Evening Star Newspaper, December 1, 1894, Page 14

14 THE EVENING STAR, SATURDAY, DECEMBER 1, 1894-TWENTY PAGES. CHRISTMAS HINTS Some Pretty and Useful Gifts That One Can Make, eer eedeanbgensts They Will Suit All Ages and All Purses. THINGS NEW AND OLD ‘Written Exclusively for The Evening Star. LTHOUGH IT IS rather early yet to buy presents it is not too soon to think about them, and to make them. The shops are beginning to assume quite a holiday appearance, and already one sees many pretty fancy articles, as well as those more useful. The women seem very busy over the fancy work counters, trying to decide ques- tions about stitches and colors suitable for their embroidery. Some directions for making simple Christmas presents will no doubt be appreciated. First I will speak of some shell hairpin holders. They are very easy to make and are also new. Take a piece of brown linen ten inches long and three inches wide; fold over one end about three inches. Then bind all around with narrow ribbon. Stitch through the middle of the doubled over piece of linen to form two pockets for the hair- pins. Paint a flower or some other design on the upper side of the case and fasten over with a ribbon bow or a button, and loop as you may prefer. This makes quite @ neat, inexpensive little present, and is light enough to send in a letter. Blotters are not new, as we all know, but then they are necessary and, useful. The outside of the blotter I saw was of celluloid, painted light blue. “Absorbed thoughts" struck me as rather an appro- priate motto for blotting paper and the letters were in gold. The shape was a eirele doubled over. Another blotter was of white drawing paper—the cover was, I mean—with a ribbon laid across it with flowers painted on either side as you see in the illustration. Collar and cuff boxes are pretty, The basket or boxes can be bought and then after being painted and adorned with bows of ribbon, they make very acceptable pres- ents. Bags of various kinds and different mate- rials are always nice and convenient to have. Here is something new—cut a cir- cle of silk and line ft with contrasting col- ors. The circle might be about eighteen inches in diameter for a large work bag. Cover six or eight small curtain rings (those about an inch in diameter would be best) with heavy button-hole twist, and fasten them at regular intervals on the edge of the circle. Two ribbons of the two colors of the bag are run through the rings. Draw these up and your bag 1s finished—after making bows at ends of ribbons. This bag made of cretonne would be useful and pretty. Smaller silk bags are made in the same way, except that Instead of ribbon run through rings there is a silk cord through holes made in the bag itself about an inch from the edge. Then there are white linen bags—made in the ordinary way; an oblong piece folded over and stitched to- gether at the two sides, the end hemmed and ribbons In a casing to draw it up. ‘These usually have embroidery on one side. In fact, we see bags of all sizes made in the same way; large for laundry, smaller for handkerchiefs and laces or lingerie, and smaller still for workbags. Heavy cord should be run through the laundry bag, and this, being more useful than ornamental, might be made of denim, which can be bought in several colors. Pure white linen, that dainty material which every one likes, !s much used for many pretty articles—center pleces, doy- lies, frames for pictures, handkerchief cases, ete. An exquisite mouchoir case can be made in this way. Cut two pieces of fine white linen eight by ten inches. Lay two pieces of white wadding (sprinkled in- side with sachet powder) between the lin- en. By the way, I suppose you know that orris root, powdered, makes the most rat- ural violet scent. Now sew the edges to- oBether all round. This is for the under side of the case. @ piece of linen fringed on one end, the corner folded over and the linen sewed lightly to the lo part on two sides, or three, if you like. The word mouchoirs in ‘rregular letters or some other design is The upper side is formed of | embroidered on top. White baby ribbon ts bunched into small bows and sewed on as you can see in the drawing. A friend is embroidering a lovely center- pes A circle of finest quality white linen is embroidered in scallops of gray, green silk around the edge, leaving a murgin, which {s fringed out about an inch and @ half beyond the scallops. Strawberries—the fruit, leaves and flowers are embroidered all over the circle, scattered with a lavish hband—in their natural colors. You have no idea what a beautiful glow of color this centerpiece makes in the middle of a snowy tablecloth at a dinner. But I have not told you of the writing case! You must surely make this, for I know there are many who fancy it—it is so useful. From the illustration you will get Its skape and general arrangement. It is made of heavy bristol board--the kind used for picture frames-covered with brown linen with an inner layer of wadding to make it softer. Inside are sheets of colored blotting paper fastened in at the corners, with triangular pieces. Opposite the blotting paper, on the inside, are com- partments for envelopes, and underneath a pocket for the paper. On the back is paint- ed an envelope, with a pen laid across—in water colors. Of course, you can originate @ very appropriate design. This pad or writing case is made