Evening Star Newspaper, September 1, 1894, Page 17

THE EVENING STAR, SATURDAY, SEPTEMBER 1, 1894—EKIGHTEEN PAGES. r REIGN OF BLACK The Latest Style in Trimmings for Hats and Bonnets. Bonnets Are Still of the Postage Stamp Variety. AS AN ORNAMENT a re o> ae JE Written Exclusively for The Evening Star. ¥ DAME FASHION is going to surprise us with anything new in miiinery she isn’t “letting on,” — for nothing hes appeared yet that is materially different to what was worn all summer. The trimming is a justed at a slightly different angle, and feathers and velvet have taken the place so largely filled by face and chiffon, and that is all the dif- ference that I can see. Straw hats are still largely worn, and will be till quite late, al- “Bough a few felt hats and velvets have English Walking Hat. appeared on the scene of action. One of the charming fall walking hats ts of un- Dieached Dunstable, and turns up on the sides, coming well down on the forehead. It is trimmed with a long scarf of tan- colored gauze, which is caught at the side with a jet buckle, and the ends come from the and are tied under the chin | im a big bow with short ends. A hat that | is just the opposite of this 1s called a pic- ture hat. It is something of the old scoop shape in front, and is built out of white lace with garniture of pink satin ribbon, whieh forms a A Picture Hat. ‘ow under the brim, 2nd another at side, where it is caught with a pearl Pale pink chiffon covers the outside hat and forms two rosettes against bon. These picture hats are often the theater, the last place on earth r such a hat. a black velvet hat there Is an odd one ich rolls quite wide and high on the sides and has an edging of fine jet passementerie. It is cut out in V shape in front and e: poses a chouz of violet watered ribbon, a aigrette and two beautiful black ostrich ther tips. It is, perhaps, a little curious, but a fact, hat a bit of biack appears on nearly every flatts a z Black Velvet. hat and bonnet put out, co far. This is a French fancy, and extends to combining black and brown. The woman who dares will probably adopt the fashion at once, but she will be sorry. I can’t imagine anything uglier than black and brown in conjunction. One always kills the other. An awful example of this, which really @oes not look so bad in the picture, is a Im Black and Brown. Brown straw hat which has a wide brim turned up to the depth of an inch or more, @isplaying a braid of fancy straw in black. ‘The shape 1s a cross between a sailor and a urban, and is really quite accommodating. garniture ts a twist and bow of black satin, with two dark brown plumes. It was quite becoming to the girl 1 saw trying & on, but—well, I simply do not like black Ond brown together. Jet trimmings in -ne shape of pompons, Browns 1nd cabochons will be worn as much ms ever during the auturin. Jetted lace to have lost nothing of its popularity, Jet bands are as much in evidence as of Jet crowns te bonnets will vie with | with black velvet, and has an immense bow crowns of gold and silver braids und pas- sementeries, and with crush crowns of silk, satin and velvet. To go with the jet are tiny black birds, with jetted wings and fringes of pendant jet that quiver and sparkle with every movement of the wearer. For traveling and general business wear the Alpine hats in exaggerated shapes will be worn. Black is the favorite; followed Modified Alp eo. by brown and then by gfay. They are gen- erally trimmed with a band and loops of black ribbon, and may have quills and ecque feathers, or wings frosted with jet. With these are worn sewing silk veils. A pretty fancy is to have these hats match the gown, either in trimming or in the color of the hat itself. A charming adapta- tion of the Alpine is found in a low-crown- Riot in Ribbons. ed blue felt, which turns up at the side, coming iong over the face and short in the back. It is simply trimmed in blue velvet and handsome blue tips that turn over the crown of the hat. The bennets shown are all of the postage stamp variety. A tiny band that encircles the knot of hair done high on the head has a big bow exactly in front, caught in the middle with a buckle, and that is A bonnet, so the miners say. It is not as cumbrous as the headdresses of twenty-five years ago. An example of riot in ribbon is found in a pale pink straw scoop, which is banded of pink moire on the side, out of which two blaek ostrich tips are peering. It will take a very pretty face to bear that off with grace. —_—- AND MARRIAGE. An English Bachelor Has Something | to Say the Subject. Premising that, bachelor though we be, we are quite alive to the value of a good wife, appreciating to the full the heaven which such a one can make of home, and admitting that by rature there is a void in man’s heart which can only be adequately filled by the advent of “that mysterious she,” we nevertheless confidently assert that the fair sex of the middle and upper classes are themselves very largely respon- sible for any present falling off in the wor- ship of Hymen. Thus writes a bachelor in the “Westminster Review,” and