LADIES DEPARTMENT.
Pimhton Funrlm.
Cuffs must mutch collars.
Shirred waists are much worn.
Re<l remains the most popular color.
New hosiery matches the dross goods.
liulh t-shaped buttons] will ho much
Wbrn.
Stockings must match the dress this
season.
p HKirt drnicricH are more voluminous
than ever.
Twilled silks take the lead for lioth
dresses and millinery.
Pink and blue aro favorite com
binations in ginghams.
Bliirrings or gagings are everywhere,
both on skirts ami bodices.
The rage for Japanese figured stuffs
fcr dresses is on the increase.
There is a great suppression in the
number of seams in a bodice.
Droit ball trimmings are used for
trimming sateen foulard dresses.
Muslin fichus showing the throat are
to take the place of linen collars.
One of the new medium-sized poke {
bonnets is called the bayadere.
Some of the new polonaises are made
with full, pauier-liko draperies over the
hii>s.
Ombre satins do Lyon grow more and
more popular for both dresses and bon
nets.
Linen Scotch plaid ginghams will be
< the popular novelty of the coming
seas< m.
Shirred effects in skirt draperies ap"
pear on the most fashionable imported
dresses.
A dash of yellow, blue or red is
deemed essential to the finish of all
dark toilets.
St eel buttons with glittering centers of
bronze, emerald-green, sapphire-blue or
garnet are very elegant and fashionable.
The new Scotch ginghams are very
brilliant in coloring, and the fabric is
unusually fine. They are as handsome
in appearance as the plaided silks of
last season.
, A new style of low shoe is cnt into
diamond shaped apertures on the instep
and is stitched with silk matching the
stocking, and tied withacord ami tassel
of the same color.
Steel lace in the shape of simple net
in figured edgings, and in crowns
wrought with Iteads, will be used on all
kinds of bonnets except those of yellow
• straw this summer.
A close curtain or piece of reversed
braid finches the back of the new l>on
nets ; each one is trimmed so as to har
monize with the style in which the
wearer nrranges her hair.
A growing eccentricity is the wearing
upon one arm of innmerahlo bangles
hung with charms of every description,
and upon the other a gold hand of
massive thickness and prodigious size.
Mechlin and Languedoc lace will both
be used by the milliners during the
season. Scarfs of ranslin and Brussels
net will le trimmed with them and they
w ill be mingled with flowers. Hpanisii
lace scarfs will be used for black hats.
The number of tints and styles shown
under the name of woolen mixtures is
really Itewildering. There are strijsw
ami clouded stuffs and cheeks so slightly
defined that one can hardly lieqnite sure
that they are visible or only irnaginarr,
and the hue of the material changes
with each movement of the wearer.
Ladies who make their Itelt ltows of j
narrow ribbon with long ends reveal ,
their good intentions but also their lack
of knowledge. Nothing but sash ribbon
should be used for those ornaments, and
, not less than a yard ami a half can he
employed for a how. Three long stand
ing 100-,*, and ono short loop and two
ends about ,ton inches in length are
required. Repped or satin ribbon may
be used as one pleases.
Stew Kraisrrs mill Mini*.
One of the maxims in millinery this
spring is that all trimmings are placed
low, yet there are lionnets that give a
high effect, for the faces that need it,
by the use of full wreaths anil side pom
pons with erect aigrettes, or by the
long-looped hows on top. Among the
novelties is the Tnscan lace made of
straw as fine as thread; this is pnt on
for trimming, and there are crowns and
whole bonnets made of it; sneh crowns
are not lined, leaving the liack trans
parent to display a handsome coiffn re,
while the brim has slurred surah inside.
There are also imported lionnets for
snmmer that are lined with black silk
plush of light weight, and this fin ing
is stndiled near the front with large
bnttons of mt steel sneh as
are seen on dresses at present. Very
long ostrich plumes shaded through one
eolor, or it may lie two, as from yellow
into maroon, are placed high on the left
side, allowed to curl across the hack to
the right, and fall in front of the chin.
