. ' v r X ff0 " SHE i : BEAUTIFYING THE HOME. Latest Ideas In Curtains, Curtain-Hanging, Furniture and Bric-a-Brac The Bolton Doctors a Little Off on Arsenic Colorlnc Fancies for the Fain For years and years past hygienlo cranks have periodically leveled their sharp arrows of attack at house iur nishings as a dissemi nator of disease. But (recent investigations 'show that the germ mi crobes of diphtheria, scarlet fever, typhoid fever and smallpox cling no more to the carpet or curtain than to the bare woodwork in a room. Disease organ ism is not risible to the naked eye. and a pro fessional disinfector,". G. Lacey, of Iiondon a man looked upon as an authority asserts that where contagious disease has prevailed it cannot be exterminated by removing clothing and fabrics, but every square inch of the woodwork must be treated with dis infectants also. The arsenic scare is another big bug-a-boo. The Boston Homeopathic Medical Society, as recently published in THE DISPATCH, is out with a proclamation that green wall paper is full of arsenic, likewise green every thing that the color depends upon arsenical properties. The Philadelphia Upholsterer has interviewed every leading buyer in the upholstery trade, and they all emphatically deuy this. They say that arsenic is too ex pensive, in the first place, to use so liber ally, and in the next place that where it is used it is withdrawn by cheniictl process to be uted again, thus leaving nothingof a poi sonous character behind. Ten years ago it was necessary to use arsenic, but that was before aruliue colors were discovered. Ana liuc colors are made from coal tar. Thev are beautiful and cheap, and it is not desir iible to use an expensive arsenical color, when just as good tints can be made for less money. There is not an upholstery manu facturer in this country to-day using arsenic. All shades of gray have had the firs place for" ladies' gowns for some time past, and the color still holds its own. Many of tlie latest importations are of that hue in all the different tintings; and this spring the color will be more popular than ever. Crepes in all shades will be the mosf fashionable material lor dresses this season. Tobacco brown for reception gowns is worn considerable and is becoming to most any complexions. A hundred years back it was customary for :ussy people, old maids particularly, God bless them, to bang little bnps at the head of their beds and put awjy things they misht want before rnorninj. We liaveuot seen anything of the kind for years, saj s the Philadelphia Upholsterer, but now we dis cover that these bed-pockets are beiue sold iti England, alt'ioUc'u the extent of their use is uot stated. They are arranged in faucilul sh-jies cf brass, and hang by colds or rib bons from the head of the bedstead. There is a place for the handkerchief and a place for the watch; likewise a place for the pocket book and a sign to the burglar, "Step softly and don't disturb the sleeper." One can keep here his conga mixture or bottle of ni;htcacs or eye-openers. Then, again, some of these devices take the form of niches to hold holy Mater or saintly fijjurcs, lor use in llom&n Catholic countries. We have not s?:n them in America, but once let tnem be introduced and thev certainly would sell. It's a big improvement over poking things under the pillow. Japanese fretwork is now relieved of its monotony by the introduction of bamboo squares and parallelogram shapes. Some ftctwork is also made entirely of bamboo, in sizes tapering down lite a carriage whip end bent into quirks and whirlagigs. "When the bamboo gets into the smallest or cord like size, the shapes it is permitted to assume are is intricate as could be formed with a rope. A young man in Harlem has started in to furnish bis rooms in "season" decorations, In his summer room the carpets and walls Cu'To.o . . ivA U - DOO HI f are profane with roses and trailing vines, honeysuckles and buzzing bees. TJp in the corner of the ceiling an immense spider dis parts his Ieglets in a cobweb the size of a cart wheel; caterpillars hang from the isantel, and the wall frieze is deep in a cactus and palm leaf design. It's a very realistic sort of room, even to the "keep off the grass" sign which hangs over the door, and the thermometer in the corner register ing 99. Over the doorway, a snn with a gorgeous smile on its face, looks down and weeps tears of joy on a palm leaf tan. The occupant of the room is evidently of a reminiscent mind, for over the "mantel are two bits of literature inscribed each upon white card-board of regulation size. The one reads "Ice cream sold here," and the other "Boats, 20 cents an hour." They are souvenirs, and the same girl's picture is in the corner of each. Another quaint room is a sporting room. The. occupant has a baby alligator sus pended by tail .and jaw from the mantel and a Japanese doll astraddle its back, holding a pair of ribbon reins, which tie ronnd the reptile's nose. The celling is draped with a huge fish net, oars are used in place of curtain poles, and an Indian canoe is suspended from two corners and fitted up for a bunk. The woodwork is picked out in Indian red, and fossils are scattered around on everything, like cotton snow on a Christ mas tree. That man will weary of it all as soon as the silk ribbons are dirty and the crocodile gels dust-covered. Some odd things are being shown now in Japanese crete which we can only describe as having the appearance of a crete that has been printed upon when wet. In. this way Jly5i llJS C'iw-ffiul 7.i?'SaiJ Jv IF SI ' 1 -E...loiie& O I .s,.!o(.e-& I " .,YI . 