Evening Star Newspaper, December 10, 1898, Page 19

ELLEN pyright 1898, by John Brisben Walker.) rrespondence of The Evening Star. NEW YORK, December #, 1898. Three New York women go about chuck- = and bragging of the success of periment. That whereof they boast would | not please all women, nor yet be possible to them; but it may interest busy folks and lids as an attempt to solve the problem | hopping. About a year ago these three women ar- nged with a fourth to be clothed, as the ies of the field are clothed, without toil- ing or spinning. They wished to have noth- sg to do with dry goods stores, shoe shops s; to be dressed from head to 5 ex- feet in such manner as they had been d stomed an@ for such sums as they v but without expense of time or the three are business women occupations require all their The third is a wise woman, in knows her taste is poor and that good appearance in employs the ser propor- of some to the experiment is f unusual capacity Prevented by the cate of young om undertaking a large busines in responsibility for th ward- Tobes. with ¢ ‘k for outside cus- tome ares to do. Th of operation. The smaker visits her patrons per nd overha their bureau drawe . making lists ef what purc in the way of and minor fixings hats and wraps be repaired or remodeled, ar must be supr She kno woman's tast nows her measurements, Khows her w 7 istently of colors and gowr visits ection of t that | ecessary eded ed. and in suiting headg: and finally, as seldom to be hurried in ao judiciou th arti isurely g for her pat- an whose | zo r Taste and Economy Combined. moderate circium- makes ed dress is The ience are in them The three cl time workat elen em n d of thing I i nad about wh cht to pay,” repre- ir clot them no Where the System Begins. 1 for a dress has ord by m: certain » per fit- i a¥ the ¢ she first be- | wherewith she GIFTS MADE r, the only | w is placed insi » are laced togeth ut an | top of | h the | povel | a rich fig. m and ¢ k floss about shed with @ ” hue all the 1 in the embellishment of the y sign f mascul v z. It a strong : 5 ht brown linen ule je—ana decorated with hb Pipes pouch and ¢ > The cards ar the f the pillow, an look {a red ribbon, held ace, bits of it showing be- tw d a short fluttering end coming h side. The are the queens diamonds, clubs ar earts, to the lef ht in hue, red rather predomi below this row of pictures er of round ch or counter: blue, algo reaching all acro: 4 grouped with careless art wer still are two elaborate pipes ch other, the handle of one tied ribbon. They are at the right 1 em, at the left, is a pretty to- bag in two shades of pale green garettes and matches—some of the latter lighted and burned out—are strewn F e bag and pipes. In the extre corner are a few little books, pri the authorities on the game of ttle pillow for baby Is of fine 1 made up over pink, a line of | and th> amount of flouncing and of ove hopping | s | to a ring, their ends forming a larger or OSBORN’S FASHION LETTER \ of the scheme and the folly of folks who fatigue themseives and waste time doing their own shopping. It is only fair to say that each woman is undoubtedly better dressed than she ever was before or than she could be in any other way. It will be objected that such a plan is a acrifice of individuality; but any one of three will laugh at this. The average dressmaker, they say, is a tyrant who tells her customers what is the “style,” and the average customer exercises little more per- nal will or judgment, except as fo what she ought to pay, than if she weren't con- sulted. There is a good deal of smoke in proportion to the fire in any talk of in- dividuality in dressing. Earnest and Skillfal. But it must be acknowledged that un- usual circumstances contribute to the suc- cess of this experiment. The dr2ssmaker is possessed of a really artistic faculty which enables her to suit her clients’ fig- ures and complexions~ better than they cculd do themselv2s. In the same way, an architect will plan a better house than its owner could have done, or a decorator will make it more beautiful. The same enthu- siasm that an artist puts into his picture she puts into beautiful dress, whil> a sensi- tive conscience, not popularly supposed to be universat with dressmakers, makes her study economy for .her customers as zeal- ously as she studies fabrics and colors. Not one of th> three is spending as much as when she did her own shopping. That this plan would work in many cases or without modifications f am not claiming, but there are enough busy women and enough delicate women to whom the shop- ping conditions of the present are martyr- dom, to warrant its description. In a ciub of six or >ight women a dreasmaker wish- ing to give her entire time to the business would find a larger profit. Watteau House Dress. everything notable in dress Nearly at present strives for effects In soft draperies, elaboration