Flintshire Observer Mining Journal and General Advertiser for the Counties of Flint Denbigh

THE HOUSEHOLD. DOUBLB KNITTING FOR BOT'S OR GIRL'S SCARF,-Cftst on any even number of stitches, allowing two or three stitches at each end of. the, row. for edge stitches, steel needles, and any soft, pretty-coloured wool that you may fancy. Cast on twelve for the pattern, four extra for tlwedge stitches; the first two rows plain knitting, third row knit two plain, knit one, putting the wool twice round the needle instead of once, bring wool forward as though you were going to purl, slip the stitch, put the wool back. Knit one, putting the wool twice round the needle; repeat to end of the twelve stitches, knit the last two plain. Third row, knit two plain; knit one, putting the wool twice round the needle, bring wool forward, slip the stitch, allowing the extra loop to slip off put wool back, repeat to end of row; every row is the same. When the right length, knit two rows plain and cast off loosely. For a boy, make a fringe by putting two 4-inch lengths of. wool into every stitch of the commencement and finish of scarf. For a girl, take a crochet hook, pick up all the loops on to a double strand of wool, draw them all together and tie securely. Crochet six chain and make a tassel at the end by winding the wool round a 3-inch length of cardboard, slip it off at the 20th round, pasB the hook through, fasten at the top and then round the middle to make a tassel. To CLEAN BURNT SAUCEPANS.—Half fill the sauce- pan with cold water. Cut into the cold water a {>iece of soap the size of a walnut, put on the lid and et the saucepan stand where it will boil gently for an hour; let it get rather cool before cleaning, then take a scrubbing brush, scrub well, rinse, and dry in the usual way. RABBIT PUDDING.—Line a pudding-basin with a crust made with two ounces of dripping, chopped into six ounces of flour; cut into neat pieces half a pound of pickled pork or bacon, lay two or three pieces at the bottom of the lined pudding-basin. Cut the rabbit, when well washed, into neat joints; lay on the bacon. When all the rabbit is in, put in the remainder of the slices of pork, with a teaspoonful of chopped parsley and onion, pepper, and a heaped tablespoonful of flour; fill up with boiling water, put on the lid of paste, tie a pudding-cloth over the top, set in a saucepan three parts full of boiling water, boil three hours; serve in the basin. SCOTCH HAGGIS.—Buy a sheep's heart, liver, and lights thoroughly wash the heart, cut it in slices, dry, and dip each piece in flour; lay them on a dish while you cut the liver and lights in slices. Peel six large onions, cut them up small, and put into a frying- pan, in which you have molted a piece of dripping as large as the bowl of a tablespoon; fry the onions a light brown, and put them as you fry them in to a basin, then fry the pieces of heart, liver, and lights. When fried, chop them all up rather small, and put in the basin with the fried onions half a pound of chopped suet, a heaped tablespoonful of parsley, lemon-thyme, and basil, half a nutmeg grated, pepper, salt, and one pound of oatmeal. Mix these all well together, tie them in a pudding-cloth—not too tight, as it must have room to swell; but there must not be any holes in the cloth-put into a saucepan of boiling water, boil three hours and a half, remove the cloth, turn on a hot, dish, and serve at once. A NICE Disii OF MIXED VEGETABLES.—Boil three carrots, three potatoes, three turnips, one large cabbage, three parsnips and two beetroots, each one separately. Well dripping a large pudding basin. When they are all cooked, chop each vegetable separately, put each one as it is into the basin, press it down, and put a few little pieces of dripping, then another vegetable and dripping, until the basin is full. Put some dripping on the top, and put the basin in the oven for half an hour. Turn out on a hot dish, serve at dinner or supper. FRIARS' OMELETTE.—Peel and core six, large apples, slice them into a saucepan, with just enough water to keep them from burning the thinly-pared rind of a lemon, two tablespoonfuls of sugar, and a generous lump of butter. Let them cook until soft. Butter a pie-dish, sprinkle it freely with breadcrumbs. If you nave one or two eggs to spare, mix them well into the stewed apples, which must be allowed to cool a little before mixing in the eggs, or they will curdle. Turn into the pie-dish, strew some more breadcrumbs over the top of the apple, bake a nice brown. STUFFED CABBAGP,Trim a firm cabbage, and cut it in two, leaving the stalk in the centre. Have ready a saucepanful of boiling water, with a piece of soda as large as a filbert, and a teaspoonful of salt. Boil the cabbage until it can be easily pierced with a fork, take it out with a fork-each piece must be whole. Let them drain on a cloth, chop a thick slice of cold boiled pork or bacon with an onion, a little parsley, pepper, and half a teaspoonful of bread-crumbs. Stuff the cabbage with the mixture, put the two halves together, melt a little dripping in a baking- dish, lay in the cabbage, well baste it with the hot dripping, put it in the oven to bake for half an hour. Serve at once. TRIPE PIE.-Make a stuffing with a teacupful of bread-crumbs, two onions, chopped fine, a table- spoonful of finely-chopped parsley, a teaspoonful of powdered sage leaves, pepper and salt to taste, and the fat from two or three pounds of tripe. Bind the mixture with an egg, or moisten it with milk. Cover the bottom of the pie-dish with the stuffing, cut up the tripe in nice square pieces, lay these on the stuffing, quite cover the tripe with boiling milk or water. Have ready a paste made the same as for an ordinary meat pie, cover, and bake in a moderate oven two hours and a half. STUFFED TRIPE.