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THE MA'CO'N' TELEGE'APH: STJKDjPP MOSERim?, BEOEHBER ffT, IWt >
Christmas
From the Viewpoint of Kate Clyde—An Ancient Joke
Which Will Never Die — The Yuletide Gift Should
Possess Individuality—Fashion Gossip V )■ V V V
T HERE Is one very ancient
Christmas joke that Is really
no Joke at all, and yet, I am
aorry to say. It will never fade
away and grow out of style. I refer to
the joke in which the wife gives her
dear husband something she wants
herself for a Christmas present. Only
the other day I heard a sweet young
Oart her husband a new rug.
thing exclaim rapturously: "Oh, I have
planned to give John such a delightful
surprise for Christmas! You know
Mmc. de Style, who paints such charm
ing miniatures? Well, I met her at
a tea the other day, and she was kind
enough to say she knew I would make
such a fine subject. Yes, she did.
Wasn’t that lovely? And, do you know,
I’m going to have her paint a minia
ture of me In that Imported evening
gown of mine. Won’t It be perfectly
fine to show to my children when they
are old enough ao that they will be able
to appreciate what a very, 'swell'
mother they had? Don’t you think
that will be a lovely Christmas pres
ent? And won’t John be surprised?”
Well, rather, I thought to myself, espe
dally when he has to foot the bill.
Poor John, by the way, would rather
have a four dollar a dozen photograph
of his wife than anything else—Just a
plain picture of her in her everyday
shirt waist, "looking natural,” as he
would put it
Then there Is Mrs. Binkley. One
Christmas she gave her husband a new
rug for the library, and Mrs. Brldey
presented her fond hubby with a Mor
ris chair upholstered In deep red slm
ply because she had seen a picture rep
resenting a red Interior and a young
wife seated on the arm of Just such a
chair, while her husband smoked his
pipe and read the paper. "Domestic
ity,” I believe It was called, or some
sweet thing like that. And her poor
husband never could abide Morris
chairs!
Individuality In Gifts.
Yes, indeed, Christmas Is a great
time, and the selection of Christmas
gifts shows up a woman’s character as
quickly as anything. Tho tactful wo
man knows how to give. She never
merely "buys presents;” they must ex
press a certain individuality. Some
times she writes a bit of verse on tho
dainty card which accompanies them,
sometimes It Is a quaint bit of humor,
but anyway the little card which ac
companies each present adds more
than half again
to the gift. She f
has the faculty,
too, of choos
ing exactly what
each woman
friend really
wants or dreams
of. To Miss
Prim, tho lone
ly spinster, she
sends a beauti
ful box of flow
ers done up
with as much
care as if they
were sent by an
adoring lover to
the prettiest girl
In town. Miss BawmtUMg.
Prim appreci
ates that; no one ever sends her flow
ers. Miss Scribbler slaves all day in
an inky blouse and strictly tailor mads
cuffs and collar. The tactful woman
sends her a dainty bit of frivolous
neckwear to brighten her up. A friend
is scrimping to furnish a small apart
ment, so the thoughtful woman con
tributes a pot\ cushion of soft silk to
harmonize with the wall paper. A girl
away at school receives a daintily
framed picture-some of the prints are
so pretty and so cheap—or else she
gets a fluffy pincushion for her toilet
table, all pink and white and sug
gestive of home daintiness.
Piotures as Presents.
By the way, speaking of pictures, I
wonder some of you don’t choose to
make that sort of a Christmas present.
The day is past when In order to be ar
tistic a picture had to cost a great deal
of money. The chromo of ungodly
memory has disappeared, and with It
all crudeness. Prints on gray paper,
charcoal sketches, pen and Ink repro
ductions, all are tastefully executed
and simply and appropriately framed at
a very low cost. I am glad to see that
the colored photograph, the successor
of the chromo, has also gone the way
of gaudy things. The inexpensive pic
tures now on sale do not offend against
good taste, because they do not try to
usurp the place of oil paintings and
are simple and unassuming In treat
ment. Nothing can be prettier thnn
the gray prints on gray paper, the mo
notony of the whole being relieved by
a single splash of color. For Instance,
one scene represents a chalet on the
mountain side In Switzerland. Out of
the grayness of twilight among the
pines flashes a broad band of orange
light from the chalet window. The al
most universal gray tone of the picture
Is further carried out by the narrow
gray wood frame. Now, can anything
be more artistic or In better taste thun
these gray prints?
Another represents moonrise on the
waters. The gray swell of the ocean In
this case has reflected in It the bluish
green of the moonlight.
