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I as A CYNICAL philosopher has said, j and write, urging her husband to stand "There Is a woman at the bot- | out stanchly for the freedom of the colonies. Those sparkling letters, which are still considered models of the epistolary art, were proudly read to his friends by John Adams, for many in that brilliant circle of states men were known to her. While the tom of everything." At a time | when we are celebrating the 1 '■laratlon of Independence it is a i vl thing to consider the part that ‘ men played in bringing it about. If 1 •re ever was a women's war It was I W*. of the Revolution The tax on I Declaration of Independence was being t- ■ and the stamp act that affected the i : .• <s of domestic commodities In a '•untry where living was hard were fu< It influences as would most readily arouse Ihe indignation of housekeepers. The spirit of the women was shown in debated Mrs. Adams wrote to her hus band: “I long to hear that you have de clared independence, and in the new code of laws, which I suppose will be necessary for you to make, I desire that fhetr pledge nor to use the tea and the | y° u should remember the ladies and be readiness with which they assumed all ! more generous and favorable than your manner of hardships in resenting tyr- j ancestors. Do not put unlimited power During the war great ladies I int0 l he hands of the husband. into the hands of the husband. Re- reduced their establishments to the | member, all men would be tyrants if most rigid economy, and women every- ; could. If particular care and at- \\ i)f»rc tilled farms ami did Die work i Mention not paid to the ladies wfe of men that husbands, son> and broth- I are determined to foment a rebellion rr might serve their country. Of the Illustrious company of men who signed the Declaration almost evi ry one of them was backed by some pettlcoated patriot eloquently urging him to action. K K "If I were of the opinion that it was best for a general rule that the fair sex should be excused from the cares of war and state, I should certainly think that Mercy [Mrs. Warren] and Mrs. Adams ought to be exceptions be cause I have ever ascribed to these la dies a large part in the conduct of our American affairs.” Thus spoke the husband of Mercy Warren to John Adams, and a little study of the biographies of that period will suggest that probably never in the history of this country have, women had so much to do with the shaping of public affairs. There was in Massa chusetts, the seat of sedition. Dorothy Hancock, wife of John Hancock, so ar rant a little rebel that she sdlpped off and married him when he was in hid ing in Connecticut with a price on his head as a result of his defiance of the royal government. When Massachu setts elected Hancock to the second Continental congress his wife insisted on accompanying him to Philadelphia, although far from strong and with a young infant to care for. Her hus band's wealth enabled her to play the Lady Bountiful not only to the suffer- 'ng soldiers during the war, but to the struggling and bereaved families. It It A more Intellectual and no less inde pendent womr.n was Abigail, wife of John Adams, another signer from Massachusetts. John Adams was then a poor lawyer, citing a scanty living out of a farm at Braintree, and he could not afford to take his wife with him to Philadelphia. Although the main sup port of the family and the care of the farm fell upon her shoulders, she sent him from her with a smiling face and a brave heart. It was seven years be fore she joined him in Franco, and al though the Insolent and savage British soldiery harassed the country all’about her and the booming of the spins at Bunker Hill and Charlestown filled her with forebodings, she could sit down j and will not hold ourselves bound laws In which we have no voice or rep resentation." •t H Mercy Warren, friend of John and Abigail Adams, was an Otis, the of that James Otis whose speech old Boston state house In resistance of the right of search maintained by the king's officers was one of the influences that helped to bring about the revolu tion. Mr. Otis had been advocate gen eral of the colony, but resigned it to act as counsel for the merchants. John Adams, who listened to the fiery young orator's speech, said: “On that day the child independence was born!” Most of the arguments used by Mr. Otis were those afterward advanced for the separation of the colonies from the mother country, and Mercy Warren, poetess, dramatist and essayist—the Aspasia of her time—was the confidant and adviser of her broth er. Her writings