BOARDING-HOUSES AND DOMESTIC LIFE IN 'FRISCO.

Evening Post, Volume XVII, Issue XVII, 24 May 1879, Page 1

BOARDING-HOUSES AND DOMESTIC LIFE IN 'FRISCO.

San Francisco (writes " Silverpen" to the N.Z. Herald) may be called a city of lodging-houses truly, for in every other window may be seen this legend, "Rooms to let." The fact is, there is very little occupation for women, therefore they take to the doubtfully-successful one of taking boarders. As a rule, these pay a month in advance, but after establishing themselves in the good graces of the landlady by prompt payments for the first month or two, they retrograde, and finish up by owing for the next two or three months, and then decamping, bag in hand. lam sorry to admit the fact, but men live upon the women here as much as possible, even to borrowing their hard earnings. We have very little home-life. Married folks without children invariably board. There are immense boarding-houses on every street, which may be more properly distinguished by the names of scandal- dens, or squabbling ditto. The ladies congregate in each other's rooms and talk each other over ; little cliques are formed, where all the meanness and narrowness of woman's nature is finely developed ! Mrs. Smith sa w Mr. White leaving Mrs. Green's room after eleven o'clock, on several occasions, and she is " shocked " — so much so, that she must leave. Meanwhile, Mrs. Smith herself meets Mr. Brown three times a week at the Maison Dore6, where they lunch in a private room, but then she does not " shock " the feelings of her boardinghouse household. As to home-life, the children are perfectly independent of their parents. The grown girls go to the clubs, hops, and "socials," with their escorts, without father or mother as chaperone. They go pretty well where they like, and come back when they choose, even to the small hours of morning. Of course, there are exceptions to these rules, but not many. This at once accounts for the excessive fastness of the girls; and they are fast to a fault. At St. Andrew's Church, Montreal, lately, Mn, William M'Nulty's triplets, in a basket, dressed in red, white, and blue, were forwarded to the Communion table, and baptised Louise, Lome, and Victor.