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Show If! I THE CHRISTMAS I I WORK BASKET j i Gifts That Men Like to Use. 1 I j fi 1HIS," M,1 a "Wll-known ex- j J I PIorer- "lo tho mst useful I ( , j j Christmas gift I have over had fflvon mo, and It was made f j by a. little girl." He held up to vlotv a ' wrmll and well-worn, boueewlfo of a M' stylo not affected by young women I) iJ when maklns glftn for brother, friend I tj or sweetheart. j The houecwlfo was a piece of oilcloth. !lH of a very fine quality, longer than onc'a Y'l hand, but not do broad and curved at .ji each end. It was lined with fine red 1 flannel, whone cdpeo were bound to 1 those of the oilcloth by a narrow red . ribbon. I lA Its Interior arranjremenln were rtl- " vlded In three portions. At one end' ' were eewed three llnpa of pure white 'J flannel, pinked on the edges, tho upper 3$j , flaps bclnir smaller than the lower one, anil there were filled with needles. The flu Dther end had a red fJllc pocket, atltched jr up Into three divisions for paperr of 111 j needles, and tho center was a small, flat !, cushion. covTPd with flannel and Mjj stuffed with wool. A red ribbon h?ld jj' thwe nrllcle3 lint to th oilcloth ard llt- ) J , tie bows rrade p bit of cpcor-itlor. A n: forms a hinge, and a little brass knob, or fancy button, tied with a bow, Xorm3 a handle to the top. A oravat holder Is another useful gift to a man. It may be made by covering a long, narrow, low box with flowered rilk, or plain llk li&nd-p&lnted, with the Initials painted or embroidered upon the top. The bottom should have a wadded wad-ded lining, the size should permit the cravats to fold Just once. The top chould be wadded before It Is covered with llk, and then lt decoration ohould be simple. A tvnall brass, handle In the middle, or a glass knob, Is more appreciated appre-ciated than a ribbon bow would bt. Another form of cravat holder lo made by covering a shallow box with leather. The box should be half an long as a cravat and wido enough to hold a number of them. It Is lined with wadded wad-ded rllk and has a tiny brass rod run through the uppr part and another on the top, outer edge. A soft curtain of tinted leather decorated In hand-palut-Ing or burnt work, Iv hung with a number num-ber of tiny ring to the rod, and a cravat cra-vat Is taken out or put In by merely pushing arlde the curtain. The curtain li" a fringe extending below the bottom bot-tom of the box. This fa hung to the vail ond has an ormment on top of It. It mfj n'f of Bilk or an fancy lographs arc, arranged In the centors of jr these frames. (v Many men play cards; the oard- holder Ib a noat gift to the card lover. It is of leather and fits around a pack c of cards. It has a covered flap. In dec- orated on the back and llap. and ha3 cunning little leather straps run- through the cover and fastened with a buckle or clnsp in front. A tiny medl- y cine chest Is made In tho same way, y only one side of the lining consists of a J silk pocket divided into several com- partmenta for little bottles, Just largo c enough to hold home remedies that V often come Into use. 5 The college man likes college things ? about him; a useful gift Is an engage- ment calendar made of little fans, deco- rated In tho college colors and flags, V and which may. be mounted upon . S cardboard back covered with silk. Tho fans- aro sewed at the bottom to the back of cardboard, and each fan form3 a little pocket for holding cards and f memorandums of engagements for that day of the week. These fans arc sou- venire of different colleges, and the owner will no doubt want his own col- V lege at the top. A pretty Ala for letters Is made by ? covering the front of a shallow box v with little college fans in a row and V dropping the letters in the box behind them. Small silk college fiags aro also dec- c oratlve as a border for a pillow or y lounge robe. They should be basted y on and then worked around the edge V with chain or embroidery stitch. The c handles of the flags should be worked In raised embroidery or stem stitch. s Suspenders are always welcome to a y man, and a handsomely embroidered i . pair of suspenders can readily be made. $ Cood natln should be usfnl for both out- y side and lining, and the lining should V LB: j i ! 