EAOTEB' DEPARTMENT.
A ( liliifir
Among the many elegant present 9
Daniel Leech, of the Smithsonian
Institution, recently brought his
charming wife anl family from Cali
fornia is a remarkably beautiful and
elaborately embroidered Chinese bed
spread, with pillow shams to match.
The materials are pale blue and shrimp
pink silks, neatly quilted. Richly
embroidered in appropriate colors are
groups of storks forming center and
corner pieces, while a graceful border
is formed of delicately tinted tlowers
in the fine needle work so deftly
wrought by the skillful fingers of the
Chinese. Heavy cords and tassels of
blue ami pink silk make a substantial
finish to these beautiful articles.—
1 Vnshinyton litpnbliirin.
01.l Ilrform I "or I
It is, perhaps, not generally known
that dress reform was suggested in En
gland at lisist I<K) years ago. The
movement took a form almost analo
gous to our own bloomer mania, and
afforded enjoyment for some time to
the wits and moralists of the town.
Churchill contains references to it,
but a stanza from a less known poet
teems to convey the notion that for
some little time it was almost fashion
able, and found its way even into ltan
elagh gardens:
"Ye belles and ye flirt* nnJ ye pert little
things
Who trip in this trolicsome round,
t'rav tell mo ftoin what this impertinence
springs
The sexes at onco to confound.
What means the cocked hat and the . jicti
line air,
Willi each motion designed to perplex?
Bright eyes were intended to languish,not stare.
Aud aoftiiem the test ol your sex."
These lines are by William White
bead, the poet laureate, a bard whom
there was none to praise and very few
to love.
What the Woman'* Clothe* t oil.
"It doesn't require a mint of money
to dress a young lady," said a teacher
in the city schools to a young man
who, with the unreasoning propensity
Df this generation, was kicking vigor
ously on account of the large amounts
of wealth which he alleged were an
nually squandered by women. "It '
might surprise you to know how little
i woman's wardrobe really represents,"
ihe continued.
"Suppose you give tne an estimate,"
returned the young man, who, it may
tie said, is a candidate for matrimony,
and for that reason felt a lively inter
est in the subject.
"Of course," said the young lady,
glancing over her neatly fitting, well
made dress with the slightest percep
tible air of pride, which was very
pardonable. "I am better acfjuainted
with the cost of my raiment than
witfi than of any one else, and I'll
bave to base rny figures <>n personal
experience. I think there are few
girls whoscexpenses for clothing exceed
US >0 annul lly. My expenses do not j
amount to more than that, and I have
to hire nearly all my sewing done.
The items would be: Two tailor made
lressos. a silk dress. #:$0; under
clothing. |l5; that is to say, the ma
terials OOuld |be bought for that; hats j
and lionnets. #35; gloves, #10; shoes.
#l4; Incidentals -collars, cuffs, late-,
stockings and other articles—would |
not amount to inure than #>>. Some
years the expenses might run up a
little higher, as a new circular or cloak
wirtild liocome necessary, but the cost
of the average young lady's apparel
will not exceed #2' to very often."—
Clevelanrl (Ohio) HerabU
I ••hlnti
Large collars, capes and pelerines
are much worn.
Pleated brim and cap-crown tmnnets
are much worn.
The short, glace kid glove is almost
a thing of the past.
Long wristed, tan-colored and buff
gloves are all the rage.
Wats with eccentric brims are worn
to a limited extent.
French gray and Egyptian red com
bine well In costume.
Lace is the corroet trimming for all
one-fabric thin dresses.
Hats are, worn far back in the head,
bonnet* tip-tilted forward.
Hurano lace cloth is very fashionable
in F ranee and England.
Children's muslin caps have wide
brims or borders of embroidery.
Waistcoats for ladies are revived,
and worn under cut-away jackets.
Dresses all of one fabric are more
in favor than combination costumes.
Medium-sized bats or tionaets are
more worn than very large or very
am all ones.
Skirt* trimmed with lace, put on In
half-moon shapes, will be very fashion
aide.
An inside waist of the same shade
should always lie worn under every
Jersey.