of trimming diminishes, at le: concerns imported costum nple house dre: ve for exampl warm Watteau red albatross cloth is made plaits in the back and with with a ight train On the shoulder in front € f Greek draperies, the soft w arranged on the figur the figu d without fronts fal are € away in k iged ng curves with ruches of biack x or seven be- ine of narrow cream Jac: e throat and a . The front of full, without other confi girdle. > cloth dre seen on 2 to give not too long, 2 One's purse strin; case where a 1 for, rorative. A idea, bei punch of pin balls | ng three in num- carries out ber—one red, one white, the other blue. The three balls are made by winding coarse om or wool to the desired size «, and of the same color as the h Is to be crocheted around them. For yall is wound, and around a red silk cover; the blue i in blue, the white in white. s then fastened to a narrow satin nm of its own color, and these are tied smaller knot, as desired. f different lengths, ill hang below t elow the bine. E pins, that bristle a thistle. A flag pin cushion Is ten inches long, four in width, and is fashioned from red and The ribbons are thus making the red > white, and this latter ch ball is stuck full of out and cause It to re- white satin striped ribbon or silk, with the stars on their blue background set on to the left of the cushion’s center, but not in the extreme corner. A satin ribbon of red, white and blue in larger stripes than seen in the material of the cushion itself forms flounce around the edge, and is three wide | headed | collars, frame is made by covering an ob- g 2f pasteboard the chosen size with a The stiff board is first incased et of cotton batting or a lining of le silk ti in a shi ‘anton flannel to make it present the right A square, or circle if pre- s cut in the center of the stripes to for the photograph, the same allow aperture being also made in the pasteboard. ‘The flag and its lining are turned smoothly in around the edges of this opening, also the frame's outer edges, and pasted down to the board; a plece of thick paper or card- board is carefully pasted on to form the lining of the whole frame, a cut being made to allow of the photograph’s slipping in. A strawberry pin cushion ts another noy- y, and is as large as one’s hand when finished. To secure the right shape, take & square of paper and twist it in your hand as if to form a cornucopia; then shape off the top, and fit in a circle the right size to form the top of the cushion. The tuner cushion is made this way and stuffed, but dinal red satin which forms the out- can be cut in one piece, the top being drawn together under the green satin rib- bon which forms the hull of the berry. T? is half an inch wide, and fs set on in small pleces at the stem of the berry, which is suspended by a bow and ends of the same ribbon to one’s chiffonnier, or from a hook t any convenient spot. Two tiny berries, inch long when finished, and the exact counterparts of the larger One, are tied by. bits of the ribbon to Its stem, and greatly enhance its beauty. The little yellow seeds must be embroidered on the red satin cover before it is made up. A book-mark can be quickly cut from a yard of watered ribbon. An inch in width is about right. The ribbon should be cut in four pleces, each one shorter than the awn-work running entirely about an inch from the edge. In the ath of small pink blossoms, their delicate buds and leaves, four five inches in diameter, and inside this exquisite specimen is of white satin vroldered in floss-silk, with a huge spray American beauty roses and buds—no es-spreading upward and across from lower right-hand corner. Around the © of the pillow is a ruffle formed by hertng white satin ribbon, three inches one just below it, as the four are laid one upon another, and all fastened together at the top upon a large ring covered by cro- cheting around one of the ordinary metal rings that come for any such purpose, us- ing coarse embroidery silk. On the upper- most ribbon a few flowers are painted at the top—two violets or a rose and bud. The ends of the ribbon are notched. —————-e- “Want” ads. in The Star pay because they bring answers. THE EVENING STAR, SATURDAY, DECEMBER .10, 1898-24 PAGES, HOUSEHOLD HINTS|CHRISTMAS GIFTS ate N\ occasion was of rather a light shade of brown, trimmed on the skirt with bands of fur, alternating with bands of cloth cov- ered with rows of stitching. The bodice was a bolero with fronts arranged in plaits from the shoulders. The prettiest feature of the costume was th3 front of brown chiffon, tucked bayadere-wise and falling in loose, soft folds from throat to waist- line. Cloth and Fancy Velvet. Of the many combinations of fine, glossy, smooth-faced cloth with fancy velvet, one of the most successful is a dress of a rich plum-blue with a bodice of velvet in vary- ing shades of mauve and blue. Over the