LADIES' DEPARTMENT.
Element* of* Trna Marriage.
Itev. Charles 11. Eaton, of New
York, In the courso of a recent ser
mon on the subject of "A True Mar
riage," said that there wero three
elements that combineed to make a
true marriage; health, love anil
sympathetic companionship. No man
or woman physically weak should
marry, and thus entail suffering on
i others. Love does not mean passion;
it is based on understanding. Men
and women should know each other
behind the curtain, as it were, before
marriage. Unhappy lives often result
from imperfect knowledge before mar
riage of the characteristics of the
partner in the contract. Love makes
sacrifices; passion never. No husband
or wife has ever known true happiness
until after the birth of a child. Men
and women on the piano of marriage
stand equals. There should be sym
pathetic companionship in the sense
that an irreligious person should not
marry one who is religiously indltmb
or an unintelligent person one who is
of opposite taste. There should be
sympathy and fellowship between
husband and wife in all the pursuits
of life.
Holognrie ( uKomi.
In the Ilolognese territory some
•curious customs prevail. A young
man may have courted a young woman
for several years, walking with her
home from church,and assisting her in
field labors; but he is never allowed to
enter her house until he comes for be
trothal before the priest. Even after
tliis the girl's father is not supposed to
be officially informed of the affair
until, a week before the marriage is to
take place, the bridegroom's father, or
some one in his stead, goes to ask for
the hand of the bride. Iler fattier
"plays the Indian," is astonished and
reluctant, but at length bestows iiis
consent, and they all set out together
to buy the marriage g. fts, which con
sist of as much garnet jewelry as the
bridegroom can afford, la-sides several
rings. Tiie buying of these tilings is
a fete to the family—the amount of
bargaining for them and discussion
afterward as to whether they could
have been got better and cheaper else
where, is something incredible to those
who have not heard it. When the
bride is dressed for the marriage
ceremony, wearing her maiden neck
lace of coral, the bridegroom is intro
duced with the garnets in bis hand,
and asks her whether she will ex
change her coral for what he brings.
* Iler new ornaments add the finishing
strokes to her attire, which is usually
a gay flowered dress and embroidered
silk or muslin apron, tied with a broad
sash, and a white veil. After the
ceremony the husband takes her home,
and at the door she finds a broom.
Iler mother-in-law has designedly left
the dust thick on a table or on the
floor; if the bride does not notice it,
it is a sign that she is a bad house
keeper; but she is usually warned
of this trap, and falls to sweeping
with the convenient broom. It is
very necessary that she should api>easo
the presiding genius of the house, for
no matter how old the sons may be
when they marry, the parents still hold
undisputed sway, and as they usually
all live together under one roof and at
one table, a daughter-in-law's position
is by no means an easy one if she is
disliked by the heads of the family.
She is greatly separab-d from her own
family, in a ceremonial jioint of view;
eight days after marriage she pays
them a visit; and then and hencefor
ward she is addressed by them with
the formal "you" instead of the
tender "thou" to which she has l>een
accustomed.— Npringfleld lt<"publican.
VMHIOM .\otrs.
Large bonnets have no strings.
Satin has not gone out* of vogue.
Chenille bonnets are much worn.
Stringless bonnets are much worn.
The tournure or bustle grows larger.
Honnet strings must l<e very narrow
and double.
Alternate chene and plain stripes
are io favor.
Tailor-made cloth costumes are as
popular as ever.
A modified Marguerite dress is
in favor for young girls.
The new buttons are of metal, and
re flat and of medium size.
basques with battlement finish at
the bottom grow in jtopularity.
Chenille bonnets are trimmed with
.• wers, birds, lace and ribbon.
Fanchons and small capotes are the
only bonnets that have strings.
Dresses are now cut oval shape at
the neck, in preference to V-shape.
All short wraps are decidedly
shorter this season than they were
ast
The shapes of new bonnets are not
' materially different from thoao of last
teason.
A favorite garniture for evening
dresses is pearl unil crystal embrold
eres and pearl and beaded net and lace.
The pepper-pod designs on the new
sateens come in all stages of coloring
assumed by the fruit of this plant, from
the green pepper to the full red.