5i (' . the colors have rnn, and give only the ap pearance of what artists call wash-drawings Thus a full moon and cloud design is brought out so odd in its character, so hazy and foggy of treatment, that one sits and studies the fabric closely to discover how in the world it is accomplished. Kanso crete is a fabric done in patterns of the Japanese order, stenciled or 'printed in part and part of the design brought out by embroidery stitches. It is, in fact, a compromise be tween the two and busy women can complete the work by continuing the embroideryon the stenciled part. A brand new Japanese netting, like a fine fish netting, in Japanese golds, bronzes and such effects will surely be popular, because they have been wanted. They come in long piece lengths, 12 to 18 inches wide, finished firmly, so they won't unravel or fray out, Their uses are endless; they can be used as stripes for mantle valances, cross stripes on por tieres, or for frieze or dado decorations, or whatever else imagination suggests. Fine cambric and mull underwear have again taken their old place. For two years silk had the precedence, but now it is passe. "We who are at all observant will notice two very radical departures in recent forms of house decoration, says the Philadelphia Upholsterer. Firstly, the prevalence of natty little porticos or mantels over door ways and windows; and secondly, the ad vent of a new idea in curtain dressing, re quiring a valance along the top, where heretofore the curtain pole was a conspicu ous feature. The over-doer mantel vastly One of the Latest Designs. improves a room, and the same device, arranged over the windows, gives an excellent opportunity to display the bric-a-brac In the sketch the walls of the room are furnished with a deep frieze, with a picture molding dividing it from the lower part. These walls are in pale ivory, deepened into brown on the reddish cast along the frieze the colorings that one often sees in old ivory, soft and subdued. Over the doorways and windows, sharp bits of old blue and cardinal stand out in the bric-a-brac. Fashion seems likely to proscribe bustles for some time to come, says a Paris fashion writer. The long, plain, sinuous skirts with pleats behind, that make the more elegant mondaines look like superior fantailed pigeons, continue as popular as ever. A pretty exaggeration of the day is the garter, and daily it grows greater. "Wide, shirred, of delicate hue and with a monster bow, it has the place of honor not only among fem inine frivolities, but among "snch sterner realities as walking sticks, and cravats, and stovepipe hats. Only a few years ago you.in search of lace curtains, would go into a store and buy either a Brussels, a Nottingham, a tambour or antique. That was the variety. To-day the fashions change as in dress goods, A novelty in muslins is in old gold tints, with different-colored embroidery. Tne effect is very swell. White muslin, with chic little figures in colors, is catchy, too, and the em broidered hemstitch border is another new feature. The Irish point a jour is an en tirely new effect in a lace enrtain, the bor der being hemstitched with a wide "day light" stitch between the lace and hem. A new feature in muslin'curtains is what is called the "Hoi" effect, which adds largely to the appearance of these goods. Muslins with space or slits left through the border design for ribbon to be run through ought to become popular. The color of the ribbon can harmonize with the other decora tions of a room and produce a very pretty effect. One of the most illusive, fairy-like bits of texture, is a white crete, printed in what, for want of a better term, we will say rainbow colorings, of palepinks, blues and.yellows. Ton see the fabric from a distance of eight or ten leet, and yon in stinctively look back of you or above for a stained glass window, for the colorings are of that vague, gentle character, produced by the reflection of light through colored glass. The colors are of the softest char acter imaginable, and they run and merge the one into the other. American mothers might learn a salutary lesson from the simplicity with which French and English children of noble parentage are costumed. The nursery of the Princess of Wales has none of the superb appointments of that of American snobdom, but everything possible is done which con duces to the health, the simple pleasures and the moral growth of the embryo men and women. Since the demand for Sheraton furniture with its inlaid or Marquetrie work Mar quetrie "effects" have been worked up by manufacturers, and the success that these "effects" have met with illustrates very plainly that "all is not gold that glitters" and all is not Marquetrie that looks like it Here are pieces that are painted, then var nished, and nineontof ten would think it Marquetrie it has the effect and is applied to furniture in the shapes and design which prevailed when Marquetrie was the rage. Here is a Sheraton, a half circle folding side table hand-decorated and in reproduction of a Paris model that cost $115; it Is told for a quarter of the price. The strictly Xtapire-Jtyle is done in gold chair, white tapestry, hand-painted est. A clever windotr chair is shown in this style; also a three-cornered card table, with unfolding leaves, becomes round when opened out and much larger. It has been re produced from a London novelty and is very fetching. An oak leaf hollowed out of the wood Js a elever novelty for a table top. A shell is the shape of an odd and comfortable seat to a revolving piano stooL Letters from New York sav soft lolling lounges have been introduced in New Yorkr upperdom dining-rooms, and the stih-bactced chair had been banished. While we do not believe tbat anything of the kind has ever been undertaken in this country, says thfi Philadelphia Upholsterer, we do think that in the course of another ten years we will find the prim dining chair a "thing of the profound past. 