a Coa Conquer Yourself. BY HELEN WIIITNEY CLARK, It's no use to grumble and sigh, It's no use to worry and fret, It is useless to groan or to ery, Or fling yourseif down in a pet, You'll never be wise or be great, If you bluster like bers when they swarm; "Tis folly your woes to berate And pitch like a ship in a storm, Don't get in a tantrum and shout When obstacles rise in your path, And don’t—let ma beg of you--pout, By way of displaying your wrath; Don’t butt out your brains just to spite Som# fancied injustice of Fate, For time will set every thing right, If you only have patience to walt, The blustering wind ean not ehill e, though he ruffles its face. rost, with his presence so still, Luks it fast In a silent embrace, 3 may win fame beyona price, And conquer the world with its pelf, If you only will heed this advice, And frst learn to conquer yourself, Golden Days. ERS ODD AND EVEN, NUMB And the Superstitious Beliefs Con~ cerning Them. That there 1s luck in odd numbers is 3 popular saving, characterized by a felightful ambiguity which renders it squally correct in the case of either good or bad luck. The expression, how- aver, is generally taken to mean that Zood luck may be attributed to odd aumbers; and whether or not they may be justified in assuming that even ones must consequently be unlucky, many rountry women will only put their hens to set on an odd number of eggs, in the belief that otherwise no chickens would be hatched, Numbers both odd and even have always beencredited with mystic powers capable of Influencing the destinies of man. It is possible that this belief may bave been due in the first instance to a sense of reverence and awe with which the Immutable laws of mathematics were probably regarded by the ignorant; the fact, too, uhat the third, fifth or sixth note lu an octave harmonizes with the first may in some measure account for the superstitious importance with which the numbers three, hive and six have been regarded; and the regularity and frequency with which certain num- bers occur In Nature's handiworks may also have given rise to a belief in some mystic powers inherit in the numbers themselves, Thus, two is constantly before us in bilateral symmetry and the number of the sexes; five occurs as the number of petals which many flowers possess or the number of fingers and toes on each of our hands and feet— the thumb, of course, being reckoned #3 one of the fingers; and asan in- stance in which six occurs we may mention the hexagonal cells of a honey- comb, It is unnecessary to give examples of the mystical use of numbers in the Scriptures, for no one who has read the Bible can have failed to notice the fre- quency with which certain numbers are used, evidently intentionally and witha symbolical significance, In many of the legends which may be found amongst the North American In. dians, two witches or medicine women play a prominent part. This may be merely a curious coincidence; but more probably it is the result of some forgot- ten superstition connected with num- bers; for the Old World, two has an evil repu ation; and so far as monarchs have been concerned, it certainly seems lo those who were second ing bad troubled reigns or met with un- timely fates, There is much superstitious regard for the number three in the popular wind, and the third repetition of any thing is generally looked upon as a cri- sis. Thus, an article may twice be lost and recovered; but the third time that it is lost, it is gone for good. Twice a man may pass through some great danger in safety; but the third time he lsses his life, If, however, the mystic third can be successfully passed, all is well. Three was called by Pythagoras the perfect number, and we frequently find its use symbolical of Deity; thus, we might mention the trident of Nep- tune, the three-forked lightning of Jove, and the three-headed dog of Pluto, The idea of trinity is not confined to Chris tianity, but occurs in several religions, In mythology also, we find three Fates, three Furies and three Graces; and com- ing nearer to our own times, Shakea- peare introduces his three witches, In public house signs three seems to play an important part, for we frequently meet with ‘Three Cups,’ ‘Three Jolly Sailors,’ ‘Three Bells,’ ‘Three Tuns,’ “Three ¥Faathers’—in fact, that number of almost any thing of which a fertile imagination can conceive a trio, In nursery rhymes and tales this aumber is not unknown; and If we look back to the day of our childhood, most of us will call to mind the three wise men of Gotham who took a sea voyage ina bowl, not to mention the three blind mice that had their tails cut off by the farmer's wife. Perhaps thers is some occult power in the number which gov- erns the division of novels into three volumes and Induces doctors to erder thelr medicine to be taken thrice