pensive luxury. So it is when fresh meat must be purchased to make it, or even when fresh or canned vegetables have to be bought for it ; but when there are bones or trim- mings from raw or cooked meats, or vegeta- bles left over — a half-can of tomatoes, a cup- ful or two of mashed potato, a saucer of pease, or other similar remnants — or when fish and eggs are plentiful, the soup need be but a small item in the expense, and is really economical, as, by blunting the edge of the appetite, it renders the attack upon the next course less vigorous. There is a large va- riety of bean, pea, lentil, and cream sQups that are cheap, palatable, and nourishing. Salad is not a frequent dish in many homes, but in warm weather it may well be sub- stituted sometimes for soup and cost little more. Still that may be a good dinner at which neither soup nor salad is seen. The final cup of tea or coflfee adds a graceful fin- ish to a simple dessert, and is generally en- joyed by the adult members of the family. A word concerning the dinner toilette may not be amiss. In England, donning full. 171 WHAT TO EAT — HOW TO SEBYE IT dress for a late dinner is a matter of course. Not so in America. Our independent citi- zen usually thinks he honors the home meal quite enough if he washes the dust of the day from his hands and face, and brushes his hair and his coat. Yet there are few homes in which the mistress does not change her gown for dinner, or at least brighten or freshen her attire so as to make it diflFer decidedly from that in which she appeared at breakfast. The question involuntarily suggests itself why it is easier for a tired woman to dress than it is for a tired man, and one wonders if the husband would not find in a change of toilette the refreshment his wife experiences from a similar operation. Even without plat- ting on full dress, a man should, at least by exchanging his office for a house coat, and assuming fresh collar, cuflfs, and cravat, do his share in giving to the dinner-table the look of a pleasant social gathering, instead of a mere stopping-place for food. 172 DINNER AT NOON IN some homes it 3eems out of the question to have a late dinner. There may be sev- eral reasons for this. Possibly the mistress of the house does all her own work, and finds it easier to dispose of the bulk of her cook- ing in the morning than later, since she thus leaves free the afternoon hours for leisure or social duties. Or she may, if she keeps ser- vants, live in a neighborhood where late din- ners are so far the exception that she finds it impossible to induce her cook to accede to her desire to change the hour of dinner. Or, still again, it may seem expedient to dine at noon, because that hour better suits her hus- band and children. In any one of these cases, instead of repining over the inevitable, she should set herself to work to make the best of circumstances, and do all in her power to impart every possible charm to the mid- day meal. 173 . WHAT TO EAT — HOW TO SERVE IT In some parts of the South a one-o'clock dinner is almost unheard of, while the— to Northerners — singular hour of two, or half after two, or three, is chosen. This has the advantage of giving the children plenty of leisure for eating, as their schools have closed by this hour; but* the same necessity for haste is laid upon the head of the house that must always prevail when a busy man is obhged to take the time for dinner out of the most active part of the day. Whenever, for any reason, the meal must be only an in- terlude in work, instead of coming at the close of the day's labors, it should be made a comparatively simple repast.

AI-modernized reading of the original text

pensive luxury. So it is when fresh meat must be purchased to make it, or even when fresh or canned vegetables have to be bought for it ; but when there are bones or trimmings from raw or cooked meats, or vegetables left over — a half-can of tomatoes, a cupful or two of mashed potato, a saucer of pease, or other similar remnants — or when fish and eggs are plentiful, the soup need be but a small item in the expense, and is really economical, as, by blunting the edge of the appetite, it renders the attack upon the next course less vigorous. There is a large variety of bean, pea, lentil, and cream soups that are cheap, palatable, and nourishing. Salad is not a frequent dish in many homes, but in warm weather it may well be substituted sometimes for soup and cost little more. Still that may be a good dinner at which neither soup nor salad is seen. The final cup of tea or coflfee adds a graceful finish to a simple dessert, and is generally enjoyed by the adult members of the family. A word concerning the dinner toilette may not be amiss. In England, donning full. dress for a late dinner is a matter of course. Not so in America. Our independent citizen usually thinks he honors the home meal quite enough if he washes the dust of the day from his hands and face, and brushes his hair and his coat. Yet there are few homes in which the mistress does not change her gown for dinner, or at least brighten or freshen her attire so as to make it diflFer decidedly from that in which she appeared at breakfast. The question involuntarily suggests itself why it is easier for a tired woman to dress than it is for a tired man, and one wonders if the husband would not find in a change of toilette the refreshment his wife experiences from a similar operation. Even without platting on full dress, a man should, at least by exchanging his office for a house coat, and assuming fresh collar, cuflfs, and cravat, do his share in giving to the dinner-table the look of a pleasant social gathering, instead of a mere stopping-place for food. IN some homes it 3eems out of the question to have a late dinner. There may be several reasons for this. Possibly the mistress of the house does all her own work, and finds it easier to dispose of the bulk of her cooking in the morning than later, since she thus leaves free the afternoon hours for leisure or social duties. Or she may, if she keeps servants, live in a neighborhood where late dinners are so far the exception that she finds it impossible to induce her cook to accede to her desire to change the hour of dinner. Or, still again, it may seem expedient to dine at noon, because that hour better suits her husband and children. In any one of these cases, instead of repining over the inevitable, she should set herself to work to make the best of circumstances, and do all in her power to impart every possible charm to the midday meal. In some parts of the South a one-o'clock dinner is almost unheard of, while the— to Northerners — singular hour of two, or half after two, or three, is chosen. This has the advantage of giving the children plenty of leisure for eating, as their schools have closed by this hour; But the same necessity for haste is laid upon the head of the house that must always prevail when a busy man is obhged to take the time for dinner out of the most active part of the day. Whenever, for any reason, the meal must be only an interlude in work, instead of coming at the close of the day's labors, it should be made a comparatively simple repast.

What to eat, how to serve it