Roses with soft flexible stems, on which
are thorns, are among the expensive
novelties that are on Parisian bonnets
that are marked ffiO, On sneh a bon
net the brim is cnt in battlamented
squares, and two or three plaitinga of
black tliread lace fall forward on the
luiir ; the lionnat itself is made of straw
droi* beaded with gold ; the w ide satin
murveilloux strings are of many similes
of yellow, (lilt beads aro introduced
in many of tholaco Htraw bonnets, and
rod is the favorite color for lining these
transparent open-worked straws. Real
gilt buttercups in clusters are pretty on
tlio Spanish-looking lmts. The most
simple way of using a laco scarf for
strings is to form ono loop behind of
ono end, and have hut ono string, which
is brought from the loft siilo under the
chin, around to the hack, and passed
through this loop. The sLadeil not seen
in the shops is a very effective trimming
for black chip pokes, being put care
lessly across the top, ami used as strings.
Flowor lionnets are represented this
season by crushed rose crow ns, with a
wreath on tlio eilgo of the brim, and
the spaces between covered by scurfs of
d'Aurillac lace ; the pale coral pink and
salmon roses aro vory pretty in these
dressy bonnets, which aro usually of
! medium size. Tho vellow-green shades
! that are sometimes called mustard and
j sometimes olive, are shown in velvet
i and thin plush for strings ; this quaint
| eolor is used with black blonde lace,
| and is as new as the silver lace with
pink already described, //ue/ier'* I In-nr.
tliirrliiiic mill sUm-Mim*.
The following letter accompanied a
, present of a pair of stockings to a young
, bride:
Dkaii I'orsiN : -Herewith you will
j receive a present of a pair of woolen
| stockings, knit by my own hands; and
j be assured, dear cox, that my friendship
' for yon is ns warm as the material, active
as the finger work, and generous as the
donation. But 1 consider this the
' occasion of your marriage. You will
remark in tho first place that there are
two individuals united in one pair, who
I are to walk side by side, guarding
against coldness, and giving comfort as
long as they last. The thread of their
texture is mixed, and so, alas! is the
thread of life. In these, however, the
; white predominates, expressing my
desire and confidence that thus it will
be with the color of our existence. No
; black is used; for I believe your lives
wiy lie wholly free from the black
passions of wrath and jealousy. The
darkest color hero is blue which is
excellent, where we do not mako it too
I blue.
j Other appropriate thoughts ri*c to
i my mind regarding these stockings.
Yon will perceive that the tops of these
| stockings (by which 1 suppose court
ship to he represented) is seamed, and
by means of seaming ore drawn into a
snarl, bnt afterward comes a time when
' the whole is made plain, and continues
iso to the end and final toeing off. By
this, I wish yon to take occasion to con
gratulate yourself that you are now
! through with seaming and have come to
1 plain reality. Again, as the whole of
I these comely stockings were not made
at once, but by the addition of one little
stiti-h after another, put in w itli i.kill and
, discretion, until the whole pr< -cnta a
fair, equal piece of work you see, so life
does not consist of one great action bnt
i millions of little ones combined; and so
may it lie with you. No stitch drujqied
where duties nre to lie performed —no
: widening made where Iwnl principles
. are to be reproved or economy pre
served; neither seaming nor narrowing
j where truth and generosity are in qnes
| tion. Tims every stitch of life is made
! right ntul set in the right place- none
either too large or too small, too tight
; or too loose ; thus you may keep on your
smooth and even course, making your
i existence one fair and consistent piece,
; until together, having parsed the heel
yon come to the very toe of life, anil
here, in the final narrowing off, and
dropping tho coil of this emblematical
pair of companions and comforting as
j sociates, nothing itpiiear* but white, the
token of innocence and peace, of purity
| and light—may yon, like these stock -
j ings, the final stitch being dropped, and
I the work lieing completed, go together
j from the place where yon formed, to a
j happier state of existence, a present
from earth to heaven. Hoping that
these stockings and admonitions may
meet a cordial reception, I remain in
the true blue friendship seemly, with
out seeming, yours from top to toe.
