Daily Republican., 1889-11-23
KEPT A FIRsT-cLAss HOTEL
BT LUKE SHARP.

stayed n week ct n hotel In North
Caro- inA which shall not name for fear
OF hurting the feelings Of the proprietor.
who ID one Of the best natured men iu the
whole world, and who lives at peace with
hiinsclf and all mankind. He has brick
hotel 10 an enterprising town and has a
great run OF custom, because everybody
likes him. The hotel. as southern hotels
go, is reasonably good one, but the
funny thing Of 10 Is that this man thinks
be 10 running the very best hotel there 10
IN America. 1t would be wrong to say
that he runs" anything, because he
spenos MS time out on the sidewalk In
'front.' OF the hotel with his chair tilted
against tue brick wall and bis fe, OH the
lower runR Of the same, smoking and
chatting with his friends. Everybody in
the place knows him and everybody for
miles around knows him, and as they
pass they say "IIowdy do" and he saws
"Howdy do and smiles, aud taking it
all In all he has q very goud time OF 1t
indeed, and lie Is all the more endurable
to him because he is under the strange
delusion that speak Of, that he ruEs a
| first-class hotel.
lie took my money With q sigh when
lett, aud l think he hopes that sucl an
other fellow will never strife that part of
North Carolina again. ! found several
northern people there, all growing more
or less quietly to themselves and cussinp
the walters, but the proprietor was so
very good Datured and such an awfully
nice man that nobody ever had the heart
to say anything 10 them. j asked these
visitors what the use was OF growing at
the walters and grumbing among them
selves II they didn't make q grand kick
to the proprietor, and they replied calm
ly: why don't you kick"
The fret day went out to him as he
sat smoking his pipe In front of the hotel.
"Look here" said, "why the deuce
cant we have some potatoes at your
potato s." he said, looking up to me
with emile, as II there was some joke
in the inquiry.
"Yes, potatoes,"I said; 81 have been
here now for three meals and have not
seen potato. want some potatoes"
"Well," he said, his sml dying away,
'there ain't much call for potatoes, you
know. Southern people don't care very
much about potatoes, except sweet po'
| tatoes."
"Well," l answered, az am not q
Southern person, and want potatoes.
want them once day at least, aud 1 tell
you what It is, that II dent get pota-
toes I'll 20 up town and buy some, and
II your cook can't cook them l'll show
how 1t 10 Done"
WELL" he said helplessly, an get
some potatoes II you want EN-"
said, "Not only do / want them but
there are dozen people at my table
that want them. They growl and they
hate to tell you about 1t. and so that is
the way 1t goes"
"well "he replied, with hopeless resig-
nation, II want to have everything that
my guests call for. keep flrst-class
no ell aud l am going to do 1t, now tell
you"
So after that we had potatoes. 1t was
quite evident that the cook didn't know
low to treat them, for they were horri-
BILE combination fried IN lard aud greasy
and cold by the time they were brought
on the table. In fact, everything was
cJld that GU ht to be hot, and everything
was hot that ought TO be cold. The next
kick made was about the flies.
"I.ook here" | said to him the next
day, "Why don't you try to keep the flies
out OF tho dining room? There are about
a million flies TO every guest you have
there. They are bowling nuisance and
effort to keep them away"
"Why he said, you don't expect a
person can ket p flies out, down south7"
"fhey do Il" said, sin other places.
! don't see why you can't do it here.
Why don't you put some screens In your
dining room windows2"
"Wtli," be replied, "there would be
some kicking because there wasn't air
enough IN the dining.room."
Never MUD the air." said, "we'n
have plenty OF air If you put in screens
and keep out the dies"
For the tirst time there was show of re-
sisianre against this. There Is popular
idea that the landlord is always glad 10
h-sr II the guests have anything TO com
plain of. This, how ever, is not the case.
Nobody likes to hear that he lie not doing
right and landlords as little as anybody
else.
'See here" said the proprietor, look
ing up Ut me from his chair and for the
tirst time putting down his feet on the
pavem nj, there's two other hotels in
this town, you know"
(which means," said, THAT 1 can
go to either OF the others II want to?"
Certainly" he replied. "You are
not bound TO stay here, you know"
| hti, etiui hm noI ~ uRs 1
am going to stay here until my week 10
out, and am going to raise row every
time things are not right. Even II it
doesn't benefit me hope 1t will benefit
some Of those that come after me-"
Next day at meol time told the other
GROWERS, who had been congrstulating
me on the improvem, MT lad been hav-
Inc ma ,e, that the first thing knew
should be given a walking ticket, but the
landlord was too good natured to do
more than hint that the march OF i'm
provrme could march too lar. When
| did leave he shook hands cordially, and
when told him that the only hotels that
could compare with his were those in
New YORK aud Paris, be snswered with a
genial smile;
"Well, l always dd keep q hrst-class