New parasols of black satin, having
one or two black Spanish lace flounces,
are varied with single or double fringes
of gold bullion between the lace falls.
Illack tulle and lace dresses elabor
ately made, and without any white
about the neck and arms, bring out the
delicate tints of a fair complexion and
light hair.
Some very effective satteens have
the plain colors combined with the
same shade ornamented with large
hoops. Hoops arc a favorite design in
all sorts of wash-goods.
The new silks and satins that come
in broche patterns show a prevalence
of oriental harmonies of color, bright
ened with flame, orange, and mandarin
yellow, in vanishing effects.
Large plush balls suspended by silk
cords fill up the spaces between tabs
and points that edge overskirts.
Hunches of pompons similar to the
ball trim the dress in other places.
Hands of green or red velvet are in
terwoven with gold or silver braid in
basket-plaiting to form small capote
bonnets. A panache of marabout
feathers tipped with silver or gold, and
velvet ribbon strings are the trim
mings.
Among the practical and most at
tractive new goods are smooth-finished
wool stuffs like tainise cloth, in solid
colors of every kind, in plaids, blocks,
checks, and stripes to match the plain
goods, and intended for combination
costumes.
The coverings of dress parasols are
of the richest brocaded and foulard
silks, with flounces of Spanish lace,
white or black. A varicolored bow
adorns one panel of the parasol. The
sticks are of white ash or elionizisl
wood, tastefully carved, with a loop
handle.
A very fashionable material for
dressy home toilets is cream-white
serged flannel, trimmed with long loops
and end's of white moire or satin rib.
Um. For young married ladies this
fabric is made into tea-gowns and 'ire
cian robes, with trimmings of lace and
white silk embroidery or braiding.
Norwegian Breakfasts and Dinners.
The foreigner will be perplexed at
first by the appearance of the break
fast table, which is usually rove real
from end to end, and from side to side,
with an infinite variety of small dishes
containing slices of tongue, sausage,
ham, corned Is-ef, smoked salmon,
boar's flesh and other dainties. There
are also tins of caviare and of sardines,
sprats and other kinds of preserved
fish. There is usually a heap of r.id
ishes piled around a glass of water, and
whatever vacant spaces are left alout
the table are tilled with huge pieces of
cheese—Norwegian, Dutch, Swiss and
English. In the middle of all there
stands a bottle of aqua-vit, or brandi
vin—the white wine of the country,
which is a strong spirit flavored with
caraway seeds, and distantly resembling
kummcL The orthodox fashion is to
Is-gin with a slice of bread and butter,
covered with flakes of cheese, and
with a nip of aqua-vit as apjw'ti/.er.
Those, however, who do not care to
breakfast on relishes and the mere ac
cidents of the meal may take refuge in
the hot dishes, which are usually
served in the shape of flsli and meat.
Salmon is the staple fare all over Nor
way. You get it at morning, noon
and night, and in all forms. It enables
one to understand the stories that are
told of the farm servants in Scotland
long ago, who stipulated in their en.
gagements that they should not have
salmon for dinner oftener than three
times a week. The supper table is
like the breakfast table and quite as
abundant. The beverages in common
use at iMith meals are coffee, Norwegian
beer and wine—generally claret.
A Norwegian dinner is very like a
dinner at home, but there are some pe
culiarities on state occasions which aro
worth noting. For example, the cus
tom of drinking wine with the guests
at table—a custom which Is almost ex
ploded in this country—is still in full
force in Norway. The initiative, how
ever, rests with the host, who drinks
wine with every one, but It would be a
breach of etiquette for any one to offer
to drink wine w Ith him. The guests,
however, may drink with one another
to their heart's content, clinking glusscs
in the German fashion, and when in
jovial mood vociferating the word
"skaal" in token of good fellowship.
It is also noticeable that the toasts are
given not afteftho cloth is drawn, hut
during dinner. The speeches are
made between* the courses.— Low lon
Timet. 0
SCIENTIFIC SCRAPS.
The extreme life of the hippopota
mus Is set at thirty years.
Distilled water in the daylight is of
a blue color. By gaslight the color is
green.
The Mexicans use a strong solution
of iodine in potassium iodide for an
untldoto for rattlesnake poison.
An atmosphere containing fourteen
per cent of carbolic acid has been
found to be a reliable guard against
explosions of fire damp.
