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Tho Fair Sex. The largest sheep owner in Texas is a woman known as the widow Calla han. Her herd numbers 50,000. Louisville has discovered that woman are particularly fit to be drug clerks, and a number are already employed in the best stores. “They seem to learn by intuition,” says an employer; “one word or look suffices where a man would require a hundred words of in struction. When my woman clerk has a matter in hand, I am certain that my order will be carried out.” Girls, he Cautious.—Girls, beware of transient young men. Never suffer the address of strangers. Recollect one good, steady farmer’s boy or indus trious mechanic is worth more than all the floating trash in the world. The allurements of a dandy Jack, with a gold chain about his neck, a walking stick in liis paw, and a brainless though fancy skull, can never make up the loss of a kind father’s home, a mother’s counsel and the society of brothers and sisters. These affections last while that of such a man is lost at the wane of the honeymoon. Girls, beware! Take heed lest ye fall into the “snare of the fowler.” Too many have been already taken from a kind father’s home and a good mother’s counsel, and made the victims of poverty and crime, brought to shame and disgrace, and then thrown upon their own resources, to spend their few remaining days in grief and sorrow, while the brainless skull is making its circuit around the world, bringing of its ignoble will all that may be allured by his deceitful snares, and many a fair one to the shame of his artful villainy. What Woman Can Do.—Woman need not become a coarse, noisy, brawl ing politician, in order to be useful, nor wear pantaloons, nor try to unsex her self generally. She cannot, if she tries, get out out of the place for which God made her. The old hen can’t crow, work at it as hard as she will. As a wife and mother, woman can make the fortune and happiness of her husband and children; and, if she did nothing else, surely this would be suffi cient destiny. By her thrift, prudence and tact, she can secure to her partner and herself a competence in old age, no matter how small their beginning or how adverse a fate may be theirs. By her cheerfulness she can restore her husband’s spirit, shaken by the anxiety of business. By her tender care she can often restore him to health, if dis ease has overtasked his power. By her counsel and love she can win him from bad company, if temptation in an evil hour has led him astray. By her examples, her precepts, and her sex’s insight into character, she can mould her children, however adverse their dispositions, into noble men and women. And, by leading in all things a true and beautiful life, she can refine, ele vate and spiritualize all who come within reach; so that, with others of tier sex emulating and assisting her, she can do more to regenerate the world than all the statesmen and re formers that over legislated. . She can do much, alas! more to de grade man, if she chooses to do it. Who can estimate the evil that woman has power to do ? Asa wife phe can ruin herself by extravagance, folly, or want of affection. She can make a demon or an outcast of a man who might otherwise become a good member •of society. She can brmg bickering, strife and discord into what might be a happy home. She can change the innocent babes into vile rneri, and even into vile women. She can lower the moral tone of society itself, and thus pollute legislation at the spring head. She can, in fine, become an instrument of evil instead of an angel of good. Instead of making' dowers of truth, purity, beauty and spirituality spring up in her footsteps, till the earth smiles with a loveliness that is almost celes tial, she can transform it to a black and arid desert covered with the scorn of all evil passion, and swept by the bitter blast of everlasting deajth. is what woman can do for the as for the right. Is her one? Has site no become, any season for two years. A noticeable feature is their plainness. No matter how much the costume may be trimmed, the train hangs in straight,plain draping, sometimes having a plaiting or shell ruching edging it. We have often writ ten of the desirableness of a detachable train, especially is this useful for those of us who must economize in expensive dresses, and who are only occasionally found amidst festive scenes. To the society woman trained costumes are a necessity, and must be always ready for use, but the “ occasional ” finds a trained costume out of style while yet unsoiled ; ibut, if a handsome walking dress, it can be worn for the promenade and quiet receptions, the train added, and giving an entirely different style for full dress. Often Ottoman or other rich silk or satin is used for the corsage and petti coat of the dress, while the train is of Ottoman silk, brocaded with velvet. A very stylish evening dress at a leading house is in baby-blue satin. The lower skirt is laid in plaits, with a fan-shaped front, the drapery plaited crosswise, caught in the middle with a double bow of satin and edged with white silk em