THE PITTSBURG' DISPATOH SUNDAY, DEOEMBER 21, 1890. E - a I vVl. ' --rr?Q-?i x'J-'ftS' FANCIES FORTHE FAIR. Points on Home Decoration and the Trouble the Fad Inflicts on the Stale Creation Jottings on Fashion and Society A Pitts burg Girl In Gotham. Now that the holidays are upon us, home decoration Trill soon be a phrase so nagged at and abased that before the Christmas tree Is fairly down and out in the alleys the subject of "art decorative" will be black end blue for sir months says The Upholster er of Philadelphia. No wonder a sensible man crows pale and careworn, glum of visage and blue under the eTes, when the realization dawns on him that his wife has the decorative fever. Visions rise of pink scar's and blue tidies all over the mantle and bureiu, with no place to rest a cigar stump attenuated tables with gingerly Vases. poi&ed to tip over if looked at little ottomans always under your feet bow bedecked rockers, always aimed at your shins fussy curUius, that keep the light from your shaving glass, and a dozen-and-one scheming devices made for "system," but which need a map and a guidebook to keep track of. "John," says the wife, "when you take off your shirt at night, there's the box for your collar buttons; when you want your flippers, there's a case over there you will find them in. This is for burnt matches, und that a catch-all for hair combings, and there's the pin cushion," and forthwith she tucks all her hairpins at night under the pillow and sticks pins in the foot of the bed, where John's feet invariably find them. By the heavens and starsl If ail these odds and ends could only be gathered together and clustered in a sort of decoratne freak group, Jchn would certainly be a happier man. The one tb'ng to avoid in furnishing a room is in overdoing it. Itislikea woman if she is over-dressed, her appearance is in effective. The illustration at the head of these columns shows a corner done by the best decorator in this country. It is not only effective from a decorative view, but inciting and full ot sense and comfoit. The fretwork which con.es across the top is dope to harmonize with the other colors of the room; so alo are the cofa cushions. The Test explains itself. TVashlnc the llalr.' Up and awav the best thing fcr washing the hair is hard soap, procured from the kitchen. Hake a strong suds, rub it quickly on the hair, and just as quickly wash it off again. IIow Pittsbnrgers Tare In Gotham. A yonng lady from Pittsburg entered a Sen York millinery establishment the other day one that has no end of a reputation in this city and elsewhere and selected a per fectly s-itisfactory bonnet, says the Hew York JSun. Sue wanted auottier, but she felt that the prices demanded would not warrant her indulging in to. She was led to try on a second, however, and forthwith was attacked with a longing to possess it. The price was asked, lieply, "SJO." "I musn't, I can't pay that," said the joung ladv from Pittsburg, "but if you will let me 'have it for S25 I will take it" The milliner, looking the picture of outraged dignity, exclaimed: "Do you think for one moment that lever comedown m nn prices? Never! I couldn't think of letting you have that hat for less than $30." The oung lady, feeling cnlpalile ol a heinous sin, Ievt the store. Before she re.icccd home she had visited -another milliner and selected a hat that Suited her, although it did not bear the ciark of the more famous establishment. That evening at the hotel her purchases ar rived. Instead of one hat there came two from Mme. B., the milliner whom she had viitcu first in the morning. The bill for No. 2, however, was reduced in size, and bonnet, outraged dignity and all, were only $25. Ebe didn't want the bonnet now at any price, because she had lound and paid lor one to take its place. She remonstrated with the messenger. He had received orders cot to budge until the bill was paid, and budge he wouldn't. There were arguments and expostulations, but without avail. To save a scene with a po liceman, hotel clerk, hall boys, and what not, the Pittsburg young lady handed over the ?25. Madam B. knew she would. Novelties In Tables. Many tables are now shown entirely cov ered by thin velvet, studded with brass nails or finished at the edges with gold cord. The tables are made in simple straight line effects, and the coverings are usually soft rose or delicate greens. Work tables are fashioned with the top represent in'; a musical instrument, a violin, a guitar or banjo, produced in realistic wood effects and upheld by legs, plush covered. Among the new kind of tables to be seen in the mar ket are curious imported examples of inlaid work. The tops, lor instance, show three or four different varieties of wood, ar ranged in parallel lengths, with a huge tulip pattern or some other heavy figure inlaid over them all, in an additional four or five color effect. Experiments are being made for casting tops of imitation marble and other composite material upon tables alter they are made. These tops will be made in various figures and, tints, and very effective work can be had without much cost. The material adheres fast to the wood. being C4st upon it. Castings are made from j (fretwork, rubber mats, and many such ax- I " t V-- ,? - -r-tr-- .. I) C-. " ' v' mh. iitf .... - N "--W"' .'H s. -V II ISVsv rc tides with relief designs. These castings -are an exact reproduction of carved marble or stone which is very expensive. A Fretty Rustic Screen. We have all seen the rustic irames which have been used for screens, and consist of roots and vines massed in solid framework and probably it was this which gave the idea for a screen we were recently shown, aays The Upholsterer. The side uprights were two crooked saplings, painted a dead brown in imitation of de cayed wood. Between the forked upper limbsa cobweb is built, and an owl sits on one of the branches, a crab is crawling up from the trunk, and a snake is traversing one limb. The screen is kept in place with thongs of grass like the reeds out of Chinese matting. The ornaments can be had in any Japanese store. Collars of Gold. Neck ruches have been abandoned to the vulgar millions and their place