Part 109

The laying of the table for dinner should not be put off, as it so often is, until the servant has barely time to scramble through it; this applies also to all the meals, and there should always be a comfortable margin of time left, so that a servant can wash her hands, and change her apron and cuffs and collar, or a footman make a suitable freshening of himself for waiting at table. To prepare properly in the butler’s pantry is the great secret for a methodical and well-trained manner of laying a dinner table. Not one tray, but two or three if necessary must first be prepared, so that every requisite for the table is brought up before the servant commences to lay the cloth. Silver, knives, glass, cold plates, water bottles, cheese, butter, bread, dessert, finger glasses, &c., ought all to be prepared, and put into the dining room before commencing to lay the cloth. Either in laying a table or in cleaning a room, a well-bred servant ought to shut herself up in the room in which she is busy, surrounded with all her tools.

Before beginning to lay a cloth, a large clean apron ought to be tied on, whether it be a man or a woman servant, so that the dress does not soil the cloth. The thicker the under-cloth the better the white cloth looks. Have your white cloth most exactly in the centre, so that the side folds are at equal distances from the edge of the table, and smooth and stroke and pull your cloth well before you place anything on it. (Wash your hands well before beginning.) Then to each person put 2 large knives and 2 large silver forks, both to be an inch from the edge of the table, and the handles close together and perfectly even. At the top, just to the right of the end of the outside large knife, put your tallest and largest wineglass, and then group the others below, but always slanting a little towards the right, and close together. Unless you place them in this manner, it would inconvenience the person using them. Place sherry, hock, claret, and champagne glasses in this way. Of course this is an extreme of wineglasses, but these are the wines drunk during dinner. Generally for every-day use sherry and claret are sufficient, or sherry, hock, and claret, and if there is champagne, hock may not be needed. Do not put any tumblers on the table for a late dinner, nor any port-wine glasses. Unless there is a good staff of servants, you must lay your table for a dish of each course to be placed at the bottom o£ the table. To attempt to have everything carved at a side table, unless you can do it properly, is simply vulgar pretension. The table can be laid prettily with fruit and flowers, and yet have the soup, then the fish, then the joint placed at the bottom.

If, when there is only one servant to wait at table, the carving is done by her at a side table, either the first person she helps must wait for vegetables, sauce, &c., while she is carving for others, or they must wait for their fish or meat. The sideboard for the late dinner must be laid fancifully and prettily, and with such a disposition of the tallest articles, that all the rest are shown to good effect. No knives should be seen, all should be silver and glass. Never turn a tumbler or a wineglass upside down in arranging a sideboard or a table--it is a vulgarity. At an hotel or restaurant it is reasonable to do so, where tables are really laid for hours, as it keeps out the dust; and on the washing-stand of a bedroom it is proper to turn medicine glasses and tumblers upside down for the same reason, but not in preparing meals in a private house, where the glasses are going to be immediately used. Neither should any spoon or fork be turned upside down, only saltspoons, because otherwise they would not lie on the top of the saltcellars. Arrange on the sideboard dessert spoons and forks, some large spoons and forks, sauce ladles, gravy spoon, fish slice--in short, all of silver that will be required during the different courses. Lay them out in a tasty manner, not too straggling, never in bundles as you would keep them in a plate basket. This is only admissible when there is a large dinner or ball supper, and then you must of course have a reserve in bundles, in addition to those you lay out ornamentally.

