When all the guests have arrived, a servant opens the
dining-room door when it adjoins the drawing-room ; or
otherwise he approaches the hostess, and says, " Dinner is
served," or " Madame is served." The host then leads the
way to the dining-room, with the oldest or most distinguished
lady present upon his arm. No delay is made for guests,
unless they are of much importance : it is the imperative duty
of a guest to be punctual ; far better to exceed in earliness
than to be one moment late. In the dining-room, the ser-
vant draws out the chair of the guest of honor, or that of the
lady whom the host escorts : if there are attendants enough,
the chairs of all the guests may be drawn out, and replaced
by the attendants as the guests are seated. All seat them-
selves as they enter the room, each gentleman assisting the
lady he escorts when there are not enough servants to place
the chairs. As the guests arrange themselves comfortably
at the table, they may unfold their napkins, and begin to eat
the shellfish, without waiting until all are placed when the
number is at all large. Usually there is no formal beginning,
I40 PRACTICAL AMERICAN COOKERY.
except at private dinners when some ceremonial of grace
preludes the repast : taste and custom regulate these mat-
ters. In entering the dining-room after the host, there is
no special order of precedence in America, unless the- chief
magistrate or some locally honored personage is present :
ordinarily the gentleman who is the guest of honor, goes into
the dining-room last, with the hostess, and is seated at her
right. If the table is small, the host indicates the places
the guests are to occupy as they enter the room ; if the
party is large, a little menu-caxA is placed at each cover,
bearing the name of the guest for whom it is designed.
After the shellfish is eaten, the lady who is escorted by the
host, and who sits at his right hand, is served first, then the
other ladies, and after them the gentlemen : each guest may
begin to eat as soon as served. The routine of the dinner
has been given elsewhere.
At the close of the dinner, the hostess bows to the lady at
the right of the host, who rises and opens the door for her,
and she leads the way out of the dining-room, the other
ladies following her, and the hostess going last : this, of
course, is at large formal dinners, otherwise there is no spe-
cial form imperative. It is a graceful courtesy for the gen-
tlemen to rise as the ladies leave the table, and assist them
with their chairs. Sometimes they prefer to accompany
them to the drawing-room ; but if any remain at the table,
the host must stay with them, and see that they are served
with wine or cordials, and coffee and cigars. It is of course
understood, in polite society, that no excess is tolerated ; and
any young man showing any inclination to pass the limits
of moderation very soon finds himself tabooed. The use of
wine at ordinary dinners is a matter of solely personal pref-
erence, but at state dinners its absence would be an affront
to the guests.
In the drawing-room, the hostess should always chat a
THE ETIQUETTE OF DINNERS. 141
Page 81
Presented as published in 1885. 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
When all the guests have arrived, a servant opens the dining-room door when it adjoins the drawing-room ; or otherwise he approaches the hostess, and says, " Dinner is served," or " Madame is served." The host then leads the way to the dining-room, with the oldest or most distinguished lady present upon his arm. No delay is made for guests, unless they are of much importance : it is the imperative duty of a guest to be punctual ; far better to exceed in earliness than to be one moment late. In the dining-room, the servant draws out the chair of the guest of honor, or that of the lady whom the host escorts : if there are attendants enough, the chairs of all the guests may be drawn out, and replaced by the attendants as the guests are seated. All seat themselves as they enter the room, each gentleman assisting the lady he escorts when there are not enough servants to place the chairs. As the guests arrange themselves comfortably at the table, they may unfold their napkins, and begin to eat the shellfish, without waiting until all are placed when the number is at all large. Usually there is no formal beginning,
except at private dinners when some ceremonial of grace preludes the repast : taste and custom regulate these matters. In entering the dining-room after the host, there is no special order of precedence in America, unless the- chief magistrate or some locally honored personage is present : ordinarily the gentleman who is the guest of honor, goes into the dining-room last, with the hostess, and is seated at her right. If the table is small, the host indicates the places the guests are to occupy as they enter the room ; if the party is large, a little menu-card is placed at each cover, bearing the name of the guest for whom it is designed. After the shellfish is eaten, the lady who is escorted by the host, and who sits at his right hand, is served first, then the other ladies, and after them the gentlemen : each guest may begin to eat as soon as served. The routine of the dinner has been given elsewhere.
At the close of the dinner, the hostess bows to the lady at the right of the host, who rises and opens the door for her, and she leads the way out of the dining-room, the other ladies following her, and the hostess going last : this, of course, is at large formal dinners, otherwise there is no special form imperative. It is a graceful courtesy for the gentlemen to rise as the ladies leave the table, and assist them with their chairs. Sometimes they prefer to accompany them to the drawing-room ; but if any remain at the table, the host must stay with them, and see that they are served with wine or cordials, and coffee and cigars. It is of course understood, in polite society, that no excess is tolerated ; and any young man showing any inclination to pass the limits of moderation very soon finds himself tabooed. The use of wine at ordinary dinners is a matter of solely personal preference, but at state dinners its absence would be an affront to the guests.
In the drawing-room, the hostess should always chat a