The Penn's Grove record., 1885-02-21
In the Home Circle.

AS totable appointments. The cloth
should be scrupulously claan, though
it be only coarse material, nice
starched and ironed, and put on straight
its folds parallel with the sides of the
table, and they with the sides Of the
room. The napkins, of howeye~ coarse
material, must also be clean, carefully
ironed and put on in place. The ar
rangement of the dishes on the table
must be uniform, regular and tasteful
each dish, plate, spoon, glass, being in
its appointed place and kept there.
Any one accustomed to orderly APP
pointments by habit o learns to feel
the necessity of taste and exactitude.
These are ~fearfuily neglected in many
families. Table furniture of all sorts
is hustled on without regard to appear
ance or order, the napery is disgusting,
the -carelessness ia disposing 1t equally
so, and the results are only such as
might be expected.
As to the food. 1t is impossible to
feel polite and we'll hammered over
~unpalatable, coarse, i~ll-prepared, indi-
gestible food. Every mouthful' of 1t
prOvOkes i'll humor, resentment, disSat-
isfaction. The house mother who in-
sists on good table manner must give
her family good food There is no need
of sour bread, muddy coffee, soggy
potatoes, heavy pie crust. leathery bat
ter cakes. Chesterfield himself would
forget his manners if compelled for any
length of time to subsist on such diet.
As to methods of eating. With the
assistance of the knife and fork the
food may he so divided as 60 relieve the
incisors of the heaviest part of their
work, and make small mouthfuls a
pleasure. The grinders indicate that
grinding in the mouth is a part of the
process of nutrition. Animals destitute
of grinders bolt their food. 1t is not
fitting that human beings should eat as
dogs do, since they have each a mill''
ready for ~use-whlch dogs have not.
The lips are 50 constructed that che
noise of the grinding, which is intoler-
able to ears polite, may be effectually
disguised. This is a point which can
not be TOO u; gently insisted on. Food,
whether liquid or solid, must be con
veyed into the mouth and from the
mouth downward silently.
The position ut table should be I'm
constrained and easy, the person sitting
erect or slightly bent forward when
eating, so that the mouth may be
directly above the plate; the arms should
be held at the side, not extended at
right angles with the body The elbows
should be kept off the table. Leaning
back in ones chair, or dancing Oh one
leg of the chair, is a grievous violation
of table etiquette, permitted only and
wrongly to spoiled children. The
mouth and fingers must be kept. during
all the process of eating, absolutely
clean, The dainty eater will keep his
plate In order and leave ii 50, with the
knife and fork laid together across the
plate. The use of the fork to the ex-
clusion Of the knife in carrying food to
the mouth is insisted on. Leave-taking
is admissible only by permission of the
hostess. Table talk should be light,
agreeable, general, each person present
contributing his or her quota to the
general fund, and children observing
the excellent rule Of being ''seen and
not heard" unless they are in such
majority that the conversation is keyed
to their level.
Parents who will be at the pains to
set their children such examples as they
wish to see followed, and will them
selves conform to a high standard of
table etiquette, will have little difficulty
in attaining the results of culture they
all desire. We have treated this SUBJ
ject with elemental simplicity, as re-
quested, and additional suggestions
will find room if needed. Parents who
have helpful hints are invited to for
ward them, especially if collected from
successful experiment.