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Leader (1850-1860), 24th September 1853, Edition Country of 2, Page 14, RUSSIA AND TURKEY. (To the Editor of the...

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      Rationale Op Inn Cheapness. " You Englis...

      for things that are not apparent in the supply , and the traveller demands many things that he does not express in words , and which could not be put in the bill . The Englishman , of whatever grade , takes a pleasure , especially when he is out travelling , in an ostentatious air of magnificence , always placing himself not in an independent position , as a man , but in a " superior" position , as " above" what he really is , and still more above those about him . Your English traveller not only grudges being civil to those whom he meets , especially his " inferiors , " but takes an actual pleasure in being rude to them . He dislikes to

      ask the waiter , and prefers to " order" him . He expects to find the inn choked with stores of the particular things which he desires ; he will not wait a moment , and yet he wants to pay as if he waited to bargain . His commercial habits , the impatient spirit , the love of exacting servility in every form , require that he should be served at once . Arriving at the inn when ' nobody , expected him , the dinner must be ready on the instant , in the primest condition , hot , " ordered , "introduced

      by an obsequious landlord , and served by obseauious waiters . If there is any lack in these lings he proclaims the inn to be ill-furnished , the people slow , the waiters uncivil , and the landlord regardless of his guests . Now , the landlord cannot put down in his bill so much "to dinner kept waiting for Mr . John Bull , who was not expected . " He cannot put down in the bill "to so many pairs of fowls , awaiting the honour of your arrival , " when Mr . Bull himself did not expect the honour of his own cominsr . The landlord cannot

      put down in his bill "to meeting your insolent manners with unbroken smiles or low bows . " The waiter cannot represent that he has submitted to reproaches and oaths , for not bringing things not ordered , for serving things in the usual style , and being accused of ignorance , which was the traveller ' s own ; for nofc hearing an imbecile voice , or not understanding a thick one . So the

      landlord sets down his bows in an additional price for his sherry , charges the spoiled fowls in the mutton cutlets ; and the waiter , who behaves more honestly , does but withhold a portion of that enormous civility which the traveller expects for the odd pence . It is the ill-considered arrangements , the unexpressed ambitions , the stupid want of attention to his own interest , and the bad manners of the traveller , which are

      set down in the bill . When he storms at the wax lights or the port wine abomination , it would be much more reasonable if he reflected that he had better teach to himself or his fellows the art of expressing what they want in civil language ; for then , by degrees , landlords and waiters will learn to understand what travellers want , and begin to meet the demand accordingly . In a former article we pointed out the evils of the licensing system in connexion with the brewing trade . Innkeepers suffer from the same

      cause , and the remedy is to reject the support of such a broken staff . What protection does an innkeeper require P He supplies a universal want , since the demand for food and sleep will never cease to exist . As long as tho world lasts men will run from place to place , railway carriages will discharge their enrgoea , and there will be inns to furnish shelter and repose . Of course there must be a limit to the demand , and though the immediate consequence of an opening of the trade might bo an excess of accommodation , a

      very short time would suffice to make tho balance oven . The best men would win tho day . Excellence combined with fair prices , would attract customers , and contented numbers would take tho placo of a discontented few . Hitherto attempts to establish cheap inns havo been failures , but tho fault has lain with tho innkeepers rather than with tho public . " Cheap and Nasty" in a combination of words which , though usually applied to the productions of slop-shops and cheap tailoring establishments , may bo said , without

      exaggeration , of somo of our " cheap' hotels . Cleanliness , good fare , and civility , arc tho throe essentials of a good hotel . Nine travellers out of ton would rather bo without tho luxurious additions of wax caudles , waiters with powdered hoadrvund a show of vulgar plato . But so long as 1 , 110 only choice is between the bad accommodation of a cheap inn , and tho extravagant ohargns but substantial comfort of n first-rate hotel , an Englishman will continue to satisfy exorbitant demands , and appoaso himself by Writing angry letters to tho Times . Doubtless an opening of tho ti'ttdo would iiv

      volve experiments of all kinds , and we are glad to learn that the Crystal Palace Company have determined upon building hotels adapted , like railway carriages , to the wants of different classes . No one need then complain j and a traveller will only have himself to blame , if he suffers his false pride or his slavery to fashion to lead him . to an expensive hotel , when good accommodation is offered him at a moderate rate , on a scale and at a charge known beforehand , and familiarized to the public by a general uniformity . This is the grand point — uniformity , steadiness , and certainty of the charge .

