IN THE SPRINGTIME
THE YOUNG MAN'S FANCY TURNS TO
A NEW SUIT CLOTHES.
What Is Coin*; I,e Worn by the Mascu
line Foilii ( " iableH This Season —Checks
and Stripes Will He in Stylo—Many Varie
ties of Suits.
fWICE a year the
stylish tailor abso
lutely owns men
who like to dress
well. The tailor
with taste, who
keeps himself
posted, really leads
the fashions. AN hat
is he going to do this
year? This is the
answer of a fash
ionable tailor to
the query: "The
spring fashions are
all out," said the artist. "In a general
way it may he said that neat checks
anil small stripes will he very popular,
and occasionally a modest plaid will he
in demand. The fashionable color will
Certainly he a blue-grav. Theso plates
show the latest," he said, pointing to a
colored fashion-plate on the wall. In
a general way it may he said that the
styles in vogue last year are to he re
produced for this season, hut in the
matter of detail the new fashions are
wholly unlike those of a year ago.
Radical changes are not made sudden
ly. Character is everything in clothes.
The lengths for this spring are differ
ent from those of last year, and there
is a divergence also in the lines of cut
ting. One of the most pronouuced
effects is the straight, double-breasted
Sack coat, which promises to bo a fa
vorite with swell dressers. The ma
terial for the coat is, as a rule, cheviot,
in plain color, such as black, blue,
electric gray, andi other quiet shades.
The lapels are wide and roll low, and
may be faced with silk or not, as the
wearer elects. The coat is worn closed
by three buttons.
A double-breasted vest of the same
material as the coat may be selected,
or a single-breasted vest, or one of fancy
material, single or double breasted, ac
cording to taste. The trousers are of
medium width, and may have a mili
tary stripe of silk down the seam if de
sired. There is wide play for the ex
ercise of individual taste in that re
gard. Another elegant design is the
straight-front sack suit in striped
cheviot. There is no rule as to the ex
act pattern or color of the fabric, blue,
however, being in the lead. The fronts
of the coat are slightly rounded at the
bottom, and the lapels are of medium
fullness. A double row of stitching
jTuns along the edges of the coat, and
the bottoms of the sleeves are stitched
to match. The pockets are all of the
patch order. The trousers, owing to
the lightness of the material, are full.
Next in order as a fashionable fad, es
pecially for young men, is the one-but
ton cutaway sack suit. A stylish ma
terial is a plaid cheviot, either quiet or
loud in pattern, according to the whim
Of the man who wears it. The coat
opens low, with a low vest, and the
trousers are of generous dimensions,
but not baggy. The days of baggy
trousers, by the way, are past,
if not forever, at least for some
time to come. The fronts of the
coat are well cut away, and are
rounded at the bottom. The breast
pocket is finished with a welt,
but the side pockets have (laps, which
are always to be worn on the outside.
The vest to go with this suit should
have a notched collar and should open
from fourteen to fifteen inches. It
should also have five buttons. For
men of a sporting turn and for politi
cians, the suit most appropriate, and
one which the fashion designers have
brought into a high state of perfection
this spring, is the single-breasted frock,
or Prince Albert. It is fashioned on
graceful lines, and for a man of impos
ing physique is one of the most becom
ing imaginable. The coat is essentially
patterned after the double-breasted
Prince Albert, but is somewhat shorter.
The material of the suit should be of
fancy worsted, mainly in light colors,
gray or cream being preferable. Tho
collar of the coat is full and lolls low,
in order to allow ample sway to the
vest, which has alow opening. Unlike
the double-breasted Prince Albert coat
this one lias an outside pocket, which
Is finished with a welt. The edges are
stitched and mo sleeves have imita- '
tion cuffs, closed with two buttons, i
I lie lapels have a soft finish, so as to
roll free when the cont is open. Com- i
monly, however, it is kept buttoned 1
The trousers are of medium width, and
have the faintest suspicion of spring at I
the bottom.
