Evening Star Newspaper, April 6, 1895, Page 15

~ “THE EVENING STAR, BATURDAY, APRIL 6, 1895-TWENTY-FOUR PAGES. 15 A WOMAN'S TAILOR Pauline Pry Has an Experience in Making Easter Gowns. A DAY IN THE WORKSHOP eS How Some Women Are. Fearfully 7 and Wonderfully Made. (NTRICACIES OF THE FEMININE Written Exclusively for The Evening Star. ea END ME YOUR g an unwritten chapter of Easter gowns. It’s not all glory, this resurrection of the vanities of wo- man that you will see on parade a week hence. It has a seamy side, and I know it, for I spent a day in a ladies’ tal- lor shop the past week sewing the teams of Easter gowns myself. I have learned how they are made. Incidentally { have learned more new things about how women are made. A well-known tailor advertised for hands, and with no very clear notion of what kind of hands he wanted, I offered mine at his gervice. * “Have you sewed anywhere else in town?" asked the august man, the auto- srat of smart women, who holds at the point of his shears the prettiness, the peace of mind of the elect of Washington fo- tlety. “No, I never sewed anywhere in this town,” I answered, and without having to actually tell a’lie, which, by long practice _ Im the gentle art, I am able to avoid in substance while accomplishing in effect, I was finally bidden to come at 7:30 the next morning to sew a week on trial. The First Day. Half-past 7 in the morning seemed so erly as to make going to bed the night before scarcely worth while. But when I walked up avenue a bit after 7, step- ping high, so as to do no injury to any of the worms that are advertised to enrich the path of the early bird, I saw only one man astir, who appeared to have been out all night, in order to be around at that hour in the morning. I may be mistaken about this one; still, his dress suit was significant. For the rest, they jogged along as if people quite commonly get up with the sun. Ushered into the great, long werk room of the tailor’s shop, not one of the thirty girls and three men assembled iccked the least Dit sleepy, nor seemed, like myself, to be puffed up with the spirit of avericious expectancy, born of the adage, » ‘Early to bed and early to rise makes a . man healthy, wealthy and wise.” However, I was not permitted to feel elther wise or wealthy long, for when the eyes and I’ll give you NY ae tallor had assigned me a place at one of | the tea tables ranged in a double row the length of the room, and I was given a silk sleeve to “slip-stitch,” I not only did not know a slip-stitch from a Greek verb, but { did not Lave anything to do it with. I asked pleasantly, and, I trust, politely, if he would please give me a thimble and a needle, and when the man rather tartly in- quired if I was in the habit of going to sew with kid gloves and a hat pin, I gathered that professional sewing women carry their tools with them. One girl tcaned me a thimble and another a needle that was crooked and sticky, but I said thank you, not liking to. seem: proud about the kind of needles I am in the habit of using. Then the “slip-stitch’—well, fortunately for that, I've been lately studying the Hindu philosophy of ccncentration, which is that anything you want to know in this world ycu have only to stare into vacancy and think hard about, and the knowledge will come to you. I tried this, but there was difficulty in getting the vacancy nec- essary for the experiment. There was ab- solutely no vacancy anywhere. Thirty girls ranged about ten tables sewed at the steady pace a gcod roadster travels. On a platfcrm in the rear of the room three tallors sewed and pressed, the pounding of their Ircns sounding through the thunder of seven sewing machines at work in the center of the room, and at a high table at the head of the room the proprietor stood cutting and administering the affairs of Setween fifty and sixty gowns that, in dif- ferent stages of development, spread over, -uung over, trailed over, traveled over everything. Some Easter Gowns. The spectacle of uncreate Kaster glory contained in these rooms just made me turn my soul loose in covetousness. There was a crepon, green as the Gar- len of Eden, with the red of Eve's trans- sresston shining through to fit it for a orldly woman. There was a pompadour silk, with a white ground, the rosy ra- lance of morning breaking over it, striped with black to keep it from being too ethe- veal in its loveliress for mortal uses. There was another green crepon that needed a mayonnaise dressing to be com- fete, and there, on the same table with is epicurean delight, was a strictly spiritual conception of love’s young dream, caught and fixed in a dinner waist of oink and white silk, vetled with filmy lace ind dimpled with rosettes of pink chiffon. Loads of exquisite black crepe gowns surrounded the thought of funerals with % sense of possible esthetic resignation, and the lustrous lengths of a_ white silk wedding gown made matrimony seem something no less to be resigned to. Eighteen for One Woman. One woman, whose name is always sy- onymous with splendor, had eighteen sowns under way. The waist the sleeve of which I was given to work on—a su- verb thick heliotrope satin trimmed with et and lace—this one waist, I heard some “of the girls reckoning, would cost $75. The ocor? Oh, let us forget and be gay, at uny cost on Easter. The poor sur@ive through every season of the year. The Orderly System. The order prevailing in this workroom is