is filled anions the select and favored few bv collars of gold gimp and chenille knitted together ran origin ribbons, Foetry on the Wall. There is no fashion among the manv transient fads, which have sprung up of late, so sensiblo as the inscription fad. Every boy that ever recited "My Name is Normal," has heard of the handwriting on the wall and the intense effect it had upon Mr. Belshazzar. It was about this time the inscription fad started, and although it has taken sometime to reach over American cities, it has at last got here, and way back districts are impressed by the touching sim plicity of "don't blow out the gas" or "use the rope in case of fire." An East End girl one of thoe girls that you always read about, with large liquid eyes and even temperament, who never snores and sleeps with hands resting peacefully over her bosom that sort of a girl has the fol lowing in her boudoir: Sleep sweetly in this qnlet room, Ob, tboc, who e'er thou art, And iet no troubled yesterday Disturb thy peaceful heart. Nor let to-morrow scare thy rest, With dreams ot comlnc 111. Thy Maker Is tby changeless friend. His love surrounds tbee still, Forget tbjself and all the world, Pot out each glaring light; The stars are shining overhead Sleep gently, then Good-night, Painting Plants on Windows. A plant in front of a window is never in poor taste, but plant "effects" are something rather new. A housekeeper in Baltimore, wishing window room probably and less bother with watering-pots, conceived an im provement on nature and painted, realistic ally, a plant and pot on the window pane of her second-story "front." If that woman isn't watched she'll be stencilling a boiled dinner design on the table cloth and feeding fam ished progeny on "effects." Here we have an adjustment of material suggestive of comfort, says "Meg" in the Philadelphia Times. Surplice folds and puffed shoulders and wrist; broad waistband arranged carelessly and in & manner to shorten the waist, knotted artistically a trifle to one side, the full round throat, bared A Ifeglipee Effect. that breath may not be fretted; the skirt, though fashionably decorated, short, lull, not tied back, leavinc the ankles un trammeled and insuring perfect freedom to the wearer. Everything in this costume suggests & warm, vigorous, well-put-to-cetber being, a wholesome humanity whose iCH'sJw jrMiA BlwiUJ- courage and strength would be sufficient adornment. Woman's Sphere Again. Miss Kelly Kelly, of the Ohio Statt Journal, is a regular "first-wire" operator of the Associated Press, at the same salary that is paid to first-wire men. She takes 15,000 words in a night, and at 2:30 A. M. she goes home alone and unmolested. The Wonderful Wooden Kings. One sees a wooden curtain pole ring and the rings that are used tor towl racks and wonders how they are ever made to sell for so little money. It Is done through the al most human intelligence of modern factory mechanism. A block of wood is put tinder a turner. Four, five or six large rings, ac cording to the depth of the block, are ground out of it, leaving an inner circular block as waste. This block, is in turn, put under a smaller size turner and as many more smaller rings are produced. What is left is again utilized, and so on and on, un til thev are down to the smallest size possi ble. - Theserings are used for no end ot pur poses. They are tied up by ribbon or caught up against the wall as a whisk broom holder. They are cut in half and form curved legs for hat racks. They are hung from a rod and used lor towel racks. They are ar ranged side by side, clover-leaf shape and serve as tops for umbrella stands. There is no end to the use of them. Suggestive of a Bog. A great furore for bands of blue bearskin as a decoration for light and dainty dresses prevails among the Parisian women. ABealistlo Hat Back. The most curious hat rack we ever saw, says Upholsterer, is fashioned to represent an old wooden lamp post attached to the corner of a country fence, about three feet wide; sticking out of the post and ience are hat and coat pegs, and perched upon the top is a cat with back uplifted, spitting at a barking pup below her. The animal figures are done in lite-size and presumably bronze; the fence and lamp post are in oak and in close reproduction of just what some old country fence and corner lamp post look like, even to the old-fashioned iron lamp which surmounts the top. The Bower of an Heiress. Miss Bockefelier's bedroom at Bockwood Hall, in Tarrytown, is a most dainty and unique little apartment, with its walls and ceiling painted with leaves and garlands. In one ol the panels is set an onyx clock with a silvered pendulum reaching to the floor and richly chased golden hands mov ing up among the carved garlands. The Sachet of lavender. There is no more delicious sachet than one of lavender flowers for underwear or bed linen. It is one of the least expensive of sachets, and, though faint, is peculiarly refreshing and soothing to the nerves. Lavender used to be grown in old gardens; but, like most English garden herbs, it does not always survive our uneven climate with its alternate periods of freezing and thawing in winter. The plant cannot be obtained now, and florists who are honest will tell yon plainly that the herb they advertise as lavender is not the genuine Euglisb flower, but a lavender balm with nothintr in common with the true lavender but a name. A Pretty Daisy Frock. Flower dresses are decidedly in vogue, aDd are exceeding pretty and becoming for evening wear. The daisy frock we cive as an illustration would be very appropriate lor a young girl. A corsage completely covered with scarlet geraniums was shown by a French modiste as a splendid foil to a dark beauty's charms. New French Furniture. Furniture of the French schools, Louis XV. and XVL is shown in some stores, very high in the back, and panels of Ver-nis-Martin finish (pastoral views oil painted) are introduced with coverings gorgeous in gold and deep green, bright garnet and bronzes, as well as the fady ef fects. The purity of this French period, which did not permit inlaid work, is ignored by some makers, and into the gold of the