BOH I RQML How the Greatest Lady Artist in the World Lires in Ker Frencli Oastle. CAUGHT SKETCHING SHEEP Der Caricatures of Her Enemies When Slie.Was a Schoolgirl. EXPERIENCES IN MALE COSTUME. Fooled the Hough Busy Ken When She Painted Her Horse fair. A TEEP AT HEE LIOXS AXD OTHER PETS tconr.EsroxDrvCE or the dispatcho Paeis, April 1L All the villages in the district of Fontainebleau are peopled by artists xiho lead a vfty retired life and without fatigue constantly observe nature while encaged upon their pictures. Among all these artisis' homes noise is more attrac tive than Castle Thomery, the residence of Rosa Bouheur, the greatest lady artist that the world has ever seen. An old servant in a rather shabby livery received me at the gate. I handed him my EOSA BOSHETJE'S DEXIZEXS OP THE HIGHLAND. letter of introduction, but he shook his head doubtfully. "I don't know, sir, she Is at work and does not like to be disturbed, but I will see." He returned shortlv. "Please follow rae," and led me through the rather nc lectcd garden. "She is studying froa. nature," he smiled, "out on the meadow, as madame calls it. As soon as she moved out here all the well trimmed lawns of the parks were turned into pasture grounds." Fainting Some Angora Sheep. He left me at the end of the avenue and a straujre sight met my eyes. The old lady she i now 70 was standing before the easel end vigorously applying the brush to her canvas while a few Angora sheep were driven about by a young peasant girl. She v.as dressed in a rather short black cress covered entirely by a large apron, over which she wore a dilapidated fur man tle; around her shoulder she had wrapped D green shawl, as it was rather cold. Coarse shoes and an old straw hat completed her costume. It was the first time T had met a lady so indifferent to her costume and appearance. Her short hair had turned gray and her features bore the signs of old age, but still revealed that energy which speaks out of her pictures. She nodded to me without stopping in her work. "In a moment, sir." Then step ping back and looking alternately at the painting and the sheep, she began: "So you would like to hear something of the events of my life and the becinning of my career. Mon Dieul that is so long ago. 1'ou sec, I no longer make a secret of my ace. Vovez niv father was a teacher of drawing in Bordeaux, and had his hands tnll in bringing up four children on his slender salary. And my mother assisted as well as she conld in giving music lessons. "We are a laborious family everv one of us en artivt. My sister Tuliette (now Mme. Peysollc) paints mostly sheep, my brother August prelers cow, Isidore is a sculptor and I paint everything as long as it can creep, crawl, jump or fly." She Has a Vein of TTamor. At the firt glance I thought she would be rather reticent and drv in her conversation, Judging from something hard and masculine in her face and the straight, compressed lips, and nas agreeably surprised by her vivacity and the vein of humor which seemed the kevnote of all she said. "My mother died when I was about 7. Then Bordeaux became intolerable to my lather and he brought us all to live in Paris. He gave us in board to an honest, childless widow, 'Mere Catherine' we called her. Mou Dieu! how unendurable it was for me to sit beidc the old lady all day long and sew or knit or, pire encore, help in the domestic woik It was an impossibility and, escaping whenever I could, I rambled about the Bois de Boulogne, which was a wilderness then c.impared to what it is now. One dav my lather came home full of joy and told me he would be able to put me in a boarding school in exchange lor the drawing lessons. It was one of the best boarding schools in Paris, where there were none except rich young ladies. They were taught all the ac complishments desirable for society. "My good lather," she said musingly, "wished for a simpler kind of education more in harmonvwith his means, but choice was not lelt to him, and he eagerly seized on the lortunate opportunity consoling himself that I would become an accom plished lady and that my intercourse with well-bred girls would modifv mv abrurjt- ness of disposition. Poor fattierl Made Caricature in School. "All my habits proved so antagonistic to those of the school that he gave up all hopes of my ever improving or gaining my liuag. How well do I remember myself in ruy thin print gown and disheveled hair; my total unconcern about dress horrified the other pupils, who shunned me and called me 'little beggar,' but I cruelly avenged myselC I made pea and ink caricatures of them and took care not to flatter. I did not even spare the mistresses. Altogether I was very lazy except in draw ing, which I could practice all day. And 1 have remained much the same all my life." People have assured me, who know her Intimately, that she is rather ignorant in most matters which well educated leaders are supposed to be acquainted with. She does not even speak French correctly, and a regard the orthography in her letters many a school girl could put her to shame. "Bieu, soon after," she resumed, "we lived in a small apartment on the sixth floor ith a little terrace on the roof. This ras generally used to drv the linen, but I soj iound another co for it besides. I bro&ght home a little li"nb which wa pre sented ir.e by n friend and irstailed it there. Xrc rny leisure moments I drew it ovr and over again in every passible position, and one i.ight, alter I had succeeded in making a 'air drawing, 1 said to my lather: "I wish to become a cattle painter." Then I b'S11 to make excursions into the country to paiot irom nature and mixed freely with ca:tis dfalers so that I became thoroughly aequilated with the ways of cnimals." 