NEW YORK TO CHICAGO 1 



part of it was that, where I was taken by knowledgeable 

 men, there were no heart tremors at all ; the proprietors 

 of certain places were so sure. How it was done, 

 frankly, I don't know ; yet there was scarcely a week 

 but we who went round town saw the patrol wagon 

 waiting, and the smashed fit-outs, in the way of 1 

 " wheels " and other gaming plant, brought out of 

 their front door and piled anyhow into a waiting 

 vehicle. 



But oh, that summer in New York ! After revelling j 

 in the spring, there were moments of premonition that I 

 what was awaiting me might be equal to or exceed 

 parts of Australia. And so it did. Can you imagine 

 going to bed with a wild thunderstorm playing about | 

 the roofs, then the fitful gusts which presaged another. 

 A heavily charged atmosphere and then a boiling day. 

 A morning jaunt on a bit of delicate finance and then 

 a return after an hour, and the necessity of a cold bath 

 and a complete change. The tall buildings attracted 

 the heat; the side-walks (pavements) were red hot. 

 There was no permanent comfort in the extended .1 

 alleged cooling drink; there was the temporary 

 gratification of absorption, but no benefit. The cold 

 drink only aggravated the desire for the tub, and God 

 bless you in America for popularising the bath ! You 

 have made it the necessity, and taught a big lesson 

 in hygiene to other countries, which they are all too 

 slow to follow. The luxury of the private bathroom 

 can be best appreciated where it cannot be obtained 

 — in many of the otherwise luxurious private houses of , 

 Europe. Fifty years hence possibly, perhaps twenty, 

 but how slow ! As I have said, in the smallest 

 hotels there is the private bath. 



The routine of the terrific summer in New York was : 

 trips down the harbour ; heavy meals in prohibition 



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