      926 The Leader. , Csattjirday ,

      926 THE LEADER . , CSATtJiRDAY ,

      The Host. Mrs. Norton's Wrongs. Our Read...

      THE HOST . MRS . NORTON'S WRONGS . Our readers have had a week to reflect upon the letter of Sir John Bailey , and they will probably agree with us in thinking that the statement by that gentleman , who was appointed as judge between husband and wife by Mr . Norton himself , is conclusive . Mrs . Norton has declared that she

      will write no more , and Mr . Norton , we anticipate , could not benefit his case by adding another word to it . We will treat the " latest letter by the umpire exactly as we treated the letters on both sides , presuming its representations to be true , without supposing that we can do _ anything to add to its authenticity or credibility . We take it as it stands .

      According to this statement , then , Mr . Norton invited counsel to give him an " opinion , " and supplied that counsel , not with a real case , but with " a series of invented fables which he had strung together , " and it is the opinion upon these fables , which he advanced in his letters as Sir John Bailey's . Mrs . Norton was " anxious only on one point , the restoration of her children ;" the husband was " anxious only about the pecuniary part of the arrangement , and , obviously making the love of the mother for her offspring the means of barter and bargain . " While Mr . Norton made untrue statements of his wife ' s

      expenses and extravagancies , he detained her wardrobe , jewellery , and books . She offered to pay her own bills , but Mr . N . orton ' s solicitor replied that " there was no undertaking , that even if she did Eay her bills , her property should be returned to er . " Mr . Norton confesses to gx * oss personal violence towards his wife ; on one occasion kicking her room door from its hinges , and dragging her out by force , not long before the birth of her youngest son . The wife was " reasonable" in her language , and desirous to be at peace with " her children ' s father . " He promised to return her children , and at his counsel ' s dictation wrote

      a letter which that gentleman posted , Mr . Norton being " base enough to write a second letter , " unknown to the arbitrator , to forbid the coming of the children—" and come they did not . " Mr . Norton admitted liis firm belief of his wife ' s innocence of tho charge he had brought against her and Lord Melbourne , and then advertised it in the papers ! "I then , " says Sir John Bailey , " certainly changed my opinion . " The public had been somewhat impressed with tho rights of the husband , and the confident statement put forth by Mr . Norton , but tho public will henceforward read Mr . Norton ' s statement by tho light of Sir John Bailey ' s commentaries .

      What , then , do wo find to be , according to the statement of the judicial authority , his true story of an English wife P Sho is deprived of her children , and falsely accused of extravagance by her husband , who withholds her property , oven her personal effects ; she is advertised in tho papers by her husband , who confesses her innocence- ; she is subjected to personal violence by tho husband who had endearingly besought her to return ; and ultimately , when ho is made answerable for the debts ol a wife whom ho has persisted to hold in bondage , ho permits her to bo dragged into a public court , and moots tho exposure' of the facts by a reiteration of all that has been rofutod by liia own arbitrator .

      I ho simple statement of this caso is enough to oxcito indignation whorevcr natural feeling lias not been stilled by tho custom of the- country . But wo are to reflect , tluit this case had in it something peculiar . Mrs . Norton is no doubt n , woman sharing tho ordinary feeling of her sex , and on that account alono " to bo tho object of tenderness and honour . But , bonifies that , sho is a woman endowed with many gifts of uaturo which point hor out jib peculiarly calling for honour from any man upon whom she bestowed hor hand , In thia ecnae , although beauty

      cannot claim to have rights of its own , yet enhancing the sacrifice , it might at all evenf have constituted , with other reasons , a ground why she should have been received to tV heart and hearth of any man as an object mo precious than an ordinary gift , especially when she had united herself to a man who has tak the pains to stamp his own grade before this public . But besides beauty , Mrs . Norton is also endowed with the rarer charms of genius , and it most refined accomplishments : she has wedded and to the lish

