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WOMAN’S
WORLD.
The true love letter the man or -woman
as he or she really is. Discussing this sub
ject the New York Commercial Advertiser
says: Every one remembers how in
■‘Cyrano de* Bergerac.” after Roxane has
been drawn into love for Christian be
cause of the impression made upon her by
the Impassioned love letters written to her
in Christian’s name by Cyrano himself,
she meets Christian and is terribly disap
pointed and almost wholly disallusioned
because his wooing by word of mouth is
so much less impressive than what she
had expected frbm her reading of the let
ters. The scene of this first actual love
making Is one of the most amusing of the
play. The man whom Roxane believes io
have been pouring out to her a torrent of
amatory eloquence Inspired by the iiuens
est love and ardor can find nothing to say
except to reiterate again and again, like
a parrot, the words, "I love you.”
It Is a pity that M. Rostand had not al
lowed us to read a number of these letters
of Cyrano which produced such a tre
mendous effect upon the mind of the wo
man whom he loved- There are few love
letters preserved in literature, or even
seen by those for whose eyes they were
not originally intended, which come up to
one’s notion of what a true love letter
ought to be. Those of Abelard and Helo
ise, while at times they are touching and
tender, fali short of being ideal, because
they lack simplicity. Much the same
thing can be said of the much discussed
letters that passed between Robert Brown
ing and Elizabeth Barrett. These two
persons were very exceptional natures,
and it may be assumed that the letters
which they wrote each other were just
the sort of letters adapted to their indi
vidual temperaments; but to the reader it
will always seem that lovers who min
gled their intimacies with Greek quota
tions and- philosophical allusions were
not safe guides for other lovers to follow
In this particular direction.
Of course, in a certain way, poor Chris
tian’s mumbled iteration of “I love you,”
contains everything and means every
thing that the most magnificent erotic
eloquence can utter or imply; for every
thing else can only be an elaboration and
an ornamentation of this one central
thought and fact. But, none the less,
both men and women are never fully sat
isfied with the mere declaration of their
love.
They want to dwell upon it and to pet
it and to extract from it all the exquisite
little fancies and sensations that are pos
sible; to caress it, so to speak, and to
make much of it and to glorify it. be
cause for the time there is absolutely i
nothing else for them in the whole world.
And this they try to do when they are
separated and when they try In words to
set down something that will convey to
one another the yearning, the thrill and
the intensity of emotion by which each is
mastered and shaken.
I am inclined to think that nothing In
the world would afford so searching a
test of one’s mind and taste and feeling
apd fineness as the love letters which he
should write. There is no other form of
composition in which all that is beau
tiful and touching comes so perilously
near to what is ludicrous and mawkish.
The man or woman who can pour out un
reservedly all the utterances of a great
passion in such a way as to make it seem
exquisite to an uninterested person must
have qualities that are very rare. The
true love letter is in the first place written
without the slightest consciousness of self,
without a thought to form and without
the smallest touch of self restraint, and
with a frankness that cannot possibly feel
any sense of shame. Hence, it is an un
erring index of the writer’s heart and
mind, and it will reveal him as stripped
bare of all the conventional disguises
which he puts on in the company even of
his most intimate and trusted friends.
It is unlikely that the finest and most
moving letters of this sort are ever seen
except by those who write them and re
ceive them. Could true love letters be
collected and printed they would form a
mass of reading that could not fail to ex
cite in every mind a most intense and al
most painful interest, for in them there
would be found the vivisection of human
souls. Rousseau’s confessions are usually
viewed as representing a suprme effort in
self-analysis; yet even if Rousseau had
been sincere, as undoubtedly he was not.
and had he been honest and not following
out his natural propensity to pose, what
he set down would still he far inferior
to the self-revelations which lovers make;
for, whatever one may say, Rousseau was
consciously endeavoring to be frank, while
lovers are entirely unconscious of a mo
tive such as his. They are simply striv
ing with each other, both in thought and
word, to reach the most perfect under
standing of each other, and to attain at
last to an absolute oneness of sympathy
and knowledge and feeling. This is why
the love letter, which is written out of a
full heart and with no thought that the
third person will ever see it, displays the
man or the woman as he or she actually
and really is. A common man and a com
mon woman will express their stunted
and vulgar little personalities in the sort
of letter that one hears read out in breach
of promise trials amid the guffaws of the
hanger-on of the court room. Cold na
tures and minds that are eternally self
conscious will be accurately mirrored in
letters that are stilted and pedantic. Lov
ers who are moved by intense devotion
will express all that emotion with sin
cerity and ardor, but unless their minds
are of the very finest and most sensitive
type, they will always introduce into their
letters something incongruous, something
that falls below the dignity of true pas
sion; something that will jar and make
the reader have a little shiver of distaste.
When one reads letters such as these he
feels that he is intruding upon what is
wholly personal and private, and it
makes him quite uncomfortable. This, cu
riously enough, is not the case when one
chanct? on the love letter that is truly
wondetful and perfect, because then,
while it in reality is intimate beyond any
other intimacy, it is so fine, so elemental,
so marvelous and so beautiful that one
forgets -all about the personality of the
writer and looks at w hat is written in its
pages us he would look upon a perfect cre
ation it nature or in art—as somothing
beyond the individuality of a man or of
a woman and representing the supreme
self-reveUUon of an excited soul.