'S pleco of ribbon was sewed to the back, a the two ends-folded over the middle, and jM" 8 the ribbon tied them down in a snug, 1 V f fiat case. HUi g The value of thly cas lay in the fact Hu; $ that the wool and flannel were pure and H ' rfj preserved the needles and pins of the r A explorer In any sort of climate, from Hji A the North Pole, which he had- sought, ' ; to the regions of he Ahtarctlc circle. H j And even greater value lay In the good i k qual' 7 of the oilcloth, which formed a Hjf I i erfect protection against wet. Al- J though the little case had been In use k 1 S for twenty years ltwas as good as ever. A hint might be taken from this, that ' a man llkeo wjmethlng not too elaborate Hf or "fusoy," but compact and servlce- H 1 A able. A woman would use oiled silk 1 and encai It in some pretty silk cover Hl t 4 and use dainty tints of pure flannel for ! id the Inner llaps. Prettlncss may be com- ; blued with usefulnese without having H)' usefulness yacrllloed to it. A well-luiown army officer, when be l iiturned fi-om his last campaign In the j". Philippines, etaowed a plncuohlon which ; lie said was the best ever made and h Hr ! had been the recipient of hundreds. It t ' had been In use for many years, and 1 I was Just a ymall mattress of pure fcllk. ' made Just like a bed mattress, aud I stuffed with wool nnd then hold ae Hi'., mattresses arc by little rlbbonn run j , 4 through the mattress and tied liv small ! j loops on top. The officer said that pi no '' !j seemed to slip vo easily Into this small ! mattress they nsver rusted, the Avliole H'1 s affair was easy to keep clean and took U up little room. H S Men are, au a class, neater than wo- if : men, and abhor things that collect dust. Hl i ' At the same time they are quick to ap- Ij ,n predate prettlncss of color and form. Hj. I Their feminine relatives and friends l. j J usually snow them under at Christmas Hjj tlmo with furbelows that are of little 1 or no use except to serve the purpose j of collecting dutt and microbes by the peck. A representative lrutn uald that 1, i he was thankful when his sisters accl- '' : dentally discovered that he hid all the , 1 ) desk and toilet fixings they made him H ' i: except when he expected them on a vli- H, .) It. He grieved at the hurt to their feel- l Ings. but rejoiced that thereafter they B' ' i-efrnlned from presenting him with any j ! more useless bric-a-brac. Vj; . i Coat hangers are nice presents for l1:l both college men and bachelors. They ri. : may be as pretty as possible With rlb- H' ,j ! hons and bows and sllkts; they may hold m S oachet or not, but tliey are toft nnd prc- j( nerve coat linings and keep a coat neat i j a '-x set. A pretty coat hanger does not R '; j "ako up any more room than an ugly Hl I ; one. The ono Illustrated Is Ptuffed with H' : j cotton, which Is first fastened to a wire a ; frame. The hook is wrapped with rib- : bon and a big roette put at the top. A H , ' hag is hung below the hanger for socks, K'li j thuB economizing room, an Item to be ! 3 considered in large cities. H Another useful present Is? the collar W'1! K 1)0X- A. new style has a tiny box let In B , n the middle of the top for the roceptlon l'1) of collar buttons and cuff links. To Hf -i ; make one, cover a wide band of paste- board with Bilk and rcw the edgeo to- Hi;J gcther. Make a smaller band In the Hf ; i , fame fashion and then cut a circle of K;: I r-ardboard to fit the bottom of the larger l-j i l band, cover that and sew the smaller tijj band to the center of the bottom and ; ; 'he larger one to the edge.?. The collars flf nt around one and the cuffs around the B: other circle. The cardboard must be H. ' stiff enough to keep Its shape. : A lid Is made by cutting a circle a K; I ihade larger than the bottom, covering . i Vta- nn( a sorrow band to iw around i t9 lower lge, and then Blnklng a small f'j 1 round or squaro box In tho middle. A B-. ,? fcrnall cover for this la made and tvwed K j in one spot and tied with a bow, which needlework that can be kept clean. so.iifcihi-ij: in it men like to keep their handkerchiefs In are handsome "sachet boxes of silver, lined with wadding, but the home-made box or basket Is Just as useful. It may