Dining As A Fine Art.

DINING AS A FINE ART .

SO much has been written on Dining that we are rather reluctant to assist further in the ventilation of the subject . The season however is propitious , and we should not be consistent Masons if we did not occasionall y turn our attention to the festive aspect of the Order . Some of our contemporaries are , indeed , of opinion that Masonry and dinins- are united in indissoluble bonds . Tlie

Saturday Reiriexv , for example , appears to imagine that an " emergency meeting " is merely a polite euphemism for a banquet ; and people who are much better informed than the scribes -who sway the destinies of the great gall bag of the literary world , appear to be inclined to credit the

Order with a love for good cheer which is quite foreign to its principles and the inclinations of its leading spirits . We do not deny that Masons are a genial body ; we admit that they occasionally dine together , and that their so-called banquets do much to cement those ties which are the pride and the boast of the Craft . It would be odd indeed if men

who sometimes profess to owe some of the mysteries of the Craft to Bacchus should decline to toast the jovial god in his own nectar . We , however , are not quite sure that Masons , as such , are more highly skilled in the art of dining than any other section of society . A Masonic dinner may

chance to prove a great success ; it may please every one ; men may leave the table duly impressed with tho wisdom of the chairman , with the eloquence of the various speeches , and the greatness and grandeur of the cause which has brought them together . Or they may go away vexed and

disappointed , lamenting an evening lost , and talents wasted . The company may in the one case be as brotherly as the most zealous friend of the cause could wish , and in the other the stiffness and coldness of the outer world may come like a wet blanket to mar the pleasure of the passing

hour . Much of the success of a dinner depends upon the chairman . If he be a wise and genial man , conversant with the world , and skilled in the great art of managing men , the gathering may be a great success . But if he is at all stiff or formal , if he be a dull man , and is determined

to make long speeches ; or a wooden man , with a voice like a coffee mill , and a countenance as little expressive as a hickory nut , all will go wrong . We maintain that the chairman of any assembly should be a wise man , or , if wisdom be a qualification difficult to find , he should at least possess

fine tact and discrimination . The chairman who assumes the control of a festive gathering should , above all things , possess fine tact . He has it in his power to make all who are around him either happy or decidedly nncomfor table . A judicious word from his lips would instantly stop an

indiscreet discussion , or have the effect of pouring oil upon troubled waters . In proposing his toasts he should make no set speeches ; a few graceful words will give zest to the most stereotyped sentiments , but to have their due effect the words of the chairman must always be graceful aud few .

A long winded bore in the chair is an intolerable nuisance , and such a one should never be allowed to tyrannise twice over a festive gathering . A wise chairman knows exactl y how and when to say a kindly , a graceful , or a charitable thing . He aims at placing every one at his and

ease , even when he is dealing with so technical a portion ot ms duties as the programme of songs , he will not forget to let fall a word or two of praise , which , if rightly timed , will fall hke balm upon the ears of the vocalists . It is true that these gentlemen are paid for their services , but tbey aro generally brothers , and , even if they were not

Dining As A Fine Art.

while they sit at the table , a true gentlemen will regard them as gnests , and will treat them with courtesy and consideration . Did our chairmen know what spirit and life may be

inspired in the breast of a vocalist by a few words of judicious praise , tbey would never forget to extend to them the same courtly attention which they are accustomed to bestow upon the distinguished guests .

We have attended dinners where all has gone gaily ancl merrily as a marriage bell , and it has been our lot to be present at others where the time seemed to drag heavily , and the flat dull oratory seemed to impart some of its lifelessness to the wines . We do not deny that an able

chairman may find his duties arduous if he is not backed by clever and judicious speakers . It is becoming a custom to vote long orations in response to toasts whether they are dreary or not , a bore . We deprecate speaking for the sake of speaking , but we venture to think that courtesy should

be above all things regarded at a Masonic banquet , and if brief orations be desired , it is better that the chairman should drop the hint than that un-Masonic expressions should be permitted to fall from the lips of the company . It is no doubt difficult for a man of ordinary calibre to say

anything new in response to stereotyped toasts . But if it be impossible to be original , a speaker should not be dull . A few bright words , like sparks from the flint and steel , will always tell , and where it is possible , only bright persons should be called upon to respond . To take an

example of the few non-Masonic toasts that we have in our mind , we may cite that of the press , which usually falls to the lot of some Masonic journalist . To say that the press is a great power is mere idle platitude ; every one is aware of that . To assert that it is the fourth estate , is simply to

talk bunkum . But if a speaker say that the English press is merely the mirror of the English mind , that the journalist simply holds this mirror up to society ; and that for what is there seen society is strictly responsible , he is simply expressing a commonly ignored truth . While people

neglect to use their brains , platitude will possibly command a certain amount of respect . It is so easy to cheer the silly sentiment one has heard a hundred times before , and an original idea strikes the members of a festive party as a startling novelty . Yet with all due respect for the

threadbare platitudes which have done such good service , we are of opinion that old truths put in a fresh light will be received with respect , if not with positive enthusiasm . Englishmen are indeed conservative , and will applaud a

noble sentiment when couched in the stupid language current amongst wooden men , but they can be touched by thoughtful eloquence , by the brief crisp sentences which are intended to reach the heart and fire the imagination .

In considering the Art of Dining from our Masonic standpoint , we must not forget a word or two upon an innovation which may grow into a fashion . At some recent dinners the ladies , by their presence , have given tone and colour to festivities which , without them , are

often anything but feasts of reason , however much the flow of soul may be quickened by the aid of wine . We are glad to welcome them to the table , and , without for a moment desiring to break in upon that reserve and modesty which are the most striking charms of the sex , we could

almost wish that some wise woman would take the toast of the ladies out of the hands of the complacent gentlemen who pour forth their fulsome flatteries with faces distended

by broad grins . It is , of course , possible to say something sensible and thoughtful in response to this toast , and perhaps a clever woman might tell us , if she were so minded , exactly what the sensible members of her sex