—Buy two pounds of tripe (in one piece if possible), out off the fat and chop it with two onions, a sprig of basil, lemon-thyme, and a few dried powdered sage leaves. Mix all these with a teacupful of bread-crumbs, pepper and salt. If you have an egg it will be better to mix it with, but milk will answer the purpose. Stuff the tripe with this stuffing, roll it up like a roll jam piidding, tie it in a pudding cloth, and put in boiling water, letting it gently simmer three hours. Serve with onion sauce poured over. STEWED BREAST OF MUTTON.—Put the breast of mutton into a saucepan, let it fry until a nice brown on both sides, then just cover with boiling water. Clean three carrots, three turnips, and three onions, cut them into pieces, let these simmer an hour and a half. Peel four or five large potatoes, cut them in rather thick slices into the stew. Simmer until the potatoes are tender. Season with pepper, salt, and a little chopped parsley, turn out all together into a hot dish. Serve as hot as possible. A SHELF WARDROBE.—Anyone who can use a hammer and saw may make, in a short time, a shelf wardrobe useful for washing-dresses and the like. There are few families, where there are daughters, in which extra cupboard-room for starched dresses would not be a comfort. The two uprights and the top are of boards like the three shelves-18in. is a good width the shelves rest upon cleats nailed on the uprights, at suitable distances. It should be about 5ft. high and 5ft. wide, with curtains of heavy 0 cretonne or of any material preferred, to keep out the dust. Of course, it may be better made, and suited to a pretty room. Corner shelves, similarly arranged, may often be fitted into a bedroom or upper stair landing to excellent advantage. Where there is no linen closet, a case of these shelves will make the best substitute. To WASH FLANNELS.—I should like to point out that it is a sure way to make flannels shrink and get hard to rub soap on when washing them. My plan is the following: Cut up one ounce of soap, put it in a saucepan with two quarts of water, let it boil gently until the soap, is dissolved, turn it into the washing tub, keeping it as hot as you can bear your hands in, wash each article, rubbing it well either on the washing board or with the hands, rinse at once in very hot water, wring in" a clean cloth, and hang to dry at the fire. The quicker they are dried the better if you have a large wash of flannels it is as well to put on some more soap to boil while you wash the first three or four articles, thert by adding a little of the boiling soap to the water before beginning the next ilannel it will keep up the right heat and lather. A dessert-spoonful of ammonia in proportion to a pail of water will be a great help in cleansing and softening the flannels. Blankets are best washed in this way, but should never be done, if it can be avoided, in the winter. Choose a breezy, sunny day for these heavy flannels. To CLEAN PAINT QUICKLY.-To an ounce of borax add a pound of best brown soap in small pieces, mix, and put on the fire with three quarts of water; heat it until the soap is dissolved, stirring all the time. Do not allow it to boil. Use with flannel, and rinse off as soon as the paint is clean. DAMP CELLARS.—If a cellar has a damp smell and cannot be thoroughly ventilated, a few trays of char- coal set around on the floor, shelves, and ledges will make the air pure and sweet. Low CEILING.—A room with a low ceiling will seem higher if the window-curtains hang to the floor.- Cottage Gardening.

THE FARMERS' COLUMA. LIGHTING AND VENTILATION OF BYRES.—In a lecture on the important subject of lighting and ventilation of cowsheds, Dr. Littlejohn, an acknowledged authority on matters affecting sanitation, said: It was specially necessary to have good lighting in cow- sheds, firstly for the health of the cows, because sun- light had a distinctly beneficial effect on health and, secondly, for the sake of cleanliness, for where there was want of light there was certain to be dirt., Cowkeepers would tell them that light diminished the amount of milk afforded, but they never explained why cows kept in the fields showed no signs of diminished supply. Another recommendation which should be strongly pressed for was efficient ventila- tion, because, in spite of what the cowkeeper said about heat being necessary for the supply of milk, it must be acknowledged that cows were not naturally accustomed to being kept in a close, warm atmos- phere, breathing and re-breathing air fouled by their own exhalations, and that the warmer they were kept the greater became their susceptibility to draughts and oolcl and the more unnatural and delicate the tendency was to make them. The doctor advised that at least" 800 cubic feet of air space should be pro- Tided for each cow. It had been estimated that each eow required 32,000 cubic feet of fresh air per hour, and to admit this meant changing the air in the cow- shed 20 times per hour. Proper change of air was difficult of attainment with even 800ft. of cubic space, and the accomplishment of the interchange he had stated was very rarely met with, though it could be perfectly stood by the cows. Cowsheds in thickly-populated towns undoubtedly required more cubic space than rural cowsheds, because, in the latter case, the cows could be easily turned out to grass for a portion of the day, and the conditions were more favourable to health. Hence they might be satisfied with 600 cubic feet under I rural conditions; but, still, there could be no doubt that 800ft. must be looked upon as a mini- mum, and none too much for the proper health of cattle. The following means of ventilation were touched upon Cowsheds open on both sides, either with grating 14ft. by 7ft., louvre in roof, or box louvred ventilators and cowsheds open on one side, either with gratings or louvres in roof. He pointed out that windows ought not to be looked upon as venti- lators, that there ought to be no chamber above when the cowsheds were open on one side only, and that fodder-passages were of great importance as a means of preventing the cows from breathing the exhalations of others. In respect to cleansing, the lecturer observed that if the