HOTEL LIFE IN FIJI.

Nelson Evening Mail, Volume VIII, Issue 249, 16 October 1873, Page 4

HOTEL LIFE IN FIJI.

The correspondent of {he Melbourne Weekly News writes from Levukn as follows: — - There is only one establishment worthy the Dame of hotel, and it ia of the very roughest character, This is the Levuka Hotel, kept by Messrs Sturt. & Yates. It affords sleeping accommodation for fifty or sixty people, and on an average from eighty a hundred sit down to diuner daily. The other public-houses — of which there are eighteen — are, with tho exception of two or three, not worth particularism;/, — mere drinking bars. People coming from different parts of the group to the capital, ■who have any pretension at all, put up at tbe " Levuka," and some queer pianks are played there. A new-comer is at first surprised to Gnd h'i3 clothes gradually disappearing, and complains to the landlord, but is Boon initiated into tbe wayß of the place. There are no keys to tbe bed-room doors, and articles of clothing are locked upon as common property. A planter comes ia at night, having perhaps been two days and nights in an open boat. Ho has got no clean clothes until he can buy some, and in tbe meantime he wants something in which to make a decent appearance, so he goes into one room and selects a clean shirt, into anotner and finds a pair of trowsers, and into a third where he comes across a clean white linen coat, and so on. These he appropriates to his own use for the time being, utterly ignoring the owner. But as ten to one the owner Las made free use of other people's property in his time, he doas not say anything. In fact is is a perfectly understood thing that what you have not got yourself you must seek amongst your neighbor's things. The second morning after I landed I was rather astonished when I sat down to breakfast, after coming from my bath in the creek, to see my name staring me in my face from tbe opposite side of the table. Yes, there could be no doubt of it. There sat a perfect stranger with one of my shirts on. " I say roister, you have got one of my shirts on,"*quoth I. " Oh. is this yours ?" coolly queried the straDger ! " 1 hadn't a clean one, bo I just took one out of the next room. I didn't know whose it was; I'll give it you back when I get mine back from the wash.'' Presently he rose from the table, and I noticed he had nay slippers on his feet, so I addressed him again — " I say, mister, I dou'fc mind you wearing my shirt ; you can go also and rig yourself out in my coat, vest, and trousers, if you like; but hang ii, man, leave me my slippers." He merely asked as calmly as before, " Oh, are these your slippers? I thought as you'd ;:one out, you didn't want to wear them, so I just put them on. Let me keep them lor a icw minutes, old fellow, will you, while I go out and get a pair of cauvus shoe;-?" And off he went. It is no use locking your box, for a day's acquaintanceship with anybody in a hotel pluces you on such a footing that your acquaintance considers he has a perfect rise to prise it open if lie wants a clean pair of socks, or a clean j shirr, or any trifle in that way. As for handkerchiefs, thpy ore constantly ringing the changes, and one seldom has hia own in his possession. Life is ol so free and easy a character that nobody grumbles if he is the subject of a lark; and there are always some jolly fellows who prefer having some fun at night to going to bed. So as to allow of a free current of air, the partitions of the bedrooms are only carried up about 8 feet high, so there is a large space orerbead. Slinging cats over on a fellow as he lies in bed, and then going in and demanding to know what he means by creating such a disturbance, is a common tiring; as also ia the practice of two or three going the rounds of the bed-rooms awakening the sleepers, and insisting on their iaking a drink, with tbe alternative of being prevented from enjoying any more slumber that nijjht. In such cas^s the best way is to accept the bottle offering, whether it be acceptable or not. I don't know how to advise a teeto-aller to act tinder such circumstances, as I never saw one in Fiji,