e manner of lily petals. The fruit,
separated into eighths, hardly showed the divisions. These lilies sat
flat upon the cloth, either in lines, as about square stacks, or around
bigger things, or straight up and down the table center. They were not
always in season--at their best around Christmas, but available until
the end of winter.

Cheesecakes, baked in patty pans frosted with cocoanut frosting, also
helped out the wedding richness. Indeed, guests gathered to eat the fat
and the sweet, no less to drink it. Now, in a wider outlook, I wonder a
little if there was significance in the fact that these wedding tables
were so void of color--showing only green and white, with the tiniest
sparks of red?

Party suppers had no such limitations--often the table was gay with
autumn leaves, the center piece a riot of small ragged red
chrysanthemums, or raggeder pink or yellow ones, with candles glaring
from gorgeous pumpkin jack-o'-lanterns down the middle, or from the
walls either side. There were frosted cakes--loaves trimmed gaily with
red and white candies, or maybe the frosting itself was tinted. In place
of syllabub or boiled custard, there were bowls of ambrosia--oranges in
sections, freed of skin and seed, and smothered in grated fresh cocoanut
and sugar. Often the bowl-tops were ornamented with leaves cut deftly
from the skin of deep red apples, and alternating, other leaves shaped
from orange peel. Christmas party suppers had touches of holly and
cedar, but there was no attempt to match the elaborate wedding tables.
Hog's foot jelly, red with the reddest wine, came in handily for
them--since almost every plantation had a special small hog-killing,
after the middle of December, so there might be fresh backbones, spare
ribs, sausage and souse to help make Christmas cheer. Ham, spiced and
sliced wafer thin, was staple for such suppers--chicken and turkey
appeared oftenest as salad, hot coffee, hot breads in variety, crisp
celery, and plenteous pickle, came before the sweets. Punch, not very
heady, hardly more than a fortified pink lemonade, came with the sweets
many times. Grandfather's punch was held sacred to very late suppers,
hot and hearty, set for gentlemen who had played whist or euchre until
cock-crow.

These are but indications. Fare varied even as did households and
occasions. But everywhere there was kinship of the underlying
spirit--which was the concrete expression of hospitality in good cheer.
There was