datly. It is sald that some tribes of savages can not count beyond three; but a though fey may have no words to ex- press higher numbers, perhaps we Shoud be scarcely Justi sed in assuming that they are incapable of apprecia the value of the latter. hing Five 1s a mystic number which was supposed to possess great indfiuence ever demons and evil spirits, Probably primitive man, not unlike some of his Ing extra importance to Seven was considered a holy number; and throughout the res it is fre #nimal by some evil spiril, if the ne- cessary steps are not taken to prevent Ler metamorphosis, According to a popular superstition, seven years of bad luck may be expected by the unfor- tunate person who chance to break a mirror. There is a general Lahief with most people that they undergo some change every seven years; man’s life 1s popularly divided into seven ages, and formerly it was supposed that seven and pine were capable of exerting much subtle influence over men, the product of these two numbers being particularly powerful in this respect, Thus, sixty- three years was called the grand cli- macteric, and that age was considered a very important crisis in a man’s life, Women, on the other hand, were sup- posed to be more susceptible to the in- fluence of six, Probably it was this belief in the supposed influence of nine and six on men’s lives which originally gave rise to the custom of granting leases for muitiples of seven or nine years, Long leases are granted for ninety-nine or nine hundred and ninety nine years, instead of a hundred ora thousand years, and there is, we be. lieve, a plece of superstition that other- wise the hundredth or thousandth year would be under the influence of the Evil One, Nine. a trinity of trinities, is the per- fect plural, and is credited with mystic properties, As might be therefore, many nected with it, The first vnmarried man passing beneath the lintel post of a door over which has been containing nine peas, will marry th: maid who placed it there; and a piece of worsted with nine considered a charm for a sprained ankle, ber, however, for nine tails of the ‘*‘cat’’ with very little to kuow “Curse land,” Twelve is of constant recurrence. Thus, there were twelve tribes of Israel and twelve into twelve months, It is a well known tion that if thirteen table together one of them wii dle within a - year; and probably, as has been suggested, the origin of this belief may be truced to the Paschal Supper. Even at the present day, many people, who certainly ought to possess more sense, are reluctant to take part ina dinner or supper party containing the unlucky number of guests, deed, will even refuse to sit at the same table with twelve others; and formerly in France there were men who gained a livelihood by attending dinner parties and making up the number of guests to fourteen In cases of emergency, where it was discoversd at the last mo- ment that only thirteen were present, why-—the About The Umbrella. to the middle of the eighteenth century it appears never to have been used by men, though Wolf, the future conqueror of Quebec, wrote from Paris in 1755, describing it ns in general use there, and wondering that so convenient a practice had not penetrated to England. Deror has deseribed the nmbrella as one of the contrivances of Robinson Crusoe, and nmbrellas were in conse- quence at one time called “Robinsons.” They were looked on as a sign of ex- treme effeminacy, and they multiplied very slowly. Dr. Jamison, in 1782, is | said to have been the first person who | used one in Glasgow; and Southy's mother, who was born in 1752, was ac- | customed to say that she remembered | the time when any ono would have been | hooted who carried one in the streets of | Bristol. i A single coarse cotton umbrells was | often kept 1n a coffee-house to be lent | out to customers, or in a private house to be taken out with the carriage and held over the heads of ladies as they | got in and out; but for many years those | who used umbrellas in the streets were exposed to the insults of the mob, and | to the persistent and very natural ani- | mosity of the hackney-conchmen, who | bespattered them with mud and lashed | them furicusly with their whips. But | the manifest convenience of the fashion | secured its ultimate trinmph, and be- | fore the close of the century umbrellas passed into general use, Hanway, the famous traveler and Pisilantizopist, who returned to Eng- nd in 1750, is said to have been the first Englishman who carried an um- brella; and a Sootoh footman named John McDonald, who had traveled with his master in France and Spain, men. tions in his curious autobiography that he brought one to London in 1778, and ihm, in earrying it in wet weather, though a jeering crowd followed him, erying: ‘Frenchman, why don’t you get a conch?” In about three