BRAVEST BATTLE EVER FOUGHT.
The bravest battle that ever was fought !
Shall I tell you where and when ?
On the maps of the world you will find it
not ;
'T was fought by the mothers of men.
Nay, not with cannon, or battle shot,
With sword, or nobler pen,
Nay, not Er word or thought,
From mou of wonderful men.
But deep in a walled up woman's heart—
Ot woman that would not yield,
But bravely, silently bore her part—
Lo! there is that battlefield.
No marshaling troops, to bivouac songs ;
‘No barner to gleam and wave ;
But, oh! these battlesthey last so long—
From babyhood to the grave !
Yet, faithful still as a bridge of stars,
She fights in her walled-up town—
Fights on and on in the endless wars,
Then silent, unceen—goes down.
0 ye with banners and battle shot,
And soldiers to shout and praise,
1tell you the kingliest victories fought
Were fought in these silent ways.
0, spotless woman in a world of shame
With splendid and silent scorn,
(Go back to God as white as you came,
The kingliest warrior born !
—Joaquin Miller.
PENELOPE PAINES ELOPEMENT.
At thirty, one is popularly supposed
to have arrived at vears of discretion,
-and to be fairly in poss:ssion of one’s
faculty of choice. In the case ot every
accepted truth, which may have be-
cone axiomatic to the rest of humanity,
there are always those who reject, or
affect to reject, its teachings.
A very sturdy opponent to the pro-
position first set down was Phineas
Paine, a bard-headed and successful
grocer in the town of Caresville. Mr.
Paine, it is true, did not deny the pro-
position generally, but he signified his
denial by his conduct toward his
daughter, Penelope, who bad arrived
at the age mentioned in single bless-
edness.
Ifthere ever was a woman in the
end of the nineteenth century who had
cauee tor complaint on the score of
repression, it was Penelope Paine. Her
mother had died when she was five
years of age, and her father, possessed
by the idea that he knew how to bring
“up a child right, had immediately be-
gun the systematic course of repres-
sion that made his daughter a demure,
timid little girl, and a meek, spiritless
woman, ’
He bad kept down all ber youthtul
joyousness by straight-laced rules of
deportment of any natural tendency.
People looking at her would say :
“That girl looks as if she had feen
boxed up all her life," And,|in a
measure, she had been.
But Penelope, prim as she |was,
grew to be a fair woman to look at,
and, in spite of the difficulty of\ ap-
proach, she had manv stealthy admir-
ers. The grocer wae, in his way, a
social man. That is, he liked to have
some one to listen while he gave his
views and opinions, and at first youog
men would aitect to be coming to see
him. But the moment they were so
imprudent as to let it leak out that
Penelope was the real object of their
attentions, they were summarily dis-
missed.”
“I just won't have it,” the old man
would say.
“Young folke don’t know what's
good for themeelves, and they need
the guidance of some older head to
keep 'em out of mischief.”
Penelope never seemed to care much
about her beaux or the loss of them
until Ned Holborn began going there.
He kept a feed store and was a brother
Odd Fellow with the grocer, so the old
man liked him pretty well.
Peuelope was clerking in the grocery,
as she had been doing ever since she
was old enough to tie up a package of
sugar, but she always left an hour ear-
lier than her father, so asto be at
home and get his meals for him, for
Mr. Paine’s hard-hearted frugality for-
bade his keeping ‘‘a girl,” albeit, he
was abundantly able to do so.
1t was during these happy intervals
of time, when Penelope was entirely
alone, that Ned Holborn was wont to
steal a few minutes away from his
store and unceremoniously drop in for
a short chat. It was the first of such
pleasure that the girl had ever known,
and theee ¢tolen moments had come to
be inexpressibly sweet to ber,
She knew that her father would not
have approved of this intimacy be-
tween Holborn and herself, and for
that reason, at first, she took a shy
delight in it. For with all his repres-
sion the bard-hearted grocer had not
succeeded in crushing out of his
daughter the touch of romance which
is in the nature of every woman.
