Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1904-04-09
DINING ROOM. CHAT l
Hints on Table Appointments
and Etiquette.
HIST 0RICAL Us Es
THE EVOLUTION OF THE KNIFE,
FORK AND sfooN.
What a Servant Should Do or
Be Trained In Serv-
ing.

In this age of luxury 1t seems almost Inn
possible to conceive of time when our
commonest necessities were objects OF the
crudest workmanship and the greatest con-
sideration. I suppose there are few OF US
who can by any stretch Of imagination
class in the category of luxuries our or
binary everyday dining table and its really
necessary appointments, such as table
cloths, knives, forks and spoons, which ar
ticles make the ceremony of eating a grace
full function. and not a mere barbarous
feed "a 81
1t is strange how little even the best in
formed of US know about the things around
us. If one went the rounds Of many tables
it would be difficult to find an individual
who could tell when the table in its pres
ent service as board on which to spread
viands first came into existence. The an
cient Saxons and Danes, it seems, have the
honor of introducing this Indispensable
piece Of furniture into their domestic circle
and consequently into our own.
The term board" applied to the dining
table is literally exact. as the early ex-
laid upon trestles, removable when the meal
ended. The boards and trestles used at pic
MICS and informal outdoor spreads are
| relics of the early Saxon and Danish din
pentry efforts of our forefathers the table
became more and more refined in appear
ance until it attained to the polished ex-
panse of fine wood we now know. s.s-
Fashion has changed the contour OF the
modern dining table many time and OFT
We have seen the rise and fall of the
square extension board and the revival OF
the round highly polished mahogany, and
now the latest decree is the oval table. 1t
is possible at the small expense of IS for the
housewife to call all shapes her own. Any
carpenter will make her removable tops Of
the desired dimensions and shape or pine
wood hinged in the center so they may be
folded when out of commission. These adj
Unstable tops are placed upon an ordinary
dining table and used for large dinners or
luncheons parties to secure more seating
space for the guests.
Former Hard Uses.
Our table cloths are the direct descend
ants of the coverings put on the early Sax
on boards not as means of ornamentation,
but for hard use as napkins, upon which to
wipe the greasy fingers of the diners. Imag-
inc the elegant damask and lace table COW
ers of the present day serving such a pur-
pose! - ii
The primitive table covers were not a con-
tinuoIE length of cloth, but a sort of rough
towel spread over the boards as a convent
leaving the mahogany bare in the center
and only covering the part of the table
nearest the guest seems to be revival of
this old use, with the centerpiece later
artistic concession. Further on in the CEN
fury the Saxon women began to take
pride in making better napery for their
boards, and they also produced well-spun
and well-woven short cloths for finger
wiping. From these short cloths, them
selves direct followers Of the tablecloth,
came our present table napkins. 1t seems
that even in those early days laundry work
was considerable item, and the napkin
was an economic idea, of the primitive
housewife, who thought the smaller cloths
easier to wash than the larger ones.
About the time cloths spread out into pro-
portions covering the whole table the board
itself was made a permanency. In other
words. tables took the place of boards. The
idea dawned upon these ancients that 1t
was more convenient to have the boards
nailed upon four legs and made firm than to
have the shaky trestles formerly used. In
this way the reign of the trestle ceased and
that of the table began. .-
Daggers Were Handy.
In the huge banquet halls of the barons
the first knives used were the daggers of
the warriors. Servitors carried immense
portions of meat around to the guests, who
hacked off their favorite cuts with the dag
ger, often using the hands as well,
meanwhile cursing the mental If the
and 1t mattered little If the gravy and
grease did drop on the earthen floor in
those days. The dagger as a table equip
ment was succeeded in noble houses by the
short table sword, which was something
like razor, and kept for the cutting of
meat alone. 1t was only step from this
sharp instrument to the latter day knives.
Forks did not come into use until the
middle of the sixteenth century. The Ro-
mans used stick like skewer, which
after the lapse of years was divided into
two prongs and made very sharp At first
forks were made of iron, but in time this
metal gave place to wood, and later in the
century curious two-pronged forks were
seen in England 1t became fashionable to
use this two pronged fork instead of fingers,
and in the course Of time a third prong was
added.
Shells Were Spoons eaaa
Spoons for soft foods were in use almost
as soon as knives, and were made of shells.
Broth being a staple diet of our ancestors,
an imitation shell spoon was made, with
handle to keep the fingers from dipping
into hot foods. AS the age became more
luxurious spoons were formed of precious
metal, and in very much the shape of to-
day. The aboriginal plates were enormous
rounds of black bread, which soaked up the
gravy of the meat upon them, and were the
beggars' perquisites after the meal
The first drinking cups, were gourds and
the horns of cattle, although the manufac-
ture of glass has been carried on from the
earliest ages of the world. The celebrated
glass factories In the Island of Murano,
near venice, Wnere the 0neSt cut glass Is
still made, were in existence in the fifth
century. Drinking glasses were not used
in England until the reign of Queen Anne,
up to which time earthenware and pewter
mugs were In general use. H'"iA'' --1~-
The trouble of the present day in table
appointments arises from. an embarrass-
ment of luxurious serving articles rather
than from a lack Of necessities, and unless
one is well up in the latest table equipment
formal dinner is fraught with danger.
In this table talk aswerd about dinner
etiquette may not. come amiss To insure
good home service on state occasions. re-
qufre your maid to wait at table when you
are alone exactly the same as when guests
are present. Good waiting is only ques-
ton of training and ,Ia bit, and unless the
domestic is taught ito do: things properly
until they become SECOND nature to her she
is certain to get furrfed on special occa-
sions The maid sheuld be instructed that
dishes. to which guests. help themselves are
handed at their leftisideyjand fresh plates
and glasses are slipned in from the right
side so that she may avoid leaning across
the guests = - q tss - =. ...sts.. go.
Caution is Needed.