and glued together with heavy glue in the same way as the picture frames are. There are some smaller presents that will be easy for the children to make—and children of larger growth will not disdain them if they are carefully done. First there Van are needlebooks cut in any shape you please—heart shape, circular or octagonal. ‘Those I saw were of celluloid, with painted design and tied with narrow ribbons. Fill them with leaves of cashmere or flannel. The celluloid can be bought now by the yard and is very pretty and pleasant to paint on. Pen wipers are always accepta- ble, for who does not need them? Have a square of pasteboard covered with flannel, and the pen wiper proper on top of that cut in the common way—several circles of cloth or chamois fastened together. Upon this, fastened with strong thread, place a doil’s head, dressed as you please. A sailor cap on the head and sailor collar of white celluloid, with black tie, make a pretty decoration. Or a bonnet and lace ruite round the neck falling over a puff which covers the rest of the shoulders. A small china doll, with jointed legs and arms, dressed in a red riding hood cloak, with small basket in front of her, makes a pretty penwiper. Of course, she must not be used for inky pens; the doll is seated on the pieces of cloth which form the penwiper. Match scratchers are always popular with children, especially as they are not hard to make. Make one of cardboard, and paint a young man and woman seated upon a bench, under a huge umbrella made of sandpaper, glued on the cardboard. The umbrella must be shaded and made to look quite dilapidated. Under or over it is written, “An old umbrella full of patches is always best for striking matches.” I would suggest painting Mother Goose legends upon some, using sandpaper for dresses, coats, &c. I w lovely picture frames of white linen, some embroidered and others painted. The bristol board, cut Into shapes, can be bought for the picture frames. This must be covered neatly with the linen, first covering the board with wadding. Use strong glue—Le Page 1s best—or your e will come to pieces. The envelope frames that I saw last year are still made and much liked, and it ts no wonder they are popular, being so easy to make and pretty and conventent, They are used most for small photographs, and are painted with silver or gold paint around the ragged edge of the square, which {s cut out to show the picture. The silver edge is often alternated with flowers, roses or other flowers, painted, and the edge cut out, making the flowers partly hang over the picture. Table covers of tinted cotton and linen may be bought with designs already stamped. These, outlined with linen floss or silk and finished with a hem feather- stitched or with a fringe, make excellent presents that are always appreciated. Glove cases can be made of silk, lined and Interlined with scented cotton, Rib- bon is placed across inside to hold the gloves in place, but I think just the simple folder in which to place the gloves is more convenient. _— BCNBONNIERES FOR CHILDREN. Fancy Candy Boxes and Ice Cream Molds Especially for Little Folks. “Mam-ma: ‘Pa-pa!” came in plaintive wail from behind the counter, and a small girl, in a very large picture hat, standing near by, clapped her hands in a perfect ecstacy of delight. The cries came from a new French bonbonniere. Two little doll heads, exactly alike except in expression, one smiling and the other puckering up his face for a good cry, were peeping out of a basket of bonbons, and tt was from them that the appeals proceeded. “These talking dolls in the basket seem to be the most popular of all my new Christmas bonbonnieres with the chil- dren,” remarked the fashionable caterer, as he put the cunning little device back into the case. “Every year more things in our line are made to please the little folks. Here is another and much more eiaborate bonbonniere, you see. It represents an up- to-date young lady doll, in neat bicycling suit, just about to mount her bicycle, her hand resting on the steering bar. Near by is a mile-stone, telling how many leagues itis to Paris. The top of the stone lifts off, disclosing a box filled with candies. “This ‘ttle sailor maiden is a bonbon- niere, too. She wears the dress of the French sailors, and is seated in a boat fly- ing French and American colors. Coils of rope and a pair of oars are in the boat, all ready for use, and her hand fs on the rud- jer. “The fin de slecle Santa Claus would be utterly out of place in an old-fashioned sleigh drawn by reindeer, and so he ap- pears this year riding on a bicycle. His frosty beard, so dear to the hearts of chil- dren, has been spared, and his garments are all sprinkled with snow. He holds in his hand an elaborately decorated Christ- mas tree, while on his back the old fa- miliar pack, filled with toys, is seen. He brings candies this time, however, the pack being filled with them. “Here is another bonbonniere, designed especially for children. It is simply a very pretty French doll that opens at the waist and holds quite a lot of candy. ‘L'homme Sandwiche’ is as his name engraved in large gilt letters on his board announces, @ sandwich man. He wears two large boards, which advertise a dog show, and is altogether a very cunning littie person. “A little box of chocolates comes in the form of a ‘bougie elegante.’ The little can- dle is in a pretty candlestick, and looks as if it were just ready to be touched with a match. Instead of this, how candle opens, and is filled with c pastiles, which just fit into the rec a Doll furniture in the style of Louis XV is really meant for borbons. It is very pretty, indeed. Another bonbonniere is a Uttle piano of Dresden china, which opens and is filled with candies. A’ very cunning little box for candy large gilt whistle that really works. “I have just returned from Paris, and I have brought over with me some very clever Ice cream molds for children’s par. ties. Perhaps the cunningest thing in this line that I ha~e is the little brownle. They are individual ices, and we make each one in different colors. The children w had them have been simply delighted, anc one little tot cried because her brother, who sat next to her, knocked the he her little dude brownie. Another ‘very fective mold is a clown in motley garb, with a fool's cap on one side of his head.” ONE WOMAN'S EXPERIENCE. How She Makes Herself and Her Home Attractive to Her Husband, One woman, ut least, has sense and tact enough to manage her own husband. Al though in quite moderate circumstances, she makes it her business never to be tov tired out to dress for dinner, or to accom- pany her husband wherever he proposes to go in the evening. At dinner she doesn't give a catalogued account of the day's trials and troubles, nor of the bills which will be due in a day or so. No, she is bright and entertaining, and no matter whether her husband suggests a visit lo a friend’s house, a card party, or an at the theater, she is always ready to don one of her bright, tasty, yet inexp 5 evening waists and go, making he sweet and fascinating as she did “before they were married.” Now, that woman's husband doesn’t invent excuses to get off of an evening. neither is he tempted to frequent places of unhealthy amusement. He always looks for his charming litue wife to go with him, and no evening spent without her is halt enjoyed. That's saying a good deal, but she deserves it. i With a Five Dollar Bin, Here is an example of what may be done in an evening frock with a $5 bili—it you can make your own gowns; if you can’t, then add to the sum the cost of hav- ing tt “puilt.” This material is all wool henrietta, and it costs 29 cents a yard. It is a pale, delicate green, just the shade of grass that has grown in the dark. Seven yards of material were ample for the rather stately young blonde who is to wear it, and four yards of wide lace, with two yards of narrow, and a quarter of a yard of piece velvet for the bows, consti- tute the trimmings,costing $2 more, leaving ® cents for the linings, which was quite | eam and lor heavy « the gi enough. The lace extremely rich ove color effect introduced in the velvet makes the gown look quite Frenchy. It is of the cerise pink, and forms a fan-shaped bow at the foot in front, lined with green, and another stretches across the front of the bodice. ‘These bows are made of a single piece of the velvet lined with some of the cashmere and caught round the center by a piece of the velvet, rendering them light- er than if the common double bow, and re- quiring less vely; A Preco From the Philadelphia Item. ‘The proud mother had come to pay her first visit, accompanied by the infant heir and his nurse. I don’t wish to appear in any way par- tial,” said she, “but, really, for a child of sixteen months, I consider Algernon a mar- vel of intelligence. He understands every word that is said, and joins in the conver- sation with a sagacity that almost alarms me at times. Speak to the lady, Alger- non.” “Boo-boo,” said Algernon, “Listen to that,” cried the delighted mother, “He means, ‘How do you do? Isn’t it wondertul? Now, Algernon, ask the lady to play for you. He adores the piano. Now, Algie, dear” (very coaxingly.) Boo-boo,” said Algernon, “He means ‘music’ by that. smart for anything? Now, love, lady mamma's name. “Boo-boo,”. said Algernon. “That's ‘right, ‘Boo-bco—Loutse.’ My name's Louise, you know. Biess his little darling heart. Isn't he a wonder —_\_—_ro+- Understood His Business. From the Chicago Tribune. Fair sufferer—“Doctor, are corns always caused by wearing shoes that are too tight?” Chiropodist—“Not always, ma’am. That's what causes ’em in the case of your friend, Miss Biggins, acrost the way. Her feet was made to fit a No. 6 shoe and she's a-trying to crowd ’em into a No. 4. Yours, ma’am, 1s projuced by wearing too large a shoe, which makes wrinkles in the leather and causes friction agin the cuticle,” — Marvelous Efforts. From the Chicago Record. Lordleigh—“You ought to have gone to the circus with me. Saw some wonderful feats performed.” Howden—"Well, you ought to have stayed home with me. I’ve been listening to a girl trying to tell a funny story.” Isn't he too is in the form of a! een. The daring | tell the | A NEGLECTED DUTY Senora Sara onthe Loneliness of Life Among Strangers. CASE OF A YOUNG DEPARTMENT GIRL The Craving for Human Sympathy and Association. ALONEHIN A GREAT CITY Written Exclusively for Tho Evening Star. HE IS A DEAR, good girl, but never has been away from home before and -is unused to the world. I would consider it a great favor to me if you would visit her and interest yourself in her a little. She has been so encom- pasced about by love and her parents’ pro- tection all her life that I fear she will find existence a