Evening Star Newspaper, February 27, 1897, Page 17

THE EVENING STAR, SATURDAY, FEBRUARY 27,..1897-24 PAGES. 17 THE HOLLY-SPBIG SPOON ee, The Singular Loss and Recovery of a Precious Heirloom. BY EDWIN C. MARTIN. (Copyright, 1807, the SS. McClure Co.) Written for The Evening Star. Winter, when it fell at Osceola, fell with amplitude. If you stood on the upper bridge—a high, open bridge—you saw the canal stretching-far up and down, a level trench of snow, its whiteness emphasized here and there by a patch of brown earth showing from some underwash in the banks. Southward, at the center of the town, a file of low-decked boats lay sol- dered to their wharves by snow-covered In the near fields to the north the ite ridges, piked with last year's corn- stalks, suggested to boys and dogs rich possibilities in rabbits. The like possi- h in lesser degree, were sug- y the nearer common, thickly be- s white surface was with black- flanked logs, lying there each under its long, narrow napkin of snow until the iron-toothed gourmand, whom one could hear whe at his feast from over on z the river ba should be ready to have them served to him, and the rows of foot tracks, juvenile and canine, running all about, hinted of efforts to realize on some h possibilities here. A wider, whiter emmon on the east, with the clumps of white horses, smoking chimneys and black- edge, and the steel blue yond, was a very pic- e mill pond skaters, hoys and themselves, with shovel hard, hot labor, in brief hool, cleared of snow the In one corner morrow, if the + in a relieved by ice for the occasion and hedged about by a throng of spectators, id baptize the latest converts of reviv Hither and thither, about and all through the town, wcund the deep-trodden foot so narrow that when two people et one must needs step out into the full depth of the snow, for no provision of erdinance or custom exacted of ho! holders any contribution in this sort to public convenienc and except in small patches at gatewa and before the doors of stores, the snow was left lying until sun and travel dissolved {t. And since in Osceola the rubber boot was as yet un- known and the rubber shoe was disdained of men as a wear beneath their manhood, » rarely failed to find, in the houses and a man sitting with his feet flat- the hot stove, sizzling off from his boot heels. sons the prevailing form of w vening teas, but Was apt to be a round of rather The ladies came in k gowns, of the erial. with wide edged white men wore coats loth. no less carefully kept excellent in quality; and high, swathed in black silk or satin inner, ¢ooked mainly hand, was served in t of its abundance ave furnished forth twelve daintiness which courses they are made a@ articular ysters, four or five umber of cooked fru'ts, S sweet, coffee and ert of two kinds of erved in cream, and a store teued ag snow tap stiff collar: neckerch point of. vegetable pickles sou was the chef oeuvre of the were the least that decency Ww: and the guest was expected, r t between them, but to eat som what of all ompany came to table for these din- h a certain hesitation and awk- i for a little while after the: onversation rather lagged. fell a sharp, expectant silence u the minister, if pre t, as he usually was, had invoked a blessing. Then as the host K carving knife and fork in hand from his chair with a certain every eye and all attention fixed intently him, and remained so fixed while with a single sturdy stab he planted fork immovably astride the knob of the bone of the turkey and with his es y unjointed wings and legs, © white breast meat in thin, and by a bold stroke through 1 tissue of either flank and a rn on the handle of the fork, umphantly cleared away the breastbone d exposed to appetizing view a steam- odoriferous mound of gray stuffing. company drew an audible settied back comfortably in . as when a mid-air acrobat con- feat without breaking his nec ortly the talk began to show som i fluency. But until the carving ond a staple compli- e carver—usually upped from any suspicion of fulsomeness—and perhaps a regarding her method s turkeys, little or € on custom, there- quently under this of a prompting scarcely r providential—when at Mrs. Hamlin Wampler, to tell quite a story of the She told it in a plaintive, ter a dinner given stantially came to with a view to washing h her own hand (as she found a spoon holly-sprig spoons. ded much, for Wampler was a@ Very neat Job. None of the circle were bad carvers, and have deemed it a shame be- nd words to have been; but Wampler had jeftest and surest hand of them with him Mrs. Gears was rformer. At the conclu- two or three ladies mur- Gipsy Ann. inctory “that was too bad. he Mrs. that hoily s the loss was especially occasioned the first ven her at her marriage 0 had brought it at an out from New Jersey, sewn up petticoat, a gift to her a her own mother, Mrs. r, and to the latter previous! her marriage from her moth- er, Mre. Gears’ greatwrandmother, for whom it had been expressly made by a Lon- cn silversmith; the only set of its des! ever seen or heard of. vords “gandmother” and “greatg @octor’s head nodded slightly. like all other eyes at the tal Gears’, was on Wampler’s knif. Wampler shaved away the last bit of breast, and raised his instrument for the master stroke through the flank. the [ary dipped forward a little farther. The knife descended, plerced—then stopped ab- Fupily. Wampler’s face grew red like a he but his eye, even Mrs. burn. Mrs. Wampler’s grew red, too, out of sympathy. “You must have struck a teugh turkey, mother,” said he. t's a young turkey,” protested Mrs. Wampler, “and it seemed very tender when I was dressing it.” “Then you didn't cook it enough,” urged Wampler. “I had it in the oven four hours,” said Mrs. Wampler. The other ladies averred that, oven was right, encugh. By pushing and sawing like an amateur with a dull blade, Wampler finally cut through, and sought to retrieve himself by a special dexterity on the other side. But again the knife, after entering keenly, came to a sudden halt, and had to be driv- en on by main force. Wampler finally wrenched off the breast bone and resumed his chair in a sweat and