Weekly Mail

3AB8VS PATRON SAINT. St. Fiacre and His Ways. By "FLANEUR." I St. Fiaore, to judge by his carved and molten images over the entrance to Ii very stabtcs, nut'serifs;" at)d those country inns aiEprding entertainment for man and baste was a pretty fellow in his time. He figured in the seventh century, and is accepted as being the son of Eugene, King of Scotland, and heir apparent to the crown. flis tutor influenced him to become a monk, so he fled the land of brown heath and shaggy wood one night in disguise, gained a sfeaporfc, and sailed to France. He had letters of introduc- tion to the Bishop of Meaux. The good bishop allowed him to select a strip of land as a present, and that St. Fiacre measured somewhat aocording to Queen Dido's mensuration. On this free- hold he in time erected a chapel and an hospice-hospital. As he was not rich, he cultivated vegetables and fruits to help to support the inmates-a compliment and a philanthropy the gardeners, even the frozen- out ones, honoured by making him their ideal or saint, while keeping his met jjreeu in their souls once a year. • As the good mm had no St. Bernard dogs he built small vehioles, driving them occa- sionally himself, to search the country round during severe weather for exhausted and foot- sore travellers, conveying them to his shelter. Carriage-builders, to honour such nobleness of foul, ever since place an image- generally a golden one—over the entrance to their establishments and certainly in their workshops. They also painted his likeness in a circle, intended as a gloria, on the back of the carriages they built—a corporate rather than a trade mark. Cabby preferred St. Fiacre to Jehu. The former never exceeded a walking pace, and so was a careful driver." I believed cabmen have a smtll weekly paper, limited to professional wants, called St. Fiacre. Certainly they have pipes with the saint's head on the bowl-pipe-making employs 5,000 persons in France—and his likeness on tobacco pouches and pocket hand- kerchiefs. The latter can be seen when, on the conclusion of horse races or reviews, people rush to seek their vehicles, and cabby knots his handkerchief to the end of his whip, and flutters it aloft to signal to his fare his whereabouts and readiness to move on. # # St. Fiacre worked, of course, several miracles I- too numerous to mention." One was remarkable. He was as great a misogy- nist as St. Kevin. In his strnggle-for-life days an old woman nearly compassed his death by circulating the scandal that he was a sorcerer, so that the people began to view his residence as akin to the country of the Gadarenes. While he lived he no more allowed a female to enter his chapel than an orthodox Mussol- man would permit an infidel dog to enter a mosque even after taking off his shoes. St. Fiacre cured the sick by keeping them on bread, vegetables, fruits, milk, water, repose, fresh air, and daily baths m a lake that he called his Pool of Bethesda; and he urged them to pray when they felt amelio- rated. Tyndall and Huxley would pronoonce him a modern. His reputation was enhanced when a deputation came from Scot- land urging him to till the vacant throne. He simply told the laddies" that his kingdom now was not of this world." < '!J' To the last he hated woman. He built a seoond chapel, so that, after his death, they could there worship, without crossing the threshold of the first. Even the house where he died was as closed to the fair sex as some ancient temples were to men. Anne of Aus- tria made a pilgrimage to the original chapel; knelt, and prayed outside. Her prayers for a son and heir were heard, as, after sixteen years' sterility, she bore a son, who became Louis XIV. Senator Jules Simon, who is charged to look after the depopulation of France, might recommend French wives to try the Anne of Anstria experiment, and so, perhaps, check the Gallic race from extinction. Nearly 600 years after his death St. Fiacre was canonised, so that a similar honour is not yet to be despaired of for Joan of Arc, though ultra-Royalists plead precedence for Marie- Antoinette.

.ad.. HE COULDN'T LOSE THE RACE. The Other Jockey Threw Him- self Oft to Avoid Winning. A well-known English jockey on his death- bed was lately asked by his only son if he had any anything on his mind, and also for such parental parting advice as he could think of (according to the Toronto Mail.) Yes, 'Arry," said the voyager, I rave got suthiir on my mind, boy, and I can give yer advice as will be useful to yer all yer days. What's on my mind is this « When Lord Boots backed his mare Catch-'em-Alive, as you've heard me tell on, against Sir James Toots's horse Scurvygo for ten thousand, 1 rode the mare, as you know, and Charley Sniggins, as you often heard me go on about, he rides the horse. Well, you see, I'd come to an under- standin' with Sir James, and was to get a couple of thou. if so be as I could only lose the race, 'cos, of course, Catch-'em-Alive, as I rode, was out and away the fastest of the two. Well, just as we gets within about three or four 'undred yards of the post, I leans over to Charlie as was a punishing Scurvygo awful, and 1 saya Charley, ole man, I ain't spinning.' Ain't year P' he says. (Well, then, no more am 1;' and, blow me, 'Arry, if he didn't there and then go and chuck hisself off, and I was obliged to win. I lost two thousand by that bit of villainy, 'Arry, and you're the worse off for it to-day.' And your advice, dad ?" said the dutiful son as soon as his parent had recovered from a fit of coughing, which the remembrance of Mr. Sniggins's wickedness bad brought on. My advice, boy, is this Always keep your bloomin' mouth shut."