A new llama laco of very fine qual
ify is coming into use for black lace
bonnets.
Mousquetairc gloves have been im
proved by a series of elastics on the
inner side of the wrists.
Muslin bonnets with rap crowns
and pleated lace btiins appear among
other millinery novelties.
All the newist hosiery for both
ladies and children are in solid colors,
dark shades generally preferred.
The fancy for using yellow in all
sorts of odd ways seems to increase as
the season advances.
Tailor-made street suits usually in
browns or deep grays remain the most
fashionable.
The much-worn tcrra-cotta and
crushed-strawberry shades are on the
wane.
Bonnet-string* noiv tie under the
chin, instead of across the back.
11 is a fancy with French dress
makers to cut the bottom of the skirt
into turret blocks, and under these to
place a pleated ruflle.
The small colons 1 batiste pocket
handkerchief, trimmed with lace and
worn in the front of the bodice, is a
pretty English fashion.
A new London bonnet is called the
Jumbo. The crown is of gold braid,
pirated on gold cord, and the brim is a
thick, soft pleating of eream-colored
velvet.
The frames of fine fans are of tor
toise shell, mother of pearl, black
carved or brown polished wood, some
times varnished and ornamented with
small pictures.
The economical will be glad to barn
that silks will Is* cheaper than ever
in the fall, as thousands of pieces of
last year's silks have lately been pur
chased at Lyons at cost prices.
The Ibtzar says that independent
young women select some simple style
that is becoming to them, and have all
their dresses, of INIUI rich and plain
fabrics, made by one pattern.
The Sitrniiu? of the Declaration.
In thinking of that instrument one
is apt to call up before him an august
assemblage gravely seated around a
table, with the Deelaration spread out
upon it. and each member of the Con
tinental Congress in turn taking a pen
and with great dignity affixing to it
his name. Nothing, however, can be '
further from that which actually took
place. Very few of the delegates, if
indeed any, signed the original docu
ment on the 4th, and none signal the
present one now in Indejiendence Hall,
for the very good reason that it was
not then in existence.
f>n July I'd Congress voted that the
Declaration IK> engrossel on parch
ment. Jefferson, however, says that
New York signed on July 15. Conse
quently New York must have signed
the original copy of the Declaration
liefore it had gone into the hands of
the engrosser. On what day the work
was done by the copyist is not known.
All that is certainly known is that on
the 2d of August Congress had the
document as engrossed. This is the
document in existence now in Inde
pendence Hall. It is on parchment,
or something that the trade rails parch
ment. On that day (August it was
signed by all the riiemU-r* present.
The original Declaration is lost, or
rather was probably only purposely
destroyed by Congress. All the signa
tures were made anew. When the
business of signing was ended is nof
known. One. Matthew Thornton,
from New Hampshire, signed it in No
vetnlier. when he became a member for
the first time; and Thomas McKcan,
from Delaware, as he says himself, did
not sign till January. 1777. Indeed,
this signing was, in effect, what at the
present <lav would lie called a "test
oath." The principles of many of the
new delegates coming into Congress
from the different .states were not
known with certainty some of them
■ sight In* Tories in disguise and thus
each one was required on firtentering
Congress to sign the Declaration. In
January. 177H, an authenticated copy,
with the names of all the signers, was
sent to each state for signatures a
fact which may have put a stop to the
business of signing. It shows, how
ever, the little importance that was at
tached to this ceremony, that Holiert
R. Livingston was one of the com
mittee of five that reported the Dec
laration, and yet did not sign it, unless
his signature is lost with the original
document.
The truth is, the Declaration of In
dependence was considered at that
time of much less importance than
now; nor did the signers dream of its
becoming a shrine almost of worship
at the present day.— Harper's Maga
zine.
PEAKLM OF THOUGHT.
ITopo Is tho brightest star in the Ar
mament of youth.
lie who knows most, grieves most
for wasted time.
Moderation is tho silken string
running through the pearl chain of all
virtues.
A friend cannot bo known In pros
perity. and an enemy cannot bo hid in
adversity.
The gratitude of most men Is hut
a secret desire of receiving greater
benefits.
