Frostburg mining journal. [volume] (Frostburg, Md.) 1871-1913, 1872-06-15
How TO Make the Dinner Table At
tractiye as Well as Odd,

HOW 10 Make the Dlnnfr laDle Al.
tractive as Well as Odd.
Mrs. MAY IIawley writes in an English |
magazine concerning the art OF dinner
giving
Let us not be afraid to 90 an inch out
of the be aten track. Let us not fear
occasionally TO lay on our table dish
little awsy, just to take OF that sense Of
immacuiateness, untouchableness that
the measured formality of a dinner
always gives one. Let us even some
times assert our independence by hav-
ing an uneven number of dishes, or
dishes Of irregular height placed along
the snow white cloth. And why is this
cloth al avs to be snow white? Why
should not colored border, fringe or
stripe, be introduced to break the blank
slotless ness of that inevitable cloth ?
Asan, the extreme fineness of the table
cloth is point OF pride with the modern
housewife Let the design be what II
will, the cloth must be fine. Now very
coarse 9th, provided the pattern upon
it be handsome, has not bad effect;
on the contrary, it is far more pleasant
to the eve than too fine one. The
naykins-which are theoretically sup
posed t be to wipe the fingers or lips
upon, but which. through their weight
and sIff Iess, never answer the purpose
-ot ghtto be fine the table c.oth should
be rather the reverse. A handsome
diaper is probably the most appropriate
fer damask cloth, and it is sure to tell
if the cloth is not too fine borders or
stripes of every variety might with ad
vantage be introduced into them.
Tat al, h1p
wish their tables to be beautiful, to dis
pense with the modern white wine
glasses, which, however perfect of their
kind, are quite uninteresting to an arts
tic eye. The antique Venetian glass, so
exquisite in design, 80 delicate and pic
teresque in form, SO light, yet hardly 80
fragile as the modern best glass, as the
latter from its weight, as opposed to its
thinness, must smash if it falls, and the
former may not-the antique Venetian
can hardly be procured now in sufficient
quantities to cover table, or at least by
ordinary purses. But the modern imi
tations of it, by Salvati, though usually
net equal to the old, are quite near
enough to be very beautiful on the table,
and within the means of most dinner
giving people.
Again, why are the designs ofmodern
dinner and desert services so bad? Why
are the soup tureens SO bloated and
equity? Why are the paintings on the
plates SO tame and silly-the colors so
staring and yet not brilliant? Why are
the handles of all covered dishes mere
shapeless Jumps, vulgarly streaked with
useless and unmeaning dashes of gold :?
People do not seem to notice these
things when they select their china or
other things as they do when they Sc
lect picture.
Again, let us not pile our flower has,
kets and fruit trees yard high, not
even, o, impatient housewife, the CEN
ter piece.
Let your guests be able to see each
other across the hospitable board. Let
the table be low, and covered sutfi.
GENTLY, but not too much, with fiat and
pretty dis res, never too formally ar
ranged, and decked with fresh flowers,
or even autumn leaves. You can never
have too many real flowers upon the
table; they refresh the senses, and often
modify the too overpowering odors OF
the dishes. Introduce without fear such
tasteful articles as may brighten and
duol IL VIC tdUle-rdTe CulDd, SIdlueltos,
Indian jars, queer old ladies. These
will satisfy the hunger of the mind,
while your fine old fruity or dry wines
and various courses are terrifying the
body-it is so pleasant to have some
thing interesting to look at, and it is so
seldom there is anything but the food.
The decoration of the dining room is
frequently neglected. There are often
no pictures on the walls, no flowers on
the table, nothing to satisfy any other
of our faculties except the gastlonomic
one and if We chance to sit by a weari-
some or unsympathetic companion, we
feel the want of all the more painfully.
Perhaps some day we may hope to see
arm chairs and plenty Of elbow room
subs ituted for he uncomfortable crowd
OF Harrow seats; but this at present
seems so far off that we had better saw
no more about it. At present we do not
seem to be alive TO considerations of
either comfort or beauty.