LADIES' DEPARTMENT.
rmillion Nolo*.
atered Irish poplins havo come
into fashion.
Very small buttons to fasten tho
corsage is the latest freak of fashion.
The wicker-basket bonnets so fash
ionable in Paris have reached America.
Bonnet crowns completely shingled
with small feathers will he much
worn.
The new do beiges come in im
proved forms, finely finished and illum
inated.
Blouse waists for children and
young girls never go entirely out of j
fashion.
Red hats, red feathers, red gloves, i
and red stockings are worn by the
million.
The jackets, ulstorettos and sacque*
for early fall wear are made longei
this season.
Very plain skirts will be much worn,
but not to the exclusion of more
elalnirate ones.
Colons! handkerchiefs are brought
out in the loveliest combinations of
jpsthetic colors.
Plaids are worn by women who
affect English styles; they are not
generally becoming.
The wearing of green and red
together is revived, but both colors
must be in subdued tones.
Pompadour designs and stripes ap
pear in the new evening silks intended
for the dressiest toilets.
Raspberry-and-eream color rivals
strawlx-rry as a popular color for
millinery and evening 'dress.
Full lace jabots, reaching from the
neck to the point of the Isxlice, will In
worn with dressy indoor costumes.
The Imuffant tournure draperies as
now worn give all women very uasym
metrical and even ludicrous figures.
The latest fancy for neck lingerie is
to unite several colors in the ribbon
l>ows that mingle with the laces at the
throat.
Dressy cloth suits are tailor finished,
and then made effective with hand
some soutache embroideries and artistic
crochet buttons.
Every lady should have a plush
jacket in black, seal bjown, or some
other color which will harmonize with
any kind of a skirt.
Flowers are now but little worn in
the corsage in demi-toilet, being
replaced by knots of riblsin in hues
contrasting with that of the drees.
Grecian lynx, a long-haired, light
colored fur of a yellowish tinge, will
l>e a very fashionable fur for trimming
winter cloaks and costumes.
For dinner or ballroom wear brocaded
moire antiques are very fashionable.
In white these superb fabrics are very
handsome for bridal dresses.
Nonpareil Velveteen is found in all
the stylish new shades of green, sap
phire, wine color, chaudron, bronze,
seal brown, and black. When made
with the pile tiirm-d upward so that
it will be raised by wear instead of
becoming flattened, it cannot bo dis
tinguished from silk velvet; while the
difference in price reduces the cost of a
costume by about two-thirds.
A I.fnrnf<l \\ artisan.
The most learned woman in the
world is Miss Kamnahal, a young lady
of twenty, who is now in Paris. She
is a native of India, and can read ami
write and talk in twelve languages,
having a wonderful gift in that way,
ticsides being up in mathematics, as
tronomy and history. She is studying
medicine, and will go to India to
practice, where she says thousands of
her countrywomen die every year
because they will not consult male
physicians.
Nrw InHtnirr.
Mrs. Chapman of New York has
built up a new industry for women in
the manufacture of feather-edged braid.
She began by making large collars for
children out of two braids connected
together, or aided in forming designs,
by lace stitches and crochet stitch-s,
executed with needles and knitting
cotton. This was four years ago. The
demand speedily outgrew her powers
of supply. She now has seven hundred
women working for her, many of them
being married ladies, who wish to have
a little money of their "very own."
Seventy-five thousand collars weresii|-
plied last year to the wholesale house
which takes Mrs. Chapman's work.
Ntnclr W nmrn.
A clever old maid onee said that it
was far better to be laughed at because
you were not married than not lie able
to laugh la-cause you were. There is
sound logic in that. It is well for
woman to marry if she meets a good,
true man, who loves her and whom
she loves ; but, if she be not salted,
letter that she remain single. Many
old maids are helpful, lovcable and
sweet-tempered, and All their allotted
niche as acceptably as do their married
•
sl.stors. Are they not more to bo hon
oral than they would have boon htul
they merely married for a homo or
position? Our young ladies have
erroneous ideas on this subject. They
almost disgraced if they have arrived
at a mature ago and aro not able to
write " Mrs." before their names.
Their whole ambition is to get a hus
band, by hook or by crook, but get him
somehow they must. Consequently
they take the lirst man who offers him
self, whether he really suits them or
not. Now, girls, do not marry in
haste. Oct the best education possible,
help about domestic affairs, and enter
some trade or profession for which
you have a taste, and master it.
