The aegis & intelligencer. [volume] (Bel Air, Md.) 1864-1923, 1891-10-09
miscellaneous.
T able T ak.

Nothing gives such delightful flavor to
dinners as pleasant, lively chat at table,
The courses may be counted by the first
numeral, and the variety ofdishes to that may
be small, yet bright, CHEEKY talk is spice
that suits all dishes, pleases all tastes ard goes
long way towards making the plainest
meal delightful repast. l do not mean
heavy, heated argument on abstruse subjects
which would render indges,ible well order
ed meal, nor a lecture from one of the two
heads OF the table which would blunt the ap-
petite and depress the spirits, but light, airy
talk-more chat than talk-the kind that
plays upon the surface of things without 60
ing very deep, interpreted with jokes and
smiles and amusing anecdotes.
DIR. Franklin says his father always man
aged TO have some instructive conversation
going ON between him aud his boys at table,
engaging their attention go entirely that after
the meal was over it WAS the talk and not the
dinner that was remembered
Solemn silence at tue table, broken only by
the CHATTER of dishes, the swallow of your elbow
friends coffee. mingled with the dscordant
sound of your own, is enough to make one
discard eating entirely, or drive him, by its
vulgarity, to a solitary dinner The rattle of
knives and forks is pleasant music as an &C.
compartment, but metallic, humdrum, and
monotonous as an orchestral symphony. Let
the noise be mingled with the plash and ripple
of conversation. Even the Cat and dog will
growl their satisfaction when cracking par
ticularly sweet and tender bone.
Some people take 10 themselves great
credit for improving all the minutes in read
ing during meals. but, on the contrary. it is a
waste of time. Mixing the two things spoils
both. You throw away the enjoyment OF the
occasion, and you miss the absorbed interest
in the book which otherwise would be in
spired 50 the real good of both is lost
With full.sense of the Importance of time,
| say books should not deserved at the table.
The morning paper should be read aloud, if
read at all, at such time. 1t is as selfish to
monopolize the dish of news as to take the
whole steak or mackerel on your plate while
your opposite ueighbor only sees her hungry
face reflected in her china. Conversation
should be general, handed round like the
bread and butter. Give me the dinner of
herbs, served with a side dish of pleasant
talk, rather than the famed stalled OK, eaten
in silence. Sudden news, protracted thought,
great weariness, anxiety, the indulgence of
grief, expectancy anger, all take away appe-
lite and spoil the enjoyment Of a meal The
conversation should be light, animated, in
struclive, and always on pleasant subjects.
The merchant should leave the sale of his
goods to be flushed behind the counter; he
should shut in the worry and vexstion of
business with the long column of unbalanced
figures in his ledger the lawyer dismiss the
case of his client for the time being, however
important; the doctor his patient the
banker his stocks. The mind must have
some relaxation and it is time for another set
of faculties to come in play. 1t is time when
all should be rested, cheered, yet stimulated,
with the right kind of conversation. And,
besides, the occasion demands our present at
teniion. We have no right TO sit down, sui
len and morose, and despatch meal in hot
haste when it should be seasoned and made
palatable with pleasant converse.
II may be difficult to have much sociability
at meals in a boarding house where foreign
elements are brought in contact, yet l have
seen one or two persons possessing tact in
troduce subjects of such general interest that
all could have finger in the pie" and there
by improve its flavor. But in the family
there is no excuse for glum, persistent 81
ence, making the fullest table seem the emp
tiest.
There is household that frequently visit,
who serve such delightful meals that there is
HI instructive disposition to linger at the
table yet think the steak is not always
tenderloin, but always juicy, nor the coffee
pure Java, but very fragrant, and have
known the butter at some seasons to be
touched with age, but it is sweet in memory,
and the oysters not the genuine Saddlerock,
but very palatable. may have eaten soegy
potatoes, but don't remember it and am
sure the gingersnsps have relished like
pound cake, but in the centre of the table al
WAYS stands the dish ofpleesant talk, prepar
ed and served without vinegar, sending forth
its appetizing odor, and giving relish to all
the other dishes, so we could but eat. linger,
enjoy, and become refreshed and rejuvenated.
Husbands and wives, cultivate talk at table,
Share with your guests even more than your
dishes, some part of yourselves. Fathers and
mothers see to it that your meals are not
passed in solemn silence. Make them pala-
table, enjoyable, memorable by pleasant con-
versation-the society of dinner is its great
est charm.