New-York tribune., 1905-01-02

Social philosophers or the sour-facad school
nutter against the great modern hotels % They
encourage ostentation, throngs go to them for
sheer.love Of show" But what is osteutation ?
Seolds always set out by begging question
An attempt to be splendid may DO ;Cnorantlv
vulgar, and then splendoGr is not attained but
if the decorations tho music the glass and silver
the shining portals and bedecEed Iiveries-au tn,
other circumstances Of luxury which an hotel may
offer TO its clents-be in good taste, then tho
richness with which tho scene is dressed can
surely offend no ono but the curmudCcon who
tries to believe, as he eats in solitude his bread
and herrings that hot-house grapes are sour. find
no colours on the Savoy walls redder than tho
poppy, Follower than the daEodil-are the flowers
of the field vulgar Is tho dama& at the Berkeley
winter the crystal at Claridge's more shining
than the Jungfrau's peak? Are larger diamonds
to be seen at the Savoy than ut State Ball? And
if a restaurant need not be ashamed Of its glamour
why need fear to admit that I regard with
satisfaction the bright array Of Savoy tables, the
lace and gauZe of wonen's gowns-even the
healthy, close-sbnven faces, glowing like
mahogany, of men just returned from their month
on Deeside am glad to have o pageant before
my eyes, as well plate of good soup under my
nose. Yes, and / regard with cOmplacence nv
own stnrched waistcoat, observing that it is, to
tho extent Of not a'few square inches, an
added bit of whiteness-a part OF the spectacle.
Why should not one enjoy the show? We
cannot all and always be gazing at Full
yama or the Ca dOro. Some of US pust wake
in the morning with London fog in our eyes,
and plod at our dull City tasks all day; surely
these restaurants are not too brilliant for those
who seek in theu1,+ two or three nights week.;
some music other than the beat. Of tired horses,
hoofs on the asphalt (deightfully silenced in
the rubber-payed courtyurds Of the Savoy and
Claridges), some colours other than those Of
white paper. and: black ink, OF course, the
Savoy at dinner-time is % show, SO brave
show that / am always. sorry to leave it for
theatre nd Iad uha 7 1aku
time OF course, dgain, oneJdoes not so there
only 70 appease hunger and quench thirst; the
cooking is good, and the wine Is good but there IS
more for five shilings than appears on the bill OF
fare of the fve-shilling. supper-thera Is the
atmosphere OF gsiety and luxury and comfort.
ANY one who has seen Q. stout, rosy-cheeked
Tamworth patrician at her dinner q name this
fine pig family because 7 have often watched
acertain matron at the-troughT knows that no
human creature Is ever singly and intently bent
upon eating 1t is not in our feeble natures to be
Whole-souled at the game. Wehaye our human
ltpitations. m5re sprat could swim the
Channel in less time than did poor Matthew
Webb, Afrog dives betterthan all the Bath Club
champions, pigeon. serenely continues its fight
after M. Santos-Duuont's motor-balloons have
been cut to ribands : shah We try to eat so
devoutly as the pig? No, let Us encompass our
| soup-plates with garlands Of fancy, let US make
dinner something moro than nourishment-one
does not play cards only for the stakes, Since
the mere male, can do~ittle.. .elsei to merit his
share OF this paradise, let US at the least use
| some thought and wit in the choosing OF our
dinner and our wines.
do not speak OF selecting champagne, because
every man knows some one brand that he would
always order il it did not cost twenty or thirty
| shillings the bottle, and some other brand at
sixteen or eighteen shllings which he orders when
his mind IS frugally bent upon pleasure. ThereaFe
only few things to know about champagne : but
to appreciate the head walters report, upon the
condition OF this claret and that, seems to not
| only delight but an accomplishment as we'll.
1t Is part of the entertainment that one offers to
his guests, and very charming part, to display
close interest in>the wines he selects for them.
With the help Of the few words Of guidance pro-
missed in the last inStalment OF these notes (and
delivered in these present columns), the youngest
reader who cares to pick up some elements OF
claretry may, call the roll Of Bordeaux wines,
understanding what each uame means, and then
spend five or ten shiIlings instead OF fifteen or
| thirty for champagne. A few minutes study Will
show How little there "a TO learn, and that one
| need use no French phrases at that.
The claret country consists OF five great divi-
sions Medoc, Graves, C6tes, Entre-Deux-Mers,
and Palus, oil situated on the river Garonpe, the
Dordogne, or their continent the GirOnde. The
AIedoc, the chief Of these, Is long narrow strip
| lying between the Gironde and the Gulf Of Gas
cony, fifty miles long and about six miles wide.
The Haut-MedOc extends from Blapquefort, only
five miles from Bordeaux, nOrthward to St. SeuFin,
including the famous comnunes OF Margnux
where lio the Chateaux Margsux, Rauzan-SeGla,
and Dufort-Vivens), Pauiu9o where lie the
Chateaux Latte, La Tour, Mouton-Rothschild,
Pichon-LongueYille, and Pontet-Canet), ST..
Julien where lie the Chateaux LeoYille and
Larosel, ST. Estspbe with its Chateau
Cos-d Estournel), and Cantenae- The Bas-Medoo
extends from st. Seurin northward to Talais' and
Soulac, and includes vineyards which produce
some excellent table wines.
~ { Y SzI Il