broidery ; the back drapery in a full puff, box-plaited into a flounce, falling over the main plaiting ; the basque pointed in front; elbow sleeves edged with embroidery ; Directoire collar also of embroidery; an adjustable train ready to be added under the box-plait ing that forms from the puff. Ottoman silk is found to wear nicely, merchants predicting for them a successful run ; indeed, all repped silks are now more in demand than the soft, fine silks to which we have so long been accustomed. White Ottoman has formed some of the most elegant wedding costumes of the winter. Plain velvet costumes are worn for full dress. A ruby tint is made a princess or, if preferred, a polonaise, with separate skirt of silk lining with the front of antique lace. The polonaise is gathered in front, below a long-pointed vest of the antique lace. The back is draped in soft folds, the lower part hanging straight and full, with a border of the lace; fiat cuffs border the sleeves, and a square collar is also made of the lace. Basques for full dress, as well as those for street and home wear, have the bottom cut in battlement points, leaf points, or square tabs, a fashion that has never been so generally followed as this. Sometimes only the fronts are slashed, while the back tapers off into a point over the full drapery ; or it can be slashed around to the side-back forms, this ending in dou ble loops. Another fancy, where a basque is trimmed with embroidery, is to cut the basque pointed back and front, curved short over the hips; then trim with the embroidery or lace in a fiat border, the selvklge turning under neath the basque edge. The sleeve and a flat collar should be bordered the same while the skirt may be bordered each side of the front, or have contrast ing panels, with the trimming put across in three borders. Inexpensive evening costumes are made of surah, in light tints, have figured or satin-striped grenadine for over-dresses, these prettily trimmed with lace and ribbon. French corset-makers are reintroduc- cing the old-fashioned corset that had a board like busk down the front, but no fastenings, the lacing now being done at the back. This method, though causing extra time and trouble in ar ranging, produces, it is claimed, a more graceful outline to the form than the usual manner of fastening the corset. Satin corsets—of which there must be at least two, to wear with dark or light dresses—are extremely fashionable with those who can afford them, as this elas tic fabric molds itself more closely to the figure than either Jean or French coutille. Over the hips of these new corsets are set wide gussets of silR elas- ticwebbing, which give a peculiar ease to the wearer. Still further comes a rumor from over the sea that French belles, who are troubled about their too ample proportions, very frequently dis card the corset altogether, and have the linings to,their dresses made of extra heavy material, almost covering the dress bodice inside with strong whale bones, finished with silk casings. Later still, word is brought to us by returning moi istes that those too, too solid French ladies who are determined to look ethereal have taken to wearing nickle-plated corsets, warranted never to “give an inch.”. will soon bo at a premium. 000 cubic rteet of smoke of wood, it of lime, of Pious Reflections. The Pilgrims. “Out of darkness into His marvellous light.' The sun is sinking dim and stand ^orders of the ey stand Promised What, nearly home? fast. Around us rise the mountains vast; And lo I like mighty sentinels the To guard the faord Land ! Longer and longer seemed the toilsome way, Touched by the sunlight of the waning day. Wo feared the light, our souls were sore distress'd, And yet—God knew we were near our rest. Behind us lie the deserts bleak and bare, The valleys haunted by the fiend Despair, The flowers whose sweetness was a poisoned breath, The groves were chilly, shadows harbored death. Before us, shining through the sun-gilt mist, The vision of the Great Evangelist, The heritage of all the saints in light, Jerusalem the Golden, meets our sight. Ourselves and Others. A second degree of love, always rare in practice, is a plain and level dealing with eaoh other’s needs. What is worse than too much candy and coddling, too many honeyed words? We must not lose sight of progress, or that life is in its uses. Love should be a surgeon as well as a nurse. The unwelcome truth may be the only mercy in many a case, and should be spoken out. Severity may be char ity. Our state attorneys complain that there is growing up a cruel tendency to concede to rogues and avert the claims of justice, to the injury of the guilty and the innocent: “ Mercy, is not itself that'oft looks so ; Pardon is still the nurse of second woe." It is a question, whether humanity pays; but by every sensible person that should be looked upon as. the same question as whether there is a God. The existence of Deity is guaranty of just compensations; that every pound shall be balanced by another pound ; that we shall get as good as we give; that no gold goes through the perfect sieve, hut