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THE MACON TELEGRAPH: 5-TNDAY MORNING, DECEMBER 25, 100i ^ Christmas KATE CLYDE Mentions Some Things Which Should Not Be Given as Presents. Sartorial Fancies of the Moment-Advance Information on Spring Fashions T HE colored photograph has proved very popular thin year for a (IhllilmM present, hut If you think coloring photo graphs la easy you want to try It the way a girl I know did. She gave every friend' she owned a photograph of heraelf In tastefully col* ored fancy dread (ahe had had the pho tographs n long time, and, to tell you the lion- cat truth, ahe wanted to get rid of them). She thought ahe really wua prac tising economy. It turned out to he anything hut economy In the end. For a week sh© lived »n an ntnv'finhere of paint and mud- luge, her nalla were never clean, and ahe , . usually had a £"L smudge of p.lnt p from the corner of her mouth to her ear because ahe held her brush between herteeth. Inaddltion, ahe apllled a bowl of “painty” water on her beat table acarf. and. every ahlrt walat In her poaaeaalon w»ih decorated with a spot or so. The last but not least of her mishaps wag a nice little doctor’s bill because ahe would persist In passing her paint brush between her lips whether It had green paint on It or not. Between the doctor, the paint she used and the things the paint spoiled she came to the conclualon that those same Christmas presents were not par ticularly cheap. Old fashioned hollduy week parties are right In vogue both for thoeo who have the good luck to spend the Christ mas holidays In the country, and for the less fortunate ones who have to stay In town. In the latter case a room Is dec orated-In as rustic a fashion ns possi ble so as to suggest the living room of a farmhouse, and all sorts of old fashion ed games are Indulged In by way of amusement. Each game has prlsca. of course. The prises for an old faahloned spell ing bee were shown to me yesterday. They are very new faahloned diction aries only an Inch square and inclosed In tiny aluminium cases, each having an oval magnifying glass In Its cover. Of course the little dictionary Is printed In such tiny characters that It can only he read with the aid of this magnifying glass. But think how convenient to carry around In one’s pocketbookt Ussiest Christmas gifts. I can’t bear the people who give me useless Christmas presents, like paper cutters, for Instance. Who ever uses a paper cutler? The leaves of all books come cut nowadays, and as for the magnsines, a hairpin Is always more convenient because you have It right there, even If It Is not so elegant. I have three paper cutters now, and all they do for me Is to get lost and step ped on. Handkerchief cases are another nui sance. Who ever puts handkorchlefs into a handkerchief case, unless It Is some very prim old nialdy person? I’i sure I never should bother. Glove boxen are quite another matter. A glove box Is both pretty and useful If It matches your drenslng table In shade. The trou ble Is that most pcnplo never think of that trifle, and they don’t mind sending you n perfect dear of a lavender covered box when everything you have Is as Bhe earned the quarter. pink as pink can be, from I ho big fat pincushion to the narrow ribbon' on your lamb’s wool powder puff. Well, most women, don’t care anyway. It’s a prosent, and you ought to bo glAd to.get It; tlmfs all there Is to It. For my part. I like gifts of a practical or personal nature, things I can wear or put up In the room, mill even that sort of gift has Ita disadvantages. Look at Bessie Fluttrrly, poor, but with exqui site taste, and she always has some aw ful Christmas present from her rich Aunt Jane which she has to wear out. Last year It was a very handsome satin waist; but, oh, horrors, of a bright, •had© of purple! As poor Bessie was wearing a dark red tailor made in those days Just fancy how she looked! Then, too, speaking of things one can put around the room. I shall never for get the year Busan Faddy had the ma nia for “hand painting’’ china. Bhe sent me a small dish shap ed like a fu neral urn and painted with anaemic looking b ti t lercupH which she told mo was to go on my mantel piece. Well, of course, It wAnt there—It had to, for Busan Js a very good friend of mine—hut it managed to slip behind a fat ller ruffle trn* trailing photograph, and on ground. on thc thlrd (Illy I gave the innid n hint that If she knocked It off accidentally In dusting she would receive a quarter. Hhe earned the quarter before the day was out, und, of course. I was "aw fully sorry/’ Contrast In Furs. The fur lined coat Is n feature of the winter's fashions. For evening wear In gray, tan or white it Is charming, par ticularly when relieved by a collar of prettily contrasting fur—for Instance, n champagne colored cloth will be reliev ed with A collar of dark marten, while a pale blue garment will have a collar of moleskin. Gray chiffon velvet Is much used for gowns and for evening coats. Black Is, of course, always In good taste, and, owing to Its glossiness. It Is not nearly so somber mm the ordinary velvet. Hats