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Show I11E IKViMi Or JAPAN DAN J U HO STANDS AT HEAD OF PROFESSION. Hit Inltltted Many Kef..ruis The I'atrons or the Stage In ll's Country Belong Alnoit Exclusively to the MlilUle unci Loner C lasso. (Special Letter.) Whoever lirt called Mr. Ichikawa Danjuro the Japanese Irving was not unhappily inspired, says the London Sketch. lie stands as unquestionably at the head of his profession as the uncrowned king whcse palace is the Lyceum; he is associated by his fellow-countrymen, as we associate Sir Henry, with a splendid series of historic his-toric impersonations; he has done a great deal to raise the status and enhance en-hance the prestige of actors; he en-Joys en-Joys an income far exceeding that of the prime minister, and, nest to Marquis Mar-quis Ito, i.s perhjps the most popular person in Japan. In one respect he MR. DANJURC certainly surpasses our greatest actor. We can hardly imagine the portrayer of Becket, of Shylock and Louis XI. favorably fa-vorably Impressing his audience in the roles of Portia or Beatrice or Lady Macbeth, but such androgynous feats are frequently accomplished by the Tokyo favorite, who, moreover, at the age of 65, is still capable of much agility agil-ity as a dancer in the "Damari" or pantomimic scenes which break the somewhat lurid march of a seven-act tragedy. He belongs to a family which has been on the boards for nine generations. genera-tions. The original Danjuro made his debut in 1673, and the present bearer of that name made his first appearance at the age of 3, in 1340. and was adopted by Gonjuro, under whose name he played until 1874, when he resumed his father's. When I add that his name in private life is Shu Horikoshi, and that fellow actors call him Naritaya, you will admit that this passion for an alias, common to all classes, is confusing confus-ing to the definitely labeled foreigner. In the old days, when every play of Importance drew a series of colored prints from Toyokuni and his disciples of the brush for the delectation of native na-tive playgoers, and, ultimately, of European Eu-ropean collectors, the world of mummers mum-mers was despotically ruled by caste. Half a dozen families enjoyed the sole right of training and adopting novices, ot transmitting technical secrets, and rven of playing particular parts. Nowadays Now-adays all that is changed. In the absence ab-sence of an endowed theater or any system of theatrical training every tyro must shift for himself In the free fight of unlimited competition. This Is far from being an unmixed evil. It at least guarantees some loophole for originality, which was much hampered hamper-ed under the old regime of reverent imitation. Mr. Danjuro himself has initiated many stage reforms. It is he who made facial expression a far more effective weapon in histrionic armory there than here, not only potent but possible. The grotesque faces, barred with blue or red stripes, which Kunl-yoshl Kunl-yoshl and Kunisada painted, may have impressed an old-fashioned audience, but the moderns are more to be envied en-vied who follow with obviously intense in-tense emotion the vivid play of feeling feel-ing on mobile features during scene after scene of battle, murder and sudden sud-den death. Every foreigner who has witnessed a Japanese play must have regretted the artificial declamation of speeches, pitched very high or very low In tone, to evade the never silent sara-isen sara-isen (a kind of three-stringed banjo), which accompanies the performer, like & curse, from start to finish. Other actors ac-tors now follow Mr. Danjuro's example In confining as far as possible this co-Incidental co-Incidental music to particuiai scenes; this enables them to use their voices more naturally and gives the author a better chance of being appreciated. Western ideas have affected vtry little the form or substa -ce of Japanese plays, which continue to be written about national heroes and to inculcate incul-cate feudal ideas of obedience at any price. Among the more famous roles Interpreted by Mr. Danjuro and familiar famil-iar to all students of Japanese history are Nakatnitsu, who beheaded his son in place of his master's; Benkei, the devil-youth, whose gigantic strength and crafty wit were loyally used for his diminutive lord, Yoskitsune; Jiraiya, an oriental Robin Hood, no less accomplished ac-complished as a magician than as a robber; Iwafugi, a malicious court lady of the Tokugawa period, and Kaluga Ka-luga no Tsubone (.the lady-in-waiting of Kasuga), who was intrusted with AS JIRAIYA the education of the shoun's grandson, grand-son, Iyemitsu, and whose portrait, as drawn In this play, by Mr. Fukuchl, a most remarkable living dramatist, is worthy of Bjornson or of Shakespeare. The emperor has only once been present at a theatrical performance In the house of Count Inouye. The upper up-per classes confine all interest in things dramatic to the archaic No-plays, privately pri-vately enacted before a select audience. audi-ence. Thus the patrons of the stage belong almost exclusively to the middle mid-dle and lower classes, but. these flock in such numbers to the playhouse that the best players draw very large salaries. sal-aries. Last spring, after a season of four weeks at Osaka, Mr. Danjuro'a AM mmimi stare of the receipts amounted to 60,-000 60,-000 yen (rather more than 5,000, $25,-000); $25,-000); but the prices are always raised w hen he appears. Four such seasons in a year