'Thus far we have bad high back chairs and low-back chairs, chairs with arms and chairs without arms; and chairs that got in the way and were a menace to waiters, and spilled "soup and otherwise mis behaved. The dining-room is day by day and year by year becoming more a place for entertainment and less a feeding station, and why there cannot be more comfort in the furniture, is a matter that has perplexed the many. Jeweled combs,daggers and sword-hilts are stuck in the back of the head, and on these rest the bonnet, the strings coming from the back, having rather a tendency to make the poise unsteady, so that the pin becomes a necessity. ' Hampton's, in Pall Mall, London, have a number of rooms decorated and furnished in the most sumptuous manner as specimens of different styles. There are a couple of drawing rooms. One is Louis XV. in style; the other, Louis XVI. The walls of both rooms have panels of rich brocade and a plaster frieze. The ceilings are hand painted. All the chairs are upholstered in brocade and framed in ormolu. The cab inets are ornamented with equisitely painted panels. In the Louis Seize room the hearth and mantel shelf are of onyx. French fur niture is the costliest furniture made. It is only within the reach of millionaires. The back hair is sometimes imprisoned in a golden net-work which is fastened behind the hat, or three jeweled velvet bands fall over the hair, filling up the unbecoming space between the head and the hat. A pretty woman rarely has a pretty hand. American women's hands are always white, though not always shapely. Nearly all English women have red or mottled hands. Nails that have no half-moons are a sign of bad circulation. One lady operator can easily manicure 12 pairs of hands a day. One operation usually takes half an hour. Gentlemen keep their hands and nails in better condition than ladies, but they don't admire the pointed style, and they don't like their nails highly polished. To keep the nails in nice condition it is necessary to visit a manicure once a fortnight. People with lots of money are manicured every week. Many of the coming coats are not pro vided with button-holes, and in their place are loops of silk or woolen cord which fasten over bullet-shape buttons of the material. The picturesque three-cornered hat that Ellen Terry wore as Lucy Ashton in "Ba venswood," is likely to be very popular in London this season. Modistes have copied it very extensively for smart customers. All the newest hats are in fancy open-work straw; and all are trimmed with a wealth of blossoms. Ttu mixture of color get more incongruous, forinstance, magenta pink and turquoise blue on one bonnet. The crown of hats groan under the amoant of trimming they are made to carry. Great glide, or silvered hookj and eyes are used instead of clasps on some of the new long cloaks. Some of the handsome ones are jewel studded or are of faceted jet. Most of the dresses have some kind of finish about the foot, either a band of velvet or braiding, or a bias band of the material finished at the top with . a fine silk cord of several overlapping folds. Hungarian cords, frogs and olives fasten many of the jackets and Louis XV. coats. Both sides pleated, box-pleated and gath ered ruffles are fashionable, and are either bias or straight, machine hemmed or turned up on the right side and blind stitched. LUCK OH A dTEAMBOAT. Queer Experiences of Northerners In Sonth- era Waters. Palatta (Fla.) Herald.: The reporter was yesterday told an ante bellum story, or two of them, twin incidents" that although true and can be proven, are well, wonderful, to eay the least. It was told by the captain of the first passenger steamer that ever plied the turbid waters of the Ocklawaha. The vessel only had one stateroom, the captain's room and the pilot bouse. On this trip up was an old Northern gentleman and his.wife.. The husband was sitting forward reading, using an eleeant pair of gold rimmed genuine pebble spectacles. All at once a limb brushed alongside and the spectacles disappeared. He Bald nothing of his loss until his re turn, supposing them gone, and useless to trouble the Captain to stop the boat. Well, the trip was made, 'the parties returningand the boat laid up a week and started out on another trip, but this time with another couple as passengers. Just before night the lady and husband were sitting in the same seat occupied by the gentleman when he lost bis spectacles on the former trip. Along came a limb and caught a fine silk net and carried it away. The lady was bemoaning her loss, when looking down in her lap and lot there were the lost gold-rimmed specta cles. Tbey had become fastened to the limb, and the last brush rubbed them off. So much for. the spectacles. They were sent to the owner, and the captain still has his letter of thanks, in which was a $5 bill. fJNow comes the other part. Thp lady who lost her net, a very fine one, bought a com mon one as a makeshift from the country store kept at Silver Springs, until her re turn to civilization. She came back on the same boat, the same place was reached with her in like position, without knowing or noticing it, however, when her net and switch were about tc become entangled in the limb again. She frantically clutched both, and beyond a scratch or so passed in satetv; but lo, again, on looking in her lap, there' lay her fine silk net, lost coming up. All lost and finally recovered on the same limb. Sailing on the Snow. ninstratedNewi of the World." The illustration shows a method of travel adopted by Dr. Nausen in his trips over the inland ice fields. The man in front is pushed along by the sail attached to the sled. His mission is to guide the sled. About nine miles an hour was the average speed at tained in this way. PlTxSBtmG- DISPATCH HOOP-SKIRTS AGAIN. Direful Prophecy of Mrs. General Spinola in Dresd Matters.1 A EEIGH OP HEAVY BROCADES, Big BleeTes and High Kecks is Predicted by Madame Komero, THE K0TI0NS OP WASHINGTON' WOMEN rCOnBESPOUDINCI or TDK DISPATCH. 1 Washington, Feb. 28. Washington is fast becoming one of the dressiest cities in the country. Yon could carpet Pennsyl vania avenue from one end to the other with the costly satins and silks worn here of a winter, and there is enough velvet and plush at every White House reception to drape the Capitol from one end of it to the other, and from its basement to the dear Goddess of Liberty who stands on her tip toes on the dome. A number of our leading ladies design their own dresses, and I know one or two who wear the most beautiful costumes seen here who make their own dresses. On last New Year's Mrs. Senator Davis wore at ber reception a Greek dress of pink plush, out of which her magnificent form showed in all its voluptuous beauty. As I stood beside her I whispered in her ear tbat she looked lovely and that she had the prettiest dress in Washington. Juit as Good as 'Worth's. "I both designed and made it myself," she replied; and it was certainly as beauti ful as any of the Worth productions I have seen this winter. A number of American women give ideas to French