Page:A short history of social life in England.djvu/132

112 lower part with oak wainscoting. Above the oak were mural paintings of historical or religious subjects. From the roof, beams were suspended to hold several candles, and the floor was either paved or covered with a Spanish carpet, though rushes were still strewed in the hall as of yore.

Nevertheless, with all its obvious advantages, the parlour was looked on as an innovation by the conservatives of the fifteenth century. The growing practice of dining in "privy parlors with chimneys" is denounced by a contemporary as a degenerate luxury. "Sondrie nobil men, gentlemen, and others, doe much delighte and use to dine in corners and secret places, not repairing to the high chamber." This was the complaint of the age. Dinner was still one of the chief events of the day, though the manners at table were yet rough and ready, as may be seen by the old books of etiquette of this time. "Do not spit upon the table" is an oft repeated maxim. Among other things, we find requests "not to return back to your plate the food you have just put into your mouth; not to drink from a cup with a dirty mouth; not to offer another person the remains of your pottage; not to eat much cheese; to take only two or three nuts when they are placed