ncomprehensible, even when the plan is | cnown. I was told that detail of every one | of the fifty or more gowns being made is varried in the head of the Man himself. ‘m going to call him Man, with a capital { after this, for his volse caused him to seem to me quite the nost wonderful man I have ever seen. He stood at his high table, and, as an electric sutton works, with square, and stick, and vatterns, and shears, cut the gowns to be nade. The sleeves were passed to one ta- %~ ole, the waist to another, the skirt to an- * other, and on being received, each piece of vach article was marked with the name of he owner. While the steady cutting and vassing was kept up, from all parts of the oom came a volley like this: “Is Mrs. A. o have a draped collar? Does Mrs. B. vant one or two rows of buttons on her oat? Shall I cover this belt with jet? Did Mrs. X. want stiffening in the gray silk, or wly in the black,” ete., ete Each shot-recetved the Man's whole at- ention for the moment, as if Mrs. A.'s col- ir, or Mrs. B.'s buttons were the one thing nee, precision and a the world with which he was familiar nd bound to do right. mong Then, interposed would come a voic aying, “Miss G. <. is Te or all the rest, room Mrs written on a table. They were LAS CO! ly rer his or that must ine or 10 or ever the hour it 9 be fitted or sent out. In the Saddle. t was my glee when the voice he reception room called out to m Jewhand, take the square to Mr. from crowning weakness of weak points, kept insisting that her generous feet he more and more exposed and the skirt of her rid- ing habit made shorter and shorter. Any- body would think she means to summer at the seashore and is bound to get even with her bathing suit on horseback before she goes. The friend with her fussed and fumed because she was being kept away from her sewing. She was making ging- ham dresses, she said, and boasted that she could beat either of the two seams- tresses her mother had in the house at work. This confession of dressmaking in official circles quite reconciled me with my humble lot, as I listened. My humble lot took a tumble, however, when the talior, having finished fitting the skirt, bade me take it off. The girl will never know what I think about the evil of wearing anything so tight around the waist as that skirt was, but as I struggled and squirmed, and broke two of my high-priced manicured finger nails getting it unhooked, she knew enough of my awkwardness to exclaim, “Stupid.” I fully agreed with her, so there was no difference between us. Rather Play Golf Than Sew Jet. When I had finished “slip stitching” two sleeves I was set to sewing some elaborate jet trimrhing on the same sleeves. Oscar Wilde has laid it down as a canon of art that good women should not wear jet. I re- write the assertion as a canon of humanity. No sewing girl can hope to be an angel and have to sew jet day after day. Every time you stick in your needle it jams a bead and won't go through, or when it comes through a bead drives it off unex- pectedly into your finger. Then your thread tangles with several other beads and you swear. Perhaps you don’t, but I did. I'd rather play golf t! sew jet. In the midst of the emotions excited by jet it did me good to have the tailor come in from the reception room and say that he would like to swear. He had a coat in his hands, and as he handed it over to a subordinate with some directions he ex- plained that a woman had just brought it back saying that it fitted beautifully ex- cept, when she prayed; that she had worn it t6 chureh the Sunday before, and that Mrs. Senator Blank, who sits behind her, had told her coming out that her new dress was just lovely, only it wrinkled between the shoulders the least little bit when she was kneeling down. The man said the next thing would be he'd have to have a prieu- dieu to fit church ‘dresses on as well as his horse for riding habits. Pledge for an Easter Dress. A while after the porter came in with a small package and the message, “the lady at the wants to know if you won’t let her have her dress and take that and Keep it till next month, when she'll send you the money. She won't have any money before then, and she wants the dress very much for Easter.” “That,” on opening, proved to be a dia- mond bracelet. The tailor laughed, wrap- ped it up again and said to the porter: “Take her the dress and the bracelet, too. A woman as honest as that is to be trust- “But ‘may be the stones are paste,” I exclaimed, forgetting my menial position and remembering only my “knowledge of women. The tailor groaned, “A man can’t have any comfort trusting a woman as long as another woman lives to spoil it.” What She Wanted. Presently I was bidden to bring a tape measure into the front fitting room to the tailor. < Solomon in all his glory was “tacky” compared with the fat, fair, flabby) woman here arrayed in a gold bro- cade evening dress. “I don’t like the sleeves at all,” she was saying. “They certainly look skimpy.” “Skimpy!” ejaculated the tailor. ‘“‘What on earth could you expect? You brought me only twenty yards of silk in the first place, and you wanted five godets and a train and baitloon sleeves. I've stretched the stuff as far as it will go, and it’s ridic- ulous to think of making it go an inch further.”” Then she stood meditatively surveying her reflection in the mirror, and after due deliberation, involving fine calculation, she said: “Don't you think if