Hcrr Wagner lias found that the ap
plication of phosphoric acid to soils al
ready rich is not always desirable; and
an excess of the acid may—especially
in dry soil—prove actually injurious,
probably by hastening the death of tho
plants' organs of nutrition.
A valuable deposit of the remains of
mammals from the diluvial period has
lately been discovered on the banks of
the Wolga, between Zarizyn andSarep*
ta, after a flood which cut away some
of the land beside the great river. The
variety of the specimens is notable.
Tyndall has supposed the color of
the sea to Iw due to a reflection by the
water of the blue rays of sunlight, red
rays being transmitted. Were this
view correct the light which passes
through the water must lie rut, but
Mons. Spring, of the Belgian academy,
finds that such is not tDo case, a dis
tinctly blue color being seen through a
long tube of pure water.
It is a well-established theory that
organs or functions of living creatures
gradually disappear if unused. A fa
miliar illustration is furnished by the
blind fish of caves, whose eyes, through
disuse, have Wen reduced to a rudi
mentary ami sightless state. It ajr
pears, however, that this view does not
always hold good, if it lie true, as lately
stated, that in some Kuropean instan
ces mice have been raised in absolute
darkness for many generations without
appearing to have lost in the slightest
degree the sensitiveness of the eye to
light
Salt In the Sea.
In its deepest parts the sea is intense,
!y blue, but where it is shallow it is a
bright green color, which prevails until
soundings cease to be struck! Some
people ascribe the blue to the reflection
of the sky, and say that if the green
water which is found nearer land were
piled up in a basin as deep as that
which holds the blue, it would I*s the
same color. But the true < ause of the
difference lietween the tw o is the quan
tity of salt which the water contains.
Some parts of the sea arc much Salter
than others, and it is tin -c which are
the bluest.
That the sea-water is denser in one
part than another is the result of evap
oration, loss rainfall and a smaller Im
portation of fresh water by neons of
rivers, etc. It is estimated that eight
feet of water are annually withdrawn
from the Red sea by evaporation only,
and it is riot surprising that it is salt< r
than the Baltic, where the evaporation
is very small, and where, unlike it,
there is an influx of water from various
streams and heavy annual rainfalls.
But why is the ocean salt at all?
The streams which feed it bring with
them the salts of the soil through which
they pass. As evaporation is ever go
ing on, one would think that sea water
must ever grow more lime- like; but such
is not the case. The heavy heated
waters of the tropics carry saline mat
ter to be al>sorlxil by the fresher wat
ers, which in their turn rush forth to
seek a home in more hospitable re
gions; and hence It is that the seas from
which there is no evaporation, and
which receive abundant supplies from
rivers, etc., keep up their character
and do not become saltiest lakes.
So the sea Is salt by reason of the
earth washings whirh are poured into
it; it has different densities because of
evaporation, rainfalls and rivers, as it
is prevented from stagnation by a
universal system of ocean currents.
Splayed Feet.
A surgeon reports that the number
of eases of splayed feet, or flat feet,
without any instep, Is large and rapid
ly increasing. "The arches of the in
step are broken down by wearing high
heeled shoes. Of course, I am speak
ing of young girls And misses, and not
of grown-up persons of either sex.
Now, the misses and young ladies of
France wear heels that are even high
er than we are accustomed to see in
this country. But the heel of the
French shoe is placed well forward,
almost under the middle of the foot, so
that the arch or Instep Is supported
just as the span of a bridge is sustain
ed by a tower or hutment under the
middle of the span. Our shoemakers
place the heel further back. This
lengthens the span and increases the
strain. Splayed feet are almost exclu
sively confined to females, and the
weaker the genera' constitution the
more likely is the foot to suffer,"
A Foot- Washing Ceremony.