that, to the very minutest atom, all will be rescued and rated and paid for. There need be no insurance on risks, for there are none. Morality is not a venture, nor charity a lottery, but these are tied to blessed ends by unfail, ing laws. There is no art that can win against nature. Honesty always throws loaded dice. When the Earl of Flanders sought refuge in the smoky hut of an old woman in Bruges, crying, “O, good Woman, hide me ; lam thy lorde, therle of Flanders!” Froissart says, “she km w liym well, for she had been often tymes at his gate to fetclie alms, and she slyde hyrn safe away.” Giving is .getting, only silver is paid in gold. What we nobly give, we give into our own hands. Le Grice, the school companion of Charles Lamb, wrote: “I never heard him mentioned at; school without the addition of Charles, although, as there was no other boy of the same name, the addi tion was quite unnecessary; but there^ was implied kindness in it and it was proof that his gentle manners excited that kindness. The sweet-hearted boy was on the winning side. He could not lose in that game, because the cards were all trumps. The more indifferent to selfish ends was his fine playing, the more surely were those ends guarded by the sharp-eyed watchers of the world.” When we divinely forget, there is One who divinely remembers and re pays. Home Gossip. Very elegant little tables are now covered in deep crimson plush, and the bordering, instead of being equal all round, is in panels, some long, some oval and others short and square. Upon the Surface of the table a design in flowers is worked in fine ribbons, while leaves and tendrils are in arasene. Each panel is finished off with tassels of dit- ferent color, to match the design, and they depend from brass ornaments in the shape of a crescent. These brass crescents are very much in favor for ornamenting lambrequins, bracket hangings, and the many deco rative objects to which needle-work is devoted. They make a very pretty fin ixli to fringes, etc. The latest style for bureau covers and tidies consists in the introduction of colored designs eithe\in the fcjderibga or centres. These d either oval or square, ed by a .natter filoselles, or crewelB to match them in color’s. One of the handsomest fire places in fashion to-day is intended for the use of a gas-log. The background is of wrought iron in representation of an elaborate coat of arms, the andirons are of the same material in floral design, the fac ing of the stove is of tiles richly enam eled in relief, which are framed in fur nished brass. The hearth which accom panies this elegant fire-place is of mosaic tiles, while the fender is of burnished brass. For a large vestibule or hall the most appropriate stove is of terra cotta and wrought iron, the frieze being of the former material very highly ornamented in carved relief. As an accompaniment, an old fashion has been revived in the shape of a fire-fixture of wrought iron, which is of pyramidal shape, in elabo rate floral decoration. From it depend hooks, suggesting possible cooking, and branches for vases. The favorite style of tile decoration for hearths to-day is in imitation of pol ished woods. Deep browns, reds and black represent maples, mahogony, ebo ny and walnut, the high glaze of the tile giving the exact effect of the polish of natural woods. Minton tiles and Japanese tiles are always in demand. The frame work of a curious hall chair is composed entirely of elk horns mounted in^silver. The back and seat are of embossed leather, and the border ing is studded with brass nails. A very beautiful candalapra with crystal pendants has a stem of Mexican onyx and branches of the same material. Bands of cloissone give it an exquisite finish, and the shades are of delicately tinted glass. A masterpiece in bronze ordered for an English gentleman incloses a clock. The design represents a Christian ex pounding the gospel to a Saracen ; this piece is flanked by two Saracen figures armed cap-a-pie. Mats and rugs for halls are of polar white bear, leopard and tiger skins mounted in black furs, the f dgings be ing extremely deep. Terra-cotta plaques are mounted in black or deep-toned velvets or plush. The geuine specimens, which come from Dieppe, are very wonderful repre sentations of the life of the fishing pop ulations. In one a groupe of fishwives surround a comrade who reads the news of the day from Le Petit Journal. Handsome hall chairs are in illumi nated leather, and are framed in heavi ly carved mahogany. The latest fash ion has the tall upright back and narrow seat which was characteristic of the eighteenth century. Sea shells are mounted on terra-cotta plaques. Figures carved in terra-cotta peer ever the edge of the shells and ap pear as if perfectly at home in their cu rious tenement. A pair of Sevres vases, valued at $0500, are exactly copied from a pair ordered for Queen Victoria’s birthday. They are mounted upon a pedestal of of Mexicen onyx, decorated in French bronze. The vases are surmounted by a crown of flowers in bronze, of rare workmanship, and have handles of the same rich material. Upon