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SKSsN WOT I' ■ I I
Probably there is no other woman so un
iversally disliked and execrated, says the
New Orleans Picayune, as the woman who
has contracted the borrowing habit. We
all know her. We have all been her vic
tims, for she has all times, and seasons,
and neighborhoods for her own, and
though you journey to the uttermost
parts of the earth you shall not escape her
importunities. She is one of the pests of
* society, and the wonder is that in a world
too full of laws we have not yet found
any way to abate her as an unmitigated
nuisance.
Apparently she never provides herselt
with any of the necessities of life, how
ever much she may flaunt the luxuries
before your face. Indeed, the time comes
when you are forced to the conclusion
that her borrowing habit Is nothing more
or less than a kind of blackmail she
levies on the neighborhood in order to
spend her money on show, and not on
plain, every-day living. At any rate, a
familiar and monotonous figure in your
kitchen soon comes to be her servant
or child with the request, "Mrs. B. says
will you please lend a cup of sugar, or
a litte coffee, or some baking powder,
or a teaspoon of vanilla.” Os course, you
lend it to her. Sometimes she pays it
back, generally in an inferior article,
oftenest you never hear of It again. Now,
the question of generosity doesn't enter
Into the matter at all. You might, and
would be delighted to give it outright to
her if she needed It, but it is troublesome
to have to go and get things out, and
equally troublesome to put them away
again if they are returned, and with fatal
persistency the borrower always sends
just at The most Inconvenient lime, when
you want least to be interrupted.
Naturally, the borrower always has her
nerve, as the slang goes, along with her.
She doesn't hesitate to send over and
borrow your new waist to see how the
trimming is put on, or your patterns be
fore you have used them, or your papers
end magazines before you get a chance
to look over them. These are so many
economies she permits herself at your
expense. Then, if you happen to have the
misfortune to be staying in the same
house with her, she borrows your stamps,
and your fine stationery, and you soon
come to know that if your perfume, or
any little belonging is missing, you can
hunt it up and locate it in her rooms.
"You are so good-natured I knew you
vouldn’i care,’’ the says -tweedy, i
just happened to be out,” as it sne wasn't
eternally out of everything she ought to
have.
Worst of all the borrowing flends is the
one who borrows your clothes. On the
slightest acquaintance she will presume
to borrow your new cape, or your picture
hat, and friendship with her is simply
purchased at the expense of your entire
wardrobe.
The Laggard in Love.—From Puck.—
* l ..S ,ve you n k<>y lo ,ny heart,” said she
Bo come when you will and unlock if
Your key is just this” (and she offered a
kissj;
"Don't let it wear holes in your pocket!”
Two days flitted by ere 1 ventured to try
My luck In that storehouse of blisses*
I tried the new key she had given to me
But, lo! she rejected all kisses.
You re really so stow,” she yawned,
don t you know—
Or were you away on vacation?
I knew your key'd rust, and-you don’t
mind, 1 trust—
I’ve altered the combination!”
It really seems, says the New QJenns
Timea-Democrat, that tn climbing to a
higher plane of right woman is mounting
a sand hill that has a peculiarly looxe ilJr
position to slide under her feet. A case I
have heard at betokens this. A Mrs. Il
had a pct $l6O dog and another brute, her
husband. Had this second been sunstruck
or otherwise assisted to die. she could
have borne up bravely under the bereave
ment, replaced the red ribbons on the
dog s neck and tall with decorous rem
nants of her own crape and placidly
‘ ‘. he *«" having as
calm a time in the next world as she was
In thia.
But cruel Fate decreed otherwise, which
the fact that the dog was the idol of her
heart, serves to explain: It was her llt
t.e god spelt backward, her constant com
panion. which had been shorn In part so
aa to resemble some other animal as vet
unfamiliar to natural history; and had a
coverlet and an appropriate tid-bita, a silk
coverlet and an appropriate bark to winch
Hr tall be,M (Imo, Hv escorted her when
out of doors, and was as much attache*!
to her by a silver chain as to feel himself
to be her very cavalier—and liked nothing
better save the toothsome caramel.
But some misunderstanding arose be
tween this pet and the husband—(hey
omitted to speak save in a growl, and the
latter, falling to recall that "Love me.
love my dog.” was it vital clause in the
marriage vow to which he hud declared
"I will,’ permitted his petulant foot to
etdllde one morning with the darting,
which thereupon aped to its mistress yelp
ing Its grievance. The resentment of the
Wroth wife was shown for several days
In a tranquil urMconsciousnvss that the ag
rresaor existed. n nd when dumbness shuts
down ihe safety-valve of her speech a wo
man is in something like a dynamite stage
of feeling, as you know by ex;»<«riencc.
Irritated by her large storage of reserve
and persuaded that It was ali due to the
do*, he lay In wait for it. feloniously
Mteed K. bore It from the house and gav«
t« away to some unknown persona,* but
with probable instructions to give t* ,>
nice bath and brick.