you cut it a trifle lower in the neck you might get out enough for the big sleeves?” The dress was already so low in the neck the tailor was wearing a steady blush, and outraged both as a man and a tailor, he replied to her suggestion: “Oh, yes; we can put all the material into a train and a pair of sleeves, if you want the dress that way When I helped her off with the gown she sald that wuld be the last thing that man would ever do for her, and when I carried the dress out in the work room the Man was making the very same observa- tion from a different point of view. A Smashed Idol. ‘The next person to be announced was a woman, whose figure kas always been my secret envy. A girl took her dress into the fitting room, and in a few minutes came back inquiring for “Miss Blank’s pads.” Another girl produced a great bunch of different sizes and styles of pads and hand- ed them over to the first girl, who said: “Where do these go?” “Anywhere she warts them,” answered the tailor. I was ordered to follow him into the fittimg room with the lady’s coat, when it was pressed, and I ‘was truly de- lighted to be able to remain to take the whole suit off. I was curious about the pads. She had three in front, and two be- hind, besides two sewed into the waist of the dress. Then I inadvertently loosened her petticoat, removirg the dress skirt, and I saw that her corsets were cut out over the hips, and the space filled with ruf- fles of quilted satin. Namerous Deformities. This was not my only idol of fair women to go to smash in the fitting room of the tailor’s. You think women no longer lace. Every waist I put on a woman that day— no fewer than twenty—I ruined my fingers trying to fasten, and almost every time be- fore I could pull it together, I would have to lift my poppy-colored, perspiring face, and say, ‘Won't you please draw in your breath? Then five out of six skirts had pipe-organ attachments hehind—godets, I believe they are technically called—which from belt to hem are loaded with hair cloth, making a weight for a woman's hips to carry that would be a burden for the shoulders of a man. Worse still, there was the greatest nwnber of actual deformities revealed to the work room— mismatched shoulders, hips the same, ard there were two or three pair of sleeves being made for pretty wo- men whose arms are from one to two inches different in length. I'll never feel easy about a woman's arms after this,until I sight them with a yardstick hanging down. Over Hill and Dale. After I finished sewing on jet I was given a pair of sleeves to work on, the armholes of which were. the size of my waist. Later I helped the owner of such arms to get out of a dress, and as I trav- eled around her, unpinned dress goods up nill and down dale over the whole surface of her body, having now and then to daub my finger tips in her mushy, fat neck and arms, for the first time in my life I hugged attenuation to my heart and thought of a nice little motto I mean to have illuminat- ed and hung up over my bed, “God bless my bones.” rs “It's things like this that make me bald- headed,” the tailor was saying as I went back to the work room, with my twenty- two-inch-around-the-arms beauty’s gown. She Didn’t Want Much. He was holding a postal card on which was stitched a scrap of silk. What was written on the card went so to his heart he read it to the girls: “I have four yards of silk like sample; could you make me a waist, using the silk for sleeves, get something, or would you suggest some color for me to get, or send me samples that would be pretty; also samples of white lace and price per | yard, as I would like lace used. I don’t Want black used. I have so much black. I have a skirt like the sample, and want the waist to go with it. ‘I want something stylish and pretty. Please let me hear from you by first mail.” “\Why don’t you telegraph,” said one of the girls, and before he could answer, the girl from the reception room called’ out: “Mrs. K. has just telephoned that she is fe ghted with her coat, and Then the Man laughed in his sh and s told me he hadn't touched the woman wes cranky and sent it tailor knew her, and just hung at up to wait for better weather. n the sun came out, he sent it home tas it was, with the result tele- Still they talk about the end-vf- ury woman knowing her own mind! my day at the tailor’s was over, I concluded that either the end-of-ihe-cen- forty (and | tury has no mind, or gets no clothes. In the course of the afternoon I unrolled goods for a woman who wanted a dress. She would know just what she wanted, she said, as soon as she saw it. She didn’t want @ coat.and she was afraid she would want one if she didn’t get it. One thing was sure, she didn’t want hair cloth in her skirt, and“still she supposed she wanted to be like everybody else, and would have to have it. She wanted green, herself, but her husband wanted her to have blue, and the friend with her said that she must not make the mistake of wanting anything but black, if she waned something becoming. To which she an- swered that she didn’t so much want some- thing becoming as she did want something real stylish. Meanwhile, I had lifted and unrolled and rolled up and put back no fewer than seventeen kinds of cloth, and at the end of little less than an hour she concluded that she wanted to go to Balti- more and see what there was over there before she decided, and wouldn't I kindly let her have a sample of