are growing n little larger, pcdally for dressy wear. 1 have seen two Imported models recently which 1 consider very smart. One was a straight brimmed shape of pale blue panne vet. For sole trimming It had a'huge ruche of three shades of tulle—-pale blue, heliotrope and pale pink. The other hat was of pale pink tulle and Irish lac *. with two pale pink ostrich tips drooping over the brim on the left side and a moss rosebud falling against the hair. By the way, moss roses are the InteHt millinery fad. Hairdressing Is undergoing another change. Smart women are no long- routining themselves to the figure tu fact, there ts u distinct epidemic of braids. A favorite way Is to braid the hair Into two pigtails and to cross them very Frenchy looking girdles. In fact, these flowered belts, done up In tissue paper daintily tinted boxes to corre spond. have formed more than one Christmas gift this season. The worst freak of fashion which has shocked my eyes for a long time I wit nessed yesterday. It was a three-quar ter box coat of gray and white mottled leather which looked perilously like snakeskin, and also a toque and muff of the same. This, mind you, wan sup posed to be very elegant. MRS. ROBERT J. WYNNE. The wife of the United States postmaster general Is a handsome, youthful appearing matron who does not look as If she was married utmost thirty years ago and is the mother of four children—two sons and two daughters. Bhe was MIhs Mary McCube of Washington and UouhtlesM little dreamed in 1875, when she whs married to Robert John Wynne, a telegrapher, that Robert John Wynne would become postmaster general of the United States und be high In tho con fidence of the president. In front, forming a sort of crown effect all around the head. The other way consists In making a single braid and winding It around and around into a flat pancake arrangement at the back I of the head. This requires a fancy hack i comb above it*— It goes without saying that all the smart belts are wide this season and that you are decidedly out of It If you dure to wear a narrow one. While a good many white belts arc worn with white waists and skirts, yet some flow ered ribbon Is also seen made up Into An Awkward Mishap. Thank heaven, they have at last ceased to sew silk petticoats on drop stitch machines! Never shall I forget tho mortification of a friend of mine, and incidentally of myself, for I was with her. She caught her heel in the rufflo of her petticoat, and the strain must have started the seam, for It be gan to rip. Before we had gone half a block It was trailing on the ground, and before we could stop it seemed to me that the whole ruffle, with yards of thread, was wound around her feet. She did the only thing possible—picked It up and tucked it into her muff. For tunately it was a large muff. Our old friend the seal Is once more enjoying favor. Yes, It was a bit out of style; respectable and rich, If you will, but out of the height of style. The main reason for Its return, I’m thinking. Is that furriers arc using more discre tion in the way they make it up. They are following mainly the box coat mod el and giving up the attempt to make a tight fitting seal coat. Tight fitting seal coat! Save the mark! Did you ever see one? Of all the disfiguring articles It is the worst. It can’t be tight fitting; that’s all there Is to it. And when the attempt Is made It causes a woman to look like a cross between a grampus and an elephant. * Ju^t a little hint to you. When you have your sealskin coat made over next have a collarless effect outlined with an application of flat black silk braid. It will make you look less “chunky,” and, besides, you can wear a chinchilla or aq ermine stole with It and thus vary the sameness. Also If you want to add to the fancy effect have your sleeves made with wide, bell cuffs and fill them with very deeply tinted ecru lace. It Is these funcy touches which rc Hove the somberness of a fur garment. It seems to me that a gray cloth gown Is about the most practical dress a wo man can have, for it may be used dur ing the winter on a good many occa sions when a velvet dress would be much too elaborate, and If made close fitting, with a trimming of passemen terlc or dyed lace,' It Is ultra chic for spring wear wlthput a coat. A cos tume of gray or champagne cloth la most useful In April and May, and the wise woman bears this In mind when planning her midwinter wardrobe, est thing is a flat stole made of gray chiffon velvet having ita ends beauti fully embroidered with pale pink roses and decorated with gray and pink fringes. How dainty this would be worn with a gray cloth gown and a gray straw and chiffon hat trimmed with pink roses! KATE CLYDE. A BUSINESS WOMAN’S COSTUME. A business woman must be econom ical. She has not hundreds of dollars to spend upon her wardrobe; conse quently If she is wise she finds out what color is the most becoming and buys an office gown of that color and uses it as the foundation upon which she builds her system of dress. This color scheme makes it possible to wear one hat with various articles of clothing without appearing