A TERRIBLE INSULT. av Jon JOT, JR. He kissed me to-night on the cheek At the ate ere he went on his way. The utter impudent thing! How could I a s liable say! It took me by su den surprise . Ere together my thoughts I could bring; Confounded I was, and confused, . And I never had thought such a thing. Why didn‘t I have a big club And hit him right over the nose? Such an insult I never can bear; No wonder my anger arose. And the place on in check it still burns, And his e es out surely could tear; I am dread ully mad at him now— To forgive him I never shall dare. Ont eons it is and it was, Ailing never shall alter my mind ;— I never shall speak to him more, And et in a manner he’s kind. I thong t him a gentleman quite, And such boldness who ever did see! My hands in his own he held tight, And—I know he thinks kindlv of me. How could he—why should he give me Such terrible cause for ill wll ? His mustache is exceedingly nicel I remember his parting word still. I shall never forgive him for that, And I‘ll never forget it, I know, And if ever I see him again Naught will hinder me telling him so. Now what would my good mother say! In truth I don't know, I am sure;— He has courted me nearl two years But such conduct I sh 1 not endure. I couldn’t be madder at him; Indeed I wouldn‘t want so to be! The spot on m check it still burns:— He savs he t nks always of mel What shall I say if we meet? How can I meet him again? I was never so mad in my life i He’ll see when we meet, very plain. e kissed me! I’m shamed to my soul! He said he would treasure it long! I think him exceedingly bold:— I wonder if kissing is wrong! How audacious it was, to be sure! I think he is greatly to blame;— He was tender about it, I know, But to think that he kissed me—oh, shame! Some evening this week he‘ll be here; I know that he can’t stay away: If then he should kiss me sin I hardly know what I sha l say. Finlscflapers. IN REGARD TO CHICKENS. AN old hen and a rooster came over in the ark with Noah. We had the old hen and the rooster to-day for dinner at the hotel. They were the late lamented. They will have them for dinner there for about three weeks. The hen was an early layer and the rooster an early riser. They did not have a tender feeling about them. Their skeletons were safe from invasion, and nobody disturbed their bones. Chickens roost on a pole which is very con- venient for a fellow who wants to walk off with the pole. “ Chickens are the finest things in the world to take bugs and other insects off the vegetables in the garden; they also take off the vegetables. When a rooster finds a worm he calls all the hens up and divides it between them. N. B. This is a lie on the rooster. Your neighbor is probably the only man who can raise chickens profitably. Few of his are ever stolen and if ever any of them are missed you never say anything about it. In the absence of teeth you can never tell the true a e of any chicken: you can’t depend on the bar nor go much on the grain. You only have to feed chickens all the time, and they are very fond of victuals. They know what they are made for. The hens are complaining about these patent hatcheries as the?’ interfere with their business, and the serious y talk of the Lay of the Last Minstre . Chickens as a general thing are counted tough customers. Preachers are very fond of nice chickens probably because they are naturally inclined toward all beings with wings. Philosophers have begun to condemn the practice of holding lighted matches under the noses of chickens when they are roosting at night for the purpose of rendering them uncon— scious of their removal so they won’t make any complaints. I think myself that it is hardly right and the attention of Mr. Bergh should be called to it. If chickens must be removed at least let us try some more humane method. A number-two hen with a brood of chickens can get through a small hole in the fence that you would bet on, and scratch up more dirt than you could swear at without losing your reputation. I never could see how preachers and deacons could raise chickens. A man who owns a dozen big Shanghai chick— ens will soon go tO the poor-house unless he has an extra farm or two and 00d crops to feed them on, and they are hard y fit to set before country relations. The average chicken is only called a spring chicken because it springs your teeth to try to eat it. I never could see why it is that your neigh- bors always have the meanest kind of chickens, and there is no use to try to hit them with a stone for they will only fl up on the fence and crow at you, and feel ba that they haven’t a double handful of fingers to give you the deaf and dumb alphabet from the point of the nose. There are various kinds of chickens, but the best breed are the cooked ones, though I am very moderate in my appetite and only want one at a time. It is perfectly immaterial; I have no choice of parts. Cold chicken sheds a halo of glory around the inconveniences of a summer picnic party, and