a pant. ‘There was perhaps more than the usual movement of relaxing interest around the table as,he finished, but there was less than the usual outburst of talk. The serv- ing of the plates began in comparative si- lence. In the course of this office Wampler thrust a large spoon deep intoc the mound of stuffing. There came a metallic click which every body distinctly heard and again fixed eyes on the host. Then, on bringing up the spoon, he turned up with it the handle of another, a smaller one, which everybcedy saw. Sirce there could be no concealment, Wampler sought escape from the misadventure by jocularity, and seying, “Well, well, mother, you must have run short of bread crumbs for your stuf- if your four hours was long to do his utmost to keep the congregation in_ harmony. But, unfortunately, the congregation had not come under the spell of the pastor's moving judgment and prayer, and divisions of such magnitude ensued that the laymen of the session. forgot their good resolutions, and*the session itself became a seat of war. Mr. Holt had served in his present pastorate ten years. Ten years’ service in no Office lessens the number of a man’s critics, unless he be a man of supreme tal- ent; and that Mr. Holt was not. From his installation there had been in the congre- gation a dissatisfied minority, and it had grown with the passage of time more nu- merous and more outspoken. It now found in his vote against having the Wamplers before the session what, unconciously, it had long been waiting for—a point of union and onset. The pastor’s friends, however, were in the main stanch, and open oppo- sition only intensified their ardor. The ses- sion divided again about evenly; but the opponents of the pastor were the cunninger faction, and finally persuaded two of his supporters to disregard personal prefer- ence and join them in voting a request to Mr. Holt for his resignation. With his session thus become practically unanimous against him, and a good third of the congregation fiercely urging the ses- sion on, the poor minister would gladly have yielded up his charge and fled away. But this, it seemed to him, would be moral weakness, a clear violation of his duty to the larger fraction who devoutly besought him to stay. So he refused to comply with the session's request. Appeals followed to “WELL, WELL, MOTHER, YOU MUST HAVE RUN SHORT OF BREAD CRUMBS——” fing,” drew forth the spoon and held it up in full view. ‘ t's my spoon,” cried Mrs. Gears, fair- ly shrieking, “the one I lost—my ‘holly- sprig: and she stretched out her hand as if to recover it, If need be, by force. “At any rate it's not mine,” said Mrs. Wampler. Out of sheer confusion she spoke curtly: she looked as if in another moment she must collapse. “Oh, it's mine, it’s mine! ersisted Mrs I should know Gears excit- to her. * “It must be yours,” said Mrs. Wampler. “I remember the design, and it's not like of mine. 1 never saw it, unless at your house, until this moment, and the turkey I dressed and put tnte the over. with my own hand. Even with the precious spoon restored to her possession, and her ownership of it thus fully acknowledged by Mrs. Wampler, Mrs. Gears did not wholly recover herself. Until the company broke up her manner retained a tinge of pugnacity, and she wore a look rather hard and suspicious. The other guests made a particular show of ease and gaiety. They commented a little on the singularity of the incident, and ven- tured to make a joke or two upon it, then dropped it from the talk and were studious rot to recur to it. One and all departed, however, with it still sufficiently in mind, and more than made themselves amends ultimately for any self-denial they may have suffered regarding it in the presence of their host and hostess. Thus very soon the whole town knew the story, and Mrs. Gears’ holly-sprig spoon became celebrated. Never did a dinner party leave the givers of it with heavier spirits than theirs left Mr. and Mrs. Wampler. Wampler would have been not a little disturbed simply at a misadventure in his carving, and Mrs. Wampler ut one in her cooking. But to these occasions of discomfort the affair of the holly sprig spoon added, or at least seemed to them to add, the possibility of putting in question their honesty; and the sense of this moved them finally to find of- fense in the behavior of Mrs. Gears. The more they thought it over—and the habit of people in Ozceola was to think over things a good deal—the more offense they found; so that the feeling of both soon came to be as expressed by Mrs. Wampler: he might as well have sald I stole her spoon in so many words.” Tin point of fact, no such thought had at that time entered Mrs. Gears’ mind. For ten days she had fretted continually, suf- fering in her appetite and in her sleep, over the loss of the spoon, and the conse- quent break in the set. When the spoon reappeared so strangely, the sight of it threw her into a kind of frenzy, and she felt that she must clap hands on it at once or it would diseppear again. And when she had got it in her hands her feeling was as if some cruel prank had been played on her and she must look sharp or it would be repeated. How the spoon came to be where ft was found, which was the question of first interest to the rest af the company, did not occur to her until later; and when it did occur, it at first started no doubt in her of the honesty of the Wamplers, But higher bodies, and a tedious, complex, ex- hausting contest, ending in defeat for the opposing minorit: which thereupon with- drew from the church in a body and or- ganized a new societ And this is the origin of what is since known in Osceola as the New Church, the church which in recent years has been so marvelously blessed. But it had a hard struggle in the beginning. It began to pro: per only after Rev. Mr. Holliwell took charge. He is a natural pulpit orator, a man thoroughly abreast with the times. He began by prefacing his sermons with a familiar talk on current topics, and every three months he preached a sermon ex- clusively for men, and another exclusively for women, and one for the young people, and by these and other novelties he soon awakened