RESTAURANTS.
Thousands of persons, sometimes entire families, live in rooms, and
either take their meals at restaurants, or have them sent to them. This
has become so common now that it ceases to attract attention in the
city, but strangers are struck with it, and are quick to notice the bad
effects of it.
Living at restaurants begets irregularity in the meal hours, and thus
promotes bad health; and the absence of the restraints which the table
of a family at home, or even the public board of a hotel, imposes, is
the beginning of a looseness of manners, which is generally sure to be
followed by a similar defect in morals. The cooking, at the majority of
restaurants, is unhealthy, and intoxicating liquors are sold, to an
extraordinary extent, as a part of the bill of fare.
The principal up-town restaurants are largely patronized by the
disreputable classes. Women of the town go there to pick up custom, and
men to find such companions. Women of good social position do not
hesitate to meet their lovers at such places, for there is a great deal
of truth in the old adage which tells us "there's no place so private
as a crowded hall." A quiet, but close observer will frequently see a
nod, or a smile, or a meaning glance pass between most respectable-
looking persons of opposite sexes, and will sometimes see a note slyly
sent by a waiter, or dropped adroitly into the hand of the woman as the
man passes out. Some of these nominally respectable places are so
largely patronized by this class, that a virtuous woman is in constant
danger of being insulted should she chance to enter one of them.
THE BITER BITTEN.
Restaurants, like hotels, are the object of the constant attention of
swindlers, though the operations are conducted on a smaller scale. Some
of these persons are nominally respectable.
A bank clerk, with a fair salary and respectable connections, was in
the habit of patronizing a fashionable restaurant, partaking of
sumptuous lunches and dinners, and evading _full_ payment, under
pretence that he had forgotten his pocket-book, or had omitted, in the
hurry of business, to provide himself with small change, etc. Thus, if
his check called for one dollar he would pay sixty cents, but
invariably forgot upon the next, or any succeeding day, to 'settle' the
balance due of forty cents. This 'little game,' so profitable to
himself, was carried on for some time triumphantly, but retribution
came at last, and unexpectedly and very cleverly. The clerk, seeing how
matters stood, commenced to keep an account on a piece of paper of the
sums due and sums _paid_ on each successive day at his establishment by
this ingenious customer, and on one occasion, when the bank clerk had
deposited his check for one dollar and a quarter and a ten dollar note
in payment upon the counter (as he wished on this particular occasion
to procure some small change for his own purposes), the clerk quietly
took the note and then handed out two dollars and twenty cents in
change. 'There must be some mistake,' said the bank clerk. 'Oh! none at
all.' said the cashier. 'Did I not hand you a ten dollar note?' 'You
did, sir.' 'And did not my check call for one dollar and a quarter?'
'It did, sir.' 'Then where is my change?' asked the bank clerk. 'It is
_there_, sir' replied the cashier, pointing to a piece of paper which
he handed to the astonished bank clerk. 'What is this paper?' 'It is
your account.' '_My_ account!' 'Yes, sir, you will find it correct in
every particular,' said the cashier; 'I will go over the items with
you. On such and such a day your check called for such and such a sum;
you paid only so and so, leaving such and such balance. The next day
you ordered so and so, only paid so much, and left, of course, you see,
this balance. Altogether, sir, you owe the establishment, as back
balances due for food and liquors, up to date, just seven dollars and a
half. I have taken out this amount, and you will find the change
correct.'
"Words were useless--the bank clerk was outwitted, and left in disgust,
and from that day to this has never set foot inside of that restaurant
again."