Evening Star Newspaper, January 27, 1894, Page 18

is —————————————————————— THE FADS OF FASHION ‘The Proper Practice of the Physical Culture Theory. "WORK FOR WIFE OR DAUGHTER. Home Dressmaking and the Satis- factory Results. WHE REVIVAL OF 1830. ‘Written Exclusively for The Evening Star. NE WOULD THINK to look inside of our house that Corbett and Mitchell had been doing their training there to fight the governor of Florida. Just at dusk recently I went into the library to get a book that has been on a certain shelf for years. I threw the door of the book case open and Wammed a pair of Indian clubs through the Blass. I remembered then that Dorothy ‘and Rose-in-bloom left them there when they went out to take a constitutional walk. I started into the sitting room and throttled myself on a fancy trapeze that was hung in the archway for in-bloom’s benefit, and which she had Polemnly promised to take down as soon as #he was through her practice. I fled to my foom and nezrly dislocated my spine ever one of Elaine's bowling balls left in the upper corridor, which the girls have een pleased to turn into a kind of bowling @lley. Safe in my room I dropped into my favorite rocker to find it pre-empted by a | pair of dumb bells. On my desk was an array of physical culture literature, and my @ressing table was littered with manicure ery and toilet articles that I couldn't to nominate a use for. A pair of foils were thrown on my couch, the masks fwere in my work basket, and up in Doro- thy’s closet are swimming suits, tennis shoes, riding habits, gymnastic costumes— 4m fact if there is an athletic fad or physical culture phantasmagoria that this sister of mine has not caught on to I truly nope that the enlightened one will bury it deep in heart, because the family already has nough to bear. Dorothy has had a leaning in the direction @f “physical culture” for a long time, but the fever burned afresh after Elaine came. | Ghe is one of the big breezy girls from out the roaring west, and as she and Dorothy re molded a great deal alike it is natural for them to enjoy the same pursuits. Just mow “athletics” have the call, hence this imvasion of my peace of mind. Dorothy's Seem is fuli and the paraphernalia has over- flowed into mine. When I remonstrated from my chandelier to the utter destruc- tion of my prettiest opera bonnet, and de- plored the existence of boxing gloves mmong my laces, tennis belts in my glove ®achet, riding whips in my Tokio rose jar, (and a saddle blanket on my choicest down BUlow, Dorothy got very indignant. ‘Taking to Physical Culture. “You certainly know, Sara,” she said, that all the advanced women of the country are taking an interest in physical ture. It is very English, and the best in France, Russia and Germany are in making women stronger men- Rally and physically. I suppose just because let my things get in your way a little,” went on defiantly, “you'd rather I'd get fat and flabby and—and waddly as I get wider, but I don’t intend to.” Then she ed up to he> subject and read me a homily on woman's slighted oppor- ities. “I have always felt sorry for the poor girls who have not time to care for i properly, because some of them be very pretty indeed if they only feoa good grooming. I think that the rich girl who is not good looking ought to be ‘shamed of herself. The day is coming §when she will be, too. One can forgive the Wife of a poor man; the mother, slave and igervant of a lot of children; the bread-win- ers and wage-earners, who are harnessed \to a load from morning until night, because they have not time to be clean and beauti- @ul_and wholesome. “Byt there is no excuse for the idle daugh- fer or the well-kept wife. They should ‘be paragons of neatness and lovable of ad- Gress, redolent of health and good to look upon. Are they? Sometimes—but not al- ‘ways. They may be well dressed, but their bodies are not well kept. They may be coif- Zured in the latest style, but their scalps Bre not clean; the sheen of satin is not on their hair. They are perfumed with laven- @er and lilac, benzoin and bergamot, but Mot of the bath. Because of physical inac- tion and worry those women who do not look like consumptive posters for an un- ertaker run to adipose below the belt, and im either case are poor samples of the ‘Woman whom God put in Eden. I want to get back to our first estate if I can, and I Feally do not think it is nice of you, Sara, to oppose me when I'm trying to keep my- self healthy.” Program for the Day. Now what could I say? It would have Been perfectly useless for me to argue with her, yet I was reminded of just one day— ®@ fair sample of all the others, since she took up this latest wrinkle. After an 8 o'clock breakfast she fenced for half an hour,then spent an hour in the gymnasium. ‘Another hour was spent in learning a new Waltz-step, and still another in horse-back riding. After a hurried lunch, she spent half an hour with her music teacher, an hour with a Delsarte master, two hours in the Turkish bath, and a half hour resting to get strength to dress for a 5 o'clock tea &t which she was to “pour.” After the tea Bhe jumped into another gown for a dinner gt 7. At 9 she took in the Bachelors’ cotil- lion, and was the life of the clique. All this exertion involved something like five changes of dress and an expenditure of $8 for tutors. At 12 o'clock, midnight, she ‘wound up with a nervous chill and a $% call from the family physician. Now I call that physical culture gone mad. The best physical culture in the {world will be found in sweeping, dusting nd making beds. These duties bring into play