The Marion daily mirror. (Marion, Ohio) 1892-1912, 1909-09-23
LONDON APARTMENTS
Renting a Furnished Flat In tho
English Metropolis. &.
THE TRICKS OF THE AGENT.

At Fret Everything Is Pleasant, but
After the Place Is Taken the Woes
Of tho Tenant Begin With the Ad-
Won't Of tho Inventory Man.
To tbe uninitiated American the rent
of furnished Hat In London seems a
I very simple and remarkably inexpen-
sive matter. Every one Is extremely
polite, and your path is made easy.
But no sooner have you closed the
door Of your new quarters than you
are bcset by the bogy Of extras"
While you are taking a contented
glance. at the new domlcile, congratu-
lnting yourself on the bargain aud
thinking how much more u similar
place would cost you in New York.
your musings are interrupted by the
arrival of tho man with the inventory.
His business Is TO make an inventory
OF every blessed thing your fat con
taius. from. four post bed to kltch-
en- spoon.
At first you are vastly amused over
the listing OF such apparently lnslgnlti-
cant items as "a lincrustn Walton
frieze." the number of tiles IN the FIRE
place, the bolts on the windows. the
locks on the doors. description OF the
handles on the dressing chest and the
number of screws therein. but when
you have been dragged through every
room. going over these-to us4nbsurd
details. you plunge from rage TO de-
spair and finally collapse when your
tormentor at last departs. For this
entertainment you have paid from half
guinea tabout $2.G0) upward, accord
ing TO the rent Of your fat.
But the real power of the inventory
is only felt when you take your de-
parture. You may be morally certain
that the only damage you have done
has been TO break one or two teacups.
for which you are quite prepared tol
pay an extortionate sum without a
murmur. You may be sure OF this. but
presently you will receive n bill all
neatly written out and covering sew
eral pages OF foolscap and entitled
"Dilapidationsr
You will find that In every room the {
walls have been "chipped." the enamel
on the bathtub slightly marred." nj
monogram on napkin ring scratch
ed" several sauccpans damaged" al
knife handle "bent." number OFT
plates cracked" and so on. ami
quoting from list OF "dilapidations"
presented to friends OF mine who had |
occupied flat for two months. during
which time. after strenuous cleaning
efforts. they left the premises In much /
better condition than when they went
In. The bill amounted to :f1 1Ss. 3D..
roughly about $0.GS.
Here there Is no such fact recog. +
nlzed MS ordinary wear and tear OIL
furniture.
For the lease. which is here called |
agreement" you have TO pay from 10I
shillings up 10 3 guincas and more. ac-
cording TO rent. Then the government Y
stamp affixed thereto. without which l
the document is not legal. costs you
from half crown (62 cents, to guinea ]
or more. again according 10 rent.
You may have taken your Dat by
"the month";" but when your agree.
ment is sent you find out II is for every \
four weeks. You will probably phone
the agent calling his attention TO the
error. and he will inform you It Is cor.
rect that way.
In renting an unfurnisbcd fiat. the
shortest term for which Is three years.
you discover that tho electric light fix
lures nre not included In the rental
Protest unavaillng. you buy them
yourself and pay for their installation.
You must rent also your own gas cook
ing stove You fancy the fehdcrs for
the fireplaces must have been over.
looked. but not so; you must buy them
yourself. AS you have been 80 accus.
toned TO continuous supply OF hot
water. 1t never occurred 10 you TO in
quire into the subject. You find you
can obtain It only by keeping con
tlnuous fire In your kitchen range.
AS the penetrating. clammy grayk
horror of an English winter draws on
you begin TO appreciate what It means
to be minuY steam heat. Your only de
fense are the coal fires. romantic in
story. but totally inadequate TO defyJ
this marrow reaching, damp cold OF
London. Bathroom aud halls remain att
arctic temperature. for the CRATE fires
do not radinte beyond few feet. so
you may sit close and burn or retire
to corner and freeze.
After having learned through pain.
ful experience the futility of struggle |
against English ways and met thods II I
Is amusing 10 watch the explosive
American. who IN hotel office. at rail
way station ana on steamships holds i
forth as 10 the various thugs he will J
not submit 10, He Is usually listened /
10 with certain exasperatlpg defer
ence Mt which the British underlIng is
a past master. But nothing Is changed.
nLd he has TO submit. and the sooner
the lesson is learned the more comfort
able he will be. 4
The ,impepotrable stolidlty OF the nv.
erage BrlloD Is not 10 be disturbed. I
and the longer one remains In this
country the more definitely one learns
that The English people have pretty
substantial idea of c0mmerciaIism ana
that yon are paying for the lcsson..-.