The Houston daily post. [volume] (Houston, Tex.) 1886-1903, 1899-04-30

inches deep. That is no iokc. but an aetna,
fact The stun was like granite O, The
third day ! went down and looked AT what
they had done. and in view OF the fact mai
tho wall was twenty inches thick. declared
the lob off }"
~
II was during the Hewlett regime that the
Hotel Royal reached tho height Of It's fame
as the resort OF society. Its parlors we're Al
that time the larsest Of those Of any hotel ia
the world and 300 ladies were present in the
main APARTMENT at the great ball given In
honor Of Henry Cay in the winter Of 1874
Another Golden tradition Of the house was the
Bal Travesti," which occurred somewhat
earlier In the same season and which is sim
frequently referred to hy older cItizeps vho
were present as children or very young men.
pic. The costumes at that famous function
SURPASSED ANYTHING ever seen in the South.
Many OF them we're made in Paris osneeially
Tor the occasion. and the display OF Jewels
was the talk OF the town for years One
belle was said to have worn more than 500 600
worth OF diamonds spsctacle absolutely un-
heard OF In those times.
Fer reasons which II would now be i'm
possible to assign the popularlty Of the house
waned with the 'ios. and II fell unon evil
days II passed into the hands OF Hall G HI.
ureth. who made store room OF the ro
tunda. II was held for nerlod by the citI-
zens' bank. and was eventually secured by
stock company known as the ST. Louis Hote,
association. Meanwhile the FURNISHINGS NJ
the establishment had grown dilapidatsd and
from end to end 1t bore evidence OF pro-
ionsed bad luck. The Hotel association un-
dertook to re-edulo the house In lavish fashion
and spent large amount OF money, but the
experiment was financial failure, This car
ried 1t over the war and into the dark DAYS
of reconstruction.
II was in 1874 that a new and thrilling chap
ter opened in the history Of the fine old pile.
In the fall OF that year the Kellogg admins
tration leased the building from company
which had been formed for the avowed pur-
pose Of selling 1t to the State. The sale
was consummated next spring. but directly
after the lease was made the hotel was pro-
claimed the State House. Then began the
thrilling series Of events which eliminated
three years later in the overthrow Of the
Packard government.
The incidents which occurred between these
two dates would nll not only pages OF news
papers. but bulky volumes, The barrcadlng
of the house by the kellogg party; the rising
OF the White League: the famous mass meet
ing at the Clay statue; the battle with the
metroDoitan police tho guarding Of the hotel
by United States soldiers while the republican
legislature held the inner hall. and the final
siege of nearly 900 OF the Packard faction for
over two months in the spring OF ts77-al this
is familiar history and twice-told tale. One
OF the great events of the interim was the
sitting Of the infamous Hayes returning
board in 1876 The session was held in
small private parlor on the third floor, the
windows of which overlook the court
! In dismantlinR the house within the past
few days several secret passageways we're dis
covered connecting parlors which were occu-
MED hy leaders of the Packard gang during
the memorable siege OF IT. They had been
closed and pspered over and their existence
was unsupported bv the latter-day employees
If the hotel Their use and purpose must
remain. Of course, matter Of conjecture
merely, but II requires no very vivid imaslna-
ton to divine how potent such an arrange
ment would have been In facilitating rlots
and counter plots II is notorious that the
Packard faction was rank with Internal
treachery. and the chief ringsters must have
found II somewhat more than convenient to
possess the means Of private interoommunl-
cation without the knowledge OF their fol-
lowers Hence no doubt. the secret hall
ways. They may have been old passages for
the use of servants In the DAYS before the
war. or they NAV have been cut and masked
in the stormy times preceding the great siege
Nobody knows.
After the downfall of Packard and his
col orts the house was used as state
Horse. In 1854 its lease was secured by COL
Robert y. Rivers. one of the most noted and
aple hotel men of the South, and he proceed
cd at once 10 re-equip the establishment IN
tic best and most elegant fashion, Much oil
the heavier furniture of the old regime was
SIN In good condition. This included the
spleuded parlor mirrors, the great Bullets and
massive mahogany tables. Everything was
nut in admirable repair. and when the house
reopeued it speedily acquired prestige sec"
ond only to that OF It's ante hellum period.
During the early years OF Colonel Rivers
lease The hotel enjoyed prosperity II enter
taxed distinguished people from all parts OF
the country, and most OF the European not
allcs who visited New Orleans at that time
mace II their temporary home. One morning
over s70O 900. 900 was represented by the guests
in It's dining room Among the holders OF
this vast wealth were Jay Gould, Mr.. VAN
derhili and MIR. Crocker of California aud q
nandful OF lesser milllonaires from New York,
The registers Of hat time are rich with auto
graphs that would delight the heart Of col
leotor.
The glory Of the Royal began to fade with
recent years. The trend Of trade, the hard
timer the rivalry Of the st. Charles and other
houses are some OF the things that told
anainst II. Then. too. many of its stauncn
old patrons had passed over TO the silent
rl .crlty. But be the cause what it may
hu.iness steadily diminished and during the
last two or three years The fact that the house
was ceasing 10 hold its own was patent to
everybody. Long before Colonel Rivers lease
concluded at the last OF last month 1t was
q, cent that the closing OF the hotel was only
a matter Of time.
The hotel itself. however is still In spiennio
condition It's stout walls have dehed the
tooth Of time. and there seems TO be no real
t0fA a