show how far the wo men of that day dared go when con science moved them. She coolly satir ized the colonial governor and the Tories in her drama, “The Group,” and lauded the Boston tea party in the ‘‘Squabble of the Sea Nymphs.” Thom as Jefferson. John and Samuel Adams, Elbridge Gerry. Alexander Hamilton, Henry Knox and even the great Wash ington himself were numbered among her friends. Her correspondents in cluded the most distinguished men and women of the time. She was zealous in behalf of Independence, and when war was declared made her homo at Plymouth, the headquarters for many movements for the relief of want and suffering. •e « Mrs. Samuel Adams was a woman of less brilliant mental caliber than Mrs. John Adams. She was the daughter of an English merchant, and If her sym pathies were with the royal cause she put nothing in the way of her hus band following his own convictions. She cheerfully gave up her beloved tea when Boston housewives decided to boycott this favored beverage. Once by mistake Elbridge Gerry conveyed to her from Philadelphia while the con gress was deliberating on the Declara tion a pound of tea intended for his wife by John Adams. She innocently entertained Mrs. Abigail with a cup of her own beverage to the great amuse ment of that lady when the mistake was discovered. Martha Skelton, the lovely and ac complished wife of-Thomas Jefferson, was a no less stanch patriot than the Intellectual Abigail Adams, although I her influence was less obvious in public affairs. It is notable that while con- i gress was discussing the advisability ! of declaring independence Thomas Jef- ' ferson went home to Virginia for a j week or more. He had been in a : doubtful frame of mind when he left Philadelphia, but his return found him confirmed in faith and ready to draw | up that series of brilliant articles I which made the colonies free and re- ; spected in the eyes of • the civilized j world. All honor to Martha Skelton ; for this and for the admirable manner in which she could administer the af- i fairs of Monticello when her country jneeded her husband! ' Probably the most notable of New York and New Jersey women patriots 1 of the Revolution, was one of the most were the ladles of the Livingston fami- brilliant and beautiful women of her ly, from which Philip Livingston of time. She was a sister of Bishop New York was numbered among the White and celebrated for her clever- signers of the Declaration of Independ- ness, charity and patriotism. She was ence. Philip was the brother of Gov- one of the leaders in all plans for help- ernor Livingston of New Jersey, whose I ing the families of those who were home at Elizabethtown was named j fighting for their country, and she or- Ltberty Hall. The Livingston women ganized many movements for relieving were famous for beauty, wit and hos pitality. One of the governor's daugh ters became Mrs. John Jay, while his sister was Mrs. William Alexander, wife of that Lord Stirling who threw away an English earldom to fight for the colonies. His daughters. Lady Kit ty Duer and Lady Mary Watt, are well known in the history of Washington's time. K It Lewis Morris of Morrlsania was still unmarried when he signed the Decla ration, but his heart was already en chained by a lovely daughter of South Carolina, Miss Ann Elliott, known to an admiring British soldiery as “tho beautiful rebel.” When the king’s troops held Charleston she want abroad flaunting thirteen plumes in her bonnet and her opinions were free ly expressed to the enamored officers who wore the king’s uniform and haunted her father's house. One of these, the son of an English peer, laid his heart and fortune at her feet in vain. Once when Morris came to visit her she saved his life by the stinging rebuke she gave to the English officer who came seeking him. “Go look for him in the American army if you dare!” she cried, and the redcoats slunk away abashed before the spectacle of indignant beauty. I? * The wife of Carter Braxton, signer for Virginia, was the daughter of the king's receiver general of customs, and when Lord Dunmore, the governor of Virginia, seized a quantity of powder belonging to the turbulent the distress of the ill fed, half clothed and barefooted soldiers of Washing ton’s army. it m Benjamin Franklin was seventy years of age and a widower when he signed the Declaration, his daughter, Mrs. Sarah Bache, caring for her lively fa ther in his old age. She was an arch- rebel, and with her family was com pelled to leave Philadelphia when it was occupied by the British. Her sen timents were so aggressively demo cratic that she is said to have