Accepted suitor » But won't you find it awkward, Blanche, when you meet your first husband in heaven P Pretty widow My dear George, I'm not a bit afraid of that ever happening. 1

Woman's Lament- Woman's lament is I've nothing to wear." "rtmt reallv is meant is- I've nothing to air t" 0 We Hope They Will Not. there is to be a revolution in dress. Lady Harberton lately declared that her sisters in the matter of apparel must return to first principles. Woman must strip off every shred, not of her habiliments alone, but also of her conventional ideas. Survey herself in thA mirror and start as a new Eve!" # • Her Future Husband. ivccording to a French superstition, a young girl who wishes to kuow the name of her future husband must, on retiring from midnight mass on Christmas Eve, gtve an alms to the first male beggar she meets, and ask him his Christian name. Her future husband will bear the same name, Oniy Only a coat, Only a hnir, Oaiy a wife Fiudeth it there. Only a broom, Only a whack, Only a man With a broken back. The Essentials of a Goo I Wife, A good wife commandeth her husband in any equal matter by constantly obeying him. She never orosseth her husband in the spring- tide of his anger stays, but until it be ebbing water. Her clothes are rather comely than costly, and she maketh plain olothes to be velvet by her handsome wearing of the same. -Puller. A Woman's Best Help. A woman's best help is herself, her own heart, her resolute purpose-it cannot be done by proxy. A woman may be aroused by another, but she must mind her own cha- racter. What if a woman fails in one thing P Let her try again-she must quarry her own nature. Let her try hard, and try agaii-r; for she does not know what she can do till she « » Superior Woman. A woman isn't fit to have a baby who doesn't know how to hold it," says a contem- porary. But a woman does know how to hold it. It is a man whose education has been negleoted in this particular. A woman will go to the crib with her eyes shut and pick th" infant right side up twelve times out of a possible dozen, while ignorant man fumbles among the laces and embroidery and coverlets and things with his eyes wide open, and the chances are eight out of nine that when he lifts the youngster it will be feet upper- most. What Do You Think P This is Max O'iJell's idea of the type of ideal beauty — Take the haimi a Hindoo, The nose of a Greek, The mouth of the Knglish, The complexion of a Gai man, The heiyht of a Norwegian, Ttiefeet of a Ciiinese wonifin, The teeth of an African, The arm of a JSelgian, The leg of an Italian girl, The eye of a Spaniard, The grace of fi Frenchwoman, And you will have an American beau. How To Make Home Happy. Some homes are full of love and sunshine for strangers, and all ugliness and gloom for the ones for whom they exist, To constitute a truly happy home there should be pretty little personal adornments on the part of the wife, who thereby shows a desire to please her husband and to add to the general attrac- tions of her home. A pleasant word on her part when the overworked man 'comes home often eats away the raw edge of some trouble on his mind and draws out a corresponding desire to be both agreeable and respectful, which characteristics are always accompanied by affection. If cheerfulness and amiability are not cultivated, rudeness, roughness, and impatience will soon be followed by insolence, and when sweet temper gives way to anger and discord, the home circle is no longer attractive and is almost certain to be shunned. For Whom Do Women Dress? No," said a famous leader of fashion once fi women do not dress well to please the men,' but to worry other women." Were we to assert that men dress to please women, we should be saying something very much nearer the mark than the statement that women dress to please men. Society is the business of a woman's life, it is a man's pastime and relaxation. Accordingly, the women, when in society, are mostly bent upon promoting what they conceive to be their interests, whilst men are principally occupied in seek- ing what they conceive to be their pleasure. The average woman knows that for the sub- duing of man a momentary glance, an uncer- tain pressure of the hand, are worth all the dresses in the world. But in order to conquer women, to put her heel upon the neck of her own sex, she must "shine them down." Her husband or father may begrudge the expense, her lover may question her taste, and her brother may tell her that she has made her- self a perfect fright. But so long as she feels lure that she will attract attention from other women she does not care a pin for fraternal advice. She values and rates men's opinion upon dress about as highly as they do hers upon political economy or the prospects of the Budget. If You Want to be Loved. Here are a remarkably wise set of rules laid down in the Ladies' Home Journal:— Don't find fault. Don't contradict people, even if you're sure you are right. Don't be inquisitive about the affairs of even your most intimate friend. Don't under-rate anything because you don't possess it. Don't believe that everybody else in the world is happier than you. Don't conclude that you have never had any opportunities in life. Don't believe all the evil you hear.1 Don't repeat gossip, even if it does interest a