on with religious rites are
interesting, as, for instance, the golden knife with which the old
Druids cut the mistletoe with pomp and much mystic ceremony. The early
Christians made use of the knife and symbolized the cross when feasting;
indeed, the old country habit--which is now deemed a sign of
vulgarity--of crossing the knife and fork after dining, took its origin
in that act of devotion, for together they form the Greek cross.
Browning refers to the custom when he says:--

"Knife and fork he never lays
Crosswise, to my recollection,
As I do in Jesu's praise."

In Russia this custom of the peasantry was deep-rooted; and there they
were careful to take up the knife and fork and lay them down on the
plate crossed before commencing their often meagre meal.

[Illustration: FIG. 20.--PAIR OF DECORATED SPOONS.

(_In the Victoria and Albert Museum._)]

Strange to say that although knives and forks have been crossed in
reverence, to cross knives has been deemed unlucky, and to present a
maiden with a pair of scissors--two crossed blades--has long been held
by those who believe in such signs as unlucky. To give a knife is to
"cut luck"--so the legend runs; hence so many when presenting a pocket
knife will demand a penny (as the smallest coin when silver pennies were
in circulation) in return. The Rev. Samuel Bishop, M.A., Master of the
Merchant Taylors' School in 1795, wrote the following lines on the
subject of presenting a knife to his wife:--

"A knife, dear girl, cuts love, they say--
Mere modish love perhaps it may:
For any tool of any kind
Can separate what was never join'd."

Salt Cellars.

The condiments of the table were usually supplied in separate vessels.
The use of salt with meat goes back to primitive times, although we have
few records of the vessels in which it was served. The Arab chief offers
his guest salt as an act of friendship, and as such it is partaken of.
The classic Ancients consecrated salt before using it, and the salt
cellar was placed upon the table together with the first fruits "for the
gods," those to whom they were offered being generally Hercules or
Mercury. The Greek salt cellars were shaped like bowls, and as the salt
became an important feature as a dividing line between rich and poor,
the size of the cellar grew. To realize the importance of the salt
cellar in mediaeval England, we have only to visit the Tower of London,
where the great salt