Washington standard. [volume] (Olympia, Wash. Territory) 1860-1921, 1880-09-17
Buffers and Cooks.

a serious. and let us hope excep-
tional, difficulty in dinner giving is a
drunken butler. We remember a host
looking anything but pleased when
his inchriate don este poured trayful
Of Gags tiled "ith tea into .ady's lap
III the ,Ia"in room. Not long ago a
gentleman told his new butler that he
la! better open certain number of
bottles 0i wine before Il dinner party,
and THAI whcI ;hoy were finished he
must usc his discretion. Long after
the gentlemen hal LETT the dining.
room there were no signs of tea in the
draaingroom; the host, therefore
went quietly down stairs to hurry the
butler. He found that functionary in
the anteropm engaged in guiping down
champaign. out of Il tumbler. .'What
are you doing?" said the master.
The vino you ordered was all flu
ished. so L am using my discretion"
answered the man. 1t is needless to
say that nuch of tue success of Il
dinner party depends upol tho eff
cheney ana skill of the butiey -morn,
We are ina!ircl t. think. than mos,
people imagine. Ii butler can not
always make party go off we'll, he can
always spoil it.
The cook, of course, is the main
agent in dinner-giving. We divide
cooks into two classes -thOHe who
cook carefully but moderately we'll
every day, but can not cook artistically
when there is Il party, and those whose
cooking il all that can be wished on
any special occasion, but careless when
the master and mistress arc alone
Many people think the fo.ta"f the best
sort OF Cooks; bat, on the whole, there
is much to he said for the latter, be-
cause the misery Of seeing Il bad din
ncr put before friends IN ones own
house is SO great that some shDrt,con.-
IEgS III ones everyday dinners are not
to be compare to it.
There arc few Ucc tsioI3 on which
man feels ut once so helpless and yet
50 responsible as when he sits AZ his
own table watching bad diuner being
givcn t. his guests. Perhaps the entrees
are stoigy, the 70 istS under or over
done, aud the sweets rulllug about, iu-
atead of STANDING i'll their dlalcs; an
even temperature is maintained in
every thing-thc soups. the meats, the
J lies, and the buildings are all pretty
equally lukewarm. And Yet the uu.
fortunate glvcr OF tho feast, utterly
helpiess and inwardly boiling over with
wrath, has to make himself agreeable,
and coaverse brllli,utly on general
topics, as if he had not care in the
world. The next m)ruiug the hostess
proceeds 10 relieve ner feelings in the
house keepers room. With an air of
III lred inuocence, the poor cook weeps
over the fate OF her excellent dinner.
Every thing, sho says had been cooked
to perfection, but the batter aud foot
men kept the waole dinner waiting,
and dishes which were tit to put before
II king were allowed to get sodden, tepid
and spoiled In the STRIVING room. The
hostess goes to her husband, and tells
HIM that he really must speak t.
tho butler GU the sui j ct; but before
he has time tn do 80, tho butler comes
Himself to complain. He had sent
down again and again to the kitchen for
the courses, and yet he WIS kept wait
ing. Tue sauces were not sent up with
the things, and one mau had 10 tie EN-
| ployed duiIng the greater part OF diu-
ncr IN running with messages to the
cook. He had sometimes begun to
think that she mast have guue to
sleep. ---.SGiectCa.