radiantly dressed like a bird of paradise, and nothing in a business woman’s office dress is more destestable than finery. Simplicity, cleanliness, harmony, are the three- qualities essential to the business wo man’s wardrobe. It is not so much how mafiy clothes the business woman pos sesses as it Is the kind of clothing she wears and her general appearance. Good advice to the busy woman who has little time to give to the considera tion of fripperies would be: Leave fan cy things alone and content yourself with the smart and useful stock and collar which are now In vogue with all the severer styles of dress. It takes only two minutes to tie the bow neatly or to slip a clean and dainty, prettily embroidered collar on to a blouse or bodice. A muslin fichu can be worn In the evening, but it requires skill and leisure to arrange it. To bo picturesque is charming, but never let your fancy for the picturesque degenerate into untidi ness or unsuitability. WOMEN AS CHIMNEY SWEEPS. The vocations to which latter day wo men are devoting their energies are In creasing In number, and realms un thought of before are being Invaded. A guild or union of women chimney sweeps has been'started in St. Peters burg and Moscow. Its founder is the widow of a sweep blessed with six daughters. All seven belong to the guild and are active members. No wo man chimney sweep is to be les3 than fourteen years old nor more than thirty- five, but girl assistants may be admit ted at eight years. As soon as a sweep marries she must leave the guild. AH must sign the temperance pledge and be members of the Orthodox (Greek) church. WHAT IS THE CAUSE? Since the beginning of the current school year forty-eight women teachers of. Baltlmdre have resigned In order to get married. An inquiry has been start- s—- I have seen some advance spring ed to find if similar conditions exist styles in fancy neckwear, and the odd- * elsewhere. Ellen E. Kenyon Warner Educator and Student of Child Nature M T WO Impudent little English sparrows sit upon the rim of the Iron tire escape und turn their heads hrasslly thin way and that to leer at me out of their bright, small eyes. To me they are only Impudent little'English sparrows, und that ends It. But If Dr. Ellen K. Ken yon Warner insle juI ofme saw them she would draw from them lessons In natu ral history, mercifulness to birds, lan guage Expression, culture of the Imag ination and maybe a combined lesson In either. On the following system she bases her work, literary and otherwise; First.—Accumulation of data. Second.-—Examination, analysis, com parison, classification. , Third.—Generalisation.' Always she makes sure of her facts, then goes ahead. Her heart In In the common schools of her country, In which she Is proud to have been educated. She was born and reared In Brooklyn und was promoted fr«»m pupil to teacher In Its school*. For several years she was superintend ent of a primary department. There she found great Held for the study of that child nature she loves so well. Ilet mind, vompreheiislve, dear and exact, | brushed aside the cobwebs of tradition I m educational mutters and went t heart of the matter. Bhe loved chil dren; eh* was born with a girt for In- jMtuctlng. both as a teacher and writer. | With It all she has infinite sense of hu- | inor. ami them, powers, gifts and facul ties explain Ellen K. Kenyon Warner. Before she left school Miss Kenyon j began to write for publication. Her brut contribution wss a story In ten jchapteni called "Brother Jurk and 1." jBhe was afraid to tell anybody shout It Iso wrote upon an upper corner of tin manuscript her address, also the unked for the atoVy, 120— a huge price. | r-.hc thought—and mailed It to a juve-| nil* magazine of which Jennie June Cro j ly was editor. Nellie Kenyon was lm- intensely surprised when u little later she received a letter Informing her that "Brother Jack and 1" was accepted and I requesting her to call on Mrs. Croly to J help arrange the Illustrations. To support herself through this ordeal Nellie took a school friend into her con- Ifldeiice and persuaded this friend to go I [with her to Mrs. t'roly. When the two girls appeared before her gentle Jennie June looked Nellie Kenyon over front J head to font and said to her. “You are very young to have written that story.” ►N WARNER. J Thereupon Miss Kenyon mad* a stale- I j ment w hich the friend tells on her to ngtng besides, this day, a statement the most extraor- ithor of the se- dtnary that ever issued from the lips of t Readers.” I feminine creature: are the result "Oh, I’m not so young ss ! look." ration and ex* Meanwhile during the time Jennie ' their author. I June eras talking to Nellie Kenyon th< ipeeker. writer schoolmate, slyly edged near to the fa »he has been a mows woman editor so that her owi face of things • skirt might touch that of the editor A GOWN OF BANANA VOILE. Simplicity Is the keynote of this attractive gown of dotted banana colored voile. The skirt Is slightly fulled about the waist and finished with three deep tucka at the hem. The bodice Is surpllced and opens in front to display a small vest