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Show Ij HOMES FOR THE HOMEEESS. i I During a recent vr't to this city, two citizens , of Los Angeles came near to being seriously disillusioned dis-illusioned regarding the well authenticated talents i of Mr. Gus Holmes as a hotel proprietor. These gentlemen were quite well acquainted with Mr. t I i Holmes, and had frequently basked in the splen-j splen-j dors of the Angelus in their native city. When j they reached Salt Lake, they were consequently desirous of remaining at Gus' hotel in this city, which they had been led to believe was a duplication duplica-tion of the elegantly appointed hostelry on the ' ; ; Upon arriving in Salt Lake, wearied from the j i long trip and with visions of gastronomic and T other comforts, they entered a carriage at the sta-( sta-( 1 tion and asked to be driven to the Holmes hotel. ! ' The placid raced aristocrat on the high pedestal, j i without asking for more explicit directions, drove ! j ', the visitors to a not very imposing structure at ; the corner of Second South and State streets, j which bears the not unfamiliar title of Holmes j il block. Both of the visitors expressed some sur-! sur-! ( j prise at the lack of Angelus' splendor in the ex-jj ex-jj terior ensemble of the building, but knowing the j i jiji fastidious Holmes as well as they did, and anil an-il ticipating a pleasant surprise in the interior i ' equipment of the building, they had their baggage ; removed into Mr. Holmes' hotel. They secured !, rooms with baths and other conveniences, looked j mutually aghast at the unpretentious furnishings ii' of the place, and then inquired of the landlady re-!'j re-!'j garding the location of the bar room, where they f'I had some hope of encountering the genial Gus. . ,i! They were informed that there was no thirst a ameliorating adjunct apertaining to the hotel, but i I that a well equipped bar room would be found on 1,1 the corner beneath the hostelry. Slightly sur-J sur-J I prised, but undismayed, they descended and en-! en-! 1 tered the gaudy and ornate rathskeller and ordered i . 1 a duet of cocktails. After smothering these with- "OUturi(lueidisplay of mental agitation or abdominal abdomin-al protest, they inquired if "Mr. Holmes had been in there of late. The bartender looked puzzled for a moment, but later a great illumination came to him. The mixologist conveyed the information that he guessed they were in the wrong place, and that Mr. Holmes was. the immaculate gent who conducted con-ducted the Knutsford hotel, a block farther to the south. The exit of the Los Angeles visitors was almost al-most impolitely hasty. A quizzical look radiated for a moment on the face of the landlady when they paid their bill on the floor a. ove and ordered their traveling paraphernalia removed. An hour later they met the urbane Gas at his hotel, and what he said; and what they said, has not yet been divulged. |