Year: 1872

castle windows, was looked upon as very
luxuriant in his tastes.


After the cloth was arranged, the sail
cellar was set on, then the knives Cif they
were so fortunate as to have any were
placed, the spoons, the drinking horns
and the trenchers.


The salt-eelIar was the most important
article of all very large and made with
a cover. In this latter peculiarity which
Shakespeare alludes to, where he makes
Laupce say: "The cover of the salt
hides the salt, and therefore it is more
than the SALT"


Where the host could afford 1t, it was
often of solid silver, elaborately chased !;
often very substantial piece of plate,
as costly as his means would allow. And
this accounts for the greed with which
Queen Elizabeth once seized upon one,
on occasion of visiting a certain great
official she had already received valu-
able gifts from him, but before her de-
parture she " took a salt. a spoon, and
fork of fair agate"


The cellar occupied place of honor
on the table, and the most distinguished
persons sat above it. To sit below the
salt /" means to be in the position of an
| inferior.


The meats were brought in on spits
just as they were cooked, and in that
way passed round by the servants to the
guests, who in the more barbarous times,
ore off portion as best they could.
Afterwards, when they Had advanced
little in their ideas, there was carver
he cut it with the other; and the guests
helped themselves, using their hands,
and after they had devoured what they
wished, threw the bones to the dogs and
cats that waited under the table and
scrambled for their share among the
rushes. Naturally enough, every one
was expected to wash mis- hands before
coming to the board" and certainly it
was needful afterwards.


A few knives, shaped like a razor, but
forks were unknown. Even the great
Elizabeth ate with her fingers. In her
reign however, commerce was extended,
tand luxuries began to appear. porcelain
and glasses instead of pewter mugs to
drink from, and in her bath room she
had mirrors, and this was considered
great extravaganza. Her immense and
lofty rooms were meager and cherries
enough with their scant furnishings !;
and her table, in spite of many pieces of
plate, was not altogether removed from
the rudeness of manners of the early
Saxons. AT first, two persons ate from
one trencher," as it was called. There
were no plates, and these trenchers were
made to answer the purpose. They were
in fact, large slices of bread, placed be-
fore each one Cor two) to accommodate
the meat. There were two qualities of
bread one fine, to be eaten; the other,
of course, inferior -four, was made into
large loves, then the outer crust was re-
moved and laid aside for the poor, and
the rest cut into very thick and su6stan-
tial slices, and thus used instead of
plates. In the course of time, some in
genious person conceived the happy idea
of having real plates the wealthy fur
nished themselves with valuable ones of
silver, and eventually the common peo-
pie were provided with such as their cir
cumstances admitted, made of wood or
pewter, and finally earthernware came
into use.


But in those days they were all con-
tent with the primitive arrangement of
the trenchers. The bread thus used
soaked up the gravy, and became quite
savory in consequence; and when the
meal was ended, each one eat his plate
if he chose otherwise it was put into
the aims basket, which was always kept
ready, and into which the leayings we're
gathered and sent out to the poor wait
ing at the gate-the poor were never for
gotten in those old Saxon households.
Every one had his drinking horn or
cup; usually it was horn, often elab-
orately carved, and ornamented with
gold and silver, and considered very
valuable article among mans possessions.
The drinking horn was sometimes lett by
will as a special gift, as one would not
bequeath a diamond ring or costly
watch In the transfer of land, before
the custom of witnessing by seal was in
troduced, the owner gave something in
pledge as an assurance or token of the
contract, and in such cases it was not
uncommon to make use of the drinking
horn. One family held their estate from
Canute by his drinking-horn. This was
their sole proof One gets from this
fact an idea of the value which was at
tached to this article of personal proper
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