Page:Popular Science Monthly Volume 15.djvu/539

Rh oysters, vinegar, and chablis have just been swallowed! A brown purée, as of game, or one of green vegetables, less frequently met with, would be far safer. Two fish, of course, should always be served; as, for example, a slice of Severn or Christchurch salmon, just arrived from the water, for its own sake; and a fillet of white fish for the sake of its sauce and garnish, which should be therefore perfect. The next dish is, in London, a question under discussion, viz., the question of precedence to an entrée, or to the pièce de résistance. The custom-has been to postpone the appearance of the latter until lighter dishes have been dispatched or declined. If, however, the English joint is required at a meal already comprehensive in the matter of dishes, and taken at a late hour, it seems more reasonable to serve it next to the fish, when those who demand a slice of meat may be expected to have an appropriate appetite, which will certainly be impaired, equally by accepting the entrées, or fasting partially without them. After the joint, two light entrées may follow, and these must necessarily be either in themselves peculiarly tempting morsels, or products of culinary skill, offering inducement to the palate rather than to an appetite which is no longer keen. Then the best roast possible in season, and a salad; a first-rate vegetable, two choice sweets, one of which may be iced; a light savory biscuit or a morsel of fine barely salted caviare, which may be procured in one or two places at' most in town, will complete the dinner. For dessert, the finest fruits in season to grace the table and for light amusement after; or simply nuts in variety, and dry biscuits; nothing between the two is tolerable, and little more than the latter is really wanted; only for decorative purposes fruit equals flowers. But it may be admitted that the diminished number of sweet entremets strengthens the plea for a supply of delicious fruits, rendering the dessert useful and agreeable as well as ornamental.

And, now that dessert is over, let me say that I do not admit the charge sometimes intimated, although delicately, by foreigners, of a too obvious proclivity to self-indulgence on the part of Englishmen, in permitting the ladies to leave the table without escort to the drawing-room. The old custom of staying half an hour, or even an hour afterward, to drink wine, which is doubtless a remnant of barbarism, has long been considered indefensible. Still, the separation of the party into two portions for fifteen or twenty minutes is useful to both, and leads perhaps more completely to a general mixture of elements on reunion after than is attained by the return of the original pairs together. Whether this be so or not, the ladies have a short interval for the interchange of hearsays and ideas relative to matters chiefly concerning their special interests; while the men enjoy that indispensable finish to a good dinner, an irreproachable cup of coffee and a cigarette, and the sooner they arrive the better. With the small dinners of men it can scarcely too quickly follow the last service.