Public ledger. [volume] (Memphis, Tenn.) 1865-1893, 1878-11-08

h0-ANAoNN %NE4 RAOWhH WMAANA /
dress themselves as peasant girls with
stiff Norman caps, shepherdesses, Vi
wanderers, or, as above said, in the
coats and trousers of young gentlemen.
Dlnner-TabIe Etiquette I'm En-
gland.
Toronto Letter to the Detroit News.l
A family dinner differs from state
affairs in every essential point. | was
presented to a nObleman-an earl
who was considered q frst-class au-
thority on such matters, and stating
what | desired, | was treated with the
greatest courtesy. Without taking up
your valuable space with the questions,
l will simply give the answers. They
will certainly be plain enough to the
class Of readers who will peruse my
poorly written letter.
The master of the house leaves the
drawing-room first and the mistress
last. To digress q little, | will state
that of late years there have been so
many changes in dinner etiquette that
one has to Keep we'll posted or be con-
sidered old-fashioned, / will give a
part Of the old and all of the new
styles. 1t used to be the fashion for
the hostess to ask the guest whether
he would take soup or fish, but now
the soup is sent around whether the
guest wants it or not, and of course
everybody has it before them whether
they eat it or not. If the servants do
not 60 round with the wine, the gentle
men help their ladies and themselves.
1t used to be the fashion for the host
ess to say: "Shall | help you to a
piece of the chicken or duck2" (now
fowl). Now everything is passed by
the servants. 1t used to be the style
for the first served to wait until every
one was served before he began to eat;
now every one begins Immediately
that he is helped.
Young ladies are limited to three
glasses Of light wine, while married
ladies' accustomed to good wine often
drink six.
1t used also to be the fashion for a
gentleman to ask the ladies to drink
with him, but not so now.
The different wines with different
dishes are as follows:
With fish or soup use sherry or sau-
terne.
With roast meat use hook or claret.
With turtle use punch.
With whitehall use champagne.
With game use port or burgundy.
Between the roast and confectionery
use sparkling wines.
With sweets use madeira.
With dessert use port, tokay, madei-
ra, sherry or claret.
Ice is never put in red wine, even in
summer. Burgundy should be slight
ly warmed. Claret cup and champagne
cup should always be iceland these
are the only two wines in which ice is
used. Every kind of wine has its diff
ferent kind Of glass; champagne glasses
for champagne only; goblets for claret
and burgundy; ordinary wine glasses
for sherry and MADEIRA; green glasses
for hook; large bell -shaped glasses for
port. Port, sherry and madeira are
decantered in the late style, but hook
and champagne appear in their native
bottles. Claret and burgundy are al
ways handed around in claret jugs.
The servants all leave the room
when dessert is on the table, and the
coffee and liquors are handed around
about a quarter of an hour after des-
sert has been on the table-after this
the ladies retire.
The old-fashioned way Of refusing
the last piece of bread in a dish or the
glass Of wine in a deoanter is obsolete.
The precedence OF rank at private
dinner is as follows: Foreign ambassa-
doris take precedence Of the English
mobiles, archbishops rank with dukes,
bishops rank with earls. Ordinary
foreign counts take no precedence in
England, but rank with English baro-
nets. An earl's grandson and all near
relatives (untitled) Of the aristocracy
precede the esquires and country gen
tleman. Then come the wives Of
country gentlemen of no profession,
barristers' wives, military men and
their wives. There is no specific place
for physicians, who, however, are
!, ranked in the royal house as next tC
knights, and whose wives would there.
/, fore go out after barristers wives.
The present fashionable style o.
giving a dinner Is a Ia Ruse, but it hai
not become general, and will not unit
some Of the old fogies die off; SO some
times dinners are given with a happl
: combination of both the old and new
g styles. l will describe a dinner a
usually given in England,
/, Soup is put opposite the lady Of tn,
8 house, and the butler holds the plat,
t close to the turreen, and one ladlefu
s is sent to each guest, the butler hand
I ing the plate to Che fbotman for tn,
. purpose. The gentleman on the host
: ess' right generally relieves the ladl
C from serving fish, after soup, by hi
s assistance. Next come the meat
Q chicken and turkey, The ineyitabl
saddle of mutton IS placed before tn,
n host, and tho chicken and turkey be
d fore the lady, who is assisted by tn
gentleman on her right. Before eithe
Of these dishes is uncovered the sid
# dishes are placed on the table.
81 The second course follows; III
d game is placed before the host, and tn
n puddings before the lady; the jellie
b and blanc mango on the sides,
/. No one helps himself OF another a