every muscle in the body, are a pretty Sure corrective of indigestion and énsomnia, fand the best nerve tonic in the world. A {walk to market every morning to supply fuel for the family larder will be of benefit im two ways. It will teach economy in Buying food, which every woman ought to M, and fills up the quota of exe: Mecessary to vood health. Of course thy’s theory js all right, but as is quite a gap between theory and proper practice _ Arsenic as a tonic is quite bene- cial, but arsenic as a beverage wouid be — as erage wouid be A pretty i had reverses ¢ Btill a favorit Fe-entering for her dead mother ourse her ward- fobe Is depleted and most of it old fasiion- ed, but, poor girl, s ad little enough left when the final crash came, so when she got an invitation to a swell house to dinner the other day 2 laid the cards down and took a littl ” “I just can't go,” she wailed. “I've lecent dress to My name and that is for the street.” She thought better of it, however When sre Got home after off an ivory albatr daylight for thr. » she unearthed had not seen it w disrepat- e h ably dirty, but ided her sage little head and s: wp. One of her girl friends < she helped. Before Then Julia made a in which she put a te castile soap. goods thorough- her hands, and dark it was in suds of warm w quantity of borax She washed and rv ly through th rinsed it in v slightly warm. Then she is up to wait, for mo When morning ; came, so before she i the goods out he came went s dry in her room With @ skirt pattern and in new . THE ‘EVENING STAR, SATURDAY, JANUARY 27, 1894—TWENTY PAGES. ironed the albatross carefully and was ready for business. Jalia’s Albatross and Lace. The skirt was cut with a flare and had to be pieced nearly three inches at the bottom. Julia has a dainty knack with a needle and the skirt she turned out was shapely and graceful except for the patched bot- tom. For the waist pattern she took the old linings, troned them very carefully and from them cut a new lining. This she fit- ted to herself, cutting it sharply pointed in front and just a little rounded at the back. The greater fullness of the old skirt left her plenty of material for a new waist, which she made perfectly plain, except a low cut front. The sleeves she made in big puffs that just reached her elbows, and they were pieced scandalously on the un- der side. Then from a trunk she drew forth the remnants of an old lace dress. Beautiful Chantilly it had been once, but its glory had long departed. By indefati- gable labor she managed to piece up enough of the iace that had an edge left for a foot ruffle six inches wide. At the head of tnis she put a band of black satin rib- bon two inches wide, caught at intervals with a flyaway bow of ribbon. I don’t Suppose there was a piece of the ribbon over six inches long to start with and it had served time on various garments in varying periods, but you know good ribbon is good always. The lace that was left was full of rents, but Julia patched them up and arranged very full short pannier drap- eries over the hips. For the back she used a handsome lace scarf, one of the remnants of her former affluent days. It was about twenty inches wide and two yards and a half long. She adjusted it in the back so that it covered the caught up ends of the panniers and fell to the bottom of the skirt in straight lines. For the neck she pieced enough for a full double ruffle. On the top of the sleeves she put big bows of black satin ribbon. She went to the dinner in that dress, perfectly conscious that a cer- tain envious woman wondered der the sun she got money to dress on, and that the men would say, “well-groom- ed, stylish creature.” 1830—Walking Dress. “Dorothy,” said Elaine one day last week, “let's be sure-enough 1830 girls.” Dorothy looked a little dubious, because her new athletic “medicine” has exhausted her available funds and she didn't know just where the suggestion might lead her. “Were they pretty?” she questioned. “Well, no,” Elaine replied with great can- dor, “not as beauty is catalogued today, at any rate. You see, they ran largely to neck and had shoulders that sloped like church steeples, and we couldn't accom- plish that effect if we wanted to, but they did wear some quaint gowns and I move that we have some made like them exactly, and not adapted.” . “Mercy on us, Elaine,” exclaimed Dorothy in horror. “You know very well we could not go such guys as to wear low slippers with no heels and elastic bands to hold them on, and white stockings and showing our ankles and—why, it’s perfectly awful to think about it.” “Oh, bother,” observed Elaine, energeti- cally. “The only difference between 1830 and 1804 women is that sixty years ago women abbreviated their gowns at both ends, now they only go naked at the top. I don’t suppose, however, that the art critics of your police department would permit us to adopt the 1830 gown in its sawed-off en- tirety, but we can add an inch or two to the length and not be proscribed. We will hunt up a style in an old book of engrav- ings and then overhaul that grandmother chest of yours.” Black Silk and Tulle. Dorothy yielded, and for a week there Was snippings of satin, bits of black silk ravelings and ces of lining scattered from basement to attic. The sewing wom- an has gone and the girls admitted me last night to see the result, and I must con- fess it really was not bad. Elaine found one dress—a street toilet—in her research that she could copy exactly, except to lengthen the skirt,and Dorothy found a ball gown of which she now possesses the counterpart. They also found some even- ing