St. Paul daily globe. [volume] (Saint Paul, Minn.) 1884-1896, 1888-02-05

ne GetS away WIN TWO Porter
house Steaks, Four Dozen PAN
cakes, Etc.
Washington Letter to New York Tribune.
The astronomical peculiaritieS of
great men are frequently made sub
Ject of comment. Of all the public
characters who visit Washington, am
told that BEN Butler heads the
list as far as his ability for stow
ing away TODD is concerned. He
literally takes the cake" for the
Steamlng pancake is his weak
the most agile cook in the district can
not turn farinaeeouS tiapiacks fast
enough to meet the demands of ben S"
appetise. In the lower part of PennSyl-
vania avenue there stands Il little hotel,
an unpretentiOuS little caravanSary,
noted for the correctness of its cuisine
and its excellent service. 1t is q quiet
resort. with all the comforts of an old
English tavern and the Seclusion so
dear to the average gormandiZer. Ben
Butler frequently comes to this place to
order his favorite dish.
Il have heard OF appetiteS." said an
attendant to me the other day, "but
never knew exactly what real appe-
tite was before | saw Mr.. Butler. | re-
member the fist time he came here he
ordered two porterhOuSe steaks, dozen
fried eggs, with fried onions, raw fried
potatoes, and pancakes to suit.
thought it was for aparty of four, and
fixed plates, napkins, knives and forks
accordingly.
What the - are you bringing all
these dishes in here for? Do you sup
pose I've invited a regiment to dine
with me? Take them away shouted
Mr.. Butler.
while l cleared away the deck Mr..
Butler sat there impatiently, with a
fork in one hand and a knife in the
other, waiting for me to set the orders
on the table. There were twelve pam
cakes on plate. These he sliced
through at one blow. cut ont section,
and apparently swallowed it pretty
much as the average man does an oys
ter, after giving il one bite. Another
section followed in the same way. and
before could turn around he thun-
dered out:
Bring in some more pancakes
Il rushed back to the kitchen and de-
tailed the situation to the head cook.
'''Why, dat must be Mr.. Butler said
the cook, knowingly, and calling to an
assistant he told him to make up big
painful of pancake batter. and to be
mighty quick about it for dar is a
man in de dinin' room wild an appetite
like rat hole When got back to the
dining-room one of the pGrter-house
steaks was missing. 1t had disappeared
SO quickly that began to doubt whether
L had brought it or not, when my mind
was settled by Mr.. Butler, who said, as
he wiped his mouth and chin:
"'That steak was just right, but this
one is not quite rare enough
But he fell to it all the same. and de-
stroyed it in large sections. supplement-
ed by mouthfulS OF egg, potatoes and
onions, and an occasional half cup of
coffee.
"'Where the - are those pancakes?'
he shouted, while glazing at me with his
one good eye, and then he turned as if
to the cook:
Bring i'll those - pancakes
''Well, sir, you may believe me or not,
but Mr.. Butler got away with four dozen
pancakes, and, as for the steak. eggs
and potatoes, there wasn't enough left
to feed cat. And then he got up and
walked down the avenue as briskly as
il he had only lunched on half dozen
raw oysters"