The Saint Paul globe. (St. Paul, Minn.) 1896-1905, 1897-12-27
SOMJ CURIOUS DIFFICULTIES
WHICH AMERICANS HAVE TO
ENCOUNTER,
ICE NOT EVEN A. LUXURY.
IT'S USE PRACTICALLY UNKNOWN
TO THE AVERAGE BRIT
ISHER.
HONESTY OF THE FRADEsMEN.
Trait Which Americans Should Copy
Travelling Third-Ciass in
England.
of the Globe.

Special Correspondence Of the Globe
LONDON, Dec. 15.-"When I first
came to London" said a Chicago lady
to me the other day, 81 had all sorts
of trouble with the housekeeping. 1
went into a grocery shop they call 1t
here-everything is a shop-and asked
for a can Of tomatoes in my fiat Chi
cago way. you know. No one could I'M
derstand me. I had to point it out.
"Oh! said the man, you mean a tin
of tomawtoesr
And everybody laughed at me.
They use timed for canned. L want
ed some napkins and they thought they
were for a baby. You mustn't say
Napkins 1t is 'serviettes,' you know"
She laughed merrily as she recounted
her experiences.
L was accustomed to a steam heated
fat and though it seldom freezes here
/ am never warm in winter except
when L am in bed These soft coal fires
are snare and an abomination. 1
wanted to know where they kept the
ice.
Ice" screamed my maid of all work,
who was looking at the fiat with me-
Ice! what do you want ice for?
Il explained that we took Ice at
home all the year round She almost
dropped dead. Nobody seems to take
ice here even in summer. and nobody
thinks of drinking iced water, or heard
of iced tea. Coming across from Liver
pool I said to my husband, would as
lief go second class, if there is much
difference in the cost He looked at
me with the astoinshment of the Lon
doner.
why, I've already bought third
said he.
From a Pullman to third class was
big jump. I thought, but I've been
riding third class ever since. Ticket
beG pardon-the booking Offices take 1t
for granted that you want third class
unless you ask for better. 1t Is the
rule.
Have glass Of stout" This is what
you always pay 80 cnts a pint bottle
for at home. We get 1t in jugs at one
and six a gallon. You see there are
'N'AiS oU' c~AiNo6Co III living iCIc IL 10
mostly in drinking, however I'm bound
to observe. Fish and vegetables are
cheap. Chicken. fowl they call it is
very dear. When 1 think of the turkey
and fried chicken of home 1 almost
weep. American beef is cheaper and
poorer than the English beef Fruit is
poor and out of reach. But, curiously
enough, all kinds Of preserves, pickles,
ETC., are cheaper and bet
ter than anything we get at home.
When 1 think of the abundance and
superior quality of fruit at home and
the miserable stuff they put up I'm
ashamed of my countrymen. Nothing
is adulterated here and one is practi-
cally sure to get what one pays for.
If Londoners could only talk plain,
straight, everyday English, life here
would not be absolutely intolerable.''
1t is certainly a commendable thing.
this honesty and square dealing among
English tradesmen; but it must be add
ed that it is enforced by stringent
laws. There was a case in court re-
Gently illustrative of their operation.
A clerk of a certain ,tradesman sold a
an Irish ham. 1t was so labeled But
it proved to be an American ham and
the customer, exercising the Britons
proud prerogative of Kicking" got
summons for the proprietor. 1t didn't
soften the matter any that it was
shown to be a Canadian ham, 1t was
not Irish-not what it had been repre-
sented to be. Nor did it avail the
tradesman to repudiate the act of his
clerk. The judge. in fixing the fine.
gravely intimated that such cases
might come under the criminal law as
obtaining money under false pretences!
Heavens! Think of SUCH an application
of law to our enterprising manufac-
turers and tradesmens at home. But,
there, the subject is too painful. YET
why should a man bes,allowed TO cheat
innocent people with bogus food, adul-
terated drugs, spurious wines, etc,
short measures, light weights, or any
more than to cheat at cards or swindle
with bogus bank checks? We have a
milk law in New York that gives good
results in the exposure and ruin of
the milkman who is caught selling
adulterated or SKINNED milk And
New York has about the best milk of
any city of the Union. But about
everything else is adulterated shame
lessly-from pepper to champagne.
Next to the difficulty experienced by
the ordinary American in comprehend
ing the English language in London
the English way monopolzes a good
portion of his time and patience The
fair Julia makes my bill out to
Wednesday" when L came on Thurs
day She says there can't be two
Thursdays in one week, which would
be the case if the account ran from
Thursday to Thursday. 1 worked on
Julia for half an hour In the effort to
her more positive than at the begin
the we'll known rule that those who
disagree with you are pig-headed, it
would certainly appear that Julia is
headed. 1 regret to say this, as
otherwise Julia is all right. In the
curve of our saloon bar she is even
artistic-and she can say really" with
more quavers, trills, infections and
demi than an artillery
bugler can get out Of the reveille. But
artlessness is in every movement of my
maid, who puts the poker standing up
ward in the crate to make the fire
burn. I thought it was carelessness at
first, but when 1 saw the same thing
in an Englishmans house, l was told
that it was one of the English maid
servants ways. One Of the early
troubles is getting accustomed to the
door-knobs or levers that usually sup
plant that useful article. They invar-
iably turn the wrong way. No amount
Of experience with a. givep door will