Evening Star Newspaper, December 18, 1897, Page 21

—— THE EVENING STAR, SATURDAY, DECEMBER 18, 1897-26 PAGES. 21 TO READ AND STUDY Types of People Who Frequent the Library of Congress. DIVERSITY OF LITERARY TASTES One Man Has Been a Daily Vis- itor for Many Years. RULE OF SILE THE ae SINGLE WORD lence” embeltishes a number of large ards, resting on like that meet ‘the eye of Library of Con- visiter at the to every of that sur- beautiful It appears laconic wa yet it suff eral it is heed- of ies silence broods The readers and the reading room fa vague hum, colo, but structures, nee or nilding. visitors are s from a © sharp, the into an inveluntary exc on to a companion, and bent lew over the lerywards for an in- q short, hissing one of the uniformed gal- is follows quic a th mment of t him n of admira: most of the h will Ie inquir ant, hum-e he g: i_ through . the Library of part of the bai ie m t ly attributing it to the p' ards at the aa the reading ‘a in appearan’ nature of their Pe lie igaticns. em are loo! as are jority of t reference suc noi The Realm of Fiction. permitted to go out of the lit Rut re who are at the ta- id whose ‘ely on sort. es through several © n, to into room will hers for inf ry’s superb nm conta punters come here upon , even J ring extri his entire a subject for putting the arches into som hape or There is an astonishingly large number of men and women in Washington who aspire to become writers of fiction and playwrights, and « great many of these ecme to th ry for historical or other data. The man at one of the tables w who wrot 1 don't know how many ago, & one raising farc omedy that ach ‘able suc- on the few occasions it was presented. ‘This man has spent a Library of Cong past, obtaining for an historic: the Louis XIV period. He has read scores and scores of volumes of works ap- ng to the regime of that monar d in making an of the subject worn during th ever pro¢ i degree . it ought to make 1 rich. Yet 1 really he will ever become * for Writing. is a young woman here now who i ly nfortun- ecepted by one of magazines. It a short story of jal aver since the r story was printed the young wo- nivorously devouring anuscripts, records and maps upon cighteenth century Indian to have a shor‘ days. ; in her whole life. | wars in this country, with a view to writ- ing a regular ‘three-volumer’ of a fiction sort on the subject. * “Many men work in the library at reg- ular stated salaries, paid them by large corporations for collecting statistical facts jand figures on especial subjects. For ex- ample, there is a man here gow who has een engaged for over a year In getting to- gether all the facts accessible here on the Ject of weaving from the earliest times, the result of his labors to be included in a centenary pubi‘cation soon to be issued in souvenir style by a famous Philadelphia carpet manufacturing firm. Another man now at one of the tables with a couple of dezen old volumes scattered around him is compiling a history of stovemaking in the United States. Just why he is reading rp on the subject of iron manufacturing all over the world since the days of Tubal ain in order to write a history of Amer- ican stoveraking is something not entirely obvious to me, and yet this is what he fs loing, and drawing a goodly salary for do- ‘from the Michigan stove manufac- ; that employes him. are a great many special writers ort to the library for the sake of the old newspaper files. One writer especially, a young woman, who for something over a year past has been writing a series of ex- codingly interesting artcles on the sub- ‘tof old New York—New York in the of the Krickerbockers—for one of the apers, has found the li- of old New York newspapers tiy valuaile. To read the articles she compiled from them you would im- that she was a couple of hundred ears old and wrote from actual memory, nd yet sho is a young—and pretty—widow who has only spent two days in New York ‘A man who comes here very often to co over tie library's old files of Roston newspapers, for the compilation of articles: that are printed in one of Hos- ton’s best-known journals on the subject of Boston as it isoked ond was in ante- colonial times, tells me that he was never in the city of Boston in his life. in’ To Annthilute Civil Service. “A very fiery and nervous man, who has xot practically a whole reading table to himself at this moment, w:th four or five stacks of bound newspapers and official publications locming.all arcund his chair, is engaged in the preparation of a pam- phlet that, he tells me, will unhorse the A Study Fish, whole civil service reform idea as it exists in Washington with one fell swoop. He was let out ef one of the departments a ths ago. did not succeed in getting preferred charges against the | service commission, drew up an nent of the general government, een co-operating in- th s I sa Cong lemen. s that believes in abandorment