The Etiquette of Good Society: 1.
Breakfast
Lady Colin Campbell
In a little book entitled The Etiquette or Good Society, published In 1895, Lady Colin Campbell regales her readers, presumably all as well-bred as she, with advice on how to conduct oneself correctly in polite society. Lady Colin was the wife of Lord Colin Campbell, the 5th son of the 8th Duke of Argyll. They separated In 1884.
It is our intention to reprint short extracts from Lady Colin's book in the hope that some of the culinary glories of the past may perhaps be recaptured, if only by the armchair eater.
A chapter on the etiquette of breakfasts makes amusing reading, in an age when the art of breakfasting is, clearly, on the decline. Three different breakfasts are described: the 'ordinary' breakfast, the wedding breakfast and the sportsman's breakfast. Suggested seasonal menus are appended.
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"The breakfast table is very commonly a round one, but if the dining room is used, as is often the case when there is a large party of guests, the mistress of the house often occupies the seat at table taken by the master at dinner. Before her are the tea and coffee equipage; the cups and saucers close at hand; next, the tea and coffee pots, sugar basin, cream jug, &c. In the centre of the table there should be a vase of flowers; in summer a china bowl of freshly-gathered roses, or a bunch of wild flowers, is a pretty ornament; later in the year a deep plate filled with moss, and studded with asters, dahlias, or chrysanthemums, has a good effect; at other Seasons a fresh green fern - anything which adds brightness and grace to the table, but at the same time is not stiff and formal. The arrangement of flowers for a breakfast table should never be so studied or formal as that for a dinner table, nor even as the drawing room bouquets. They should possess the distinctive feature of elegant negligence and simplicity. Fruits flank the flowers, and are placed on dishes which match the tea service".
"Then the various eatables - such as eggs, potted meats, fish, &c. - are placed up and down the table, and are interspersed with racks of dry toast, hot rolls, tea-cakes, and muffins, small loaves of brown and white bread, and dainty pats of butter within the reach of every one. The more substantial dishes - such as hams, tongues, and pies - are usually placed on a white cloth on the sideboard; and at an ordinary breakfast the gentlemen help themselves and the ladies also. Fish is placed upon the table, and so are the hot dishes, such as kidneys, mushrooms, or fried bacon. Before each person is set a china plate like the breakfast service, on which is placed a napkin and a knife and fork beside it. This plate is used for butter, bread, or toast."
"The plates for the meats are placed in small piles before each dish on the sideboard, so that at breakfast two plates are used at the same time; the smaller one is kept, the other changed with each course..... The cups and saucers are placed beside each person, and not in formal array in front of the lady presiding, and the teapot is passed round together with the sugar and cream. There is one thing we may learn with advantage from the French mode of serving breakfast, and that is their liberal supply of plates. They are not, as a rule, noted for being 'nice' in their ways, but they are worthy of imitation in this particular respect by the good people at home, who are generally inclined to be stingy and careful with the supply of plates..."
"What has been said hitherto applies to ordinary breakfasts. Wedding breakfasts are conducted in rather a different manner. They are of a more formal character than those we have been describing, and have all the form and ceremony of a dinner, both as regards waiting and table decorations. As to the viands and beverages, they are most varied, are are a curious combination of all the four meals. Soup is handed, tea and coffee, claret and champagne -everything on the table is cold, and all the dishes are very much garnished and ornamented. The table itself is set as for a dinner, in a formal, precise manner; rolls of bread in the napkins; the knives and forks on either side; all the arrangements carried out in the strictest way. Flowers and fruits are arranged either in large groups or scattered about in tiny bouquets and clusters, according to the prevailing fashion. The chief centre is occupied by the bride-cake (when the breakfast is to celebrate a wedding), which is always an imposing structure, and considered to be the ornament of the feast. A collation of this description should consist of cold game and poultry, hams, tongues, game pies, savoury jellies, custards, candied fruits, ornamental cakes, ices, &c. No trenchers of bread, no homely tea-cakes or pats of butter are seen at this kind of breakfast. The tout ensemble should present as glittering a display as possible...."
"The hunt breakfast and sportsmen's breakfast differ from either of those mentioned before. The table is not decorated or ornamented; all the space is reserved for the dishes, which on these occasions make the table groan, as people say... ..No sweets are placed on the table, only substantial food, which is likely to fit those who partake for the labour and toil of the day they are commencing. Game pie is a standard dish on these occasions, cold beef, devilled turkey, broiled ham, French pies, &c. Cherry brandy is at hand for those who choose that as their beverage, and tankards of beer; but huntsmen nowadays, as a rule, take tea and coffee."
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| Broiled trout | Potted beef | Water-cresses | Pigeon pie | Codfish cakes |
| Stewed kidneys | Spiced beef | Curried eggs | Ox-palates | Pommes de terre frites |
| Ham | Potted char | Savoury omelette | Marmalade |
| Broiled mackerel | Potted salmon | Fried soles | Fried soles | Potted shrimps |
| Broiled whiting | Devilled chicken | Buttered eggs | Pigeons in jelly | Broiled ham |
| Veal-cake | Beefsteak pie | Raspberries | Strawberries |
| Broiled fresh herrings | Toasted mushrooms | Grouse pie | Collared eels | Broiled pheasant |
| Cold roast fowl | Poached eggs | Reindeer tongue | Ham | Potted hare |
| Fresh shrimps | Rolled beef | Potted lobster | Grapes |
| Kippered haddock | Devilled turkey | Melton pie | Bloaters | Pommes de terre frites |
| Brawn | Anchovy toast | Prawns | Round of beef | Sausages |
| Stewed ox-tails | Broiled mutton chop | Marmalade |
Bits and Bobs
Some time ago, a minister in Gigha, was returning to the island, on a Saturday. When he crossed from the East Loch to the West Loch, he found the cautious skipper of the old "Pioneer" was delaying sailing owing to the bad weather. The passenger was afraid of not getting back in time for his service, and several times went and asked if the ship was not ready to sail.
At last he approached the skipper hopefully, and pointed upwards to the sky. "Look,", he cried, "There's blue sky up there." "It's no there we're gan," was the matter of fact retort.
Campbeltown was the first place in Argyllshire to publish its own journal. This was "Kay's Argyleshire Monthly Magazine" printed in Campbeltown by George Kay Proprietors which could be purchased at the shop of William Ralston, Bookseller. It was first published in January 1833. It lasted, it is believed, little more than a year.
"Ah! Sir," exclaimed the Elder in a tone of pathetic recollection, "Our late Minister was the man!" He was a poorfu' preacher for i' the short time he delivered the word amang us, he knocked three pulpit broods to pieces, and dang the guts out o' five Bibles!"
From the above Magazine.
The following causes of children's absences from school have been taken from "Education in Argyll: 1872-1972." :-
Closures for infectious diseases were more numerous than now.
Many cases of "sore feet" caused by going barefoot and suffering cuts which suppurated. Want of suitable clothes in winter.
Distances to school could be great in country districts. A brother and sister ceased to attend because the distance - 6 miles - was too great in winter.
Among the older children seasonal work caused much absence: potato planting, peat cutting, hay and corn harvests.
Page 2: Schooling 160 Years Ago
Page 5: William Ralston of that Ilk
Page 6: The Press Gang in Campbeltown