3 Bellefonte, Pa., Feb., 2I,1896. GEORGE WASHINGTON AND HIS HATCHET. George once cut down a favorite tree, His father’s; to detach it— He said he could not tell a lie— He used his little hatchet. Through mountain woods he blazed a path: Till Allegheny ’s flood he met Then built a raft and pressed night on; He did it with his hatchet. He crossed the Delaware one night Through ice—how they did catch it— 1 The merry-making Hessian troops! He did it with his hatchet. He cut the cords that bound us fast To mother Englands latchet; He carved a nation in the rough ; He did it with his hatchet. In deathless fame he crossed the styx— Ne other’s fame can match it— In war, peace and country’s love the first ; He did it with his hatchet. . George A. Thatcher. RESCUED FROM OBLIVION. Splendid Shaft to Mark the Lonely Spot of Washington's Birth.— White Monument to Rise on Potomac’s Shores.—~Task of Landing the Big Stone. Another monument in honor of George Washington will, in a few days, point towards the skies which smiled upon his cradle. Many of the places made famous by his distinguished foot- steps have been marked by this or that testimonial of public affection, but this monument bes a peculiar touching interest in that it will dignify the lone- Jv waste «pot in Westmoreland county, Va., where the Father of His Country first saw the light. Probably no man of such wide fame ot modern times had a more deserted spot for a birth- place. The march of civilization had swept by it on every side, and itis even now more desolate than it was on the day when wag first heard the little voice, which, in years to come, was to summon legions to “battle and echo through the palace bails of England. But the spot will now be lifted from oblivion by the tardy appropriation of $11,000 bv Congress for the necessary monument which was voted last year. Thirty-three of the most prominent firme in the United States submitted designs, and the choice of the late Secretary of State, W.Q. Gresham, fell upon that submitted by John Crawford & Son, of Buffalo, whose work on the shaft erected to the mem- ory of Mary Washington at Fredericke- burg, Va., in 1894, was alluded to by the directors of the Memorial Associa- tion as *‘perfect—artistically, in mater- ial and workmanship.” No one who has not been there can imagine the dreary isolation of the place. It is very difficult to reach, either by land or water. The writer in October last visited the site, and had to drive forty-two miles overland from Fredericksburg, Va., the nearest rail road station, remaining over night and driving over the 3ame road and dis- tance on returning. The sight of the house in which Washington was born, which is determined now only by a scattering pile of broken bricks and mortar from the chimney, is about one mile and a balf from the Potomac at a poict where that river is about seven miles wide and about six or seven hun- dred feet from Pope's creek formerly Bridge creek. This “creek” at this point is about three-quarters of a mile wide and very shallow, not more than four feet deep at high tide, and separated from the Potomac by a sandbar across the mouth of it, through which there is a passage about thirty feetin width and eighteen inches in depth at low tide. The Government has built a wharf 1080 feet long out into the Potomac, | and when the grounds are beautified it is intended that the river steamers; shall stop here. The nearest point now to be reached is Colonial beech, some ten or twelve miles distant; from which point one bas the choice only ot driving or sailing to the spot. The transportation of the huge mar- ble bas been an interesting problem. The plan has been to take it by rail to Washington and then ship it on flat- boats, drawing very little water, to Wakefield, near the birthplace. It is then to be landed on the beach at low tide aiter floating the boats in at high tide. There being no roads and the ‘weight of each piece being from twelve to thirty five toms each it wlll be neces: sary to roll the whole monument some -9000 feet or more. The stone for this notable land mark was quarried in Barre, Vt. Wakefield without the distinction of being Washington's birth place would otherwise be one of the all but lost “villages of America.” It lies about seventy miles below the Nation- al .Capitol. The historic Rappahan- nook, the scene of several sanguicary battles of the Civil War, rises from the Potomac in the Allegheny mountains and pear Wakefield the two great streams are only six miles apart. Col- onial beach, a popular summer resort, is