A very acceptable snd by no means
expensive gift Is a picture of yourself
of the llttlo oval gilt frames
which cost so little nowadays. Pho
tographers are taking pictures In the
regular oval sizo with a special view to
framing.
If you want to buy a more expensive
frame choose one with a mat of tapes
try or brocade and have the metal work
of dull gold.
In Many Moods.
A clever girl friend of mine Is giving
ns a Christmas present a series of six
views of her summer vacation. They
show her llnhlng, bathing, riding on
horseback, playing golf and at tho piano
In evening dress. It makes a very at
tractive set, and every one of them was
taken by a friend who had a camera;
therefore the expense was slight. Per-
haps the way In which they are framed
is the most Attractive thing about them.
They are placed one below the other In
connecting frames of black wood.
A particularly tactful and even less
A JAUNTY JACKET.
This Jaunty little jacket Is carried out In chestnut brown cloth nnd boasts a
waistcoat of orange panne broadcloth fastened with a double row of cloth cov
ered buttons. About the neck, down the rovers and on tho shoulders are orna
ments of brown silk braid.
expensive Christmas present was
scrapbook presented last year to an I
valid. It contulned a number of her
favorite poems and stories dipped from
old books nnd magazines. Another
"shut in” was made glad by nn opti
mist's dally calendar on separate
sheets, each sheet having a cheerful
motto lettered ncatly'ln water color be-
nnd a hurried shopping excursion with
a long list
Oh, by tho Way—Fashions.
Well, to change the subject, I do real
ly believe that the day of the all white
evening coat will soon draw to its close.
For one thing, it Is being frightfully
overdone. You can buy whlto (so
called) "broadcloth” evening coats for
as low as $30. Every one hart them,
which means that the well dressed
contingent will strlvo to he different at
nil costs. A good ileal of champagne
tint Is being worn, but this color Is al
most too near tan. a shade not at all
suggestive of evening dress. I saw a
few nights ago a charming theater
wrap of pnlo blue cloth outlined with
fine cream braid. There was another
fur lined affair of that yellowish shad*
known ns crush
ed peaches, and
to relieve this
there wns a col-
1 a r of dark
mink. Gray
cloth is being
revived, but
nothing, let mo
tell ysu, is ns
smart ns gray
chiffon velvet.
Imported
model of tills
wflH shown to
me In a dress
making estab
lishment. It was
made very full.
bnln« Khlrrml Srrmhr a , IMa
from the collar-
less nock nnd
allowed to fall In rich folds. The sleeves
were draped very full to show the beau
tiful suppleness of the material. There
was not u bit of trimming on this
nn edging of narrow silk braid, and yet
nothing could have been more stunning.
Breaking of chiffon velvet, a friend of
mine has a new gown of It which leaves
nothing to he desired. It Is black, trim
mod with on Inner vest of soft lace and
an outer one of peach colored dull cloth
which at first gives the Impression of
tinted leather. The tmdercuffs of the
sleeves are also of this stunning now
Hhado of peuch.
That Dear Little Waist
The cost of waists has gone up this
season, as I discovered when I asked the
price of a demuro little Ince waist and
tho saleswoman unblushlngly said,
'Elghty-llvo dollars, madam.” On tho
whole, these new waists are more trou
ble to make than last year’s, for they
have a flMed lining, well honed and
finished off With a belt of velvet,
waist mount to wear over tho skirt
•osts inoro by $10 or $15 thnn tho most
claboruto unllned or loosely lined
blouse, but Is it worth the difference?
loose china silk foundation can be
confined into a wide silk honed belt
which will sufficiently accentuate the
figure. A fine and yet strong net appll-
qued with a few figures of lace when
made over a china silk slip is infinitely
superior to any other waist in wearing
power and all round good service. The
silk waist Is rapidly giving way to the
soft, fluffy chiffon, all over lace or net.
Oh, I knew them was something I was
forgetting to tell you. Don’t buy any
crushed velvet. It Is now being marked
down in New York shops as low as 79
cents a yard. It has not proved at all
popular with our leaders of fashion, nnd
it will probably be relegated to oblivion
In a few months. And why not? It
certainly looks like old fashioned furni
ture coverings.
And now. I think, after giving you this
piece of advice, I shall leave you to
think it over. But, mind, if you feel
you can afford to have a good velvet
gown buy chiffon velvet. It Is almost
the only velvet which Is considered
smart nowadays. KATE CLYDE..
New York.
low the date, so each day the Invalid
could look ut fresh words of chuur.