There are several distinct varieties
of business suits, but the one intended
to interest swell dressers who desire a
relief from the straight, double-breast
ed sack is the three-button cutaway
sack. It is picturesque and graceful,
and, if properly made, will adjust itself
beautifully to tho curves of the human
form. For the most part the fabric is
of diagonal Cheviot, Dnt piiifdS ana soft
check patterns are equally appropriate.
If a fancy vest is worn, the one most
fitting is" of Marseilles linen, although
freedom of choice may be exercised on
this point. The length of this coat is a
trifle longer than obtains generally in
the sack design. The roll of the collar
should not he less than five inches, with
full lapels and a general appearance of
freedom and ease. As to the bottom
corners of the coat, or what would he
the corners if not cut away, they should
recede from an inch below the lower
button. All the pockets should have
flaps, with the discretion of having the
upper pocket made with a welt. Ivory
buttons are considered the very proper
form, and the edges should be double
stitclied, narrow. The vest is supposed
to bo notched and to close with five but
tons.
What manner of overcoat should a
man wear this season ? The creators
of fashion haven't been so fastidious in
j this respect as in others, and, in a gen
eral way, it may be said that the spring
i overcoat of last year is appropriate
I now. The fly-front oversack or Ches
; terfield is the common favorite. Soft
worsteds are the correct material, and
the length for the average man is from
thirty -six to tliirty-Beven inches. There
is one important change, however,
j As a matter of course the three-but
! ton cutaway will still he tho uonular
garment, and will lead all others" this
season, as for several in the past.
For half-dress and for general style,
well-mado appearance, they can not bo
surpassed. Tho favorite shade will be
blue-gray, with either fiat braided
edge or narrow stitching. The coat may
be worn with a vest of the same ma
terial, or as fancy as the wearer de-
Bires, and the trousers should be just n
triflo narrower than last year, with tho
suspicion of a spring at tho bottom.
This makes about as swell an outfit as
is in the market.
I A very stylish conceit for men of
[ middle age, especially for those of tall
and slender build, is tho two-button
] cutaway morning suit. As the name
j implies, the coat closes with two but
tons, set wide apart, and the whole
effect is most graceful. Cheviots, in
j any chaste pattern, is the proper ma
terial for the coat. The vest may be
of fancy goods, and the trousers in
checks, plaids, or stripes, as preferred.
For trousers, this season, the patterns
run almost entirely to plaids and
j stripes, the latter being the most fa
' vored. When the entire suit -a cut
| from the same piece, soft plaids are in
i good grCJe, but by all odds the most
1 popular effect is diagonal of rather
j broad wale. For vests there is an end
| less variety of fancy designs in light
materials, such as silk pique, linen,
j mohair, and so on.
A (load Man.
! A ragged man applied to the super
intendent for a position.
I "Are you thoroughly acquainted
with the business?" the superintendent
j asked.
| "Yes."
I "Have you ever been employed on a
j railroad ?
"Yes."
" Have you ever been conductor of a
J passenger train ?"
j "Yes."
"I suppose you turned in all the
money which you took in ? "
| "Yes."
| "What?"
j "I said yes."
"Look here, my friend, you are the
man whom this road has been trying
to shun. Y'ou don't need any creden
tials. Wo don't want you."— Arkan-
I saw Traveler.
1 THOSE fellows who dote on their
1 girls sometimes find matrimony a
powerful antidote.
IiSTXEBS FItOM THE CORNERS.
NECK OR NOTHIN' HAEI,, I
KILHRNUR CORNERS. (
JOS? A M I!EI)IT UR: When
*r , W Mwo tole little Hes
/#/■'! or A ml ' s man, Ca
i <lfjlp ,e ' n r °bl>ed, hoses:
11 had place fur
! of all kinds,
an you'l liev to keep
wether eye
V-badly tuck in."
W An he laffed.
Willam Ilonery
rote to Ben to send liim sum more
munny, an the widder wrote to her
folks to do the same.
"1 gess I'll give a crazy tee while
youre here, maw," ses little Hester
Ann, "an then yon kin git acquainted
with every buddy frum Zion's hill to
Shinlione alley," an so she begin to fix
1 h*r it. Laws what beeps of pies an
cakes an bred an sich, not to mention
I j' an preserves an so forth, her an
I her sarvent did make,
j Haint you a goin to liev a mizzle toe
a r';K m 1° aampthiu," arsked Sally.