"You never saw a foob washing?"
said the Rev. Joseph Bowen, a Baptist
minister from Tennessee, to a St. Louis
reporter. "Then you could not have
traveled much in the hack woods sec
tions of the South and West. I remem
ber seeing one at Randolph, Tonn., in
June, 1877. Randolph is in Tlppon
county on the Mississippi bluffs. I had
to stay there over Sunday, and learning
that there was a meeting at Salem
church, six miles away, I borrowed a
horse and rode to the place. The
church, built of logs, with the 'cracks'
daubed, sat back about 100 yards from
the road in the middle of a grove. In
side, the seats were all pretty well fill
ed, and every head In the church turn<il
as I entered. 1 shrank into a corner
and took a seat its quickly as possible-
In front there were a few benches
made of unvarnished poplar, hut the
supply falling short tin- demand had
been met by plunks laid on boxes. <)n
one of these I sat down next to a port
ly lady dressed in a cotton gown with
broad yellow checks. The minister
had well earned his reputation of
being a 'powerful exhorter,' as I found
| when he commenced his sermon. As
'he warmed to bis work he walked
' rapidly from side to side of the pulpit,
| stopping occasionally, as in a thunder
! ing voice he warned his unconverted
1 hearers that they were 'hanging over
i hell-fire by a single hair,'to deal re
sounding blows to the Bible with his
lists byway of emphasis. When he
concluded lie took a long crash towel
I and girded it around his waist. At
| the side of the pulpit was a bucket of
i water and a 'noggin.' If yon don't
happen to know what a noggin is I
j may explain that it is a small tub a
' sire larger than a plggin. This on"
ha<l been constructed by sawing a
i whisky keg in half. When the preach
ior rommencisl pouring the water Into
|it an old gentleman in the amen cor
| ner eoinmeneisl pulling off his hrogans
and rolling up the )>ttoms of ins
trousers.
"'Will some brother raise a hymn ?'
askisl the minister, and the brother,
who now bad bis shoes off and w as en
gaged with his home-knit cotton socks,
raisisl one: "I am a Soldier of the • "ross,"
; and as the congregation j>iri'il he put
11mth fs-t in the noggin, which bad
been set 1M fore him. The preacher
squatted down In front of him. rublesl
| his hands around over the feet and up
and down his shins half way to the
km-e. When the brother thought
they Were washed enough, he held
them up out of the water, and the par
ion wiped them on the crash towei.
Then the parson sat down, and, having
(iiilbd off his di'M-H, had his f> ■* wash,
j si by the brother to whom he had
'just ministered. All who w ishul to
join in the ceremony h.vl taken posse
sion of the front seats the mourners'
iienrhos. Among those who had gone
up hail Ix-en the jxirtly sister by whom
t sat. The noggin came to her next
tnd she washM the feet of the sister
next to her, having her own washed
n turn. When all the feet on the
front seat hail been bathed, the water
in the noggin was emptied out the
| 'ack door and a fresh supply brought
!,n from the well near the church.
The noggin passed around from brother
I > brother and from sister to sister for
m hour, and in that time 1 saw more
varieties of feet than I have ever seen
I before or since."
Wonders of the Ocean's Depths.
As to the quantity of light at the
iMittoin of the sea there has l>een much
lispute. Animals dredgi-d from below
700 fathoms either have no eyes, or
faint indications of them, or else their
yes are very large and protruding.
I Cralw'eyes are four or five times as
large as those of a crab from surface
water, which shows that that light is
feeble, and that eyes to be of any use
i must lie very large and sensitive. An
other strange thing is that where the
-features in those lower depths have
any color it is of orange or red, or red
lish orange. Sea anemones, corals_
ihriinp and crabs have this brilliant
-olor. Sometimes It is pure red or
scarlet, and in many specimens it in
-lines toward purple. Not a green or
blue fish is found. The orange red is
Ihe fish's protection, for the bluish
green light in the bottom of the ocean
makes the orange or red fish appear of
a neutral tint anil hides it from ene
mies. Many animals are black, others
neutral in color. Some fish are pro
vided with lioring tails so that they
tan burrow in the mud. Finally, the
surface of the submarine mountain Is
covered with shells, like an ordinary
sea lieach, showing that it is the eat
ing-house of vast schools of earn Ivor,
ous animals. A codfish takes a whole
oyster into its mouth, cracks the shells,
digests the meat and spits out the rest.
Cralw crack the shells and suck out the
meat. 1 n this way come whole mounds
of shells that are dredged up. i'ro-
I fesior I'errill..
COAL MINERS.
Ilow Thff ProYlrfe for the Wldtm
Orphan*. Uarrrlai Out of UtnirHllr.