bodice comes an odd bolero of the plum- blue cloth, strapped across the front with two large pearl buttons. The skirt is trim- med with inset bands of lace in the popu- lar black over white arrangement. A second cloth and velvet combination is a skirt of black and white small-figured velvet. worn with a long sacque coat of black cloth, lined with white satin. Black cloth cut out in scroll designs over white silk or satin is perhaps at present the best liked of all dress materials. Such a costume will have Louis XVI coat with revers of white silk embroidered in black, and a bodice front of white lace over silk. It will be worn with a rather small black velvet hat adorned with ostrich plumes. For Elegant Occasions. The velvet dresses are the richest of the season. One of a deep, soft green shows an applique embroidery in black and white of satin and chenille, and a white satin collar, revers and cuffs covered with white lace. More than half the velvet dresses are in black, or else in the popular plum- blue. Velvet coats with cloth skirts are the happiness of those who cannot afford the full velvet costume. Red amd white is something like as pop- ular as black and white. A red cloth cos- tume, for example, has a square collar of white cloth cut out in scrolls over red silk, a white lace yoke and a band of white down the front. This is lined and stiffened and caught to the skirt in some mysterious man- ner. In red, white and black is a pretty cloth gown with a tunic overskirt, pointed and trimmed with rows of stitching. The un- derskirt is edged with by white s ain by a line of jet. one of whit ant black ruffles, cord and that he bodice has two satin lace-covered and ur. blue and white go well to- aring, for instance, in a gray h a@ turnover collar and vir velvet, embroid- chenille, The skirt also ed in white on gray and there Ivet belt and a touch of blue on mbroide rlue Vv sleeves. Can Find Pieasure and Benefit in Physical Culture. From rper’s Bazar. Many new gymnasiums and gymnasium classes for women have been opened this season in our large cities, and smaller towns are not far behind in providing op- portunities for women who have become interested in thelr bodily development to take up such practice work. Women generally go into physical culture with great enthusiasm, and well-appointed gymnasiums used by them are fitted up ith parallel and leaping bars, and rowing and riding machines, the bicycle school, the running track, the bowling alley, the swim- ming tank and plunge bath, are all pro- vided for the woman who wishes to become an athlete. E¥en the lighter apparatus, clubs and dumbbells, are used of about the same weight by both sexes. The light apparatus is thought to give better development, and is used even by men who are training for professional athletes. Ball playing in gymnasiums has become quite a fad. In old times our great-grand- fathers went out modestly and threw their balls against the side of a house. Today their great-grandsons and great grand- daughters are taught to play ball scien- iifically, and have walls carefully erected in gymnasiums to practice on. “Teams” of girls trained to play all sorts of athletic games are no longer a novelty, and our granddaughters bid fair to equal our grand- sons in skill and strength. An excellent feature in good gymnasiums is the medical examiner, whose duty it ts to prescribe the proper exercise to correct physical imperfections and to improve im- perfectly developed and weak bodies. No violent or excessive physical exercise should be undertaken except on the advice of some one well qualified to understand the human body, and the best means to im- prove and strengthen it in any given direc- tion. So guarded, women can find great pleasure and benefit in the various sorts of physical exercise now open to them, and women who are looking for some amuse- ment for the coming season, as well as wo- men whose health and nerves need bracing, would he wise to turn their attention to physical culture. —_+ e+ _____ The Rage for Fur, From the Woman's Home Companion. Fur is used on all sorts and conditions of gowns, and is applied in any way that may suit the wearer. Row after row made as narrow as possible is appiled on the graded flounce of the new cloth gowns, a short nap fur being the easiest to apply and the best in effect. Buttons of fur are extensively used on @ gown of this kind, while revers and collar, with cuffs to match, trim the waist. ———_+e+—_____. The Invalid’s Pillow. From the Woman's Home Companion, A small fluffy pillow which can be rolled into any shape is a great comfort on top of a large pillow or bolster, and may be made to fit closely to the aching point. A frequent careful punching from the sides leaves them fluffy and soft again, and this beating of the pillows may be done quite effectively in a quiet manner. A noisy stirring action {s sometimes more trying to a weak person than hard pillows, ——.