Finger bowl

“ If, however, the lady of the house is not doing her own work, the napkin may be carefully jammed into a globular wad, and fired under the table, to convey the idea of utter recklessness and pampered abandon.
The use of the finger bowl is also a subject of much importance to the bon ton guest who gorges himself at the expense of his friends.
The custom of drinking out of the finger bowl, though not entirely obsolete, has been limited to the extent that good breeding does not now permit the guest to quaff the water from his finger howl, unless he does so prior to using it as a finger bowl. ”

“ A napkin and plate, or tray, is best liked for removing crumbs.
Finger bowls should always follow the last course at formal and informal meals alike, except at breakfast, when, if fruit is the first course, the finger-bowl is put on the table when the covers are laid ready for the fruit course.
Spoon-holders are no longer used, but if one should be fancied it would be better to put the bowl of the spoon in the holder first.
Unless one serves something more than wafers, small cakes, tea, and chocolate on an “at home” day, napkins are not necessary ”

“ Each guest lifts the bowl and doily from the plate and places them at the left hand side. The doily is never to be used to wipe the fingers.
A good waitress will not pile one dish upon another when removing them from the table. She should be provided with a tray for all the smaller dishes, and should remove the plates one or two at a time.
All dishes from which people help themselves, such as vegetables, bread, butter, etc., should be passed at the left; those that are set before people, such as soup plates, clean plates, water glasses, finger bowls, etc., should be passed at the right. ”

“ Butter must not be soft and oily.
The sharp edge of knives must be turned toward the plate. Bowls of spoons and tines of forks must be turned up.
Waiter or waitress is responsible for the heat of the dishes after they come from the kitchen, if not hot enough they must be sent back.
When serving fruit, use for each person a fruit plate, on which is a fruit doily, and finger bowl one-third full of warm water. On the plate at the right of the bowl lay a silver fruit knife, on the left of the plate a fruit spoon. ”

“ The cook had made some damson jam, and while I was alone in the parlour turning over the leaves of one of grandpapa's music-books, which looked so mysteriously wonderful to me, she carried in a specimen bowl, and left it on the table with some loose coppers. I still see that bowl. It was white, and had a wreath of pink roses.
When I tired of my music-book, I wandered by a natural impulse into temptation. The bowl was out of my reach, but I soon remedied that by drawing over a chair and climbing upon it. I dipped my finger into the bowl, and then put [Pg 75] it into my mouth. ”

“ Keep the finger jammed down tightly on the air hole in the brim of the bowl, wipe the outside of the bowl thoroughly dry and place a small piece of adhesive rubber plaster over the air hole in the bottom of the bowl. ”

“ When you choose your rod, the artist pierces it with the aid of his toe, a member he uses with more skill than his finger. The bowl is a red earth, found and manufactured at Burgaz, highly gilt and polished. ”

“ The inside is made smooth and even in the same way, brushing any deep hollows with slip and filling them in with clay. This process should be carefully and70 conscientiously done, so that the walls of the bowl, as one feels them between finger and thumb, are even and free from lumps. They should not be more than a quarter of an inch thick.
A damp sponge is then passed over the bowl, and the fingers and thumb smooth and polish it outside and in. The edge is trimmed as evenly as possible by eye with a steel tool and then bevelled as follows:
Fig. ”

“ The same glass bowl as in previous trick. If your bowl has not a foot to it, it must be placed on something that will hold it high above your table. Some small fish, a white plate or saucer, a piece of black silk just fitting the inside of your bowl, a spoon of peculiar construction, so that in a hollow handle it will retain about a teaspoonful of ink, which will not run out as long as a hole near the top of the handle is kept covered or stopped. A large tumbler and two or three minnows will do for a simpler exhibition, but will, of course, not be so pleasing to the eye. ”

“ If brass bowls are used no celluloid disc is required, and it is not necessary to exchange one bowl for another; the secret of the trick lies in the preparation of one of the bowls, and yet, at the beginning of the trick, both bowls can be held with their interiors facing the audience. ”

