inside these are lace curtains, and against the windows are Venetian
blinds of oak. The windows are of plate glass, large and massive--much
too heavy, in fact, or else the sashes are not put in by a master hand.
They are raised or lowered with great difficulty, notwithstanding a pair
of brass handles is attached to each lower sash. For such large, weighty
windows they have a better plan in the Windsor Hotel, London. Long,
loose ropes with light, wooden handles attached are fastened to the
upper and lower parts of the upper sash, and by this method the heavy
windows are raised or lowered with perfect ease.
But I have wandered away in thought from my apartment in the Auditorium,
which is lighted by a handsome, seven-lamp electrolier pendant from the
ceiling, with a convenient tap just inside the door to turn on or off as
you enter or leave the room.
There is an electric dial in each room, the invention of the New Haven
Clock Company. Upon this dial the inventor and hotel-keeper combined
have anticipated as many as twenty-four wants of the guest, from a
chambermaid to a doctor; from a telegraph blank to a hansom cab. Max
O’Rell may poke fun at this anticipation of so many wants in American
hotels, but if they had such an arrangement in Continental hotels, their
system would be greatly improved.
You need not trouble yourself about good air or bad air at the
Auditorium: the house is ventilated automatically, by machinery. Among
other modern improvements is a letter chute which extends to the top of
the house. Your letters from any floor drop into a locked United States
post-office box, opened at intervals by the official carrier.
There are four hundred and fifty rooms. As hotel men usually reckon
“about one and a half guests to a room” there is accommodation for six
hundred people. Charge for rooms: European plan, $2 to $5 per day;
American plan, $4 to $6 per day.
The house is managed by James H. Breslin and R. H. Southgate. It is not
necessary to explain who these men are, and to commend them, at this
late day, would be no compliment.
MAX O’RELL ON AMERICAN HOTELS.
M. Paul Blouet (Max O’Rell) is a brilliant writer and a clever,
entertaining talker, but in his article in the _North American Review_
for January, 1891, entitled “Reminiscences of American Hotels,” he shows
that he lacks fairness as a critic, and that he writes without the
necessary knowledge of his subject. His remarks concerning the American
methods of conducting hotels may be amusing, but when he makes
comparisons between English and American hotels and their systems, it is
evident that as a critic he is open to criticism. In his opening page he
says:
“When you enter a hotel not a salute, not a word, not a smile of
welcome. The negro takes your bag and makes a sign that your case is
settled. You follow him. For the time being you lose your personality
and become No. 375, as you would in jail.”
The facts are just the contrary. The clerks, porters and waiters in
American hotels are only too glad if they can learn your name. They will
pronounce it and announce you on the smallest possible provocation. Max
O’Rell’s remarks on this point would exactly fit if he were writing
about some large hotels in London patronized by Americans. At those
houses, the Langham excepted, you do not enter your name in a register,
and you are known only by the number of the room you occupy. If a friend
calls, his card will be carried about on a silver salver by a little
page whose duty it is, in going through the halls and public rooms in
search of you, to bawl out at the top of his voice not your name, but
the number of the apartment you occupy; and to this you are expected to
respond.
But people are not so apt to know the hotel customs which obtain in
cities where they live, and that may account for M. Blouet’s ignorance.
This French-English humorist tries to make it appear that in every
American hotel the fire-escape consists of “twenty yards of coiled
rope.” I believe that the New York State Legislature expects all hotels
in that State to make such provision, but if it is done in New York it
is certainly not the case in other States, as I know, for I have lived
at hotels in many States of the Union during the past few months,
westward as far as California, and as far south as New Orleans.
Mr. O’Rell feels very much injured because order and method reign in the
dining-room. He says:
“When you enter the dining-room you must not believe you can go and sit
where you like. The chief waiter assigns you a seat and you must take
it. I have constantly seen Americans stop on the threshold of the
dining-room and wait until the chief waiter had returned from placing a
guest to come and fetch them in their turn. I never saw them venture
alone and take an empty seat without the sanction of the waiter.”
Chaos would reign indeed if the regular guests of a hotel had no regular
seats, and if every newcomer were allowed to sit where he pleased. Of
course the head waiter assigns seats. This good custom obtains in
England and France as it does elsewhere; without it there would be
confusion for all concerned.