of yellow lace. The collar and girdle are of umber panne velvet. Bhe did this In order that she might I sec afterward cut out the piece of her skirt | lh« that touched Mrs. Croly’s aiul keep It {tog souvenir. Girl* will be girls. of humor. The noon hour she and hers In her building spent her. The district was one inhab- rgety by an immigrant popula With this first success und similar lion, and the children's attempts at that folio wed. for awhile chances wore about even whether Mlsi Kenyon would be a writer of fiction oi an author dealing with philosophic* and educational topics. She was dmwr about equally both ways. When sh« *me a teacher In the public schooli the question was settled. Teacher sh< was and Is. whether orally or In print. The next step In authorship followed In an odd way after she began teaching It came about through Miss Kenyon'i tllsh *|icaking were at times fearful land wonderful. The school was also a continuous performance of amusing tn- Icldeiit, incident duly reported to the I coterie of teachers by Nellis Kenyon. Finally the auditors said: “Nellie, you must write a book and put these things in It" Nellie did. The little book was the beginning of her writing on school top ics. Bh*» prepared during her years of •teaching many papers on education treated from the philosophical point of view. Bhe founded a magazine called the Primary School, the first Amerl- an periodical devoted to the beginning* of children's education. Her enthusiasm once aroused In this direction, the Indefatigable little lady continued to work for the public school as It should be. She organised teachers' improvement associations. Bhe contin ued writing educational papers, and they came to attract attention In Eu rope as well as here. Some of them were translated and printed In peda gogical Journals In Germany. At length In 1893 Miss Kenyon became editor of the different educational periodicals is sued by a publishing firm in New York. Bhe also wrote entirely n department of the magazine, “Child Culture." She published u book culled “The Coming School.” Meantime the value of her education al work and writing was becoming gen erally recognized, and she received from the Unlvorslty of New York the degree of doctor of pedugogy (Pd. D.). Ir. all her educational writing Mrs. Kenyon Warner goes to the bottom of things. In the teaching of little children she would have none of the artificial expedient of memory drill. Hho says: Reading Is the most Important of bcIiooI subjects, Ity the method used in teaching a child to read Ills mental habits for life are affected. Reading should connect Itself with all the inter ests of school and of life and should train the emotions and cultivate moral and aesthetic tastes. The school course in reading should tend toward a com prehensive and wholesome view of life Itself.” This feminine Herbert Spencer of child education believes with the great sociologist himself that moral progress is achieved only by arousing the noble emotions. Mrs. Warner looked about for school readers which should do this, nt the same time following the scientific method of induction and de duction in teaching children. She found none that to her mind filled the requirements, so took up the task of supplying th© need herself. Of tho two “Culture Readers” already published the first, for very young chil dren, deals with Mother Love. Here the author has gathered familiar nursery rhymes, fairy tales and stories “out of her own head” in such an attractive way that learning to read will be gen uine play to a little one. At the same time all the lessons ring changes on the central theme. Mother Love. The culture theme of the second reader Is Industry, treated In a similar manner. A manual for the teacher’s use accompanies the books. In Mrs. Warner’s scheme song ts also an im portant part of child education. She says: “A song Is literature and should be so rendered as to develop all its emo tional values. Nervous, noisy singing strains the voice: hearty. Joyous sing ing trains It. 8©n*s like a lullaby may be used to calm children after mirth or boisterous play .“ CHARLOTTE VAN BECK. _ CHRISTMAS GIFTS FOR POOR CHILDREN. S IX children were left destitute In one of the few poor families in a wealthy and fashionable suburb. It was near Christmas. A benevolent lady. Miss Scripp. had tho children on her mind, but was not able personally to do much to gladden them at the Joy ful Chrlntmastlde, for she herself was not rich. Her neighbors wore, how ever, and Miss Scripp determined to make a canvass among them nnd se cure gift* of food, clothing and money— anything that could b« spared from a wealthy household to make Christmas merry for the Hobb children. Miss Scripp gave notice to her flfelgh- hors of her charitable Intention. All the ladies replied that they would re joice to contribute. Two days before Christmas Miss Scripp sent a boy around with a pushcart to make collec tions. He returned with an assortment of bundles as large as that of a laun- dryumn on Monday morning and not unlike It In outward appearance. With pleased anticipation. Miss Scripp had the boy carry the parcels Into her pretty little dining room. Then she began to overhaul their contents. She began with the largest parcel. 