“ An ordinary table-knife is used, and a piece of cheese is firmly forced on to the end of the blade; the bowl is then balanced on the edge, allowing the bait to project about an inch and a half beneath the bowl. ”

“ You must adroitly get rid of the dime, which has remained secreted in your right hand, by placing it in your pocket or sleeve while making some humorous remark, or while asking some lady or gentleman to draw the woollen thread till it is all unwound. It will be done the quicker by letting the ball be confined loosely in the bowl with two fingers preventing its leaping out. ”

“ Pen-se, however, does not need spoon or fork; she takes two small, smooth sticks, and, lifting the bowl to her mouth, uses the sticks like a little shovel. You would spill the rice and soil your dress if you should try to do so, but these children know no other way, and they have learned to do it quite carefully. ”

“ Fear not to slaver; ’tis no deadly sin,
Like the free Frenchman, from your joyous chin
Suspend the ready napkin; or, like me,
Poise with one hand your bowl upon your knee;
Just in the zenith your wise head project,
Your full spoon, rising in a line direct,
Bold as a bucket, heed no drops that fall,
The wide-mouth’d bowl will surely catch them all. ”

“ When the young men have finished the chewing, each deposits his portion in the form of a round dry ball in the bowl, the inside of which thus becomes studded over with a large number of these separate little masses. ”

“ Under the old system the form of the bowl is gradually developed by blowing and by shaping the bulb with the sugar-tongs tool. The leg is either pulled out from the substance of the base of the bowl, or from a small lump of glass added to the base. The foot starts as a small independent bulb on a separate blowing iron. One extremity of this bulb is made to adhere to the end of the leg, and the other extremity is broken away from its blowing iron. ”

“ I can only say that I have seldom spent a more interesting evening.
About nine the stew was ready, and the women ladled it into lacquer bowls with wooden spoons. The men were served first, but all ate together. Afterwards sake, their curse, was poured into lacquer bowls, and across each bowl a finely-carved "sake-stick" was laid. These sticks are very highly prized. ”

“ About it has grown up a complete system of etiquette and throughout all rural southeastern South America the matte bowl is the cup of greeting and of farewell; not to offer it to a visitor, even a total stranger, upon his arrival, is as serious an offense as for the visitor to refuse it. The bowl is a dry, hollow gourd about the size and shape of a large pear, into the open top of which is thrust a reed or a metal bombilla. ”

“ This is played exactly as all other progressive games. Arrange [56] tables to seat four, choose partners, and provide score cards.
In the centre of each table, place a bowl containing one hundred peanuts in the shell, and lay a long, new, common hat-pin at each place. At the head table have a bell. Before being seated to play, each guest is to have the right hand securely tied down to the side by a ribbon or fancy cord. When ready to commence, a player rings a bell at the head table, and all begin to spear nuts from the bowl ”

“ It excited the children, and some of the older persons clapped their hands and exclaimed, "Very good, very good." But when he tossed it only a foot high and let go the chop-stick, making it change ends, and catching the bowl, they were ready for a general applause. In striking the bowl and thus manipulating his chop-sticks, his hands moved almost as rapidly as those of an expert pianist.
"Can you toss the knives?" piped up one of the children who had seen a juggler perform this difficult feat. ”

“ Prayer-meal bowls are of two sorts, bowl-shaped with a terraced elevation on one side of the rim, and rectangular, or box-like, with a terraced elevation at either end. In the construction of a rectangular prayer-meal bowl, no puki is employed. The pat, either circular or rectangular in shape, is made as usual. It is placed upon a board, care being taken to press it down hard, and the rectangular shape is accentuated by the pinching up of the edge. A thin layer of temper may, or may not, be sprinkled on the board before the pat is placed upon it. ”