woodwork mother-of-pearl inlays are introduced with purple and green effects in brilliants. The Tennis Fad Keeps Up. Indoor tennis is one of the popular winter spo'ts. It has been discovered that nothing builds up the figure like handling a racket, hence all the girls are playing tennis "fit to kill" in both rain and shine. The costume for indoor tennis is more abbreviated than was possible lor outdoor work. A Jersey blouse, skintight as far down as the waist, and a copious Jersev flannel shirt, with all wool stockincs and cort-soled shoes, are worn for this glorious indoor pastime. The Popular Theater Bonnet. The Jeanne d'Arc theater bonnet is com posed of the peculiar pointed waistband which forms part of the heroine's costume, arranged as a diadem on a twisted brim of violet velvet, with gold and spangles in relief and no crown. E0ST0ITS SOCIAL CBAZB. It Is a Whist Party at Which Whist Isn't Flayed at All. Boston Herald. 2 Ten young men and an equal number of society girls met one evening recently at a Back Bav hotel to play cards. They called themselves a whist club. What tbey did -was, first, to eat a nice, long supper, then to play eucher for an hour, and, finally, to enjoy a jolly dance. Having engaged an orchestra for the evening, they ate to music, euchred to music, danced to music and went home in a tuneful flutter. Everybody was in evening dress, the men in clawhammers and the girls in low neck: and short sleeves. It was really a formal party, just like thousands of parties that take place in the en virons of Commonwealth avenue, except that cards were an element of the entertainment. The men were the hosts and the girls were the guests, but all were members of a regular organized active and rather exclusive club. This tort of thing is very popular in Boston this winter. So III ONLY LOWS TOKEN. A Christmas Gift in and of Itself Doesn't Amount to Much. IT'S THE HEART THAT'S BEHIND IT, A Beggar's Doll is as Important as a Jlilllonalre's Diamonds, TUB SPIRIT OP THE DAI CANT DIB WEtTTEN rOB TBI C1SFATCB.1 There is great lamentation among some people over what they call the decadence of Christmas. They hold that it is degener ating into a mere holiday, a common giving of gifts, a time when people lose their heads, run themselves into debt, indulge in ex cesses that make tflem not happy, but un happy. They say people go racing around for weeks, wearing themselves out, making themselves nervous, taxing both physical and nervous energy to the utmost stretch by the strain between their desires and their means, and to what end? Not happiness, because the philosophers contend that that is an illusion, and experience seems to con firm it, but simply as a sacrifice to the spirit of Christmas. The giving of gifts is beautiful in senti ment, pleasant in reality, joyous and blessed to those who have the power and the spirit of love which prompts it, until it degenerates into barter and trade, until all the poetry is rubbed off by the mercenary idea ot measur ing the worth of its expressions by dollars and cents. Moreover, by those who value friendship, who appreciate the kindly thoughts of those who know them by their simplest manifestation, who accept with warmest pleasure the most trifling reveal ment of appreciative regard, expense is never considered.or, if so, is rather regretted as im posing a sort oi sense of obligation. WHAT AN IEVALID LEARNED. "My illness has taught me a great les son," said an invalid. "It has shown me the real goodness in people, the true kind ness, the blessed charm in the offices of friendship," she continued, as she gazed upon the offerings of fruit, and flowers, and books, and tokens of remembrance as shown in workmanship) and manufacture that crowded her room. "It had always seemed to me, before, that my little gifts were of no moment, and of no value to anyone, but now I appreciate the f-ot that the smallest and simplest token inspired by real love is infinitely precious as a mark of remem brance and good feeling. I shall never, hereafter, be withheld from giving by the thought that what I could send would be lightly esteemed or overlooked or held as of no account." Her last days were spent far from friends and home, but they were continually glad dened and brightened by the little gifts that were enriched and made more precious than rubies, as showing the love of lar-off friends. Uncle Sam's budget rarely failed to bring a letter, a paper, a photograph, a book, a ribbon or some small matter that by the exiles was looked upon almost as a god send. Boxes of candv, baskets of fruit, a iresh magazine, extracts cut out of papers. little bits of this, that and the other were cherished and appreciated with a zest hardly to be realized by those outside of such ex perience, but mentioned now for the benefit of those who are restrained by the thought that cheap gifts are not welcomed by the re ceivers. If prompted by sincere l'ove and true friendship let no one withhold his hand it his bunch of violets cost only a nickle, or his little tribute not more than a dime. The spirit inspiring the offering is the point, and not the value. WHAT A BOX LEABNED. "I can't have any birthday down here," said a little boy discontentedly. "Nobody knows us." But the little fellow realized he was all astray in his calculations. A pot of flowers in bloom, a dainty little vase filled with roses, a pretty cup and saucer, a "pigs iu clover," a box of dominoes, and no end of little gifts made that boy as happy as a king, and for that matter happier. Birth day cards in the mail run up his tempera ture to almost fever heat with his excite ment, but if the senders could have wit nessed his delight they would have been lavishly repaid lor the trouble they had to give him pleasure. With this chapter from experience which might, if written out, fill a book of at least three volumes, we have no hesitation in say ing that the giving of gifts need not be at all expensive in order to seenre apprecia tion, or give pleasure. There need be no filing up of bills to be groaned over in the first week of the New Year. If people are not satisfied, or if they growl over their gifts they may be set down as