The table for tea should be set much as it is for breakfast, with the exception of the oatmeal sets. All the dishes may be placed upon the table at once, as they would be at lunch, and the family may do much of the passing of plates. The tea is served with the first course, and the cups and tray may be removed to make room for the dish of fruit or simple sweets that generally con- cludes the meal. The saucers in which these are served should stand on plates, on which each guest may lay the cake which is usually passed at the same time. Hot puddings are out of place at tea, but instead there may be, in winter, apple-sauce, stewed prunes, pre- served ginger, brandied and preserved peaches, pears or plums, jams or marma- lades, custards, blanc-manges. jellies, or any- thing of that sort; while in summer it is 259 WHAT TO EAT — HOW TO SERVE IT rarely impossible to procure berries of some kind, or other fruit. A dish of "bonny- clabber" — better known, perhaps, as "lop- pered milk " — of junket, or of syllabub is al- ways delicious, and is usually easily obtained where milk and cream are plentiful. No domestic sight is pleasanter in its way than a tea-table on a cold winter night, spread with a bright cloth and set out with dainty china and shining silver, and with all the cheer-inspiring appurtenances of the tea- tray ; with the plate of hot bread, the savory dish of hot meat, and the little relishes that housekeepers know well how to supply. And in summer its counterpart is seen in the table laid in the room brightened by the level sun's rays, where a crisp salad, piles of white and brown bread, and a plate of rusk or tea-biscuit, pitchers of .milk, and a dish of berries with cream in abundance revive the fainting appetites and spirits of those who have borne the heat and burden of the day. In summer a tea on the lawn is an agree- able variety to introduce occasionally, A medium-sized table may be carried out under 260 THE FAMILY TEA the trees, and spread with a white cloth. On this are placed the principal dishes — the bread-and-butter, which may sometimes have its place taken by sandwiches ; the salad or cold meat, or both ; the cake and fruit. The tea-tray and kettle may be here too, or the tea may be made in the house. Iced tea and coflFee make a pleasant change once in a while. A rug or two may be laid on the grass if any of the party have a nervous dread of colds, and a few little tables will provide a space upon which to rest a cup of tea or a glass of milk when the lap is occupied by the plate containing the more solid viands. Low chairs should stand here and there, and the whole scene will present a charmingly festal appearance at a trifling outlay of time and trouble. A certain family who possess a delightful country place make their Sunday evening al fresco tea one of the pleasantest spots in the week. No one is present but the family and any guests who may be staying in the house. The pretty, simple meal is served out on the 261 WHAT TO EAT — HOW TO 8EBVE IT grassy lawn, which slopes down to the water. When the eating is over, the maid comes out, gathers the dishes into a tray, and car- ries them back to the house, happy in the thought* that there is no supper-table to be cleared and no dining-room to be brushed up. Long after the vestiges of the feast have been removed the family sit there, chatting pleasantly, watching the sunset and the stars coming out or the moon rising. By and by some voice begins a hymn, the others take it up, and the singing goes on until the early bedtime comes, and the party turns towards the house with a restful happiness that is none the less deep and true because it is hard to describe or to analyze. 262 AFTERNOON TEA

AI-modernized reading of the original text

The table for tea should be set much as it is for breakfast, with the exception of the oatmeal sets. All the dishes may be placed upon the table at once, as they would be at lunch, and the family may do much of the passing of plates. The tea is served with the first course, and the cups and tray may be removed to make room for the dish of fruit or simple sweets that generally concludes the meal. The saucers in which these are served should stand on plates, on which each guest may lay the cake which is usually passed at the same time. Hot puddings are out of place at tea, but instead there may be, in winter, apple-sauce, stewed prunes, preserved ginger, brandied and preserved peaches, pears or plums, jams or marmalades, custards, blanc-manges. jellies, or anything of that sort; while in summer it is rarely impossible to procure berries of some kind, or other fruit. A dish of "bonnyclabber" — better known, perhaps, as "loppered milk " — of junket, or of syllabub is always delicious, and is usually easily obtained where milk and cream are plentiful. No domestic sight is pleasanter in its way than a tea-table on a cold winter night, spread with a bright cloth and set out with dainty china and shining silver, and with all the cheer-inspiring appurtenances of the teatray ; with the plate of hot bread, the savory dish of hot meat, and the little relishes that housekeepers know well how to supply. And in summer its counterpart is seen in the table laid in the room brightened by the level sun's rays, where a crisp salad, piles of white and brown bread, and a plate of rusk or tea-biscuit, pitchers of .milk, and a dish of berries with cream in abundance revive the fainting appetites and spirits of those who have borne the heat and burden of the day. In summer a tea on the lawn is an agreeable variety to introduce occasionally, A medium-sized table may be carried out under the trees, and spread with a white cloth. On this are placed the principal dishes — the bread-and-butter, which may sometimes have its place taken by sandwiches ; the salad or cold meat, or both ; the cake and fruit. The tea-tray and kettle may be here too, or the tea may be made in the house. Iced tea and coffee make a pleasant change once in a while. A rug or two may be laid on the grass if any of the party have a nervous dread of colds, and a few little tables will provide a space upon which to rest a cup of tea or a glass of milk when the lap is occupied by the plate containing the more solid viands. Low chairs should stand here and there, and the whole scene will present a charmingly festal appearance at a trifling outlay of time and trouble. A certain family who possess a delightful country place make their Sunday evening al fresco tea one of the pleasantest spots in the week. No one is present but the family and any guests who may be staying in the house. The pretty, simple meal is served out on the grassy lawn, which slopes down to the water. When the eating is over, the maid comes out, gathers the dishes into a tray, and carries them back to the house, happy in the thought that there is no supper-table to be cleared and no dining-room to be brushed up. Long after the vestiges of the feast have been removed the family sit there, chatting pleasantly, watching the sunset and the stars coming out or the moon rising. By and by some voice begins a hymn, the others take it up, and the singing goes on until the early bedtime comes, and the party turns towards the house with a restful happiness that is none the less deep and true because it is hard to describe or to analyze.

What to eat, how to serve it