"If you please," "Yes, thank you," or "No,
thank you," when we accept or decline what is offered. We should ask for
any article by name, and never point at the dish. Ill-mannered children
sometimes ask for pie or pudding or oranges before they are brought on,
instead of waiting for the courses in their proper order, and even have
been known to make their entire dinner on the dessert. One is apt to
think such children are not accustomed to dainties in their own homes,
or they would not be so greedy for them.

We should never say, "I don't like that," if something is offered we do
not wish to eat, but simply decline it beforehand or leave it upon our
plates without remark; and under no circumstances should we criticise
what is on the table.

There is a proper, graceful way to handle napkin, knife, fork, and
spoon, and we should study to learn this way and to avoid the clumsy
awkwardness in these little things that marks the person unused to good
society.

To eat fast is one of the bad habits of American people which we ought
to avoid. If acquired in childhood, it will be hard to overcome, and
will cause us much mortification when, later in life, we find ourselves
with empty plates long before well-bred people in the company have
finished theirs. Since we do not leave the table before others, there is
nothing gained, even in time, while much is lost in health and in good
manners.

We should be attentive to the wants of others, particularly at our own
table, and quietly supply them when it is proper to do so, especially in
the case of old people and little children. In passing a knife, fork, or
spoon to others, we must offer them the handle, not the blade or point,
and pass a pitcher with the handle toward them.

If an accident occurs, such as breaking a dish, overturning a glass of
water, or dropping food upon the cloth, we should take no notice of it
by look or word unless we can repair the mischief, which we should do in
a way not to attract attention to the unlucky person.

We should never speak of what is unpleasant at the table. If we have bad
news to tell, this is not the place to tell it. Sickness, accident,
death, and whatever is painful to hear, should not be discussed any more
than what is disagreeable. Neither is the table the place to talk of
work or business details, but subjects should be chosen that all are
interested in. No one should be allowed to scold or find fault at meal
time. Cheerful conversat