it also sheds a greasy luster around the mouths of the brave and the fair, and water scarce, unless it should rain. In the absence of pedigree it is difficult to tell within a few years the exact antiquit of a hen, but the average boarding—house mistress can com ute it ata glance, but she is not going to tell it. You can boil some old hens as hard as on please, and then they are apt to be hard- boiled yet. When a hen is not good to hatch you should take its head off with a little hatch it. When a young chicken gets its constitution repaired with a ast square meal of stuffing by a good housewifetaxidermist, and then is roast- ed nicely, we can get that fowl down unless it should get us down. There is nothing that puts a rson in good humor with himself and the ot or com any as a few tender chickens for dinner (if t ere are not too many guests there), and they look so superb on the table along with various other things as accompaniments to keep the chickens from getting lonesome. I confess that I never admired the way in which roosters sing early in the morning: I much prefer being waked to slower music and a softer and more harmonious tune. I always feel like wringing their necks with a clothes- wringer. They get up too soon for me; then it is impossible for a rooster to sleep all night, and he has to wake up every two or three hours and raise the neighbors, though that wouldn’t matter so much if it didn’t raise me. I never heard of a chicken dying of old age; the reason is that old age doesn’t affect them in that way ;—the Older they get the healthier they are. It is a good thing that there is a restric— tion on double-headed chickens because they eat with two noses and as much as two chickens, but those born with four legs are encouraged, for we can eat more of them, but it is a sad fact that all old hens in the henries make spring chickens when their heads are cut off, and there is a mighty sight of eating on them—all day for that matter; but when the fowl are fair let us be satisfied and return thanks. VVASHINGTON WHITEHORN. Sunny South Sketches. BY CARR COURTENAY. A CONCH SHELL. KEY WEST is the place for them. Everybody knows that. Not merely the immense shells, lished or susceptible of polish, which all of us ligve seen and are quite well acquainted With, nor their crustaceous tenants which few have made, and none need wish to make the acquaint- ance of; but a species of the genus homo, who is here upon his native concrete, and who is not found equally at home in any part of the known world. _ And et, the race, known as “ Conchs,” are not in igenous to Cayo Huesa. The Conch came originally from the Bahamas. But, just as you must look for Patrick Murphy, Es mm, in his full glory, at a ward meeting in Got am, so must you seek for the finest conchological specimen at the key of the Gulf. Originall ,as has been said, from the Bahama Islan s, and aboriginally from the British, the Couch, in his natural state, is seldom on speak- ing terms with the letter H; while the letters V and W, with him, denote as a rule two con- vertible sounds. Under his own vine and flg-tree the Conch, especially if he be a married man, is the meek— est of the human species: so meek, in fact, that the mantle of Moses would seem to have fallen upon each one of them, individually. It has been noticed by some travelers that many of them have very high and intellectual-looking foreheads, extending in many instances to the back of the neck; and further investigation is said to have disclosed the fact that all of these belong to the noble army of martyrs. This, however, is probably only one of many current slanders on the fair sex, all equally without foundation. The principal industry among the past gene- ration of these excellent people was that of “wrecking,” which proved, in not a few in- stances, very remunerative; but the chain of light-houses which now lines the Keys, and still more the almost superhuman signal service of Uncle Sam have reduced the occupation of Othello, in this line, to an occasional salvage. At present the industrious Conch finds his chief employment in “ sponging;” not what the term popularly implies among many who are victim- ized by it, but sponging, in its primary and literal signification. The great entrepét for these zoOphytes, when prepared for commerce, is a little town on the mainland, Of which Harry Hilliard, for half a score of years subsequent to the surrender at Appomatox, was the leading man in business, pleasure and politics. _ _ Harry was, at this time, Silent partner in a large general furnishing and supply establish- ment, at which everythin , from a coffin to a corncob pipe could be 0 tained. His chief fugleman and bottle-holder, not in a business point of view but outside, was one Lettergo, a native of the Old North State, but who had re- sided here since the close of the unpleasantness, and had risen, through the gradations of Office, to the rank and dignity of Town Marshal. This, by the way, is a