dressmakers, and there are some ladies here who are even A French Costume of Old Mue Embroidered Swedish Cloth. bold enough to predict the lashions of the future. During these giddy Lenten days for society is apparently more giddy now than in the winter many of the wives of our noted men have been expressing their opinions as to the toilets and dresses of the future. Many of them have numerous new dresses which are to come out after Easter. Mrs. Spinola, wife of the New York Rep resentative, wears toilets which are consid ered among the most magnificent worn here. It is well known that most of them orig inate in Paris, and on that account are al lowed to be well in the lead. Although of Paris make, much of theirattracliveness is, due to their wearer's own taste. Mrs. Spi- nola has very artistic ideas, and the gowns most admired are frequently those which have been'altered to conform to her own in structions. Mrs. Spinola said: Women Want More Drapery. "I am snre women in this day. dress much more sensibly than they have ever before, but these plain skirts are becomine very tiresome. They make women look so skimpy and there is so little chance for draping that women feel awkward. On the last new dress that I received this week there are four ruffles about the foot, and during thecoming season I expect to see skirts ruffled and trimmed to the knees, widely worn. The tendency is to carry the ruffling clear to the waist, and, as the frills come, I already hear faint minors ol the possibility of the revival ot hoop skirts. "They never will be as large as they once were. Women never would submit to that, I do not believe, but small ones are on the way. Doctors will welcome them I believe fori know of physicians who consider a small hoop far less injurious than tightly clinging skirts. My latest Parisian gowns show that sleeves will be puffed to the elbow, often in several puffs, and a great deal of fullness and trimmings will continue to give size to the tops and fronts of bodices. Keeping Ahead of the Seasons. ' "Art dresses will not be so numerous and trains will not' be lengthened. There is a new style in India silks which I expect to WpiflEC A Blouse Bodice. see much worn, since it is so cool and grace ful. For voung 'ladies the simpler style of gowns, ruffled about the skirt 'and with a profusion of chiffon and mulle about the neck, commends itself and will be the prime favorite. . "We women give so tittle attention in Washington to hats and bonnets that I have as yet formed- no conclusions as to the fea tures for the coming season in millinery. In dresses, however, Paris gowns are always a year, and incases where one is well known as to be able to secure the choicest designs, they are at least two seasons ahead, 'so that I am able to judge by that. A very fine Parisian noveltv, if discreetly handle'! and worn with care, is really good for three sea sons on this side." Mrs. Howard Whyte, the daughter and presiding genius of Senator Sawyer's Wash ington palace, is known as a most mag nificently gowned woman. Her artistic tastes result in the production of toilettes that are symphonies in form and color, and several of them worn this 'season are ad mitted to be faultless in every detail, while marked by great originality. An Advocate of Simplicity. Mrs. Whyte had hardly decided just what direction fashion would exploit itself this summer. She thinks. that the present mode is the greatest advance yet made and that the plain dresses are most suitable for gen eral wear. She said: "I am a believer iq Mrs. Jenness Miller's system and styles and advocate their adop tion. Mrs.Miller'8 styles run to no extreme and I do not believe that whatever change Mm m- SUtfDAl comes this summer that women are going to adopt anything I so exaggerated as to be un natural. I hope' they have too much good sense now. The bustle was unnatural, skirts tied tightly back were immodest and too much drapery was uncomfortable. From the little thought I have given to the matter I should conclnde there will be very little perceptible change from the winter modes which will be reproduced in summer ma terials." Madame Komero, wife of the Mexican Minister is another faultlessly attired woman and one who while not a devotee of fashion always keeps well ahead of the reigning style,' choosing rather to illustrate the tendency than the mode. She said: Krocado'to Be Popular. "I am very glad to see the approach of the heavy brocade. It must result in the most A Popular Feathered HaU perfect simplicity of form, since the large designs and heavy goods are not adapted to a confusion of drapings or trimmings. At a recent dinner party I was unable to resist admiring the appearance of one of the guests. Her gown was a magnificent brocade. The skirt tell in graceful folds to her feet, while a fall demi-train swept be hind. The corsage was also plain, high necked and long, very long sleeved. The contrast was almost startling as every other woman was in decollete toilette, yet among the entire company there was no more dis tinguished looking woman than she who wore the high-necked brocade. "I can see no indications of any decided change for early spring or summer. Plain gored skirts trimmed about the bottom and big sleeves with pretty scarfs and a great variety of ruffled neck kerchiefs and big flowered hats will cover the style without going into details." What the Marquise dl Ianza Thinks. The beautiful gowns of the Marquise di Lama are as well known in New York as here in Washington, and her taste and rare judgment in matters pertaining to personal adornment are always highly regarded. Mme. di Lanza said: "I fear the tendency of the pompadour revival is going to be too strong for the good sense of society women. I cannot see in them any inclination toward increased simplicity, or even the retention of present moderate fashions. We are 'go ing to have a reign of brocades, full skirts, puffed sleeves, small waists, high heels and all the accompaniments, including crinoline, I fear. "The novelties imported here in ball gowns creep into thin summer dresses, and unless rigid English styles prevail once again exclusively, will finally affect the street gowns. It is hardly probable