Do you know that that woman has
sought the Court of Common P’.eaa and
the inhuman judge decided (hat the hus
band was at entire liberty to bestow a
kick upon (he dog whenever he pleased
nay, that the town officers would "pound”
11. too. if found astray, and that she had
no remedy whatever; amt this, mark you
after all the bland assurance of man that
Woman Is bls equal and that her tender
•uscepttbllit le« and other property should
be put beyond hts control.
Ami now that woman thinks of her lost
•ne. unkempt and stimulating it* de-
jected life by collecting either food from
ash barrels or vulgar fleas from bad com
pany, and she recalls with reverence the
forty-nine Danaides who murdered their
husbands at Argos.
Woman’s Sigh for a Pocket —Carolyn
Wells, in Jamestown Evening Journal —
How dear to this heart are the old-fash
ioned dresses,
When fond recollection presents them to
view!
In fancy I see the old wardrobes and
presses,
Which held the loved gowns that in
girlhood I knew;
The widespreading mohair, the silk that
hung by it; <
The straw-colored satin, with trimmings
of brown;
The ruffled foulard, the pink organdie nigh
it;
But, oh, for the pocket that hung in each
gown!
The old-fashioned pocket, the obso
lete pocket,
The praiseworthy pocket that hung
in each gown.
That dear, roomy pocket. I’d hail as a
treasure,
Could I but behold it in gowns of to-day;
I’d find it the source of an exquisite pleas
ure,
But all my modistes sternly answer me
"Nay!”
’Twould be so convenient, when going out
shopping.
’Twould hold my small purchases com
ing from town;
And always my purse or my kerchief I’m
dropping—
Oh me! for the pocket that hung in
my gown.
The old-fashioned pocket, the obso
lete pocket, /
The praiseworthy pocket that hung
in my gown.
A gown with a pocket! How fondly I’d
guard it!
Each day, ere I’d don it, I’d brush It
with care;
Not a full Paris costume could make me
discard it,
Though trimmed with the laces an Em
press might wear.
But I have no hope, for the fashion is
banished;
The tear of regret will my fond visions
drown;
As fancy reverts to the days that have
vanished,
I sigh for the pocket that hung in my
gown.
The old-fashioned pocket, the obso
lete pocket.
The praiseworthy pocket that hung
in my gown.
The story, says the New York Times, is
told for an actual fact, and the relator
is noted for her veracity. It took place
at a large boarding house, which is the
temporary home of a great many very
nice people. On this particular occasion
they were gathered tn the dining room for
dinner, and the colored waiters were, as
usual at such a time, doing their best to
edify the gueets with the most obsequious
service. Ben, in particular, was most at
tentive. Ben was not a regular, but, one
of the regular waiters being away for a
time, he was substituting. And he did
his best.
As the dinner progressed, it was enliv
ened from outside by the strong and not
unmusical notes of a piano organ.
"What a pretty tune!” exclaimed Mrs.
Blank, a sweet-faced, white haired, elder
ly woman, as a familiar melody penetrated
the room. “I wonder what it is?” Then
she speedily forgot the music and her re
mark. But Ben did not.
•Waiting for a leisure moment, he slipped
outside to ask the piano organ music mak
er for the name of that particular tunc.
Presently Mrs. Blank heard Ben’s voice at
her elbows speaking in low, but very dis
tinct tones. He was speaking to her:
"All coons look alike to me.” said Ben.
"What?" said Mrs. Blank, a little star
tled by the suddenness of the remark.
"All coons look alike to me, ma'am,”
repented Ben, respectfully.
A bewildered look crept over 'Mrs.
Blank's face. Did her ears deceive her,
was she crazy, or had Ben lost h'.s mind?
"I dont—l don't understand." she gasp
ed.
"It was the tune, ma’am, you wished to
know what It was.” s’ld. Ron with a tone
of reproach in his voice. Then there was
a sudden and spontaneous burst of laugh
ter from the listening roomful, and Ben
never could understand why his little act
of thoughtfulness should have caused
such amusement.
To Elsie, or Why We Don’t Marry—From
Harlem Life.
Your foot M the tln'est that trips, love.
Thro' the maddening maze of the waits;
Two blossoming buds are your lips, love,
Your eyes say your heart Is not false.
Your bonds are so dainty and white, love,
Your tigure so wondrously tine.
That I’m tempted almost, but not quite,
love,
To say I adore you!—be mine!
But, no! there’s a frightening fear, love.
That will not allow me to speak.
You’re spending three thousand a year,
love.
I’m making twelve dollars a week.
She is as plain aa a pljtestem in her
dress.
To this c* mment, nays the Philadelphia
Record, utter. «l in n most contemptuous
tone, 1 replied; I sincerely admire (he
g«>od sense that prompts a woman belong
ing to the middle classes to dress quietly.
Iler social grade calls for only the sim
plest modes. You cannot deny that the
•object of your criticism is always pre
sentable, no matter where she goes or
with whom she is thrown.
My defense did not pkaae. I could see
that I was regarded as decidedly "queer.”
This, however, rarely deters me from
speaking my mind. I certainly felt im
pelled to do so on this occasion.
The evil of our day is overdressing. This
evil as a rule 1 do not find among rich
women, but in the midst of those of my sex
w ho are busy aping their wealthier sisters.