continues: The irrevocable step is ore not lightly to be taken by those who would deserve mat- rimonial happiness, and yet how many men and maidens change their condition without any prior inquiry into mutual antecedcnts— although they wouid not purchase a blood horse, whick they could get off. their hands witheut much trouble, without scrutinizing closely the pedigree—with scarcely a thought ior the future, only, in too many instances, thenceforth to wander uneasily through labyrirthian mazes in search of heart’s-ease and content! Sensible, well brought-up girls, domesti- cr ted, of good physique, and in every way calculated to become true helpmates, though unfortunately in a decidedly minority in the girl-world of today, are by no means altogether unknown, and careful, intelligent research will diseover quite a sufticient choice for would-be benedicts. But such jewels, although they may be appreciated to a certain extent by most, are too good for the average run of men, and if the seeker aiter a wife be not a Bayard in miniature he had better avoid the probability of a re- fusal, and seek his divinity among those who will not decline to accept him with his not too scrupulously manly habits. Though married life is not without its cares, the case of the average bachelor is of too pitiful and lonely a character for him not to be very willing to escape from it by entering the matrimorial noose, could he only depend on some maiden to whom his heart flies out proving a real helpmate. But, unfortunately, he has no guarantee that such will be the case. The playfulness which charmed before marriage sometimes develops into temper after the knot, which no efforts of the teeth can unloose, has been tied fast by the tongue—having merely been assumed for the moment as part and parcel of the equipment requisite for the capture of the fish matrimonial—while, in other cases, Fost-nuptial experience demonstrates that frugality and the proper rule of a house- kold are absent virtues. Thus the presence of many showy imitations of the genuine ‘ticle renders the task of the searcher after a true helpmate no light one, but Perseverance will usually meet with its due reward. To deserve a wife of worth, however, the would-be benedict must choose his divinity for what she is, not for what she appears to be. There would be some prospect of an im- provement in succeeding generations, physi- cally, mentally and morally, if the majority of right-thinxing men (and women, for that pert, too) contemplating marriage avoided <8 a pestilence the multifarious crew of fast, brazen-faced representatives of the opposite sex who, if appearances go for any- thing, have lost all power to appreciate wholesome home life. Their talk is of the sewage of life, and among them _ even women, who ought to be examples of better things, listen without a blush to double en- tendres, and seem to take a pqsitive pleas- ure in the discussion of subjects of more than doubtful character. Outwardly, not a few of these women may be fair to look up- on, though all too frequently close investi- gation goes to prove that ail is simply an- other version of the old tale regarding the whited outside of the charnel house. But another, and a vastly different, type of womanhood call forth the praises even of the cynic. Regard with feelings akin to those with which you welcome the coming of spring im the sight of the first snowdrop (in which pleasure and admiration blend into something near akin to veneration) any girl in whom maidenly modesty and un- sullied purity ere fitly framed in good physique, and a fair modicum of that self- sacrificing disposition which has the effect of causing her to think twice before speak- irg once, lest in so doing something might unwittingly be said that would hurt the feelings of some other person. ———_+e+_____ Cactus Visiting Cards. From the St. Louis Giobe-Democrat. “Many are the uses to which the cactus is put,” raid H. L. Burton of New Orleans, “but one of the queerest Is that which pre- vails In Cape Town, South Africa, where cactus leaves are made to serve the purpose of visiting «ards. The leaves of the special kind of cactus used for this purpose are not very prickly, however, and, furthermore, MEN these urique cards are not carried about, but are left growing on the plant, which stands at the foot of the front steps. When a lady calls she has only to take out her hatpin and scratch her name on the glossy surface of one of the leaves, while a gen- tleman accomplishes the same end with his knife. The iines thus scratched turn silver white and remain elear and distinct on the leaf for years. New Year's day these cac- tus cards are convenient, and popular hostesses often appropriate a large branch of their cactus plant to the registry of visits received that day.” COAST GUARDSMEN A Visit to the Life-Saving Stations Near Hatteras. THE MEN WHO SAVE LIFE ss Brave Defenders and the Duties They Willingly Perform. THE NORTH CAROLINA COAST > Special Correspondence of ‘ihe Evening Star. CHICAMICOMICO, N. C., August 25, 1894. MARLY EVERY Noster who has spent iny time