The morning call., 1895-01-12
WITH A KNIFE.
To Eat With One Is a Sure Sign of
Puritan Ancestry.

would not have knives supplied with pie.
beans or blueberries. AS / have before re-
marked the table-knife is the great American
instrument of death and the American is slowly
but surely carving his own tombstone. and I'M
I'll Americans learn to dispense with the table,
knife in conveying provisions to the baZoo they
are declining race. Ages hence, the future
man, as he stands IN some ancient city-one OF
our cities of to.day-recenIIy uneartheG, as
Pompeii and Herculaneum have been ex.
cayated, Will view with astOnishment The rusty
table-knives and wonder to what manner of
pc Ople we belonged. And who can blame
him?
community eat blueberries with a knife, and
he succeeded almost beyond belief-of any ex-
cept eye-witnesses. IL beats "pigs in clover"
all out. The Idea seemed TO be to get half a
dozen blueberries on the knife, and as it was
lifted toward the mouth and The berries began
to roll toward The handle TO get them in line,
rolling back again and INTO the tunnel before
any OF them fell off. 1t was great trick.
To be able TO eat skilfully with knife Is a
sure sign OF Puritan ancestry. The quick
lunch restaurant is the preparatory institution
for the tomb. Every person must build the
abode for his own soul by eating and most men
do 1t as though they had contract job on hand.
III you wish TO see people eat In an ideal
manner go to an Italian restaurant on North
street. There may be dirt on the floor and dust
on the windows, but the food is goOd and The
leisurely subjects OF Humbert know how TO eat.
They appear to derive fully as much satsfac.
tion from looking at their lood and fondly
regarding IL as from eating 1t. They eat leisurely
and enjoy it,
Not so In the average downtown restaurant,
The man of business or the clerk comes in.
He orders from the "time table," he chafes
until he gets it, then he swiftly and skilfully
arranges each dish around his piate in such
manner as TO lose little time as possible.
ties his napkin around his neck SO the ends of
the knot stick up behind his head like mules
ears, takes his knife in one hand and the fork
In the other, CASTS determined LOOK around
him. and then the knife aud fork begin to play
back and forth from his plate to his mouth, and
the only wonder Is that they don't clash on the
way.
Now, am a Yankee, thorough Yankee, and
IL anybody thinks am not true American he
had better not "think" audibly. The quick
service restaurant Is not responsible for all the
anguish of modern existence. l can con.
scentiousy exIOl The old-styr OF New England
cookery, but the modern New England cookery
Is the great toboggan which brings IN in Para.
dise-Or some other seaport town. Ii Is de-
fusion and snare. The great trouble is that
the modern family cook is afraid OF fire, and
that snowy" product Of her skill, which she
boasts so much about, Is an emblem of mourn.
Ing. The Fittings around the edges of her pies
are suggestive OF the corresponding decoration
around the edge OF casket. The average per.
son does not know the difference between good
food and poor food. People are not good MYERS
and consequently their liyers are always out of
gear.
Much OF the food consumed by families In the
country is not halt cooked-and Just as sure as
fate the American people of to-day are engrav-
ing their own epitaphs wthh the table.knife,
and beating the last tattoo on the frying pan
With all the glitter, the mirrors, the tiles and
the display Of our restaurants, most OF them
fail to be attractive. They lack The ease and
relaxation which should pefvade place where
we go 10 reinforce our mental and physical
energies. There is also 100 much noise, and
hope the day will come when some noiseless
signal system VIII supersede the female walters
with steam cailiope vOces.-BOston Courier