post of not a little importance in a Southern village, and the position is rarely, if ever, a sinecure. It was at the hight of the sponging season, and the seaboard city was alive with the gen- try before described, whose " wessels,” of every build and almost every burden filled the port, and emitted odors from their decaying and moribund cargoes that were not strongly sug— gestive of zephyrs from Arabia Felix. The Couch has been described as a pacific personage when in his own home. It is a. pity, on some accounts, that he ever goes abroad. A faithful historian is bound to recall the fact that, when away from the classic Key of his nativity, he is very apt to be noisy, consequen- tial and overbearing. The tOwn, in which Hil— liard reigned and Lettergo was his grand vizier, generally had the full benefit of these little ec- centricities when the Conchs were there in full force, and chose to manifest them. For some time quiet had prevailed on the coast, and Hilliard, with his gang of practical jokers, had been too much occupied with legiti- mate business to play any special pranks upon the unsus ctin . But one night, a bibulous Conch, w 0 ha disposed of his cargo, been paid Off, and imbibed a more than ordinary quantity of agua diente, chose to make ni ht hideous with his war—whoops, and exten ed many pressing invitations to the sleeping citi- zens to come out, and see how he would “go through them.” Marshal Lettergo was one of the most dis— creet of ofl‘icials. He rarely exceeded his au— thority. May his tribe increase! As the fes- tive Conch had no following, but was morally certain to have as many as had Roderick Dhu, and quite as suddenly, if his arrest was at- tempted, he was allowed to amuse himself until tired nature was exhausted. About the middle of the forenoon of the day following, the same individual, but now wear- inga perfectly subdued air, entered the store in which Harry Hilliard was Pontifex Maxi- mus. Close on his heels, but not appearing to recognize him, was Marshal Lettergo. With a wink to Hilliard, he began: “I reckon, Harry, ye didn’t see nothin’ 0’ that thar high-toned Conch that was jist ever- lastin’ly gwine to bu’st things in this burg, last night?” Harry signed to the Couch to keep “shady,” and replied that he had not. “I let him have his jamboree out—done thou ht it mought be the best way—but, you bet, ’ll put him whar the dorgs won’t bark at him for one while. I reckon,” Lettergo con- tinued, “I mought as well set down hyer an’ keep my eye peeled. I’m dead sure to ketch him.” The unfortunate man by this time began to look properly terrified, and to spy around for some avenue of escape. Hilliard, affecting to sympathize with him, pointed to an immense Saratoga trunk, and without a second thought the trembling man lifted the lid, and in some in plicable manner managed to coil his six fee? of attenuated humanity into its limited space. The marshal was watching the whole performance. “Harry,” he said, presently, “ye seem ter hev a right smart chance of trunks.” “ A very fine stock,” was the reply. “The old ’oman an’ Marg’et Jane is threat- enin’ to light out fer No’th Calliny nex’ week, an’I reckon they’ll be wantin’ one 0’ these hyer arks ter tote thar truck in.” “ Just so,” said Hilliard; “you ought to get them one.” “How much,” said Letter 0, rising and crossing over to the tenante trunk, “how much is ye gwine ter cheat me outen fer this hyer shebang?” “The price of it is fifteen dollars; but, see- ing it’s you, take it along for twelve.” “ Hit’s a barg’in,” said the marshal, prom t- ly, and sitting down upon his purchase as 6 spoke. The spring lock fastened with an audible snap, which must have fallen upon the ear of the im risoned inmate like a bare foot on a piece 0 cold Oil—cloth. Hilliard, now getting apprehensive for the life of the unfortunate man, suggested another trunk to Lettergo, which he could recommend as a better one. In vain: this one just filled the bill. Lettergo then called to a negro with a Jersey we on to come in and “tote” the trunk Off. illiard, going forward to assist, affected to have discovered that the Saratoga was filled with shoes—a common way of ship- ping such goods tO the South. He mentioned the pretended fact to his friend, but this only increased the determination, which he loudly expressed, to have that trunk and none other. He had bought it, and if Hilliard had been fool enough to dispose of its contents with it, that was his Own look—out. The situation was now becoming desperate. It was some time before Hilliard could per- suade the marshal that the joke had gone far enough. That excellent official was resolved to teach the lately obstreperous Conch a lesson, and he was now doing it with a vengeance. For once in the course of a short but eventful life, Hilliard was in despair. It would be hard to say, perhaps, which man felt the worst, mentally, Hi} that moment—the luckless wight in the trunk, or his friend (i) who had suggested it to him as an ark of