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About The Sunday Oregonian. (Portland, Ore.) 1881-current | View Entire Issue (Jan. 13, 1895)
THE STT3TDAX OREG03TTA3F POBTllAJSTJ; JA2sTUABY 13, 1895. 18 COMPENSATION. 2ra. though these trembling limbs should cease to bear The drooping body that they now uphold; Tfcough life's faint flame should flicker many a year. And keep this breathing corpse above the mould; though I should be of everything bereft. By friends forsaken, helpless and forlorn. Alethlnks as long as life itself were left. All things, but one. could patiently be borne. 3 would not bid the lurking spoiler stay His lifted hand. If I should live to see Thy face, at last. In coldness turn away. Thy dear familiar lips grow strange to me Feu: when, with tender touch, my own they greet. Piin Is not pain, and sorrow is most sweet. LOUIS A. ROBERTSOX. Ma$qiJeCost:ifiDes. Some Popular, Unique Dresses and Conceits for tlicMasqueradcSenson. NEW YORK. Jan. 12. In -what may be called th mid-season of "winter gaiety is the moment when fancy costumes begin to play important parts in the feminine world. Sad-faced Lent, -with penitence in hand, is coming, to put an end to merry-making; IJ MUSUR003T COSTUHE. and so it is we abandon ourselves first to indulgence in mad masques and revels, to all the costume games and dances we have Jong- delighted in, and which are yearly inaugurated by the festival of TwelfUi Night. The costumed gaieties of this season are so many and varied that it would be hard to enumerate them all. A COSTUMED DONKEY PARTY. But among others the old - fashioned "donkey party" has been revived, and a new whim is to dress the guests as veg etables; all the green and colored things beloved by his ass-shlp. The "party" itself is, as everybody knows, merely the pinning of a tailless donkey drawing against the wall, and then trying, blindfolded, to fasten the dis membered portion where nature has in tended it to grow. WHAT TO WEAR. The costumes may be of lampshade pa per or common calico. Either medium, if cleverly handled, will PIERRETTE AND turn out an effective and inexpensive veg etable, and a carrot and a lettuce may be made in this way: A RED VEGETABLE. For a carrot, choose calico of a yellowish-red shade for the skirt, and the same material In the green of the tops for the bodice. Have first a kitted skirt of the carrot tint, and then over it a peplum drapery of long pieces shaped as much as possible like the legume. The low. green bodice has no sleeves, and is best in a polpted shape, with green ribbons finished with high upstanding bows forming the shoulder-straps. A green fillet and tufted side bow orna ments the hair. The long gloves are of deep blue suede. From the waist up, as can be seen, crows, then, only the green tops, and to ep all the lower part of the costume in rarmony with the Idea, the slippers and blockings are in the carrot tint. A SALAD TOILET. The tough lampshade paper the un crlnkled sort Affords the best possibili ties for the lettuce, which, however, must beg-in with a foundation of cotton. Make a low, round bodice and short, scant Eklrt of this, over which the paper skirt, in leaf sections, shading all the way from white to deepest green, is next to be glued. Model delicately the edges of the leaves with a dull knife, and put them on the foundation as if the vegetable were growing downward. Drape pale-green paper over the bod ice in any way liked, but have the short sleeves two distinct lettuces with white Iff . "Mimh HEAD OF LETTUCE. centers. For the head, either an Inverted lettuce as a hat, or else a green satin fillet and side pom-pom; pale green shoes and stockings. And at last, under the skirt, which should come but little above the ankles, a full flouncing lace petticoat will further simulate, in dancing, the white crinkled heart of the vegetable the young woman represents. FLOWER DRESSES. Along with the edibles, flowers are also admissible at a donkey party. All are" possible in the Jampshade paper, either crinkled or plain, and violets, lilies, nar cissuses, roses, popples, peonies, daisies and sunflowers may be mentioned as the most easily accomplished. When worn by a right sweet she for, as even Ovid tells us, "No complexion all can bear" these dainty costumes are revelations of what can be done with little money. SWEET, BUT COSTLY. Where expense is not a thing to be con sidered, a mushroom could be created that might rouse even the donkey on the wall to animation. Peau e sole in a rich white, tinging almost to brown, and pale pink chiffon are