Limited Jhcomes are responsible for the
constant appearance of gowns, hats.
imp», that become tawdty simply because
of (heir environments. This must of ne
cessity be so. for the woman of average
means has by comparison sparse opportu-
Her inordinate vanity refuses to admit
thia. When she buys an elaborate article
of dress it s done with but one object in
view—namely, to find In her mirror an
image that pleases her.
She does not atop to consider how this
bit of extravagance ts to be fitted Into mr
every-day surroundings. SHe squeezes and
pinches In every coaoe.vable way to get
THE WEEKLY NEWS(TWO-TIMES-A-WEEK): MONDAY', JAN UAKY 24, 1898/
together a costume that must be put to
severely practical uses, and it has been
modeled, mind you, after a creation de
signed to figure only at elaborate func
tions.
The fussy original, a very stunning toilet,
appears at a swell luncheon, a fashionable
reception or in some place frequented by
exclusives; the copy switches its way
through the shops and along crowded
thoroughfares, stamping the wearer with
every swirl of its draperies are unrefined.
No use to beat about the bush. We
women judge each other by the way we
clothe ourselves. Often the judgment is
unfair, indeed, downwright cruel, and
should not be allowed a leg to stand upon.
But stand it does, and often to our com
plete undoing.
There is, says the Philadelphia Times, a
new thing “just come over,” called the
“Swiss Beauty,” and that just describes
it. The fabric is a trifle more sheer than
Swiss, and is, too, more durable. It has
the correct lines that cross and break into
squares and is singular for its embroidered
flowers. Masses of wisteria or locust clus
ter here and there over it, all embroidered,
not stamped, upon the goods, and it is on
this account a good investment, for it will
wash and wash, and still look new.
That brings me to the subject of the
care of all these dainty clothes. They
cannot and will not stand the damp or any
crushing. Only when fresh are they pret
ty, and how can they be kept fresh?
There is a very sure way of doing it, but
it is trouble. You must have a clean sheet,
sponge and gum arabic; also that miracle
cleaner, gasoline.
Length by length stretch out the soiled
breadths and sponge clean with gasoline;
let them dry and then spoftge with weak
gum water. Keep them stretched, as Is
done with lace curtains, during all the
processes of cleaning, and when they are
dry it is chip dry white. You w’lll find the
stuff crisp, glassy and fresh.
"Trouble?”
Well, after all, not more so than to wash,
dry, starch and iron, only different, that is
all, and requiring strict cleanliness
throughout.
We were sitting around the samovar,
says a writer in the New Orleans Times-
Democrat, and one woman spoke.
“I have just met that lovely Mme. X.,”
she said enthusiastically, and we all set
tled more comfortably to listen.
The semi-invalid grunted. "Oh, don’t
rave. It’s so much more amusing to roast
people.”
"But I have been awaiting an opportuni
ty for a year, to really get acquainted with
young Mme. X.,” returned the spontane
ous creature, “and to know her is to em
phasize one’s impressions of her. She is
a dream. She dresses so well; she is ami
ability Itself; she speaks adoringly of her
husband and her babies, and she doesn’t
pretend to be a deep woman—in fact, she
is simply perfect. I never feel honored
with an acquaintance, but I confess that
I now experience an analogous sensation
at the proffer of hers."
I glanced over at the sincerest of wo
men, who seemed to be flushed and who
was so mute that she looked sphinxy.
Knowing her to be a neighbor of young
Mme. X., I wondered that she did not join
in the conversation. After the others had
disppeared, all save the semi-invalid, the
sincere woman and myself, she the first
designated grunted again. “Come now.”
she whispered, settling herself on the di
van, "let us roast Mme. X., since we are
each other’s bosom intimates and are
ready to swear to eternal secrecy.”
"One half of the world knows nothing
about the other half,” she began, “which
is a true platitude. Emma is such a dear
simpleton, taking everybody at face value.
How is she to know that Mme. X. is a
cheat and an impostor in every relation
of life? That sounds dreadful, doesn’t it?
She treats her husband worse than she
would dane to treat her cook. I have
seen him clap his hat on with a sort of
reckless desperation and have heard her
voice haranguing him till he was out of
sight—she rages so that she forgets, oft
times, that she is girt by a neighborhood.
Her children have not been bathed in a
year. Oh, don’t exclaim, it is every word
true. I have been in her house when the
poor tots would straggle in without her
knowing it, and as late as you like in the
day the sleep has not been washed out of
their eyes. I have observed one pair of
green plaid stockings on the I’ttle boy for
ten days at a time—not the same pair? Oh,
yes, my dear, with the self-same ho’.e,
growing larger day by day. just under the
left knee. Week in and week out those
children are kept indoors without the sun.
shine or pure air or the light that even
the little human flowers require for
growth. Sometimes a siatterfily servant
will take them to the grocery store in the
neighborhood, their poor little heads mat
ted. their sweet faces streaked with dirt,
their guinea-blue smocks absolutely chang
ing color from grease and fl’.th—l won't
vouch for my servant’s statement that
these children are put to bed and taken
up in the morning in those dresses and
with those unclean hands and faces—and,
as I said, when they go to the
<tyen the little dago g:rl on the corner holds
her little print dress aside lest it be de
filed by contact as they pass her. The
little Xses are really pre:ty children, al
though it takes lye and pumice-stone to
find it out. And such pretty little forms
they have, too; but their petltcoats are
too forbidding for one to enjoy the obser
vation of their wed-shaped limb. l .
