FOOD AND FEEDING. 523 



pose oysters, vinegar, and chablis have just been swallowed ! A brown 

 puree, as of game, or one of green vegetables, less frequently met 

 with, would be far safer. Two fish, of course, should always be 

 served ; as, for example, a slice of Severn or Christchurch salmon, just 

 arrived from the water, for its own sake ; and a fillet of white fish 

 for the sake of its sauce and garnish, which should be therefore per- 

 fect. The next dish is, in London, a question under discussion, viz., 

 the question of precedence to an entree, or to the piece de resistance. 

 The custom- has been to postpone the appearance of the latter until 

 lighter dishes have been dispatched or declined. If, however, the 

 English joint is required at a meal already comprehensive in the mat- 

 ter of dishes, and taken at a late hour, it seems more reasonable to 

 serve it next to the fish, when those who demand a slice of meat may 

 be expected to have an appropriate appetite, which will certainly be 

 impaired, equally by accepting the entrees, or fasting partially without 

 them. After the joint, two light entrees may follow, and these must 

 necessarily be either in themselves peculiarly tempting morsels, or 

 products of culinary skill, offering inducement to the palate rather 

 than to an appetite which is no longer keen. Then the best roast 

 possible in season, and a salad ; a first-rate vegetable, two choice 

 sweets, one of which may be iced ; a light savory biscuit or a morsel 

 of fine barely salted caviare, which may be procured in one or two 

 places at' most in town, will complete the dinner. For dessert, the 

 finest fruits in season to grace the table and for light amusement after ; 

 or simply nuts in variety, and dry biscuits ; nothing between the two 

 is tolerable, and little more than the latter is really wanted ; only for 

 decorative purposes fruit equals flowers. But it may be admitted that 

 the diminished number of sweet entremets strengthens the plea for a 

 supply of delicious fruits, rendering the dessert useful and agreeable 

 as well as ornamental. 



And, now that dessert is over, let me say that I do not admit the 

 charge sometimes intimated, although delicately, by foreigners, of a 

 too obvious proclivity to self-indulgence on the part of Englishmen, 

 in permitting the ladies to leave the table without escort to the draw- 

 ing-room. The old custom of staying half an hour, or even an hour 

 afterward, to drink wine, which is doubtless a remnant of barbarism, 

 has long been considered indefensible. Still, the separation of the 

 party into two portions for fifteen or twenty minutes is useful to both, 

 and leads perhaps more completely to a general mixture of elements 

 on reunion after than is attained by the return of the original pairs 

 together. Whether this be so or not, the ladies have a short interval 

 for the interchange of hearsays and ideas relative to matters chiefly 

 concerning their special interests ; while the men enjoy that indispen- 

 sable finish to a good dinner, an irreproachable cup of coffee and a 

 cigarette, and the sooner they arrive the better. With the small din- 

 ners of inen it can scai'cely too quickly follow the last service. 



