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Story
May 31, 1898
Evening Journal
Wilmington, New Castle County, Delaware
What is this article about?
A smug hotel clerk assumes rural guests Mr. and Mrs. Bondy from Plunkerville are ignorant of electric lights and plumbing, but they cleverly turn the tables, demanding to leave for a hotel where they can warm milk for their baby, leaving the clerk humiliated.
Clipping
OCR Quality
96%
Excellent
Full Text
FOOLED FOR ONCE.
The Smart Hotel Clerk Thought He Knew It All, But He Didn't.
Just after the night clerk came on at the hotel and curled his mustache to his liking, his attention was called to business.
"Kerosene lamp for 237," requested a bell boy.
"Kerosene lamp?" echoed the clerk, as he whirled the register about. "Let me see. Bondy and wife, of Plunkerville, in 237. I thought so. Never been in a first-class hotel before. Go back and show them how to use the electric light. Wonder they didn't send for a tallow candle," and the clerk took several of the corridor loungers into his confidence.
"Lady says if this hotel can't afford a lamp to send up a gas stove, and send it quick," said the bell boy, who had made the round trip in phenomenal time. "She acts pretty hot."
"Pretty cold, I should think. Go back there and open the register, show the lady how to use the water faucets and how to turn off the electricity. Thank the Lord, she can't blow it out."
The next word from 237 came with a rush. It was brought by a vision of loveliness, dressed in bewitching style, her face flushed, and her blue eyes throwing off sparks. "Make out your bill and receipt at once," she said, as her dainty foot beat time on the marble tiling.
"But, Mrs. Bondy—"
"Attend to my order, sir. Include in your bill a carriage and an express wagon to transfer us and our things and tell Mr. Bondy when he comes in that he will find us at the other house, where we will spend the rest of the season. Understand, we must go at once. I want to go to a hotel where it will be possible to warm some milk for baby before the little angel starves to death."
Then the loungers had fun with the clerk, and the best he could muster was a sickly grin.
Detroit Free Press.
The Smart Hotel Clerk Thought He Knew It All, But He Didn't.
Just after the night clerk came on at the hotel and curled his mustache to his liking, his attention was called to business.
"Kerosene lamp for 237," requested a bell boy.
"Kerosene lamp?" echoed the clerk, as he whirled the register about. "Let me see. Bondy and wife, of Plunkerville, in 237. I thought so. Never been in a first-class hotel before. Go back and show them how to use the electric light. Wonder they didn't send for a tallow candle," and the clerk took several of the corridor loungers into his confidence.
"Lady says if this hotel can't afford a lamp to send up a gas stove, and send it quick," said the bell boy, who had made the round trip in phenomenal time. "She acts pretty hot."
"Pretty cold, I should think. Go back there and open the register, show the lady how to use the water faucets and how to turn off the electricity. Thank the Lord, she can't blow it out."
The next word from 237 came with a rush. It was brought by a vision of loveliness, dressed in bewitching style, her face flushed, and her blue eyes throwing off sparks. "Make out your bill and receipt at once," she said, as her dainty foot beat time on the marble tiling.
"But, Mrs. Bondy—"
"Attend to my order, sir. Include in your bill a carriage and an express wagon to transfer us and our things and tell Mr. Bondy when he comes in that he will find us at the other house, where we will spend the rest of the season. Understand, we must go at once. I want to go to a hotel where it will be possible to warm some milk for baby before the little angel starves to death."
Then the loungers had fun with the clerk, and the best he could muster was a sickly grin.
Detroit Free Press.
What sub-type of article is it?
Deception Fraud
What themes does it cover?
Deception
Social Manners
Triumph
What keywords are associated?
Hotel Clerk Fooled
Rural Guests
Mistaken Assumptions
Humorous Deception
Social Embarrassment
What entities or persons were involved?
Mrs. Bondy
Mr. Bondy
Hotel Clerk
Where did it happen?
Hotel
Story Details
Key Persons
Mrs. Bondy
Mr. Bondy
Hotel Clerk
Location
Hotel
Story Details
A hotel clerk mocks rural guests Mr. and Mrs. Bondy for requesting a kerosene lamp and gas stove, assuming ignorance of electric lights and faucets, but Mrs. Bondy demands their bill and departure to another hotel to warm milk for their baby, fooling the clerk.