the best materials for this. First, there is a kilted skirt of the chif fon, and over It a panler drapery of the peau de sole rounded well out over each hip to counterfeit muchrooms. The round bodice of peau de sole Is held over the shoulders by straps; some inches below, on the arm, hang precariously the short, plump mushroom sleeves. The slippers and stockings which are to imitate the stem of the plant, are in the brown whllte of the silk. The suede gloves must be the same shade, and a mush room hat with a pink shirred chiffon lining, can be made by gathering at the edge a large circle of the peau de sole over a wire ring that has first been covered loosely with white cotton batting. ROMANTIC DRESS. If the costumed entertainment is in the THE CARROT. nature of a rather ceremonious dance, any of the characters of history, romance and legend may serve as models with which to gown it. Tall, slim, lily blondes may be Elalnes and Enlds, splendid brun ettes Gulneveres, and any well illustrated Tennyson will supply becoming and ro mantic dtelgns for the toilets. Patch-and-powder ladies need red heels and rich brocades. Dainty Dolly Vardens. on the contrary, are sweetest in only gay flow ered calicoes, and a goddess of the most heavenly sort can be resolved from sim ple cheese-cloth. If you are a lover of the Corsican hero you might take a hint from the Na poleonic resurrection and be a Josephine, a Hortense or a Marie Louise. Again, If you have only frivolous French tastes, and are of that sweet, slim, white type that is most adorable when audacious, you might copy Clairin's white Pierrette. THE PIERRETTE XRESS. This charming costume, which is a sort of sister to the Pierrots, is made of white satin and ribbon and thin, white lace. The short, gorod skirt is first trimmed with flounces of lace up to the waist; over each of these falls a second one of ef C2. ZyeccviiZ- the satin in deep points. The bodice of satin is pointed at the waist, and the sleeves which fit tight to the elbow are there finished with a heavy fall of the lace. A bertha of this trims the .low round neck, and falls in ends mingled with long loops of the ribbon over the shoulders. Two other bows with flouting ends tie about the sleeves above the lace flounces; the long, white Directoire cane which is carried in the right hand is also ornamented with a large bow. Add to all this a full ruche of lace that is worn snugly about the bare throat, a pointed clojvn's cap of white felt, suede gloves, silK stockings and square-toed shoes with lace pomponettes. And then, as you .stand the thing of beauty whose influence Keats tells us is eternaL thank heaven for your primal loveliness. And don't forget the painter who has so dressed it to perfection. NINA FITCH. WATERING HOUSEPLANTS. Probably more than one-half of the failures with window gardening arise from mistakes in watering. In theory, watering Is a simple operation. All that we are supposed to do is to give to our pottted plants the requisite moisture for their nee'ds. In lieu of the rains and dews they enjoy out of doors, and are deprived of. In practice, however, this "requisite" amount calls for a good deal of judgment. Aside from certain elements absorbed from the air, all plants are fed and their growth provided for by various chemical substances found in the soil, and appro priated by the plant's tissues. These substances must be first dissolved and made diffusible by moisture, ere they can be carried up in form of sap. The water not only conveys this food, but Is neces sary in itself to fill out the tissues, and to give necessary fluidity to the sap. Too little moisture means a shrinkage and hardening of plant fiber, and a cut ting off of nutrition, and the plant dies of water starvation. Too much water means a continuous flooding of the soil, that drives out the air in the soil with Its life-giving oxygen, and produces a sodden, sour state of the earth that produces in its turn chemical changes that are poison ous to the tender feeding roots of plants, and the plant dies of water dyspepsia. The true secret of successful watering can be summed up In this rule of 20 words. Whenever plants are thirsty, give water to reach the bottom of the pot, then wait until they are thirsty again. A drop of water to a thirsty plan is a tantallza tlon, but to a plant already standing in moist earth, an added flood Is an aggra vation, quite enough to send most plants into a fit of sulks, for plants can be sulky and contrary quite as well as humans. If water Is needed at all, the whole plant craves