The Iowa plain dealer. [volume] (New Oregon, Howard County, Iowa) 1867-1895, 1890-06-19

FINGERS AND FORKS.

How People Managed In the Time OF
Queen Elizabeth.
Did you know that Queen Elizabeth
ate with her fingers? You may have
known that she loved show and style,
that she was SO fond of fine clothes that
when she died she left three thousand
dresses and any quantity Of jewels; but
did you ever imagine that such great
lady could be SO inclcgant as to eat with
her fingers? But she did, and so did
Shakespeare, and Chaucer. and William
the Conqueror, and King Alfred, and
every body else who lived before her
time. These last were more excusable
than she-they had no forks: but even
she was not without excuse. for, though
she had several, they had been given
her as curiosities, which. suppose, no
body expected her to USE There was
one of crystal garnished with gold and
sparks of garnet, another of gold with
two little rubies and two pendent pearls,
and still another of coral.
Why didn't she use them? you ask.
Well, because she had never seen or
known any body that used one. and
they were something new: and, be-
sides, there was prejudice against this
invention just from Italy. But you
must not think because there were no
forks that the old-fashioned dinner
made no pretentions to elegance or re-
finement.
The guests had knives and they had
fingers, and with these two implements
they managed nicely. From their old
books of etiquette we learn how they
did it. In the first place, the finger"
must be publicly washed before Begin
ming the meal: even if this had just
been done privately, 1t must be repeat
ed at the table. that no one might feel
uneasy in eating after his neighbors'
fingers had been in the dish. To aid
further, the meat was prepared as far
as possible before it was brought on the
table. lin a stew, as was usually the
case. it was in bits; il roasted. it was cut
by carver. and passed in large plates
with knife.
As to the way Of helping himself, each
guest must choose and keep partic-
ular part of the dish for his own. He
must help himself daintily from this
place, using only three fingers: after
ward. in carrying the food to the mouth,
which, of course, was done with the
hand, these same three must be used.
taking care however not to touch the
nose with them. to do which was ex-
tremeiy inelegant and showed lack of
good breeding.
Of course, all this soiled the hands,
and in refined households at various in
tervals bowls of perfumed water and
di ffarent nankinS were passed.. and no
one must refuse to wash. This old
fashion Of handing round silver bowl
or dish of rosc-water is still sometimes
seen in Europe.
After awhile man fourd out that he
needed forks, or, rather, woman did. for
it was she who first used them. Great
danes kept them in their rooms to cat
comfits with and to toast bread; and, in
course Of time, they brought them to
the table.
As have said, there was prejudice
against them: and the first few persons
were laughed at and called effeminate;
preacher even went SO far as to say
that for any one to refuse to touch his
meat with his fingers was an insult to
Providence.
Nevertheless they spead; in England,
slowly. even after Italy, the home OF
their birth, was full of them. Those
who knew their value, however, found
them SO convenient that up to $50 years
-
necessary-gentle travelling from
place to place, and knowing how poorly
supplied were the inns, carried one with
them in case with knife. Since that
time the old two-pronged fork, or four.
Ghetto little pitchfork), as the French
called it-and really they were only
tiny relationships given way to the
more convenient and four-pronged forks
in use in our own homes.-Mary NJ.
Winston, in uarper's Young People.