The Canton times. (Canton, Miss.) 1893-1906, 1896-12-04
svENGALI WAITER.
Chicago Restaurants Employs a Man to
Hypnotizc Appetitcs Away.

~ Ilu
Chicago Restaurants Employs q Man q
Hypnotizc Appetites Away.
Zone Of the oldest things ever saw =
remarked physician in small party
81 Washington story tellers, n saw in q
kind of a hotel, or rather feedery. at the
Chicago stock yards. Il
Men or cattle ?" queried a listener.
Men, and good men. wasn't board
ing there. but knew the proprietor OF
tha place, and had been his physician
before he went to Chicago. and after he
got there he made money enough to
pay me to come down and look over his
family about twice year. Llived only
q hundred miles away, and usually
made my trips between daylight and
dark. taking my nocnday meal with
him, at which time his main dining
room had from 100 to 200 diners IN it.
A great many Of these we're transients,
and very many more were green and
unsophisticated young men from the
country who had come in with stock
and were utterly unused to city ways.
ION the day in question 1 sat with the
proprietor at his little lookout desk,
from which he kept an eye on the BUSH
ness, and watched the people eat, which
is not as bad show as you might think,
if you never witnessed such perform
ance. As we sat there noticed one
waiter, a dark-skinned, Svengali-look-
ing chap, who, instead OF having ter
ritory assigned to him, seemed to work
all over the diningroom. He was a
worker, too, and first attracted me by
the way he handled the people.
II spoke to the proprietor abou. him,
and he told me to watch him, and he
would tell me all about him as soon as
he had time. followed his advice, and
saw that the waiter would apparently
spot man as he came in, and when he
reached a chair he would be there with
bow and smile to wait on him. The
man would seem to start, as if recog-
nizing him, and would sit down and
begin to look nervous.
The waiter, in the meantime, kept
his eye on him, and would take his
order. Often the order was extremely
light, covering only cup OF tea or
piece Of meat and bread, or possibly a
glass OF milk or q bowl OF bread and
milk. The waiter would smile end
seem to insist on the guest taking more,
but the guest shook his head and soon
finished his frugal repast. AS physi-
clan, wondered how men who worked
as these did could get along with SO lit
tie food.
THAT afternoon the proprietor
smiled when asked him about the pc
culiar waiter. He's a jewell he said,
and he's worth more to me than any
waiter I've got, though I'm always lit
tie afraid of him, and to keep him in
good humor pay him about so per cent.
more than / do any OF the others.
don't know what he does, and never |
speak Of it to anybody, and only to you
because you arc my family physician,
but he has way of picking out the peo-
pie he wants to wait on as they come in,
and when he gets hold Of them he
makes them eat what he wants them to.
Sometimes big, hearty fellow will
rag and apparently get sick when he
sits SHOWN to the table, and after bite or
TWO he pays his bill and goes out. That
doesn't happen often, though. Hisway is
70 make his people eat just little of the
,heapest things-it's 35-cent dinner,
you know-and many times a glass Of
milk and bread or piece of pie will be
III they want, and they will go out per-
ectly satisfied to pay IS cents for it.
t isn't any of my business to ask about
heir health or their appetite, and
Ionst. l leave my waiter to do that
nd the proprietor smiled innocently
ather than in guile.
81 didn't want to spoil good thing,
,ut thought Il ought to-" concluded
he physician, land proceeded to tell
ny friend that the waiter was Sven
.ali-by the way, he had never heard of
uch person-and was defrauding the
,atrons of the restauran. by hypnotic
ng them and sending them out filed
My with suggestions, and that while
might be extremely remunerative, it
vas not right at all, and the waiter
hould be sent away. Then, thinking
ny advice would be followed, of course.
took my departure. Six months later
came back, and the first man saw in
he dining-room was Svengali.
ancy," and the physician sighed, "the
chicago climate or something must
ave had an effect on my friends moral
Washington Star.
Tact Consideration
How much better 1t is to go through