After nil, it Ih the spirit and not the
gift that counts. For my part, I tell
you right now that I would Infinitely
rather have tin inexpensive gift which
allowed u study of my taste* and foibles
than tho most costly afTalr possible that The boned waist mnkes one often look tain the recipe for this mysterious pow-
slgnJfied merely tho power of money | stiff, and ft pretty llttlo net blouse over |der, but no one has yet succeeded.
WHEN BABY GOES OUT IN HIS
GOCART.
It Is a very difficult matter to keep
the legs of a tiny child covered when it
Is out of doors, and it Is more difficult
even In a gocart than In the ordinary
perambulator. Little legs kick off light
rugs, and heavy ones are undesirable.
The best plan is to make what Is often
called a "pram sack” to take the place
of a rug. It can bo made of a variety
of materials and Is a simple bag with a
drawing string run Into the hem at the
top. The baby's legs sre put Into the
bag. Its clothes sre comfortably
smoothed down and then the ribbon
string tied round his little waist. Then
his legs arc free to kick about, and yet
all the time he Is kept from cold.
The cosy "pram sack” may be made
of any soft all wool cloth, very lightly
wadded, or It may be knitted in wool
and lined with pongee silk, or a very
homely sack could be made from a
small colored blanket Any mother
having the Idea presented to her would
know In what material to carry It out,
and very likely some mothers would
make the winter pelisses in this manner
for the babies In arms, who would thus
bn prevented from suffering from ths
cold.
THE CHINESE WAY.
When a Chinaman wants to have a
tooth drawn he feels no nervous appre
hension of pain for the excellent rea
son that he knows his dentist will not
Inflict any. Tho latter simply rubs a
ponder over the aching tooth. After
about five minutes the patient sneezes,
nnd the tooth falls out. Many attempts
have been mado by Europeans to ob-
Christmas Cdorh
Of Maud Ballington Booth
For the Prisoners* League
T HREE times I have seen Mrs.
Balllngton Booth, and each
time a picture clear and un
fading remained In my mem
ory. One morning I waa going through
Washington market. New York city. A
man and woman wearing the uniform
of the Salvation Army # were walking
past a meat stand in the market. Some
big, burly, coarse faced fellows Jeered
at the pair, muklng brutal, audible
comment and laughing the horse laugh
of Ignorance. Plainly, too, the animus
of theological hatred was behind the
behavior of the burly rowdies.
Tho Salvation Army pair were only
walking past the stand, looking neither
to the right nor left. The feeling that
came uppermost In the outsider’s mind
was that the Jeering men ought toj
have had their mouths slapped. But
the woman only turned her face toward |
the men and smiled, the smile of an an
gel. Her face was beautiful, but that
smile, radiant and sweet, glorified it.
From portraits I had seen I recognised
that she whom the men had insulted
was Maud Balllngton Booth.
The second time I saw her she spoke
In Plymouth church, Brooklyn, the old
meeting house within whose walls
somehow the eloquence of Henry Ward
Beecher still seems to linger unforgot
ten. But never even Beecherlan elo
quence impressed an audience In the
old church more than the words of
Maud Booth did. The house waa
crowded, the silence unbroken even by
the church cough. Those people lis
tened as though they feared to lose a
word of that singularly sweet, thrilling
voice. First the uncommon beauty of
the woman speaker Impressed the
throng, then the music of her voice,
then the devoted earnestness and en
thusiasm with which she had given
herself to the mission of helping those
whom other people seemed to have for
gotten. Tears came to some eyes there
as she talked to us. And after the
meeting closed none there was but went
away with a deeper reverence for wo
manhood. a hope for the higher devel
opment of humanity.
Balllngton Booth and his wife, Eng
lish though they were, came to like ua
In America so well that both became
naturalized citizens of the United
States. Maud Booth as well ns her hus
band went through the legal formalities
that transferred her allegiance from
Great Britain to this republic. After a
time occurred the separation from the
Salvation Army and the formation by
Mr. and Mrs. Booth of the Volunteers
of America.
A dozen years ago Maud Balllngton
Booth was In San Quentin, Cal., where
the state prison Is. While there she
received a letter from a number of the
convicts In the penitentiary asking her
to come and address them. She wont.
She talked to them und moved them as
hardly any other living speaker can do.
She met them not as one patronising
them from superior heights of virtue,
but as one who felt toward them as
sister might feel toward brother. In so
! many words Maud
Balllngton Booth has
said:
"I know that the
worst men are not
necessarily those
who are In prison.
The men who do the
greatest Injury to
their fellow iner. and
cause the most sor
row In the world are
not those who are In
prison. The stigma
does not full upon n
* %
lire. Heath.
man because he commits a crime, but
because he Is punished for a crime.
