Never attempt to talk with a mouth half full. Eat without haste; do not take huge mouthfuls. Keep your elbows as close to your side as possible when cutting your meat or carrying spoon or fork to your mouth. Do not throw your head back when drinking, nor drink a full glass at a time without stopping for breath. Take care that all the ladies in the party except possibly your own daughters — are served before you. If you have ladies by your side, attend, unobtrusively, to their wants, offering to fill their glasses, pass the bread, the salt, etc. Never, under any circumstances, use your knife for any other purpose except cutting your meat. Knives are not to be put in contact with mouths. Try your best to eat all vegetables — peas included — with the help of your fork. A famous society man who stood as a model of good manners, claimed that he could bring every- thing to his mouth by means of a fork — except tea, coffee and soup Bring your spoon to your mouth sideways, not point fore- most, and absorb its contents noiselessly. Never pour the contents of your cup in your saucer, under pretence of cooling the beverage. Be patient awhile and drink from the cup direct, or with the help of a spoon. When eating meat, hold it down on the plate with your 198 Table Etiquette fork, while cutting it; knife in the right hand, fork in the left hand. When one piece is cut off let the knife go noise- lessly by the side of the plate, and taking the fork in your right — almost horizontally — bring the morsel to your mouth. Do not cut all your meat at one and the same time, but proceed as above; a little practice will make the task easy and graceful. The fork is to be held with the handle in the palm of the hand and be gently brought from plate to mouth ; the fingers stretched along the handle in a natural position. Always remember it is a fork, 7iot a pitchfork. Do not place a provision of anything (salt or olives or almonds) next to you on the tablecloth ; nor place there fruit or potato peelings. If you do not accept of one course, wait until the others are through with it before accepting of the next. Do not butter a whole slice of bread; butter fragment after fragment. Never encourage a dog or cat to play with you at the table Do not get up from the table before the others do; your home is not a restaurant; the home you are invited to, still less. Never take any food in your hands, except fruit. Mutton chops and fowls' legs and wings are not to be held in the fingers while being eaten. Civilized beings do not devour, they eat. Do not clean your plate, with your bread or otherwise; it would look as if you were famished or miserly, which let us hope you are not. When peeling fruit or potatoes hold them at the end of your fork — in the left hand — and peel them with your knife — in the right. Table Etiquette 199 It is awful to have to say this, but do not, keep, or bring a cuspidor in the dining room. When eating grapes or cherries, hold your right hand close to your mouth, and discreetly dispose — upon your plate — of the stones and skins. Never carry fruit, confectionery or anything else from the table, except for a sick person and by special permission of the hostess. Never wear gloves at the table.

AI-modernized reading of the original text

Never attempt to talk with a mouth half full. Eat without haste; do not take huge mouthfuls. Keep your elbows as close to your side as possible when cutting your meat or carrying spoon or fork to your mouth. Do not throw your head back when drinking, nor drink a full glass at a time without stopping for breath. Take care that all the ladies in the party except possibly your own daughters — are served before you. If you have ladies by your side, attend, unobtrusively, to their wants, offering to fill their glasses, pass the bread, the salt, etc. Never, under any circumstances, use your knife for any other purpose except cutting your meat. Knives are not to be put in contact with mouths. Try your best to eat all vegetables — peas included — with the help of your fork. A famous society man who stood as a model of good manners, claimed that he could bring everything to his mouth by means of a fork — except tea, coffee and soup Bring your spoon to your mouth sideways, not point foremost, and absorb its contents noiselessly. Never pour the contents of your cup in your saucer, under pretence of cooling the beverage. Be patient awhile and drink from the cup direct, or with the help of a spoon. When eating meat, hold it down on the plate with your 198 Table Etiquette fork, while cutting it; knife in the right hand, fork in the left hand. When one piece is cut off let the knife go noiselessly by the side of the plate, and taking the fork in your right — almost horizontally — bring the morsel to your mouth. Do not cut all your meat at one and the same time, but proceed as above; a little practice will make the task easy and graceful. The fork is to be held with the handle in the palm of the hand and be gently brought from plate to mouth ; the fingers stretched along the handle in a natural position. Always remember it is a fork, 7iot a pitchfork. Do not place a provision of anything (salt or olives or almonds) next to you on the tablecloth ; nor place there fruit or potato peelings. If you do not accept of one course, wait until the others are through with it before accepting of the next. Do not butter a whole slice of bread; butter fragment after fragment. Never encourage a dog or cat to play with you at the table Do not get up from the table before the others do; your home is not a restaurant; the home you are invited to, still less. Never take any food in your hands, except fruit. Mutton chops and fowls' legs and wings are not to be held in the fingers while being eaten. Civilized beings do not devour, they eat. Do not clean your plate, with your bread or otherwise; it would look as if you were famished or miserly, which let us hope you are not. When peeling fruit or potatoes hold them at the end of your fork — in the left hand — and peel them with your knife — in the right. Table Etiquette 199 It is awful to have to say this, but do not, keep, or bring a cuspidor in the dining room. When eating grapes or cherries, hold your right hand close to your mouth, and discreetly dispose — upon your plate — of the stones and skins. Never carry fruit, confectionery or anything else from the table, except for a sick person and by special permission of the hostess. Never wear gloves at the table.

The century cook book