The Pulaski citizen. [volume] (Pulaski, Tenn.) 1866-current, 1874-09-17
NUMBER 81.

u
ant dining room this isl But you have
eaten mp all the breakfast, " glancing at
the empty dishes.
$50 we have but it is because we
are all done. We have been here nearly
an hour.
I was disappointed not to see the
food but my curiosity was gratifed in
the mems dining-room, to which we
next proceeded, and which is an i'm
meuse place, capable of seating several
hundred. The breakfast, or luncheon,
for it was after eleven o'clock, consisted
of pot dat-feu, a savory c0uglomerate Of
potatoes, meat, ana gravy, red wine,
bread and butter, and preserved fruit,
great gallon Jars of which stood here
and there in process of being scooped
out by dozens of hungry men. GarcoRs
in white aprons were running in and
out with fresh supplies Of the steaming
stew and fresh pots of jam, and on the
walls hung this notice, which could
not sufficisntly admire:
NoToE.-The food of the employees
must be abundant and wholesome, and
the service prompt.
The most thorough entente cordidle
should exist between the gdrcoRs cle
service and the employees.
NJ lSo-and-so] is designated to re-
ceive each day any complaints or criti-
cisms which the employees of this estab-
lishment desire TO make as to the con-
duct of the lodging department. The
danes can apply TO him at [such an
hour J; the young men at [such another
hourl; the gGrcOn dc service at [such
anotherl." (Hours stately
Could any thing so effectually destroy
the wish to gruWble as this cordial an
vitationP
Near the dinipg-room is the kitchen,
and we enter for minute. Great baskets
of fresh lettuces stood on the floor; the
tables were full of straw trays, on
which were ranged rows of plates and
tumblers, ''gllstening clean" A man
in side pantry was filing dozens of
bottles with ViR OrdjRdiTe. Upon the
walls hung coffee-pots and saucepans
which shone like gold. Half dozen
white-aproned, white-capped cooks were
preparing dinner on monstrous range
an appetizing and savory steam rose
like halo and surrounded their heads.
Next we peep into the BARRIERS shop,
where numbers of iust-breakfasted
clerks were having hair and beard
brushed and trimmed; into the dining
rooms of the stable-men and the gar
cons for the edaily amusement of gentle
men whose wives are shopping, and the
occasional amusement of clerks on hol-
idays; lastly into the music-room.
Here, arranged on racks and shelves,
was the equipment of a complete or
chestra, brass instruments, wind, and
string.
My conductor saw the astonishment
in my eyes, and explained that the Bon
Marche furnishes musical instruction
gratuitOusly to all of its employees who
choose to avail thems elves of it. A
professor comes for the purpose on two
evenings of the week. The lessons are
taken in the big dining-room, and are
open to all. Now and then the employees
give a concert, to which they invite
their friends; and the music is really
admirable. On two other Evenings in
the week English lessons ara.giyen on
tile remaining two, lessons 1Ssg8e5mRn
The establishment therefore not only
a means of livelihood to nea ~ thou
sand persons, but a training g-school as
we'll, where intelligent and ambitious
minds can fit themselves for the higher
positions and rewards of these fields of
occupation.
l inquired concerning salaries, and
was told that each person in the estab-
ishment received a stated sum In addi-
tion to board (and in 200 cases lodging),
besides which each has an interest in the
sales, varying according TO age, capac-
ity, and position. The chefs de rGyoas
make, some of them, %, 600 francs
year the head woman makes -, 600.
There is thus every incentive to zeal,
and yet the bodily wants of all are so
comfortably provided for as to preclude
the rapacious anxiety have noticed in
other shops, and which tells Of the
clerks personal stake in the sales.
Last of all I was taken through a
series of galleries and staixcases to the
stables, which are a little distance from
the shop. Eighty horses and thirty
five men are accommodated here, not TO
mention some forty of the little wagons
with "Bon Marche". on their panels
which Paris streets know so we'll. No
thing could be more beautiful in order
than those stables. The horses, large,
sleek creatures, stood munclring their
hay IN stalls and loose boxes, rallied with
vanished wood. Each stall was marked
with the name and pedigree of its occu-
pant, as thus, /" Rosjta, par Tcres ct
FTanche." was shown q wondrous
harness room, where every buckle fash
ed with polish, huge omnibus, which
each morning carries the chefs de T0V-
Ons TO the wholesale department and
brings them back, great market van
for the supplies of the household, and
an infirmary where sick horses are
lodged and nursed.
"We have a park in the country also,
said my conductor, taking a lump of
sugar from his pocket and popping it
into the mouth of a horse which was
rubbing against his shoulder and whin-
nying expectantly ga nice park with
grass, where we send the horses who
have been sick 70 Craze and get strong.
Oh, we are Rll comfortable here, mad
anne of that I can assure you.
Our Chef, M. BOurcicault," he went
on, " is very great man /; in my Opin-
ion, 8 very great man. Even as NJ
Rothschild is prince of bankers, so is
our chef prince of commerce. Business
is his pleasure and his life. He is sell
dom absent from his desk for a single
day. Nothing escapes his notice. He
observes all, hears all, judges calmly,
is never excited. Believe me, madame,
he is a great man.
And when, last of all, I was shown
the one tiny room in a corner Of the
great establishment where twenty eight
years ago the " Bon Marche" began its
career, and thought Of the magic of
such growth, and Of the thousand souls
whose daily bread, whose comfort, and
whose mental improvement are so gen
erously cared for under its roof, ] re-
peated TO myself, " Yes, the man who
has done this thing is, in his way, truly
a great man. "-Hdrper's BaEar.
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