Skilled labor is always well paid.
Don't spend your time repining because
you cannot see the coming man. If
you never see him you can lead useful,
happy lives.
Tad Lincoln's Fast-Hay l'lcnle.
If there was ever a boy in danger ol
being "spoiled," it was the youngest
son of President Lincoln. Much of tho
time it was impossible that he should
not be left to run at large. lie was
I foolishly caressed ami pet ted by people
who wanted favors of his father, and
who took this way of making a friend
in the family, as they thought; and ho
was living in the midst of a most ex
citing epoch in the country's history,
when a boy in tin- White House was
in a strange and somewhat unnatural
atmospherer. But lam bound to say
that Tad, although he doubtless had
J his wits shurpemsl by being in such
j strange surroundings, was never any
thing else, while I knew him, but a
lioisterous, rollicking, and absolutely
! real boy.
(reat was Tad's curiosity, in I*o4,
to know what was meant by tho
President's proclamation for a day of
fasting and prayer. His inquiries were
not satisfactorily answered, but from
the servants he learned, to his great
dismay, that there would bo nothing
eaten in the White House from sun
rise to sunset on Past Day. The boy,
who was blessed with a vigorous appe
tite, took measures to escape from the
rigors of the day. It happened that,
just before Past Day came, the family
carriage was brought out of its house
to l>e cleaned and put in order. Tad
stood by, with feelings of alarm, while
a general overhauling of the vehicle
went on.the coachman dusting, rubbing,
and pulling things al>out, quite uncon
scious of Tail's anxious watch on the
proceisiings. Pretty soon, drawing out
a queer-looking bundle from one of the
Imixi-s under the seat, the man brought
to light a part of a loaf of bread, some
bits of cold meat, and various other
fragments of food from the larder.
Tail, now ready to burst with anger
and disappointment, cried, "Oh! oh!
give that up, I say ! That's my Past
Day picnic!" The poor lad, from
dread of going hungry, had
cautiously hidden, from day to day, a
portion of food against the day of fast
ing. and had stood by while his hoard
was in danger, hoping that it might
escape the eves of the servants.
He was consoled by a promise from
his mother, to whom he ran with his
tale of woe, that he should not suffer
hunger on Fast Day, even though his
father, the President, hail proclaimed a
day of fasting, humiliation, and prayer
for all the people.
Wedding Rinr.
Most women have a sincere interest
in betrothal and wedding rings, so that
a few facts picked up concerning them
may not coine amiss. The first has al
tered noticeably in shape and setting.
A pure white diamond, the only suit
able gem, is underset in short claws so
that the stone hidi-s the setting com
pletely. Polished gold is preferred to
Human gold. The shank is oval and
ta|>crs from the gem. There is neither
enamel nor engraving on its surface,
and inscription* are r.it inside as the
purchaser may order. It is but an old
fashion revived, and one which will lie
liked. In the last thirty years wedding
rings have changed twice in style, from
the narrow, double circlet to the polish
ed oval; and lastly the plain, wide, flat
band, which is now also preferable in
polished gold. A fourth style, and one
eminently in harmony with the present
temper of romantic sentiment, might
well revive the ornament which deco
rated a ring discovered long ago in
Egyptian ruins. It represented two
cats, sitting back to back, and between
them the goddess of love, who smiles
sweetly on vacancy while they glare
around at each other in genuine Kil
kenny fashion. Much rings are gener
ally made to order.
A cowboy at Prcscntt, A. T., was
running the town and carrying a high
head until a Ma ichusetts coinsnmp
tive cracked his skull with a club. The
natives never dreamed that a cowboy
i could be laid out.
Splinters from the floor whereon
Jesse James fell when he was shot are
sold on the premises for 26 cents
each.
JUNTA KEN FOB a J.CNATW.
TIIC War II Wlfr I'wr*|trrlrdly Turned the
TuhlfN on Her lliiftliunri.
A man whose wife had just been de
clared insane went with her yesterday
morning, in company with a court
attendant, to the office of the Brooklyn
Charity Commissioners to have her
committed to the lunatic asylum.
While they were waiting for Commit
ment Clerk Short to get through with
other business the court attendant
stepped out, promising to return soon.