floor of the cowshed was properly con- structed of concrete or flags, with dressed joints cemented, and on b. bed of concrete, or Stourbridge bricks, the whole properly laid, and having a proper slope towards the channel running down the shed 2ft. behind the heel-stone if the walls were covered with an impervious coating to a height of 5ft. all round, the fittings of iron, the trough-manger of stoneware (sanitary trough-mangers)—then proper cleansing would be easy, and with little labour the eowshed could be kept as sweet and clean as any- one could desire. The cleansing ought to be frequent and thorough. Concerning the water supply, it was not essential that it should some up to any arbitrary chemical standard. but it should, at the same time, be wholesome and free from animal or sewage contamination, He also advised that the manure heap should not be in con- nection with the cowshed, that the yard immediately outside the shed should be paved, and that the milk, as soon as drawn, should be put into a separate place away from the cowshed, prior to delivery. The chief points to be observed in the construction of a oowshed were that the double stalls should be 8ft. by 7ft., the single stalls 8ft. by 4ft., the fall between the heelstones and the channel 2ft., the channel Bin. in width and lin. in depth, and the distance from the nearer edge of the channel to the wall 3ft. 6in. BREEDING DAIRY CATTLE.—Mr. A. Hyatt, writing to the Breeders' Gazette, Chicago, gives thfe following as his experience in raising a dairy herd: At the close of the Civil War I was owner of one cow that I had lent to a friend when I shouldered the musket. She was a good one. I wanted some more. I went out to buy. In less than three years I had bought over 100 (selling those I did not want) to got 15 that suited me. I not only wanted a large but I wanted a good mess' of milk. From my best cow, all things considered (I wanted to know something of her forefathers and three or four mothers) I saved a bull, and developed i him before using him. I raised all my promising heifer calves, and if they were not as good as they promised they passed on. T was Hot trammelled by pedigree. I fed them to develop a cow at two years old, and if they disappointed me they did not stay. I milked them myself. I was an excellent milker, and I treated them kindly. I milked them to within eight weeks of the next calf, whether 12 or 20months, if I could get some milk. I milked some to the second oalf. I did not do it any more. I do not approve of it. It is milking 12 months to get 10 months' milk, and often less. Whateverwe do, we should not attempt to dry a cow after she is springing udder and her milk functions are becoming more active-which means they should be dry six weeks before calving, or not at all. When dry a cow should be fed to give her great health. I feed roots, a little oatmeal and oil-meal, and coarse fodder, after perfectly dry. More judgment is required to feed a cow while getting ready for business, than while at her business. Like a horse she must be got in shape for hard work while doing but little. Starting as I started, selecting with care, excellent milking and treatment, I had built up a herd of cows in a few years that on flush pasture and four quarts of oatmeal a day, would average 501bs. of good milk a day. To continue this excellence.I found it needed" breeding with brains." I found it necessary to go out after fresh blood. My largest cows would weigh 1500 to 16001bs., with udders and teats that nearly reached the ground. A pure-bred Ayrshire that had proved himself a jewel as a cow-getter was called upon for a few calves. I had struck it; this cross produced the best cows I ever owned. Their teats were medium size, the udders were broad, they were hardy. Allow me to say right here that the shorthorn blood pre- dominated in my herd, although from the start I had found some cows called" natives" that were with their descendents perfect jewels." 8POULTRY YARD.-We hear or read very frequently nowadays (observes a correspondent of the Agricid- turai Gazette) of the folly of cottagers and farm labourers in their neglect of poultry-keeping. Some- times the loss they sustain is estimated at El per week other commentators more moderately fix the loss at 5s. per week but once let it be proved that £10 per annum can be cleared by cottage poultry- keeping, and fowls will abound in England, with the result that where such abundance prevails de- mand will materially lessen. There are many pros and cons in relation to farm labourers and poultry- keeping. Fowls are bad gardeners, and farm cottages for the most part are built in blocks, or only semi- detached consequently squabbles over trespassing birds commence and lead on to unneighbourly re- prisals and lasting feuds. Then a barn-man, carter, or swineherd, by keeping fowls, may find himself in the narrow winding path of temptation, or at least may be in danger of a suspicious overlooking. Or, again, cottagers' fowls undergo often a long term of filthy confinement, which means positive and pro- tracted suffering. Still, let these difficulties be wanting, and it is good for the cottager to keep "a hen or two." Sometimes there is an isolated cottage near a straw yard in which cattle fina1 shelter during the winter then and there is a chance not to be neglected. The master does not utilise tL'e opportunity, so surely the man may or, where ne ighbours are not very particular, a little wire may keei-, the birds from doing harm during the summer m onths, and thev may benefit by the winter run in the; garden. Roadside cottages also afford reasons for. poultry-keeping, especially when a grass field is available on the other side. Reasonable and desirable as is poultry-keeping under these cir- cumstanceia, it is worse than foolish to beguile a cot- tager into the belief that a few hens can add 5s. a week to the 10s. or 12s. he receives for his labour. You may -As well tell a smart man of business that he can mak e a sure fortune by