80

DOMESTIC MANNEKS OF THE PKUSSIANS.

The story is told of Beau Brummel, that he once iriade Insappearance in deep mourning, and on being questioned as tothe reason, he informed the inqnirer that he was in black f'orhis father. " Deai- nie!" said his friend, " how terriblysudden ! I saw Mr. Brummel only yesterday." " Yes," re-turned the beau, with affected grief, " and I dined with himlast night myself; but vvhen I left him to go to the play, hewas busily engaged eating peas with his knife, and so Inaturally conclude the poor man has cut Ins throat by thistime."

If, however, Prussian ladies have yet to learn the use ofthe silver f'ork, they are certainly not a whit more skilful orelegant in handling their knives, for they grasp the bladerather than the handle, and cut up their meat with about thesame grace as our ploughmen hack at their hunks of breadand bacon with their clasp-knives. The approved mode ofproceeding at dinner-—even with the Prussian exquisites —is to thrust the fork into the meat upon the plate, and pinningit there as with a stiletto, to proceed to cut it all up at once,and then to mix the frao-ments into a mash with the vegetablesand sauce—the mess being eaten first with the f'ork, and thefragments at the end of the Operation duly scooped up withthe knife, until every portion of the sauce is lapped from theplate: after this the plate is rubbed clean with pieces of bread,and these duly swallowed; whereupon the knife is cleanedwith another bit of crust, which, in its turn, is devoured—dirt,grease, and all.

Nor is the scraping process at all times resorted to; for ifthe dish happen to be inordinately moist, and the gravy orsauce more plentiful than usual, the more tedious Operationof eating it with the knife is dispensed with,—the plate itselfbeing then raised to the mouth and the greasy liquid drunkfrom the edge of it, even to the last drop.