waists certainly do look ple- ine nearly wore out 2 F trying to get the exact hade of, blue that was represented by her » fashion plate, but s tat last. It is a shade just a little duller that army blue. The material is Fre The skirt is made on straight lines with only enough taken out at the top to make it fit over the hips. The watst is made per- fectly plain in'the back and fastened to the skirt. The skirt is of white silk with fine tucks, fs fastened with gold buttons and has a tiny ruffle of lace down the front. a double plaited frill of silk and lace goes round the neck, the big sleeves have cuffs edged with narrow white thread lace and the revers are edged with lace. Down the front are two long tabs of the broadcloth, in the center of each are two welt-like tucks which are edged with lace which al- So goes around the outside edge. The waist is bound by a belt and big pearl buckle. Elaine found an 1830 lorgnette, and when she takes her walks abroad she is the observed of all observers. Elaine's two evening waists are swazger, sure enough. She will wear them with a trained black velvet petticoat, which has a border of black fur. One waist is a pointed ch broadcloth, linings, | black silk cut very low on the shoulders; bust and back is a scarf of black #aught in the middle of the back and front’ bnd»om each shoulder with a cluster of red yelvet roses and green leaves. The sleeves are two big puffs of black tulle on a foundation of black net, fully revealing the arm, and caught at the elbow with red Red Sik and Lace. roses. On the front of the bodice are two bows of red velvet ribbon. The other waist is red mousseline de soie over red silk, cut very low also. It has sleeves with drooping puffs and a fall of black thread lace around the shoulders. Dorothy's Ball Gown. Dorothy's ‘ball gown is a triumph of genius. JW the “grandmother” chest was an antiquated black silk tissue dress, that was embroidered with roses in red silk and had Breen silk leaves. It was ancient enough, and certainly costly enough to have been worn by the Queen of Sheba. The skirt was very full. Of the waist only the long queer-shaped revers were fit to use. Do- rothy got fire red sateen and made an un- der petticoat, or lining, and the old skirt was made up in straight lines to wear over it, the fullness gathered slightly around the front at the waist line. Black tulle made into two odd-shaped puffs was adjusted across the front and caught with red velvet bows, extending on round the skirt. The big puff Cotton Creton. ed gauze sleeves hardly showed from be- neaéb,the:painted bretelles, and the red silk waist,conered with the black tissue was rather short-waisted in effect. Dorothy said that,she had but one fault to find with it and-that was that she could hardly keep it from slipping off the shoulders. Her even- ing waist. while it is an exact reproduction of an 1830 bodice, is only a bit of economy, It is made of yellow cotton crepon that cos: fifteen cents a yard. The lace fs a fine piece of point d'Venice, which she had, and the fine folds above it are made of a piece of Ind{a’Silk that did service as a pink throne once. Yom; @ time. Dorothy washed it and hurg,{t inthe sun and bleached it to a rich cre: It is caught on the shoulders and back and front with black velvet bows. Dorothy says that when she wears that waist she is going to wear the side “love locks” fashionable then. SENORA SARA, Written for The Evening Star. ONLY MRS. PINKIE. How the Little Ones Enjoy the Cares of Married Life. One sultry afternoon during the hot weather baby and I betook ourselves to the hammock, In which we generally passed a portion of each afternoon, she in taking a refreshing hap and I a refreshing peep at the last urday’s Evening Star. Just as both, of, us\'were getting interested in our different styles of refreshment a voice near Me broke the stillness, “Howdy do, Mrs. Jones?” Now, be it known that my name is not Mrs. Jones, nor am I at all related to that great and distinguished family. Still, I may Say that I am interested in the nam only missed by a hair's breadth, as it being truly a Mrs. Jones. But again the voice interrupted with, “Howdy do,” this time rather impatiently. “Why, howdy do,Mrs.—, but what is your name?" [ ventured. “Me? why, my name {is Mrs. Pinkie.” Is that so? How are you today, Mrs. Pinkie?” “I'm. wel.” Mrs. Pinkie, by the way, is an old,friend of mine. In fact, I may say that I amethe friend who has stood by her through adl.the troubles of her five and a halt years @& checkered existence. But Mrs. Pinkle has-arhabit of changing her name, as pe A the ladies of a cerjain city are accustomed to do, quite frequently; so, in order to be certain to call her by the right one, T always have to inquire. ‘How’s your fambly?” was asked me. ‘They are all quite well, thank you, and yours?” “They're well.” Just then I noticed the sturdy six-year-old son of our neighbor,who lives across the way. “And who is that, Mrs. Pinkie?” “Oh,” with a simper,“that’s my husban’.” At this point husban’ stood up straight, and, with a dignified air, remarked, “I’m going to market; it’s Sadday.” So, with a manly stride (and a baking powder can), he walked away. “I guess I'll have to get the dinner, now,” said Mrs. Pinkie, and she began arranging her store room with housewifely care. There were mud pies, cakes and bread in abumiance:'In fact, to a housewife of an economical turn she would have been called rather wasteful. But there they were; cakes, pies, rolls and nice brown loaves of sweet bread, just from the oven (sun). I confess that I had some difficulty in