In taking away the things after lunch is finished, there should be a proper order observed. All silver articles should be kept separate, and the double basket should be brought in, to remove the knives and forks properly, putting each by themselves on each side of the division. After everything is removed, the crumbs ought to be swept up, the carving chairs pushed close up to the table, all the other chairs put in their places, and the window opened. A servant ought to be taught that it is disrespectful to keep a room in a disorderly and unfinished condition, by taking away in a dawdling and unmethodical fashion. Before the last trayful is taken down to the pantry, leave it outside, and return to sweep up the crumbs and finish the room.
It is very good for young people to wait on themselves and their elders at the early dinner, and this can be done without any undue disturbing of their hungry young selves. A good way is to let them take turns day by day to change the plates, and they should be taught not to put the plates upon each other without removing the knife and fork on each, and placing them gently, and without soiling their fingers, in the double basket, which ought to be in the room, as well as the basket for dirty plates.
A butler’s tray is not necessary for luncheon.
Fresh fruit is a great ornament on the lunch table, or on the sideboard, and the dessert plates should be placed there in a pile, or on the dinner waggon, with the silver knives and forks stiffly placed on each side of the plates, and close together. No finger glasses or d’oyleys are used at lunch.
Dinner.—The dining room ought to be the right heat by attending to the fire at 4 o’clock in the afternoon through the winter, or by letting it out if the room is over the kitchen. The intelligent care of the dining-room fire evinced by so many servants in throwing some black coals on just as dinner is ready, is too delightful. If the under bar is well raked out at 4 o’clock in the afternoon, or 5 according to the dinner hour, and well but moderately made up with first a layer of coke, and then coal, the fire will be what it ought to be when the time comes to lay the cloth. Then before bringing in the cloth or anything else for the table, stir the fire, sweep the bars and grate, and dust the mantelpiece, sideboard, and dinner waggon. This is a rule very much neglected by servants, both before luncheon and dinner, but it is a most necessary one, for it is really a dirty trick to throw the tablecloth, sideboard cloth, &c., on a sideboard covered with dust, and an undusted mantelpiece and ornaments on it are unsightly.
The laying of the table for dinner should not be put off, as it so often is, until the servant has barely time to scramble through it; this applies also to all the meals, and there should always be a comfortable margin of time left, so that a servant can wash her hands, and change her apron and cuffs and collar, or a footman make a suitable freshening of himself for waiting at table. To prepare properly in the butler’s pantry is the great secret for a methodical and well-trained manner of laying a dinner table. Not one tray, but two or three if necessary must first be prepared, so that every requisite for the table is brought up before the servant commences to lay the cloth. Silver, knives, glass, cold plates, water bottles, cheese, butter, bread, dessert, finger glasses, &c., ought all to be prepared, and put into the dining room before commencing to lay the cloth. Either in laying a table or in cleaning a room, a well-bred servant ought to shut herself up in the room in which she is busy, surrounded with all her tools.
Before beginning to lay a cloth, a large clean apron ought to be tied on, whether it be a man or a woman servant, so that the dress does not soil the cloth. The thicker the under-cloth the better the white cloth looks. Have your white cloth most exactly in the centre, so that the side folds are at equal distances from the edge of the table, and smooth and stroke and pull your cloth well before you place anything on it. (Wash your hands well before beginning.) Then to each person put 2 large knives and 2 large silver forks, both to be an inch from the edge of the table, and the handles close together and perfectly even. At the top, just to the right of the end of the outside large knife, put your tallest and largest wineglass, and then group the others below, but always slanting a little towards the right, and close together. Unless you place them in this manner, it would inconvenience the person using them. Place sherry, hock, claret, and champagne glasses in this way. Of course this is an extreme of wineglasses, but these are the wines drunk during dinner. Generally for every-day use sherry and claret are sufficient, or sherry, hock, and claret, and if there is champagne, hock may not be needed. Do not put any tumblers on the table for a late dinner, nor any port-wine glasses. Unless there is a good staff of servants, you must lay your table for a dish of each course to be placed at the bottom o£ the table. To attempt to have everything carved at a side table, unless you can do it properly, is simply vulgar pretension. The table can be laid prettily with fruit and flowers, and yet have the soup, then the fish, then the joint placed at the bottom.