But there came a time when there
wag more than the romantic secrecy of
the affair to give it charm. The inti-
macy had ripened into love. The
young man had placed his honest af-
fection in the keeping of the quiet, de-
mure girl, and she had given her heart
unreservedly in return.
And as the days went on the stolen
meetings grew sweeter and sweeter to
both, and Philip Paine measured his
pickles and weighed his pounds in
blissful ignorance of what was passing.
But the state of affairs got tothe ears
of a jealous rival of Holborn, and a
word to the unsuspecting grocer
brought him up standing. The scales
fell from his eyes, and shortly after the
lovers were surpriced to see him walk
mto the house in the midst of one of
their tete-a-tetee.
Of course there was a scene. The
old man stormed and Penelope wept,
but staunch Ned Holborn stood up
like a man and “faced the music.” He
‘told the old man that he loved his
daughter, that his love was returned,
and she had promised to wed him,
and the end of it all was hie dismissal
from the house and a peremptory com-
mand never to return.
Aud Phineas Paine was grieved, for
after all these yeare of confidence his
system had proved to be at fault, In
spite of all his repression he found that
his daughter was not weli brought up,
and when she bad been put to the test
had fallen signally.
After this the old man- was his
daughter's shadow. He never allow-
ed herto leave his side. Necessity
checkmated frugality, and he hired a
house girl to take care of his furniture
and get his meals.
In vain poor Holbora sought for a
chance to talk with his sweetheart.
She was as effectually shut awav from
him as if she had been infmured with-
in the four walls of a convent. Ned
groaned in spirit,and the grocer chuck-
led within himself.
But no one state of affairs can last
forever, least of all such a strained one
as this. It has been said before that
Mr. Paine was an enthusiastic Old
Fellow, and it was his devotion to the
duties of that order that first made
bim relax his vigilance. It was to be
a baouoer night, with the initiation of
some ten or a dozen candidates as its
leading feature, and in the depth of
his innermost soul the old man longed
to go. But prudence eaid no. Pain-
fully he argued it out with himselt.
Was his duty to the lodge less import:
ant than his duty to his daughter ?
Then visions of the society in session
and the frightened candidates came
before his eyes. “He laughed to him-
self, for this hardened old tyrant had
not lost all bis taste for fun. Bat
Penelope, passing through the room,
made him sober again ae he thought
of all the possibilities that might arise
from leaving her alone. Then his
apologetic mind said: “One night
can't do any harm. You can leave
her alone this one time and, atter all,
Ned Holborn will be at the meeting,
too ; he'll want to see the men initi
ated.” He hesitated and was lost, and,
after seeing Penelope securely locked
in, be eet off for his lodge.
But love bas won the reputation ot
laughing at locksmiths, and, embodied
in the person of Ned Holborn, he went
knocking at Penelope's window.
Something in the character of che tap
or tome subtle intuition which only
love inepires told her who it was, and
she forgot her timidity enough to raise
the sash and opened the shutter a
little.
“Iv's’ me—Ned,” uttered the un-
grammatical Holborn, eagerly, and
there was a note of deep pleading in
his voice as he added :
“It’s our only chance, darling. Get
your hat and climb out of the window.
I've got a chair here for you to get
down on.
“You won't refuse me, little one,” he
pleaded. “This will be our last chance,
and if we let it slip us we shall be
separated forever, dear. You can trust
me, dearest, don’t hesitate any longer.”
Penelope went away from the win.
dow for a moment, and when she re-
turned she bad her hat tied on, and a
shawl. thrown about her shoulders.
Her heart was beating very swiftly as
she stepped out of the window on to
the chair and into the arms of her
waiting lover. Holborn was a thor-
ough-going fellow, and he had his
buggy waiting at the fence. They got
in, he exultant. and the girl all tre.
mulous, and away they went across
the river to.the old minister, who was
already famous for marrying runaway
couples from three counties.