dreary thing among strangers. I think the homesickness and loneliness that surge-over the heart amidst the noise and bustle of a large city are harder to bear than actual illness, for which one may find a remedy, though the dose be never so drastic. My first journeys into the world came near ending my career through @ severe illness caused by home- sickness, and since then I have felt a pe- culiar interest in young girls who have had to go among strangers to make a living. I don’t believe it matters much whether one is young or old, or whether it is one's first venture, or the last one of long years of annual forays into undiscovered lands, homesickness is like soasickness—encoun- tered every time one finds one’s self out- side familiar bearings for any length of time. So, Sara, if you will look after Miss eville for me, and see that she does not | succumb to mal du pays, you will be doing | a Christian deed and adding to the obliga- tions of your friend.” I was rereading some of my letters one day last week, when that passage from one received in July greeted my asconished gaze. I had forgotten the request as coi pletely as though it had never been made but I lost no time in calling at the address inclosed. The house was in the fashionable northwest, the usual press-brick front, with bay windows to the top of the fourth story, and a “To Rent” sign hung by red ribbons from the middle sash of the first floor front. The door was opezed by an untidy maid, who invited me with a broad display of tvories to a seat in “de recep- shun pahlah.” It was the regulation parlor; the carpet several colors too gaudy, and the chromos @ trifle too giddy for the solemn array of “k haireloth furniture, but supported in addition ef two or three pleces in colored plush. re two bargain counter vases on that were valueless 23 orna- equally valueless for any. practi- cal purpose; w,cablnet bookcase in one cor- held several government reports; a plated cigar set adorned the center table in the lacg-curtatged bay window, and e ket of aptificial flowers stood a ket in the coryer, flanked by a case of. rs, which might have been wor- shiped without sinning. I had just time to take in my surroundings when the grin- ning maid came back with my card, and sail T might “go up.” hauat auction rooms. On the top floor the maid pointed down a dark narrow bat, and, | with a nod of her head, indicated the room en the right as the one of which I was in | quest. To my knock there was a timid “come in,” and I oy the object of my search doubled up on the narrow bed in her narrow room, the cur- tains down and the air heavy with ain- monia, salts and camphor. She sprang up with a startled apology as I entered, aad offered me the only chair in the room, a plain, low rocker, then threw up the blind, [letting in a bit of the gloomy outside ligt, to the further detriment of the auction house furniture, which looked forbidding enough befor When { made myself known to her and mentioned the name of our mutual friend, she gave a little gasp thal ended in a curious click in her throat, and with a cry that rounded into a moan’ dropped on the floor at my feet and buried her head in r p, sobbing as though her heart would break. The things L thought about myself and my pardonable negligence as I let her have her ery out were not nice, I | assure you. ‘Thefe is no lash so stinging as |the knowledge of neglected, goorl left undone. I, in my negligence, had near- ly lost an opportunity to help a delica! rurty girl buffet the waves of | strange new sea upon which she had but tly launched her boat, How 1 did hate r two! It's a bitter | dose, but a salutary oue, to hate yourseif right enegetically once in’a whil Not a Cordial Wel “Oh, it was so good of you to come!” said the weeping girl at last, smiling up at me throvgh her tears, which candor com- pels me to remark did not improve h n face in the least. “Hagar in the wil- derness never thirsted for water as I have for a triendly face the last four months. 1 have besn so utterly alone.” “But have you made no scquaintances, ao friends in Washington?” I asked her. “Plenty of acquaintances, but friends— not one. [ do not make friends readily, my misfortune rather than my fault, but true. The gftis in the oflice are kind, but they have their own duties and pleasures, in which they have never seemed to care to include me, and I dowbt it I would care to be included, for we have not many tastes in common. Life is too serious a thing to fritter away, but in my desolateness I have been sorely tempted to do many things that would make my mother ashamed of me.” My friend had written me that Miss Neville had brought letters from her pastor and several others, so 1 asked if she had presented them. “Oh, yes,” she responded, with a little laugh, as she got up and perched herself on the bed, “but the pastor was just-going away on his summer vaeation, and I pre- sume he has forgotten them. He certainly has forgotten, me.:1 attended the Bible class a few times, but being a stranger, I only seemed to crowd it, so I stopped going. I attend church, but it is cold and unsatis- factory, for in-all these months not a sin- gle member has ever spoken to me or no- ticed me half.as much as they would a gleam of swnstine that cast an unbecoming light upon them coming through the stain- ed glass windows. We may not be so cul- tured, but we do things in a kindier way