"I know Mrs. X. to be idle, because
whenever I have looked from my window
I have seen a movement behind her shut
ters; I sit always awaiting my husband
with some fancy work with all the win
dows wide open when the weather allows.
She wears her loose, untidy wrappers al
ways. even when her husband Is at home
of an evening; but oh, when she expects
company or goes to anything! Such a
transformation of her yellow parchment
to a roseate complexion! Such a change
in her figure, in her bearing, in her ami
ability. even in her voice! That is the
woman, then, that our friend enthuses
a’.»out. And I will not be the woman to
tell her what decayed self-respect dies iq.
that whited sepulchre.”
It is a disagreeable, but almost statisti
cal fact, that there .ire more lazy moth
ers and degenerate housekeepers in New
Orleans than in most other Southern cit
ies; yet there was a time when in every
department of the home Southern woman
hood ranked foremost.
Where are (he mothers of a score of
years since?
"l know what 1 am talking about." re
marked a member of congress to a Wash
ington Star reporter, “when I say that a
congressman has troubles of his own. It'a
a fine thing to be a statesman and show
up in the national parade of greatness at
MBS. LYNESS ESCAPES .
The Hospital and a Fearful Operation.
Hospital sin great cities are sad places to visit. Three
fourths of the patients lying on those snow-white beds .
are women and girls. r aOV
Why should this be the case ?
Because they have neglected themselves! Women
as a rule attach too little importance to first symp
toms of a certain kind. If they have toothache,
they will try to save the tooth, though many leave
even this too late. They comfort themselves with
the thought that they can replace their teeth; but ‘
they cannot replace their internal organs ! Irv
Every one of those patients in the hospital beds 1 Yr
had plenty of warnings in the form of bearing-down
feelings, pain at the right or the left of the womb,
nervous dyspepsia, pain in the small of the back, the I \
‘ ‘ blues, ”or some other unnatural symptom, but they did 'TJ »
not heed them.
Don't drag along at home or in the shop until you are finally obliged to
go to the hospital and submit to horrible examinations and operations I
Build up the female organs. Lydia E. Pinkham’s Vegetable Compound will
save you from the hospital. It will put new life into you.
The following lettei* shows how Mrs. Lyness escaped the hospital and a
fearful operation. Her experience should encourage
other women to follow her example. She says
rs - Pinkham:
- * I t^ianlc y° u ver y much for what you have
done for me, for I had given up in despair.
Last February, I had a miscarriage caused
by overwork. It affected my heart, caused
*»*•* me to h ave sinking spells three to four a
day, lasting sometimes half a day. I
could not be left alone. I flowed con
stantly. The doctor called twice a day
for a week, and once a day for four weeks,
// ;r \ then three or four times a week for four
*** * A months. Finally he said I would have to un-
dergo an operation. Then I commenced taking
Lydia E. Pinkham's Vegetable Compound, and
after one week I began to recover and steadily improved until I was cured
completely. By taking the Pinkham medicine, I avoided an operation which
the doctor said I would certainly have to undergo. I am gaining every dav
and will cheerfully tell anyone what you hove done for me.”—Mks, Thos,
Lyskss, 10 Frederick bt., Kochester, N. Y.
the capital, but there’s a good deal more
to it than that. And one of the things
that is hardest to bear is what they say
about us. Why, a lady can’t come up to
her and ask to see a member that there
aren’t a half dozen peo-ple to wink and
shake the head and a lot more of the
same to make him wish all the women
were in hades. Os course, there is some
ground among us for remarks, just as
there is among preachers and doctors,
and hod carriers and everybody else hu
man, and I know a woman or two who
find their chief delight in trying to involve
congressmen and other officials in any
kind of a flirtation that comes handy.
They are pretty and persuasive, and be
fore a man knows what he is about he
is down in the Senate restaurant paying
for a lunch and listening to some kind of
of a tale of woe.
“But they miss it now and then, and I
am glad to note an instance which oc
curred only a day or two ago. A mem
ber from a Northern state had been in
vited to call at a lady’s hotel the next
day, and she had asked him to let her
know if he could come. He wrote, saying
among other things: ’To-morrow, madam,
I hope to see the loveliest woman in the
whole world.’ Naturally she was pleased
and told all the ‘people around the hotel
about it. The next day he did not appear,
and the next she saw him at the capitol
and him what he meant by treating
her so.
“ ‘What did I do?’ he asked innocently.
“ ‘You said you were coming to see me,’
she said, blushing at the remembrance of
his words
“ ‘I think not.’
" ‘lndeed you did,’ she insisted. ‘You
said you would see the loveliest woman in
the world,’ and she blushed again.
“ ‘Oh, I beg your pardon,’ he said, smil
ing. ‘I my wife. She just arrived
yesterday.
