The Dickinson press., 1888-12-08

.pphSN y tph 40 ahh
Ignored As Human Beings I.rrands
They DO for Womcn-Talcs Which They
Might Tell.
The bell beneath the annunciator in the
office %. Il Broadway hotel gave a gentle,
penetrating tang, rs good annunciator bells
will, one evening recently, and the little nun
ttyel tag that dropped ut the same instant
Indicated that the call came from n room
away M in the hundreds and presumably
lrcpnr,ionnlcly far up in the hotel. Tho
clerk, in,rrrulting his pcrusal of the evening
paper he lad bought five hours before and
was iust finding his first opportunity of read
III :. swung around i'll his chair, reached out
hi, hand for his own sharper toned bell to
summon a boy, and instinctivcly fixed his
LIP $ TO call slirilly:
"l'ronl!'
Before his hand touched the bell or q sound
hal left his lips one little bell boy put III
cn:cr face over the desk and four more swung
up in line almost ut the same moment, every
on, with IL br ght and hopeful look on his
fac, that seemed to show that, for them at
Ica; work was Il pleasure. The clerk looked
ut ttlc one who had got to the desk first,
XII! lvr,l back at the number on the tag, and
said:
Ten, so see what's wanted in thrcc'-
"NcSsir!' and without waiting for the rest
uf the sentence the hoy was oil, his compan
ions Sloucilcd discontentcdly back to their
seats. and the clerk, turning and twisting the
crank OF tho allnunciator, sat down to his
paper again, the numbered tag flying back to
it, place with an almost impcrccptible click.
\. minute or two later there was another tang
fi,nm the soft toned bell, and the clerk again
reached around for his own bell, and twisted
his mouth to say:
"Frunt!a
This time he had to tap the bell not only
once, but twice, the second time with q very
Vicious touch indeed, and to call "Front!" in
his vcry s~iiarlcst tone before even one bell
boy dragged himself up before the desk. One
u lilc ot!cr boys had suddenly noticed that
his st;orstriHy needed tying, another had to
stop To button his jacket and the rest seemed
to he tagging behind on general principles.
$50 see what Is wanted at $50"
"Yc-e-ssir;;" nid the boy lazily dragged
himself away as slowly rs good fortune pur-
suing an nAlucky man.
Before the boy was fairly started the an
numciator bell rang again for the same nuin-
hrr. The clerk calmly gavo the crank q
twist and restored the tag to its place. When
H. had to do the same thing Il second time in
less than half a minute there was a little en-
piiu>is in the twist, and for the third repeti-
ton Of the ring he had a muttered execration
ot 'ti.at boy" but he let tho tag hang down,
and amy subsequent attempted rings by tho
occupant OF 230 interested the clerk no more.
Somebody asked tho clerk why bell boys
were 50 gu and spry one moment and so
lazy then He smiled dryly and said:
They kitty what they are going to get"
Pressed further, he vouclsafed the inform
alton that the first ring had como from a
room where tho bell boy was pretty certain
to get Il til, while the second was from Il
room the occupant of which did not believe
in encouraging the cigarette habit by giving
boys; nickels.
mnu.iciator before | do" he said, and
tiicy'r re sharp enough in getting to the front
ii the call is from Il room where they think
they are likely to get anything"
The clerks explanation was confirmed by
the appearance about this time of the boy
seat out on the first call, with something i'll
hi, hand that lie rubbed bright on his jacket
sleeve, and tncn held up tantalizingly before
the other boys before ho put it in his pocket.
The boy sent on the second call may have
died On the way, or merely have been over
taken by old age and broken down, but lie
famed To put i'll an appearance so long as Il
casual observer WHO took all interest i'll bell
Loy; waited, and repeated agitutions of the
dropped down tag of room $50 seemed to i'll
dictate that some one there was i'll Il frantic
state of mind over something or other.
At most hotel, the bell boy business nowa
Lays has been reduced to SO much of Il science
that this sort of thing could not occur. Tho
effort of the clerks is to reduco the boys tt
machines, and they have to hop lively wicl
ti,r bell rings, and 80 and como quickly, III
matter whose is the call or what the pros
poets of ~ TIP. IL is Il good deal easier for ;
hotel 10 get IL new bell boy than for IL bell DO,
to get IL new hotel, and the boys risk tleil
situations as little us possible. Tho idea o
bell boys as machines is not confined to tho
lote! CLERKS, however. The guests whom til,
boys serve. especially tho women guests, re
gard them i'll much the same light.
ii bell boys ever told tales except anon:
themselves, Il great many womc who live
ut hotels would be ineSpresslbly Shocked
Opium, whisky, rouge, morphine, bciiadonn;
aud Inc Ponce Gazette are only Il few of th,
things that bell boys in any OF the big hotel
urc sent after by the female guests almos
daily, Willie the carriage Of IL note to such
looking gentleman on such III such Il corle
or the caring for of cpistlcs TO he called TO
by Il tall, handsome man with IL black mus
tacllc-ald incidentally with Il quarter TO
the boy-is an everyday matter. 1t nevc
seems to occur to Il woman that a bell hoy i
IL good deal like anybody else in noticing
things, putting tins and that together, an
drawing conclusions. Occasionally women
and men too for that matter, have their at
lcmtion unpl5asantly drawn to this fact b
the appearance of an unexpected hotel ell
pioye with IL missing link in the evidence i
u divorce suit; but generally the contidenc
put i'll the boys seems to be pretty We
founded, for they are a close mouthcd lot, Il
any one who has ever attempted to get thei
to tell some OF their experiences will admit.
Family quarlels are another thing wit
which the bell boys iii the big hotels bccon
extensively acquainted by actual obserr;
ton. The average husband and wife seel
to think that Il bell boy doesn't count who
they arc having their little differences {
> opinion and the boy waits i'll the room unt
1T is settled whether u carriage shall |
!, ordered ut s for the theatre or ut 10 for Il
bail; whether the bridal tour shall end riSl
here as tho nasty mean old thing wishc
: OF shall le kept up for u week longer as Ii
wife desires. Men who would be shocked
, anything approaching Il slight to their wi
y before folks call her Il littlo fool befo
, bell boys without conjunction, and the wifi
! who is always IL picture of humility VIII
: folks are around, refers to her better h;
!. as Il wretch and a brute when the bell boy
| present, without thinking twice about it.
y New York Sun.