re must be carefully gone over in every corner with a
soft cloth, that it may be left perfectly free from dust; or where that
is beyond reach, with a brush made of long feathers, or a goose's wing.
The sofas are swept in the same manner, slightly beaten, the cushions
shaken and smoothed, the picture-frames swept, and everything arranged
in its proper place. This, of course, applies to dining as well as
drawing-room and morning-room. And now the housemaid may dress herself
for the day, and prepare for the family dinner, at which she must
attend.

2314. We need not repeat the long instructions already given for laying
the dinner-table. At the family dinner, even where no footman waits, the
routine will be the same. In most families the cloth is laid with the
slips on each side, with napkins, knives, forks, spoons, and wine and
finger glasses on all occasions.

[Illustration: BUTLER'S TRAY AND STAND.]

2315. She should ascertain that her plate is in order, glasses free from
smears, water-bottles and decanters the same, and everything ready on
her tray, that she may be able to lay her cloth properly. Few things add
more to the neat and comfortable appearance of a dinner-table than
well-polished plate; indeed, the state of the plate is a certain
indication of a well-managed or ill-managed household. Nothing is easier
than to keep plate in good order, and yet many servants, from stupidity
and ignorance, make it the greatest trouble of all things under their
care. It should be remembered, that it is utterly impossible to make
greasy silver take a polish; and that as spoons and forks in daily use
are continually in contact with grease, they must require good washing
in soap-and-water to remove it. Silver should be washed with a soapy
flannel in one water, rinsed in another, and then wiped dry with a dry
cloth. The plate so washed may be polished with the plate-rags, as in
the following directions:--Once a week all the plate should receive a
thorough cleaning with the hartshorn powder, as directed in the first
recipe for cleaning plate; and where the housemaid can find time, rubbed
every day with the plate-rags.

2316. Hartshorn, we may observe, is one of the best possible
ingredients for plate-powder in daily use. It leaves on the
silver a deep, dark polish, and at the same time does less
injury than anything else. It has also the advantage of being
very cheap; almost all the ordinary powders sold in box