Evening Star Newspaper, February 28, 1891, Page 9

FASHIONS VOTARIES. Some Effective Costumes for Stylishly Inclined Women. SOME CHARMING STYLES. ‘The French Influence in Fashion—A Return to Directory Style—A Pretty Reception Cos- tume—For the Opera and Theater—Becom- ing and Stylish—Charming for a Soiree. ‘Written for The Evening Star. YRON (Copyrighted. HATED A woman and fell madly in love with the lady whom he afterward married on account of the sweet expression of her face and the sim- plicity of her dress. Bhelley did about the same thing, bat Vol- taire understood and appreciated an elegant toilet and Dr. Jobnxon was not aboveadmiring ® handsomely dressed woman. George Wash- ington, while a great tickler for silk, lace and velvet in his own costumes, never en- couraged his wife to dress extravagantly. Call- ers often found her wearing genuine h an woven by her own slaves. President Arthur was the best dressed President wo ever had and bly Mrs. Cleveland our most fashionably ssed first lady of the land. Dress and high station appear to go hand in hand, and we are always grievously disap- nied when we meet the wife of « man high power to find her shabbily dressed. ‘The porrer of elegant female attire is perceptibly felt even in our republican capital. Mrs. Morton's toilets are always models of elegance and refinement. Mrs. Harrison has not been wiliing to give to dress that amount of thought necessiry to lift it to such ao high lane. But whether a woman moves along in ¢ stately procession of fashionable society in the national capital, 1s caught up in the giddy whirl of elegant life in the metropolis or in straight pleats and wsthetic colors amid the Boston literati, the one thing needful is good taste. CHARACTERISTIC FEATURE. “What do you mean by good taste?” sneer- ingly asked a friend of mine while I was des- canting upon its great virtues. “It can't be explained,” was my reply. “Like the beauty of « Beethoven symphony, it may only be felt.” A genuine authority upon the subject of pre- vailing fashion, when asked the other dayin my resence to specify the most characteristic of ¢ f the day, replied To trauslate this ‘enigmatic response into ordinary verbiage I'd say that it means very Jong Jackets with sleevesset only moderately igh, rather tight below the elbow and finished . epening upon close-fittin e may be plain or have sever: e or pointed. and the sleeves ¥ be slashed or embroidered from the shoulder to the elbow. any of the gowns worn at elegant dinners ree ive evidence of this tendency to turn epochs of the French kin You see ry shghdy decollette w: sleeves ending a: the elbow and revers lined with rich m: ‘The suppression by the French government Sardou's new play, “Thermidor,” will, so they say, turn our thoughts to directory styles. Isaw the other evening at a reception given “to meet” a well-known English actor one of those beautiful directory costumes. It ‘Was & plzin satin of a golden hue, cut away at the shoulders and opening upon a chemisette of pale blue erepe. The slecves consistei of draped azure crepe, ending just above tho el- bow on a satin band heavily inerusted with goid and mock turquoises. A PRETTY RECEPTION DRESS. This illustration conveys a correct idea of a very pretty dress for small receptions. It may be made up in a cream soft silk or crepe de chine, garnitured, as shown, with white lace, with a velvet ceinture in harmonious or con- trasting ton As many of our fashion leaders make it a Point to carry their guests off toa theater party Sfter coffee “has been served—which. by the way, must be served in the drawing room and not’ at table—it often happens that the ladies find their dinner dresses rather too rich and elegant even for a proscenium box, and, there- fore, many of them make it a practice to have with them a Henry II shoulder cape in velvet of some light tone, embroidered more or less with gold thread and garnitured with feather trimming. This refined garment serves admir- ably to tone down the magnificence of the Gorgeous dinner dress. fashionably dressed | referring. It hasaplaited gold diadem all around it, is surmounted with shaded flowers and trimmed with a black feather at the back. ‘The dress worn with this charming lit- tle turban isa saffron velvet, made up with a loose folding corsege with a bust bo: ble lined with gold embroidery galloon. At the theater the other evening, I was par- ticularly attracted by a dainty bit of headgear in the turban shape. It was evidently made up on a stiff twill form and ite brim was orna- mented with gold lace and narrow gold galloon and mock gems. The brim was made of pleated freeu gauze embroidered with gold thread. (he folds started from the center of the crown, qbere,they were held in place by a bunch of the galloon. It was a very delicate bit of handi- work and crowned a luxuriant growth of glossy black hair, which was wound with an exquisite grace around a most shapely little head. I didn’t fail to note that a number of the sterner sex were contemplating this little head, so charmingly covered, in a wondering sort of way and puzzling their brains as to the exact nature of its contents. On the right hand of the same illustration you will find a lovely long mantle for theatre, opera or fall dress reception, covering up on: entire costume, but doing so in an elegant and graceful manner. The material of this mantle is a greenish sulphur woollen stuff, set off with a plisse pele- rine in black «ilk gauze garnitured with a black feather boa in a very stylish manner. The plastron is embroidered with a gold and putty colored design. The inside of this lovel mantle is lined with green satin—all in all, very elegant garment full of that suggestiveness of high breeding and refinement for which so many strive, but, alas, strive in vain. ie One is almost bewildered by the exquisite variety displayed in evening toilets. Some- times it is the juxtaposition of blending tones, at others its richness and elegance of material and make-up which charm the eye. ’ What struck meas being a charming costume for soiree was a yellow pekin, garnitured with crepe de chine. “The bottom’of the skirt was bordered with a bouillonne of the crepe. ‘The sleeves were also made of the same material, in double style, the upper having a rufile at the elbow. The skirt at the back is pleated and piped, and at the waist there is file of the crepe pointed in front. The waist is made vest fashion, of pleated faille, two large and two small pleats front and back, set off on beth sides, as is also the V-shaped, cut out with a raffle of the crepe. The dress ‘fastens in frort with hooks and eyes and has four Rhinertcre buckles, the largest being at the top. The skirt is made up on mousseline or thin casb- mere; that part of the train lying on the ground figare on the left hand of the third illus- ‘wears ono of these exquisite little tur- bens or diadem bonnets to which I've just been should have a little thicker lining. A SOIREE cosTUME. The last illustration sets forth soiree dress, made up partly of