of civil service reform. deal of ink and writes hand, but I fear he and necessary | ohlet intended | 1 out of hand, ren in Wash- large tions men of | + ford of following out the t events the day i end expedi all o ! | ‘ means of 1 For exampre, there is a gentleman at one of the tables new who, from the beginning of the native uprising in India, has been carefully fol- lowing the campaigne of the Bri rmy | all over the empire by studying the ad- mirable collection of maps of India in the | He v the dispatches in the | ers bearing on the progress of the signs as a base for his investigations, me of the speculations that he has | din from day to day as to the next strategic moves in order have been veri- fied to the letter. This gentleman has nev- er been in India in his life, nor has he any interests whatever there; it is simply a fad with him to trace the progress of wars . mr a is it es Other men follow no- ame way. Since e Kiondike fever our orthwest ter-| ‘ome distressingly dog- collection ritory mans has eared. Architecture and Music. “Young men studying architecture come in large numbers to con the library's large collcetion of works on the architecture of the ancients, and students of the theory of music, of whom there are many In Wash- ington, keep us busy, and somewhat puz- zled at times, with their demands for the aged, missal-like volumes of the music of another day, stored in the library, and now being catalegued. There is a man here now who is composing the music for an opera treating of the reign of Montezuma, and he is getting the proper spirit for the effort by devouring all of the literature the library possesses concerning the Aztecs. Famous experts in handwriting often eome here from other cities to compare alleged genuine manuscripts, supposed to have heen written by famous early Americans, and offered for sale, with the genuine man- useripts stored in the library, and, in nine cases out of ten, they brand the manu- scripts they bring with them as counter- feits.”” ——— Cleve Done. From the Detroit Free Pre: “Charge it to experience,” said the man of the world who had just heard the plaint of a friend who had paid for a straight tip at the races and lost. Cupidity makes gil- Hes of the best of us. I was up against it my f only a few months ago.”” jot you?” I. Looking out the window one morning I was surprised to see a stranger the lawn hunting closely in the gras: for something he t. He looked like a gen- th. was well dressed, and apologized for intruding as soon as I went out. While taking his imorring walk he had no! da ball outside the hedge. concluded at once that it belonged to some boy about the placé and tcssed it into the In doing so he had thrown a pla rom bis finger, emaciated by re- He did not mind the intrin- the ring had associations that ry dear to him. After further ave it up, but before leaving F » that he would gladly give $100 to any one leaving the ring at his ho- tel Of course, I could take no such re- ward, but T could send one of the boys and at would make {t all right. “While I was down on all fours inspect- wes * every inch of ground a man dressed © a laborer looked at me awhile and then ned in the search. He soon had the He had it all the time. On learning that it was not mine, he refused to give it vp. He would advertise it and get a re- ward. After mvch dickering he turned it over to me for $0. Of course, I never found hide or hair of the invalid.” j length BORES IN THE NAVY The Various Classes of Men Who Become Tiresome. | ARE COMPARATIVELY FEW APTER ALL The Strain of Close Companion- ship is Hard to Stand. NOT ALL CAKES AND ALE Writt1 for The Evening Star. F A MAN IS NATU rally mean ashore, said Chauncey M. De- pew to the writer a few years ago—it was on a steamship pier in New York, and Mr. Depew had just returned from his summer tour of the continent—“he is likely to be unnatu- rally mean aboard a steamship. Even the man who on land is moderately even-tempered is apt to exhibit a defective disposition within the period of a six-day voyage. The man who is a bore ashore develops into a hydraulic drill on the deck of a liner. The lady who is peevish in her own home will invariably cause the most unspeakable anguish in the breasts of her fellow voy- agers in a steamer’s cabin. I know of no trial or situation in this life that is better calculated to test the mainsprings and fiy- wheels and running gear of human charac- ter than a voyage on an ocean-going ves- sel.” Apparently the bland Mr. Depew had suffered at the hands of some of his fellow passengers on his cruise from Southamp- ton to New York. Nevertheless, few sea- soned deep-water travelers will withhold their indorsement of his generalizations on the subject of sea voyagers. But a certain class of gentlemen in the pay and regalia of Uncle Sam find themselves perpetually undergoi: n ordeal infinitely more trying than that pictured by