'When did madame score her first suc cess?" I asked politely. Her First Salon Picture. "InlSUI for the first time exhibited two pictures in the Salon. One of rabbits, the other of goats and sheep. Since then fortune smiled on me, thoaghTit was quite a etep from the humble beginner to the artist who had won all the Salon prizes and upon whom Empress Eugenie herself conferred the cross of the Legion d'Honncur. lata the onlv woman who has received thatcros for intellectual achievements," and her eves flittered with pride, for it is the joy of her lite; even the exorbitant prices she receives for her pictures from her English purchas ers cannot outweigh it. In the meantime she had finished her sketch and motioned me to take a look tit. ... "Don't vou think these sheep look excel lent in the barren, wintry landscape. But people want them painted in their native conutry and so I have to invent some scen ery, as I have never traveled so far. This scene could appear more natural, but it would not satisfy the public, and we artists onlv care for the effect,you know." The peasant girl drove away the sheep, a servant packed up the easel and painting utensils aud so we walked back, she leaning lightly on my arm. I asked her about her present occupations. She Tafcrs Life Very Easy. She told me she let no day pass without doiug something; she was an early riser, but indulged in a nap during the day and re tired to bed early, so she could most likely prolong this mode of life tor quite a while, and later on "Eh bien!" she exclaimed, "all things come to an end." Then the told me that she was lately en paged in paintiuc a lifesizc portrait of Buffalo Bill, who had been her guest at Thomerv. And that, besides a number of small pictures for the market, she had de voted much time to her lions. "Yes," she smiled, "I have a pair of lions in my menagerie," and she led me to the cages which, uulike those in the zoological gardens, are very spacious and contain in he middle an artificial stony eminence and i tank of water. She then led me through le stable. There were horses and cows of every breed by the dozen, a herd of sheep, goats, a number of rare animals and any amount of smaller ones like rabbits, poul try, etc At last we arrived at a sort of reception room, ornamented principally with pictures mostly by modern animal painters, among them several excellent Troyons, whose pupil she was for some time. The furniture was exceedingly plain, for she never had any taste for luxury. Jot Like Ordinary Women. She is a peculiar woman, the complete ab sence in her of all the sentiments and of ail tne necessities which usually character ize her sex is everywhere obvious. People affirm that she never used perfumes in all her life, that millinery and'dressmaking are a horror to her and that she wears jewels only on rare occasions. For her meals she enjoys strong, nourishing food, not much better than that of the better situated peas ants, only that it is served in a better style. It is also said that she has but little love for family life and that has never been attached Rosa Bonheiir. to any one half as much as to her horses and cattle. It is a fact, however, that she never married and no loTe affair ever came to the notice of the public. .Notwithstanding her castle is always fre quented by a crowd of artists as well as men of the world and she moves among them in her nonchalant, Bohemian manner, in her careless toilet, always chatting away, now and then smoking a cigarette and retiring and sitting down to work when she feels like it. A picture, apparently of a handsome young man with short curly hair and of a slender yet heavy boned figure, attracted my " ntion- On remarking it, ahe exclaimed: "That's me 50 years ago." This was always the costume she donned on her sketching tours. "My male costume," she laughed at vari ous reminiscenses, "was verv convenient lor liberty of study, but it also had its draw backs, and it appears that they were never more troublesome as when I was paintine the 'Horse Fair. Bonheur In Male Costume.. The horse dealers delighted to see a lad with so much appreciation lor the horses whose portraits I came to draw. wer ln,l in their expressions of politeness, which naturally resulted in the offer of apetite verre and I, feeling ; no inclination to visit a publio house to drink with them, was at my wits' end to find suitable excuses, such as would not wound these well meaning fellows to whom my refusals were unaccountable. But it was a jolly time after all especially when I made sketches in the country, jumped fences and ditches just like a boy. "Once when I was returning from the country in the male attire which I alwavs wore on my travels, I suddenly heard that one of my friends was ill, and, without find ing time to change my costume, I hurried to the sick room. As I was seated on the bed of the patient, holding her hand to as certain if there was any fever, the doctor came in and seeing me, a young man, in such a familiar position, hastily closed the door and discreetly retired. Then my friend reminded me that I was in male at tire and that the physician may have been led to believe what was far Irom the truth. I immediately ran after the doctor, luckily caught him ou the stairs and left him greatly surprised to hear that the young man Via Lt.l .. lad n, .