The Anaconda standard., 1895-06-10

family affair. You are shown up at
once to the drawing room, ana unless
your hostess suggests laying aside
your coat you go down 10 lunch as you
are. This is the pure English OF II An
Irish lady, on the other hand, VIII De
apt to show you to her bedroom, give
you brush, comb and hot water, ana
expect you to take off your things. "A
French woman, too. viii expect you
to remove hat and wraps AS one said
to me the other day: I'VE French reel
hurt II visitors will not take OIL their
hats, but these English they keep on
their hats for everything-they eat ana
CO." Remember this. any one who is
going out TO lunch i'm England and so
escape the ghastly moments OF my
first experience. when j was taken
aback by being shown. like an ordinary
caller, at once to the drawing rooHl'
where my hostess came to me Few
minutes afterward, with never a word
of course, about removing anything
until just as we rose to go down 10
lunch. when she asked If i would ike
to take off my coat. Having expected
the option of the dressing room,
American fashion, ! thought Tor iull
10 awful minutes that ! had mace
mistake and was not expected.
Both lunch and dinner are either
served from the side table and passed
by the servant or put on the taDie anu
helped by the host and hostess, accord
Lunches are sometimes quite as hearty
as small dinners, even though II may
be a simple lunch en- famille There
are almost always two desserts, ana
sometimes three-a pudding ana a1ter-
wards two sweets, a tart, or what we
call a pie, baked i'm a deep dish, or
some delicate custard or shape serVoa
with a choice of preserves. AFTER TINS
there are often biscuits and cheese,
with which butter is also served, ana
celery also when i'm season. Celery Is
seldom or never served except with the
cheese. Olives, too. always come after
ward with the candied fruit and bon
bons, and never between courses.
Wine. sometimes of two kinds, is al
most invariably served, even at a
strictly family lunch with ladies only;
ii is quite as generally used in England
as on the continent.
The old English custom Of not re-
moving the crumbs for dessert is sun
very general; also that of having no
napkins for breakfast and lunch is
still in vogue among the more ola
fashioned. Another custom differing
from ours is the eating of fish with
both knife and fork, and sometimes
even with two forks. the left hand one
being used like a piece of bread l
have also noticed dessert being eaten
with spoon and fork.
The English have brought special
dishes for special days or seasons down
to a fine point. Among those less Ia
miliar to Americans are pancakes for
Shrove Tuesday and salt fish with egg
sauce for Ash Wednesday. Come Ild
have tea after salt fish," is quite a
familiar phrase on that day. y sim
mel cake is the proper thing to eat on
the fourth Sunday in Lent. It's name
immortalizes a certain Squabble be-
tween one Simeon and his wife Nell,
one of whom liked currants in the
cake, the other nOt-a squabble which
was finally patched up by Nells max
ing the cake in two layers, one with
currantS and one without, and so 1t
stands to this day. Twelfth cakes be-
long to Twelfth Night and, Of course,
hot cross buns, 20 Good Friday. Then
there is the Michaclmas goose and the
Christmas turkey. and of course we all
know of the Christina plum pudding.
but we don't know that the Christmas
plum pudding is usually multiplied
into Is OF 20 like unto himself and
made out OF the same mixture, of
which one, the last one, is always kept
F over for Easter sunday.
/ Spea kingtOf. Easter Sunday, don't
as k FOR hot mllbns after that day. for
YOU may not always get them / asked
my landlady for some the other day
end was told that they were not often
made after Easter And Why?' 1
asked. II couldn't say, num-" she
said: people don't want hot things
D Easter.
. English rise of the voice at the ques-
tion mark which implies an affirmative
answer. They will come i'm again
with cold weather" I have often de-
voutly wished that London would car
ry this principle to its legitimate con-
clusion, namely the realization that
If people don't want hot things, they
might possibly like cold things after
/ Easter" | have wandered over Lon
. don in these hot spring days, which
are so enervating in an agonized
search for an ice. and could find none
no, not one. In every little tea and
coffee room, where the sign sign raises
false hopes Of ices" l am told with an
. injured surprise, we do not keep ices
until June and | retreat before a
freezing superiority which might do
. duty for CARLOAD Of Blanks best; il
is an unpardonable sin to want ice out
of season, SO i stumble home with
sweet dreams of Blanks, and no ice
but the shopwoman's look of disdain
| Don't hope for even lemonade, nor any
cold thing al all; you must not be
thirsty before June.
The usual English breakfast consists
| of tea or coffee. bread, boiled eggs.
cold meats and jams of several kinds.
| Jams and preserves are a distinctive
feature of breakfast over here. and
are eaten with bread as a second
course. The English are inclined TO
! laugh at us for what they call our
! breakfast dinner. our beefsteak and
fried potatoes and other hearty things.
but / think we can return the laugh
when we often find them mastering
five meals a day of no very light char
acter, for some of them sit down 20
the table at tea time To quite a solid
meal Of preserves, cake, toast. cold
meat or Sausages. even though dinner
Is i'm no very distant future; and sup
per is often i'm order before ones goes
to bed. with more tea and cake and
preserves. There is never time when
tea is not on tap. one seems to be al
ways eating in England, and it is, in
deed, necessary in this climate to put
| fuel on tbe fire prrattv often