Richmond dispatch. [volume] (Richmond, Va.) 1884-1903, 1902-10-12
. q THE MARKETS. OF PARIS. y y

white bordeaux at q cost of u cents, and
alst. left cents on the table for the wait
i, ress The whole meal cost less than ~
cents, including the fee, and 1t was as
good as any meal you can get in the
United States for 81. The waitress was.
/ well satisfied with my gift, the usual lee
Icing about a sou to the franc She de-.
| ponds entirely upon her fec for her wages.
| as is customary In many of the restau'
1 rants Of Paris.
/ q. SLOT RESTAURANT.
I How would YOU like to lunch at res
| taurant where you can put a penny in
! the slot and pull out everything you want:
! have found such a restaurant here in
i the heart Of Paris. 1t is on the boulevard
des 1taliens, just above the Credit Lyon
naisc. and within stones throw of the
] Opera House The room is walled with
mirrors, iioored with tiles, and fitted up
! Iik, a parlor. Around the walls are slot
| machines made Of different colored mar
/ bIes, decorated with silver, and with por-
| celain figures and finished somewhat like
the finest of our soda water fountains.
! Every slot will furnish YOU something
| to tempt your palate, and the diMerent
! things you can buy is surprising. I had
just had dinner before entered the place
| last night. and began my experiment with
a cup of black coffee. There was q sign
Cafe nor for 10 centimes," over a silved
| plated slot, and an after-dinner coffee cup
standing under a silver spigot below. [
put 2-sou piece in the slot and within
five seconds stream of rich. steaming
black coffee poured forth into the cup
1t continued to pour until it just filled the
cup and then stopped short. l added some
sugar from a pile of white Jumps lying
on a shelf below, and as l drank stood
| in front Of one OF the mirrors beside a
pretty French girl who was finishing a
cup of cacao she had taken from the
neighboring slot. The next machine sup
piled hot chocolate at 4 cents q cup, ana
further on We're others which gave out
different kinds Of liquors, chartrcuse BEN
edictine and cognac for 3 or 4 cents a
pony. I noticed a slot over one spigot,
which bore the words American grog,"
and tested it. The result was red liquor
with a swedish taste, that would, l l.link
kill at forty rods.
While waiting / watched customers COM
ing in for their various drinks. One young
nan took glass from the milk slot, two
Germans patro nized the beer slot, each
getting 4 glass C beer twice as large as
that commonly sold in the United States,
and young dandy and his sweetheart
for two Decent pieces dropped into the slot
of a bottle-lke machine in the middle of
the wall drew out two glasses of spark
ling c1a1npag ne. There were also soda
| water slot lachines, and one which fur
| nshed consomme or hot beef tea at
cents per drink.
SLOTS WHICH GIVE SANDWICHES
AND ICES.
There was an ice cream slot, the cream
| being kept in little round dishes under
glass. Each dish was on a metal leaf
| hinged to a wheel. AS the money drops
into the slot the wheel begins to turn, and
a moment later one of the leaves reaches
| the place where it drops, and slides the
| dish Of ice cream down to you. The ice
| cream is in plain sight and you can see
| what you are going to get before you put
| your money III.
| Then there are sandwich slot machines
| and cake slot machines. / counted dozen
| of these: which will furnish you sand
| ulches of caviare, ham, tongue, salmon,
| or of pate de foie gras, as we'll as cakes
| of different kinds. These are like the ice
| cream machines, the sandwiches being on
| tin Shelves which drop after the money is
| put in
| The place vas full during my stay, and
| the customers were all served with the
| sistance cf a boy, a girl, and a man who
| a. tcd as cashier or change maker. I talk
| ed to the ca sl2ier about the institution and
was told that it paid very well. see no
reason why one should not do likewise in
an American city.
FRANK G. CARPENTER