      feeling grace Eng language , botl » in its prose and verse ; and has a reputation far transcending the bounds of her native country To be permitted to provide a home for one of the most distinguished living intellectual celebrities of a country renowned in letters ; to be chosen as the companion of one of the most beautiful women , in a country celebrated for its beautiful women , might have extorted a sense of proud gratitude in the heart of any man fully endowed with the faculties of man ' s nature . Mr . Norton , it appears , did not acknowledw

      any such sense . The woman who is received with homage in the highest society in the land , who is honoured by tile whole people , was by him subjected to shuffling avoidance of promises , to the " Greenacre" correspondence , to charges which he confessed to be false , to advertisements in the newspapers , pointing her out for the contempt of the virtuous and the discredit of the commercial world , and to personal violence . And yet , we have a right to say , such stories are discovered in good society , are not treated as

      incredible , not as unparalleled monstrosities , but are only matters of debate and of evidence , like any ordinary quarrel . The husband in this case , who thus treats his wife and judge , is still himself a judge of summary jurisdiction in cases of wife arid husband ! And although this wrong stands flagrant before the public , there is , it appears , no law which can procure redress , or even the common justice of independent industry for the woman , although that woman is a Caroline Norton .

      Russia And Turkey. (To The Editor Of The...

      RUSSIA AND TURKEY . ( To the Editor of the Leader . ) Sie , —The press of Europe is at length becoming unanimous upon the merits of the Turkish question . Blinded by the absolute recognition for years past of the disinterested and moderate policy of the Czars , the vigilance of Europe has been stilled , and her watchfulness lulled to sleep . Even when startled from her heavy slumber by the stifling of Italian , Polish , and Hungarian liberty , and by the extinction of republican Cracow , Europe did but half rise , the heavy torpor of her belief exerted too deadening an influence upon her judgment ; it spread too thick a pall over her intellect to permit of the simple principles involved once appearing luminous and clear to her understanding . Hence her slowness to comprehend the refutation liussia has xtsolt afforded , and hence that long lingering conlidenco in the magnanimity of the Czar Nicholas , which has uaralvzed the action of Europe , ana

      procrastinated Turkish civilization for halt a century to come . But the deceptive panegyrics upon that system " which oxhausted every maw * of procuring peace boforo it resorted to wai , have also contributed not a little to produce tlio perilous result which now keeps tho un < M world in suspense . Tho voices of 8 WH £ - jobbers and of petty dynastic intriguers , ana u > whimperings of the Peaco Society , have uct heard in the chambers of tho Government , ana the natural result of measuring British iccnno lillU ilUlAUiU ICttllll , « Jl inuiwuiu'fi innlai si

      by tho rise and fall of the public *™ lias been tho complete victory of tho Jw >*> autocrat . Undeterred by any considerate s tho three per cents , tho Cmv has coneliictw i > manoeuvres with spirit ; they all bear the s i of an inflexible will , and of a vigorous mic » ^ and they havo nil boon unqualifiedly « u < ( % although founded upon complete nii'istiec- y Allies , with a good cause , with public law , amUiJ ; tiee on their side , havo suffered mugnomu foal ; . And whence does so starthnff « -n < " " £ arise P Hud tho movements of the js > . l > r . « . <^ u i « w » , /' Kfiw > f . i > rl wit . li nnlitfhtoneu uii » " _ <

      and well arranged precision , wouia pu ^ and ho humiliating a contrast have occu 11 . , a should wo now bo dep loring tho > " ^ ° " l I ion ot precipitancy which has caused tno r ' fortutho licimnNotoP Throug hout ^ ^ . inite negotiations tho dip lomacy 01 ' - i cftMgOf getting ita dignity and tho jnoww ol

  • Citation
    • Leader (1850-1860), Sept. 24, 1853, page 14, in the Nineteenth-Century Serials Edition (2008; 2018) ncse.ac.uk/periodicals/l/issues/cld_24091853/page/14/