1. A house in which travellers are entertained is denominated a
tavern, inn, coffee-house, hotel, or house of public entertainment;
and an individual who keeps a house of this description, is called an
inn-keeper or tavern-keeper. Of these establishments there are various
grades, from the log cabin with a single room, to the splendid and
commodious edifice with more than a hundred chambers.
2. This business is one of great public utility; since, by this means,
travellers obtain necessary refreshments and a temporary home, with
very little trouble on their part, and that, in most cases, for a
reasonable compensation. This is especially the case in the United
States, where the public houses, taking them together, are said to be
superior to those of any other country.
3. Travellers, in the early ages of the world, either carried with
them the means of sustenance, and protection from the weather, or
relied upon the hospitality of strangers; but, as the intercourse
between different places for the purposes of trade, increased, houses
of public entertainment were established, which at first were chiefly
kept by women.
4. The people of antiquity, in every age and nation, whether barbarous
or civilized, were, however, remarkable for their hospitality. We find
this virtue enjoined in the Mosaic writings, and scriptures generally,
in the poems of Homer, as well as in other distinguished writings,
which have descended to our times. The heathen nations were rendered
more observant of the rites of hospitality by the belief, that their
fabulous gods sometimes appeared on earth in human shape; and the Jews
and ancient Christians, by the circumstance, that Abraham entertained
angels unawares.
5. On account of the occasional acts of violence committed by both the
guest, and the master of the house, it became necessary to take some
precautions for their mutual safety. When, therefore, a stranger
applied for lodgings, it was customary among the Greeks for both to
swear by Jupiter, that they would do each other no harm. This ceremony
took place, while each party stood with his foot placed on his own
side of the threshold; and a violation of this oath by either party,
excited against the offender the greatest horror.
6. The Greeks and Romans, in common with the people of many other
nations, were in the habit of making arrangements with persons at a
distance from their homes, for mutual accommodation, when either party
might be in the vicinity of the other. In these agreements, the
contracting parties included their posterity, and delivered to each
other tokens, which might be afterwards exhibited in proof of ancient
ties of hospitality between the families. They swore fidelity to each
other by the name of Jupiter, who was surnamed the Hospitable; because
he was supposed to be the protector of strangers, and the avenger of
their wrongs.
7. This relation was considered a very intimate one, especially by the
Romans; and, in their language, it was called _hospitium_, or _jus
hospitii_; hence, the guest and entertainer were both called _hostes_,
a word from which _host_ is derived, which is employed to designate
both the landlord and the guest. The Roman nobility used to build, for
the reception of strangers, apartments called _hospitalia_, on the
right and left of the main building of their residence.
8. During the middle ages, also, hospitality was very commonly
practised; and the virtue was not considered one of those which might
be observed or neglected at pleasure; the practice of it was even
enjoined by statute, in many countries, as a positive duty, which
could not be neglected with impunity. In some cases, the moveable
goods of the inhospitable person were confiscated, and his house
burned. If an individual had not the means of entertaining his guest,
he was permitted to steal, in order to obtain the requisite supply.
9. The nobles of Europe, during this period, were generally
distinguished for their cordial entertainment of strangers, and their
immediate adherents. Their extraordinary liberality arose, in part,
from the general customs of the age, and partly from a desire to
attach to their interests as great a number of retainers as possible,
with a view to maintain or increase their political importance.
Strangers were also entertained at the monasteries, which were
numerous in almost every kingdom of Europe. Several of these
institutions were established in solitary places, with the express
purpose of relieving travellers in distress.
10. It is evident, that the arrangements for mutual accommodation, and
the hospitable character of the ancients, were unfavorable to the
business of keeping tavern; but the free intercourse between different
nations, which arose from the Crusades, and the revival of commerce,
contributed greatly to the habit of regularly entertaining strangers
for a compensation, and led to the general establishment of inns.
11. These inns, however, were not, at first, well supported; inasmuch
as travellers had been long accustomed to seek for lodgings in private
houses. In Scotland, inns were established by law, A.D. 1424; and, to
compel travellers to resort to them, they were forbidden, under a
penalty of forty shillings, to use private accommodations, where these
public houses were to be found.
12. How far legislative enactments have been employed for the
establishment of inns in other countries, we have not been able to
learn, as the authorities to which we have referred for information on
this point are silent with regard to it. We know, however, that laws
have been made in almost every part of Europe, as well as in the
United States, with the view of compelling the landlord to preserve
proper order, and to accommodate his customers at reasonable charges.
13. In the United States, and in all other commercial countries, this
business has become one of great importance, not only to the
individuals who have engaged in it, but also to the community in
general. Within the present century, the amount of travelling has
greatly increased, and the excellence of the public houses has
advanced in the same ratio. Some of these establishments in the cities
and large towns, are among the most extensive and splendid edifices of
the country; and, in every place through which there is much
travelling, they are usually equal or superior to the private
dwellings of the neighborhood.
14. The business of keeping tavern, however, is not always confined to
the proper object of entertaining travellers, or persons at some
distance from home. A public house is frequently the resort of the
people who live in the immediate vicinity, and is often the means of
doing much injury, by increasing dissipation.
15. In all cases in which ardent spirits are proposed to be sold, a
license must be obtained from the public authorities, for which must
be paid the sum stipulated by law; but any person is permitted to
lodge travellers, and to supply them with every necessary means of
cheer and comfort for a compensation, without the formality of a legal
permission; yet, a license to sell liquors is called a tavern-license;
because most tavern-keepers regard the profits on the sale of ardent
spirits as one of their chief objects.
16. A public house in which no strong drink is sold, is called a
temperance tavern; and such establishments are becoming common; but
they are not, at present, so well supported as those in which the
popular appetite is more thoroughly complied with. The time, however,
may not be far distant, when the public sentiment will undergo such a
salutary change, that the tavern-keepers generally will find it their
best policy to relinquish the sale of this poisonous article.
17. As travellers often apply to the bar for "something to drink,"
merely to remunerate the landlord for the use of his fire, or some
little attention, the friends of temperance would essentially promote
their cause, by encouraging the practice of paying for a glass of
water, or some trifle of this kind. This would increase the number of
temperance taverns, and, perhaps, be the means of preventing many
generous people from forming those dissipated habits, which are so
often attended with ruinous results.
[Illustration: The HUNTER.]