I 'They haint nun now," ses little
Hester Ann.
"Well, I'm a goin to hang sum sweet
brire up fur a mizzle toe, ef you don't
jkeor," ses Sally, an little Hester Ann
didn't keer, an so she squirmmislied
' around an got sum, an tide it to the
I hangin lamp.
! "Now, then, the fust feller thet gits
in under thet I'ma goin to kiss," ses she.
"Well, you needn't he afecred of cnny
I )of 'em a gittin enny wayse neer it ef
they no what's a cumin," ses William
Henery, a keepin cleer out of her reecli.
Well, when the appinted time kim,
every buddy an his brother or sister,
|es the case mite be, wus tliare. Sally
managed to git a boy about 15 or
niebby he mite hev bin 16, but not
lennv more then thet. Well, es I wus
a sa'yin, Sally managed to git him way
off to one side, an she did jist talk to
him.
"I do hope she wunt invaggle Julian
into enny thing rash," ses little Hester
Ann, kindy anxious. An then we all
went out to supper.
Wus you over to a crazy tee, Mr.
Editur ? Ef you never wus you don't
no how silly "it makes a pussen feal to
reech fur the bred an dab yure hand
into the cole chicking, or to take yure
inife to git sum butter, an find the
ichow-chow into the butter dish, an the
jsuger into the pepper box an salt into
the suger bole, an cake into the big
tureen, gravy into the creem picher,
[cheese into the pickle dish, an so on.
ievery thing so mixed up It wus euuf to
.make a pussen crazy, a'most. An
.every buddy a laffeu fit to kill at the
mistakes they keep a makin.
When we hod all of us ett es mutch
cs we cood we went back to the frunt
room, an I seon tho widder wus a mak
;in fur the mizzle toe.
"Now thet pore boy is a goin to ketch
jit," thinksos I. An shore enuff he did,
she kissed him tell he squirmed out uv
her reech, ail he wus jest reddy to cry,
he wus thet plugged,
j "Youd (better take one o yure own
age," ses a gray heddod feller steppin
up an kissin her.
"Thet is Widower Crnekshiu," whis
ipered a woman to me, "an he hes ben
niarryed G times an hes 19 livin chil
' dern."
| The widder run an' screeched, an'
! wus kindy plagged herself; an then the
yung folks begin to danee, an' every
whoop-stitch sum yung feller 'ud git
liia pardner under the mizzle toe an'
kiss her.
"O, if I coud only dance," sithed
Miss Hoggs, whon Mister Cpickshiu
kim an' arsked her to; but she* couldn't,
an' so tliay promenaded, an' when he
got her under the mizzle toe he kissed
her again.
■ "It don't hurt me nun," ses sho, a
laflin', an' she couldn't talk about
nothin' next day but that man an' his
lovely whuskers, an' so forth. We
started away from there 2 days after.
I tell you, I wus thankful Wm. Henry
didn't git into no scrimmage like he
did to Tillie's. So, good-by.
HESTER ANN SCOOPEH.
I THE English sparrows have almost
exterminated the wrens, orioles and
meadow larks, and in five years more
the keno gooso will be about the only
native bird left.
Appropriate.
It occasionally happens that hymns
are selected for a church servico which
sound ludicrously appropriate in tho
cars of an amused congregation.
The custom has prevailed within a
certain church in California of present
ing each member of the Sabbath
, school with an egg, during the exer
cises at the celebration of Easter. On
one occasion of the kind, when the in
teresting ceremony was at hand, tho
assistant clergyman rose, and made
the announcement:
"Hymn four hundred nineteen, 'Bo
gin, my soul, the exalted lay,' after
which the eggs will be distributed."—
Harper's Drawer.
A Clearer Idea Wanted.
"Well, sir, what is it?" said the pro
prietor of the store to the young man
who had onterod his office.
"It just occurred to me that a largo
proportion of my daily work consisted
in hollering 'cash!'"
"No doubt."