an interest, which has continued, until now the New Church congregation is much the largest and wealthiest in the town. Then Andrew Jarboe, a rich old bachelor farmer, died and left the church $10,000, and that was a great help to it. In life Andrew had not been a notable sup- porter of churches, but Mr. Holt had once rebuked him sharply for failing to supply a due weight of butter, and it is supposed that this had somewhat to do with deter- mining his surprising bequest to the New Church. Poor Mr. Holt, after the New Church be- gan to come up so conspicuously, suffered a certain decline in the regard of his con- gregation. The members were still free in expressions of devotion to him, but it be- came evident that in their feelings they had a little cooled, and Mr. Holt finally sought another charge. And his departure is not the least important item in a general change which has now made Osceola into a wholly different town from what it was at the time when Hamlin Wampler disin- terred Mrs. Luther Gears’ holly-sprig spoon from the turkey stuffing. Winter at its visitations is still profuse, but the house- holder and shopkeeper now sweep and shovel the snow from their walks down al- most to the last flake, and but a slight moiSture under foot deters the ablest-bodied men from going abroad without their rub- ber shoes. Even the revivals are rot what they were. So much have they suffered in their old- time fervor that to the cne church in which they still maintain thelr former lustjhood people now resort in crowds out of mere curiosity to view the spectacle. Here as regularly as winter comes the best known reprobates of the town are brought under tumultuous conviction. But when come the spring thaws, little by little their new virtue relaxes, and. as the year advances and all nature grows jocund and voluptu- ovs, they slip back, for the most part, into their old wild ways. Thus one winter opens with no less occasion then another for a stentorian evangel. Last winter, however, among the converts of this hardened type appeared one noted character who had nev- er been brought to the penitent's posture before, for however brief a season. This was a woman known as Gipsy Ann; a keen-eyed,-disheveled, shrill-voiced, half- mad creature, held, as her name betokened, in a certain suspicion and fear, and often a word in the mouths of inert mothers to the crazy, dull sense of having somehow been victimized continued to harry her, and intimidate willful children. She dwelt alone in a remote, ramshackle cabin, living main- for that she began imperceptibly to hold the Wamplers answerable. Under a fortnight’s pricking by these fantastic grievances, the next time Mrs. Gears and Mr. and Mrs. Wampler met they barely knew each other; and the next time after that they knew each other not at all. Then it became impossible to in- vite them into the same companies, and through the circle of their common ac- quaintance there began to steal, like a line of spilt ofl across a floor, a separation out of sympathy. By the time the separation became fully defined, Mrs. Gears’ umbrage at the Wamplers had come to_ positive grounds. She did not scruple to think, and to freely say: “‘We have no direct proof; but it's very singular that the spoon snould have been found in their possession; and they've never offered any explanation.” ‘The Wamplers, too, had by this time taken an open stand. On all convenient oc- casions, and on some not convenient, they declared that. they preferred not to have the friendship of people who thought them capable of stealing a spoon. hus the difference grew into an open feud. Finally it was carried into the church. A document was laid before the session urging it to summon Mr. and Mrs. Wampler to an explanation. Their con- duct, the document set forth, in thus far refusing an explanation, was neither broth- erly nor Christian; it savored, if not of guilt, at least of self-righteousness and pride; and in either case they were amen- ble to the session. There was prolonged argument in the session, and some plain speaking and strong feeling. At the vote the lay members divided evenly, and it de- volved on the pastor, the Rev. Cornelius Holt, to decide. He ‘was a man of rare humility, but of a ready sense of justice and an obstinacy in following it that no amount of aggression could outwear. He decided against the petition and in favor of the Wamplers. He had talked with them, he said, frequently about the affair of the spoon; they had, indeed, several times sought his ccunsel. He was con- vinced of their honesty; and if they offered no explanation it was simply because they bd none to give; the appearance of the spoon in their house was as inexplicable to them as to others. He would not say that they had always borne themselves as frankly and forgivingly as Christians should; but there had been, he feared, mis- takes made on both sides. The difference that had grown up had been a great grief to him. Asa pastor and asa friend he had employed all his persuasions to heal it. He believed that in time it would be healed, and that right feeling, the loving spirit, would yet prevail; but if it were brought into the churcb !t would only intensify and deepen, and the day of its removal be put farther off. There was moisture in his eyes and a half sob in his voice as he concluded with ” and in the prayer he offered —* brief, fervent prayer for gentle coun- confiding hearts—he was checked several times by his emotions. The other members, of the session were 2 “Let us pray, wels and touched, ‘and repaired to their homes witi deliciously pure and exalted with a mind resolved, every man of tna ly on charity, but earning @ little money now and then by helping in the rough work of the kitchens. She had always some spe- c:al patrons. They changed, however, from time to time, for in her moods she was apt to quarrel with her benefactors. Among the most devoted of them had once been Mrs. Wampler and Mrs. Gears; but on some fancied provocation both were abruptly dis- missed from her regard, as a number of others had been dismissed, and neither had had aught to do with her now for many years. Of all her