putting a few shillings into a fo reign lottery. Moreover, it does not seem to strike those people who are urging on the keeping of povdtry under any circumstances that, though now we import so many fowls and eggs, the difficulties of mo,. ket ng and disposing of what may be saleable at a Suitable time and at present prices would be more Vhan great. The labourer is worthy of his hire, and what lie receives or makes independently of his fixed wage may be far more than is supposed or Govern- ment officials represent. We have lately had reports of the agriculture of various counties published, but what does a man who has never visited the county before know of it in comparison with what is known by those who refer to a life-long residence ? Suppose it is stated that an ordinary farm labourer in Dorset receives 10a. a week with his cottage and other perquisites, or about 13s. a week. If I can prove that in numerous instances a farm labourer has been offered a groom's place at 15s. a week, and declined the offer because his perquisites on the farm made his situation there worth more than he should receive in hard cash as groom, why, a great deal that is written-about the Waged of agricultural labourers j is wrong. That a few hens may be kept and regarded; 1 as perquisites not to be despised is true, but I; j scarcely think it advisable to publish such mislead- ing statements as to large profits being made by cottagers. —

A FISHERMAN'S occupation ought to be the most profitable, because his entire gross receipts are net profits. A PROFESSOR asked his class, What is aurora 9" A student, scratching his head, replied, Well, professor, I did know; but I have forgotten." "Well, that is sad—very sad," rejoined the professor, "The only man in the world that ever knew has forgotten it." A SCOTCHMAN went to a lawyer once for advice, and detailed the circumstances of the case. Have you told me the facts precisely as they occurred ?" asked the lawyer. Oh, ay, sir, replied he. I thought it best to tell ye the plain truth. Ye can put the lies into it yourself." A SOFT-BRAINED man, who is slighted by the belles very modestly asked a young lady if she would let him spend an evening at her house and hear her play the piano. "No," she angrily replied, "I won't." "Why," replied he, "you needn't be so fussy; I meant 'some stormy night, when I can't go anywhere else, and the piano would be subdued by the storm without." His softness is not quite apparent.

WOMAN'S WORLD. —*— v I IT is only with difficulty (remarks a writer M the Pall Mall Gazette) that the gilded youth of our time can be coaxed into treading the measures of the mazy dance. Thus he is as arbitrary in the choice of his partners as a savage chieftain In the selection of a squaw. The age where womanhood and childhood meet" does not delight him. He prefers smart and thirty, who, it must be confessed, is nothing loth. The girls grumble—they have even been known to grumble in the newspapers; and idyllic relations between a handsome mother and a debutante daughter are much more the exception than the rule. Nor is this preference for feminine maturity confined to the beardless hero of the ballroom. Men who have reached the age when they can appreciate the companionship of women seek it in the boudoir and not in the schoolroom. -i; ■ WnAT (asks that smart authority on fashion, 1 Madge," of Truth) is your particular weakness in j dress ? It is possibly boots and shoes, as you have such pretty feet. Or is it gloves? Or bodices? One has to think back into the Dark Ages almost to remember the days when there were no ready-made bodices, whether of the order of blouses, matinees, or tea-jackets. You with your country limitations can hardly imagine what a width of choice is ours in this matter. For ordinary occasions, when we need a blouse or bodice, we have only to sally forth and gaze in at the shop windows. If we do not see exactly what we want, we are sure to come across something that is; near akin to it. It may not be the rose, but it has at least lived near it. As for the better class of things, they generally have to be sought within some inner sanctum. We were on a quest of some- thing rather ornamental for home dinner-wear, with one or two time-honoured black silk skirts, the bodices of which belong to ancient history. We penetrated into the special domain devoted to this class of goods (does not that sound shoppy ?) and had our choice of some nice ones. A cream-coloured bengaline was set into a yoke of the same, covered with a net-work of fine jet. The collar and the tops of the sleeves were filmy masses of self embroidered tea-tinted silk muslin and lace to match. Another was in scarlet bengaline with revers of white satin edged with black satin and narrow jet fringes. A pleated square collar hung sailor-fashion at the back, bordered and trimmed to match, and the basque was in white satin, cut up in some half-dozen squares and finished with black satin and jet. The large sleeves were white satin at the top and looped across per- pendicularly with black satin ribbons. The gore sleeves were in scarlet bengaline and jet. Do you like that bodice ? If you do not, it is because I have not described it properly, for it was perfectly sweet. A CHARMING bodice was in pale green satin, with collar and lapels of serpent-green velvet, bordered with a narrow line of gold braid. They were all made with so little fulness about the waist that they fitted almost like a dress bodice. Others, more especially for evening wear, were madewith square or V-shaped openings edged with lace and jet. On one a wide piece of black velvet ribbon crossed the open- ing diagonally, looking rather high towards the left shoulder. For diamonds," explained the girl who showed it to us. This would be rather an effective way of displaying them, would it not ? Supposing, that is, one possessed any to display. Now that the dancing season is in full swing, dainty evening petticoats (remarks a fashion writer in the Manchester Weekly Times) are