at a sea- vide resort has, .of course, inspected the life-saving —_ stations that are built close to the ocean beach, dis- tant ai few miles apart, along the At- lantic coast. They look at the | = = Weboat, life lines, Ye howitzer, breeches buoy and all the ap- pliances to save the lives of shipwrecked mari ers, generally ask all sorts of absurd questions, and but few have any idea of their duties and the hardships of the men in the service. There are 170 life-saving stations on the Atlantic coast, forty-eight ‘|}on the great inland lakes and only eleven on the Pacific. The gcod that these hardy men do is in- calculable. All along the coast, from Cape Henry to Cape Hatteras, I saw the remains of the houses inhabited by wreckers who plied their calling before the formation of the life-saving stations. Steam has robbed navigation of much of its terrors. The great iron steamers of today strike for the open, and are but little exposed to the dan- ger of shipwreck, but sailing vessels are compelled to keep close tu land. These wreckers were like men of every calling, good, bad and indifferent, and even with the best of intentions their crude boats and lack of discipline aveiled little to save either 1 fe or cargo. Old-time mariners had reasor to dread the Carolina coast. How many hundreds of vessels and thousands of sailors came to an untimely end on these shores will never be known. That many vessels were lured to their destruction by false lights kindled by merciless wreckers, and many sailors were left to perish or were brutally murdered, are matters of tra- — and told around the winter fires to- v. The Coast Gunrdsman's Life. Of all the employes of Uncle Sam the coast guard works the most and gets the least pay. While the soldiers and sailors of the army and navy have their periods of hardships the coast guardsman’s life is one of incessant and increasing toil. Six men constitute a crew. These stations are five miles apart. At dark one guard goes to the right, the other to the left. After a walk of two and a half miles each meets the guard from the other stations and ex- change metal checks. They then return, and two others start out. After six hours rest the first two resume their beat and retura at sunrise. When they see a vessel off shore they fire @ rocket and burry back to the station. Some die. Many are disadled for life. They are all oicked men, and the bravest and best are culled from the surrounding coun- try. it would reem but just that if they die im line of duty that their wives and children shall not suffer, and-that the time will come when a surfman who loses his life in saving others wall be regarded as a soldier who falls in battle All the visitors of Virginia Beach remem- ber the figurehead of the Dictator that stands near the hotel. Life Savers. Having visited nearly every station from Cape Henry to Hatteras, nearly twenty in number, 1 had exceptional ad- vantages of judging of the personnel of the men, and finer specimens of stalwart manhood I never beheld. Every captain is thin-lipped and strong-jawed. I did not see a furtive eye or weak chin among them. A student of physiognomy would deiight to study their faces. The daring life they have led for years has left its imprint on them. They are the type that a woman would instinctively cling to in time of peril, Nearly all are young. They are open- hearted and hospitable to a degree. I was struck with their perfect discipline. There is only one colored crew on the coast, located on the south side of Kodie’s Island. This place, which is the favorite hunting spot of President Cleveland, is eight miles long by one wide. It is sur- rounded on three sides by the ocean and on the fourth by Pamlico sound. It is deso- late, dreary, low and flat, and at high tide the billows often roll over its whole length. It is one of the most dreaded places on the coast. I counted the hulls of seventeen ves- sels strewn along the beach. Great spars, masts and ship timbers lay all over the island. A great steam boiler, with steam drum ‘and smoke stack, shows high above the water, marking the spot where a steamship was foundered. ‘the colored crew is commanded by a cool and black fellew, a typical gentleman darkey. Capt. Jake was born a slave on Roanoke Island, and was a favorite house servant. His master taught him to read and write, and taught kim well, for Jake showed me his official journal, and it was as well kept as any on the coast. Jake has never since his elevation to office found that his head was getting too big for his regulation hat. He is as deferential as ever, and his white patrons, as of old, are his stanch friend. A Ruin of the Wreckers. Right in the center of Bodle’s Island is one of the most picturesque ruins I ever beheld. Not a hand has touched it, and the weath- er boards lie as they fell, the planks half rotted away. Even the family furniture is undisturbed, and a quaint antique bedstead, evidently the spoils of some wreck, would have excited the cupidity of an antiquari- an. A huge brick fireplace is in the front room, with the hook and crane still hanging. This ‘was once the home of wreckers, and one can Imagine a roaring fire and rough- bearded men holding high carnival over French brandies and Holland gins. Many vessels were dashed to pieces before the establishing of the life saving station on this treacherous coast, and the wreckers were very successful. They were practical- ly independent, for before the construction of the great canal that unites the sounds of Pamlico, Albemarle, Roanoke, Chowan and Currituck there was no inland navigation, and the ocean was the only pathway. ‘This ruin was the home of Cap’ Ethridge, a famous wrecker, who made a great deal of money, but spent it lavishly. Other Southern Stations, Crossing over the New inlet—where the ocean has fore:d its way through the land barrier and poured its waters into Pamlico sound, I came to the life-saving station com- manded by Capt. Westcott. His crew is an ideal one, athletic and bronzed. Ali the life-saving men wear white uniforms and present a singularly attractive appearance in these wide wastes. When cold weather comes they dom the regulation blue. Five miles further south is the Chicamicom!co station, and near by 1s a considerable vil- lage, whose inhabitants gain their livelihood by ‘fishing and hunting. Capt. L. B. Mitchell commands this post, and he Is called the veteran surfman, having been in the service seventeen years. He is a genial, companionable man, with a keen sense of humor—and in love with his calling. All the keepers and most of the crew are strict Christians and never touch Hquor. Grace is said at every meal. Neither time nor immigration has affected the life savers. They have married and interm: ried among themselves for many year: They keep old customs, old faith, old ways. Courtship and Marriage. “How do the people tive here?” I asked Capt. Mitchell. “They catch fish In the summer and shoot wild fowl in winter. Those platforms or wharves built on the scund are the market place. At certain intervals sloops come there and buy their fish and game.” ‘Aren't the very poor?” ‘Well, they have enough to eat and ar enough, to wear; ‘tity are contented and PY. * “How are thé! cotfrtships conducted?” I inquired. “ “Waal,” he sid,-n that long musical North Carolina grawh “when a young man wants to marry;he asks the gal and if she takes him, which she is pretty certain to do, they go to ‘the "preacher." “But don’t they htive to ask the father, and don’t he require the suitor to prove that he can support his daughter?” The captain lay Back in his chair and Janghed, and then said: ‘Not much. If thé gal is willin’ to risk it, the father is, Whmt's gals raised for but to get married? Why,” continued he, re- flectively, “‘wheni1 got married 1 only had $2.07. I gave the préacher $2 for doing the job, and my capital was just 7 cents and the clothes I stood in.” “Is $2 the regular marriage fee?” “That's the top figure. If a man hankers much after a gal he’s mad. I knew one man that actuaily gave $5, but he'd been courting for five years, and he allowed afterwards that he had paid entirely too “io you have any gayeties—dancing?” “Dancin'? Good Lord, no; if a gal was seen dancin’ down here the people would think she was bound straight to h— “Don't they celebrate the happy occasion in any way?” “No; marriage is a very serious thing—a subject for praar.” “Do the bridal couples go on a tour?” “Some go to Nortolk on a bridal tower; most don’t. Taey just go home and act like old married folks; they don’t make no fuss. You know, afl the gals marries when they are sixteen. ‘They are pious, and rea their Bibles every day, and every house has var family praars. “The families are generally mostly from | ten to fifteen—about twelve the average. If a couple has no children we think the Lord has afflicted them. Now, thére’s my grand- father, a hale, hearty old fellow, though he’ nearly eighty. “He has seventy li children, and I don't know kow many great | grandchildren. Sometimes he moets a boy or girl and asks what its know him, though, and 5 grand pap, don’t you know me The captain himself has nine childrer | family live flve miles away, and he is the trial of his life not to be with them. Further South. I left the station in a cart at dark, and reached Gull Island about midnight. Here Capt. Pugh took me in charge, and insistet on preparing a supper, as late as it was. Sleeping here until 3 a, m., I pursued my journey, and reached Big Kinnakeet sta- tion in an hour. Here I exchanged teams and got a big horse, siow but sure, and con- tinued my journey along the beach. Just before day 1 witnessed a phenomenon that alone repaid me for the jour An ocean mirage, a thick cloud, had settled upon the sea, apparently a couple of hundred yards | from shore. in the misty light it had the appearance of a thickly wooded cliff. The light vapor that topped the clouds took the appearance of trees, These were the pines, the water oak, the tall withered chestnut, whose skeleton boughs inter! other, vivid and distinet. I stopr cart 3 gazed upon the scene, stupefied with | Musion. Slowly the clouds parted, and let | in a river that seemed ww