Belgravia and its Aristocratic Nurses

Two Victorian medicine or invalid spoons. The lower spoon is a ”half-teaspoon.”

Aristocratic Nurses... 

The Fashionable English Dames Learning to Be Practical in the Sickroom

This antique cup and pitcher in one, was for feeding invalids more easily.

Two or three years ago, the Prince and Princess of Wales distributed badges and prizes to a large number of professional nurses and afterward entertained them royally at Marlborough House. It was expected that fashionable dames would show their appreciation of the Royal example by taking up nursing as a recreation, but little was done until a few months ago, when the National Health Society opened classes for the benefit of the aristocracy, at which something more is taught than a coquettish arrangement of caps and aprons. 

The idea is to teach ladies the value of good nursing and enable them to learn something about fit food for invalids and how to give first assistance to the injured, in all of which, it seems, Duchesses, Countesses and the like, are lamentably deficient. The Duchess of Bedford is particularly active in the work. She has placed her fine house in Belgrave Square at the disposal of the society’s lectures on every Wednesday during the winter season, and as the course includes an afternoon tea, the attendance is expected to be large. 

The proceedings should certainly be interesting, as it is announced that each lecture “will be practically illustrated with a patient, bedding, etc...” The pioneer among the aristocracy of nursing and sanitation was Lady Brooke, who, with her husband, enjoys the particular friendship of the Prince of Wales. Her Ladyship has for years been accustomed to keep a sharp eye on the water supply and sanitary arrangements of the villages on her estates in the counties of Warwick and Sussex, often to the deep disgust of the cottagers, who claimed the inherent right of a Briton to please himself in such matters, and who objected strongly to being coerced into cleanliness on pain of eviction. Puritanical people have sometimes said hard things of Lady Brooke. It is right that credit should be given her in this matter. —London Letter, 1894

Etiquette Enthusiast, Maura J Graber, is the Site Editor for the Etiquipedia©️ Etiquette Encyclopedia

Gilded-Age Tablescape Etiquette

Victorian, gilded-age hostess would undoubtedly have these ingenious sets on hand for entertaining any tremble-prone guests. Specifically designed for a person who suffered from “the trembles,” trembleuse cups and saucers were “spillproof” combinations. Created to avoid spillage of hot liquids by a trembling hand, the deep inset of the saucer in which the cup firmly rests and the saucer’s very wide border, work beautifully together for this antique, Dresden china trembleuse set.

A Table Decoration

A very beautiful table decoration was seen at a dinner party given last week by a hostess noted for her taste and originality. The cloth, which was of the finest damask, displayed a design of ferns, the center figure being an exquisitely drawn wreath of fern fronds, while the border was formed by sprays of the most delicate maiden-hair variety, had been ordered of a great linen house in Belfast; with special reference to the decoration of living ferns, intended to be used for a “summer dinner party.” 

The table was circular, and in the middle stood one of the giant tulip vases now so fashionable. This graceful receptacle was filled with the loveliest and rarest specimens ot ferns, the spreading, feathery fronds reaching far over the heads of the assembled company, and forming, as it were, a vacant tent through whose interstices shone the electric lights of the chandelier. No candles, no flowers were used, but each sliver dish was surrounded by a wreath of ferns, which kept perfectly fresh during the serving of the course. All the crystal ware was exquisitely engraved with ferns, while the Dresden china service gave the one touch of warmth and color with its pure rose and gold tints. An ideal July dinner decoration was the universal comment, and far more effective than the elaborated floral banquets which have prevailed duriug the past season. —Boston Herald, 1891

Etiquette Enthusiast, Maura J. Graber, is the Site Editor for the Etiquipedia© Etiquette Encyclopedia