Native Wines. — There are now made in this country many wholesome wines. The use of these, by people accustomed to drink wine, not only helps to digest the food, but destroys the desire for strong spirits; a daily wine-drinker seldom cares for PHILOSOPHY AND PRECEPTS OF ETIQUETTE. 387 whiskey. A good native red-Mine, wiiicli should bo had at a cost of not more than twenty to thirty-tivc cents per quart, is tliought by many to be an acquisition to the family dinner table, both in helping digestion and in promoting temperance among the growing members of the family, by destroying the taste for strong drink. XIV. Sensible Hints to Dinner-Givers. If you ask friends to dine, do not try to provide anything very different from your own daily meal. If you do, mistakes will be made and the dinner be stiff. Have it of good material and well cooked, in ways well understood by you and your servant. 1. Never mix the courses. Let your soup be taken away before anything else is brought. If you have fish, the plates, knives and forks must be changed before the meats. 2. Never put a number of articles of food in the same plate. One vegetable, or, at the most, two, may be served. 3. Never put a number of discordant messes befoi'e a guest. A heaped-up plate and half a dozen little plates or saucers full of varied viands placed before one at the same time are nauseatina; and vulgar 4. Let your dinner be simple unless your servants are trained to serve elaborate courses, and can do so w'ithout a fault. 5. A good soup, a well-cooked and well served joint of meat, a fowl, and some fruit or cheese, with a bottle of good, sound, native red wine is far better than an attempt at a dinner in many courses, unless the latter is served and managed by an expert. 6. Never hire waiters for a dinner. Never borrow linery for your table. Both are vulgar shows. Serve what you have as well as you can. 7. Try to have your table service good every day. It costs nothing but a little time and that is well spent. Then, when you invite a friend, it will be much easier to have a dinner successful. You cannot dine every day in your shirt-sleeves, eat with your knife, and have your dinner served as if to fill a swill -bai'rel, and then, on occasions, be fine. Something will betray the daily custom. XV. After Dinner. 1. In Eno-lish society, when the dinner is over, it is usual, at a signal from the hostess, for the ladies to rise and retire to the drawing-room, while the gentlemen remain to indulge in wine, politics, etc. 2. This habit, which has the advantage of giving to the sexes half an hour's time between a long and heavv dinner and the evening's entertainment, has never become popular in America, where the custom is for all to rise together, and adjourn to the drawing-room. 3. A cup of tea or coffee is handed around, after which the conversation becomes 3SS TWENTIETH CENTURY HOME COOK BOOK. general until the time for leave-taking. Music is appropriate and pleasant during this time. 4. Each truest should remain two or three hours after dinner. 5. Within a week after attending a party of this kind, each guest should make a call upon his hostess; to delay it beyond two weeks is inexcusable. XVI. Breakfast and Supper. Customs of Different Countries. — Breakfast is not so often made a meal of ceremony and invitation in America as in England ; owing to the later hours M'hicli prevail in the latter country. On the Continent, especially in France and the southern countries of Europe, "breakfast" is a substantial meal of meat, wine, etc., taken at from eleven to twelve. Do not therefore suppose the people are late risers; the custom is to take simply a cup of coffee and a bit of bread on rising, and to breakfast four or five hours afterwards. Many persons in the large cities, such as the brokei's and others, often finish the usual day's work in this time.

AI-modernized reading of the original text

Native Wines. — There are now made in this country many wholesome wines. The use of these, by people accustomed to drink wine, not only helps to digest the food, but destroys the desire for strong spirits; a daily wine-drinker seldom cares for whiskey. A good native red wine, which should be had at a cost of not more than twenty to thirty-five cents per quart, is thought by many to be an acquisition to the family dinner table, both in helping digestion and in promoting temperance among the growing members of the family, by destroying the taste for strong drink. XIV. Sensible Hints to Dinner-Givers. If you ask friends to dine, do not try to provide anything very different from your own daily meal. If you do, mistakes will be made and the dinner be stiff. Have it of good material and well cooked, in ways well understood by you and your servant. 1. Never mix the courses. Let your soup be taken away before anything else is brought. If you have fish, the plates, knives and forks must be changed before the meats. 2. Never put a number of articles of food in the same plate. One vegetable, or, at the most, two, may be served. 3. Never put a number of discordant messes before a guest. A heaped-up plate and half a dozen little plates or saucers full of varied viands placed before one at the same time are nauseating and vulgar 4. Let your dinner be simple unless your servants are trained to serve elaborate courses, and can do so without a fault. 5. A good soup, a well-cooked and well served joint of meat, a fowl, and some fruit or cheese, with a bottle of good, sound, native red wine is far better than an attempt at a dinner in many courses, unless the latter is served and managed by an expert. 6. Never hire waiters for a dinner. Never borrow linery for your table. Both are vulgar shows. Serve what you have as well as you can. 7. Try to have your table service good every day. It costs nothing but a little time and that is well spent. Then, when you invite a friend, it will be much easier to have a dinner successful. You cannot dine every day in your shirt-sleeves, eat with your knife, and have your dinner served as if to fill a swill barrel, and then, on occasions, be fine. Something will betray the daily custom. XV. After Dinner. 1. In English society, when the dinner is over, it is usual, at a signal from the hostess, for the ladies to rise and retire to the drawing-room, while the gentlemen remain to indulge in wine, politics, etc. 2. This habit, which has the advantage of giving to the sexes half an hour's time between a long and heavv dinner and the evening's entertainment, has never become popular in America, where the custom is for all to rise together, and adjourn to the drawing-room. 3. A cup of tea or coffee is handed around, after which the conversation becomes general until the time for leave-taking. Music is appropriate and pleasant during this time. 4. Each guest should remain two or three hours after dinner. 5. Within a week after attending a party of this kind, each guest should make a call upon his hostess; to delay it beyond two weeks is inexcusable. XVI. Breakfast and Supper. Customs of Different Countries. — Breakfast is not so often made a meal of ceremony and invitation in America as in England ; owing to the later hours which prevail in the latter country. On the Continent, especially in France and the southern countries of Europe, "breakfast" is a substantial meal of meat, wine, etc., taken at from eleven to twelve. Do not therefore suppose the people are late risers; the custom is to take simply a cup of coffee and a bit of bread on rising, and to breakfast four or five hours afterwards. Many persons in the large cities, such as the brokei's and others, often finish the usual day's work in this time.

Twentieth century home cook book