It would be strange if such a close and keen observer, as Max O’Rell
certainly is, did not make some good points in such a labored article.
He makes one when he objects to the solemn, almost funereal air which
pervades an American dining-room. People can be well mannered and yet be
and appear to be, in good spirits, whereas we seem to make a business, a
sad business of eating--it cannot be called “dining.” You seldom or
never hear such a thing as a laugh in our hotel dining-rooms, and yet
everybody knows that laughter is the best aid to digestion. There is a
time for everything, and when should there be good cheer if not at
dinner time?
O’Rell shows that he is unfair and uninformed when he is discussing some
of the important features of our hotels, but he scores another good
point when he talks of the shameful waste of food in American hotels. I
quote in full his remarks on that head. They cannot be too often
repeated:
“The thing which, perhaps, strikes me most disagreeably in the American
hotel dining-room is the sight of the tremendous waste of food that goes
on at every meal. No European, I suppose, can fail to be struck with
this; but to a Frenchman it would naturally be most remarkable. In
France where, I venture to say, people live as well as anywhere else, if
not better, there is a perfect horror of anything like waste of good
food. It is to me, therefore, a repulsive thing to see the wanton manner
in which some Americans will waste at one meal enough to feed several
fellow creatures.”
[Illustration]
* * * * *
THE HOME JOURNAL,
A WEEKLY NEWSPAPER OF
LITERATURE, ART AND SOCIETY,
FOUNDED IN 1846 BY THE WELL-KNOWN POETS,
GEO. P. MORRIS AND N. P. WILLIS,
retains its prestige as the exponent of that literary and art culture
which gives grace and refinement to social intercourse.
Readers at a distance will find the best life of the metropolis
reflected in its pages. It is also in an especial sense an
INTERNATIONAL JOURNAL,
and by its correspondence and essays brings its readers into touch with
the social life of the
GREAT EUROPEAN CENTRES OF CULTURE.
THE HOME JOURNAL contains more advertisements of SUMMER AND WINTER
RESORT HOTELS, and devotes more editorial space to them than any other
newspaper.
It has particular value as an advertising medium for EUROPEAN HOTELS,
being the organ of cultivated and fashionable Americans--those who pass
their summers in Europe.
PUBLISHED EVERY WEDNESDAY.
Subscription, $2.00 per Year. FIVE CENTS A COPY.
MORRIS PHILLIPS & CO., Publishers,
240 Broadway, New York.
* * * * *
[Illustration]
DEMPSEY & CARROLL,
THE
ART STATIONERS
AND
ENGRAVERS,
UNION SQUARE,
36
EAST 14TH STREET,
NEW YORK CITY.
CORRECT STYLES.
WEDDING INVITATIONS & ANNOUNCEMENTS
RECEPTION & VISITING CARDS.
HIGH GRADE STATIONERY,
MONOGRAM, ADDRESS AND HERALDIC DIES.
HAND PAINTED
MENUS AND DINNER CARDS.
RICH LEATHER GOODS,
PLAIN AND SILVER MOUNTED.
IMPORTED STATIONERY NOVELTIES.
* * * * *
THE
“WORLD’S GREATEST PASSENGER TRAIN.”
This proud title has been bestowed by an appreciative public on the
PENNSYLVANIA LIMITED.
It is well deserved because the train affords more conveniences, more
comforts and more luxuries than any other train in the world. One may
eat, sleep, work or transact business as if in hotel or club. To this
end there are luxurious sleeping cars, dining cars, ladies’ maids, bath
rooms for both sexes, a barber shop, financial news and stock reports,
stenographers and type writers, United States Mail boxes and a library.
* * * * *
IT is the favorite train between New York and Chicago, and a trip on it
is a long-remembered leasure tour.
* * * * *
THE Pennsylvania Limited leaves New York from the Pennsylvania Railroad
Station, foot of Desbrosses and Cortlandt Streets, every morning at 10
o’clock for Chicago and Cincinnati.
J. R. WOOD,
_General Passenger Agent_.
CHAS. E. PUGH,
_General Manager_.
* * * * *
ATLANTIC COAST LINE
VIA WASHINGTON.