"I like a lady what does what she says
she’s goin’ ter,” was one of the com
ments, says the New York Tribune, over
heard on a street corner where a couple
of servant glr'.s were standing, discussing
their respective "places.” Domestics, as
a rule, resent omissions, more even than
exactions. To require a meal at a certain
hour and then keep it waiting, to order
the carriage at one time and then change
for another, etc., seems to upset them
more than double the amount -of work
done in a regular way, even although mi
lady’s change of mind does not really add
to their tasks, the philosophy dpubtless
being that such vagaries emphasize the
difference in caste, the luxury of changing
one’s mind being permitted permitted only
to the leisure class. Calling one afternoon
on the “day”« printed on the card of a
certain great lady* a visitor was informed
that Mrs. was “not at 'ome, ’m.” “But
is this not her day?” queried the caller,'
“Yet, it is, ’m,” was the answer. “Are
the young ladies in?” persisted the vis
itor, who felt loath lo relinquish the cup
of hot tea which she had expected to be
regaiied with, and thought that some of
the family at least must be representing
the hostess. •
"No’m. they hare hall hout,” replied
Jeemes Yellowplush, and then his aggriev
ed feelings gqttlng the better of him—
"and ladies a-callin’ at hevery minute!
Just see the cards, ma’am”—showing a
pile of pasteboards—“and me a hexplalpln’
and hexplainin’, with nothin’ to hexplain!”
Half the women In the new New York
nowadays seem to be nervous almost to
the verge of hysterics. If this tendency
keeps on increasing as it has increased in
the last ten years, says the New York
Sun. It will hjp a very short time before
womankind is all nerves. Nine women
out of ten, if questioned, will frankly con
fess that they fall to crying without any
reason for tears whatever; that the desire
frequently comts to them to scream at the
top of their lungs; that they often long
to go away to some place where there
isn't so much as a song bird to break the
silence. Os course, a woman in this con
dition wouldn’t stay in such a place long,
because she has sunk into the realms of
sensation and must have change. If she
does not have change she will actually
become hysterical or collapse physically
and mentally, just as the farmer’s wife
does because she lives at the other ex
treme of the belt of life. Her path is a
treadmill of monotony, and she finds her
self just as nervous as her city sister,
but she is nervous in a different way, and
she declares that she is only “ailing a mite
and nothing more or less."
When asked if the reason for so much
nervousness in women is not largely the
result of so much noise. Dr. George F.
Shrady said:
“It is said that one of the balances of
culture is the absence of noise, and an
evidence of culture is that people should
not give way to any feeling or emotion.
Half or two-thlrds of the women nowadays
are nervous to the verge of hysterics, and
this tendency is increasing. It is true that
this condition is largely the .result of noise
or rather the result of the repression of
feeling. Think how shocked everybody in
a street car would be if every woman in
the car screamed when the gong clanged
and clanged and clanged unneceesar.ly, as
it frequently does. And yet nearly ali tne
women who travel In cars feel like doing
that. This constant repression has its bad
effect on men as well as on women, hut
men aren’t so delicately organized, so sen
sitive to sound, and so on. ,
The Silent Tongue.—From the Chicago
News—
Mary had a little tongue
That never spoke a word,
And as Mary was quite talkative
This statement seems absurd.
To school one- day she took it,
Within a sandwish white;
And all the children did exclaim:
“Oh, say, give us a bite!”
The cigarette habit is growing at an
alarming .rate among New York women.
"We sell an average of five ladies’ cigar
ette cases a day,” said a silversmith who
makes a specialty of them. "Three years
ago a woman who smoked had to content
herself with a man’s case. The newest de
sign for men and women is made of cork
and mounted in silver or gold. This'makes
a stunning case when studded with rubies,
emeralds, amethysts or carbuncles. For a
long time both men and women have com
plained that they found the metal cases
too heavy and too thick. The new cork
case is as light almost as a feather, is
made very thin, and one side is concave
so as to fit comfortably against the body
when carried in the inside coat pocket.
By touching a spring a cigarette is push
ed up so that the smoker can readily re
move it. The cases for ladies are not
more than one-half the size of those for
men. They come high, but the dear girls
who smoke must have ’em.”
You've heard about the pitiable condi
tion of the millionaire who had such dread
ful corns on his hands from his coupon
cutting scissors, of. course, but perhaps
you haven’t heard about a certain Wash
ington woman whose wealth is almost as
much of a burden to her, says a writer
in the Post. She lives in a beautiful house
out on Sixteenth street, and a woman I
know went to see her once upon a time
on business one morning. The lady le
ceived the visitor, but apologized for her
appearance. She hadn’t her false front
on, and she was wearing a dressing sack.
"You really must excuse me,” she said,
“but, I’ve been so busy I really haven’t
time to dress.”
"Busy?” echoed the business woman,
surprised to find that wealth does not
bring leisure.
“Oh, dear, yes,” returned the lady of
the house. “I’m always so busy the first
of the month signing checks that I haven’t
time for anything else.”
