ABSTRACT
Among the many topics upon which society is just now exercised, the condition of the masses upon whose toil it subsists is one of the foremost. The mode and amount of remuneration in this occupation varies extremely. While the English waiter, for the most part, stipulates for a fixed wage, however small, the foreign restaurant waiter is content not only to rely on tips alone, but frequently has to pay his employer a considerable percentage on his gains. Breakages of glass and crockery by their servants are a fruitful source of loss to proprietors, and they have various modes of defending themselves against it. The routine of a London hotel or restaurant exacts of the waiter a sharpness and agility that is only to be found among the comparatively young. The girl waiting in the smoke-room has shorter hours but less opportunity for sitting down.