"And $7 a week is the extent of my
income from this establishment?"
"Yes."
"Well, I wanted to know whether
yon couldn't arrange it and give me a
little clearer idea of what I am talking
about during the course of my duties."
Washington I'ost.
A NEW albuminous poison, of one hun
dred times the power of strychnine, has
been described by Prof. Kobert to the
Society of Naturalists of Dorpat. It is
extracted from the seeds of Abrus
pr&atoria, which have long been used
as irritants and anti-hemorrliage reme
dies, in Brazil for ophthalmia and in
India as a poison. Entire English colo
nies are said to have been murdered in
India by pricks from sharp points rolled j
up in the seeds, tho mark left being uo j
more than that from the sting of an in- j
sect. The poisonous principle causes
doath by coagulation of the blood cor
puscles.
ON THE UPPER AMAZON.
EXPLORER ERRENREICH'S REMARK
ABLE DISCOVERIES.
ftrazillan Aborigines In a State of Savage
IlarbarlHin—A Strange People Who Wear
Very .Little Clothing The Men Are
Brave and Warlike, and the Women
Wear Bangs.
H the great in
rgfTta surance compa-
W' I nies of New
I ' WAM York insure
tU* V\ many lives in
& I'ttfT B South and Cen
tral America, at
r- son d medical in
not having re
mained long enough, of course, to be
come acclimated, his company feels
Bafo in presuming that its rbtts down
there are tolerably safe.
One of these medical inspectors,
who has been the means of securing
for the Sim's readers the unique pict
ures of Brazilian aborigines presented
in tlri* article, has just returned from
Bio, w here he met a remarkable young
German explorer named Ehrenreich.
The names of Wissman and Schnitzeu
may some day shine no more illus
triously than that of Ehrenreich, if this
intrepid fellow succeeds in putting be
fore the world the results of his ex
plorations on the upper Amazon, along
its groat tributaries, and in the dense
primeval forests, tho Brazilian "back
woods," where no white man had pre
ceded him.
"I was sitting in a cafe at Bio one
evening just before I sailed," says the;
medical inspector, "when I saw at a
table not far away a gentleman wlio
seemed much interested in some photo
graphs spread out before him. At a
second glance I recognized him as the
man I had seen that morning with a
camera near Dom Pedro's palace, evi
dently bent on getting some new views
of it. I myself had been fortunate
enough to get some views of the in
terior of the palace, which few stran
gers at that time at least succeeded in
getting a glimpse of, and I felt inter
ested enough in my rival's success to
ask him what fortuno had been his. He
had not succeeded in penetrating tlio
interior of the palace. 'Hut these,'
said ho, pointing to the photographs
before him, 'are far more valuable than
any photographs I could ever take in
ltio.'
"Dr. Ehrenreicli—that was his namo
—was tall and slight. He wore a red
dish beard, had blue eyes, and the de
termined insouciance of a veteran
traveler. I should take him to be
about 85 years of ago and inferred from
what he said that he was on a special
mission of exploration for the German
government, who paid all his expenses
" 'This Caraja tribe of native Hra
zilians,' said Dr. Ehrenreicli, 'I found
on both banks of the Araguaya River.
I believe no white man has ever studied
them carefully before; certainly to my
knowledge they have never been de
scribed. They present many points oi
interest for the student of antliropolo
gy. Their manners are primitive to a
remarkable degreo and their customi
unique. At the same time the men ar<
a hardy, light-footed, and fairly intclli
gent set; and the women, who do the
bulk of the work of the family and the
community, while less intelligent, are
nono the loss well formed. They all
have coarse, black hair, which the men
keep short.
" 'The women wear bangs,.striking
ly suggestive of those affected by the
Caucasian ladies. Their hair is a
glossy color and their oyes are so bright
and black that they shine like beads.
Their skin is a very dark coffee color.
The men wear no clothing, the women
a breech-clout only. Their ornaments
aro of bone and shells, worn around the
neck, in the upper lip, lower lip, and
ears. Men and womon alike wear
necklaces, and the former wear oagle
fcathors in their hair and on their war
caps, as befit warriors. Their weapons
nro quite formidable, consisting of bone
and stono tipped spears eight to ten
feet long and a long bow, from which
five-foot arrows, bone-tipped and feath
ered, are shot with great accuracy.
