The San Francisco Call. Newspaper, March 13, 1898, Page 28

THE SAN FRANCISCO CALL, SUNDAY, MARCH 13, 1898. A PLAID VELVET FOR ETHER she a tal de young per a fluffy girl T and furbelows, unchanging is Q7 7 7 3\. \ is shic an cen boast a every tim and collection irt sts for mo waist for many occ o for dinner wa STRANGE MARRIAGE ! E ARRIAC cours sopemn in an But it An, the p: atch have an opportunity for oned courtship. have an elaborate wed- = monial. It begins with pres- the reports of astrologers. n correspond. The girl’s r offers his ‘“‘ugly and ill-favored ch is O ntal etiquette. r of the boy, not to be out- ss, describes his son as 5 and weak in intel- t The brid procession, for which n a mandarin must make way, goes bridegroom’s house and is car- ver the thr old. politeness is like the Chi- subjection is the same, nal good humor makes it tolerable. There is a beautiful sm in the lighting of the hen the bride’s and bride- zhts are permitted to mingle. : room where the ceremonial drunk there is a dwarf fir tree, tree in blossom, symbolizing the beauty; a tortoise, signifying ity, and a crane. Persian wedding includes a ight procession of the bridegroom to the bride’s house, where the groom and his companions se- cure her and then return to the beating of drums. An Arab wedding lasts seven days. The husband sees his wife's face after the ceremony is over. It is then proper. for him to cry out in delight at its loveliness, and then, as in the Bible, “the friend of the bridegroom, who standeth and heareth him, rejoicing .atly because of the bridegroom’s -"—the people outside the tent an answering cry. In Turkey the o stands behind a screen during a part of the ceremony, and is first seen at its conclusion. A Moorish wedding also a seven days’ affair. re is a clever custom sometimes followed in Persia. A crowd of young men rush into the feasting crowd, cap- ture the guests and shut them up in a dark room. They pay ransom to get out d the money is bride’s dowry—sometimes like our wed- ding present nuisance. “Marriage by capture” is symbolized in.ceremonies all the world over, except in such places where it is still the habit to secure a wife by knocking her dow N Ay Saxc panese al h ddy” or his “nulla-nulla.” The | Clilnaman, if-the parents of his in- | tended are obstinate, carries her off; the Abyssinian carrie s wife round or to h her own hous own, and the abyle carrfes his bride across the wld, as do also the Chinese and i in some parts. ruses have a sham fight, in e bride's party drive the bride- groom’s Into his own village, and in some Arab tribes like the Aenezes the bride runs from tent to tent before she 1s Crossing the threshold was s the most critical period of the ng day with all races, not even excepting the Anglo-Saxon. The lift- ing of the bride over the threshold or her stepping ss it is the signal in 2, Arabla and among the Kopts vpt for the sacrifice of a goat or a shee Among the Aenezes the bride- groom kills 2 lamb in front of his father -law’s tent, and the ceremony, but for the running of the bride from one tent to another, is complete. Among the Zezldi, a sect of Kurds in the eastern highlands of Asia Minor, we are told that the bridegroom, when pronouncing the marriage oath, stands !:'unmn;: water, $0 as to wash away e binding nature of his promise. The erokee bridegroom, after making the usual pyesents, takes the maiden to a small stream, where the two join hands over the running water. The Macedonian’s wedding cake, a most important feature of these Greek weddings, is placed over a bowl of water and danced around, irst, as the Australian does with | 3 is a solemn subject, | isn’t half so | n coun- | to the | SPRING. h a bewildering as this ye separate from the velveteen | velvet, which gives | comfortable | dainty and can be treated so effectively. NEW SHIRT WAISTS FOR SPRING WEAR| .& or silk to the elaborate bodice fit for the most festive of occasions. % The shirt waists strongly resemble those worn throughout the summer. To wear beneath a coat nothing is more con- venient than the shirt waist of soft French flannel. These can be bought ready-made In a variety of patterns. The fashionable flannels used for this purpose are scattered with polka dots, covered with stripes or in dainty plaid or checked The plaid velvet shirt waist is designs. high in favor. Many of the plaids are somewhat startling in their color com- binations, and yet when worn with dark cloth skirt they look most effective. The peau de soie ist comes in all the new colors and is made