Page:A History of Domestic Manners and Sentiments in England During the Middle Ages.djvu/194

 174 Hijiory of Domejiic Marnier s The reader may form a notion of its contentSj from the hfl: of the fervice of plate given by Edward I. of England to his daughter Margaret, after her marriage with the duke of Brabant ; it confifted of forty-fix lilver cups with feet, for drinking ; fix wine pitchers, four ewers for water, four bafins with gilt efcutcheons, fix great filver diflies for entremets j one hundred and twenty fmaller difiies ; a hundred and twenty falts ; one gilt fait, for her own ufe ; feventy-two fpoons ; and three filver fpice- plates with a fpice-fpoon. The dreffer, as well as all the furniture of the hall, was in the care of the groom ; it was his bufinefs to lay them out, and to take them away again. It appears to have been the ufual cufl;om to take away the boards and treflels (forming the tables) at the fame time as the cloth. The company remained feated on the benches, and the drinking-cups were handed round to them. So tells us the " Boke of Curtafye"- — • Whenne they ha-ve ivafpen, and grace is fayde, Away he takes at a hrayde (at ouce), A'voydes the horde into the Jlore, Tafeaiuay the trejtles that been foftore.