“ There was plenty of passing, as it was market day. We met a good many peasant women carrying milk in those curious old brass bowls one sees everywhere here. Some of them are very handsome, polished until they shine like mirrors, with a delicate pattern lightly traced running around the bowl. They balance them perfectly on their heads and walk along at a good swinging pace. They all look prosperous, their skirts (generally black) , shoes, and stockings in good condition, and their white caps and handkerchiefs as clean as possible. ”

“ And the feasters delayed not to fall to on these dainties, while the cup-bearer bore round a mighty bowl of beaten gold filled with sparkling wine the hue of the yellow sapphire, and furnished with six golden ladles resting their handles in six half-moon84 shaped nicks in the rim of that great bowl. Each guest when the bowl was brought to him must brim his goblet with the ladle, and drink unto the glory of Witchland and the rulers thereof. ”

“ Tobacco-pipe bowl, white clay with slipped surface, the bowl shape characteristic of the mid-17th century, flat heel, and roughly applied rouletted line below the mouth; maker's mark VS stamped on upper surface of stem. Stem-hole diameter 7/64 inch, about 1650-1690.
19. Tobacco-pipe bowl, fragment only, clay, white surface and grey core, the bowl extremely bulbous and with a pronounced flat heel. Maker's mark VS stamped on the upper surface of the stem; dies different to those used for no. ”

“ At the end of this time the ball of dough should be soft, smooth, and elastic. Place the dough in the bowl and rub the second spoonful of butter or lard over it. Cover with a clean towel and then with a tin or wood cover. Set the bowl in a warm place and let it rise over night. In the morning the dough will have increased to three times its original volume, and will be a perfect sponge. Knead it in the bowl for five minutes—do not use flour—and then shape into three small loaves. ”

“ The player to his right holds eight, the player to his left has only six—the right side wins, the left side loses. In an instant the croupier, with his huge paper-knife, sweeps up the cards, and, with the rapidity of a conjuring trick, he casts them into a wooden bowl in the middle of the table; then he rapidly sweeps off all the stakes on one side of the table; [Pg 110] with equal celerity he places each man's winnings before the players on the other side. There are no quarrels, and no mistakes. Everybody is terribly polite. ”

“ They are often found on the lips of the bowls and in a similar position on jars, dippers, and vases. The parallel lines shown in figure 278 are seven in number, and do not encircle the bowl. They are joined by a broad connecting band near one extremity. The number of parallel bands in this decoration is highly suggestive. ”

“ Thus whirling he balanced it on his hand, on his arm, on his thumb, on his forehead, and finally in his mouth, after which he tossed the plate up, threw the pole aside, and caught it as it came down. The old manager standing by received the pole, but as he saw the plate tossed up, he fell flat upon the earth, screaming lest the plate be broken.
This same performer set a bowl whirling on the end of a chop-stick. Then tossing the bowl up he caught it inverted on the chop-stick, and made it whirl as rapidly as possible. ”

“ By using the bowl as a scoop one would merely level the rice, whereas it is really necessary to get nearly all the rice out of the faked bowl. Begin by levelling the rice with the left hand while you hold the other bowl in front of it; just before you replace the empty bowl bend the left fingers slightly and thus scoop out as much of the rice as you can possibly get out in this way. You must not let the audience see that you are really trying to empty the bowl, and no harm is done if you leave a little rice in it. ”

“ It is intensely hard, and successfully resists the edge of the finest tempered knife. The length of the base is five inches, breadth of the same one inch and a quarter. The bowl is one inch and a quarter high, slightly tapering upwards, but flaring near the top. The hollow of the bowl is six tenths of an inch in diameter. The perforation answering to the tube is one sixth of an inch in diameter, which is about the usual size. This circumstance places it beyond doubt that the mouth was applied directly to the implement, without the intervention of a tube of wood or metal. ”

“ Anyhow, when one dark rainy morning the sharp need came for something of this kind, it was I who thought of the bowl, which, after all, could contain almost as much Jordan water as could the freestone font in St. Barnabas's, and was twenty times more beautiful. ”