Waiting at table : a practical guide / by a member of the aristocracy, author of "Manners and rules of good society", "Society small talk", etc., etc.

Date:
[1910]
Catalogue details

Licence: In copyright

Credit: Waiting at table : a practical guide / by a member of the aristocracy, author of "Manners and rules of good society", "Society small talk", etc., etc. Source: Wellcome Collection.

Provider: This material has been provided by The University of Leeds Library. The original may be consulted at The University of Leeds Library.

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    Wlien pouring out coffee or tea, a servant should be careful not to fill the tea or coffee cups to the brim, but to leave room for milk or cream to be added by a guest according to taste; otherwise an over-full cup causes inconvenience, and frequently the contents are spilt, when the cup is handed, in the saucer or on a dress, to the annoyance of the gentleman who hands the cup, and of the lady who receives it. Guests help themselves to all they require in the way of cakes, &c., but when anything is out of reach, a servant hands at once the particular thing asked for. To ensure quick waiting, an extra quantity of glass and china is always provided, so as to avoid a shadow of inconvenience from the want of either. The decanters of wine and the jugs of claret and other cups are replenished by the butler, who replaces empty decanters and jugs with full ones. When the dishes of cake, &c., show signs of their being exhausted, the footman replaces them with fresh dishes, which he procures from the housekeeper’s room. Dessert dishes and glass dishes are used for this purpose. Where only one man-servant is kept, and small “ At Homes ” are given, one of the women servants attends to this duty, as the man-servant would be engaged in opening the door to the visitors on their arrival, and for them on their departure, and in