I found this in an old booklet " The American Revolution" A Selewick Archives Book with text by Lee M. White Mind Your Manners! These rules of etiquette, copied by 13 year old George Washington from the poplur publication "Young Man's Companion" were popular amoung well-to-do families that had found America to be a land of plenty. Many homes, especially on farms and plantations, served five, sometimes, six meals a day. Make no shew of taking great delight in your victuals. Feed not with greediness, cut your bread with a knife, lean not on ye table neither find fault with what you eat. If you soak bread in the sauce let it be no more than what you can put in your mouth at a time and blow not your broth at table but stay till it cools it self. Put not your meat to your mouth with your knife in your hand, neither spit forth the stones of any fruit pye upon a dish nor cast anything under the table. Drink not or talk with your month full neither gaze about you while you are drinking. Drink not too leisurely nor yet too hastily, before and after drinking wipe your lips-breath not then or ever with too great a noise, for it is uncivil. Cleanse not your teeth with the table cloth, napkin, fork, or knife, but if others do it let be done with a pick tooth. In company of your betters be not longer in eating than they are--lay not your arm but only your hand upon the table. It belongs to the cheiftest in the company to unfold his napkin and fall to meat first, but he ought then to began in time to despatch with dexterity. Ann ----- Original Message ----- From: "Marjorie Bloy" <mbloy@dial.pipex.com> To: <AMERICAN-REVOLUTION-L@rootsweb.com> Sent: Saturday, November 03, 2001 3:14 PM Subject: [A-REV] Odd way of eating? > Greetings > > Recently I was in the company of American friends and we were discussing the > War of Independence (as one does...). Over dinner, we started to talk about > the odd way that Americans eat their food and they thought that using the > fork only, and in the right hand, originated from the colonial period: that > "patriots" used that way of eating - in public - as a sort of "secret sign" > that they _were_ rebels and not loyalists. > > I said I'd no idea (I eat with the fork in my right hand because I happen to > be left handed - which sparked the discussion) but I possibly "knew" a lot > of folk who might. I'd be grateful for suggestions/answers/comments! > > Cheers > > Marjie. > > > > ==== AMERICAN-REVOLUTION Mailing List ==== > > > > ============================== > Create a FREE family website at MyFamily.com! > http://www.myfamily.com/banner.asp?ID=RWLIST2 > >