975. _Of Re-cooking._--In cities, where the master of the house is often engaged in business until late in the day, the dinner-hour may be as late as four or five o'clock; in that case, there is an early dinner for the children and servants, for whom a pudding is usually to be made. It is a very material part of your business to know how to dress over, nicely, anything left from the preceding day's dinner, so that it may be used in the kitchen, if not required in the dining-room. For this purpose, you should, when a joint is brought down from the dining-room, put it on a clean dish, and pour the gravy into a small basin or jelly-pot, and you will find it very useful in making nice, savory dishes of cold meat, or to put into hashes and stews, or warming up for gravy. 976. _Hot Plates for Dinner._--Before sending up dinner, take care that you have enough hot plates. It is better to heat a few more than the exact number, lest an extra one may be wanted. 977. _Serving up Dinner._--Whilst the dinner is being served up, the cook-maid may be required to assist, by taking the dishes to the door of the dining-parlor; also, in some families, by taking them from the housemaid, or from the outside of the dining-room door, when they are done with, that the housemaid, if she waits at dinner, may not have to leave the room. And the cookmaid will save herself much time and trouble, if she gets her dish-tub, in the sink, half filled with hot water, so that she may put the dishes and plates into it the moment they are brought from the dinner-table. 978. _Washing Dishes._--The dirty dishes and plates should be put into a dish-tub of warm water, immediately they are taken from the dinner table; for, by this means, half the trouble of washing-up will be saved, as it will prevent the gravy, mustard, juice, &c., from cooling and drying on the plates and dishes. When you commence washing them, add sufficient boiling water to make it hot enough to wash them in, and with a dish-cloth wash them clean on both sides, one at a time. Rinse them immediately, in a pan full of cold water, part of which should stand under the tap, which should be turned a little on to keep it full. The reason for keeping the pan full of water and running over, is, that any grease, &c., which may rinse off the plates and dishes, may swim over into the sink in the act of rinsing, otherwise it would remain on the water, and make those you rinse, after the first few, look greasy, instead of clean and bright.