this, and this, and—yes, of ‘that, too. She knew she didn’t want that, but she might as well take a — along, anyhow, to show her hus- With Bicycle, Dog and Whip. On top of this it was reviving to have a girl with a whip and a dog blow in to be fitted for a bicycle suit. She had legs and she didn’t care how often she spoke-about them. She knew her mind, she did, likewise her legs, and the conspicuous part they play bicycling. She insisted on having her skirt adjusted with reference to this. You can’t be too smooth on a bicycle, she said, and when things got as far above ground as her coat, she wanted that smooth, too. She strided a chair for a bicycle and bade the tailor notice how the coat was going to wrinkle when she humped berself for a mile dash. Then, when he had pinned the coat to fit a mile dash, she sat up and showed him how it was going to draw when she wheeled at a parade pace. She ordered it let out so that her diaphragm would be easy and her floating ribs free, and at the same time, she demanded that it be held in, to keep her shape about the waist. This experience was a new light on bicycling, so far as my knowledge went. believed bicycling for women to be a matter of ex- ercise. Now I know it is largely a matter of “shape.” Helping fo Decide. In removing dresses from women during the dey I was called upon for my opinion so often there are likely to be some styles in Easter gowns which may or not be writter. down in bocks. One woman com- plained to me that she thought the revers of her coat were not large enough, where- upon I promptly told her that broad revers are all out of style—that “we” were mak- ing alterations in a coat Mrs. Senator had just received from Paris, and the revers were even narrower than hers. Ac- ecrdingly, hers were ordered diminished. Another woman complained to me that her skirt vas not snug enough around the hips, and I told her we were making all crepons a trifle easy over the hips because they crinkle up in the damp after they are worn @ while, and are apt to’become too snug. I helped another woman decide on buttons that would kill me if I had to wear them myself. She said, however, that of course my judgment is better than hers in such things. Then here was the woman who, when she was announced, caused the tailor to groan and exclaim, “Let us pray. I've been sewing for that woman eleven years, and she has never once told_me she liked anything I’ve made her.” That woman I made perfectly happy. After the tailor had left me to take off her suit I told her I thought the color was not very becoming and that the style of the coat made her look real thin. She was one of the women who are never glad unless they are miserable, and when she had looked at herself all ways in the glass she said I was right, and she went off so utterly wretched she was almost smiling. A Phase of the Other Side. In one corner of the work room, with the radiance of spring colors and the glory of silks and satins all about, was a woman showing a phase of the “other side” of Easter gowns, quite apart from that I Studied in the fitting room and show room. This woman's worn, nervous, anxious face stood out from the generally contented ap- pearance of the girls, and I noticed her when I first began work. Toward noon she crumpled up over a rose-colored silk skirt she was sewing on and began sobbing. The tailor went to her, and was kind. She soon stopped crying, but not worrying. Like myself, she was “‘on trial’’—for her, a geri- ous matter. Her family is in need and in debt, and the fear that she might not suit prophesied in her heart that she would not, so she stitched into the rose-colored silk discouragement and despair. I don’t mind telling that I stitched some despair and incipient starvation into a pair of black silk sleeves myself. I hope the stitches will not prick the wearer, whoever she may be. But a bite of lunch from a brown paper package is more strict ob- servance of Lent than my carnal nature is used to. Also, bending over sewing from half-past 7 in the morning till 5 in the evening is a trade my spinal column has not learned. My shoulders ached, my eyes ached, my fingers were pricked and sore and stiff, and altogether I hate sewing. I say it frankly, unwomanly as the con- fession, may sound. Every pretty gown I shall see on Easter will give me a crick in the back, and cause me to reflect on the good points of sackcloth. I didn’t return to the tallor’s for a second day’s trial, and if he has wondered why the new girl failed to finisn the week for which she was engaged, he may know now it was be- cause sewing does not agree with the con- stitution of PAULINE PRY. —————— EDITOR MEDILL’S COMMENT When He Looked Over the Brilliant Array of His Newspaper Workers. The venerable Joseph Medill, publisher of the Chicago Tribune, and than whom no wiser editor ever walked the quarter deck of a great daily, spends most of his time in California, where he has divers and various possessions of a fruit plantation sort. In his absence the paper is under the controlling, guidarce of Managing Ed- itor Van Senthuysen. Among his other emphatic editorial traits, Medill has the one of frugality. He likes not waste and extravagance. Recently Medill returned to Chicago on a brief visit. The men on the ‘Tribune force, as told to a writer for The Star, concluded as an evidence of the re- spect and veneration which they felt for their ripe old chief, to give Medill a