After waiting
an honr there was o great noise
and clatter in the hall. Pretty soon a
man and his wife came to the door.
They were carrying something tina:
looked like 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 81 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 hall
a mile away. They soon had the bath
t1n full, and my wife took her bath.
Then the thing was carried down stairs
again.
When paid my bill I was charged
three marks as cents) for this bath
and thirty cents for the commission
er. You can never get q hot bath
in Europe for less than sixty cents
It is 5 cents even for drink of ice
water even with your dinner in Paris
restaurant ard from 2 to s cents fol
going into a cabinet pour danes Or e
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 tin
basin and wanted half franc for the
use of it. I told her I was not going to
destroy the water but would simply
use it moment. She was inexorable,
and l paid the tax that cleanliness al
ways has to pay in barbarous Europe