after the conventional pattern. All the new shirt waists will mot be| blouse. There will be tight-fitting ones, | though it must be conceded that even these will blouse a little in front. The sides and back will be tight-fitting with a | little fall over the belt. The fancy appearance in many is due to the treatment of the waist after it is on. Very fancy collarettes are worn; there is| a deep yoke of lace put on over the waist, and the broadest girdles are used. | These collars, pykes and girdles are| purchased separately and either sewed | upon the shirt waist or hooked in place. To understand this perfectly it is only ry to describe four little shirt sts that bave attracted much atten-| tion. One is of rose silg, over which is worn a bolero of shaded rose velvet edged with black jet. Around the throat is hooked a frill of the rose silk. The second is of seeded velvet, with the seeds composed of tiny beads of different hues. It has a pointed girdle of black | the waist a very| slender appearance. The thixd is of dotted chiffon over a| taffeta lining of greenisn hue. The voke | is trimmed with bands of green ribbon | and the sleeves are frilled with green chiffon ruchings. A green ribbon is tied around the neck The fourth one is a black satin walst with a heavy deep basque, into which is set panels of white satin, making a fan effect. The same design is carried out in | the sleeve puffs. An immense fichu of | white chiffon is worn with this waist, | hanging almost_to the waist line. The fichu is embroidered in black silkk. This walst is for half mourning. These shirt waists are among the more elaborate ones, but there are others jus as pretty and much more serviceable which cost a great deal less. | In making a striped silk waist the | stripes run up and down the waist and round and round the sleev No other way produces graceful results. This must | all fabrics, whether cam- | vet shirt walst is so dress and becoming that it will rage throughout the spring. But it is too hot for summer wear. It is generally lined with a very thin lining material on | account of its tendency to ‘“crock off.” | The regular summer shirt waist will be made with trimmed and s shoulder puffs. The | vill be ruffled or trimmed with lace 1d set_ with insertion. They can hardl tao fu The absolutely plain ones will_onls seen where the goods hav an_elaborate pattern in the material. French gingham makes up into the neatest of shirt waists because it is so I YOUR CHOICE IN NEW SHIRT WAISTS It comes with silk stripes and in lace| ruffles because they protect the lining stripes; and so can be used over a col- ored lining. With an underslip, or corset cover, of pink taffeta a young woman can make a very smart appearance in a chirt waist of lace-striped French ging- ham with a_yoke of Irish point lace and a satin girdle. Almost fine enough for a party gown, such a waist is. With a lack canvas skirt it is particularly ef- fective; w a pink taffeta one is abso- lutely dress WARDROBE OF THE WORKINGWOMAN. IVEN a woman making $12 a G week, that is (624 a year, to dress with $100 is quite sufficient, and as much as she has a right to spend on dress in proportion to the en- tire amount received. She can live decently and have a bit for a rainy day as well. ‘Well dressed means first of all ap- propriately dressed. For the working woman to use the several styles adopted by men and yet not be mas- culine is to my mind to be appropri- ately, neatly, prettily and economi- cally dressed for down-town work. To do it on $100 a year requires planning and care. Here are some suggestions for a list of things to last one year: one tailor dress $50, four shirt waists $2, one silk waist $5, two pairs of shoes $8, three pairs of gloves $5, underwear $7, um- brella $3, rubbers 50 cents, hats $5, wrapper $1; total $92 50. This leaves $7 30 for accidents. Many a woman whose husband makes a very good living dresses on less, but she can hang her clothing away in the closet to rest, which makes them last much longer. First the d Choose an all-wool “covert” finish; twill wears shiny and rough cloth catches the dirt. For color | select an unobtrusive shade so you will not quickly be tired of it. Have every- thing in one color; donotget a blue hat and a brown dre Have a small oil stove and flat iron and ‘ironing board in your room and use them, for the dress to last a year must be sponged and pressed and at least once rebound. A good tallor will make a dress, fur- nishing everything, for $50. If he-is a man to be trusted let him furnish what he