recep- tion at the Newspaper Club. Van Benthuy- sen had the celebration most in command, and that night bereath the central chan- delier he stood with Medill and introduced to him the Tribune young men, as one by one they filed by and shook’ the old edi- tor’s hand. “Do all of these splendid young men werk on the Tribune?” asked Medill in his simple, genuine way, as the sixty-seventh dress-suited gentleman gave his hand a South Clark street grip and passed on. “They do, Mr. Medill,” replied Van Ben- thuysen proudly, “they -do. And I can assure you, sir, that a better or more com- petent set of newspaper men never took an assignment in Chicago.” “No doubt of it,” sald Medill, in a musing far-away tone, “no doubt of it, whatever. I can see it in their faces. But I'll tell you Van,” and here the old editor’s far- away look faded while a brighter and ex- ceedingly fin de siecle expression supplant- ed it, “tomorrow you and I had better take a look over the pay rell.’” ——_—_. Couldn't Tell the Difference. From Puck. “How,” asked the captain of the train robbers, ‘did you manage to go through so many passengers alone?” “I had only,” rejoined the ordinary brig- and, “‘to carry a whisk broom in my hand, and they suspected nothing. e+ The fashion world gende Blaetter. upside down.”—Flle- THE NATIONAL'GUARD| FLOWER Return of Gen, Ordwag “and the Armory Building Manggement. ‘ UE GOSSIP. ABOUT THE MEQPHIS DRILL What is Going on Amon rious Compares. he Va- NOTES OF INTEREST Brig. 'Gen. Albert Ordway, commanding the District of Columbia militia, will be home early in the coming week, after a brief absence in Europe. His coming is looked upon as likely to put an end to the causes for complaint at the new National Guard Armory. The light is injuriously dim and the heat is entirely absent. The guardsmen assemble in the evenings, strain their eyes, shiver and grumble, but no effort has been made to-befter the con- dition of affairs. 3 The lease covering the National Guard Armory is for ten years, and the dis- gruntled soldiers claim that¥at the end of that period the structure and ground will be more than paid for by the sum turned over for rent. In view of these facts it is not extravagant to ask, so the soldiers claim, a proper service of heat and light, and even the erection of fire escapes. During the week the janitors have been uttering loud wails of woe because no pro- vision is apparent at the armory for draw- ing water, except through the fixtures of the washstards in the toilet rooms. This drawback entails a great expenditure of additional labor on the part of. those whose duty It fs to keep the interior of the structure in order. There is a prospect that @ fireman will soon be employed tosass the overworked engineer, ,but as yet i amounts ‘to nothing more (than @ proba- bility. ~~ : Seis “In the Riftx Gailgfy, It was errcneously stated in The Star Saturday last that a team “of twenty. men from company B, sixth battalion, would shoot a match with a team of similar size from the engineer battalion, Friday, April 26. The fact in the case is that a team from the. sixth battalion, of which organi- zation company B is one-fourth, will shoot a match with the engineer on the date mentioned. a tu With reference to the explanation of trcop A as to its failure te appear in the rifle gallery for ordered practice several weeks ago, which was criticised in The Star, Capt Barbour states at length the reasons for the absence of his command on the occasion referred to. Capt. Barbour declares that the armory was in an un- fin‘shed condition, the light and heat were insufficient, the walls were damp, and the door of the quartermaster’s store room insecure. Therefore, it was -deemed inad- visable by the troop to unpiick the uni- forms and other property, by} ich would have endangered their saféty/“and there- fore it was impossible to repbtt the troop in the gallery in uniform, 'a#tequired by existing orders. oa The Lemon Rilfes.;, Company B, third battall apt. Leon- ard H. Mattingly, which Wag;formed in February, 1894, has at last,.adapted a dis- tinctive name. The organization has been carefully considering the mattée for over a year, and has decided that tlie company shall be known outside of Natignal Guard circles as the “George E. in Rifles,”” in hcnor of Capt. George E. Tempo, a well- krown citizen of ‘the District. Capt, Lemen has heretofore aldéq\ the company financially, providing them ee full dress National Guard uniforms, ‘he quarters of the company have been handsomely fur- mished, and the organizgtion is in a flovrishing congition--Capti Mattingly and Kis men have recently takam\ several road marches, carrying full field équipment and preparing thelr own subsistence. Another extensive march has _beer(“plannéd, which is to be carried:out about May 30. Athletics at Memplits. The athletic-young men of Memphis are bestirring theniselves over the prospect of holding an athletic meeting during the big encampment in May. It is proposed to ap- point one day during the drill for athletic competitions among the approved amateurs of the city and any who may be members of the visiting companies. It is well krown that there is great interest in the east among military organizations in ath- letic matters, and the annual competitions ef the famous seventh regiment of New York are looked forward to by every ad- mirer in Gotham of these -contests. A number of promising athletes are members of