Evening Star Newspaper, December 15, 1894, Page 15

—————ooOoOoOoOO———————————————————————————— FOR LITTLE FOLKS Enjoyable Juvenile Entertainments for the Holidays. MOTHER GO0SE AND HER RETINUE Characters Easily Assumed by Boys and Girls. HOW 10 INTEREST CHILDREN Written Exclusively for The Evening Star. HE CHRISTMAS fj I holidays will soon t set mothers and big "a sisters to puzzling their brains over ways and means of providing = amuse- ment and interesting work which — will keep nimble little fingers out of mis- chief. Some delight- ful juvenile enter- tainments have been planned with,I think, that particular object in view. The ones selected for this article may be gotten up with very Ittle expense, and beside claiming close attention from the little ones for several preceding days will afford &@ genuine enjoyment not only to the small Participants, but to their admiring rela- tives. A Butterfly Ball. A novel idea for one of these children’s entertainments is a butterfly ball. This need not mean either late hours or costly outfits, the boys wearing tight-fitting suits of black or dark brown, and the girls any pretty or fantastic dress. Should none of A Butterfly Gown. those in the wardrobe be suitable, one can easily be made of cotton crepon; a bright or very delicate color being selected. The material is so Inexpensive that the heed- less little wearer will not be rendered un- comfortably conscious of the necessity of being careful of her gown, and very for- tunately so, as that is always an effectual preventive of complete enjoyment. The frame work of the wings is deftly fashioned of wire, and covered with some thin material, preferably gauze, of a bright color, and then thickly spangled with gold and silver, or painted to repre- sent the tinting of butterfly wings. A skel- eton yoke of wire fitting the should- ers and fastening under the arms is at- tached to the framework of the wings and holds them in position. It is hardly neces- sary to add that the effect is very grace- ful and brilliant, and the idea capable of any amount of elaboration. For in- stance, in place of using gaslight, If the @handelier be hung with smail gaily col- ee 7 ana. ored Jepanese lanterns—lighted, of course— and several large ones be suspended from the ceiling, the kalf twilight which results will make the room seem almost like fairy- land, and entirely so when the lovely little human butterflies bave taken possession. Any number of other beautifying decora- tions may be added, according to individ- ual fency or the limits of one’s pocket book. Another pretty idea fs an archery fete. ‘The children carry small bows dressed with flowers, and arrows in flower-bedecked uivers slung on the back. When possible, e little folks should he dressed in green, with gold or silver banded liberty caps. The Mother Goose Carnival. The carnival of flowers is familiar to every one, and is always pretty and dainty. The Mother Goose carnival 1s of more re- cent date, and affords more genuine amuse- ment than almost any of the others. For this it is well to erect a temporary stage, with the ends curtained off, or if a small hall can be obtained, so much the better. An almost endless amount of originality may be displayed in getting up the differ- ent costumes, and the quainter they are, the prettier or funnier they look. Re an early hour “Little Boy Blue” ap- pears, blowing his horn and heralding the approach of Mother Goose and her fol- igvers. The little old lady pauses in the stage center and welcomes her audience and introduces the characters of her reti- nu ‘The march across the stage then begins. Mother Goose, with her six attendant: King Cole and his jolly fiddlers, Boy Sie and Mistress Mary Quite Contrary, erat THE EVENING STAR, SATURDAY, DECEMBER 15, 1894—TWENTY-FOUR PAGES. <ot— forms the first division. Mother Goose leans heavily on her staff, and Mistress Mary, in garden costume, tugs along a big F gown ay 3 pot. Then follow Bobby Shafto and his sweetheart, Little Nancy Etticoat, with a lighted candle; Bo-Peep, with her crook; Mother Hubbard, with her hungry dog, and the Three Wise Men of Gotham, holding a small wooden bowl. All the children who can’t be stuffed into the shoe trot along after the old woman, who is equipped with a switch and one small piece of bread. The next group presents to the admiring public all the rags and tatters which the And Frightened Miss Muffet. respective families can produce. “Beggars Coming to Town” are easily recognized without being announced. The “Old Woman Sweeping the Sky” has a pointed hat and airy pea-green cloak, which assures one that she is perfectly capable of reaching and sweeping down any cobwebs that ever adorned the firma- ment. Then comes the Man Going to St. Ives, with his sever: wives, Tommy Grace has an awfully ewelled face in bandages fear- Prek fenp eer k “& fully and wonderfully made. Dicky Long who is fairly dancing tor an opportunity to sing his fameus song. A funny mite of a girl skips along as Pat-a-Cake; Little Miss Muffit has a horribly vicious looking spider affectionately hanging from her girdle, while the Old Woman With to Seli, keeps the farmer’s wife compan Then come Jack and Jill with their bucket, the Jady with rings on her fingers and bells on her toes, t littl man who had a little gun, Polly with a kettle, look- ing