Hontbs that Killed the Czar.
Alexander 11. was killed by Orsiiq
tiombs. These destructive shells are
very dangerous, not only on acconnt of
the quantity of fragments they scatter
about on exploding, bnt also on ac
connt of their special oonstmction,
which renders them exploaiblo at the
least shock. At the time of Orsini's at
tempt against the life of Napoleon 111.
one of the conspirators hail his arm
blown off by one of the bombs he wss
holding in hia hand. These bomiis are
of spherical or ellipsoidal form. In the
first shape they aro covered all over
with cap* ; in the other, the basis of the
shell lieing heavier than the other parts,
the projectile thrown in the air always
falls on the same end where the c]*
are, and the explosion takes place.
The iin|iortation of thoroughbred
horses, cattle and sheep from Europe to
this country for the past year nxcoods in
number that of any former year.
TIIE FAMILY IMMTOIt.
Poison from bees, hornets, spider
bites, etc., in distantly arrested hv the
application of equal parts of common
suit and bicarb, nate of nodu, well rub
bed in on the place bitten or stung.
A standing antidote for poison by
dew, poison oak, ivy, etc., is to take a
handful of quicklime, dissolve in water,
let it stand half an hour, then paint the
poisoned parts with it. Three or four
applications will never fail to euro the
most aggravated eases.
The food of tho eye Li light, as air is
for the lungs, bread for the stomach,
and us the fins of tho fish pro-suppose
water. To shut ourselves up in dark
rooms, with or without weak light, is
simply suicidal. Weak eyes, indeed,
aro the accompaniment of dark rooms,
stained glass and gas. 7>r. ./. 11. Ihtn-
Persons convalescing from rln nma-
I tism should choose a residence where
j tho death rate from heart disease Ls low.
; It is desirable that ull persons whose
; family history indicates a proclivity to
I rheumatism should choose for their
j homes such localities and districts as
| experience has shown to have a low
mortality from the secondary result > of
| this disease, 'lhils may he avoided di t
ease to which their con titutions .tri
al ready prone.
Exercise should not be continued
after tho effort has bccotnc at all | ain
ful. Our inn i lcs, like tho rest of our
bodies, are mado susceptible of pain,
i i for the beneficent purpose that wro may
know that they an in danger, and tnnv
i thus be excited to do everything in our
jHiwer to remove them from it. It is a
mistaken notion tliat exercise of all
1 j kinds, and under all circumstances, is
> beneficial. Unless it is adapted to the
' Condition of the muscles it will prove
the agent of death—not the giver
sound health.
For earache take aliont the i.ize of a
walnut of raw, fresh mutton, burn it on a
rod hot iron plate, till it is reduced
almost to a cinder; then put it into a
clean rag, and squeeze the moisture out
||. *
into a silver spoon. Heat the sjioon
well in lioiling water, and dry it well
before you drop the expo <1 juice of
tie- inntton into the ear, as hot as it can
jbe endured. This remedy has been
known to prove efficacious after lauda
num lias failed to afford relief.
A tic dual authority sars when you
get chilly all over and uway into your
1 wines, and begin to sniffle and almost
struggle for.jour breath, just begin in
, time and your tribulations need not hist
| very long. Get some powdered l>ra\
and snuff the dry powder up your nos
tril*. Get your camphor bottle, smell
it frequently, jKinr some on Tour band
i kerchief and wijw "your nose with it
whenever needed. Your no e will not
I get soro, and yon will soon wonder what
has become of your cold. Begin this
treatment in the forenoon and keep on
ut intervals nntil you yon go to tcd, and
you will sleep as well ai you ever did.
The Magnetlc Poles.