repri manded the head of a school who un dertook to make some distinction in regard to classes of society by asking that the Misses Bache should be shown no further favors. "For,” said Franklin's daughter, “there is in this country no rank but rank mutton.” Everywhere, among all classes, this spirit of independence animated the women. Is it any wonder that their men could write and sign tho Declara tion? Tile heroes of '7G were inspired by the heroines of '76. BETTY RODGERS. BOT AN ARISTOCRATIC FRUIT TLER. Lady Algernon Gordon - Lennox, sometimes known as tho best dressed woman in England, has announced her intention of establishing a fruit bot tling industry at Broughton, Oxford shire. She has discovered that the de mand for preserved and bottled fruits increasing enormously. In 1!>00 and colony, 11901 the value of bottled fruits import- through the intervention of her father, the British government was made to see the wisdom of recompensing the colonists for this loss. Dunmore did not forget this slighting of his au thority, and his revenge was the burn ing of Norfolk. | Mrs. Richard Stockton, wife of one I of the signers from New Jersey, was another patriotic bluestocking. Her verses were much admired, and even General Washington himself thanked her for those she wrote in honor of the surrender of Cornwallis. She was the writer of the triumphal hymn, “Wel come, Mighty Chief Once More,” sung as he passed through Trenton on his way to his inauguration, airs. Stockton was the sister of Dr. Elias Boudinot, a well known figure in colonial history, and her daughter Julia was the wife of Dr. Benjamin Rush, one of the signers for Penn:-. tnia. airs. Stockton was a woman jf such elegance and dignity that she was playfully called “the duchess." Her husband’s wealth and her own talent gave her great influ ence in the affairs of the time. IS K airs. Robert Morris, friend of Martha Washington and wife of the financier ed into England amounted to $11,000,000, and since then it had gone on increas ing. In her opinion England should se cure the benefits arising from such a demand. The fruit industry had been carried on with great advantage in Es sex. Cambridgeshire and elsewhere, and Oxfordshire seems particularly adapted for the industry. She strongly advocates the teaching of fruit culture in the elementary schools and thinks that county councils might lend their assistance in this direction. To encourage fruit growing In the Banbury district Lady Algernon pro poses to establish a fruit bottling “plant” on her own account and is in negotiation with a Maidstone firm in regard to the subject. FADED UPHOLSTERY. To restore faded upholstery beat the dust out, then brush. Apply a strong lather of castile soap with a hard brush, wash off with clear water, then wash with alum water. On becoming dry the colors will look as well as ever.- When colors are faded beyond recovery they may be touched up with a pencil dipped in water colors of suitable shad* mixed with gum water. Topics That Concern Womankind Exclusively ^ W E live and v.-e learn! » Sad, but true. If you have made an error In the selection of your spring costume cheer up and re flect that you have learned something that will last you for a lifetime. What ever other mistakes you may be guilty of in future days you will never com mit that particular one again. If you look at things this way you will become decidedly cheerful Instead of thinking of suicide as a friend told me she did when her new suit came home! 1 learned this point of view myself from a very cheerful woman. No amount of mistakes ever soerned to appall her. She bobbed up serenely after the worst catastrophes. She told me site had read so many hard luck stories of really great peo ple and the many stupid things they had done In their youth and even mid dle age that she felt quite indulgent; toward her own self when she slipped up. The only times she ever got angry 1 with herself, she went on to say, were wh6n she made the same mistako twice. And there's something In that. Worth Considering. I wonder if there's a man who doesn't like to see his wife well dressed and who doesn't sit up and take notice when that lady wears a new gown or a novel hair arrangement, although he may pretend that he doesn't care two j raps. i In view of this marked leaning of the j male sex toward novelty and change ( will you please tell me why some wo men fly In the face of Providence and their own hnppiness by never caring I how they look in the bosom of their j families? A woman will scrimp and save (even extracting pennies from the household j iccount) in order that she may