SHORT LINE
----BETWEEN----
BOSTON,
PHILADELPHIA,
NEW YORK,
BALTIMORE,
WASHINGTON,
----AND----
RICHMOND,
SAVANNAH,
WILMINGTON,
BRUNSWICK,
CHARLESTON,
ALBANY,
THOMASVILLE,
PALATKA,
JACKSONVILLE,
SANFORD,
ST. AUGUSTINE,
TAMPA,
PUNTA GORDA,
=ALL FLORIDA POINTS, AND HAVANA CUBA.=
EASTERN OFFICES:
_229 Broadway, New York._
_33 South 3d St., Philadelphia._
_228 Washington St., Boston._
_106 East German St., Baltimore._
_511 Pennsylvania Avenue, Washington._
* * * * *
----TO ALL----
WINTER RESORTS
----IN----
South Georgia, Florida, Cuba, the West Indies and Mexico,
Via HAVANA, CUBA,
REACHED BY THE
Plant System
----OF----
_RAILWAY AND STEAMSHIP LINES_,
In connection with Pennsylvania R. R., via New York, Washington and
Atlantic Coast Railways, and with the principal railway lines between
all cities of the West and South-west, forming through train and
sleeping-car service, and
=JACKSONVILLE, ST. AUGUSTINE, TAMPA AND
PORT TAMPA, FLORIDA.=
FAST AND COMMODIOUS STEAMSHIPS BETWEEN
Port Tampa, Key West and Havana; Port Tampa and Mobile; Port Tampa and
St. James City (Pine Island), Punta Rassa, Fort Myers, Naples, and
resorts of the Gulf Coast; Port Tampa and Manatee River.
The magnificent Tampa Bay Hotel, at Tampa, and the Seminole, at Winter
Park, on the South Florida R. R., are open during the season of Winter
Tourist travel, and are maintained at a high standard of excellence.
The Inn at Port Tampa is open the entire year, and is in an attractive,
healthful and convenient place for passengers to await the arrival and
departure of steamers and trains.
For further information apply to any Railroad Ticket Agent, or to
J. D. HASHAGEN, EASTERN AGENT,
261 BROADWAY, NEW YORK.
FRED. ROBLIN, TRAVELING PASS. AGENT,
261 BROADWAY, NEW YORK.
H. B. PLANT, PRESIDENT,
12 WEST 23D STREET, NEW YORK.
* * * * *
THE DE SOTO,
SAVANNAH, GA.
[Illustration]
One of the most elegantly appointed hotels in the world. Accommodations
for 500 guests. Special rates for families and parties remaining a week
or longer. Tourists will find Savannah one of the most interesting and
beautiful cities in the entire South. No place more healthy or desirable
as a winter resort.
Send for Descriptive Illustrated Booklet.
WATSON & POWERS.
* * * * *
_PARIS._ =HOTEL= _PARIS._
ANGLO-FRANÇAIS,
6 RUE CASTIGLIONE. 6
[Illustration]
This first-class Hotel, situated in the
best part of the metropolis, opposite
the Hotel Continental and the Tuileries
Gardens, is highly recommended for
comfort, cuisine, moderate charges and
sanitary arrangements; Otis American
elevator.
VARGUES, Proprietor.
* * * * *
HOTEL BINDA,
11 rue de L’Echelle,
AVENUE DE L’OPERA, =PARIS=.
Large and small apartments; lift to each floor; smoking and
drawing-room; bathroom on each floor; table d’hôte, 6 francs, from 6 to
8 o’clock, at separate tables; restaurant a la carte.
* * * * *
ADVANTAGEOUS ARRANGEMENTS MADE WITH FAMILIES WINTERING IN PARIS.
* * * * *
Electric Light all over the House.
* * * * *
CHARLES BINDA, PROPRIETOR,
Late with Delmonico, New York.
* * * * *
London, Chatham and Dover
RAILWAY.