In laying the table do not place a soup ladle, a gravy spoon, and a fish slice, or fish knife and fork altogether at the bottom of the table, as so many servants do. Keep the fish knife and the gravy spoon on the sideboard until they are wanted. It is quite right to place the carving knife and fork from the beginning at the bottom of the table, it is then ready, and yet does not make a confusion; in fact it would make more of a confusion if you were to place it only when it was wanted; but remember in laying them to let the bottom of their handles correspond exactly with the bottom of the handles of the two large knives, and let the ends lie on the knife rests. Put 4 saltcellars, one at each corner, or a small one to each person as the custom of the family may be. Place the tablespoons on each side of the saltcellars, so that the handles are in a line; and if you prefer to place your tablespoons straight, let the saltcellars be on a line with the ends of the large knives, but if you prefer to put your tablespoons at cross corners, they ought to be nearer to the edge of the table. If you place the tablespoons straight, the water bottles ought to stand off a little from the tip of the inside tablespoon. If the tablespoons are at cross corners the water bottles must stand across the middle of the inside tablespoon, and in this case you may turn the handle of one tablespoon one way, and that of the other spoon the other way; but when you place them straight, it is better style to have both handles in a row. You may either place 4 water bottles, or 2 water bottles and 2 pint decanters of dinner sherry, letting them correspond at cross corners. Pint decanters have gone very much out of fashion, in these days of handing everything, but they look pretty and cosy. As a guide how far apart you should place the knives and forks for each person, put a plate down between; the edges of a large plate should go over the knives and forks, a small plate should not. Salt ought to be moulded in a little hillock, either out of a small china eggcup, or a wineglass that has lost its stem, and then turned out into the saltcellar. Remember to place knife rests. The butler’s tray is a very ugly object unless a clean tray cloth is put over it; but it is a very necessary relief to the sideboard, as it holds the pudding and cheese plates, knives, and cheese, which ought all to be arranged there during the laying of the cloth, and room left for 2 vegetable dishes--if the family is small; if not, a large side table is needed. The dinner waggon should only be used for dessert plates, and such dessert dishes as cannot be put on the table until dinner is over. Wines for dessert ought also to be placed in the dinner waggon. Each dessert plate ought to be arranged quite ready for placing, with its d’oyley, finger glass, knife, fork, and spoon. The finger glass ought not to be even half full of water. If dessert plates are used without a d’oyley or a finger glass, then place your dessert knife and fork handles on the plates, and let the points go over the plate; this prevents their falling or straggling. The arrangement of the dessert ought always to be the care of the mistress, unless she has a housekeeper, and even then it requires her supervision. It is a thing that requires a lady’s taste and touch. Each day the dishes require wiping, the papers rearranging; and once a week, at least, the dishes want washing. Nothing is worse than to see an old dessert from yesterday put on the table without to-day’s restoration; better go without. Nothing is better than a pretty and fresh dessert paper. For strawberries or any of the small summer fruits that stain in the helping, it is better taste to place them on the bare dish, unless you use the leaves that belong to the fruit; but do not use too many, and be sure to wash them. Never use artificial leaves or flowers to decorate dessert; in fact, never use flowers at all to decorate fruit, it is not true taste. For all winter and dried fruits dessert papers are best, also for biscuits and cake. Do not overload any dessert dish, and never put out ginger either wet or dry, or guava, &c., on a dessert dish, but on a small glass one, and place this on the dish, with a dessert paper under.

Small crystallised fruits are pretty arranged in ornamental paper cups especially made for dessert. Fill each with a different kind, and by leaning them against each other you can make a sort of pyramid. If only one dish of meat is put on at each course, a water dessert jug and goblets can be placed at the top of the table. It is impossible to give more detailed directions as to how the dessert dishes should be arranged on the table, only taking care there be not too many dishes. If the door of the dining room is farthest from the head of the table, let your tallest ornaments be near the head of the table. If you have occasion to bring in any odd chairs for a dinner or supper, do not put them on the side of the table opposite the door. If these two last hints are remembered, you do not spoil the general effect.

After removing the meat course, and all that belongs to it, remembering to turn out also the plates, so that the cook can be going on with her washing-up, return to the room, and shut the door.

If there is a tart, go to the sideboard, and place on a tray 2 clean knife rests, and a knife and fork--the latter, of course, to be silver. Place these to the right and left of your master, the handles an inch from the edge of the table; then put a tablespoon to the right of where the tart dish will be, _not_ by the side of the knife. Look round, and remove unsightly articles, such as tumblers that have been used for beer, and remove also any large knives that have not been used during the meat course; also put the saltcellars in their places, and water bottles. These little matters are easily and quickly done, and give a much more suitable and refined appearance to the dinner table for the serving of the sweets; for, naturally, the table gets a little disordered during the meat course from people using salt, mustard, cayenne, water, &c.

