The sun. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1833-1916, 1898-08-28
c A VARIED DUTIES.
4 NAPOLEONIC FIGURE sEEY ~ a
VEN YORK RESTAURANT.


the Mnitrs d'Hotel Of Europe-ONersiHht
of Walters and Attentions to Gnests-HiS
All PeFvadinG Energy In His sphere.
The maltre d'hotel II one European institu-
ton that does not flourish in America. One
may see the title in a list OF hotel employees
but the f%unotionary behind the title is q mere
shadow OF the important European maitre
d'h5tel. who is monarch Of all he surveys
and he surveys everything and everybody. In
the ordinary hotel OF Europe no stands. an inn
posing figure. at the door to welcome you. He
assigns you to a room he oversees the porter's
care Of your luggage: he orders your dinner
and superintends its serving; he engages our
carriage. buys your theatre tickets. plans your
excursions. and when the day Of your depar-
ture arrives he Graciously deigns to pocket half
n sovereign. gives you his blessing. and waves
you q genial au reUoir rs you start for the sta
ton.
Such n parsonage would be an impossi-
bility In q great American hotel. No hui
man being. unless. like Mrs. Malaprop's
Cerberus. he were three gentlemen In
one. could personally attend to oil the
details OF hotel management. Then. too.
American hotel proprietors. while too dignihed
to do the actual work. like to run things them
selves. and fear to trust implicitly to q subor-
dinate. The chef. the head walters. the clerks
aA w - ~ NV wv OfAN eAA NNN Nv
prietor careers about among them like u dis
tracted meteor. In only one New York hotel
IL there q parsonage deserving to be called
maltre d'h6tel. Any one who studies him
closely will soon arrive at q firm conviction
that he might quite as appropriately have been
called General or Admiral or Emperor. II cir
cumstances had not led him into the hotel
business. True rulers are born. not made. and
the average emperor or commander might get
along fairly well with half the heaven-sent
genius for ruling that goes into the making OF
q successful maitre d'hotel.
Everybody knows Oscar. What is moro to the
point. Oscar knows everybody. He never for
gets o face or q name. Men say that with such
a gift he ought to have been . politician but
Oscar shrugs his shoulders. He is a Swiss. not
French. but long association with myriad
French walters has given him an expressive
shrug. In his heart he knows he Is too good
for q politician. Talent such as his shouldn't
be wasted on politics. 1t 10 something TO re-
member faces and names. Few politicians have
the faculty highly developed; and. il they wero
expected to remember the tastes and appetites
OF all the persons attached to the names. politi-
cal ranks would thin out. What would the
genial candidate for Senator do IL he had to
know what sort Of sauce each Of his constit-
uents preferred with asparagus. and whether
ne ukeu uuIueb Win uIS V0tS. NOt NSSuT -
too good for politics.
He has won his place through energy. ability.
and the fact that the hotel proprietor. not be-
ing three gentlemen in one. had to make over
an immense amount of authority to some one
he could trust. and found that man in Oscar.
Now, everything pertaining to the catering de-
partment Is in the maltre d'hotel's hands. His
authority il unquestioned and supreme. As
soon as the opportunity was given. Oscar
hnura III OnntFra n - ~ N n E nnH nv
the way. It Is a significant fact that he re-
sembles Napoleon In appearance TO q striking
e esss and d aSin s Gee r TsmH5kS i; li HE t Rs0T Ti fhd
Corporate. The expression OF Oscar face when
he runs his eagle eyes over 2 Eoomful of busy
walters gives one q vision OF Napoleon review
ing his troops: and Napoleon at Austerlitz was
no more the incarnation Of indomitable energy
when half a dozen brilliant b~anQuets are going
on IN different parts OF the house. Then he Is
thi ms eIH@sat all h ssinlss u reSeIs IN tho see pse sss and
storm. There's q tradition among the walters
reiaxes his serenity sufficiently to hum popular
airs. There's something 0lympian about the
ments' of Political dinners ~ and iashio1sbfe
dances. Oscar should be put into epic verse
and "a s Is IF , ss im haSe 0fte6 bee RsdfO lie A hsists
ing head; but Oscar had better, use for that
however, he has consented to give one or two
sittinR s to a sculptor who Is an old freQuenter
have a photographer in attendance. and to take
q plaster mask OF the %sitter's face. so that he
viii be able to work from photographs and the
Every detail connected with the restaurants
hands. He appoints the head waters q. the
different departments. and every one of them
t has Ses9 Rr0IR IN sse fTSm the has saP beea and tr as d
under the maltre d'hotels own supervision.
want no head waiter from ANOTHER est9b-
way. Things here must run my way" says
Oscar-and they do.
Then. too. the hope Of promotion encourages
waiter Is responsible ortho walters under him..
and has power to engage or discharge them:
must frst make sure that he is not on the black
book. The name Of every waiter discharged
e e9f E ssr' Spo6 0n the O "a aep Soof. g The Hs'G MATHS tire
d'h0tel doesn't rely implicitly even upon the
hsad E1iteF.. n a9e; nd RsrsT nIaIrt SSiH .Ss ! AZ The
est thing that is wrong.
"A visiting. foreigner this summer said to q
New York friend who had been dining with
WHO is this Oscar. about whom I hear all
the timer He seems to see to everything. I'd
well. lust stand stu fye minutes and he'll
60 by ESu; msI Hsws sTsdtt The S NST York man who
Ns sS5s shiSu 8&gaiF IN sped ss9 81 By ' them % nnd into the
cafe. looking all ways at once. and apparently
Now come on. Well take the elevator to
the roof garden. and I'll bet you a dinner that
he'll be there as soon as we are" said the New
Yorker.
They took the elevator 10 the roof. and, as
they stepped out, were met by the maltre dho;
tel. who had looked the roof garden over. and
was on his way to the pantries,
THAT. beats Chicago" said the foreigner
thouRhtfully.
eI1 ThS ;d tFainl as G 9hi thS T Ell system i o' &c bow fiRs;
and q great many people agree with
him. Every head waiter watches his men In
fashion and notes their slightest
from the etiquette OF service. as laid
down by his miRhtiness, maltre d'hotel. The
waiter rebukes the offending waiter. who
probably viii never make the mistake again
there's no certainty that some other waiter
not make the same blunder. so the incident
Is noted in q memorandum book, and. twice q
week. all these books are handed TO Oscar.
The walters assemble in solemn m~eeting,-halt
the number coming on one day and the
other half on the next day. The maitre d'h6tel
up the, entries in the notebooks. and dis
cusses each blunder with weighty gravity. The
topic ranges from the correct way to handle a
Wineglass TO the proper expression to assume
-. IN 9En aEaFa or ANAL Tha1i.