for a fire to put it on; the king, queen and matd of blackbird renown, Wee Willie Winkie in his trailing nightgown throwing goodnight kisses to the audience, Sleepy- head, Slow and Greedy, the old woman with her black hen, King Arthur in regal attire Learing a bag pudding and Tom, the piper’s son, with a tiny live pig. “Father's a nobleman, mother’s a queen and Betty's ¢ lady” march bravely b; with the six good fairies following. Jac Horner, with a fearfully dirty face, and thumb lovingiy inserted in a huge Christ- mas ple, comes next, while three little fe lows tearing along as “Ding, Dong, Bell,” and Taffy, with his leg of beef, fleetng wildly frcm his pursuers, brings the cute procession to an end, Another Pretty Entertainment, Another pretty fancy for an evening en- tertainment fs very much like the Mother | Goose carnival, only the characters are selected from the little folks’ favorite au- thors, as Uncle Tom and Topsy, Sinbad the Sailor, Golden Locks, Jack and the Bean Stalk, Robinson Crusoe and his man Fri- day, Red Riding Hood, Little Lord Fauntle- roy, Maud Muller, with her rake and a wisp of hay; Beauty and the Beast. the Babes in the Wood and the Goddess of Lib- erty in company with George and Martha Washington, attended by the thirteen orig- inal states. These marches are. of cow dancing, and the way..n which the diff ent characters pair off is by no means th least amusing part of the formans shington, ors while the e terms e, followed hy on Just as likely as not Uncle voted attention with to M every app an‘ the & K. WHO SMOKE Nor is Drinking Common Among New York Women, as Alleged. Froin the New York Tine I do not believe it,” val “I know it,” impressively. Thus spoke two women at a recent “tea” as a third joined them. “Mrs. L. was telling me,” explainc first speaker, “that smoking, drinking 4 gambling women are cc s diamor in our best social cir anot credit Oo Mrs. L.’s face was calmly confident. is so,” she repeated. The new-comer took WOME RARE. ntly. “qt p the challenge men, Mrs. L.? now of them.” Their names and personalities?” ‘Well, no,” admitted Mrs. L., reluctantly, “put I have been told | ads in a posi- tion to know how very prevalent these vices are.” “But your friends have never mentioned a name, have they, or pointed out any person to you as ad:licted, to their knowl- edge, to such practices?’ Mrs. L. could not recall that they had, talk on all sides that society women, many of the.> and the best of them, were’ so ad- dicted. Her questioner agreed to this readily enough, but added that every time the ru- mor met her she tried to substantiate it, as she had at this time, and had never suc- ceeded in tracing any of the accusations direct!y home to an accused. Baldness is either hereditary or pore ick Deas, snental exhaustlod. wearing tight and ‘ovor work aud trouble. Hall's Renewer will Prevent it, | | | | though she reiterated that it was common | te her sh A DISGUSTING HABIT Senora Sara’s Girls’ Dresses Ruined by Tobacco Stains. IN STREET CAR AND THEATER The Tobacco Chewers in Congress and Their Improvised Spittoons. IT IS DIFFERENT IN EUROPE eg Written Exclusively for The Evening Star. T= GIKLS HAI just returned from the matinee when 1 came in, and they were mad clear through. It E their first day to- gether since Jenni Bobbie,” Nore and Louise returned to the city, and they started out bent upon a “great lark. When I came upon a them Louise wes crying gently, and the rest of the girls were sputtering like a pan of hot butter irto which a drop of water has fallen. “It is little less than a crime, I say!" asserted Louise, tearfully, spreading her dress skirt out over the couch, only to turn from contemplation of it with a little moan and bury her head in the pillows. And not much wonder! Her new street gown, which she wore today for the first time, is simply ruined! Utterly and irretrievably! She can't possibly wear it again until it has been made over, and all because of the vile to- bacco chewing habit. “How on earth did you get yourself into such a condition?” I asked. “You couldn't look werse if you had been cleaning the spittoons in the rooms of the commitice cn ways and means.” “Oh, but just look at me,” cried Jennie, turning slowly before me, and across the back of her handsome white cloth cape 1 saw a long splash of tobacco stain. “Well, but how did it happen?” I in- sisted. “Have you been slumming? 1 thought you started to the matince.” One would be safer in the slums, I be- said Nora, gloomily. “No, we havi been at the mztinee, and I don't think I'll ever set foot inside a theater again, even if Booth's spirit came back purposely to tempt me. If I've got to wade through puddies of tobacco juice, I'll take the fresh air and sidewalk for it. Goodness knows it is bad enough there; but in a theater; ugh!” In Street Car and Theater. “You see, it was this way, Sara,” sald se, seeing my hopeless bewilderment. e did our shopping, and then took a car to get down to the avenue. It was nearly full, and I sat down in a vacant Lou place before noticing that the last oecu- ant of the seat had used the floor for a euspidor, .nd actus d the wooden gridiron to the te » I knew my light dress wo re if I let it touch, so I tuc! it u . my feet as far back out of a sibl At the theater ut Mext t me who was eating ing it, for he took I ute! m