First on the bill of fare was the soup mentioned before - thick and
clean and good. Next, one of Louis' three cherubic little sons brought
on a course of fish - sole, rock cod, flounders or smelt - with a good
French sauce. The third course was meat. This came on en bloc; the
waiter dropped in the centre of each table a big roast or boiled joint
together with a mustard pot and two big dishes of vegetables. Each guest
manned the carving knife in turn and helped himself to his satisfaction.
After that, Louis, with an air of ceremony, brought on a big bowl of
excellent salad which he had mixed himself. For beverage, there stood by
each plate a perfectly cylindrical pint glass filled with new, watered
claret. The meal closed with "fruit in season" - all that the guest
cared to eat. I have saved a startling fact to close the paragraph - the
price was fifteen cents!
If one wanted black coffee he paid five cents extra, and Louis brought
on a beer glass full of it. Why he threw in wine and charged extra for
after-dinner coffee was one of Louis' professional secrets.
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