The reason why tho needle |oints in
tho northerly direction is that the earth in
itself is a magnet, attracting the mag
; netic needle as ordinary magnets do.
and the earth is a magnet as the result
of certain cosniieal foots, much affoobsl
by the action of the sun. The laws have
periodicities, all of which have not as
| yet been determined. Tin* infervnt and
ultimate reason of tho existence of any
t fart in nature, as gravity, light, heat,
etc., is not known further than that it is
in harmony with, and the direct resnlt
| ant of, the action of forces existing
| under general laws. A condensed ex
j planntion in regard to the needle point
! ing to the northward and southward is
|as follows: The mngmtic pole* of the
earth do not coincide with the geograph
ical | xilcs. The ax in of rotation makes
an angle of alsiut twenty-thn-e degrees
i with a line joint to tho former. The
northern magnetic jk>lo is a present near
the Arctic circle on the meridian of
; Omaha. Hence tho needle docs not
everywhere point to tho astronomical
north, and is constantly variable within
certain limits. At* San Francisco it
points aliont seventeen degrees to the
east of north, and at ('alnis, Maine, a*
much to the west. At the northern mag
netic jiole a balanced needle point* with
ts north end* downward m a plumb
line; at San Francisco it dips aliont six
ty-three degrees, and at the southern
magnetic polo to the south and ]>oint*
directly down. The action of tho earth
npon a magnetic needle at its surface is
of about the same force as that of a hard
steel magnet forty inches long, strongly
magnetized, at a distance of one foot.
The foregoing is the accepted explana
tion of the fact that the needle points
to the northward and southward. Of
course, no ultimate reason can lie given
for this natural effect, any more than for
any other observed fact in nature.—Sow
i Prnnciaco Urn.
The longest private telegraph line
leased by any newspaper in the world
> is suppose! to be the wiwt which con
nects the office of the Chicago Inter-
Octan with its office in Washington, D.O.
lIaMN ami Fancies of Author*.
Htrange have been tho habits and fancies
of authors. Curncados, th* philosopher,
seldom wrote witboilt dosing himself with
hcllclmrc. A: chyltw, Kupolis, Crati
iiuh uml Ennuis aro said never to have
Mtit down to oomposc till tlioy wore in
toxicated. Dryden oftrn hud himself
hied, imd, like Fundi, uts raw meat to
assist, BO ho Haid, bin imagination.
H hud well, l)o Quineey, pMilmanoazar,
Dean Milner, Ooloridgo, and JliHho|i
llorsloy ntimulntod themselves with'
ojiium, as Do Mussot was helpless with
out absinthe. Gray seldom nat down to
compose without lirst reading through
some cantos of the " Faery Queen."
Corneillc fired himsolf witli the
jjonmal of " Lueau." Bhckstono
never wrote without a bottle of port
wine on his desk, nor Heliiller without a
flask of llhenish within call. When his
imagination was sluggish ho would
nit with his feet in hot water, drinking 1
coffee "to thaw the frost on his wits." I
Montaigne was never happy without his
cat, and with tho pen in his right hand
while the left was smoothing the glossy
back of bis favorite tabby, meditated !
bis " Kssuys." Boxhorne, tho great
Dutch scholar, could never write a word :
without a pipe in his mouth, arid as he j
prefern d a long pipe and yet required
the use of both hands, he bethought
him of a very ingenious device. He
hod a hat wi h an enormous brim,
which impended in front of his face;
through this he made a hole to sup- !
port his pipe, thus Securing the double
advantage of shading his eyes and on- (
joying without inconvenience his favor
itw luxury, and in this way he produced
his voluminous and valuable writings.
Uobbe.s had the i ani" weaknc s, "ten or
twelve pipes, with u candle," being bis
invariable concomitants at tlied< k, and
Dr. I'arr was not h dependent on to
lmcco. Southey could never write a
line except at bis desk, with his books
round birn, and with familiar objects by.
Milton could, he said, never compose
anything to hia satisfaction except lie- 1
tween tho vernal and autumnal equinox.
At those 'a ins hi poetry came like
an inspiration. At other times, in spite
of the meet strenuous efforts, lie would '
Is* unable to bring to the birth a single
verse. Thomson, Collins and Gray hod
the same -upcrslition aliont themsi Ivc .