would tempt any "star" from our own theatrical firmament, but it should be added that, in conformity with a generous etiquette, as much as 2,000 (110,000) of the Osaka windfall was expended in presents to friends and friendly tea houses. Devoted to his own drama, Mr. Danjuro doe3 not pretend to take much interest in foreign for-eign forms of the same art. He once took part with a Mme. Theo in a little sketch entitled "The Green-Eyed Monster," Mon-ster," and written half in French, half in Japanese, to amuse the guests of the foreign legation at Tokio, but he has never seen one of our typical pieces or performers. The attempts of the Sosbi-Shibai Sosbi-Shibai (or "Students' theater") to import im-port Dumas and Palleron by the me-iium me-iium of translation were not so successful suc-cessful as to enlist his sympathy. Conservative Con-servative in morals as In art, he fears that such a writer as Shakespeare would brutalize and unsex Japanese girlhood. Perhaps he is right. Mr. Archer exposed as Londoners to the lanser of marrying Nort or "taking Hedda Gafcler in to dinner;" far more heinous were it to open O Hazukashl San's almond eyes to the forwardness of Beatrice and the shrewishness of Katharine. TATTOOING FOR DOGS. Indelible Murks Provided for Their Identification If Stolen. Michael J. Butler has been occupied for the last few months in tattooing soldiers at the various camps. As the soldiers have all gone home or out of the country Butler has returned home and is now tattooing dogs. "You see," said he, "so many dogs are being stolen nowadays that it is necessary to put an indelible mark upon them. Some thieves can take almost any kind of dog and do him up in such a way that his best friend won't know him. They can dye a dog, trim his ears or tail and disfigure him in other ways. Xot long ago I read of a woman who proved her ownership of a pet dog by showing some of his tricks to the magistrate. ma-gistrate. It struck me that if she had had her dog marked in some way she would have had less difficulty. I can take a long-eared dog and put his owner's initials on the under side of one of the ears, with blue India ink, and that will be a mark which will never fail. It is not very painful to (he dog. Thus far I have marked about thirty dogs, and the owners are all jaeased. Some of the dogs were tattooed tat-tooed inside of their ears. On three I tattooed rings about their tails, with certain private marks known only to the owners. Of course, each man for his own protection wants his dog to have a private tattoo mark which can I not be seen by the ordinary observer, I so that when his dog is stolen the j mark can't be destroyed, even if its j place is discovered under the hair. The j owuer can then easily prove property. It is harder to tattoo a dog than It is a man. It takes one man to hold the dog and to keep back the hair, as to get in the ink is quite a job of itself. For an easy mark under a long-eared dog 1 generally get a dollar, but my price runs up to $5 when the mark is big and in two colors and takes time. I have put a blue heart, outlined, on a dog's breast that you can't see unless you pull back the hair. Dog's flesh Is very much like a man's, and the tattooing tat-tooing heals up in about the same time. I have a job in view of tattooing tattoo-ing a whole pack of hounds for a Chester county kennel club. These dogs get lost in the chase, but frequently fre-quently they are stolen. When they are tattooed under the ears the mark can never be removed. Dog thieves ship stolen animals from one city to another, where they are sold or offered to be sold, but if buyers will closely inspect dogs under their ears, in their ears ar.d on various parts of the bodies they may be able to find tattoo marks, which will at once prove to them that the dogs were stolen. No honest dog fancier will buy or sell a stolen dog."' New York Sun. Kmh of Blood to the Far. Judge Blank was in a reminiscent mood. "Ah, yes," he said. "Sleigh-rid. "Sleigh-rid. ug in those old days was different from what it is now. We didn't use a sleigh, in fact. It was usually a bob-s.ed, bob-s.ed, or a pair of bob-sleds," he proceeded, pro-ceeded, "with a wagon-bed for a body, filled with straw, and we sat down in the straw, Jen or a dozen of us it was always even numbers, mind you and a discreet farm hand for a driver. We didn't care how cold it was. We bowled aloDg merrily over the country coun-try roads, and if we hadn't sleigh-bells enough, we used cow bells. Race? Yes, we used to race sometimes. It was during one of those old-fashioned country bob-sled rides, by the way, that j I won my wife. The moon went be- hind a cloud, and I asked the fateful ! question in a whisper. But I must have been blushing fearfully." "Why so?" "Because I froze my feet!" A Pacific Cable. No cable has yet been laid across the Pacific ocean. It is impossible for the government to telegraph to its new possession of Hawaii, and when Admiral Dewey wishes to telegraph to the government at Washington, his message must go by a roundabout route through China, India and England. Eng-land. A cable could be laid now, with the landing stations al! on American territory. It might be laid from San Francisco to the Hawaiian islands, a distance of 2,000 miles, thence to Wake Island, thence 2,000 miles further fur-ther to Guam, in the Ladrones, and thence to Manila, 1.500 miles farther. The last congress did not act on this question, but the next congress will probably