A New York doctor, noted so? his skill
in treating women, says that to every
woman who dies of cold in the head and
its consequent ills three die of cold in the
feet. He says that nine out of ten colds
are caught through the ankles, and that
if the ankles were always kept warm and
well protected there would be a great de
crease in sniffing and sneeziqg. Women
must have found this out, observes a pa
per published in that city, because they
are wearing gaiters this winter more than
they have since the barbarous time when
even delicate consumptives insisted upon
wearing low shoes through the severest
weather. The newest gaiter is mod»sh in
the extreme, heavy ribbed silk being the
favorite material. The gaiter is cut so high
that it comes up at least four inches above
the top of the ord nary walking boot, and
runs up to a pretty point behind. It is
linod with thin wool, and buttons snugly
about the instep. Black Is the favorite
color, but those who do not wear over a
No. 3 A or B boot can wear the nretty
soft shades in tan and mode and feel sure
that their feet look both swell and small.
It is an acknowledged fact, says the
New York Ledger, that a great age is at
tained by women oftener than by men.
One of the most famous female centena
rians was the Countess of Desmond, who
lived to be 145 years old, and died in the
reign of James I from the effects of an ac
cident. This wonderful woman found her
self, at the age of 100, so lively and strong
as to be able to take part in a dance; and
when she was 140 she traveled from Bris
tol to London—no trifling journey in those
days—in order to attend personally to
some business affairs.
Lady Desmond is, however, quite thrown
in the shade by a French woman, Marie
Prion, who died at St. Colom.be, it Is said,
at the wonderful age of 150. Toward the
end of life she lived exclusively on goat’s
milk and cheese. Although her body was
so shrunk that she weighed only 40 pounds,
she retained all her mental faculties to the
last.
It is an extraordinary, nut incon testible
fact, that some women at the age when
most people die undergo a sort of natural
process of rejuvenation—hair and teeth
grow again, the wrinkles disappear from
the skin, and sight and hearing reacquire
their former sharpness.
A Marquise de Mirabeau is an example of
this rare and remarkable phenomenon.
She died at the age of 86, but a few years
before her death she became in appearance
quite young again. The same change hap
pened to a nun of the name of Marguerite
Verdur. who, at the age of 62, lost her
wrinkles, regained her sight, and grew
several new teeth. When she died, ten
years later, her appearance was almost
that of a young girl.
A frankness that hs almost brutal, says
the New York Tribuqe, seems to i<ass cur
rent in society for up-to-date smartness,
and the language that is now used by cer
tain society people among themselves is
sometimes only a little short of billings
gate. while “swear words" seem to have
lost their awfulness, and are used almost
<s freely by women as by men. It is cur-
ious how “gentility,” both as a word and
quality, has disappeared. Fashionable
people are distinctly no longer “genteel.”
They may on occasions be high bred, but
the mincing propriety of the belles and
beaus of yore has entirely disappeared. In
a well-known society hovel written fifteen
or twenty years ago, which was a presum
ably correct delineation of the manners
and habits of the fashionable life of that
time, two heroines play their roles. One,
a Vere de Vere, with the correct speech
and manners of her caste, and the other
a suddenly exalted bourgeoise, who goes
through the social fires of criticism and ex
periences before she emerges pure gold
from the ordeal. Oddly enough, to-day the
type might be reversed; it is the bourgeoise
who is “high-toned," and the Vere tie Vere
who is a slangy hoyden.
The pearl, says Table Talk, js perfect
in itself, art can add to it no new luster,
and every effort to improye it has resulted
only in marring it. The formation of the
pearl can be likened to a human tooth. It
is covered with three layers similar to
enamel, and so long as these are un
broken the pearl Ts not readily injured,
but the slightly piercing of the enamel
envelope and rapid decay sets in. A
perfect pearl is one that is evenly spheri
cal, free from the minutest flaw, and with
a sheen like rich satin. There is a
quaint rabbinical legend that illustrates
the esteem in which pearls were wont to
behel£, only one object in nature being
rated above them:“On approaching Egypt
Abraham locked Sarah in a chest in
order that none might behold her danger
ous beauty. But when he was come to
the place of paying customs the collec
tor said, ‘Pay us the custom,’ and he said,
‘I will pay the custom.’ They said to
him, ‘Thou carriest clothes?’ and he said,
‘I will pay for clothes.’ Then they said
to him, ‘Thou carriest gold?’ and he an
swered them, ‘I will pay for my gold.’
On this they further said to him, ‘Sure
ly, thou bearest the finest silk?’ and he re
plied, ‘I will pay custom for the finest
silk.’ Then said they, ‘Surely, it must
be pearls that thou takest with thee?’
and he only answered, ‘I- will pay for
pearls.’ Seeing that they could name noth
ing of value for which the patriarch was
not willing to pay custom, they said, ‘lt
cannot be, but open thou the box and let
us see what is within.’ So they opened
the box and the whole land of Egypt was
illumined by the luster of Sarah’s beauty
—far exceeding even that of pearls." It
is most curious to learn that precious
stones are capable of contracting certain
diseases, which affect them much as they
would human beings. Pearls are pecu
liarly susceptible, and are known to be
the victims of incurable maladies that
cause them to crack and eventually to
break. Being composed entirely of car
bonate of lime, they perceptibly feel even
slight temperature changes. Mere hand
ling will often lessen their luster, and
nacklaces of pearls worn close to the skin
have been known to change color througn
the acid contained in the perspiration. A
touch of any corroding acid will ruin a
pearl irretrievably, and one dropped into a
fire at ordinary red heat will be speedily
reduced to a mere sprinkle of lime dust.