New York's chief all-around eitizen. The civilian voyager is only compelled to submit to the analysis in _the steamship crucible for the short period of from six to eight days—the mere f a catapultic Atlantic passage; whereas an officer of the navy is in the full and intimate view of his w rd room messmates for a period, generally, of from two to three years. He is a sunny: dispo- sitioned gentleman of the quarter deck in- deed who paces through this ordeal with- out yielding to the pessimistic abit of mind, and without exciting ward room crit- m. Living in Close Quarters. It is not all cakes and ale, and hilarity and mandolin music, this cruising life of an officer in the United States navy. Men Who are cooped up together in the ward room of a man-of-war for three years be- come pretiy familiar with each other's characteristics, and, great as the spirit of ari mong n s of the » ship generally is, they narily pull together, each of them has urs when he would sacrifice a great for sight of other counte: lation of other men. F oarding house experience of weariness and gloom which has at times overcome him in sit- ting at table, day in and day out, surround- Il by the same faces, and forced to listen to the same vo’ ranting upon the same themes, ward room and mess room ofaa man-of-war are nothing more nor less than the living quarters and din- ing room of a steel-clad, sea-going board- ing house. The main difference is that the ball room tenant in a land boarding house may at any hour of the day or night make cape, mingle in the madding crowd, into the vortex of the streets, and engage generally in the pursuit of forget- fulness; while the naval officer, be he en- sign or admiral, has often for long crulsing periods the sight of no other physiogno- mies than those of his fellow officers: their features are not infrequently so seared brain as to cloud his d . Of the “men forward’—often or six hundred of them—but th tomatons with watch marks and badges, don't count. wwn Through the Servi I of the cfficers of the United States navy who have been in the service for more than ten are known to each other, either as classmates at Annapolis or ttaches to the same ship or station at one time or another, and each officer carries in his mind an exact mental pho- tesraph of <1 of his brother officers with whom he een shipmate. From the: cerebral kodaks the deductions are drawn by the seataring military man on the qual- ations of his comrades as shipmates. The g izations thus made are hand- ttered throughout the entire so that the question whether such h an officer is a good, an indifferent had shipmate is answered sooner or one way or the other, by hearsay if through actual personal association, to the increase in knowledge of all of the officers in the na The officer in the navy who, by reason of an unfortunate manner or the deliber- not } ate indulgence in the trivialities and mean- nesses of a narrow or uncongenial nature, centrives to achieve the reputation of be- ing an indifferent shipmate, and gets him- self thus stenciled upon the mental tablets of his fellow officers, does not find it possi- ble to pursue an existence entirely roseate. Even if, through some extraordinary rev- olution ‘in his nature and character, he should suddenly dawn one day in the mess room as an indifferent shipmate transform- ed into a gcod shipmate he would probably find it difficult, if not well-nigh impossible, tu live down the odium of years of pet- lishness or uncongeniality, the incidents resulting from which have been carefully noted and stowed away in the memories of his associates from the outset of his naval career. The naval officer's definition of the term “a good shipmate” is various, critical and much embracing. There are scores of of- ficers in the service to whom their mates accord all possible credit due to consci- entious men and excellent servitors of the flag, whose names have nevertheless been inscribed in the indifferent shipmate class. The general conclusion seems to be ihat the man who has in him the making of what is known as “a good fellow” ashore is invariably a good shipmate, only he must be more consistently a good shipmate than any good fellow ashore ever has to be, for the strain of intimacy on a man-of- war is greater, “steadier and more pro- tracted. In the Steernge. The younger officers—ensigns, for exam- ple—are not regarded with a very critical eye as to their man-of-war clubableness by their superiors in rank. The young fellows live practically apart among themselves, messing in what is known as the junior office mess—the “steerage,” man-of-war term—and, anyhow, the older hands, the deck and engineer and staff officers who ccmprise the ward room mess, regard the juniors paternally as unformed boys, to subject whom to criticism as to their ship- mateness would be premature and unjust. Nevertheless, even during this probationary period