enact the necessary legisla tion. Shipbuilding- Boom In Great Britain The shipbuilders of the United Kingdom King-dom last year established a record. The total output (exclusive of warships), was 1,367,570 gross torn,. This exceeds the total of the pravlous record year. 1S89, by 158,209 tons. About 20 per cert of this tonnage was built for foreign for-eign owners, the largest customer being be-ing Denmark. The total merchant shipping built last year on the continent conti-nent was 260,000 tons gross, of which J53.147 tons was turned out in Germany, Ger-many, 67,100 tors in France, tod 26,530 tons In Italy. In Great Britain, only a few sailing shlos were turned out last year. For the Hath. Little Boy (pointing to window of indiarubber shop) "What ai those?" Mamma "Those are diving saits.made all of indiarubber. so that the diver won't get wet" Little Boy "I wish I had one." Mamma "What for, my dear?" Little Boy "To wear when you wash me. "Oh, for the wings of a do re!" sings a macaztne nnpt If ha Knnrlnnu . o - " .tuning .tun-ing in that strain he'll 60on be glad to compromise on a cheese sandwich. DAIRY AND POULTRY. INTERESTING CHAPTERS FOR OUR RURAL READERS. Bow Successful Farmers Operate) This Department of the Farm A Few Hints aa to the Care of Lire Stock sod Poultry. A New York Poultry Farmer. About a year ago a report was given of Henry Van Dreser's poultry farming. farm-ing. You were told of the high price he got for his eggs, all of them going to one grocer on Fifth avenue. New York. It was reported also how many hens he intended to have laying this winter, and that all the eggs were contracted con-tracted at a fancy figure to one dealer. The report seemed almost incredible, out the business goes right on all the ame, and the money is rolling In, writes T. B. Terry to Practical Farmer. Far-mer. Mr. Van Dreser Is one of the V. Y. Institute force and a man who mcceeds when he undertakes any-:hlng. any-:hlng. He paid for a large, fine farm, and made his mark in the world by breeding Hoisteius. A few yeaii ago he became Interested in the poultry business. He says they always kept hens, but they never watered them in winter, nor did they feed them properly. proper-ly. The hen house was cold and filthy. It was not cleaned out for years at a time, and their hens were all ages. They did not get any eggs in winter. When he determined to make a change, and take care of the poultry, they first dressed the entire lot, old and young, and sent them to market. Then they bought a 200-egg incubator. Next 200 eggs were procured from an expert. They paid $20 for these, as they wanted to start with the best money could buy. Mr. Van Dreser says he could not afford to breed up the old mixed stock they had. but desired de-sired to take advantage of all that had been done in this line. The eggs came by express. They were allowed to rest 24 hours after they arrived before they were put in the incubator. The fifth day they were taken out and tested. The infertile ones were saved to feed to the young chickens later on. Of course the eggs were turned each day arterwards. The 18th day, along toward night, the chickens began to Pick their way out of the shells. This poultry business was started by Mr. Van Dreser partly on account of a boy they were bringing up, and he and the boy sat up all night, so interested were they, watching the chickens hatch out. All of them were out by the 19th day. They were left In the incubator 24 hours. The chickens hatched out numbered 87 to each 100 eggs, in this first trial of the incubator; 76 of these were raised, that is, 76 grown chickens chick-ens were obtained from each 100 eggs bought. In due time the little chickens chick-ens were transferred to a brooder, ot course. The first incubator was used in the house cellar. This caused the fire insurance company to cancel their policy. But Henry says they didn't propose to be stopped by any such little matter. They went ahead, but were particularly careful about fire. Having such good results the first time, Mr. Van Dreser was anxious to increase the business rapidly, and talked the matter over with his friends. Mr. Geo. A. Smith, the dairy expert, begged of our enthusiastic friend to go slow; and he did. although al-though it was hard work for him. He felt his way along gradually, studying study-ing and learning all he could. The second year another Incubator was bought, and brooder to match. And Btill they prospered in this new undertaking. under-taking. They built a two-story house for the hatching and brooding of the little chicks, it is 40x45 feet. The basement has a cement floor and there the Incubators are used, four of them now. Three have a capacity of 300 eggs each, and one of 200. They intend in-tend to get another next spring. The brooders are in the second story. There are four of them, three of 300 chicks capacity and one of 200. The chicks are kept in these, with the little runways run-ways attached, for three or four weeks. Mr. Van Dreser says the brooders will keep the number of chicks they are rated for that long safely, and then the chickens need more room, as they are growing. An educated expert, a graduate of Cornell Cor-nell University, has charge of the business now. It has frrown to be so large that one man's 'nstant attention atten-tion is needed. They are new arranging arrang-ing a system of outdcor brooders to transfer the young chicks to from the brooding house. How many laying hens do you suppose they have