a dozen miles away, and after the erection of the monument a good road ‘will probably be built to bring the place within the reach of sightseers. The monument will stand fifty-one feet above the cement foundation, the mouolitk shaft rising forty feet four inches above the base. The shaft will ~apring from a fountain fourteen feet 2quare and eight feet high. Dressed down, the shaft will weigh about thir ty-eix tone. Above this will rise the . stone of the first base, twelve feet square and one foot eight inches high. On this will rest the second base, nine feet three inches equare and three feet high. Above this will be the die npon which the ioscription will be cut, and this will be six feet five inches square and four feet ten inches high. The plinth just above it will be four feet five inches square and one foot two inches high. The shaft that will spring from this will be three feet eight inchee eguare and will rise forty feet four inches above the plinth. Oo the dieof the monument is cut _er launched out on dancing. Again the inscription :— Sgn / o> BIRTHPLACE | OF | GEORGE WASHINGTON ; On the lowest foundation stone will | be the following : — “Erected by the Tuited States, A. D. 1895.” The sbaft will bé visible from pass- ing steamers, and will divide with Mount Vernon the interest of the Po tomac tourist. The entry in bis mother’s Bible, which is now preserved at Mount Ver- non, tells the simple story of Washing: ton’s birth : “George Washington, son 1o Augustine and Mary, his wife, was born the 11th day of February, 1732, abont 10 in the morning, and was bap- tised the 3rd of April following.” This date by another method of reckoning became the 220d. ~ Of the scene that his eyes opened on a recent writer said: “The homestead stood upon a green and gentle slope that fell away at but a little distance to the waters of the Potomac, and from it could be seen the broad reaches of the stream stretching wide to the Maryland shore beyond : and flowing with slowful tide to the great bay below.” The house was one of the primitive farm bouses of Virginia. The roof was steep and eloped down into low projecting eaves. It had four rooms on the ground floor, and an immense chimney at each end. Not a vestige of the habitation remains. “Two or three decayed fig trees, with shrubs and vines, “finger about the place,’ | wrote Washington Irving, “and here and there a flower grown wild serves to mark where a garden has been.” A stone placed there by George W. P. | Custus marks the site of the house. George was still in short clothes when | the family moved to an-estate in Staf | ford county, opposite Fredericksburg. This became the home of George's boy- ! hood, and the scene of his early athletic sports, but this home, like the | first that sheltered him, has disappear- | ed. Fragments of bricks, china and! earthenware are the only traces Irving | could find of its old-time splendor and hospitality. Washington's mother was the sec | ond wife of his father. Her toaiden | nam: was Mary Ball. She was tbe | young and beautiful daughter of Col. Ball, and was called the belle of the | Northern Neck. She was married ! March 6, 1730, and George was her | first child. She had three other sous and three daughters. The days im- mediately preceding the birth of Wash- ington are thus described by one who has made a study eof the Colonial period : “Seveaty-gix years had gone by since John Washington came out ot Bedfordshire and took up lands on Bridge's Creek, in Westmoreland, in Virginia, and still his children were to be found in the old seats he had chosen at the first. They had become thorough Virginiaus with the rest, woven into the close fiber of the new life. There the Washingtons had become country gentlemen of comfortable estate upon the accepted model. John had begot- ten Lawrence and Lawrence had be- gotten Augustine. John had thrittily taken care to see his offspring put in a way to prosper from the very first. He had acquired a substantial property of bis own, where the land lay very fer- tile upon the banks .of the Potomac, and he had, besides, by three marriages made good a very close convection with several families that had thriven thereabouts before him. He had be- come a notable figure, indeed, amongst hie neighbors ere he had been many years in the colony. Wars came and went without a disturbing incident for them, as the French moved upon the borders by impulse of politics from over the cea; and then long peace set in, equally without incident, to stay. a whole generation, while the good farming