Delaware gazette and state journal. (Wilmington, Del.) 1883-1902, 1896-06-11

. "a MQN York, June .. -'IOnE before
4. Owsst Meredith so POLITICALLY stated tho
8 fs0E7it was known that civilized or
l1aeivilized man required his dinner.
IflI{ke very early days handful of
a{fz4N berries served on their own
leHYNa, brook trout broied over
Aklt&e of wood from tho apple tree and
0l71{ed on the leaf of water lily, with
f{i& absolute Juice of coffee berry as
HiIish, served for tho dinner. Proba
biy, the coffee was inbibed out of a
ou,s-ike orchid. Then men grew less
boetical and moro uncouth, and were
satisfied to tear apart meat with their
Anuers and to absorb gallons of strong
Ii vines from big cups made of coarse
s day The years went by. They be-
came hundreds, they became thousands,
Ri1d man was counted as civilized. This
vas about 1880 AT this time tn Q ordi
x nary dinner was known. 1t consisted
at number of Dishes more or less
we'll cooked, ali placed upon the table
at once, and removed before dessert,
composed, too often, Of heavy pastries
md buildings, that were inexplicable.
And the result was that the civilized
man had the dyspepsia, for he ate
much grease, many more vegetables
than were required, and no always
arose from the table feeling that life
wasn't worth living. and that the
objections to life wore principally ma
terinl and took tho form of cook.
Now, wo do things little d ifferently.
The simplest dinner is served, 80 that
it is pleasing to the eyes as we'll as to
the lips, and ono may enjoy it. There
are women who persist in Offering the
same old dinner, that one that brought
dyspepsia, but these women are few,
thank goodness, and their number is
gradually growing less. You and
each with a small home, ono maid
servant and limited income, know
that dinner can be served properly,
even il one has not the income of
Croesus, Mr.. Astor or Mr.. Wander
bilt 1t ia true that little moro
thought is required; that little more
attention is Siven, or, to sum it all up
one's dinner must bear the hall mark
OF the management OF gentlewoman.
The markets are full of good things.
and the good things are cheap.
1t remains with you whether these
good things shall be served in goodly
a d godly manner, or whether they
shall be served after "A fashion dictated
by some servant Of Satan. How much
appetite have you when you sit down
W uthN Win tub TUHbL vi
lamb, dish Of peas, dish of potatoes,
dish of asparagus, dish of sliced to-
matoes. dish of sliced cucumbers, a
dish of thick slices Of bread with a
centre piece composed of butter dish?
After this, have you any appetite when
there Is put upon thu urummy tablccloth
a large apple pie, e dish of Strawberries,
apitcher of cream, and a whole pound
cakeY Your Dyes eat your dinner, which
means that you 500 30 much that you
want nothing.
But put this dinner in the hands of
wise woman and the result will tie
that you will DO seated at q table
covered with white damask, glttering
with shining glass and roal or plated
silver. Everything is immaculate from
the standpoint of cleanliness. There
is no butter dish in tho centre Of the
table, but instead either an en-
broidered centrepiece, or one formed
Of mirror. On this may stand a tall,
slender glass holding bunch of sweet
peas OF single rose, while around it
il a tiny glass dish filled with sailed
almonds, curious Japanese saucer
with radishea on ice upon it, and
tiny platter overlaid with cracked ice
popping out from which you see small
filled with cracked ice, standing upon
an ordinary plate, and having six tiny
CLANS. in their shells, to invite your
appetite. To be sure, it il tho cook
in cotton gown and clean white
apron, who removes the dishes when
the CLANS are eaten. AS the weather
is hot there is no soup; as the hostess
Is economical, there are only four
courses, the CLANS counting as tho
first. Then comes tho roast lamb,
carefully cooked and with the kidney
attached to it. In front of the hostess
is dish of peas and one of new pota-
toes, the potatoes being boiled in their
skins and wrapped carefully in nap.
kin. When this course is removed
there appears the asparagus, cold, and
to be eaten other with French
dressing or a mayonnaise. The cook
as waitress brushes every crumb off
the table, and there is brought on q
dish of beautiful Strawberries, either
with or without their caps, as YOU
fancy. With these are, as contrast
and for use, snow white soft sugar and
whipped cream, so that he who likes
may dip Strawberries in the sugar and
eat them from their green bonnets, or
ehe who likes may press thom down,
over them, making a sort of strawberry
Boutile. One iH offered tiny, thin cakes
on pretty platter, and there is another
OF odd Chinese nuts, while upon
square plate rests box of either
prunes or dates.
After tho maid has arranged dessert,
she draws up at ono side of the hostess
small table ON which is the teakette
French coffee pot and all tho cups
and saucers, and the house wife, as
she makes the coffoe has an opportu-
pity of showing her white hands, her
Beautiful rings and her ability in
making thar most delicious of drinks,
good cup of coffee. And this dinner
Ia en-. / by everybody. Everything
is dainty, and it does not cost ono
penny more to serve "a dinner adapted
to the tastes of gentlefolk than it does
to servo ono adapted only to greedy.
illbred people. You think this i'm
possible? J know that it is not. Then,
too, on this appetizing table, there is
Jug of good California claret which
is much better than ice water for any
one to drink with his dinner. No vim
ordinaire, but good brand Of Cali
fornia wine, which can DO gotten ut
reasonable price, and by which we
may teach our children to be tenn.
perate. Drunkarls, my FRIEND come
from households where wine is never
seen, and where it is spoken of aa an
attractive, but forbidden fruit
Adam, did not die, as it was said,
when he was s'S7 years old, but he lIvos
to-day in the hearts of every young
man, and as with the old Adam, so