months the annoyance almost ceased, and grad- ually a few foreigners, and then some Englishmen, followed his example, African Ovens.. We have all read about the great hills—some of them fan and twelve feet high-—that are made the tribes of white ants which infest many tropical countries, but o frost explorer, us of a use i Bometimes put to when they have been deserted by their builders. IRR ABOUT STUFFY HOUSES, What Housekee ers Should Do to Have Sweet, Ploasant Houses. Many houses are always in order, and one fails to deteot dust or dirt; yet they lack the freshness and sweetness which should be a part of every home. In such houses the earpet-swecper or the small brush-broom and the dust-pan are used to remove all the perceptible dirt from the floor. The sunlight is shut out, lest carpets and furniture. coverings be faded; the rooms do not get a thorough airing every day, and this is why a visitor feels oppressed on entering. A woolen carpet will absorb not only the dust, but also all the gases and unpleasant odors which come in contact with it. The carpets or rugs in a sitting-room should be swept or shaken once a week at least, and these rooms should be thoroughly sired every morning. Straw matting, or bard-wood, or painted floors are sweeter and more conducive to health than woolen ear- pets. It is, therefore, a pity that any- thing but matting is ever used for cov- ering a bed-room floor. Bmall rugs that any body can easily shake may be placed beside the bed and wash-stand, and, indeed, wherever one would like a mat to give an air of warmth and com- Many persons ob- because they say, it does not wear well. The best quality will, however, outwear an ingrain car- Cheap mattings are expensive at There shonld be nothing in a bed- room that is not washable, and the fur- nishing should be so simple that it ean be cared for without too much time and The beds should be thoroughly ets, pillows and mattresses so disposed that there shall be a ourrent of air be exposed to the sunshine. All closets should be thoroughly aired daily. The kitchen and cellar must be as How often the bad odors the kitchen or cellar! A few decayed vegetables or fruit left there may cause an unpleasant odor that will penetrate every part of the house and often bring on serious illness. Inthe kitchen there must be daily inspection of closets and 8 thorough airing several times 1n the day. The windows should be dropped as 8 matter of fact, keeping the whole house sweeter. It is a misfortune to have an inclosed sink, because the clos- et is, as a rule, a receptacle for damp dish, sink and floor cloths, all of which in- stead of being thrown into a dark cor- ner until wanted again, Another important thing to keep ir is the plumbing. ‘The more way of set-bowls, bath-rooms, ete, the greater her cares; for these modern conveniences may be a source of the It is singular that but few understand the necessity for a thorough flushing of the pipes once or twice a day. Some folks think any use of water beyond what is actually neces- sary is a waste, A constant leakage is verfeot Onee a week all the Pipes should have poured through them soiling hot soda water, half a pint of washing soda dissolved in two gallons of boiling water. When bought by the quarter-barrel soda is very cheap. Three or four barrels of charcoal set in different parts of the cellar will be of great help in keeping the house sweet In damp weather in summer a fire should be lighted 1n some room in the main part of the house, and the doors rooms be opened, in order that all the house may be kept dry. If we would have sweet homes we must be prodigal in our use of water, fresh air and sunlight. —Maria Parlos, in Good Housekeeping. cnet A Few “Don'ts."* “don'ts” to you, if I'll be very smiling snd pleasant about it? Bhey are not agreeable, I know, but like some other bitter medicine, they may do good. So come, all you who are “‘willing-heart- me just for a few minutes, Don't chew gum! It hurts vou. Yon were not made to chew a cud like cows, and any departure from the plan on which your bodies were made will bring evil npon you, in some way. It may not make you feel bad in any way, for a while, but you are opening wide the door for that terror, “King Dys- pe in. ” ‘hen you'll lose your rosy cheeks and bright eyes; in fact, you will lose all enjoyment of living. Will the pre- sent pleasure of chewing pay for the future misery? And, oh! boys, it will make you an oasy prey to the temptation to chew tobacco-—~it is a stepping-stone to to- baocco——and that form of temptation 1s about hard enough to resist now. Don't make it an ry. Don't talk in a lond voice on the streets, or any publie lace, Den’ do any thing to at attention to your solves in lie. I assure you that older have eyes and opinions; snd they watch you more than ou think; don't think they