If candles are used these should be kept on ice until near the dinner hour, then lighted and the wicks cut, to prevent smoking and dripping. Many persons who like to put shades on their candles have difficulty in preventing them from catching fire. It is worth knowing that this is more likely to occur when the holders are fitted to the top of the candle than where they clasp it below the heated part.
When a dessert dish is placed on a larger plate, or a finger-bowl is set before the guest, a small lace paper mat may be laid between plate and dish.
If the dining-room floor is of hard wood rubber tips may be bought at any department store and put on the chair-legs to prevent the noise of scraping.
The table should be carefully set so that the centerpiece is exactly in the center and the guests’ places precisely opposite each other.
As a rule the china used throughout a dinner exactly matches, but if a hostess prefers she may use different sets for different courses.
In serving soup be careful not to give too much. A half ladleful is an “elegant sufficiency.”
THE TEMPERATURE OF WINES
If a dinner is very formal and several wines are to be served, it is correct to use white wine with the fish, sherry with the soup, claret with the roast and champagne or Burgundy with the game. The white wine, sherry and champagne should be kept cold; champagne, indeed, should be very cold and is served from a bottle wrapped in a napkin. Claret and Burgundy are most agreeable at a temperature of about seventy. All these wines are served from the bottle except claret and sherry, which are usually decanted, that is to say, they are poured from the original bottle into a cut-glass bottle or decanter intended especially for table use.