Martinsburg herald. [volume] (Martinsburg, W. Va.) 1881-1920, 1895-06-08
THE LAY OF THE DUMB WAITER.


From Morning TIL Evening 1t Interests
New York Flat Dwellers-
The dumb waiter, like the feathered
portion of that part of creation which
we are also pleasedto designate" dumb, :"
begins its lay before the dew is off the
heather, so to speak The millnan or
the baker causes it to emit its first faint
blast. There are heard rafting and
creaking Of ropes, a rackety slamming
and banging along the sides of the
shaft, as the dumb waiter is aroused
from its perch near the sixteenth fiat,
and then the uproarious rush of the
dumb creature descending toward the
cellar. Next follows the sharp, insistent
tinkle of the electric bell, and the dumb
waiter has fairly started on its vocifer-
Gus daily career.
This overture is repeated, with varia-
tions, until all the dwellcrs i'll all the
fats, from the oneth even unto the six
tenth, are served with their daily
modicum of bread and milk from their
daily contingent of bakers and milkmen.
Next comes the electric bell again,
followed by the strenuous voice of
James, the elevator boy.
"Coalr'
The creaking and banging and rat
Ting performance is now varied Pans
and scuttles and boxes are severally
hauled, cast, thrown and pitched upon
the shelves of the waiter, and the groan-
ing, gathering dumb thing travels loud
| ly up and down until all the flats are
served with their morning supply.
| At this point different element en-
ters into the dumb walters noisy work
There is a Irritation, with many tender
passagcs-dumb waiter shaft passages
in progress between the elevator boy in
| the cellar and the cook in the twelfth
story. A playful morning struggle be-
tween the twelfth floor coal scuttle and
the ropes of the dumb waiter is one of
| its manifestations A gentle message
| floats down the shaft.
Fill it good and full now, James.
It's for metz
"And why should l fill it fuller for
you than for Maggie?"
At this Maggie, whose door ON the
eighth floor is always open, gives shrill
laugh at the discounted rival ON the
| twelfth
Her triumph is short lived.
''Ah, Jimmy, nowr'
"You know I'm foolin, Molliel Let
go the rope, there's darlin. The second
| is in a duce of hurryT'
| Parbonc Map,,y;O 80 ,,cE +Lr 1,,1,- nv, n
whose composure is disturbed at the by
play.
One after another, the butcher, the
| grocer and the iceman arrive, and each
| butcher and grocer and iceman is null
| tiplied 16 times to suit the various tastes
Of the fiat jewellers.
Then there are the G. o. D. dry goods
| packages, whose bills cause animated
| discussions over the matter of change
| There is the clinking of milk bottles
sent down to the dairynan, and there
are the swelling differences of opinion
between che dairyman and the cook, the
cook being confident that the dairyman
is trying TO cheat her and the dairyman
willing to take oath that the cook has
broken or secreted at least two bottles
since he was Last there. All these do
| mcstic problems are waited up and down
| the dumb waiter shaft, and are distinct
| ly audible on each and every floor.
The evening strains Of the dumb wait
err are but Investigations of the same
| theme. There are hurried deliveries of
| forgotten or suddenly needed butcher S
or grocer s supplies The portion Of even
| ing cream for the ninth floor invalid
and milk for tho seventh floor baby are
slammed and thumpcd up to them. NJ
| merous orders for breakfast are shouted
down to departing trades people, and
each floor becomes cognizant of what
each other floor expects to cat at its ma
tutinal meal
| The last sweet words Of Mollie and
Jimmy are bawled up and down, and
each floor breathes easier to hear that
Jimmy has to leave hastily that he may
be i'll readiness to meet Mollie ION the
corner at half past sharp"
And then for some inscrutable reason,
the dumb waiter is Justify hoisted up to
the sixteenth floor, from which advan-
tageous position it may thunder ont its
dumb protest in the morning. New
| York World