the same material, but ina much more elegant manner on account of the addition of the velvet train. It is in empire style and the material is a gold-colored pekin, embroidered with fine garlands of gold and sil- ver. There isa very long train of pale blue velvet, which comes from the shoul This charming dress has its low-cut bodice framed with a band of black satin, producing a most equisite effect in accentuating the whiteness of the skin and adding an altogether striking fea- ture to this beautiful costume, which, by the way, has sleeves of goll damask, embroidered wii silver and gold. Tam often surprised at the wonderful skill played by some of our fashionable women in making or at least designing their own dresse:, trimming their own hats and actually creating dainty ehiffons for their own use, such as head dresses, jabots, stylish little shoulder capes, dressy aprons of silk and lace and the like. Dropping in to talk dress with u friend of mine, who has plenty of money to buy the best, I found her stretched out in a long chair read ing a French novel. HEALTHY ADVICE. of! The Value of Good Breathing and a Clear Head. DISH WASHING A PLEASURE. How to Break Bad Habite—Good Manners and Good Health—How a Lady Can Work and Still Have Fair Hands—The Good to Be Derived From » Change of Occupation. Written for The Evening Star. ELLA B. 18 IN TROUBLE AND “WILL I kindly inform her whether I know of & cure, operation or remedy of any kind for a thick underlip, grown so from biting.” Mrs. C. wants hints for her Sunday school talkson manners also. Itrust the talks on manners are not given in Sunday school, for Precious as manners may be morals are scarcer and more priceless, and one hour « week is little time to give young women ideas of truth speaking, faithfulness in little things, con- sideration for others, justice to rich women and poor women alike, to friend and foe alike— the only ones on these points which they will Probably have in all their lives, If some evening in the week the friend and teacher gives talk on behavior she may as well begin with this underbred habit “f biting the lips and teach her class the beginning of wisdom in personal appearance, which is to hold the mouth closed and firm when not It is one of the hardest tasks in to keep young people's mouths shut. Girls must be Bidn their lips out of nervous- ness, because they don't know exactly what to do with themselves—not knowing, as they would say in school girl dialect, how they give themselves away by doing so. . Bella B. can do little to improve her thick lize beyond ceasing the habit of biting them. Bir ding a piece of thick tinfoil over the mouth fifteen minutes at a time will tend to thin them, but few girls have patience to follow up the advice for six weeks. WORTH OF GOOD BREATHING. Itis more to the point to say that it isim- portant to keep the passages of the nose per- fectly clear, to have the mouth well closed and mobile. ‘The last thing before leaving privacy should always bea toilette de_nez, ing it by snifting water of cologne and water or spray- ing with the handy atomizer, which has 50 many uses for the toilet besides wasting per- fume. ‘There is no surer way of keeping the eyes bright than by keeping the nose clear and breath free. ‘The compound spidity of the stuffed head, the vermouth eyes. and open jaw betoken not only physical but mental incom- petency. A youth or a man cannot have good sense if his nasal and breathing apparatus is out of order, and, of necessity, afiecting brain. Physicians find that the stupidity of many children at school vanishes with the cure of catarrh, that sure sequence of want of in- telligent care in early years. The trouble re- moved, the lungs and breath working freely, the blood in body and brain aerated, the child seems to wake into new life, loses its log- giness and grows bright and Playful as the brightest of its mates. Boys in their teens and twenties often have a touch of catarrh from sleeping in stuffy, unventilated rooms. Green, awkward animals, that hardly have their growti., without their strength, they feel and dread the cold, shut up their sleeping rooms to the fumes of damp boots and socks, und bury their heads under the bedclothes, inhal- ing’ their own breath over and over, till the whole breathing canal is out of order, and they regularly poison and narcotize themselves for the ensuing day. The mouths of such youths fall open partly from weakness of the hinges of the jaw, partly because their only chance of breath is by leaving thé door wide open. WHERE RIDICULE MAY SAVE. The friends of such an unfortunate cannot do a kinder thing than to ridicule him till he breaks the habit. One pities the friends, how- ever, for mental obtuseness lends its obstmacy to any correct impression and the clumsy young idiot cannot be persuaded that his expression ith his stiff shirt collar and is not ona par correct tie. Still let no faithful mother or sis- ter despair. Ihave seen bad habits clung to for twenty-five years in spite of daily criticism and remonstranco at last break upon their owne: in their native offense, followed by a speedy castingaway. As rule we are too ten- cer of bad habits. “It isa kindness to any one, be he our own blood or the farthest stranger, to give the rebuke sharp as a surgeon's blade, which will at once dissect the evil thing which mars his daily presentment. ‘This sounds se- A CHARMING WRAPPER. Now an English or French writer who writes ‘8 work upon America after a week’s sojourn in the metropolis would devote several pages toa jeremiade over the indolence and empty lives of the beautiful Americans. You'll note that they always cover over their critiques with a sugar coating of flattery. Well, that appar- ently indolent little friend at the moment I came upon her had upon her graceful form a charming deshabille made with her own fair hands. It wasa flannel wrapper, blue ground with black pastils, trimmed with pale blue silk and black velvet. The garment consisted of skirt and long jacket opening upon a pleated vest of the silk. “Framing the vest there was a rever of the velvet cut like a round collar at the back of the neck and coming in front little below the pleated vest and ending in points. The sleeves were full to the elbow and then cuff-like the rest of the way. Atthe bottom of the skirt, at the elbows and wrists there were bands of the velvet. All the velvet used had been lined with muslin. ‘There was also a standing collac of the velvet. All in all, it was an extremed: pretty home gown and did the fai: maker muc! credit. ‘Where do you get your ideas?” I asked. “Ob, I picked them up,” was her answer. ‘Too Much for Ned. From the Cincinnati Fnquirer. Gov. Nicholls of Louisiana, as most people know, has lost an arm anda leg, but so deftly have the artificial members been fitted to the stumpe that but few people are in the secret of his loss. His colored body servant was left be- hind on the occasion of his last visit in Vicks- burg, and they put at his disposal during his stay there a likely young