sure. He spit on the f course, but I thought I had my dre out of the way till we came out, and then it looked like this. t it awful?” And 1 confess it was. Her light loth for haif a yard on one side was iva a foot more up the t wasn’t the worst of the theater experience, either,” snapped Jen tossed her ruined cape aside who sat bebind me d stale tobaceo that he gave and in trying to spit n my chair and Dorethy’s he ma strike cape.” The nen in front of us were fairly reek- ing witn tobacc nes, though none of them were chewi observed E iT “L suppose there is no wa} to reach the matter,” said Jennie, iz ingly. She seemed to think that for every evil under the sun Congress can find a remedy. In Congress, “I should say not,” was Nora's emphatic response. “It wouldn’t do anything if it had the power. Why, men who never used tobacco in their lives become addicted to the habit as soon as they come to Con- They have to or die of nicotine ing by second hand. Congress spends more on accommodations for tobacco users than on any one of the long list of costly ‘incidentals.’ It furnishes penknives and bankers’ shears, cologne and castor oil, avinine, silver-mounted writing utensils of every description, autograph albums, call- ing cards, card cases, Jamacai ginge! ad bremo caffiene, but there is nothing about the Capitol that is as lavishly displayed more costly than the spittoons— they are called in the Sengte Papa says that some of them are real works of art and cost a lot of money each. Catch Congress legislating away any of its conveniences or luxuries. Then, there is a ‘cuspidor cleaner,’ who has no other duties, and they wouldn't abolish an office for the world.” “They could certainly get along without spittoons,” sald Bobbie. “They don't use them. It is more convenient to deface the utiful white marble stairs, and then They can deposit just as our yina a tobacco juic: eld cook tu clothing dark clos will find either till hou unless the fetid odor gets unb “The air the floors are more har r,” was Jennie’ to this remarkable di: wholesome, clean-minded nd a man would make who sees no de- filement or men to health in using the 1 of closeshut chambers like the ud Sonate for a spittoon! I'd be id to marry him, for fear he would unt my Tokio rose jar for a s} or his c! re four hundred Senate,” observed Nora. , there must be a thousand in the and, if th proportion is kept up, members e a much larger a for spitting ses," said You see, f se than Coxey fol spitting to unde e to abridge the ileges of Congres “Who invented tobacco, anyhow?” asked Louise. when we hed, she de- clared that she only meant to ask who dis- ut the filthy stuff could be d not kill. hman told me once,” said Nora, “that American to’ 0 chewer would have to get off the street i y city in ce or fight a duel. In French es or something of the kind on the It is con- i disease, any public 1th boards forbid it. I am ud have some such law but wouldn’t it create conster Diflicutty in Europe. at juncture Jennie produced a let- ter “T jus ant to read you a passage from this blessed girl's letter that bears right on this very subject. Lis- ten! ‘I think when I get home I shall try impress it on the minds of the m that it “isn’t E itting all ove A woman can e h any of these foreign citi with the delight h she has not been h > tops, the edges are not to! stained. I love my own country devotedly, but truly, Jennie, there are some things that they do much better here than they do at home. A young Englishman whom I met the other day said that while he was fa- vorably impressed with our country, we certainly did “have some beastly nawsty habits, don't you know, You spit so much. Your coat of arms ought to be a cuspidor, displayed, don’t you know, distilling drops of saliva proper, charged with nicotiana tabacum tinctured, with orle of cigars proper. A man can smoke, you know, and be a gentleman, but to be always spitting— oh, well, by, would do tha I couldn't say. know, it is fp truth, and I couldn't de- fend the hab! ‘hos say that my father was one of “thos¢) vastly cads” he was 60 dis- gusted with.”* ‘There was Sifence for a moment, and then Louise said megkly, “Papa chews just like all the rest.” |. “And so does my papa,” was Jennie’s doleful response, echoed by Nora and Bob- bie. And then they filed solemnly out of the room, feeling as though they had ex- hausted the:subject. I thought about it for @ good while, though. Why the Disgusting Habit? Whence came this horrible habit, any- how? The habit of chewing and spitting, I mean. Nobpdy seems to have the slightest fdea. The; Indians taught Columbus to smoke and made the first cigarettes out of tobacco rolled in husks of maize, but there lg nowhere any mention of their having taught him the filthy habit of c Some historians say that the C! tobacco in pipes before the discovery of America, but they do not mention chewing, and the Chinese do not chew now. They have a pretty taste for rats and other ver- min, but never quite got to the spitting level. Chewing never was much indulged in in Great Britain, except among sailors, and Shakespeare, who makes his character: break ey law of the decalogue, never once mentions tobacco, and the word is net to be found in his works, Whatever else the Bard of Avon did that ‘was not nice, chewing and spitting were evidently not among