Fort Worth weekly gazette. [volume] (Fort Worth, Tex.) 1882-1891, 1889-07-04
Household.

Household.
f'Children will be children'' and
'boys will be boys, its no use talking -
and with this piece of aphoristic wisdom
the dear little woman gave decided
shake to her pretty head and seemed to
think an intricate problem most clearly
elucidated. She did not go on to say that
children will be grown folk, that boys
ought to become men and girls women,
or to say that every other young animal
would be IFS kind. Oh, no. She, in
wOmanly fashion, ignored facts that
would initiate against an opinion
so Dramatically stated. 60 Colts will
be colts, - but colt unframed
does not make a useful horse. Puppies
win be puppies, but they do not develop
into valuable dogs without teaching
Now do not take the alarm fond mother.
There is no comparison made, and an
analogy only so far as to hint that young
animals are susceptible of training and
improved thereby.
Because a boy Is a boy there seems to
be no good reason why he should be
terror at home and abroad, overriding
all regulation and coming into manhood
utterly unequipped for polite society,
mar because girl is a girl should she
live in indOlent self-indulgence
unmindful Of the cultivation of
those ladylike graces that should
sit easily upon her and not seem
affectatious when she reaches woman
hood. There are certain laws regulating
social life and these ought to be incul-
Gated early, for in after years a want of
conformity to them will enstamp the
offender as one who has been reared in
nf
These breaches are never more con-
spicuous than at table, and as this is the
" Household it may not be out of place
to give few practical hints, by which
boys may become mannerly boys and
girls may become dainty little women
without losing the childish quality of fun
or offending correct taste and wounding
the sensitiveness of those with whom
they come in contact. Good breeding,
like letter of credit, is good every
where, and lack of refinement in one
makes that person intolerable, and no.
where is this more true than at the
table. a few thoughts on table etiquette
put in sententious form, may serve the
purpose better than to amplify, and the
mothers of boys and girls who hope to
have them ladies and gentlemen might
introduce these as profitable at home.
There are few preliminary lessons that
may be embodied in this way.
For instance: Never hurry at the ia
bic; if you don t upset dish, you will
at least upset your neighbor. Never
forget that ''the knife is a relic of bar
barism - Never hang your napkin
upon your collar; no one who uses proper
precautions when eating is in any danger
of soiling his clothes with food, and the
,o1r5,, 81 IL 60,
them.
Always remember that manners are not
a science. There is no invariable stand
ard of etiquette; but there are variable
indications of ill-breeding. If in any case
you are at a loss to know what to do, do
as little as possible.
At any private table scrupulously avoid
leaning back in your chair, or any ap-
pearance of lack of taste for the dish set
before you. If you do net like certain
dish, at least pretend to eat it.
The spoon is held in the hand, not at
the elbow; hence it is unnecessary to
raise ones elbows to a level with his
mouth in eating soup.
Hard cheese, if eaten at all, should be
manipulated with the thumb and finger:
soft cheese should be put upon the bread
like butter.
Napkins were never intended for saws
or ropes; to use them upon the face as
though they were is an insult to the nap
kin.
The neighborhood of ones plate is
sacred to himself and his dinner; it
should not be intruded upon by another
hand or arm.
If you make a blunder at table, take
as little notice of it as possible; if another
make blunder, help him to forget it.
Meyer forget that there are others at
the table, and that every dish IS saVored
more or less by surroundings.
1t is quite proper to eat asparagus
with the fingers or fork, but not to
cut the tips with a knife.
A good rule for the fork is to employ
it whenever and wherever it can be
made to serve the purpose.
a waiter should pass everything upon a
tray except clean plate which he places
with his hand.
Fruits prepared in such way that
they can be so eaten should always be
taken up in the fingers.
It is dangerous to swallow seeds of rails
ms and small fruit, and no etiquette can
demand it.
Salads are always served separately or
with game, not with the principal part
of dinner.
To be whimsical about ones food is