dislikes the bitterest hith- erto had been of the churches. At the name of any particular honored member, her Wont was to cry out, with a wild gesture: “My hand’s a lily beside his black heart. When, therefore, word went abroad that Gipsy Ann had presented herself at the “mourner’s bench,” Osceola quivered with interest through all its members. The high and the low, the full-robed and the ragged were alike excited; and at the next meeting the swift runners after sensations thronged the church. The object and hope of these intruders were of the vaguest, but the entertain- ment they tought they found. In the con- fidence that a new life had begun for her, Ann seized the occasion to renounce her past, item by item, in the presence of the congregation. The renunciation lacked somewhat of the humility that usually characterizes such performances; but, aside from this, tt proceeded quite prosal- cally, and would have yielded no particu- lar relish to the curious, but that toward the end she disclosed—altogether inci- dentally and as a matter of no more im- portance than any other she had touched upon—that she was the demon behind the mystery of the holly-spring spoon. For not a few of her auditors even this passage had no pungency, since the incident of the holly-sprig spoon had befallen so long ago as to be far back of their knowledge, but with the larger number it was still well in memory, and a distinct murmur passed through the house as Ann related how, in revenge of an injury which she thought had been done her by Mrs. Gears, she stole the spoon, and then in revenge of another which she thought had been done her by Mrs. Wampler, “tucked it away,” as she said, in Mrs. Wampler’s turkey. “And I mind me to this day,” said she, “what a time I had—the oven was so hot, and Mrs. Wampler gone from the kitchen only for a minute, and the, spoon such an onhandy shape. But, somehow, Satan let_me succeed—as he always lets us, if only we try hard enough—and little 1 thought of all the trouble it would mak. But, maybe, it’s done scme good, too. On account of it, we might say, there’s two churches now where ‘was only one before. So, perhaps, somewise for- atven me.” ‘The ice in the mill pond was thicker last winter than it been for years, but it cracked agaih and again under the it of the crowd gathered the Sunday to see Gipsy Ann baptized. —_\_<_s__— ‘From Life. “My physician tells me I must stop smok- THE: FLOWER GARDEN What to Plant and When and How to Do It, is SUCCESS REQUIRES ,FORETHOUGHT The Summer House. a Jeans of Privacy in a Town Lot. COLOR IN DESIGN SIL EO Written Exclusively for The Evening Star. VERY ONE LOVES flowers and the sight fof green things grow- ing, and it will take another century of scientific teaching to convince | mankind that the la¥fsh beau- ty of the floral king- dom exists for utili- “tarian Purposes orly. > ae And when spring stirs In the piotd*the impulse to go out and is as imperative ith daughter of Adam as plant something every t.ue son and the Englishman's craving to go out and kill something. . A garden, or scmething akin to it, be- comes an absorbing desire. The florists know this full well, and seize on this*favof- able mood to flood the mails with gor- geously illustrated catalogues of floral im- Possibilities, over which the — recipient dreams and plans, and figures, until his brain reels, And, indeed, madness cer- tainly lies in that direction unless one- has learned to swallow florists’ adjectives with a grain of salt. Only those who have planted and watch- ed over a seed, or bulb, or root, noting each phase of development from the hour when the earth gives way before the gen- tle but irresistible force of the growing shoot to the opening of the perfected flower, only they know the pleasure to be derived from flowers. And it Is a pleasure almost any one may know if he or she will go about it in the right way. That way is made up of a few funda- mental rules, and though, as Mrs. Micaw- ber says, “‘Experiented does it,” je must have an idea or two to start with. The ex- periences of others teach quite as pro- Atably as our own, if we will only accept them. The Way Suggest Now, first of all, my flower-loving friend, where are yevr floricultural experiments to be made? If in one of those dismal back yards, shut in by hidecus board fences, coal sheds and tall buildings, to which most city people are limited, then I am sorry for you. And I feel like saying “don’ Still something may be done even there. You may have a’ neat bit of sod, and by digging out the heavy, dark soil along the fence and shed, and filling in with good, light soil that has felt the sunshine, you may induce the patient, faithful honey suckle or good-natured ‘morning glory to accept a precarious existence there. Do not plant anything else’ unless in boxes raised above the ground on supports, and sO exposed to ventilation, The soil must be aerated, or it is deadly to all plant life. One thing more. If the rear wall of your hofise is icward the south or east you may accomplish something Ike a miracle. Dig a hole near the house two feet de and two feet wide and fill in with a layer of good compost first, then up’ to the level with mellow garden sof Then plant moon Hower. A fine plant can be bought in the market for 10 certs. You will think it is never going to start skyward, but when it finally does start, watch It grow! Six inches in twenty-four hours—that is its usual record. Trained on strong cords it will easily cover the end of, the tallest house. And some midsummer evening when the rocn is neat the ‘full take a chair out into that despised backyard (two chairs if you prefer, my dear young lady), and sit there in the white light, silent, as in the presence of a mystery, and watch those great silvery disks open, and if you are not filled with unutterable thoughts, a poet for the time being, I have no further use for you. But perhaps you are lucky enough to have a large front or side yard, or even more space at your disposal, to be made beautiful. Now comes the important ques- tion whether you wish to make a perma- nent garden, that shall grow more lovely from year to year, or whether it is