Humility is a virtue all preach, none
practice, and yet everybody is content
to hear.
A philosopher being asked to define
a quarrel, said: "It is usually the ter
mination of a misunderstanding."
Only that is truly beautiful which
either has within it the element of
growth, or suggests vital energy as its
cause.
Wo cannot be too much on our
guard against reactions, lest we rush
from one fault into another contrary
fault.
If we did but know how little some
enjoy of the great things they pos
sess, there would not he much envy in
the world.
He who swims securely down the
stream of self-confidence is in danger
of lieing drowned In the whirlpool of
presumption.
The pleasantest things in the world
are pleasant thoughts, and the greatest
art in life Is to have as many of them
as possible.
We must distinguish between felic
ity and prosperity, for prosperity leads
often to ambition, and ambition to dis
appointment.
< >ne of the ls-st rules in conversa
tion is, never to say a thing which any
of the company can reasonably wish
he had left unsaid.
Brunkcn Itusdun Peasants.
Moujks are curious when drunk.
They hardly ever quarrel, but become
affectionate and embrace e.u-h other.
Their idea of drinking is to imbibe
until they are quite insensible.
When I w ,ts in Kusxia I had a coach
man, who once a month used to come
and a.-<k me for leave to get drunk dur
ing two consecutive days. l'| M, n in
quiry I found that only on these con
ditions Would a coachman remain so
-Ist during the rest of the month.
Having obtained leave, he would g > t*
a drinking-hou.se, show the proprietor
his money and state how long he might
remain there. Then lie would sit down
at a table with some spirits ls-f.ir
him. Gradually and solemnly he would
get drunk, place his arms before him
on the table and recline on them.
Thus he would remain for two days
and nights, the proprietor supplying
him with more liquor whenever he
lisikisl up. His time up, the proprie
tor would drag him outside the house
and set him up in the snow against the
wall, having first filled his cap with
snow. Every charitably disposed
brother coachman passing by would
lx his ears. In about half an hour
this discipline would noter liiui: b®
would get up. shake himself together
and resume hlsdutles.— Inn-tun Truth t
What Causes the Timber Line.
The causes of what is known as the
tirnlsT line on high mountains eontin.
lies to Is* discussed In scientific period
icals. and the attempt to connect the
line in some degree with mean annual
temperature. The writer of this par
agraph has had the matter in mind
when on th<* high elevations, and'
the explanation seemed very simple.
On all these high peaks there is a con
tinuous. though in some rases slow, de
scent of the soil from the summit to
the base of the hill. He has neve r
seen • case where there was soil en
ongli to grow a tree where trees were
not growing. As the wash from rain
or melting snow will Ih nearly uni
form in a given range, there will Ik* of 1
necessity some uniformity in the tim- 1
ber line. On Mount Washington and |
other high places little plots of dark
vegetable earth can often lw* found far
almvß the present timl**r line the re
mains of trees which existsl lie fore
the earth was washed away. What is
called the timber line seldom shows
graduated sizes, as a mere mAlter of
temperature would call for. General
ly the line is formed of very tall trees,
and immediately scrubby plants, from
the atisence of deep soil, hiigin.—AVto
York IntUpmdent,
Hints r Passage.
"How many dnkey# have you In
Austin, my little man?" asked a pas
senger on the South hound train, pro
truding his head through the car
window at the depot
"O, we've got some few donkeys
here in Austin, but most of them
keep right on through to San An
tonfa"
The stranger bumped the back of
his head on the car window and
! buck In hia scat. —' Si/ling*.
FKKFFJIES FROM FLO WE KM.
|
Noutr f I lie I'avnrlUa itl the I'lanta by
Which They ure Mnpplled*
"Hood perfumes are inarle directly
from flowers, and not out of cheese,
I coal tar, and so on, as people have been
lead to suppose," said a New York
chemist to a Nun reporter. "Take th'*
J Jessamine, for instance; that's always
a favorite, and is used in the make-up
of many perfumes. Two different
specimens of the flower are used, bu
the perfume is made principally from
the Jasminum grandillorum. In
France the cultivation of this plant
for the perfumery trade is an impor
tant industry, though the plant is
Homewhat difficult to raise. Very hot
seasons are most favorable for it the
hotter the weather, the richer the per
fume. Old ladies take to lavender in
any shape, and the lavender shrub pro
duces a powerful volatile oil that is
used not only in perfumery and for
flavoring dishes, but in medicine also.