it, and not the top roots alone. To facilitate the water reaching the bot tom of the pot at each watering, nearly an inch of space (more if the pot be a large one), should be left between the top of the soil and the rim of the pot; otherwise, the water will run off the top before enough moisture has been soaked in to reach the lower part of the pot. Do not be afraid of using plenty of water. Water that is promptly absorbed or that drains readily off, will hurt no growing plant. It is the stagnant water and soured soil that Injure plants, to avoid which, plants once watered should have no more given them until that is ab sorbed, and the soil commences to get dry, when the same liberal watering should be repeated. There is no inflexible rule as to haw often to water. In very cold weather plants need much less water than at any other time, and in a warm room pots dry out much faster than in one kept at a moderate temperature, and, lastly, some plants require and some absorb water faster than others. The most senseless floral rule on earth is to water every plant In the window every morning, whether they need it or not, as though they were run by hydraulic clockwork. The next most senseless rule Is to give a taste of water and no more to a plant, aa though what Is food to the upper roots would be poison to the lower ones. The sensible rule Is to water plants when they want water, whether it be one pot or 20 that demand it, and give enough to satisfy them. LORA S. LaMANCE. NEW FANCY WORK. Novel Effects in Needlework and Canvns Tracings. The only real novelty in needlework that the season has shown so far is In part a revival. Tapestry work in old-fashioned cross stitch done on canvas was seen in some few instances last year, but hot until this present autumn has the work been done upon fine satins and moire stripes. In this entirely fresh application the novelty lies. The method itself is old. but the effect Is entirely new, and the work bids fair to become Immensely -popular. The very handsomest completed piece of work yet seen is a large sofa pillow of dull old blue. The material is heavy-striped moire, combined with satin, and on these latter stripes the embroidery is done. The pattern is a slightly raised fleur de lis. It is worked in all hued browns, and blending lines with lights of tender yel low. As It now stands the silk looks Ilk seme old and rare brocade, and the colors are a very delight. The perfect success has been obtained through the use of ex actly the best colors. One element of crudity would have spoiled the whole. The woman whose pride the cushion is. is an artist: instinctively she chooses the tones that do the best work. Unless oth ers who will follow in her wake are equally gifted, they have need to pause and to gain advice. The crude sample like work of a generation or two ago will not be tolerated now. The tapestry Is like It only In the method by which It is done. The stitch itself any child can learn. The real effort lies In combining tones. Many of the dealers In needlework designs have bits of work started and prepared. The canvas is basted over the silk, the figure is complete to serve as a model and the necessary wools and silks for completion accompany each piece. Given such an outfit and such a start, there is no espe cial skill required to finish what is already begun; care and neatness will accomplish all that remains, but such servile follow ing of a fixed plan can well become really interesting, and the more ambitious work ers prefer to select their own designs and to blend the different colors themselves. Once the work is done, the threads of the canvas are drawn out and the em broidery rests directly upon the silk. Cer tainly the effect is unique, and when well done is charming. Pillows, cushions and the like are the objects used for the most part, but there are indications of some larger pieces of work. One excessively clever woman has begun a set of hang ings, and if they at all fulfill their prom ise, they will be simply gorgeous when all the work is done. The material is heavy furniture satin of a yellow brown tone On It Is to be a border top and bottom worked with deep rich ends, black and oc casional bits of yellow. The design is a purely conventional one, as are many of the best In use. and It Is carried out in wools for the most part, silk being chosen for the yellow alone, which serves as a high light and is seen in bits only. CLARE BUNCE. o THE FRENCH FIGURE. American Women Copying; the Cnlve KiKnre and tlie Rccnmicr Line. A captious critic said of Calve