likes, but you would do wellto select every separate item yourself, for very much depends upon the lining how a dress is to wear. Never, under have silk lining. Tt and is a luxury be- yond the reach of a working woman. This year the skirting is made separate from the skirt itself. On the under side three flounces may be used, doing away with the under petticoat. If these ruffles are made of the pretty mchairs which are so much used now th. s will wear well, keep clean and look very mnice indeed. I like these FOR of the skirt, are lighter than the pet- ticoat and have a very good effect. Be daring, and have the sleeves made almost tight, for tight sleeves are a matter of the very near future—tight ‘sleeves and, alas! trimmed skirts. If trimming is desired on the skirt, braid is all that is appropriate on a tailor suit, Have the coat made long half way to the knee, and lined with good, heavy silk. For everyday use shirt waists are the best and most economical. Get a But- terick pattern and make them yourself, for the ready-made ones will have no style unless you pay $4 or $5, and you can make them just as well for 50 or 80 cents. o If you are slender, use the blouse effect; but 1f you are not, make the waist in the ordinary way and by pull- ing the front out a bit after it is on you can reach quite enough of the blouse to be becoming. This year the sleeves are very scant, and the body of the waist is also not full. The cuffs should be made on the walst for economy in laundry, but sep- arate collars keep it fresh. The collar is not to be turned but quite on the clerical cut. The tie should be either very narrow or else very wide. Mull and ribbon finishings at the neck in place of collar and tie may be used. Of material for waists thereis such a variety the monotony of wearing one dress is quite overcome. A light waist, the right color, will keep fresh quite as long as a dark one, which, though not soiled, gets crushed and looks soiled. Select distinct patterns if you want to look young. Do not select nondescript shades. The new Chinese crepe wears very well, indeed, and is only 20 cents a yard, and neither shrinks nor fgdes. The pat- terns are very pretty, and quite the thing. Gingham avoid. It shrinks and fades unless of the very best, at about "75 cents, which is too much, Brown linen is very good but not often becoming, and linen musses easily. For the best for the least money, I would choose a percale at, say, 10 to 25 cents. Very much depends upon how a waist is put on. At the center of the back sew a piece of cotton belting. Tack the SPRING WEAR. = / ‘ STRIPED SHIRT WAIST OF CHINA SILK. back into place and stitch it, but leave the front loose. Keep the waist secure- iy in place with an under belt of white cotton, fastened with an ordinary tail- or’s buckle, and slipped under the piece you sewed on the back. Arrange the fullness to suit your figure, and by changing it each day it does not lie in flat creases. Your waist will last much longer made loose in this way. Close the front with buttons as large as a quarter, pulling them in with rings as a ynan does in his white vests. For a hat a good sailor in'summer, N one of San Francisco's quaint added to the | | | zad, commercial houses is a.Japanese who has just laid aside the covet- ed privilege of wearing the purple robe of the Buddhist priesthood in a quiet life to take up the exciting cares of a business eer. Nasayoshi Ota was initiated into the full mysteries of Buddha when a young man and was given the purple robe at 21. Inclination for an active commercial life as well as for foreign travel led him to renounce the object of many years of patient mental labor. “The Buddhists in Japan,” he be- gan in recounting his experiences in the priesthood, “are divided into eight sects, named respectively the Tendal, Shingan, Jiyado, Hoke, Shinsin, Rin- Obaku and Sato. The three last are branches of the great Zen sect, which is one of the strictest and most exclusive in the empire. It is a sect founded and patronized by noblemen and. swordsmen, all of whom are ac- credited with being persons of a high order of intelligence as well as of un- doubted bravery. “This sect alone l';ae 33,000 temples. S‘I’P‘%Oe":egm our novitiate as priests in childhood, usually when but seven or eight years of age. Many of these boyrs are adopted by the elder priests, who stand high in power and choose these children to follow their own vo- cation because of their being orphans or because they display mental supe- riority or physical perfection. Popular