At the most fashionable New York balls, supper service begins at one and continues until three and people go when they feel like it.  The restaurant is closed to the public at one o’clock; the entrance is then curtained or shut off from the rest of the hotel.  The tables are decorated with flowers and the supper service opened for the ball guests.  Guests sit where they please, either “making up a table,” or a man and his partner finding a place wherever there are two vacant chairs.  At a private ball guests do not pay for anything or sign supper checks, or tip the waiter, since the restaurant is for the time being the private dining-room of the host and hostess.

At a sit-down supper at a set hour, the choice of menu is unlimited, but suppers are never as elaborate now as they used to be.  Years ago few balls were given without terrapin, and a supper without champagne was as unheard of.  In fact, champagne was the heaviest item of expenditure always.  Decorations might be very limited, but champagne was as essential as music!  Cotillion favors were also an important item which no longer exists; and champagne has gone its way with nectar, to the land of fable, so that if you eliminate elaborate decorations, ball-giving is not half the expense it used to be.

=FOR A SIT-DOWN SUPPER THAT IS CONTINUOUS=

When the service of supper continues for several hours, it is necessary to select food that can be kept hot indefinitely without being spoiled.  Birds or broiled chicken, which should be eaten the moment they are cooked, are therefore unsuitable.  Dishes prepared in sauce keep best, such as lobster Newburg, sweetbreads and mushrooms, chicken a la King, or creamed oysters.  Pates are satisfactory as the shells can be heated in a moment and hot creamed chicken or oysters poured in.  Of course all cold dishes and salads can stand in the pantry or on a buffet table all evening.

The menu for supper at a ball is entirely a matter of the hostess’ selection, but whether it is served at one time or continuously, the supper menu at an important ball includes: 

1.  Bouillon or green turtle (clear) in cups.

2.  Lobster a la Newburg (or terrapin or oyster pate or another hot dish of shell-fish or fowl).

3.  A second choice hot dish of some sort, squab, chicken and peas (if supper is served at a special hour) or croquettes and peas if continuous.

4.  Salad, which includes every variety known, with or without an aspic.

5.  Individual ices, fancy cakes.

6.  Black coffee in little cups.

Breakfast served at about four in the morning and consisting of scrambled eggs with sausages or bacon and breakfast coffee and rolls is an occasional custom at both dances and balls.

There is always an enormous glass bowl of punch or orangeade—­sometimes two or three bowls each containing a different iced drink—­in a room adjoining the ballroom.  And in very cold climates it is the thoughtful custom of some hostesses to have a cup of hot chocolate or bouillon offered each departing guest.  This is an especially welcome attention to those who have a long drive home.