In the meantime, the grocer, not
finding Holborn, who was a regular
and devoted attendant at the lodge
meeting, had grown uneasy and
suspicious. A vague foreboding,
which gradually grew into a terrible
fear, filled his mind. When he could
endure his suspense no longer he was
excueed and started for home. He
had hardly entered the yard when an
open shutter flapping listlessly on its
hinges, attracted his attention, and his
heart sank within him. Penelope, he
thought, would never leave a shutter
that way under any conditions. The
key gave a hollow lonesome sound as
he turned it in the lock, and the sound
of his footsteps on the floor was alto-
gether weird and uousual.
“Penelope,” he called, with a trem.
bling voice, *‘oh, Penelope.”
But only the echoes answered bim,
and the unwelcome truth forced itself
upon him that Penelupe was gone. He
went outside, and, sitting down upon
the step, bowed his head in his hands.
Just then the sound of wheels fell on
his ears, and a buggy was driven up
and halted at the gate. :
Then a man helped a woman to
alight. The grocer recognized her,
and ran down the steps, crying :
“Penelope, Penelope, ain't
ashamed—you’ve been riding—""
But here the voice of Holborn broke
you
in:
“We're married,” he said.
“Yes, sir.’
“Well, well, Penelope Paine—"'
‘“Holborn,” said Ned, proudly.
“Penelope,” went on the old man,
ignoring his son-in-law. “I would
never have thought it of you,”
The girl was silent, frightened and
tearful.
“And you, Ned Holborn, to think
of you being a brother in the same
lodge and all of that, and then playing
me such a trick.”
“I guess I'm able to keep a wife,”
said the young man, sullenly.
‘Able to keep her, able to keep her!
Thatain’tit! It’s the way you got
her. Penelope Paine, and after all
the raising I’ve been giving you, do
you realize what you have done?
You've been guilty of elopiag, eloping,
do you hear?’
“That's all right, father-in-law,”
said Holborn. “Penelope’s past thirty
now, and she'll soon come to know her
own mind. When she comes to know
it I hope she won’t change ; if she
doesn’t she'll never regret this elope-
ment,” and he kissed her.—Buffalo
News.
~———Read the WATCHMAN.
5 ¥
Colorado Mines.
gm
Crowds Pouring Into the State Looking for
Riches.
If anybody has the idea that there .is
a slackening of the boom in Colorado
he need but station himself at any rail-
road depot in Denver, Colorado Springs
or Pueblo for an hour or two to have
his mind disabused of such thought.
Crowds, crowds, crowds, for every-
where, but all going to the mines.
They are coming from the East, from
the West, from the North and from the
South, but all are making from one ob-
jective point. They started from home
with the intention of going to Cripple
Creek, for that is the talisman just at
present, but before they reach their des
tination they learn that there are other
places. They will go to Cripple Creek,
but they will not all remain there.
Thousands will soon branch off for oth-
er camps, and by the time the regula-
tion prospector thinks of starting for the
hills, these new-comers will have so
covered the land that nothing will be
left for the old fellows but disgust and
staked claims.
It would be amusing were it not sad
to see these hundreds and thousands of
deluded mortals flocking after the ignis
fatuus which flits before them, leading
them on to—despair. No, not exactly
that, for the true prospector never des-
pairs. These people will get the fever
which leaves a sequel, a madness. They
will be disappointed often, but they will
never despair of eventually finding the
gold mine that is to make them rich.