-ll.. I.L- 1. 1 ..u . U.MA JU3 Ml, bhV-. ICIU VllbU HIS patient was me, ltosa uonncur. S. J. One of Jodse IVaxem's Proverbs. Detroit Tree Frew.! "When a man's party ain't takin' very good keer of him, be gets to thinkin' some times that mebbe the other party ain't so dangerous to the wcllfoir of the nation as he thought it wuz. THE TABLE. THE FRESH GOSSIP OP THE HOUB. What it Woman Did While Waiting for Her Hnsband to Dinner The Victoria Bonnet New rroot That Ice Cream Is Good noose Cleaning. IWBITTEN TOR THE DISPATCH. J A woman the other day proudly displayed a really gigantic piece of work which she had just finished. One of the bed covers made of a large linen sheet which covers bed, pillows and all and hangs over at the sides, and which was hemstitched all around and afterward covered all over with strag gling pansieB worked in natnral colors. Toward the middle of the counterpane the flowers were massed in a large loose wreath with a monogram embroidered in its center. It was beautiful, but a mquntaiu of work, and the visitor was duly astonished when its author explained that she had accomplished It entirely in the time that her husband kept dinner waiting. "We dine at 6," she says, "and I never touched the piece until that hour. Some times I could work 10, sometimes 40 minutes, occasionally I have put in an hour before Mr. B. came, but the entire pieco of work represents the employment of this variable time." In this connection the recent establishing of "Odd Minute Societies" for charitable work is significant. Fifteen minutes per day, aggregating an hour and a half per week, spent in sewing for some designated avenue of benevolence constitutes one's right of membership.and it is remarkable the amount of result which is evolved from this minimum of eflort In Amsterdam it is the fashion to an nounce broken engagements. There is nothing new under the sun, and a tremendous hat that is making a sensation in London these days under the title of "The Victoria" is really only a reproduc tion of a milliner's creation that delighted The Victoria Sonnet our mothers and perhaps some of our grand mothers as long ago as 1S40. The hat is a stunning affair, as the accompanying sketch of it will show, with a poke brim of amaz ing proportions made of finely pleated net and edged with jet. Some black ostrich filumes nod over it from the back, and a ong veil depends from it in front. It has wide strings of black ribbon. In London lust now the voluminous veil is in fashion. and its length is often carried to extremes, even to the knees of the wearer, It Is English to salt strawberries as you would your melon. In these housecleaning days, as almost any woman will say, the work seems half done when the olosets are disposed of. It is the tuck-away nook and corners, where things accumulate aud get thick, that are the most difficult to overhaul. The walls of hanging closets ought, of course, never to be whitewashed, a caution that would seem absurd if disregard of it were not so often encountered. If, as often happens, in poorly built houses there is a considerable space between floor and wall to gather dust, and afford insects a home, a few cents worth of pine molding nailed down will make the floor tight. The cracks should be filled with putty and the floor and molding painted and varnished to offer a smooth sur face. Now that paints ready for rise are so cheaply and universally obtainable, this process comes easily within the scope of any rubber-gloved woman. A digression is to urge that every house woman shall be a rubber-gloved one. "Wear out, if must be, a $1 SO pair every spring, and save the dicomfort and ugliness of broken nails, roughened, stained and lacer ated hands. To return to the closets, many neat housekeepers think the best treatment to closet floors (bedroom, not kitchen closets) is to cover them with table oilcloth. This fits in easily, is readily wiped over, and as there is no wear upon it, is suffici ently durable. Some unique boudoir lamps have for standards square cut-glass cologne bottles, into the top of which the oil vase of silver is set. It is the simple dishes of a meal that need care, for, like the little girl with a curl. when they are good they are very good, and when they are bad they are horrid. An omelet, buckwheat cakes, codfish balls who does not know the wide dissimilarity between good specimens of these homely dishes and those which were not good. At a free cooking school lecture in this city recently, the teacher demon strated the evolution of some white cus tards that should go down to posterity. They were, the teacher said, an invention of one of her pupils, a "Western woman, and they are made as follows: Break the whites ot lour eggs into a small teacup full of granulated sugar, mixing them thor oughly but not beating the eggs. Into this is stirred by decrees a pint and a half of rich milk previously heated thoroughly but