went quietly forward, and poli- ticians at home and in the colonies planned another move in their game. It was in the midseason of this time of poise, preparation and expectation that George Washington was born.” While the monument will be put in place at once, the unveiling will not take place until next Fourth of July, when the President and the members of the Cabinet will officiate at the cere- mony. In a Kentucky Church. In a pleasant, social little Kentucky town, not long ago, a new minister ar- rived. Fervent in his mission against the world, the flesh, and the evil one, and not duly considering the points of his compass, he delivered from his pul- pit the first Sunday a tirade against card playing. On Monday the wealth- iest member of his flock called on him and said : “Ob, dear Brother Parker, your sermon was very unwise. You will oflend half your people if you talk against cards. We are just a little quiet community all by ourselves here, and we play cards whenever we waut to. Don’t say anything more about card playing.” So the next Sunday the new preach- the wealthy member visited him to say that his church people had always danced all they wanted to. and he must not say anything more against dancing. The evil of horse racing was his subject the following Sunday, and thie brought the rich member to him in great distress of mind. “Great goodnees, Brother Parker! this is one of the finest horse sections in the State. You are beside yourself when you try to put down horse rac- ing.” “Well,” said the despoadent preach- er, *‘if you say 80 I'll have to let these evils alone. Next Sunday I'll abuse the Jews.” . “All right,” remarked the wealthy member, “but doa’t overlook the fact that I’m the only Jew in your congre- gation." — Louisville Courier-Journal. —Tommy—Paw, what is the board of education ? Mr. Figgs--In the days when I went to school it was a pine shingle. Concluded from page 2 number 7. HERE ANE THERE IN THE SOUTH. PALM BEACH, Two hundred and sixty-three miles south of St. Augustine, east of the Everglades, afd south of the great lake, Okeechobea, is Lake Worth. Between it and the Atlantic ocean is a narrow strip of land which has been made into a bower of beauty and named Palm Beach. To try to describe it, is like photographing a beautiful woman whose chief charms are coloring and magnetism. It is the atmosphere, the scenery, the whole general effect that pleases For ten or twelve years its great advantages have been recognized and three years ago H. M. Flagler built the Royal Poinciana—the great white Colonial hotel —which can comfortably accommodate nine hundred guests. It fronts the lake and over looks the ocean and is right in the midst of the cozcanut palme. From the entrance to the lake, a distance of three hundred feet, a gar- dener has added where nature stopped. Green and variegated century plants, flank broad white walks ; fountains play ; and heart-red hybiscus, delicate, sweet alyssum, marigolds, heliotrope and japonicas bloom. North and south of the hotel, facing the lake, are substantial houses with well kept grounds mostly owned by northerners who occupy them during the winter months. A few acres have been cleared on each place—plantation it is called in the South—for orange® and vegetgbles and the rest is a wilder- ness of tropical growth. There is no | monotony in life or scenery at Palm Beach ; the ocean, tempered by the warm Gulf Stream, ever affords surf bathing ; the lake, quiet and besutiful, is a delightful place to sail or fish and | the land, rich in foliage and sights, is wonderful and satisfying. Through the kindness ot Dr. Harry Stites, of Harrishurg, one of the pioneers of the Lake Worth country and one of the prominent men of West Palm Beach— the busy little metropolis across the lake--the Pennsylvania delegation were priveleged to see much that is missed by the every-day tourist. The rich, choco- late colored soil of the region produces amazingly and down along tho lake are some of the most productive vegetable gardens of the State. Fields and fields of tomatoes, cabbage, cucumbers and beans ripen for the northern markets. On islands and mainland, green orange groves show bushels of golden fruit. The spikey leaves of the pine- apple epread out over acres and acres of ground. The long waving leaves of the banana glisten in the perpetual sun- shine and protect carefully their pecu- liar, deep-garnet bloom. Lemons, limes, guavas and mangoes thrive and bear fruit. And cocoanuts, everywhere lift their lofty, fern-like heads to ripple in the breath