The husband, weighed down with the
melancholy nature of his business, sat
brooding over tho matter beside his
wife, who, on tho other hand, hap
pened to be in an especially cheerful
mood. She talked to him In a lively
way, and appeared to he doing all she
could to lift up his spirits. When Mr.
Short found leisure to attend to the
ease, he fancied that ho took in tin
situation at a glance.
" What appears to bo his hallucina
tion?" he asked, drawing the lady a
little on one side.
"Oh," said she, divining the clerk's
error with a lunatic's quickness of per
ception, "it's the old story. He thinks
I'm insane, and endeavors to control
me. lie is not often violent, but I
feel it is necessary to put him under
restraint."
" Yes," said Mr. Short, with the in
stinctive sympathy that clings to him,
notwithstanding his occupation; " it is
a sad thing, but you must make the
best of it."
Mr. Short noticed tho husband ges
ticulating wildly behind his wife's
back, touching his wn head, and then
pointing to his wife's—all the time,
however, carefully avoiding her obser
vation ; but he saw no evidence of any
immediate violent outbreak on the hus
band's part.
"Sit down, my g<*l man—sit down.
Everything is all right. I understood
how it is,"
"Y*. my d< nr. the gentleman under
stands all atwmt it," chimed in the wife,
in a kindly tone.
Then th<- husband tried to pull the
clerk aside and whisper something in ,
his ear.
"Yew, yes," said the latter; "I know
all about it. Xolssly is going to hurt |
you. You are just as safe here as if j
you were in your own home, and so
Is she.
"But I'm not going to stand this any
longer," broke out the husband, at last
losing his patience.
" Don't mind him—he'll quiet down
in a moment," said the lady reassuringly
(o the clerk.
"I am not crazy!" shouted the
troubled man. breaking away from all
self-control in his vexation. "It is she
that i crazy!"
" I told you how it wouid w," said !
the wife. "The next thing, perha]*, :
he will try to make out that you are
crazy."
By this time there had appeared
that amount of color in the husband's
face that Mr. Short liegan to look
a)Hint for assistance. While he was in
this anxious state of mind the court
attendant reapja-ared in the doorway.
His explanation soon put matters on a
right footing, much to the discomfiture ;
of the clerk.
Hungarian Bra**.
The Boston Cultivator says this,
plant has two peculiarities, explained
by Dr. Sturtevant, as follows: First,
it a plant of warm regions ; second, it
is a drouth plant. The inference from
this is—what my experience in light
soil confirmed—that the ground must
lie warm at the time of planting, and
the soil must lie a dry one; that is,
free from standing water. A careful
examination has shown me that the
Hungarian is a very shallow rooting
crop—it feeds very near the surface
when the temperature of the soil is the
highest. Another peculiarity with ine
has ltecn that a single cold or cool j
night chocks the growth of seed. I
Bearing these observations in mind, I
have not failed in obtaining a very
large crop by pursuing the following
course: First, planting not earlier
than June 20th, in order to secure the
warm soil, and the certainty of no cool
nights during the ensuing six weeks;
second, manuring or fertilizing rinse
to the surface, and just scratching in ;
third, planting at least six perks of
iced per acre. In order to have the
-rop relished by cattle, 1 have found it
necessary to sow thickly, and to cut
just as the heads ln-gin to lie discovered.
By this course 1 have a hay the cattle
prefer to timothy, and pound per pound
it rxjM-nds better than timothy, and
my eye detects no falling away in con
dition, and the scales detect no change
in the milk yield. If over-ripe—-and
most people rut too late—the rattle do
not relish it as they otherwise could, j
and the eye and scab* show inferior
feisling value to the liest hay.
London haa 41 theatre*. with an ag
gregate Mating capacity of more than
w.ooa
Nomrtnrng About Hpldcrs,
I Th destruction of by npiJnri
Is enormous. I have counted 260 in-
I sects, email and great, banging en
tangled in one orb web. In one net in
Fulriuount I'ark I counted thirty eight
mosquitoiw; in another, hung under a
bridge at Asbury Park, and out of
reach, there must have boon two or
three times as many. Green head flies
j by the legion have been seen in the
welw that fairly enlace the boat house*
at Atlantic City and Cape May. The
very small spiders prey upon micros
copic insects like gnats and devour
myriads. A glance at the fields, bushes
and trees on a dewy morning in Sep
tember will reveal an innumerable
multitude of webs spread over the
landsc ape, all occupied by spiders of
various ag< s, sizes and families, and all
busy destroying the insert pests of
man.
