Morning journal and courier., 1880-08-30
The Prince of carvsrs,


 He had seen that admired him, and had taken my homage in 8 most condescending
 way. 1 must confess that when I first had the pleasure of making his acquaintance it was rarely, oh! too rarely, that could avail myself of his services. It was 40 cents, and my raging appetite could be assuaged at just half that price. Still, I would finger in his immediate neighborhood, and enjoy him in a Barmecidian kind of 8 way. I familiarized myself with his style and manner. I studied l his pose, the fexure of his wrist, the play of | his arm, I fancied that man as a Paganini | or 8. .Vieuxtemps, with a bow in his hand, and | felt sure that as an instrumentalist he might l have founded new violin school. 'sIt was 1 but sister art after all '' I often said to my ] self, 'that of music in which there enters 6 1 certain amount Of appreciation of sound and I @ great deal more of mechanical skill That man has technique as never another individ | ual possessed it. Could there ever be a ca. l price played on one string, that man carves his beef?" For days and months he executed 1 for me nocturnes in tenderloin romances on l ribs of meat. What tender appreciation he 1 had of gristle, and how with an impercepti | ble movement he evaded 1t, as he would ( l false note! He never sawed, nor haggled 1 shipped, lacerated, minced, dismembered, nor l hacked. There came from his knife waves 1 of beef, every slice shapeful, symmetrical 1 These fell noiselessly on the plate, as might the broad leaves dropping from over-ripeness 1 in some tropical forest They never came l down with 'sock," never splashed the gravy.
 Rapidly sketching his career for me ono | day he said: q was waiter in hotel, and got in time to be pantry steward on one oi the Cunard steamers. There was no scrimp ing there. I was a carving of hams, and tongues, and chickens, and beef all the time. Then I got tired of the sea, and took his place five years ago, and have been here ever since It'S a haavv inh I1O a S1ipo 1fc This here piece of four ribs, with the bones off, is 28 pounds. Two slices to the pound is about the measure. Roast beef is the most expensive thing, if it is prime beef, the lunch counter has. I am told not to stint, and ] don't This here beef has got to give, though 56 slices. If I was to be a minute on each slice, there would be lot of people a howl ing for their beef. It's got to be done quick When pushed, half-minute is about the time. I clean decks for action first. That's what call 1t. Here comes a piece of beet from the kitchen. Oh, no I ain't going to | dull my good knife by taking away them bones. I have shorter knife for that. l survey my beef first, and takes it all in; cal culates where is the bone and the grist1e'' Saying this, with a shorter knife, and be- l fore was aware of it, the rib bones. and the | side, with it's osseous configurations, had
 been removed, and the outside overdone DOT | tlon was taken off. Then 10 walters came ] with orders for beef. The long knife was l taken, and at every flash, with a razor-like ! movement, the slices fell His manner of l giving the gravy was beautiful. He never ] spilled drop. There was no splashing or | the sides of the dish. This feat he accom- l plished by striking the handle of the spoor 1 twice on the side of the dish then every par 1 ticle of gravy was driven with centrifuga l force from the spoon. It was 8 delightful 1 cato movement, which concluded the sym phony. Expressing my admiration at that ! my carver said:-
 'FYes, I rather pride myself on that trick I aint too proud to say that the gravy used tc bother me. It kept me sleepless sometimes.
 worried and worried over it, until one da, ! when I was passing building, I see brick layer, with his trowel full of mortar, hit 1 brick two or three times and get his trowe clean. practiced that singing movement
 for long time. There is fellow in down town establishment Git ain't jealousy, sir) al
 tries to carve, but he's an awful bung gler | worse nor a knacker, sir. He just initiated
 that spoon movement, and spilled 14 gentle
 mems coats, splashing gravy on them, anC
 cracked his plate every time. It does depend
 a good deal on mans arm. No man tha l ain't nervy ever can cut beef satisfactory
 but it eomes as much as anything else, iron the knife. Nothing dulls knife as much a. 1 beef. Busy days in winter, when I cut al l much as ?, 1000 slic- s of beef in the six hours
 I spoil knife every 40 minutes, so I alway, have dozen kn1VeS ready. This house keep. | helper for me, whose business is to keeE my instruments in good order. Now, sir ! hoping you will excuse me, gents, before yor has been complimentary about my way o1 l working the knife, but not one of lem have | ever paid any attention to my forking; they don't seem to take that in. Them ribs, sir l has to be held down just as if they was in | Yise- That's the trying part of this here bus mess You stand here six hours on stretct
 a-pinning down a lively bit O beef, a-steady l ing it with your left arm, and it takes all the | flourish out of your right hand. There is ( Chicago carver in a leading restaurant there I a acountryman of mine, that's quite an artist only he's miserable with fork. I never saw | a Frenchman as could do it it kind of ex 1 cites lem, and they murders their beef. No l sir, in hotels, at the table-doties, there ain't | no carvers worthy of the name. They iags
 their roasts by fits and starts and does it behind a screen, that's put up on purpose | to hide 'em- No, sir, you couldn't invent any | kind of a machine as would do it. flashing. machines can be made, but this 'ere kind ot
 thing Mir. Hedison couldn't get around Now, sir, you wouldn't believe it, but it can be done"
 'FWhat can be done?"
 1 1I can tell the breed of cattle and the State 1 1t comes from when it's roasted and put un, | der my knife, and whether it's corn or grass
 fed. These here ribs is prime Ohio The l one before that was Kentucky; before that l it was Illinois. I have cut up six different States to-day. It's the difference in the
 grain, the tone of the thing-the way it feels l under the knife.''