The sun. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1833-1916, 1906-08-05
DECLINE IN TABLE MANNERS.
A MARION LAMENTS THE UP TO
DATE RESTLESSNESS.
Restaurants h Biames for Hurried Fat
ing. t,ref the Jaek q Con%versatien, fer
- .the kssows On ne Table Way Of SITTING
Tho New Way sfnds Q Defender.

There In much talk In these days Of the
decay Of m miners. and II 10 probably moro
justified h q great deal OF the sentiment
which eaprnaaeg ftself In u~nfavoFable oom-
parison Of the present with the past.
Certainly the styles n New York tab'a
manners have changed, It used TO be one
Of the oardtnal principles that it was bad
manners for q woman 10 put her elbows
on the table. Now II isa very smart posture
at o dinner party, especially II the girl has
pretty hands. Pretty rings constitute even
o better EXCUSE,
II would have been sent fN IN the table
II I had dared cit like that said a matron,
glancins at the girl opposite her at a dinner
party. y was told that / must never put
my elbows on the table whatever I did.
Now my own child would think l was crazy
III told her anything 30 mach opposed 70
the fmart ways Of girls to-day.
Il actually sec women at formal dinners
now pick up q cup Of cold bouillon and
rest their elbowa on the table while they sip
Il. suppose that shows how %oonve
tional and natural they are. but I must
confess 10 an old fa shioned prejudice In
the matter Of table msnnere.'
THIS woman's explanation Of the present
In table manners was the in-
CREASED use Of restaurants by young women
who never used TO 60 10 them. 1t happens
to be true Of the great world Of society now
that It's members dine In public much
more frequently than they formerly did.
'Restaurant manners, +" she explained, are
a distinct type of the degenerate fashions
Of the day. Some Of the smartest men and
women In New York dine three or four
times a week In resta ura nts. 1t is usually
before they 60 to the theatre or opera, and
most Of them are In a hurry.
sThe restaurant eater soon becomes
easily recognizable, There are unmistak-
able attributes. One of these Ia the national
weakness for ealt and pepper. The minute
a dish In placed before him the restaurant
eater begins to sprinkleit with salt or pepper.
There Is no preliminary tasting to see II ID
Ia all right. It's discourage to q hosteas
who knows that her cook 10 a good one
when she sees carefully seasoned food sub
mitted to this treatment. The taste Of the
restaurant eater needs strong ~favoring
after a while. and It goes without saying
that a good cool would never put In the In
gradients plentifully enough. i feel rather
oomplimented nowadays when my guests
Noh v uDh W LYON " Nffu tihio
that condiment over all the dishes the way
they do In resta
-Then the restlessness OF the habitual or
very frequent restaurant diner betrays him..
He has fallen into the habit Of filling up in-
tervals in the meal and can never sit quietly
at the table without doing anything. He
must either eat or drink every minute Of the
time. So he or she devours large quantities
Of bread, which they do not really desire,
before the courses are brought or during
dinner. just this sane habit q keeping at
II all the time leads the restaurant diners
to drink more wine than they ought TO or
really want,
Al these de1noraHzing effects Of restau-
rant lifs, asst exists to-day. NATURALLY have
their influence IN the home. Look ct the
formal dinners that are given to-day. They
used TO be the most delightful entertain
ments Of the winter, There one had ample
time for conversation and there was q real
luxury In the repose and dignity of the
evening.
But what Is q dinner to-day, whether 10
be here In the winter or at Newport in the
summer Thirty or forty people are put ata
table and the dinner Is handed out to them
lust ss quickly as the ervan can get 1t
around In order that the evening may wind
up with q variety show, Then there will be
more To eat and drink. possibly dancing
and then home.
1T may DO q change for the worse, but
there IL little doubt that the present genera
ton 10 much better satisfied with its W
ways Of entertainment thar With those
popular twenty years ago. Men as well "a
women ind the ways OF entertaining now
In vogue much more to their TASTE"
"Of course, dining tn restaurants b more
popular now than it was years ago. came
40 the response Of a younger woman.
when there were very few restaurants
and people did not Know enough to vary
the monotony Of going TO them. In those
days q dinpsr party WAS q long drawn out
affair, with curse after course Of dishes
that everybody was too full to eat. and
half dozen different kinds Of wines, begin
ming with sherry and winding up way
down OF the other end Of the menu with
port. Nowadays people know too mnch
about drinking 10 hl up their stomachs
with a pousse cafe made of half a dozen
kinds OF wines. Who has forgotten the
dinner Of Q decade agOf Sherry with the
oysters or hors d'euvres, white wine
with the fish, ciaret with the entrees
sprinkled In between. champagne with the
salad, and burgundy with the gams-an
this 70 DO topped of with port. People
have learned enough about their health
10 keep away from such a barbecue.
'The food was just asdeadly with aiterna-
lions Of moro or less tasteless timbales,
puddings and Ices, until n reels at the
thought Of tbem. The preeent dinner 10
much moro suited 10 the needs Of d day.
when young people arc active, not neoes.
sarily RESTLESS from restaurant eating, and
want 10 b up and doing. --
THAT dinners Are shorter 10 hygienio
and not 10 b dsplored. Possibly We might
Be mors healthful II most persons ate moro
slowiy, but 40 II d they cat nowadays Q
great dsal lees than they did In those old
days, and thsFe 10 no reason why they
should DO OF tho table % long.
Conversation may Be q lost art Idon't
intend 10 argue that point. Yet tho men
and woman who 10 10 the theatre after .
dsspised festaurant dinner do not cease
entirely 10 talk after they leave the table.
Conversationrthe modern and second rate
kind, OF COURSE continues all evening.