f oysters.

_Soup_.--At large and formal dinners a clear soup is in vogue. Your soup
spoon will be on the knife side of your plate. Soup is eaten from the
side and not from the end of the spoon. The motion of the hand guiding
the spoon is toward and not from you. Take soup in small spoonfuls, and
use your napkin in wiping your mouth and mustache after each, especially
if the soup is thick or a _puree_. This will avoid the dripping of that
liquid from your upper lip. Never after this operation throw your napkin
back into your lap with the greasy side toward your clothes, but use the
inside of it for this purpose.

_Fish_ is eaten with a silver fish fork. Chasing morsels of fish around
your plate with bits of bread is obsolete. Silver fish knives have been
put in use, but they are not generally the vogue.

_Cucumbers_ are served with fish on the same plate. Little plates or
saucers for cucumbers, vegetables, or salads are bad form.

_Sherry_ is served with fish.

_Celery_, _olives_, and _salted almonds_ are placed on the table in
small dishes. Sometimes the guests are asked to help themselves, but at
formal dinners they are passed around after the fish. Celery is eaten
with the fingers and dipped in a little salt placed on the tablecloth or
on the edge of your plate. It is also served as an _entree_ raw, the
stalks stuffed with Parmesan cheese. It should then be eaten with a
fork.

_Entrees_ require a fork only. Among these are patties, _rissoles_,
_croquettes_, and sweetbreads.

_Mushrooms_ are eaten with a fork, and served as a separate course in
lieu of an _entree_.

_Terrapin_ is served sometimes in little silver saucepans either as an
_entree_ or as fish, and again in a chafing dish, and sometimes with
salad. It is more of a supper than a dinner plat, and should be eaten
with a fork.

_Asparagus_ is eaten, except in the intimate privacy of your own family
circle, with a fork. Cut the points off with the end of the prongs. The
stalk or white part is not eaten. It is allowable to eat it with your
fingers, as I have said, in private. It is served after the roast as a
special course. One can not drink _champagne_ with _asparagus_ except at
the risk of a severe headache.

_Artichokes_ are served as a separate course after the roast. They
should be placed in the center of your plate and the inside tips of the
leaves alone eaten. The leaves are removed with the fingers and dipped
in salt, _sauce vinaigrette_, o