What does Mark Twain mean by "keep hotel"?

Question

The protagonist in *A Connecticut Yankee in King Arthur's Court* uses this phrase:> But that should be nothing to his discredit; the man that can do THIS kind of miracle knows enough to keep hotel.This led me to find another passage, this time in Twain's *Notebooks*, containing the phrase:> It is an art apart. Saint Francis of Assisi said, "All saints can do miracles, but few of them can keep hotel."I still don't know what to make of it, though.

Answer 1

Twain by use of the phrase 'Keep Hotel, simply means 'Run a Hotel.