[PART V.]
MISTRESS—MOTHER—NURSE—AND MAID.
In which are set forth the prominent Duties of each department, and the most important Rules for the guidance and care of the Household.
OF THE TABLE
814. The taste and management of the mistress are always displayed in the general conduct of the table; for, though that department of the household be not always under her direction, it is always under her eye. Its management involves judgment in expenditure, respectability of appearance, and the comfort of her husband as well as of those who partake of their hospitality. Inattention to it is always inexcusable, and should be avoided for the lady's own sake, as it occasions a disagreeable degree of bustle, and evident annoyance to herself, which is never observable in a well-regulated establishment.
Perhaps there are few occasions on which the respectability of a man is more immediately felt, than the style of dinner to which he may accidentally bring home a visitor. Every one ought to live according to his circumstances, and the meal of the tradesman ought not to emulate the entertainments of the higher classes; but, if merely two or three dishes be well served, with the proper accompaniments, the table-linen clean, the small sideboard neatly laid, and all that is necessary be at hand, the expectation of both the husband and friend will be gratified, because no interruption of the domestic arrangements will disturb their social intercourse.
Should there be only a joint and a pudding, they should always be served up separately; and the dishes, however small the party, should always form two courses. Thus, in the old fashioned style of "fish, soup, and a roast," the soup and fish are placed at the top and bottom of the table, removed by the joint with vegetables and pastry; or, should the company consist of eight or ten, a couple or more of side-dishes in the first course, with game and a pudding in the second, accompanied by confectionary, are quite sufficient.
In most of the books which treat of cookery, various bills of fare are given, which are never exactly followed. The mistress should give a moderate number of those dishes which are most in season. The cuts which are inserted in some of those lists, put the soup in the middle of the table—where it should never be placed. For a small party, a single lamp in the centre is sufficient; but, for a larger number, the room should be lighted with lamps hung over the table, and the centre occupied by a plateau of glass or plate, ornamented with flowers or figures.