8bl uttered an exclamation of disap pointment, vexation even, as there un folded before her the remains of that ivory white chiffon gown which had done duty at parties two winters for Mrs. J. Van Blinker De Whytte. Its multitudinous flouncing* hung in fes toons; its accordion plaiting was bat tered and bulging like an antique um brella; its front was stained with parti cles of feasu ranging from heavy din ners of state to after theater “snacks.” "How can that be cut down Into warm coats and stockings for the poor, little Hobbsr* murmured Miss Scripp as she laid it aside, with a deep sigh. Few of the parcels were marked with the name of the donor. Evidently the fair and generous givers wished to do their alms In secret. It may have been that, but Miss 8cr1pp concluded as she proceeded to go through a pile that they were ashamed to be known and for this reason had refrained from attaching their names to their respective dona tions. Unfortunately for this amiable precaution, however. Miss Scripp recog nised most of the articles. Mrs. Thrifty had sent her old rain coat. It was out of fashion; it was also bedraggled; it 'also let the rain through In spots. Again Miss Scripp shoved the unpleas ant article aside, with a sigh, and mur- inind. It had bocome worn into holes Just where each of Pynchem’s substan tial feet had pressed It, so that more than once he had tripped upon it and come near falling. Opportunely the very night beforo the boy called with the collecting pushcart Mr. Pynchem had said, with divers unconventional expressions, that if he ever found that old rag there again he would "histe” It out the front window. Thus perforce Mrs. Pynchem removed It, skillfully working It off on charity. But the gem of the collection for the destitute little Hobbs was Mrs. Spar ing’s last winter’s calling hat. It had been a perfect dream w’hen the milliner first turned it out. all silken, spangled gauxe nnd radiant rainbow tinted panne, with a sparkling buckle that had be come so tarnished that Mrs. Sparing could never use It again. In Its prlstlno perfectness there had been likewise real oitrlch plumes upon that calling hat. but these Mrs. Sparing had prudently ripped off that she might have them renovated for another winter. Such were some of the Items In Miss Scrlpp’s charity collection for th© desti tute Hobb children's Christmas. TABITIIA SOURGRAPES. “How can l make that available for keeping the poor little Hobbs warm?" Miss Florence De Whytte sent a pair of pink satin slippers run over st the heel. She tucked into the tiny toe of one of them a necktie of her brother’s that had been worn so long it could never by my possibility be used again. Mrs. Pynchem sent, indeed, a woolen rug. It had lain at the threshold of her husband’s bedroom almost time out of DAINTY BLOUSE FOR CHRISTMAS. This stunning blouse emanates from a celebrated Parisian house and is car ried out in soft taffeta of a bright bronze green. The plaited fronts hang from a deep yoke, over which is an em- piecement of the silk, the rounded ends of which are finished with velvet and dull enameled buttons. The sleeves are full at the top and close fitting about the wrist. Starting from the elbow Is a very full puff fas tened with buttons to the body of the sleeve. The girdle is of velvet. A blouse of this kind would make a charming Christmas present. NOTES FOR FEMININE READERS. for the Navajo i lh* southwest. Til *ui*>rtor to the ot tritx*. »tl small children I w»*re marched to all In one and thi - fat or any ally s i water will answt r than anything el* roman who had mi in* bags that once . hut promptly apt niv.-tii.-u a zatchtf *K. She Cook her e patent the day it r the purp to the time of her death her hair, which was black, remained unchanged. I be lieve* there is much truth In the widely spread opinion that the Intellectual qualities of the son are in a large meas- Iure inherited from the mother.” j If we wilt look at our prejudice* we J shall find that they arise from our Held I of View bring nrctoarlly small, like the I eye of a fly. | Natural finish willow and wicker [chairs and furniture are cleaned by tng a scrubbing brush and a warm suds of borax. These must be dried quickly In the sun it possible. First, however, they must be dusted and all stains re- “She's going to give up housekeep ing." said a doctor's wife, “and l*m going (o take her parlor carpet for one- third what It cost.” "Well." said the doctor, “see that it’s well shaken be fore taking." At a concert at Warsaw suddenly multitudes of spiders, attracted by the i sounds of a violin, came from the f cracks and crevices of the hall. Like ' Miss MuffeL the human audience 1 sought safety In flight and the spiders I soon had the building to themselves, l Nearly f1,500,060 was sent to Europe i In the three weeks preceding Christmas. } This money represents Christmas gifts I to relatives in the old country. Over one-third went to England, one-sixth i U> Germany and the rest scattering.