know- ing which were cakes and which pies, but Mrs. P, soon informed me that the “thick ones are cakes and the thin ones pies,” so I had no further trouble. By this time Mr. Pinkie had returned from his Saturday's marketing, and, dumping the can of sugar (sand) down at her feet, said: “There’s*the sugar; I'm going back. Mrs. Pinkie, with true wifely dignity, ig- nored her husband’s remark, and when he was out of hearing told me confidentially that she-ever sent him after anything else, as he always forgot the rest. “Why, your husband buys you lots of sugar, doesn’t he? He must be very gener- ous.” | “Oh, yes; we have about a bushel.” Just | then baby, who is just beginning to say a few words, spoke up and said: “I know.” “Oh,” said Mrs. Pinkie, with sarcasfh in her tone and manner, “you know everything and don’t know nothing.’” With this crushing remark she turned away and again busied herself about the house till her husband’s return. He soon came in with another can of sugar and helped.her arrange it, then said he was go- ing “down town.” “All right » as I ‘were, she began, tell you, I wouldn't get a minister for a husban’, because they don't do nothing but just studies and studies, and then go to church all the time.” (My’hus- band, alas, came under that class of men | denounced by Mrs. P.). “What does your | husband do?” “Oh, he just helps clean up down town, dusts and sweeps,”” “Oh, yes, I see.”” Just then a feminine voice from over the way called, ‘Montgomery, Montgomery,” and Mri Pinkie said: “I must go now.” “ay Hes pees and Mrs. Pinkie was y we again. MRS. ALLEN. | POINTERS FOR WOMEN: Some Suggestions That Should Make | Life Easier. | | lA FEW N OVELTIES IN GLOVES | Sweet Peas Are Now the Correct| Thing for Debutantes. IDEAS IN CLOTHES. pee Sa ey Written Exclusively for The Evening Star. The newest long cloaks look Mke night gowns, or worse yet, like men’s bath robes that are made out of blankets. They are without form and void of any pretense of elegance. They fall from the neck to the feet, and are so narrow that they fairly tuck in around the heels. They are made of medium heavy cloth are edged with fur, above which is a band of velvet appliqued with jet and lying plainly against the ma- terial above,that will often be found a band of white lace. All that is needed to com- plete the cartoon called “French style” is a bunch of artificial flowers at the throat. Very few women here have adopted the nondescript garment. No amount of figure or dash wiil make the thing look swell. { A street dress costly enough to please the most extravagant and striking, enough to make everybody stare, swings down the avenue on sharp days, with a remarkably fine girl inside of it. The skirt is black astrakhan, made with a flare. The waist is a rich red bengaline blouse, and the coat is simply an Eton astrakhan jacket. The toque fs black astrakhan, with an inch wide double ross plaiting of the red benga- line around it, and a big jet butterfly in front. eae Sweet peas are quite the thing for “buds” to carry, and now that flower-decorated ball gowns are the correct thing, sweet peas tied with bows of bright pink ribbon are used to catch up the folds, or the full lace flounces, eae The newest gloves are a symphony in extravagance. Twelve button suedes, light | Unts of all the season’s colors, are now dis- Played with six inches of applique work on the top. It is done in threads of gold and silver and silk to harmonize with the color of the glove or your gown. It may be only a geometric design and can be your coat of arms, though that might be stretching the license. If your purse will, stand another tug this embroidery is emblazoned with gems. If that is too giddy, try seed pearls, but if you are downright sensible you wili | Shut your eyes on such frivolity and wear plain delicately tinted gloves as of old. The black satin coat is the latest swagger top rig. It should be made with an um- brella skirt. Mutton-ieg sleeves as big as a quarter of beef, revers like elephants’ ears and fit like a porous plaster. You can put a jet girdle and jet frogs on it, or pearl buttons as big as tea plates, or border it with feathers, but — tur. A very refreshing dish for a person who has no appetite is wine jelly. It is made of gelatine and flavored with wine, or lemon may be used instead. It should be clear, and if colored sometimes attracts by its sparkling clearness. The most delicate stomach can digest it, and it is exceedingly nutritious. The charming wife of a Congressman noted for his energetic labor in behalf of his constituents and his general efficiency and unfailing good nature, is quite a noted cook. When she is to entertain at dinner she is fond of surprising her guests with a dainty dish of her own preparing. “I be- lteve,"" she said when some one compli- mented her on her accomplishment, “that we grow like what we eat. My husband has a sensitive digestion, and bad cooking came near making a fiend of him and a maniac of me. 1 set myself to correct this and I flatter myself I have succeeded fairly well. Improperly pzepared food depresses one, and will transform my husband into a cynical pessimist in less than an hour. I really consider that his popularity in his district and his return to Congress depend upon the food I gave him and the manner in which it is prepared.” Truly a level-headed woman. A bamboo lounge in winter gives one cold chills, but it can be transformed into a thing of beauty with small expense. Get golden brown or dark red corduroy, and make thick tufted cushions for the seat and back, They can be made in sections and tied