——— ‘Now is an excelient;timeo recall the old adage, “An ounce of prevention ts worth a pound of cure,” and make ready for the icy breath of Jack Frost ‘before his reign really sets in. i a It is the exceptionali house where one can sit close to the window % cold weather without feeling the chifll quickly that is frequently the preclrsor of a heavy cold. In France, where the heating arrangements are exceedingly deficient, they have a sim- ple arrangement for the windows in wia- te that is quite worthy of adoption here. It is called a window screen, and is both useful and ornamental. It consists of a flat padded cushion of velyet or satin, either plain or decorated with embroidery, which is hung in front of the lower sash of a window to keep out the draughts. -t !s Kept in place by means of small rings cov- ered with a bow of ribbon, which fasten on small hooks screwed into the gash of the window. In Canada, where the weather is still more severe, extra precautions of the same sort are taken, and a number of thick pads filled with autumn leaves, and caught to- gether like comfortables, are fastened :o the lower sash, to the space from the sash to the floor, and often to the floor itself, especially in the case of bow windows. This system of padding is especially desir- able in the nursery or any room where the children spend much time. Children al- ways gravitate to the windows, and many attacks of croup or heavy colds are apt to be the result uniess there ts some such pro- tection. In one large bow window noticed lately there were about a dozen thick pads overlapping each other around the lowcr part of the window and reaching to the floor, where they were fastened by small tacks and strips of carpet binding, while ancther pad fitted to the window snugly like a mat in a Japanese room covered the floor. When the pads are filled with leaves they can be emptied every spring, washed and packed away in the attic, to remain uu- til needed again. The secret of making a successful plum pudding Nes in mixing the ingredients thor- oughly by kneading, then packing and tying securely, Jeaving only a little room for the pudding to swell, then and lastly and most important not allowing the water in which the pudding is cooked to stop boiling for even a moment. If the water stops boiling the pudding will be soft and sticky, even. if the botling is speedily re- newsd. A large pudding will require ten hours’ tolling, but if, as many housekeep- ers prefer, the pudding is cooked in small Ss, five hours will suffice. An excellent English recipe which has been in use for many y2ars says cut in halves one pound of raisins, stone and soak in a wine glass of brandy. Wash and thoroughly dry one pound of the best currants. Chop fine one pound of beef suet or three-quarters of a pound of the moist beet marrow, being careful to remov all the strings if the mar- row is used. Cut in shavings two ounces of citron, and one ounce each of candied lemon and orange peel. Grate the rind and take the juice of one orange and on> lemon, blanch and slice and weigh out a quarter of a pound of almonds, grate one nutmeg and weigh out one pound each of sugar and fine bread crumbs. Add a tea- spoonful of salt, mix all the ingredisnts thoroughly together, add nine eggs well aten, whites and yolks separately, i one wine glass each brandy and sherr: If it is to be boiled in a cloth, dip in boiling water, wring almost dry, rub with butter and sprinkle tlighy With flour. Spread the cloth {na large bowl, pour the mixt in and tie up Qarefully with a stout string. When done “hang away in a cool close! to ripef. When ready for use boil again for two hours to heat through. The mold must not be opened after the first boiling, but Jeft until time to serve. A pretty way to decorate it is to have ready some” blanched and split almonds and stick about the center of the pudding like a crow: Put two or three sprigs of holly in the center, pour a little brandy around, not over, the pudding, light and carry immediately to the table. The pudding may be served with hard or liquid sauce. The hard sauce most frequently used in cenjunction with plum pudding is composed of one cup of butter washed free of salt, two cupfuls of powdered sugar, the whites of two eggs well beaten, and a wine glass of French brandy. ‘The Jatter may be omitted, however, and a tablespoonful of currant jelly substituted. Beat the butter to a cream in a warm bowl, add the sugar little by little, then the eggs, beating all the time until the mass is light and creamy. Lastly, add the brandy or jelly, and beat gain. Arrange upon @ pretty dish in the n of a mound, make little scales all over ith the point of a teaspoon, and set in a cold place to harden. A famous French sauce is known as a sabyllon. It is so extremely rich that only a tablespoonful need be served with