refuge. “ Say, Cuff,” said Lettergo tothe contraband, “s’pose ye jest drive ’round ter the side door with that contraption o’ yourn, and take this hyer shoe-box o’ Hilliard’s on.” So saying the marshal assed over to the door he had desi hated. he moment he did so, Harry opene the Saratoga, and dragg d the Conch out of his shell. No boiled conch or lobster either, for that matter, ever had a deeper roseaie shade of complexion. It was some time before the poor fellow could stand upright. A few seconds more, and it would have been all day with him. Stead ing him on his pins for a moment, and then pomting to the front entrance, his liberav tor uttered in a low tone the magic word, “ Git ” :a command which the repentant sinner was not slow in obe ing, nor was he again seen on shore all the time that his “wessel” re- mained in port. Items of Current Interest. TEE Sultan of Morocco has 364 wives. If you have a superfluity of sympathy, you now now where to bestow it. ' Owing to the high price of beef the people of Tavans, Fla., have taken to eating alligator steaks, and pronounce them delicious. Mr. Matthew Kennedy of Corpus Christi, (Texas,) is inclosing a pasture containing 400,000 acres of grazing land. When finished this will probably be the lar est inclosed pasture in the world. The product of lead in the United States for the year 1881 is estimated at 110,000 tons, worth 43-4 cents per pound in the Eastern markets, and having a total value of $10,500,000. The value of the lead product of Nevada, Utah, Colorado, and Arizona, was $6,361,000. The largest sailing ship that ever was built has just been dispatched from Belfast, Ire- land. She is made of steel, is 290 feet long, will carry 9,600 tons dead weight, has four masts, and is called the Lord D0wnshire. She will make her first voyage to San Francisco. Over ninety per cent. of the Chinese people wear cotton goods spun and woven by the most- primitive processes. The spinning-wheel and hand-loom are still in use, and though English and American machinery-made goods have en- tered the market, they have reached but a small proportion of the consumers. At a sale of coins in New York, recently, a Good Samaritan shilling of the Massachusetts colony, coined in 1672, and believed to be the only one in existence, sold for 3650. Of other Massachusetts coins of this date, another vari- ety of shillings brought $51, and a Sixpence $71.25. Pine Tree shillings, coined in 1650, brought $40, $44, and $51. A Lord Baltimore penny Of 1659, issued by the colony of Mary- land, was sold for In their zeal to upset John Chinaman, the San Francisco people lately agreed to give their laundry work to John’s white compe- titors, whereupon the whites sublet the con- tracts to the Chinamen, who got the same amoupvt they had earned before. and the white folks he made the contracts pocketed the dif- ference between Chinese “cheap labor” and Caucasian high prices. It was a shrewd game all round—but the California liOOdlums didn’t hold the winning cards. One of the most eminent of German medical men is reported as saying that there are not less, probably, than 10,000 persons in Germany who have become slaves to the habit of hypo- dermically injecting morphine. There are many who take as much as eighteen injections every day. Some have hardly a square inch of skin on their bodies Whirl.) is not marked by scars produced by this practice. Slaves of this habit are even more hopelessly enchained than those who take opium in other ways, and it is speedier destruction. The German savant who lately entertained a company of more or less disgusted guests at a banquet censisting of serpent’s eggs, had at least the courage of his convictions. In the Berlin Aquarium, 9. python hav;ng laid a half- hundred or so of eggs, it occurred to Dr. Hermes that it would not be a bad notion to “sample” them—something after the fashion of the famous hippophagic banquet in Paris some years ago. On the whole—preliminary prejudice having been conquered—the eggs were pronounced to be toothsome and nutritious. What next? The Emperors of Germany and Austria will have their usual annual meeting this year about the middle of next month. These imperial in- terviews, alt-hon h of a common place character, are invested wit much interest in the sight Of the public, being regarded as the outward and visible sign of the alliance between the two na- tions. Kaiser Wilhelm is anxious to have Bis— marck attend this year’s meeting, but the Chancellor is reluctant to do so, and will prob— ably avoid it in some way. The interview will take place at Gastein, from which place Bis- marc proceeded in 1879 to Vienna to conclude the AustrO-Germaii alliance, and which he has never since visited. Some rogress is being made with the works for the anama Canal. Excavations have been begun at several places; but much sickness and mortality prevail among the laborers, who are to a large extent drawn from the West Indies— especially from Jamaica. The French have