quite as essential to the really well-dressed girl as the evening gown itself, and these need not be at all expensive. Not- withstanding that silks and brocades may be beyond our purse, we may ruffle it bravely with the best" by dint of a little contrivance and artistic taste. For instance, what could be prettier than a petticoat composed of narrow gored widths, between each of which was sewn a strip of white lace in- sertion. The material was silver-grey nun's- veiling, and a flounce of this covered with white lace finished off the petticoat. Through or under the lace insertion were run strips of pale pink satin ribbon, with a little cluster of loops at the end of each strip on the top of the flounce. Lemon-yellow cotton crape, with white or cream lace flounces, and a ruche made of loops of very narrow white or cream and yellow satin ribbon, as a heading to the flounces makes another very dainty petticoat; and be it re- membered that the lace,, ribbon, silk, &c., from old evening gowns and summer frocks can generally be used up again in this way. MORE and more is the active industry of civilised man becoming independent of'the mere physical strength of men and women. The skilled eye, the trained hand and the matured judgment guiding marvels of ingenuity that are driven by natural forces accumulated and stored up in water-course and mine, have placed mere muscle at a discount in most useful occupations. Henceforward, the weaker. frame of women is, by machinery, to find equality in earning power with the stronger muscular frame of her masculine competitor. I HEAR an important and highly-interesting piece of news, says Miranda in the Lady Tictorial, or perhaps, to be quite precise, a very interesting rumour, to the effect that the Queen, whose general objection to second marriages is well known, has graciously waived her prejudice in favour of an early alliance between the Duchess of Albany and a very popular and wealthy nobleman, persona gratissima at Court, and a witty, genial, charming man—one of the very brightest and cleverest of the peers, whose speeches, in and out of the House, are always polished, humorous, and a reflex of his optimistic u nature. The alliance would be very popular, and there is every reason to believe that it would also be a very happy one. It would not befcurprising if the wedding were to take place about the month of prim- roses. ¡, \1, LOOK, says Hearth and Harne, at the bazaar lady's pretty bonnet, her dainty be-ribboned apron, her trim waist, her self-conscious posture. She gives you, plenty of time to stare at her. She wants you to do so; for she is in her glory, prancing through her field-dav, enjoying a veritable feast of legitimate self-assertion. We do not wish to be hard on any girl for trying to look her best, especially on a public occasion-it is only natural and right that she should do so; but we do wish to be down upon the ostentatious, affected person who scours through so many of our bazaars. Very few young girls seem able to get through a three-days' bazaar without having their heads turned. The fact is that all chaperonage is dispensed with at bazaars. A fashionable mother, who will not allow her daughter to walk across the pavement unattended, as a rule has no hesitation whatever in turning her loose in a bazaar, and leaving her to address, and converse, and chaff with anyone. It is all in the cause of charity, you see. Yes, that is all very well; but really charity is beginning to cover too many sins, and consequently bazaars of a certain order are getting gradually into disrepute, especially with men. But there are bazaars and bazaars, and ladies who remain ladies in spite of decadent times at the stalls. The protest quoted is strong; but no one can say it is not without some warrant, and if it have the effect of checking feminine forwardness it will be well for the bazaar as an institution and for the cause of charity too. TilE theatre bodice has (observes a fashion cor- respondent of the Wvrld) become an institution, There is one in black velvet, with rose broehesleeves- and waistcoat chastened with lace; and there is another made of damask-rose watered velvet, thrown back with a collar and triple revers of satin in this same bright hue, while the front is a soft mass of point lace. Then there is a pretty m-atmée of tur- quoise surah silk with a deep collar and revers cut in one, and this can be fastened high to the throat, or lower with a brooch. The sleeves, which finish with lace ruffles to match the collar, can be pushed up to the elbow or fall to the wrist. Very pretty indeed is an accordion-pleated gown of pink surah. The Empire yoke is trimmed with point lace, and full short ruffles of the same finish the big sleeves. There is a new style of tea-gown made in velveteen, with a richly-colouretl pattern on a creamy white ground. This is made loosely, but draped to the figure, fastened with two big steel buttons at the base of the throat, and again with a drapery of the velveteen round the waist. As a bedroom or bath wrap nothing could be so soft and so warm as one made qf flannel with a rough long pile. It was very thick, vet very light; and made in grey, striped with pink, with ahig cape collar and pink girdle, it was also very becoming. A useful thing to buy at these sales is always a black skirt, and especially just now, when these very hecomin always a skirt, and especially just now, when these odd bodices help to eke out a small yearly allowance. To get a handsome silk or satin skirt, ready-made and perfectly cut, for the sum of five guineas, makes it folly to patronise a cheap dressmaker to your ruin. Sometimes material for the bodice is given in with the siirt. If the bodice is not wanted, it serves to alter and rejuvenate the skirt to meet the requirements of nsw fashions but when did it ever happen that a length of black silk or black satin was never of use to its owner? It is never bad store to buy 'black materials or jet trimmings. Somehow they always "come in."

