4. The carver should stand up when carving, and should not hack up the meat
into small fragments.
5. Vegetables, sauces, etc. should be passed cjuickly, yet quietly
G. If a clergyman is present he should be asked to say grace.
XI. A Few Useful Hints.
1. Never place together husband and wife, near relatives, or members of the
same profession, as in such cases the almost invariable tendency of such neighbors is
to "talk shop."
2. Always endeavor to have a nearly equal number of each sex, as tnese are
always found to be the most pleasant parties.
3. Probably the poorest of all policies is to secure some lion or distinguished
person for your party, hoping thus to make it a brilliant affair. Either your lion is
talkative, thus boring and silencing the other guests, or he is moody, sullen and iso-
lated in his o;randeur, when he is sure to cast a sloom over all the others. In either
case the dinner proves a failure.
4. Never permit wrangling, argument or heated discussion.
5. All politics and religion should be tabooed subjects, and if the guest should
so far foi'get himself as to give way to contention, the host or hostess can, by the
exhibition of a little tact and judgment, lead him off, by degrees, from his hobby, by
dextrously asking his opinion of some other matter, or by engaging him on a different
topic, thus allowing him time to cool off and see his blunder.
6. Neither host nor guest should look vexed or nervous at any blunder of the
servants. Above all things, neither can afford to rebuke or criticise them.
7. Be punctual, not only in arriving, but also in being ready to rise with the
other guests, and do not prolong your leave-taking unreasonably.
XII. Table Usages— What to Do and What to Avoid.
1. Having removed your gloves, if it is a formal dinner party and you have
them on, and taken your napkin, sit perfectly erect and moderately close to the table.
2. The posture should not be stiff and constrained, but easy and natural, and
should be maintained until you are served and begin eating.
3. When eating soup, hold a piece of bread in your left hand and your spoon in
your right, and sip noiselessly from the side of the spoon near the end.
PHILOSOPHY AND PRECEPTS OF ETIQUETTE. 386
4. JSTever put the point of the spoon into your mouth.
5. Do not cut your food into bits ready for eating, as if you had but a limited
time m which to eat, but cut off what you desire at the time and carry it to your
mouth with your fork.
6. Never use a knife, under any circumstances, to convey food to the mouth.
This is perhaps the most quickly noticeable, as well as the most disgusting, of all table
blunders.
7. Remember that the napkin is not intended as a handkerchief, nor the hand-
kerchief as a napkin.
8. No well-bred person will ever pick his teeth at the table ; it would be fully as
cleanly and decent to trim and clean the finger-nails
9. Neither will he use his handkerchief at the table, except in the most modest
way and without the slightest noise.
10. While it is not necessary for any one to wait until others are helped, there
should not be the slightest haste or awkwardness in eating.
11. Bread must neither be bitten nor cut; it should be broken.
12. At breakfast, or where such are provided, never drink from your saucer ;
wait until your tea, coffee, or chocolate, is cold enough to be taken from the cup.
Never sip it from your spoon.
13. Some very eccentric persons raise the cup in the saucer by taking hold of
the latter, while others bend down to the table and sip from the cup without raising
it. These may be classed with those persons who use the napkin as a handker-
chief, pick their teeth at the table and eat with their knives, and who sin through
excessive ignorance of good breeding.
14. Place, at breakfast, your egg in the egg-cup small end downward, chip off
a portion of the shell and season and eat by scooping from the shell.
Page 219
Presented as published in 1905. Historical recipes may not meet modern food-safety standards. Cook from the modern interpretation, not the original instructions.
AI-modernized reading of the original text
4. The carver should stand up when carving, and should not hack up the meat into small fragments.
5. Vegetables, sauces, etc. should be passed quickly, yet quietly G. If a clergyman is present he should be asked to say grace.
XI. A Few Useful Hints.
1. Never place together husband and wife, near relatives, or members of the same profession, as in such cases the almost invariable tendency of such neighbors is to "talk shop."
2. Always endeavor to have a nearly equal number of each sex, as these are always found to be the most pleasant parties.
3. Probably the poorest of all policies is to secure some lion or distinguished person for your party, hoping thus to make it a brilliant affair. Either your lion is talkative, thus boring and silencing the other guests, or he is moody, sullen and isolated in his grandeur, when he is sure to cast a sloom over all the others. In either case the dinner proves a failure.
4. Never permit wrangling, argument or heated discussion.
5. All politics and religion should be tabooed subjects, and if the guest should so far forget himself as to give way to contention, the host or hostess can, by the exhibition of a little tact and judgment, lead him off, by degrees, from his hobby, by dextrously asking his opinion of some other matter, or by engaging him on a different topic, thus allowing him time to cool off and see his blunder.
6. Neither host nor guest should look vexed or nervous at any blunder of the servants. Above all things, neither can afford to rebuke or criticise them.
7. Be punctual, not only in arriving, but also in being ready to rise with the other guests, and do not prolong your leave-taking unreasonably.
XII. Table Usages— What to Do and What to Avoid.
1. Having removed your gloves, if it is a formal dinner party and you have them on, and taken your napkin, sit perfectly erect and moderately close to the table.
2. The posture should not be stiff and constrained, but easy and natural, and should be maintained until you are served and begin eating.
3. When eating soup, hold a piece of bread in your left hand and your spoon in your right, and sip noiselessly from the side of the spoon near the end.
4. Never put the point of the spoon into your mouth.
5. Do not cut your food into bits ready for eating, as if you had but a limited time in which to eat, but cut off what you desire at the time and carry it to your mouth with your fork.
6. Never use a knife, under any circumstances, to convey food to the mouth. This is perhaps the most quickly noticeable, as well as the most disgusting, of all table blunders.
7. Remember that the napkin is not intended as a handkerchief, nor the handkerchief as a napkin.
8. No well-bred person will ever pick his teeth at the table ; it would be fully as cleanly and decent to trim and clean the finger-nails
9. Neither will he use his handkerchief at the table, except in the most modest way and without the slightest noise.
10. While it is not necessary for any one to wait until others are helped, there should not be the slightest haste or awkwardness in eating.
11. Bread must neither be bitten nor cut; it should be broken.
12. At breakfast, or where such are provided, never drink from your saucer ; wait until your tea, coffee, or chocolate, is cold enough to be taken from the cup. Never sip it from your spoon.
13. Some very eccentric persons raise the cup in the saucer by taking hold of the latter, while others bend down to the table and sip from the cup without raising it. These may be classed with those persons who use the napkin as a handkerchief, pick their teeth at the table and eat with their knives, and who sin through excessive ignorance of good breeding.
14. Place, at breakfast, your egg in the egg-cup small end downward, chip off a portion of the shell and season and eat by scooping from the shell.