" 'The Cararja live in thatched huts,
the corner-posts and roof-beams of
which are made of roughly cut trees,
the walls and roofs of reeds" and pampa
grass. They have a notably heavy
jaw and a rather dogged expression of
determination. They seem to be a
brave and rather thrifty race. The
men's faces are notably more pleasing
than those of the women. Both have
w ell-proportioned shoulders and limbs
and are capable of great exertion.' "
French and English.
Mr. Hamerton, in his comparison of
French and English manners, says the
English way of behavior stands for
dignity, the French for grace. The
Englishman wishes to convey the idea
that he is a dignified gentleman; the
Frenchman that he is a witty and ac
complished man of the world. An
Englishman does not care about a rep
utation for politeness, but he does
greatly care about his dignity, and is
afraid of compromising it by being in
cautiously amiable.
A Frenchman's manners represent
his ambition to be thought brilliant;
he is therefore lively and amusing. He
takes trouble to make his conversation
interesting. To an Englishman he
seems to lay himself out too much for
admiration, while to a Frenchman an
Englishman appears to be destitute of
manners. The Englishman is anxions
not to be troublesome; the Frenchman
tries not to be dull.
Mr. Hamerton says the best popular
English manners are to be found in
certain rural districts, the worst in
thriving and energetic Lancashire,
where the mill-hands are aggressive
toward well-dressed ladies and gentle
men.
A lady, a neighbor of Mr. Hamer
ton's, happened to be walking in a
muddy street in Lancashire. She
lifted her skirts a little, while near a
group of factory girls, and their sharp
: eyes noticed her stockings, which were
| of some unbleached material.
"Well,'' cried out one, "afore Oi'd
don stockin's no better washed nur
them theere!" (Well, before I'd put
011 stockings no better washed than
those!) The general explosion of
laughter caused the lady to drop her
skirts.
One day Mr. Hamerton, while wear
ing a new overcoat, passed near a
house on which several masons were at
work. One of them shouted out some
coarse remark about the overcoat, and
Mr. Hamerton replied: "Why can't
you let my coat alone ? I came by it
honestly; it is paid for."
"Paid for, is't?" he sneered. "It
waddn't 'a' bin if th' 'ad 'ad t' addle th'
brass." (It would not have been if
thou liadst had to earn the money.)
So Mr. Hamerton walked away de
feated, nmidst the jeers of the other
workmen.
Mr. Hamerton has long resided in
France, where he is known to hundreds
of poor people, but he has never once
been insulted, nor jeered by them be
cause he had a good coat on his back.
Gn the contrary, numbers of people,
whose names he did not know, kabitu
ally lifted their hats on meeting him.
Driving out on a market-ilay, he had
to keep his right hand free to return
the salutations of peasants returning
to their homes.
Frenchmen are often excessively po
lite as a defense against intimacy; an
Englishman, on the contrary, defends
himself by a chilling reserve.
Bessie Miller's Utile Game.
Bessie Miller lives at Carondelet,
Mo. She was taken with pneumonia
and was awful sick. Delirium set in
and the burden of the girl's cry was for
"John," that being the surname of the
young man who had been keeping com
pany with her for several months. The
mother telegraphed to the fntlier that
their darling daughter was dying. In
the meantime Johu was sent for, and
on his arrival the lacerated lungs
seemed to heal up as though manipu
lated by a faith-curist. Her delirium
passed away like a mist before the
morning sun and she was bright and
chipper as a lark. John remained at
her side all day, and on leaving in the
evening promised to return next morn
ing. Being out of a job, it was an easy
thing for him to do, and that second
day's companionship entirely cured the
girl. She is now in perfect health and
the wedding cards have been sent out.
Bessie's father, who paid good money
to go home, hasn't fathomed the mys
tery yet, but when he hears the story
ho winks slyly to himself.— Detroit
.Journal.
The Spread or Leprosy.