The criminal who evades or escapes the
law is not disgraced, but he who la !•
fortunate or capable and Is caught la
branded forever.”
Mrs. Booth felt. Infinite pity for and
sympathy with .”the men who had been
caught,” and there was no need to tell
them of IL They felt It. Many of them
had wives and children, left helpless be
cause of the convict’s Incarceration.
They wrote to Mrs. Booth as to their
only friend, entreating her to see If
something could not be dons fsr their
destitute families.
Thus It was that Maud Balllngton
Booth's distinctive mission came to her.
From the time she addressed in San
Quentin penitentiary the "men who had
been caught” she has wrought bravely
and well for them and for those de
prived of their support. Everybody else
turned from them with aversion.
Among the different lines In which the
Volunteers of America are Interested
there Is a prison department, and Mrs.
Booth Is at Its head.
The third time I have seen this wo
man whom prison convicts the Union
over call ’’Little Mother” was recently
when I called to ask her what the pris
on department of the Volunteers of
America does In the line of Christmas
work. Mrs. Booth Is a beautiful wo
man, not tall, but very graceful, a bru
nette with warm brown balr and tender
brown eyes. Bho has rather an oriental
type of face and looks so very young
tliut one can scarcely believe she has a
seventeen years old. Bhe wore a
soft black cashmere gown cut slightly
surplice at the throat, with three azure
stars, symbol of her office, pinned
ucross the breast.
At each Christmas time Maud Booth
undertakes to see that all the families
of her prlsonern have something to
make the day glad. There Is no public
dinner, but each child receives a suit of
clothes and a toy to make it happy.
Thero are also for each little one two
pairs of stockings, one pair to wear,
the other filled with candles nnd nuts,
The mother, too, gets a Christmas
present of some article that will be use
ful to her. Then the dinner, that which
does most of all to realize Mrs. Booth’s
Idea of "taking Chrlstmaa Into the
home!” Each prisoner’s family gets n
turkey or pair of chickens, with vege
tables and other things, in nil food
enough to last several days. Fuel to
cook the food for thlz Joyous Christmas
feast goes with the eatables, for the
Chrlstmastlde finds many a prisoner’s
family without a shovel of coal In their
poor rooms. In New York a wagon dis
tributes the donations, and Maud Bal
llngton Booth herself goes with the
wsgon to bestow the good things and
give tho women and children her bless
ing.
Where do you suppose the money
comes from to pay for these gifts?
Well, Mrs. Booth earns It nearly all
herself by lecturing. From city to city,
from town to town, she goes, her sweet,
sympathetic voice touching the hearts I
of men and women with the story of her
efforts to befriend those whs most need
friends.
Eight years ago Mrs. Booth organized
the V. P. L.—Volunteer Prisoners*
league—among those who are "doing
time” In the various penitentiaries.
Members recelvs a league button and
agree to a few simple rules, religious
and otherwise. In return Mrs. Booth
places on her list the names and ad
dresses of their families snd protects
and cares for these. It Is much to the
prisoners to have such a friend. No
wonder they regard her with something
very like worship.
The work of the prisoners’ angel does
not end here, however. When the man
who does time has finished doing it and
comes out, what then? He finds it al
most Impossible, even when determined
to “Uve square,” to get honest employ
ment. With a malice that has a touch
I of the fiendish In It, those who know
THE BRIDEGROOM'8 80NG.
I’m slrk of the song of ths brldo and her
bloom;
Just hearken to mo for awhllo-I’m tho
groom.
I know 1’vo no rights In tho case, hut,
alas!—
That's right—nil I get In tho case la a lass,
know I'm supposed to bo slleut nnd
meek.
But, dash It! I'm bound to get reckless
snd spetk.
They're bussing about wbat tho brldo is
to wenr;
They're bussing about how she’ll do up
her hair;
They're quarreling over the bridal bou
quet—
I listen In silence to all that they say.
They treat me as though I was chained
to my doom—
Alack! What am 1? I am only the
groom.
Bing on of tho beautiful bride and her
bloom.
But don't mention me—I am only the
groom.
Juat say. "He waa dressed in conventional
black,"
Then kindly forget me snd hasten right
back
To rave o'er the bride till you’re black In
the faco-
I'm only the groom, and I’m learning my
place. ^
THE FAIR AMERICAN.
"I believe the real attraction of the
American girl for Englishmen lies In
her complete contrast to ths women of
their own country,” writes an English
woman who seems to be Jnolom "She d
can talk, she can amuse and sh<? can
stimulate his Jaded senses by pictur
esque slang and impudent raillery. Him
Is free ami easy, yet holds him in
bounds should he—by accident - incline
to confuse her with a leas discreet per
sonality. Hhe can talk on anything and
everything—nnd does. Bhe knows all
about sports and games. Bhe can dance
like a ballet girl and sing comic songs
with any variety stage prima donna.