lad, who was told to try and take the old body servant's place. That night, when Gov. Nicholls was ready to retire, he stretched out one of his legs to Ned, the servant, aud said: “Ned, unscrew that leg.” Ned's eyes began to open with horror, but he obeyed and took the leg off. Gov. Nich said calmly, stretching’ out an arm: “Ned. ar screw that ‘arm.” The boy rolled up his'eves until nothing but the whites could be seen, but he obeyed and unscrewed the arm. The ‘gov- ernor, who now realized his condition of mind, determined to havea little fun with him, so, reaching out hia neck, he said: “Ned, unscrew that head.” But the "boy never waited to see whether his head would come off or not, and no one ever succeeded in gettit him to near Gov. Nicholls again. He said he was worst “hvodoo” that he ever saw. Entirely Different Grqunds, From the Detroit Free Press. As Isat on the hotel veranda in « Georgia town I noticed a colored friend and brother working my way. When he finally stood before me, bat in hand and bowing with much earn- ‘Ha'dly, sab, ha’dly. "After a bell for the steeple?” N-o, sah—can't say as = mel a] want Sunday school books?" “No, wah.” “But you came here tostrike me for « quarter. Tean see it in your looks.” “Wall, yes, sab.” “And ‘do you ask for it on church grounds?” “No, sab, [has other grounds, sah. I has s particular ground of my own, sab.” ‘Well, what is iti vere, but every devoted mother will agree to crash are for women's hands mn pee hich can be kept clean ‘aay r, wi can rt for more than so4 5 nd, eiasee nga nc more then soap and wor! somet Tam fain to believe from observation. HAVE PLENTY OF GLOVES. Have plenty of protections and help if you Your own housekeeping or any part of it. You save a servant's wages why shouldn’t spend part of it in being good to yourself? baeds ore nls everthing ‘from apetey gardening, but ceep a dozen pair of es to work in, and put on'six clean’ ones a day if required. ‘Why shouldn't s woman about her occupations be as careful as m at his clinic, and that is the acme of nicety. A hos- = my ee or aid will not wipe his hands fwice on same towel or napkin. It would be nice to treat one’s home to the same dainti- ness. With plenty of clean gloves or mitte Re se and the right sort of dressing for the hands night one may work for ten children and have Indy hands at six T fully sympathize with the teache: who wants something to make her feet less tender. CHANGE YOUR OCCUPATION. ‘This tenderness and pain of the extremities is often one of the first symptoms of serious spine trouble. Why won't some rich woman who wants to really help somebody make it Possible for teachers and shopwomen to alter- nate a year behind the counter with a year out of town—a country year of outdoor work, not vacation merely, where they could throw off some of their ailments before they had time to become fixed? Arresolute woman might change her way of earning as it is if she would. There are coun- try homes which would be giad of some one to help, to share trim work with a trim housewife, elp garden and gather fruit. But that would be too much like work for shopladies and 80 they stay behind the counters and in offices, and their hair turns gray and their faces grow lined, and they go off to hospitals with ugly tumors and varicose veins and things which don’t seem very much better than working in the garden, with the fresh, sweet wind to breathe, the oriole singing and the strawberry plants laughing in their bright white and green 4s one weeds tliem, and the backache every day growing less, while the frame is strung anew to comfort and vigor. What stands in the way but the platform of fancied gentility? Well, if people prefer to die of tumors and ulcers and inanition rather than sacrifice the genteel they can have the privi- lege. But it isa pity when there aro so many ladies in every sense of the word who keep their own fruit gardens and green houses, not by the story-book method of hiring a man to do the work for them, but by the infinitely more profitable mode of doing it themselves, and titey are all of them precinely the sort of women that gentlemen like to talk to. Sumter Dans. +02 —_— FOR BETTER OR WORSE. The Various Ways of Choosing a Partner— How Men Propose Marriage. The lover who proposes marriage to his sweet- heart by letter loses one o:4the most interesting experiences of his lifetin.e, says the Chicago Herald. To conduct the negotiations through the kindness of the postman makes popping the question a yery tame and prosy affair. It is an ungallant, cowardly method, and should never be employed except in cases where it cannot be avoided. The ideal lover does not Propose by letter. He is too brave to shut him- self in’a room and thers with the assistance of pen and ink ask the question he would fear to breathe into his loved one’s ear. He pre- fersto kneel in her precious presence, and be kisses her dainty finger tips pour out tha flood of love that ix surging through his heart. What a priceless experience is the telling of one's love for the first, last and only time! But it may not be for the last time. Ay, there's the rub. ‘The fair one may shake her head sidewise instead of nodding an assent. Then the lover will wish he had’ proposed by letter and the answer had never reached him. But it will be too late then. There will be nothing remaining fot him todo but to arise, brush the knees of his trousers and go out in the cold, heartless world to die. No, not to dic, but to find another sweetheart and repeat the proposal business with the hope that it will re- sult more happily. Women are such strange creatures, that poor men, whom fate or fashion has decreed must do the proposing, never know how to take them. Just when men think they kyow them best, they miajudge them the more and are likely to be made painfully aware of the fact that they have been They And worship us afar. But when they strive fo i'm love and dream and sigh tell the tale fail. ‘They stutter, hesitate and “We Indies like a man, One not atraid to sp its vruth and kindness. If there were such things as classes for do- portment, or, rather, private lessons given with any degree of stricthess and faithfulness they would bring arich return. The boy or girl who will not learn at home in years of training will wake up to a stranger's ‘criticism and it would be worth a year’s income to#some men and women to be told the one bad habit which makes their presence shunned or endured with aversion by their felllow beings. CARE OF THE HANDS. To fall back on lighter themes, No. 2 would like advice in regard to her hands. “In sum- mer they are white, but as soon as cold weather sets in they turnadark blue and red. They are very soft and are never chapped. She does no work whatever and seldom has them in water except oatmeal water. As she has agreat deal of company and goes out very often, it is most annoying.” It would be well for her hands if she did some work that would bring them into play and restore the circulati She could hardly do anything better for th than to