Johnson, with his usual bluff common
sense, ridicules such fanrii**, and
call, them unworthy of any sinsilih
man the good doctor's the.ry leing
that a man who hail the power
of writing always could write
"if he set himself doggedly to it."
Crablie's .fancies sl>out hirn*<lf are so
curious that we will quote the passage
in his son's biography of him which
bears on tho same subject: "He fancied
that autumn was.'onthe whole, the nut
favorable season for him in the rompo* •
aitiou of poetry, but there wn some
thing in the effect of a sudden fall of
snow that appeared to stimulate him in ■
a very extraordinary manner. It was
•luring a great snow storm that, shut uji
in his room, he wrote almost enrrente
(alamo his ' Kir Eustace Grey.' Latterly
he worked chiefly at night after all the
family had retired." Even a robust ami
practical scholar like Bishop War
burton tells us that he could only write
"in a hand-to-mouth style'" ami tliat
the blowing of an cast wind, a fit of the
spleen, or the fact that he had not his
books round him, completely destroyed
his |>ower of comjKisition. Temple Ihvr
About Editors.
Every editor loves to have hia friends,
and particularly his readers, call on him.
They belong to the same family, as it
were. But when yon call to ace the
editor don't star too long. Editors arc
generally very busy in business hours.
If you have any suggestions to make
or news to communicate, state it in as
few words as possible. Don't offer any
excuses or indulge in a long preface to
what you have to say. Blurt it right
out ; tell the editor yon wish him well,
and bid him good-day. Editors dote
on such men as that; they love to re
ceive calls from them. Don't argue
with them ; don't try to do it; he lias
no time for argument while at his work.
When yon write to an editor for pub
lication, make it short—boil it down.
Pitch right into the middle of your sub.
jeet, and be sure to stop writing when
yon are through. Editors nlways like j
something fresh and original in the way
of communications, and aro especially
fond of news. But the editor must al
ways bo tho judge [of what is worthy of
publication. Of course every writer
thinks his own production tho best,
just as every mother thinks her baby |
the prettiest tliat ever was born. But
the editor may tie so stupid as to have a
different opinion. If so, it can't be
helped. Don't try to argue him out of
hia notion. If he is too stupid to ap
preciate a good thing, yon can't expect
to remedy his dullness. Yon may think
you are a good deal smarter than the
editor, and that may lie true, hut the
editor may be responsible and you are
not. Tliore is no class of people so
covetous of the good opinion of others.
It is well to remember that fact— Print-
Ps Circulitr.
Over 150 new tmttei' and ebecee
factories will be erected in lowa this
year, making 400 in all.
TOPICH OF THE OAT.
M. Boulcy has lately recommended
that children and young girls should he i
taught to detect infection of pork with
trichina*, so that they might In- able to 1
give Much assistance to tin* meat in
spector an would insure his work bciDg
speedily done. If this plan suoceds, it
is probable that the present restriction
on . importation of American jiork i
into France will be removed.
1 o take a drink in Oregon costs a man
so indulging ?5. The rum is not worth
that money, hut the city requires a li- '
ci nse costing that sum before a man can
get any hitters at any hotel or saloon.
It is a js nal offense fur tin- proprietors
of these establishments to sell to any |s-r
--hod who is not armed with such license.
Every six months the local papers pub
lish the names of all who have applied
for such documents, and tho public
then by know who are the drinkers.
ihe precautions taken in Prus'-ia to
guard against trichina- in swine an- ex
eei-diugly can fid and thorough. Berlin
is divided into districts, each of which
has its se urate inspector of swine's
meat, an oflh ml who is In Id to strict ae-
countability. In Knnigßbcrg here is
un establishment in which the anat in
fected with the dreaded parasite, after
being cut into small pee. *, is boiled for
twelve hours, and then subjected to the
action of chemicals that rcdno it to a
jKiwder.