to the lounge, then have three or four big downy pillows covered with India silk to scatter over it. You will find it quite a success, Mothers who have regard for their chil- dren will deal out cough sirup with a re- luctant hand. Here is one that is effica- cious, simple and healthy. Slice six onions— good sized ones—and stew until tender in a quart of vinegar. Strain through a cloth as though for jelly. Put in the juice obtained a coffee cup of sugar and boil down one- half. Bottle and put in a cool place and it will keep all winter. A baby with the “sniffles” will yield to a few drops of onion sirup in a very little while. A child of five years can take a teaspoonful ev two hours. A grown person can stand a table spoonful. ‘Women are proverbially- slouchy about their shoes, a bit of the toilet that men notice first. Heels should be kept straight, buttons on, and soles even, to the very last. Untidy shoes will spoil an ‘elegant toilet. Rusty shoes are a disgrace. A gentle stimulant for tired eyes is found in an ounce of rose water and two grains of sugar of lead. If the eyes are inflamed drop, the solution into the eye. If only the lids are tired bathe them gently with the fluid. One who has used the simple remedy for years considers it invaluable as well as harmless, If you must use powder and it won't stick on, try this: Get an ounce or two of cocoa butter—it costs about 10 cents an ounce and looks like tallow. Rub it on your face briskly until the skin is well greased. Take a soft linen cloth and rub the butter off— and you will wonder where all the dirt came from—then repeat the process, this time rubbing the skin well after applying the butter. Again rub the face with the cloth, and apply it vigorously. After that rub on the powder, and your skin will feel like satin. You can use it on the neck and arms the same way, and it is not likely to Tub off or make your skin look shiny. Co- coa butter is a good skin food, and is harm- less, eee Is the would-be swell female attempting to match her petunia purple cheeks and magenta street gown? or is she trying to ‘live up to the chromos in the prize package papers? In any event the giddy colors visi- ble under the fashionable veil would make nature blush and an Apache turn green with jealousy. it is simply awful, It is not considered the best of taste now for men to wear flowers in the button hole except at weddings. The fashionable over- coat is the Chesterfield, which has a velvet collar and may have ‘velvet cuffs, but a careful clothier gainst the velvet cuffs, as they suggest a worn sleeve, and thi ht” insinuate a pur- chase from a “misfit” establishment. poor dear men have such tribulations, If the baby takes the croup suddenly, while you are waiting for water to heat and for the doctor, pour a teaspoonful of coal oil—kerosene—dovn its throat. It is a nasty dose, but it is death to the fungus of membranous croup if taken in time. Bathe the throat and chest with it, and then rub with goose grease, lard or something of that nature to keep it from blistering. oe For a bad cut or scratch from a dog or cat, one of the speediest remedies to draw out poison, and at the same time heal the wound, is tobacco. Moisten a little chewing tobacco, either leaf or fine cut, and bind it on the wound. Unless very serious you will hardly know at the end of twenty-four hours that you have been hurt. Henry Ward Beecher once said “there is no smell so universally pleasing as no smell.” If he were living now, he would have his soul harrowed with a wool hackel by the languorous odors exhaled by men as well as women. While not in altogether good taste it is absolutely objectionable to nine-tenths of the human family, and one wants to fumigate the premises after a half hour’s visitation of one’s “white rose,” “heliotrope” and “wild crab apple blossom” friends. If perfume is essential to your well being, put it on your hair, eyebrows and hands. Don’t touch your lips with it, for it will chap them. Don’t put it on your clothes, for if there is one thing more dis- gusting than another it is “dead” perfum- ery. You can wash it out of your hair and it does no harm there. Once upon a time the tomato was called “love apple” and was considered poison- ous—the analogy is lost. Now it is consid- ered only second to the onion as an article |; of diet. The girl who eats quantities of tomatoes and onions will find her complex- ion clearing and her headaches fleeing. ‘hey may be eaten either raw or cooked, and are a splendid p:eventative of bilious- ness. Brooklyn society was paralyzed last week. Two pretty and elegantly attired shop girls of good family accompanied a gentleman to the Union League Club reception. They are said to have spoiled the pleasure of the evening. The new materials for spring wear are in the shops, and the fall roses are hardly done blooming. Grenadine is to be worn again, and the new designs are exquisitely lovely. Some of them imitate moire, and many have the prevailing shot effect.French challie is also to be much in favor. Some of it is woven with bayadere siik stripes to simulate rows of ribbon. Swiss muslin and quantities of ribbon will be worn. Men think because a dress can be washed it is cheap, so they are fond of telling women that they look well in white. The fact of the matter is, white dresses in the city are a gold mine to the washer woman, and they cost in the long run more than a silk. A cup of black coffee taken after a Span- ish omelette, potato salad, cutlets, or any other dish prepared with onion or its cous- in, garlic, will destroy the abhorrent fumes that cling