have will never give away their old gowns, but feel they must wear them all In succession and “get a change.” But as a friend remarks, “It's a poor change that makes you look homelier.” Give me a plain shirt waist with a neat collar and tie. You may have all the fixed over finery you want. Don’t keep old dresses. They never look like anything. They clutter up the closet and add to the worries of life. I believe in sim ple, appropriate clothes with few attachments, or what I call “doo dads.” One of the most stunning dresses I have a handsome gown to wear to church or j to the woman's club, but as for house wear. why. her three year old chaJM* j with the tight sleeves ar.d narrow skirt is plenty good enough or, 1 am sorry to ; say. a faded dressing jacket and a ; passe odd skirt (when it isn’t a petti- ; coat) is considered quite good form for ■ breakfast wear. Can you blame a man for retiring behind his paper when he has that sort of a vision to gaze upon? Or. Indeed, for getting out of the house as soon as i possible? i On the way down to the office, by the i way, he sees in the oar pretty, well i dressed women, and he compares them ; with the frumpy personage he has, just left among the ruins of the break- 1 fast table—much to the latter’s dis advantage. There is no sense in wearing old things ground the house. Borne women A plain thirl tcoitl irifl seer, lately was a neat collar. a perfectly plain navy blue shirt waist dress with a plain collar and a big blue sailor hat to match. The whole thing couldn't have cost more than $15, and it looked smart. It’s funny, but you will invariably notice that the people who can afford to be extravagant have the most prac tical clothes, while the woman who can only afford two dresses a year will have these made in bright colors and of a style likely to pass away before after noon. An Unprofitable Habit. Mora friendships are broken from borrowing and lending things than from any other cause. Lending money is fatal, if you ever expect to get it back promptly, or, sometimes, at all. Lending clothes is almost as bad, while as for lending pets or leaving them to be cared for that reminds me of the Irish old maid who left her darling parrot in the care of an inti mate friend for a couple of months, and on her return, behold, the friend, having become enamored of the bird herself, refused to give it up! There upon the loving relations of years were severed violently and the injured one hied her to the priest for redress, weep ing and wailing the while, “She came between me and me bur-r-rd!” And her plaint became a byword In that parish! It is always well not to expect too much of any friendship, not to bore friendship, not to tempt it with par rots or anything else, and, above all, not to make weighty confidences to it. Oh, the miseries that have arisen from confidences between intimate friends! You make a call, say on a rainy day. You are blue, and there is nothing to talk about, so you open up your heart and tell tilings you never should, things which you would give your soul to recall when you have been out of the house only half an hour. But It is too late. Your secrets are no longer your own. They may be the property of a dozen peo ple tomorrow or on the next rainy day when your friend in her turn goes visiting and be comes confiden tial from lack of ordinary con versational mat ter. Of course I leave out the possibility that you and she may quarrel some day or have a slight coolness. In the care of an inti mate friend. It’s a wonderful woman who does not tell all she knows under those circum stances. I don’t say there are not women who wouldn't keep silent, mind you, but the percentage is smaller than you think. So better not risk things! If you have secrets keep them to yourself, then you are sure they are safe. The gorgeous gown with filmy laces On other days may aid her graces; Today she is more fitly dressed, For freedom’s flag becomes her best. A Dangerous Question. Speaking of women, one of the meati est questions they can ask is (confi dentially), “My, dear, what do you think of Mrs. So-and-so?” I always answer that I think she is perfectly lovely. No matter what my real opinion is. And why? Because having been guilty several times of the absurdity of telling the truth I have b ; en confronted with my own remarks—after many moons—to my intense embarrassment. No, indeed, I’m wise now, and every woman is just too sweet for anything while everything she docs is just right. Others I know are wise from the same experiences. I begin to think it is only foolish wo men who say right out what they think. Strictly