Lavender produces three distinct oils
knotfn to the. trade. The poorest Is
commonly called spike oil. Two other
kinds are distilled from a species of the
shrub which is common in England
' and the French mountains. The Eng
lish oil is the best worth ten times
as much as the French. The v illagers
aliout Itcdington and Wellington, Eng
land, and other places, at one time
raised the entire supply. The supply
is now growing less, and consequently
the price is going up, and the business
r, f raising lavender is a paying one.
The English crop, if you call it a crop,
is gathered in July and August. Then
the flowers are in full bloom and do
not require any cleaning or trimming.
Boys and girls pick them, and flowers
tnd stalks are distilhsl together, every
fifty pounds giving about ten ounces
if oil. The imjKirtisl oil mines mostly
fruin France, though a great deal
mines from Algeria and north Italy.
Lavender water finds an enormous sale
iiuotig barbers, many of whom make
their own di-coction* out of anything
Ihey can get hold of. Heal lavender
water is made from lavender oil mixed
with rose and orange water. A cheap
kind is c albs I usseii-e d'aspic, and is
listillisl from a wild plant and doctor
al with turpentine and camphor.
"Thyme is an old-fasliiouod sort of a
plant, but thymus vulgaris, common
in France, Greece, und many countries
gives us a valuable perfumery oil. In
France they take from it two entirely
different oils, r-d and white, the gath
ering twing done in the summer
months. In the same localities the
rosemary is cultivated, and, being a
(Mipular perfumery, is in great demand
at a high price. Patchouli comes from
the oil of the rogogteneon patchouli, a
plant collected by the natives of the
Malay islands. It is extremely power
ful, a little of it going a great ways
when the wind is fair. It is always in
f.tshion and is ussl with the attar of
rose.
"In attar of ruse there is probably more
dis-eption than in any other jxjrfume
Certain kinds come front Turkey, done
up in curious lsittles; but I learmsl
some time ago, on good authority, that
these I Kittles and their contents were
manufactured in a Connecticut town,
and the profits were about seventy
five cents on a dollar. Even In the
east, where the genuine attar of rose
is made, it is ad nitrated with oil of
rose geranium and the oil of a grass
found in India, and so great is the
cheating that the trade in this grass
alone is an lm|Kirtarit one. The head.
I quarters of the trade are in Turkey
The genuine thing comes from Turkey
and Bulgaria Smyrna furnishes a
great ileal. The nativ-s of the valley
of the (binges also produce a good deal
for home consumption, and some is
produced in France. Any one who
know s the business can tell the genu
ine article at a glance. The rose from
which this valuable oil is taken is the
i rosa Damascena, and rose water is
I made from a decoction of the leaves of
, the same plant. The |M>tals of rosa
Gallba. grown in Asia Minor and vari
ous parts of Knglaud and Europe, are
greatly valued, and the leaves also
bring -a high price. The same decep
| tion is found in these, those imported
from France Iwing often dyed with
some nniline. A drop of ammonia,
however, detects the fraud.
"The funeral tuberose produces a
powerful perfume, but the violet Is
most esteemed for its chaste odor.
The viola odorata is the one we use,
and in France its cultivation gives em
ployment to hundreds of men, women,
and children. The harvest of violets
is from February to April.
"Verliena was at one time a favorite
perfume. It comes from thf leiuon
grass plant, common at Singa|>ore. In
Provence the cultivation of the rose
geranium U an important business.
From this plant also eomes the famous
essence of African geranium, valued as
an adultraat for attar of rose, it being
nearly as expensive, 2,' MO poinds of
the raw material producing only twd
pounds of tin; essence.
"Mignonette is liked .-is a perfume,
anil Is variously imitated. Hergamut
also has its admirers. The latter is an
oil taken, not from a flower, hut from
the fruit of the lemon like citrus ber
gatnia. In .Sicily the tns-s are culti.
vated when green, about 2',0 prod no.
ing six ounces of oil. Most of the oil
is shipped from Palermo and Messina.