However small the article may be, always bring it to the table on a tray, or take it off in the same way. Now bring in and place before your master the tart or pudding and put the other sweets on the side table. Take in your right hand the sugar basin, and hold a pudding plate in your left. If your master puts the first helping on the plate that is before him, then the one you have in your hand does to replace it, and if there is only one servant waiting, of course this is the best way, but if two are waiting, then one can always hold a plate for a helping to be put on it. If two servants are waiting, the second follows with the sugar and sauce, if the latter be needed. When every one has had pudding or tart, remove it before handing the other sweets, or, if it is merely an every-day family dinner, you may hand the sweets to those that refuse pudding. As you remove a pudding plate that has been used, replace it with a clean one, with a fork upon it, with the handle on the plate and the prongs over the edge to keep it steady. Then hand the other sweets, holding the dishes with your hand underneath and very firm. If it should be jelly, blancmange, or cream, a tablespoon is sufficient, but for pastry a large fork as well as a spoon is needed. In handing entrées or sweets that require cutting, the first cutting should be done by the servant at the sideboard before she hands the dish. In dishing sweets, never decorate them either with flowers or anything else, except their own cooking belongings. It is very bad taste simply because it is without any reason. A glass dish set in a silver one is the best, with a fringed d’oyley between, barely showing, but just enough to prevent a hard look. If there are not any silver dishes, then hand the glass dish by itself. Inexperienced servants commit the mistake of offering sweets to people who have already some of another kind on their plate. You must wait, and give a clean and separate plate for each sweet. Not only is it better taste and style, but your own sense will tell you that one sweet will spoil another, if eaten together. If there is game, it comes in before the sweets, and without any vegetables. In the case of a game course following the entrée and meat course, do not trouble to rearrange the table so exactly as before the sweet course, but still, a sharp natty servant will always give some touches before each. The bread-sauce ought to be in one tureen and the gravy in another, if it is game that requires gravy, and the breadcrumbs should be handed on a flat dish, as you would cut toast for soup. To all game hand cayenne pepper but no sauces, as the game flavour would be destroyed. If the game should be wild duck, it ought to be dished quite dry, and, as soon as you have placed it before your master, place by his side a cut lemon, cayenne pepper, and the sauce, which should be poured over the breast after it has been cut. In the same way, if, at the meat course the dish should be a fore-quarter of lamb, you must place by the side some butter, lemon, and cayenne pepper, and you must have ready in your hand a small dish on which to receive the shoulder when it is removed. The lemon, butter, and cayenne should be put in between the shoulder and the ribs after it is cut and before removing the former.

Another hint for beefsteak puddings, if that dish should happen to represent the meat course. Have a hot-water jug, with boiling water; place it by the side on a little china stand. The pudding should be carved by cutting a round out of the top, and then pour plenty of the boiling water in; make an incision at the bottom of the pudding, and rich gravy will rush out; take a tablespoon, and ladle it into the pudding several times. This by no means impoverishes the pudding, but improves it, especially if there are kidneys in it.

To prepare for the cheese course. Remove everything belonging to the sweet course, and then return to the room, and shut the door. There is so much less rule observed nowadays, and so much more carelessness indulged in, that the proper rules will soon be lost sight of, and there is not one house in 20 where one sees the cheese course properly done. The proper rule is this--before cheese is brought in everything should be removed, except water and salt--because these are the only things that are required with cheese, so far as the things on the table are concerned. The port wine and ale are on the sideboard, and so are the tumblers and wineglasses in which they ought to be handed. As you remove the dirty pudding plates, replace them with cheese plates, with a small knife and fork on each, with the handles resting in the plate. Never place a cheese plate with only a knife. Half the reason why it is popularly supposed to be unladylike to eat cheese, is that it has been so generally eaten with only a knife, and this is done away with if a silver fork is used. In fact a fork is sufficient without a knife. If two servants are waiting, the second holds the tray while the other places everything on it; but if there is only one, she has to use a smaller tray, and then it is a better method to remove all the silver together, and then all the glass. If any one has used a tumbler to drink water out of during dinner, do not remove it, but leave it for the same use during cheese. There are many ways of handing cheese, the most refined being to hand it, cut in squares from which the rind has been removed, on a round glass dish or small tazza, and some rolled butter on another; or it may be handed in a china dish with 3 divisions--for butter, for biscuits, and for cheese. This latter is the more convenient where there is only one servant. But many people like to have the cheese placed on the table when they are alone; and in that case you must place your cheese scoop or knife ready to the right before you place the cheese on the table, and remember to bring it on a tray. If the cheese is put on the table, you must stand at your master’s left side with a spare cheese plate in your hand. Several squares of cheese are cut, and you must place on this a small silver fork, and hand it round to each person, as you would a dish, and each takes a piece on to their own plate with the fork. Then hand bread, or biscuits, or oat cake, or pulled bread, and butter. Then go to the sideboard and pour out, in a port-wine glass, some port wine, not to the brim, and 2 tumblers of ale. (This is supposing that there are 3 gentlemen at the table.) Hand these on a small round tray; if a gentleman takes the port wine, return to the sideboard with your tray and pour out another glass, and hand with the ale.

Now remove the cheese course, but if cheese straws or cheese pudding or cheese soufflé are eaten instead of plain cheese, you must observe the same rules, the only thing you have to remember is to hand cayenne with these.

