In Europe, the keepers, that is to say, the servants of the public, have cautions posted in the museums, in which “the public are requested not to touch.” In France, they are “begged,” which is perhaps a more suitable expression, as the museums, after all, belong to the public.
In America, the notice is “Hands off!” This is short and to the point. The servants of the public allow you to enter the museums, charge you twenty-five cents, and warn you to behave well. “Hands off” struck me as rather off-handed.
THE “BRUSH-UP.”
I really admire the independence of all the servants in this country. You may give them a tip, you will not run the risk of making them servile or even polite.
The railway conductor says “ticket!” The word please does not belong to his vocabulary any more than the words “thank you.” He says “ticket” and frowns. You show it to him. He looks at it suspiciously, and gives it back to you with a haughty air that seems to say: “I hope you will behave properly while you are in my car.”
The tip in America is not de rigueur as in Europe. The cabman charges you so much, and expects nothing more. He would lose his dignity by accepting a tip (many run the risk). He will often ask you for more than you owe him; but this is the act of a sharp man of business, not the act of a servant. In doing so, he does not derogate from his character.
The negro is the only servant who smiles in America, the only one who is sometimes polite and attentive, and the only one who speaks English with a pleasant accent.
The negro porter in the sleeping cars has seldom failed to thank me for the twenty-five or fifty cent piece I always give him after he has brushed—or rather, swept—my clothes with his little broom.
.......