wash her own china and silver twice a day, in all the elegance of a tray in the dining room or butler’s pantry, with a white cedar tab, its brass hoops like guld, a snowy cup mop and napkin, with clean hot suds of good soap which would not dishonor the daintiest fingers. Nothing would do her hands more good than to wash adozen or two plates in the old-fash- ioned way with hands in the warm water, rin- sing them afterward with clear, warm water having a teaspoonful of lemon’ juice and a tublespoonful of cologne in it. The usual advice to keep hands out of dishwater must be re- versed in such eases. Asking pardon of your ilities for such « subject, the water our psand spoons are washed in should not be dirty water in the least. No manicure or hand bath will do the good of dabbling in very warm soap suds for these blue and red hands, and their owner should take every chance of doing up her own laces and little things. After this, fencing or throwing bean bags or quoits gives the exercise which erates the blood and. drives it through the ex- tremities. DISH WASHING MADE NICE. While we are on this vulgar, but most highly respectable topic, let me say to thoso ladies who do themselves the honor of attending to their own housework, and consequently have it done by ladies as to ladies’ taste, that there is no need of spoiling hands by ever so much Gish washing if the right care i taken. Itis the scalding water, the hard water, bad soap and hasty half drying which makes hands coarse. A litle soda, half a teaspoonful or less to a gal- lon of water warm enough to heat the china well, but not parboil the hands, and decent soap, not the strong kitchen bar, which ruins skin ‘wherever it touches, still’ less as some woull-be retined women advise toilet soap for this operation. ‘The notion of scented soap in dishwashing would bar the use of it forever from most toilets. ‘The white cotton oil soaps, in which we are sure of clean oil, and no more alkali than is needed and which sell as cheaply asany, should be used for china and light washing. All stronger cleansing should be m: with a mop, with fifteen to eighteen inches long, which a few of the best furnishing stores have the sense to and which keep hands and dress effectually’ from njury, while doing the work with speed and “Ureness. WORKING HANDS TRE BEST. And here I thought a blush appeared ‘Upon the msaiden’s cheek. hen to myseit t said: “1 seo; ‘This maiden's heart belongs to me." And out I spake: “0, lady fair, BMy life, any love art thine: And since I'bokdly: dai ‘Fray wilt thou not t 3 fo. sir,” said site, with Wondering sta sbirange how presuiuing sone inen are. It is safe to assert that with most men pop- ping the question is a serious affair, not to be performed without more or less of nervous perturbation. Most readers will doubt if such ineidents as the following, which are occasion- ally reported in the papers, ever really apper Smith—“Well, but if you can’t bear her w ever made you propose?” Jones—Well, we hhad danced three times and Tcouldn’t think of anything else to kay.” UE GETS RATTLED. There is one peculiarity about proposing. ‘The man who is going to undertake it cannot prepare for the ordeal in advance, for if he does it will be labor thrown away. It is gen- erally believed that no lover ever succeeded in delivering the speech he had prepared for the occasion, Something always happens to spoil everything. When the moment arrives for the lover to epeak his little piece it hies itself away and leaves hira to blunder through the ordeal as best he can. We Americans, who are noted for the haste and brevity with which we do everything, are said to propose with less to than other people do. “Let's consolidate,” is reported to be a popular form of proposal now in vogue, but the negotiations necessary for completing the trust are not always so Def. Nothing could be neater or more ingenious than the proposal of the Irishman, who thus addressed the rastic beauty npon whom he had “Biddy, darlint, they've been tellin’ me there's too many of us in the world. Now, if you an’ me get the priest to make us two wan, throth an’ wouldn't there be wan the less?” In one of Lord Beaconsficld’s novels an ec- centric old nobleman pops the question in the following matter-of-fac “1 wonder if anything would ever induce you to marry That style is really much nearer the terms in which’ the average man proposes than is the usual dish-watery proposal of the nove ist. “So you would not take me to be twe: said a young lady to her partner while dancing the polka one evening. “What would you take me for, then?” “For better or worse,” replied he, and he was accepted. FITTED BOTH WATS. A gentleman who lived to be an old bachelor studied long how to propose gracefully. He bought a ring, compoved a neat little speech and rehearsed the performance until he got it all down fine. Drawing the ring from his pocket he struck an attitude and said: “Will you wear this beautiful ring for my sake? It resembles my love for you—it has noend.” To which she replied: “Keep your ring, sir. It also resembles my love for you—it hus no be- ginning.” When Prof. Aytoun was wooing Miss Wilson, hter of Prof. Wilson, the famous “‘Chris- topher North,” he obtained the lady's consent conditionally'on that of her father being se- cured. This Aytoun was much too sly to ask, and he prevailed upon the young lacy herself tocon- duct the necessary negotiations. “We must deal tenderly with bis feclings,” suid glorious old Christopher. “Ill write my reply ona slip. of of your frock.” paper and pin it to the bael Papa's anewer is on the back of ‘my drees; said Miss June, as rhe entered the drawing room. ‘Turning her around the delighted pro- Rightly cared for, I repeat, there is no need of having hands grow stumpy and thick with Stanley says of the African pigmies who hunt and grub tor a living and yet have the most (tite, he Jepances, the iiadous lings tribes. japanese, and Finns work and , yet their are more pely and skin fines those of some of our idie ladies. If injurious heat and alkali the cells of the skin together Hil ee A I U £ H itice [ fewsor read these words: “With the author's compliments.” Though the course of true tare oe nic qe Gat prespetekin: he suri so fair ae resent of young, trustful, romantic hearts. Before and After. ‘From Life. ¥ ‘Written for The Evening Star. JAPAN'S NEW CONGRESS. ‘The Experiment of Popular Government in the Mikado's Empire, HOW THE LEGISLATIVE Bopr 18 CONSTITUTED— QUALIFICATIONS OF VOTERS—HOW MODERN JAPAN HAS BEEN PRODUCED BY AMERICAN Ix- YLUENCE—THE EMPEROR AND BIS CABINET. [UTAE28 4 MONTH FOR NEWS FROM Japan to reach Washington by mail. It is, therefore, only to be expected that the accounts that have thus far reached us of the sittings of the new diet should be meager, for the diet did not begin ite session until the latter part of November, and has not yet got thoroughly to work. The whole world watches anxiously to see the result of this experiment of a western form of government applied to an eastern peo- ple, and