crowd. Don't go untidy on the plea that everybody knows you. Don't be rude to your inferiors in social posi- tion. Don't over or under dress. Don't express a positive opinion unless you perfectly understand what you are talking about. Don't get in the habit of vulgarising life by making light of the sentiment of it. Don't jeer at anybody's religious belief. Don't try to be anything else but a gentle- woman-and that means a woman who has con- sideration for the whole world, and whose life is governed by the golden rule, Do unto others as you would be done by." ShoufdJWomen Woo? This is a question which is not a little agitating the fair readers of one or two of our contemporaries. Readers of the Weekly Mail will probably not be indisposed to peruse a few of the arguments advanced pro and con Should Women Woo ? is a subject on which I feel strongly, because I believe that many spoilt lives are caused by a certain false delicacy which prevents a woman from sxercising what I main- tain is, under certain circumstances, her just pre- rogative. My own is a case in point. My fat tier was a rich man, quite a County Magnate.' When a mere girl I became acquainted with a young man richly endowed with gifts both of mind and peison. But the blighting barrier called I social position,' sLood between us. Still, owing to circum- stances (which lack of space forbids my explaining) we frequently met, and I learned to love him. One day he came to bid me good-bye. He was going abroad. I felt that this was for my sake. He deemed me unapproachable. Alas! in those days I had not the courage of my convictions. I let him go. We parted coldly. I never saw him again. I am an old woman now, and a widow. The world says I married well, but my heart has been empty all these years, ever since the fatal day that a cruel unwritten code held me dumb whea four words, John, I you,' would have kept the man I loved at my side", anu Sjoded my life with bliss. Am I not right in thinking tnoao yords should not have remained unspoken ? "Shoulr1 women woo ? My answer is decidedly 4 Yes,' Women should woo, and, what is more to the point, they do woo, in every sense of the word. it a woman falls in love she soon makes it known to the object of her affections she needs not to open her mouth to declare the same; she wooes with her eyes, and with the eyes the mischief is dope. The man is a mere nonentity in love- making; he, of course, does nearly all the talking and other tomfoolery which may be called wooing, but the real wooing is done by the woman. In every look, every smile, the blushing maiden allures her victim (?) to her doom. It is woman's naure to love and be loved, and there is no sacrifice she will not make to retain her hold upon the object of her affections. She spreads her net like the spiderv and, spider-like, she winds the thread of love around him and brings into play all the wiles at her command to retain her victim (?). My opinion is that this is only as it should be, seeing that Nature has ordained that the same instincts are planted in the lower animals. Of course, it is only natural that a woman should look for advances ftom the man, and those advances are all the more appreciated when they are made in a manly and courteous manner, and although a certain t) mount of boldness and confidence are highly conducive to the success of a wooer, an excess oi these qualities often proves distasteful, aud even. fatal to his ambition." "Hpaven forbid that such a state of affairs should ever come to pass Can one picture to oneself anything more unwomanly and immodest than a gifl wooing a man? For the time, I do not hesitate to say that it would amuse some of sterner sex, but for a time only. And how much respect would we have for such a girl ? Surely rather a minus quantity. If such a thing as women wooing men should come into fashiou, 1, for one, should pity man, since he would go in fear and trembling of every girl he came across. After all is said and done, I thing the wooing girl would be in the minority. For a well brought up and healthy-minded damsel (and there are a few left) would shudder at the very thought that if she wanted a husband it is she who would have to woo him. By inMiiict a woman knows what respect is due to her sax and herself. Of course there are a great many bold-mannered girlr, who, to use a vulgarism, would think it rather smart' to woo a man. Indeed, to overthrow all the laws of etiquette and good-breeding, and to be as un- womanly in their daily life as possible, would seem to be the highest ambition of these young ladies. But, it that cross between an idiot and what was I suppose, originally intended for a man, comtnony known as the masher,' did not exist, the bold girl would soon become extinct. Some girls would no doubt say: 'That's all very well. If men won't woo ua, we must woo them; 1Ve don't intend to be old maids.' Hut why this eternal hurry to marry as soon as the girl has left school ? Why, in the name of region, this haute to leave a happy home and fly to ills wo know not of ? I read lately, 'If you can't get what you want don't want it,' and I think that applies to husbands as a great many otbor things. Bolter die an old maid, who has lived a life of usefulness, than be guilty of such breach of decoiurn as—wooing your hus- band."