each portion. Beat together with a whip the yolks of four eggs and nt cup of pow- dered sugar. The saucepan containing the eggs and the sugar should be set on the back of the range and the beating should be rapid. When creamy, add slowly a giass of s or Madeira, still beating. Wf sherry d, season further with the juice and grated rind of a quarter of a lemon. As soon as the wine {s all poured in, remove from stove, but continue beating until smooth and rather thick. Prospective brides and grooms will wel- come the announcement that the tradition- al shower of rice is no longer considered good form by fashionable folk. Rose leaves are used instead. If any color scheme is carried out in the decorations of the wed- ding, the same color is used in the shower of leaves. Just as the bride and groom leave the house, a tiny basket filled with the fresh leaves {s handed to each mem- ber of the immediate bridal party, who throw them over the happy couple. Whether the “‘Juck” will be the same, has not yet been determined, but the wedding journey wil be more ‘comfortable than when spent in dislodging hard grains of rice from collar, gown and halr. Lavender pillows are taking the place of the pine-needle cushions. They are usually cevered with white linen, decorated with spikes of the lavender flowers worked in natural colors or hellotrope linen worked with flax threads of a paler tint. Lavender is also largely used in place of the mal- odorous moth balls, and is said to be quite as efficacious. A few drops of oil of laven- der sprinkled along the edges of the carpet not only give the room a clean, fresh smell, but obviate the necessity of eternal vigi- lance for the appearance of carpet bugs. Pigs In blankets are nelther so plebelan nor yet aristocratic as their name or lux- urious wrappings might imply. They are simply good plump oysters salted and pep- pered, snugly wrapped in thin slices of bacon, pinned securely in place by wooden toothpicks and pan broiled in a very bot chafing dish. Cook just long enough to crisp the bacon and serve on small slices of delicately browned toast, with a garnish of water cress, 3 A delicious Porto Rico dainty, says a re- cent visitor there, are banana fritters. These are fried brown and ¢risp on the out- side, while the pure pilp forms the center. The fritters are served with wine sauce and powdered cinnamon. |; A relish much in favor tow is made of olives stoned and stuffed with cleaned and neatly trimmed pieces of anchovies pre- served in oil, 4 Entire sets of lamps'for’a home can be purchased now to matth any style of in- terlor decorations. ° oe . A Wanghee Hook. From Harper's Basar, -, One of the most useful adjuncts to the dressing room or bath! room 1s a hook for clothes. The inexpensive “wanghee” cane, So popular during recent summers, makes a very unique hook. The cane may be sawed off a foot from the handle and then nailed reversely to the frame of a door or the wall of a closet. The large sweep of the curved handle makes the hook a very roomy one, especially adapted for towels in use.. The remaining portion of the cane can be swung across the washstand for the accommoda- tion of wash cloths. Any broken or cast-aside cane may be re- stored to usefulness in this manner, but these light service- What Shall We Give as Tokens of Holiday Spirit? THINGS A GIRL COULD SEND A MAN Pretty Knickknacks in Silver and Leather. eee FLOWERSANDHOLLY WREATH ee ge Special Correspondence of The Evening Star. NEW YORK, December 8, 1898. “Clothes, indeed,” said a busy woman the other day. ‘Don’t mention them to me for the next three weeks. I have no time for them until after Christmas.” Her re- mark is echoed by women all over the land, and until we have settled the question of what we shall get for Christmas gifts— others gifts, not our own—Dame Fashion will be wholly neglected. Some families have a good and conven- ent fashion of making out lists, that is, each member makes out a list of the things he or she would like, and from thes? lists the other members of the family choose gifts. This simplifies the matter, so far as the family are concerned, but it dees not help outsiders much. For no matter how near and dear our friends are we can’t ask them for lists of their favorite ungratified wants. A good way to begin is with a list, however, even if it is one you have to make yourself and on which no light is thrown except by what you remember of the tastes and wishes of those to be remembered. Put | down on the list the names of those to whom you wish to give gifts, and in each case formulate the reason for which you wish to give it. If you find you are giving a gift in exchange for another which you have received in the past or which you think you will receive strike out that name with all possible haste. You are desecrat- ing the holy spirit of the season, commit- ting a vulgar of deceit. This is not