New-York tribune., 1881-09-12
THE ART OF DINING.


BE PLANNED AND NEUTRALITY-SUSPICIOUS.
OF THE TABLE-sELECTIoN AND PIIPAhAli0N
OF THE vIANDs-A SUCCESSFUL DINNER
All men dine who can One eats squad PIE Ill
DevonshiTe, and the pie which Is squaoo'ci 'h'i'
squad in Cornwall; sleeps heau-to quo'o
Southey's doctoT-with the hair on III Scotlahd po-
tatoes roasted on the hearth ill Ireland frogs with
the French; picked herrings with the Dutch:
sour-kraut with the Germans; maccaroni with the
Italians. aniseed with the Spaniards garlic with
ANYBODY; horse-hesh vii the Tartars; ass-fesh
with the Persians dogs with the Northwestern
American Indians curry with the Asatic East In
dians; birds nests with the Chinese mutton
roasted with honey with the Turks; pisruire cakes
on the Orinoco; and turtle and venison with the
Lord Mayor of London. But eat anyone what he
will, there is an Art of Dining, matter of educa-
ton, observation, memory reflection, Judgment,
In which the nose, the mouth, the palate, the
stomach and the brain all closely concerned in
their several capacities And the senses of smell
and taste-Brillat Savarin thinks taste and smell
form only one sense-may be, every one knows,
taught i'll or well may be refined or depraved so
as to cheer the brain and sustain the body, fill
them with melancholy, dulness, lethargy. impo-
tence, and have them subjected to degradation aud
desolatiOn from the constant curse of that hag,
Dyspepsia.
The art of dining is of the highest arts, if not
the highest. The writer of this has many rcminis-
cences sad and joyful, de re mensati. He knew the
salons of Madame Aguado and the Countess de
WITT in Paris; was famili VI with NJ. Lafony and NJ.
Levassor, of the Palais Royal, NJ. de Noel, of the
Rocher de Cancale and NJ. Fraucateh late of the
St. Jamess Hotel, London he had the pleasure of
intimacy with Mr.. Charles w. Dixie, ST. tab, such
q statesman and dignitary), Mr.. Thackeray, Wis
count Milton the traveller, and Mr.. Gwilt, of the
Garrick Club, London. And he was. also, from
childhood well acquainted with the great Italian
ali fhn orl, 10 f,n
master of comic effusveness delicate yet bowitch
ing, and the peerless old Lablache, down to the
prOtean RoncOni-but these, one and ALL renowned
for a love of good living as it is called knew little
of the Art of Dining. Mr. Gwilt couldn't make an
anehovy salad; Mr.. Thackcray couldn't combine
havors at all and was too fond of chutuy; Madame
Aguado LA Marquise de las Mansmas had no sense
of the power of few good things-her hospitality
too profuse, too bewilderng, simply a roulor
poaUoir. The dear good-hearted woman wouldn't
let you choose, she wanted to taste everything
In memory extending over forty years. there start
and stay only about ten ladies and gentlemen
who seemed to the writer real, sure hierophants of
the great mysteries of arranging n dinner without
reproach; and of these it may be permitted some
day TO say more.
The Art of Dining is conglOmerate of preceding
styles Lady Marian Afford wisely says of Art
NeedIework 'in which the antique the baroc and
the rococo each have share and harmonized
apparently by careful cOlors (say shades and neu-
trail FORMS which DO not assert any especial date of
design. But out of these elements possibly real
and accentuated style NAV be crystallizing around
us without being conscious of its existence 40
that "A hundred years hence genuine work may be
recognizable by an absolute 'cachet of its own"
Let it be tried. Let treat solemnly, conscien-
tiously, and as best thoy of the Art of Dining
THE GUESTS AND ATTENDANTS
''The pleasure of the table is realized" cries Bril-
lat Savarin " ~ often combine The four con-
ditiOns of cheer at least passabe, good wine pleas
ant companions and plenty of time Add to these
q sound mrnd in a sound body. Thomas Walker
Original" Walker as heis known in English litera-
ture-the author of "Aristology," derived from
arisOn dinner. and l0gOs word reminds his readers
that in order To make dinnor go off well good
dea often depends upon the gvers mode of rccev-
ing his company. "In the first place he should al
ways be ready; he should receive cordially as to
let his CUES feel Inspired by air of welcome:
and he should set them well off together by the IN
PRODUCTION of suitab topics. 1t is usually seen
that the host receives his guests almost they
strangers to him. and, after a word or two
leaves them TO manage for themselves well as
they can, by wandering about turning books,
resource of that SORT if they happen not to
be well known to some of the company and even
persons who in the habit of meeting often seem
to be actuated by feeling of mutual reserve, for
want of being well started by the host. 1t fire.
quenty requires time after the dinner has com
menced, to axe off the chill of the first assembling
and in respect to individuals, 1t sometimes never is
taken off during the who party"
And the masters tone should be adopted by the
servant Euripides. in the "Alcests," makes Hercu-
les exclam to the attendant:
"Ho. youi why look you thus solemn and thoughtfui
II i'll becomes a servant to meet guests
With gloomy looksi their due is cordial service"
Whoever has thought upon the subject cannot rid
himself of the final judgment, bsoutely irreversbe
that dinners worth thinking about must he limited
to small parties. party OF six is desra-
BILE than party of eight beyond eight there Is apt
to be division into sets, OF practical languor
creeps in. there falls sort of paralysis either
the extremities centre, which has more or less
effect upon the whole. Brillat Savarin in his
"Precepts," has extended this number of guests to
twelve, but that is his affair. Let par of eight
be the rule. If it is considered necesSary-it ought
not to be; it is too distracting-to have a numerous
company on the same day, divide them into two or
more tables, with two attendants for each party
These attendants should be bid to ceave unfnching-
ly to the respective tables under their charge Small
ton u" these principles clear and few Mr. Felix
SummeTy, who edits the last edition of Walkers
Arstoogy advocates separate round tables for par
ties of ten, displaying high taste and simplicity
ldefne, define exactly, Mr.. SummerlyD excellence
In the cooking, limited but sufficient variety of
dishes inspiring confidence in eating ALL fine wines
appropriate to each dish" Such a triumph and suc-
cess has been attained by an English nobleman
standing in the first rank of European diplomatists
who etc. ETC.; all the rest of the euogium NAV be
inferred. lie divides his guests into parties of ten
so,at each of which (Oh celestial beatitudeD may
be found a ducal president. Everyone selects the