built hospitals, for which there seems to be only too much need. The total absence of all proper sanitary arrangements is said to be a far greater cause of disease than the unhealthiness of the climate, although during eight or nine months of the year the heat is intense. The Europeans on the isthmus have experienced great suffer- ing; but their respective Governments, acting through the resident Consuls, have been prompt to relieve all urgent cases of distress. A HARTFORD man, who was broken down in health, but had plentfi of money, settled in southern California. e is now the owner of two splendid farms, one of 600 acres and the other of 3,000, and his health is in perfect con- dition. In his orchards there are 26 varieties of apple trees, 27 varieties of grapes, 1,000 pear trees, embracing 16 varieties: 17 varieties of peaches, 350 olive trees, 350 Japanese persim- mons, 7 varieties of pomegranates, 9 varieties of figs, 10 acres of English walnuts, besides pecan and filbert trees. He has also 47 varie— ties of roses and 17 magnolia trees. He would plant his whole land in grapes for raisins and table use if he could get help to pick them when ripe. Farm laborers are in great demand there. He thinks there is no place like southern California. THE Vienna Neue Freie Presse has published a series of articles on the persecution of the Jews in Russia, containing many dreadful in- cidents, but none more dreadful than the fol» lowing: A Hebrew merchant in Belta named Mendel Schermann was fleeing to the nearest synagogue with his wife and two-year-old son when they were overtaken by the mob. The father was knocked down and beaten half to death, his wife was outraged, and the child, which meanwhile had lain crying on the ground, was kicked into the gutter. Then, an— gered by his screams, one of the fiends knocked his skull in with an ax. When the mob had dispersed the parents escaped with their dead chi d. The next morning the father, crazed by the horrors he had seen, was found wandering idly through the streets with the mutilated body of his baby in his arms, and it was not until two days afterward that his friends were able to take it from him by force and bury it. Notes and Answers To Readers and Correspondents. Th is department being “ reudera’ ant] i-owespolzd- ents‘ own," is open to all proper queries frrrm those see/:- ingiaformati'on or ad'i‘ice, u‘hivh is cheerfully given upon all suliiects. All contributions not here noted as “ declined ” are passed to the “ (recanted " list. Declined: “In July;" “JOP‘S Savage;” “A White Heat;" “August Mary;" “Between Two Firesz" “Bananas in the Shade:” “Plano Accompani- ments;“ “The Handle to the Jug;” “A Safe Pro- cedure;" “The Wash Out;” “On Steamer and in Grot;” “A Choice Between;" “The Pittsfield Cruise;“ “The Extract Of Tuli s;" “Beaded and Bearded," “All That May Be; “ The Gospel of Se '9’ Ian P. We have serials by both the authors named. One will soon be given. Bucnnnmcl. We don’t know where Weston now is. He is “ played out " as a walkist. Arranrricz. Write to editor of Painter's Monthly Magazine, New York. We know of no book to aid you. Goaniairr. Wm.H. Vanderbilt owns Maud S. and drives her in span. She is not on the turf this sea- son, we believe. MAUDE. It is quite “too much trouble “ for us to five a criticism on your work. We have small time or such gratuitous and always unpleasant labor. Mas. E. B. S. See the DD": RICIPI Boon. Its sec- tion, “The Parlor." is full of facts, directions and recipes, relating to carpets, furniture, adornment, etc , etc. Dorr. Of course nothing can be told by one page of manuscript as to character of stor , any more than one brick will determine the c actor of the house to be built. We may say, however that no serial story of Ancient Peru would be av ‘ able, even if very good. Popular interest in that species of literature is wanting. SMALL PICA. We know of no “type-setter ” ma- chine that can be called a success; nor can we tell you where such machines are in use, in this coun- try; they are, we believe, used in the London Times composing rooms, but have not there proven to be a very desirable acquisition; so the “coast is clear” for your invention. Evsmxo STAR. Mercuryhas twice been the eve- ning star this year—from January 6th to February 22d and from May 2d to June 28th. It will be again from August 14th to October 22.1. Venus is an eve- ning star now, and will be until December 6th. Ju- piter will be an evening star from August 29th to December 27th, and Saturn from July 30th to De- cember 27th. OLD BROWN. Egypt may not be the “ oldest coun- try on the face of the globe," but—where is the proof to the contrary? Its civilization goes so far back into the past that Egyptologists reckon its eras b dy— nasties, and assume that 17.000 years before 0 rist all the Upper Nile region was teeming with popula- tion, and numerous great cities, with vast public buildings, temples. etc., were then in existence. Mas. Monnis. Now that you have obtained