half strong enough language to express the crime which is committed when one descends to “exchang- ing” gift After you have erased any name in which you feel there is a sort of barter in the giv- ing of a gift look carefully again and see if you giving to some one who may feel embarrassed by your gift. It hardly seems possible that such things could happen in I-bred families, but a young man con- fided to me last Christmas that he had re- ceived a gift from a girl whom he knew very slightly. Her family came from the same town as his, but this was not a strong tle in his opinion on which to rest_an elao- orate gift, which the girl had évidently fashioned with her own hands. The worat of it was she was only in moderate circum- stances, and this added to the weight of the load. I learned in a casual way from the girl that he had been kind to her and to her mother, and she wished to show her appre- ciation; but a note from her mother would have been better and would have saved a constraint which on one side was never quite lifted. A Great Problem Solved. This brings us to the question of what a girl may with propriety give a man. In the first place, she should know the man very well and he should be related to her by the tles of affection or blood before she can give him much of anything. This hardly seems fair, for probably she has been ac- cepting flowers and candies from men who were mere friends, and there is no way in which it can be repaid except by kindness and courtesy and by the charm which makes her receive @ plethora of favors in the first place. In the illustration you will find a tobacco jar, which can be bought undeco- rated and with a few clever strokes of the brush transformed into an ornament, as it is already a comfort for the man who smokes a pipe. We can’t all paint, however; if we could, the problem would be partly solved; so in another corner the medicine chest, which may be made of strong linen or silk lined with stiffening, or, better still, made of canvas, will appeal to those who can use a needle. It is a small affair and very simple. The place for each bottle is made by the ribbons or cords, for which holes are perforated with some sharp in- strument. The bottles can be bought, and according to the size they are is the linen or silk cover gauged. Tobaceo pouches are well known. A more personal gift, but one which any man with a grain of neatness in him values, is a bag for sofled linen. ‘It action and beginning a train | } should be made of chintz or denim. A piece about two yards square will be enough. Finish it at the top as you would any other bag, with drawing strings, but have also a piace wide enough to put in a smooth stick, which will hold it out. Then slit ft down one side and face the slit. Articles may then be thrown into the bag without the trouble of opening the top of the bag each time. Cannot Have Too Many. Sofa cushions are a boon toa bachelor maid or man. In fact, they are most acceptable gifts to any one who has not already enough to fill at least two divans. A man told me solemnly the other day that if girls would give him handkerchief cases he did wish they would make them so he could use them. This method proved to be most simple. It seems that men do not want to drag their handkerchiefs out of pockets, neither do they want to untie anything. So if you do make a case, make it simply a ‘ piece of linen or silk, faced and stuffed with cotton batting and sachet, as usual. Then do not finish it by sewing up the side or tying the enus together with ribbon. Leave it simply to be folued over when the handkerchiefs = in. ‘this anole case has worked a revolution among busy Dns Gul Of vay aoutatnianes ue ote yells and gloves in cases of this sort. Simply of pretty material = Leather is a fertile field, although, as one woman with a Do not use a baking powder of doubtful quality when, for a few cents more, you can buy Cleveland’s Baking. Powder a pure cream of tartar powder with a record of 28 years’ use among the best housekeepers. dollars. For less than $2 nowadays one can get pocket books which will stand success- fully the ravages of all the average woman will put therein for many moons. Portfolios for carrying about writing materials and things of that sort are always acceptable to people who make long or short journeys and who have to write m: they stay at home or move about Silver {s an overworked field, and it Is better to avoid it. It is inexpensive and it is pretty, but one is apt to be tempted into buying little silver knicaknacks for pres- enis without reflecting very much on their sultabliity as gifts for the particuler friends for whom they are intended. And the suit- ability of @ gift is its great charm Put brains and love into your Christmas pres- ent. will find it aoes not take as much money as when one starts out in a hap- rd way simply with a list of names of people