thnt the inva sion will show any very pronounced result till fall, and the summer girl will still flaunt the long swaying skirt of the winter girl, but with all her ruffles, puffs and long waist elaborated. Imitating Repoirdered Ancestors. "She will bring onr great-great-grandmothers' styles out in sprigged silks and muslins, and by next winter we shall look more like our bepowdered ancestors than ever, and there is no telling where it will stop. Yes, I am sure that the small and long waists will continue and U is not the fault entirely of society women either. The dressmakers seem leagued together to pro long its existence and no matter how em phatically a woman protests it is almost im possible to find a dressmaker who will not insist on making evening gowus from one to three inches smaller about the waist than walking dresses. They siy that all women lace in the evening, and no matter what a woman says when a gown is sent home the dressmaker has had her way. If a dress re form is to be succcessfnl it should first con vert the dressmaker." The gowns of Mrs. W. D. Owen, wife of the .Bepresentative from Indiana, are char acterized by a dainty grace that commands sincere admiration. Whatever it is, Visit ing, reception, street or ball costume, the purest and most refined suggestions are il lustrated in the composition of it. Insists on Health Costumes, Mrs. Owen believes firmly in the en couragement of American talent and com mits the design of her costumes to a Detroit artist. In addition, she is in constant cor respondence with one of tlje highest author ities among fashion writers in England, a woman who makes a study of the possibil ities and probabilities of the coming sea son, and the evolution of styles. Mrs. Owen S3i"d: "I earnestly advocate that grace in dress which is only obtainable through strict ob servance of the fundamental principles of health. Loose fronts, draped fronts, a mod erate amount of ornamentation and light weight materials are most in accordance with my taste. But I realize than within the coming summer and winter a struggle for supremacy Is to take place between such styles and those of the brocade regime, with its unnealtbful train of ideas. Bro cade and poplin are so stiff and harsh in tpTtnra and lend themselves with such ill- grace tofdraping and looping that they are unbecoming to all save a few. I am ad vised by my London correspondent that the solt blinging materials are bound to win in the end and to remain true to them." Condemns the Immodest Pall-Back. Mrs. Flower, wife or Representative Flower, of New York, appears in toilettes that are considered marvels of elegance. They 8rc creations of Connelly tempered by Mrs. Flower's own convictions of what is most in accordance with her style, but whatever it is, the essence of the latest ideas characterize it. Mrs. Flower is not au ardent admirer of very plain and scant skirts and has a reason for it. "Thev are immodest," said she, "particu larly soin windy weather. While a mod erate amount of severity in cut is very commendable, the way in which some of the skirts are robbed of cloth in the front breadths is a pity. I have,, just received a dress which I think combines the ideas which the best dressed women will prefer this summer. The gored skirt has some fullness about the hips and the trimming is plaiting with lace, looped and extending a third of a yard from the bottom, for the heading. The vest is richly embroidered and the jacket extends half way to the knees. The back is full demi-train and I consider a long bustle necessary with snch a dress." The differences of opinion among these ladies 'tend to prove that no fashion can wholly destroy individuality in the Amer ican woman of this day, and that particu larly while there is a struggle between any two schools ot fjshion, every woman can assert her independence. A good rule in getting dresses this spring will be when in doubt as to which is the more stylish, buy the'one which suits your own self. Miss Gkvndy, Je. Bockofeller's Open Pocket. New York Morning Journal. The tender spot and open purse that John D. Enckefeller, the millionaire oil king, always has for religious and charitable projects, especially if they are connected with the Baptist faith, keeps a swarm of begging ministers at his doors most of the dav. A witty Methodist minister called upon the millionaire Friday night, and, alter ex; plaining his visit, said in a seductive way: "Now, how much may I put your name down for, sir, in this worthy cause?" "But," said ,the rich man, "I am not of your church." , . 'That doesn't matter," said the minister, "your money is orthodox." LETTERS OP LADIES. Those Which Shirley Dare Gets Give One Much to Think of. SOME LESSONS ON LIP CULTURE. Dishwashing Should Make the Beautiful, Hot Ugly. "lands CHANGE OP OCCDPATlOJf FOE WOMCN rwarmut fob the dispatch.! Haven't you heard men say they would give half of almost anything to know what women talked about and what thev wrote to each other? It is one of the green goose say ings by which a man betrays unripe judg ment no matter what his age may be. Women and men spring from the same stock, have the same petty malice, ambition, curiosity. Were you able to press your ear against every doorpost in the city and hear what went on within, a week would weary you with the boredom ot its sameness and you would only wonder why men and women must always repeat similar ideas. If you share half a doxen women's letters with me to-day expect nothing that you could not have written yourself. , Bella B. is in trouble and "will I kindly inform her whether 1 know of a cure, opera tion or remedy of anv kind for a thick underlip, grown so from biting." Mrs. C. wants hints for her Sunday school talks on manners also. I trust the talks on manners are not given in Sunday school, for precious as manners may be morals are scarcer and more priceless, and one hour a week is little time to give young women ideas ot truth speaking, faithfulness in lit tle things, consideration for others, justice to rich women and poor women alike, to friend and foe alike the only ones on these points which they will probably have in all their lives. First Principles of Manners. v If some