There are several species of spiders,
divided into two classes, the sedentary
and the wandering spiders. To the
first class lsdotig the orb weavers, who
make a circular web ; the line weavers,
whose web is labyrinthian ; the tube
weavers, who hang their nests on
walls or rocks or branches of trees,
and the tunnel weavers, who live in
tunnels cut into the eazth and having
automatic doors ingeniously contrived.
In the wanderers are included the
cetegrades, whose motions arc quick
and vivacious ; the laterigraden, who
have a queer sideways motion, and the
saltigrades, who jump, and dance and
vault. The dolomede spider is a
swimmer, and lives on or under water.
| She builds her nest on a detached
branch of a tree or bush, which she
makes into a tent. The argiopa fas
ciapa, or banded spider, is a silver
yellow and black color.
Spiders are not social creatures.
They are generally, on the contrary, of
solitary habits, and are mostly canni
bals, eating each other with great
gusto. They mate in the spring and
autumn, and the mating is often a
trying and dangerous one. They reverse
the order of nature in one respect, for
the males are infinitely inferior in
every respect to the females, and tin
latter are well aware of the fact. Their
courtships are seem* of violence, and
not of love and je-ace. The lady b-iks
with suhliine contempt ujion the gen
tleman and keeps him at a distance.
He ran only approach her by strata
gem, and sometimes she nips off one
of his legs in her anger and casUrtiim
adrift a cripple. I havo seen poor
fellows who have lost four out of their
eight legs, and still they were attracted
to the opposite sex like moths to a can
dle. A spider will never eat her own
young, but the mal<* will destroy them
when they ran. The mother either
g.s* away or dies soon after the
hatching of her eggs, which numls-r
alsmt UK) to each nest, and the little
ones are thrown ujon the world almost .
as sen as they see light. There are
several varieties who carry their eggs
in a silk pouch until they are hatched.
The tills* weavers sometimes rare for
theiryoung until they are able to get
about, and I had a brood of about sixty
in my yard until the rains destroyed
them.
Spiders have numerous enemies, and
much of their clever nest building is
designed for protection against these
inroads. Toads ami birds destroy them
by the thousands, ami a little parasite
railed the irhnumen—a small fly—lays
its eggs in the cocoons of the spider,
and when the larva- apjwars it fis-d
--first on the eggs and later on the
young spiders. Orb weavers and line
weavers desert their eggs when laid,
and meet their offspring, where they
live so long, as strangers. Another
bitter enemy of the spider is the mud
daubing wasp, which has a proems
that might be valuable to humanity,
if it could lie discovered, of k<s-ping a
supply of fresh meat. When they
rapture a spider that is not needed for
present use they sting it in suih a
manner that it lives, but has no power
to move until such time as the raptor
is ready to devour it. It is rather a
singular thing that the wasp in its
babyhood feed* on meat, but in its
maturity eats nothing but the nectar
of flowers.— Ph iladelph in Pre#*.
The Hcv. Cummins Hallmark, of
Etowah county, Ala., aged eighty-six
years, has never taken but one dose of
medicine- a dose of morphine—from a
physician. He hasn't tasted whisky in
forty-flve years, and was never drunk.
Ha never used tobacco, nor has he
■wallowed a sip of coffee in over forty
years, Ellis, Cummins Hallmark's
son, aged thirty three years, has never
tasted whisky or tolwro, and has
never taken a dose of nuslieine in his
life. __
A correspondent of the Scientific
American, who resides at a mining
camp on the mountains in the south
eastern corner of Arizona, says that
the brilliancy of the mooni ght there
is such that mountains 70 miles distant
| ore wen.
' fcCTEBITIPIC fttltAFK.
Dr. llow,son asserts that the common
sparrow is liable to have smalijiox,
and Ls capable of communicating that
disease.
Stations on some of the Marquesas
Islands will lie the only practical way
to observe the eclipse of the sun on
May 0, 1888.
Tho longest span of telegraph wire
in the world is alsiut G,OOO feet. It
unites two bills—one on each side of
the River Kislmti, in India.