priests are often urged by parents to take their sons in charge. “Adoption into the priesthood means a cutting off from all blood relations during the period of the man'’s natural life, and the young novitidte is taught to think with indifference and scorn of home and its ties; to deny that love for father, mother, sister or brother js a degree greater than his love for 11 humanity. *a “You are not worthy to be a priest: founded and you are only a baby pining for home,” is the scornful remark which greets those children who yield to homesick- ness. “On entering the temple the head is shaven and the black robe donned, when the novitiates become the princi- pal of a ceremony similar to a burial service, after which they are consid- ered virtually dead to the world. “Their training is then begun by carefully instructing them to appre- ciate the beauties and advantages of self-denial and self-reliance, also to exercise fully their reasoning powers and to observe perfect cleanliness in person and surroundings. “In exercising the requirement to deny themselves ease, they must rise before dawn, and their first task is to assist in preparing the simple morning meal, which consists of vegetables and rice. Water alone is drunk, the use of tea and coffee being forbidden and milk abhorred by them. During the re- mainder of the day they work in the rice fields or garden, which are at- tached to every temple. The evening after their day of labor is begun by a season of study. At 8 o’clock they are interrupted by commands to indulge in a period of meditation, which lasts for fully an hour. “Throughout the evening there are alternate periods of study and medita- tion, the length of the latter following the first hour determined by the burn- ing of incense tapers. One of these is lighted and after an inch or so is con- sumed the students arise and walk briskly about the room In regular file for several minutes, and again seat themselves, when an attendant carry- ing an oaken staff, which is rounded upon one side and flattened upon the other, approaching each one in turn, administers three blow§ upon the shoulder. “The first blow is but a slight tap, the second noticeably harder, and the third is laid on by the chastiser with gener- ous vigor; all of which is to remind the student that he has utterly and forever renounced unalloyed ease. “Their books are no' ~nly studied but committed to memory, and there are few of the adults who do not know the Bible by heart. “When the young priest has reached the aze of 15 he begins to teach others, and at 20 he is allowed to start upon a pilerimage to other temples. At each of these temples he may remain for one year, and may, at discretion, pro- long his visit even to three years read- ing the rare volumes which such tem- ples contain as well as gleaning all pos- sible knowledge from the experience of older devotees. Such pilgrimages fre- quently last from ten to fifteen vears before the priest returns to his former home and to the honors which it is cus- tomary to bestow upon him. None, however, return until fully satisfled that there is nothing more pertaining to their priesteraft which can be learned. “Among the Buddhists, intellectual attainments alone give precedence, and by displaying superior wisdom any priest may rise from the lowest to preside over the highest organization or temple. The .ascendency of the priests to knowledge and influence is marked at each step by a change in the color and texture of their robes. The first garment worn by the student is one of unrelieved black. Their next advance in knowledge is declared to the initiated by linings of colored silk showing in their wide sleeves; after their pilgrimage is completed they ap- pear in red, and when their first great wisdom has attracted universal at- tention, the privilege of. wearing pur- ple is granted by the Emperor. “The last step which proclaims them high in authority and of great learn- ing is marked by the ordeal of a secret ceremony which lasts for 100 days. Af- ter this ceremony they are spoken of as most holy and are privileged to wear any color which may suit their fancy.. “It may be said that the position of the priest is the only possession which he can call his own during life, and the presiding priests name their successor in a will which is seal.d in the pres- ence of witnesses with impressive cere- monifes. It is then laid away with valued documents of the temple. “The Buddhist temples are supported both by endowments and donations: the latter are principally giyen by sons