The sun. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1833-1916, 1905-08-27
THE RETIRED HOTEL KEEPER.

THE RETIRED HOTEL KEEPER.
His Remarkable Tale About His Most
Remarkable Guest.
About as odd a guest as 1 ever had in
any house ever kept, said the retired hotel
keeper, was q regular boarder who lived
with me once who was very fond Of pie.
There was nothing very extraordinary
In his fondness for pie. Ihave known plenty
Of other men that liked pleas 1t turned
out there were lots Of Thorn right there In
that same house with him. but there was
something remarkable about the extent to
which Mr.. Jillbigton-that wasn't his real
name, but it's near enough to it-allowed
his fondness for pie to carry him.
I'VE had in that house at that particular
time a pastry cook who was just a wizard
on pies. She could and did make pies suoh
as mother used to make every day in the
week. and we used to keep up with all the
new pie material as fast as 1t came into
market, and so our house came to have
more or less fame for it's pies, just as any
hotel or restaurant is likely to get more or
less permanent reputation for some par
ticularly excellent feature OF its cooking
and all our boarders were very fond Of our
pies, and none more 80, Of course, than Mr..
Jilbigton.
And that pleased us, Of course, for We
liked to have our boarders satisfied, but
pretty soon the very superior quality Of
the pies turned out by our pastry cook
got us into trouble. the immediate agent
being our friend Mr.. Jill. Mr.. Jill took to
calling for a second piece.
snow vnu understand 10 o,,ra had boon
Just ordinary pies, with only a limited de-
n,and coming for them, it wouldn't have
made any difference to us whatever II a
few scattering pie fends had occasionally
called for an extra piece: but as We were
situated, with the brand Of pie that we
were turning out, Mr.. Jillbigton's calling
for an extra piece soon made all the dif-
ference in the world. For, you see. with
what you might call the unusual normal de-
mands made upon it the pie section Of the
kitchen was already running about to it's
capacity; and II everybody should take
to calling for extra pieces OF pie, why.
we'd be up tree right away. And that's
just what happened.
when the other regulars saw Mr.. JILL
bigton calling for an extra piece Of pie,
and getting it. they all called for extra pie,
and in two weeks time our pie depart ment,
that had been in a small way a source OF |
pride to us, was putting us to all manner |
of trouble, to say nothing about consider |
ably added expense; and then something |
had to be done about it, and got Mr.. Jill |
into my Office to talk it over.
Nice man, Jillbigton, nice q man as you |
S xo1d want to meet and very leXe
Woody only on the subject Of pie. And |
thought that with his general fairminded-
ness all I'd have to do would be mention
the fix into which his demands had brought
us to get him to cut of his extra order,
the same, and so we'd drop back to our
regular comfortable gait:
but, by gracious, he didn't see it in that
light; didn't see why he shouldn't have
a hotel for il it wasn't to please my guests;
and why sho uldn't be willing to put myself
TO some trouble, and all that sort of thing.
And finally had to tell him that it wasn't
only the trouble and the general upseted-
that wGrred me- bht th his
created was putting me also to an added
expense that considerably more than con-
sumed the profit on his board: that instead
II making anything on him. I was now
HE s1os ss a% to that make that me
going to be a clincher; but
"Heavens!' he says. why didn't you
mention this to me before? Charge all
he extra pieces to me. Say nothing.
live Is, em the Pie; and you take The h. credit
And what could say in a case like that7
Nothing. He was man OF very comfortable
means and he meant just what he said.
And 30 we put in another pastry range
nd got an assistant for the pastry cook.
nd made more pies and supplied all de-
hands and charged to Mr. 5illbigton all
xtra pieces served, amounting in some
Veeks to as much as three hundred pieces.
t took little bookkeeping in the kitchen
he dining room to know just exactly how
lany Of the extra pieces ordered ought
D be charged to Mr.. Jill and to keep track
I them, but that was comparatively easy.
nd at the end Of every week We would tack
n to Mr.. Jillbi gton's bill that item, fol-, pie
5 per contract, so much. and he paid it,
nd paid it cheefully.
And in this way things ran along
noothly enough for about two months,
hen suddenly one day the assistant pastry
ook left.
Then for a day Wa wore in deep trouble
the kitchen again over the pies, and the
Dry next day our great pastry cook got
black bordered letter, which, however,
as not quite 80 mournfu inside as it was
xty-odd thousand dollars just left to her.
i'd upon reading that letter she quit on the
,ot
But that, instead OF increasing our
oubles, in reality, after we had once got
titled down again, ended them, for our
,xt pastry cook was not in the same class
it'll the star. The new cook made good pies,
1t not pies calculated to create any great I
ror, and soon our pie demand settled I
,wn to normal again and our troubles were I
'er. You don't often find such pastry S
ok a. our great ono, and have never l