A. THORNE,
Formerly at H. B. Claflin & Co.’s, New York,
AMERICAN REPRESENTATIVE IN ENGLAND,
London, Chatham AND Dover Railway,
VICTORIA STATION, LONDON, S. W.,
Attends the arrival of the principal steamships at Liverpool and
Southampton, and arranges for Special Saloon Carriages upon either the
North Western and Midland Railways from Liverpool, or by the South
Western Railway from Southampton to London, and thence to Dover from
Victoria Station by the =London, Chatham and Dover Railway=. From Dover to
Calais (the shortest sea passage to France) by the magnificent S.S.
“Calais-Douvres,” “Empress,” “Victoria,” and “Invicta,” owned and
controlled solely by the London, Chatham and Dover Railway Company.
A. THORNE secures Private Deck Saloons, and from Calais to Paris and
other prominent points Special Saloons and Sleeping Cars as required.
* * * * *
=TELEGRAPHIC ADDRESS: “CALDOVER,” LONDON.=
* * * * *
The London, Chatham and Dover Company’s trains run from Victoria, St.
Paul’s and Holborn Stations through the prettiest and most picturesque
parts of Kent, and passengers have the privilege of stopping over at
Rochester to visit the Cathedral and the Castle, and at Canterbury to
view the Cathedral (containing the tomb of the martyr Thomas à Becket),
and other places of interest.
* * * * *
ARE YOU GOING TO EUROPE?
EDWIN H. LOW,
Low’s Exchange and General Steamship Office,
947 BROADWAY, MADISON SQUARE,--NEW YORK.
57 CHARING CROSS, TRAFALGAR SQUARE, LONDON.
=Choice Berths= secured on =ALL LINES= without =extra charge=.
Cabin plans of all European and Coastwise Steamers on file, and complete
list of sailings of all Lines to any part of the world. Full and
reliable information given.
WHILE IN EUROPE
have all your Letters and Cables sent care of Low’s Exchange, 57 Charing
Cross, Trafalgar Sq., London; they will be registered and numbered by
=Mr. Low’s own system=, whereby it is practically impossible for one to go
astray or be lost. They are promptly forwarded to any part of Europe,
according to instructions.
[Illustration: NELSON MONUMENT.--VIEW FROM LOW’S EXCHANGE.]
POSTAL RATES: 1 year, $10.00; 6 mos., $5.00; 3 mos., $2.50; 1 mo.,
$1.00.
Low’s Exchange in London is established for the general convenience of
travelers. Railway and Steamship Tickets--to all parts--issued. Baggage
stored and checked, passports, steamer chairs, foreign moneys, letters
of credit cashed, American news and newspapers, &c.
LOW’S POCKET CABLE CODE
is a handy little volume published by Mr. Low for cipher cabling. The
cost of cabling is twenty-five cents per word. By purchasing two copies
of this code you have 10,000 cipher words and phrases by which you can
reduce the expense at least four-fifths. It is alphabetically arranged
and so simple that anyone without the least knowledge of codes can
understand it. =Price, 50 Cents, bound in Cloth=.
* * * * *
THE CALIFORNIA,
BUSH STREET, NEAR KEARNY,
SAN FRANCISCO, CAL.
THE ACME OF PERFECTION ATTAINED IN AMERICAN HOTELS.
[Illustration]
It is a recognized fact that San Francisco has made, from time to time,
the greatest effort to surpass all other cities in her Hotel
accommodations, and it must be conceded that the acme of perfection has
now been reached.
The California was opened last December, and there is nothing on the
Pacific Coast, so far as artistic taste, elegance of appointments and
lavish expenditure go, which can compare with it.
The California is unsurpassed in style of service by the best hotels of
the United States. Heretofore there has been no strictly European-plan
hotel in San Francisco.
A visit to this city is incomplete without seeing the California,
unquestionably the most beautiful and luxuriously furnished hotel in
America.
A. F. KINZLER, MANAGER.
* * * * *
MONTEREY-CALIFORNIA.
[Illustration]
MIDWINTER SCENES
AT THE CELEBRATED
Hotel del Monte,
MONTEREY, CAL.
AMERICA’S FAMOUS SUMMER AND WINTER RESORT.
ONLY 3-1/2 HOURS FROM SAN FRANCISCO
_By Express Trains of the Southern Pacific Company._
=Rates for Board=: By the day, $3.00 and upward. Parlors, from $1.00 to
$2.50 per day, extra. Children, in children’s dining-room, $2.00 per
day.