in memory of a father, whose name is inscribed upon a tablet within the tem- ple, and before which the sons fre- quently prostrate themselves, never failing to endow the temple with a gen- erous gift upon each anniversary of the parent’s death. “Religion with the Buddhist is a changeless heritage, a family belong- ing to one sect for generations with no thought of departure from the belief of their fathers, and this constancy of faith insures a fixed income to each temple. “‘Among the sects there are both mar- ried priests and celibates. The married priests live more pretentiously than the latter, and, in fact, the presiding priest of a temple devoted to the sect of bene- dicts revels in much the same pomp which feudal lords anciently enjoyed, while his celibate brother. renounces both pomp and power and contents himself with the plainest fare. About the temple in which a married priest and family reside are to be seen the huts of numerous dependents, whom he oppresses at will and by whom he is served with the greatest humility and faithfulness. “The married and the unmarried priests also differ in an essential part of their belief, the former maintain- i the supremacy of God and the lat- ;‘e‘g bellevl:g only in the power of rea- son. “Among those Buddhists there was once a famous priest named Gasson, Wwhose numerous experiences and ad- ventures they are fond of relating in Jaudation of the extreme disregard for self which exists among them. The fol- Jowing is one of these oft-told adven- tures: As Gasson went about doing good, teaching and traveling by night as well as by day, he once encountered a notorious band of desperadoes, ten in number, who had marked the route he had taken and were lying in wait to rob him. As the ten sprang upon him, making & demand that he give up his belongings, he calmly replied. ‘I will give you all’ and handed them the food he carried, together with the last remnant of his clothing, which they did not scruple to accept: they, how- ever, allowed him to retain the wallet depending from his neck, and which only a priest may bear. . “He resumed his journey, and he had traveled nearly two miles from the spot of the robbery when he made the dis- covery that the wallet contained a golden em, a coin whose value is per- STORY OF A MAN WHO BECAME A BUDDHIST PRIEST. haps $50, and which was carried by him in trust for the temple to relieve the sufferings of the poor. Mindful of his promise to yield all to the robbers, he at once retraced his steps, and hand- ing the coin to the leader of the des- peradoes, remarked, ‘This I had forgot- ten, but now give to you.” “Impressed by his great homesty the robbers saw the extent of their own guilt, and' begged him to teach them the secret of such nobility of charac- ter. At once Gasson began to enlight- en them, and succeeded in converting them- to his belief; his work proved to be permanent, and they in turn became priests of much power, as zealous in the cause of their new faith as they had formerly been in crime, and be- came known as the ten. holy ones. “Among the attainments of the Buddhist priests none stand higher than that of writing poems, and an ambitious priest has been known to write as many as one hundred in a single night. “They have a story of the beggar priest, scoffed at for his rags by the world-tainted inmates of a temple at which he once halted, and who asked him jeeringly if he was skilled in writ- ing. For reply he begged the use of one of their pens, and with great hu- mility asked permision to seat himself, when he began to improvise poems of such wonderful strength and beauty that the scoffers bowed before him in humility, illustrating their consistency in the belief of their class that suprem- acy of intellect is far above worldly gains.” The Japanese fix the epoch of Arddha Chiddi, or Gotama (“he who Kkills the ‘senses”), the founder of Buddhism, at 1000 years before Christ. The funda- ' mental principle of his system of reli- glon is that there is a supreme power but not a Supreme. Being. Inquiries into first causes are rejected as being unphilosophical, and believers also claim that phenomena alone can be dealt with by our finite minds. They deny the immediate interposition of providence, and maintain that the sys- tem of nature, once arisen, must pro- ceed irresistibly according to the lawg which brought it into being, and that ‘the universe is merely a gigantic en- gine. | and for winter a “rainy-weather” softe ened by wings or cocks’ plumes. Get a good sailor, costing at least $5, and