The national leader., 1889-02-23
THE WAITER GIRLS Linz
Something About the Good Angels
Who Bring Hungry Men Their
Dinners.

hurry up or yOuu De late. It'S
half-past Ave now."
Some such salutation as tbs wakes
the pretty waiter girl these winter
mornings and she must rise and dress
quickly and walk perhaps dozen
squares, for riding is usually out of the
question, since only the cars on certain
lines are run so early. Promptly at SIX
she Is expected to reach the restaur-
ant where she is employed and she Is on
duty until seven at night. If smart
and capable she receives three dollars
a week and board.
Waiter girls are not always pretty,
says the Philadelphia Press, bus they
invariably are young. A gray haired
woman OF fifty who has worked in a
restaurant since she was nineteen, told
me she could no longer obtain employ
ment as waitress.
"a man doesn't want to look al an
old face while he's eating" she ex-
planned. "It is hard to get place In a
restaurant, for the girls never leave
unless they get married. They inow
ii they do leave they can't get back,
and when you've been waitress
awhile you don't to do like anything else.
You have your evenings after eight
O'Clock and one afternoon week and
perhaps Sundays"
Youth, good nature and steady
nerves are the requisites IF he sue
cessful waiter girl. 1t is rot likely she
will ever forget her first day as walt
ress. Customers always notice new
face and if admir1ng glances are be-
slowed the other girls are jealous.
"It doesn't do TO change help often, u
said the proprietor of large re5taar-
ant. eff man comes in all says:
"Where's Moliiep' and Mollle's gone,
ten to one he goes, too. You see,
Mollle knew just how he liked his COT
fee and whether he preferred rare or
well done meal, and what dishes he
disliked or fancied, and he saved time
when she waited on him. SO, of course,
he misses Mollie, and perhaps twenty
or thirty others miss her, too. You
can see it doesn't pay to let Mollie 60
If dollar more a week will keep her,
but few restaurant girly get over four
dollars and board, and three dollars a
week is all most of them earn.''
1t Is hard to believe that the awk-
ward country lassie, who askd In a
timld whisper if you will have tea or
coffee, and on being told the latter.
brings you milk, will soon develop into
the accomplished waitress who can take
a dozen orders at once and carry stead
lily tray of heavy dishes and keep an
apron clean two days. Restaurant men
agree in preferring country girls who
have left such quiet lives that they
enjoy tn excitement incident to an
eating house, and will at least stay
until the novelty wears off, although
once waitress always waitress seems
to be the rule.
"A restaurant is good place to
study human NATURE" said girl who
had been waitress eight years in one
place. did you ever know a man
good-natured when he's hungry Now,
imagine waiting ON fifty hungry men In
an hour. and near.y every one of ii em
calling 10 you to step lively and not be
all day when you're hardly taxing time
to breathe. Then some one will ask,
isn't my soup ever cOming?' In a
minute, SIR iii tell him and he'll take
out his watch anu say, Now, I'll time
you.' and when the minute is up and
no soup he's madier than ever.
-Four girls and myself have waited
on six hundred II en- In three hours, and
| TOOK in the casl, too. We called this
Isl ,nging hash.' The man | dread
waiUlng on is the one who orders a
fifteen-cent dinner Just because he's too
stingy to pay TOR fifty cent meal.
Poor men are never any trouble; It's
the mean rich ones | haze to see come
in the door, and I'D rather walt on ten
men than one woman. l never accept
fees. Sometimes gentle nan will
leave a quarter under his plate, but l
put it IN the cash drawer with a
check"
What are called ''half-time glrls''
work from eleven to three, thus help
ing through tbs busiest part of the
day. These girls receive two dollars
per week, and most of them have COM
Portable homes, only needing to earn
their clothes. They are we'll dressed
crowd, who talk about ''going to the
store" and would think it a great
hardship to be obliged to rise at half
past five and work until seven. like the
"full time" girls.
Of course the popular restaurant
girls are glad when Christmas comes
and are often loaded down with gifts.
Often subscription book is started and
the girls friends put down their names
for a certain amount. heard of a
waitress who received in this way
thirty dollars besides being given sew
eral boxes of handkerchiefs, bottles OF
cologne, books and some ten pounds of
candy. A gold watch Is no uncommon
gift and certainly at holiday time the
pretty waitress fares very we'll.