|IT has been stated, and very truly too, that the law of the napkin
is but vaguely understood It may be said, however, on the start, that
custom and good breeding have uttered the decree that it is in poor
taste to put the napkin in the pocket and carry it away.
The rule of etiquette is becoming more and more thoroughly established,
that the napkin should be left at the house of the host or hostess,
after dinner.
There has been a good deal of discussion, also, upon the matter of
folding the napkin after dinner, and whether it should be so disposed
of, or negligently tossed into the gravy boat. If, however, it can be
folded easily, and without attracting too much attention and prolonging
the session for several hours, it should be so arranged, and placed
beside the plate, where it may be easily found by the hostess, and
returned to her neighbor from whom she borrowed it for the occasion. If,
however, the lady of the house is not doing her own work, the napkin may
be carefully jammed into a globular wad, and fired under the table, to
convey the idea of utter recklessness and pampered abandon.
The use of the finger bowl is also a subject of much importance to the
bon ton guest who gorges himself at the expense of his friends.
The custom of drinking out of the finger bowl, though not entirely
obsolete, has been limited to the extent that good breeding does not now
permit the guest to quaff the water from his finger howl, unless he does
so prior to using it as a finger bowl.
Thus it will be seen that social customs are slowly but surely cutting
down and circumscribing the rights and privileges of the masses.
At the court of Eugenie, the customs of the table were very rigid, and
the most prominent guest of H. R. H. was liable to get the G. B. if
he spread his napkin on his lap, and cut his egg in two with a carving
knife. The custom was that the napkin should be hung on one knee, and
the egg busted at the big end and scooped out with a spoon.
A prominent American, at her table, one day, in an unguarded moment,
shattered the shell of a soft-boiled egg with his knife, and, while
prying it apart, both thumbs were erroneously jammed into the true
inwardness of the fruit with so much momentum that the juice took him in
the eye, thus blinding him and maddening him to such a degree, that
he got up and threw the remnants into the bosom of the hired man
plenipotentiary, who stood near the table, scratching his ear with a
tray. As may readily be supposed, there was a painful interim during
which it was hard to tell for five or six minutes whether the prominent
American or the hired man would come out on top; but at last the
American, with the egg in his eye, got the ear of the high-priced hired
man in among his back teeth, and the honor of our beloved flag was
vindicated.