The Seattle post-intelligencer. [volume] (Seattle, Wash. Terr. [Wash.]) 1888-1914, 1891-10-27
The Worlds Metropolis Far
From Being a Cheap Place.
A COMPARISON WITH AMERICA.
Housekeeping Expenses Large-ser-
wants Get Good Wages-Raiiroad
and Omnibus Fares.

one servant and INDUCING in no Injuries.
1t does not allow for wine, malt liquors
nor b. and 5. or S. S. & S, which stands
for brandy and soda, or special Scotch and
soda.
First take the item of fuel. The best and
most economical coal costs from -, 5s TO
e. IS per ton. A compact Hat for family
OF three persons will require six fires, be-
sides the kitchen range, six months in the
year and during three months more at
least three fires. All the houses
and especially the mansions, as
apartment houses are called, are wretched-
~ built. The windows and doors are all
draughty- There are square miles upon
square miles of houses in London which,
IN construction, are inferior in every re-
spect. And these are not modern con-
tract work only. Take, for instance. the
Portman estate about Portman square
ride about lt-and you Will wonder how
the houses have stood for over 100 years.
If you will stand III the middle of one of
the great square drawing rooms, decorated
by the famous Adams. and rise on your
toes and come down solidly on your heels,
you will think the house is coming down
on your head.
But to return to Housekeeping expenses:
hump steak costs 80 cents a pound. But
then the best pOrterhouse is only % 10 IS
cents-the English butcher considerably
charging you less for meat with bone than
for meat with muscle. The beef is usu-
ally from Eastman'5 limited, the range
article slaughtered in Chicago or New
York. English mutton is fine very
much better than in the United States,
but yon pay round price for it in Lon
don. Chops, If cut and trimmed, are six
pence each-and small ones at that. If
you buy rib piece, and have your cook
cut your chops tor you, you pay a shilling
pound. Ham and bacon are excellent.
For the best Yorkshire hams you
Will have to pay one and six
per pound. Very good breakfast
bacon costs Is to IA pence per pound.
Green vegetables are sold by the pound,
except cabbage and kae. Green peas be-
gin at pence per pound and go TO tup-
penny, and then back TO 6 pence. String
beans follow the same course. Irish po-
tatoes are always very good, but never
cheap-never less than ha'penny
pound. and usually a penny.
Bakers bread is never good, and always
dear. Even French bakers-the real ones
do not appear TO be able to make good
bread here. Fruit sells by the pound,
green cages never less than tuppence.
Strawberries, which are delicious-far
sweeter than ours-never get below s
cents per pound. Bartlett pears sell seven
for a shilling at the height of the season,
and the Williams for % cents for six.
Melons come from Spain, and for the
variety resembling in flavor our nutmegs,
you pay from sixpence to one shilling
each.
In the grocery line just two things are
cheap-tea and salt. Sugar is ents per
pound and not sweet. 1t requires about
one-htth to one-quarter more of beet-root
sugar TO sweeten with than Of cane sugar.
All timed goods are expensive. If you
ask for a can of tomatoes, or a can of
peaches, the shopkeeper does not under.
stand you. Jellies and jams are a shade
cheaper than in New York.
To secure a good servant You have to
pay good wages. A good cook-that is, a
plain English female cook-can get from
$50 TO ECO year and found, which means
you must supply aprons and a pint of beer
each day. have all her laundrying done
and give her from ten days to a fortnight
Oft in the summer. But you must keep q
kitchen maid Tor her, as she will do moth
ing but cook. If you live in a flat and
can't afford more than one servant you
can get one for two shiilings a day and not
penny less. She will be a capital servant,
and take quite as much interest in protect
ing you against the tradesmen as if she
was spending her own money, but she is
likely on bank holidays 10 go on an "out-
ing" and come back drunk. But there are
only three bank holidays year.
If there is such a thing as an honest
English tradesman he ought to be caught
and labeled-''an honest understandable
noblest work of God in England" 1t is
absolutely necessary To have a pair of
scales and weigh everything that comes
into your kitchen Harder. If your wife
does the marketing, she must cheaper
everything, because from n penny to
tuppence pound more is asked for many
things than they are really selling for. 1t
is the same way IN all small shops. 60
where you Will in this great city. There
are large establishments where, of course,
such thing Is not possible.
In patrOni zing retailers the only security
you have is to 90 in the great shops like
that OF William WhiteIey, Universal Pro-
wider" who will supply you with every
thing for furnishing your house complete
To providing your servants, and photo
graphing the whole outfit. William
Whlie.ey-" Universal Proyider"-is one
ofthe institutions OF London. If he hasn't
got what you want on hand he VIII get il
tor you and be content with small com
mission
OF course, there are the army and navy
stores. the junior army and navy stores.
the civil service stores, and all sorts OF
stores. on the sO-called Co-operaliye-or
distribution Of profits plan. You can.
without the least trouble, get the use IF q
friend 5 ticket, and save something-if YOU
live within reasonable distance OF the
'stores."
If you live in the suburbs of London
you can save your rent, but 1t Will cost
YOU q shilling day 10 ride into town.
say as Tar as from Harlem TO Battery
Place. The undcrgr, uuu fares are Out-
rageously high for long distance rides and
not cheap for short ones. An omnibus
ride inside four miles Is cents, and the
route Is 50 divided that nIne-tenths OF the
passengers pay cents for short rides
ON omnibus lines you can ride fairly
cheap long distances and outrageods.v
nigh for short rides on most OF the routes
From Charlng Cross 10 tie Bank Is .
penny, which IS cheap.
The restaurants and chop houses, for
lUnchlng purposes. III "the city" j. e.
round about the bank are, rs a rule, good
and cheap. For al tae roast beet. from
hot joints, you can eat, with bread, pOta-
toes and cabbage, cheese and pint Of ale.
you pay two and sixpence. about - cents.
But the preientious swell restaurants.
with t~o exceptions, the Cafe Roya. ana
Nenny's, both on Regent street, are
aWiuly nad. The big hotels, especially
those patronized by Americans, Ike the
Metropo.e, Victoria and the Grand, on
NocthumbeE avenue, are expensive.
Browns, q quiet English hotel, is very