to be the brief delight of one season. In either case the first thing to do is to study care- fully how to produce the best effects with- out first making annoying and expensive mistakes. Whatever you do, don’t rush out and buy whatever takes your fancy, and plant, helter-skelter, anywhere, as happens to be conveflient. You might by a happy chance produce some pretty effects, but the probabilities are that your garden will be a dead failure. What you must do is to station yourself opposite your house and ground, with pencil and note book, and become a landscape gardener on a small scale. Every one owes to public opinion and his own self-respect that the front of his premises shall present an attractive appearance. By Taking Thought. In imagination lay out your walks, lawn, beds and borders, and plant in them such things as, after profound consideration, seem likely to do the best and make the finest effect. Never lose sight of the point mentioned, whether you are planning for permanent or temporary beauty. Having decided these points, draw a plan of the whole, and then consult a florist, or your catalogues (always remembering that grain of salt), and estimate the expense, modify- ing your ideas according to circumstances. Better far a well-kept bit of lawn. without a flower or shrub in sight than badly plan- ned and worse-tended beds and borders. If your lawn is rough and full of coarse grasses and weeds, don't attempt to doctor it. Have it spaded up early in March, and the undesirable roots thrown out’ and burned up, not spaded under, to reappear in all their pristine ugliness. Have the sur- face graded, and covered three inches deep with good garden or meadow soll, mixed with compost, or a little bone meal. Then sow thickly with lawn grass and white clover seed, and press the top flat and smooth with a board. By midsummer you will have a pretty lawn, always supposing that you have made a judicious use of hose and lawn mower, and waged war, merciless and persistent, on hens, dogs and boys. But don’t forget that it takes as long to produce a really fine, close, velvety lawn as it does to produce a gentleman, and I believe that is said to require three generations. ‘To hide the iron or wire fence nothing is better than honeysuckle. With cultivators a beautiful close hedze can be achieved in two or three years, and one that is green nearly the year round. There are ever-blooming-sorts, too, so that one may have constant fragrance and bloom. If you prefer your lawn interspersed with shrubbery and flower beds, great care must be exercised in the choige of, plants. For a circular flower bed in the center of small lawn nothing is finergthan cannas. They can be bought at a law figure now, except the new and rare dies. Select tall-growing sort for the mi AS flam- ingo” is as fine as any. Wheti’plant one or two rows, according to the sige of the.bed,, about this, choosing only let_and_yel- low varieties and of lower gpowth:~Never mix in pirks ard purples with your flaming reds and yellows. White w be hand-" some for either the cegtralspiant or the outer row, but the white: sdyts are” more’ expensive. a Mannen of Colo?. A bed of all pink or all qoarlet. geraniums. is always attractive, or of coleus,. careful- ly chosen with regard to color and” habit of growth. Asim-decorative effect is: want- @d especially, ever-blooming plants: or, fol- iage plants are far aws tter which, however: beau: ja, Ger not less tt Nearest hardy cli eral years to front of them « row of some orative gett If you have geraniums or coleus, your circular bed choose scarlet, yellow or pink cannas to against the house—the tallest sort possible. ™ front of these set a row of early flower- ing chrysanthemums or branching asters, pink, white or purple. This will produce a gorgeous effect until late autumn. Now, supposing you to have a side lot running back a hundred feet or more, there is pretty sure to be some unsightly board fence or outbuilding visible from the street which you must by all means manage to conceal. For future effect plant against the rear ‘fence good grape vines, at least five or six feet apart. Or try the Eu- ropean plan of training peach, apricot or plum “trees flat against fence or building, but only on a southern or western ex- posure, where the fruit may get the full benefit of the sun. As a temporary screen plant between the grape vines and fruit trees quick-growing vines and the ricinus, or castor bean, which 1s very effective with its rich tropical foll- age, and is a rank grower. Then group in different places three or four hollyhocks of the improved kinds. They are immensely decorative. It must not be forgotten that they are biennials; so if immediate effect is wanted you should buy year-old plants of a reliable florist, choosing the most effec- tive colors. Once started the hollyhock is a permanent institution, but it would be best to plant one or two packages of seeds early in the summer, to make sure of plen- ty of blooming plants—for yourself and your neighbors—another year. Let me say right here that no person of taste will whitewash his fences and out- buildings. He will paint or stain them dull brown, or gray, or dark green. Then as the vines grow their native hideousness will disappear in the prevailing harmony of green and brown, A Coign of Vantage. Having done your duty as a public-spirit- ed citizen, and incidentally gratified your own pride and vanity, by making your place attractive to the passer by, you must now turn your attention to the real thing— the flower garden—ihe bit of paradise that is to be a place of rest and recreation and pleasure to the whole family. The more private this can be made the better, for nobody likes to be under the public eye, or even the neighbors’ eyes, in his hours of ease and undress summer costume. Of course, entire seclusion in one’s own grounds means a big place, but something like it may be obtained on a smaller scale by means of a summer house, Open on one side, and that side the least exposed. A light lattice work, a few quick-growing vines, and nature will do the rest. By July the commonplace structure of laths will be a leafy bower, defying