CURIOUS HOTEL CUSTOMS

Evening Star, Issue 16993, 15 March 1919, Page 4

CURIOUS HOTEL CUSTOMS

There is an inn in a town on the Rhine wherein, whenever a patron is heard to swear, he must place a coin equivalent to the value of one cent on the bar of the counter. Until recent years there was a most respectable inn in Warwickshire, England, the proprietor of which was accustomed to invite all his patrons to accompany him and his wife Sunday mornings to a church directly opposite the inn. On returning from service each customer was expected to partake of refreshments offered by the hospitable landlord free of charge. Those who put up at one hotel in Edinburgh obtain, if they are unaccustomed to the ways of the place, a firsthand knowledge of the Scottish disposition. Patrons of this hotel must remember to keep their shoes or boots in their rooms overnight, otherwise their footgear will be blacked, regardless of its original color. There is a "public-house" in Dumfries where may be seen an old armchair alleged to have been invariably used by the poet Burns when he visited the place. All who sit in this chair are required to "treat" all who may be in the room at the time. There is a tavern in the south of France where an almost incredible custom prevails. Patrons are allowed one drink only. Should this prove insufficient to quench their thirst they must leave the inn and take a walk before they are permitted to have another. The Austrian proprietor of an inn in Hungary evolved a quaint idea for providing funds for charitable entertainments. A patron in this inn, geeking refreshments, is expected to knock on the table or counter before drinking. Any violation of this rule is penalised by a small fine, and the money thus obtained goes to provide funds for the relief anc* -"utertainmerfc of the poor of the villasro.