Pittsburg dispatch. [volume] (Pittsburg [Pa.]) 1880-1923, 1889-03-03

to wait on them. Be civil TO the servants,
and kind always to the crew, for the sailors
are ships muscles and its brains are the
Captain. He is the only autocrat on board,
and yet he invariably treats all passengers
with perfect fairness, SO far as personal
rights and the comforts OF the vessel are
concerned
As soon asthe steamer passes the Statue
of Liberty call for the head steward and ask
him to give YOU place at table. Most OF the
ships will be SO crowded this year that two
or three breakfasts and as many dinners Will
have to be served, one after the other. Per-
sons who do not care about getting up TOO
early will choose to be at the last breakfast,
but everybody should try to be placed for
dinner at the first table. Many persons
want seats at the Captains table, but there
is no particular advantage in being there.
The purser's table, that of the 5octor, or OF
the chief engineer is just as good; the 1000
is just the same, and is served precisely
alike at all the tables. If you drink wine
with your meals you must buy 1t.
AS TO TIPS.
Another matter that must coach you on,
and it is an important one, is as to the tips
or fees. A day or two before landing the
new traveller begins to worry on the ques-
tion of gifts to the ships servants. The COM
pany pays its employees, and you are not
obliged to. give them anything, but it is Gus
tomary to do SO. Indeed the custom has be-
come SO we'll established that stewards fees
are now almost obligatory.
On board a steamship your welfare is
more or less well looked after by room
steward or stewardess; "boots;" bath
room servant; a table steward; and the deck
steward. Gentlemen have also smoking
cfo ord fr xrifh
and other badly-prepared refreshments.
Now, you should give each servant fee in
proportion to the services rendered, and yet
there is minimum below which no person
should descend. Thus, the room steward or
stewardness ought to be given at the rate OF
say, shilling day on the English and
German boats, or franc on the French and
Belgian steamers; boots" and "bath"
should be given half as much; the steward
who waits on you at table should get the
same as the room servant; and the deck
steward ought to have as much as the boot
black for looking after your rugs and
steamer chair. This, you see is in all about
60 cents per person, and of course as much
may be added to it as you like. Some pas
sengers give even less than the sums have
suggested.
A REPREHENSIBLE HABIT.
have talked frequently with the table
and room steward and stewardesses on sew
eral lines, and it is certain that they would
be satisfied if they were sure of receiving 81
for the voyage on the average from each
passenger waited on by them.
As for the smoking-room steward, very
reprehensible habit has grown up within
the past few years of taking up subscrip-
tion for him at the end of the voyage. This
is quite wrong, and protest against it. The
room is open to everybody, and he is paid
monthly wages for waiting on its occupants.
If a passenger wishes to give this bar mans
assistant tip let him do it, but neither he
nor the steward has a right to put sub
scription paper before anyone. The whole
system of tipping the ships servants is bad
in principle, and is decided imposition on
the travelling public, and the several com.
panies should protect us against the greedy
demands of their beggarly employees.
BE sEAsICK AND SERENE.
No, know of no remedy to relieve sea.
sickness, much less to prevent it. Expert.
ence of others cannot be trusted either, for
there are persons who are not, even the first
time at sea, seasick at all. Nor can we
trust our own experience because some are
seasick one trip and well all the way across
the next time.
have now made the transatlantic voyage
no fewer than Is times, and have escaped
three times only. Coming back to France
two or three weeks ago the waves ran high
enough to dash over the steamer and most
of the time the vessel rolled awfully, but
was not seasick an instant. I wonder still
how escaped. Perhaps it was the excel
lent dinner which Mrs. Richardson served
certain guests the night before I sailed. We
had canvass-back ducks deliciously cooked
two French fattened chickens sent in from
Olean by Will Williams, some good rec
wine from. the Saint Emillion district anc
some quarts of extra dry Monopole that va
frapec to perfection. HENRY HAYNIE.