especially is the United States in- terested, for it started new Japan. It is almost impossible to conceive that Japan, up to the time when Perry visited at in 1853, was a land little better known than Man- chooria or Mongolia are at the present day. It is difficult for the mind to jump from consid- eration of a double despotism, with a shogun who ran the government and a mikado who was too sacred even to do this, to the study of a free people with a constitution similar to ours and an emperor who is hardly more sacred than the Queen of England. What changes will be wrought remains to be seen. The conservative rty of Japan, that dislikes foreigners and foreign institutions, is a powerful one, and now that free suffrage has been inaugurated it may turn out to be the very instrument for accom- plishing @ return to old-fashioned methods of government. This is not probable, however, if mo are to believe the Japanese writers thein- ves. FROM AMERICA. The United States not only opened Japan for the trade with Europe, it introduced modern civilization there. Westernized Japan is our ork. Eight, yenre before Perry dropped tnchor in the Bay of Yedo Ronald MeDonald, a young adventurer from Astoria, Ore., shipped ina whale boat—the Plymouth making an ar- rangement with the captain that when he came off the coast of Japan he should be set adrift in a small boat. “The contract was car- ried out and McDonald reached Japan, where he underwent various vicissitudes and imprison- ments, until he was released after Perry's ar- rival. ' But while he was imprisoned he taught people the “American language” and laid the foundation of our future educational influences in Japan. Dr. Inazo Nitobe, a Japanese, who was educated in America, has recently ' pub- lished a book on the United States and Japan, in which he declares that “the early educa- tional influences of new Japan were almost ex- clusively American.” Less than half a century of these influences has resulted in the adoption of a constitutional form of government, the first parliamentary as- semblage of which has recently met. A. brief sketch of this assemblage will be interesting to the readers of Tuz Stan. THE JAPANESE PARTIAMENT. The imperial diet consists of two houses—the house of peers and the house of representatives. As in the case of the house of lords of Great Britain only those of the higher hereditary rank are admitted to the house of peers, and a Jap- anese commentator upon the constitution has pointed out the reuson for the existence of this assemblage is to check hasty, ill-considered legislation on the part of the lower house. This assemblage is not like our Senate, as its members area privileged class, being com} of the “members of the imperial family, of the orders of nobility and of those persons who have been nominated thereto by the emperor,” touse the language of the constitution. It is intention to gather here the richest and the ighest-boru Japanese eubjects, and by judi- cious raising of commoners to the peerage for distinguished services to build up a chamber precisely similar to the British house of lords. ‘The members of the house of representa- tives, however, are elected by the people for a fixed term. ‘The law of «lections requires that a person to be qualified as an elector shall be a male Japanese subject not less than twenty-five years old, must have fixed his permanent resi- dence in’ the election district where he votes and must be a taxpayer. To be qualified for election as a representative the subject must be over thirty vears of age and must also be # tax- payer. Oificials, with a few exceptions, judges and priests, are not eligible. ELECTION DAY. The voting begins at 7 o'clock a.m. and stops at p.m., and voters are required to identify themselves with their names on the electoral lists before they are allowed to cast their bal- lots. ‘The voter's name must be put on each ballot. ‘The laws of election are numerous and carefully compiled, and unless the ingenious Japanese devise some method of cheating which hax hitherto been unknown to them elections will be as fair th them as they are with us. As in the case of England the government may submit projects of laws to the two houses of the diet, but either house may initiate a bill, 1d no bill shall become a law until it has re- ed the assent of both houses and of the er- A session of the dict, unless for extra- ry reasons, lasts only for three months is convoked every year. ‘The express time has not been fixed, but it will, it is presumed, be during the winter months, in order to allow timo to consider the necessary appropriation acts. ‘The privileges of the members of the diet, their immunity from arres:, their irresponsi- bility outside of the house for utterances made in it, auc all similar provisions are like our own. ‘The ministers of state and government dele- gates may take seats and «peak in either house. A DOUBLE CABINET. ‘The emperor has what appears to be two cab- inete—the ministers of state and the privy coun- cil. ‘The former give advice and are held re- sponsible for it. “All laws, imperial ordi- nances ard imperial reseripts of whatever kind that relate to the affairs of the state require the countersignature of a minister of state,” says the coustitution. The privy council, on the other hand, deliberate upon state affairs “when they have Deen consulted by the emperor.” ‘To speak more accurately, the ministers of state re the cabinet and the privy council delib- erate only when culled upon to do so. ‘They are intended as a thorough and impartial body, who, “by leisurely meditation and calm re- flection, by thorough investigations into an- and modern history and by consulting ‘entific principles,” will be of great assistance to the government insolving questions of state- craft. ‘These are some of the principal features of new Japan's constitution. It is not a govern- ment as free as ours, but there is not a mon- archy on the continent of Europe that boasts of a freer one. What will be its effect upon the people of Japan remains to be seen. Japanese are not like the inhabitants of China or India. It will be recalled, in connection with the people of India, that Lord Ripon, when he was overnor general, inaugurated a system of local suffrage for local native offices; but so conservative were the people that they refused to avail themselves of the opportunity to gov- ern themselves. English ideas of government were incomprebensible to them. So with a compact nationality like that of the Chinese. They are satisfied with themselves and they draw their ideas from themselves. But Japan receives its mental food from without. From the time when the. Korean, Okara, introduced tho art of writing, in the’ year 157 B.C., all advancement in Japan has been due’ to outside influences—to the Chinese and Koreans at first, to the Dutch and Portngese later. During the 200 years that no foreigners were admitted the nation moved slowly. ‘hose were Japan's dark ages. But now the active outside intluence that is due so largely to America