The weekly herald. [volume] (Cleveland, Tenn.) 1876-1888, 1877-07-05
GlassW are.

Inc laCls are lncse' lhefe Il now al
absolute liberty of choice in glass as il
everything. Among sensible peOpl,
who stood on their own feet, ther,
always was this liberty of choice, oi
course; but now, liberty of choice il
'the thing" Said one well-knowI
dealer to us, the other day-"If you ash
me what is the fashion in glass, say
everything Is the fashion. Some people
think there is nothing like Baccarat',
crystal, or the English glass, as plain
in form as Baccarat's, but clearer, more
brilliant. Some people think engraved
glass very desirable, while others will
not have it, or have only piece or two
TO show as a curiosity, or to put at the
service Of a favored guest. In short,
the tastes of no two people are alike,
and in the very heart of what is known
as the best society, every one has per-
feet liberty to furnish her table as her
own taste may persuade her."
Our own preference leads us to rec
ommend the plain English or the
French Baccarat glass-the latter so
called after the manufacturer. The
shapes of the tumblers, goblets, wine
glasses, and preserve-dishes, of English
and French make alike, are simple and
make no pretense Of novelty, but for
this very reason they will be found to
please longer than forms got up to catch
the eye Of people bent on being in the
fashion" All table-glass needs to be
kept not only Immediately clean, but
highly polished, and of course this is
more difficult to accomplish with the
plain glass than with such as has eve
taking ornaments upon it, just as plain
body-linen is harder to launder than
such as is frilled, tucked, and en-
brOidered. We shall not be misunder-
stood; we mean that, in the one case,
there is no escape from the inquisitive
eye-every spot tells, every cloud shows,
and dimmaculateness is harder toaccOmp-
lish. In the other case there are hiding
places for specks and flaws, and the eye
Of both maid and mistress is more easily
satisfied.
The housekeeper wants her table,
when dressed, to please the sight. But
some are pleased with neatness and a
Quaker simplicity, others want pict-
uresque oddity, and others again want
richness and abundance. In our pres
ent state of freedom, we can, all of us
"Quakers," artists" ''leaders of So
ciety' in this, that, or the other Little
Pedlington-dress our table to suit our
selves. And good thing it is that
there are such differences of taste. To
show how little any formula of style or
fashion holds in our society, we may
tell our perplexed housekeeper that in
the principal shops of New York the
the statesmen will show you "sets" of
all the kinds of table-glass, heavy, cut,
plain, engraved, and Venetian, and then
will tell you that many people like to
mix all these up, to have the tumblers
or goblets of one kind, and even to
alternate the guests with tumblers and
gOblets (think of that, thou Amelia, who
visitest friends in the city y then, claret,
champagne, hook, sherry, - liqueur
plain, engraved, cOlOred, like a bou-
quet of flowers at each plate. Perhaps
at dessert dish of Venetian glass, milky
white, with its roses and green leaves
about the edge, will be set to holding
the fruit, while a dish of heavy cut
glass at one end gives back sparkle for
sparkle with the jelly that fills it, and
dish of English crystal with twisted
handles at the other end, matches with
its smooth severity the severe smooth
ness of the blanc-mange, - Scribncr's
Monthly.