Delaware gazette and state journal. (Wilmington, Del.) 1883-1902, 1894-05-24

III AllCfIEd We NOuId Gall u ''DDntu
ing house" place where the great
army of the unhuused can have food
and shelter, when for reasons too numer-
Gus TO mention, they do not care to put
up at a hotel. In Dresden there are
many Of these places, and this one where
our four Americans stayed, is fair
sample of the class. Ii is IN the heart Of
the city, not far from the main thorough.
fare, Prager.strasse. Like the larger part
OF the houses in Dresden, the building is
OF brick, covered with a colored cement
of dark gray or brown. 1t had neat
little white porcelain sign at Its entrance
doors-"Pension Wahr. |. and ii.
Etage." Which meant that Frau Wahr
kept the boarding house and had the
first and second stories at her disposal.
The two high doors directly or the side
walk looked like stable doors in any Of
our American cities-but go inside and
that idea is dissipated at once. One sees
a clean and wide marble paved yesti-
bule, which leads still further in and
shows a wide hallway with huge marble
pillars. Very wide stone steps branch
from this hall on either side and lead
you to the floors above. 1t is like an
American apartment house, with this
striking difference, that the stairs are all
OF stone, the ratings Of iron, and the
whole building is constructed with an
idea of lasting forever, with no chance
Of being destroyed by fire.
COST OF LIVING.
We secured in this "pension" three
roomsstwo bedrooms, and salon on
the ground foor-parterre they call it
at the following rates Two adults at G
marks apiece per day, two children at 5
marks each per day. A mark is about
% cents in American money. This in
cluded three meals as follows: Break
last, Coffee bread and butter, and eggs;
dinner, soup, two courses, fish and meat,
vegetables and compot, dessert, and
coffee; supper, either cold cuts of meat,
tongue, ham and salad, or some warm
sfdedish, potatoes in some shape, bread
and butter, and tea. Lamp in each
room, / mark per week extra. Break.
last served in room for four persons per
week, l mark extra. Good service in.
cluded. Our rooms were well-furnished,
good beds, every comfort, and lengthy
stay proved the meals to be most excel
lent. We give these figures to show
the difference between the rates of any
OF our big American cities and those Of
Dresden. About u dollar aud half a
day apiece, the best rooms in the house.
in the heart of the city! Our second
rate hotels in America, that give you
food scarcely fit to eat, charge more
than that. One of the great charms of
a Dresden pension is the privacy one
has. Owing TO the two Railways, and
the outer stone stairway, no one need
interfere with the peace of his neighbor
unless he is so disposed. We were
given latch-key to the inner hall door.
way, and except at meal times never
ran across onr neighbors, or they us,
unless we wished to do so. Our house,
when filed, accommodated about 80
people, and we represented almost all
natlons-English, French, American,
Russian, Danish, German, &c. In the
summer time the visitors we've mostly
transients, coming and going, and only
with the fall season did we settle down
into the regulars" for the winter.
WHY THEY DON'T LIKE US.
These transients were all Of the we'll
to-do, travelling tourist army, and we
saw SO many of our own cOuntrymen
and women that we began to under
stand at last why unfeeling foreigners
DO not admire us as a nation, WHY they
object to our little peculiarities. What
we formerly set down to prejudice we
now humbly acknowledge was uply 4
simple statement of facts, and what VIC
TOOK Tor narrow-minded criticism, We
sadly concede is only too true We
have had rich Americans at the Pension
Wahr from all parts of the United
States, and truth compels us to say that
only very small per cent Of these be.
haved in a way to reflect credit upon us
as nation of civilized and cultivated
peoplel Americans from New York
Boston, Philadelphia, ST. Louis and
chicago, were one and all, loud boast
ful, rude, tippant, or arrogant, accord.
ing to their age and station. Our spark.
ling, bright young girls-and they did
sparkle ut times, both with diamond,
and with wit-were slangy and incon,
siderate. Our husbands and brother;
were boastful and egotistical. Oul
wives and mothers were pretentious
not dignitied, and our children were for.
ward, and too self.assured. All nation,
have their weak points, but our bad ont
is particularly bad because it is SO OBJ
trusive. -,
We might sum it up in this, and say
We are "too loud" We speak TOO loud
we dress too loud, we act too loud, W,
live too loud. We want to be heard
Even if we have to yell to be heart
above our neighbors, we must BIZ
noticed. Well-bred persons shudder al
our war-whoop, and under their breatt
murmur unpleasant things about the
American sayage-but that doesn't stor
US, we go right on and do the SAINT
thing over again.
THE WAY WE SAT DOWN. $751;.
One day we sat down to our usua
table d'hote dinner at our pension. Frat
Wahr sat at one end of the table in hel
accustomed place. The stout Russian
baroness, whose large frame lily OK.
pressed her tineness and delicacy al
spirit, was in her usual seat. LADY
O'keith and her modest daughter. from
Belfast, Ireland, sat opposite. Next i,
her was New York couple, the gentle
man man Of middle age. Near them
talented South American lady. an
artist, quiet and unassuming. OPPOSITE
her two German ladies and the editor Of
a Dresden daily. Near them Nor.
wegian couple and their two children
and next them sweet,faced Danish
girl, Next her was a cross old French
woman, aud across the table was !
group Of Americans-a mother and hel
daughter from Washington, and .
mother and two daughters from ST
Louis. Travelling with them was /
young man, New Yorker. Our fyul
americans were on the opposite side
bub occupying the end seat of honor
opposite Frau Wahr. AS we came int
the dining room we all acted true t.
our character. The Russian baroness
hn.cel OIL. %. ~ .L.-... -.