The New Orleans crescent. [volume] (New Orleans, La.) 1866-1869, 1869-03-14
FAsHIoNABLk DINNERS.
A WATERS EXPERIENCE.

guished Englishmans; the price OF tickets, one
guinea; the attendance, In number about two
hundred. Some persons find a relish In describ-
ing old dinners, and eating them over again 10
imagination; but this Is sort Of chewing the
cud very distssteful 20 me. i do not propose,
then 70 revive the dinner. but TO direct attention
to the gentleman who sat on my left, and his ex'
traordinsry revelations.
siugularly easy and seb.possessed. showed from
the first that his experience OF pa6lic dinners
was more extensive than mine. he was IRE
proschsbly dressed, and / do not grudge describ-
ing him as q handsome man.
During the pauses of dinner we converted.
The commonplaces with which We began were
distinguished, on his part, BY critical remarks on
the arrangement of the table, with which he
found much fault, and the bad service OF the
walters; on mine, by humble acqu'escence in q
judgment ! felt to be matured by much longer
study Of such things than my own. / then
hszarded smother commonplace, TO the effect that
concluded him to be great admirer of the dis
tinguished guest 10 whom we were doing honor.
o dear no-not ct all he certainly had heard his
name, but had no idea what he was celebrated
for.
I ventured to ask, spologizing IL the question
were out of place. why he had paid guinea
to be present at dinner to man he knew
nothing about.
AT attend here professionally" he exclaimed,
and Immediately became absorbed with bis knife
and fork. / turned over In my mind all the pro-
fessional capacities in which person may attend
q dnner-the press, music. toastmaster-and then
tackled him again. No, he was not member OF
the press, nor musical and toastmaster, OF course,
he was obviously not.
Was my friend whom. for convenience, I viii
call Blain) Of the medical, clerical or legal pro-
fessions, He might have belonged to any one Of
them from his appearance and manner.
20, no." he replied, with something OF wounded
dignity at the bare idea.
admit being inquisitive, and had made up my
krnu hat ha lint oil ~ in
quires he simply answered mo-" then con-
fded to him my own occupation, and by rather
reckless talking about myself and my own Affairs
sought TO merit his confidence In return. But be
was obdurste. Dessert passed. toasts passed.
speeches were said and done. Mr.. Balm rose TO
go. He said: ''You tell me you are stopping at
the Charing Cross Hotel; so am /. We may as
well share cab"
IL was in the cab Mr.. Blain first intrusted me
with the nature Of his profession. Although par
ticularly sbstemious at the table, the toasts he
had drank just served to make him communica-
tive. / was utterly COMPOUNDED when he said I:
My calling, as you seem curious to know, Is
that of waiter. take high rank In that profess
sion. Allow me to offer you my card; and should
You at any time-lyou will know where to get
something done in Style, and not IS you have seen
il done tonight. You wonder at my paying q
guinea to attend adinner? Understand, then, that
make 1t q partof my business to attend din
ners privately, in case may pick up hint, for
never keep pace with the times but for see
ing the latest fashions in waiting IS Interpreted
by others, however humble their position may be
to mine. If / learn nothing else, | always, in
In future supply. Tonight the waiting was highly
insrtistic. and discreditable to the profession;
but It's very omissions are instructive to me.
Look at the napkins. for example. Dis-grace.ful!
IL there Is one thing more than another In which
a man of talent may display the resources of cul-
tivsted mind, It is hopkins. What did we have |!
Only five styles, continually repeated, and these
the very commonest, familiar to benighted
Boots-tbe single inter, the boat, canoe, shoe and
slipper. How the public endures 1t ats guinea din
ner puzzles me. That is my style at two-and-six
per head. At . ggises dinner for one hundred
persons, give ona Sundred different designs In
napkins, all of them artistic-tulip. lily, rose,
feliTde luce fountain the five orders OF architect
ure pheasant, double inter and 30 on. Then, for
the Chair and the Vie, the double fan, the finest
conception of napkin extant. / never saw the
man who could fo.d the double fan quicker than
/. II takes me half an hour, every minute OF IL;
and viii fold two ois Of three for wager. When
say two out Of thtoe, mean you can't always de-
pend on the laundress. You must have yard
apd-a-quarter hin, starched as stiff as paste
board TO turn out = work of art, and you can sell.
dom get them startled up TO il. A professional
man would not risk his reputation by attempting
70 fold more than r,To out OF three, not even II
he is acquainted WITH the laundress.
The cab stopped. took out my purse. 90
dear no allow me, II you please" said Mr.. Blain.
he insisted on satisfying the cabman, and then in
vited me to his room TO take cigar. The apart
ments be occupied we're some Of the best in the
hotel. Divining mS surprise at the sumptuous-
ness of his quarters, Mr.. Blain proceeded: "You
have, no doubt, been under the impression that
as a class we are pootly paid. Our services are
perhaps not recognized by q grateful public as
they deserve, especially when attendance is
charged in the bill; but It is very poor head
walters place at > frst.class country hotel that
does not bring In three hundred year. For my
own part, don boast. but my income as
waiter is about ejgbt hundred year In provin-
cial town. Ny wages are pound week. Don't
misunderstand me, The balance Is not perqui-
sites. reckon hosl perquisites are not more than
a couple of hundreds. Bot let me explain. by
telling you q little about myself
The Golden Lion is the Oldest hotel in our town,
posting house. We get good families stopping
with US, and we have the town-club meeting there.
went to the Golden Lion ten years ago, second
waiter. That's bad berth. Suppose, now, you
are a family just come into our hotel. Our first
waiter comes and bows TO you, shows you your
apartments, and rings for me to wait on you. |
attend you Till the bill is wanted, then have TO
fetch the head-w alter, who receives your money,
and pockets all the pickings. Its hard lines on nae,
the seconr-waited, as look at 1t with second
walters eyes, but not so when regarded from the
position OF first walIer. You see, everybody must
learn, and pay for learning. As head waiter, you
are responsible fos everything, and have to teach
everything to yohr junior, so it's only far you
should take what little there is to take, regarding
IL as premium from any apprentice.
"You may think there's very little to learn in
watering; but thbu, you don't know. In the first
place, II takes Ipsn five years at least TO learn
how to ley CLOTH No one has ever been known
TO do ii under, notas it should be done. Let me
see a man once put cloth on the table, and III
tell you to year bow long he has been In the pro-
fesslon, only by his knock of doing il. And when
he lays the knives and forks can tell you how he
keeps his pantry 10 order. Then there Ia the &C
curing Of an even temperament. No apprentice
ship will ever teach that, except you have q natu-
raj gift for the profession. Whatever he said at
table, You must take no notice. II your dinner
table, or family as it may be- 10 in foar Of laugh
ter. YOU must look like mute at q funeral. If
they were to describe an earthquake that has just
taken place in the ext room, il mustn't shock you
or disturb your unruflied countenance. Again,
think Of the strain upon the intellect. Take, for
example, q pubic dinner like tonight. One
waiter 10 every ten persons. That waiter has to
calcuIate to q nicely exactly how much every one
of his people has eaten and drunk, and exactly
VIA, every one viii want next. He has ten appe.
ttes on his mind In different stages OF repletion,
and his profeesior Is waiter Is to forestall every
want with such tact that no one shall ever ask him
for ANYTHING; mesn no one OF good taste or cul-
tiysted appetite, for there are people we unfor-
tunately have to do with win below out; Waiter,
more soup., instead Of lifting q finger to indicate