The Elk County advocate. [volume] (Ridgway, Pa.) 1868-1883, 1872-05-30
Table Tnlk.


Good cheer is d promoter Of fine con
versatioh. What volumes of table talk
arc publiafed containing all sorts OF
wise savings, witty utterances, poetical |
fancies, philosophic reflections, sharp |
hits at things Indeed it is not in ma
ture to sit down ct bountiful table |
and indulge III sarcasm, moroseness, anu
plum looks. The sight OF nicely
Drowned roast, the savory smell OF tia-
vorous turkey, the click of the carving
knife on the bottom of the platter, as 1T
cuts smooth slices of juicy meat, stimu-
lates ones brain to pleasant activity,
and when the first sharp demands of ap-
netite are met the strings of the tongue
are loosened, the fountains of mirth and
wit and knowledge are unsealed.
Il is meet (no pun intended) that the
reunions of the family circle at the
board should be occasions OF unalloyed
festivity, and that the mind should feast
as well as the body. We do not inger
at the breakfast table to spin long yarns,
for the work of the day is before us.
But at dinner, while we feed, we rest,
and better than pickle or condiment, or
crisp pastry, is the harmless witticism,
the ludicrous anecdote, the instructive
narration. At supper, too, when the
days work is done, how agreeable an
unhurried interchange of thought and
feeling between members of the family.
A half-hour longer at meals would rem
der groundless the assertion that ours is
nation of dyspeptics. We should eat
more, be fatter, less restless, and doubt
less accomplish enough to leave good
record behind. "I can eat my break
fast in Just eight minutes and three
quarters" said fast-tal,ing, rapid
walking Boston clerk, =" and in five more
1 can be at my place of business" Is
there not something to enjoy in life as
well as something to do? Thou shalt
not muzzle the OK that treadeth out the
corn," yet how many of us act as though
treading out the corn were all of life
and eating it no part of the programme.
@ Among the pleasantest recollections of
our childhood are the reunions at the
table. Goldsmith's Animated Nature
had its stated place beside the water
pitcher, and chapter was read every
noon until the book was finisheds Then
followed Sturms's Reflections, some Of
which went over our heads, but good
deal into them. We were taught the
anatomy and the physiology of the
body in familiar conversations later,
some member of the circle, whose repast
was first finished, read for the instruc-
ton or amusement of the rest, or related
an anecdote, or told a story. Kindly
criticisms were not wanting, stingless
repartee gave zest to conversation, sense
less gabble was repressed, and that all
this was @ part of our education was
frequently impressed upon our minds
We know family where the children
have been taught the rudiments Of
Astronomy, of Chemistry, of Geology
in familiar conversations at the dining
table. The parents finding the talk de.
generating into mere triviaity, as it viii
with children, took the helm, and turn.
ed the social PROV toward the Spice
Islands of knowledge. Laden with de
lightful fragrance are the breezes tina
hutter the corners of that tablecloth
Often at the close of the meal Webster
Unabridged, Lippincott's Gazetteer
some volume of the American Cyclic
pedia, book of poetry, or text-bool
in science, lying beside the remnants o
the meal attests the feast of reason n,
less than the feast of the body. Thu
the information the parents possess
kept fresh and current, while the chill
dren tread with unconscious feet tn
arcana of the universe. Half an hou
at dinner and supper would hardly b
missed by the head of family i'll tn
review of a years labor and if spent i
receiving and communicating instruc
ton or pleasure, what sum total c
both there would be to show for tn
time invested. An acre or two NOR
might by that half hours industr
swell the area of the farm, or fe'
more dollars be salted down for mot
and rust to corrupt; but what are thes
sordid gains when compared with tn
treasures of knowdge laid up in reter
tive memories as possession ?-N'
Tribune.