If tho t'anadian press fairly repre
sents public opinion in the dominion
an unusual degree of interest is felt in
the workings of the prohibition law in
Maine and elsewhere. Numerous al
lusions to the subject within a few
months have attested a general dispo
sition to consider the temperance legis
lation, and tin* Toronto (/. k has just
dispatched two correspondents to in
vestigate the working of the Maine law,
one from the prohibition point of view,
and tho other from the point of anti
prohibitiot .
I i>-da,\ many of the homes in Denver
compare favorably with those of anv
city in tho country, in all thi.t wealth
can provide of culture and refinement.
Colorado has made rapid stride* in
wealth and population during the |>a*t
year. 50,000 js-rmaneot settlers located
in that Slate in 1kjo, Her taxable proje
crty increased more than i?H,0oo,000,
while tin aggregate yield of her gold,
silver, lead and cop]>er mines amounted
to B'Jo,<**i,i*io. The area ..f the State
i* lfl.Ooo square mile* larger than the
whole of England, Scotland and Wales.
The county of Gunnison alone i* larger
than M iHsarhnsetts.
Ix>rd Beaconfield's peerage of
August, IH7<i, gives hi* title to his own
children. A* Heaconsficld never had
any children the patent will expire with
him when lie dies, unli*** he ha# made
some arrangement as I#>nl Brougham
made, and ha* the title divert to his
brother. He has a brother, lUlph Dis
raeli, living, who holds an office under
the government which |>ay* him §lo,ooo '
a year, ilalph ha* a son. Coningsbv
Disrae-li, named after the h< ro of one of
Beaconfield's novels. If the transfer is
made, Italph will get the Hnghendcn
estate, with the earldom and other
property of the Earl of Beaeonsfield.
An English capitalist, Mr. Gaston
proposes to dam the Nile at the cataract*,
and subject alwuit *OO,OOO acres of land,
which is now desert, to the influence of
it* fertilizing waters. This is a stiqien
doua undertaking; but it is beyond a
doubt that the present rapids are pro
duced by the debris of ancient works of
this description which are now strewn
on tho boil of the stream, and from an
engineering point of new the work
would lie perfectly feasible. The
inundation would then lie under com
plete control, while the company which
should carry out the work would lie
reimbursed by the lands allotted to it
out of nearly a million acres, which
would now for the first time lie brought
under cultivation. It is said that the
preliminary capital has already leen
raised.
The question is asked along the ;
Pacific cqast what is to lie the future of
Nevada, if, as seems more than likely,
tho Comatock mines aio wholly ex
hausted. The Htate has a population of
scarcely 50,0( 0, and offers few induce
ments to new settlers, especially if her
mines are used up. Only a few patches
and streaks of the land arc fit for agri
culture. and not much is good for stock
raising. Even the small population now
possessed by the Bute is diminishing,
many of the miners aliont the Corn
stock migrating to California, Arizona
and Colorado. The expense of con
ducting a Bute government in very
burdensome under the circumstance*,
and it is thought that a return to the
condition of a Territory will be con
sidered an imperative necessity before
long.
It is feared there has been great mor-
Ulity among the bees in Western RU s
daring the pest winter, not on account
of the severe weather, however, hut I*s
cause there wan aucb a scant mipp\ y „f
food hint summer that the industrious
tribe failed to lay up sufficient stores
for tin- winter. A correspondent of ths
Chicago Tim**, wlio ha* visited a num
ber of bee-raiscra in Kane county, ill.,
reports the prevalent opinion that two
tiiinlH of the Iwi'H in the Northwest Ji*v
died nine*; last fall or will lie dirad I*--
forc .Inly 1. He was told tliat D. Mar
tin, of (icneva, lia/1 lost nix or eight
swarms—all lie had. IJ. C. Yates, of
'icneva, hail lost all hi*. James Wood
man, of Blackberry, hail two hundred
swarms; he now ha* two. The Barber
brothers, of Jjn fox, have lost twenty,
hugone Otis, of Butavia, hail sev
enty swarms last Mpring ; all are
dead, William Way, of iiutavia, put
eighty-five in the cellar lust fall; he will
not have twenty-five by the first of JnJv.
