Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1895-08-31

| lMhM vet they won't go in
1 to the XII t Q n g
wi here hey are
reeded."
Cooks are born, not made, and ell wo-
men IRE born cooks" assented the fin de
| steele woman, sweetiy.
There are the mountain hotels suffer-
ing for mattresses who can set table
straight and put down dish without
smashing IT. Why don't they try tkat2
| Splendid air. good food; it's a paradise to
the government printing Office
The fine de steele woman did not answer.
| Her thoughts were busy Wit. Tie summer
when she and her college chum, Rose
! Marie, became Mattresses. They were
young and democratic, and they were not
| afraid Of hard work. Also neither of them
had any money.
| The hotel was very large and very rich.
Its myriad windows cleaned through the
| trees on that June evening like the eyes of
u huge insect. The web had been spun
| through carefully worded letters, and these
two unsuspicious little flies walked in.
Their Introduction to Realities.
The way into their parlor proved to lie
up a corkscrew stair, through a hall too
| narrow for two to walk abreast, to the
very top Of rickety, four-story frame
building. which sheltered over sixty wait
| resses, twenty washerwomen and a laun-
dry. By the light Of a tallow candle they
| hung their clothes on a row Of nails. tackled
| up picture or two, and then went down
to survey the field of campaign.
The big kitchen was populous with white
| capped mattresses, Jolly cooks, whose
speech, like their sauces, had a foreign
| flavor. and one ubiquitous little darkey,
who lodged under elbows, hoped over
benches. ran up the shelves of the dresser
after dishes from the top. and was never
''Ye're new girls, aren't ye?" asked one
| of the mattresses, a Juno of Irish descent,
] with pair of great dark laughing eyes
and an indescribable 1auntiness of bearing.
| Just wait minute, now, till we get some
supper" and she beckoned to one of the
| cooks. The supper which presently APP
| peared on the corner of a kitchen table
was fit for a syndicate king
| ''The steak and vegetables have the tr le
| city lusciousness. and the pudding is a
| dream" remarked Fan, the younger and
more sanguine Of the two. Really, If this
| Is the way they serve the servants, don't
see that we'd gain much by being guests"
A Disappointing Awakening.
Next morning they woke with the birds
and came down to a breakfast Of bread and
milk and huckleberries and the information
that they would not be needed that day.
-Four were the meals in the servants hall
| @ o'clock, bread and milk; 10 o'clock, break
fast; o'clock, dinner; o'clock. bread AMI
| milk supper. They decided to spend the
| day in the woods and lunch on bread and
fruit, They climbed small mountain, got
| view OF the most glorious mountain
| scenery in America. visited the Indian
camp and went to bed happy.
The awakening came next day.
THE broom must have been left out Of
our room.' said Rose Marie glancing at
] the printed set of rules, which stated that
employees must keep their rooms in good
| order. Pm going to ask the housekeeper
| for one"
Just then there sounded wall from
| somewhere in the three lower stories
who's got the broom? Who's got the
| broom?" There was but one broom for the
eighty females in this great barracks!
| Forty rooms to be kept in order, four cor
! ridors to be swept, and one lone weary,
WORKOUT broom for them all!
Initiated Into the Necessities.
A delegation Of guests had arrived dur
ing the evening. and many hands were at
| work Smelling peas in the pantry that
| morning. At 10 o'clock there was a scat
| tering, and the college girls looked around to
| find themselves alone in the deserted room,
while the clang of bell came from some
where in the outer regions. They followed
the sound and arrived at the servants
dining room, where were two long, greasy,
| oilcloth-covered tables, swept as clean as
| If the seven-year locust had been settled
there. Girls stood and sat about these
| tables, with plates piled full Of meat and
vegetables, which they devoured with en-
| ergy. On further investigation they found
| two dry rolls and a pitcher Of cool coffee.
Nothing more.
| ''WtlI We have some cream from undher
| the spout?' said rich Milesian voice. and
] their friend Of the first night pushed cup
of very blue milk in their direction. I'll
| tell ye this" she continued, ven not get
much in this place unless We grab it,
so 1t seeras," said Rose Marie, dryly,
chipping at the shell Of her bread. The
Irish damsel sat down and put her elbows
| on the table and her chin on her hands.
| She did not share in the general scufae for
| food.
! 30, I had my breakfast long ago." she
said with laugh, land another time you
can get all yez want. Just watch your
! chance when Avery's at dinner. o. yes. It's
stealin', If it's stealin' to take what belongs
| to you"
| The two comrades exchanged glances.
| $50 that was the way we got our supper
night before last" said Fan, when they
were out of the dining hall. well, shall
we do lit"
Honesty the Best Policy.
They tried the custom of the place, after
| trying in vain to fight their way through
| the mob that charged upon the platters OF
tough or spoiled meat and underdone vege-
tables at dinner The head waiter, the
steward, the manager and the cooks ali
| LOOK II 1OT kIdulSu Ihdl llC Wdili CSSSS
should get what they wanted: all they
| said was: Don't let US see YOU" Once a
| girl was caught. She paid 80 cents apiece
| for three bananas.
do you think this pays, FAM" asked
Rose Marie thoughtfully. when they had
done, after the fashion OF this Rome for
three days and lived sumptuously every
| day.
mo, DON'T said Fan. soberIy.
| Bread and water with self-respect are
more that a pate de foie gras without It,"
Rose added. And they subssted thereafter
| on bread and water. almost literally.
ut would pay these men to feed their
mattresses well, If they only knew it," said
Rose one night. 1.-THE girls take more
than they need, just out of spite. Did you
see Milly when She came out from supper
this EVENING"" CMilly was the Irish damsel
| who had taken them under her wing from
the firsO. "She has a pocket on each
] side yard deep. and as she went by me
she whispered, I'm just balanced And
| she had pitcher of blueberries and cream
| in one pocket and half a roast chicken in
| the other!"
."Milly doesn't steal just for herself. She
| feeds half of the laundresses. They don't
| have a chance to get anything"
Convey, the wise call it, said Rose,