FASHION MEMS. Tweed dresses herald the comirg of the cold days. The favourite colour is brown, speckled, splashed, or spotted. Heather mixture and a reddish brown bark colour are favourites. Brown in various shades will, probably, be the winter colour. • « The Alsatian bonnet is still much worn; but there are no two hats and no two bonnets which seem to be alike, and women have the privilege now of not only studying their own idiosyncracies, but can follow what style they find best suits them. It certainly takes but little material to make a modern bonnet. m A new and very exaggerated form of waist buckle is to be seen just now. it is narrow, but very elongated and deep, at least three times the depth of an ordinary buckle. It is made in gold, silver, and jet. Through it can be drawn the wide sash from under the arms, which has been a feature in recent fashions. w • A novelty in millinery is the double crown to hats. These extra crowns are generally united by bands of feathers, and are wider than the surrounding straw, which they over- lap. The crowns are very flat and small, and a notion of height is only gained by trim- mings. When it is possible to obtain the right shape, it is quite easy to trim them, for a mass of flowers, or a few flowers and a bow, are all that is needed but there is much art in the way they are placed.

THE REPUBLIC STILL LIVES. rnv FLANEUU."] The Third French Republic was twenty years old on the 4th instant. Since the death of Louis XV., the II Well-beloved," after a reign of 58 years deeply dyed by corruption and immorality, no Government has outlived its teens during all the constitu- tional changes from 1774. To-day the Third Republic is more solidly seated in the saddle than ever. Royalists, Imperialists, pseudo- Republicans, and Anarchists have alike attempted, both single-handed and coalesced, to demolish the present regime. They have failed. The First Empire, even adding on the Consulate, lived fifteen years and 100 days; the Restoration in two parts existed sixteen years; Louis Philippe, 17|; and the Second Empire, though aptly dating its birth from its ,coup d'etat of December, 1861, was interred at the age of eighteen years and nine months. 0 b fr All the ooalitions, plots, and conspiracies organised to demolish the present Republic have only consolidated it. The last effort of the united levellers was around the Boulangist cauldron, and exposures of the latter now taking place establish that it was a veritable Pandora's box, t less the hope. For the honour of the French Army, it could never agam throw up another Boulanger. The very conception of the idea of Monarohy is becoming extinct in France and eddying into'the palseontalogic department of history. The rising genera- tion means to be its own sovereign, to have free ballot boxes, unfettered manhood votes, less taxation, diminished national outlay, work for the unemployed, food for the hungry, and provision, repose, and help for the aged, the weary, and the heavy-laden of the working classes.

(i So Patty was married at last." « Yes Patty struck aisle finally."