ingrates. If friendship is to be measured in that manner it is worth nothing, and may as well be let go. It should be remembered that those who love you would gladly give you a house and lot, or a good farm, or a million dollars, if their means in any way came up to their desires, but the appreciation ot their lesser gifts should be measured by their hearts. If there is a time when the most well-to-do people feel poor, it As at Christ mas, when good will to all men and especially to those they love inspire them to its richest expression in the giving of gifts. novr some people peel. It is the overflow of this feeling that makes Christmas a disagreeable time to many. How greatly they would enjoy the felicities of the season if they only had the cash, is the prevailing feeling. They can't sleep at nights for the miserable thought that their triends will think less of them if a gift is not forthcoming, and yet, they know in the bottom of their souls they can not afford it that to fall in with the custom will use them up, it mayhap physically and financially. How mnch happier they would be if they need only give when the spirit moved them, or when their purses could well bear the strain. Christmas is decaying, say some, because its real spirit hasdeparted. It is no longer a joyous celebration ot the birth of the Mes siah, but has become a mere occasion for holiday feasting, and a giving of gifts that are considered obligatory by iorce of eustom, rather than as tokens of love and good will. The same is said of wedding gifts. In old times these were bestowed as helps to a young couple to go to housekeeping, but now, as society goes, they are held as taxes and tributes that are to be paid not so much in token of love and friendship as through deference to custom, which, how ever, enforces their fnll payment in the end. "The couple who get married on the dead quiet, without parade of receptions and gilts, are better off altogether," said a bride of a score of years ago. "They have no ob ligations to pay off with extortionate inter est. Having received no gifts, save from near and dear friends and relatives, their names are not paraded upon the matrimonial books of their acquaintances as owing some thing handsome in the line of a present to be shown at the wedding." IP PEOMPTED BY LOVt Wedding gifts, like Christmas gifts and all others, when prompted by love and good will, are blessed to give and to receive. To love and to be beloved is the greatest happi ness of existence, says Sidney Smith. Friendship is the holiest of gifts; it en hances every joy, mitigates every pain. It is a plant of slow growth, records George Washington, bnt it is the charm of life, or, as Tennyson puts it, practically, it is the sacred essence of the soul. ' "The world is most blessed by friendship," is the expres sion of another worthy whose name is not at hand. When these sentiments are sin cerelv expressed by gifts tbey are treasured, held beyond anything, beyond that wealth can buy, but when they merely express the feelings of barter and exchange, or give and take, they are worthless. Fashion prescribes wedding gifts, and that these should be costly. This unwritten law prevents many from the manifestation of what they really feel. Courtnjournals .show that Dukei and Earls give sugar spoons, and nui crackers, and hair pin repositories Jat weddings, but is Americans, with their largeness, would; think such trifles mean. Herein comes the lesson. It is not the value of the gift, but the heart behind it that should count. Manv, many people are deterred from sending the little offerings tbey could afford by the thought that they, will be of little or no account, butif sincerely disposed, without reference to a quid pro quo, they are received with high regard. CHRISTMAS CATT NOT BIS. Christmas asa season for social enjoyment, as a holiday of feasting, as a season for in culcating the glad tidings of peace and good will to men can surely not grow old, or waste into decay. In the days of the Puritans it was derided and ostracised and denounced as savoring of idolatry. Instead of merry making they decreed a solemn fast on that day which should be spent in a bemoaning of sins. The Puritans of New England were opposed to the celebration of Christ mas, but its spirit has outlived their scruples. Everybody now takes part in it, whether from secular or church-given mo tives. Christmas as a season of rejoicing, as a holiday in which people delight, as per vading society with an emotion in which all the world takes part, as devoted by all men and women to the delight of childhood, holds a sway that can hardly beovercome. Its spirit may decay, its real rig nificance as a birthday may perhaps lapse, but as adding a pleasure to child hood, it can hardly die out. It is only when people grow old, that they wish 'it had never been invented. It is only when it has nothing but bitter memories, that its celebration is held to be a sorry festival. It is a matter of wonder now to some of thosetrained in the school of strictest Pres byterians, how they ever got along without it, but the number of those who think its glory has departed and its decay is at hand seem to be growing. Bnt how strange now it would seem to do without it. How would the children measure the years with out Christmas and Santa Clans? Christ mas is the children's festival. For their sake it will hardlv be permitted to sink intol "innocuous desuetude " as Brother Cleveland would say. It will certainly last the present generation at least, though" peo ple are beginning to discountenance the "awful whoppers" told as immoral. Bessie Bramble. HOW TO BETIBE. Bnles Beanty Should Observe If She Is Going to Last. Philadelphia Inquirer.! What is thu correct method to pursue in preparing for a trip iifto dreamland, for there is a right as well as a wrong way? The business of disrobing should be so systematized that attending to all the little niceties included in the process will become after a while second nature. There is something more to be done, let me assure you, besides putting your hair up in curl papers and dabbing a bit of cold cream on your face if you would wake up in the