§307. Other Furniture.--In comparison with the _lectī_ the rest of the furniture of the dining-room played an insignificant part. In fact the only other absolutely necessary article was the table (_mēnsa_), placed as shown in the figures above between the three couches in such a way that all were equally distant from it and free access to it was left on the fourth side. The space between the table and the couches might be so little that the guests could help themselves, or on the other hand so great that slaves could pass between to serve the food. The guests had no individual plates to be kept upon the table, so that it was used merely to receive the large dishes in which the food was served, and certain formal articles, such as the saltcellar (§299) and the things necessary for the offering to the gods. The table, therefore, was never very large (one such would be almost lost in a modern dining-room), but it was often exceedingly beautiful and costly (§227). Its beauties were not hidden either by any cloth or covering; the table-cloth, as we know it, did not come into use until about the end of the first century of our era. The cost and beauty of the dishes, too, were limited only by the means and taste of the owner. Besides the couches and the table, sideboards (_abacī_) were the only articles of furniture usually found in the _trīclīnium_. These varied from a simple shelf to tables of different forms and sizes and open cabinets, such as shown in Figs. 122 and 123 and in Schreiber LXVII, 11. They were set out of the way against the walls and served as do ours to display plate and porcelain when not in use on the table.