Those who have visited railway refreshment rooms would, perhaps, scarcely credit the idea that sandwiches can be made so that they are real delicacies. Very high-class sandwiches, suitable for ball suppers, can be made as follows: -

Cut some thin rounds of bread the size of a five-shilling piece. (Avoid bread with holes in it.) Fry these a light golden brown. « (See No. 7.) Drain them on blotting-paper, and spread each round with a thin layer of Bechamel sauce (See Bechamel) nearly set. Cover this over with a thin slice of the white meat of a cold fowl, or turkey, or pheasant. Sprinkle with a very little pepper and salt, and cover over with another round of fried bread, also spread with a very thin layer of Bechamel sauce. Pile up on a napkin in a pyramid shape, and ornament with parsley. It is needless to say that these sandwiches differ from the' ordinary Mugby Junction sandwich. Lobster sandwiches can be made by putting the pounded flesh of lobster similar to that made in making lobster cutlets, only without any onion, between slices of fried bread. Also salmon sandwiches, from fresh salmon or tinned salmon. (See Salmon, Tinned).

Anchovy sandwiches can be made as follows. Chop up into little pieces, but not too small, some filleted anchovies; also chop up some hard-boiled eggs and mix together, so that there is twice the quantity of egg to anchovy, and lay these between fried bread spread over with mayonnaise sauce. Add also a little cayenne pepper.

Of course all these sandwiches can be made by using ordinary thin bread not fried, but frying the bread, though troublesome, greatly improves both the flavour and appearance of the sandwiches. If the bread in frying is cut into pieces two inches square, instead of into rounds, it greatly saves any waste. For plain bread, use a square tin loaf. After making the sandwiches, cut them up into small squares or triangles, and trim the edges neatly, cutting- off the crust.

Ordinary sandwiches from beef, mutton, ham, tongue, etc., are made by putting thin slices of meat between thin slices of bread and butter, and adding pepper and salt, and sometimes mustard. The thinner the sandwich is cut the better will it be. Egg sandwiches are made by putting thin slices of hard-boiled egg between thin bread and butter, and adding mustard and cress. (See Egg Sandwiches).

Sandwiches well made are admirably adapted for evening parties, and are more worth troubling about than a quantity of sweets that few care to eat.

Suppose now you have a few dishes of sandwiches piled up into pyramid form on a side-table, ornament as follows; which will also serve the purpose of describing what they are: -

We will suppose we have some anchovy sandwiches, some lobster, salmon, egg, tomato and chicken.

Pile up the sandwiches high, leaving a margin round the base; cover this with bright green parsley. Then round the base of the anchovy salad, place in a slanting direction, about three or four inches apart, some fresh anchovies, whole, but washed. Choose some with bright silver scales.

Around the lobster salad put, the same distance apart, some small red crayfish. Round the salmon put a few slices of fresh salmon, or, if tinned, choose the most solid pieces. Sprinkle these with whole coral, boiled, of course, a bright red. Around the egg sandwiches strew mustard and cress instead of parsley, and lay rings of hard-boiled eggs cut out of the middle of each egg; the rest can be used for making the sandwiches.

Round the chicken sandwiches place the wings of the fowls cut off short. i.e., very little of the breast meat, but chiefly the bones; glaze these bones, which will not be eaten, a rich brown. Soy will do for this purpose. In cutting the wings off, get the piece of skin that would cover the white meat to join on to the bone; glaze this skin, it will give the appearance of a whole wing. Around the tomato sandwiches place some small bright red tomatoes, on the parsley. (See Tomato Sandwiches).

If you wish to please your guests, a few well-filled dishes of this sort, and some good bitter ale, will be more appreciated than a quantity of second or third-rate sweets and bad champagne.