=Particular Attention= is called to the _moderate charges_ for
accommodations at this magnificent establishment. The extra cost of a
trip to California is more than counterbalanced by the difference in
rates at the various Southern Winter Resorts and the incomparable HOTEL
DEL MONTE.
=Intending Visitors= to =California= and the =Hotel del Monte= have the choice
of the =“Sunset,” “Central,” or “Shasta” Routes=. These three routes, the
three main arms of the great railway system of the =Southern Pacific
Company=, carry the traveler through the best sections of California, and
any one of them will reveal wonders of climate, products and scenery
that no other part of the world can duplicate. For illustrated
descriptive pamphlet of the hotel, and for information as to routes of
travel, rates for through tickets, etc., call upon or address =E. HAWLEY=,
Assistant General Traffic Manager, Southern Pacific Company, =343
Broadway, New York=.
_For further information, address_
_GEORGE SCHÖNEWALD, Manager Hotel del Monte_,
_OPEN ALL THE YEAR ROUND_. =MONTEREY, CALIFORNIA=
* * * * *
[Illustration: REDONDO HOTEL]
This new but already popular seaside resort is located on the Pacific
Ocean, under the shelter of the prominent headland known as Point
Vincent, while to the south and east are the Palos Verdes and other
hills.
The Redondo Hotel has been spoken of as the “crowning effort of all
hotels on the Pacific Coast,” covering over an acre of ground, reposing
gracefully upon a slight eminence “where the broad ocean leans against
the land,” with fine vistas of sea and shore meeting the eye in all
directions. Of the 225 rooms, every one has a sunny exposure at some
hour of the day, every one is well ventilated and lighted, every one is
an “outside room,” and every guest feels that his is the best suite in
the house.
The building is supplied throughout with modern improvements. It has
incandescent electric lights in all the rooms and arc lights on the
grounds. There is cold and hot water and grates in every room. The halls
and lobby are heated by steam. The latest and most improved hydraulic
elevators are in use.
On the hotel grounds is the best tennis-court in the State,
well-arranged and complete in every detail, with club-room, baths, etc.
There is also a nursery of several acres and a large green-house, where
the most beautiful and delicate flowers bloom the year round, and the
hotel draws from this source the freshness and fragrance of perpetual
spring.
Redondo Beach is cooler than Cape May in summer, it is warmer than San
Fernandino in winter. The temperature of the water of the ocean varies
less than ten degrees in the course of a year, and surf bathing is
always enjoyable. The bathing beach is the finest on the coast, and is
provided with a commodious bath-house and every appliance for the
convenience and safety of the bathers.
Special rates made for families and permanent guests.
For further information address
=REDONDO HOTEL CO.=,
Redondo Beach, California.
* * * * *
[Illustration: The Sea Beach Hotel
Located upon the Bluff. Commanding a view of Ocean, Bay, Beach,
Mountains, Flower Gardens, Tennis and Croquet Grounds and Promenades.
JOHN T. SULLIVAN = Prop.
125 LIGHT AIRY ROOMS:
:FIRST CLASS SERVICE:
SANTA CRUZ: CALIFORNIA.
]
The Sea Beach Hotel has large, light rooms, affording extensive views,
wide verandas, surf bathing, fishing. Livery. Electric lights and
electric bells. Rates from $2.50 per day. Illustrated Souvenir mailed
free. Address
JOHN T. SULLIVAN, PROPRIETOR.
* * * * *
WINDSOR HOTEL,
NEW YORK.
HAWK & WETHERBEE.
* * * * *
CONVENIENTLY SITUATED ON FIFTH AVENUE, NEAR THE GRAND
CENTRAL RAILWAY STATION, ELEVATED AND SURFACE
TRAMWAYS, THEATRES, PLACES OF AMUSEMENT,
CHURCHES AND CLUBS.
* * * * *
HAS BEEN RECENTLY FITTED THROUGHOUT
WITH THE LATEST MODERN SANITARY
PLUMBING.
* * * * *
THE DRINKING WATER USED IS CHEMICALLY PURE AND THE ICE
IS MADE FROM DISTILLED WATER.
* * * * *
CUISINE AND SERVICE UNSURPASSED.