"One of the most popular perfumes
's hellothrope, but it does not come
from the flower of that name, as one
might suppose, but is made from a
combination of violet and vanilla. The
beautiful lily of the valley is largely
used In l'ram e for making perfumery.
The daffodil, which is found every
where, is also much used. The lemon
also is used in perfumery, and so is the
orange."
"Torpedoing" an Oil Well.
In his article on "Striking Oil," in
the Century, E. V. final ley says
"When a well falls it is usually 'torpe
doed' to start the flow afresh. A
long tin tube, containing six or
eight quarts of nitro glycerine, is
lowered into the hole and exploded
by dropping a weight upon it. The
tremendous force of the powerful ex
plosive tears the sand and rock apart
ami loosens the imprisoned oil and gas.
Nothing is heard on the surface save a
sharp report like a pistol shot, hut the
ground heaves perceptibly, and pretty
M*,n the oil eomes spurting out In a jet
that breaks In spray alsive the lofty
derrick. The 'torpedo man' is one of
the interesting jwrsonages of the nil
region who is seen with most satisfac
tion from a distance. He travels about
in a light vehicle with his tubes and
bis nitro-glvcerine can, traversing
rough roads at a jolly round trot, tak.
ing the chances of an accidental explo
sion, and whistling or singing as he
g'M-s. Sometimes the chance# are
against him, and a blow of a wheej
against a stone sets free the terrible
force imprisoned in the white fluid in
his can. There is no occasion for a
funeral after such an accident, for there
is nothing to bury. Man. horse arid
'buggy' are annihilated in a Hash, and
an ugly hole in the ground and a cloud
of sinokc are all that is left to show
what has hajq>crifd. The tor|>odo
company buys a new horse and hires a
new man, and there is no more difficul
ty alHiut one transaction than the
other. The business of *tnrjK.*loing*
w.-lls is in the hands of a single com
pany, which has made n large amount
of money from a patent covering the
process of using explosive# under a
fluid. Most oil producers regard the
patent as invalid, because nature sup
plies the fluid in the well into which
the nitro-glycerine tule {glowered; but
the courts have sustained the patent.
nonetimes well-owners 'torpedo' their
wells stealthily by night to avoid pay
ing the high price charged by the com
pany. This operation is called 'moon
lighting.' and many lawsuits havo
grown out of it."
Houses and Homes in the Great f'lfy.
The population of New York city is
now nearly l/g 10,000, and for dwelling
purpose in w hole or in part, says the
Sf irntijlr Atiwri'iiii there are said to
be T5.368 houses. Of these 4'.',.Vm are
exclusively occupied as dwellings-
The total numlxTof families is 2<>o,(si
and of this number only 32,100 own
their houses. The . remainder pay
nnts. Within a comparatively brief
period large numWrs of what are
known .as apartment houses or Hats
haxe been erected. For the most part
they consist of large buildings alwuit
*0 f.-et wide, '.*t feet deep, and (> stories
high. Through the centre is a hall
and stairway. On each side of the
hall way on each story, tho space is oc
copied by a series of connected rooms
small in sire, ordinarily intended to
consist of a parlor, kitchen, dining
room, bath room, and three lied rooms
with sundry closets. These apart
ments, collet lively railed "a flat," are
cranijted and contracted, affording but
a limited amount of light and air.
The rentals run from s.'k' to $7O per
month, de|>ending upon the location of
the building.
For I tetter flats the rents arp front
$lOO to S.VNi jcr month; for the latter
sum large and superior apartments, in
a ten story fireproof building may )•
had, with passenger elevator, etc.
For entire dweJling houses, of three or
four stories, with nine to thirteen 1
rooms, the rentals vary from ftiOO a
year to $3000; the finer houses cost
ing much more. The opening of tha
great bridge l iptween New York and 1
Brooklyn will, it is supposed, lie of I
great advantage to the working people
of New York, by enabling them to se
cure new and comfortable homea at
moderate prices, without the necessity
of the close rmwdirg to which they
are now subjected.