it will do duty for three summers. A hatter will reblock, clean and put on a new band for 50 cents, and you have a practically new hat. A black velvet band is very pretty and sure to be be- coming. In shoes get two pairsat a time—good ones—of plain leather, and changethem often. Two shirt waists a week ought to be quite enough. Wear one one day and the other the next, laying them in a drawer in the meantime, and they will keep clean as long as three more the usual way. Have your belts and ties and skirt harmonize. The Oriental buckles in enamel do very good service; are odd and pretty. Let the metal belts alone; they are a delusion; they scratch the furniture and wear out the lining of your coat. You can get a good silk waist for $5 if you make it yourself, which you ought to do. One item In being well dressed, whether you spend much or little, is a needle and thread, for a stitch in time not only saves nine, but better still, keeps 2 frock fresh and neat. H. G. ABEANSTALK BOY'S EXPERIENCE. N Watowan County, Minn, iz & youth who is prepared to play the part of the beanstalk in any realis- tic production of Jack and the Bean- stalk that may be put on the stage. He is now 6 feet 10 inches high, and he keeps ascending at the rate of half an inch a month. At Madelia, his home, he is known as James McIndoo, but colloguially he is spoken of as “Our Rising Young Man.” He will be 19 years old next July. Up to the time he was 15 he was of ordi- nary height and bulk. Now he is a mammoth, weighing 310 pounds. Dur- ing these four years he has accumu- lated 153 pounds, and has shot up twen- ty-four inches. His feet are three inches more than a foot in length and of remarkable breadth. He wears a No. 24 shoe. It takes a calfskin of pretty large size to make them, and there are no “leavings” worth speaking of whenthecobblergets through. He wears a No. 8 hat, al- though his head seems disproportion= ately small for a chap of such gigan- tic frame. His hands are like hams. One blow of one of them smashes an ordinary Kitchen table to toothpick splinters. The boy is very powerful, and more than once he has supported the body of a heavy farm cart when a wheel has been taken off to grease the axle, by just bracing his hands on his knees and holding the axle on his shoulder. When he was 16 he lifted 1100 pounds, and he laughs when visitors ~tell about the strength tests of the strong men of Harvard and Yale. One playful exercise he likes is to swing buckets full of water, one in each hand, like an Indian club swinger. Horseshoes he twists up like hairpins. In a test the other day he spanned with one hand thirteen and three-fourths inches. Taking hold of a tree with one hand he can hold a team of horses with the other and make them rear up on their hind legs at the word “Go!” while he refuses to budge one inch under the strain. He is in perfect health and as Jolly and good-natured as can be. He eats more than a 1500-pound ox. Whenever he wants a drink of water he takes up a gallon pail and drains every drop from it. He has no particular appetite for anything stronger, so his capacity for cider, brandy and soda and Man- hattan cocktails cannot be estimated, but he has been known to sit down on a bench and eat a ten-pound basketful of grapes and asl. for more. Recently he ate twenty-three large apples for dessert, saying he wasn’t hungry before he sat down. He is pretty well formed, and, except for his height, does not look abnormally large. His intellect is rfot as gigantic as his stature, but he is nobody’s fool. He has a good head for mechanics. He can take a clock to pieces, or a watch, clean it and repair it and put it togeth- er again so that it will “keep time.” This has endeared him to his country mates, and they often come to Jimmy Mcindoo to have this or that thing “tinkered up,” and the boy always _obliges when he can. His very good nature has made him sometimes the butt of practical jokes. Sometimes he is able to turn the laugh on the perpe- trators, and this tickles him immensely. One day a couple of farm hands thought it would be funny to confine Jimmy in the corn crib. They wedged the door shut and put a couple of logs, backed by a big rock, in front of the structure. As soon as Jimmy perceived his fix he tramped over the corn cobs, and, bracing himself against two joists, calmly lifted the roof off the crib and crawled out. Then for revenge he took the farm hands by the nape of the neck and marched them off to the watering trough and ducked them simultaneous- “Av till they velled for mercy.