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.
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