There are already in England thirty
electric lighting companies, with a
capital of $'10,000,000. France has not
so many companies, but has invested
nearly as much money in introducing
the new light.
Taper is made in Relgium which
very closely resembles satin. < orninon
paper is covered with a suitable size,
and, while the surface is moist, asbes
tos dyed to any desin*! shale is sprin
kled over it. Any superfluous matter
is easily shaken off when the size is
dry. Fine effects are sometlmm pro
duced with aniline colors.
In the Scherff proec-s for preserving
i milk tiie milk, while fresh, is enclosed
l in glass vc-sels and heated by steam
for from one to two hours to a temper
i attire of 100 to 120 degrees. All germs
J of fermentation are thus destroyed ;
the gaseous albuminoids are jieptonizcd
so that the gastric juices can easily
dig.st tin- flri' !y:dividi*l Hooks, and any
germs of disease from which tin- cow
may lie suffering are killed.
I>r. Houghton, of Dublin, in a paper
real liefore tin- Science Association at
Montreal, deduce! from certain appar
ent facts requiting tin: condition of
the planets that the earth and tin
moon, when they separated from the
-olar nebula 'lid so in the form of
solid meteoric stones, each of them
having the t< mp> rature of interstellar
space—that is, a temperature not much
aisivc 4'.0 degrees Fahrenheit below
the freezing point of water, t
Provlslnntag an Ocean Steam-nip.
Three thousand five hundred pounds
'of butter, 3,000 hams, 1,600 pounds
biscuit—not those supplied to th<
- ri-w; 1,000 pounds of "dessert stores"
muscatels, almonds, figs, etc., exclusive
of fresh fruits, wliich are taken in at
every port; 1,500 pounds of jams and
j'-llies, 6/** i pounds of tinned meats,
1,008 pounds of dried beans, 3,00"
pounds of rice, 5.000 pounds of onions,
10 tons of potatoes, 60,(Ml piumls of
Hour, and 20/**' eggs. Fresh vegcta-
Ides, dead meat, and live bullocks,
sheep, pigs, g.s-se, turkeys, guinea
l inls, ducks, fowls, fish, and casual
game, are generally supplied at each
jMirt of call, or replenished at the
further end of the journey, so that it is
difficult to obtain complete estimates
of them. Perhaps two dozen bullocks
and 60 sheep would he a fair average
for the whole voyage, and the rest may
be inferred in proportion. The writer
has known 25 fowls sacrificed in a
single day to make chicken broth.
Four thousand shut*. 2.000 blankets,
B,ot*l towels, 2/"*' j*.unds of various
soajis, 2/**> poind- of candles—except
in those vessels which are fitted with
the electric light; 1,000 knives,
plates, 000 ciijw and saucers, 3,000
glasses—fancy what a handsome in
come the amount represented by annual
loss from breakage would lie!— 800
table-cloths, 2,000 glass-cloths—all
these are figure* exhibited by the pro
verlitor of one ship alone. Think what
they would amount to when multiplied
by the numis-r of shi|is in each com
pany's fleet, and then try to realize the
fact that this department constitutes
only one, and by no means the greatest
of their incidental exp-nsca.
lost His Wager.
The late French Ambassador to the
Russian court always carried a very
valuable gold cigarette-rase, which had
Ix-cn presented to him by the Emperor.
General Ignatieff advised the Ambas
sador to lie careful of his prize, as St.
Petersburg was full of pickpockets.
Whereupon the diplomatist offered to
lay a wager that he would go all over
the city during his stay there, with the
cigarette-rase aiwuit him, without
losing it. General Ignatieff accepted the
wager, and invited the Amtassador to
take a cup of tea wirti him at the Rasp
berry Rush, a noted drinking place,
informing him that it was a sight
worth seeing. They repaired to this
establishment and ordered tea, after
which the Amltassadnr pulled oat his
cigarette-case, offered the General a
cigarette, lighted one himself, and re
turned the ease to his breast pocket,
keeping his hand on it. When thej
descended to the street the Ambassador
was astonished to find that his cign
j rettc ease had gone, and that a piece
I of soap of the same shape and size wa
left in Its stead. Tho proprietor was
j informed of the theft and the trinket
, was restored to hiiu ou the following
| day.