be of sweetgrass, wadded wad-ded Inside, and all the owner haB to do Is to lift the basket lid to take out a handkerchief. Or It may be a hand-painted hand-painted box, or one embroidered In wreaths of flowers, with a lid that lifts easily. In any case, the gift Is useful and ornamental. Another thing that a man likes Is a laundry bag the prettier, the better. Make this of flowered, washable cretonne cre-tonne or good silk. The Initials embroidered embroi-dered upon the side add to the attractiveness attrac-tiveness of the possession. It ohould have a hem at life top and a band with a drawing string both ways, with big bows on each side. Simplicity should be the rule In cut. Trays for the home writing table and dresser are appreciated, and a hand-sdme hand-sdme cross-stltched or embroidered design de-sign Is fastened in the bottom of a basket or metal tray and covered with glass or transparent mica. This can be washed every day without harm, and will always remain beautiful. Tho smoker likes a cigar case made of leather, decorated In carving and small enough to fit in his pocket. He also likes a pipe rack. The worker in Wood can make a charming pipe and stein rack combined for a bachelor's den, and the worker In oils can paint a pair of gay Indian papooses upon a large piece of soft green lenther and bow straps at Intervals to hold tho pipes. The leather then has a rod run through the top to keep It In shape, and Is finished with a fringe. Another useful present that may be made by the deft artist Is a telephone slate of leather. It never wears out and Is always pretty. Uso green tinted or buff leather and stretch it over a stiff slate of cardboard or thin wood, and put Imitation brass-headed nails around the border. Nallheads can bo bought In packages for fancy work and sewed on with a needle. Fringe the bottom of the leather and decorate the top with a little, etching or painting, pasted or sketched on above tho word "Telephone." "Tele-phone." Silt the leather In two double rows down each side, and run narrow white cards with the ends under the tiny straps formed by the slits. There should be two rows of cards to a slate. The silts should be even and the cards all the same size. These hold- telephone numbers and names, and can bo slipped out and renewed without difficulty. Slates can be made In hand-palntlng, embrodery or with any fancy-work border, and with narrow ribbons to hold the cards In place. College men are particularly fond of decorations for their rooms. Pillows worked In all the new and old stitches, provided the colors are pretty, are acceptable ac-ceptable to them, as well as lounge covers cov-ers with handsome borders. Leather pillow covers are excellent gifts. The stained and carved and burnt ones are more serviceable than those whose paint may wear off with uso. Picture frames are dear to college men. Here the worker In wood has an opportunity to stain and carve beauties beau-ties for holding hor own picture perhaps per-haps and the girl who can paint on silk anddoather may makeup odd conceits con-ceits In frames for photographs and etchings, while the needle-worker cm-broldors cm-broldors wreaths and sprays of flowers upon linen, or doea rt frame In cross-stitch cross-stitch or Mountmolllck, In high relief work, and hag the dainty work fitted under nlas and framed, or merely bound upon the edges. Places for pho- 1 1 invariably be white. The loops and ) elastic portions are purchased and put 'j on after the embroidered bands are fin- 4 ished. A thin, stiff Interlining of stout 5 quality avIH help to keep the rratln In 5 shape. Try the amateur photograher at Christmas with an album, covered with A a richly wrought leather cover, or one Sj of dark silk with an embroidered bor- S3 der, and see how he likes It. And 'try tho chess player with a square of soft leather, done In neat squares of pale and dark brown something that he can roll up when he travels and pin on any 3 table. Most men have fads of some kind, and these help one at Christmas time, when new smoking Jackets and y slippers replace old ones, and a man be- 5 gins his annual wonderment over the 2 vagaries of the feminine mind when ex- c erclsed In the selection of Christmas presents for masculine use. |