Daily Kennebec journal. [microfilm reel] (Augusta, Me.) 1870-1975, 1906-01-01
MAINE EDITORIAL COMMENT.
The Red Table Cloth.
Bangor NeWs.)

NIoStiiooi ->CNS.(
To one who eats to live, or to one
who lives to eat, the sort of crOckery
or cutlery or napery. which he has on
the table is Of very small Importance
So long as the surroundings are clean
and wholesome, all outside of the food
is n matter Of detail. Ii has been and
continues to De Il mystery to many Of
us why SO much attention is paid to
non essentials. No matter how much
money Il guest may have, he had rath-
er find a thick slice of steak on his
plate than q thin one and if he is real
hungry it is not offensive to his nat
ural refinement if there are two slices
instead of one. There is Il natural
sense as TO the fitness of things about
our eating and drinking that centuries
of civiliZa ton cannot eliminate. With
in the memory of men and women
who are not old is time in the past
when small saucer was set at the side
of every cup of tea, its use being to
hold the teacuD, when the tea was
poured into the regular saucer. For in
those old days everybody poured his
tea into his saucer before thinking Of
drinking the beverage, khus making
the saucer of some use. In fact, it was
the rule rather than the exception, for
old teatopers, not only TO pour their
hot tea into SaucerS before drinking
but to blow upon this poured out tea
with their breaths for the purpose Of
cooling it off. No doubt, many who
read this will say that such conduct
was low and vulgar and not tolerated
by those who had good manners, but
we have seen learned clergymen and
members of Congress and skilled doc
tors sitting at table and blowing on
their tea, and slipping from the saucers,
as if that was the only way to drink
tea a la mode. And in those same
old times the napkin was spread across
the chest, like a child's bib, and kept
in place by tucking Il corner under
collar, making 4 sort of eating
OHeralls out of what modern diners
keep folded upon their left knees and
use for wiping their mouths. letting
the white shirt waists and stylishsbod-
ice and starched shirt front care for
themselves and catch any crumbs that
might choose to fall from busy mouths.
The old way of eating was very for
NAL and very bungling. however, and
though there is much that is unhandy
and silly in the new method of dining,
the race is gradually improving. In
Old-time etiquette no eater could, un-
der any circumstance touch his finger
to his food. Green corn cooked on the
ear was either cut off with knife and
passed to the mouth with a spoon or 1t
was speared by a fork and nibbled at
gently with the teeth. If one had
chicken leg on his plate he could not
take it up by the barred shin bone and
gnaw it in comfort but must dissect 1t
with knife and fork. The same process
was folloFed in eating pork chop and
veal cutht. In fact, eatins knives
were made sharp and stout in former
times for the reason that those who
sat down, to the table needed sharp and
stout knives in their business. The
dulled and ornamental silver knives
in use now Would have caused Starva-
ton in the families of our grandfath-
ers. Table knives We're made for dis
sectinS and cutting. Not only did they
shape the food to be placed in the
mouth, but they often carried the food
to the mouth from the plate. the two
tined forH being no more an instru-
ment sontrived for holding the con-
tents Of the plate VIII the knife did
the ch5pping and cutting. The knies
and forks used by our grandfatfers1
were of steel, good and. polished steel,
and theyaW2e made ef..hannhervice.
Ask a member of any old ~. lily in
Maine 10 hunt up the remnants of the
knives and forks in use when the Mex
lean war was in progress, and compare
those thin and worn down knives and
forks with the fat and lazy cutlery
employed today, and be convinced that
the eating implements employed by4t
w ancestors had to work hard.
But our dead and gone ancestors had
many things which we of today miss
sadly. For one thing. they had more
lood The frosting on the cake was
not so thick as it is today. and the
parsley about the meat was not pres
ent so often as it is now. but there
was more food that was real food
more grub"-to one old fashioned din
her than there is to all the modern
meals mat society gets up. And some
VI US Ola gluttons miss the spreads
lhey used TO have in former times.
i"rtlcuIarly we miss the red tablecloth
'A CHRISTMAS. The man or the woman
"i' hrst thought of placing a red Ia
piecioth under the repast should have
beautiful and skypricking monument
erected TO his or here memory, for
nohlng can give such an impression
OF comfort and good cheer as one of !
those old damask fabrics, which bore
up me gopdieA that we were waiting and
ANXIOUS to eat. No matter how choice |
the Anen may be. white tablecloth is |
cola and formal and suggestive of |
snoWdrifts and Mondays clothes lines
and Winding sheets. But red dam
ask Goth is warm and comforting. 1t
speaks of open fires and blazing Goals
ana red-cheeked apples and ruddy ell
derberry wine, and good cheer and
good hope. If We could 60 back and
eat once more from one of those dear
Ola red tablecloths. we would put I'D |
with a smaller wedge of pie and wei
would not find fault if a whole lot Of |
iio' water was added to our tea.
oh'fles A. Stillings, of Boston. recent |
~ appolnted public printer for the Gov
al IC H.