They have left Mary and the babies
back in the old home, and will send for
them or go back to them in a few weeks
—just as soon as they strike a good
claim—and then how bappy they will
be. That is the hope. And that hope
never leaves them. The times long
and the days drag slowly to Mary, wait.
ing back yonder, but it never drags to
the man in the hills. He may strike it
to-morrow or next day, and then |
It ie & peculiarity about prospecting
when & man gets into it, it chains him
and keeps him. Now and then a man’
breaks away, but there is always a feel-
ing that he can go back and get a mine
if be tries right hard. He is going back
some day, so he tells his friends. But
be never does. Something always in-
terferes. He never gets quite ready. He
would like to go back home to Mary
and the babies leaves a thousand in the
mountains who do not go back. Some-
times he gets word that Mary has died
while waiting for him to send for her.
Then he works harder than ever for the
babies, who are taken care of by grand-
ma. But the babies do not draw him as
Mary did, so he forgets to go back, and
finally there is an old, gray-headed man
trudging over the mountains looking
for a gold mine, and the babies are
grown men and women back in the
States, who have no recollection of a
father since their mother died and quit
talking about him.
This is not a very cheerful thought
when looking at these thousands of
eager, strong men, who are flocking to
the mines, but to one who has seen all
the phases of mining and prospecting
life there is nothing cheerful in these
crowds of deluded men. It is inex-
pressibly sad, because 1t is draining the
country of its hife-blood and pouring it
down into the holes in the mountains,
where it does no good to either the
mountains or the country. Yes, it is
true that some of these men will get
rich, will strike a mine. And that is
where the trouble comes in. Every
time there is a strike it gives these men
new life, It tells them to go on and on.
But it does not tell the world of the
hundreds who have died of exposure, of
starvation and of neglect, while they
have been trying to make something for
Mary and the babies.
Still the crowds are going. Nothing
will stop them. Théy must see for
themselves. They see the old gray-
bearded fellow with his pack on burro,
but they do not know that the old fel-
low came out here 20 or 30 years ago
just as full of ambition and life and vi-
gor as these newcomers, nor do they
know that he has been prospecting all
this time and has never made a living at
it yet. He has sold a claim or two to
some tenderfoot, but it never paid for
the work done to get it. But the
crowds are coming and Colorado is get-
ting quite an increase in her popula-
tion.
A Boston Girl's Retort.
romani.
At a card parly in the Northwest a
few evenings ago across-eyed man was
pring as a man who knew it all, giving
is positive opinions on every subject in
a loud voice, and otherwise making
himselfa general nuisance. A Boston
girl was particularly annoyed at the
lordly air Le assumed, and the attacks
be had made on some of her pet
theories. She made up her mind to
bowl him over if she ever got a chance.
It came sooner than expected. A few
minutes later the Boston girl was the
partner of the cross-eyed man, who im-
mediately proceeded to give elaborate
instructions as to how certain. cards
should be played to insure them the
game. He finished by saying: “Now
go ahead, Miss Black Bay, and remem-
ber I have my eye on you.” She never
looked up, butin the most innocent.
way imaginable said : “ Which eye, Mr.
Jones ?” It broke up the papgy.”
Anybody May Dance.
niin
Bob Burdette answers this question
in his usual enique fashion: “May
a Christian dance ? Of course he
may. He might swear and lie, too.
but it would not make him a better
Christian. Surely, Christian, you may
dance, but dancing will never identify
you as a Christian. What puzzles us
is that you ask the question so often.
Christiane who don’t dance never ask
it. Yes, Christian, dance, if you can’t
live without it. Join hands with
Salome, Herodias and Herod, and
circle to the left. But don’t be sur-
prised if you are taken for a goat.
This is the side they are on.”
Hurry and Worry.
“J felt so nervous, mamma,” said a
little girl the other day, referring to an
accident which had happened.
“What do you mean by being ‘nerv-
ous, my dear ?”’
“Why, mamma, it's just like being
in a hurry all over,”—Cleveland World.
Adulterated Milk. |
Secretary Edge of the state board of
bealth, recently made a statement as to
what constitutes adulterated milk.
