The Wheeling daily intelligencer. [volume] (Wheeling, W. Va.) 1865-1903, 1892-05-20

izing her lost manhood, and that for the
sake Of the future she should endure It.
Tho people have great pride In tho
army and tho army has also a great deal
Of prido in itself. There Is no mistake.
about 1t, Italy has n splendid and, rs 1t
strikes me, q formidable army; an army.
that Is thoroughly disciplined and that
will fight. Butthcn she has no money
to fight with. She would BIO bankrupt
on the frat round; In fact, Is very close
TO the verge OF bankruptcy now. Her
finances are % precariois and peculiar
that gold Is ut n premium OF . per cent.
You never get tho Same price for sterl.
ing exchange twice In succession. The
natural par for III English pound Is %
francs, and say ten or twenty confines
for exchange according to tho balance
OF tradc), but YOU get n week twenty.
five sayenty.fiye, twenty.six tho next,
and twenty.six thirty, forty or tifty tho
next as the case may be. .
TAXATION.
Meanwhile taxation gradually cuts q
llt.lo deeper. 1t is now thirteen aud
thrcc-tcnlhs per cont on incomes.
Think OF that. This necessitatcs intense
economy. You should SEQ how econo.
mically hotels can DO run in ltaly-.how
they. watch and cut down the smallest
minutia Of expense, such rs tho lights
and tbs service and even tho waste
paper. You should 500 all hands wait.
ing on tho table, tho book.keeper and
ven tho proprietor lending a hand.
Tho wages pnid at q hotel mo very
scant. Tho employees arc expected to.
recoup themselves of tho guests. The
porter, or concierge, who presides at
the doorway, and who "wNlcomos the
coming and speeds tho parting guest"
no Is tho main man-hp! gives YOU lin
formation, sells you stamps, calls thb'
cabs, procurc., you opera tickets. no
expects the first and highest take put OF
anyrrcmaining surplus you may haye,
after your bill is, paid. Next to
him comes tho head waitcr. to whom
You must look for an eligible seat ut tho
table, for something warm tfEyou arc
lato, Tor n lunch to carry with you On
an excursion for the preservation OF
your wine between meals,--ho,y next to
the concierge, is q man to 90 regarded
and feed~Tllen OF course, there ia boots,
rs they call him-he is important also,
for what is q tourist in public or private
estimation, whose shoes do not shine.
Then follows tho chamber maid who
brings YOU warm water in the morn
ing, the boy who attends the ".lift,".iif
there happens to be one, the man who
is sometimes ''boots,'v who brings down
your baggage, and finally the man who
stands on the steps Of the omnibus and
rides to the depot he too expects at
least n franc. They arc all hired and
all work on the principle and under
standing OF tips, and these tips arc
their main If not their only pay.
| have never been able 10 find out just
what people who are in what's knowna rs
the gcnteel employments Of life-sucli
as clerks-actually receive, but / am
familiar with one or two cases that may
serve as an illustration or at least throw
light on the subject. l have a friend in
the person Of o young man who is tho
secretary OF n circulating library in the
Piazza di Spagna, where !; go~to hire
books and occasionally TO sit down and
read. lie is the son OF q surgeon at
Tivoli, n beautiful city in the Sabine
hills where l spent q delightful day
the Sabine hills that figure 80 conspicu.
ously in. the early, history of Rome,
where the Sabine maideasscatne from
that were carried of ftomSa'feast VI ct
arms by the first settlers on tho Pala-
tine hill, and thus became ancestral
Roman wives and mothers. This young
man was literally educated, read Latin
at sight, speaks English. keeps the
books of the library, and for these ac-
complishments eereceires3 the-:sum of
twenty-five dollars per month, out Of
which he pays four or five dollars for n
room, two dollars for washing and
mending, and with the balance supplies
his commissary and wardrobe. In the
morning he takes a,.cu p%ofi&chocolatc
which he w%nrmstirsm a suppls'of tiitro
or two OF coldfstuffon'hand in his room,
over a spirit lamp, and this constitutes
his breakfast. At noon no buys a hall
franc lunch and Mt night, when his
work is done, he treats himself to o meat
dinner costing from two and;Syhalf to
three francs, making m averaged daily
expense OF say three francs for living,
or sixty cents, or say SIS per month; TO
which add his room rent and his wash
bill, (S6 more,) making q sun total OF
SCI Thus you SEQ he has a dollar left
for clothes, or rather, as he tells me,
has a deficit OF about S., which his
father makes good. The poor fellow
has just been drawn3f for the, army for
three years, and he seemed rather 10
enjoy the prospect Of army life. After
his time is out in the urniy he says that
he will go to america or;n few years.
In reply to my Enquiry why he
didn'tgo now. he said; because could
never como back to, Italy owing service
TO tho government" "But you need
never come back, 1 replicl. "Ah, but
l must come back! I want to finally
1.-Two in Italy," he said; thus showing
what / have remarked in this letter
the intense love OF countrywhich tho
Italians possess, which is certainly an
excellent trait in their makeup, and, l
may add, one Of their best traits. This
young gentlemnn's name is .Aristides
Tani, No. 3 Piazza di Sposna, who
knows that l am to tuko this liberty
with him. We lately spent q Sunday
together exploring some Columbaria,
where wero the ashes OF numerous
dead, preserved in urns for nearly two
thousand years.
A WHEELING MAN.
Speaking of this young man and his
c mplishments, reminds mo that I
have met hero in Rome quite ain accom-
plishcd young man from Wheeling, the
solitary fellow citizen, l. may remark,
upon whom l have happened thus iar
in nv traYcls.+.His Mann ia--Patricl-