the vices of himself or friends. It is only in this age of superfine civilization that the vile habit has fastened itself upon us, and it is truly stigmatized as the “American habit.” G. Britain has. lew: which prohibit the cultivation of tobacco in either Ireland or England. Public Nuisances, Granting that a man has the right of a American citizen to eat poison as long as It does not kill him outright, there still remains the fect that he hes not a right to make a public nui e of himself, and when it gets to that point there should be some means of restraining him. It is im- possible to get away frem the horrid habit. in the street cars, herdics and cabs, up at the Capitol, along the sidewalks, the filthy tobacco chewer leaves the sign ef his wn- who! . defiling everything that comes near him, and actually making himself a creature to be shunn d. It is re of the fashionable follies of the ust be a beastly cad.” And iin you know, a man who thing, Jennie, becau: you r wemen to smoke. Can it be that we are retrogradi und that the day of smoking, snutf-d d_nostril-plugging is again con our women, as it did in the carly days of the republic? I know a lad her pretty gown ruined by at one of the state rec fons at the White House last son. There are some American habits at need revising. The spitting habit Is a g00d one to begin on. BIENORA SARA. so bs RE OF THE EYES. Some Simple Suggestions About a ery Important Matter. “By carelessness,” said a prominent ocu- list, “I do not only mean straining the eye, after dark, working by too glaring or too feeble lights, or the tho 1 and one things that ought to be drilled into a child, but what grown people fr reglect in their own and their children’s cleanlin It is horribls,but true, that many mothers for, until too late, From the birth of baby until & chftd is ten cr tweive yea: ender eyes are frequer 6 ignorant nu of a tiny bab; efully washed a muia- sh rags ud the old ones n of matter should be used each time, arid pulppies e ve tendency, ithat can be their eyes two or three arm water and a little w children’s shot neglected y often the obviated by tin t years of nd is readily cured before twelve or n years. When neglected it becomes as the most charming It not satisfy the be- dering through holde space as though trying to escape detectio: joes not know the agony of some y finger searching the eyes for a tiny inder that fi like a mole-hill growing Tov often after the eye jabbed out’ the searcher announces he mot fird anything,” and the last state of that eye is worse than the first. Don't be “jabbed” by unskiliful fi . Put a lig! a soft mi to pr is apparently gers. t bandage around the eye, with ted cotton wad underneath, the lids together, ate the cotton in warm water and ch hazel, try to keep quiet and forget your woes, and most hkely the nuisance will leave of its own accord. 1f not seek some one who is practiced in the art. Burns in the eye from lime, acids, molten metals or gunpowder can be relieved by frequent introductions of castor or sweet cil in the eye and cold applications out- side; but only until the most competent advice can be procured, “Granular” lids result from neglect of in- flamed lids, colds, ete., and are tedious in the extreme. Many amateur prescriptions are recommended, but the sufferer usually finds that what is good for “Tommy, Susie or Jane” is rarely good for him. It is a disease and must be treated as such. The other day in the park I saw a rsemaid pulling out several of a Kittle girl's long lashes, because, she said, “the itching was caused by a wild hair.” Whatever a wild hair may be it Is for- tunately very uncommon. Yet among the ignorant peculiar sensations of the eye are attributed to “wild hairs,” and lashes ruth- lessly destroyed in the search. And _be- ware of trimming lashes too close after one has passed the demain of childhood. There are cases on record where the lashes have refused to grow, but remain short, stubby and bristly. Written for The Evenin: _ Autumn Song. through the trees, sings the autumn breez’ le the leaves are falling fast— awl sighs, and seems to say: ines lovely pass awa thered to the Past. © are now the sweet-breathed flowers perfu ned the summer hours — re the viclet?—where the rose? © vanished a ang of love d and grove Songs in every fig Ah, they all have flown away! All the brooks with leaves are filled, And thelr merry music stilled, As they,’ hidden, glide along: So the muste of the heart Fails when das 6f youth depart— So Is stiffed the poet's song. Tt. Autumn bregze, ap, teil me why Sadiy thou dost sing and sigh— Moan as,o°erwhelmed with woe? Still the sum is shining warm; Far-off yet the wintry stort Far-off yet the pall-like snow, Over vale, and wold, and bill, Beauty fondly lingers still, Under sktes of softest blue, As in heaven at fall of night 8 long the sunset light, Toth to bid the world adieu, All the golden landscape seems As Sf lapped in pleasant dreams By the Indian-summer's charm— Mild enchantress, robed in haze, Who her spells benignant lays Over field, and wood, and farm. In my soul is lingering still Warmth that did my summer fill; Love still cheers my autumn-time. Airy minstrel, tell me why Thou dost moan, and sob, and sigh? What forbodes thy mournful rhyme? —W. I. SHOEMAKER. TRUE HOSPITALITY Its Kindly Spirit Changed in the Present