It will perhaps be interesting to many
of our readers, and the statement is
therefore quoted as follows:
“When its specific gravily as com-
pared with pure distilled water at 1,000
varies from 1,029 to 1,085 or when it
has more than 87} per cent. of water or
when it contains less than 12} per cent.
of solids, or when it has less than 3 per
cent. of fat. The law of our State which
furnishes us with a standard for milk
recognizes three tests, viz: Specific
gravity, solids and fat ; neither one of
these should be taken alone, although
from the letter ‘of the law, conviction
might be secured upon either, and con-
viction should only be had upon sa fail-
ure in at least two of the tests, but it
may be assumed that milk which fails
in any one of them will also fail in an-
other and most likely in all of them.
The first test made in the law is that of
specific gravity which depends upon the
amount of water in the milk. Pure
distilled water 1s taken as the standard
with a specific gravity of 1,000, and
careful tests have proved that the mixed
milk of ten or twelve cows will havea
specific gravity varying from 1,029 to
1,082. If the milk of single cows, only,
is tested the variation may be greater
than this, but this standard is about
fair for mixed milk if tested ata tem-
perature of sixty degrees Fahrenheit
Similar tests have clearly proven that
such mixed milk should not show less
than 87.5 per cent. of water and 12.5 of
solids and that of the latter amount not
less than three should be fat.
It naturally follows that the more
water there is added to the milk the
nearer the specific gravity will reach
the 1,000 mark, and the lower the per-
centage of solids and the lower the
amount of fat, and it also just as
naturally follows that the less water
there is the greater will be the per-
centage of solids, and it is also found
that any rise in solids is followed by a
corresponding rise in the percentage of
fat. It would therefore seem to follow
t hat while any one of the standards set
up by our state law should not be taken
as conclusive, yet it is evident that a
failure in either is suspicious and that a
failure in two or three is positive proof
of guilt. .
That our law is quite generous in fix-
ing these standards appears to be proven
by the fact that I have among my
records at the office of the department
those of the analyses of 1889 miscellane-
ous samples of milk, which show an
average of 13.47 of solids and 4.14 of
fat. This gives the dairyman practical-
ly one per cent, of fat for a margin be-
fore the product may be declared
adulterated.
The remainder of the question as to
‘how milk is adulterated ?’ is some-
what difficult to answer. Of course the
most common form of adulteration is
the addition of water and this is among
the forms of adulteration most readily
detected under our law. The addition
of water affects all three of the standards
established by the law; it affects the
specific gravity of the amount of fat.
A very common form of adulteration is
that of skimming the night’s milk and
mixing the skim milk with the new
milk of the next morning’s milking and
the advantages are two fold—it secures
a lot af cream for sale to the customers
who want it and does not materially
diminish the amount of milk that may
be sold. It probably affects the specific
gravity of the mixture. This is the
least of the methods usually practiced,
but it of course aftects and reduces the
percentage of fat and also reduces the
amount of solids. In such cases the
specific gravity test might fail to prop-
erly show the mixture, but unless the
article was above the average the
amount of solids and fat might be re.
duced below the standard required by
law. In a recent test of various sam-
ples of milk by the department a sam-
ple having a specific gravity of 1,034.9
had but 1.95 per cent. of cream. The
inference was plain ; it had been skim-
med and the skimmilk added to the
new milk of the next milking.”
Might Be a Modern Moses.
With its little tace all aglow with
Fleasure, a baby floated down the creek
in a raisin box at Mt. Carmel, Friday
morning, coming no one knows where,
and landed into the arms of a kind-
hearted farmer who refused to give his
name, but took the little one to his
home, which he said is near Elysburg.
The baby is apparently eight weeks
old and is perfectly healthy. Discarded
by some unhappy mother who probably
desired to rid herselt of her offspring be-
cause its advent had been unwelcomed
this little one had been placed in a box
that had been carefully prepared for it,
and put into the dirty waters of the
creek to float whither it might. But fate
had been kind to the little outcast.
