The New Orleans Bulletin

Saratoga: The Springs, People, Hotels, Waiters-The Hudson by Daylight-New York-Boston-Bunker Hill-The Centennial-Suburbs, etc.-The Washington Artillery-Dots by the Wayside.

Boston, Mass, Aug. 30, 1875.

Dear Bulletin--In my last I promised to drop you a few lines from Saratoga, but the grand whirl of excitement there precluded me from that pleasure. However, being now settled down quietly at that finest and quietest of hotels, the Commonwealth, at the Hub, I can serenely reflect upon the past two weeks, and cull together that which I hope may serve to entertain you for a few minutes. Of all watering-places in this country, Saratoga this year seems to have the call, for, while the deputy capital, or acting capital (Long Branch), Newport, Nahant, the sea shore generally, Niagara Falls, White Mountains, Canada, etc., are only tolerably patronized, the great Saratoga, together with its horse and boat races, springs, elegant musical entertainments and gambling hells, have succeeded in filling and keeping filled to repletion the entire season, those monster hotels, the Congress, the Grand Union, United States, Clarendon, and others, accommodating from 1000 to 2000 persons each, while the smaller hotels and boarding houses have had all they could do thousands sleeping on the floor and galleries of houses at night, and eating wherever they could find a place to get in. I took time to scan closely the congregation of people there, men, women and children, and while there were many of the first and best people there, from all sections of this country, and the world, in fact, still the very large majority were of the mushroom breed, ring men, sports, politicians, newspaper sprouts, sport reporters, hucksters, gamblers, fortune hunters, etc. The elegant display of ladies' toilets, headlights of diamonds, and public gorgeous private displays, generally, excelled anything I have ever seen, and, in many instances, the shoddyism could be distinctly seen under the point lace, and, I may say, acres of diamonds and precious stones; and one of many I saw was a large, overgrown, red-faced fellow, looked like a hard-working day laborer, with an elegant suit of cloth on and a $10,000 pin in his bosom front, and another $5000 one on his little finger; he was accompanied by two foreign ladies, who were covered in silks, point lace and diamonds, and were gotten up elegantly, but their big, jolly red faces indicated the fact that it had been but a few years, months perhaps, since they were bending over the wash tubs, earning honestly their six-bits a day. Such are facts; such is Saratoga. The springs are doing a lively business, the Congress and Hawthorne, or Hathorn, having the call, the Empire, Red, Geyser, and others coming in third and fourth best. I noticed all the hotels, or nearly all, employed colored help, and where I stopped, the steward informed me that most of their waiters were from the South, formerly slaves, the majority being from South Carolina, while Louisiana, Virginia and Kentucky were well represented, only one out of ninety odd being from a Northern State, and he was from New York. The colored race have their virtues as well as faults, and I do think they excel in waiting on a dinner party. I have often heard that two of our most distinguished colored citizens and ex-Lieutenant Governors of Louisiana, excelled in the capacity of waiters, and I hope our Southern hotels may some day conclude to employ more of them. The trip down the Hudson by daylight, through these historical and world-renowned places, so familiar to the readers of our century's history and Washington Irving's works, is one never to be forgotten, and the beautiful views of the Catskill Mountains, where 'Old Rip' had his twenty years' nap, West Point, Irvington, Idlewild, Sleepy Hollow, Tarrytown, and the palatial residences of America's moneyed noblemen, presents a charming fairy scene that eclipses anything to be seen in this or any other country-the elegant four-deck steamers, making twenty-five miles an hour and carrying three thousand passengers, being one of the pleasantest features of the trip. This was my first trip down the Hudson since childhood, and I think every American should see the beauties of this river by daylight, and it is hard for one to decide between the Mammoth Cave, Niagara Falls or the Hudson River. New York-busy, whirling New York-seems as of old, everybody in a hurry, everybody going everywhere, no loafing or hanging around, but pushing, shoving, jostling along, every man for himself and the 'devil for the hindmost.' Central Park is lovely, and many new attractions are being daily added. I met many New Orleanians in New York, some buying goods, some 'touring like myself, some 'waiting to see a man.' I saw several. Leaving New York at 9 P. M., I arrived here, at the 'Hub,' at 6 A. M., following day-a charming trip. The Commonwealth Hotel, at which I am stopping, is one of the finest in the land, is commodious, all modern improvements and appliances, is well kept, nearly new, and in a central locality, covering the square bounded by Washington, Springfield and Worcester streets and Shawmut Avenue. Cars pass in front every minute, up and down and across, to all parts of the city and all of its suburbs, and only twenty minutes ride from Bunker Hill monument and ten minutes from the Tremont House and the center of business. It is a great place for Southerners. Colonel Greene, of the Boston Post, resides here with his family permanently, and Mr. J. W. Wolcott, the proprietor, is one of the jolliest, best natured, life long Democrats you ever saw. I am delighted to see that our famous and world renowned old corps, the Washington Artillery, have organized, and so efficiently, for the coming Centennial, and I have been approached by some of the most wealthy and prominent men here, to ask this gallant corps to extend their trip to Boston, if only for a few days, so as the 'Hubbites' may show them how truly and earnestly they can 'shake hands across the bloody chasm,' and they will guarantee the 'old veterans' such a welcome, as they never saw or felt before. The old Bunker Hill Monument is the same as of yore, grand, and speakingly eloquent; it is a great resort for strangers, every one feeling he must see and go up to its summit; that, Faneuil Hall, that old 'Cradle of Liberty,' and the 'Big Organ' being three attractive points, while Mount Auburn and Forest Hill Cemeteries, Chestnut Hill Reservoir, and the charming drives through Roxbury, Dorchester, Charlestown, Brookline, Cambridge and other suburbs, are among the most charming and attractive, Forest Hill Cemetery alone being worth the price of passage here and home again, just to drive around and see its grandeur and highly cultivated grounds and rich and costly tombs, mausoleums and monuments. If the Washington Artillery will conclude to visit this point next year, I will, in advance, guarantee them a more agreeable and instructive visit, than at any other point they may 'pitch their tents.' Yours truly, SKIMMERHORN.