a ground work of old blue enamel the design rep resents upon the one Venus rising from the sea and upon the othqf the fable of Europa. The rage for tambourines may be sup posed to be dying out, but unfortunately this absurd fashion is likely to be closely followed by a still more ridiculous adap tation of guitars and violins to purposes of decoiatiou. Little wall-brackets are entirely cov ered with plush and decorated with brass nails and the crescent ornaments to wTiich allusion has beeu made. A Chicago clothing store gives a pres ent of a coal stove with an overcoat. That is a great deal bettor than painting a fireplace on the tail of a coat or put ting a coil of Steam pipe in the back lining. Some of the ready-made coats need a furnace in them to keep a man warm. More wool and wadding and less coal stoves is what the boys want. Barlier-ous: “ It seenui to me,” said a customer to his barber, “that in hard times you ought to lower your price for shaving.” “Can’t do it,” replied the barber; “now-a-days everybody wears e a great Outcome of a Spelling School. A graduate from the High School in this city had a call from a country school about two hundred miles north of Detroit, and he went his way, pro vided with se veral written recommends and a whole cart load of enthusiasm. He found the school house to be t\ one story affair, made of logs and large enough to hold thirty scholars in case the teacher stood in the door. When school commenced the score of scholars could only muster a geography printed in 1848, an arithmetic a few days younger, a dozen leaves of a speller and the half of a broken slate. The teacher, however, went to work to hammer knowledge into their craniums, and he had convinced most of them that the world was round and that the sun neither rose nor set hi that county, when it came time to have a spelling school. For convenience sake it was held in a big barn, and the turn-out in cluded everybody, from the boy who spelled “coni” the same as “horse,” for convenience sake, to the old man who always put “in liaist” on his let ters to his brother in Vermont. It wasn’t much of a contest mi til the last half dozen towered aloft. ‘ ‘Catarrh’ ’ and “photograph” laid ’em out by the dozens, and when only the champions were left “Constantinople” floored all but two like a bolt of lightning. Then came the word “parasite. ” One ren dered it “parysight,” and the other gave it “perrysite,” and when the teacher shook his head one cried out: “I’ve writ that word over a hundred times, and I guess I know!” ‘‘And I’ve seen ’em every day of my life for forty years, and I don’t sit down for any body, ” added the other. “It is para site,” replied the teacher. “I dispute it!” “So do I.” “That’s the way Web ster gives it.” “Who’s Webster?” Yes, trot him out.” Then the friends of either rose up. In the shindy the teacher came in for two black eyes, a cracked rib, kicks in the shin and bites on the ears, and the minute he could get clear and over the fence he headed for Detroit, and reached home in want of so many repairs that it took two months .to make him presentable. He had a few dollars due him, and he left a change of clothes up there, but he doesn’t want to hear from the directors. They may think he has resigned, and any parasite desiring the situation can have the vacancy without paying bonus. Sanitary. OrEN Fire Places.—Dr. Frank Haqfrilton, in the Popular Science Monthly, insists that safety lies alone in open fire-places, ordinary washbowls and the banishment of all sewer con nection to an outbuilding entirely sepa rated from the living rooms. Author ities are quoted to prove that no plumb ing can exclude sewer gas, and that no traps can be considered safe. \Dr. Hamilton insists that typhoid fevur, diphtheria, scarlatina and the general weakness and prostration which afflict so many city dwellers are all traceable to sewer emanations. Treatment of Diphtheria Sore Throat.—Every now and then we meet an epidemic of a form of sore throat whicl^Wh many particulars, re sembles diphtheria. The onset is sudden. The disease is ushered in by chillness or actual shivering, followed by fever, loss «f appetite, headache and pain in the throat, aggravated by swallowing. On examination, the tonsils, the arch of the fauces, and in many cases the uvula, are red and swollen. Occasion ally small ulcers are seen. The ser- vical and submaxillary glands are fre quently swollen, and in some cases al bumen is found in the urine. The temperature may reach 105, while the pulse is much accelerated. It is dis tinctly infectious, for wives become in fected subsequent to their husbands, and in some families all the memliers are attacked. Such an epidemic has recently appeared in Edinburgh, and Dr. Allan Jamieson, who makes a report of it in the Edinburgh Medical Journal for December, has found the most marked benefit to result from th internal administration of salicylate soda and the local application of a so lution of boro-glycoride in glycerine frequently during the day, The first society for the exclusive! pose of circulating thiPBible w ized in^l805, under I Bri