in our churches at home. Our pastor knows, at a glance over his large congrega- tion, whether there are strange faces in the pews, and if he thinks that he cannot greet the stranger at the end of ‘the ser- vice, he sends some member in his stead. It 18 a courtesy that may not always be welcome, but oftener is than not, I think, Then, if I made any friends, how would I entertain them? I am expected to receive my callers in my own room. That is the fashion in most of the boarding houses here.” | | | | A Common Case, Much more Miss Neville told me, for it seemed ag though the very act of talking relleved her heavy heart, and I made up my mind that her idea of mission work was about correct. She ts earning a fair salary, and her savings ars judiciously in- vested, so that money matters are not troubling her as they do so many hun- dreds of girls who have that added to their other burdens, but she was actually starv- ing, as she said, for companionship, and human sympathy. That is the bigxest pit- fall of all in a city like this. Most of the young women who come here to ¢o In office come from good homes, where they have, in all probability, been the center of at- traction in their They are fond of A Lonely Girl, “Miss Mary say yon go right up, cayse de lady dun got de headache an’ ain't gone out dis mawnin’, so she knows she's to home.” I followed her to the top floor, mentally noting the gradations in the money | of the furnishings, rr that the owner of m must actually | ned the door to find | | and that ends it. | | | | society and a gay life, and imagine that they will be able to enjoy the same privi- leges here that they did at home. Thev learn to thelr sorrow that the social lines in this city are as closely drawn as ti.ey are any place else in the world, and more closely so far as strangers are concerned, for it is desired to make it impossible for questionable characters to get in. It is true that most of those who come begin to draw salaries at once, but even @ good salary does not salve a heart that is sore for some one to talk to and make a confidant of. To condemn a convict to solitary confinement is among the severest punishments known, and ow much more terrible the quiet, lonely life of a common- Place boarding house must be to a girl who has been used to the love-sheltered pleas- ures and enjoyments of home. War sta- tistics show that great brawny men were wont to sob like babies with homesickness, and hundreds pined themselves to death and died of homesickness when in the hos- pitals. Yet in this city are thousands of delicately reared girls who have to make their own living far removed from all the friends they have ever kuown. It is not for us to question how they got here or why. They are here, and they need love and sympathy; need it more than ever be- fore in their lives. Gloom and sadness are poison to the human heart, and the girl who is given the choice between sobbing her eyes out in a lonely room and the companionship of jolly mates, even though they are a shade below her standard, will not long halt between two opinions. It is a dangerous crisis when a homesick heart meets with flattering lips, and the saving hand may then be extended in vain. Some Practical Suggestions, If there was less of the theoretical and more of the practical in the mission work of large cities, larger results would be ob- tained. If the large-hearted men and wo- men who hold real interest in their kind would give that interest practical expres- sion, individually, it would accomplish something. To cach one 1s known, in all probability, one or two young men or wo- men who are away from home, strangers in a strange land, left to form new ties and new comradeships, unguided and unguard- ed in the selection of the same, but craving human sympathy, and with hearts open to recelve it from whatsoever source it may come. ne Why not make those two or three people your especial care? Give them a seat in your pew in church, see that they have special invitations to its social gatherings. Invite them to a quiet dinner at your home now and then, interest them in lec- tures and some of your literary clubs, ad- vise and counsel them as to choice of friends, interest yourself in their aftairs, though they may seem desperately narrow to you, and lend your aid to help them climb to a higher plane. Wouldn't this kind of interest be infinitely more sgree- able, jess wearing and morc acceptable to society in gencral than “slumming” for those who have wandered away from the straight path through craving for human sympathy? In cases like this, isn’t the hour or two of personal supervision each week worth more than ten thousand dol- lars so willingly given to build homes for inebriates, fallen women and foundling asylums? ‘These efforts cannot be mad collective- ly; the effect must be felt individually, and if a concentrated, well-directed effort of this I:ind was made by every chur: ber in this city, it would be insteument in inaugurating a “civil soclety” reform that would make houses of refuge only his- torical reminiscences. SENORA SARA, > Semi-Masculine Hat. This is the new semi-masculine hat that now so much in vogue. Really, you know, it can't be called “pretty” unless, mayhap, it has a pretty face under it, and even then il is more likely to make the pretty face look plain than to be enhanced by the wearer. -All the same, it is la mode, It is