The farmer noticed several boys
watching the box, as it floated down the
creek, and wondering as to its contents,
started an investigation, which resulted
in his Iifting the babe out of its nest,
where it had lain comfortably taking
its morning neal from a bottle. The
farmer said he had but one child, a
daughter 23 years old, and as the infant
was & boy he would adopt it.
He refused to give his name, but with
the child carefully wrapped in an old
overcoat, which he had in his wagon,
started for home in Elysburg.—Shamo-
kin Herald.
Waterfall of Red Wine.
A red wine cascade will flow con-
stantly during the California state ex-
position, at Madison Square Garden,
New York, next May. The exposi-
tion engineers estimate that the flow
will amount to 5,000 gallone a minute.
The source of this flow will be 45. feet
above the main floor of the amphi.
theater, while the base will be some
14 feet above the floor, leaving room
for grottoes of eandstove and crystal
rocks. The stream of wine will fall
in one solid body a distance of 20 feet.
It will be illuminated at night with
incandescent lights.
Long Wagon Bridge in Texas. |
— i
The longest wagon bridge in the |
world is situated at Galveston, Tex. It.
is more than three miles long and spans
Latest from Cuba.
The Local Press is. Very Bitter Against the
United Statess— Planters Told to Grind Corn.
Troops Landed Daily and Sent to Matanzas
Province after Maceo and Gomez. Corre-
spondents Deprived of Passes—Weler in.
vestigates Outrages.
Havaxa, February 29, via. Key
WEesT, FLA., March 1.—3ince the atti-
tude of Congress on the belligereacy
question has become plain the feeling
against Americans here has greatly in.
creased. The seizure of the Bermuda
allayed the feeling tor a few days, but it
is now more intense than ever.
all the present troubles.
press is bitter. The fact thatthe insur-
gents discriminate in favor of property
of Americans adds to the hostile senti-
ment.
treme Spaniards of making a demonstra-
tion against the United States. The
volunteers are most rabid. The captain
general assured the coneul general some
weeks ago that the regulars would be
held in readiness to protect Americans
against the Spanish volunteers should
the emergency arise. The absence of an
American warship is greatly deplored
The moral effect alone would be great.
Only those knowing the explosive
character of the Latin race can appreci-
ate the situation. Newspapers here are
not permitted to publish the speeches,
text of resolutions in Senate and House,
or the truth about impending action.
Through private dispatches only the
fact leaked outfthat the Senate has act
ed. As the situation is realized the
feeling grows. It is impossible to pre-
dict the result. Americans are fleeing
from all parts of the Island to Habana.
Planters ordered to grind caue by the
government and told to provide their
own protection have no recourse save
flight. The rebels threaten to destroy
mills and kill the owners. Gomez and
Maceo applied the torch to plantations
in Matanzas preparing to grind. A
planter bas been hanged within eight
wiles of Havana. The insurgents bave
overrun the entire province to occupy
small towns twelve miles away.
Troops are being landed daily and
sent to Matanzas provinces after Gomez
and Maceo. It is probable other troops
will be sent from Spain after the 17,000
enroute have landed. It ie impossible
to form an accurate estimate of the num-
ber of insurgents. It is certainly not
less, and probably much greater than at
the beginning of last month. Weyler
is exerting every effort to check depre-
dations and decrease the ranks of the
enemy. He was urged to issue & proc-
Jamation declaring all bandits who
failed to surrender in fifteen days. He
will probably not take such action, ow-
ing to the attitude of the United States.
Genera] Weyler began an investiga-
tion of the Guatoa horror immediately
after its publication by the American
ress. He bad interviews “with the
arquie Creverea, Captaiz Calvo and
others implicated. There is little doubt
that examples will be made, now that
the truth has been revealed. Otber in-
stances bave occurred.in which Weyler
relied upon reports of subordinates and
refused to investigate. In the Can-
delaria affair, where seventeen prisoners
were taken from the field atter the bat-
tle and shot down in cold blood. Wey-
ler sent General Canella, who command-
ed, back to Spain. Weyler undoubtedly
regrets these occurrences. He realizes
the effect abroad and bas ordered the
generals to prevent a repetition.