this winter? Twenty-three hundred. Yes, a single hen house, built last season, to make room for their growing business, busi-ness, is 365 feet long, 15 feet wide ad 9V feet high. The apartments Ins'.de are 15x15, with wire netting for division divi-sion walls. Nine tons of Portland cement was used to make the flonr of this one building. So perfectly is the building constructed that it never gets freezing cold inside. In the center of this long building a single large room Is built two stories high, which adds to the looks very much and makes an office where the books we kept and the business matters attended attend-ed to. There is a stove in this of course. I asked Mr. Van Dreser if he considered this system of hatching and raising chickens better than the old way. "Oh, yes," he said, "altogether. "alto-gether. You see, good laying hens, such as we want, are too nervous, too unstable, too changeable minded to trust with a nest of eggs. If one will follow directions carefully the incubator incu-bator and brooder will beat any hens. Improvement In Western Herds. The way the western range men are doing business In the matter of improving their herds is opening the eyes of the eastern and southeastern south-eastern small farmer who combines stock raising with his farming operations, opera-tions, says Dakota Farmer. The big stock raisers of the west are constantly constant-ly going east and southeast for their bulls and they secure the best animals, leaving the second rate bulls for the farmers in those sections. They can afford to take th,e best and pay a high price for what they get, if quality is commensurate, for they have large numbers of breeding cows in their herds, but it does not often occur that the small farmer can make the same Bort of transactions, for he has but a few head of females and cannot make ends meet if he pays as high a price as do the western stockmen. The result is aa would be expected the western herds have the finest bulls and the quality of the whole herd is good, and all the time it Is being graded up. The small eastern herds are eithar standing still or retrograding in quality. As a consequence the western cattle are topping the markets when properly fattened and finished. Dla-estlblllty of Milk. Feeds do affect the flavor, but flavor and digestibility are different factors, and we nave no proof at the present time that milk from a healthy animal fed on clean feed is in any way affected af-fected as to its digestibility by any feed or combination of feeds, says Hoard's Dairyman. "Tie same objection that Is made to cotton-seed meal has also been raised agsrfnst ensilage, but Mr. H. B. Gurler. who is supplying Chicago with a grade of milk especially used by children and invalids, uses silage freely. I' care is taken to use feeds that are free from strong flavors, or if high flavored foods are fed after the animals ani-mals are milked, the milk will have no other than its natural sweet flavor provided that precautions are taken as to the cleanliness of the animal, stable and vessels hdding the milk. That there is a difference in the digestibility diges-tibility of milk from Individual cows is well known to every doctor. It frequently happens that several animals ani-mals have to be tried before one Is found whose milk is suited to the stomach of a delicate child. We have not yet, however, arrived at the point where we can say that any clean food, such as cotton-seed meal, or other feeds of like nature, makes the casein of the milk less digestible, and that its use should be discontinued in consequence. con-sequence. At the same time it should be recognized that any food, if given in such quantities as to affect the health of the animal, will in many cases cause the milk to become unfit .o use. Dairy Notes. The passage of the Dunlap-Lyons pure food bill by the Illinois legislature legisla-ture gives the consumers and producers produc-ers of dairy products in Illinois some hope that they will be enabled to get some protection against frauds in the form of adulterations and preservatives. preserva-tives. The thi-g that is now needed is to have a commissioner appointed that will discharge his duties with regard to public interests. The task has become almost herculean by reason rea-son of the long years of delay. Illinois Illi-nois has proved a rich territory to be worked in the Interests of every manufacturer man-ufacturer of so-called preservatives as well as for the manufacturers of spurious spur-ious butter. Give us men that have the energy and honesty that present circumstances require. The shipment of butter is almost a science in itself. By reason of too little lit-tle thought in this regard the shippers of butter frequently suffer considerably. consider-ably. If a man is to send forward a good deal of butter of different qualities quali-ties It is very necessary for the description de-scription of his goods to be such that it will be understood by the commission commis-sion man to whom they are shipped or by other customers. If It happens that two qualities are In the same batch, the whole Is likely to be judged by either the good or the bad. If it Is judged by the bad, the price he receives re-ceives will be low. If it is Judged by the good, then the bad butter may spoil a good -customer. It is best not to try to deceive the commission man or any customer. e e e The state of Washington has just put Into operation a law that will certainly cer-tainly prove effective If It