morning looking as fresh as a rose. In the first place, do not put off these important preparations until you are so heavy lidded that yon are ready to give everything belonging to the toilet the go-by. And now for the first step. Early in the evening your sleeping apartment should be thoroughly aired by dropping the window from the top and raising it at the bottom. Ten minutes will be quite sufficient for ton ing up the atmosphere. How close the windows and allow the room to become thoroughly warm. Prepare a big bowl of tepid water( into which you sprinkle a small quantity of ammonia or borax. Take a Turkish towel, which is much better than a sponge, wring it out as dry as possible, and grasping a corner in each hand give the spine a vigorous rubbing. Have at hand another Turkish towel, and as you bathe the body in sections dry as quickly as possible. How your smooth white skin will glow as you start into action the sluggish circula tion! From the points of your rosy toes to the curve of your soft throat you are a blushing model of the charming ef fects of the bath. When finished slip over your head a soft little Bhirt, high neck and short sleeves (a white silk or lisle thread is the best), the rosy skin beneath giving it the appearance ofbeing lined with pink silk. Then comes the night robe, and next the paiama or lounging gown, which may be made of anything from flannel to eider down. Tuck- your feet into a pair of bedroom slippers,and you are ready to attend to minor details. Never think of retiring in any article of clothing which you have worn during the day. HICEB THAN THE ICES. How to Make Czarina Cream, Which Is tfco Popular Refreshment. ,N ew York Tribune, 3 '''Czarina Cream," which is now served in preference to ices at really nice and refined dinners, is very easy to make and looks ex tremely pretty and ornamental. Whisk a pint and a half of cream to a strong froth, add 14 ounces of fine powdered sugar, a wineglass ot maraschino, half a glass of kumruel, 16 drops of concentrated essence of vanilla and one and a half ounces of isin glass dissolved in a gill of boiling rose water. Have ready a glass of spinach juice, color the cream therewith, beat the mixture thor oughly and drop into it some shredded fresh pistachios and almonds. Pour into a mold and place in a pail of crushed ice and salt to freeze. Serve with iced champagne sauce and vanilla gauffres. Trousers Bottom Protector. It seems as if the ingenuity of the in ventor would never tire of seeking for new worlds to conquer. A singular invention is the subject of a recent patent. This is neither more nor less than a trousers protector which is held to the trousers by means of two small spring clips, and the balls or pro jections at its lower edge prevent the bottom of the trousers from cominc in contact with the ground and getting muddy. It is claimed that by its use it is impossible to pickup mud, and that the unsightly method of turning up the bottoms of trousers in wet weather is avoided. It is said to be not noticeable when worn, and is made in differ ent colors to suit the cloth. It weighs one eighth of an ounce, and can be instantly fixed or removed. Styles In Embroidery. The "sketchy" style of embroidery so much like a few years since has under ignorant handling produced such astonish ingly bad results in form and color that set figures and patterns are now greatly pre ferred. Kensington stitch and crewels have had their day as all genuine art lovers are thankful to know. The old fashioned Berlin work is coming slowly but surely into favor again. Don't be Spotty. The great Delsartian master speaks as fol lows to his devotees: "Don't be spotty; take away from your dress and out of your par lor anything that asserts itself. Don't wear gold and diamonds with dark dresses; put them on with yellow. If you want all the cups and saucers you.have broken and all the torn clothes you have fretted over to show in your face put on a black gown." PatU's Goddaughter's Pearls. . Miss Adelina Patti Baird, a goddaughter of the diva and daughter of a rich English Iron founder, has a string of pearls collected from the days of her babyhood. One of her first gifts was a number of fine unstrung pearls, and to these have been added others from time to time by parents and relatives, until she now has a matchless necklace. A Ghastly Discovery. M. Gorex, a learned physician of Burgos, recently ascertained the fact that the figure on the crucifix in the cathedral at that place is a real human body, in a perfect state of preservation. It is said to have been in its present position since the beginning of the eleventh century, RULES FOR BEADTK How to Drive Away Wrinkles and Bring Back Yonth's Bloom. SHARP ELBOWS AND UGLY NECKS. Care to bo Exercised in Bathing on These Cold Wintry Days. PIEACI 15 ADYERTISING SCHEMES rwairrEjJ ron the dispatch. Can anything excel in daintiness the first snows of the season? They fall gently now before my eyes on the quiet hillside. The little wood which girdles it looks soft as a richly toned engraving through the gauze of the flakes. The place is still as the quiet after death, but wrapped in warmth and comfort deep as the silence. Summer days hardly have anything sweeter than this quiet of fulfillment and zest of work. Of all conditions to accomplish real study or mental work give me the unfettered quiet of a country house set in December snows. The blending of primitive and modern comfort is pleasant where an opening door lets In the cold, exquisite sweetness of the dead wood spices lingering in drift of sweet fern, bayberry and dry vernal gra'ses which perfume the snow banks, the subdued, rich coloring of the brown-grav woods, shot with russett, the yellows of bark and willows and somberly iresh evergreens to meet the eye in place ot the brick walls and iron pipes of the streets. WIKTEB IN THE COBKTBY. A house warm with wood fires and fur nace from one end to the other, where the glad sun looks into five windows in the sit ting room, with as many tables heaped with periodicals and manuscripts plenty of new books and old, easy going chairs and comfort-loving lounges, the city at one's elbow, its glow