5 i8 THE POPULAR SCIENCE MONTHLY. 



3. The prevailing system of London, and of the numerous English 

 families throughout the country whose habits are formed from partial 

 residence in town, or by more or less intimate acquaintance with town 

 life, is that of three meals daily. In general terms the breakfast takes 

 place between eight and ten ; the lunch from one to two ; the dinner 

 from half-past six to eight. 



In all cases each meal has its own specific character. Thus, here, 

 breakfast is the most irregular in its service, and least of all demands 

 general and intimate coherence of the party assembled. Individual 

 interests concerned in the letter-bag, in the morning news, in plans for 

 the day, in cares of coming business, etc., are respected. Provision 

 for acknowledged dietetic peculiarities on the part of individuals is 

 not forgotten, and every one comes or goes as he pleases. 



At lunch the assembly is still somewhat uncertain. Thus some 

 members of the family are absent without remark ; intimate friends 

 may appear without special invitation ; while those less intimate can 

 be asked with small ceremony. Occupations of pleasure or of busi- 

 ness still press for pursuit during the afternoon, and the meal for such 

 may not be too substantial. It should suffice amply to support ac- 

 tivity ; it should never be so considerable as to impair it. 



The last meal of the three, dinner, has characters wholly different 

 from the preceding. The prime occupations of the day are over ; the 

 guests are known and numbered ; the sentiment is one of reunion af- 

 ter the dispersion of the day of relaxation after its labors, sports, or 

 other active pleasures. Whatever economy of time may have been 

 necessary in relation to the foregoing meals, all trace of hurry should 

 disappear at dinner. A like feeling makes the supper of the "pro- 

 vincial " system a similarly easy and enjoyable meal. And all this is 

 equally true of dinner, whether it unites the family only, or brings an 

 addition of guests. General conversation : the events and personal 

 incidents of the day, the current topics of the hour, are discussed in a 

 light spirit, such as is compatible with proper attention to the dishes 

 provided. All that follows late dinner should for the most part be 

 amusement it may be at the theatre, an evening party, or a quiet 

 evening at home. There should be ample time, however, for every 

 coming engagement, and security for some intervening rest for diges- 

 tion. Dinner, then, is the only meal which as the greater includes 

 the less need be discussed in the third part of our subject, which 

 claims to treat of custom and art in combining dishes to form a repast. 

 ^Vith the requirements and under the circumstances just specified, it 

 should not be a heavy meal, but it should be sufficing. ~No one after 

 dinner should feel satiety or repletion, with a sense of repugnance at 

 the idea of eating more ; but all should still enjoy the conviction that 

 a good meal furnishes delightful and refreshing occupation. 



Dinners are of two kinds the ordinary meal of the family, and 

 the dinner to which guests are invited. There is a third dinner in 