is properly enforced. It provides for a state brand for both butter and cheese. The cheese Is to be labelled Washington Full Cream cheese and can be made only from whole milk and must contain con-tain not less than 30 per fent of butter but-ter fat. No cheese Is to be made containing con-taining less than 15 per cent of butter but-ter fat. Filled cheese will be suppressed sup-pressed with an iron hand. A uniform butter brand stencil reading "Washington "Wash-ington Creamery Butter" is to be issued is-sued to the creameries and no buttei made outside of the state can have the use of this stencil. One good point about the new law is that it prohibits the buying of oleomargarine by any state institution. Ths will put a stop to the use of oleo in the poor houses and other institutions of like character. charac-ter. All milk dealers In cities of over 1,000 inhabitants r.ust have licenses. Process butter may be made, but must be marked "Renovated Butter." Regular Crops Needed. More than anything else, we need regular markets mar-kets and a steady demand for our apples, ap-ples, says A. B. Barrett in Michigan Farmer. But a rejrular market naturally natur-ally presupposes a regular crop, and here we get at thn gist of the whole trouble. What can we do to make our trees produce a certain quantity of apples every year? The ability to do this would be worth more than to increase in-crease the bearing of the trees. We could then gauge matters accurately and know Just what profit there is In the business. At present our trees produce big crops one year, and then half a crop the next. If somebody could remedy this state of affairs our orchards would be more profitable. It is not the nature of the trees to yield such irregular crops, but it is due to conditions that we ought to be able to remove or improve in some way. Bad Roads in Washington. People of Seattle, Wash., complain that much trade is lost to the city on account ol the poor condition of the surrounding roads, and they say that Tacoma get it because the roads leading to th?l city are in better condition. Besidw this considerable item of loss, they say that there are thousands of acres at good, fertile land that are not under cultivation merely because it costs more to market the crops than they are worth. "It means much to Seattle," Seat-tle," says the Seattle Argus, "to have this territory settled up. There is but one way to do it; and that is by the construction of good roads.,Let us have good roads. When we get them, it will be but a matter of a short time until the business men of Seattle commence to reap substantial returns therefrom." Utilizing Skim-Milk. Skim-milk has heretofore been almost a waste product prod-uct in many creameries. It has not been utilized to the advantage of either the creameryman or patron. Its value for feeding purposes has been almoBt entirely destroyed, and the farmer who offered it to his calves or pigs felt almost ashamed of himself to think he would provide such unwholesome, miserable mis-erable rations for their use. But with better enlightenment on this subject and facilities for doing it in better shape, they are beginning to otiliie skim-milk in such a way that many of the farmers now consider it worth from 15 to 20 cents pr hundred for feeding purposes alone. Elgin Dairy Report. The Question of Exporting Butter. J . vi question is well worthy of serious consideration by butter-makers, butter-makers, and dealers, but combined action ac-tion is necessary, as It would not be wise lor a few Individuals to assume all the riaka of finding a market, and allow other to reap the benefits that might result from the unloading of the home market. It Is easy to find people who say, "Oh yes. it would be a good thing if we could ship off a portion por-tion of our summer product, even at a tow price." but they want the othei Xettows to do it and hold their own stocks for home customers, n. y Produce Review. FOR WOMAN AND HOME ITEMS OF INTEREST FOR MAIDS AND MATRONS. Adventures of a Wedding Rloa; Origin of Some Famous Fashions The PolonaiseThe Polo-naiseThe Neck and 'the Throat An Apron Fichu. If. "If I were a man," the woman said, "I'd make my mark ere I was dead; I'd lead the world with a battle-cry. And I'd be famous ere I should die - lf 1 were a man." "Ir I were a youth," the old man cried. "I'd seize all ciiances, I'd go with the tide; I'd win my way to the highest place. And stick to honor, and seek His grace If 1 were a youth." "If I were rlc'i." the poor man thought, "I'd give my all for the poor's support; I'd open my door, and I'd open my heart. And goodness and 1 would never part If 1 were rich." And lo! if all these lfs came true. The oman a man. the man a youth. The po-cr man rich then all in truth. This world would be, when we got through, Just as it Is! James Oppenhelm. Adventures of a Weddiug Ring. In'Germany the Continental custon. prevails that wives should give theu husbands a wedding ring at the nuptial nup-tial service In return for the one they receive from the man they have accepted. ac-cepted. Married women being generally superstitious as to the removal of their own wedding rings, it will surprise nobody no-body to learn that Teuton dames are very touchy as regards the respect paid by their spouses to the token of bondage they have accepted. If it be removed from the wedding finger and carried about in the waistcoat pocket or purse, woe be to the husband should he be unfortunate enough to be discovered. A