A correspondent writing from
Wilkesharre, J'a., says: Accidents in
tin- collieries of the middle district of
tile anthracite coal fields, of which this
city is the center, made last year nearly
one hundred w'idows and over five
hundred orphans. Rut notwithstand
ing the frequency of fatal accidents
and the absence of any organized chart
ty, the larders of the widowed familiei
are never empty, none go naked, the
household tires are not extinguished
and the little home is never stripped
by a landlord's warrant. Kind hands
see that food is provided each day, and
the men returning from their work in
the mines do not forget to carry to the
widow's home a lump of anthracite for
the next day's use. Communism in a
peculiar sense prevails among the coal
miners of Pennsylvania. The lucky
divide with the unlucky as readily and
as cheerfully as if they belonged to one
family. However much all may
quarrel on abstract questions of poli
tics or religion, all discussions are
dropped at the appeal of charity.
While, as has lieen said, no organ
ized relief societies exist among the
colliers, there is a general system in
vogue which does its work well and
promptly. Kvery printing office in
this region is visited weekly by persons
wanting raffle tickets. These tickets
cost one dollar a bund nil, and are
headed "Raffle for a cooking stove," or
clock, bureau, quilt, table, or some
other article of domestic use. It is an
nounced that the raffle Is for the bene,
fit of a widow or injured miner, and
on the "night after pay day." The
priee of the ticket is generally fifty
cents. The raffle is in charge of a
committee whose names appear on the
ticket. Take the case of a wo man
for instance, lately made a widow.
She has l<e-n left jx-nriilcss, as miners'
widows usually are. Lverybodv un
derstands this, and the hundred tickets
are promptly disposed of among the
miners, who pay for them on pay day.
On that night the widow getsf.7)rash.
The night of the raffle comes, and, feis
sit ly, onv-tifth of the ticket holders
assemble. A fiddler, a keg of beer,
anil a little "hard shtuff" form the ele.
nu-nts of the entertainment. The
young lads join in a dance with the
the old men sup and smoke
their pipes, ami the old women recount
the virtues of the deceased miner.
About midnight the raffle 1-cgins.
The names of the ticket purchasers
are put into a hat and well shaken.
Whoever secures the prize at once
turns it over to the Ix nefuiary. The
company breaks up happy over the
g"<i time they have had. and th" kind
deed they have done. That $5O goes a
long w ay in keeping the shadows from
tie little house. It will sometimes
pay aw hole year's rent, and it only re
quires one or two more raffles to keep
tlie victor's poor larder storked, for it
must lie understo<*! that |otatixs, rale
bages. and meal, form the staple arti
cles of diet in tiii-se humble homes.
A year is a b-ng time for a comely
and thrifty wotnnn to remain a widow
at the mines, no matter how many
children she may have. Jim is kilhil
to-day. and possibly lx-fore the summer
ends. Jack, who was Jim's best friend
insists upon marrying Jim's widow-
Jim's baliies become his. And if you
go below the surface TOH will find the
foundation of Jack's action to be pure
charity. It Is a matter of record that
when the terrible Avondale disaster
occurred so many widows and helpless
iinn were left that the matter of caring
for the former speedily was discussed-
It was quickly settled by propositions
of marriage, and within a very short
time after the calamity the household
of every victim was protected. This
same spirit exists in every mining
community to-day, and is a shield
against much distress.
Kfforts have li n made from time to
time to induce the miners to abandon
a custom that prevails among them.
Whenever a man is killed in a mine
while at work, every man In the col
liery where the accident occurs stops
work. Frequently 1500 employes turn
out and remain out for txvo days.
There appears to boa deep superstition
that prompts that peculiar exhibition
of respect for the dead.
Mill Even.
On Montcalm street recently a Inn
was leading a goat around by a rope,
when a pedestrian asked if he wanted
to sell the animal.
"Course not, we just got him,"
the reply.
"What did you want of a goat?"
"Nothing mueh. We bought him
to get ahead of the Drowns, who have
a fox, but they've gone and got even
again."
"Ilow?"
"Why, three of the family have been
mesmerized, and Johnny has had two
teeth filled."— lktriot Free Puts.