last win ter that he could see nothing admirable about her. unless It was the long line of her bust. Immediately. American beau ties began to adopt something else be longing to the great singer, beside cigar ettes and a Spanish comb. They tried on corsets whose fullness In. or lack of, bust, lent to the figure that graceful long line from the two tiny muscles in the front of the throat to the point of the bosom. French women have long known that this situation of the bust makes an ex quisite contour of figure. If it was not natural, they acquired it. and the result made the French figure with its broad shoulders, low. small bust and long, slender waist the ideal one for the civil ized world. But it was only a copy from Greek art which Mme. Reoamier brought Into vogue during the empire. No Venus there had a pigeon breast, nor banded her bosom up to the cellar bone as the American wo- man too frequently does. The longer the slope, so much more perfect the curve, granting always that the incline allows of another curve to the line of waist. Even French centuriateurs did not suf ficiently Impress the American mind with this Idea, until the fashionable women across the channel adopted It. Then Eng lish corsets were fashioned to suit the need. The bones were either cut suf ficiently low for the bust to fall to the correct" line, or the fullness across the chest allowed the same position. Take Mrs. Kendall or Mrs. Langtry. for in stance, the two English figures with which, perhaps, we are most familiar; there one can note that superb slope along the chest; and, again, in our own Emma Eames-Story. whose contour is well-night perfect, the line Is almost phe nomenal from chin to bust. Contrast this with Lillian Russell, whose corset binds the fullness over the dress line, no mat ter how slightly decollete is the bodice. I went into a corset shop on Fifth ave nue yesterday to find if New York wo men were adhering to the start they made last spring. "Yes." said the shop keeper, "it is astonishing how the sale of Empire corsets is Increasing. Each of our customers now adds to an order, 'be sure you get the bust low enough, and. in fact, we only advise the high-bosomed article for very slim women. But, even they," she concluded, "prefer to have the corset low and padding put lower down. "For evening wear, the short corsets are worn exclusively. They are especial ly favorable for women inclined to over plumpness, for then a decollete gown dis closes only the lines of throat and chest." These corsets, I found, are not the genuine Empire, for they run below the waist to a point back and front: "much more comfortable," the speaker told me, "than those cut off at the waist line, for they were apt to be trying to stout wo men. Then the line over the hips Is better when regulated by whalebones." Plain white corsets seem to have been shelved with white stockings. Black satin is correct for ordi nary wear, but every variety of stays are sold made up In fancy bro cades, and these are the modish thing just now, no matter If one's gown be as "plain as a pipe-stem." For full dress, the ground is white satin, gayly flowered or wreathed in Empire designs, this being considered more elegant than the blues and pinks of former years. A smart woman wno is careful about her clothes Is quite as fastidious concern ing the making of her corsets as the build of her hat or boots, but the dress- makers think it even more impera tive, claming that gowns preserve their fit longer and wear better If corset and bodice are built together on the figure; a good corset, they say, should last as long as a gown. , For stout well, fat tvomen the corset Jers have devised a new comfort. Instead of the irritating whalebone ends that ren ders sitting down a torture. ' A "wide rub ber band outlines the lower edge of the stay. This retains the shape, but yields with every movement. For women whose fullness reveals through the bodice, the exact line where the corset ends, a pointed bust has been fashioned. This effects its end in an ad mirable manner. It costs from $7 to $23 to have a corset made, but such stays last for years, al ways retaining their shape, therefore, It is the best economy In the end. HARRYDELE HALLMARK. VISITING CARDS. Etiquette of Those Importnnte Little Pieces of Pasteboard. "What do you do?" This pathetically helpless query is still on its rounds. It especially harasses the members of that society that is habitually spelled in small letters, but a good many of the upper ten have the trial with the barbed-wire fence of etiquette. Take