case it is safer to use an ordinary fork; and for this reason: the fish-knife has been laid for a fish course, and if it should have been previously unnecessarily used for the hors d’œuvre, it will be needful for the servant to bring another. Fish rissoles may be eaten with a fish-fork only—in fact, any preparation that does not need the knife.

A safe rule.

It is a safe rule never to use either knife or spoon if the fork will do. With ice-pudding or ices in any form a small spoon is used.

The courses seriatim.

Hors d’œuvres.

Soup.

Taste before salting.

Now let us take the dinner from the very beginning, and go through the courses. First, there may be hors d’œuvres, small morsels of various kinds which are found ready to hand when the guests sit down. I have already referred to these. Next comes soup, generally one thick and one clear. The attendant offers the diner a choice, and he must promptly make it. When it is set before him he begins at once, not waiting till every one is served. He takes up the tablespoon, placed ready at his right hand, and it is not considered very good form to immediately put some salt into the soup before tasting it. People who pride themselves on the possession of a clever cook sometimes feel annoyed at the distrust of her powers shown in this simple action.

The addenda to soup.

With soup small addenda are often handed. The guest helps himself to these, whether they are croûtons, fried bread-crumbs or other supplementary provision, with the spoon handed round on the dish.

When to begin dining.

It is a very old-fashioned piece of good manners to wait till every one is served. So old-fashioned is it that it survives at present only among the uncultured classes. The correct thing to do nowadays is to begin eating without reference to others. The old style must not only have been trying in consequence of seeing one’s food grow cold before one’s eyes, but it must also have been responsible for making dinner a very slow and tedious meal. Now the attendants remove the plates from the guests first helped directly the fork is laid down, and this greatly accelerates the service.

Tilting the soup-plate.

The direction of the tilt.

The soup-plate, if tilted at all, is raised at the side nearest the eater, so that the soup collects at the furthest point from him. It is generally unnecessary to tilt the plate, however. But the thing to avoid is passing the left hand round it in a half-embrace and tilting it towards the eater. This is highly incorrect; it is also dangerous. The soup has been known to spill on the cloth, and even over the diner.

Neither soup nor fish may be helped twice.

Fish and fish sauce.

When the servant is removing your soup-plate he will sometimes ask, “Any more, sir?” to which you must reply in the negative. A shake of the head will suffice. Soup is never helped twice. Nor is fish.