Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1892-12-17

n.y. n Logo Such was the invita-
-XA L>--,sI tion that one Young
go man showed another the
other day and pro-
nounced to be in perfect form
Evidently the affair is informal" said his
companion
"Why?" said the other.
Why, because she writes YOU note. Look
nere' and he drew from his pocket an en-
graved card, which read as follows:
Mr. and Mrs Dash request the pleasure Of
Mr. Straight Lines presence at dinner on
thursday evening. December 2s. at Z O'Clock
No Vacant place. December 10. 1892"
Nov, he said, there is no mistaking the
meaning OF that. ! will get there a: five min
utes after Z. There will be an envelope IN a
tray in the hail with my name on it, and inside
the envelope will be feminine name. and tina:
VIII simply mean that am 20 take the owner q!
the name IN 10 dinner and sit alongside os her -
cUT-ASD-DRIzD DINNER PARTY
or course he was right and his invitation
meant the certainty of a regular cTt-snd-drietl
dinner party. Let US see what his a,nner
would be. There mar be a few dishes that
will not precisely hit the marx but he vail have
their equivalents. First Of all there will be raw
oysters.
They are an excellent dish and few dinner
parties are given without them. There will be
four or five on the plate, with quarter Of
lemon. These be viii probably fnd on the
table when he goes in To take his seat As soon
as the oysters are finished light soup will be
served In their place. This soup will in nine
cases out of ten be q clear soup-if not bouillon,
something very much like il. After the soup
VIII come fish, very likely served in little
shells or dishes Of it's own. Then a pate will
appear; after that a filet de bnuf with truf,e.
n m nah +haf, he
quail on toast or duck: then something else-
anything will do; then salad with crackers and
cheese: then ices; then coffee. To ACCOMPANY
this mild repsst there will be q sautcrae, per
haps; certainly sherry. certainly champagne:
Burgundy IT may be; lqueur without doubt: aud
frequently = glass OF Madeira Instead of the
Sauterne c..--et NAV appear
There you have cut-and-dried dinner party
dinner. Everything is carved at the side table
The host and hostess have nothing to do Moth
ing viii be on the table except a few sugar
plums, ferns, flowers and similar ornaments
IN THE oLDES TINES.
Times change. Let us see what sort of a
dinner party our great great grandparents
would have given. There would have been an
enormous soup tureen in front of the lady of
the house. and she would have helped the
guests each aud every one herself with her own
fair hands. Then nearly the whole dinner
would have been put on the table bv numerous
attendants. all of them very likely dressei in a
family livery. There would have been two or
three or more meats there. all at the same time:
there would have been a game pie or pastry
Your host and hostess would have helped YOU
as much as they could hardly taking the time 10
get half a dinner for themselves There would
have been hardly any courses. The business of
eating was earnestly pursued in those days.
There was certainly enough TO eat. The guests
did not go away hungry, but on the contrary
were more apt 10 so away with the foundations
laid Of everlasting govt and indigestion. After
the dinner proper there were custards. sillabub
and similar sweet Dishes Then the cloth was
removed. This is phrase now. bat was an
actual fact then. The mahogany table
was left bare until decanters and glasses and
the fruit dishes were placed on it, Then the
ladies withdrew, and il must be confessed that
after they did 50 our ancestors were very apt
to sit too long and partake. perhaps. too freely
of sack and canary. Sack. il may be remarked
in passing, was simply dry Spanish wine aud
amounted TO about the same thing as the sherry
Of the present day. and canary was merely n
variety of sack. Sometimes they INDUCED also
in usquebaugh. which was very similar to our
whisky.
THE BETTER FEAST.
After all. which is the better feast? T. the
neatness and delicate elegance of the modern
dinner party better than the profusion and
ate and drank too much in those days-there
can be no doubt of it. The livers OF the present
day a very good proof Of II. They STAYED
too long at the table, too. aud wasted time.
But. after all. there was a whole-souled hospi-
tally in their feasts that is wanting in our
modern parties. The hostess took personal
trouble herself for you. She saw that you were
fed, and she fed you herself. She was not
ashamed to own that she made the custard or
the pastry; on the contrary she was proud OF IT,
She did not sit At her table like a guest
herself. with no trouble ON her mind and hardly
knowing herself what the servants would bring
on next. To her il was a great event to give a
dinner party, and all went attended with a
great deal Of trouble; whereas to her descend
ants it is comparatively an easy matter. IL
you live in big city and have plenty Of
money all you have to do is TO torn
your kitchen and dining room over TO
a caterer, invite your guests and enjoy your
self. But the result, while it may be pleasanter
to the hostess of the present day, is that nearly
all dinner parties are very much alike. whereas
in olden times they differed, and each house
had its Municipalities Of the culinary art.
LITTLE DIFFERENCE IN INVITATIONS.
There is a greater difference in the dinners
themselves of ancient and modern times than
there is in the invitations 10 them. Here is an
invitation from Gen. Washington to meet Mr.
and Mrs. Lawrence Lewis at Mount Veraon.
MRS. Lewis having Deeh Miss Eleanor Iarke
Gusts:
General and Mrs. Washington present their
to Mr.. and Mrs. Ramsay, Mrs.
Ramsay and Mr.. William Ramsay and request
the favour of their company to dine on Tues
day next with the couple newly married.
Mount Vernon, 23d Feby., 1888
San answer is requested
This is a little more formal, perhaps, in its
style than the invitation of a country gentle
man TO his neighbor would be at the present
day, but there is hot much difference. But the
two dinners that have been taken here are per-
haps too elaborate and only furnish extreme
types
SOMETHING TO ANTICIPATE.
Here is another invitation to dinner that a
man sometimes gets:
Dear John: We are going TO feast of Of ter
rapin on Thursday-come in and help.
Yours, Tox
There is something for John to look forward
to in the dinner with Tom. IL he likes the ter
rapin he will say SO and ask for more. III he does
not like 1t he will, perhaps, hint that i, is not
what 1t should be and Tom will probably agree
and they viii make il up on the ducks. They
will probably be content with two wines. per-
haps with only one, and when the coffee comes
and the cigars are lighted you may depend
upon it that Tom and John ar, happier than