William Urie, of Aurora, haa three
swarms left out of a total of eighty. W.
Webhti r, of Klgin, lias two out of thirty
left. J hen© htati-rm nts are rather dis
couraging, it mtiMt be admitted, but the
losses enunieraU.il are all in Kane coun
ty, where the white clover crop on which
the IMCH chiefly rely wan a bail failure
last year.
Sonic remarkable revelations concern
ing the win Iteration of foodan- made in
the annual rcjtort, just published, of
tin- inspector of viri'gar for the city of
Boston. The total amount of the liquor
iold and u*f<l in BotUiO each year UD
dcr the name of vinegar Li estimated at
a) KIU t 3/ (00,000 gallons. Of thih, the
inspector declares, less than one-tenth
is pure apple-juice, the rest being a
villainous decoction of molasses, gln
cose, ascetic acid, sour ale, lager beer,
distillery slops, etc., made for about
lialf the lowest possible cost of pur*
cider vinegar. Nor in this all, nor
even the worst view of the caw-. Buck
substances as oil of vitroil and other
mineral acids are brought into requisi
tion. One cent's worth of sulphuric
acid is sufficient for the mannfactnre of
four gallons of vinegar, and when dis
guised by other ingredients its presence
■•annot be detected by taste alone. Much
of this wretched stuff, it islK-lievcd, lias
l>oen sold in the Boston market as
" Pure Apple Vinegar." Fifteen hun
dred liarrels of it in a single cargo were
seized by the officers, and fifty barrels
more were captnrcd in a wan honse and
shipped Lack to tin- former owners.
The < xtent to which this illegal and in
human business is carried on is shown
by the fact that the wholesale price of
vinegar in Boston averages nine cents
per gallon, much of it Wing sold as
low as six cents, while the genuine arti
cle cannot be manufactured for loss tlian
twelve and one-half cents per gallon. It
is only natural that the inspector, in
concluding his report, should attribute
the high death-rate of the city largely
to the consumption of these deleterious
compounds.
It is related that a California pioneer
seeing a Chinamen coolly draw a "navy
six " and shoot a white ruffian neatly
through the abdomen, exclaimed, with
much earnest enthusiasm: "Them
Chinese is takin' on civilized ways sur
prisin' fast." If that same pioneer could
to-day take a peep into any of the
cheap photograph galleries of San Fran
cisco he might be still more impressed
with the rapidity with which his Celes
tial are imitating the enstoma
and vanities of our civilization. From
reports made by the proprietors of the
galleries in question, it seems that the
desire of the Chinese to have their pic
tures taken amounts almost to a pas
sion. They seem to have very fixed
notions of their own as to just how they
ought to be "taken." Almost without
exception they stand before the camera
with their arms akimbo and their
heels pointing toward each other. Hav
ing taken this position thev seem
to imagine tliat they present the very
picture of dignified repose; and upon
many points in regard to which white
people are most particular the Chinese
sitters for photographs seem to care
nothing. They never ask to have their
wrinkles touched up, and they are en
tirely shove the petty deception of
having the nnevenness of their features
toned down. Their chief concern ap
pars to lie in regard to their clothes,
their feet and hands and their fans. If
these are all well and distinctly taken,
particularly the fan. without which no
Chinaman regards his photograph aa
complete, then the proprietor of the
gallery seldom has any trouble in
collecting a good price for his work.
Before paying, however, the Chinese of
both sexes, made justly suspicious by
some knowledge of the ways of their
Christian brethren, always demand to
see their picture* and lie assured that
the camera has not entered into a con
spiracy to cheat them. It is noticeable
that Uus pasaion for having their por
trait* taken is not confined to tho
poorer or more icnormnt classes of
(hinamen The rich and distinguished
among them display the same innocent
weakness in even s more marked degree.
The Chineee consulate at San Francisco,
for instance, is reported to have recently
expended tfiflO for photographs of its
attaches, which were seat to friends in
the flowery kingdom.