ttern; a tea caddy of niello work; and a brass samovar, of course.

Facilities for fitting out a Japanese tea-table can be found almost
everywhere. The "correct" outfit consists of a low lacquered table,
lotus-blossom cups--with covers and without handles--and a plump little
teapot heated over an _hibachi_ of glowing charcoal. It is not a
Japanese custom to have the tea-table covered, but the famous
embroiderers of Yokohama, having learned to cater to foreign tastes, now
send out tea-cloths of the sheerest linen lawn, with the national bamboo
richly worked in white linen floss above the broad hem-stitched hem.
These are exquisitely dainty in appearance, but can be easily and
successfully laundered--a very important consideration.

But the quaintest of all is the Dutch table, where the sugar basin is
supported over the heads of chased silver female figures; the cream jug
is in the form of a silver cow, and the beguiling Jamaica shows richly
dark through a Black Forest spirit bottle.

Cakes and wafers have lost favor at tea-tables. They have been replaced
by little savories, which harmonize with the popular antique silver and
china, by passing under their old-fashioned name of "whets;" for the
afternoon tea, originally intended to be a light refreshment, had become
a detriment to the dinner. Savories, on the contrary, are a whet to the
appetite and clear the palate for the due appreciation of the dinner.
Two or three different kinds are usually served. Anybody possessed of a
little cooking knowledge can arrange a variety of them at a minimum of
trouble and expense, and in their variety lies half their charm.

There are many kinds of fish, both preserved in oil and smoked, that may
be used. These should be sprinkled with chopped _fines herbes_, placed
upon thin slices of fresh bread--from which the crust has been carefully
cut--rolled and served "_en pyramide_."

Toasted crumpets, heavily buttered, spread with _caviar_ upon which a
little lemon juice has been squeezed and served hot, are considered a
great delicacy at English tea-tables. Another way of serving _caviar_ is
to spread it on thin bread and butter, which is then rolled up like tiny
cigars. Russians declare, however, that the less done to _caviar_ the
better it will be, and to send it to the tea-table in its original jar,
with an accompaniment of fresh dry toast and quartered lemon, is the
fashion preferred by connoisseurs.

It takes a grand dame, so to spe