to the bronchial tubes. A couple of wintergreen creams or clove candies, eaten before ‘eaving the table, will remove the taste of food from the mouth and neu- tralize the smell of wine. A few drops of camphor and myrrh in a glass of water is excellent for a gargle and a tooth wash when there is the suspicion of a tainted breath. A bad taste in the mouth and a white tongue will always warrant the use of an antidote for a bad breath, Cinna- mon, ginger, cloves and orris root sweeten the mouth and will disguise unpleasant oders for the time being. Spruce and mas- uc gum are used for fne — . One gown properly made and becoming is of more use than five or six that have seen much wear and little repair or care. The secret of good dressing does not lie in many toilets, but in suitable and im- maculate ones. S08 ew An excellent furniture polish is made of equal parts of wine vinegar and olive oil. Put in a large bottle and shake thoroughly every day for a week. It will then be ready for use. It should be applied to the furniture with a soft woolen cloth and well rubbed in. . 8s we One principle must be recognized in the arrangement of floral decorations, which is that every spray of leaves or blade of grass put in to fill up should be graceful. The accidents and freaks of nature have no place in decoration. If flowers are scarce, buds and leaves may be used in flat low decorations, to be looked down upon. In their season large leaves with autumn tints may be effectively used with smal! flowers. There must be contrast of form as well as contrast of color. There should be one large flower in every bouquet, as a general rule. The arrangement of several | | | | FOR LITTLE FOLKS. ae Some Suitable Winter Wraps for Little Girls. PREVAILING COLORS AND MATERIALS How Becomirg Cloaks May be Inexpensively Made. SIMPLE BUT PICTURESQUE wraps are especially interesting, and are Written Exclusively for The Evening Star. so designed and man- ufactured that the HE SMALL SCIONS of our American aris- ‘ tocracy are having quite as much time and attention given ) to their wearing ap- | | = mostinquisitive breeze would have hard work to reach the delicate little bodies. Take, for instance, the garment repre- sented in the first illustration. The entire wrap is made of heavily corded bengaline, parel as the older and doubtless more dis- Sege green in color, and lined throughout with soft white silk. The sleeves are very kinds of flowers in one bouquet is looked | full puffs, reaching midway between elbow upon as a monstrosity by some oriental | and wrist, where they are finished by deep nations. This idea has great influence now, ! eufts and where the leaf and stem are decorative in form and color only the flowers and of black Persian fur. The empire waist is double breasted, fastened by large with a girdle leaves of the same kind of plant are plac-*furred buttons, and belted ed Mm the same vase. The selection of the} of fur, while the skirt is laid in heavy beautiful, placing it where it will give pleas-} double pleats all the way round. The fur- ure, is the arti: side of home life. . * 8 8 edged Worth collar gives a most stylish The Russian furore for black and yellow | Mish, and the great feather-laden hat and for furs is now at its height. ermine and mink a and as ermine is royal in price as well as in decoration, the slaughter of white cats is unprecedented. Like glass diamonds, the untrained eye never detects the differ- ence. Sable, A woman whose neck is thin should never try anything but the square corsage. ‘The generously proportioned look best in the V style or the oval. Only perfectly pro- portioned shoulders should be bared. fe Wise precautions and proper personal care will do more to banish wrinkles than all the creams and lotions in the world. Given the course, which is always worry and fatigue, a woman should do her best to avoid them. Wrinkles come like the creases in a carelessly folded garment. ‘The first or second time the wrinkles are made they shake out, but oft repeated, they can’t be ironed into lasting smoothness. Frowns bring wrinkles, and the often knot- ted muscles, like thread that has once been crocheted, refuse to straighten out after a time. oe ew we At a recent wooden wedding a guest book was provided which had birch bark covers and thin birch bark lining leaves. On these leaves the guests wrote their names with a pen, the handle of which was an exquisitely carved piece of wood sent from’ Switzerland as a present. Birch bark literature is not original with Anglo-Saxon civilization, however. It was on birch bark, with mineral paints, that the North American Indian first wrote in pictures his words of war or woving. One of the prized souvenirs of a soldier boy lover, in the possession of a society lady, is a birch bark letter. There are two pages, each half the size of a sheet of note paper. The letter, which was written in the entrench- ments before Richmond, is as clear as print, and breathes warmest attachment. But the hand that penned it lies over a quiet heart in an unknown grave in the south. The name signed to the letter was enrolled in the lists of “missing” before the girl in her northern home ever saw it. —+e+—___ DUTIES OF THE BEST M4 What He Must Do to Relieve the Bene- dict of Responsibility. For twrty-four hours before the wedding the best man js the responsible owner of the groom, says Life. He tacitly undertakes to produce the groom at the church, clean- shaven,suitably attired and in his right mind or else to take his place. If the groom shows symptoms of running away, be must shackle him. Some best men