in the naval life of the junior offi- ccr, it would serve him ill in the future, so far as concerned his repytation as a shipmate, if he did not at all times conduct himself with manliness and tact—for from the tails of their eyes his superiors size him up from all hands in the morning un- til pipe down at night. It is the full-fledged ward-room officer who is subjected to the vivisection of his associates on the shipmate question. The ward room, or living and sleeping quarters, of even the largest of modern war vessels, does not provide a very, bountiful amount of elbow room for each officer. On flag- ships and battle ships there are ofien as many as thirty-five ward-room officers, and the rooms provided for their occupancy are usually of just about one-half the size of the boarding house hall room, tenanted by the small-salaried clerk ashore. Nearly ail of the officers’ leisure hours at sea are passed in the general mess room of the ward-room inhabitants, so that the con- stant ¢ontact petwhhn all is. Close, exacting and unavoidable. A ward-room officer will probably meet every one of his shipmates fifty times in the course of a day and evening, and an exchange of greetings and pleasantries onal ef these occasions demands that the best of salutation manu- facturers and the mpst spciable and jovial of men be on their mettlé pretty nearly all the time. The Objectionable Poseur. And yet, a pyrotechni¢h! striving after tremendously brilliant effects in the way of humor on the part of a naval officer is as much hooted down and utterly cast out by his mess mates as Wwould\ be a flapping in the sorghum sea of sentimentality — the singing of sobful songs,) for example—by another officer. Above all else, naturalness is the chief essential of a good shipmate. The poseur in the ward room of a man-of- war, the man gifted with mo more judg- ment than to attempt to attitudinize in the eyes of his fellows, sooner or later ‘falls into the estate of a laughing stock through- out the entire service. There are not many officers who try it, but there are some. The younger men are most often the of- fenders in this respect. Not knowing, on account of ward-room inexperience, what is in store for them, they buckle on their stilts, tie skates to the bottom of the stilts, and endeavor to cut figure-of-eight knots on the deck of the mess room. A man must be possessed of very. great temerity to attempt this thing twice, for upon his first break he tumbles into a roasting pan hotter than ihe forced-draught fire room. The springer of rehearsed repartee, which is the role usually assumed by the ward room poseur, never did and never can make a hit in the navy. Then, there is the ward-room bore. He is sometimes called the “ship's Molokai,” after the leper island of Hawali. The ward- room bore is by all hands acknowledged to be the simplest and most harmless of hu- man creatures, and yet it is a mournful thing for an officer in the navy to have “Molokai” written after his name in the prain tablets of his shipmates, past or present. There is nothing to be done with or for him. He is an institution, rhino- ceros-like of epidermis, impervious alike to mild ridicule or disdain. Speaking of the ward-room bore in general, a naval officer with four stripes to his sleeve said at a Washington club the other evening: A Pathetic Nuisance. “His guilelessness, his simplicity of soul, his actual goodness of heart, protect him from the wrath of his shipmates: but he is a pathetic nuisance, all the same. For- tunately for the service, there are not many of the ward-room bores left, but I have suffered at the hands of every one of them. TI have listened to every one of the ward-room bores’ stories a hundred times. When I have had the deck watch, and have experienced an inward craving to commune with the stars and to be let alone, I have weakly permitted him to join me and to walk scores of miles with me up and down, his unceasing, maddening monologue of threadbare yarns clamoring in my head like rivet hammers. He has sung his two songs for me, not alone upon one ship or one station, but upon all ships and in every clime, hot and cold, blooming and bleak, civilized and barbarous. On every sea, wine-dark or gray, he has played ‘Marriage Bells’ on the banjo and ‘Then Ycu'll Remember Me’ on the guitar for me. And he has told me the history of his early life, and of the early lives of his brothers, sisters, cousins and aunts, in all But he is an variations and in ¢ evil to be endured. The man who knows it all abides in the of-war ward réom as well as in the of men ashore.’ The experience, ‘quirements, even) the ;stripes on the oldest messmates do not draw a great deal of water with the ward- room officer who knows it all. He hankers to inform them of ‘things. When one of the men forward in a brother officer's divi- sion comes off to the ship drunk after a ight ashore, and kicks the chief mas: arms on his shins, the ward-room officer who knows it all awakens his brother of- fieer from a sound sleep: to tell him all about it. His brother offiecrs do not know anything like as much about the mercator system as he does, and their lack of infor- ation on the subject of improved range finders is realiy pitiable. His brother of- ficers’ deficiencies in. the matter of ma- neuvering a landing party would fill a large quarto volume—in the mind of the ward- room officer who knows it all. Under way, when one of his brother officers has got the bridge, the ward-room officer who knows it all generally figures it out they the ship has been nine miles off its course 'y zone. for the last three hours, and his brother | officers’ style of swinging ship to test the compasses is always idiotic in the extreme. ‘The other officers of the ward room inv: riably encourage their know-it-all ship- mate in the belief that he has grasped all human knowledge for the fun of watching him strut throughout the cruise. Ralls at Everything. Besides, there is the discontented ward- room officer. He is a type gradually dying out of the service, especially since the pass- ing of the old ships, but there are a few of him left. The discontented man aft has dis- covered that the navy is going to the devil in spite of anything he can do to prevent it, and he has resigned himself to the in- evitable, he say: his estimation the personnel of the navy is distinctly lower in tone than it used to be. He never saw so many blackguards and dogans among the men forward as there are on his pres- ent ship. He is always sent to a station that he detests with all the hatred of which his nature is capable, and he dwel!s upen the staticn’s disadvantages with hor- rihle earnestness at the mess table. The mess attendants are alway3 endeavoring to neglect him. He wishes he could have made another cruise on his old ship, and so on to the end of the world. These types of ward-room officers of the navy are, of course, exceedingly rare in comparison with the great number of cheerful, hearty, happy and brainy men who have the destiny of the United States navy in their hands at the present time. But they are types, all the same. —+ An Old Mint Die. From the Philadelphia Record, Jn the course of a lecture at the Appren- tices’ Library on Tuesday evening, A. E. Outerbridge, jr., related an interesting in- cident that serves to show how much more careful Uncle Sam is in the destraction of old dies for coins than he used to be. “Some time ago,” said Mr. Outerbridge, “I was visiting the office of a friend who is a lawyer, when I noticed upon his desk a little metal object, covered with three or four coats of red paint, which was appar- ently in use as a paper weight. It was a government dle for a silver dollar of 1809, and for my friend to have it in his posses- sion was a penal offense. He did not know what it was until I told him, and he in- formed me that it had been around the of- fice as a paper-weight as long as he could remember—forty years, at least. I gave him a silver weight in its place, and in- formed the authorities at Washington of the circumstance, also forwarding my friend’s affidavit as to’ what he*knew about it. At that time, though ail dies were sup- pesed to be destroyed when discarded, the system was rather lax, and they sometimes found their way into the possession of junk dealers. I agreed to turn Over the die upon ccndition that it should not be destroyed, but kept in the numismatic collection at the Philadelphia mint, and that I might borrow it at a future time to illustrate a lecture. The conditions were agreed to, and I have brought the die with me tonight to show to you. I had to ‘write a very for- mal letter to get it, stating the purpose for Which it was to be used, and it must be re- turned tomorrow morning.” Shaker‘In From the Morning Oregoalan. ,1{ John Slocum, the Shaker Indian, died at his Mud Bay camp ‘Tuesday. Slocum became famous about five years 2g0 by passing to heaven through the ave- nue of a trarce, where he remained several days before returning to this mundane sphere. On his return he pictured heaven in glowing terms to his associates, declar- ing that lots of Indians are there, und that each has a horse and plenty of sal- men, Every Indian at Mud and Oyster bays became his followers, and for the re- maining years of his life he wielded a marked influence upon his disciples. Conscious.of approaching death, he cast fis mantle of leadership upon Dick Jack- scn, another: Indian of the Mud Bay settle- ment, thus providing for: the perpetuation of the Shaker religicn. Z “I don’t understand how Bilger gets his poems into the magaz'nes. He must have a strong pull somewhere.” » “Why? Aren’t they any good?” “That's just the point. Every he writes actually means something!”