neither scalded nor boiled. The mixture should be quite smooth before being put into the cups; if not, it should be strained. Pla:e the cups in a pan of water and cover with thick brown or buttered paper to pre vent their coloring. They should be quite white when done. Bake in a moderate oven. A natural complement and successor to the souvenir spoon craze is that of the tea cup which is again upon us. In lieu of a box of candy or a bunch of flowers a beau may send a belle a dainty teacup and saucer delicate as her complexion and fragile as her promises. Easter favors abound everywhere. The custom of giving presents at this festival grows every year, and when a few years ago an occasional Easter card or an egg-shaped box of bonbons was thelimit.of observance in this respect, it is difficult to-day to draw the line against any offering. A novelty this year is the silver flower pot made with en earthen one fitted inside for the actual soil, which is, however, concealed by tho higher rim ot the silver vase. Each pot has the drain hole at the bottom, and with a spring flower, a tulip or hyacinth spring ing up irom its glittering bei The surprise eggs sold at the women's ex changes are another novelty. In these the natnral contents of the egg are carefully re fflJPl 0 1 moved and replaced by a tiny tor chicken, the top of the shell being refitted to leave no trace of having been tampered with. The egg is then served, arid it is a genuine surprise when one breaks the shell to be confronted with a downy chicken. "' An odd use for the Japanese straw mats sold for doorstep scats is to arrange them as frieze or dado around a room in a summer house. A cottage in the Adirondacks, the bare walls of which distressed its occupant was beautified in this way. A width of red Japanese paper was put on as a dado, and against this the circular seats were tacked to touch one another, making a very effective relief. The pretty hairpin and other trays which now play such an important part among the impedimenta of the fashionable dressing table are constantly taking on fresh faces. Tbey are porcelain, .silver and gold, of wood ebonized and. white, and now the art stores are showing them ingeniously fash ioned of heavy art linen. The pattern is drawn thus, flat on the linen: The edges aro buttonholed and the eyelet holes worked, and small flowers, buttercups, panslcs or rosebuds worked over the central surface. The eyelets are then laeed with baby rib bon of the prevailing color, yellow for but tercups, violet for pansies, eta, the ribbon tied at the top in little bows with short ends. The lacing brings the ends together and forms the box. Designs of hairpins and curling tongs are sometimes seen. These trays are not only very pretty and dainty when finished, but possess the merit of being very easily and excellently laun dried by merely unlacing the corners. It was thought that the height of com bination effort was reached in the union suit of the various dress reformers, but a fash ionable London firm has produced a triple suit, which combines low corset cover or chemisette, drawers and under petticoat in one garment. The stays are worn beneath this and over the silk a wool gauze vest, leaving nothing to be put on over it before the gown except the dainty beautiful silk petticoat. This latter, by the way, is made this spring to match the gown, a notion which makes it possible, if not obligatory, to have a variety of silk petticoats. The pretty fashion of bedroom candles on the landing which has been a typical En glish institution from time immemorahle is widely prevalent in American country houses. Little Queen Anne candle sticks, exact imitations of those used in that much quoted sovereign's days, are sold for such purpose, though the landing table, to be quite proper, should be littered with its implements in various designs. The process of choosing one's candlestick affords a sufficient excuse to linger thus half way up the stairs, and everybody knows there is no goodnight The Bedroom Candlt. half so bewitching as that which a pretty woman bends over the baluster to say, The value of ice cream as a remedy for certain intestinal troubles is being consider ably advanced. Some, indeed most physi cians, permit it through typhoid fever, in sisting it shall be of the purest make. To the story recently going the rounds in print of the entire cure of s. case of ulcer of the stomach by the sole and persistent use of ice cream may be added that of a woman.known to the writer. She suffered from a serious affection of the eyes directlv traceable to digestive disturbance, and her physician finally put her upon ice cream as a sole diec For 11 months she literallv lived upon ice cream with the result to effect a complete and apparently permanent cure. The theory is that the cream furnishes ample nourishment, while the diseased intestines, chilled from the low temperature of the food, are prevented from getting up inflam mation du ring the process of digestion car ried on by the healthy parts. If you have an old-fashioned silver castor don't keep it any longer tucked away on the top shelf of the china closet Get it down, unscrew the top piece and standard, take out the bottle rack, leaving merely the silver body, into which jret a tinsmith to fit a little pan with a drawing hole to fit over