In giving a description of a dinner at a
seraglio, Good Words say*; We seated
ourselves round it on cushions, aaid each
tqok possession of the flat piece of scone
which supplied the place of a plate during
the meal, those articles not being con
sidered a necessary luxury In the cen
ter of the tabie stood a large bowl full ot
white soup from which everybody ate.
taking as many spoonfuls aa they chose
irom the commo.i tureen with the long
handled wooden ladies provided for each
guest- When this Was removed a large
piece of meat boiled, into rags took its
place, and was speedily diminished under
the violent treatment it re-teived from us
all. each pulling lump </. meat from the
joint with- the fingers, and eating it off
with her own fist scent We then had
Vi curry of vegetables, followed by the
Zagsilg pudding, fruit tir.d rtce, called •>
iroin a native of that village having
brought Ihe r>cipe to (.he liarem
Our m<-iI was concluded by coffee, made
ui a corner of the routa over red-hot chat -
coal in a copper pot, and poured thick
into small glasses fitted in gold filigree
cups. The lady who made this rather
disagreeable beverage was the same who
had removed the center dishes during
dinner; she was as black as a coal and
bore the delightful descriptive name,
translated to us, of Idly of the Desert.
The fashion of trailing skirts for street
wear received a decided blow the other
afternoon in New York. H. Is Bush
Brown, who was one of the sculptors on
the Dewey arch, astonished the Rainy
Day Club at its meeting in the Carnegie
building by reading it a severe lecture on
the half-heartedness of its aims and sug
gesting Immediate reforms. The club
Is accustomed to receive from the male
speakers who occasionally address it only
the most sugar-coated sentiments. Mr.
Brown's remarks, however, were received
with a good grace, after the club realized
It was in for a scolding. Mr. Brown said:
"The name of this club is indicative that
even here women are the shy and timid
creatures we love with our whole hearts
and whom we would hardly love otherwise
than as they are. Yet the title announces
that here is an idea without conviction
and a movement for reform without cour
age.
"In the spirit of appropriateness I ask
if it is pood to have short skirts in the
rain is it suitable, cleanly, wholesome or
attractive to sweep the streets with your
dresses in fine weather? Certainly the
ungraceful effort of holding up the dress
does not modify the custom.
"Why do women all follow the same
fashion? You do not think it necessary
to the harmonies bf life that you should
all wear the same colors. You cannot
think all fashions alike becoming to the
short woman, the tall woman and the
fat woman.
"It is not that or you would not have
attained lo Hie emancipation you have in
the designs of bonnets, which gives us
that wonderful, infinite and beautiful va
riety.
“It is because you are timid by nature,
education and environment. You dare not
face the criticisms of the conventional in
the person of your dressmaker and your
fashion plates.
"Bonnet-making may be said to have
been elevated to the plane of the fine arts.
Why should not costuming he similarly
elevated? Dressmaking might be elevated
to an artistic profession, which would
broaden the minds of its followers.
"You are in the hands of your enemies.
The fashion laws are annually promul
gated by the fashion dealers, and you grab
at the bait as though yo-u liked it. All for
the good of trade and the depletion of your
pocketbooks.
“You run like sheep in one direction be
cause you do not dare to be outside the
fold of fashion, and when you make a
protest it is called a ‘Rainy Day Club,’
because you are only half-hearted
about it.
"If you have the idea, have the courage
lo make it a conviction, and the bravery
to live up to it.
“If the Rainy Day Club means any
' thing make it stand for greater simplicity
l in dress and in the home and against this
demon of display. Such a stand will
; leave its members free to work for great
] and important things.”
■ Miss Sara Palmer suggested that if Mr.
: Brown would establish a school of artistic
i and elevated dressmaking at reasonable
rates the club would patronize it.
Stories of college pranks ore always in
teresting reading to the older women, who
were once school girls themselves. The
most depressing period in a college girl’s
life is holiday time if she lives too far
away to warrant her going home for the
mid-winter vacation, and while the others
are making their gay preparations for all
sorts of family festivities she does sundry
little weeps that ore not at all in har
mony with the season of good cheer. One
winter at Vassar, says the Chicago Chron
icle, there were a half-dozen forlorn ones
gathered in a pretty blonde-haired senior's
room doing their best to console her. and
at the same time keep their own spirits
up by rash onslaughts upon chocolate
pot and cracker jor. They were all in
tearful mood, yet they felt that the blonde
senior was the greatest martyr, owing to
the fact that there was a fiance in her
Western home as well as the ordinary
family group. His photograph peered at
them from bureau, desk and ten table
even; the looking-glass was absolutely a
mosaic of manly beauty, all of one type,
and a very much tear-stained letter, open
on the senior’s lap. spoke eloquently of
her disappointment nt not being able to
go where the writer was. Unnoticed by
the rest two of the girls slipped from the
room, and it was not many minutes he
fore a card was brought up. which bore
the name of the youth supposed to be so
many miles away. There never was such
a hurried bathing of eyes and change of
manner as occurred in the ten minutes
following its arrival. With a beaming
face the erstwhile Niobe descended to
the reception room, there to be greeted
by a contorted figure in masculine at
tire. whose muffled laughter and queer
shape at once proclaimed the imposter
to be one of the girls who had recently
left the room. The maids who had assist
ed in the deception were giggling in the
hall, when a sudden hush announced that
something out of the ordinary had hap
pened. Imagine, if you please, how that
sinner must have felt when she looked up
and saw- (he real fiance coming into the
room, viewing with amazement an en
sombie that certainly did not show her to
advantage. The unhappy joker, with
the tables turned against her, was so se
verely punished by the predicament she
was in that the blonde senior hadn’t the
heart to say anything more about the
trick that had been played upon her, and,
with her fiance, gave that mournful
group of “left-behinds” some jolly times,
but it is only fair to state that in a cer
tain person’s stocking on Christmas
morning there were false whiskers and a
disreputable pipe as suggestive offerings
to her make-up when next she essayed
the role of male impersonator.
The reported capture of a young Dutch
girl named Miss Bester, who was leaving
Ladysmith on horseback for the supposed
purpose of giving information to the
Boers, reminds one that women have play
ed a notable part as spies in war time,
especially during the American Civil War.