story comes from Berlin about a certain poulterer of Meissen, the loss of whose wedding ring utterly destroyed de-stroyed for a time the domestic peace of his home. At last, however, he was able to vindicate his character. His wife was receiving money at the till one day when a female customer walked walk-ed Into the shop. "Have you lost your wedding ring?" she asked the poulterer. The eyes of the jealous wife were fixed upon him. He boldly replied In the affirmative. ''Well," said the customer, with an artful smile, "here it is." The wife glared. "I bought a rausage here the other day, and while I cut it up for supper my knife came upon this ring. I presume it fell from your finger while you were making sausages." At the earliest opportunity the poulterer went to the jeweler's and had the ring made a size smaller. The Polonals". The polonaise is certainly to be a feature of the spring styies. In Paris it is already an accepted fact, and, although al-though London no longer slavishly accepts ac-cepts what Paris proposes in the matter mat-ter of dress, a run on the polonaise is expected there. Any one who studies the subject of dress soon discovers that what on the first seemed to be a reckless reck-less revival is generally a logical evolution evo-lution of some favorite style of the moment. When the shaped flounce came in, the revival of the "tablier," "tunic" or "draped overskirt," as it used to be called some ten years ago, was predicted. And the draped or separate sep-arate overskirt cannot come in without bringing In the polonaise, which is merely Its "princess" form that Is, I the overskirt cut in one with the bod- ice, instead of being separated at the waist.. The eel skirt he'ped the evolution evolu-tion of the polonaise, which is always most In favor when fashion decrees a certain tightness above and a certain flow below in direct contrast. The eel skirt accentuated this and will accentuate accen-tuate it still more if the excessively tight samples, skin tight above and very fleecy and flowing below the knees, which now prevail in Paris and on the smarter London stages, ever spread to the majority. Charming Hume (ioirn. A charming home gown in red delaine de-laine figured with black. Is given In the Marshall. It is made with a fitted lining cut princess fashion. The back corresponds with the lining, but in the front the outside material forms a graceful skirt and pretty blouse with jacket fronts, the blouse being of plain red silk, which goods also faces the revers. The joining of waist and skirt is hidden by a red ribbon girdle. The braiding on the cuffs, collar and revers It of black soutache. This model is appropriate for cashmere, flannel, silk or any thin material. A special illustration illus-tration and full directions about the pattern will be found on the envelope in which it is Inclosed. Origin of Some Famous Fashions. It is a singular fact in the history of fashions that not a few of the more famous of them owe their origin to the endeavor to conceal a personal defect de-fect or deformity of some distinguished leader of society. Patches were invented in-vented In England in the reign of Edward Ed-ward VI. by a foreign lady, who in this manner ingeniously covered a wen on her neck. Full bottomed wigs were invented in-vented by an ingenious French barber for the purpose of concealing an unnatural un-natural protuberance on the shoulder of the dauphin. Charles VII. of France introduced long coats to hide his ill- Alt W:m f I t a o uWV (lb9 0 9 o r 7 r , , , u o made legs. Shoes with very long points, fully two feet in length, were invented by Henry Plantagenet, Duke of Anjou, to conceal a large excresence on one of his feet. When Francis I. was obliged to wear his hair short, owing to a wound he received in the head, short hair at once became the fashion fash-ion at his court. As a set-off to the examples quoted, we may note that, not lo conceal, but to display, her charms, the beautiful Isabella of Bavaria Ba-varia Introduced the fashion of leaving leav-ing the shoulders and part of the neck uncovered, in order to show the remarkable re-markable fairness of her skin. An Apron Fichu. As will be seen by the accompanying accompany-ing illustration. Dame Fashion ha been mindful of the maid, as well aa the lady, in distributing the little trimmings trim-mings which add a certain elegance to a plain garment. The unadorned apron can now be treated In a manner that is very becoming. This apron U made with a full skirt evenly gathered upon a narrow band that is fastened at the back with a button and buttonhole. The material is light-colored percale over-scattered with bunches of flowers. flow-ers. There is a pocket of generous size upon each side, edged with a ruffle of embroidery. The hem is likewise finished fin-ished with an embroidered ruffle. Instead In-stead of the straight ftraps across the shoulders a fichu of the material is made and trimmed with frills of embroidery. em-broidery. This fichu is crossed over the front of the waist and fastened to the waistband at the sides. Developed In a more expensive material this apron is ideal for my lady to wsar when .making fancy work. Sock and Stocking Mending. A large hole in a sock or stocking can be mended in less than half the time required for the usual manner of running back and forth, and up and down, and will look as well and make a stronger darn. Beginning at the side of the hole farthest away, and working work-ing from left to