that comes from the sea by day, and from the lake by night. Some years ago, a vessel loaded with cocoanuts was wrecked off the coast of Florida. They were planted as they washed ashore and now they grow as profitably and prolifically in southern Florida as in the West Indies, little claim to, but it can well claim an ideal cl mate and beauty that is incomparable. I I il JACKSONVILLE. The journey of three hundred and some miles between Lake Worth and Jacksonville was broken by a stop at Rockledge, which will ever be remem- bered as ihe place with the vile gater and poor hotels. It may have cultured people and palmetto surroundings but it certainly has not common conforts or generous landlords. The palmetto. al- though not majestic like our oak or graceful like our maple, is a stately tree. In comparison its head is little or its body is big, but its peculiarity gives interest to many a view and of useful trees it leads the list. In Jacksonville, the largest city of the State, one finds nothing distinctive- ly southern but climate, hospitality and foliage. In its public buildings, its paved streets, union depot and general enterprise itis much like any other town of thirty thousand people ; but in climate, water facilities and favorable surroundings it is particularly blest. It is the terminus of six railroads and is the gateway for travel as well as for trade. 1t is noted for good hotels and nowhere in Fiorida are meals’ go pala- table as at Lelard’s Windsor. The shops of Jacksonville are mostly from east 14th street, or other Jewish centers of New York or Philadelphia. Proprietors, clerks, goods, everything from the North but the poor lone alli- gators, which are sacrificed by the thou- sands for the almighty dollar and sold in every form. Alive and blinking they are offered alone or by the dozen ; tor bags or belts their skins are tanned ; their teeth are sold as jewelry and their babies are stuffed as toys. Poor things! how soon they are destined to be of the past. ll il CHARLESTON, ‘Perhaps there are no two States which stand more as representatives of their two sections than Massachusetts and South Carolina. In the history of the country they-have never been silent li and they have spoken with no uncertain | sound. Both have a glorious past and a living present, such as in kind ' and intensity of personal life can scarce | be found elsewhere in the original | thirteen colonies. As Boston represents the North, Charleston, ‘‘the city by the | ses,’’ represents the South. It is extremely pretty—well cared for —and favorably-situated. It is like a beautiful cld cameo in a modern setting; all the fine old houses remain with their stuccoed walls, wide verandas and walled gardens ; its old historical | churches are still well preserved and in- teresting ;¥its St. Cecelia society thrives and prospers at the remarkable age of one hundred and thirty and three years and its ““Battory” is more beautiful than ever. But to use a common phrase ‘it has joined the procession.” It has more than $10,000,000 invested in manufac- tories that are paying ; its schools are exlellent and its trade in cotton, rice, vegetables and phosphate is most grati- fying. Charleston is surrounded on three sides by water and from the ‘Battery’ or any elevated place in the city, Fort Sumpter, three miles to the southeast, is in full view. In the distance it look- ed very small and insignificant to have started the‘commotion it did. Up at Magnolia Gardens—a beautiful spot-—the air was fragrant with violets, the camelias were in full bloom and the trees were as green as 88 in summer. The ugly ungainly turkey buzzards are as numerous in Charleston as they are in Tampa. They are the scavengers of the country and in both States are weil protected by law. They are huge black birds with white legs and bare brown necks, which makes them both dingy and repulsive looking. They are as large as eagles and so tame that they stalk about the markets, all hours of the morning,; where they are called ‘“Char- leston canaries.” Trouble and anguish has visited the city more than once; but it has lived through them and is now rejoicing and sharing in the general prosperity which is rewarding at last, the enterprise of the South. Charleston is the northern termi- nal of the Plant System, H. B. Piant’s successful organization. It controls 2,000 miles of railroads and 1,200 miles of steamship lines by which it has help- ed wonderfully in the development of the Southern states and territory. . fl I i AN AFTER THOUGHT. In a previous paragraph of