—Chica- go Newa. COSTUMES OF CLOTH The Latest Improvements in Skirts and Waists. The Popular Shades and Materials for Dresses, Theater Wraps and Jackets. From Harper's Bazar. Cloth costumes are more and more at- tractive as the season advances, and it pcsitively seems as though the dressmakers had combined to devise improvements on what to start with were very smart styles. The skirts are cleverly hung so that there is no unnecessary weight, and as few of them have hair cloth or stiffening, except directly in the back breadths, there is no reason why they should be any heavier than ordinary materials are. Of course a great many of the skirts are trimmed, 10st elaborately so, There is a great deal of braiding used; the narrow bias bands of satin, stitched at either side, are put on in intricate patterns; there are rows of ruch- irgs and flounces, but there are also any number of plain skirts guiltless of any trimming whatever. There is a decided shrinking in the width around the foot, but we have not as yet gone back td the exag- geratedly narrow size. One of the uewest skirts has a bias ruffle around the bottom and a draped over-skirt effect, the b: breadths plain, the front also plain, v the draping high on the hips. ‘this has not yet become common: in fact, there are cnly two or three of the skirts to be seen as yet. The pointed apron front, put on over the fuller underskirt and back breadth, is be- ing worn too much to insure its lasting, Lut there are two or three different ways of ar- rarging the front. Th flounce and back breadth, which ar one piec ed up on to the firished with a pattern of brai mahoxany was very smart: the braiding ona blouse front of ¥ r than the aid in tuc coliar and belt ¢ with antig own Ul newest has th tin ribbon fz r such a it was y, and not warm enough to be comfertable. The prop- er thing to b worn with the gown was some under-waist of flannel, felt or cham- ois well fitted to the figure A New Combination, A cloth gown of the new shade of blue, trimmed with bands of black braid, has d cloth waist to match. This waist ‘ to the back and has a short front it is a blouse, with wide tu sailor collar of shaded pink velvet, cn which are an applique of guipure lace and a narrow edge of old silver braid. Where the collar turns back it shows a yoke and high collar of tine tucked taffeta, yre into pink. The peculiarity of the w that it shows no seams apparently dragged around the figure a most carefully boned and fitted lin There is an outside jacket to this costume, made in the hussar style, with braiding of old silver on the front, and an claborate collar of black velvet edged with fur and faced with pale blue corded silk. It is one of the smartest costumes made this ecason, but is a very senseless one, as ihe cloth waist is too elaborate to wear uncer the jacket, so that it is necessary again to vse some warm under-jacket or a heavy fur cape. Theater Wraps. A wrap is a necessary thing to wear ta the theater, for to put on a coat or jacket is too much of a task, even though the sleeves of gowns are smaller this winter. Exceedingly smart and uttractive are the wraps designed for this purpose, and there is a great variety of style among them. Velours and velvet are two materials which are moro in favor than any others. The disadvantage of the velours is tat it has been so much used in cheap ready-made capes, but it is warmer than the velvet, and if a good quality is chosen, and it is carefully made up, it is always efvective. Made on the round style, with fitted yoke covered with jet, is a very smart velours cape, the fullness around the shoulders be- ing gathered on to the yoke. There is a wice flaring collar trimmed with a narrow band of black ostrich tips, and the inside of the collar is faced with ostrich tips. A band of feather trimming goes down the front of the cape, while just at the throat is a big lace bow and ends. This cape is lined throughout with quilted yellow satin. Somewhat conspicuous, but very handsome, is a cape made of dove-gray velours, on which is a pattern of braiding, a round cord being used to define a very elaborate pi tern. This cape is fitted in to the figure at the back and front, and the sleeves are capes of the velvet left plain, ‘The high col- lar is faced with heavy white lace. Just at the back is a great bow of satin ribbon the same shade as the velvet, and in front thera is a velvet bow tied in with lace ends. The lining of this is also a quilted one of pale rose pink. Fur-lined circulars were always comfort- able garments, and this season have come into fashion again, of course modified to suit the prevailing style. As there are a great many velvet waists worn, there has been much objection raised to the fur lin- ings, which are so apt to rub off,and the best plan is to cover the fur with a thin lining of silk or satin, thus, getting the desired warmth. A queer sort of peau dé scie Is greatly in favor for these capes. One in an odd shape of green has Ittle