curious eyes, and a constant delight to family and friends. And now for your flower beds—your rose and chrysanthemum beds, your bed of summer-flowering bulbs, of bright, dainty annuals, and of old-time, sweet-scented posies, dear by association with persons and things that are now but memories. And your tall hedge of sweet peas—that must nct be forgotten, elther. Having planned the size, shape and situ- ation of your beds and borders with due seriousness, begin with the soil. It is abso- lutely useless, and worse, it is extravagant and wasteful to put plants of any sort in roor soi]. Whatever else it may be, it must be soil that will not bake on the surface, nG matter how hot and dry the weathe It may get dry as dust, and it will if you let it, but if it bakes it is unfit for plants or seed. In and about Washington tae soil is apt to be a kind of heavy red clay, fit ouly for the potter. It is sure to be that just when you plan to have a flower bed. Every cunce of this clay must be spaded up for at least two feet in depth and per- sonally conducted off your premises, or ten to one {f your man doesn’t dump it back Away with it! , if your garden spot has the advan- tage of natural drainage, which is easil. ascertained by a little observation of sui roundings, the next step is to deposit about six inches of good compost in the bottom of the excavation. Good composi, mind! Not the mass of abominations in the way of Giscarded shoes, bustles, vegetable cans and defunct animals which nine times out of ter the man you engage to furnish it will to palm off upon you; but such as fior- ists and gardeners use. If you know ex- actly what you want you will be sure to find it somewhere; but trust no wandering encant of Ham to furnish it without preliminary inspection. Having got it and put it where it will do the most good, fill up to the level with good garden soil, or the top soil of field or meadow. See that all stones or rough objects are removed and a little finely-chopped, good compost mixed thoroughly in, and your ground is ready for plants. For seeds still further eparation is necessary, directions for which will be given later on. If you have chosen wisely your rose beds have been given a sunny spot, somewhat protected from north winds by a fence or wall. Select for bedding purposes only the ever-blooming sorts. Their name is legion, and many of those advertised are worth- less. Unless you know exactly what you want, do not order from a florist (though if permitted I could name one who could be implicitly relied upon to select for you the best sorts). Buy of a home florist in the market, and see with your own eyes what you are getting. Set small roses twelve inches apart the first season, thin- ning out as they increase. Hybrid perpetuals and remontants should be grown in detached spots, or in a border along the side of the house, as they grow into large bushes. In setting out roses dig deeply, according to the size; if potted, crumble off some of the earth about the roots, very gently, then set in the hole, and sprinkle the soil around the clump, patting it down lightly. If the ground is dry water well before filling up; then fill up high above the level to allow for settling. Plant- ed in this way hardly any plant will wilt if in good condition. In the Matter of Roses. By all means buy two-year-old roses. They are more satisfactory in every respect. By getting them very early in the spring, in a dormant condition, they can be bought much cheaper, and will do far better than ycunger plants, however thrifty. Next to the rose in value, as regards beauty and prominence, comes the chrys- anthemuins, of course, and, as of the rose so volumes have been written on this one superb flower without exhausting the sub- ject. New sorts are appearing each year marvels of beauty they are, too, and very expensive. The amateur may, however, se- cure gorgeous results with moderate out- lay. Select early flowering sorts, unless destined for a protected situation, and plant in a bed by themselves. They are terrible egoists, absorbing everything the earth contains, without regard for their humble neighbors. Give them lots of rich com- Post, lots of water and lots of room. Al- low no shoots from the root, no low branches. Tie to stakes, pinch off the tips of the branches when they get to be four inches long. This “pinching back” process must be kept up until August. Then let them bud; but if you want show flowers leave only one bud—the central one of each clustez—to mature. Watering once a week with very weak liquid manure is excellent for: roses, chrysanthemums and, indeed, most strong plants, If'space is at your disposal, by all means start a bed of hardy and summer-fiowering bulbs. With care in selecting, a succession of bloom may be had. The hardier sorts, like the irises, narcissus, jonquils, paeon- nies, lilium, candidum, hemerocalis, etc., increase from year to year in size and beauty. Of the kinds requiring to be taken up in the fall—like the various Japanese lilies, gladiolus, etc., a gorgeous dis- play may be made without great expense. Bear in mind always that the best results are obtained only by keeping a certain color scheme in mind, planting the tall- growing kinds behind or in the center of the others, and giving plenty of room. In another article the selection and cul- ture of annuals, the “old-time” flower border, and the roof garden, will be treated. Particular attention will be given .to that popular favorite, the sweet pea, which few people: understand in the least how to cultivate. JULIA SCHAYER. ——— Involuntary Confirmation. From Fliegende Blatter. —? ART AND ARTISTS.