of black silk bexver, as shining os a silk brush can make it, and has a wide reaching low of cerise with a plain silver buckle pl in front, and a single black ostrich plume standing high above the crown at the side. ‘There may or may not be a band of the velvet about the crown, and likewise you can lay some lace over the velvet, but the strict idea is to leave {t entirely masculine, except for the bow in front. The collai ette is one of the newest designs, with a delicate little silver throat buckle, through which a three-inch ribbyn is run, with two loops of the same standing out at the sides. oe The Dend Sea of America. From the San Francisco Examiner. Medical lake, so called on account of the remedial virtues of its waters, situated on the great Columbian plateau, in southern Washington, at an altitude of 2,300 feet above the level of the Pacific, is the Dead sea of America. It 1s about a mile long and from a half to three-quarters of a mile in width, and with maximum depth of about sixty feet. The composition of the waters of this Alpine lake is almost identical with that of the Dead sea of Palestine, and, like its orfental counterpart, no plant has yet been found growing in or near its edges. It is all but devoid of animal life, a species of large “boat bug,” a queer little terrapin and the famous “walking fish” being ite only inhabitants. ‘This walking fish is an oddity really deserving of special note. It is from eight to nine inches long and has a finny membrane extending from head to tail, even around both the upper and lower surface of the tail, It is provided with four legs, those before having four toes, the hinder five. ———— For a Slender Girl. Here ts one of the newest coats, with the “mousquetaire” sleeves. It will be most becoming to a tall, slender girl who has thin arms, but if her plump sister under- takes to wear one she will look a perfect guy. The model is in dark blue shaggy cloth—which always adds to apparent size— and has a collar and sharply pointed revers of dark blue velvet, large blue velvet but- tons and wide, close fitting, cuffs of velvet. The back is cut in the full godet style, and it is on the whole an elegant garment. Tho hat Is one of the popular new shapes in blue felt, with edge corded with two rows of blue silk, and a band and bow of blue velvet, with cut steel buckle, and a blue aigrette. A band of cream vandyke points is laid over the band of velvet which en- circles the crown, | | | | | MOTHER GOOSE CLUB Some Feminine Views Expressed in Regard to Scandal, FLATTERY DEAR 70 A WOMAN'S HEART Happiest Marriages Are Declared to Be Based on Common Sense. AS TO BLACK SHEEP Written Exclusively for The Evening Star. HE DEPARTMENT woman entertained the Mother Goose Club last Thursday afternoon in the par- lor of the house in which she 1s F<: boarding. The room ~ “was especially touch- = sion, and looked its best. The group of Rogers’ statuary in the bay window was minutely dusted; the crayon portrait of the landlady’s late hus- band, on a gilt easel in one corner, had a silk scarf hung across the top of it; two new Columbian stamp plates stood on the mantel, which was glso draped in printed silk, and a large bouquet of La France roses on the piano quite hid the faint rem- iniscence of past and gone boiled dinners which hung about the place. The woman with the bluet hat made tea, and there were wafers and chocolate pep- permints. ‘The entire club, with the ex- ception of the Congressman’s wife, was present. The absent member was visiting Mount Vernon with the wife of one of her husband's constituents, It was the woman with the cerise collar who first spoke, after the department wo- man had called the meeting to order and the members had opened their books. “J only wanted to asx,” she said, “if John Gilpin’s ride, which 1s printed in my copy of Mother Goose’s works, is properly to be considered one of her writings.’ “Of course not,” said the hostess, de- cidedly, “Cowper wrote it, didn't he?’ “Well, for that matter,” suggested Mrs. Fin de Siecle, “I think we can hardly raise a quibble about the actual authorship of any of the poems, since many of them are undoubtedly older than Mother Goose’ “{ don’t think, though,” said the bluet hat, “that we ought to consider poems which are manifestly not Mother Goose's, like John Gilpin.’ “For my part,” said the woman with a past, “I don’t see any objection to consid- ering any poem which has a lesson in it. Now, the moral of John Gilpin is that the shoemaker should stick to his last. Gilpin ought to have known a linen draper couldn't ride, and ride a borrowed horse at that. “Ah, yes,” remarked the literary member, “put if he had known it, there would have been nothing to write. It is people's mis- takes that makes literature possible. Com- mon sense is the death of romance.” The Tailor and Hi “Touching this topic of sticking to one’s last,” said Mrs. Georgetown Heights, “Mother Gocse has so admirably covered the ground in one of her own poems that we need not go aside after John Gilpin, * A carrion crow sat on an oak, Fol de rol, de rol, de rol, de ri do, Watching a tailor cutting a cloak; Sing heigh ho! the carrion crow, Fol de rol, de rol, de rol, de ri do. “The next verse goes on to say—and by your leave I'll omit the refrain— “Wife, wife! bring me my bow, That I may shoot yon carrion crow.” The tailor shot and missed his mark, And shot his pig quite