through a | cleft in the mountain, Touched by the rs assumed an glimmer of dawn, the w line tin | changed slowly, the ¢ and the ocean in fts was merged in the sky. Eight miles from Hatteras I last halt and pot! bréakfast at t ing station. Insfead°of takin shore, I tried a sKorf, cut throu and such a journe: again, The route’ lows ‘and swamfs, where breed, and they’! covered horve, | person in a ihic® cfud. Though 1h: | mosquito net ovet mY hat, and kid cn, che pestiferom insects got throu: they }iterafiv pierced the sh was so fou@h that the horse wi ety second. As the sun rose yuds lifted, the scene dissolved, alm majestic beauty in a walk. ered frantic by swarm culd stop ever paces and try to*Stamp off his torm The sun shone a tort there was not a Vestize of shade any’ Urging the horse Aléng, ¢ eyes fixed upon the fienthe teras, [sat like av Trtian at last T drew ftp dt ‘the ‘station atterly used tp. The keepr, Mr. Patrick - i eridge; is a handsome middle-aged man, who, Tam told, is a lineal descendant of Capt. Teach, or Blackbeard, the pirate. He certainly has inherited the recklessness and bravery of bis ancestor, for he show me a superb gold medal with the inscrip- f tion, “Presented by Cong he United States to Capt. Pitrick ge for his heroic efforts to save wi men from the perils of the sea. IT have never met the superintendent of the life-saving rervice, but no man_covld see what I have seen heard, without giving an honest tribute to the man who is at the head of this service. EX. HUNTER. MAKING 1” oo The Very Latest Idea in Linen Fancy Work. Fiom the Milwaukee Journal. The very newest thing in fancy work 1s an imitation of Dutch delf carried out by the means of white linen duck and blue paint—and applied to every imaginable ar- ticle that cou'd be made ot the real delf. The linen must be new and fresh and the Fainting done in a bold way that takes some artistic taients but very little work. For a photograph frame cover the cardboard foun- dation fizmly with the duck. Let the brush be rather stiff to show the strokes, and do the work in water colors, If you can, but if not, do it in oils, with a blotting paper for mixing the paints upon. The study painted may be any little sea scene, with as few figures in it as possible, for it would not be Dutch deif were it to be covered with painting. On a frame big enough for a cabinet picture there need be only one pic- ture, and that not cvez two inches square, if its outside limits were to be measured. Long side strokes are the ones that give the true delf appearance. A bonbon box made in this way is pretty. Don't carry the painting ali around the box, and leave the cover plain, except for a few of the blue clouds put on as If the sky were a hurrying one. Perhaps if you refresh your memory by glancing at a little of your real delf, the idea will be plainer. If you want, get a thin board to fit the top of your dressing table, cover it with linen and treat it in a similar fashion. Perhaps you will be equal to making one of the grandfather clocks, which are the newest things in the delf. Make for this a framework of pasteboard, following the shape of the old clocks known under that name. At the base have a large, square block, then four sides, rising perhaps a foot high, and finally a square top with ar. open- ing for the face of the clock, and a unique cornice around ite This frame is very easy to accomplish. But if you are not handy with your fingers, a carpenter will make it for $1, and maybe less. Cover the clock frame with the linen, using great caré to"get it as Leautifully smooth as if it*weie the real material, which it is suppdtad ‘to be. When covered. get out the blue paint and put one of the favorite Holland’’sed' scenes at the base, with clouds—a véry? few -along the sides and at the top a strofg little picture under the cornice. Finily place en alarm clock, a@ little ninety-nitie-dént timepiece, in the opening, and yotit work is complete. Of course, you have’been careful to have the back so it can be opened for the inevitable winding of your pretty little dressing table clock. ——_——. lee ___ How Serv, Are Spotted. From the New York Herald. “Ladies who are patticularly good to their servants,” says a'wofian who runs an em- ployment agency, “ate almost sure to spoil very good materfat. Some women are lib- eral, for instance, about the hours out. Not having anything particular for the girl to do they let her go out till ft ts time to get dinner. The girl, finding she can have @ good deal more iiberty by not claiming any certain day, very readily gives that day up. Some girls thus get off nearly every day except washing and froning days, The next mistress -of that girl has a hard time of it. Such an indulgence utterly ruins most girls. They will never again be satisfied with anything short of liberty at pleasure. They will use the same argument of the easy-going mistress, ‘There isn’t anything to do till 4 o'clock. I might as well have a turn jn the park.’ And they always brag of their liberties to other girls and make them discontented. ‘@ g00d servant has been utterly spoiled for any- body else—and hereelf, too, for that mat- ter—by good natured and well meaning in- dulgence.”” at. “‘Jason? Why did you name your dog that?” “Because he is always s-«rching for the Fleece.”—Life, . the Iridescent hues of which | or hear what T have | FROM KNUCKLE BONE TO PLAYING CARDS. ‘PLAYING CARDS Their Evolution From the Knuckle } Bones of Sheep. HE FORMS OF DICE AND DOMINOES Some of the Curiosities of Familiar Game Implements. THE OLD AND THE NEW > Written for.The Evening Star. HO WOULD sUP- V V cards were originally derived from the knuckle bones of the fact. If you do believe it, ask \\| Mr. Stewart Culin, to the University of Pennsylvania, who has made the study pose that playing \\\, Sheep? Yet such is ethnologist, attached of games, from the S scientific point of view, ius ity, The so-called knuckle Lones are familiar enough, being used to this day by children in various parts of the world. They are the ankie bones of the sheep, and are four-sided. It seems odd to Hfind that dice in Arable are | name which means ankle bones. knows how long they were first employed | for playing games. One day it occurred to smebody that a cube was better adapted to the purpose. That must have happened in very ancient umes, for the Romans of oid had dice, which were just like our own, even to the arrangement of the numbers on the faces—i. e., the six opposite the one, the five opposite the two, aud the four oppo- ite the unree, At will be ¢ vel that the sum of any ays seven. This have something to do with the faci regarded as a magical Of (he respect accorded to it there is evidence im many passages of tne bible. ‘The most-ancient cw back to GY B.C itw fou in , al die known dates that is, 250K) years ago. nd at Naucraus, a Greek eclony The earliest dice were made in ke knuckle bones, from the right leg left leg of the ani- usually employed, be- mal. Two dice cause they were two knuckle bo! Mr. Culin says thai dice probably originated in India, From that country they were car- {lied to China, whence they have been dis- } ibuted atl over the world. The Chinese are great gamesiers; they invented a modi- fication of the di which is called the dominu. Put two dice faces side by side and you have a domino, as the acecompany- ing illustration will show. Dominoes are said to have been devised in the year 1120 of the Chrisiian era_by a Chinese emperor for the amusement of his wives. It is more however, that they merely obtained perial ‘approval at that date. Dice in China. As there are twenty-one possible throws with two dice, so twenty-one dominoes may be regarded as natural dominoes. However, the Chinese have doubled up some of the numbers so as to make a full set for play- irg thirty-two in all. All over eastern Asia the customary outfit of dominoes Is i two. Our dominoes, obtained by way Surope, are only twenty-eight and are modified by the introduction of blanks. The domino game of Europe and America is the match geme. It is played in China, but is an unimportant one among the many Chinese games of dominoes. The Chinese domino games are ail of them dice games elaborated. Dominoes are also used in China, like dice, for fortune telling. That system of divination has an extensive lt- erature of its own, The Chinese dominoes all have astrological names, In China cosmical names are given to the numbers on the dice. Six is the throw of heaven, ace is the throw of earth, four | is the throw of man, while one and three are chosen to represent.the harmony that j unites heaven, earth and man. The throw of double five is called the “plum flower,” five and six is th “tiger’s head,” four and six is “red-head ten,” one and six is “long- legged seven, one and five is “red mallet six. terms remind one of those given by negroes to various throws at the game of “craps.” On Chinese dice the “one” and “four” are always red, while the dots on the other faces are black. Mr. Culin cannot assign any reason for this with certainty. There is a legend to the effect that on one occasion an emperor of | the Ming dynasty was almost defeated in |a game by his queen. The only possibility | for him to win was that the dice should turn up “fours.” They did so, and he was so gratified that from that time forth the “fours” on all dice were marked in red. Many games are played in China on boards and diagrams, the moves be- ing thrown by throwing dice. In one of these, ble of the promotion of ect of paper is used, on inted the titles of various offi- ials and dignitaries of the Chinese govern- nent. Players are advanced or set back accerding to their throws. The story told about the invention of this game is that the Emperor Kienling, A.D. 1750, was walk- irg at nightfall arnong the houses occupied by candidates for a triennial examination at Peking. Hearing the sound of dice throwing in one of the dwellings, he sent for the offender. The latter, as an excuse, told the monarch that he had constructed chart on which were written the titles be- longing to all the official positions in the government. He said that he and_ his friends threw dice, traversed the board