your friend‘s address, call upon her. You can tell by her treatment of you whether she cares to renew the acquaintance of “ auld lang syne.” If you were so fond of her then, it is worih the attempt to know her again. Still, you must be prepared for changes. \Ve outgrow people, the some as we outgrow clothes. You may find your friend very different from the “ charming young lady " you once knew. Mas. JENNIE WILSON writes: “If I go, with my husband, to call upon a friend and her family, and no one is at home, oughtI to leave only my card? Orshould my husband leave his, too? And on lit I to leave any message?" You and your bus and should each leave a card. Leave no message. If you meant to pay your visit to several, or to the family, crease your card through th - middle. To crease it also near one short edge signifies that you, innperson, called, in contradistinction to a "card ca .” ADDIE. Of course any spirited girl Of twenty-four would resent 1heinterference and suiveillance. Not to do so would imply a weak mind and irresolnte character. And, too. it is absurd for the parents to insist upon their ideas of "duty," seeing that they are so clearly selfish. The daughter‘s ambition to be independent—mistress of her own time and earnings—is to be encouraged, not repressed and forbidden. Better permit her perfect freedom of action at home than compel her to leave home to obtain what is her unquestioned right. DANDY FRANK. 1. We do not care to recommend de ilatories. They are usually dangerous. 2. Use 11 verized chalk, twice a day, upon your teeth. ive cents’ worth, procured at a druggist’s, will last von some time. If the chalky taste is disagreeable have a little powdered orris root mixed with it. 3. To increase the growth of your hair, mix well six ounces of bay rum. two ounces of the best- castor oil and half an ounce of cantharides, and rub this well upon the scalp. Wash your head daily in cold water and rub to a glow with a coarse towel. ASSISTANT Enrron, M. L. See the “Declined ” in NO. 647. It is not “unreasonable” to expect pay where you contribute just what is wanted—As be- tween ” the two horns of the dilemma ” there is a choice. If our relative presses the matter, admit his claim, ut put in_ a counter-claim for services rendered. You will then be in a position to enforce compensation, and therefore will really gain b the procedure—The trip would be comparatively inex- pensive if the fare on the steamer was paid. We should say—“take the chances ” and the holiday. Gnomm IRON. The big bell of St. Paul, in Lon- don, weighs 175 tons, its diameter at the mouth is 9 feet 6 inches, and the thickness at the sound-bow 8% inches. It is upward of 7 feet high, but from the lip to the top of the cannons it measures 8 feet 10 inches. The note is E flat. It is the largest bell in England, being four tons heavier than Big Ben of Westminster. and many tons heavier than the great Toms of Oxford and Lincoln. It is. indeed, insig- nificant beside the vast and parIly-ruined monsters Of Moscow, but with the great bells of Western Eu- rope it can vie very fairly. MABEL BRIGHT. A “ capote " is a very tiny flat bonv net. They are worn both with and without strings. A favorite way of trimming them is to put a big Al- satian bow directly on top, and then to tie the ion- m-t under the chin with inch-wide velvet ribbon. Yes, they are worn b young ladies, and are con- sidered very Stylish. hey are the favorite “ coach‘ ing “ and travelin hat. To wear with your green suit “ by the seasi e,” where you cannot wear your plunied hat, get a tiny capote of green “ rough and ready ” straw. Put a big Alsatian bow of green vel- vet or mOire ribbon on top, and tie with very narrow strings. KARL D. We cannot tell you, nor—we doubt—can any one, the exact number of miles of tele raph- wire in our country. There are many rival com- panies, each controlliu many miles of wire, and changes are being ma e constantly. About 240,000 miles of wire are controlled by the Western Union Company, and over a thousand wires enter their building in New York city. There are something like 15,000 cells in their battery-room. Since you are so interested in telegraphy, why do on not learn it! Once thoroughly mastered t wi always stand on in good stead when your other occupa- tion! is you. Cniiiuiv Coma says: “Do kindlg tell me what to give as a wedding present to a ride who is very wealth . I cannot pay over six dollars." Some exquis to little bit of pottery—a Wants, a on and saucer, a plate, a statuette, a card-receiver. hoose something “fine and delicate as you can. Or give I vinaigrette, a tidy, a hand-glass, a comb; or send a fine small basket of flowers. But, mall , would not some kee kc from your own hand far more prized by the bride? Anybody can an pl what can be readily bou ht at the stores. M e the lady u some pretty art cle of ornament or wear or vertu th your own hand, is our advice. DISTRISSID On. You may allow ourself to be a little more comfortable. Since the