invariably handcuff themselves to their grooms on the morning of the day before the weddiag as a reasonable precaution against accidents, for when the best man’s confidence has been abused once or twice, it makes him cautious. He must be up early the next morning, must see that the bridesmaids have all received their bouquets, that he has the minister's money in the right pocket, that he has a wedding ring in each of his pockets, that the carriage orders are understood, that the groom has made ade- quate provision for his wedding journey, and that the ushers are presentable and can walk. All this he must do without letting the groom leave his sight. When the wedding is over and he has consigned his charge to the care of the bride, he takes the groom's place as host, and sees, in particular, that the groom’s friends from out of town are suitably entertained and shipped home at convenient intervals on their proper trains. Only when the last of them is gone can he call his man and go home to bed. Is a man ever best man more than once? Some very popular men have been best man as often as a dozen times, but usually one or two experiences are enough to con- vince the experimenter that matrimony it- self is a less trying ordeal. —_—___+e- The Care of Lamps. The wise man who made the interesting remark that it required a gentle woman to make a drinkable cup of coffee might have gone on and claimed that‘it required a pa- trician to keep lamps in order. The ordinary servant cannot do it. She regards anything beyond filling the oi! tank as a work of su- pererogation. Occasionally entreaties may prevail upon her to trim the wick, but she always does that with the scissors, which is the worst possible method. The lamps should be wiped with cheese- cloth, directs the Chicago Herald. The wicks should be trimmed with the sharp edge of a visiting card or with a poker, heated red- hot and passed over the wick. This last method is. a little troublesome, but it re- moves the charred part evenly. Wicks ured for a long time, even when they do not become very short, grow thick, and are apt to give forth an unpleasant odor. They should be renewed once a month at least. In duplex burners one wick should be trim- med in the opposite direction from the oth- er. Round wicks should be trimmed toward the center. Burners should be wiped free from bite of charred wick and drops of oil every day. Every now and then they should be boiled in strong soapsuds to make them perfectly clean. When they have been used a long time they need replacing. —— see A Sure Sign. From the Chicago Inter-Ocean. “How can you be certain that it was as late as 2 o'clock when Harry came in last night May—“Because he tumbled over a chair without swearing out loud.” makes the little wearer look like a veri- the favorite furs, | table picture. Another pretty wrap is of magenta ben- galine, made in one piece from neck to hem, with a Watteau pleat in the back and a cluster of single pleats in front, under which is the opening. The cape of rich magenta velvet just reaches the arm holes, where an odd effect Is produced by the dou- ble ruffies of silk which are sewed in as a cap for the huge velvet sleeves. The lin- ings are of satin exactly matching the ben- galine in color. The third illustration shows an artistic little coat of dull brown cloth. This is also made princess, with a Watteau pleat in the back. The yoke and jaunty little cape are of seal brown velvet, the richness of the latter being accentuated by linings of old gold satin. The full sleeves of cloth aze finished with wristbands of shaggy bear fur, which trimming is also used for the collar and skirt border. These designs are not, however, confined to materials and! combinations which place such pretty and comfortable necessities beyond the reach of slender pocketbooks. Any one of the cloaks described may be developed in other and less expensive cloths and be every bit as becoming and stylish. The graceful little wrap in the next sketch is of Scotch cheviot, with trims mings of large smoked pearl buttons and | shaggy black fur, or astrakhan may be | used effectively. The pattern is so simple that a detailed description seems hardly necessary, but simple and inexpensive as | it is the little lady whoze eldest daughter skips about in it, regardless of cold or in-| clement weather, thinks it just about the Sweetest coat she ever saw, and she is not | far from right The costume shown in sketch number five is also of cheviot, and made especial- ly for some little man just promot- ed to the dignity of trouserhood This, like the others, is double-breasted, Notched collar and genc tri cppe, and if there be an Oxtort aha rasset leather lecgings the small gentleman will a Stylish as any fond mother can de- All the children’s clothes, from under garments to wraps, are made with great simplicity, but they are always picturesque, ing, and, when the et book will permit, of rich material. The latter is par- Ucularly noticeable in the outer garments, upon which it would seem too much taste and skill cannot be expended. A pretty custom, borrowed from the Rus- sians, is the band of fur sewed around the upper edge of the spats, which should come high up on the limbs. B. V. ae ipaemecdlins Written Exclusively for The Eveniig Stari THE BACHELORS SIDE. He is Not Necessarily Such a Brate as He Has Been Pictured. Mrs. Barr’s essay on spinsters and bache- lors in last Saturday's Star gave proof of keen observation and reflection, If, how- ever, the author be as just as she is clever we must look upon her remarks as incom- plete, since she describes