the screw hole of the castor body, and when the silver is polished you will have as hand some and fashionable a fern-holder for the center of your dinner table as you could buy for a considerable price at the stores. Simultaneous with the English movement to establish "lady help" offices is an inno vation in New York City ot waitresses at fashionable dinners. Heretofore a butler and footman have been considered indis pensable at such functions, but of late a number of prominent society women have instituted the change. Said one of them the other day: "In everything but the de canting of wine women excel men in serv- init tViAW avq imnl nnrt ftnri nnteiiloea an1 their Intuitive discovering of needs is a val uable point in this occupation." The suggestion is being made that this particular branch ot service be opened to gentlewomen, not as permanent servers in any one household, but as trained experts to take charge of single entertainments. There is nothing menial in the occupation, save the tradition; all work is service to somebody. Maeqaket H. Welch. Ifew England Slang;. St. Louli Globe-Democrat The New Englanders often ridicule what they call the senseless slang of the West, but one of the most utterly idiotic and brainless bits of slang that ever came from a human tongue is a peculiarly New Eugland creation. Tell a New Hampshire man that you have just seen a snake ten feet long or a horse 17 hands high and he will calmly remark, "1 want to know." "What he wants to know, or what conld have been tbe origin of this stupid phrase, no hnman being can conjec ture, for In ntter silliness it surpasses.the most extravagant slang of the wild and woolly "West 1 GettlntT Up In the World. Clerk If you please, sir, I shall have to ask you to excuse me lor the rest of the day. I have just heard of er an addition to my familv. Employer Is that so, Penfold? What is it, boy or girl? Clerk well, sir, the fact is er (some what embarrassed) it's two boys. "Twins, eh? Yonng man, I'm afraid 70a are putting on too many heirs." jKiBf f il i- IJl E Tl THE FASHIONABLE PARASOL. One May Spend a Small Fortune on It Nowadays A Beauty In Chiffon It Should Always Absorb Light A Dell cato Effect In Kalnbaw Colors. rWRITTEX TOR THE D1SFATCII.1 Not since Beau Brummel walked down Piccadilly with the first pa-asol seen In Europe have parasols reached a more in teresting development than now. The makers have wakened to the esthetic possi bilities of their commodity and some en chanting things are to be seen. Notable and representative is one made of chiflon. Outside the frame the diaphanous material is laid luxuriously on, in drooping pulls that form broad impressionistic masses of light and shade, over the edges falling softly down and at the top ending m a big soft rosette. Inside, from the ribs, The ChrmcncUa. ruffles of chiffon depend in a waving mass, and through them the shadows play, as through a cumulus cloud; and the zephyrs gently stir them, as the leaves move over head "in a forest Anything more ideal could hardly be imagined. For what are the requisites for an ideal parasol? To break the direct rays of the sun and, incidentally-, to form a harmonious and be coming background for its owner; also, as it is held, its weight should be light As to ornament it comes under the law of all utility objects and is most elegant when it helps to carry out the useful idea. Thus the soft depending ruffle about the edge is an embellishment that adds to usefulness, and tbe full upper and under surfaces mak ing broken lights and shades are delightful ly suggestive of tbe umbrella's reason for being. These preserve the law of unity so necessary to a beautiful whole, and are more effective than the most elaborate bro cade or embroidery. The ideal parasol should be of a texture that absorbs light, because such textures look cool. This is one of the merits of the chiffon, mull, crepe de chine and lace um brellas fashionable this year. A parasol re flecting light, as a changeable taffeta, is suggestive of a small satellite to the sun, and will be the hottest looking thing in the landscape. Amoug the thin parasols a pretty idea is one in rainbow colors, as if a ray of light had contritely dissolved and spread its beauty here instead of its heat Sometimes the ruffles are embroidered and sometimes With a Chiffon Rvffle. they are of a different color from the out side. Such umbrellaj as these are, of course, suitable only for country use with light gar ments. The most artistically made of them will hardly be bought early in the season for less than 510, though some pretty ones mar, by chance, be culled out for f4 or ?