right, work around the hole in the single button hole stitch used in embroidery, taking the stitches a little way apart and deep enough into the material to get a firm hold. When the starting point is reached, keep on around with the same stitch taken into in-to the loops between the stitches of the previous round. Keep on till the opening is filled, narrowing toward the center by skipping an occasional stitch. If the material mended is very thin and worn around the hole, begin further fur-ther out .and make a round or two on the solid cloth first, taking each stitch into the loop of the last round and also into a bit of the goods that is under it. If the hole is of an irregular shape the darn can be made to fit it by narrowing nar-rowing faster at one place than another. an-other. This makes a neat and durable darn, and with a little practice can be done very rapidly. The Nflik and Throat. The reason why pretty necks and throats are much rarer possessions nowadays than they were fifty or sixty six-ty years ago is that for many years past it has been the fashion to wear high stiff collars, fastened tightly round the throat. Tight collars cause the neck to become yellow, and the skin to become prematurely wrinkled and baggy. A gract-ful carriage of the neck is also impossible when a high, close collar is worn. We are at last beginning to recognize these truths, and this season stiffened collars will no longer be the mode. Often the first signs of age show themselves In the throat. Daily massage, using a good emollient, is the best method of keeping keep-ing throat wrinkles at bay; this, if persevered with, will also prevent yellowness yel-lowness and scragginess of the neck. Singing exercises improve the appearance appear-ance of the throat, but, of course, it is Imperative that singers should avoid tight collars. Rrlnal Vrlls. With the present style of arranging the hair In pompadour and high on the head, the wedding-veil, whether it be of tulle or of lace, can most easily be adjusted, for it can be caught In place on top of the hair and fastened with a diamond ornament, or spray of orange blossoms. One end of the veil can be fastened in this way, and then the .Uher end left to fall its entire length over the train. Some new wedding gowns are m&e with the front of the skirt rrranged to give the skirt the effect or a petticoat made entirely of lace or trimmed with ruffles of lace, and then on the back of the gown there Is no lace at all. Putting all the lace in front In this way, particularly if the gown is made to fit well, makes it extremely becoming. becom-ing. It gives long lines to the figure and a very slender appearance. Reception Oowa A novel reception gown is made of lilac satin. The trained skirt has a circular cir-cular flounce. The close bodice is trimmed with bands of guipure insertion inser-tion and has a basque of guipure at the back. The sleeves are entirely covered with an application of guipure and have a slight puff on top, the wrist being be-ing finished with a circular ruffle of lilac li-lac crape, veiled with lace. The ruffle is headed by a band and bow of light blue taffeta. The collar of blue taffeta ia covered with spangled tulle and ha a ruche of light blue crape. Terrible. Mr. Bogosh "What's the matter, my dear?" Mrs. Bogosh (sobbing) "Our Sylvia called me 'mother' a moment ago, fej the first time in her life." SCIENTIFIC TOPICS CURRENT NOTES OF DISCOVERY DISCOV-ERY AND INVENTION. A Bird That la a Real Wonder Mou - key-TTreBch on the Brace An Klectrle Loooiuotlve 8111c from Shell Fish The Giant Telescope of furls. A Bird That Is a Rml Wonder. Possibly the rarest of all feathered creatures is the "takahe" bird of New Zealand. Science names it Notornis Mantelli. The first ones ever seen by white eyes was caught in 1849. A second sec-ond came to white hands in 1851. Like the first it was tracked over' snow, and caught with dogs, fighting stoutly and uttering piercing screams of rage until un-til overmastered. Both became the property of the British museum. After that it was not seen again until 1879. That year's specimen went to the Dresden museum at a cost of $500. The fourth, which was captured last fall in the fiords of Lake Te Anau, in New Zealand, has been offered to the government there for the tidy sum of 11.250. Thus it appears that the bird is precious; worth very much more than its weight In gold. The value, of course, comes from rarity. The wise men were beginning to set It down as extinct. Scarcity aside, It must be worth looking at a gorgeous creature about the size of a big goose, with breast, head and neck of the richest rich-est dark blue, giowtng dullish as it reaches the under parts. Back, wings and tail feathers are olive green, and the plumage throughout has a metallic metal-lic luster. The tail is very short, and has underneath it a thick patch of soft pure white feathers. Having wings, the takahe bird flies not. The wings are not rudimentary, but the bird makes no attempt to use them. The legs are longish and very stout, the feet not webbed, and furni.hed with sharp, powerful claws. The oddest feature of all is the bill, an equilateral triangle of hard pink horn. Along the edge, where it joins the head. there ts a strip of soft tissue much like the rudimentary comb of a barnyaid fowl. Silk fr..iu frihell Flh. The idea that the sea contains a material ma-terial capable of being wrought into the form and characteristics of silk has commonly been treated as