these notes on Florida and the South th, writer said ‘I did not see a single flower that had not been cultivated.” Unfor- tunately it disagrees with some of the other statements, and while it is aot likely to affect the future of Florida ‘the helper” feels like taking exception to it. The charms of Tampa Bay must have been very enchanting to have closed the eyes of any one to the lan- tanas, coreopsis and oon vines that were plucked by the dozen down along the beach. Hypnotic influences evident- ly were at work at Palm Beach for the morning glories and oleanders - were as wild and plenty there as daisies and golden rod are at home. Violets were to be had for the plucking at nearly every place the train stopped and even around Rockledge the modest little Quaker lady grew. The Cubans. Alinost every Cuban on the island is in sympathy with the insurrection ; nothing is more false than to suppose that only those who bave nothing to lose favor the revolt. Rich and poor, educated and uneducated, even the children born in the island of Spanish parenis—all are against Spain, So, too, for the most part, the American and English colonists, owa- ers of plantations and managers of mines, are the friends ot the insurgents, and wish them well ; and passing free- ly, as they do, from the country to the towns, they assist the rebels in a hun- dred ways, and always at great personal risk to themselves. The Spaniards know that the hand of every man is against them. Ia the town of Santiago every one is under suspicion, and everywhere there are apies ; for an American an unguarded word means banishment, and tor a Cu- ban transportation; the news of the morning was who had been arrested during the nighg, and crowds of sus- pects were taking passage with every ship leaving Cuba, no matter where it was bound for, warned by some friend that they had best leave quickly lest worse should befall them. I remember speaking to the son of a very wealthy Spaniard; he had much to say of the greatnees of Spain and of their righteous cause, but it was interrupted by the news that a Spanish warship had been sunk with all hands by an insurgent bomb. The youth forgot that be was speaking to a stran- ger, and all that he had -said ; be clap- ped his sides and bellowed with de- light, an indiscretion which he instant- ly regretted. So again, while I was making my way into the country, I fell in with an American. His business lay within the Spanish troops all around. He spoke with violence of the insurgents, and together we lamented their ways and praised the all-powérful Spaniard. It was only afterward that I discov- ered that far and near in “Free Cuba” he was held in the greatest reverence; | that he had helped the insurgents in | every possible way, and that he was everywhere known as Tommy. SUNRISE, “Dear heart,’’ they said, “the sun is high, Noon came while you were sleeping.” “Ah, no! the dawn creeps up the sky,” He said, nor heard their weeping. Again he asked the hour of day hen dusk was slowly falling; “It cannot be, for far away I hear the robins calling.” And last he said, “I must arise, For now the morn is breaking,” Then closed once more his weary eyes, And knew no earthly waking. “All through that day his mind was dim.” hey sadly thought: unknowing That while he lingered here, for him Another dawn was glowing. . —Mary Thacher Higginson, in “The Indepen- dent.” CEA —— Bill Sander's Wife Had Never Seen a Populist, but Thought—Bill Might Have Shot One. “During the last campaign one day,” said Howard, the Populist member from Alabama, “I went up to the top of a considerable mountain to gee a hun- ter of the name of Bill Sanders to se- cure his vote.. Bill was not at home, but his wife was, a tall, leap; bony woman, with dusty black hair, hollow, colorless cheeks; and sunken eyes, a large mouth, large feet, and yellow hands. In the one hand she held a box of enuff, in the other a tooth brush, and she was spitting amberique. : * {Good morning, madam,’ said I. « tHow are you, stranger ?’ said she. tt «Js your husband at home, my good woman ?’ “ ¢No, he hain’t. He went down in Coon Holler this mornin’ before day, and I hain’t lookin’ for him back until towards midnight.’ ¢ ¢ Well, madam,’ I continued, ‘I am a candidate for Congress, and hope yon will use your influence to get your hus- band to vote for me. I know that a woman of your intellect, your beautiful eyes that shina like the dew drops on the mountain top when the light of the morning sun first strikes it ; your fresh, rosy cheeks, which the gods would kiss as nectar, and your entire charming personality —I say & woman 20 endowed by nature must have great influence over her husband, for he was indeed fortunate to secure you for a wife.’ ¢ ‘Law, now, stranger,’ exclaimed the woman, ‘when you come talkin’ that away, and bein’ as how I likes your looks anyways, I guess if Bill Sanders don’t vote for you he needs never expect to roost ‘round these dig- gins no more. I tell you.’ “I was much pleased with the prog- ress I was making, and I ventured to put the question of most importance to me . ‘Are thero any Populists in this vicinity ?’ ¢ *Dear me, stranger,’ she answered, ‘you sare a little mite too hard for me this time. You see, I don’t pay much attention to them things, but Bill is a mighty peart hunter and bas killed and skunt almost all kinds’ of varmints in these mountains. But whether ho ever kotch one o’ them air, what you call it, stranger ?— Populist varmints—is more nor I know. If you'll just walk ’round the backside of the house, where he’s got all his pelts bangin’ up a-dryin’, you may find one o’ them things, for, be yesterday mornin’ killed one of the dolgastedest critters I ever see. It had long lege, bandy shanks, long hair, and was crosseyed, an’ I jest bet a pound o’ hoxie-made tobacker it was a Populist, though I never heern tell o’ one afore.” — Washington Post. Where 100,000 Buffaloes Died Driven Over a Precipice by a Furious Blizzard — The Destructive Sand Storm. From the Denver Field and Farm. Near Cheyenne Wells is a long stretch of level prairie, which suddenly ter- minates in a precipice, makinga per- pendicular descent of perhaps fifty feet to another plain below. In the winter of 1858 a great blizzard raged for sev- eral days. The snow was driven ata terrific rate before a hurricane of wind, and the buffalo were obliged, in self- preservation, to turn their backs and run with the wind. The result was that vast numbers of the buffalo were carried over the precipice, and their dead bodies were covered with 20 or 30 feet of snow. For many years people visited the spot to look at the bones, which lay in piles 10 &md 15 feet high as far as the eye could reach along the precipice, and it was commonly esti- mated that 100,000 buffaloes found a grave on that fatal spot. Sand storms in those days were so destructive that it was not unusual for freighters to lose their entire outfit. During the prevalence of a storm no attempt wes made to move forward, and the drivers cleared the sand out of the nostrils of the horses and oxen, as otherwise the animals were threatened with death from suffocation. A sand storm usually lasted only two or three hours, but its effects were felt for days by men and animals exposed to the fury of the blast. A curious phenomenon noticed in different places on the plains was the immense excavating power of the wind in a sand storm. There were areas of three or four acres where the wind scooped out the sand 40 or 50 feet deep, and whirled it away in theair. It seemed &8 if the work bezan at a central spot no larger than could be covered with a man’s bat. In an incredibly short time a round hole would be exca- vated. The wind then took hold : in real earnest, and the probabilities were that an entire sand hill would be leveled down in the next 30 wmirutes, r——— Th Useless Question. “Dis ting's got to go t'rough,” said one of the aldermen at the committee meeting. ‘“Dere’s money in it.” “Fur de city ?" asked a member of the council. And the only reply he got was the glassy stare. re—— —— Little Girl to her Mamma-—- «What is a dead letter, please ?”’ Mamma—*One that has been given to your father to post.” enc —— ——After a man sees how devotedly a woman can Jove even a worthless lit- tle dog, heis leds astonished to find her ready to fall-in love with himself. ——Teacher—' What part of the Bi- ble tells who were our first parents ?"’ Dick Hicks—‘The family record.” For and About Women . Fancy girdles will-figure conspicuous- ly in the summer girl’s wardrobe. The scent of lavender is just suffi- ciently old-timey to be quite up to date. Purple ink is faddish but unreliable if you expect your communications read. A feather boa out of curl is not lovely even though its original cost was twenty dollars. A single large poppy with its leaves placed on the skirt of a ball gown about a foot from the hem is. considered ultra modish. rn A tested receipt for horehound candies consists of a pound of dried horehound leaves boiled in one quart of water, cooled and then boiled again for five minutes. After that strain off the liquid