The viands must never be chosen as a topic, for either praise or blame. If one knows a girl very well, one may ask, “Do you like sweets?” or some such question, but it is safer with strangers to avoid the subject of the food provided.
Moderation in wines.
It is scarcely necessary to remark that drinking too much wine is a very bad phase of ill manners. At one time it was actually fashionable to become intoxicated after dinner, but those days are gone, I am thankful to say. The young man who exceeds in this way is soon made aware of the fact that he has given his hostess dire offence. He is never invited again, or not for a long time.
The wineglass is never drained at a draught in polite society; nor is it considered polite to eat very quickly.
As little noise as possible.
The knife, fork, and spoon are handled as noiselessly as possible. Scraping the edge of the knife against the plate is unpardonable. It produces a grating noise that is excessively unpleasant. In sending a plate away to be replenished, the diner leaves his knife and fork or his spoon, as the case may be, upon it.
In dealing with bread, use neither knife nor fork.
Bread must be broken.
It must be broken with the fingers. There is a story of an absent-minded and short-sighted prelate who, with the remark, “My bread, I think?” dug his fork into the white hand of a lady who sat beside him. He had been badly brought up, or he would not have used his fork, and the white hand would have experienced nothing worse than a sudden grasp.
The moustache and soup.