eveniag in the week the friend and teacher gives a talk on behavior she may as well begin with thifl underbred habit of biting the lips, and tesch her class the beginning of wisdom in personal appearance, which is to hold the mouth closed and firm when not speaking. It is one of the hardest tasks in training to keep young people's months shot Girls must be biting their lips out of nervousness, because they don't know exactly what to do with tbemselves not knowine. as thev would say in school girl dialect, how they give themselves away. by doing so. The greatest blemish on the manners of Mme. de Pompadour was this same trick of biting her lips when annoyed, by which they early lost their color and their beautv. The sensual fullness of the lips in beauties of the Restoration and Hogarth's time was also partly due to the habit -gross people have of working and tasting their lips, their mouths being the only parts of their fleshy frames lively enongh to exercise. Bella B. can do little' to improve her thick lips be yond ceasip- i habit of biting them and waiting ' shap' the , -thin i to folk ' to regain their natural piece of thick tiufollover s at a time will tend to Vis have the patience for six weeks, r the Lips. - old-fashioned and i ision ot character ' ''ed, expressive 'e beauty of-tbe the point to It .wih formal to sa if you want, mouth, but th. lips without it. say that it is impt. the passages of the nose perfect) , , the mouth well closed and mot. - thing be fore leaving privacy j 1 tj be a toilette de nez, clearing u n "water of cologne and water, or 'h the handy atomizer which has. si for the toilet besides wasting pv There is no sorer way of k.. j bright than by keeping the l .. breath free. The compound .i the stuffed head, the vermontL r a open jaw betosen not only pnj ..cal uui mental incompetency. A youth or a man cannot have good sense if. his nasal and breathing apparatus is oat of order, and of necessity anecting his brain. Jfhysiclans find that the stupidity of many children at school vanishes with tne cure or catarrh. that sure sequence of want of intelligent care in early years. The trouble removed. the lungs and breath working 'freely, the blood in body and brain aerated, the child seems to wake into new lite, loses its lost ness and grows bright and playful as the brightest of its mates. Boys in their teens and twenties often have a touch of catarrh from sleeping in stuffy, unventilated rooms. Talus of Good Breathing. Green, awkward animals that hardly have their growth, without their strength", they feel 'and dread the cold, shut up their sleep ing rooms to the' fumes of damp boots and cocks, and bury their heads under the bed clothes, inhaling their own breath over, and over, till the whole breathing canal is out of order, and they regularly poison and narcotize themselves for the ensuing day. The mouths of such youths fall open partly from weakness of the hinges of the jaw, partly because their only chance of breath is by leaving the door wide open. The friends of such an unfortunate cannot do a kinder thing than to ridicule him till he breaks the habit 'which gives him the bearing of a fool. One pities the friends, however, for mental obtuseness lends its obstinacy to any correct imp'ression, and the clumsy young idiot cannot be persuaded that his expression is not on a par with bis stiff shirt collar and correct tie. Still let no faithful mother or sister despair. I have seen bad habits clung to lor 25 years in spite of daily criticism and remonstrance at last break upon their owner in their native offense, followed by a speedy easting away. Bebuke Like a Surgeon's Knife. As a rule we are too tender of bad habits. It is a kindness to anyone, be he our own blood or the farthest stranger, to give the re buke sharp as a surgeon's blade, which will at once dissect the evil thing which mars bis daily presentment. This sounds severe, but everv devoted mother will agree to its truth and kindness. The boy or girl who will not learn at home in years of training will wake up to a stranger's criticism, and it would be worth a year's income to some men and women to be told the one bad habit which makes their presence shunned or en dured with" aversion by their fellow beings. To fall back on lighter themes, No. 2 would like advice in regard to her hands. "In summer they are whito, but as soon as cold weather sets in they turn a dark blue and red. Tbey re very soft and are never chapped. Bhe does no work whatever, and seldom has them in water except oatmeal water.- As she has a great deal ot company and goes out very often, it is most annoy- ing. , This Girl Had Bettor Work. It would he well for her hands If she did some work that would bring. them into play and restore 'the circulation. She cauld hardly do anything better for them than to wash.her own china and silver twice a day, in all the elegance of a tray in the dining room or butler's pantry, with a white cedar Hiugham tub, its brass hoops like gold, a snowy cup map and napkin, with 'clean hot suds "of Marseilles soap which wonld not dishonor the daintiest fingers. Nothing would do her hands more good than to wash a dozen or two plates in the old-fashioned way with hands in warm water, rinsing thepi afterward with clear, warm water hav ing a teaspoonlul of lemon juice anil a Pi I? "C1 and at the same time extend our business and --.CRAYON PORTRAITS ,.J make new customers, we have decided to make this special offer. Send us a Cabinet Picture, Photograph, Tin Type, Ambrotyp,I or Datruerrotvoe. of yourself or anv member of your family, livlns or dead, and we will make vou a UPEl RTKw rrri AVCrtiY POBTBATI? FREE OP OH AJEWJE,, in securing us future oiders. Place name any change in picture you wish, not interfering with the liksneis. Refer to any bank AIUIV uAXiMli tablespoonful of cologne in it. The usual advice to keep hands out of dishwater must be reversed in such cases. Asking pardon of. your sensibilities for such a subject the water our cups and spoons are washed in shonld not be dirty water in the least. No manienre or hand bath will do the good .f dabbling in very warm soap suds for those blue and red hand, and their owner should take every xbance of