don't see besa they make So ah Ju you your ons, an : qui 0 om ain is the one who is most admired. Don’t be selfish in public. Don’t be 80 bnsy having a time bri pa enjoying any ; yi Al 3k 0 » frolie. ue you not want to tention to what is going on away, and have your frolio at Miss Eva L. G coun perin- jmdans of sels in Charokes County, of tried before her, nearly two weeks, THE GRACEFUL MINUET. European Society Returning to the Once Popular Dance. The minuet which Biraves is about to introduce to the partial exclusion of his own waltz was the first ball dance which had a really world-wide popularity. It i8 a slow dignified dance, an appro- priate product of the time and place of its birth. Itis very old. When Don Juan d'Austria went incognito from Brussels to Paris nothing he raw during his famous trip excited his ad- miration half so much as the grace with which the beautiful Margaret of Bur- gundy danced the minnet. Other besus and titled dandies of the same period also putin writing flattering allusions to the beauties eof this dance. Never- the less, it is exceedingly doubtful that the minuet of those times was the orig- inal model of the minuet of to-day. The minuet, which very recently has appeared in the Parisian saloons, was invented by the French ballet master, Gardel, or rather was evolved by him bration of the marriage of King Louis XVI “Minuet of the Queen” is the title which the gallant Gardel gave to his new dance in honor of Marie Antoinette, The figures of a dance of the time of Louis XIV, were util ized by Gardel as the basis of his new minuet. The old dance, with which every court-ball of Louis XIV, was opened, consisted mostly therein that the gentleman and the lady faced | each other, moved a few steps forward | and backward in time with dignified | and sonorous music, bowed deeply, and | returned to their places. This dance | was called the *“‘Braunle.” It was sne- i ceeded by the gavotte, in which “the | gentlemen kissed the bouquet of flow- | ers, and with a deep how Pad it to { his partner.” From this gavotte Gardel { derived the minuet. The famous dane- | ing-master, Pecourt, introduced an fm- { portant innovation by changing the 8B | igure into the Z figure, which is still { danced. The minuet is the only aance { which preserves the courtly digmty of | the old regime, and therefore has ever | been regarded as the most aristocratic | of dances. The most popular of minuet | musio is from the first finale of Mozart's Don Juan. The music isthe model of | all other music to which the minnet | has been danced of late years. -Selooted. - _- A Girl Machinist, Miss Nellie Patterson, one of the Carmel, says a Connecticut paper, has ship to the machinists trade. To-day she 1s working at her lathe and vise in the factory of the Mount Carmel Belt Company, and there isn't a mechameoe job or in less time than the fair young workwoman., Four years ago, when Miss Nellie began to think of the means whereby she must earn her living, she looked over the whole fleld of woman's work. Among the trades or occupations which the pushing women of this coun- try have made their own, there was none she especially liked. cleverness, and considerable ingenuity and inventiveness. The made to a friend that she was so of fond inventions she ought to become a machinist. The sced thus idly sown took root, and she applied for a place as an apprentice. For the past four yoars she has worked faithfully, and a few days ago her time expired, and she is now a full-fledged machinist. She is able to block up a piece of work on the planer, or turn up an arbor on the lathe, file ns well as any man in the shop. Her specialty, however, is tool-making, and to this she proposes to devote her- self, out dimensions, and from the working drawings she can make anything, She is not afraid of the grease and grime of the shop, and her beauty is not in the lonst marred by a long swipe of dirt oil on her nose, Her bands are not as | white as those of some of her sisters, | but they are by no means large, though | they aro very strong. She 1s a great | favorite with her Ro ahatn. and | is the pride of the little country village. How to Amuse the Children. ! { The 4-year-old may be allowed wipe dishes, help sot the table, and ' even brush the erumbs from the carp i If the child is praised a little and made | to feel some interest, she will take pride | in putting her toys carefully away aad restoring the room to its former meat ness, A word of gestion here and there will be gladly received, wheress if the mother waits until the slovenly habits are fixed, the child will be much harder to manege, and perhaps never De the nr to toys, mother will soon find that the most lasting in the child's favor are the ones on change the form of, or invent new ideas aboutit. I believe that isone reason the doll is