FOOD AND FEEDING. 625 



present attainable. A royal or noble cbairraan, a portentous menu, an 

 unstinted supply of wine, such as it is, and after-dinner speeches, in 

 variety, form an ensemble which appears to be attractive to the great 

 body of " supporters." On the other hand, those whose presence is 

 enforced by the claim of duty find these banquets too numerous and 

 too long. The noise and bustle, the badly-served although pretentious 

 dinner, the glare of gas and the polluted air, the long, desultory, and 

 unmeaning speeches, interspersed with musical performances which, 

 however admirable in themselves, extend unduly a programme already 

 too comprehensive unfit many a man, seriously occupied, for the en- 

 gagements of the morrow. Might it not be worth trying the experi- 

 ment of offering fewer dishes, better service, and abolishing half the 

 toasts ? Might it not be possible to limit the necessary and essential 

 toasts of a public dinner to the number of three or four these to be 

 followed only by a few subordinate toasts associated with the minor 

 interests of the special object of the dinner ? With the utmost defer- 

 ence to long-received usage, and after some little consideration, I ven- 

 ture to suggest that the following programme would at all events be 

 an improvement on the present system, if such it can be called : 



The first toast, or toasts, by which we declare our fidelity to the 

 Crown, and our loyalty to the person of the Sovereign, as well as to 

 the royal family, to remain, by universal consent, as before. The 

 next, or patriotic toasts, unlike the preceding, are regarded as de- 

 manding response, often from several persons, and here it is that time 

 is generally wasted. These might therefore be advantageously com- 

 pressed into one, which need not be limited to the military and naval 

 services, although it would of course include them. The object might 

 be attained by constituting a single comprehensive but truly patriotic 

 toast, viz., " Our great national institutions," which are easily de- 

 fined. Supposing them to be regarded as seven in number, a response 

 might be provided for from any two, according to the speakers pres- 

 ent and the nature of the special object. These institutions fall natu- 

 rally into order, as 1. Parliament : its leaders. 2. Justice : the 

 judges. 3. The military and naval forces : their officers. 4. Educa- 

 tion : heads of universities and public schools. 5. Religion : its min- 

 isters. 6. Science and art : heads of societies, academies, colleges. 

 7. Literature and the Press : distinguished writers. 



The next to be " the toast of the evening " : in other words, the 

 particular subject of the dinner. After this would follow the healths 

 of officers connected with the subject, visitors, etc., if necessary. 



I confess I see no reason why the military and naval forces, how- 

 ever profound our respect and our gratitude for their great services 

 to the nation must be and in this matter I yield to no man should 

 invariably occupy a toast and speech, to be responded to by at least 

 two, often by three officers, while the other great and scarcely less 

 important interests should be left out of consideration altogether, or 

 vol. xv. 40 