For example, one of the most devoted of
the Confederates during the American
war was a Miss Ford, who lived at Fair
fax Court House, which was used as the
headquarters for the staff officers of the
Union army. Among ;hese men Miss Ford
was quite a belle, and very popular, as she
was to all intents and purposes an adher
ent of the North. Believing her to be
such, the officers often dropped items of
information about their army, hut all this
information Miss Ford received in an ap
parently very careless and no-in terest-to
me-I-assure-you manner, which quite de
ceived the men. All the same, the little
Confederate managed to obtain all the
news she desired from the non-suspecting
officers, and this she conveyed to the Con
federates in a quaint manner. Frequent
ly there used to visit her a simple, green,
raw coun ry youth, who would sit quite
openly on ihc piazza with Miss Ford, ex
citing not the slightest suspicion. This
• •country youth.’’ .however, was no less
a person than Moshy. a famous guerrilla,
whom the Northern officers would have
given worlds to catch! And Miss Ford,
w ho was honorary aide-de-camp to Brig,
lien. .1. K. B. Htuart. was giving him, al
most within the hearing of the enemy,
the whole scheme and plan of campaign
of the L’nion forces!
If Is ofien sai l that If you put a thing
away for seven year* and bring 11 out
igaln the cod of that ilme you will find
It In fashion. At any rate. If It Is r.ot In
fault! l it then put It a way again and l>r:nf
It out in another seven year*. This Is eer.
tslrily the ruse with fringe, which Is un
doubtedly otwi of our mast popul u trim
THE MOHM*G NEWS: SUNDAY, DECEMBER 31, 1891).
mings at the present time, and those who
put tt away seven years or more ago will
be glad to bring It out again for use now.
Fashionable overskirts edged with fringe
are exceedingly graceful. If it has become,
discolored by being put away, have it
dyed, when it will look like new.
My Lady—
My lady leaned from her cushioned seat,
And her eyes looked into mine.
Their depths were warm and their shal
low's -wee:,
And I thought her breath was wine.
The ruddy firelight tinged her skin.
And o’er her hair played out and in.
She smiled, and her smile was pleasanter
Than a wind on a little hill.
Where the wide steppe knows no friendly
fir
And the sun has all his will.
Beneath her pale skirt hem, down hung.
Her slipper peeped like a burnished
tongue.
She laughed as she sat, and her fingers
dr w
My fingers to her cheek.
Oh, it was the call of the land. I knew.
When the late ebb tide is weak—
When the great deep turns and the moon's
desire
Blooms cut In a trembling rose of fire!
—Post Wheeler In New York Press.
Mrs. Maxine Elliott Goodwin, says the
Saturday Evening Post, preserves in an
expensive frame, under a glass cover, a
telegram from Mr. Goodwin which cost
the actor many thousands of dollars, an l
incidentally led to his marriace and his
subsequent settling down. It was silt
just before Mr. Goodwin's latest t ip to
Australia, on which trip he became • n
gaged, matrimonially, to his wife. Mr.
Goodwin needed a leading woman to ac
company him to the antipodes and hi
manager went to Miss Elliott, who ha 1
just left Daly’s company, and prevai ed
upon her to accept the vacant place. 'lns
decision was telegraphed at once to
Goodwin, who answered with this query:
"All right; but isn’t she too tali?”
When Miss Elliott saw this reply she
declined the offer with equal promptn ss.
and immediately left for San Francaco to
take the leading place in a stock company.
But Mr. Goodwin, with the p overbial
changeability of genius, rigieited his
query almost as soon as he had made it,
and he followed Miss Elliott to San Fian
cisco the next week. There he saw her
play, and with impetuous eloquence he
persuaded her to go with his company.
But is cost him $2,500 to the San Francis, o
manager, the privilege of producing Mr.
Goodwin’s plays on the coast at a reduced
royalty, double the salary he had first
promised Miss Elliott and a place In his
company for Miss Elliott’s sister.
Miss Ethel Maud Soper, a student at the
Woman's College, was born in Japan and
lived there a long time. She is the
daughter of Rev. Juiius Soper of the
Methodist Church, says the Baltimore
News, who has been a missionary In Ja
pan. Miss Soper spoke as follows of the
difference between a Japanses girl and an
American girl:
“To begin with the babies: They are as
much petted and indulged as the most
spoiled darling in the United States. Ev
erything is done to make childhood a
happy time. Toys are lavished on them.
Scolding is almost unheard of. The pride
of every woman is her children, and as a
result the children rule the house. I once
knew of a case where there was a great
commotion during the night, and next
morning it was learned that the little
girl of the household had waked up and
at 2 o'clock and had cried to be taken
for a boat ride. Her wish w-as gratified,
“Next to the babies, the old women
have the greatest number of privileges.
Someone has said, 'The grandmother
rules the empire.’ It is when she is a
grandmother that a woman gets honor in
the household. Age. of course, is greatly
reverenced. The first remark made after
the introduction is, ‘And whpt might be
your honorable age?’ And you may be
sure that if the answer be a Japanese
she will give her full age—and even be
tempted to add a year or two. This is the
indispensible question in polite society.
There is_ even a special custom which
only women of over 80 may wear. The
long, dull-colored garment can not be al
tered, but the lining of the sleeves and
neck piece are made of the most brilliant
scarlet. The sandals are laced with scar
let thongs, and a close scull cap of the
same color completes the dress.
“The dress of a Japanese girl is made
of straight pieces sewed together. Japan
ese sewing is very different from ours.
There are no ruffles, no gathers, no bias
folds, the fashions never change, and a
girl may wear her mother's or grandmoth
er’s frock without a thought of fit or
fashion. There are, however, prescribed
dresses for different classes of society. A
Japanese can tell at a glance but a Eu
ropean will get hopelessly bewildered at
the class distinction indicated by a tiny
thread of color in the sleeves, a slight va
riation in the way of wearing the hair.
“The upper class Japanese girl usually
has the loose upper garment of some dull
color, lined with brighter tint. Our fash
ion of putting bright silk linings in our
coats came from Japan. A ball dress
might be of a dove-colored crepe, with a
pink lining, the skirt showing beneath this
might be hand-painted most elabor.it ly.