lighting the sky by night, the house to one's self, with unlimited control of every hour for working to the best advantage is not this to be envied by the sincere brain toil ers? Ton rise when rested; if it has been a wakeful night you take the good of five hours' sleep alter the first cock crow, and no frown awaits you at the late breakiast, the coffee is as hot and the muffins as fresh as if you had dragged yourself aching down at a canonical hour. Perhaps you wake to see the red fires burn in the East while the Morning Star grows whiter and the valley takes exqnisite changes in vapor and level light. A whirr of soft wings at the lattice comes like an audacious good morning, or a bird flies in at the open top of the window and sweeps round the room in friendly fearlessness. There is a pat, pat of four legged friends, dog neighbors coming up to the side door to be petted and get the bone or two saved for them. A MESSENGEB FBOM TOE "WORLD. The New York express dashes by with its long steam plume flying backward half a mile the pulse of the world's artery iu this quiet fold of the east counties and the day opens for 14 hours' good, uninterrupted work till the evening lamp has burned for three of them, and about the time the cur tain goes up iu theaters one creeps to a rest ful pillow with "Shocmiker on Skin Dis eases" or some such light reading to go to sleep over. The air pure and sweet as incense, the long hours of early sleep, the studied warmth and simple generous care, above all the freedom from petty annoyances and friction o! social life are the best possible regime for finding strength lost in the city. I do count the years spent in cities as good as wasted but for the renewed conviction they leave that country life is the only one worth living. It is a relief to come back to cosmetics and health questions after 2,800 old queries for waste silk. Mary 31. asks: A school teacher's hard lines. "Is there any way in which the perpen dicular lines an inch long can be erased from between the eyebrows? They have ap peared and fixed themselves only within the last two months and are probably the auto graph of two years' teaching, but at 28 one does not wish to bear a certificate of service on one's face." One needs to be a clairvoyant to answer such questions, i. glance at the girl's face would tell her mental and nervous state and the relief necessary to correct this care-print, which would be worth all the cosmetic hints in the world. Is it any use to say to teachers, leave your school behind you when you close the door? Our school system is such a pitiless grind that I had rather be a typewriter, a dress maker, a small shopkeeper, or a basket ven der with small wares than have the best salary in city schools, A teacher's life out of school ought to be as care-free and lively as possible, and scholars and parents who are able should vie in attentions and de vices to secure this refreshment for teachers. It instead of stitching forever for church fairs and relief societies, the women of leisure were to lootc after tired teachers, not as objects of charity but as honored and use ful ministers in the very hardest work in the world except that of mothers and house keepers combined, overwork would not print its brand on their brows so early. CHABSIKrO ATVAT THE WTSIITKLES. Whether Mary M. needs warning, or can take it it she does, she will thank me more to tell her how to charm away that ob noxious wrinkle. Holding a hot iron to the spot, with folds of cloth to prevent burning, tends to erase lines on the face. Applying a drop or two of hot almond oil or any sweet oil, and rubbing with the finger, makes the skin elastic Massage with the tips of the fingers, rubbing outward with both hands, rubbing outward with the tips of the fingers from the root of the nose, and stretching the sKin across the eyebrows with pressure will obliterate the habit of contracting the brow. A piece of court plaster to cover the lines worn nightly for a week will do mnch to re move them. Lama writes: "I am about to ask you what mother says you will consider a very fooliih question wby is my neck beginning to sink, either side, just above the collar bone, and why is my elbow getting sharp, when I weigh more than I ever did. 112 pounds, just five feet high? I have read of washes to mate the necs iook plump, out am afraid to try them." SHAPING THE NECK AND AB3I. The question is a Very timely one, for the hollow above the collar bone of a person in good health can only be caused by defective way of holding oneself in sitting and walk ing. Throwing the chest out, holding the head up, and shoulders. flat will "fill the salt cellars" in time. Washes may whiten the neck, but they cannot make it plump in any possible way. The sharp elbows on a plump arm show want of exercise for the arms. Laura should sweep, grind coffee, carry weights and make beds in stirring fashion three hours a day or she will find herself getting out of shape as she grows older. If she could turn a wheel as country girls turn the grindstone or the fanning mill on occasion, it wonld be the finest exercise in the world for making a shapely arm. C. C. M. asks questions about things which, as she says, mothers, possibly from a sense oi delicacy, do not always take the trouble to see to. Mothers don't fill their duty when they do not instruct a child in every detail of toilet and the most intimate questions of health. I answer the questions without repeating them: A warm sponge bath in a warm room, with water and temperature high enough to feel luxuriously warm, may be taken in any state of health without risk. The fullest bath is the best, keeping the water hot all the time. Hall the ailments of women are aggravated itTiot caused by their economy in warm bathing. The room in which a bath is taken should be something like 83 against the wall, and the water kept hot as the hand can bear, for a sponge or full bath. LIMITING THE BATHING. When this cannot be seemed, when one is the least indisposed, it is better to limit bathing till full strength is regained to washing the face, armpits and such parts of the surface as secrete the most. The hollow of the bosom