I have a woman friend here in town who
is as thoroughly English as a Bath bun.
though she is the wife of an American,
and has lived in America dear only knows
how long, says a writer in a Washington
paper. We don’t manage things as nicely
here as they do in London, she thinks,
and especially are our American women
lacking in a proper punctilious observance
of good form in the matter of replying to
invitations, in the writing of formal let
ters. and in correspondence generally. En
glish women, she says, are so exquisitely
careful in their stationery, so-so perfect
ly good form, in short. Anything like
haste or carelessness in a note gives hei
cold shivers of disgust. Recently a poted
English novelist, a woman, came to Wash
ington, as the guest of an Anglo-American
woman novelist and playwright of exceed
ing fame. She had n letter of introduc
tion to my English friend from somebody
in London, so they became acquainted
and the American husband was called up
on to admire the perfect good taste of the
visitor. One morning, when my friend
came down to breakfast her husband
handed her her letters.
Ugh!” said she, “who in the world Is
writing to me on a postal card? Such bad
form.”
Then she turned the card over and—well
I haven’t heard anything about English
good form lately. The postal card was from
the English novelist, and it was signed
"Yours in haste.”
A number of anecdotes, says the Figaro
a r llttle Kin * of »Pain, one
of which indicates that he very early
understood his own importance:
The Queen in private called him Al
phonsito and by many other endearing 1
names, and one occasion a minister said
to his majesty: “How are you, Alphon
slto?”
Ihe King looked at him, and then re
plied: “To Mamma, I am Alphonslto, but
to you I am the King.”
But he is very much of a boy despite
his appreciation of his kingship.
The first time the royal attendants tried
to bathe his majesty in cold water there
was a dreadful scene. He firmly declined
to leave his warm cot, and the ladies had
to appeal to the Queen, for, of course,
none might lay violent hands on the sa
cred person of majesty. “Come, baby,”
said his mother, going up to his bedside.
If I tell you to do it, will you have your
bath?” His majesty maintained an obsti
nate silence. “Well, then, I shall not tell
you to do it. baby, but I shall gt> to my
room and cry because you will not obey
me.” The little chap's better instincts
were moved, and jumping up, he cried:
“I’ll take my bath, mamma.”
Alfonso Xlll—just think of it!—is, or
was, fond of making mudpies.
One day he was seen gazing with un
wonted interest out of one of the windows
of the royal palace. When asked what he
was looking at, he pointed to two urchins
who were busy making mud-pies, and the
King begged, with tears in his eyes, to
be allowed to go and make mud-pies with
them.* The information that etiquette for
bade Kings to indulge in such pastimes
failed to console him.
Two or three years ago a boys’ battalion,
recruited from the youthful members of
the best families in Spain, was organized,
and the boy King, of course, became its
chief. The regiment has been uniformed,
armed and drilled in strict military disci
pline, and annually a parade is held, the
boys going through their drills and ma
neuvers, marching and charging with bay
onets. Afterward the King passes up the
ranks of the regiment, inspecting his play
mates’ arms and uniforms with remarka
ble gravity.
Philadelphia women have taken up with
a new fad and are learning the art of
upholstery. In some of the industrial
schools of that city classes were formed
some time ago, and they were soon run
ning over with women who have to earn
their living and others who do not. all eag
er to learn the rudiments of upholstery.
Individuality and harmony form the key
note in furnishings nowadays, and the
truly artistic woman likes, to have her
rooms set In order directly under her own
eye. Beautiful and rich draperies and
handsome furniture coverings can be pick
ed up for some trifling sums at this sea
son of the year, and if a woman knows
enough of upholstery to do her own work
or to direct some one else, ehe can obtain
fine effects in her apartment or house at
small cost.
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JCB tn time. Sold by druggist'. |jri|
Ibc Royal is the highest grade baking powder
known. Actual tests show it goes one
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MW
POWDER
Absolutely Pure
BAKINO POWDER CO,, NEW YORK.
SENSATION IN THE SENATE. •
REASON FOR A WOMAN CLERK'S |
DISCHARGE DEMANDED.
Washington, Jan. 20.—Mr. Mills, Dem',
of Texas, secured the passage by the
Senate to-day of a resolution directing
the Secretary of War to make an exami
nation of the Port Arthur ship canal, with
a view of its extension to deep waters.
Mr. Allen of Nebraska introduced a res
olution directing the Secretary of the In
terior to send to the Senate the full and
explicit charges made against Mrs. M. E.
Roberts, recently dismissed from the pen
sion bureau.
Immediate consideration being asked for
the resolution, Mr. Gallinger of New
Hampshire said the heads of the depart
ments had absolute power to remove clerks
and there is also a civil service commis
sion which has practically final authority
in cases of this kind. He thought that Con
gress ought not to take up the discussion
of such cases.