never forsaken. A few oh articles wiil be just as valuable to the little one as something costing a small fortune, For example, a bundle of lamp light- ers will afford interest, as tho child con first lay them down in rude outlines of houses, trees or animals; then weave them into fences, gates, the letters of the alphabet, eto. A paint box and some adver ickurés, a pencil paver, a pair of blunt scissors and a newspaper will help to fill in the hours and give mother a chance to breathe. Another excellent plaything is a soft 7 Estesit pill i i g Our Fashion Letter. It is to be greatly regretted that just now, when the feeling against demi- trains on the promenades is so strong, our leading modistes will insist on ad- ding an inch or two in length to all new streel costumes. Bult no matter how strongly the feeling of innate clean. liness and refinement may protest against trailing costly fabrics in the dust, who will dare to raise a dissent- ing voice so long as this is one of Fash- ion's decrees? : In comparing the styles of to-day with those of a few years ago, one is greatly astonished at the difference, es- pecially in the eolors; yet if he looks observantly through those years he will seo how, gradually, from season to sea- son, bright colors have gained in favor till now they are used with a most lav- ith hand, calling forth not exclamations of astonishment, but only words of ad- miration for their wonderful beauty. Colors which were once deemed suit able only for receptions and ball rooms, are now worn daily «n the promenades, the garments, While this promisenous use of colors and styles is true of the masses, the real artists of fashion will never be guilty of such a breach of good taste. I'o them colors and styles suitable for carriage dresses, will only be used for carriage dresses, reception dresses for receptions, street costumes for the promensndes, ete, Tailor costumes, so suitable for morn- ing street wear, the races, ¢te., are now shown in English bure of light shades, white cream or grey foundations, with small or large squares in delicate col- ors. The skirt 1s made quite plain, the corsage, with a small Amazon basque, having beneath a vest, matching the costume in color, and a rolling collar faced with silk. Jackets are in ever, and have many which add greatly to their beauty. Some are shown of beige delicately embroidered in fronts with brown cord and a fine, gold soutache. The edge is trimmed with a fringe of gilded grelots mixed with jet- pearls. The open fronts have revers entirely covered with embroidery. Two em- broidered barrettes are crossed like Breton ornaments, on the chest, just below the revers—the one on the right joined to that of the left by hooks placed beneath. This is a new idea | and extremely ornamental. Jackets and costumes frequently {| bave sleeves of different material but velvet sleeves, as we have mentioned in i a former letter, have had their day. | For the summer season sleeves of | Madras tissne, fancy silk, embroidery i and lace are used, {| A novelty is the use of black | laco materials for trimming light-col- | ored wool fabrics. It has always been { thought that these airy tissues could ouly be used to trim lighter dresses, | especially silks, but we shall soon see | that blouses, sleeves, waists and skirts of light wool goods will be profusely | ornamented with trimmings of tulle, “Dame Fashion” also says that vel. vets, so long considered suitable only | for winter wear, will be largely used as summer fabrics but they will be of lighter weight and in more delicate shades, In summer dresses, is shown a black tulle embroidered with large oval dots, | the plain skirt trimmed with three rows of satin ribbon of graduated width and i the sleeves of plain tulle. Another | dress was of damask silk draped with ! plain tulle, the sleeves of damask silk without drapery. With this was worn a pretty jacket of black courscon orna- | mented with fine black and gold em- | browdery, and a border of ostrich feath- | ers, These thin, narrow borders of feath. ers, which are used so much as trim- ming for costumes of peau de sole, are | less than nothing, mere misty fringe, | soarocely visible, yet full of grace and | beanty. | A beautiful evening dress, made by { ome of our leading houses in Paris, was | of black embroidered net; the skirt and bodice were gathered and the sash and wrist bands were embroidered in gold, A vest in old pink velvet, richly em- broidered in gold, gave an added Span ish grace to the dress, Spring mantles are gradnally being transformed into summer Xi and in His process grow beautifully less. In. deed, so small have they become that they seem more hike co trimmings than wraps. Fichus and shawl mantles of fancy tulle are shown,also silk fichus with pearl leaf garniture. The Marie Antoinette fichu of Chan- tally