& In choosing see that the puffs, or threads of shirring, run round, paralleled to the cir cumference,'as any gathering along the lines of radius is without meaning and inartistic. The handles are ot bamboo and other woods, slender and of good length. The most exquisite and expensive of all the umbrellas of the season are those of white lace. One of these has an entire cover of duchesse lace that falls far over the edge and frames the face deliciously. It has laid over a foundation of thin bolting cloth and ribbon. Another of point de Venise has fancifully shaped panels of crape painted with Watteau figures in colors. Still an other of white moire and satin stripes has panels set in ot point lace. These lace um brellas are extra large in size; the frames and stick are white enameled. The sticks are thick and grow thicker aud flat toward the band, where some of them end in mother-of-pearl inlaid with gold and silver, others in knobs of Dresden china or colored enam els. Snch umbrellas cost in the neighbor hood of $75. Black lace parasols are also in vogue, and very pretty ones are at a moder- HovelHei tn Handles. ate price. Some are entirely transparent; others have a small center ot silk, making them more substantial: and many are of silk with a ruffle only of the lace. But the parasol for street and other hard service, such as the majority of ns need most, is of something more substantial than these, and of a price ranging between $2 or $3 and ?5 or $6. The most fashionable ot the silk umbrellas is called the "coach ing" parasol. It is also the most beautiful, as it is exquisitely finished and well adapted to the purpose ot hard wear. It has a short, thick club stick of natural wood, or of wood white enameled, accord ing to the color of the silk. The top is small, the frame having a radiation of about 20 inches. The material is either changeable or brocaded silk, with a lining. Changeable taffeta, as has been said, reflects 7 1 1 IA,i N mm mIII-1 too much io be agreeable, but there are changeable twilled silks with the surface broken by dots in the weavo. that reflect very little. A dull tawny yellow one of these, with gilded frame and cherry stick, is verv rich and handsome. A pretty distinction mav be made be- 'tween the outside and inside of a parasol which, ir considered, should add a subtle refinement to one's choice. The outside wards off the sun; the inside affords a shadow. The outside Is beheld from a dis tance and forms part of the landscape; the inside is seen only near at hand in conjunc tion with the face and forming its back ground: "The outside is the miniature roof; the inside is the waifs ot a boudoir." Therefore, the outside should be broadly effective, a mass of color toned to the landscape and the costume. It will be more elegant without detail, and elaborate patterns as of jet worked laboriously into fleurs des lys and bow knots, are costly without adding to effect But the inside may properly be more delicate. The out side may be of common material; but the inside may be more exquisite in color and texture. Without a lining, as ordinarily finished, the parasol has always seemed K little hard and uncomfortable, with its raft ers bare and thatch showing through. Linings are in most of the coaching pnra bols, bnt they are put about tho frame work, next the outside, and the spandrels are still left bare, but they are nicely finished, white enameled or gilded and this gothic manner so treated is both serviceable and agree able. The refinement producible by a lining is illustrated by the effect of violet added to a black outside, or of an olive tint, or white, to ecru. But the lining must agree with the fnee. The ruffled backgronnd like that of the "Carmencita" parasol first described, may greatly enhance beauty if rightly man aged. For example, such a ground of gray behind a head of iron gray hair and very dark eyes, may be wonderfully effective: bnt the gray must be not more delicate than the hair. This is imperative. It must be iron gray also. Ada B ache-Cose. CHE8TEBFIELD3 AT HOME. Octavo ThaneS Thinks the Table a Good IMace to Cultivate Cnnrtesy. twaiTixs- roa thx dispatch.! Any one who .has ever visited familiarly in a French family will remember the de lightful atmosphere of a habitual and caressing politeness that seems to encircle the family life. I have the honor to know an American family who have the same po liteness translated into our different manner and life. The Chesterfields are not es pecially clever or rich or entertaining; but it Is a joy to visit them, because they are so polite. They are polite to each other and to the stranger within their gates, and Mrs. Ches terfield's maids declare that Mrs. Chester field is as polite in the kitchen as in the parlor. Their habitual, spontaneous, lovely courtesy is a never-failing talisman to at tract 1 wonder how it is that more people do not cultivate courtesy. It can be culti vated as much as a mustache or the habit of smoking 1 I do not know a better place to begin about the cultivation of these fruit ful graces than our meal times. In how many American families is the family meal a time for feeding in the first place and fault-finding In the second? There is noth ing rdorally wrong about eating nnless one eat too much; but it is not in itself a beauti ful act, it needs to be embellished with good temper and dainty service and pleasant talk. If the Chesterfields cannot praise, they say nothing. And I have been told bv no less authority than the "second girl" of the Chesterfields that they never, as Marie expressed it, "tall about the victuals." If anything Is good, or is made by Mamma Chesterfield, her hnsband, who is still her lover, praises it; and generally on the Chesterfields' table there is plenty to praise. The Chesterfields are not cele brated as wits, but somehow we laugh a great deal at their feasts and the talk never lags. For one thing, each talker is made to feel that he interests the others. "Whv. indeed, should we not make our meals seasons