On the Arms Now
A New Freak of Fashion That Raised a Row
in the Family.
“Lord help us !’’ cried the father of
the family as he stared aghast at some
wonderful creations that looked like
skeletons of small sized balloons in mus-
lin covered whalebone which stood on
his wife’s dressing table. = ‘Those
things again ?”’
“What things ?’' asked the good wife
placidly.
“Those cantankerous, confounded
bustles. Are you goin to raise humps
on your back again like the dromedary
of the desert? Can't a fellow come
bome at night without getting entang-
led once more, as be used to do, in those
‘kerflummixes’ that you used to hang
on the back end of your costumery! I
never see sich things as wimmen any-
way. You'll be havin the Grecian
bend next, I suppose.”
. “My dear,” said the unabashed nine-
tenths, ‘‘that’s the latest thing out in
sleeves. You've no idea how nice and
light they are. It may be that they
will make our.sleeves a little larger, but
they will save us the trouble of carrying
around a heavy load of stuffing and
stiffening. Now, don’t be unreasonable
dear. I never did see such creatures as
men for finding fault.” Hi there!
But the father of the family had
kicked the new invention out of the
window, and his better nine tenths had
to send the servant girl out to rescue
them from passing barbarians. But she
did it quietly, never losing that placid-
ity which is the accompaniment of
true greatness.—New York World.
Another Combination,
and Railroads
Bituminous Coal Operators
Unite.
Recently the Beech Creek, Hunting-
don & Broad Top, Baltimore, Norfolk
& Western, Chesapeake & Ohio, and
the West Virginia Central railroad
companies with the bituminous coal
operators formed an agreement for the
maintaining of prices and the restric-
tion of tonnage for the ensuing year.
This action was deemed necessary owing
to the fact that tbe bituminous coal
trade has been in a chaotic state for
some time past, and many of the oper-
ators have worked their mines at a loss.
The competition has been very great,
and as business began to fall off prices
were reduced, and in this way the cut-
ting grew from bad to worse.
A Chicagoan Gibe..
“I see they're going to change the
name of Wall street,” said Mr. Putsau-
kall.
“Js that so ?”’
“Yes. They're going to call it Wail
street.”
“What a crying shame !"”--Chicago
the Galveston Bay from north to south. Journal.
The |
Spaniards biame the United States for
The local
Already there is talk by ex- :
For and About Women.
A pretty way to assign partners at a
card party is to have two baskets of
flowers, one filled with tiny 'nosegays of
different kinds of flowers, the other with
boutonnieres containing the same kind
of flowers. Those who have posies that
match are to be partners. Another way
is to provide two sets of cards with /one
line of quotation on one card my the
otber part on another curd. Those to
be partners are those having the com="
plete quotation.
In silk trimming fabrics, to which
will probably be added the gauze and
grenadine ribbons, becoming very fash-
1onable at present, are shown swiveled
' gauze strewn with dots or shot through
with stripes ; gauze, gauffre, ombre
with ground perforated in different
! styles with grenadine effects ; full-print
gauze chine, both plain and - creped.
Not many fancy feathers are seen, be-
side a few quills in changeable colors,
mi quill covered with dark shaded
tdaown.
In flowers of cream lace different
fancy forms are seen. Large quantities
of black and colored lace tulle, gauze
and crepes are used for the flower con-
fection, from which it would appear
that great reliance is placed on
-them.
A decidedly novel article is the ‘‘Ex-
centric’’ buckle for ladies’ leather belts.
This buckle has, at the back, a metal
cylindrical clamp with roughened sur-
face and with its axis placed eccentri-
cally, thus forming a device that gives
positive adjustment at any desired point
and does away with all eyelets,
hooks, tongues and slides. The buck-
les are obtainable in a variety of beauti-
ful designs, and are made of sterling
silver and mounted on leather belts,
plain or fancy or of various colors.