According to Dr. Morell Mackenzie,
leprosy, the scourge of the middle
ages, has not become practically ex
tinct among Europeans, but is really
spreading. It has between ten and
twelve hundred victims in Norway, is
found also in Portugal, Greece and
Italy, and is rapidly spreading in Sici
ly, in the Baltio provinces of Russia
and in France, while the British Isl
ands are not exempt from it. In the
United States cases have been found in
California, in some of the States of the
Northwest, in Utah and Louisiana.
Many cases exist in New Brunswick.
In the Sandwich Islands the disease
first broke out in 1853 and there are
now 1,100 lepers in the Molokai settle
ment alone. The disease is extending
in the West Indies.
Walked Across the River in n Kettle.
As a syrup maker was peacefully
preparing for work among the maples
he became aware that Indians were
stealing upon him and were already in
possession of his canoe. Whatever
was to be done had to he done quicklv,
and frontier wit was equal to the
emergency. Snatching up his deep
kettle he inverted it over his head and
boldly waded into the river. The in
verted kettle acted, of course, as a
diving bell, and with his head in this
air chamber he walked across the river,
which in tho middle was many feet
over his head, to tho utter amazement
of tho Indians.— Philadelphia Times
ISN'T the mnn who paints a fence*
huo or of wood ?
PLANTS IN PROFUSION.
CHE NATIONAL BOTANICAL GARDENS
AT WASHINGTON,
clare Plants from Many Climes— Flow©™
Galore Object of the Garden One of the
Most Attractive and Alluring Places ol
Public Resort in the Land.
t. HE National Bo-
Garden is
an institution that
is little heard of,
except in a general
way, outside of
Washington, and
yet it is one of the
most interesting
and beautiful of
the many magnifi
cent enterprises
carried on by the
aid of the govern
ment in and
around the capi
tal. Now that win
ter has passed
away, and the
flowers that bloom
Bpin the spring have
| come again, this
most instructive and alluring place of
public resort is the one place which
most attracts the beauty and fashion
of the continent. It is situated at the
foot of Capitol Hill, and covers many
acres of ground. There are two main en
trances, magnificent in design, consisting
of four marble-aud-brick gate-piers with
hinge iron gates. Visitors are permitted
to enter these gardens and wander about
through the numerous and winding walks,
magnificently paved, but no wheeled vehi
cles are allowed within the gates. In the
center of the garden is the conservatory,
which in itself is a wonderful structure.
North of the conservatory is the famous
Bnrtholdi fountain, with a marble basin
ninety feet in diameter. Besides these
there are ten small conservatories, with a
lecture or botanical class-room, with ac
commodations for one hundred students.
Object of tlio Garden.
The object of the garden is education
and distribution of rare plants. For this
purpose four conservatories are devoted
exclusively to propagation. The disposi
tion of plants is made according to geo
graphical distribution. The stiictly trop
ioal productions are in the center, semi
tropical, requiring protection and lying
toward the north j>oie, aro in the wost
wing, and the indigenous plants are in
the east wing. In these various depart
ments may bo found the most rare plants
of the world. Among the most attractive
will be noticed the sacred palm tree
spoken of HO often in Scripture, aud the
fig-tree, which was used so effectively by
our illustrious ancestors as wearing ap
parel in the Garden of Eden. All varie
ties of palm—the fan, royal, sago, oil,
wine, coco de Chili, sugar, and cradle
palms—contribute to swell the beautiful
j collection of this species. Then there
I are the East India bamboo, tree
i fern of New Zealand, astrapea of
j Madagascar, screw pine of Austra
lia, with corkscrew leaves and roots
I in mid-air; maiden's-hair fern, banana;
i mango, a most delicious fruit found only
in tlio West Indies; the groat stag and
elk-horn ferns, of Australia; dumb cane,
of South America; this latter plant is
wonderful in that it has the power of
rendering speechless any one who tastes
i of it. Humboldt tasted of the sap and
I was speechless for eight days. And these
| are only a tithe of the grand accumula
tion in this wonderful garden. An enum
i eration of the different species of rare
j plants here grown would fill a largo vol-
I ume. Almost every country in the world
!is represented. The rarest productions
i of the South Sea islands, Cape of Good
Hope, Australia, New Zealand, India,
China, Japan, Mexico, Egypt, and every
country of Europe are carefully nursed.
