Our "model housewife" believes with us that we should endeavor a " Well ordered home, man's best delight, to make; And by submissive wisdom, modest skill, With every gentle, care-eluding art, To raise the virtues, animate the bliss, And sweeten all the toils of human life; This is true female dignity and praise."

So turn we now again to more practical matters.

There are few things more perplexing at first to young housewives than the momentous question of dinner. A social dinner party, and a quiet family dinner, require equal consideration. We once heard of an old bachelor who, to save himself the daily trouble of stating what he would have for dinner, drew up a programme of dinners for every day in the year, and handed it over to his housekeeper; and a lady has lately published a pamphlet, entitled, "What shall we have for dinner, in order to save idle folks the trouble of thinking."

Now, a good cookery book, a short walk round the region where the marketing is done, and a knowledge of family likes and dislikes, will generally enable even a novice to arrange this important matter, at least so far as the ordering goes, the cooking being another consideration. Joints should always, when weather permits, be purchased fresh, and then hung as long as is deemed requisite to fit them for eating. A knowledge of the sauces and condiments appropriate to every dish, is a subject well worth attention. The cooking of vegetables is an important point, and one in which we may derive much useful instruction from the French. Vegetables cannot be too fresh; in large towns we can form no idea how little we know of the real flavor and delicacy of green vegetables, accustomed as we are to have them at least a day after they are cut.

Fish should be chosen by touch and look. If it feels flabby, and looks pale about the gills, and dull about the eyes, it is to be avoided; firmness of body, brightness and fulness of eyes, and ruddiness of the gills, are signs of freshness. Crabs and lobsters must be selected by weight, not size, and the olfactory organs employed to test their sweetness.

We have already spoken of the desirableness of dealing regularly with respectable people, but no rule is without its exception; and those who are pretty good judges of articles of provision, may often obtain some variety by looking about them. Practice and habitual attention and observation, and the wholesome annoyance of one or two blunders, will soon give experience.

We would advise that our housewife should see occasionally that all the cooking utensils are kept clean; that there is no waste or extravagance, that the ends of loaves, spare bits of cut bread, bones of meat, cold vegetables, etc, are not recklessly thrown about. There are in every neighborhood only too many poor to be found, who will most gratefully receive the scraps from the richer man's table; and a little inquiry will always find some family on whom such odds and ends may well be bestowed. The tea-leaves should be regularly put by in some vessel, to be used in sweeping.

Perhaps there are few things in which the respectability of a man is more immediately felt, than the style of dinner to which he may accidentally bring home a visitor. Every one ought to live according to his circumstances, and the meal of the tradesman ought not to emulate the entertainments of the higher classes; but if merely two or three dishes be well served, with the proper accompaniments, the table-linen, clean, the small sideboard neatly laid, and all that is necessary be at hand, the expectation of both the husband and friend will be gratified, because no interruption of the domestic arrangements will disturb their social intercourse.

Hence the direction of a table is no inconsiderable branch of a lady's concern, as it involves judgment in expenditure, respectability of appearance, and the comfort of her husband, as well as of those who partake of their hospitality. Inattention to it "is always inexcusable, and should be avoided for the lady's own sake, as it occasions a disagreeable degree of bustle and evident annoyance to herself, which is never observable in a well-regulated establishment. In doing the honors of her table, the mode of carving is also of importance, and will be treated of in a future chapter.

The mode of covering the table differs in taste. It is not the multiplicity of things, but the choice, the dressing, and the neat, pleasing look of the whole, which give respectability to her who presides. The table should be furnished with more than the necessary quantity of plate, or plated ware, and glass, to afford a certain appearance of elegance; and if accompanied by a clean cloth and a neatly dressed attendant, it will show that the habits of the family are those of gentility. For a small party, or a tete-a-tite, a dumb waiter is a convenient contrivance, as it partly saves the attendance of servants. The cruets should be looked to and filled every day an hour before dinner; and much trouble and irregularity are saved when there is company, if servants are accustomed to prepare the table and sideboard in similar order daily. Too many or too few dishes are extremes not uncommon:. the former encumbering the dinner with a superfluity which partakes of vulgarity, whilst the latter has the appearance of poverty or penurious-ness.

Servants should always be accustomed to lay the cloth and serve dinner as neatly when the family is alone as when company is expected; they should likewise be taught to bring up and place on the table or sideboard everything likely to be required during the meal, and not have to leave the room repeatedly on trifling errands. The mistress should glance around to see that all is there; and if she perceives omissions, mention them before dinner commences. Servants should also be taught to wait at table without bustle or noise; to remove plates, etc, without rattling them; to open and close the doors gently; to lift covers from dishes so as not to let the drops of condensed steam fail on the table or those seated at it. If these things are ordinarily insisted upon, the mistress of the house will not. when she gives a dinner party, sit on thorns, trembling lest some gaucherie be committed.