for whom Chriatmes gifts are to be purchased. Try and remember something ou have heard your friend say she liked. To give gifts whic. fit the recipient Is to be a real Santa Claus as true as the one which made our childhood so happ; Where Even Mistakes Please. Girls always need something to wear. The eternal feminine is one Flora McFlimsey. From a theater bonnet to a dainty throat Piece which can be constructed in an hour by @ needlewoman there is nothing in the line of adornment which the membsrs of her family may not give a girl and earn her gratitude, provided it is becoming to her. I don’t know how many pairs of gloves would make a girl happy. A dozen Would make her quite contented. One girl | of my acquaintance had not long ago sev- eral reams of note paper sent her. It all bore her monogram, and put up as it was in a very large, handsome box, with pack- ages and packages of envelopes, it repre- sented wealth untold in the stationery line and made her most envied by other giris who bought their stationery in quires and boxes. Now that every one must possess at least one comb for tha hair and several orna- ments as well if it can be managed the | illustrations will give a hint which should not be forgotten. One reads all sorts of advice on Christmas gifts. Either they should or should not be useful, according to the indfvidual faney of the writer. As a matter of fact, it depends upon the individual to whom they are to be given. Paterfamilias who has been busy all his life making both ends meet for a large if interesting family will not care for anything which will not be of us: to him in one way or the other, and his busy wife, whose life has been one long home- keeping, and who has probably had to learn quite as well as he the value of money, will not ba pleased with useless trinkets. But she would appreciate a knot of lace made as they wear them now, two short bows held together by a tiny cross piece, the effect being a lace bow without ends.’ She could put that on quickly and it would b> an addition to her dress. She would appre- ciate any addition to her work basket and any labor-saving device for putting stamps on the envelopes of the many notes she writes, or the thousand and one things which can be put in usa at once. Small Traveling Comforts. ‘There are very many fittings made now- adays for the interior of traveling bags, and almost every one has a bag. A com- plete set which will be given to a girl who is going south for the winter is not expen- sive and yet very dainty. There is a sponge bag of pink silk rubber. They can be had now, and although a little more expensive wear better than the others. A soap dish, toothbrush holder and powder box of pink celluloid complete a set, which will be most useful and light. For invalids, brands of cologne which you know they use; fountain pens, if they write letters; soft pillows for tired backs, pictures and books are all excellent gifts. Servants, too, like cologne, and if they are allowed to use it one’s own selection is a comfort. They also like stationery and trinkets, ribbons and little ornaments for thelr Sunday dresses better than aprons and caps. Table linen is always acceptable to people of moderate means. Renaissance and tor- chon lace dollies for bare tables are the most cherished of gifts, but they are not inexpensive ones unless done at home. The torchon is newer than the renaissance, but the latter is the most striking of all table decorations. Linen is an inexhat ject, and one need only have one’: y notes whether | and recipients, From cups and saucers, plates, pitchers, tea sets, chocolate pots and other useful as well as ornamental artic | down to dainty and od fancy dishes, or a bit of brown or green pottery, everything tn china ts welcome to those who do not pos- | Sess it in the greatest abundance. | After ell that is sald, written and thought } on the subject of Christmas gifts we como back to the old Christmas card idea as best of all. Not that one does give cards nowa- days, but their spirit was the right one. A woman who clings to this idea will this year send out to all her friends, instead of gifts, individual notes, written with white ink on red paper, with a green monogram at the top, carrying out the Christmas colors. The notes will be very short, but each will convey some warm-hearted little greeting. Another woman alw sends holly wreaths and bunches of mistletoe to her friends, tied with bright red ribbons, Wreaths and greens are not necessarily in- expensive, neither are flowers, yet they come under the category of gifts which never bring to the rectpient @ sense of oblf- gation, and are hence the most graceful of al! offerings. MABEL BOYD, ; —_——.