Social Atmosphere. ee i ee THOSE WHOM WE ARE GLAD T0 SEE > The Commercial Basis on Which People Meet Each Other. >—_—— SOME SOCIAL CLIMBERS ——->——— Written Exclusively for The Evening Star. HE DICTIONARY tells us that hospi- tality is “the enter- taining of strangers” (presumably all per- sons outside one's family circle) “with- out reward”—that is, pecuniary reward. But many words acquire in time a deeper significance than dictionaries can express, and the word hospitality had once, and should now have, a broader, nobler meaning. It should suggest a hearty welcome, a cordial handgrasp, the sharing of bread and salt, genial talk, re- luctant parting, and a sincere “Come again Yet, does not the word suggest to most people something very different—crowded rooms, perfunctory smiles and empty phrases, an aroma of costly dishes and flowers more costly still, and too often a bitter residuum of headaches, heartaches, mortifications and disappointments, and an army of clamorous creditors? Verily, it requires no especially close ob- servation to bring one to the conclusion that while there is a vast amount of en- tertaining done at the present day, there very little genuine hospitality exercised, especially in towns and cities. ven in the rural districts, where former- ly to say of a man, “He keeps open house,” was the highest possible praise, the custom seems to be dying out. ‘The time has past when the arrival of an unexpected guest boon to the isolated p! or farm- 2 and electricity ha’ advantages almost to his door; dom service and creatu is an empty name, no longer are procurable with- of the host’s muscles or the One would search in vain ys for an instance such as is re- corded in the annals of a Virg uily, where a distant relative came for a visit of a © nd was made to enjoy his so much that he stayed three yeurs! © Socint St ‘This change in the spirit and practice of hospitality is easily accounted for in the chi 4 conditions of our modern city life—the influx of new and often doubtful the stress of the struggle for ex- and the extravagant living conse- on the frantic push for social entailed by our democratic sys- people, eminence m. ‘The life of today too hurried werried to admit of amenities that demands upon one’s Ume or pocket, psy only in the mutual pleasure conferred or the r ‘oving conscience. A keen ab: ernination to “get up in the to be left in undistur sey altitude constitute the motif of When two people me: y for the 8 this one uid be a fi whose con to me or way?" The que: 3 acquaintance will be of vantage to me or mine So well unacrstood is this feeling that it is not unusual for a host or hostess (gen- erally the latter) in introducing their guests to attach to each name, either openly or in a melo-dramatic aside, what- ever claim to distinction it may have, and the parties concerned, thus duly warned, size each other up and temper their man- ner accordingly This struggle for social eminence de- velops the meanest qualities in human rature. Success renders most people arro- gant and unsympathetic; failure makes them morose and suspicious, and either way the gentle instinct of hospitality time the question panionship whom I which exists in all normal human beings, from the Esquimaux in his ice hut, to the Arab in his tent, is stifled or utterly pre- vented, or utterly crushed out. Liberty! Equality! Fraternity! s! Glorious ideas! Fair tempting fruit of the tree cf de- Yet, when that mischievous in- ect, Worldly ambition, makes them its breeding place, how black and loathsome at core they becom: Perish the thought of titled classes, or class distinctions and limitations of any sort! Yet the old world system has its advantages, and they are not all on the side of the privileged classes either, Poverty No Crime. For cne thing the frenzied strain upward hardly exists; nether does the pitiful shame of small means or an humble or middle-class position prevail in the old world as it does here. Of course personal ambition exists everywhere, human na- ture being what it fs, but it fs kept within reasonable bounds by the law of custom and tradition, Exceptional qualities can always take a man over any mere limita- tions of birth, but the average individual is satisfied to remain what his fathers, were. There ate differences, certainly; but the rich peasant, or manufacturer, or tradesman, can no more escape from his class than the poorest. His pretty daugh- ter may bestow herself and her dowry on an impecunious nobleman, but only gentu the force that laughs at all human laws and customs, can emancipate a man from the limits set by the fron hand of tradi- tion. Each class has its standard of eti- quette and morals, of living and entertain- ing. The socia’ position being fixed be- yond argument, there is no humiliation at- iached to the inability to entertain lavish- ly, as here, where a man’s social position depends usually upon his style of living. The peasant offers the chance visitor a cup of home-made wine, or milk, or a hand- ful of fruit from his garden with an un- abashed smile and a hearty “God speed ye!” And the guest is refreshed and stim- ulated pecause the simple entertainment had for its base the base of all true hos- pitality—sincerity. Even so in the highest classes, shame attaches itself to means. The writer recalls with delight a meal of