and between the shoulder blades on the back are furnished with more and larger glands for oil and perspiration than any other parts of the trnnk, and need a daily wash with soap whether a bath is taken or not always pro vided one is not chilled in the process. Eastidious women must take notice that cleanliness, prized as it is, is not so indis pensable as warmth to our vitality. I snouid feel very sorry it the stress laid upon bathing and personal cleanliness in these letters should lead any heroio girl to take baths in a cold room or, what is almost as bad, a halt warm one, where she must hurry through with her toilet to avoid getting chilly. Better in cold weather, where the luxury of warmth is not at its fullest, limit one's personal cares to washing neck, arm pits, etc., at night with a soapy cloth with out wholly undressing, and take a dry rub with a woolen cloth or a silk sponge towel, limb by limb, till glowing warm. This with a thorough-going hot bath once a week in midwinter will keep one in good condition. The cold lessens the action of the skin and throws its work on other organs, hence care is necessary to keep other functions perfect. TAKING CASE OP A COLD. There is nothing like a little cold for mak ing one feel utterly miserable and spiritless. A trifling matter yes, but worth some trifling care to prevent what is worse. If you are chilly get warm, if you crowd the fire to do so; drink hot tea, lemonade or hot clam broth, not by the bowlful as a pen ance, but a half cupful every ten minutes or every hour, to supply the fluids of the body and to increase its warmth. Areices dangerous? In cases with irreg ular circulation and sharp neuralgic pains they most certainly are not advisable, es pecially when there is any weakness of the heart's action. Learn to know your own sensations, to note cause and effect. This is part of the education of every man and woman. Miss K. writes that her eye was perfectly well upon retiring the other evening, and on arising was bloodshot, and remains so much against her wishes. I trust the eye is well before the letter found its roundabout way to me, but any sueh case is well treated by hot fomentations half an hour at a time three or four times or oftener a day, hot foot baths and mild purgatives. Sara finds that her blonde hair the last year falls continually and grows much darker. "She knows a bleach that many girls in town use, and is strongly tempted to follow their example. Would it cause her hair to fall or injure it in any way?" Some weeks since I received a letter with the cipher and device of a fashionable druggist who enjoys the reputation of hav ing the showiest store in New York. It conveyed this singular message: "I intend to use your article on toilet cerate for a preparation ol my own," and added a hint of some toilet novelties to be forwarded for inspection. The coolness of this message struck me as extreme. There was not the shadow of a request to use my article not the most distant hint of recognition that I might have some right or wish in the matter simply the seiznre and notice that he in tended to use it. CONSCIENCE OP AN ESSEX YANKEE. Now I don't pretend to be above liking pretty toilet things or at all objectionable as people here say to being paid five times as much as anybody else gets, but what this drnggist overlooked from beginning to end was that even a newspaper correspondent might have a sense of personal right and property which not all his plate glass shop and mirrors would count against. It so happened that the name toilet cerate was invented by me for a preparation by a Mas sachusetts chemist, which has another trade name. As the New York druggist owned to the agent who wrote me, he never heard of such a thing as toilet cerate till my article of October 19, when, not knowing what it was, he got up something to answer the name for inqmring customers. It was, as he said, a fine cold cream as much like real toilet cerate as sealing wax is like bees wax. He meant to do a big stroke of bnslnen, to adroitly turn the article you all read into a gorgeous advertisement of a preparation he never thought of till be read the article, and then get another puff for his novelties on equally favorable terms. Making newspapers pay for his advertise ments instead of his paving them seemed a Iuminou3and perfectly feasible idea to him. His circulars and a'dvertisements for a month have borne my name against my re peated protests through an agent, and the last intimation wis that he did not feel very well treated because some notices of his toilet articles did not appear in the papers. DIDN'T KNOW WEITEBS ABE HONEST. That a mere writer might have objections to his perversion of her work and the free dom taken with her name, which could not be soothed by a present ot fancy wares and the prospect of a profitable bit ct work, does not seem to have occurred to him. That a newspaper which had bought and paid for the article in question might object to hav ing It used as an advertising puff never crossed his mind. He must answer to his customers for sell ing them cold cream under the name of a totally different preparation with such an indorsement. His example has been fol lowed by two or three other houses in New York and San Francisco, who advertise toilet cerate evolved from their inner con sciousness. I do not choose to be made a party to this performance. If purchasers find the articles fall short ot the recommendation appropriated from my language, I beg to assure them it applies to a totally different sort of thing. I will merely remark to this company of toilet frauds that they have against them a chem ist who knows his business and can com bine preparations of worth, and a writer who can invent trade names faster than they can steal them, which is claiming a good deal, but modesty must sometimes give way to facts. I will close by saying to anyone it may concern that persons attempting to use these articles for advertising purposes may get more free advertising than they ex pected. Shibley Dabe. II UKN 5L OOO A DDDD HUN N GGO. BSS3 A L . EEKB TJ UI.N NIi O O AA D DUNN NO O B S AA Tj B U UNN 'L O O AA D DIINN Ml 8 AA L P. UfJNNNL