“High and higher” is apparently the
watchword of collars ; they are already
stiffened with whalebone so that they
bury the head within all imaginable
kinds of materials; laces, ribbons,
feathers. The choux on both sides of
the head were interred in the grave of
1895 ; but the English garnitures were
carried over, and now appear with pre-
cious trimming. The nicest neck gar-
niture is decidedly the simple collier,
adorned by the jeweler; a silk or velvet
ribbon, in spotlsss white, held together
by a brilliant-set buckle. This buckle
is also to be seen in plain gold, as roco-
co, as square frame, as serpent, which
glares at us greedily with its sapphire or
emerald eyes. In bijouterie, the en-
amels red, blue or green rank first—pro-
vided there are no diamonds around.
It is settled that the coat bodice is to
be accepted, and that as many changes
will be rung on it as there have.been on
the fancy bodice. It may live as long !
Many of those now worn, and they are
of all the current fashions the things
that are the safest to cling to, make an
odd blend of an outer jacket and a
jacket bodice. Odd models have no
sleeves, only a pair of wide spreading
eaves at the shoulders that extend out
over the sleeves of the under bodice.
sometimes the whole ‘‘jacket’’ is only a
sort of fichu, with a back, the aiready-
mentioned eaves, and a pair ot fronts
that adjust themselves into a belt,
which, buttoning about the waist,
makes the jacket a completed garment.
A collar may be added with good ef-
fect. Again, the coat bodice is hardly
distinguishable at first glance from
the short outer coats that have beer
generally worn all winter. Of this
type is one seen lately which was made
in plain brown woolen goods. It had
perfectly straight fronts, edged with
heavy silk cord, and further ornament-
ed with narrow bias satin folds that also
formed the decoration of the sleeves.
Its collar was high and stiffened, and
the vest beneath was of figured brown
stuff, with plain satin revers and folded
satin stock collar, from which started a
lace jabot. A full godet skirt was of
the vest’s material, and was untrimmed-
The trimming of satin folds upon the
bodice is frequently seen, but may be
‘carried out tastefully with black braid
if that is preferred.
At this season when chapped and
roughened hands and lips seem to be
Specially prevalent and painful, a good
cold cream should be found on every
toilet stand. When you need any more
of this healing cold cream ask your
druggist to prepare some in a little jar,
adding zinc and tincture of benzoin to it
acd thinning it with a little rose water
until quite soft. This niakes a delight-
ful preparation . and quite reasonable,
six ounces costing only about thirty-five
cents ; and, while preserving all the de-
sirable properties of ordinary cold
cream, it is rendered more beneficial by
the healing properties of zinc, and the’
softening and whitening ones of ben-
zoin
Hundreds of young women are going
in as trained nurses, and it has to be ad-
mitted that there are few occupations
which admit of so many possibilities for
a woman of cleverness and ambition.
They vary in characteristics as much as
men do, but experience shows that if an
intelligent nurse gets & good paying
case well in band with several doctors
and a lot of relatives she captures the
patient and bosses everything and
everybody, and it is impossible to dis-
lodge her when she once gets a good
foothold. Most of the nurses of to-day
are striking examples of the ‘new wo-
man,’”’ the only difference being that
they wear dainty caps and aprons in-
stead of bloomers.
An ingenious woman has discovered
a new and satisfactory way of pressing
seams. A rolling pin at the bottom of
it. She has taken a rolling pin and
split it in half, covering it as one would
an ironing board. It presses the seams
to perfection, as it supplies a curving,
smooth surface, and yet one which re-
mains firm * beneath the weight of the
iron.
Very dark green is effective when
brightened by linings of narrow trim-
ming of pale blua. A medium shade of
| green unites well with old pink. Brown-
i ish greens look well with bronze and
| copper color.