On Dinner Being Served, The
Gong Is Sounded, And Each Guest Takes His Appointed Place.
All being
seated, the maitre d'hotel claps his hands, and in an instant, at one
coup, the covers are nipped away, as if with the same hand, by
waiters stationed at regular distances around the tables.
Then the
serious work of eating commences. If any embarrassment arises, a clap
of the hand calls attention to it, and a sign directs its immediate
remedy. Then, as each course is finished, another clap stations the
waiters again at their old places, and at a wave of the hand all the
dishes skip off the table. Then, the table being cleared of dinner
dishes, the whole posse of waiters march two and two round the tables,
and leave the room by a side door. In a few seconds they return again
in the same order, each man bearing three dishes, and fall again into
their places. Then, all eyes being fixed upon the maitre d'hotel,
clap one, and down goes one dish from the hands of each waiter
all along the tables. Clap two brings down dish the second; and
clap three drops the third. And at a table of nearly 400 persons
all are thus served with dessert, as before they had been with each
course, in about half a moment, and each at the same time. Even in
changing knives, forks, and plates, a system is adopted. A portion of
the waiters, obeying a sign, fall out of line, and divide into threes;
one of each three bears the plates, one the knives, and one the forks;
and each party goes round its allotted length of table. Black No. 1
dots down a plate opposite each person; No. 2 plants a knife on one
side of it; No. 3 puts down a fork on the other side. The men do this
with an even regularity of movement, and a gravity which is quite
amusing. All this rapid and regular action drives dinner on amazingly;
indeed, it almost hurries you. In fifty minutes all is over, and the
table cleared. The Americans, who seem to know the value of time,
generally get up and decamp immediately after the last mouthful, which
is perhaps a sensible plan.
"At Saratoga we found a party of Indians. Eighteen of these children of
the forest, who had been down to New York to sell toys and ornaments,
which they manufacture in the winter, were on their return home, and
were encamped outside the village during Sunday. They showed little of
the costume of their tribe, or rather, I suppose I should say, want of
costume; one man wearing a pair of red plush breeches, and some of the
women having bonnets. Still there were the features, the attitudes, and
the language of the aborigines. We visited their camp at night, a
collection of gipsy-like tents, and conversed with one or two of them,
which led others to steal out and listen.
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