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Table Service and Decoration

A good picture deserves a good frame, and the success of a dinner depends largely upon the way in which it is put upon the table. Snowy tablecloths, sparkling crystal, and glittering silver are necessary accompaniments, and in the arrangement of flowers and ferns the artistic taste of the hostess is shown. It goes without saying that a handsome centre-piece should adorn the table, and candelabra should be placed at proper distances. The flowers should always be diminutive in height, so that every guest may have an uninterrupted view of his vis-a-vis, and they may be placed in glasses, baskets, iron stands, or porcelain vases. The flowers may be of whatever kinds are in season, but care should be taken to select those of quiet colours. It is a good thing to have a scheme of colour with one prevailing tint throughout in all the decorations. Feathery asparagus and smilax form a fitting contrast and background. Smilax especially is a most useful plant for this purpose, as it can be laid along the cloth, twined around the lamps, intermixed with the flowers, and it can be laid along the cloth, twined around the lamps, intermixed with the flowers, and be, in fact, ubiquitous. Autumn foliage may be introduced when the leaves are fading, and their rich golden-brown hues contrast well with the snowy damask. Even in winter time it is possible to make a goodly show. Chrysanthemums afford endless varieties of colour, and the hardy outdoor bushes produce small flowers which, although despised by gardeners, are very effective for table decoration, and last a long time in water. If the beautiful large blossoms from the greenhouse are used, be careful not to overload the table; a very few specimens will go a long way, and be far more effective than masses of flowers. The very dark-red chrysanthemums show up well against a white and gold table-centre, and all sorts of charming Oriental stuffs are now to be had so easily that no one need sigh for a pretty table-centre as for an unattainable luxury; but it is not a necessity in making an artistic table, though undoubtedly a great help, and and an economiser in perishable materials. These same dark-red flowers can be as successfully treated without one, arranged in white china or plain glass, and a touch of yellow in the foliage, if possible; pyrethrum is usually available for this purpose. The deep-yellow chrysanthemums are very telling against a pale-blue, or blue and white centre; while the pale blossoms, which are neither exactly pink nor heliotrope, are very effective with a good deal of foliage against the plain white cloth, a little dark evergreen, and plenty of something lighter and more graceful; or a dark-red centre, deep magenta or puce, with some silvery lace on it, would throw up the flowers well. Then the wonderful range of tawny reds and yellows, glorious flame-coloured beauties, are quite bewildering in the possibilities they afford. With almost any table-centre or without one, with any foliage so long as it is not too heavy, they will be effective, and even striking. White chrysanthemums are best by themselves or with yellow, and with white at any rate one is safe from vulgarity, so this is good material to provide if entrusting the table to someone of whose taste one is ignorant. As to foliage, if this has to be bought, a handful of asparagus fern, although it is expensive, may be regarded as a good investment; it lasts for an almost unlimited period in water. But where there is a garden, however small, there is sure to be something green to be found almost all the year round. A good plan for a busy person who cannot attend to decorations every day is to have some little ferns in pots; these remain nice for some time, and may be in white china pots, used with various coloured table-centres, or merely in common pots with full covers of silk. Crepe tissue paper in any pretty and artistic colour looks well, and affords an infinite variety of contrast and harmonies.

A good waiter is a treasure. He is deft of hand, soft of speech, and knows every item of the menu as if he himself had compiled it. Waiters, like poets, are born, not made; but there are a few elementary rules which are essential to success. Mr. C. H. Senn, in his work on "Practical Gastronomy," has thus epitomised them:-- 1. See that every plate, knife, fork, spoon, glass, cup, saucer, and dish placed before guests is properly clean. 2. Make a practice to wipe the bottom of every dish before placing it on the table, and, when found necessary, the edges of dishes should be wiped with a towel or napkin before presenting same at table. 3. Plates and dishes must be cleared with as little noise as possible. Dirty plates, glasses, etc., should never be allowed to accumulate in a dining-room. 4. Never place a spoon in a guest's soup-plate, coffee or tea cup, or, indeed, into any liquid food, because it is the custom that the guest and not the waiter should have that privilege. 5. When serving tea, coffee, milk, or any other kind of drink, special care must be taken not to spill the contents, so that the under plate or saucer is clean and dry when placed on the table. 6. In filling glasses with water or wine, do not fill them right up, and when putting in ice for cooling, use a spoon and not the fingers. 7. Waiters, when speaking to guests or when handing anything to them, should avoid having their face in too close contact with that of the guest, this being considered very objectionable. 8. The removal of plates must be effected from the right, and must be done as noiselessly as possible. Special stress must be laid upon this; the rule should be strictly observed throughout the meal when the changing of plates takes place. 9. The waiter handing the soup should take care to place it in front of the guest from a position on the right, though it must be remembered that all the other dishes are presented to the guests from the left. We now come to a subject which in its strict order should have preceded cookery, and upon which the success of the cook's labours very largely depends. We refer to the important subject of