the single matter of visiting cards. Simplest thing in the world, but their use is abused by folks who ought to know belter, and who wish they did. The stationer keeps up with the latest thing in bristol board, engraving script; and dimensions. Go to a first-class shop and be sure to have the prefix Mr., Mrs. and Miss placed before your name. The ramifications of card etiquette are monstrously long and many, considering how short life is. But there are a few rules which, if learned by heart, will go a long way toward making you seem to know more perhaps than you really do, and this Is justifiable. If it doesn't puff you up with undue pride. Just remember, to start in with, that your visiting card stands for you. There fore, treat It with respect, and on general principles don't let it do anything that you yourself wouldn't do. Therefore, do not write "congratulations" or "condol ence" on your card and send or leave it anywhere. If your card left formally does not mean enough it stands for you and all you would have said in a call had you seen the person for whom the card is intended, remember then write a civil note. A great many married people have found out that It Is thought to be polite to send their visiting cards to people whose wedding is announced, but many do not yet know that these cards mean the same thing as a call. Therefore, Mrs. Brown must put into its neat little card envelope one of her cards, and two of Mr. Brown's. It is not au fait for her to call upon Mr. Jones, but It is polite for Mr. Brown to call upon both Mr. and Mrs. Jones, hence he sends two cards. If Mrs. B. goes In person to call upon Mrs. J. and Mr. B. cannot go, then she takes for him and leaves as she Is departing from Mrs. J's., two of her husband's cards. If the hostess Is In the reception-room. It Is unnecessary to leave cards, unless one wishes to report a new address. Only an Intimate friend, in making a call, should send up his name by word of mouth by a servant. Servants make bad work of names that are unfamiliar to them. Moreover, supposing you are Mr. Smith, perhaps the hostess knows several Smiths, and wishes to know whether you are Smith the book agent, or Smith the society man whom she rather hopes is thinking twice about her daugh ter. Your card will tell the story. Theoretically, If you make a call and find the people not at home, you should leave a card of Mrs. B. and a card of Miss B.. If she be out in society, for every ladv In the Jones family Including any lady who may be visiting them, also one of Mr. B. for each one of the ladles, and an extra one for Mr. Jones. But where the family Includes several grown-up daughters and an aunt or two, and several sons who are in society, the multiplication table is only a mild comparison to the arithmetical problem that ensues. The long and short of it Is that even In the best of society in this country, the mother and daughter leave a card apiece and two of the husband and father's (one for the ladles and one for the man of the family). , , But if Mrs. Jones has a visitor and the Browns are paying a party call for some thing given in honor of the guest, they must each leave a card for the visitor and also one of Mr. B's. for her. The custom of leaving your card in the TO ATTAIN THAT LONG, LOVELY LINE. hall after a reception still obtains in good society over here. It helps the hostess to remember whether you were a factor la the crush or not, and costs you a pretty penny for cards in the course of the season, for it is necessary, according to usage to leave a card for each lady whose name appeared on the Invitation. If Mrs. Jones gives an "at home" for Miss Jones, or Miss or Mrs. Anybody, you must leave two cards, and each of your daugh ters who Is Invited goes and leaves two cards or stays away and sends them by you; and then your husband and each of your sons who is in society leaves two cards or sends them by you. If none of you can go, you all send cards on the day. of the reception. If it were an R. S. V. P. affair, then you replied at once on note paper, and in the same style of wording in which the Invitation was conveyed. If you de clined, that's all you have to do except make a party call afterward. If you ac cepted then leave cards at the time, and call afterward. Regret or accept to the people who is sues the Invitations always. If you know Millie Jones, and her father and mother invite you to her wedding, reply to them, not to Millie, though you may write as many reams as you please to her person ally. But when you send your wedding present