The Wichita daily eagle. [volume] (Wichita, Kan.) 1890-1906, 1890-09-06
TALK OF THE TABLE.

A Chicago womAn's Way of Making
Meals and Aiding Digestion.
Apropos of dinner table talk, there is a
family not many miles from Chicago whose
feminine head has solved the problem of
that brightest hour in the whole day to
perfection. She has served her apprentice
ship in running household to please two,
has altered her plans and increased her re-
sources as one by one other lives have been
added to and grown up in the family, until
today she caters to the tastes of three grown
up sons, bright eyed lassie of Is and q
widowed sister of her own, besides the one
whose ideas for many years she has sue
ceeded in pleasing.
From the time those children were old
enough to come to the table she has in
sisted upon an absolute rule that unless
each one had something bright and inter
esting TO relate of the days occurrences
she preferred to excuse them from dining
with her. Their dinner would be sent up,
they might dine later or-ss the boys grew
older-they might dine out; but she was
fond of bright and cheerful society, would
especially enjoy having it surround her in
her own home, and if they could not offer
her something interesting in exchange for
her care In providing an excellent dinner
she preferred they should dine elsewhere.
Moreover, she is best pleased to have them
talk Of the events of the day, as one of her
theories is that each day should bring some
brightness, some pleasant episode, if not
experience, seen or heard.
No greater contrast could be fancied than
the scenes in that house of the breakfast
table and the dinner table. This woman,
who thinks, says people are not sufficiently
awake at breakfast to converse. They may
talk little II they like, make plans for the
day with each other, but she decidedly pre-
fers that they all read their newspapers
and look over the morning mail More
over, they are seldom sll assembled at the
early meal, for another Of her theories is
that because it is either necessary or con-
venient for one of the family to breakfast
at an early hour, or vice versa, the others
should not be forced to do likewise. Their
breakfast is the simple one of European
nations, combined with the American fruit
and oatmeal, and besides a notion or two
of her own
At certain hour the urn of stesming
coffee is placed on the table, with the lit
tie alcohol lamp burning underneath. A
chatting dish, with lamp also burning, is
placed at the other end, and kept filled
with water which the lamp keeps at boil
ing heat Beside this stands q silver wire
basket containing a dozen or whereabouts
Of eggs, and nearby is the hour glass. On
the sideboard is arranged the fruit for the
morning. No servant is in attendance at
this meal, and each arrival walks up to the
chatting dish, drops IN an egg or two, turns
the hour glass and then proceeds to help
himself 70 fruit, or the touch Of the bell
will bring q servant from the kitchen with
a plate Of oatmeal and hot roll or bit Of
buttered toast.
The simple attendance Is part Of the
cooks duty, which gives the waitress op-
portunity to attend TO the arrangement Of
the sitting room at an early hour. Usually
the members of the family do not have 20
pour their own coffee beside boiling their
own eggs, for mother" Is generally found
in the breakfast room at little desk By
the window attending 10 her correspond
ence, it being her practice to get that out
Of the way for the day At this early hour
How all these plans would work in other
families which have not 30 clear a woman
TO direct affairs who can tell, But one re-
suit is that these people are the brightest
dinner table guests TO be imagined. They
have been trained TO reserve themselves
and observe others for the purpose Of max
ing the dinner an event in each day and
are therefore all clever rsconteurs--Chf
cAzo Tribune