places for che arms to go through, like small muffs, and these have a shirred ruffie around them. The lining is of fur covered with another lining of flowered satin, a white ground with bunches of purpie flowers. There is a high shirred collar tc the cape, and just at the throat there ure ribbons cf green and purple, which are tied together in a graceful bow. Jacket Wraps. “Jacket wrap” is a new expression, but there does not seem to be anything else which fitly deseribes the wraps which are half tight-fitting and have the large bishop sleeves gathered in at the wrist. These are extremely odd, not altogether becom- ing, but have the advantage of being very warm. One in dark red velvet and heavy ottoman silk looks like a garment of two or three years for the backs are in the sacaue shape, amd Uh as large az when big sleeves were th : of fashion. It is lined thro with white saiin over wool wadding, very yout nd is the most comfortable of garments. Anoth er of two shades of purple plush is <urio1 ly bulky, but, when worn with a Leht mauve cashmere gown, does noi look extra- ordinary. On all of them the ire high collars that flare back, lined with fur lace, which is alway house gowns, should people of iimit< re infinitely } a black or t looks conspicuous whe ag in pubic noes, and a cape of whic " and the trimmings i is smart enough to wear even over a ball gown, only again must it be stated that | s what is needed above all th if It is liable to be worn over Fortunately, this rear there so much lat:tude and so wide a choice t it is possible to do justice to all require- ments. ——_—__+«-—____ SEWS BUTTONS FOR NEWSsn#oys. The Novel Philanthropy of a Lone Woman in Chicago. From the Chicago A who prefers to re} unpa alon: in her dec 5 the street urchins as too many of th and she is wo f » for so large a famiiy in that them out and pulse warmers of he ons on the nding for t longer back blacking brust nan spends the r boys, the needl largely made give worn which she in m T Once in a while : ag with an assortment of ad and she sali her prote: parts to replacing bu ns and sewing up re in garreents, which admit more ventilation than is desirable either for heaith or com- fort. gentle old souls who win the he of all who know them. Her in expressicn by the manifold rearing and the loss of a large some by death and some by mar framed in iron-gray hair, for her grief in this self-imposed task. ——__—__-+-eo—— Dropped a Steak to Marry. From the Chicago Re-ord. While Walter P. Wyatt sawed the bone in a sirloin steak in his store at 77 Chicago avenue he managed to arrange fer his im- famil riage with Annie Weir of 91 street. had long wis to make Annie hi: When she gave her consent he feared tha: wife, but her parents were opposed. if he did not act quickly she might change her mind. Hastily loosening his apron, he threw aside the steak which his fiancee purchasing and induced her to b » marriage iicense clerk's offi The pair interrupted the hearing of a c: in Justice were married. The so confused after the ge that she kissed Justice Sabbath d cf the groom, causing the official to forget to collect his f Ss Alpine Railroad. From the Railroad Gazette. Next year will be opened, it is hoped, the railroad up the Gornergrat, which starts at Zermatt, 97 feet above the sea, climbs through rock cuttings and a spiral tunnel two and one-half miles to the Riffelalp, 7.260 feet above the sea, and then goe sharp up to the Rifflelberg, 1,738 feet high- er. Thence it follows the Gornergrat, and reaches a station just below its summit, 10,202 feet above sea level, where on one side the mountain falls perpendicularly to the Gorner Glacier. The whole length of the road will be six and one-fourth miles. Most of the work is done by Italians, but on the higher levels only Swiss, accus- tomed to live at great elevations, could work at all, and they could do only about one-third as much as men at the foot of the mountain. No mountain railroad Europe now cpen reaches so high an ¢ vation, but the Pike’s Peak summit st tion is nearly 4,000 feet higher, and its lower station is higher than the summit of most Alpine mountain railroads, and 1,300 feet higher than Zermatt. bride became y | criends | his humble philanthropist is one of those | t face, softened | trials of | a | Sabbath’s west side court and | MEN'S WINTER FASHIONS Rules and Regulations for Proper Dress Oom- binations. Are Popular and How to Wear Them— Some Timely “Don'ts.” From Harper's Bazar. The New York horse show, with its tendant cycle of similar exhibitions in other cities, the Than the h influences © the most pc men’s fashte It is only ter horse show week in New York th tailors and haberdashers are actually ef results. The “horsy” and nts are apt to be bit flambo: but these c eristics are soon merged into more conservative methods, and the dress of the winter is pract res lv a fortnight leration. The ties of s