through the heart.” “Now, that goes to show that while a man may succeed admirably in one busi- ness he will fail utterly if he leaves it. ‘The tailor, for example, may mean un hon- est, easy-going, successful merchant. Tle carrion crow represents the riches which may be attained by speculating. The iailor never for a moment doubts his ability to succeed in anything he undertakes. He sheots and he brings ruin on his farmil; for the pig, fattening for the winter's lard and bacon, means that." “The worst about the business and the mcral of the whole poem,” said Mrs. West End, “is expressed in the last verse: “Oh, wife, some brandy in a spoon, For our poor pig is in a swoon.” “That shows that the tailor has not learned a lesson. He will not admit that his poor markemanship was the cause of the pig’s death, and he will go on specu- lating so long as he has a cent left.” “Experience does not teach,” remarked the hostess, glancing down at her copy of Mother Goose, which she had fitted into a white and guld brocade cover. “One sees that every day. But it seems to me that the poem admits of an altogether different interpretation. It seems to me that the carrion crow might very well stand for scundal monger, and the accident to the pig merely signifies that while une ignores the things that are said of one they are only the empty cawing of a crow, but if one attempts to ceny them, mischief re- sults. Explanations always’ make things worse, you know. “Oh, as to that,” remarked the woman with a past, “people never deay stories unless they are true. I object to your view of the poem, though, for the reason that the object of a scandal is always the last person in the world to hear of it.” he ought to know,” whispered the bride to the cerise collar. “George says there have been enough things said about her, goodness knows.” “I am not so sure of that,” objected the tailor-made woman. “There is always sume well-meaning friend, who comes and tells yeu for your own good—whenever your friend begins to tell you anything for your own good, you may be sure it's something unpleasant.” Some Ideas of Marriage. “There are people, too,” put in Mrs. Georgetown Heights, “who simply refuse to hear anything unpleasant. “Old woman, old woman, wil shearing? shee al os Speak a little louder, sir, I'm very hard of hearing. Old woman, old woman, shall 1 kiss you dearly? Thank you very kindly, sir, I hear quite clearly.’ “Those are the people. “That shows, too, doesn’t !t?" snegested the lite1ary member, “that nothing is so dear to a woman as flattery. A woman is never so old that she doesn’t consider her- self capable of inspiring lov “She never 4s too old,” said the woman with the past. “And the woman never yet lived who Qcnestly believed that a mau was marryiftg her for anything but lov. This sweeping statement met with a great deal of opposition, and every woman had chapter and verse to uphold her opin- ion. The woman with the past was, how- ever, not to be moved from her position. “I'suppese you'll all cry me down,” the tailor-made woman, hositatingl: ut I can't for the life of me see why a woman wants to be married for love. The hap- piest marriages are those prompted by common sense, or purely worldly motives. If a woman marries for money, she stands a very good chance of being happy, for she will get what she bargained for. If she marries for love—well, she'll wish she hadn't, that’s all. She may keep the love, and she may not. Even if sha does, it won't satisfy her. Love is chocolate bon- bons, and one needs good meat and bread to live on. Love is merely one of the em- bellishments of life, and you know that nothing that is beautiful is indispensable to life.” Everybody looked aghast at this. The lit- tle bride at the end of the piano fairly quivered with excitement. The tailor-made woman went on boldl “The average yo-.ng man proposes mar- riage somewhat aftec this fashion: “‘Curly locks, curly locks, wilt thou be mine? Thou shalt not wash the dishes, nor yet feed the swine; But sit on a cushion and sew a fine seam, And feed upon strawberries, sugar and cream.” “He doesn’t say: ‘I have three thousand @ year. We can keep a cook and a nursery maid. Will you keep my clothes in good EMPEROR CHARLES II, Accompanied by half the nobility of Austria, went to the Carlsbad Springs for the recovery of bis health, Six thousand six hundred horses, 80 the town records say, were mecessiry to convey the company to the place. The virtue of the water is as great at the present day as it was in the time of Charles I, and although the expense attached to a journey thither 1s not as great now as it was then, we are not all wealthy enough to undertake it, For such the virtue of the Carlsbad Spring is extract The Carlsbad Sprudel Salt, obtained by evapo-at tontaining all the solld constituents of the water, can be obteined at every drug store. It is the very best remedy for eatarrh of the stomach, constipation, liver and kidacy troubles, gout, rheumatism, &¢. Be sure to obtain the genuine import-d article, which must have the signature of “E ER & ‘NDERSON ©O., Agents, New York,” on every packuge. tg repair, keep house for me, bring up my children properly and maintain a proper social position for my name? And yet that’s what he will want curly locks to do. Marriage will always continue to be the heart-breaking failure it is till it is strip- ped of the foolish romance