___ A Christmas Tree Feature. From the Woman's Home Companion, Dancing Christmas fairies always ene hance the children’s delight in the Christ- mas tree, and once made can be used year after year. Buy up a dozen or more of five and ten-cent dolls, and to add to the variety have among the number some Jap- anese ar jored dolls. Dress these to represent fatries in bright hues of spangled | Sauze, tarlatan or tissue paper, and Mberal- |1y sprinkle thetr hair and garments with i-dust powder. Each doll should be Provided with a dainty pair of fairy wings made from spangi:d tissue paper and j fastened to the body by means of conce | Wires. These wires should be coiled {obtain motion in the wi €s, and nothing better can be used than the fins spiral coils | that come out of worn-out, wire-stitchea brooms. The least motion’ will set this spiral to quivering, causing the wings to | Move as ff in flight. In like manner use th piral wire to attach th> dolls in hover- ing positions over and around the tree. The effect is magical; every footst > causes jar enough to start the dolls danc- ing and circling above and around the tree, as if the invisible feiries of the air had come down to join the Christmas glee. ——— To Stop the Window Shade Flapping, The flapping of the window shade, when the sash ts raised and the shade lowered, {s @ serious annoyance to nervous people, who are generally light sleepers. The noise | Which the alr end the shade produce is like nothing so much as “a rapping, as of some one gently tapping, tapping at the cham- | ber door, ompanied by a soft rustle as | of sti skirts. in a gentle breeze; when the wind is high the noise is louder and murde: sleep. If the shade is raised the light wakes one too early in the morn- j ing, yet ventilation is absolutely necessary } to health. | The way to prevent the tapping {s very | simple when one knows how. I screw two i little brass hooks, one on each side of the window frame, opposite each other about twelve inches from the sill. At night tle a ribbon or brozd tape across the open win- | dow, from one hook to the other, as sail- | ors say “taut.” Screw a third hook in the | molding below the sill, exactly in the cen- | ter. Puli down the shade over the ribbon | and tie the cord the | lower hook. Th iin pla ofa high wind ora noise enou shade will be firmly be ing short caurc and noth- nstorm wil, h to awaken you a Mufts, From Harper's Beza Almost all the muffs this season are larger, much larger, than those carried last year, | Many of them are perfectly plain; oth=rs |are fanciful, and there are still others made of velvet combined with fur that are ncst elaborately gotten up, trimmed with ribbon and lace. Thes? last are smailer, and are supposed to match the costume with which they are carried. A new fad, but one that has hardly as yet received general approval, is the head and tail of the animal both on the muff. For instance, | with a gray squirrel or a blue fox, the head of the fox will be at one side, the muff be- ing supposed to represent th> body, while | the tail hangs down at the other side. Of course, it shows the fur to great advantage, but is @ little exaggerated. The red fox is one of the now fads, and fs much less expensive than almost any- thing else. In the sable, chinchilla, beaver, otter and bear all the muffs are very large, and ar2 really too cumbersome to be very comfortable to carry. They will necessi- tate the wearing of muff chains more than ever. _ +e AT HER Exp “They say that married people get to look alike. “Of course; a man’s wife is bound to look hike him when she wears all his collars and cravats.""—Chicago Record. He—What lovely flowers. Do you know, they remind me of you?” She—“Why, they are artificial.” He—“Yes, I know; but it requires close ex- amination to detect it.”—Chicago News. Aggravating._She—“Where have you been unti) this hour in the morning?” He—“You wouldn't know the place tf I should tell you.”"—Cincinnati Enquirer. The Woman in Biack—“He’s her third, you know, but she really blushed Ike a young girl all through the ceremony.” The Woman in Mauve, Yellow and Green —“I don't wonder! Just look what she was marrying!”—Indianapolis Journal. “I admit that she is a puzzle to me.” “In what w: “Well, I can't decide whether she involv- ed herself in a scandal she wanted to go on the stage or whether she went on the stage because she became involved in @ scandal.”"—Chicago Record. ———-eee. AT HIS EXPENSE, Patient—“You are worried about my case, Goctor; I can see it in your face.” Doctor—"No-o, not exactly.” Patient—“Tell me the truth, doctor. 1 want to know just what you think.” Doctor—“Well, to be quite candid with you, I was about your bill. You | haven't paid me a cent in two years.”— Suitor—“Your daughter, sir, is the light of my existence.” Her father—“Oh, that's it, eh? I've often wondered how you could ever see her, with the gas turned so low."—Chicago News. Simkins—“What makes your nose so red, - Timkins—“It giows with pride, sir, at not wae into other people's business.”"— to marry a man I have never seen.” want