of enjoyment to something higher than our palates? Many families who do not find fault are content to eat in silence, having not much more than the dumb enjoyment of companionship felt by the beasts when they feed at' the same manger. Breakfast takes the palm for un sociability. In the minor points of etiquette it is a ?:ood plan to have decided views about the ork. The minds of most people wobble a good deal in regard to this indispensable article. I do not mean that they would oiler the knife as a substitute, alth'ough I have seen a German nobleman, who bad won the iron cross and whose manners were of the finest, eat prondly and freely with his knife; but even among those who are brought up from childhood on the fork, there is a distinct uncertainty during cer tain courses. They start boldly with the fork in the right" hand and shift, occasion tempting, to the left, like Howell's country hero who dines for the first time in Boston, and watches the guests uncertainly and shifts his fork from one hand to the other as his mind veers. If you start with your fork in either hand, no matter which, it gives you a superiority to cling to that hand to'the bitter end. There is a general suspicion of elegance at tached to eating with one's unsupported fork, rather than with the knifeand fork to gether. In salads, for instance, the knife is considered a superfluity; one must sbred one's lettuce or endive with tho fork, and crust of bread or tiny biscuit allowed one. I find this general rule obtains, the more in convenient, the more 'elegant! But there is one exception, the English, and in conse quence our admirers of the English alwais eat"' fish in the most sensible way, with a knife and a forte. In the family circle the different dishes should be passed to the oldest woman, in most cases. But if there is a very honored elderly man in a family of women it is al ways a delicato attention to pass to him first Sometimes the head of the table docs not desire to be interrupted,and the person of next consideration in this case should be served first The most honored guest is served first The gentleman of distinction takes out his hostess and sits at her right hand or, if you follow theEnglish fashion, at her left and the lady to be compli mented is taken by the host and similarly placed. Everything is passed first to the honored gnest In American households I know nothing that goes further to make the meals uncom fortable than the uproarious liberty allowed young children. Let the young savages be taught to caf before they come to the table I cannot but feel toward children at meal times very much as the little boy in the dark felt toward the Lord. Being assured that he ought not to be frightened when put to bed, because God was in the dark, be made answer with a wail, "I know that, but be am t no company tor me." . Octave Thaxet. Bow We Treat Poor I. Not so very long ago, on a Minnesota reservation, the Indians did a winter's log ging. Several thousand dollars in pay ment for their logs were given to their agent for them. Instead of distributing it among them he put it ont at interest for his own benefit The agent who succeeded him received the money, did not quite under stand what to do with it, and washed his hands of the responsibility by, turning it into the United States Treasury. To get it out will require an act of Congress, so that tbe chances are about 100 to one that these unlncky savages will never see a penny of the crash due them. Such a privilege is it to be "wards of the natlonl" BOUND TO LOOK LOVELY. Exquisite Styles and BeaatUal Fabrics. Entirely Different From Last Season. Llsht-Wefbt Wools and Cottons. A Piquant Hat The taao Bodice. rwjunxx ron thi disfatch. Such etqisite styles as the spring has to offer! Things were never so pretty before 'and women, it seems to me, cannot help but look lovely with such beautiful fabrics and fixings, and such dls tractingly lovely and becoming modes. All the new styles are de cidedly novel; they are not last season's renovated, but dis tinctly different in ev ery way. This fact is demonstrated strong est in the coats. There is a marked change In them, for whloh every, woman must be thank ful, so tiresome have grown the jackets of several seasons past There are a number of novelties among the .spring styles in coats, but the most strik. . .u Box Com. ing departures are the whole-back and double Watteau styles. The first, which is a regular box coat, is de cidedly ugly, but, nevertheless, exceedingly smart and stylish-looking and with those pe culiar characteristics about it that find favor with tho ultra fashionable. On a tall wom an with a fine carriage it is superb, but on a short, stout figure the effect is deplorable. So it is really a ccat for the few. The one illustrated is of pink ish tan broadcloth having strapped seams. The collar, which is similar io those on men's regulation over coats, thoueh per-hsp.nt.