SCIENTIFIC SCRAPS.
It Is stated that the rare metal that
riuui has been obtained in some quan
tity and in a pure elate by Nelson.
The use, or rather the abuse of min
eral waters, it is said, is liable to pro
duce atonic dyspepsia. The result it
an undue dilution of the stomach and
a harassing malady.
It should always be carefully borne
In rnind that in bare wires, out of
d>orH, erect'-d for the purpose of con
ducting electricity, there is always
more or less danger to person or
, property.
What facts were noted of several
water-spouts seen iri the Pacific ocean
have been examined by Mr. George
At wood, and lie concludes as follows:
The waterspouts on tie- Pacific were
caus-d by a cloud heavily charged with
cool moisture drifting from the high
mountains of Costa itica coming into
contact with air currents and clouds
traveling in a different direction and
of a warmer temperature, hy which
font.vt the clouds surcharged with
aqueous vapor a< quired a rotary rno
tion, causing them to discharge a part
of thHr moisture and make them
assume a cylindrical form,which finally
fell by its own gravity into the
ocean.
Neith America is rich in woods for
engineering purpose*. The yanduhay
Is exceedingly hard and durable; the
couroupay is also very hard and rich
in tannin. The quebracho is, how.
ever, more interesting than any, and
grows abundantly in the forests of I.a
Plata and I'ra/il. it resembles oak in
the trunk, arid is used for railway
slccjx rs, telegraph jmles, pibs, and SO
on. It is heavier than water, its spe
cific gravity varying between 1.203 and
1..333. The color at first is redtlish,
like mahogany, but grows darker with
time, being rich in tannin it is em
ployed for tanning leather in IJra/il.
and has recently In-en introduced for
that purpose into France. A mixture
tif one-third of |>owdered quebracho
and two-thirds of ordinary tan gives
good results.
The baling j*>int of wat'-r Is ordi
narily 213 degrees, but every liquid
has a jsiint of its own. Thus sulphu
ric ether 1-oils at degrees, alcohol at
170 degrees, oil of turpentine 316 de
grees. sulphuric acid 020 degrees and
mercury 002 degrees.
The President's Joke.
President Artnur is fond of playing
practical jokes. An incident occurred
at the White House recently that
afforded considerable amusement. A
party of Mr. Arthur's friends were
here on a visit from New York. The
I'resident had show n them through
the White House. The party were
loud in their praise of the improve
ments in the presidential mansion.
Coining through the cast room, or gen
eral reception room. Mr. Arthur halted
and said in the most serious manner:
"I *o you see that colored man stand,
ing over there?'* pointing to a well
preserved specimen of the African
race. "Well," continued the host, "ho
has a most remarkable history."
"How so?"
"Guess," said Mr. Arthur.
"An exiled king?" said a bewitching
young lady member of the party.
"An ex-Str-et Commissioner?" ob
served a practical Wall street broker.
"Neither," said the President, "Lis
ten; he has l>een sold into slavery ovct
"<* times.
"Impossible."
"Fact, I assure you," said Mr. Ar
thur.
The colored man was call-sl over and
questioned.
"Mv good man." said the Wall-street
broker, "is it true that you have 1-een
sold in slavery more than 7<> times?"
The colored representative show-sl
his whit" teeth and bowed.
"Remarkable!" was the general re
sponse.
"What are you doing now?" was
asked.
"Well. boss. I'm travelling with an
I'ncle Tom's cabin company. I am
put on tlie auction block every night
and sold."— Washington Capital.
Janet Home from Church.
Janet was not comely, but an ex
cellent servant and especially devout.
One Sunday afternoon, on returning
from the kirk, she mentioned to the
ladies of the family how much she had
enjoyed the services. Shortly after
ward. they heard her scolding at •
great rate, and one of the ladies rw
nionstrated with her: "Why, Janet,
I'm afraid the service did you very
little good, after all. as you seem to
have lost your t mper." "Ah, wed,*
said Janet. "1 left Willum to look after
things, and everything's so upset it'n
enough to take the taste o' prsyer ou|£
©' one's mouth."