six, when guests were there.

While the dishes were heating, and Bridget was getting breakfast ready,
they filled the glasses and put the butter balls on the bread and
butter plates; then, Margaret had her lesson in waiting on the table.

"After we sit down," her aunt said, "pass the fruit, going to each
person's left, so he can take it with the right hand and hold the dish
low down. Then put the dish back in the middle of the table, and leave
it there through the meal. If there are flowers or a plant on the table,
serve the fruit from the sideboard, and put it back there when you have
passed it. If you have berries or melons to serve, those may be ready on
the sideboard before breakfast, and a plate with a finger-bowl on it can
stand at each place. The berries may be passed, and each person can lift
off the finger-bowl and doily at the same time and set it near the plate
and serve himself to the berries. Melons are usually set on the table
before breakfast on each plate, the finger-bowl standing near by, but if
you want to have it more elegantly arranged than this, put the melons on
small plates, and after the finger-bowl is removed, lay this plate down
on top of the one standing already on the table. Just now it is
considered very nice to nearly always have a plate in front of one. I
will tell you more about that when we come to serving dinner.

"You can have the hot plates brought into the room when the cereal comes
in with its hot dishes, and you can lift off a fruit-plate, standing on
each person's right, and lay down a hot plate with the small cereal dish
already on it, and when all are around you can pass the cereal, and then
the sugar and cream."

"But," objected Margaret, "I can't carry a tray and take off a plate and
put down a plate all at once, because I don't have three hands, only
just two!"

"No, of course not," smiled her aunt. "But you don't use a tray in
changing plates. You slip off the soiled one with the left hand and lay
down the clean one with the right, holding this clean one over the
other. It really saves time in the end to manage in this way, as you
will see. After the cereal, if those small plates have been so
good-sized as to well cover the hot plates underneath them and so
protect them from cream, all you have to do is to take these off,
leaving the larger plates, using your tray this time and standing always
on the right; put the first dish on the tray and take the next in your
hand