ac- cording to their throws, and were thus im pressed with the knowledge of the various ranks and steps leading to official advance- rent. The emperor commanded him to bring the chart for his inspection. That night the unfortunate student, whose excuse was a fiction created on the spur of the moment, sat pencil in hand until daybreak and made a chart, which he carried to the emperor, The latter was pleased with the diligence of the scholar, who improved his mind even is himself, and dismissed him with many commendations. Ev of Cards. Take an ordinary domino of bone or wood, enlarge it, make it of paper, and it becomes a playing card. Mr. Culin’s study of the subject has led him to the conclusion that this is the way in which the playing card was origirally evolved. The evolution began with the knuckle bone, which became a cubical die; the latter was transformed into a domino, end the domino, in its turn, was metamorphosed into a card. A domino with two “fives” on it represents the “ten- spot” of the pack. The origin of “king,” “queen” and “jack” is unknown. Possibly @ little Hght may be thrown upon the mys- tery by the fact that the four sides of the knuckle bone are called, in Arabic, ti “shah,” “vizier,” “peasant” and “slave. ‘The same names are given to the numbers on the cubical die, the six being the “shah.” One of the games played with dominoes in China is apparently the prototype of whist. Nobody knows when dominoes and cards were introduced into Europe. We, in Amert- ca, get all our games from Europe; we in- vent no games Poker is an old English game modified. Mr. Culin says that there are no new games; those brought out from official year to year are merely modifications of old ones. Gemes re originated in primitive stages of socia! « -velopment. One would raturally suppose that the spinning die, called the “teetotem,” must be derived from the same original source as the cubical die. Apparently svch is not the case. Mr. Culin has traced the teetotem to Corea, where it seems to have had its be- ginning. There are nany queer sorts of playing cards in the world. Those vseed in Japan are oblong pieces cf pasteboard with black backs, the designs on the faces being sten- ciled in colors. They are only about two inches long and one inch broad. The num- ber in a pack is forty-nine, in twelve suits of four cards each. The odd one is a trifle smaller, with a plain white face, and is used as a joker. All the others are covered with emblems representing twelve different kinds of flowers or other things appropriate to the months of the year. Each one is also marked with a character denoting the vegetable that represents the menth. Dice are mostly made in Germany of bone, but there are never two alike in size, shape or marking. When you see a die marked with dots all askew you may know that it is a German product. The best dice are made in New York and towns near by, of a celluloid composition. Each die ts precisely like every other one, even to poker dice, which are stamped when soft and afterward baked, so that aces, kings, queens,Jacks and ten-spots are as perfect as it is possible to make them in a plastic material. A novelty is black dice with white spots. All American dice are made with rounded corners, because they are be- lieved to “throw” better. > — HEADACHES. Rous Caused by Omitting the Most Impert- Meal of the Day. From Harper's Bazar. “When I went to schocl,” said a charm. ing grandmother of our acquaintance, “ never knew what it meant to have a head- ache. Yet my granddaughters complain of them almost constantly. Something must be wrong. What is it?” In the search for cxuses thus instituted it was at first suspected that lack of proper ventilation in school or sleeping rooms was to blame. This not proving to be the case, the food was inquired about, and several things appeared to the sensible grand- mother to be wrong. The girls were allowed to eat what, when and what quantity they chose, not seldom emitting their meals entirely. “Don't force them to eat,” had been the parental injune- tion. “Young people will always eat as much as is good for them.” Unfortunately this is not alw the case. There are many young girls who have no appetites for their breakfasts, the really most im- Fortant meal of the day, and if unchecked will start upon their_day’s work with no better provision to meet its demands than a cup of coffee and @ cracker. The blood is called to the brain by the first hours of study, and the lack of nourishment, though not felt as such, is very perceptible in its effects. After two or three hours of work the girls can do no more. They are ex- ; their “heads y feel but Uttle more appetite for hincheon than for breakfast, and that little they satisfy with the least nourishing | sorts of food which are placed before them. At the late dinner—the only meal to which they come of their own accord—they eat more, perhaps too much, in fact, but rarely of that which is best suited to their real needs. After the grandmother's observations had shown her this state of things, she asked that one of her granddaughters might