the Washington companies, and no doubt they would enter and carry off prizes In such a contest as # is contem- plated. will be held at Memphis. The drill ground, Montgomery Park, is gaid to be an ideal place for an athletic contest, the Promoters claiming that the roomy track, the spacious lawn and the bracing air would insure the best of sports. The drill committee is using its utmost endeavor to secure the attendance of a government military band during the drill. It is also hoped to secure a number of gov- ernment troops for the encampment, and they tn connection with the Tennessee Na- tional Guard and the visiting organizations would make the affair the largest of its kind ever held in the south. Invitations to he present have been extended to President Cleveland and cabinet, the goyernors of all the states, a number of ex-confederate generals, several federal generals, ex- President Harrison, William McKinley and Thomas B. Reed. Will Attend the Drill. The Belknap Rifles of San Antonio, Tex., the first holder of the Galveston cup, has decided to attend the Memphis drill, and that means the ccmpany which beats them must make a superior showing - indeed. The Chickasaw Guards of Memphis, the company which challenged the Fencibles, is drilling nightly with over fifty men, and all Memphis is taking a lively interest in the progress of the organization. The Goy- ernor’s Guards of Memphis have publicly announced that they are anxious to tackle the Emmet Guard of this city, while the “Chicks” will take the Fencibles in tow. The fourth regiment of Maryland, which has been considering a proposition te go to Memphis, has decided not to take the trip on_account of the great cost. The Chickasaw Guards is the first com- pany to select a sponsor, they having nam- ed Miss Mary N. Mallory to look after their social interests during the drill. The sponsors for the Washington companies will be chosen by the management after formal entry has been made. Notes. \ Privates Hulbert Young arid Wj Brainard Appleby of company D, third battalion, and Private Albert Marks gf cdmpany B, third battalion, have passedg-th¢) battalion board of examination, and .begn recom- mended for appointment as corporals. The medal offered by company ‘A, second battalion, to the member making;the high- est score each month at ordéfed ,fifle prac- tice, was won Monday last by t. W. E. Thompson, who scored 48. Capt. KC. Edwards was second with 44. The winner is entitled to wear the medal, untt] the next appearance of the company in the gallery. Company A, second battalion, has for- mally protested against the closing of the armory at 4 p.m. Sundays. Sergeant Lewis W. Boody of company A, fifth battalion, has been appointed ser- geant major of the fifth battalion, vice Patrick O'Hare, resigned. Owing to the absence of a quorum, the regular menthly meeting of the first bat- talion, called for Wednesday evening last, was postponed one week. The battalion is te decide at the meeting whether or not it will take the proposed jaunt to Brook- lyn May 30. The engineer corps at its recent monthly meeting appropriated funds for an increase to the library, and also for the improve- ment of the quarters of the battalion. During the evening an interesting paper on “The Duties of Enginecr Troops” was read by Major Gilbert Thompson. Company B, engineer battalion, has clected First Lieut. G. A. Drury captain and Second Lieut. J. B. Lichty first utenznt. The Extent to Which They Are Used in Ohurch ‘Decoration. © Kinds of Floral Beauties. That Are Most Employed—Potted Plants the Correct Easter Presents. Easter is the time of flowers. The festi- val, which is in some respects the greatest in the calendar of the Christian church, typifying, ay it does, the risen Christ, comes in the early spring, when nature, freed from the pressure of the snows and frosts of winter, is making an effort to show her gratitude for balmy air and warm sunshine. She sends forth her earfiest and most beautiful floral. treasures and they have the freshness and vigor of youth and the fragrance that goes with the first blos- soms. The dainty and fragrant violet is then at its best, and the same is true of other flowers that might be named. Decorating the Churches. The observance of Easter by the churches calls for the employment of a large number of flowers in the decorations of-altars and chancel rails. In this city it is rare that any formal design of decoration is carried out, but masses of flowers and palms are banked in profusion wherever they can be placed most effectively. The Easter lilies— those famillarly known as the St. Joseph's lilies, as well as those of the calla variety, are most frequently emp!oyed, but besides these there are used hydrangeas, both of the pink and white variety, daffodils, rho- dodendrons, the yellow genesta, lilacs, both purple and white, the spirea japonica, azaleas and tulips. These, with palms and ferns in pots, can be combined to make beautiful and artistic effects, and many churches spend a good deal of money for their Easter decorations. It is not usual in this clty for the church authorities to give an order to a ficrist and then throw upon him the responsibility for the character of the work. It is customary for the la- dies of a church or a committee of them to undertake the Easter adornment, and they make their purchases of the flowers required. from many different . places. Easter decorations are growing