Page:Travel letters from New Zealand, Australia and Africa (1913).djvu/454

 bows very politely to those passengers remaining. I believe this very pretty custom is confined entirely to the Germans The barkeeper has been humiliated, and relieved from duty; I don't know what his offense was, but I hear he is charged with becoming impatient while on duty. The Germans say that when a man is employed to serve the public, impatience is a gross offense, and I agree with them. For a day or two, the barkeeper did nothing, and was the most contrite and penitent human being I have ever seen, but this morning he appeared as a waiter in the dining-room, and is trying hard to regain the favor of the chief steward There are many foolish things for men to do, but probably the most foolish is to buy champagne. Every day at dinner I see dozens of men pay three or four dollars for a bottle of champagne, simply to "act smart." Boys are not the only ones who "act smart" in company, and force their parents to whip them The passenger who has his wife and three daughters with him attracts a great deal of attention from the men. His womenfolks have four pieces of fancy work under way all the time; think of that man's dry-goods bills! And I cannot sleep at night from thinking what his laundry bill must be. There is a laundry on board, operated by Chinese, who do excellent work, but their prices are something to talk about. I sent out a little dab of washing the other day, and the bill was $6. I pay for waists for only one woman, whereas that other man must pay for waists for four. It should be against the law for any man to take care of four women The New York banker who is returning from a hunting