1 I YANKEE YARNS. Ethel: I'm never going into the sarf with Jaok again. He ducked me yesterday. Maud: And washed off the paint, eh ? "Her father is rather olose, isn't he?" Yes; so darn close Ethel and I have to whisper most of the time." Bessie: Do you expeot to hear from that friend of yours who went to Europe? Jessie: No; she promised to write to me. It I write for fame, not for dross." I see some of the American publishers have pub- lished editions of your works." Yes, seveu of em; the beastly pirates." First Mosquito: Why did you bite that fellow so wickedly a moment ago ? Seoond Mosquito: He just sprung that chestnut about blue blood in the mosquito's veins. Cumso I fear this Behriug Sea matter is going to cau^ a great deal of trouble. Mrs. Cumso: Oh, I hope—yoU don't think raise the price of seaskin sacques, do you ? Youngest Brother: I saw a two-headed oalf at the circus. Youngest Sister That's nothing. I saw a two-headed woman out ir the hammock last night. (Ethel and Mr, Arden blush confusedly.) Chicago claims to be a summer resort,* said a New Yorker, derisively, to a visitor from that city. Well," was the reply. hasn't a good deal of the summer resorted there this year ?" Johnson: I hear thai there is a good deal of coolness between Schrymper and his wife. Bronson: Indeed! Very economical man Schrymper is. He probably thinks he'll need less ice in the house. ffawold: You look all bwoke up Cholly. By Jove what ails you, deah boy P Cholly: Tewible accident, Hawold. Aiter doing my toilet larst night, forgot to put on my fingei wing again, and so caught a twemendous cold IW "My dear, I'm glad to be able H aMijM you that my husband and I have a perfeotlj blind confidence in each other." Alas darling, I'm sorry to say that my husband's oonfideuoe in me is only a little near-sighted." Parson: You are living a dissolute life and your end will certainly be miserable. Of what use do you hope to be in the world ? Incor- rigible One: Well, I'll serve as a horriblo example, if nothing else. Proud Mother: At last, my dear, your education is finished, and you have diplomas from the highest seats of learning in the world. Cultured Daughter (wearily): Yes, and now I'm too old to marry, Well, Fred, you're an uncle now: you ought to be proud over it." Little Fred: "No; I oughtn't to. I ain't no uiicle." Grandpa: "Why not?'' Little Fred: 'Cause I'm an aunt. The new baby's a girl." Cold-Victual Billy: Say, ma'am, conldn'l yer gimme an old vest? Mrs. (Joodsole Why, I shouldn't think you'd want one with that flannel shirt. Billy (stiffening) Madim do you suppose I want to look like one oi those dude tourists. WTaggs: What a blessing there are no Jonahs now. Gaggs: Why? Waggs Why, every one, on his return to dry land, would write a separate account of his adven- tures In the Dark Continent," and have llawkeye views of the" Interior," Physician Now, if nothing excitable occuri to your husband, he may recover in the ooursf of a week. Lady Oh, but how shall I breal the sad news to him that my mother died yesterday ? Physician Well, there are ex- citements which have quite a different effect. Since you ask for my hand, Do you quite understand The great blunder you make in thus speaiiiiig; If you don't I'll explain Why you ask me in vain- My twin sister's the one you aro seeking. Meek and lowly, in his tattered raiment, the tramp stood before the woman of the house and breathed forth the desire of his hearts Fear not, gentle woman," said he, it is nufe work that I seek, nor is it bread, but I strongly crave the companionship of a shilling. Have you it?" Miss De Pretty: Let's form a secret society, MissDe Pink: Let's. Just like the Odd- fellows and Hed Men. Call it the Ancient Order of—of—King's Daughters. Miss De Blonde: Or the Ancient Order of Dianas. Miss De Young: Or the Ancient Order ctf America- Miss Oldmaid: Ob, don't lea call it ancient order of anything. "John," said Mrs. Dingey to her husband after his return from a fishing trip, you ought to spend an hour with our fishmen and get some points about the different kinds offish. J',r—what for?" demanded John HIt locdvi, a little inconsistent, that's all, tc bv-iig home mackerel when you've been fishing in fresh water." Rural Child: I wish Auntie Brownstone didn't love me so much. Mrs. Hayseed: L, sakes what a funny wish Why ? Rural Child 'Cause I asked her why she didn't taka us to the, theatres, and parks, and parties, and operas, and such places, w'en we visited her in the city, an' she said it was 'cause she loved us so much she was perfectly oontented to stt around home with us. Mr. Wellesley Vasaar Why are you so de, jected, Violet. You have every reason to In elated after having taken the senior prize in classics andr you essay on Deductive Philo- sophy won the admiration of all the faculty So well-equipped a girl should-" Violet Nunebam: That's just the trouble; how- how can I find a husband who is able to sew buttons on, and cook, and mind the--the- [ beg pardon, have you" Cook's Treatise on Conchology ?" IT WASN'T A CHANGK AT HEART. MAME Why, only last week you said that nothing your cather and mother could say would ever make you marry Rob Bobbett, and now you've engaged yourself to him. Why did you do it ? Lou: It was something Rob said himself He hadn't asked me last week. A FROSTED FJLAME. Saya Algernon to Arabelle: "Don't callcrl often stay And bore you till you wish they were a thou- saud miles away ? « Oh, no, she says; mamma well knows the friends 1 like to see; When bores arrive then she drops in and talks to them for me." Alaa Into tho room a moment later coldly sweeps The kind mamma, and seats herself as thou^ she's there for '• tiec-ps," Soon Algernon secures, his hat and slides onl Soon Algernon secures, his hat and slides onl ¡ through the door; Hcs very sensitive indeed, He calls .on hei c no more,