ay be divided into three dominant styles. The first is the alw s ular four-in-han T winter solut ors ave the favorites. With frock c®: and for afternoon calling, teas and chu white is greatly The ties are ain white or Ch - and the knot bow is ade right und the collar, smal, with the long ends narrow ck, dark red and marine blue are other fashionabt tints. A sp of four-in-hand of a very light silk, ied with small bow or knot, and with flowing ends, is yet another variation | Some of these are . with small | white figu dots, large ers—which are ass materials of that n—squares, = nd tiny flow 1 with fou! ription, | may be described as “crinkly.” | The Ascot. The fashionable in these | is cut almost in cleric . and so | #8 to give but little of the shirt jand tie. This ts mplete revolution | trom last que flat the prev arts lease of life, asions, yet the Engiish solid blues, ns, dark Teds miy possi } and heliotropes, with conventional > | white figure very small, are chic and smart. horse show men who have » reputation of being well dressed aired | these in rather bright reds, and others again in pure white, the material duck, and stiffly starched. The apron: the two wide ends of the Ascot are called, are fas tened with a tie or cravat pin very near the neck of the collar, so as to leave a very small V of silk. The puff the Ascot, and is to be The Butteray | The third tie is tt “a variation of Hi club bow, sc | times called the butterfly. These this win- ter are proper with the high-band, turn- | down collars, and the bow or knot is made so very small, tight and compact as to cause a rumor the wearers adjust them with twe no m j Skill to be g Kas | were ready I self, and thi | thai it is your own w ad faction, m vl phy al. The event white lawn tle is a larger, bu the butterfly plan. ‘The evening wear promi Tuxedo, lis the ¢ it is an alsol Food taste. Waistconts. | Fashionable And so much for neckwear, Waistcoats these days have become a matter of some attention. The waistcoat for evening wear . is a bit highe mon is the on | a in vogue. White duck, pique and Marseille waistcoats are seen in great profusion at dances. They are double-breast wit plain buttons. The met: fairs affected by some men are loud and in wretched form. They should be relegated | to the obscurity now enveloping lared and cuffed evening wn and brown wai ares, cut very high, col- md frock coat ! shape, are favor- with frock coats, and white ones are eut in the same fashion, and the specialty of the Londoner tor in dress from Pari mparatively un wn kid and dog skin are now ve in favor than a year ago, but the gray undressed kid is still worn ma: | well-dr d men. For the evening whit kids with black stitching are in vogue, and j also at afternoon weddings and receptions. | This is an importation from L In collars, as in scarfs, three styles pre- vail. For morning the’ hi nd turn- down, with which is worn either the sma butterfly bow or the n: solid-colored | four-in-hand the nor with | trock coat ‘ht st ng collar, with | ends a little turned, so as to form a’ small | opening at the neck; and in the evening a tall straight standing © A Few Don'ts, A few don'ts wi Ss new order of things are Don't, as a rule, w a buttertls W, unless it is the white lawn one to be used in the evening with r evening suit, with a standing collar. It is the one to be seen with the turn-dewn high j band. Don’t wear Ascots with turn-down col Don't wear a turn-down collar with a frock coat, and consequently the | ot and four-in-hand, and not the butter- | bow, are the proper ties with that - inent. In concluding these don'ts, from the transgressing of many axioms of good | di ng withessed at the horse show, it 1s miss to 1 attention to the fact that r cireumstances should white istcoat be worn with dinner jacket or | Tuxedo, that black shirt buttons with either Tuxedo or evening dress are lugubrious and hideous, that watch chains are not to be seen with evening dress, and that a covert | coat is to be worn over a sack suit, and | Not over a frock coat or cutawa’ Attention to very small detail the difference betwen the elegantly dre man, who is always prepured for an o ead sion, and the ill-dressed person whose clothes are a matter of accident. — cee . Oceasion for Regret. | Frem the Chicago Post. ‘The Gordon Highlander threw aside the paper that had been forwarded to him by some admiring friend. “If we could only have read beforehand,” he said, “some of the poems that have since been written about us we would never have taken Dargai Ridge.” so- nd—“This seems to be a comfortable Fri flat.” Harlemite—“It dees. It makes that im- pression on everybody who doesn’t live in it.”— Puck. , From Harper's Bazar. it at @ time.” Former servitor (from the country, wit! —“I brung @ dig wide clump uv mizzietoe A WISE PRECAUTION, annual contribution of Christmas greens) is time, so’s two three ladies kin git unner