ing sauces, is
just as clever in mixing the human elements of attraction and
amalgamation.

Refreshments, daintily served, stimulate conversation; ice cream breaks
the ice, so to speak, and warms the company. Serving food is a visible
demonstration of hospitality which all the philosophy in the world
cannot cover.

Gorgeous ornamentation of dinner table is conceded to be bad form. The
embellishment--the ornate, if you will--has been overdone, and now there
is a reaction which tends to simplicity extreme expressed by a handsome
centerpiece and a moderate exposition of not common flowers.

A different kind and color of china with every course is affected by
those whose cabinet is crowded and who are proud of it, but this pride
has its limitations among people of refinement and culture. This class
does not give dinners simply to exhibit earthly treasure and create
envy, and, perhaps, covetousness, too.

The larger the table napkin the better. A yard square is none too big,
and pleasantly recalls the Parisians, whose liberality in damask is
proverbial but not a characteristic in anything else. The material
should be the best obtainable, and the design the most beautiful. Any
lace edging or embroidery, plain or colored, is just as bad taste as
quinine.

Knives, forks and spoons now-a-days, for almost everything, are somewhat
confusing to those who do not dine out with sufficient frequency to keep
up with the continually advancing procession. Some of these knives,
forks and spoons are quite unnecessary, not to say silly, but the
business of the silversmith must be considered.

Place cards at dinners should be retained because the host or hostess
has had them prepared in expectation of their being retained and
preserved as _souvenirs_. Ignoring them would be disrespect, and such
disrespect, under the social circumstances, would be unpardonable.

In planning a regular dinner the fact should always be remembered, that
a heavy soup will so far cloy the appetite as to render one indifferent
to the rest of the dinner, while a clear soup refreshes, and prepares
one for the enjoyment of the succeeding solids. The fish and entrees
should not be substantial enough to satisfy hunger entirely; the
relishes will then stimulate the appetite for the heavier dishes. The
service of Roman Punch before the roast refreshes the palate, and
prepares it for the more perfect enjoyment of the succeeding dishes; it
is as necessary to the serv