each year, and a larger number of flowers will un- doubtedly be used this year than ever be- fore. 3 ‘The Custom Becoming General. The custcm is so beautiful that congrega- tions that formerly paid no special atten- tion to the observanc of Easter now look forward to ‘that festival with pleasur- able anticipation of thé joyous appearance that thelr hcuses of worship will present decked in fragrant flowers and graceful palms on the day that commemorates the last act in the consummation of the scheme of salvaticn. It is not likely that there is a church in the District that will not be decorated tom greater or less ex- tent with flowers on the coming Easter Sunday. The most elaborate ornamenta- tion will, of course, be found in the Cath- olic and Episcopal churches, and in some of these there are besides the masses of flowers, set designs of crosses, crowns or anchors, but in those of other denomina- tions it will be found that there will be palms upon the platform and flowers upon the desk. Roses are largely employed in Easter decorations, although roses are flowers that are obtainable the year round. Those that reach their best development at this time are the Magna Chart he Bruner and the Baroness Rothschild. Then, too, there are the lilies of the val- ley, the Scctch heather and other flowers that might be named. All these are em- ployed ‘n church decoration, either in pots or in vases, and go to make up beautiful harmonies of color. Easter Gifts of Flowe! The custom of making Easter presents has found a new avenue~for the employ- ment of flowers. The old habit of sending cards is out of date, and instead the gift is now something of beauty or utility. If the former nothing is more welcome to a lady than a box of cut flowers or a bloom- ing plant. The giving of flowers at Easter time is now very general, and its observ- ance in this city is constantly increasing. Flowers are so beautiful, so graceful, 80 fragrant, so suggestive of all that is ten- der and refined that they indicate the cul- ture and good taste of the giver as well as furnislt satisfaction and pleasure to the recipient. Many a hard feeling has been softened by a gift of flowers, and many an estrangement has been healed through the medium of roses or other floral presents. Formerly it was in good form to send flowers either loosely cut in a box or ar- ranged in a. bouquet or basket. This is still allowable, only if they are worked into a bouquet or basket or any other set design they are ornamented with bows and streamers of handsome ribbon, the colors to be either in harmony or contrast with the colors of the flowers, as the taste of the giver may suggest. The most elaborate of ficral gifts is probably found in a large deep basket with great long handle, which can be painted and gilded, so as to heighten the richness of the whole thing. This basket is either filled with earth or moss, and a border of ferns or Scotch heather is made; then can be placed a rose bush, an azalea, a lily, tulips, a big rhododendron or a hydrangea, or, in fact, any number of flowers that the basket will hold, all with roots, and a good prospect of continuing life. Then the handle of the basket can be ornamented with ribbon in any way that may be desired. Potted Plants as Presents. It is good form now to send a. lady a potted plant of any kind at Easter, and those who are able to indulge themselves extensively in this manner leave orders for flowers to be sent to their friends, se- lecting roses for some, a pot of lilies of the valley for another and palms, azalias or any flower already named for others. A novel idea that will be employed this year is to place bows of ribbon between the blossoms of flowers, the color to con- trast with the color of the bloom. These bows are attached to long wires that are wound around the branches and stalk cf the plants, so that they are held firmly in place and make a very pretty effect. Per- haps there may be some who think that the flowers themselves growing in their strength and beauty are sufficient without the ornamentation of ribbon, but, as this is the latest fad, it must go with those who desire to be considered in the swim. However, although this may be the fash- fon, it need not deter a man whose tastes lie in that direction from sending his best girl a growing flower without any other decoration than his own car —_—_—_—_-o2______ South African English. From the Natal Witness. R. Russell, superintendent of education, appears to delight—as well he may do—in publishing the funny little blunders that some of the candidates perpetrate at the collective examination. Here are a few “gems” which were selected from some MSS. which were not sent in for “The Wit- ness” literary prize competition. “Her hand was cold, like that of a ser- pent.” “The countess was about to reply when a door opened and closed her mouth.” ***Ha! Ha!’ he exclaimed in Portugues®.”” “The colonel paced backward and forward with his hands behind his back reading the newspaper.” “The man was dressed in a with pants of the same colo! All this seems very ridiculous, but similar blunders have been made by some of our best novelists. For instance, Anthony Trol- lope, in one of his works, speaks of a man “walking down the street whistling, with a cigar in his mouth.” Some of the author’s friends drew his attention to the absurdity but Trollope stoutly maintained that it was possible to whistle with a cigar in one’s mouth. However, he could not do it when challenged, and I have been no more suc- cessful myself. ——--—+e+ these velvet jacket, Mrs.