Alexandria gazette. [volume] (Alexandria, D.C.) 1834-1974, 1893-04-29
Life at the Hygcia.

Ia as Sec0nd-clsLSS matter.
Life at the HyGcia.
"Well, mum, TO tell you the truth,
I've been here thirteen years and l
never saw such a crowd | know just
how mighty unpleasant it is for you
Indies to 60 wandering round this ere
dining-room, sitting ut a different table
every meal. It's mighty provoking,
but | can't help it, ladies. There's
more folks than tables, precious sight,
and they all want to eat together, and
they just expect Inc to give 'em good
places and good walters, and they get
mad if | don't, and I'll just be glad
enough when this. foolishnesS is over"
There are different points from which
to look at naval review. especially
when there is no review. Obliged by
the requirements Of nature 10 eat three
meals day. the commissariat is of vi
tai Importance TO most humanity.
Thrice daily, therefore, cast anchor
N the big feeding trough OF the Hygeia
Hotel, and in the brief space ola few
lays have taken the soundings of every
section. The evcr-blooming smile of
The courteous hcad-waiter, whose long
service has made him an authority on
matters gcrmane 10 Old Point, nit
iratcs the situation and robs grumbling
of its sharpest edge. The way
the soft answers of that kindly son
Of Ham turn away wrath is
the greatest triumph of Christianity |
have witnessed for many Il long day.
Daniel Chinn is the name OF this amia-
bic man, whose manners might well be
initiated iy some of the alleged ladies
and gentlemen lie conducts to Their
eats Daniel was born slave at A
pNandria, and gained his freedom when
thirteen years old.
What amazes me is that we get any
thing to cat. am morally certain that
if the service were white instead OF
black. there would he Il strike and we
guests would be walters in double
sense. The patience of these negroes.
who work from daylight to late into
the night, appeals to me as nothing
else has in old Virginia. 1t is one
more proof of the splendid qualities of
race belonging to the soil and only
needing industrial and moral training
to be blessing to themselves and TO
TIE republic. ] have not heard ore
has'y word from these overburdere!
walters, even when they have been
ready to drop with fatigue. They do
tie best they can, 90 up and down
steep stairs to and from the kitchen
hundreds of times day, and laugh
whenever they get chance. They arc
the right people in the right place, and
when ! hear palefaces dcclaiming
against "lazy niggers," wonder where
their eyes are situated. TAere are
lazy niggers.n lots Of them, just as
there are white tramps. but all negroes
are not lazy.
Eve never rung my bell but it has
been answered promptly by black boys
as courteous and painst king IS their
elders in the dining loom. The cham
bermaids are equally civil and good ma
tured, and shall return North, more
and more convinced that the negro is a
natural servitor whose defects are due
to slavery and neglect. With enlight
cument.a and opportunity the black race
will fulfill Il great mission. Assertion
and insolcnce are the growth of igno-
rance and wrong. Abolish both, and
these people will redeem themselves.
Now let Us look at the whites. Have
you ever visited Old Point Comfort ?
No? Well, it is SUI gcacriS. Imagine
first splendid eXpansc of land-locked
salt water large and deep enough to
,I OF tho ,-nrll This
waterway is called Hampton Roads
because ii is opposite the old town of
Hampton. Virginia, where General S.
c. Armstrong established his Indian
and Negro School nearly quarter OF
a century ago, and where Congress has
since located National Soldiers
Home.
South of Hampton, at the extremity
OF the peninsula, lies the Government
reservation, limited space, occupied
principally by Fortress Monroe, but on
which Congress has permitted several
hotels to cncroach. First and foremost
is the Hygeia, which, under the long
reign of mine host Phubus, made for
itself Il unique place in the history of
hotels. Opposite, and directly at the
waite sedge, stands the unfinished struc-
ture that owes its existence mainly ofthe
late Senator Hearst, whose death un-
doubtedlyinterfcred with its completion.
What will be the fate of this hostelry
depends upon who buys it when sold at
auction next month. Old Point Com
fort. therefore, so far as visitors are con-
cerned, consists of garrisoned fort and
the Hygeia. Nobody goes inland eS.
cept on business. Interest is divided
between what happens on the water
and in the hotel, which. during the sea-
son, contains population of eight hun
dred men and women-principally
women-from different sections of the
country. In addition to these eight
hundred dodgers are several hundred
"mealers." Now, then, imagine one
thousand hungry animals feeding sim
ultaneously, and you get fine idea of
the clatter of china, knives and forks.
Pandemonium is a quiet funeral by
comparison,-Kate Fields Wydshingtom.
The Golden Secret Of Long Life.
Keep the head cool, the feet warm and the