Bhe Is all energy and life. Bite lias
nerves of steel, yet a frame as falryllku
as Tltanla’s. Above all these charms,
she has—dollars. • • • But there sre not
wanting critics keen as herself to point
out that her cleverness Is very superfi
cial. her apparently universal knowl
edge due to memory, not research, her
beauty as short lived as her youth and
her conversational charm due to its
novelty In forms of fvprsaslon, slug
and quaint phraseology. A day may
come when we will also find th.it we
could have done without the self glori
fied Importation of the American wo-
nan!”
his story tell It against him. Wherever
he goes It pursues him, try as he will.
Bo the prisoners’ friend established In
various parts of the country her Hope
halls, homes for discharged convicts.
And she somehow raises money to
! maintain these homes too. In the
homes sre received and fed and shel
tered the released men until work can
be found for them, the employer In all
cases being told of the man's career and
that now Mrs. Booth vouches for his
perfect honesty. In one case recently
one of the es-convlcts was hlrsd to
guard a wealthy bride’s wedding pres
ents, which he did faithfully.
Through Mrs. Booth’s Hope halls
havt posed $.<00 discharged prisoners,
and of these 70 per rent are today re
spectable, Industrious citizens.
LILLIAN GRAY.
OLD NEW8PAPER8.
Ths uses of old newspapers ar* m
fold, so they should be carefully i
Directly anything bolls aver aa
stove the cook should wipe It up
a pod of newspaper, for thus rhe
save herself much trouble in k»-e
ths stove clean and nice. Newspap
t excellent for window cleai
producing a good polish.
MATTERS WHICH INTEREST WOMEN.
Jn washing gr-at-care ahould be tak
en not to let any water run Into the
ears of a toy dog and also to avoid
drafts.
Hince 1S70 the proportion of men
touchers In the L'nMe-t States has de
creased from 30 per cent of the entire
number to 3t per cent.
Influential Ladles of Chicago have *r-
ganiaed' and are malDtatnlBg » prac- thown la Iha report pf Ua ChUdr.n a
tlcal shooting club. It, object Is to
enable Its members to protect them
selves from robbery and assault. There
ought to be such shooting dubs among
women all over this country.
To the vulgar eye few things sre won
derful that are not distant.
That the number of children In the
American family Is on the decrease Is
Aid society, which has four times as
many applications for orphans ss it can
grant.
II las Owetidolln B. Hamilton, an
English girl, has been employed by the
British Cotton Growing association to
Investigate and report to them on the
possibilities of cotton production in the
West Indies,
It depends upon the mood of an Indi
vidual whether lie sees the sunset or
the fine poem. There art always sun
sets snd there Is always genius, but 1
only a few hour* so serene that we'ean
relish nature or *■ntictsm.
Th** constable of Hugo, Co|o„ Is Mrs. i
Johanna Wood, who bos twelve chll- I
dren. Bhe Is athletic and bandy with a
gun.
I Betel chewing Is a Vila habit and has
I changed the Hlarru-w people from al
I handsome rare to a homely one. ;» ; v
Jare given betet nuts to chew bof #re tr- *
'can talk, and old women have 1
pounded up In order that they may roll
them about between their toothless
gums. The country Is as much a Slavs
to the hftblt as China is to opium.
It Is a mu< h shallower and more Ig
noble occupation to detect faults than
to discover beauties.
Killing without purpose Is saunter
ing. not exercise, says Lord Lytton.
v r* Is got from one book on which the
thought settles for a definite end in
snow ledge than from libraries skimmed
over by a wandering eye. A cottage
flower glvss honey to the bee, a king’s
garden none to the butterfly.
Professor Charles Richardson of
Dart mouth college regards the petrified
body of a woman recently found at
Washington, Vt.. as one of a race which
Inhabited America before the Indiana.
The body is five feet ten Inches In
length, and Its appearance Indicates
that the woman was slain.
"You know what Is said about cast
ing ysur bread upon the waters.” said
a man who was soliciting subscriptions
for a charitable object. "After many
days it will come back to you.’’ Not
the kind my wife makes,” was th** re
sponse, "It would sink like a stone.”
Out of the $7.<12 students enrolled
In the German universities S.09S aro
foreigners an<l LSI4 are women. The
women enjoy til th.» privileges of the
regular mu ntn. but are not al; >w«.d
to t ;k" drgree*.