three or more classes of spinsters and but one of bache- lors. That the bachelor species is as In- finite in variety as ite sister kind is surely patent to even superficial students of human nature. The “contemptidle’ beings mentioned, “without duties and without hopes,” “who quarrel with waiters and drive every one insane about their dinner menu,” have at least this claim to our esteem, to wit, they have remained single. sely the same failings are to be found. dike married men whose unhappy wives “have not the elastic temperament of “waiters,”* “An old maid can generally make herself of service to some one.” And an old bache- jor? I have in mind a frien@, the favorite uncle of a large clan, who was supposed to be at every one’s disposal. His mother, nieces, cousins and friends felt they might count upon him to act as escort, to do any errand, to procure any information, he be- ing a bachelor. He has lately married, in self-protection, perhaps, observing the im- munity from ‘interruption in the business of bread-and-butter getting enjoyed by his married brothers. ‘There are many reasons to be which account for masculine celibacy. The assertion that all men might be m: is rather a left-handed compliment i@"the fair sex; but, granting this, ise a one <4 an ble to the woman he not, is he to “try next door,” say, “the fretful old maid? we ted jot_the awd attitude lay’s exquisite poem, “ the Long Days and Years?”"— again Shall 1 before her stand, Touch lip or hand.— Never on earth again. “Yet while my darling ives Peaceful I journey on; Not quite alone,— Not while my darling lives.” An old bachelor whose sense bf the Judi- crous is strictly held in check by lis 4cind- ness of heart, whose presence with rich or Poor “makes sunshine in a shady place,” confided to an intimate friend the reason of his “selfish” celibacy. There was con- sumption in his family and his conscience had warned him to let the disease die out with him. Yet a casual observer might set him down as an effeminate tea-table gossip rather than the brave Christian gent his friends know him to be. There are other types. Many are disciples of Malthus, mostiy through’ observation rather than the perusal of ‘His cohtincing “Essay on Population.” The lack of em- Geen was deplored long before the years en invitations are sent host and hostess make preparations that shall guarantee t®® visitors a season of comfort during thei Stay. But helpless beings who have not the option of declining the summons are brought into a world where food, raiment, warmth, work and amusement may all be insuffi- ciently supplied. Their parents will share the last crust with them, of course. This may be noble, but it is the nobility of Don Quixote—it lacks common sense. The old bachelor sits in Tis eas: by his fireside, his eye rests fonaty walls, or rather upon his books, pietures and bric-a-brac that conceal them, his friends know where to find a sympathetic listener, a modest philanthropist. If he re- joices at times in his secret sou! that be is not obliged to deny himself all luxuries in order to set up a hungry son in business “in the hope that he may draw some busi- ness from the other stores” (see Alton Locke), who shall dare blame him? cs. a chair on his CARDS MUST NOW BE ‘THIN. It is Said to Be No Longer Proper to Print One's Name Cardboard. “My dear Mrs. Boges, how nice it is or you to come and see me this very cold day,” said Mrs. Timpkins as she put ‘down her embroidery and rose to greet her guest. “You must let me give you a cup of choco- late to warm you up and—Hut where aid you get that lovely card case? Was it a wedding present? “Yes, it was a wedding gift, but not to me. It belonged to my grandmother. If you examine it you will see that the work- manship is really exquisite,. The bride held up a dainty little silver b6x, which Save a finishing touch to her 18380 gown. “It is indeed lovely, but what do you do with your cards? ‘Of course you can- Rot carry enough in this to be of much use. Do you have a practical cand case hidden in your pocket? “My dear Mrs. Timpkins!” cried Mrs. Boges in amazement, “is it possible that you have not seen the new cartes de visite? Just examine mine. They are engraved on Paper hardly as thick as that ordinarily used for notes—quite flimsy in fact—and are very much smaller than they have been for years. When my new cards came this fall it occurred to me that they would fit into grandmother's little gase and so I had it rubbed up and have been carry- ing it ever since.” Mrs. Timpkins examined the cards eriti- cally. They were about half the size of those of last year and on paper so thin that fully fifty found room in the old-fash- foned receptacle. “I am more than ever glad you came to see me today,” she exclaimed, “for next week I am going to have a tea, and just think how dreadful it would have been if I had sent out cards in last year’s style! Unfortunately my grandmother 416 not have a silver case, or, if she had, gave it to some one else, but i have somewhere an elaborately carved one of ivory which Mr. Timpkins’ father brought from China and which has never before been of use. I shail certainly have to find it. You have set the fashion, my dear Mrs. Boggs, and now I Suppose all our friends will be rummaging through old trunks and packing boxes try- ing to find the card case of a past genera- tion.” It Did Not Pa: From Puck. Rural Rarges.—“This idea of bein’ pertite ter folks ain't what it’s cracked up ter ‘Tramping Tatters.—“How 80, Roory?" Rural Ragees.—"T was amb § the other @ woman on fer a rattlin’ aid “Thank yer mum.” dog onter m-~