After a morning at whist, one should have an appetite for the noon meal;
let it be so delicious that the anxieties and disappointments of the
game may be speedily forgotten! The table may be prettily laid with the
usual doilies, and the flowers chosen chrysanthemums again, unless you
fancy carrying out the red and black colours of the cards, when the plan
suggested for the Musical Luncheon in January may be adopted, and red
carnations tied with narrow black ribbons may be laid by each plate, and
dark chocolate bonbons may be in the little dishes around a centrepiece
of red carnations. At each of the places may be a small box of cardboard
in the shape of a heart, a club, a diamond, or a spade alternately,
filled with bonbons. There are tin cutters which are in these same
shapes, and the cakes and sandwiches may still further carry out the
idea. The ices, too, are to be found at the caterer's in slices of white
with the figures on them in colours, but you may make a white cream at
home and serve it in paper boxes painted with the various figures around
the edge, if you choose.
Any one of the preceding menus may be used, or one may have something
different which yet reproduces the best dishes which have been
suggested, especially the delightful ice cream which was mentioned for
one luncheon, with the maple sauce, one of the delicious things among
new dishes.