* * * * *
COOL AND ATTRACTIVE IN SUMMER.
* * * * *
COMFORTABLE AND HOME-LIKE IN WINTER.
* * * * *
STAGES WHEN DESIRED, WILL MEET ALL STEAMERS AND CONVEY
PASSENGERS AND LUGGAGE DIRECT TO THE
HOTEL AT MODERATE CHARGES.
* * * * *
RAILWAY TICKETS, SLEEPING CAR AND DRAWING-ROOM CAR
ACCOMMODATIONS CAN BE SECURED IN THE HOTEL; CABLE
AND TELEGRAPH OFFICE, RUSSIAN AND TURKISH
BATHS, AND EVERY COMFORT AND
CONVENIENCE FOR TRAVELERS.
* * * * *
WELL-LIGHTED AND VENTILATED SPACIOUS PUBLIC ROOMS, CORRIDORS,
DRAWING-ROOMS AND PARLOR SUITES, SINGLE
OR DOUBLE ROOMS WITH OR WITHOUT BATHS.
* * * * *
ALL LANGUAGES SPOKEN.
* * * * *
YOUR ADVERTISING
IS SOLICITED.
[Illustration:
HICKS’ NEWSPAPER
ADVERTISING AGENCY.
ESTABLISHED
1869
WILLIAM HICKS.
--150 NASSAU ST., N.Y.--
PROMPT CAREFUL & EFFICIENT
SERVICE.]
Estimates, containing Selected Lists of Suitable Publications with Rates
for Advertising, furnished free on application.
* * * * *
AUDITORIUM HOTEL,
[Illustration]
Michigan Ave., Congress St., and Wabash Ave.,
_CHICAGO._
The most massive hotel structure in the world, built entirely of stone
and iron, ten stones high, absolutely fire-proof. Overlooking Lake
Michigan, situated within four blocks of the business centre of the
city. American and European plans.
BRESLIN & SOUTHGATE.
GILSEY HOUSE,
Corner Broadway and Twenty-Ninth Street,
_NEW YORK_.
European Plan.
J. H. BRESLIN & CO., PROPRIETORS.
* * * * *
VISITORS TO EUROPE!
CIRCULAR CREDITS. FOREIGN EXCHANGE.
_Cheque Bank Cheques are the most convenient of Exchange to carry._
_They are issued in books from £10 up to any amount._
_They can be cashed at 3,000 Banks and 1,000 Hotels._
_They are cashed in the currency of the country visited, free of
commission._
_They are no good until signed._
_Special letters of identification are issued._
_Travellers’ mail matter promptly attended to without charge._
* * * * *
Send for circulars and testimonials, list of Banks and Hotels, etc., or
apply to
E. J. MATHEWS & CO.,
Bankers’ Agents,
2 WALL ST., NEW YORK.
Typographical errors corrected by the etext transcriber:
laden four-house truck=> laden four-horse truck {pg 22}
previous arragements=> previous arrangements {pg 48}
but it it worth half=> but it is worth half {pg 55}
where they had aparments=> where they had apartments {pg 57}
in their minuest detail=> in their minutest detail {pg 63}
but a concensus=> but a consensus {pg 89}
an Amerian host=> an American host {pg 96}
not actuatly fond=> not actually fond {pg 104}
describing the _modus operandi_=> decribing the _modus operandi_ {pg
110}
Nelson moument, the city prison=> Nelson monument, the city prison {pg
112}
more commandiug site=> more commanding site {pg 112}
his later opportunies=> his later opportunities {pg 121}
thoroughly agreeably place=> thoroughly agreeable place {pg 126}
that you most come a little later=> that you must come a little later
{pg 158}
the new Oglethrope at Brunswick;=> the new Oglethorpe at Brunswick; {pg
156}
the Oglethrope=> the Oglethorpe {pg 168}
its cleanly and aristocratic air=> its clean and aristocratic air {pg
180}
Landed and Offical Classes=> Landed and Official Classes {pg 183}
skilled landscape gardner=> skilled landscape gardener {pg 194}
owners in Pasedena by the hundred=> owners in Pasadena by the hundred
{pg 229}
there is a grand cafe=> there is a grand café {pg 244}