Yorkville enquirer. [volume] (Yorkville, S.C.) 1855-2006, 1902-04-02
BREAKFAST IN THE SOUTH.
A Surprise For a Traveller at a Little
Station.

The train was so late that break
fast was out Of the question at the sta
ton where that meal was usually
served. Passengers going further south
and having to change cars had only
time enough to step across the station
to the waiting train.
The new train started. The dust
poured through the cracks Of the win
dows; the door swung open half the
time and the black, adhesive smoke Of
the soft coal puffed into the car.
Breakfast was to be served at station
two hours beyond the point at which
1t was customary. The conductor took
the names Of hungry passengers who,
with no great expectations, resignedly
said they would eat when the junction
was reached. Then they settled down
to another hour Of smoke and dust.
Twenty minutes for breakfast"
shouted the conductor after awhile.
A dinner bell in the hands Of stall
wart mulatto youth rang a stimulating
obligato to this announcement. The
passengers bundled out Of the two cars.
The appearance Of the little station
called Branchvllle, because trains star
ted from it in several directions, did
not reassure the solitary northern trav-
eler who alighted from the train. But
he followed his companions into the
dining room. The air was 50 soft and
balmy that the windows of the dining
room stood open and there was a faint
smell Of the pungent pine brought from
tue thickness Of the belt only a few
miles away.
The linen on the tables was worn and
in many places carefully mended. But
1t was clean. So were the glass and
china. 1t was the breakfast itself that
proved the greatest surprise.
There were on the table ample plates
Of stewed chicken, tender and taste
full; plates Of boiled bacon and ham of
the kind that IS better in the south than
anywhere else, chiefly because 1t is pro-
perly cooked in that region; hot beat
en- biscuits and corn bread, thin strips
Of well-done liver and light omelettes-
these were the dishes that made up an
Unexpectedly good meal.
The northern traveller never remem-
bered to nave Jared so well anywhere
on his extensive Journeys through the
country. But more astonishing to him
than the exceliefee Of the food was the
politeness Of his fellow guests.
He knew none of them. He had
never seen any Of them until they were
seated about the table. He was accus-
toned to the rough and ready ways Of
other regions. So 1t surprised him
when the man on his right before help
ing himself asked politely If he would
not like some chicken.
Take a piece of the white meat"
his neighbor added, you'll find 1t
very good"
From the other side came similar In
vitations, all delivered as If his neigh
bers took a personal interest in seeing
that he was we'll cared for. The solicit
tude of the walters was just as mark
ed.
Don't take that biscuit, sir" said
one Of them. LET me get you hot
one" And he dashed off to do it.
All this politeness combined with the
unusual excellence of the food, made an
unusual impression on the stranger
who had never before been in that re-
gion; and he was convinced that the
breakfast was better than any that the
average railroad restaurant could sup
ply. while the manners of his fellow
travellers were certainly superior. They
were indeed a revelation to him just
as they are to all strangers making
their first visit to the south.-New
York Sun.