Considerable discussion, but without re
sult, occurred, it being developed that
Mrs. Roberts had been discharged on alle
gations affecting her character.
Mr. Allen said he did not know Mrs,
Roberts, but it was infamous to discharge
a woman on such charges without a hear
ing.
Mr. Allen then read a statement direct
ed to the President by Mrs. Roberts. She
says that she is the widow of Edward
Roberts, a Union soldier, and that she
Was summarily dismissed from the pension
office for misconduct affecting her char
acter. No charges were preferred against
her publicly, and she claims to have been
treated cruelly and without opportunity
to vindicate her character.
Mr. Gallinger said the presumption was
that the statement of Mrs. Roberts had
been properly referred and was now in
the proper place to receive consideration.
Mr. Gallinger then asked that the resolu
tion go over until to-morrow.
The motion of Mr. Vest to take up the
Teller resolution was then carried by 41
to 25, as follows:
Yeas—Messrs. Allen, Bacon, Bate, Ber
ry, Butler, Cannon, Chilton, Clark, Clay,
Cockrell, Faulkner, Harris, Heitfeld, Jones
of Arkansas, Kenny, Kyle, McEnery, Mal
lory, Mantle, Martin, Mills, Mitchell,,
Money, Morgan, Perkins, Pettigrew. Pet
tus, Pritchard, Quay,’ Rawlins, Roach,
Shoup, Stewart, Teller, Tillman, Turpie*
Vest, Walthall, Warren White and Wol
cott—4l.
Nays—Messrs. Aldrich, Allison, Baker,
Cullom, Davis, Fairbanks, Foraker, Frye,
Gallinger, Gear, Gray, Hale, Hanna,
Hansbrough, Hoar, Lodge, Mcßride, Mor
rill, Nelson, Platt of Connecticut, Proc
tor, Sewell, Spooner, Thurston and Wet
more—2s.
Mr. Tellers’s resolution provides: “That
all bonds of the United States issued or
authorized to be issued under the said
acts of Congress hereinbefore recited are
payable, principal and interest, at the op
tion of the government of the United
States, In silver dollars of the coinage of
the United States, containing 412 grains
each of standard silver, and that to re
store the coinage value to such silver coins
by making them a legal tender in the pay
ment of said bonds, principal and inter
est, is not a violation of the public faith,
nor in derogation of the rights of the pub
lic creditor.”
Mr. Vest then spoke in support of the
resolution, saying he had no desire at this
time to thresh over the old straw of
financial discussion, but hoped to be able
to call the Senate’s attention to some rea
sons why the pending bill should be agreed
to by the Senate. Twenty years had pass,
ed since the Stanley Matthews resolutions
were put on the statute books, but h®
believed that there was no reason why
ther4 should be reiteration of the resolu
tionA and the declarations contained in
them. Mr. Vest maintained that if the
resolutions were originally correct and
proper, they are correct and proper at
the present time.
“They do not in any sense," said Mr,
Vest, “involve any repudiation or dis
honor.”
The senator maintained that the issue in
volved in the consideration of the meas
ure has been thrust on the Senate and
administration and the senators must con
tinue to remain silent, and by their silenco
give tacit assent to recent declarations
of the Secretary of the Treasury in favor
of the gold standard, those declarations
being evidently indorsed by the President,
or else to reaffirm the Stanley Matthews
resolutions, which had been passed by the
Senate by a vote of more than two to
one and by the House by an overwhelming
majority.
"It will be recalled,” said Mr. Vest,
“that the present President of the United
States was then a member of the House,
and voted for these resolutions.”
Mr. Vest declared that the time had now
come when the country must go either to
a gold standard or make the last and
overwhelming contest for the financial
system which he believed a great ma
jority of the people were In favor of. Ho
said he had now no desire to enter upon
an elaborate discussion of the pending
question, and if any senator on the other
side of the chamber desired to speak on
the question he would yield to him.
There was no response to the invitation
by the" Republican side, and Mr. Vest was
proceeding with his remarks, when Mr.
Platt. Rep., of Connecticut, asked if
was Mr. Vest’s intention to press the res
olution to secure an immediate vote.
The speaker interrupted Mr. Aidrich,
who asked: “Is It the purpoap of tho
senator to secure a vote on the resolution
to-day?”
“I expect,” replied Mr. Vest, “to en
deavor to secure a final vote on the reso
lution when, under the rules of the Sen
ate, a final vote can be reached.”
The Missouri senator was proceeding
with his remarks when the Vice President,
the hour of 2 o’clock having arrived; laid
before the Senate the unfinished busiaess,
the census bill.
Mr. Vest moved to lay aside the unfin
ished business and asked to proceed with
the discussion of the Teller resolution. Th©
motion prevailed without division, the ef
fect being to make the resolution the un
finished business.
Mr. Vest then yielded to a suggestion of
Mr. Aldrich that further consideration of
the bill be postponed until to-morrow, in
order that those opposing might have op
portunity to prepare for the debate.
At 2:10 o’clock the Senate went into ex
ecutive session, and at 2:c5 o’clock ad
journed.