The long, unbroken bars of candy-sugar look well in quadrangle
46 THE DINING ROOM.
piles of alternate white, red and yellow. Slender glasses or vase pots,
with plants and feathery grasses, can be inserted into these piles. The
ends of the bars should be allowed to advance well at the corners, the
same way as building-wood is stored. Fine-pointed sticks, with crys-
tallized fruits run on them, or simply figs or French plums, can be piled
in the same manner. Handsome bunches of fresh or dried dessert
grapes or raisins can be suspended on rustic gypsy sticks, either in the
center or at the ends of long tables. Christmas and New Year's cards
laid into the napkin are also a welcome surprise to the guests upon
opening them. When flowers are not readily obtained and a large
center-piece is deemed necessary, it can be made by setting one tall dish
within another, and covering the erection with a vase filled with ferns
and Christmas holly, with its red berries. Then fill the dishes with
oranges, red apples, white grapes, raisins, bananas, and anything else
that is obtainable and that will add to the beauty of the structure.
Mottoes, lady-fingers and showy little fancy cakes can be used to fill
up the interstices. These home-made center pieces are often prettier
than anything that can be procured at the confectioner's.
NEW YEAR'S RECEPTION LUNCHES.
The mode of setting the table and decorating is a little different from
that intended for a dinner party. A snow-white cloth of the finest dam-
ask, beautiful china, glistening cut glass and polished plate are essential
to these reception lunches. Choice flowers, ferns and mosses, tastefully
arranged, add much to the beauty of the table. Napkins should be
folded square and placed with a roll of bread on each plate. The des-
sert is placed on the table amidst the flowers, the natural fruit garnished
with green leaves, and the crystallized in tiny-fluted and lace-bordered,
white paper shells, piled on their respective dishes An epergne or low
dish of flowers graces the center ; stands of bon-bons and confectionery
are ranged on both sides of the table with a comfit-dish of nuts and
raisins at each end. These complete the necessary decorations.
High standards are now replaced by low dishes of majolica, crys-
tal, iridescent glass or silver, filled with fruit or flowers. Tall dishes
only serve to hide the faces around the table. Small bouquets can be
placed at each plate, and the new Dresden china and majolica ware, in
its various and unique designs, are very beautiful filled with ferns and
flowers, and trailing vines falling over the edges. These can be scat-
tered about, according to the taste of the one who arranges the table,
with here a figure of a girl holding a basket of flowers ; there a youth
guiding a wheelbarrow laden with mosses and ferns, and here and there
a tiny rose-bud in its nest of green, dotting the snowy cloth with bright
coloring. The various-shaped glasses, decorated china, and many-hued
wares enliven and add much to the beauty of the table decorations.
DISH WASHING. 47
Page 41
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
The long, unbroken bars of candy-sugar look well in quadrangle
piles of alternate white, red and yellow. Slender glasses or vase pots, with plants and feathery grasses, can be inserted into these piles. The ends of the bars should be allowed to advance well at the corners, the same way as building-wood is stored. Fine-pointed sticks, with crystallized fruits run on them, or simply figs or French plums, can be piled in the same manner. Handsome bunches of fresh or dried dessert grapes or raisins can be suspended on rustic gypsy sticks, either in the center or at the ends of long tables. Christmas and New Year's cards laid into the napkin are also a welcome surprise to the guests upon opening them. When flowers are not readily obtained and a large center-piece is deemed necessary, it can be made by setting one tall dish within another, and covering the erection with a vase filled with ferns and Christmas holly, with its red berries. Then fill the dishes with oranges, red apples, white grapes, raisins, bananas, and anything else that is obtainable and that will add to the beauty of the structure. Mottoes, lady-fingers and showy little fancy cakes can be used to fill up the interstices. These home-made centerpieces are often prettier than anything that can be procured at the confectioner's.
NEW YEAR'S RECEPTION LUNCHES.
The mode of setting the table and decorating is a little different from that intended for a dinner party. A snow-white cloth of the finest damask, beautiful china, glistening cut glass and polished plate are essential to these reception lunches. Choice flowers, ferns and mosses, tastefully arranged, add much to the beauty of the table. Napkins should be folded square and placed with a roll of bread on each plate. The dessert is placed on the table amidst the flowers, the natural fruit garnished with green leaves, and the crystallized in tiny-fluted and lace-bordered white paper shells, piled on their respective dishes. An epergne or low dish of flowers graces the center ; stands of bon-bons and confectionery are ranged on both sides of the table with a comfit-dish of nuts and raisins at each end. These complete the necessary decorations.
High standards are now replaced by low dishes of majolica, crystal, iridescent glass or silver, filled with fruit or flowers. Tall dishes only serve to hide the faces around the table. Small bouquets can be placed at each plate, and the new Dresden china and majolica ware, in its various and unique designs, are very beautiful filled with ferns and flowers, and trailing vines falling over the edges. These can be scattered about, according to the taste of the one who arranges the table, with here a figure of a girl holding a basket of flowers ; there a youth guiding a wheelbarrow laden with mosses and ferns, and here and there a tiny rose-bud in its nest of green, dotting the snowy cloth with bright coloring. The various-shaped glasses, decorated china, and many-hued wares enliven and add much to the beauty of the table decorations.
DISH WASHING. 47