lawyers, who now retain bands, and the clergy, who have only lately
left them off, formerly wore ruffs.]

I found all my bands that were newly made clean so ill smoothed that I
crumpled them, and flung them all on the ground, and was angry with Jane,
which made the poor girle mighty sad, so that I were troubled for it
afterwards. At noon I went forth, and by coach to Guild Hall (by the way
calling at Mr. Rawlinson's), and there was admitted, and meeting with Mr.
Proby (Sir R. Ford's son), and Lieutenant-Colonel Baron, a City commander,
we went up and down to see the tables; where under every salt there was a
bill of fare, and at the end of the table the persons proper for the
table. Many were the tables, but none in the Hall but the Mayor's and the
Lords of the Privy Council that had napkins

[As the practice of eating with forks gradually was introduced from
Italy into England, napkins were not so generally used, but
considered more as an ornament than a necessary.

"The laudable use of forks,
Brought into custom here, as they are in Italy,
To the sparing of napkins."

Ben Jonson, The Devil is an Ass, act v., sc. 3.

The guests probably brought their own knife and fork with them in a
case.--M.B.]

or knives, which was very strange. We went into the Buttry, and there
stayed and talked, and then into the Hall again: and there wine was
offered and they drunk, I only drinking some hypocras, which do not break