Noncommital. Have you ever noticed a peculiar type f woman, I wonder? She never ad mits that she dees not know every thing. If you took her into the palace of the emperor of China she would not give you the satisfaction of a single “Ah!” Neither would she ask a single question if she died for it. She might commit the most fearful social breaks, but she would cover them up in soma way and give an excuse, and she would rather choke than ask what was the proper thing to do in time to avoid those mistakes. You see this type of American wo man abroad quite often, I am sorry to say, and she drives you wild! It reminds me of the story of the schoolgirl from a little country town who was taken to see New'York. Site was as blase as a girl of eighteen can be, and when her hostess nuked her what she thought of the city she said that some parts of it were quite nice. Fifth avenue and Riverside drive, for instance, which reminded Iter of heme! Can you beat that for provincial sin'.’ For the matter of that, any one Is provincial in my estimation who can go through life never admitting tho su periority of any one or*auything unc never showing either surprise or ad miration at new sights, cities or cus toms. Give me the people to travel with who are never afraid of asking plenty of questions or of looking interested. Really Worth While. And while I am on the subject let me branch off just a tiny bit and say right here that if there is any woman | I am enthusiastic over it's the one who I can own up she has made a mistake. The other day a woman boasted that she had paid $5 a yard for a certain I beautiful piece of lace 1 admired great ly. Soon afterward I met her on the street, and she said, “My dear, I don't I want to leave you with a false im- ! pression; I made a mistake about the i price of that lace, it only cost me j $2.50.” I Now my opinion of her went up 50 per cent. There are so many bluffers in this world one learns to value sin cere and plain spoken women who are not ashamed to appear just what they really are. New York. DAUGHTERS OF EVE. An elderly woman on being examined b^oro the magistrates as to her place of legal settlement was asked what reasons she had for supposing that the deceased husband’s settlement was at St. Andrew's. The old lady looked eameetly at the bench and said. "He waa born there, he was married there, and they buried him there, and if that isn’t settling him there, Td like to know what is!" That brilliant circle in London, of which Mrs. Thralc, Mrs. Elizabeth Car ter and Mrs. Elizabeth Montagu were members, is scarcely mere than a mem ory, but an attempt has recently beer, mode to rescue the name of Mrs. Mon tagu from oblivion in a biography writ ten by her niece and now another vol ume of memoirs has appeared. Every girl has an awful time trying to decide which is the worse—to live to be an old maid or an old married wo man. Paris has seven free eating houses expressly for poor mothers. Last year they furnished 37.0110 meals The res taurants are small, but scrupulously j clean. Over the door is the sign, the “Free Res- Xothing is ! these cozy translation of which is taurant For Mothers.” charged for at any o! places. Mrs. E. P. Buckingham of California, who started with twenty-five acres, has now 140 acres covered with trees and vines. She markets 600 tons of fruit annually. Mrs. Jl. D. Sherman owns one of the finest ranches in the state. She has 200 fancy bred cows which yield her an average profit of $52 a year each, besides 300 acres of wine and raisin grapes, almonds and orchard fruits. Countess Waldersee, widow of the lute Field Marshal Count Waldersee, and a daughter of David Lee of New York, is the only American woman so far to have been decorated with the Firs: Class of the Prussian Order of Louise, founded about a hundred years ago by King Frederick William III., in * remembrance of the heroic part taken by his consort, the beautiful Queen Louise, in Germany’s war against Na poleon. The insignia is somewhat like the famous Iron Cross in form and is fastened to the left shoulder by a white and black ribbon. Through the energetic efforts of Mme. Brisson. a university for women has been* opened at Paris in which a course in housekeeping is to hold the place of j honor in the curriculum. There will he other courses in dressmaking, millinery, shorthand, hygiene, history and litera ture. The idea is to attend to the prac tical matters of life first, but not to neglect the ornamental. Mrs. George McC. Reynolds and Miss Nina F. Howard of Glencoe, Ill., are running a flourishing violet farm. They send 2.000 violets a week to the mar ket tl J