Evening star., 1939-02-25
Proper Way
OF Setting
A Table
Flat Silver Placed
So Guest Works
Toward Plate
BY FRANCESCA MCKINNEY.

Thee is only one way to set a
dinner table and that Is the proper
way. Nemember, whether you have
o2e Or more servants you should
~ that every meal is served cor
<ectly = that it becomes q habit,
other Be "life's most embarrassing
moment" will occur just when you
least desire 1t, with Company around.
First Of all teach your maid to
set the table carefully with every
thing strs :Sht and evenly spaced.
There is nothing worse than a CEN
terpiece of center, or places that
4 '(DOsyupposed to be opposite each
other. about , or 10 degrees of.
When using 2 table cloth care
EaAst be takeh that the middle
crease is absolutely ia the center
and straight; also that candle
sticks are even.
Meyer invite more people to lunch
con or dinner than your table can
scare for comfortably. Two feet from
the center Of one plate to the center
Of tfN plate Oh either side is sup
posed to be the ideal sracing for
comfoN. Anything closer than that
WiiWnot give your guests sufficient
elbow room, or permit the butler
to serve dishes easily and with
safety.
On the other hand guests spaced
too far apart have to shout across
the great open spaces" to make
themselves heard. and that Is too
much OF an effort to keep up for any
length of time.
The placing of fiat silver is not
difficult to learn. The 1est rule
to remember is that you always
start from the outside and yocY
toward your plate. If the table
is set this way guests will never
make nistakes, or be bothered about
which fork 10 use.
Forks are always placed on the
LETT side of the place while knives
are on the right The soup spoon
is placed on the outside next to the
knives while the oyster forks are
usually placed on the left for the
purpose OF balance, although many
still put them next to the soup
spoon.
The water goblet is placed to
the right of the plate directly above
the knives and the butter plate to
the left above the forks, although
at formal party butter plates are
never used. If wine glasses are
used they are grouped in front of
the water glass and slightly to the
right, to some degree. in the order
of which the wine is to be served.
The dinner napkin is always placed
on the service plate and never to
one side, except in a house where
there are no servants and the first
course is on the table when the
guests are seated. The napkin
should be folded square, and then
the two sides rolled under to meet
and placed on the plate. Rolls are
never put in the napkin and napkins
are never arranged in fancy fold
ings.
Place cards are put on the napkin
in the center Of the plate and they
should be plain with a gold or silver
edging. This family crest embossed
with gold or silver may be used,
but fancy cards never, unless for
some special occasion such as birth
day or dinner for a wedding party.
The dessert spoon and fork are
never placed on the table; they
are always on the dessert plate
which is placed before the guest
who in turn removes the finger bowl
and dolly, placing it where the
butter plate would normally be. and
his spoon and fork are placed on
either side of the rate. Both the
spoon and fork are placed on the
dessert plate regardless of what the
| dessert may be,