be joaned to her for one year. As all lived in the same city, attended the same school and complained of the same trouble, her proposed experiment was a fair one, and one of the girls was loaned to her grand- mother for the petiod desired. At first Mabel felt ita hardship that she was not allowed a late dinner with the rest of the family, but, instead, was given only a light supper, very like that which ex- cited the ire of the gouty patient in San- ford and Merton, only, instead of the por- ridge which accompanied the latter's prunes, Mabel was served with a plentiful supply of good brown 1d milk. Like those of the irate gouty man, Mabel’s prunes were cooked without sugar. Even the first morning after this there was a slight improvement. Mabel did not feel the usual disgust for food which had formerly kept her from reaching the break- fast table until the last allowable moment. Indeed, she felt a mild degree of appetite, which enabled her to swallow a small por- tion of the cereal, fruit and cream which always formed the first course of her grand- mother’s breakfast, though she declined the delicately poached egg which succeeded. Coffee was prohibited. Luncheon, Mabel found, was to be. con- sidered her diner, and she was expected to consume a goodly portion of beef, lamb or chicken, and at least one wholesome veg- etable. Fruit or light puddings were usually ber dessert. Before a month was out Mabel’s “head- aches” had become things of the past. She could work well and easily. She was glad to walk or play games with the strongest of her fellows. She was happy as she had never been before, and as no girl can be who is’ not eating plainly, regularly and plentifully, as well as otherwise living hygtenically The ventilation of school and sleeping rooms Is not so often defective now as in the period which intervened between the days of fireplaces and of sanitary sctence, but there is still abundant chance for im- provement in the ways of avoiding draughts and chilis, as well as in prevent- ing the stagnation of the alr. Foul air and cold draughts are alike fatal, but the latter are the speedier in their action. ————0-__ A Great Preponderance. From Life. Tom DeWitt—“1875 must have been a great year for girls.” Kitty Winslow—“I don't see—" Tom DeWitt—“Oh, I was merely wonder- ing how it happened so many more girls were born that year than any other.” Kitty Winslow—How do you know there were?” Tom DeWitt—“Why, every girl I have met this summer has been just nineteen.” ———_+e-+— Talking With an Expert. Mrs, Hojack—“I had such a very interest- ing conversation with that gentleman yon- der.” Mrs. Tomdik—“Who ts he?” Mrs. Hojack. ie is a Mr. Lease, of Kan- sas. We discussed the servant girl ques- tion.” A Thing That Needs Reforming. From Life. DON'T LET BABY CR fm the bad food want of noarishment, Ampairic, bis constitution, Then she feeds the Infant with the good lactated food, and ber fears disappear im the happy smiles Thousands of mothers know by experience, thet jactated food surely prevente cholera infantum aud other summer disorders of « Mike character, and in hundreds of cases it be with- out lactated food in the bouse, Babies that are not guining im welght, as their mothers wish, and who show too little animation and interest in thnigs about them soon gais & liveliness and gest for living when fed with this splendid natriment. ‘They gradually ery less and jess; their sleep becomes sound by might, and by Gay they are bright ap? nolsy and bappy. Such is the great ditference between bables thet are nourished by lactated food and those that are poorly, because improperly, fed. ‘There is no perent in the land but can read the following letter with profit. It is from I. Dh Yager, a well-known lawyer in Alton, T., and tells bow bis brother's child became the stout, sturdy youngsler whose portrait is shown above. He writes: “My baby nepbew, Henry Hewitt Yager, wag born January 17, 1882. ©f that event he might seers Richard UIT by sayiag, ‘Sent before may time into this breathing world, scarce half made ep. At birth he weighed three poands, and there were few who thought he could live. The mother unaiie to puree bm, and thi made the came ad i E oo] a ered HH $2.50, Was $5.00. $4.50, Was $6.00. $6.50, Was $10.00. in all shades; also largere- ductions in Gray Switches, Hair Dressing, Cutting and Shampooing in best manner by com artists at S. Heiler’s, 720 7th St. GIBBONS’ Excelsior Creamery BUTTER, The very highest grade in the ma reduced to In lots of 2 0 gr ever, This little u C7 Are you wearing that Wilsoa True Comfort $3.50 Shoe? i stacks of foot comfort you are missing if you aren't. on, 929 F St. . Sod “Shoemaker for Tender Feet.” ‘Palmer’sBelfas a| Ginger Ale, fz. In Iinported Ginger Ale Bottles—" Sree ~ dotties. Equals healthful and refreshing. ; Hop Bitter Ale, $1.10 Doz. Pint Bottles. Noa-tntoxicating and non-alcoholic brewed from best English Hops bening 0 don, these We'll — DISCUUNT TO 2 Samuel C. Palmer, | serve you oe Bim, Ps, Complete with Shade. 3 only from $7.60 to $4.00, 1 only from $16.50 to $0.50. C.A.Muddiman,614 1athSt,