The suburban citizen., 1902-01-04
RURAL MEXICAN INNS.
Some OF Their Little Peculiar titles - Lack
of Public Accommodation.


rural and interior Mexico. One finds
| by the roadside the "venta," where
most exiguous lot of refreshments may
be bought, but II Is hardly an inn as
its namesake was, and is, in Spain.
| Then there Is the 'posada," classic
namel still surviving in country towns.
The ''posada" is quite like unto the
''meson," which is without any pre-
tence, merely lodging place for man
| and beast and where in old times the
| traveller put up with his beast, and
| sent his servant out to find something
to cook for his supper or dinner, as the
! case might be. The "meson" is frank
| ly humble inn, and If, by a miracle,
somebody blessed with an idea of
cleanliness presides over its admin
istration, it may surpass the gran
| hotel de Pekin' on the next street. To
see the "ranchero" on his travels, so
! to the "meson." 1t is place where
spurs jingle, horses neigh and stamp,
and the bed is rude, and sleep cometh
only to him who is most healthily
tired, for "quien duermo bien no lie
pican las pulgas"-the sound sleeper is
not bitten by heasl
In many towns the hotels are merely
slightly better grade "posadas" and
one goes out for meal to a fonda"
which in Mexico is not hotel as in
! Spain. but a humle restaurant. The
word fonda" has a pleasant sugges-
| ton. coming as it does from the Vene-
! tian "fondacco," in which were to be
found many luxuries. But imagine no
vain thing of the rural fonda" You
will be served with eggs forever and
| day, and with chicken, a fowl that
never fails for perennial Is the polio"
of the interior towns Beans you may
have and often very good bread, and
| there is some attempt, at times, to
provide a decent course dinner Nap
kins are also provided, though etiquette
does not prevent your using the mar
gin Of the tablecloth. The separate
hotel and restaurant system has this
advantage, that one may, without Of
fense to his innkeeper, dine all over
| town.
|
tive; often small boys with slow work
ing brains make pretence of waiting
on table. and stare and grimace at
the guest. A neat-handed Indian
"muchacha" is better, but a grown lad
is terror in his phenomenal stupidity
| In some pretentious hotels in the In
terror the walters rush about madly,
fairly skating across the floor, vainly
! imagining that this is the style of the
metropolis. They do not succeed in
making one fancy that he must bolt
his food or lose some imaginary train,
and so they promote dyspepsia. When
a fiddler or harper is introduced to en-
liven the meal so gallantly served one
| feels as if music was no possible aid
to mastication.
Many of the really better class ho-
tells of the interior show a marked
| lack of the woman housekeeper. If
| she exists, she has delegated her du-
ties to shambling, ill-shod and un-
bathed chambermen, who slouch
| through ones apartment, making
pretence of cleaning up, but leaving
everything worse than before! Heaven
which keeps a register of human folly,
knows that the gentleman chamber
maid is delusion. The looking glass
has the CRIME of ages, and futile Is Its
attempt to mirror forth your counte-
| nance. To make its desperate effort
the more evidently ridiculous, 1t is
placed In the darkest part Of the room.
| Often the intelligent caretaker does
not change sheets and pillow cases for
a new guest. He trusts to luck that
| the tired traveller will not discern
| their crumpled condition. We have
seen modern hotel furniture with much
beveled glass inserted, electric lights
| and unchanged bed clothing. They
did better than that in the old days
when the General Diligence Company
had its hotel in every city and Import
ant town.
But we had no intention Of making
catalogue of complaints. The cry
ing needs Of the rural inn are evident
enough. Once in great while one
comes upon little hotel where clean
liness rules and the goddess Hygeia
has her home A heaven-born hotel
keeper rules over the establishment,
and If there is restaurant connected
with the place, the cook is good, and
her seasoning" delightful to the pal
ate. Thus one comes to feel that there
is hope of reform, and that, some day,
this charming land will have all over
its vast extent hotels as good as those
of the Switzerland, or Of the Berkshire
hills in Massachusetts, not to speak
Of inns in other and happy regions
where hotel keeping is u much re-
spected business.
The need Of this country Is a system
Of good hotels in the smaller places,
towns and cities of from 10000 to
10000 inhabitants. 1t would not be
too tremendous task to provide, even
as eating houses along a railway
are systematically controlled.-Mexican
Herald.