| NERVOUS DYSPEPSIA. A Cure for It. On Wednesday, when the new Corcoran Gallery of Art was thrown open io the general public for the first time, the build- ing was thronged with visitors anxious to view the pictures and statues in their new home. No charge was made for admission on that day, but the regular free days will be Tuesdays, Thursdays apd Saturdays, as heretofore. While the attention of the vis- itors was lergely devoted to the butiding tt- self, and to admiring the happy blending of perfect utility with the highest style of beauty, there were a number of new pieces of statuary to be seen and the old familiar cones appeared to vastly better advantage under the improved lighting. There are aiso a number of new pictures in the gal- lery, though most of these are in the loan collection. ‘There are two new pictures that have been presented to the gallery in commem- oration of the opening of the new building. One of these, presented by Mr. Ralph Cross Johnson, is a fine landscape by George H. Smillie, entitled “Autumn on the Massa- chusetts Coast.” The other is a nude fig- ure, by Jacob H. Lazarus, and was pre- sented by the artist's widow. Perhaps the most admired of the statues that have re- cently been added to the already fine col- lection is the “Winged Victory” of Samoth- race. Among the other newly acquired pieces of statuary are the “Boxer Resting,” “Galatian and his Wife,” “Menander,” ‘Poseidippos,” “The Visitation of St. Eliza- beth,” and a bas-relief, presented by Miss Kibbey, representing the competition be- tween Apollo and the flute players. * * * The work of moving the Corcoran Art School into its roomy, well-lighted quarters in the new gallery was commenced on Thursday, and it will not be long before the students will be able to go to work again. When they resume their draw- ing they will find that they have not only ass rooms in the city, but that t compares very favorably the best schools in other NOT A PATENT CURE-ALL, NOR A MODERN MIRACLE, BUT SIMPLY A RATIONAL CURB FOR DYSPEPSIA. To these days of bumbuggery and deception, the manafacturers of patent medicines, ax x rule, seem to think theif medicines will not sell unless they, claim that it will cuce every disease under the sun, And they never think of leaving out dyspepsia and stomach troables. ‘They are sure to claim that their nostram is abohitely certain to cure every dyspeptic and be need look no furth In the face of these absurd claims It is refreshing to note that the proprietors of Stuart's Dyspepsia Tablets have caiefuily refraived from making any andue claims or false representations regarding the merits of this most excellent remedy for dyspepsia and stomach troubles. They make but one claim for it, and that ts, that for indigestion and various stomach troubles Stuart's Dyspepsia Tablets ix a radical cure. They go no furtuer than this, and any man or woman suffering from indigestion, chronic or nervous dyspepsia, who will give tie remedy a trial will find that nothing ts claimed for it that the facts will not fully sustain, It is a modern discovery, composed of harmless vegetable ingredients acceptable to the weakest or most delicate stomach, Ite great success in curing stomach troubles is due to the fact that the medical properties are such that it will digest whatever wholesome fool ts taken Into the stomach, no matter whether the stomach ix in good working order or not. It rests the overworked organ and replenishes the bods, the blood, the nerves, cnet ing a bealthy appetite, gives refreshing sleep the Dlessings which always accompany a good dl- gestion and proper assimilation In using Stuart's Dyspepsia T: required. Simply 7 A take these T: and resting the st Proper digestive powe onger required. Nervous Dyspepsia ts simply fome portion or portions of th not properly Clon invigorates the nervous «ystem and every organ in the body Stuart's Dyspepsia Tablets are sold by: all gi package tured by Co. of Marshall, Mic Any druggist Will tell you It gives untversal sat- vous system the Stuart Chemical He Strove to Please. From Harper's Bazar. There is a hotel in one of the large cities of Pennsylvania where the host personal! looks after the comfort of his guests. We will call him Johnson, principgjly because his name does not sound anything at ail like that. Johnson is an excellent hotel- keeper, and is always anxious to learn what he dces not know about taking care of the traveling public. There isn’t really much for him to learn in that line, but nevertheless he is always in a learning mood. A & Some days ago a man from New York registered and was assigned to a room, Toward dinner time the new arrival walk- ed into the office and sald to the pro- prietor: “Mr. Johrson, room immediate! Doesn't that one suit you, Mr. Riggs?” “No; it is too near the kitchen. The odors ‘of the cooking permeate the atmos- phere.” * * * A very fine Turner, that has just arrived in this country, is now at Fischer's, but it has not been placed upon public exhibition. It is one of the motives which Turner ob- tained in the Rhine valley, and gives a glimpse of Heidelberg with the swiftly flowing Neckar in the foreground. Barges are plying to and fro on the river, and on the lofty hill that rises behind the town is the famous Heidelberg castle. Nothing has been painted literally, and the artist's imaginative temperament is evident throughout, the picture seeming more like a poetic vision than the actual scene. The effect of light is singularly fine, and the painting is rich and glowing in tone. Everything is treated with a vagueness and you must give me another largeness which give to the scene a pe-| | "Very well, sit.” replied Johnson, “Fit culiar grandeur that would have been lost | !€{ vou have s diferent room) through any closer imitation of unimport-| was no doubt satisfied, for he made no ant details. The Washington public has ! further corplaint. The hotel proprictor never before had such an opportunity to] was not satisfied, however. He thougat view the work of the old English masters | he had a chance to learn something. Meet- as has been afforded in the exhibition ing the man from New York in the office which commenced at Fischer's several | p t day, he asked: weeks ago. It has been continuous since] “Mr. Riggs, does your new room suit the beginning, and ne’ s have been | you?” added each week. Another installment of “Very well, thank you, Mr. Jo§psen.” early English portraits has now been hung upon the walls, and among the number are three superb portraits by Sir Thomas La’ replied the guest. “If you don't mind,” on, “I'd like to ask you one Mr. Johnson went more question rence. His portrait of Earl Grey at once the room