HOTELS. 53 



As for the dinners, they are generally very good, but 

 barbarously put on the table. Although Canadian hotels 

 have made a great stride in civilization I mean late 

 dinners the art of dining in these places is still in its 

 infancy. What can a man possibly do with a dozen 

 different dishes all at once before him ? This style of 

 living suits the Yankees, I believe, but Canadians ought 

 to manage these tilings better in their hotels. On one 

 occasion I sat next to a lady from Vermont who fed pro- 

 miscuously oft' nine dishes, viz. one fish, three entremets, 

 two rots, three vegetables; she then topped off with 

 pudding, cheese, and a cup of tea, and the whole meal 

 from first to last only occupied twelve minutes by my 

 watch. This hasty feeding would kill an Englishman ; it 

 does make the Yankee bilious, but it seems to have no 

 bad effect on the Canadian traveller. 



Actual living, i. e. food and bed are vely reasonable in 

 Canadian hotels. I cannot say so much for the extras, 

 which seem to be out of all proportion; in the St. 

 Lawrence Hall, Montreal, the charge for board is $2 50c. 

 per diem, for a tub 50 cents, for a pint of ale 25 cents. 



The little hotels in the backwoods, as might be ex- 

 pected, are rather rough. I had the misfortune to be 

 travelling at night once in the lower province in a 

 tremendous snow storm ; our horses done out, pitch dark, 

 and very cold. We were blundering through the drifts 

 at the rate of a mile an hour. " How far to the nearest 

 stopping place ?" I asked the driver. " Only a mile," he 

 replied. This cheered me up somewhat, and I said, " Oh, 

 that's all right, we'll soon be there ; " but my cheerfulness 

 was not shared by my driver. On my asking what sort 