doing up ber own laces and little things. After this, fencing or throwing bean bags or quoits gives the exercise which aerates the blood, and drives it through the extremities. If there is no trouble with' constipation or tight lacing, the two worse foet of the complexion, this simple change of habits would not only improve the hands hut the health and looks generally Dishwashing Made Nlco. While we are on this vulgar, but most highly respetable topic, let me say to those ladies who do themselves the honor of at tending to their own housework, and conse quently have it done by ladies as to ladies' taste, that there is no need of spoiling hands by ever so mnch dishwashing if the right care is taken. It is the scalding water, the hard water, bad soap and hasty half-drying which makes hands so coarse. A" little soda, half a te'aspoonful or less to a gallon of water warm enough to beat the china well, but not parboil the hands, and decent soap, not the strong kitchen bar which ruins skin wherever it touches, still less as some would-be refined women advise toilet soap for this operation. The notion of scanted soap in dishwashing would bar the use of it forever from most toilets- The white cotton oil soaps, in which we are sure of clean oil, and no more alkali than is needed and which will sell as cheaply as any, should be used for china and light washing. AH stronger cleansing should be managed with a "mop with a handle 15 to 18 inches long, which a few of the best furnishing stores have the sense to sell, and which keep hands and dress effectually from injnry, while doing the work with speed and sureness. The Wise Choosing of Soaps. There is a choice also in laundry soaps. A laundry soap should never hurt the skin. If itdoesitis not safe for clothes, for our integu ment can resist much more than cotton fiber. I am just delighted with a fine laundry soap, made from a recipe given by Fran Ton Bitter (you know what famous housewives these well born German ladies are) to Lola Muntez, who was notable in common affairs as she was in cosmetics and fascination the reason her reign lasted so long Yon needn't ask where the soap is to be bad. I made mine from the original recipe by favor of a lady of the family, and quite approve the indorsement of La Montez that "it is the only soap to be used near woolens." I am prouder of my soap making and tree pruning than of anything else except my carnations. It is so nice to have a well descended lanndry soap, which you are sure has nothing to do with fat from cattle dead of pneumonia or any such pleasant con tagion. No matter if you don't see to your washing farther than making out the laun dry list, who likes the idea of wearing clothes that have soaked and boiled with such soap, let alone the integrity of your shirts at $36 the dozen, more or less, and your white laced petticoats. Working Hands the Prettiest. Now the beauty of this home-made Ger mau soap is tbat it not only whitens linen beautifully, but saves the hands which use it. There is everything in guarding the skin from coarse, impure soaps and bad water. Sightly cared for, I repeat, there is no need of having hands .grow stumpy and thick with work. They were made to work, and some of the hardest working races in tbe world have the finest hands and feet. Mark what Mr, Stanley says of the. African pigmies who bunt and grub for a living and yet have the most beautiful extremities, as do many of the savage tribes. The Japan ese, the'Hiudoos, Italians and Finns work and drudge, yet tneir nanus are more shapely and tbe skn finer th" " jf ill H. se i ! ' to- soma ftfw" itllm .. .uieuioiy tough-' can't say tender but smooth v: which a lifetime of work will s whether it holds the plow h - . ,. helm of housekeeping. , 1 Gloves for Working Hands. Mittensof fine crash are indispensable for women's hands when housekeeping, a yard making half a dozen pair which can be kept clean for daily use. Dirty gloves and mit tens injure hands more than soap and work together sometimes I am fain to believe from observation. Have plenty of protections and help if you do your own housekeeping or any part of it. "if you save a servant's wages why shouldn't you spend part of it in being good to yourseli? My hands are into everything from carpentry to gardening, but I keep a dozen pair of gloves to work in, and put on six clean ones a day if required. 1 Why shouldn't a woman about her occupa tions be as careful as a surgeon at his clinic, and tbat is the acme of nicety. A hospital surgeon or aid will not wipe his hands twice on tbe same towel or napkin. It would be nice to treat one's home to the same dainti ness. With plenty of clean gloves or "mit tens and the right sort of dressing for the hands at night one may work for ten chil dren and have lady hands at 60. Tender Feet and Spine Trouble. I fullv sympathize with "the mother of ten" who writes her aversion to wrinkles, and if she had only sent her address she might ere this baye known how to avert them. So with the teacher who wants some thing to make her feet less tender. Feet tenderness remains spite of bathing in salt and water, alcohol, alum and all tbe rest are a .sign of something wrong with the spinal nerves. This tenderness and pain of the extremi ties is often one of the first symptoms of serious spine trouble. Why won't some rich woman who wants to really help some body make it possible for teachers and shop women to alternate a year behind the copn ter with a year out of town a 'country year of outdoor work, not vacation merely where they could throw off some of their ailments before they bad time to become fixed? A resolute woman mlzht change her way of earning as it is if she would. There are country homes which wonld be glad of some one to help, to share trim work with a trim housewife, to help garden and gather fruit. The Phantom of Fancied Gentility. But that would be too much like work for shopladies, and so they stay behind the counters and in offices, and their hair turns gray and their faces grow lined, and tbey go on" to hospitals with ugly tumors and vari cose veins and things which don t seem very mnch better than working in the garden with the' fresh, sweet wind to breathe, the oriole