The sun. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1833-1916, 1914-11-08

( killed rldin' 20 'ouuds, and twn pen
slvCly wlpiug his eyes on stray strand
II the hay.
with mo- great stretch Of tho :mngina-
tiou I could picture equity morosc old
lord with "a secret sorrow ana brandy
breath; / could picture a protligato heir
going deeper and deeper In debt, but
refusing to tho bitter end to put the axe
to the roots of the ancestral oaks.
. could imagine these parties readily, he
/ cause | had frequently read about both
/ Of them i'm the standard English novels.
/ aad ! had seen them depicted in all the
orthodox English dramas I over patron
zad. Bur / did not notice IN the ap-
pended descriptions any extended notice
ur heating Arrangements, most Of the
advertisements seemed TO slur over that
point altogether.
And as regards bathing facilities in
+ the relation TO the capacities OF these
country places. / quot" Al random from
the figures given; Eighteen rooms and
one bath, sixteen rooms and two baths;
fourteen rooms and one bath; twenty
I one rooms and two baths. eleven rooms
and one bath; thirty-four rooms and
two baths Remember that ny rooms
bedrooms wc~c meant; tho reception
rooms and parlors and dinner halls and
offices and the like were listed aepa
ratcly.
asked well Informed EnGllshman
how he could reconcile this discrepancy
between bedrooms and bathrooms with
the current belief that FL. English had
a practical monopoly Of the habit az
bathing. After considering the prOpo+-
ton at some length he said should I'M
dcrs,and there was a difference IN Eng
b land between taking a bath and taking
tub-that, though an Englshman
might not he particularly addicted 70 a
bath he must have hts tub every morn
ing. But ] submit that tho facts prove
this explanation TO have been but a
feeble subterfugc.
Lot US for an especially conspicuous
example, take the house that has thirty
; four sleeping chambers and only two
, baths. Let US imagine the house 10 he
fun OF guests, with every bedroom occu.
pied, and, II II is possible to do so with
! out biushng, let MS further imagine a
: couple of pink and white English gen
r ticmen in the two baths. If preferable,
members Of the opposite sex may mag
inc two ladies'. Very well then; this
, leaves the occupants Of thrty-two he'd
z
: tubs AZ approximately the same hour
= Of the morning. Where would any
: household muster the crews 70 man all
. those portable tin tubs? Aud where
a would the proprietor keep his battery OF
, thirty-tWo tubs when they Wcro not in
, use? Not in.the family picture gallery,
o surely,
S From my readings Of works of nc
ia ~ "a
English upper classes know fun well
that tho picture gallery ia lined
with family portraits that each can
Nased counteuauCe there shows the
haughtily aquilnc hut slightly catarrhal
nose, which is "A heritage Of this house /;
V that each pair of dark and broodiug eyes
? hide In their depths the shadow OF that
. dread Nemesis which, through all the
! fatcful centuries, has logged this brave
v but I'll starred race until now, alas! the
: place must be let, furnished, to somo
I hcastly creature IN trade, such as an
> American millionaire.
Here at this end We have the founder
of the line, dubbed n knight on tho CORY
!. ncld Of Hastings and there at that end
: We have tho present heir, n knighted
- dub. We know they cannot put the
). tubs in the family picture Galcry-there
/ is no room. They need an armory for
that OUTFIT, and no armory is specified IN
the advertisement.
50 !. for one, must decline 10 be mis-
:, led or deceived by speciOus Eeneralities.
II YOU are asking me my opinion | shall
4, simply say that the bathing habit OF
. Mcrrie England Is venerable myth,
" and likewise so is the fresh air fetish.
? Tho error an Engllshman makes Is that
h he mistakes cold air for fresh air.
q In cold weather an Englishman ar
p ranges a few spllntercd jlckstraws kind
!, ling fashion, IN an open CRATE somewhat
resembling IN size and shape a wall
y pocket for bedroom slippers on this
suhstructure he gently deposits ono or
. more carhonlfcrous nodules the size OF
. a pigeon egg, and touches a match q
t. the whole. In the more fortunate IN
= stances the result Is small, reddish
70 cmbor smoking internationally. 1t.
stands 10y and feeds the glow with a
- dcssortspoonful Of fuel administered at
:, half hour Intervals and imagines ~
u really has fire and that he Is really
II being warned.
q why the English insist on speaking OF
= coal In the plural when they use II only
Z in the singular is moro than l can I'M
+ dorstaud. Conceded that we overhead
q our houses ana our railroad trains and
n our hotel Hobbies in America, nevcrthe-
less We do heat them. In winter their
=" Interiors are warmer and less damp rnRu
o the outer air which Is moro than car
le he said for the lands across the sea
ID where you have to 20 outdoors to thaw
y At that England excels the rest OF
n Europe in fresh air, Just as 4 excel- L
l. In tho matter OF bathing facilities, There
- is some fresh mir left IN England-nr
n abundant supply In warm weather and q
I'd stray hit here and there In cold On tn,
Continent there Is none to speak OF.