Nashville union and American. [volume] (Nashville, Tenn.) 1868-1875, 1873-04-03

tard.
/ On the sideboard are three beautiful sill |
yer dishes with spirit-lamps beneath them. |
Let US look under their covers. Broiled |
chicken, fresh mushrooms on toast, and |
stewed kidney. On larger dish is fish,
and ranged behind these hot viands are cold
ham, tongue, pheasant, and game-pie. On
huge platters of wood, with knives to cor
are farm house brown bread and
white bread, whilst on the breakfast table
itself you wi | find hot rolls, toast-of which
two or three fresh relays are brought in
during breakfast-buttered toast, mullins,
and the freshest of eggs. The hot dishes
at breakfast are varied almost every morn
ing, and where there is good cook vari-
ETY. of some twenty dishes is made.
iMarmalade Marie Malade) of oran ,es-
said to have been originally prepared by
Mary Queen of Scots, when i'll, and intro
duced by her into Scotlsnd-and "jams" of
apricot and other fruit, always form part
of an English or Scotch breakfast. The
living is just as good-often better-among
the five thousand pounds year gentry as
among the very wealthy the only differ
ence lies in the number of servants and
guests.
The luncheon hour is from one to two.
At luncheon there will be roast leg of
mutton or some such piece de resistance,
and made dish, such as minced veal-a
dish. by the way, not the least understood
in this country, where it is horribly man.
gled-two hot dishes of meat, aud several
cold, and various sorts of pastry. The Sc,
with bread, butter, fruit, cheese, sherry,
port, claret and beer, complete the meal.
Few of the men of the party are present
at this meal, and those who are eat put lit
lie, rese.ving their forces until dinner. All
is placed on the table at once, and not, as
at dinner, in courses. The servants leave
the room when they have placed every
thing on the table, and people wait on
themselves. Dumb walters with clean
plates, glasses, ETC., stand at each corner of
the table, so that there is very little need to
get up for what you want.
The afternoon is usually passed by the
ladies alone, or with only one or two gen.
tlemen who do not care to shoot, etc., and
is spent in riding, driving and walking.
Englishwomen are great walkers. With
their skirts conveniently looped up, and
boots well adapted to defy the mud, they
brave all sorts of weather. siOh it rains
What bore! We can't go out" said a
young lady, standing at the breskfast-rnom
window at house in Ireland; to which
her host rejoined, 'If you don't go out
here when it rains, you don't go out at ALL"
which is pretty much the truth.
About five O'Clock, as you sit over your
book In the library, you hear rapid firing
off of guns, which apprises you that the
men have returned from shooting. They
finger while in the gun-room talking over
their sport and seeing the record of the
killed entered in the game-bOok. Then
some, doffing their shooting gear for a free
and-easy but scrupulously neat attire, repair
to the ladies' sitting room or to the library
for "kettledrum."
On low table is placed the tea equipage,
and tea in beautiful little cups is being dis
pensed by fair hands. This is very pleas
ant time in many houses, and particularly
favorable to fun and Irritation. In houses
where there are children, the cousins Of the
house and others very intimate adjourn to
the school-room, where, when the party is
further reinforced by three or four boys
home for the holidays, scene of fun and
frolic, which it requires all the energies of
the staid goVerness to prevent going too far,
ensues.
rings at seven O'Clock, summoning all to
prepare for the great event of the day-din-
ner. Every one dons evening attire for
this meal; and so strong feeling obtains
on this point that if in case of his luggage
going wrong or other accident, a man is
compelled to join the party in morning
clothes, he feels painfully ''fsh-out-of water
ISL" We know, indeed, of case in which
guest absurdly sensitive would not come
down to dinner until the arrival of his
things, which did not make their appear
ance for q week.
Ladies' dress in country houses depends
altogether upon the occasion. II it be a
quiet party of intimate friends, their attire
is of the aimplest, but in many fashionable
houses the amount of dressing is fully as
great as in London. English ladies do not
dress nearly as extensively or with so much
taste as Americans, but, on the other hand,
they have the subject much less in their
thoughts; which is perhaps even more de-
sirable.
There is degree ofpomp and ceremony,
which, however, is far from being uDpleas-
ant, at dinner in 8 large country house.
The party is frequently joined by the Rector
and his wife, neighboring squire or two,
and strange parson, so that it frequently
reaches twenty. OF course in this case the
pleasantness Of the prandial period depends
largely upon whom you have the luck to
get next to; but there's this advantage in
the situation over similar one in London
that you have, at all events, something
oflocal topics in common, having picked up
little knowledge of places and people du-
ring your stay, or if you are quite a new
conner, you can easily set your neighbor a
going by questions about surroundings.
Generally there is some acquaintance be-
tween most of the people staying in
house, as hosts make up their parties with
view of accommodating persons wishing to
see others whom they like. Young men thus
frequently get a good natured hostess 10
ask some young lady whose society they
especially affect, aud thus cOuntry-houses
become proverbially adapted for match
making.
There are few houses nowadays in
which the gentlemen liDger / i the dining
roam long after the ladies have left it. Hab-
its of hard drinking are now almost entire
ly confined to young men in the army and
the lower classes. The evenings are spent
chiefly in conversation; sometimes q rub
Der of whist is made up, or, if there are a
number of young people, there is dancing,
About eleven wine and water and biscuits
are brought into the drawing-room, and a
few minutes later the ladies retire. The
wine and water, with the addition of other
stimulants, are then transferred to the bill
lara and smoking-room to which the gen.
tiemen adjourn so soon SIS they have
changed their black coats for dressing gowns
or lonDging suits, in which great latitude is
given to the caprice Of individual fancy.
The sittings in these apartments are pro-
tracted until any hour, as the servants usu-
ally 90 to bed when they have provided ev-
cry one with his fat andlestick--that en-
blem of gen.ility which always so promi-
nenily required to the mind Of Mrs. Micaw-