The Fulton County news. [volume] (McConnellsburg, Pa.) 1899-current, 1902-01-02

Some OF Their Little Peculiar tiles = Lack
of Public Accommodation.

rural and interior Mexico. One finds
by the roadside the "venta," where a
most exiguous lot of refreshments may
be bought, but 1t is hardly an Inn as
its namesake was, and is, in Spain.
Then there is the "posada,' classic
name! still surviving In country towns.
The s"posada" is quite like unto the
"meson," which is without any pre-
tence, merely a 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 a humble inn, and IL. by miracle.
somebody blessed with an idea of
cleanliness presdes over its admin.
istration,. II may surpass the gran
hotel de Pekin" on the next street. To
see the ''ranchero' on his travels. go
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 IL most healthily
tired, for "quien duermo bien no le
pican las pulgas"-the sound sleeper Is
not bitten by fieasl
In many towns the hotels are merely
slightly better grade ''posadas" and
one goes out for meal TO fonda"
which in Mexico is not a hotel as In
Spain, but a humle restaurant. The
word fonda" has a pleasant sugges-
ton. coming as 1t 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
a day, and with chicken, 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 lnnkeeper, dine all over
town.
Most everywhere the service is prin-
tive; often small boys with slow work
ing brains make pretence of waiting
on table, and stare and grimace ut
the guest. 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 waters rush about madiy,
fairly skating across the floor, vainly
imagining that this is the style of he
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
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 marked
lack of the woman housekeeper. If
she exists, she has delegated her du-
ties to shambling, ill-shod and un-
batbed chambermen, who slouch
through ones apartment, making
pretence of cleaning up, but leaving
everything worse than before! Heaven
which keeps register of human folly,
knows that the gentleman chamber
maid Is a 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
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 a 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 il there is a 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 a much re-
spected business.
+, The need of this country is system
OF good hotels in the smaller places.
= towns and cities of from 10000 to
10000 inhabitants. 1t would not be
! a too tremendous task to provide, even
as eating houses along a railway
are Systematically ontrolled.-Mexican
, Herald.
> The Home of the Horned Horse.