—“The dentist says I must have a tooth out.” Mr.—“‘Never mind. It can’t happen many more times.”—Life. @ during the —used: “CERES” “Ceres’’ is made from SGOGOOSSOSOSS 9000 market. BOSS 06 Tirs. A. J. McGurdy, 2d Prize, Used ‘‘Ceres.’’ MESSRS. WM. M. GALT & CO.: Dear Sirs: I received the second prize ($20) at the Pure Food “Ex- position Bread Contest at Con- vention Hall in November for making the second best loaf of bread. : I used “Ceres” Flour, and in my humble judgment there is no flour superior to it. A J. McGURDY, 626 12th 2. Mrs. R. Rivers, 3rd Prize, Used ‘‘Ceres.”” MESSRS. WM. M. GALT & ©O.: Dear Sirs: I wish to say that I have used “Cer Flour for my bread. I have used it for several years—have tried other brands, but found none to equal the . I always recommend it fo my friends as being the best in i Ver full ery ree I 7 REMC! 1682 R. Lave. nw. Mrs. Ball, Honorable =, Mention, Used Ceres.” MESSRS. WM. M. GALT & CO.: Dear Sirs: The loaf of bread I SOOSO990S9S06 9990808000808 Bi & @ & GO6 = “Ceres” for sal SOSEo O8O8e Pure Food Show FLOUR. clusive Proof that ‘‘Ceres” Flour is the best? and Dakota Wheat, and is ground in the most modern mills amid clean surroundings by scrupulous millers. - Housekeepers say that ‘Ceres’? Flour makes MORE bread, LIGHTER bread, SWEETER bread, WHITER bread and BETTER bread than any other fiour on the Winner of the First Prize Used ‘‘Ceres’”’ Flour. Read These Letters: Insist upon having ‘Ceres’ ® Flour---accept no substitute. awake grocers. Wm. M. Galt & Co., Wholesalers, Cor. 1st & Ind. Ave. N° W. J SSOSSO See Sees: S FOR EASTER/ 6@G09 GOGO0C00C000000 89080 Only “Ceres” Flour Makes Prize Bread. All the Prize Winners of the recent Bread Contest, which took place at Convention Hall © Isn’t this con- hard No. 1 Minnesota baked of ‘Ceres’? Flour for the food contest was made out of the ordinary baking, and no extra_paii taken with it. I cousider ‘Ceres’ as no equal. I have used a great many brands, but prefer it to any other. It is'so uniform and makes such soft brown crust. Respectfully. M,C, BALL, Y¥. ave. nw. Tirs. W.W.Hough, Hon. Mention, used ‘‘Ceres.” . WM. M. GALT & CO.: Sirs: During many years of house- ing I have tried many brands of flour, and find none to compete with the “Ceres”: brand. It makes up well, and the bread ts sweet and light,” and pleases the Miss Emily Gaines, Hon. Mention, Used ‘*Ceres.’’ MESSRS. WM. M. GALT & ©O.: ‘Dear Sirs: I received “honorable mention” for my loaf of bread at the Pure Food Show. I “Ceres” Flour in baking that loaf, * and we use it constantly. Miss EMILY GAINES. e by all wide- — 3 GRAPE VINES, 5 EVERGREEN, gAn Up-to-date Necessity Siena {For the Toilet and Bath. oer Ime D0, pel ae Soap. Nursery, eel ee =< P. 4. Bux 484, ph See Medicated, antiseptic, absolutely pure. Soothing and healing, it purifies and gives health and beauty to the skin, removing all irritating and humiliating disfigurements. Price 25 Cents, AT ALL DRUGGISTS. Foster Medicine Co., Baltimore, Md. 42a12r-8 5 500009694006 000 00000000009 Pe eon ES FLOUR = “The universal verdict.” _ Daily consumption over 20,000 barrels. Pillsbury’s Best is the Best. ‘Than all Better Geb. Breitbarth’s Assignee Sale. MORE — BARGAINS =-for quick buyers. The reductions are not im- aginary, as is the case in many advertisements nowadays--all.are bona fide. Everything in stock equally cheap. 1 Oak Sideboard = = $50.00 (REDUCED FROM $85.) 1 Oak Sideboar $48.00 (REDUCED FROM $80.) 1 Oak Sideboard = = $38.00 (REDUCED FROM $65.) 1 Oak Sideboard (REDUCED FROM $45.) 1 Oak China Closet (REDUCED FROM $58.) 1 Oak China Closet (REDUCED FROM $70.) 1 Oak China Closet (REDUCED FROM $16.) 1 Oak $28.50 $38.00 $42.00 $32.00 China Closet Geo. Breitbarth, 515 7th St. O. T. Thompson, Assignee. aps-Sdco $19.50 HOME ICE Comr E. ILLIS, Lis, Depot, 13% ai Wholesale and retail Penobscot Ice. i su; reasonable price always. ear. - Tel. 489, aler in Kennebec the year round and Sold 19,000 tons the 5s Jal2. nd at tnt 2 5 O’CLK. TEA ; KETTLES. A abran-new”” lot just in, and in the daintiest shapes, at the lowest prices we ave ever offered. Made of brass, per and silver plated, in all si: original shapes and designs. $14. « Here is a special: 25 High Wrought-iron Stand brass in to Ta i $2.60 Book of receipts free with each Kettle. Sole agents for “Pasteur” Filters. Wiimarth & Edmonston, Crockery, &c., 1205 Pa. Ave. ap5-34d $1. Tea Kettles of polished lesigns ‘$11.50 Toile ‘Sets, Only $6 MINTON’S GOLD-STIPPLED TOILET SETS, with Jar—very rich and pretty— reduced from $11.50 to $6—only a few sets left. to see them. Another Bargain In Dinner Sets. Fate” crohen Ho pattern. HAY. ILAND CHINA DINNER SETS still unsold. These goods were reduced when the new tariff law took effect. What's left will be sold. in single ‘pleces or sets, at A FURTHER REDUCTION of 20 PER CENT. ‘Two styles of decora- tion, both ‘very neat. See them. A rare opportunity. i. W. Beveridge, 1215 F St. & 1214 G St. POTTERY, PORCELAIN, GLASS, dc. ap5-400 “Tell Your Sister” CAR- BURINE Will cleans those gloves. It cleans all fabrica - Hundreds of bottles sold datly. Only 25c. bottle, Ogram’s, ¥ Linen Lawn, Very wide SUCCESSOR TO (40 inches). Quantity limited. HOOE, BROS. & 00., 1228 F ST. J. B. Nalle, 5-204 se TIVE CORDIAL. iseuses, but it will cure gestion, All draggists,