A fascinating peak into the daily lives of our fore-families…

Of all rooms in the house, the dining-room should be the cheeriest, because it is there that all the members of the family are most likely to congregate. No matter how widely the interests and occupations of father, mother, and children may separate them at other times of the day, the fact remains that at least one-fifth of their waking hours will probably be spent at the table. The intent business-man may find scant time for the ordinary social pleasures which may attract the other members of his family to the sitting-room, library, or drawing-room; but to the dining-room he must go if he ever lives at home.

Source: Miss Corson’s Practical American Cookery and Household Management, Miss Juliet Corson, 1886.