is bearing fruit that marks a new stage in the history of Asia, for the Japanese alone among the people of the east appear to be the ones that are quickest to gras} aF the ides of western civilization. Not sions will this change bo felt in_ the east, for the in- evitable conflict between England and Russia for supremacy in northern India, may be de- cided by Jay ‘t is claimed by Ja; writers that Japan ‘holds the key to the situa He will play-animportaus park ta tho Euros wi yan " uro- pean Miloseay ot ‘the near future doos not seem improbabie. <——— — A Twirling Stone. From the Norwich Bulietin. There has been discovered about half a mile west of the Bargytown ledges a twirling stone of about five tons weight. It has always been ‘The Color Decs not Matter Much, but the Percentage of Alcohol. "LL TELL YOU WHAT it is, old fellow, "said a young society man, con- fidentially to a friend at the Metropolitan Club the other night, “there's nothing I wouldn't give to pos- sess a little of what is commonly known as tact. “You were at the Snoopkins’ ball, were younot?I remember, be- 2 - cause on that occa- sion I intropueed you to my friend Goobers from Boston. It is with him that the melan- choly story I have to tell you has to do- To begin with, I ought to mention what is strictly the fact, that Goobers is one of the most steady and reliable men I have ever met.” My assertion to that effect is worth sorae- thing, because I have known him intimately for many years past. In all that time, though Bever knew him to be perceptibly | af ected by stimulants, althougl he would par- take in moderation. “About one week befo.e Lent began I suc- ceeded in getting him on here for a little visit, and to make things as agreeable for him as could I introduced him to a few of the nicest Among them were the ys, who had staying with them a New Orleans girl, Miss Tomkyns, who, in the natural course uf events, accepted the invitation of my friend Goobers to dance the cotilon with him at the Snoopkins’ party. On the night of the party Goobers and I went together, and everything went admirably up to the time that supper was announced. During supper I saw nothing of Goobers, nor thought oftim atall. ‘My own partner,’ Miss Milnor, was engaged to some one else—I have forgotten whom—for the after-supper german, and I was in the act of relinquishing her to him when Goobers’ partner, Miss Tomkyns, walked up on the arm of another man and asked me where Mr. Goobers was. It was in the hallway between the supper room and the drawing rooms—the cotillon was on the point of beginning—and I was somewhat posed. ‘ ““{ will look him up at once,’ I said, and started off to search for the delinquent, aiming forthe supper room, because no better ob- jective point occurred to me. “The supper room I found almost deserted, save for the prescuce of half a dozen old buffers, long past the frivolity of dancing, who were discussing a glass of Madeira together, while one of them wns telling a story which it was as well that the young: men did not have an op- portunity of listening to. But over in the farthest corner was a table of some size, at which I saw my friend Goobers seated. Mak- ing my way past the group of old gentlemen and the waiters, I rewhed Goobers and touched him on the shoulder, remarking as { did so the surprising display of edibles and drinkables as- sembled before and about him. At his right and left were two half-emptied bottles of cham- pagne, quarts, while his plate was semi-encir- cled bya constellation of dishes containing a | profusion of terrapin, duck, chicken salad, lobster salad, chicken ‘eroquettes, ice cream, cake and all sorts of luxuries. | As I subse- quently learned, he had given two of the | waiters a dollar apiece, and this was the logical result. “Goobers paid no attention whenI touched him on the thoulder, so I sai “ ‘Dear boy, Miss’ Tomkyns is waiting for you. in my direction with an expression of a cheer- fulness so intense as to be indescribable in words and replied: * “Phe doose you say!” “ ‘Yes, dear boy,’ I repeated. ‘The has begun and you must come at once!” “ ‘Don't bozzer me!” said Goobers, amiably. ‘But Miss Tompkyns is waiting!” I pro- tested. “ sLet her wait and be d—4,’ said Goobers with undiminished afiability. *Haveruuzzer glazzerwine wiz—hic—me, ole feller.’ “Then it dawned upon me all at once that my friend Goobers—Goobers the steady man, the impervious to temptation by stimulante— was full. I made a last effort: *Goobers!’ I whispered aloud in his ear. rman ner for the german and I cannot answer for the consequences if you do not come at once!” “Goobers helped himself out of the bottle at his left and guzed upon me with the superior uinile of one who is too happy to be disturbed by the trifles that agitate ordinary humanity “*Whashushay name was/' he inquired, ev dently rather from a motive of politeness ‘than from any particular interest that he felt in the subject under discussion. iss Tomkyns, you know!” I said again despairingly. “She is waiting for you to dance with her. “*Phash shettles it,” replied Goobers calmly, as if relieved entirely from anxiety on the sul ject. ‘I never dance wizzer young woman Whose name begins wizzer ‘T. “Promise given ed and deceased parent. Havanuzzer- y this time I perceived that the case was hopeless, and it had occurred to me to consider how best I might get out of the scrape myself. It was rather des}. and an inspiration of the moment induced me to have recourse to an expedientat once unique and original. I found Miss Tomkyas still on the arm of the man who had taken her to supper and I lost no time in relieving him of the precious freight, which he willingly relinquished. “My dear Miss Tomkyns,’ I said as we moved on, ‘I propose to confide in your honor asa lady, and on that ground I request that what I have to say shall be divulged to no one. Have I your promise? Well, then, the fact is that my friend, Mr. Goobers, begged me to ex- press to you his apologies for not fulfilling bis ement as your partner in the german to- ‘The fact is that, as I know from years night. of acquaintance with him, he is the most ab- stemious of men as regards stimulants. This he drank two or three glasses of wine, and stomed beverage so went to hi head that he was seized with au entirely unre: sonable apprehension regarding the matter. In short, thongh his fears were evidently imagi- nary, he instructod me to tell you frankly that he felt uncomfortable from the champagne of which he had purtaken and that he hoped you Would forgive him if he hed thought it jadi- cious not to appear. w, 1 thought that rather creditable for an off-hand offort at truth-telling, and I was very much pleased when I perceived that the explanation was well received. ‘There is nothing like facts after All: they are a positive luxury to indulge in. As it turned out I had the pleas- ure of dancing the german with Mise Tomkyns and found her an admirable partner. “It was nearly 3 a.m. when I got back to my rooms, and, much to my satisfaction, I found Goobers