— AMERICAN FUN. THERE is a great variety of wigs, but, paradoxical as it may seem, you will find many of them as much alike as toupees. ADVERTISING for a situation, a man in Newport ex- plains, "Work is not so much an object as good wages." WHEN old Sam Cruder, down in Pike, was running for Justice of the Peace, his wife, in anticipation of honours in store for her, said, "My dear, when you get to be Justice of the Peace, what will I be ?" You," said old Sam, "why, you'll be the same old fool you always was!" IT is only when she is past 90 that a woman is proud of her age. THERE are millions of surprises in store for a man who has concluded to take unto himself a wife. A MAN never looks so much like a red-handed villain as when he is told by the photographer to look pleasant." LOVE pleases more than marriage, for the reason that romance is more interesting than history. THE Boston Post has discovered a humane butcher, who whistles Pinafore" airs to the animals and makes them want to be killed. THE pretty face of a woman is like a clock's—not much account unless there are good works back of it. ENGLISII ladies of fashion are said to be reviving a custom prevalent in the reign of Queen Anne, that of carrying walking-sticks, like gentlemen. A GIRL in Indiana cultivated, harvested, and threshed, and sold 350 bushels of wheat last year. And yet women are not ready for the franchise. "TiiE strongest propensity in a woman's nature," says a careful student of the sex, is to want to know what is going on, and the next thing is to boss the job." A FRENCHMAN in business advertises that he has a chasm for an apprentice. He had looked up the word opening in the dictionary. A LOVET; little poem, entitled The Suicide," is going the rounds just now. We are glad to say that the poets have finally got into the right path. THEY say you can tell by the taste of beer what the weather is going to be. We never before realised how much curiosity there is concerning the weather probabilities. A BOSTON paper states that a Chicago grocer sells soap, every tenth cake of which contains in its centre a gold dollar, and that the citizens of Chicago are in consequence getting to look tolerably clean. SCIENTIFIC men have made the alarming statement that the heads of Englishmen are growing smaller. If their arms and legs, however, keep up to the standard, the young blood can get along if his head is not quite so swell. RATHER a nice city," said Bret Harte to a frierld in Scotland, as they rode through a Scotch town on the cars. What place is this, anyhow ? The friend replied, This is Glasgow, where you have been Consul for the last two or three years." A PASSENGER in a crowded street car, the other day, observed the entrance of a man, followed by an old woman, and seeing that she looked tired and weak, he considerately rose and offered her his seat. Before she could take it, however, the man had quietly filled the vacancy. Here, just come out of that," said the passenger, I didn't give up that seat to you but to the lady." To which the fellow replied, without offering to move, Oh, yah. Dot is all right. Dot lady is mein vife." IT is told of the great temperance orator, the late Mr. Gough, that he once interviewed one of our lead- ing divines on the subject of teetotalism. "Perhaps you have never thought of the subject ? said Mr. Gough. "Oh, yes," returned the divine, I have." Then, perhaps, you drink wine because it is recom- mended by your medical man ? Oh, no, nothing of the kind," was the reply. Well, then, you take it out of deference to the customs of the society in which you live ? asked the orator. On, no—no." "Well, then, may I ask you why you drink wine?" Well, the fact is, Mr. Gougli," said the divine, I take wine because I like it." MR. TWAIN says I am different from Washing- ton I have a higher and grander standard of prin- ciple. Washington could not lie. I can lie. But I won't. ARTEMUS WARD once said that the funniest story he ever heard was about an inebriated reporter, who leaned over the railings of the reporters' gallery in the English House of Lords and inquired: "Will shum noble 'ord plea' shing a comic shong? A SMALL boy was hoeing corn in a sterile field by the roadside, up near Bethel, Indiana, when a passer-by stopped, and said: "'Pears to me your crop is rather small." Certainly," said the boy, it is dwarf corn." But it looks yaller." Cer- tainly we planted the yallor kind." But it looks as if you wouldn't get more than half a crop." Of course not," said the boy; we planted it on shares." THEY were bidding each other good night, the rich man's daughter and the poor man s son, when she took occasion to remark You say you have no expecta- tions from your father?" No," he answered frankly. And all your other relatives are dead?" ."All dead, darling; but don't feel gloomy on. my account; I'll come round to-morrow evening, and all will be bright and cheerful." Perhaps you hadn't ,better come," she replied gravely, closing the door on him "I feel as if I had a sick headache coming on, Bind it will be very bad by to-morrow night." And the next evening she engaged herself to tile, son of a wealthy dustman. ALL women are naturally afraid of a cow. Madam," said the oleomargarine dealer., when she utt(jred a shriek at discovering that it was bogus biit jer she was handling, Madam, you needn't be aiarjned. The cow it was made from is too dead to hurt you." THOUSANDS of young men in this country would 0 1, becQme millionaires if they could accomplish it by standing on the corners with their hands in their pockets, spitting tobacco juice on