-ifledeeper, is ot dark tan vel vet. The coat is double-breasted and has two rows of very large white pearl buttons. The hat accom panving this coat in the illustration is one of the new spring styles hav ing the new tall crown. It is ot lijjht brown straw with a band of golden brown vel vet about the crown below anar-i rower band of' white satin. The bow is of double faced satin in I brown and white. The double Wat teau ccat is a nov elty over the single pleated affair. It is fashioned to fit snugly, and has two separate Watteau Dark Watteau. pleats at the back. Tbe one illustrated is of coachman's white cloth embroidered in gold. It has a narrow vest and deep revers, and with it is worn a jabot of Irish point lace. The cuffs are large and flaring. The hat is of Leghorn, bent in scollops, and has a soft Tam-o'Shan-ter crown of old rose velvet with a mass of buff ostrich tips nodding over the front The new light-weight wools are exceed ingly pretty stuffs, especially the graceful crcpons that are so numerous in all the Golden Brown Wool Crepon. shops. In these there is an almost endless variety as regards both color and texture. The Bedford cord style is perhaps the prettiest and makes up beautifully. It comes both plain and figured. A model crepon frock is in Bedford cord effect, in golden brown, with pin-head dots of white scattered over it It is fashioned in a beautifullv simrde manner, having a trained bell skirt and a shct pointed bodice fastening invisibly on one side under the arm and having the new style, low-shouldered sleeves. The garniture consists of darker brown braid of the narrowest quality set in parallel rows about the bottom of the hfffi r The Jncroyabte. skirt, the corselet, collar and wrists. A rosette of brown satin ribbon three inches wide is fastened at the back of the standing collar, and has long streamers that reach quite to the bottom of the skirt, a pretty device which adds much to the gracefnl ap pearance .of n woman's toilet A dainty little muff of (.ream Irish point and violets is tied with a delicious satin ribbon bow, and the hat, which is entirely Of Irish point stretched on wire, is trimmed in the same manner with ribbon and violets. Among all the new cotton stuffs there is nothing lovelier than the Irish lawns, which cut to beautiful advantage, being 40 inches wide, and selling for 12 cents. They are sweetly pretty and look so neat and cool for summer frocks. A graceful mode for making them Is il lustrated. The model frock was of white with tiny polka dots of red. It was made with a long skirt with a gathered back, edged about the bottom by a coquettish little frill. A round fan waist, buttoned demurely with small white pearl buttons, had pufled sleeves of plain white lawn un lined. A scarlet ribbon belt was buckled into a white pearl buckle. Lace bodices are to be a feature in most IT Ml 2gg 1 V 7 7 1. -ajw --.-." . summer wardrobes. They are made np over contrasting silk linings and may be worn with any plain cloth or silk skirt They are admirable for many reasons, but esneciallv for the fact that they are I.' "" '"' ir'll',,i -'W '-!-- Irith Linen Frock. species of economy, for a woman's ward robe almost invariably has in it one or more good skirts, the bodices of which have been worn out, and which would be useless bnt for tho redeeming qualities of the new lace bodice. The pretty creation in the pictnro Is of cream Irish point lace made over a light heliotrope silk lining which shows in a graceful point below the collar, which is of satin ribbon with a bow. Kibbons in the form of bretelles cross the shoulders and taper to the waist back and front, the lace being gathered and falling in cascades over the vest Ribbons are also set into tho lace of the sleeves Irom the shoulder to wrist A cut jet corslet confines tbe full ness of the lace at the waist and adds a rich finish to the whole. A bodice of black lace for an elderly lady, made over black silk, with jetted ribbon for a garniture, is made in a similar manner. One of the most piquant of the newer hats is the Inerovable. It has a wide brim flarinsr in front," and a high, very slender A Zaee Hodtcc. crown with an odd projecting ledge At the top. This crown is covered smoothly with velvet: the other trimming consists of a large bow spreading out stiffly on either side of a Bhme stone buckle, and two tall princess feathers standing startlingly erect at the Iront The hat illustrated is of French gray chip with a black velvet band; yellow satin ribbon bows and black princess feathers. Marie Joxbeau. An Amusement of the Redskin. The Bannocks enjoy going into an In closjire full of wild steers, with a red blanket on one arm and no other weapon bnt a knife. Althougn there is some safety in the crowd, the sport is much more dangerous than bull-fighting after the Spanish method. Tet they are rarely hurt, killing each animal with a single thrust of the knife behind the shoulder. An army officer tells of an occasion when he saw an Indian tumble into a stockade filled with maddened steers. He made his escape by a olose shave and being asked if he was not frightened, he replied, "No, me not afraid of anything me can eat" Enquire for Them. No housewife who has used any of Dr. Price's Delicious Flavoring Extracts but will recommend them as the best articles of their kind in do mestic use. They are the leading flavors in America and should be on the shelf of every well-regulated gro cery. Enquire for them and do not take substitutes which if not poisonous will destroy the nicest delicacies. Dr. Price's Vanilla, Lemon, Or ange, etc., are just as repre sented. FINE WALL PAPERS MTrinMe & Gos, 541 WOOD STREET 541 BANE Oi" COMMERCE " BUrLDISQ. Telephone ISM. 133 A ?1 3 i n VI 1