The neck piiece showing above the loose
outer garment is often of variegated silks,
beautfully ornamented.
“But the most interesting artie’e of a
Japanese girl’s toilet to herself is her belt.
First a width of crepe is wound a r oumi
the waist to hold the dress In right posi
tion. over this comes the belt p oper. It
is often at least sixteen inches wide, mad a
of any substance, but always lined wilt
some heavy material like canton flanne’.
Some of these brocade belts with lies,
which come from the shoulders to the feet
cost as much as $2OO or $3OO. It takes a
good deal of skill to get the belts on just
right, and a large part of a Japanes;
girl’s education consists in learning exact
ly how to do it.
"I taught a princess once who was very
close up to the throne. She would com
to my house with several attendan’s and
in the most costly rob s. but if the weath
er was warm she would be I-a ref ote i.
“The hair Is dressed v e ry elaborately
and always by a hair-dresser. The fash
ion of puffing the hair over cushion* or
’rats.’ as school-girls call them. Is a Jap
anese importation. Tits past fashion, too,
of wearing bangs comes Lom another
Japanese W'ay of wearing the hair. They
fix their hair once, or at mosi twice, a
week, and it stays fixed till the hair-dress
er calls again. For fear that the struc
ture will get tumbled when she is asleep,
the Japanese girl dispenses with pillows,
and sleeps with a wooden Test under the
back of the neck anl the head quite un
supported. Very uncomfortable it must
be, but a Japanese girl, like an America:!
girl, will do a great deal for the sake of
appearing well.
“Etiquette is an important part of a
Japanese girl's education. There are pro
fessors of etiquette in Japanese schools,
just as there are professors of language*,
and a girl must knew how to enter a
room, how to introduce, and all the num
berless rules of precedence. All men, of
•nir-e. take precedence of all women, un
l*--s they have leen Christianized thru
they assume cur ways with womankind.
"One specimen of their exaggerated po
liteness is in their salutation. Where we
would say, 'I am glad to see you,' they
would say. ’I hang upon your honorable
eyelids.'
• The Japanese girl Is apt to he Indolent.
Knit! ttg was a great occupation wirii
them, and now that the Europeans have
taught them other kinds of fancy work,
tlity *o wild with dellaht over crochet
silted tea *nd different kind* of emtro;d
*ry. Almost 'be only game which th
glrls piny is battledore and shuttlecock
They do this a great .(rat, looking pretty
and picturesque when they play, just a
if iliey bad stepp'd off a luu.
“It was always very hard for the mle*
eionaries to get hold of the women of th3
family. When they called only the men
and children would upbeatr* and when the
wife was asked for. ‘O. she is just a stupid
thing,’ the loving husband would protest.
“A woman has lßile control over her
life. She marries at the will of her fath
er or elder brother, often without seeing
her future husband till she is led to the
alior. The ipnti, too, is governed by his
far her. who .'•elects the bride. But human
hearts are the same everywhere, and
there are some genuine love matches,
even in Japan.
‘‘There is no furhlthre in a Japanese
house-only cushions. A table for meals
io so small it looks more like a tray. The
difference between the house of a poor
man end the residence of ti millionaire
consists in the timber of which the house
is built. You irannot find a knot in the
wood of a beautifully built house. Then
the matting on the floor will be of the
finest and ihe sliding doors, perhaps, beau
tLully hand-painted. ‘The kitchens, too,
have no furniture except the stove; there
is not even a table; all the work is done
on the floor. As you may imagine, it is
beautifully clean. There is just one pe
culiarity in their house* cleaning—<he
kitchen floor must be vt&shed with cold
water only. It is never aetua.ly washed,
however, but rubbed over with cloths
wrung from cold water. And it shims
beautifully, Ike the finest mahogany ta
ble."
The New York TriVune has the follow
ing appropriate remarks on ifio art of con
versation: To talk well and entertainingly
is certainly a great art. and renders a per
son so gifted very popular. To be interest
ing, however, one must deal with the or
dinary everyday topics. An erudite flow
of language is all very fine, but It is not
amusing. A dissertation on art, literature
or i>olitice may be instructive, but it is
apt to be tiresome. One must dip with a
light hand so to speak, in current events,
and deal chiefly in personalities and inci
dent. In one of the instructive stories
for youth which we.re rp popdlap half a
century ago. wherein moral leeacms were
carefully administered in the form of gen
teel fiction, a walk taken in the countr* r
by Harry and Tommy is described.
"What did you see, Tommy?" asks the
fond parent on their return.
"Oh, nothing at all," answered Tommy.
"It was very stupid—only fields and some
trees."
A similar question to Harry, however,
elicited a different reply. He described an
amusing encounter between their terrier
pup and a hedgehog; he lias discovered the
first spring flowers, which he brings home,
and he has noticed the preparations for
housekeeping on the part of a certain
bird, one of whose eggs he proposes later
on to add to his collection; he has en
joyed his expedition; he is bright, happy,
and, consequently, interetsing.
Very different is he from dull Tommy,
who considers his walk a task, and can.
find nothing to say about it. He certainly
will not shine os a conV'tr.sationalist later
on. whereas Harry wil. doubtless be a
charming companion. A though the art of
conversation is undeniably a gift, it can
to a great degree be cultivated, first, by
acquiring a habit of observation, and then
by relating what has been observed.
“You have not told rue a thing about
Mrs. A's dance,” complained a lively
mother of her tacturn von. “Can't you
think of anything to saj about It?” The
youth made an effort ol memory, “Well,
they had terrapin for sujper,” he remark
ed at length. While his seter, with a light
playfulness and sense of humor that were
quite charming, entertained the whole
family at dinner by het account of the
same function.