you objected to yesters attracts attention by its suave, masterful | handling, and the likenesses of Miss Brum- he only trouble was that it was too mel and Mrs. Fox claim their due share of admiration. The latter is a very large can- yas, and is quite elaborate in composition. There are also some good portraits by Peter Lely and an example of the work of Johann Zoffany. There is now at Fis- cher’s an interesting bronze bas-relief by Sarah Bernhardt called “Fame Crowning Shakespeare and Moliere.” * near the kitchen.” “Yes, I know that; it yan * Mrs. J. Mindeleff has just finished a por- trait of Representative Reynolds’ little daughter, and has not only made a satis- factory likeness, but a very successful water color head that impresses those who do not. know the child with its sincerity. She is about to begin several other portraits for the same family, and will be very busy up to the beginning of Lent, when she ex- pects to lay aside some of her own work and give up a part of her time to teaching a class in water color. * Above the highest mountain tops, Beneath the deepest seax, I still abide and there T bide From each and all of these. ‘They know not even how I look, Nor what my form may be, Nor do they know if weal or woe Or virtue is in me. ‘The name I own they cannot call, ‘And, when thelr steps are bent To seek me out, they vainly shout, “Ob, come to us, Content From the Chicago Journal Weak on Geography. From the Pittsburg Bulletin. Little things illustrate certain English- men’s knowledge of American geography very picturesquely. An Englishman who had taken the Pacific express at Philadel- phia called out on going to bed before the train started: “Portah! Portah!” The porter came. said. a “Please wake me up when we get to San Francisco, you kno said the English * % Lovers of marine views will find some- thing to their taste in a small collection of water colors now on exhibition at Veer- hoff’s. They are the work of Mr. George E. Essig, who was to have held a regular exhibition here, but was prevented by his large exhibit in Philadelphia, and sent only a few specimens of his skill. In some of his aquarelles he has treated the wave for- mations in a trifle too regular and formal a manner, but in others the handling is all that could be desired. There is a particu- larly glowing sky effect in the study, showing a lonely dory with tw. fishermen. v two toiling ‘What is it, sir he * * Ook Miss Alice Archer Sewall is well repre- sented at the exhibit of the Architectural League of New York, which opened on the 20th of this month, and will remain open until March 13. The scope of the ex- hibition fs quite ccmprehensive, as it in- cludes architectural drawings, designs for decorative works, cartoons for stained glass and designs or specimens of stone carving, work in wood, bronze, wrought iron, mosaic, glass and textile fabrics. Gold and silver medals are to be awarded. Miss Sewall has contributed an organ panel design, executed. in water color on dark paper, and 2 fragment from an altar piece. In the latter design, which is in pastel, there are two cherubs playing upon violins. She exhibits also an example of her work on rough plaster, which, though executed in oll, has the effect of pastel. A little later in the season Miss Sewali expects to hold an exhibition of her work at Fischer's gallery. “Maria, I thought you said the new girl was sweet-tempered. She's looking pretty sour just now.” Yo wonder, John; she has been working by that hot kitchen stove.” ‘And it wasn’t until the next day that it occurred to Mr. Billus that the girl must have fermented. * The approaching eanmhg aration has brought a number of artists to the city, and besides the newspaper illustrators there are some who come to do more care- fully studied work for the periodicals. Mr. Peters has been in the city painting a bird's-eye view of Washington for Harper’ Weekly. In addition to this drawing he has made a study of the rotunda of the new Congressional Library, and in this one illustration he has given an idea of the entire reading room. In doing this he has transgressed the rule that mos: artists fol- low, which is that no picture should in- i i none the less fierce and deadly, the strong are victors. clude more than the eye can take in at] . Im the it “of wealth many @ man a single glance. Of course no one can look | loses —loses the power to enjoy down from the gallery of the rotunda and| wealth. It is not necessary. Few men see the arrangement of the reading desks on the floor and at the same time see | ¢Ver die of hard work. A man may work Blashtleld’s decoration in the highest point | @ bard as he pleases if only he sleeps of the dome, yet in choosing this position | Well, eats well, digests well. Good diges- Mr. Peters hes hit upon the only place in| tion is the key to the whole problem. the wes Seating: = ae which 4 Good digestion brings sound, restful complete and coi re! ray bevmade. One must therefore give him | SleeP; Keeps the appetite good ‘and the credit for a good deal of ingenuity as well as for his skili with the brush. L * surely by * * Golden The two bronze Tritons which are to be fect remed: @ part of the fountain group arrived at beyond that the Congressional Library this week, and and nerve are being put in place. The fountain is over thirty years it next to the sidewalk on the west side.| ful healing mission The figures for it have been modeled by] and wales happiness, Roland Hinton Perry of New York. The had grotesque looking Tritons, with their legs| its gat gop heres 6 terminating in fins, are to be placed on| Do not be st it either side of Neptune, which is the cen-| gtitute, said to be “7 tral figure. In the oid Greek myths they were the heralds of the Sea God, and they are here represented as blowing conch shells. When the fountain is completed there will be an arrangement for electric lighting, and the effect of the lights seen behind the sprays of water will make the fountain as beautiful by night as by day. * “* Mr. Charles Poor has been working up some of the motives which he obtained plimentary Lecture MAD. JOSEPHISE LE FEVRE, At the COLUMBIA THEATER, MARCH 16 4 P.M.