Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1908-06-21
LOST AND FOUND IN THE
HOTELS OF WASHINGTON

TN the up-to-date hostelries OF today
| guests do not have to remember. and
d that perhaps explains why they
| forget so many of their personal belong
ings Jewelry of all kinds. from the
paste" variety to the genuine sparkler
| worth thousands of dollars: bottles OF
| medicine wash rags. shoes. rosarfes and
hosiery; umbrellas. razors. feather boas,
| shaving brushes and card cases: false
| teeth and other articles of wearing ap-
parel equally false; parasols, face pow
ders and bottles of liquor from which only
the early morning drink has been taken;
combs manicure SETS purses and railroad
tickets
This is very incomplete list of what
the chambermaid of the fashionable hotel
collects every day on her rounds among
the hundreds Of rooms newly vacated by
departing guests.
In fact. everything not too large to be
packed in trunk may he found in the
rooms where the housekeepers Of the
modern Washington hotels keep those
things which are forgotten when miladi
packs her luggage to depart for other
| scenes to tempt her faded interest
Nor are the rooms of the male guests
any the less barren when they are va
Gated than are those Of the fairer sex.
| The only difference. hotel men say, is
gaws, while man leaves the most neces-
sary appurtenances to his comfort.
| Men may, and do. wax witty because
of the many bundles, packages, trunks
| and suit cases which their women folks
| may consider necessary to their comfort
| while travelling, while men usually have
| their trunks packed when they button up
| their coats But somehow. somewhere
man manages to Secrete enough things to
leave a trail behind him at the hotels
which is as perfectly apparent as mi
lads.
One thing that is noticeable in the lost
and Forgotten closets of the house
keepers of the modern hotels of Wash
| ington Is the character of the articles
which the men and women leave.
When Mrs. Globe Trotter or Miss New
port begins her leavetaking at a fash
| tonable hotel she requires the services
of two porters. a bellboy and the cham
| bermaid to collectively sit upon the lids
| of her series of trunks while the express
man straps them for her. They came in
| that plethOric condition, and II any large
! many trays she would be sure to notice
1t before the last key was turned and
the final strap buckled.
Mems Travelling Methods.
Such is not the case with MIR. Cosmopo-
lite. He will go downtown and pur-
chase dozen shirts, a silk hat. a new
| camera or kodak, come back to the hotel
and begin packing his two suit cases. After
he has gone 1t is most likely that tho
, maid in Strengthening up the room will
find the shirts, the hat and the camera
all standing forlornly on top Of the bu-
reau while their erstwhile owner had
| placed them so that they could be plainly
| seen-and investigation would most likely
develop that he tied a bit of pink drug
! store string around his finger at that.
| ut isn't so much the actual losing OF
articles which are left behind that causes
| the trouble for the staff around the
hotels" said one Of the hOusekeeDers
few days ago. "Oh, no; the difficulty
comes when the article is discovered
| missing by its fair owner. The sounding
| Of a general alarm in the fire department
| for blaze in the downtown district Is
quiet and orderly proceeding compared
with the cOmmOtion which ensues with
the discovery of the loss Of compare
| lively valueless lace pin. The fair owner
| PUSHES to the telephone-she who Is usu-
| ally the soul of composure-and before
the girl in the office has had time to an
swer 1t she has jiggled the receiver hook
| enough to attract the attention of every
operator in the central Office. Then it Is
| the clerks turn to be harassed.
| Have you lost lace pin in the Of
| fce?' voice will demand. and the clerk
| will gravely assure her that he has not.
| Then the clerk gets busy. There Is
soon an army of maids. bellboys and por
| tiers invading the room, and the search
begins:
Finder Receives Little Thanks.
| "'Of course. it isn't in this room.' the
guest begins. Indignantly. Haven't I
looked into every nook and corner? I
remember where I put 1t: it was pinned
right here on the side of the bureau, and
you all know that 1 can't fasten my collar
without 1t. There's no use Of all of you
people coming up here and rummagins
| through the ROOM
Here one of I he porters brushes against
| her and the long-looked-for article drops
| from the folds OF her gown. The poor un-
| fortunate who has discovered the article
Is treated to an exhibition of a lifelike
representation of absolute frigidity, miladi
| in the title role.
I'm sure I put it-but never mind. I
guess it's all right the fair loser will
say and this, Thomas. is for your trou-
BILE"
| But the finder Of the lost articles Is not
always rewarded. A bell boy of one OF
the fashionable hotels found himself in
such a predicament An automobile party
arrived at one of the best hotels last
week and engaged rooms that they might
wash and refresh themselves before lunch
con- About two weeks later word was
received from one of the women Of the
party that she had left very valuable
wrap in the hotel. When told that 1t had
| not been found and turned In to the