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THE ROMANCE OF THE TABLE. 
By Mr. JOHN W. KNEE SHAW. 
December 10 th, 1907. 
All living creatures have two functions in life : the main- 
tenance of their own existence and the perpetuation of their 
species, and eating and drinking are essential operations. 
But men eat and drink in different ways and have varying 
ideas as to what is palatable and beneficial in the way of food. 
This is a matter of evolution and development. But though 
all creatures partake of nourishment, man alone uses a table. 
The savage sits on the ground and gnaws his food and litters 
his surroundings with refuse. When he becomes a little 
civilised, one of the' first indications of it is to be found in 
his construction of a table and his repasts take on something 
of order and decorum. The first tables were rude structures. 
There was in them probably some idea of fraternity and 
community. Anglo-Saxon tables were only boards resting 
on trestles. They occupied a place in the great hall, the 
centre of the tidbal social life. They could easily be pushed 
to one side. A picture of this can be found in Scott’s 
“ Ivanhoe.” The Round Table of Arthur then and since 
has been not only the symbol of fraternity, but also of equality. 
The use of boards and trestles has left its mark on our language 
in many forms of the “ board,” such as “ board and lodging,” 
“ board wages,” etc. It was so great a paid of early social 
life for the household to sit down at the board together, that 
for the lord to absent himself was an affront to the guests, 
and it was not until well on in the middle ages that “ privy 
parlours ” and dining apart came into fashion. 
The presence of a table necessitated a seat. At first, stools 
and benches were used. The evolution of the chair is well 
described by the poet Cowper in “ The Sofa.” Even fixed 
pews in churches were not in common use until the fifteenth 
and sixteenth centuries. 