singing and the strawberry plants laughing in their bright white and green as one weeds them and the backache everv dav growing less while the frame is strung anew o comion anu vigor. What stands in the way but the phantom of fancied gentility? Well, if people prefer to die of tumors and ulcers and inanition rather than sacrifice the genteel thev can have the privilege. Bnt it is a pity when there are so many ladies in everv sense of the word who keep their own fruit gardens and greenhouses, not by the storybook method oi hiring a man to do the work for them, bnt by, the infinitely more profitable mode of doing it themselves, and they are all of them precisely the sort of women that gentlemen like to talk to. These women s letters give one so much to think of. Shiblxt Dabs. foil 20 From date of thia paper. provided you exhibit it to your friends as a sample of our -work, and use vour influence and address on back-of picture and it will avvuui juuvairriiji axjjiiiiiiii. PLXIASB BE. SURE TO MENTION -jCHIS PAPEB. A GOWN FOR. LENT. Almost Severe in Its Simplicity but Perfection in Its Pit. SECRET OP BERNHAKDFS TOILETS. Undulating Lines and Fabrics That CliBj , Like a Mute Caress. 3IADAME DISDA1SS THE COESEI rWlUTTXS'TOBTHS DIJrATCB.1 The fashionable woman endeavors to go to church during Lent as becomingly a rayed as is consistent with her religion; she , wears gowns of nun's grey symbolical of J sack cloth and ashes, but of asthetia ashes. ashes of roses; she does not deem it incon sistent to pin a Madam Lang rose upon her Krlmmer muff or to tarry a prayer book bound in silver and encrusted with moon stones, the gift of her last adorer. The gown is usually simple enough to suit the taste of an anchorite, ' and is eminently adapted for prayerful contemplation, as it is not M Going to Church Becomingly. elaborate that it makes one dream of the vanities of the'world. As to the fit it Is perfection, bnt that is not a sin, and the long gracelul lines follow the sinuosities of figure, and almost conceal the dainty feet. The hat is perhaps a trifle coquettish, but what of that one must sacrifice some little coruer to Satan. Studying the Slender Sarah. And in spite of the anathemas of the church, one goes to the theater, and the New York belle furtively studies. Sarah, the lithe limbed, with her tortoise shell lorg nette and wonders why she is such a seduc tive creature. Nature has endowed her with a warm sensuous charm and art has supple mented nature to some degree. Bernhardt has made a study of herself, and unlike most women has had the hardiness to invent her own styles, those best adapted to accent uate her willojry charms. Gowns with long, undulating lines t of colors so undefined that one can soc find a name for them; clinging la"r'c"i enwrap the supple limbs like mute can jewels that are mere adi'icts to the artu costume, all tend to enhance the lovelii of the queen of tragedy and subordit themselves to her uses. i The Contrast With Davenport. J Bernhaxdt's gowns that she don tn 1 Tosca" are bv no means so slaborafr L those of Fanny Davntfc.bl" 1 ii r "'" room scene, jcjuuj f of he-dreara.smllroorriaInj-.ie 1 ornament. A .bouts -VV. love-Knot, crusted with diamonds catches the other of the gown. Clinging fabrics of sad colors are 1 becoming to the Queen ot Tragedy. 1 (or flea-color), so fashionable during reign of Louis XYI., is a supreme fav with Sarah, the somewhat dingy hue b relieved with delicate embroidery in ft tints, blues and greens. A trained gow French taffeta which she wears ia the t act has pencil stripes of pink and green; a vine wrought in oriental tints ia about the hem and waist, while tbe beck is finished with a deep ruffle of creamy lace. Correct Down to Details, These "La Tosca" gowns are correct ia every detail, being reproductions of those in pictures of the directory period. Even the monstrous hat with its floating ribbons and its forest of nodding plumes is becomingly posed upon the floff of tbat wonderful hair of tawny gold which like a shining aureola encircles the cream-tinted low Greek fore head. One of Sarah's toilette de ville pays tribute to the Tartan plaid mania. It is of ocean-blue velvet barred with red and yel low. It is in princess shape with full sleeves of blue ottoman silk ami deep velvet cuffs. Her wrap is a superb one of Bussisn sable. In the privacy of her apartment she gowns herself in long clinging robes of her favorite crepe de chine or of soft India silk or crepon. The Greek style suits her admirably, the contour ot her lithe limbs being visible be neatb.' Madam Bernhardt disdains the corset Her underwear consists of a bodice decol lete, of flesh-colored silk, just like that worn for evening, but quite guiltless of bones and laced up tbe bace. There is not a vestige of trimming about the low-cut neck, and she wears nothing either beneath or above it; a short petticoat or India silk appears beneath the dress. CockiS3 Annie de Moktaiou. THE COPPER'S SOFT SPOT. Bough Policemen Sometimes Beveal Their Better Selves. A sight which always attracts the atten tion of the throngs in Fourth strest is that of a huge policeman leading a little boy or girl, who has managed to become lost, to police headquarters, says the Cincinnati Commercial Gazette. The women take great interest in such an incident of the street, and the officer is frequentlyaskedsome very funny Questions about his tiny charge. On hears now and then a great deal of talkjf- about the brutality of policemen, but the jp" public knows nothing of the tenderness witst' which the wandering waifs are treated by tbe stern looking officers in blue. It of tin occurs tbat an officer carries lJtt infant in his arms many blocks, and not la frequently the tot cries itself to sleep la faU arms. It is then that the coarsest officer ex hibits all the dormant tendernes-of hit fia turt, and some of his critics might forgive him if they could see the geatlsaes with which be handles his charge. Stop at the Hollenden,. ia Cleveland. American and European plans. gu Wishing to introduce our be returned in perfect order. We maks in "New York. Addresa all mall to x VJ.UUXJX tt JiJSTr JEtASJSw V2 aoWSJ-: It
Significant historical Pennsylvania newspapers