“It is so difficult," said o young wo
man to whom the foregoing dlsseration
had been addressed. “3 heard you the
other day comment upon Milly Frivol's
■flow of verbage,’ as you tailed It, aijd you
said she ‘chattered like a , magpie,' and
Tessie Erudite you called a ‘monologise’
1 suppose to be entertaining without be
ing tiresome Is what you mean, but it is
too intangible and too contradictory. I
really cannot tell what to do."
Speaking of the necessity of keeping in
line with the young, Marlon Harian-i says
some interesting things in an article in
tlie Cincinnati Commercial Tribune:
"You can not put a gray head upon
green shoulders,” she says. The apoth
egm commands respect because of irs
antiquity and opposlteSess to the nature
and the needs of youth. Cool deliberation
before action is as alien to the soberest
of our young people as headless impetu
osity to their fathers. The youth leaps,
ard. looking backward, sees his blunder.
If he be wise he lays tp the recollection
as a lesson for next time. Ah! those
blessed many "next times” that are pos
sible to those who hove got begun to cal
endar falls and failures by gray hairs and
wrinkles!
When we cease to believe and to hope
in next time for ourstlves dry rot—the
foe to progress and the end of active use
fulness-sets in.
Senex—deadly conservative in opinion
and slow to act even when convinced that
an innovation is commendable—groans
pessimistically when tie Is left behind.
Juvenus fights with lxith fists when he is
held back, and Juvenus has the right of
it. But for his restiveness in former
ages, we should still be sleeping upon
leather hides, walking over rush-straw
floors, eating with our fingers from wood
en trenchers, sit upon bare boards, and
wearing homespun kirlles and sheepskin
jerkins.
I confess frankly to a hearty sympathy
with the girl who wants to “live some
what as other people live.” and with the
boy who rebels at his father’s admonition
never to swim without the corks. "Tile
rising generation” does not mean those
who are growing up so much os those who
are going on and up. The young fellow
who is content to step into his fafher’a
shoes and shuffle for the rest of hts life
at the gait kept up by his predecessor is
lazy, or a dolt. The girl who never
evolves an Improvement In the plenishing
or ponduet of the house her mother has
managed for forty years according to the
notions In vogue when she began life lacks
enterprise or energy. I Change, action,
progress are the watchwords of the day—
and this, too, is right. If we would keep
in touch with those of our children who
have arrived at man's and woman's es
tate we must change the step at which’
we have marched hitherto. We can no
longer regulate the pace at which they
move. The sooner we accept this truth
philosophically the better for us and for
them. It is a hard saying that we can
not give them one atom of the experience
we have bought dearly. So far as they
ore concerned it Is so tnuth hurled treas
ure, dxeept when ’we get It adroitly into
circulation the form of the indirect in
fluence of character, life and sympathy.
This sounds didactic. It Is the ciralghl
road to what I have In my heart to say
to my contemporaries. It may not be prac
ticable to fit an old head to young shoul
ders. It Is altogether practicable to wear
a young head upon old shoulders, and that
Is a seemly fashion that has a grace of It*
own.
I was talking In a corner with a white
haired matron at a hall, when a pretty
debutante darted Into our retreat and gave
my companion an ••csiatte hug.
"Oh! Ob' yo" are a peart of u chaper
on!" *he cried, and was oft like the wind.
The guardian laughed.
"She sent her partner to me Just now
lo ask if she might stay for one more
dance. Perhaps I ought to have said no,
for !• is late and 1 have a bad headache..
But If I had refused to lei her do what Is
merely expedient she might not be ready
to yield where principle Is Involved. If we
would guide young people w<- must not lei
them get too far from us it lalft enough
to keep them wlUuu rail They must be
whhln teeeh ”
"I hope my deu mother ds*M’l know,
up lit heaven, that 1 have n card Uhl* In
the library and send my children to danc
ing school,” wrote a mother to me. I shall
never forget her distress when my young
est sister, who was threatened with con
sumption, was ordered by the doctor one
stormy winter to dance in the drawing
room if the weather did not permit her to
take exercise in the open air. Our mother
would retreat to her room when the music
began, lock her door and devote the time
we spent in dancing to praying for our
souls. Of course, when we found this out
we gave up our exercise, but we never
knew why she thought dancing wrong.
She only said that she had been brought
up to a belief that It was sinful. In the
recollection of the partial estrangement
that came between her and us In conse
quence of her inability to sympathise In
our tastes and pursuits, I made up my
mind to coniine mine to those of my chil
dren In all non-essentials and not to force
my dogmas upon them as cardinal truths.
They will think for themselves some day.
and sii in judgment upon my distorted
judgment and Illogical conclusions. I go
with them to see really good plays instead
of driving them to sec bad plays clandes
tinely; wo read the same novels, discussing
doubtful books freely; I play dance music
for ihent and their father and I play whist
with them. Neither of us care for cards.
Wo do not care that our boys and girls
shall flat! home the pleasantest spot on
earth."
In other words, she has changed the step
In which she was raised and to which site
has been accustomed all her life long hi
order to keep in line whit those whom she
loves- better than she loves her own way.
Not long ago a marriage took place In a
church at Springfield. Ma,s„ the p stor l> -
Ing old-fashioned enough to believe (ha!
the phrase "sacred ed.tieo" wns not a m's
nomer when applied to a p'ace . f worship.
He was. therefore, much scandalise 1
when, at the conclusion of the cn m ny.
friends of the happy pair liberally be
sprinkled them with rice as they moved
out of the church toward their carriage.
The reverend gentleman said afierwarl
that observance of such a custom was al
together out of place in a Christian Church
and that in future he would emphatically
object to repetition of such a re tic as he
had just witnessed. He would even int i k s
the gid of the law should he find it nec
essary to do so.
A prominent South Side clergyman, of
this city, says the Chicago Chronicle,
heartily commends the stand taken by his
Yankee brother. "The throwing of rice a'
weddings," said he, "is a hcatlun custom.