There is only one proper way to wait at table, and the foundation of good waiting is, that there is a reason and a suitableness in every rule, there is also a graceful simplicity in good waiting. And by clearing as you go, which is the key-note of all these directions, it is a help to every one. Firstly, the family comfort and refinement are more attended to, the cook gets her dishes and plates, and has not a general descent upon her of greasy things, muddled up with others, and the things can be taken to the butler’s pantry in a more methodical manner.

Having a proper table in the hall for placing dishes on greatly facilitates their removal down stairs. A flap table with strong supports is the best for a narrow hall, or a trestle table, which should not be put out until the first course has begun.

Now, to prepare for dessert. Having followed the rules, you will find there is very little left to remove. Having cleared the table, remove the slip cloth from the bottom, and take all the crumbs away. A scraper with a handle is best, as a brush is not often enough washed; always use a pudding plate--a clean one, of course--to scrape the crumbs into. First bring a fork to take away the pieces of bread with, and then scrape the cloth very carefully, for nothing stains damask more than breadcrumbs, if the cloth is screwed down in a press with crumbs left in it. Never bring a dessert plate to the table until you have quite cleared it of crumbs. Spread out your dessert dishes, and fill up the spaces with others, that you have kept on the dinner waggon. After you have placed spoons to the right of each dish, place to each person the proper wineglasses, and lastly, the wine, before your master, and if you have used other decanters during dinner, the dessert decanters are nice and bright. See that the sifted sugar basin that has been used at the pudding course is wiped, and the sifter clean before putting it on the table.

Where there is only a house and parlour maid, it is absurd to expect her to hand the dessert dishes; and even if two are waiting, it is rather a bore in every-day life. It is kinder to the servants to let them go to their washing-up, and pleasanter to oneself to be without them.

One of the untidy customs of nowadays is to leave the sideboard half-cleared, and for the servants to withdraw, leaving many things about there that have nothing to do with dessert, and which had much better be cleared away and put in their proper places, including the sideboard cloth, while the family are at dessert.

As soon as the servants have left the room, the fire in the drawing-room ought to be attended to if it is winter, and any little touches the room requires; and before the lady of the house leaves the dining room it is a good plan to ring the bell, as a hint to the cook to look to the coffee, which should either be brought in when the drawing-room bell rings, or at a regular hour. (II. Burleigh.)

_Folding Serviettes._--A few examples only are given. Those wishing for more are referred to the ‘Book of Dinner Serviettes,’ published at the _Queen_ office.

The accompanying figures illustrate how to fold serviettes, and present details as to the manner of folding them. Fig. 84 is a dinner serviette (folded) with bread inside. Fig. 85 shows first detail of folding, half the length of serviette. Fold the serviette in 3 thicknesses lengthwise, and turn back one half of the top flap in 3 plaits along the centre line. Fig. 86 shows second detail of folding, whole length of serviette. Proceed by folding the serviette at right angles from the centre. Then trace the dotted line and the waved line which equally divides the triangle formed by the second folding. You will then have Fig. 87, third detail of folding. Trace the two waved lines shown, and fold from the outside towards the centre to form a square underneath the triangle, as shown in Fig. 88, fourth detail of folding. Finish by folding back the corners as indicated by the arrows.

Fig. 89 is a breakfast serviette (folded), with bread inside. Fig. 90 shows first detail of folding, half the length of serviette. Commence by folding the serviette in 3 thicknesses, and form one half of the top flap into a centre plait. Fig. 91 shows second detail of folding. Turn over and fold the serviette in halves as shown in Fig. 91, and trace the waved lines. Then fold from right and left. You will then have Fig. 92, third detail of folding. Take up the top layer, and fold as indicated by the dotted lines of the triangle. Thus you come to Fig. 93, fourth detail of folding, and Fig. 94, fifth detail of folding. The same manipulation is repeated from the opposite side, and the corners placed under the centre plait. To arrive at a satisfactory result the folding must be done very carefully, and serviettes ought to be very slightly starched by the laundress.

The Marie Louise Serviette.--Open the serviette before you; fold it in half, with the edges at the top; plait 4-5 in. of the damask upwards to within 1 in. of the top, as described in Fig. 95; turn the serviette over, and make a similar plait on this side (see Fig. 96); plait this up crossways in the manner of a closed fan, and with the finger and thumb draw out the points between the folds, as described on the left-hand side of Fig. 97; place the lower part of the fan in a wineglass or serviette ring; it will then assume the appearance represented in Fig. 98.

=Carving.=--The following excellent instructions are summarised from a series of articles by D. Q. P., published in the _Queen_ some time since.