there, fast asleep. The next morning he told me that his latest recollection was of an amiable policeman who helj him to clamber over the spiked fence of the British legat thongh there was some doubt in the mind the olficer as to whether he was or was not as- sinting a person subject to British authority into United States territory, whence it might subsequently be necessary to extradite the de- jinquent. “Bat my embarrassment in the case is two- fold. Goobers declares that I have ruined his social reputation im Washington. He says it with a sigh, not blaming me especially, but rather Miss Tomkyns, who gave it all away de- spite her promisc. Also, it seems to be pretty erally understood that I, far what purpose fo not, made Goobers intoxicat on the only occasion when ke was ever known to take too much. So I conclude that the only possible course to me is to live down the voice of gostip. “I hardly know a slower process.” secon tena we Loves to Be on the Contrary Side. ‘From the Scranton Truth. ‘The woman who hesitates has her mind al- ready made up. “In response Goobers simply turned his head | ‘Goobers, dear boy! You must brace up. Miss | Tomkyns is waiting for you. You are her part- | | of various tongues incidentally to the ANTIQUITY OF FISHING. ‘Some Cartous Facts About the Most Ancient of Human Industries. A™ OR OYSTER, OF VENERABLE appearance and high reputation for wis- dom, according to eminent Japanese authority, as stated to @ Stan reporter by « scientist at the Smithsonian Institution, wes lying at ease one day amid the rocks beneath the eastern waters and was watching the sunlight which played among the reeds and grasses of his pleasant retreat. It needed but @ glance down through the limpid depths to see that this bivalve, with his well-developed beard and expression of cool tranquility, was « highly distinguished member of his order. A gentle murmur proceeded from his half-open mouth as he addressed a youthful kuramyebi, or lob- ster, standing respectfully near him, and any one acquainted with the language of mollusks might have understood that he was comparing for the benefit of his friends the relative advan- tages of shell fish and their captors. ALL FISHERMEN ARE POOR, “I know quite well,” whispered the kaki lan- guidly, “that unfortunate human race which | cannot even breathe this delicious atmosphere we have been off on many a lark together, I| of ours. They are all an unhappy lot, and have very little idea of the pleasures of existence; but those who are the particular enemies of us and of others who dwell in the ocean are worse off by far. Just look at the whole race of fish- ermen—I don't care of what country or of what age—and I defy you to mention a single man of wealth or leisure or importance among them. They are all as poor as a periwinkle and as un- protected as @ jellyfish. As for their houses, iid any one ever hear of a fisherman living in | & cottage lined with mother-of-pearl’ Then look at the dangers they are incessantly in- curring. ‘There comes a little they go, while I lie here and watch their bodies floating about upon the surface.” Just at this moment a strange shadow across the sunlight, and, quick as thought, the Kaki ceased his discourse and closed his shell With a snap. At length, when a long time had clapsed and he was convinced that all danger had pamed, he opened his eyes—and fowed himself deposited upon a fishmonger's stall. Nevertheless it is true, as the oyster said, that, rich and varied as are the products of the ocean, the lakes and the streams, there is no trade or occupation so peculiarly distinguished through all times and all nations by v= erty of those who ‘pursue it aa is the craft of fishing. ‘TRE ANTIQUITY OF THE INDUSTRY. Probably no branch of industry can lay claim to greater antiquity than that of fishing. Its origin would seem to be coeval with the earliest efforts of human ingenuity, for the oldest monuments of antiquity show the fisher- mi 1m full possession of the implements of calling and even those tribes of savages which have learned neither to keep flocks nor to till the fields are skilled in the fabrication of the hook, the fish spear and the net. The earliest civilization of the eastern Mediter- | ranean was begun with fishing. Sidon, whic means “the fishery,” was originally a’ fishing Village and its enterprising inhabitants de- Voted their attention mainly to the collection of a certain kind of mollusks, from which they Prepared the famous ‘yrian purple, prized more highly for the richuess and variety of its hues than any other dye known to the s. tain hicroglyphs on ancient Egyptian Monuments seem to indicate that the people who crected these memorials employed comor- ants to catch fish for them, as the Chinese do at this dey. In the same manner it is known thet the old Egyptians found in the snaring of crocodiles a favorite occupation. Men in flat- bottomed boats covered with palm leaves se- duced the unlucky reptiles into shallow water ud speared them there. The artof drying and curing fish, not discovered in Europe until the fourteenth ‘century, was known of old in the land of Pluraohs.and pictures are still extant representing the various stages of the process and showing among other things how the big fich were cut in pieces before being desiccated. WARS OVER HOLY FISHES. But perhaps the funniest thing to be told re- specting the antiquity of fishing relates to the holy wars which were waged in ancient Egypt over the finny denizens of the water, the con- flicts arising from the circumstance that, as often happened, one tribe would insist with the Utmost irreverence upon eating up the fishes | which the inhabitants of an adjoming territory held in divine adoration. The child of today, in learning his alj calls the letvers by their names simply a= the ancient Phenicians were pl to make similar figures the «ymbols of certain sourida, and it is thought very likely that the Phoni- | cians have been driven to invent that alphabet by the necessity of corresponding with p great commerce which grew out of the fishery. aati seabuat INJUN MAY HAV! A Decision That Places the Red Man on an Equality With the Pale Face. From the Seattle Post-Intelligencer. A very important decision on the rights of Indians has been rendered by Judge Hanford to the effect that under the law Indians hold- ing land in severalty and not living on a reser- vation are to be treated as citizens of the United | States so far as the liquor question is concerned, and the United States law against selling liquor to Indians applies only to agency Indians, who are treated as wards of the government, and not to the Puyallups and other tribes who hold their lands under the allotment-in-severalty act of February 8, 1887. This ruling was made in the case of the United States against James D. Campbell, in- Gicted for selling liquor to two Puyallup In- diane. Campbell's counsel moved the dis- missal of the case on the ground that the In- dian severalty bill made all Indians who receive | aliotment of lands in severalty