I Besides those, the management" is nego
| tiating to secure valuable additions from
! the interior of Africa.
The Autocrat of the Garden,
j Those who aro supposed to derive the
most direct benefit from the gardens art
our Senators, Bepreseutatives, and Cabi
net officers and their families. When
floral decorations are wanted it is to the
i superintendent of this propagating es
tablishment they send. This superin.
| tendent is a perfect autocrat in his way,
With unlimited control in his particulai
sphere, he accedes to the requestor not afl
he sees fit. At this seasou of the yeai
he is the most courted personage in th
city. Public parties and receptions are
n failure without his knife. It is amus
ing to attend one of these swell affairs.
One can tell the instant he enters tho
house to what extent the hostess has
gone to seoure tho good-will of the
botanical garden. If the spacious roointf
are tinctured with the delicious odor of
luxuriant plants and festooned with beau
tiful rich bouquets, we can at once con
elude with safety that the gay manage
ment of the National Botanical Museum
is an honored guest. If only misty
flower-pots, with niches in tho side and
half-withered plants, or Swampoodle
morning-glories laboring under the dis
; advantages of a hard winter, are exposed
to view, it is fair to presume that the
lady of the house has unintentionally
omitted from her calling list one of the
most important personages of the gay
and festive capital. So who can blame
the spoiled favorites of fashion and for
tune, when the first invitation penned
| reads "Mr. Smith, Botanical Gardens."
" Exceeding Obliged."
i The wife of a well-known Senator gave
an afternoon reception during the holi
j days last winter, and desiring to make
■ the affair as pleasant as possible for her
i guests, sent a polite note to the conser
vatory requesting that some plants and
flowers be sent to her home. At 11 o'clook
j the covered delivery wagon drove up to
| the door and handed out a single, solitary
moss-covered pot containing a plant that
in the language of the chagrimed lady re
sembled a "California stink weed." She
sent it b ck with a still more polite note
stating that she was "exceeding obliged,
but that her reception being an informal
one she was loath to rob the conservatory
of so rare a treasure, and would he be so
kind as to send in his bill for his trouble."
It is safe to say that there is one Senator's
wife who doesn't decorate her rooms with
flowers from the national garden.
JAMES C. MOODY.
WASHINGTON, D. C.
Somewhat Different.
Note the difference, however. Mrs.
NVhite, sister of Senator Sawyer and his
housekeeper, gave an elaborate enter
tainment during the Lenten season, and.
with the aid of these beautiful floral
decorations the Senator's house was made
absolutely bewildering. It was like wan
dering in fairy land to pans through the
house, from one room to another, so
magnificently ariayed in the splendor of
rare and costly plants and breathing the
sweet fragrance of Oriental perfume. No
one but an enthusiast with wonderful
power of description would attempt to
convey an idea of the magnificence lent
tho average Washington dwelling by a
liberal display of plants from the na
tional conservatory.
An adjunct of the national botanical
gardens is Vhe White House conservatory,
situated on tho west side of the building.
It contains also many rare and beautiful
plants, mostly gifts to tho occupants of
the White House from foreign countries.
From here aro taken the floral decora
tions so lavishly used on public reception
days by the President's wifo.
George Washington Perk.
George W. Peck, humorist, author,
editor, publisher, and gentleman, has
at one leap jumped into national prom
inence as a politician, by his successful
campaign as the candidate of the
Democratic party for Mayor of the city
of Milwaukee. As th§ publisher of
Peck's Sun , he accumulated a fortune
in a comparatively short time from the
profits of his paper and the publication
in book form of his humorous writings
that appeared in its columns. It was
his weekly humorous sketches of "The
Bad Boy and His Pa" that attracted
the largest attention. The whole na
tion was put to laughing over them,
with the result that the Sun very sud
denly acquired an enormous circuH
tion. These sketches were afterward
printed in book form, and the work was
successfully dramatized. Then a vol
ume, made up of humorous selections
from the Sun, was published under
the title of "Peck's Fun." Both of
these books had a tremendous sale, and
netted the genial author many thou
sands of dollars, which, together with
the profits from the paper, was judi
ciously invested in Milwaukee real es
tate. As a result, Milwaukee's new
Mai ror is not, as some people imagine,
au impecunious newspaper paragrapli
er, but a man of solid wealth, endowed
with a big brain and a level bead.
