St. Paul daily globe. [volume] (Saint Paul, Minn.) 1884-1896, 1890-12-22
Reminder in a Society Girls
Room Of Her Skill as a
Waiter.
A Bit OF Private TheatricalS
With a Romance
Added.
An Englishman at Dinner
Who Expected Something
Extraordinary,
But There Was No One to
Wait on the Table--The
Result.

In the pretty morning room of Ger
tain young lady in this city there hangs
on the wall $50 bill, framed first by a
wide gray mat and edged with narrow
rim of scarlet plush picked out in gold,
says the New York Times. Thereby
hangs tale. One of the Easter we'd
dlngs last spring was that of the young
woman's sister. She married civil
engineer who straightway, after the
manner of civil engineers, rushed off to
Arizona to survey a copper mine about
to be or already opened in that distant
| territory. His bride accompanied him.
and the sister was induced to go also for
purposes, as she put it, of ''travel, eX-
plOraJion and adventure"
Things were not altogether bad
among the Indians; the mine was on
the line of railroad; they had carried
with them a good many home belong
lngs, house was secured, such as it
was, and more or less proper estab-
liShmen set up. The summer and the
sisters stay were nearly at an end when
one afternoon Mr.. Tom, the husband and
brother-in-law, sent word from the
works that the English member of the
| firm which was develping the mine had
arrived suddenly for few hodrs' stay
ana he would bring him up to din
ner. This announcement created some
CONSERVATION. The cook was a shalf-
breed who was excellent within his
IA nth re 4,
rudImentS of butlering. AS matter of
fact the family was accustomed to dine
EN- buffet. This, freely translated,
| meant frequent trips on the part of one
dinner or another TO the chest at the
side OF the room, which courtesy, was
called a Sideboard.
But an Engllshman, you know,
Nell" said Mrs. Tom. plaintively. eek
poets at dinner to be served if he takes
that meal in an Indian jungle. With
our canned soup and lobster aud the
superb joint which Nelson can get up
we can offer most presentable menu,
but what shall we do for some one to
change the plates?''
Miss Nell Immediately begged to take
the role tor single appearance. 1T
will be no end of fun" she urged. sand
| warrant neither you nor Tom nor the
EngliShman has ever been served as
shall serve you tonight. Eve always
commended it took high degree of in
tellIgence to create perfect butler or
butleress," she added with a laugh,
land I'd immensely like to show what
culture can do with a dinner tray"
In the end, though with many miSgiv-,
ings on Mrs. Toms part, the plan was
arranged. A note was dispatched to
Mr.. Tom warning him not TO mention
his siSter-in-law in any way-that all
would be explained later. 1t was few
welcomed that capped and aprOned
figure appeared IN the doorway an
nouncing quietly, DINNER is served"
Whatever Mr.. Tom may have thought
or felt he could not eXpress-could do
nothing indeed but follow his wife as
the Englishman handed her out. Every
thing went beautifully in the dining
room. From soup to cheese the serving
was irreproachable. The guest. genial,
cOmpanionable man of perhaps
fifty, was yisibly affected by the skill
and general elegance of the waitress,
and Mrs. Tom caught several searching
Chances thrown upon her maid. Moth
ing was said, however, till the close of
the dinner, when. the coffee having
been placed upon the table. the deft and
demure handmaiden withdrew. Then
the EngliShman voiced his surprise that
Mis-. Tom could keep in this out-of-the-
way place such thoroughly trained
and capable maid, whereupon Mrs.
Tom, knowing that her sister could re-
tire no further than the screen in the
corner OF the room which concealed an
emergency buffers pantry. evolved for
her benefit delightful little history.
YES" she began, slowly, slipping her
&c
person. AS you have noticed, she is
intelligent and refined much beyond
her station; really very we'll educated,
too. And she is the heroine of very
pretty little romance"
At this juncture slight rafting of
glassware behind the screen warned
Mrs. Tom that her story was taking
effect, and with CLEAN Of mischief, at
which her husband could have groaned
aloud. she proceeded 'She is engaged
to be married to very estimable young
man in New York [the sister, by the
way, is fianceel, the wedding day was
set over year ago, when, six weeks
before the date arrived, the comiug
groom was stricken blind in an hour.
He has been under treatment ever since.
slowly regaining his sight, and she,
poor girl, is saving every penny of her
wages against the time when he must
leave the hospital. l think she means
to marry him as soon as possible and
support him until he can get work
again. It is quite pathetic and inter
estiRg-her devotion"
But Mr.. Tom could stand the strain
no longer and proposed to return to the
parlOr. The EngllSnman, however, did
not drop the subject at once, asking a
number of questions about Ellen and
her company" He left, as was ex-
pected, soon after dinner. and Miss Neil
was free to pour the walls of her wrath
upon her wicked sisters head, an Occu-
patton in which she was ably seconded
by MIR. Tom when he returned from
/ putting their recent guest ABOARD his
train.
{ The end, however, was not yet. With
! in fortnight Mrs. Tom received note
/ from the Englishman, dated at New
{ York, in which he SAID that he had been
much impressed with the loyalty and
devotion of her maid, Ellen. who was
undoubtedly most worthy young per-
son, and he went on to beg Mrs. Tom to
find some way to bestow the inclosed-
$50 bill-upon her to aid in her cour-
ageouS and praiSeworthy effort.
/ Thus retributiOn came TO Mrs. Tom.
She was overcome at what she had done,
and there was no comfortable way out
of it. 1t was impossible to explain to
I the Englishman how he had been de-
! ceiyed. Nor could the bill be plausibIy
returned on the part of Ellen. There
seemed nothing to do but to keep it and
thank the donor. which Mrs. Tom ac-
complished, it must be confessed, with
much less than her usual grace. The
bill hangs on the wall of .Ellen's"
room to-day-a double warning against
theatricals in private life and the utter
ance of pretty romances which have no