Above all, remember : That the pleasantest dinners are those where
the hostess suffers no anxiety ; where every dish is perfection of its
kind, and no awkward mistakes are made by the attendants. The lat-
ter should be perfectly well trained in what they have to do, and toler-
ably familiar with the house and its appointments. The following rules
will serve for the guidance of inexperienced hosts : Give dinners within
your means. Do not make experiments. Either use the dishes in which
you excel, or hire a good cook to give you a variety. Never apologize
for a dish. If it is not good, keep it off the table. Always invite people
of congenial tastes and friendly feelings. Do not give large parties if
you want your guests to enjoy themselves. In the arrangement of the
table, a spotless cloth, clear glasses and shining cutlery feast the sight
before the substantial meal begins.
NATURAL TABLE ORNAMENTS.
In these days of pretty china, colored glass and bright silver, table
decoration is much simplified, but there is nothing prettier than flowers
at any time. Old-fashioned bowls of china are beautiful filled with
roses, with sprays of smilax or trailing ferns drooping gracefully over
the edges. Small low glass dishes, filled with ferns and flowers, are
very effective. Pans of glass or tin, in shapes so arranged as to form
crosses, bridges, or wandering lines of flowers, are cheap and pretty.
42 THE DINING ROOM.
A small tray, either circular or oblong, if filled with wood moss, nicely
cleaned, and left to droop well over the edges, makes a good foundation
for table decorations, especially in town, for, if the moss is dampen ed
thoroughly by sprinkling, it will keep its color for weeks. About half
an inch of water should be left in the bottom of the tray. Place in the
center a cluster of tall, deep red roses, for example ; then place around
them, so as just to show a rim of moss, a row of yellow, then a row of
white roses, until the tray is filled to within about two inches of the
edge, and border this with a row of blossoms turned outward. Wild
violets and all low growing flowers, are very effective, arranged in this
way.
Trails of smilax coming from the edge of the tray and wandering
among the dessert dishes are very pretty, and ground ivy is useful in
the same way. If flower pots are used on the table, four of them, con-
nected by arches of willow, the cross corners decorated with ivy, are
light and pretty. These arches, covered with any creeping plant, are
exceedingly graceful. Ferns are always a favorite decoration. Crosses
of four fern leaves placed down the sides of the table, with a camellia
blossom in the center of each, are very good. If alternately pink and
white, the effect is increased. Banks of ferns, in which flowers are
placed as if they are growing, arranged in the center of the table,
make an exceedingly pretty grouping.
Page 37
Presented as published in 1886. Historical recipes may not meet modern food-safety standards. Cook from the modern interpretation, not the original instructions.
AI-modernized reading of the original text
Above all, remember : That the pleasantest dinners are those where the hostess suffers no anxiety ; where every dish is perfection of its kind, and no awkward mistakes are made by the attendants. The latter should be perfectly well trained in what they have to do, and tolerably familiar with the house and its appointments. The following rules will serve for the guidance of inexperienced hosts : Give dinners within your means. Do not make experiments. Either use the dishes in which you excel, or hire a good cook to give you a variety. Never apologize for a dish. If it is not good, keep it off the table. Always invite people of congenial tastes and friendly feelings. Do not give large parties if you want your guests to enjoy themselves. In the arrangement of the table, a spotless cloth, clear glasses and shining cutlery feast the sight before the substantial meal begins.
NATURAL TABLE ORNAMENTS.
In these days of pretty china, colored glass and bright silver, table decoration is much simplified, but there is nothing prettier than flowers at any time. Old-fashioned bowls of china are beautiful filled with roses, with sprays of smilax or trailing ferns drooping gracefully over the edges. Small low glass dishes, filled with ferns and flowers, are very effective. Pans of glass or tin, in shapes so arranged as to form crosses, bridges, or wandering lines of flowers, are cheap and pretty.
A small tray, either circular or oblong, if filled with wood moss, nicely cleaned, and left to droop well over the edges, makes a good foundation for table decorations, especially in town, for, if the moss is dampen ed thoroughly by sprinkling, it will keep its color for weeks. About half an inch of water should be left in the bottom of the tray. Place in the center a cluster of tall, deep red roses, for example ; then place around them, so as just to show a rim of moss, a row of yellow, then a row of white roses, until the tray is filled to within about two inches of the edge, and border this with a row of blossoms turned outward. Wild violets and all low growing flowers, are very effective, arranged in this way.
Trails of smilax coming from the edge of the tray and wandering among the dessert dishes are very pretty, and ground ivy is useful in the same way. If flower pots are used on the table, four of them, connected by arches of willow, the cross corners decorated with ivy, are light and pretty. These arches, covered with any creeping plant, are exceedingly graceful. Ferns are always a favorite decoration. Crosses of four fern leaves placed down the sides of the table, with a camellia blossom in the center of each, are very good. If alternately pink and white, the effect is increased. Banks of ferns, in which flowers are placed as if they are growing, arranged in the center of the table, make an exceedingly pretty grouping.