the walks, and making themselves both unornamental and obnoxious. UPON a Sunday evening, when the soul is lifted on the wings of faith and a holy calm broods over all nature, what tender regret comes with the thought hat the tubs must be got up from the cellar, so that washing may begin at five o'clock on Monday morning. DE politest man I eber seed was at a railroad depot. A fellow with a lot ob trunks on a long thing wheelin' aroun' as though he were tryin' ter run over everybody. Finally a man stepped up an' sez, I see yer has 'siderable trouble runnin' agin people. To oblige yer, I'll stand in front of yer machine." IT; requires no great stretch of science to explain why we have had a vast excess of weáther-such extremes of heat and cold, wet and dryness—this year as compared with previous years. Formerly a large part of the appropriation for the weather bureau was embezzled now it is all expended for weather. Hence the superfluity. WE are informed that while officer Lane Was stand- ing; on the corner of Washington and Mason-streets one night last week, a gentleman drove up and hitched his horse to the officer, thinking he was a hitching I post. As officer Joe Baxter was going down to target practice one day last week he dropped into a gun store to purchase some shot and other material. As he was writing the order, the storekeeper glanced at the memorandum and remarked, "Von haf pond of shpttj" said to the officer "you didn't spell shot right." That's so," said the officer, put another t." The amendment prevailed, and it was so ordered. SPEAKING of one of his works to a critic, a dramatic author said, with the consciousness of modest worth, It has had many imitators." Yes," replied the critic, especially beforehand." STOP that tram," cried old Mr. Nosengale, chasing a flying tram-car up the street, the car fresh as a daisy, and Mr. Nosengale badly blown. Stop that tram he shouted to a distant but fleet-limbed boy. Certainly," shrieked back the obliging boy; what shall I stop it with ?" Tell it to hold on shouted the abandoned passenger. "Hold on to what?" yelled the boy. Make it wait for me!" puffed Mr. Nosengale. You've got too much weight now," said the boy; "that's what's the trouble with you!" Call the driver!" gasped the perspiring citizen, and, as the tram-car rounded the corner and passed out of sight, the mocking echoes of the obliging answer came floating cheerily back, All right! What shall I call him?" »-. v-1-" It .v.f;. -vr1-

LITERATURE AND ART. 1TB. G. F. WATTS, R.A., than whom we "irava no more devout student of classic art, thinks he has made a discovery with regard to the Elgin Marbles, which would presumably apply to many other examples of the antique. He believes that the wonderful textures of the skin and the appearance of pulpiness in the flesh could not have been obtained with a steel chisel, and submits that the tools used Ware of bronze. The great authority of Mr. Watts makes one diffident of even hazarding an observation but surely the harder ana keener the material of the tool used in cutting the marble the more thoroughly it would be under the artist's control, the less subject would it be to make fortuitous strokes not in accordance with his desire. One would fancy the ideal chisel diamond-poipted, rather than of some softer metal than steel. A SEASONABLE purchase ha3 lately been made by the trustees of the British Museum in tne shape of a col- lection of over 500 Japanese New Year's cards, many Of them being works of art of a very high order. The collection has been acquired for the Department of Oriental Literature, which has been further enriched by the purchase of a Chinese work, in four volumes, with illustrations, forming a panorama showing Bur- mese or Thibetan influence on Chinese art. It is also interesting to learn that the collection of mummies, in addition to the increase lately made to it by the gift from the Egyptian Government of seven coffins from the find known fis the Priest of Amm," has been aug- mented by an interesting specimen of an Egyptian mummy, dating from the 28th Dynasty, from the col- lections of Stafford House, a present from the Dulre of Sutherland. PROFESSOR HUXLEY, in his sk itch of Professor Tyndall, has some amusing references to himself. He has just received a report of a sermon delivered on the 15th of the past month by a curate "who, in his haste to besmirch the dead, abuses 'the late Pro* fessor Huxley. In 1876 the professor and his wife visited the United States, and, to his astonishment, he found a New York paper announced his coming, accompanied by his "titled bride," which, adds the professor, was rather hard upon plain married folk, married 21 years, and blessed with seven children to boot." NOT many people nowadays ever heard of Mr. hn Joseph Sheahan, and yet in his time he did much to preserve the historic records of many English counties. Although he was largely interested in the compilation of the histories of the Cambridgeshire, Oxfordshire, the East and North Eidings of Yorkshire, Bucking- hamshire, Northamptonshire, and wrote the history of the Borough and Port of Kingston-upon-IIull, he died in absolute poverty. Rather late in the day, perhaps, it has been suggested that a memorial tablet should be placed in Holy Trinity Church, Hull, and the Rev. Dr. McCormick has given a willing assent. FkOM the designs sent in for the medal to-com- memorate the marriage of their Royal Highnesses the Duke and Duchess of York, the Library Committee of the City Corporation have selocted that of Mr. G. G. Adams, F.S.A., medallist, who has been commissioned