The record-union., 1897-11-11


a wardrobe in each room so many sizes
larger than any of the doors or win
dows that they must have been built on
the premises.
A SOAP CASE, BUT NO PARLOR.
There are some odd things about this
old inn, which is not kept for that jolly
pomme d'terre the American million
aire, on his travels, but for the Belgian
on his summer holiday in the noun
tains. The soap case is one of the first
to make itself apparent. 1t is little
closet with glass doors much like the
case kept by BARRIERS for the same pur-
pose, and it stands in the hall at the
head of the stairs. Its shelves are
filled with paper boxes of soap; soap
Belgian, soap French, soap English,
soap German; and a price list is stuck
inside. If you need soap, it is your
privilege to buy. The only hotel in
Europe that furnishes soap, as far as
/ have seen, is the North Western Ho-
tel in Liverpool. The hotels exhaust
their liberality when they furnish a
soapdish without extra charge.
Then there are the regulations of the
house stuck up against the opposite
wall, in which the plainest is the notice
that guests are expected to drink wine
at one meal every day. That only
goes to show that hotel keeping as
fine art is not thoroughly understood
in Belgium. If the house is to regu-
late the drinks of it's guests, why not
compulsory cocktail before breakfast
and a bottle of champagne in the even
ing?
Ihen there is no parlor; no place
Whatever for sitting except out under
the trees or in the dining room, which
is a long modern annex at one end
inns is nothing strange in Belgium
Where none but the large tourist" no.
tells nave parlors. There is indeed
little crypt on the left-hand side of
the hall. which is supposed to be the
sltting-room of the landlord and his
FAMILY, and into which the guests some
times go to write letters. / call it a
crypt because it is SO small and dark,
and has such thick walls and a vault
ed stone ceiling. If it is not a crypt it
must have been made for the powder
magazine of a fort. Possibly Mr. w
H., who built the house in 1857 and
put his initials between crossed swords,
was of belligerent turn, and made
his house strong enough to stand
Siege
l have spoken of this crypt as being
on one side of the hall; and the house
is large enough to be not only double,
but quadruple Then on the other side
of the hall you might, being an Ameri-
90 lonlr fC,~4 !, i d.
dear sir, is the stable In Belgium we
arrange matters in this convenient way,
with everything under one roof There
is no opening in the wall between the
hall and stable. From the front you
must enter it by the big double doors
just to the right of the main entrance.
And when you go in you find three
clean stalls, two of which are empty,
and the third occupied by the smallest
Of ponies, whose name is Billy. But
on account of his size some Belgian
joker has painted over his stall ''Mou-
tom the sheep. Mouton is the par
ticular charge of Arthur the Commits
sionaire, whom 1 shall take the liberty
to present to you shortly. You are
sure to like him because he is the best
like the British sun, that never sets.
GENERATIONS OF HOTEL KEEP
ERS.
The landlord and his family are as
we'll worthy of study as the curious
old house. Here are four generations
of a family under their own roof First
there is the aged mother, who spends
much of her time going across the way
to the church, prayer-book in hand
Then NJ. Brouet, the proprietor, tall
and portly. with a much better ap-
pearance and carriage than the Lord
Mayor of London. Then Nine. Brouet,
daughter of the old lady and wife of
the proprietor. Then their two daugh-
ters, one widow with two little girls,
the other in blssful possession of
suitor who comes every Sunday even
ing The widow was the subject of a
little pleasantly that is as near a joke
as such things ever come in Europe.
"Oui'' | was told, ''the madame was
the wife Of physician He was set
tied in Hastiere. He fell i'll. He was
the only man who ever was i'll in Has
tiere. He died.
And do the family live here in the
mountains through the winter?" l
asked.
"Oh, oui oui. The cook is discharge;
ne waiter is discharge; the demoiselles
are discharge. They keep one maid
and the Commissionaire, and when
snow comes they retire into the shell.
In spring they come out with the
birds. Oh, it is very healthy, but lone
some. Oui, oui, it is lonesome.
1t is the necessity for baggage that
brings the Commissionaire to the front.
/ have asked the landlord for porter,
and he has smiled and shaken his head,
and some bystander with a smattering
of English has explained that i want
a bottle of porter, which l Indignantly
deny. / have asked for an express
wagon, 81 voiture, fiacre, a donkey
cart, every form Of conveyance that
l know the French for except a train de
has simply smiled a bewildered smile,
and remained in ignorance. Then some
good spirit suggests the word Commits
sionaire.
lie Commissionaire, Monsieur
You have seen the sun come up smil-
ing from behind a hill, or perhaps out
of the sea? That is nothing to the
look of intense joy and knowledge and
recognition that spreads over Belgian
landlords face when at length he
grasps your meaning.
"Oh, oui. oui, oui, Monsieur" CA
sbrug of the shoulders and waving Of