citizens of the United States, entitled to all the rights, privi- leges and immunities of all other citizens, and that these men to whom liquor was sold were citizens and not Indians. Judge Hanford held that while the policy of the government had formerly been very gid in dealing with whisky selling to Indians a dif- fereut course was now pursued, and by the acts of 1587 and 1888 the government has gone the other extreme,and an Indian who has taken land has a right to establish a home and invite his friends there and treat them like whitemen and eat and drink what he pleases. Under the law there is no more restriction upon the per- sonal rights of one of these Indiaus than upon those of any other citizen. Judge Hanford stated that this was a matter of 80 much im ice that it ought to Pamed, upon by the Court United States, but as the was without ‘means ty legislature who recently went on « junketing trip in a special car that when he was uff and over UM FIREWATER. | ‘The Program Each Gore Through Whea the ‘Other Has « Headache. Prom the Detroit Free Press The indifference displayed by the average | busband to the pains and aches of the average wife is only equaied by the manner in which be suddenly goes all to pieces at the slightest mck- ness. We have a regular program at our house im certain lines. Iam mubject to nervous bee: aches. About once a fortnight Mr. Bowser comes home at noon and finds me on the soe with my bead tied up and my temples throb- Ding as if they would burst. It's just the next thing to being pounded on the bead by © war club, and if the house was on fire I should take my time about getting out, and that without trying to save anything except the camphor bottle. The program then runs as follows: Enter Mr. Bowser. | Hangs up his hat and overcoat, | Marches into back parlor, evidently suspeot- | ing some calamity. | Stands and gazes at me as if I were some curiosity. I try to smile, but it isa dead fail- ure. “Humph! Cholera, I suppose!” | eae -y faintly.) paikellow fever, then. “I always knew you'd ry ‘N-o. Only—onl “Only smallpox, eh! Nice thing to bring into the house, isn't it!” “Mr. Bowser, I—I've got one of my head- aches!” *0-0-0-h! Is that all? Good lands, but you gave me ascare! Headache? Humph! If 1 Wasa woman of your size and age 1d shows little spunk. “But it's dreadful | “Bosh! There's ‘one part headache.” And be goes siamming around the house and whistling away, as if every sound did not tall on my skull like « blow of « hammer. “Coming to dinner!” Mercy, but I can't eat “Can't, eh? Weil, if you will let your imagt- majion run away with vou in this manner I {APE help Ht. Be more left for me to eat, you no He looks in as be is ready to leave the house and says: “If you are down town this afternoon come in, Bre-bse, booby!” re have ang rogram —one fol- lowed when ower comes home with « bilious headache. if 1 happen to be lookin beer yee off the car « block away I can wi is matter. He comes dragging bis legs, head down and eyes half closed, and 1 meet him at the door and inquire: “Mr, Bowser, bave you been ran over on the street: W-worse’n that!” he gasps, as be sits dow on @ stair step and holds his bead in his hi ‘Have you been shot at or stabbed by raftian?” ‘Would that I had!” Mr. Bowser, what awful, awful thing bas —_ ed? At iT me at ee ve—I've got one of those infernal head- aches! “O-o-0-h! Ts that all? but some awful thing dinner is read: You requested. “P-pork and b-beans! My soul, woman, but how can you talk p-pork and b-beans toa dy- ing man!” “Only a headache! Why, what should « t big man like you care about « headache’ ome to dinner.” But he staggers into the sitting roomand falls side m the louny end utters a groan which arches the cat's back up to an angle Mr. Bowser, these headaches are all imagi- nary,” I observe, as I take him by the legs and swing him about so that he reste on his back. ~*0-0-0-h if I was a manof your size and age I'd show # little spunk.” | "0-0-0-h! “How can I stand it!” “Well, there'll be the more left for me to eat. Better lie as quiet as you can. But I don't go out to dii Pillow for his head and he wants his shocs takeu off and his fect covered up, and then I have to remove his collar and necktie and tien wet towel around bis forehead, and all his pluck has departed. It isn't near ax bada headache as mine. The slightest headache « nervous woman ever has will double discount any headache ae- signed toa man to carry about, but she must grin and bear it. I get the hartshorn for Mr. Bowser. | I change that for the camphor. | Hchafe his hands. | Why, I didn't know had happened. Weil, 4 T've got pork and beans, as er. He wants a I make mustard plasters for his feet. Iwarn the cook to be quiet in the kitchen, and I send our boy over to a neighbor's. ‘Then I turn the pillow over. Then I hold the camphor under his nose. | Then I take off the towel and tie it tighter around his aching bead. He seems at last to fall into doze, but suddenly opens bis eyes and faintly call | “Mrs. B-Bowser!” “Do you think—think I'm going to d-die’ “Die? Why you've only got a headache.” “But feel a g-goneness—a sort of sinking away. pore think it can be collapse of the on Le | “Of course not. You've got a fever—e little one about as big asa pin head. All you've got to do is to go to sleep.” | “But you'd better call up the doctor.” If you don't get the doctor I'll be dead in half an hour.” | And #0 Igo to the telephone and ring up cen- | tral and hold an imaginary conversation with the doctor, as follows: “Mr. Bowser thinks he’s dangerously ill and he wants you tocome up righteway. Cant 3 That's too bad. Well, come ‘at the latest. He's on the lounge now. started with a headache. es, TM keep hua smelling of the camphor bottle.” Good-bye. ‘The entire afternoon is taken up with nurs- ing Mr. Bowser and assuring him that he has not been struck with death. Then, at tea time, T must make him toast and poach him an egg, and at bed time the cook and Ihave to help him upstairs. He gets into bed with a series of groans, turns over with tbe declaration that he will never see another «un rise and is sound asleep in ten minutes. Next morning, wheu be arises fresh and clear headed, and | inquire if his headache isall gone, he looks etme in @ disdainful way and replies: “Mrs. Bowser, my headsche, as you call it, was a violent and malignant attack of «pinal meningitis, and nothing but my great will power, aided by my pluck and courage, en- ‘abled me to throw it off ! Jon a been you From the Pioneer-Press. ‘At the stamp wiudow of the post office yes terday a dozen people were standing in line waiting for a Wanamaker, and one of them was a gray-whiskered gentleman whose face pro- claimed him to be on the farther side of fifty left hand he held a letter, directed , and #0 plainly written that he who t read it. The old gentleman, all in his thoughts, was talking to him- remarks were audible to nearly iy in the t know as I ought tonend this,” of the letter, iooking reflect- ere the stamp ought to ‘0 be sure, In E years. a s a i e