ascetic simplicity, served on antique china and silver by one wrinkled old retainer, in the dim banquet hall of a feudal castle in Germany. The daintiest dish on the table was one of strawberries, gathered in the garden by the hands of the two young princesses (their little fingers betrayed the secret), and yet so charming, so genial, so genuinely hospitable was the entertainment that the guests went away delighted. Would that be possible in this democratic country, where the consequences of poy- erty are considerably more humiliating than the consequences of crime? The writer also enjoyed the privilege of living for some months in an aristocratic provincial German family as a familiar guest. There was a great deal of visiting going on among the families living within a radius of ten miles, and the opportunity for studying the social customs of the Glorious wor and No false straightened cakes was forthcoming and, if the guests were expected, ices or some other unusual dainty But when the antiquated equipage of a neighboring prince entered the drive- way then, indeed, there was a hurrying to and fro; the larder was ransacked for Gainties, my hostess’ cap ribbons stiffened visibly, and the very dogs on the place seemed to wag their tails with unusual deference! Soo, too, when the Duke von —— was in- vited to dinner there were salmon and filet with mushrooms and pheasants, &c., wash- ed down with the finest Veuve Cliquot and Johannesberger, but when the weak little pot-bellied parson came to dine he was regaled on carp, mutton and the sour wine ot the country. But the true, friendly, hospitable spirit was always observabie, in spite of these differences in the style of entertainment, and every one was at his ease and thoroughly satisfied. That there is so little real hospitality among us :n these fin de siecle days, is more the fault of the women than of the men. Man's schemes and ambitions tempt to higher flights and to deepr falls than woman's, Men are less prone to show and pretense. They care vastly more for solid comfort than for expensive details, and are far readier to bid their friends, even those who can be of no use to them in the scramble, heartily welcome to their table and fireside, and every woman knows how much more satisfactory guests they make. But it is the woman who manages ths function of hospitality in these days; it is she who chooses the guests and arranges the entertainment, and, as it is above all things the heart's desire of the woman of today to shine, shine she will—if not by her own personal traits, in the reflected light of the people she gets around her. Consequently she asks to her house not the people she really likes, and admires and respects, but the people who have en- tertained, or may entertain, her and hers. the people who have helped, or may help, in some cherished scheme; and the people whose names will look well in the society columns next day—titied foreigners and ce- lebrities, people who have “arrived.” The Lion Hunters. To secure a fine specimen of a lion, the typical fashionable hostess will tell fibs enough to give the recording angel “writers’ paralysis,” and eat humble pie enough to ruin the digestion of a whole ostrich farm, not to mention the petty meannesses and makeshifts and subter- fuges resorted Lo when the means are not equal to the end. An instance of the latter sort recently came to the writer's knowledge. A woman prominent in the fashionable set of an eastern city, not a thousand miles from Washington, was about to give a dinner. Desiring to make it as attractive as po: sible, she had the effrontery to write to a brilliant and successful professional musi- cian, whom she had never met, stating that, while she was anxious to have some fine music after her dinner, she was not able to pay for it, and in flattering terms asked the young artist to play for her, of- fering a sum for her services that was under the circumstances, a positive insult, though not meant a such, The answer first written was as follows: Dear Madam: If your caterer, florist, dressmaker and servants will agree to as- sist you in giving the proposed entertain- ment by accepting one-fifth of their regu- lar pay I shall be glad to do the same. Yours, &c. Needless to say that this was not the answer sent; but would it have been too severe treatment for the offense? Naturally, many people of moderate means hesitate to offer such entertainment as lies in their power to furnish, not so much from false pride as from a feeling that unless things are up to the fashion- able standard their guests will be bored. “High thinking and plain living” never were univel y popular, but there prob- ably never was a time when high living and no thinking at all were so absolutely the standard of society as at the present day. There are scores of houses where, but for this indifference to or ignorance of the true value of things, the latch string would be always out in the cheery, honest, old wa: where friends and neighbors or chance ac- quaintances, without regard to superficial qualities, would be made welcome to the warmth of the fireside, to such good cheer as belonged to the house, to genial con- versation; houses where the real meets the real, and each goes his w com- forted, strengthened, for the race and the confilet. But such centers of pure hospitality