The Indianapolis journal. [volume] (Indianapolis [Ind.]) 1867-1904, 1884-01-05
DUTCH TABLE-MANNERS.
An Etiquette Which Would Bear Some I'M
prOvements.

prOvements.
Letter from Holland in Springfield Republican.
1t is amusing to see the Dutch eat. They take
their plateful as as they are helped, and cut
it up into morsels. Then they lay the knife in
front of the plate, and leaning on the table with
the left hand, proceed to eat all with the fork.
I never saw food eaten otherwise, except that
some desserts are shoveled with the spoon in
stead of the fork, two spoons lying with knife
and fork at each plate. All this is etiquette
Beside the plate hand-restis sometimes placed
for it is necessary that one should half recline
on the tablet There is no such thing as chang
ing covers and be the courses two or twenty
they are served on the same plate, and the same
knife, fork, and spoon are used The napkins
are kept in service until the washerwoman
has to meet big bill for soapl The meals
are breakfast, lunch llo1ij), dinner and
supper. The first meal is at any time
people the guests can take it in bed if they pre-
fer. Lunch is at II o'clock; dinner is from to
half-past 8; supper is at any tme-7. 9, or II
o'clock in the evening Breakfast and lunch are
exactly alike except that there is tea at the
former, and coffee at lunch Supper consists of
tea, biscuits and pastry and is served i'll the par
lor quite as often in the dining room. One
supper at which was guest l shall always re-
member. AT o'clock the hostess left the card
board, spread the table-cloth, and placed the
dishes Then she brought out a spirit lamp,
which she lighted with a match from the match
box on the table, and having ground some coffee
the lamp, where it boiled merrily during the
meal. The bread came on in loaf in long
basket, and was cut into thick slices and so
passed around. The butter was in little round
earthen pot, each person scraping out with his
own knife as much as is wanted for each piece of
bread The cheese came to table in a similar
pot, and was also scraped and eaten
spread on the bread over the butter. Near the
bread basket on a round tray was partly-cut
loaf of brown bread. and slices of three OF four
kinds of cake, including the invariable fruit
cake Preserves were placed on the cloth in a
shallow dish, and it was passed round The
milk, fresh from the dairy, was drawn for the
coffee from jug that in the absence of side
board naturally reposed on mat at my lady's
side. After the meal a china wash-bowl was
brought out and the dishes washed on the tea
table by the mistress, who used the snowiest of
serviettes, and neither split a drop or wet her
fingers. While the DISTINGUISHING was going on.
the family and guests remained sitting the mev-
ronu performing her task standing where her
chair had been, and the master idly putting his
reina. All this may seem quite romantic, but L
was annoyed. not only at the basket of bread, the
sloppy scraping of butter and the continual hiss
ing of the coffee the spirit-lamp, but as well
to have dish-water used on the table, and to have
the mistress preside over it. But it was ''the
fashion," and 1 might add that the table was
that of Professor Vanderkamer, of The Hague.