It probably had Its origin in India, for
among the Hindoos rice is a symbol of fe
cundity and fertility, so that the throwing
of rice is expressive of the hope that the
bride will In time be a happy rrothe" of
children. During the marriage ceremony
In India the bridegroom throws thie?
handfuls of rice over the bride and the
bride does the same over the brldegrcon.
A preliminary rite Is to place an eanren
vessel filled with water on a heap of rice;
the Brahmins then repeat over the vessel
several invocations, calling on Varuna.
the god of waters, to sanctify the con
tents, which are then poured over the head
of the bridegroom.
"in the next stage of the ceremony
three female relatives wash the feet of
the young couple three times over In milk,
while they are seated within the panda 1 in
a swing. They are then swung while (he
women chant the praises of Krishna, the
lover of shepherdesses. Balls of saffron
mixed with rice are then thrown toward
the four points of the compass. This Is an
offering to the gods and the manes, all of
whom are supposed to be present as Invit
ed guests. Saffron among the Hindoos is
regarded as auspicious, and Is an indis
pensable on wedding oceas'ons as are
orange blossoms among Europeans. As
the father gives the bride away he pre
sents to the bridegroom grains of rice
tinged with red. along with betel leaves.
At the end cf th“ ceremony grains of
parched rice are eaten. Somewhat as Eu
ropeans send out wedding cake and cards
to friends on hymeneil occa'-ions, the
Hindoos distribute betel leaves, with the
nut of the Areca palm and grains of rice,
colored red.
"In Central India a curious custom H
met with which perhaps explains our
habit of giving presents to bride tiini is._
The Kurku girls pretend to resist the" re
moval of the bride. When they get re - r
enough to the young man they pelt him*
with balls of boiled rice, they coyly te
treat. followed, of course, by the m l>
At the door of the bride’s houpe they
make a final stand, only suffering the
men to enter when they have paid tell in
the form of presents to themselves."
Max O’Rell thus describes rice throwing
in England: "When the Wedding breakfa.i
is nearly over friends take up their posi
tions at the door of the house and lie in
wait for the young couple. Their appear
ance is the signal for cheers, and then
down falls on their heads, in their necks,
on their backs a shower of rice and all
the old slippers that are found in the
house. Parents, friends, guests, servants
neighbors, all join In the fun. On ih -
part of the parents this old custom means
•Ah, rascal, you are taking away my
daughter! There, take that!' • * of
course, the origin of this custom must be
looked for a little further. The rice Is
the symbol of plenty."
Strange to say among the roarer classes
in England there Is !i widely spread no
tion that rice as an article of food p-e
-vents the Increase of population. How the
populousriess of India and China is ac
counted for on this theory it would be
difficult to say. Probably those who en
tertain It do not realize the exlsience of
foreign parts, but there was once a great
outcry In England against the giving < f
rice to poor people, under the poor law, ns
It was said to lie done with a purpose.
Many persons unable to read that most
interesting I took, "The Romance of Isabel
1-ady Burton." may like to see the rules
she wrote upon her marriage in her diary
for her own guidance In the new relation
—rules to Whose observance she believed
much of her subsequent happiness was
due:
First—Let your husband find In you a
companion, friend and adviser and confi
dante, that he may miss nothing at home.
Second—Be a careful nurse when he is
ailing, that he may never be in low spirits
about his health without a serious cause.
Third—Make his home snug. If it be
ever so small and poor, there can always
be a certain chic about It. Men are always
ashamed of a poverty-stricken home, nnd
therefore prefer the club. Attend much to
his creature comforts; allow smoking or
anything else; for if you do not somebody
else will. Make It yourself cheerful anil
attractive, and draw relations and Inti
mates about him. and the style of so
ciety (literati) that suits him.
Fourth—lmprove and educate yourself in
every way, that you may entertain his
pursuits and keep pace with the times.
Fifth—Be prepared at any moment to
follow him at an hour’s notice and rough
it like a man.
Sixth—Do not try to hide your afTection
for him, but let him see and feel it In
every action. Never refuse him anything
he asks. Observe a certain amount <V
reserve and delicacy before him Keep
up the honey-moon romance, whether at
home or In the desert At the same tint"
do not make prudish bothers, which only
disgust, and are not true modesty. Do
not make the mistake of neglecdng your
liersonal appearance, but try to look and
dress well to please hts eye.
Seventh—'Perpetually work up his Inter
est with the world, whether for publishing
or for appointments. led him feel whet) he
has to go away that he leaves a second
self In chsrgc of his affairs at home, no
that if someilmes he Is obliged to iesve
you behind h>> may have nothing of anx
iety on his mind Tske an 'merest in
everything <ha< Interests him To be
cotrtpsnion..ith n woman must learn what
Interests her husband, and, If P is on!
planting turnip*, she must try to under
t and t urn 14a.
AMINADAB SKELCH AND
HIS FREE LIBRARY.
The Story of n Really Good Hoy
With a Defective Moral Sense.
By Char es Hailel! Loomis.
(Copyright, ISM. by Charles Battell
Loomis.)
Aminndab Skelch had defective mot a!
sense, but you must not blame him for it
too harshly. What could any one exp tet
of a boy who. having such a dr a Iful
name as Skelch, had been ta idl ’d witn
Amtnadab when he was too young to pro
test. Of course (he boys called hint Da)
or Dabby for short, or else Atr.on which
was Just as bad, and he is certainly en
titled to some consideration on that ac
count. If he had been called Oaudenslus
Stewart or Alclbiades Montrose he might
have been a very noble little fellow, bin
the name of Amina lab prorated yeipa
for the worst. And yet he was not lh'
worst bv any means. He had a love for
the beautiful and he liked to do little
kindnesses for people and he was generous
to a rnult. His chief falling was that ho
did not know the difference between mint
nnd thine and It was this that led him
into the trouble tiiat I am about to de
scribe.