are known only to the privileged few. Most of us must accept the glittering mockery of society, or live isolated, lonely lives. Sometimes it happens that two meet in the chattering crowd, and clasp hands and look into each other's face, and each says to himself: “Now, there is one I want to know—to have tor a friend!” But the crowd pushes in between, and, like ships that pass in the night, they drift away, never to meet again this side the grave. SIGNET. —__. A PRETTY EVENING GOWN, A Model That Will Serve for Several Changes of Costume. A pretty evening gown is a prized pos- session by every woman. To know that one is well and suitably gowned for any society function is three-fourths of the battle. It is ot always necessary that the gown shall be perfectly new, but its accessories should always be fresh and up to date. ‘For instance, if one hes a black silk frock two years old it may be quite presentable by having new sleeves of silk or satin or velvet of one of the rich new shades, and then, with the addition of a few yards of lace and some knots of rib- bon, it can be brought quite up to date. Here is a model that will serve for sev- eral changes of costume. The material is peach-blow satin, and the trained skirt is perfectly plain, ‘The bodice is ice-blue satin brocade, with xarniture of rose point and pink satin ribbons, two ends falling from the front to the bottom of the skirt being of ice blue. A second bodice might be made of the peach-blow silk with fes- tooned garniture of lace, and a third bod- ice, made of black velvet trimmed with cut jet, would make an elegant toilet. For the velvet bodice, long ends of velvet caught at the foot of the skirt with bows of pink satin ribbon would make the skirt look like new. After the inevitable soiling of the train, the skirt can be shortened to dancing length and the satin cut off, after being cleaned, can be used to make tiny foot ruffles. Oh, there are dozens of ways for a bright “handy” girl to keep herself presentable in society, though she havea very small sum for gowning herself. —— der the Mistletoe. From ‘Truth. country esoterically was exceptionally val- uable. The Woman Reigns. ‘The rank of the family was that of graf or count; the visitors were of various ranks, beginning with the simple vons and passing through barons and counts up to dukes and princes. The hospitality ac- ceded by my hostess to her guests was uniformly cordial in manner, but as to its more tangible expressions nicely graded, | whenever possible, to correspond with their different ranks, For instance, for the simple vons, when no visitors of higher rank were present there were a pleasant welcome and light. very lght—refreshments—coffee, wafers and it if it happened to be in season, For those of the rank of baron or count an extra measure of coffee was added ‘The girl from Philadelphia In some things is not slow. Bhe says: “Good gi 8 met Beneath that mistletoe ‘The St. Louis girl a startled look ‘At once begins to wear As she exclaims: “How vei I didn’t know ‘twas there. Was 1 strange! The San Francisco maid deinure Is calm as calm can be, blissful smile, she ss caught right on, I see The Boston girl removes her specs, Her classic face sedate, And, as she looks around, she says: Ml take @ chair and walt.”’ e Gotham maiden lifts herself iegrking, aa-she takes one more harking, aa she . ae Dg, As = v 15 the coffee machine, a greater variety of t A SURGEON'S KNIFE ~~ Recommended by a Philadelph‘a Specialist John J. Neill Relates How a Simple Remedy Restored Him to Health, Horrible Operation Avoided. (Philadelphia, Penn., Item.) A healthier, heartier, happier man than Johm J. Neill of 2437 North Eighth street, Philadel phia, could not be found in a day's search. Among those who knew him formerly the fact that be is still alive is a constant wonder. In the fall of 1889 he begun to suffer from stone in the bladder, and his miseries able. Consulting an eminent physic delpbia, be was told that he would have to operation. So much did be Mf unsticcessful, it meant — that he ‘off the evil day “ns long as possible, While fa this frame of mind h need to see a notice of Dr. David Kennedy Kemedy. Although disheartened witt his) many futile attempts with medicine, he was induced to wake one more trial, ‘On July 1, 1868, he bought the first bottle of Dr. David Ki Favorite Remedy, and within S month had experienced beneficial results, aud be- fore he had finished the third bottle the gravel was ely dissolved and his sufferings at an end. ‘eill feels that he owes a lasting debt of le to Dr. Kennedy's Favorite Remedy. Ho hever fails to recommend St for disorders of the dder and urinary organs and says “it will effect a cure If one be possiole! The great value of Dr. David Kennedy's Favorite Remedy lies In the fuct ‘that It dissolves the excess of urle acid in the blood. Many of the ailments people suffer from—for instance, rheumatism, nerv= kid liver and trina he sickness peculiar to women, al 1 this one eaune, rite Temedy dissolves thi expels It from the system, thos curing t in cases of scrofula, diabetes, Bright's disease and stone in the bladder, it never falls. David Kennedy's Favorite Remedy is for all druggists, at $1 a bottle, or six for §&, brings @ treatment within the reach : “= —— DESIGNS FOR ICES. Novelties in Bonbonnieres for the