to execute the work. This is the fourth medal that Mr. Adams has executed for the Corporation, the others being in commemoration of opening Blacb- friars-bridge and Holborn-viaduct by her Majesty the Queen, the visit of the King of the Hellenes, and the presentation of the freedom of the City to H.R.I& the late Prince Albert Victor. Tns Due d'Aumale has enriched the already, pre- cious collection at Chantilly by a marvellous specimen of mediaeval illuminating in the psalter used by St. Louis. It was purchased for a considerable sum from the Comte d'Avaux, in whose family it had remained for two centuries. The Due d'Aumale not long since acquired in Germany a Book of Hours, containing priceless miniatures. The mediaeval collection at Chantilly is beyond dispute the richest in the world, and it will be an unique legacy that the dukp will leave to the State, whatever form that may' have assumed at the time of his death. THE Athenceum states that the late Sir William Gregory compiled during his last years a collection of reminiscences, which are now being edited by his widow, Lady Gregory, for publication by Mr. Murray in the spring. Sir William's varied experiences and attainments as man of the world, sportsman, politicMin, colonial administrator, and art amateur should make the book very entertaining. So long as the public demands personalities, so long will newspapers give them but we cannot believe that any reader is greatly interested in such a para- graph as the following, cut from the current number of Mr. Jerome's Magazine Journal. It relates to the brother of a lady novelist, himself having no claim, beyond this kinship, upon public attention. The gentleman, who, it seems, is a schoolmaster, Is a middle-aged man, short, stout, dark, and wears a beard. On Saturday afternoon he may frequently be seen watching his boys play football. On Wednesday afternoon he invariably goes to London for his weekly Turkish bath. His face is shrewd, intelligent, and good-natured, and he dresses simply." Could any- thing be more unnecessary than this paragraph ? A RECENT census of the novels read in public libraries in the United States shows the American taste for fiction very clearly. Lists were made of the most popular books at each library, and these were then classified. The result tells us that the 12 favourite novels in America at the present time are David Copperfield," "Ivanhoe," The Scarlet Letter," "Uncle Tom's Cabin," "Ben Hur," "Adam Bede," "Vanity Fair," "Jane Eyre," "The last Days of Pompeii," "John Halifax, Gentleman," "Les Miserables," and "Little Women." Among the 38 popular books which follow these (as given in the Forum) are Robinson Crusoe," Lorna Doone," Romola," Daniel Deronda," "The Arabian Nights," "Donovan," and M Looking Backward." Only one of Thackeray's books is among the first fifty, against seven of Dickens. George Eliot is represented by four novels, but "Silas Marner" is not among them. Charles Reade does not figure at all, nor does Mr. Hardy. After the first fifty come several surprises; the Vicar of Wakefield," for instance, occurs on 43 per cent. of the lists, and" Middlemarch" and the "Little Minister" enjoy an equal popularity. "Robert Elsmere is more to the American taste than either "Gulliver a Travels" or "The Pilgrim's Progueea,* and neither Fielding nor Smollett is placed at all. MR. BIRKET FOSTER is not the only artist who has received of late a runaway knock" from Death. Mr. Mortimer Menpes, who has recently returned from Egypt with a rich harvest of paintings and sketches, has been so ill with pneumonia and inflammation of the lungs that for some time his condition inspired his friends with the gravest anxiety. At present, however, he is considered to be approaching con- valescence. "rIIB display of English art at the recent Paris exhibition is slowly but surely bearing fruit, for each day findst fresh appreciation of English talent in the artistic circles. The latest evidences of this apprecia- tion are to be found in the hospitality offered to our chief painters by the Luxembourg, which has sought and obtained examples from some of our first masters. It is characteristic, of course, that these compliments, courteously offered and gracefully accepted, have not been fol- lowed by the pagans of triumph and the glories ojt a public banquet which attended the purchase of Whistler's Portrait of My Mother." None the leaa true, however, is it that more than one painter has been sought out by the directors o e true, however, is it that more than one ungiob painter has been sought out by the directors o e Luxembourg, the latest of them being Mr. Jones and Mr. Watts. The latter has contributed his latest and most perfect example of his favourite subject of Love and Life "—in which strong Love leads and supports the frail figure of -Lute along the upward stony path to a higher and better plane. The presentation has been made within the last few days. MB. WALTER BESANT has been so taken up with his American experiences and his conflicts with pub- lishers or their spokeslusia, Mr. Lang, that be has been quite silent in fiction lately. This loss to the reading public is to be speedily remedied by the pub- lication of a new volume of short stories gathered from various periodicals to which he has contributed during the past two years. He will also be repre- sented in another direction. His fascinating articles upon "London, written mainly for the American public, have met with such success that he proposes to write another somewhat similar series. The sub- ject this time will be Westminster. New and Old."