which now sur- rounds it and is considered a simple busi- ness contract.” A Word for the Black Sheep. “Perhaps Mother Goose meant to “r+ tray the sort of courtship we'll have in those days when she wrote this verse,” said tle ‘iterary member: ‘As Bessie Brooks and Temmy Were walking out on Sunday, Said Tommy Snooks to Bessie Brooks, Wilt marry me on Monday “For my pert, I sexy let us have all the romance we can. Let us for luve, and for love alone. “Yes,” said the woman with the past, with just a tinge of bitterness in her voice, “let's sugar coat the pill if we can. I think, though, that the verse Mrs. Serib- bler quotes just goes to show what unpro- pitious circumstanees a man will propose under. A man who proposes in broad day- light in a city street is hopeless. There is only one man more impossible, and that is the lover who proposes by letter. Any wo- man can refuse a postage stemp and four pages of letter paper. The wise man chooses a tender twilight, or a harvest moon, or a stretch of gleaming water, or a country lane as a background for’ his proposal, for love-making is a pretty play that needs all the stage settings to make it a success. The balcony outside a ball room is the best place in the world for a pro- posal, for, to paraphrase Tolstoi, ‘Muse is the instigator of @ thousand tender yes- es. . the Srooks “You women don’t seem to hav faintest idea’ that marriage is the most sacred and solemn relation in life,” said the motherly looking woman. “You end-of- the-century people fairly give me the cold shivers. If I thought you really believed what you say, it would distress me, but I have an abiding confidence that woman nature hasn't charged since I was young; and when I was young girls marrie) for love, and didn’t ind merriage a failure, either.” The bride moved over next the motherly lcoking woman and squeezed her hand. “Well,” said the department woman, “when you talk of marriage I have to keep still, for it's something I've ne So, by your leaves, I'll read « verse that is quite within the limits of my experi- ence. “Baa, baa, black sheep, Have you any wool?” “Yes, good master, three bags full. One for the master, one for the dame, One for the little boy that lives in the lane.” “My sympathies are always with the black sheep. Baa, baa, represents the contempt the world has for him. People never ex- pect anything of him. He is worthless, hopelessly so; yet, In the end, he turns out to have quite 4s much wool as the rest of the flock. The men who have made their mark in the world were black sheep in their youth, The model boy in the gram- mar school, the college man that Is gradu- ated with honors, the infant phenomenon— nobody ever hears of them tn after life. It is the boy whom nobody expected anything of that turns out best in the end. Thi verse might stand for a condensation of the story of the ugly duckling.” The Matron Sets Them Righ: “And by his offering the wool to the lit- tle boy who has no real claim on him, suggested Mrs. West End, “one sees how charitable he 1s, though the world has had little charity for him.” “It is always the black sheep who are most charitable,” said the woman with the past. “For hardness of heart commend me to the immaculately good woman who has never had even an improper thought in all her life, and has always looked at the world over some man’s broad shoulder. Were I in trouble, I should go, not to the white sheep for wool, but to the black sheep on whom society frowns. It is the rome sheep that make the world endur- able. “She ought to know, if anybody does,” whispered the bride, spitéfully, to the ma- trol hat’s all very well,” said the matron, as she rose to put on her cape, “and I wouldn't disparage black sheep, but, for my part, I prefer the elder brother who has always lived a good life to the prodi- gal who has been deaf to every plea. And, for my part, a repentance that comes only when one has got down to husks Is pretty nearly no repentance at all. I am tired of ell this praise of black sheep, Of course, he has some good qualities, every human being has. But you women would send flowers to a train robber, when you won't even give thought to an honest depart- ment clerk who is living an honest life. How do you know that he hasn’t had just as many temptations as the robber?’ “That hasn't anything to do with the verse,” said the woman with the past, as she put on her veil, “but I know that he hasn't been tempted by the fact that he hasn't yielded. Respectable society is made up of two classes of people, my dear, Some haven't been tempted; the rest haven't been found out.” And in the shocked silence which ensued the club adjourned. paeitle eest Beginring Housekeeping. From the Detroit Pree Press. “No, ma‘am,” said the grocer, making a great clattering among his tins; “I have coffee pots and tea pots, but there isn’t a thing a3 a jack pot in the stor I’m so sorry,” waiied the young wife; “you see we haven't been married long, and my husband’s mother has always for him, and when I heard him talking in his sleep about a jack pot I thought I'd get ene, for he mentions it so often he must be used to it. Couid you tell me what they ook In it “Greens, ma’am,” said the grocer, and he sent her to the tin store in the neat block. — From Life. On “What is the use of having @ vote, anyway?” Another—“Why, papa says that any quantity of men would come to see us be- fore election.”