The Washington herald., 1909-05-30
HINTS BY THE SOCIAL ARBITER

NOTE-Ths Arbiter VIII be glad 10
answer any question Of a social na-
ture that may be submitted. Such
questions should be addressed 70 The
Arbiter. care The Washington Herald
The military correspondent OF last weel
writes to thank The Arbiter for what ~
terms his Illuminating letter" but beg.
hin 10 give some definite instructions re-
gardins table manners How do yoI
eat asparagus" he asks, with your I'm
gers or with a fork2 How 90 you dis
pose OF srtichokes? Do you unfold you:
napkin once. or DO YOU spread il 10 its full
size on your lap? When should one begir
eating at a course dinner, &c ?'' To quote
al OF his questions would take up all ths
space allotted 70 this letter, which VII
aim TO answer them.
Asparagus is invariably eaten by peO-
PIE OF the world by taking up the white
end IN the fingers OF the right hand and
biting OF the green end as far up as
It is tender To Try and manage il with q
fork Is provincial The leaves are stripped
OF Of artichokes with the fingers and the
succulent part eaten as one eats aspara-
gus Corn is also eaten from the cob. bat
It IS difficult process. and il IS generally
much more acceptable Io serve Il cut
from the cob. Since We are on the sub
jeet Of vegetables, lettuce should never be
cut with knife. which process destroys
the flavor Il should be broken. OF pulled.
rather. in pieces with the fingers. As 10
the service Of peas, tomatoes, and spinach
the hostess at a formal dinner this
winter was electrified 10 hear one Of her
guests ask for a separate plate for the
spinach, an absurd request, for the only
other vegetable served with the nlet was
carrots. and both vegetables should have
been eaten from the same plate as the
meat It sayOrs OF prOvincial!sm for a
guest 70 interrupt the service Of dinner
By some idiosyncrasy of his own, and
one should never make himself cOnSpicu-
Gus by not conforming That ones Gus
toms and habits are different is no recon-
mendaJioR. Il is the person who most
quickly and quietly accepts the manners
and customs OF those with whom he Is
placed who is The most desirable and
sousht-after guest.
As 10 the management OF a napkin.
thar seems almost 100 absurd 10 discuss.
There are no hard and fast rules for the
treatment Of this very necessary piece of
table furniture Use il IN the way that
VIII give you the most comfort II IS
meant Of course. 10 protect your clothes
from any possible crumbs that might fall
and 70 wipe your hands and mouth on
When one IS dining away from home
the napkin should never be folded, but
left loosely crumpled at ones plate In
houses where there are not fresh napkins
FOR every meal the napkin should be
neatly folded and placed in the napkin
ring. II one is furnished. OF tied with
ribbon. f one is provided
IL is. Of course. much more elegant 20
serve fresh napkins at every meal, Tor
there are UCmenti0nable microbes hidden
n the folds Of every sOiied one, SO the
paper japanese napkins commend them
selves 10 h9UsekeeDers, especially for sum
mer use This year they are being made
dOJbly as large as formerly, and the
paper IN them IS so firm and yet so soft
that they are almost as agreeable 10
handle as linen ones. and then there is
10 washing, no laundry bills.
3Iy military lad asks me 10 be quite as
frank and specific as would be with
EotJentot who had never sat at a civilized
table. 50 I venture TO mention things
which, If he had not given me this license,
would never dare To- The first course
AT a dinner is generally q clam OF oyster
cocktail, a csviaTe sandwich. or grape
fruit. The first are eaten with al oyster
fork from long glass. the sauce in
which Jhey are served being left in the
glass. Caviare sandwiches can be taken
In the hand If any one prefers this method
and the grape fruit, which are already
cJt. s8eeteneG, and arranged FOR serving,
are eaten with 2 dessert spoon Alligator
pears are also sometimes served IS a first
course These are cut in half the large
stone removed from the center, and the
fpace It leaves filed with a French salad
dressing. The pulp IS eaten with fork
Dr spoon
Soup IS eaten from the side Of large
tablespoon, or drunk. rather Dessert
spoons are sometimes served with SOUP.
but this IS extremely bad form Fish
should be eaten with fork. The bones
can be removed with the help OF Z
''pusher.~ as the piece OF bread is some
times called that one uses in managing
food. An infant terrible once yelled out
AZ q meal where guests were present
oh. mamma, Ethel ate her pusherl' 1
II hereupOn Ethel replied, yes. 7 are ny /
pusher cause L was fun OF gravy" And /
nobody blamed her
The fork should be held In the right /
hand. and the knife should remain on 4
The side Of The plate except when IN I
actual use Never saU The air With your 1
knife when you are eating vith your /
fork. Il Is needless 10 say that the knife /
Is never used 10 convey food 10 the 4
mouth, but, strange as II may seem, al 4
the table d'hotes in Germany one often I
sees the knife used for this purpose By /
seemingly weIl-bred people. A German /
Officer once said 10 Tie Arbiter. You /
Americans never seem 10 US your knives 4
20 eat with, but how n the world DO you I
manage about peas?" and It's true, sis I
pity. that some Americans eat peas with 4
q spoon, which IS unpsrdonable-
The hostess IS served first al dinner for |
several reasons. In medieval times. when
poisoning ones enemies was a pastime Of I
society, the host or hostess invariably 1
tasted first every dish that was offered, /
- $3.50 ---~ guess A--<-A - CSiltd-leU 40 \
poison. Nowadays, when 50 many queer 4
dishes are offered. the hostess. by being I
served first, shows the way In which theyl
should be manipulated. Then, too, the I
guests are supposed 10 wait until the 4
hostess gives the signal before beginning /
70 eat and there is often a long interval 1
from the tine the service begins until the 4
hostess is reached, which IS done away 4
with when she IS the first 10 be served.
Formerly there were many sorts OF I
wines served al a formal dinner. I have
seen Is many as nine glasses ranged Al
The covers for the various brands and
vintages. At present only two or three
wines are served. sometimes .onl,. one Il