How Broken Own ClblM wt
If.
The machinery used for picking up
a cable fri both deep ari'l shallow waLWC
is of the most simpld description. K
consists of a rojc about an Inch said •
quarter in diameter, made from twiste#
strand* of the strongest hemp, w*tf*
Interwoven wires of fine st*d; tta#
grapnel at the end la merely a xoiuJ
shaft of Iron some two feet
weighing abont 100 pounds, and preT
longed into six blunt hooks, which verp
much resemble the partly closed fingers
, of the human hand. In picking up
' the cable iu deep water, the Minla
after reaching the waters near tha
break, lets out her rope and grapnal.
then takes a course at right anglaa to
' the cable and at some distance from
the fracture, so that the broken end
| may not slip through the grapnel; tb
' grapnel rope Is attached to a dynamome
ter, which exactly measures the strata
on the rope, and shows unerringly
the cable has been caught. If tba
grapnel fouls a rock the strain rutem *
very suddenly and to a high point; txsß
the exact weight of the cable txung
known, the dynamometer signals bp
j the steady rate or increase its hold oal
! the cable, which is very far below.
The ease and certainty with which thai
cables are picked up in these days 'm
amazing. Awhile ago one of the lined
of the Anglo-American Company wa*
caught without trouble at a depth of
two and a quarter miles, near the mid
dle of the Atlantic. Captain Trott, of
the Minia, who has won great tame
for his skill and ingenuity in cable
matters, but recently picked up the
French cable 180 miles off
and In four hours from the time tba
grapnel was let g<>, he had the cable
spliced and in good working condition*
The splicing is a work of great deli
cacy and skill, and when accomplished
by trained fingers, the "spliced" put
can scarcely ly distinguished from the
main cord. So rapid has been the im
provement in perfecting the modem
I cable, that the resistance to the electric
enrrent has been reduced to one-quarter
j of what it w as twenty years ago, whrte
the duplex system of sending and re
ceiving messages double the capacity
|of every new cable laid. The working
age of the modern cable is about thir
teen years.
An I nkind Habit.
To accuse a friend of looking ill—
for it savors of an accusation—is to
make him very uncomfortable. Thin
habit of remarking upon the looks of
others is not a kind one. It is not
pnly contrary to good sense, but a due
regard for politeness and the observ
ance of good manners demand that it
shall not be indulged. It is bad
I enough in the family, where the ques
tions and the searching glance are tho
expression of kind feeling, unless, in
let*!, t|p' apparently anxious inquiries
as to how you have slept and how you
are feeling this morning are about as
meaningless as the remark upon the
temperature, but it is absolutely insup
portable from any one but a dear friend
who has not had the experience of
going out for aw alk, or into a neigh
-1 >or's house, ami leing greeted with the
assertion that she must be ill. In
many cases you arc accused of not
looking well, w hen, in reality, you may
lie in lietter health than usual. It is a
great confession of weakness, but I
have gone home from a walk, out of
which ail the sunshine has been taken
by some sucll thoughtless remark, and
looked in the glass to see if I could dis
cover the sign of some ailment. Such
remarks are not kind, and certainly
produce anything but pleasant feelings.
Would it not be well to do away with
them forever? They may be intended
to convey interest, but too often fall
short of their object and seem only
rude.
Information About brain.
Wheat is supposed to have coma
originally from Asia, north of the
Himalaya Mountains, where it grew
wild. Corn comes from South America.
Wheat was first grown on the Ameri
can continent by a slave of Cortex, Lu
Mexico. The James River settlers,
under instructions of the Indians, be
gan to raise corn in IGOB. Samples of
wheat were sent to Kurope from the
Dutch colony of the New Netherlands
as early as 1626. As early as 1690
"rye and Indian" bread was becoming
fashionable, and oats and barley were
cultivated as soon as rye. The growth
in the grain area has been almost un
broken, and at a very early day the
colonists hml a surplus for export. New
England, the South and Middle Mates
do not produce enough wheat to supply
their own wants, but the South is
rapidly increasing the acreage of both
wheat and corn. The export trade in
grain has l*en a regular and impor
tant business since 1821. Trior to
that It was spasmodic and intermittent,
Often as late as 183" the home wheat
crop was not equal to the consumption,
and imports were made from Europe.