"Let the dining-room be furnished with luxury, the table clean, and the temperature of the room about 16 degrees Reaumur.
"Let the men be intelligent, but not pedantic—and the women pretty, but not coquettes.
"Let the dishes be of exquisite taste, but few in number at the first course; let those of the second be as pleasant and as highly perfumed as possible.
"Let the coffee be hot, and let the master select his own wines.
"Let the reception-room be large enough to permit those who cannot do without the amusement, to make up a card party, and also for little COTERIES of conversation.
"Let the guests be retained by the pleasures of society, and by the hope that the evening will not pass without some ulterior enjoyment
"The tea should not be too strong, the roast dishes should be loaded artistically, and the punch made carefully.
"None should begin to retire before eleven o'clock, and at midnight all should have gone to bed.
"If any one has been present at an entertainment uniting all these conditions, he may boast of having witnessed his own apotheosis. He will enjoy it the more, because many other apotheosis have been forgotten or mistaken."
I have said that the pleasure of the table, as I have described it, was susceptible of long duration, and I am about to prove it by the history of the longest meal I ever was present at. It is a BONBON I give the reader as a reward for patient attention to me. Here it is:-