O O AA D DIINN NO S AAL K U UN N NL O O A A D DUN N NO BSS3 AAL KB U UN SSL O O AAAA D DUN N N O GO 3 AAAA L E U UN NNL O OA AD DUN NNO O 8 A AL E U UN iNNL O OA AD DUN 'UNO G 8 8A AL E UUU N IfiJLLIXL 000 A ADDDD UN NN GGG SSSS A ALIXLLKEKB PRIOR TO STOCK-TAKING, CONTINUED FOR A FEW DAYS LONGER. A GREAT CHANCE FOR YOU TO GET MANY SUITABLE ARTICLES FOR HOLIDAY PRESENTS' AT VERY LOW PRICES. THE GREAT REDUCTIONS WE HAVE MADE IN PRICES ON ALL CLASSES OF GO'ODS IS BRINGING GREAT CROWDS OF PEOPLE TO OUR STORES. MANY DRESS GOODS REDUCED TO ABOUT ONE-HALF FORMER PRICES. COATS AND WRAPS ABOUT HALF PRICE; SMOKING JACKETS TO ABOUT HALF PRICE. ASSORT MENT OF HOLIDAY HANDKERCHIEFS SOME THING WONDERFUL. LARGE STOCK OF UM BRELLAS, GLOVES AND CORSETS. SUABLE k SHUSTER, V 35 FIFTH HER JEMIE IS DEAD. Touching Story of Tenement Life in the Bnsy Metropolis. A BRIGHT, HEALTHY BABY GIEL Dies of Suffocation, a Peannl Shell Lodging in Her Throat. THE DEEP S0EE0W OP THE B0THEE Mrs. Isidor Bernstein, the wife of a cloak maker who is out of work, was washing the dishes on Friday morning in her living room on the second' floor of 181 Orchard street, says the New York Sun. Her baby, Jenny, 15 months old, was was playing on the floor with a bagfnl of peanuts. The child was blue-eyed and gold-haired, and a jolly little thing, always laughing. Every now and then Mrs. Bernstein looked up from her task and said something in He brew baby talk to the young one. All at bnce she heard Jenny cough sharply, and then came that hacking splut tering sound which every mother has heard. Baby had swallowed a piece of peanut shell, and it had stuck in her throat. Drop ping dishcloth and everything, the mother ran over and took Jenny in her arms, patted her on the back, held her head down, and poked in her month, but the thing would not come out, and already Jenny's face was turning purple. A BACE TVITH DEATH. Throwing a shawl abont her shoulders, Mrs. Bernstein wrapped Jenny in its folds and flew down the stairs. She forgot to shut the door of her room. She ran to the house of the nearest doctor through the bitter wind, which seemed to be striving to delay her. The doctor was at home. One glance was enough for him. "An operation will be necessary," he said. Mrs. Bernstein understands English im perfectly, but the word "operation" she understood. "No, no, nol" she cried. "I won't let you cut up baby." She seized Jenny in her arms again, and rushed out. A few blocks further down the street was another doctor, and to bis office she ran, and people stood still to look after her and wonder. This doctor had hardly glanced at the baby when he said that same word, "operation." Mrs. Bernstein ran out of the house. Then she went straight to the station house, but a physician's sign on the way attracted her attention, and she stopped to ring the bell. The doctbr was not at home. As she ran up the steps of the station house she panted for breath, and all she could do was to hold up the gasping baby in her arms. The Sergeant understood, and rang for an ambulance. NO HELP POE THE BABY. It was a long wait, but when the ambu lance came mother and child were taken at full speed to Bellevue Hospital. Jenny was taken, straight to the operating room, where Dr. Brooke found that the peanut shell had slipped down the windpipe into the bronchial tube leading to the right lung. He opened the windpipe, but could not get the shell out The operation permitted the baby to breathe more freely, but it was impossible to extract the shell. They told Mrs. Bernstein she bad better go home. Sbe aays sbe went away with the doctor's as surance that baby would Jive, ana that she need not worry. She sent her husband to the hospital yes terday morning. He stayed away so long that sbe was frightened. About noon, when the children were flocking out of the neigh boring synagogues, a carriage drove up to the door of the house in Orchard street. Out of it stepped Mr. Bernstein in thread bare clothes. In his arms he carried a small box. His face betrayed no emotion as he entered the house and carried his bur den np the stain. His wife opened the door on hearing his footsteps, and then she saw the box and tainted. THE SCENE OP SOBBOW. Stepping past her as she lay on the floor. Bernstein placed the box in the middle of the room and then sat down in a chair by the window. He sat there all day without speaking or shedding a tear, and stared at the little coffin with an expressionless face. Neighbors came and brought the mother to. She could not cry either. She lifted the cover of the box, and said, half in German, half in Hebrew: "Jenny is only asleep. Isn't sbe pretty? Look at her beautiful blue eyes and her hair, which is brighter than the color of gold. What a healthy sweet-looking child she ist Hnsh, baby, sleep in peace; the angels watch your cradle. Oh, Jenny is in a coffinl My God! she's dead, dead, dead 1 Then she sang a Hebrew lullaby and knelt by the coffin. A neighbor went to the undertaker and brought a black cloth with the name "Jenny" embroidered in white letters, which she laid over the box. Then this neighbor sat on the threadbare lonnge in the room and began to cry.while the mother went on with her lullaby. This continued until long after twilight, and the mother walked constantly up and down the room, while the father sat in silence. Next day the little coffin was lowered in a grave. Electrical Lectures. It was recently suggested that electrical night schools be established in various citiea for the benefit of those who desired to be come familiar with electrical subjects, but who were fully occupied during the day. Columbia College is about to put into prac tice a modification oi this idea, and its President, Dr. Seth Low, states that it pro poses to have a course of evening lectures, illustrated by experiments, on the practical applications of electricity. Dr. Low, while favoring the idea of night schools in elec tricity, under certain conditions, is of opin ion that, in some cases, where tbev are not practicable, a course of evening lectures can be given with very great benefit. AVENUE. dan-w i g ft ?f. r '
Significant historical Pennsylvania newspapers