' Hitherto George W. Peek has enjoy
ed the reputation of being an honest
man. It is to be hoped his new asso
ciations in the political realm will not
cause him to loso this priceless posses
sion.— Chicago Ledger.
A Monster Itinl.
Where conld be found anything of
the sort prettier than the square before
the great white cathedral of San Jose,
Costa Pica? They call it Central Park.
It is inclosed by a high iron fence, with
gates at each corner. Huge old trees
afford suflicieut shnde at midday.
Near the center of the park stands a
dainty kiosk,decorated artistically with
| the blue, white, and red of the nation's
' colors. Horo the 1 Government band
plays twice a week of an afternoon,
while all the world comes to parade in
silk attire. The soldiers also drill every
morning at eight, in the broad path at
the eastern end. Here, too, they come
for review at six of the afternoon, the
officers passing the line while the band
plays "La Oracion," a sweetly solemn
hymn.
This little picture of vivid coloring
VOTING ZOPILOTE.
is one which can never l>e forgotten.
The scarlet of the band's uniform is
like a flame against the emerald and
deeper green of the foliage. And on
every side the rarest flowers, carefully
tended and always in full bloom, are
j seen.
Birds of all kinds sing or chatter in
the tree-tops. Seven gorgeous macaws
—huge creatures of splendid scarlet
plumago—wander, unhindered by cord
or cage, aliout the park. Half a dozen
wonderful green parrots of similar
freedom carry on intelligent conversa
tions with each other and with the
people who approach them. A huge
king of Zopilotes, an uncanny-looking
bird, occupies a spacious cage not far
from the central fountain.
Power of Silver as an Attraction.
| A story is told of a man who once
lived in a town about Ave miles from
here. He was one of those men who
didn't care any more for a dollar than
he did for his left eye. He dropped
into a saw-mill and stood watching the
buzz saw. It was revolving so swiftly
that it was impossible to see but that
it stood motionless, so he put his linger
on it to find out. A yell of pain an
nounced that he had found out, and
the owner rushed to tho scene. "What's
the matter?" he asked. "Why," said
Mr. 8., "I just put my finger out so,"
suiting the action to tho word, and zip!
off went a second finger, which flew
into a distant pile of sawdust. A hunt
was made for a pair of fingers, but
they were not to be found. They
searched high and low, but with no
success, until some one who knew of
Mr. B.'s "nearnoss" threw a half-dollar
down on the floor. The fingers imme
diately ran out and clutched it.—
Berkshire News.
SILENCE for ten days, speakiug only
in whispers for ten days more, then
gradual return to the ordinary voice, is
a recommendation for stammerers.
He was a quiet individual of a very
pronounced type, and as he entered a
well-known "sample-room" he placed
a pack of cards on the counter and
mumbled some indistinot words to the
sampler behind tho counter, who im
mediately produced a sample of a red
looking liquid and a colorless one,
which the silent man mixed and then
swallowed. This seemed to choer him
somewhat. "You can pick any card
out of that pack," ho exclaimed, in a
tremulous voice, "and I can tell the
card every time for tho drinks. Shuffle
the pack as often as you please, draw
the card anywhere you please." The
offer was accepted, drinks for the
crowd put up, and one of the party—
the mau who made tho wager—drew a
card. "Jnck o' hearts," said the stran
ger huskily, and the jack of hearts it
was. As the mysterious unknown
swallowed his poison he deftly scat
tered tho pack face up on tho counter.
It was made up of fifty two jacks of
hearts.
A BAD habit broken away from is a
'good day's work. The earlier a habit
is formed the stronger tho hold it has.
Private personal habits are more diffi
cult to get rid of and have a more de
moralizing effect than public ones.