One <lny he went to Phi ade phla and
while he was there tp- saw many tine
buildings. Now the lb tie town w here ho
lived, up among the moun’ulns near Flaln
fteld, N. .1.. did not boasl of a. building
more pretentious than a wooden house
and so these great stone buildings seem
ed to him like fniry palaces and he deter
mined when he returned to Mullinsville lo
build a handsome library ar.d present It to
his fellow townsmen.
It Is proper al this point to say that
while Amlnadab did not boast any ac
quaintanceship with the fairies, he did
have a strength that was Utile short of
supernatural. lie was so strong that ho
could pull young saplings fiom the earth
with one hand and could raise a 600-
pound bag of meal as easily as you could
handle a live-pound hag of salt. Beside
tills he was remarkably handy. He was
own cousin on hts mother's side to the boy
who made a trolley car with a Jack knife
as his only tod.
N.,w- If Amlnadab had possessed a good
moral sense he would have gone to the
proprietor of some stone yard and would
have said, "I want enough stone to build
a v> ry handsome library. I have not the
money to pay for It to-day and I may
neter have It hut If you will trust me and
my health does not give out, 1 will pay you
before I die." Most any stone seller would
have given him at least enough for a base
ment. Then he would hove said practically
the same thing at the pane of glass fac
tory and the store where they sell plunks
of wood and the nail bazar and the paint
depot. But he did none of these things.
He said to himself: "Here. I am going to
give my fellow townsmen a line library.
I am going to make It all myself and I
don't see why I can't help myself to ma
terial wherever I can find it."
Now. as you and 1 know, this was very
wrong, but I'm not telling you what
ought to have happened, but what did
happen to little New Jersey boy who
didn't know any better.
First he selected a plot of ground on
which to build the library. This was next
door to the summer residence of u man
who had gone lo New York for Ihe winter
and It was part of Ills land. When people
saw Amlnadab digging for the founda
tions they did not stop him for It was
none of their business and besides, for all
they knew, he had received permission
from Mr. llamcrlon, the owner. As I neg
lect-d to say, Amlnadab was an orphan
and not answerable to any one.
Of course, to such n strong and handy
boy the work of digging < cellar thirty by
DO feet was not a thing to keep him busy
long and by nightfall of the day he had
started it, it was all ready for the mason
work.
It would not be very interesting to tell
you how he mixed his mortar and did all
the oilier proay things thul go to the mak
ing of a house. The remarkable thing is
that he got every stone that went Into
the building of that library from the stone
walls of the adjacent country. “A stone
here and stone then- will never be
missed.” said he. ami ho was right, >ui
although they w'eren't missed It was wrong
in him to take them without asking. I’m
not standing up for Dabby by any means
There was a very thick everygreen
hedge running along the front of the
Hamerton place, and no one noticed what
was going on behind It, so Dabby was able
to give n whole strength to his task
without interruption. And it took a great
deal of strength, and the boy ale his meals
with a workman's appetite. It Is no
slight task to carry off two or three fifty
pound stones for a mile or two, and set
them up In place, but he was a cheerful
worker and he knew that he was building
a memorial to himself and that made the
task an easy one.
An armful of planks ala planing mill
here and there, taken at the noon hour
when the men were off eating their lunch
eon, and a few kegs of nails, which he
shouldered, two at a time, and some
quick, deft work and the floors were laid.
And he had been only at work two or three
days. I think he must have had a strong
natural taste In archltec'ure, for when
the building was completed, several New
York architects said that It was worthy of
Richardson at his best. You ought to
know, If you don't that Richardson was
one of the greatest of American archi
tects, and it Is a pity that he is not living
to-day.
The panes of glass were harder to get
and I think that the way In which Amino
dab got them was thoroughly reprehensi
ble, for instead of buying them or even
taking 'hem without leave from a glazier,
he stole a glazier's diamond and cut the
panes out of various houses in town, thus
letting In the cold air end putting people
to a lot of trouble. You may sey that tn
the end it gave the glazier plenty of
work tha. he would not otherwise hav*
had, but I tell you that a right that
comes from a wrong is not the right kind
of right.
A' noon of the fourth day the hoy hid
finished everything but the front doors
and he wns puzzled where to get them.
He wonted something handsome, but he
ddn't think that he was able to make
doors with the few tools a his command
and he knew of no ready-made doors thn*.
would do. So he took a day off and went
to Philadelphia and ihrc on Market
stree. or Chestnut or Arch—l can't ho
more exact, because those or* the only
Philadelphia streets 1 know—he sow two
mahogany doors, most beautifully carved
ar.d evidently very valuable.
Oh, why did not Aminadab ask permis
sion to carry those dcors away with him?
The owner, who wa< a rich man, might
have gran'ed his request if the led had
been courteous. But poor I tile Amlna
dab. the boy with the perverted moral
**nw , wen; up the step* aid taking a
screw-driver from his pocket began to un
screw the hinges.
In fewer minute* than you can count, a
policeman passed by and when he saw th,.
hoy h" ink'd him wha' lie wn* doing Am-
Inadnb had taken one door off and ha t
leaned It up again*' the house an.i a (100 I
of keen auuimn air swept Into the rich
hall.
Now, wh/rtever cbe Dabby tray tjiv
Men lie - at 'ass' trilifu an l he * (i
wlihoui beapatlng: "I am going i© t a*
He*' doors ' Mu linsvi la to pul them In
my new (re*, library |-,err. Tlley are (ua
ihe right els* tn and I • an i make any n a ■
I; as good "
"IBM, ui> sen,' said Hit P'-Il- 111 n. who
19
I had children of bis own, anrt knew how
to speak to boys, "don’tW know that It
is dishonest to take a man's ,i (Kjrs awjt _'
without hts permit,'lon?
Bippincott or Sirawtrldge or what-ver the
name of the gentleman is fcho live* here,
should get pneumonia 'hrougi: the i,, ?s 0 j
his doors. It would be your rAilt."