Season's Entertainments, “Since I have been in Washington,” said the fashionable yurveyor, “I have never seen a season begin with such a rush of gayety. It seems as if people were going to try and make up for last year’s dullness and depression by all the pleasure they can crowd into this winter. “There are rome very pretty combina- tions of silver and glass this year for sor- bets, but perhaps none are more dainty than these little baskets of filagree holding colored glasses. For military banquets and dinners these silver baskets, supported on halibardes of the same material, are very appropriate. Some of them have crossed swords instead of the halibardes. “One of the newest bisquits is called “Madame Sans Gene,’ and is served ip lit- tle paper boxes, with a picture of that cx- traordinary historical character on the covers. Little butter baskets, such as are seen in the French markets labeled ‘Beurre D'Isigny,’ and coming from that province so renowned for its dairy products, are ulso designed for bisquits glaces. “A very effective design for ice cream is a sleigh decked with roses and drawn by a swan. The sleigh is made of candy, But the swan is of cream, and the sleigh is piled high with different flowers, in their natural colors, made 6f ices. “There are some real novelties in the wa: of bonbonnieres this year. Here is a Frencl fishwife in her picturesque native costume, with a basket filled with shrimps packed in seaweed. The basket opens and is filled with candy. These Japanese heads, with their extraordinary head dresses and quaint expressions, are for candy also. The ‘Invi- tations a la Danse’ look like little books, and have pencils attached ready to inscribe the names of the fair recipient's partners, but in reality the book holds nothing more than some candies. These hand-painted tambourines come in a great variety of color and design. Little drums, on which the sticks are crossed, as if just awaiting the owner to beat a tattoo, are novelties al: ‘he little porcelain bonbonnieres inlaid with silver and exquisitely painicd in pic- turesque Dresden figures are perhaps the very prettiest things of the sort we have ever had. They are in a variety of colors and are mounted in silver, as w as in- laid with ft. They come in several sizes and are ir. shellshape and heartshape. They, make charming favors for lunches.” — FADS OF ENGLISH WOMEN, At Present One ix an Enormous Chig- non and the Other is a Cane, from the New York Sun, “There are two fashions very largely, al- most universally, affected by English wo- men just now that I don’t think will be copied over here, even by the most pro- nounced faddist,” remarked a woman just beck from a long stay in England. “They are the chignon and the walking cane. “The fashionable coiffure is hideous, nay, revolting, and I’m sorry to say it is affected by about eight in ten English women. It is simply a return to the most extreme style of the old chignon, an immense wad of hair, or imitation of one, stuck straight out from the back of the head. In its extreme development it is often fully as large as the head which it disfigures. Sometimes you see a woman who aims to be ultra fashion- able wearing two of these monstrosities, one atop of the other, and maybe a little sailor hat perched atop of the wad, but not covering her head at all. The only im- provement over the old chignon is that the present one is a hair-covered wire frame instead of a swab of hair. The vulgar peo- ple call it a ‘bun.’ In a trip around tle continent I didn’t see a single ‘bun,’ ex- cept on traveling English women. It is purely English, and likely to remain 50. “The inevitable accompaniment of the chignon is the walking cane, and it was to me the oddest thing in the world when I arrived in England in the spring to see every woman walking with a regular man’s cane. The heavy fashionables carry heavy canes, just as our ‘Chollies’ do. I traveled all round England, to all the big towns and the fashionable watering places, and every- where the cane was most conspicuous. “But there’s a reason for the cane, ana, absurd as it is, it is a point for the cane above the chignon, for the latter is without any excuse whatever. Queen Victoria is compelled to use a walking cane whenever she moves about, and it is in compliment to her majesty—or from a silly aping of roy- alty, which you Iike—that the English wo- man caries a cane. You remember, of course, the ‘Alexandra limp,’ which nearly every English woman affected some years ago, and which had its origin in a lame- ness of the Princess of Wales. It 1s in just such ways that many of the fashionable absurdities of Europe originate. But heav- en forfend us from the chignon and the cane. ee Tea Gown for Cold Weather. For the snapping cold days when one in is receiving one’s intimate friends olightfully will bw ‘The front and tops of the big sleeves are of black yelvet, anc the remainder Is of mauve bengaline that has a glint of pink in it. The fur is narrow bands of mink. ‘The form is princess, especially becoming to a stout woman, and may be caught down in front with ecrd and tassels or left to swing free, as fancy dictates. The ‘same model will make a pretty gown if cashmere or silk are used, and coney fur may be substituted, making a much less expensive affair, but far more serviceable jand tust as stylish