through a cloth ; put it back on the fire and let it simmer until the quantity is reduced to four or five ounces. Add an ounce of gum arabic and when dissolved add enough fine sugar to make a dough or paste, as for lozenges. Roll out and cut in small pieces with a perfectly clean thimble or a little cutter such as used by confectioners. A blue and white dining room is ar- tistic and easily obtainable. Cracker jars of silver keep the biscuits fresher than those of china. a The tall woman who does not stoop ie very sure of her good looks. Black moire ribbon takes second place now. Gros grain is correct. The much predicted bustle promises to be only a little pad, after all. Light-colored evening gloves may be dry-cleaned easily at home ina very short time. The gloves must be put on the hands or on wooden dummy hands, then rubbed all over with fine Fuller's earth and next with a dry flannel, and finally shaken to get rid of the powder. Mix a little French chalk with sifted bran and rub the gloves with this after the former process. Kerosene oil is in a house for many purposes besides burning in lamps. It is said it will take iron rust and fruit stains from almost any kind of goods without injuring the fabric. Wash the stained part in kerosene as you would in water. The spot must be washed in the kerosene before they have been put in soap and water, or it will dono good. In washing windows or mirrors, if two or three spoonfuls of kerosene be put in- to the water the work will be done more quickly and with better results. Serious thought seems to be enter- tained in Wyoming of running a woman for Governor this year, or at least plac- ing her name before the convention. The woman is Miss Estelle Reed, the state superintendent of education. She has conducted the affairs of her impor- tant department with great skill, tact and business ability, and bas won the fa- vor of the people of all parties. Before smiling at this suggestion, itis worth recalling that Wydting women have full suffrage and vote for all officers, in- cluding presidential electors. Miss Reed also belongs to the dominant po- litical party. Candle grease is hard to remove, but the stains can te taken out by holding a red-hot poker over the mark, not close enough to scorch it, and placing a piece of blotting paper underneath to absorb the wax it melts. When the ‘material is not very delicate put a piece of blot- ting paper over the spot and iron it un- til all the grease is out. A’ few seconds will suffice. Then rub the spot with tissue paper. Grease spots on velvet or cloth can be removed by dropping a little turpentine over the place and rub- bing it dry with a piece of clean flannel. Continue this until the grease has van- ished. If the nap of the velvet bas be- come flattened raise it by damping the wrong side, stretching it out and iron- ing it.on the wrong side. This is best done by standing the iron on end and passing the velvet over it. Blurred effects are the rule of all new ribbons. A touch ot black on any gown is deemed Parisian and chic. All the pew silks are striped and they are stiffer than ever. That, too, would presage big, full skirts. At least there is no symptom cof a decrease in the ap- parent width, though it is true that not as much material is being put in them. Tt really looks like “hoops.” A French method of cleaning kid gloves is to put on the gloves and wash them well in spirits of turpentine ex- actly as if washing the hands. The fingers and soiled parts must be well rubbed, and when the gloves are taken off they must be stretched and allowed to dry, hanging it in a strong current of alr. It is ruinous to velvet to brush it with anything save the softest surface. Yet velvet catches dust and all flying particles with such wonderful tenacity that it really is quite a problem to keep it in wearing order. Some careful women make their own whisks which they employ for nothing else, and which are constructed of a very tight roll of any soft-threaded cloth frayed out for two or three inches. A perfectly new bare’s foot, such as sold for the applica- tion of face powder, ought to serve the same purpose, as itis very stout and still very soft in touch. One of the most invigorating, and at the same time whitening and softening bath, is of bran. Fill the tub two-thirds full of warm water, into which throw bran enough to make it a milky white- ness—say, two quarts or £0, use no £0ap, but rub the face, neck, arms and hands with the bran. Indulged in weekly, & bran bath is wonderfully refining to the skin and complexion.