, 1889-02-21
ana the unrc mote

them discreetly and artlsticaly in the mind
before making their acquaintance more fully
OF the palate. We are gourmets In America
the question seemsto be not, (which OF these
dishes will go well togetherr' but, "How
many Of them can / manager It Is solmuch
a day; the moderate caters pay for the glut-
tons
You sec women como down ut s to break
last n silk n~ttire. and decked In diamonds.
And what n breakfast First IN Grunge and
a banana to fresben the mouth and whet tho
appetite; then fish, bacon and g or ONE
let, beefsteak or chop with fried potatoes,
hominy cakes, and preserves.
"How little you eat, you French peopleT'
said an American to me one day, as 1 WINS or
dering my breakfastof cafe au lait and bread
and butter.
you are mistaken" l said, "only we do
not care for our dinner at O'Clock in the
morning"
The larger the hotel is the better the Amer
leans like it A little, quiet, well kept hotel,
where, the cookery being done for twenty or
thirty persons instead of n thousand, the beef
has not the same taste as mutton; a hotel
where you are known and called by your
name. where you are not simply No. 57s like
a convict; this kind of pitching place does
not attract the American. BE must have
something mrge, enormous, immense. He is
inclined to judge everything by its size.
Jacksonville and St Augustine boast a
score OF hotels, each capable of accommodate
Ing from six hundred to a thousand guests.
These hotels are full from the beginning of
january to the end Of March
l have almost always accepted with reserve
the American superlatives, followed by the
traditional sin the world - but 1t may safely
be- said that the Ponce do Leon hotel, at st.
Augustine, is not only the largest and hand
soonest hotel in America, but in the whole
world. Standing in the prettiest part of the
picturesque little town, this Moorish palace,
with Its walls OF onyx, its vast, artistically
furnished saloons, its orange walks, foun-
tains, ~cloisters and towers, is n revelation, a
scene from the Arabian Nights
Here the Americans congregate in search Of
a good time" as they call it. The charges
range from ten to twenty-five dollars a day
for each person, exclusive of wines and ex-
tras The American who goes to the Ponce
dc Leon with his wife and daughters, there
fore, spends from one to two hundred dollars
q day. For this sum, he and his family are
fed, played to by a very ordinary band, and
supplied with an Immense choice of rocking
chairs. On his return to New York, he de
clares to his friends That he has had a lovely
time Tho American never admits that he
has been bored, In America specially. The
smallest incidents of the trip are events and
adventures, and no never fails to hnve his
good time" BE is as easily pleased as a
child; everything American calls out his ad-
miration, or at least his interest. Remark to
him, for instance, that to go by train to
Florida from tho north one has to travel
through moro than six hundred miles of pine
f~orest-which makes the journey very min
teresting-and no will throw you a plying
glance, which seems to say: Immense, sir,
immense; like everything that is American
The temperature of Florida in winter is
rarely lower than O. degs, and ranges from
that TO 10; but the climate is moist and ener-
waiting, tho country a vast marsh, so fat that
by standing on a chair one could sec to the ex-
trcmities of it with the aid of a good field
glass Some enterprising American should
throw up n hill down there; he would make
his fortune. Every one would go and sec 1t.
1t Is not everybody who can afford the
luxury of the Ponce de Leon hotel, but 1t is
everybody who likes to DO seen there in the
season.
You must DO able to say when you return
to the north that you have been at tho Ponce
do Leon. This Is how it can be managed
You go to some other hotel near the Ponce.
In the evening, dressed in all your diamonds,
you glide into the court yard of the great
~caravansary. Another step takes you to tho
immense rotunda where the concert is going
on. You stroll through the saloons and cor
ridors, and, taking a seat where you can be
seen of the multitude, you listen to the music.
About 10 or IL o'clock you beat q retreat and
return to your own hotel Wishing to set
my mind at rest on this matter, / went ono
evening, about half past 0, to the Casa Monica
and Florida house. There, in the rooms
where tho musicians engaged by the proprie-
tors play every evening, were at tho most a
score of people.
Everything Is on a grand scale In good
American hotels, especially tho bills.
l caught the following bit of conversation
at the st. Augustine station as l was leav-
ing;
'Helloi you are of, tooT said a young
man to q friend who had just Installed his
wife in the train for Jacksonville.
"My dear fellow, l nave been here a fort
night; the Ponce de Leon is magnificent, but
tho bill is awfully stiff"
Never mind, old man" rejoined the other,
''you viii take it Off your wife's next dress
money"
With few exceptions, the walters in all the
great hotels are negroes, You are served
slowly, but with intelligence and politeness
No "duchesses" in the great cities of the
north or the fashionable resorts Of the south.
Those good negroes have such cheerful,
open.facesl They seem 50 glad to DO alive,
and they look so good natured that it does
one good to see them. When they look at
one another they laugh When you look at
them they laugh If a negro secs another
negro more black than himself he Is de
lighted; he calls him ''darky" and looks on
him in a patronizing way. Their great dark
eyes hat show the whites so, when they roll
them In their own droll fashion; the two
rows Of. white teeth constantly on view,
framed in thick retrousse lips; the swaying
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