The farmer and mechanic. [volume] (Raleigh, N.C.) 18??-19??, 1912-07-23
COLLEGIAN WAITER FOR
ONE NIGHT IN NEW YORK
Tolls How Walters Help Themselves To Champagne
Before Serving and The Crude Manner OF Extort-
ing Tips From Bibulous Guests.

member, everybody, to take the
spoons away with the c~antaioUpe, for
you will need them for the soup. and
the house is short Of poems. Keep
the spoons about you and return them
when you serve the soup course.
And. gentlemen, remember not to
be impatient when the food is slow in
coming on the eSCalatOrS. stand IN
line and wait, and don't throw dishes.
Now last night Of you hit another
on the head with q plate. That will
never do"
/ was somewhere near the last Of
the hundred and ten that filed through
the door. At quick step we went
through the kitchens again: the white
capped figures We're in greater haste
and the charcoal fires burned even
more brightly. A man in a little wire
cage showed out dishes Of pulVerized
sugar. It was for the cantaloupe, the
waiter in front Of me said. Then the
line led to another cage-eVerythlng
seemed to be in caSes-where the
WhiSkey and water We're showed u
to US.
With four bottles in my hands and
the plate of sugar precariously bal
anced On my arm followed the line
up Il stairway, across the conserva-
tory, then into the vast ballroom.
There was q sea of heads. The
myriad of lights dazzled me and the
blare of the band was ~disconcerting.
My table number was thirty.
About the System.
The tables were placed systematic
ally and thirty was easy to find when
/ got onto the system. | my
way through the maze to table thirty,
almost on the opposite side of the
room. l managed somehow to put
! the bottles down and GpSc1Ie The ST.
gar. | 4 begun to wait"
l saw no one except the ten at my
table. They were old men. one Was
bald and had a magenta head. l fear
ed to look at them.
The escalators were bringing the
food up FerriS-Wheel fashion and the
men waited in nervous lines IN front
Of them. l watched the others. Each
grabbed a cantaloupe from the escala-
tor and stacked them to the number
Of five on his arm. / could only bal
ance three. But my legs were good,
l felt. and l would make up in legs
what l lacked in experience. Once
juggled fOur cantalOupes at once. And
SO the first course was served in three
trips.
All this time I was confused by
what to do next Some were carry
ing butter on trays. Did my table
h W. OCCA IN IAOIAA-
ing about it. So I took a chance and
got ten butter pats on a tray. My
table didn't have butter and seemed
glad to get it. All had partaken Of
the rolls without.
No sooner was the butter served
than it was time to clear off the car
taloupe husks. I had no notion as tt
where to put my dirty dishes, blu
hustled around the table slipping
plates from beneath the very noses O.
my people as they leaned confden
TALLY together. 1 reached the con
servator again. this time on the RICH
side Of the official who stood benin,
the screen. I saw a stream Of wait
ers rushing into q room on the RICH
n followed. At a hi~h table, which
, had a long zinc-lined pocket, stood
score Of huskies engaged in picking
{ out the silver from the mass OF dishe
and garbage which the walters thre1
! higgledy piggledy on the table.
hastily remembered an admonitio.
about spoons, grabbed ten. wipe
them with my serviette Of all traces Q
3 cantalOupe, and made for the escala
tor to get the soup.
A long line stood in front Of mt
9 The soup came up slowly, two Q
: three plates only to each shelf Of tn
: escalator. Finally my turn came. A
: I reached the shelf a burly form dart
ed in front OF me, sneaked three plate
q of hot COnSOmme and beat it for tn
0 dining room. I was chagrined to dis
cover the machine had stopped rur
ming. Stewards hoOted at the men b.
VIZ ANTEDV