If, when there is only one servant to wait at table, the carving is done by her at a side table, either the first person she helps must wait for vegetables, sauce, &c., while she is carving for others, or they must wait for their fish or meat. The sideboard for the late dinner must be laid fancifully and prettily, and with such a disposition of the tallest articles, that all the rest are shown to good effect. No knives should be seen, all should be silver and glass. Never turn a tumbler or a wineglass upside down in arranging a sideboard or a table—it is a vulgarity. At an hotel or restaurant it is reasonable to do so, where tables are really laid for hours, as it keeps out the dust; and on the washing-stand of a bedroom it is proper to turn medicine glasses and tumblers upside down for the same reason, but not in preparing meals in a private house, where the glasses are going to be immediately used. Neither should any spoon or fork be turned upside down, only saltspoons, because otherwise they would not lie on the top of the saltcellars. Arrange on the sideboard dessert spoons and forks, some large spoons and forks, sauce ladles, gravy spoon, fish slice—in short, all of silver that will be required during the different courses. Lay them out in a tasty manner, not too straggling, never in bundles as you would keep them in a plate basket. This is only admissible when there is a large dinner or ball supper, and then you must of course have a reserve in bundles, in addition to those you lay out ornamentally.
In laying the table do not place a soup ladle, a gravy spoon, and a fish slice, or fish knife and fork altogether at the bottom of the table, as so many servants do. Keep the fish knife and the gravy spoon on the sideboard until they are wanted. It is quite right to place the carving knife and fork from the beginning at the bottom of the table, it is then ready, and yet does not make a confusion; in fact it would make more of a confusion if you were to place it only when it was wanted; but remember in laying them to let the bottom of their handles correspond exactly with the bottom of the handles of the two large knives, and let the ends lie on the knife rests. Put 4 saltcellars, one at each corner, or a small one to each person as the custom of the family may be. Place the tablespoons on each side of the saltcellars, so that the handles are in a line; and if you prefer to place your tablespoons straight, let the saltcellars be on a line with the ends of the large knives, but if you prefer to put your tablespoons at cross corners, they ought to be nearer to the edge of the table. If you place the tablespoons straight, the water bottles ought to stand off a little from the tip of the inside tablespoon. If the tablespoons are at cross corners the water bottles must stand across the middle of the inside tablespoon, and in this case you may turn the handle of one tablespoon one way, and that of the other spoon the other way; but when you place them straight, it is better style to have both handles in a row. You may either place 4 water bottles, or 2 water bottles and 2 pint decanters of dinner sherry, letting them correspond at cross corners. Pint decanters have gone very much out of fashion, in these days of handing everything, but they look pretty and cosy. As a guide how far apart you should place the knives and forks for each person, put a plate down between; the edges of a large plate should go over the knives and forks, a small plate should not. Salt ought to be moulded in a little hillock, either out of a small china eggcup, or a wineglass that has lost its stem, and then turned out into the saltcellar. Remember to place knife rests. The butler’s tray is a very ugly object unless a clean tray cloth is put over it; but it is a very necessary relief to the sideboard, as it holds the pudding and cheese plates, knives, and cheese, which ought all to be arranged there during the laying of the cloth, and room left for 2 vegetable dishes—if the family is small; if not, a large side table is needed. The dinner waggon should only be used for dessert plates, and such dessert dishes as cannot be put on the table until dinner is over. Wines for dessert ought also to be placed in the dinner waggon. Each dessert plate ought to be arranged quite ready for placing, with its d’oyley, finger glass, knife, fork, and spoon. The finger glass ought not to be even half full of water. If dessert plates are used without a d’oyley or a finger glass, then place your dessert knife and fork handles on the plates, and let the points go over the plate; this prevents their falling or straggling. The arrangement of the dessert ought always to be the care of the mistress, unless she has a housekeeper, and even then it requires her supervision. It is a thing that requires a lady’s taste and touch. Each day the dishes require wiping, the papers rearranging; and once a week, at least, the dishes want washing. Nothing is worse than to see an old dessert from yesterday put on the table without to-day’s restoration; better go without. Nothing is better than a pretty and fresh dessert paper. For strawberries or any of the small summer fruits that stain in the helping, it is better taste to place them on the bare dish, unless you use the leaves that belong to the fruit; but do not use too many, and be sure to wash them. Never use artificial leaves or flowers to decorate dessert; in fact, never use flowers at all to decorate fruit, it is not true taste. For all winter and dried fruits dessert papers are best, also for biscuits and cake. Do not overload any dessert dish, and never put out ginger either wet or dry, or guava, &c., on a dessert dish, but on a small glass one, and place this on the dish, with a dessert paper under.
Small crystallised fruits are pretty arranged in ornamental paper cups especially made for dessert. Fill each with a different kind, and by leaning them against each other you can make a sort of pyramid. If only one dish of meat is put on at each course, a water dessert jug and goblets can be placed at the top of the table. It is impossible to give more detailed directions as to how the dessert dishes should be arranged on the table, only taking care there be not too many dishes. If the door of the dining room is farthest from the head of the table, let your tallest ornaments be near the head of the table. If you have occasion to bring in any odd chairs for a dinner or supper, do not put them on the side of the table opposite the door. If these two last hints are remembered, you do not spoil the general effect.