The Arkansaw traveler., 1884-11-22
Fast and Slow Eaters.

lExCn1u&c-t
 Four men sat down to stifin" at the Bellevue cafe recently. "The proper capex just nov" said the cierk, .is to say tiffin when you mean lunch" With . glass each of. Chateau Lafitte the quartette began feeding. The mu- sical French clock in a corner of the pretty dining-room chimed the quarte, hour past one. The oysters are served and the musical cisck has again chimed another quarter hour.
 There IS slight wait tor the serving oi the consomme Ia Corpet. The musical timepiece has chimed the hour of two, played merry little air from La File de Madame Angot," and chimed again. The attentive waiter has served the 6sh-Spanish mackerel then the wine is changed, and champagne takes is place on the table. The bill of fare suggests French peas, caulifloser au Cratin, potatoes in croquettes, onions a Ia creme, asparagus, Italian artichokes and corn frltters. With these come blue winged teal duck and broiled squads. then fllet of beef Ia Chaieaubriand smothered iu mushrooms. Fer the salad little celery mayonaise.
 By this time the sun had made long slanting inas across the pavement ana the French clock had struck another hour. The dessert of walnuts, pecan nuts, al- monds and fruits has come on. A taste of Roman punch stimulates the appetite for dasties. The luncheon is almost over, the black coffee is finished, cigars are lighted and as the party rise from the table the timepiece musically announces the third hour since they sat down.
 The clock registered quarter after when reporter entered the Twelfth street Market. Eight men sat at one eating counter. Ou the opposite side of the bar was an elderly coun,ry-woman and coIoYed man. The old woman was hard to please, but eventually settled on two fried eggsp and the colored man took buckwneat cakes and coffee ?
 At seventeen minutes past ali were hard at work, nearly all having supple mented their orders with cups Of coffee and buttered rolls. At twenty seven minutes past 6 the customer whose fancy was tenderloin steak and the old wo- man who had ordered the fried eggs were the only people out of the ten noticed who remained at the counter. The old woman had been heavily handicapped at the start. Five minutes later the steak eater went out and he was almost im- mediately followed by the old woman. The toadstool seats were soon occupied by other customers and the race for vict- uals began again.
 |" How long before the New York ex- press leaves ?" asked a breathless pas senger, at the restaurant counter of the Brad Street station, the day before yes terday.
 :" Half an hour, sir" replied the head waiter.
 Well, give me sandwich and cup of tea" said the man dropping his satchel and mounting stool in ho, haste.
 The door from the corridor flew open and three commercial drummers en- tered with their sample cases. The man Tn the lead exclaimed:
 We have ten minutes to catch our wagon, old man. Trot us out a half dozen fr,ed and bottle of wine."
 The order was filled, the drummers deftly surrounded their hasty meal and were on board their train, with three minutes to spare.
 "Aw, waitaw, give me bit of chicken. with Saratoga chips, and glass of AL derney milk" said dude with a single eye-glass stuck in his starboard optic, as he parted his coat-tails over his stool and sat there sucking the head of his rattan. Nine minutes later the chicken eater wiped his lips, set fire to a cigarette and toddled. mincingly, to the cars.