Rock Island Argus. (Rock Island, Ill.) 1893-1920, 1901-10-05
STORIES OF DELMONICO
Incidents Which Depict the Fa-
nous Restaurateur's Traits.
HEART FULL OF GENEROSITY.
Story of His Kindness to n Scrub
woman Who Was Injured While In
His EmpIOyment-He Was N Prince
In Politeness-FamO Dinners In
His Restaurant.

4
| In POliteness-FamOus Dinners In
His Restaurant.
| The late Charles Crist Delmonico,
! owner of the famous New York res
| taurant, had as good manners as any
1 man in New York. He was always at
! his best. A prince could not have been
| more courteous than when Charles Del
monico appeared to the well bred wom-
| an, the stranger, who insists upon din
! ing alone at "Ders''-and there were,
are and will be many such-to inform
her that a dinner alone was against the
rules of the establishment.
After all other expedients had failed
| n tall, slight gentleman, perfectly dress
| ed, of calm and judicial manner, APP
peared to such a woman and in the
| best language in the world proceeded
| to explain why it was impossible 10
serve her out a dinner in house that
has never served a dinner to a dame
| seul and which has made it an unalter-
| able rule never to entertain danes
seuls after o'clock in the evening,
says the New York Journal.
"And, sorry as l am to say so, the
rule is imperative, but if madame
would like TO have her tea, dinner or
anything she wishes served to her in
any part of New York or Brooklyn
will be delighted to send it to her at the
| regular price of the bill of fare"
1t was worth going far to study
Charles Delmonico's politeness under
such circumstances. Indeed he was
worth studying under any circumstan-
ces. He was a modest, quiet. retiring
man of about forty years. Mark you,
| if you please, he is being described in
his public establishment.
He knew everybody worth knowing
! OF all ciasSes-matrOns and maids of
Murray Hill. actors and actresses of
Broadway, bankers and brokers of
Wall street. lawyers, publicists. turf
men, editors, educators-he knew them
all. Dignified as he was, the leading
lady called him Charley; the chief JUS
tice and the great financier called him
Charley. He was Charley TO nearly
every one, although occasionally some
one called him Del or Delmonico. Adj
dressed to him. Charley did not smack
of familiarity, but rung with affection
ate esteem.
Vandyke beard. OF late years his
fine face had been adorned only with
mustache. lie was as fastidious
about his apparel as Il French belle.
No linen was toe fine for him, no cloth
too costly, no silks too fine; yet his
attire was never striking. He was one
of the best dressed men in New York.
Whenever it was permissible for a
polite man to smoke Charles belmont
CO had n Turkish cigarette in his
mouth. These cigarettes were made
expressly for him. They were an eX-
pensive luxury, for he consumed them
hungrily. Smoking necessarily. Charles
Delmonico never drank to excess, and
he drank only of the best vintages, of
which he was an admirable judge. Be
fore his marriage he was an inveterate
first nighter" The hero of the play
would have been almost as much miss
ed as Charley Delmonico on a first
night
Charles Delmonico was generous and
charitable. Take this one instance of
it: Regularly ut noon during October,
1899. a fine dinner was taken I'm n cab
to Bellevue hospital from his "eating
house." as the directory hath ii, and Il
waiter went to serve the dinner. All
this was for Miss Clancy, n scrubwo-
man. Ordinarily Miss Clancy has no
familiarity with entremets and filets
and salInis of this and that. Tripe she
knows and is fond of and prefers pota-
toes au naturel to pommes de terre au
gratin or au Savoyard.
But ON Oct. 81 Miss Clancy had an
accident. She was at work in the ele-
vator in Delmonico's cleaning it out.
The elevator started suddenly. Some
one heard her scream, and the elevator
was stopped, with the girls leg bro
ken. For fifteen minutes she lay grOan-
ing and moaning in Delmonico's mar
BILE hall. Then an ambulance took her
to the hospital.
Whats happened to the poor girlT"
Charles Delmonico asked.
They told him of her plight, and Mr..
Delmonico frowned.
Instantly send food to her." said he,
"and see to it that every day she has a
dinner served at Bellevue"
So every day the cab drove up and
the waiter got out and Maggie Clan
cy's dinner was paraded through the
ward, while the mouths of the other
patients watered.
Probably the most famous dinner
ever given in Delmonico's was that OF
Sir Morton Peto, about 1872, at $50 a
plate. Ward McAllister's memorable
swan dinner" occurred there White
law Reds dinner to celebrate the coup
by which he snatched The Tribune
from the hands of Schuyler Colfax was
given there and is memorable for the
first recitation by John Hay Of Jim
Bludso' and Little Brooches"
increasing Length of Life.