send that with your visiting card and one of your husband's to Millie. "The Innocence of the intention abates nothing of the mischief of the example." It Is not enough to mean to be civil. You must show that you are. B. A. W. WOMAN GYMNASTS. Flve Leading; Professors in Physical Culture for Ladles in America. The school or college nowadays that falls to provide a department for physi cal training is far behind the times, where a dozen or less years ago we had a . few mild gymnastics done to slow Anisic, we now. have almost a scientific system for physical development, and the vigorous body is considered of as great importance as the "sound mind." Of necessity there have arisen teachers In the land, who are learned in every art of physical culture known to the classi cal Greeks and Romans, as well as a great many of which they never dreamed. The Instructor or director of the gym nasium is more often than not a woman, and a woman, moreover, who writes "M. D." after her name. In addition to be ing able to diagnose every ill to which her pupil is entitled by heredity or which she may have developed on her own ac count, the director must be able to in struct a girl in the art of vaulting, turn ing back somersaults, militay drill, swim ming,' rowing, sprinting, and even foot ball. Verily, the instructors in our gym nasiums must be all-round athletes in every sense of the word. REPRESENTATIVE PROFESSORS. Take for example, as representatives, the five young women whose pictures ac company this sketch. "Miss Ellen Le Garde is perhaps the best known, as she is not only a very successful instructor in physical culture, but a writer and Inventor as well. She has visited every gymnasium of impor- 'Ell-tNLrGAKOt- A"utErgrr05T?B.tfD- wmmm- iiiiii i !! i J -p i i i i t ' ' ' ii i PHYSICAL CULTURE PROFESSORS. tance in Europe, learning something, so she says, from each one. The only piece of apparatus of the 300 or more In use In gymnasiums, invented by a woman, is the musical dumbbells, which we owe to Miss Le Garde. She has been honored, and the only woman thus honored by the North Amer ican Turner bund, having been their accredited representative at various con ventions and congresses, where the sub ject of physical training was under dis cussion, notably the one at Chicago dur ing the world's fair. Miss Le Garde is at the head of the physical training department of the Prov idence, R, I., public schools, and prob ably Instructs no less than 25,000 children during the year. Miss Le Garde is very fine looking; she is tall, has bright eyes (that nothing escapes), very dark, brown hair, and rather a round, full face. Her expression is animated; she Is very enthu siastic and ambitious and a brilliant con versationalist. WHY WELLE3LEY WINS. Wollesley college considers that the sys tem of physical training adopted there as ideal, and that it has a finer collection of statistics recording physical condition than any woman's institution. This col lege is also leading in the evolution of or ganized outdoor sports and pastimes not athletics as a part and outgrowth of the department of physical training. Miss Lucile Eaton Hill is at the head of this department, and with the assistance of the physical examiner, manages the class crews, and starts all the games. She bas organized bicycle, basket-ball, tennis, golf and other clubs. Each student is required to do a" certain amount of regular, sys tematic work In the sport undertaken, and she cannot change from one kind to an other, one object of this being to develop PROFESSOR KATE ANDERSON. the quality of persistency, which Is cer tain to help the girl mentally. VIGOROUS ST. LOUIS GIRLS. One of the best known and most pop ular teachers of physical culture in St. Louis is Mrs". Mary H. Ludlum. For about half a dozen years she has been teaching in the high and normal schools, and in connection with this work gives Instruction in the gymnasium of St. Vin cent's seminary. Until within a year she has taught the Delsarte system, which lately she has changed for the one em ployed by the Turner bund, which has its headquarters at St. Louis. AT THE CHICAGO UNIVERSITY. Miss Kate S. Anderson, sister of Dr. Anderson, of Yale college. Is in charge of the gymnasium "at the Chicago uni versity, which, by the way, was found ed by Mr. John D. Rockefeller. Miss Anderson spent last summer In Scandinavia,, and while in Stockholm she received private instruction in med ical gymnastics, under the direction of Professor Tongren, who is at the head of the Royal Institute of Gymnastics In Stockholm. Miss