Mr Hhlp.
Oi though my ship is ssiling tor out m tto
wide, wide KM,
Itia pro|,f> t ever dearest still is my WS
borne U> me;
An>l all the tune, by night, by day, before IM
fvM dear
Lotne smiling, greeting, cheering, as in fancy
they a;i|iear.
0! Uiough my ship is Railing far in distant wa
ters blue,
My heart looks erer borne war) to my borne
tie#, erer true;
I mailt each day's departing, for I know it is
one lees,
before I clasp uiy loving ones, or feel their
soft caress.
O! though my ship is sailing far, In storm and
tern pent off,
I still can feel the pressure of warm bauds and
fingers soft;
I am looking. Clinking, longing for the time to
come for rne,
When I ball meet my children dear and take
them on my knee.
O! though my ship is sailing far, 'twill soon be
"homeward hound;"
On bind or sun was never heard, by man, a
sweeter sound;
With sail all set and liounding o'er the rolling,
billowy era,
I'iecb hour is bnxiging nearer all my darling
ones to me.
O! then swift winds, from oat the skins come
blowing strong and free;
blow lor rne homeward breeaes, hasten home
my ship and me;
All my roved or is there are waiting, wailing,
looking o'er the sea;
And in patience sweet are watching, 0! tny
slop for thee and me.
FUKUE.NT I'ABAUKAPHS.
Medical query—Was the eye-lash
designed fur brow-beating?
Flattery is called "taffy" because it
inukea a man feel awfully "stuck up."
There is a marked difference bet ween
getting up with the lark and Btaying
tip to have one.
When the hen with chickens at
tacked the small boy in bis mother's
yard, the ben informed him she had
boon laying fur biin for some time.
A note made on Sunday is void;
which may account for men sleeping
all through church service, and mak
ing an note of w hat the preacher says.
A young child in Oregon died from
the effects of swallowing the leaves of
an almanac. We always held that
dates should Ire eat<-n in small quanti
ties.
When a certain bachelor was mar
ried in Philadelphia, members of the
IS.v liejor club broke biin up by sending
hint as a wedding present a copy of
"Paradise Lost."
It is a glorious thing to have been
I ls.rn a man. One doesn't have to
liothcr himself for a month over the
plans and specifications of a new
spring bonnet. lie simply has to Tot
the bill when the thing is bought.
A little bright-eyed lw>y. upon bear
ing his father read the story of Joan
of Arc, was greatly moved by her sal
trials; but when the part was reached
where she wa aVmut to lie burned to
death at the stake, the poor little fel
low could not contain himself any
longer, but sobbingly clutched his pa
rent's arm. and, with big tears running
down bis plump little cheeks, criwl,
"llut,—papa wh--e—re were the po
lic* '
Henry Flay quoting Shakespeare.
Henry Hay, who left a seat in the
Senate for one in the House, but after
many years' service at the other end of
the capitol returned to the Sanatc
chamber, exercised a powerful controj
over the politics of the republic. Idol
ized by the Whig party, his wonderful
powers of personal magnetism, and
his rich, manly voice,would enable him
to hold an audience for houra Ho
male hut little preparation, and used
hut few notes in sj>eaking; but when
he wrote out his remarks for the press,
his manuscript was remarkably neat,
without interlineations or blots. He
seldom indulged in classical allusions
and his occasional attempts to make
quotations of English poetry were
generally failures, tin one occasion,
he used the well-known phrase from
Hamlet, "Let the galled jade wince,
our withers are unwrung," but mis
quoted the last syllable, calling it "un
strung." The gentlemen who sat on
either side of him noticed the
and simultaneously whispered "un
wrung." This double prompting con
fused "Young Harry of the West,'*
who straightened himself, and with
stronger emphasis repeated "unhung.**
This raised a general laugh, at the
close of which Clay, who had mean
while ascertained his mistake, shook
his head, and said with one of his in
imitahlo smiles; "Ah! murder w ill out!
I'nwTung'a the word." The fascina
tion which he exercised over all with
whom he hat jersonal intercourse,
even his political adversaries, was re
markable; but he was imperious and
domineering, exacting unconditional
and unqualified support as the price of
his friendship.— litn I'rrlry Poo re it)
the C**tury.