Aminadab had not thought of that a'
all. To give a min pneumonia was the
l ist tiling he would have wished to do and
hts eyes began to Oil will :ears
While he was trying hard o keep brek
the soils, a large, stout, kindly looking
gentleman came down the bread stairc s a>
and seeing one of his d<x>rs off its htegej
and a policeman on the steps, said: "Hel
lo, what’s the matter here? Is this the
nay you come in doors—by taking th
doors off?" -if. SN
Then Aminadab did what ho ought \
nave done In the first place. He toqk ol<
his hat and he mode a low bow and aald
in a manly tone: "I am building a lib ary
nt Mulllnsville, N. J... which I cm acting
to give to the town and I need.d a pac
of doors for It and seeing that you must
bo rich or else you wouldn't have mnhwg
an,v doors when black walnut would do
just ns well, I helped myself to them nn-1
didn't suppose that you'd miss them." 'M
"1 idn't suppose that I'd miss th 4(S>
Holly toii>. am I so old that I can’t. 4U
when my fiofit doors are gone? How. vemj
I am gla l to see that you are so public
spirited and if you and the officer will come
inside out of the draught, I’d like to talk
to you."
Aminadab motioned lo the officer to go
In and then he placed the door in position
and put back 'he screws. Then he came
inside and set down in the old gentleman's
drawing room.
"Now, see here, young man, where did
you get the rest of the material for your
library ?"
"I got the stone from the atone walls
around the country.’*
"A, and did you have permission?"
"Why, no," said Aminadab. wonderlnff
ly. “What’s a stone out of a wall here
and there?"
The policeman looked at Mr. Straw
bridge or Mr. Llpplncott or whatever his
name was nnd shook his head sadly. To
him the boy seemed pretty bad and If
he had had his say he would have carried
him off to the police smilon.
But the old gentleman smiled kindly.
"And who helped you lake all this stone?
Didn't your helpers tell you that It Is
wrong lo steal?"
"I had no help, sir," said Amtnadab. "I
did P all myself."
"Well, you must he unsually strong. And
how were you going to carry my doors
back to Mulllnsville?"
"On my back," said Aminadab. simply.
"A young Sampson," said the oM gen
tleman, looking over the tops of his
glasses at the policeman, who nodded af
fably.
"And the glass and timber, where did
you get ihose?”
Aminadab told him. Somehow he was
not afraid In the presence of this fine,
patrianchnl old man. He had heard of
Jails, but he did not be'ievc that the gen
. tleman was going to punish him.
Mr. Llpplncott—lf that was his name
heard hltn through and then he said; "Of
ficer, I don't think that this Is a case for
you. He has put hack my door and I
will deal with him In a way that seems
fit.”
The officer rose and bowed and went out.
When Aminadab and the old man were
alone together, the latter said: "My boy,
a little fellow who has so much strength
of body and such kindly Instincts ought
to learn that It Is never kind to Bike
things that don't belong to him. Now, I
believe that you acted thoughtlessly, and
I am not going to punish you, although
you committed a crime In taking down
my door. Instead, I am going to make
you a present of the doors and wit! have
Ihem sent out to Mulllnsville and I will
also give you ten thousand books lo put
on the shelves, for a library without books
Is like enke without sugar. Only .first
you must go to each mini from wtv .rtf you
—or —‘borrowed material and tell him What
you have done and restore his properly If
lie. objects. And I will make good any
stone or glass or Umber that Is needed.”
Aminadab seized the good man's hum!
and wrung It. find a. few minutes later he
was on his way home and before night
fall he had visited every man who had un
knowingly contributed to the new library.
And to the glory of the inhabitants of
Mulllnsville, only one man refused to let
Aminadab keep what he had taken and
that one was an old fellow who had miles
on miles of stone fences, from whom the
boy had taken one stone. He Insisted on
its being returned to him and as It was
the l>o I tom stone In the foundation Wall,
Dabby hud a hard lime getting It and
plenty of time to reflect on hts misdoings.
It Is a singular fact that after the
library was dedicated there was no one .
who spent so much time In It as this old
man. who had refused to contribute a sin
ble stone toward Its erection.
The day of the dedication was made a
holiday in Mulllnsville and every one in
town came to see what one small boy had
been able to do and old Mr. Strawbrldge or
Llpplncott told them all that they had
ought to be proud of Aminadab, on the
whole, because while dishonesty was a
grevious quality, still It could be repent
ed or and doubtless Aminadab had al
ready repented, but public spirit was a
thing so rare that It ought to be encour
aged by all possible means." *
Then Aminadab got up and said: *'l
thought that I was going to give you this
library myself, but since my kind friend
here has oi>ened my eyes I see that 1 had
only two things to give you; my labor and
what taste I may possess. The rest you
have given yourselves and the hooks ho
has given. So I say let's give three cheers
for him.”
The cheers were given lustily, and then,
much to Aminadah's surprise, Mr. Ham
erton, who had come In late and unexpect
edly, rose and said; "Dabby has forgot
ten that I own the ground on which he
bulk the library, but I cheerfully give it
to him to give to you because I think
that he is the most generous and the most
public-spirited boy in New Jersey. And
after this we will trust him with any-'
thing."
And Dabby has proved faithful to that
trust. Charles Battel Loomis.
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Every well regulated household should have %
bottle of SULPHUME and SULPHUME SOAP
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superior to tho most famous sulphur springs,
and can be mode any desired strength.
a/roUR ifkV
SULPHUME
(DQi/to auLCMua)
la a glass of water matt* so inrtgomUas sod
•msltlsful drmk of AtUpfcar wst*/. NATURE'*
*mxm> pruinm. Prion(ifin.
A r„!uabU) ImS sent free by tbs
SULPHUMSCO., soo Martov Bldg., CHICAGO
IU4V fist-rtf '•*! |WJ|a 41
I •*.,1 PU* IIH A.IS IV II Vll.l MHNor
| riu-Zv •iv-rtoi.M ' K'JUU N V 1V.144*1