Anderson is bending all her studies In the medical direction and hopes soon. to receive the degree of M. D.; her object is to make a specialty of medical gymnastics. Upon Miss Ander son's return from abroad last autumn, she found awaiting her, the appointment to the position at the Chicago university. A course In gymnastics Is required of all undergraduate students, and the privi leges of the gymnasium are offered to all graduate students. STALWART COLLEGIANS. Alice Bertha Foster, M. D., late of the Chicago university, is now instructor and director of physical culture at Bryn Mawr college. The accompanying illus tration shows her In cap and gown, which is required at Bryn Mawr of the seniors and members of the faculty. At the Chi cago university, the witching cap and gown is also worn by students, and upon all official occasions, by the faculty. Miss Foster or "Dr. Foster," studied at the medical school of the University of Buf falo, and graduated with honors for her thesis on spinal curvature. There are about 300 students at Bryn Mawr, and they all go In for physical culture. The Sargent anthropometric charts have been Introduced and at the first meeting in the autumn of the fresh man class, each member is given her own "curve" to study, with prescription cards to follow. The students take the Swedish drill at first; this is followed by the more general range. By the generosity of Miss Garrett, of Baltimore, and the popular subscription of the students, a swimming pool was built last summer at the college, and now every girl is being initiated into the gentle art of swimming in connection with her other athletic exercises. DIANA CROSSWAYS. Sarali Bernhardt on Dok.i. In a recent interview Sarah Bernhard: gave expression to her pet theories re- Highest of all in Leavening Power. ABSOUJTEiy P&IRS regarding animals In these words: "They; tell me that in England your old maids.' when they no longer have the chance of being loved, turn all their affections toward animals. I like them for it. To my mind, a noble dog, for example, ia much more worthy of love than a man. I firmly believe that It Is given to some few human beings to understand the feel ings and Instincts of animals, and I am as firmly convinced that I am one of them. If I am In a-crowd of people and a dog or cat is near it will come naturally to me without my making the slightest move ment. Why this is I cannot cay, unless I admit that there is developed in me an other sense, whose existence animals at once perceive: But that Is the fact; If you don't admit my explanation, you must deny the existence of what is as ev ident as the light of the sun." PARISIAN BONBONS. The Trade on New Year's Eve Hovr One Present Serves Many People. New Year's day Is for the Parisian con fectioners a golden mine whose rich vein it takes several days to exhaust. The ele gant young ladles who serve in brilliant shops, sparkling with a thousand Hght3 reflected by mirrors and crystal pendants without number, though so obliging and active, are scarcely equal to the task: of pouring out for the impatient crowd the floods of sweetmeats for which they, thirst; floods more abundant than those, which Issued at the touch of the .fairy's wand from the diamond rocks of the Fortunate Isle! Statistical science, which Is not a fairy, assures us that no more than 3,000,000 or 4.000,000 francs worth of bonbons and confectionery are sold In Paris on New Year's day. But the fact is that bonbons multiply In the hands of the thrifty French bourgeois to so won derful an extent that If the value of all the sweetmeats that people give each oth er could be calculated In money. It would certainly amount to at least 23,000,000 francs. The solution of this mystery Is exceed ingly simple: Yougive Mme. X a bag of marrons glaces (preserved or crystallzed chestnuts) tied with a pretty red ribbon. Mme. X. thanks you with a smile, opens the bag, praises tbe fruit with all the tact of a Parisian woman, graciously offers you one of your own chestnuts and eats one herself. She finds It ex quisite, of course; but as soon a3 you have taken your departure she carefully ties up the bag and sends It with all the compliments of the season to the chil dren of Mme. B., her particular friend. Mme. B., In greSt alarm lest the bonbons, pastilles, dragees, pralines and preserved fruits, which fall like manna amongst the children, should make them sick, does not fail to offer the bag to pretty Mile. Sophie, daughter of her old fqend, Colonel Tonnerre. Mile. Sophie is godmother to the little daughter of