Informal and Easy.
The hostess, assisted by a daughter, or a young lady friend, usually pours the beverage, and the gentlemen pass it around to the ladies, thus forming the most delightfully informal groups for conversation. Sugar is passed by a servant, or else the hostess drops two or three lumps of it in each saucer, a sugar bowl, with sugar tongs, standing beside her. Cream is not the correct thing for after-dinner coffee.
Very many hostesses, however, prefer to have coffee and fruits finish the table menu, after which the entire party retire to the drawing-room, where, for the half or three-quarters of an hour preceding their departure, soft music from some hidden orchestra may be permitted to fill the air with harmony. Occasionally, a little programme is arranged of music and song, to fill this interval. But, in many cases, and wisely, conversation is the preferred entertainment.
French Terms.
Good taste now dictates that the bill of fare, where one is printed or written, should be couched in the "King's English," yet, one is so frequently thrown in positions where a knowledge of the French terms so often used in such cases is somewhat of necessity, that a short glossary of the same may be useful:
| Menu | Bill of fare. |
| Café et noir | Black coffee. |
| Café au lait | Coffee with milk. |
A dinner begins with,
| Huitres | Oysters. |
Followed by,
| Potage | Soup, |
| Hors d'œuvres | Dainty dishes, |
| Poisson | Fish, |
| Entremets | Vegetables, |
| Roti | Roast, |
| Entrées | Dishes after roast, |
| Gibier | Game, |
| Salades | Salads, |
| Fruits et dessert | Fruits and dessert, |
| Fromage | Cheese, |
| Café | Coffee. |