ut the general tone is
well-bred and courteous. In the farther end of the great hall a group of
stock brokers may be seen comparing notes, and making bargains for the
sale and purchase of their fickle wares. The clink of glasses makes
music in the bar-room, and beyond this you may see the barbers at work on
their customers in the luxurious shaving saloon. Doors are opening and
shutting continually, people are coming and going. Porters are pushing
their way through the crowd bearing huge trunks on their shoulders. The
office bell is sounding incessantly, from a dozen different chambers at
once, and the servants are moving about in every direction to execute the
orders of the guests.

On the floor above the scene is as animated, but of a different
character. Every one here is in full dinner dress, and all are on their
good behaviour. The grand dining-room is crowded with guests, who are
doing ample justice to the sumptuous viands set before them. The parlors
are thronged with ladies and gentlemen, and the corridors are filled with
promenaders. The toilettes of the ladies are magnificent, and they can
be seen here to better advantage than at any ball or evening party. You
may see here some of the loveliest and most refined women, and some of
the coarsest and vulgarest, some of the most courtly gentlemen, and some
of the most insufferable snobs. If you will join the quiet-looking man
moving through the throng as if seeking some one whom he cannot find, he
can give you many an interesting bit of gossip about the various persons
whom you will encounter in your walk. He is the detective of the house,
and is on the watch for improper characters. Well-dressed thieves will
make their way into hotels in spite of the precautions of the
proprietors. Here a guest is comparatively safe. The detective is
argus-eyed, and knows everybody. Let a pick-pocket or thief but show his
face in this place, and his arrest is sure. All night the corridors are
patrolled by watchmen to make sure of the safety of the sleeping guests.
The house is absolutely fire-proof.

The cost of conducting such an establishment is immense, but the profits
are in proportion. The average profit of this house is said to be about
a quarter of a million of dollars per annum.

The hotels that have been mentioned are all conducted on the American
plan of full board, or one charge for every expense. This enables a
guest to calculate his expenses exactl