an old sergeant, who has served many years under her father, but now a dealer In guns, pistols, fencing foils and fishing tackle, in a street near by. "What a capital thing!" exclaims the old warrior, who hastens to do homage with the bag to his neighbor, the haber dasher, an amiable and plum widow of 40 and upward. The widow, who has her share of self-respect, thinks she ought not to owe her neighbors anything, and with infinite ingenuity she sets to work, making with her own hands another bag, as white as snow, puts some marron3 glaces inside it, substitutes a blue rib bon for the red one, and sends it back to Mademoiselle Sophie, who, it is to be hoped, will this time keep them for her self, unless, indeed, she be compelled to arrange them in a pyramid upon a dessert plate for the gcod of the family. Even in this case, I should not like to make oath that the family will eat them. There are in Paris bags of bonbons that It would be as fatiguing to follow during the first week of the New Year as the trace of the footsteps of the Wandering Jew. All the necessary calculations being made, the bag of bonbons, whose cost price was 6 francs, and whose history has just been related, has served the place of six bags; total, 36 francs. Nevertheless, it is always wise to In vestigate thoroughly the contents of the bag down to the verybottom before part ing with it, in order to avoid the dangers of a certain illicit correspondence, which is frequently exchanged, through such medium, during that season of the year, to prevent billet doux from falling into the hands of the wrong party, thus cre ating the most extraordinary confusion, or the most unpleasant, absurd and some times distressing situations. But, as a rule the Parisian bourgeoise, male or fe male, is very cunning, and fully up to all these possible incidents of the gay Parisian life. It often happens that bonbons are worth, less a gieat deal less than the cover which contains them. It is almost im possible to imagine how much Invention, art and labor are expended on all sorts of bags, boxes, cornets and baskets of bonbons. Those Intended for rich pres ents sometimes cost as high as 1000 francs, and covered with delicate paintings, like the most beautiful fans, or they are carved, damasked, inlaid, impearled and gilted with the most delicate taste. Oth ers again, more modest than these, im itate every natural form that the mind can imagine. The showrooms and the factories of the Parisian confectioners may thus be said to exhibit in miniature all the products of human industry, and in that line the Parisian industry far ex cels the similar industries of all the other great cities of the world. "IVIiy We Sneeze. "" London Dally News. Dr. Scanea Splcer, reading a paper the other day before the Chemists' Assist ants' Association, on "Sneezing," told his hearers that tho act of sneezing has al ways been regarded as supernatural, and by many races was held In reverence. Hence arose the custom, not even now altogether obsolete, of making some re mark directly after sneezing. Sneezing was regarded as a sign of impending death during the plague of Athens. Many classical writers make especial reference to sneezing, and some supposed that, dur ing the sneezing, devils were expelled. Sneezing itself is a reflex nervous ac tion, and is brought about by mechanical irritation of the ends of the nerve fibers which occur In the tissues of the nose. When this irritation occurs, whether it be due to a foreign body or a change of temperature affecting the tissues of the nose, a nerve impulse is transmitted to the brain, and certain nerve centers in the medulla oblongata are affected; this results in certain Impulses being trans mitted along the nerves to the muscles controlling respiration. By this means the egress of air during respiration is delayed, and the various exits are closed. When the pressure, however, reaches a limit, the exits are forced open, a power ful blast of air is expelled, and the pa tient sneezes. Wins Hack the Allowance. The bitter cry of the son of a man, famous In parliament and as a card player has been lately heard at Oxford. "My father allows me three hundred a year," grumbles an undergraduate, gaily, "but he wins it nearly all back from me at poker." Impoverished fathers, in these difficult days, may be grateful for the hint. If sons must, as a matter of course, lose sovereigns to somebody, it seems only a fair interpretation of filial duty to let fathers have the first chance of the winnings. Pall Mall Budget. Latest U. S. Gov't Food Repcrl