ast census the excess of males Over females has slightly increased, and the proportion of foreign-born inhabitants in our country has slightly decreased. There is nearly, or quite, a million more males than females in the United States, and there are over fort —three mil- lions of native-born persons to six mi ions of for- eign-born ones, but at the recent rate of increase from the flight Of working-pee le from the Old World, the roportion of foreign o native-born will be enhan measurably during the next census de- code. 0! this immigration pouring in upon us the male element is largely in excess of the female. A Miss or Twnm-nian'r. For the “Washington pie " a good housewife gives us this recipe: It is, in reality, she says, a layer cake, and is made of four eggs, a piece of butter the size of an egg, one cup of snfir, four tablespoonqu of mi two teaspoonfuls of kingéfiowder and one cup an a half of sifted flour. e in layers. For the filling, grate two sour apples and the rind of one lemon; 8 eeze the juice of the lemon in with the apple; ad a on of sugar, one e , and a little salt: beat all we to- ggther and let il for a minute. Make the filling fore the cake, so that b the time the cake is baked the filling will be col , and you can put the cake together at once. It may be frosted or not. SEVENTEEN-YEAR~OLD. Of course you may wear a “poke.” Tie it under your chin and trim and face it with a becoming color and you will find the eflect will be to add piquancv to your face.—Acaion is a mahogan ' color—at present extremely fashion- able—A nun s vailing of “crushed strawberry" trimmed with )Iirecourt or D‘Aurillac lace would make you a charming and inexpensive dancing dress. Have it made short—You are absurd in your views about short dresses. A short dress should be short, to quite clear the ground. It is ex- travagant. unfashionable and slovenly to let your dress touch the ground and gather all the dust, be— sides fraying out the binding and trimming; and it is awkward and inelegant to “hold up” a short dress, ever so little—Don‘t be sill . Other people wear No. 4 shoes besides yoursel . Every woman cannot have a tiny foot! “ FLOWER FIEND " asks what are the most fashion- able fiowers to wear, and how to arrange them? You do not say where you wish to wear the flow- ers. For bonnets—lilacs, roses. guelder roses (snow— balls), buttercups, golden-rod, pansies, ox-eyed daisies, pink chm santhemums. forget-me-nots and lilies are the fashionable flowers. Most of these are arranged to droop u on the hair, at one side of the bonnet. Golden-rm especially must be arranged with stems upward and clusters downward. For the street wear a corsage bouquet—upon the left shoulder or breast—to match the flowers in the hon net. For house and evening dress very large bou- quets are worn—much spread out, to cover a e surface—on the left side, Often extending from t e top of the left shoulder, near the throat, to the waist line, or nearly there. Some ladies, however, still prefer a bouquet at the belt. Roses are always favorites; daisies lilies-of-the-valley, golden-rod, big yellow or calls lilies, pansies, sunflowers, butter- cu lilacs and ch santhemums are the other fas ionable flowers. e bouquet must be all of one kind of flower to be stylish. “Wsmo WILLOW.“ The weeping willow (Salim Baln/lonioa) is a native of the Orient, though it flour- ishes in this country and in England. It is said that the poet, Pope, first propagated the true weeping willow in England, by untwisting a willow basket sent him from Turkey, filled with figs, and planting one of the branches. The twig becamea tree, and from this willow at Twickenham all of the same kind in England are believed to have descended—It has always been referred to as a type of sorrow, desolation and desertion—perha because the Jews associated it with tears and grie when they sat be- neath its shade and “ wept by the waters of Baby- lon.” Sir Walter Scott wrote, “ A wreath of willow to show my forsaken plight,” and the willow was once commonly used as a si for an undertaker’s window. The term “ wear t e willow,” applied to a lover deserted, or bereaved of a loved one, was used by the poet Campbell in the couplet— “ I must wear the willow arlaud For him that’s dead or also to me;” but whether it originated with him is more than we can tell you. The willow is propagated by sli s (cuttings) stuck into round ke t damp until t e stick sends out its root ets. All s rubs or trees with pith in the stems are propagated by sticking a cut- iing in the ground, when it soon takes root. H];- Unanswered questions on hand told appear mt wee . ILLUSTRATED CHARADE- 4 u i‘ “I yl/I/I' / :» in \t, ./‘ . . . -l v‘\\\\\\\\\\ \ Charade. My first the stone reft by the sturdy blow Of him who by my second hither came— No more the com forts of his peaceful home to know—— Guilty and exiled, doomed to lasting shame. But they who trusted to his faulty soul, Far more than he must now endure my whole. Ariswe/ in Our Next.