lace is quite new,and bids fair to be the favorite among summer wra It is a collar pointed in the back, ving long ends in front which cross at the waistline and are held by a ribbon gir- die; it 1» trimmed with long netted fringe and a silk faced collar. Saphire blue, a color which has been banished for a long time, is being used this season as a trimming. It is scen on costumes of SBeoteh bure or oash- mere in the shape of velvet bands which are repeated on the corsage and sleeves, Many hats are trimmed with large knots of saphire velvet and yellow flowers. These colors, yellow and blue, have never been used in com on hats, so freely as in the present sea- son, Round hats are not very sufficiently so to shade well £ i i 4 3 HORSE NOTES, ~fgaac Murphy has signed a cone tract to ride this season for J. B, Hag. gin, ~The Abundance colt, which won the Expectation Stakes on Thursday, May 14th, is a half-brother to Greg- ory. —Ruperta and the rest of “Brown Dick's? horses have been struck out of their eastern engagements at the spring mestings, ~Henry 8. Eckert, of Topton, Pa., has purchased from Eobert Steel the b, ¢. Comedy by Epaulet, dam Amy Wentworth, ~Millard Sanders has two additions to his string in Colonel Kipp’s mare, Daisy Queen, and 7T, Greenwood’s mare, Maud, ~The Austrian ofter to Jockey (rxarnson was probably one of those Florence-Southern jokes. In short, a chimera, pure and simple, ~Hugh Brothers have purchased from their breeder, the Ex Mrs, George Lorillard, the three full broth. ers to Loantaka, Triton and Seadrift for 85,000, ~dJ, H. Shuits’ string on the circuit will probably consist of Gold Iegaf, Arrow (2.134), Issaquena (2.23§), This. tie, Bally Graham and Dalsy Queen. — Astoria, the sister of Dexter and Dictator, dropped on Friday night, May Oth, a strongly-formed chestnut colt by Lord Russell, brother to Mand 8, -F. W. Reynolds, for many yeas located at Charter Oak Park, Hart. ford, Conn,, has accepted the position of traiper and driver at Highland Stcek Farm, - Entries for the Kentucky Trotting Horse Dreeders’ Assoclation, meeting to be October 13 to 50 will clo:e on Juns 2, ~The crowds at the Pimlico race. track Baltimore, would compare (a vorably in appearance with any eve: seen on a race-course, Many ladies in elegant attire were present each day, and all seemed to enjoy the honest trotting and pacing. —The entries to the nomination purses and stakes of the Central Ken- tucky Fair Association number 72, of which 81 are for the C, F, Clay stakes for yearlings; 23 for the Z2.year-old purse; 11 for the 3-year-old purse, and 7 for the 4-year-old purse, -There were five starters the J minute class at Baltimore on Tuesday, May 13th, Nellie E, and Billy Nugent were distanced in the second heat, James 13, Green held the lines over Pretty Belle, the winner, and gave her arecord of 2.283. The only time the mare left her feet was a double break in the third heat, ~The meeting at Pimlico, Baltimore, opened well, Mr, George A. Singerly won the JS.minute class with Pretty Belle, and took a record of 2.283 Good for Mi. Singerly. ¥ ii His mare is bred to fight races with all the courage of a Prince Wilkes, President Frank Brown and Secretary Robert Hough make a strong working team. ~The ‘Dwyer Brothers have changed their methods of training and racing, as evinced by the way they were dealing with Kingston, Sir Dixon and Long- lish racing men have, that it pays bet. ter to win one or two big races than many small oves, None of their hor ses run now unless they are right; the minute one shows staleness they stop him, They see the mistake made with Luke Blackburn, Hindoo, Dewdrop and Hanover, —~Orion Hickok and Charles Mar- California strings of horses on Mon- day, May 12. Ax the bead of Hickok’s string is the pacer Adonis, 2.14, son i ous old pacing mare Lucy, 2.14. He is a pacer and quite fast. Alfred S,, ones, Mar. vin's string consists of Sunol, 2.104; Palo Alto, 212}; Gertrude R 2.934; Arol, 2.24; Electric Bell, and two or three others of lesser note. —Theodore Winter's stable, includ. ing the celebrated El Rio Rey, Rey del Rey, Barrett, Rascal, Joe Courtney, in all sixteen head of horses, will soon be shipped from the West to Monmouth Park, and be prepared specially for thelr engagements at that place. From this it would seem that the contempla~ ted tour of the Western Circuit been abandoned, The sudden change of programme will be generally taken to mean that the horses are not quite ready, Certainly, the move means that £1 Rio Rey will not race for a long time at least, as otherwise he would not come East wheu be has such valuable engagements as the American Derby at Chicago. ~Oastaway II, the Beverwyck Sta. ble colt, which won the Brookiyn dicap on Thursday, May 15th, is Outcast, dam Lucy Lis by Virgil,
Significant historical Pennsylvania newspapers