a myth. But according to the American Silk Journal, the shell-fish, known as the pirma, found in the Mediterranean, has the power of secreting a viscid Bilk which, in Sicily, is sometimes made into a handsome fabric. The silky matter is ejected by the shell-fish In the first instance, for the purpose of attaching itself to the rocks, possessing possess-ing the unique capacity, as it does, of guiding the delicate filaments to the proper place and there gluing them fast, reproducing them also if they are cut away. This substance, when gathered, is washed in soap and water, dried, straightened and carded, one pound of the coarse filament yielding about three ounces of fine thread, which, when spun, is of an attractive golden brown color. There is also said to be in the Royal Berlin Museum, a pair of g-olden brown silk gloves made of byssus silk, a material obtained from the small silk tufts protruding from the byssus shell; thl? fibre is silky and changes in color from greenish green-ish yellow to dark brown, the single threads being two to three Inches long. A Fsli Th it Shoots. There is a curious fish called the seabream. which is very seldom caught In this part of the world, as it is a native of warmer seas than ours. It i3 thin and fiat, with a brightly colored body and a mouth which in many speci-ments speci-ments projects so much as to look like a small snout. This snout is used j in a wonderful way; the fish actually shoots insects with it. Having dis covered with its sharp eyes a fly resting rest-ing on some leaf or twig not far above the water, the bream swims cautiously to a spot directly beneath, and then suddenly raising its snout above the surface, darts from it a single drop of water straight at its prey. It seldom if ever misses its aim. Down drops the unsuspecting fly into the water, where it is pounced upon and swallowed. In China this strange fish is o;"ter kept as we keep gold fish for the amusement of seeing it shoot. A fly is fixed at some height above the vase or globe; the bream shoots at ir aain and again, puzzled no doubt that it does not fall, and rarely aiming wrong, though it may be at a distance of thres or four feet. Monkey-wrench on the Mr re. By the Invention of Jacob Harter of North Manchester. Ind., a bit-brace Is made to do duty as a wrench. This tool Is especially desirable for wagon builders, as it allows the nut to be quickly placed on bolts with long threads. The device consis;s of an attachment at-tachment which may be made to any brace, as it is merely an adjustable I wrench jaw which fits into the usual socket in the brace which receives the bit. Topers in the Animal Kinrilom, It is a curious fact that there are topers to-pers innumerable in the animal kingdom. king-dom. Bipeds and quadrupeds alike ate fond of alcoholic drink3, and although some display aversion when first tasting tast-ing liquor, they soon acquire a craving for It Chickens and ducks, after having hav-ing once tasted brandy, become absolute abso-lute slaves to the drink. They refuse to eat, grow thin, and exhibit symptoms symp-toms of dejection when unable to obtain ob-tain their favorite liquor. Monkeys and apes are passionately fond of spirituous spir-ituous liquors. Of these. Buffon's wine-bibbing wine-bibbing chimpanzee was a shining example, ex-ample, and Brehm, the German zoologist, zo-ologist, owned several mandrills that drank wine regularly and did not disdain dis-dain brandy. Herbivorous animals frequently become intoxicated, innocently inno-cently enough, through eating decaying decay-ing fruit. In orchards, o:ceu and cows, after eating over-ripe apples, have been seen to display all the symptoms of drunkenness. - They i.tagger, their eyes lose expression, and they grow sleepy. It seems that animals are susceptible sus-ceptible to alcohol'sm In proportion to the development of their intelligence. Elephants are fond of wine and rum. and rats gnaw the staves of wine casks to get at the contents. Cats, however, rarely exhibit a fondness for intoxicants. Among birds the parrot takes first place as an habitual toper. Insects have many opportunities to become Intoxicated, and it is the most active that most frequently avail themselves them-selves of the chance. There Is an aromatic aro-matic Intoxicating fluid In linden blossoms blos-soms for which bees show an especial fondness. Instances have been observed ob-served where swarms of bees regaled themselvee with the poisonous linden nectar until they exhibited all the signs of intoxication. Hundreds fell helplessly to the roadside, to be trampled tram-pled under foot. Ao Elect rle Loromotlre. On the railway between Paris and Melun, a distance of about 28 miles, experiments ex-periments have recently been tried with a high-.peed electric locomotive, drawing a passeneer-car containing a party of 15 people. The rear part of the locomotive, corresponding to the cab of a steam engine, contains the electric accumulators. The two rear wheels are driven by continuous current cur-rent electromotors. The locomotive with its tender weighs nearly 200,000 pounds. Drawing a load of 147 tons, the average speed was 27 miles an hour. With a 100-ton train a speed of CO miles an hour was obtained. The Ulant Tuletoipe of F- 1- The giant telescope that Is to be used at the great exposition in Paris in 1900. is well under way. The aperture aper-ture will be 49.2 inches and the focal length 196 feet and 10 inches, and the estimated cost 1,400 000 francs (5280,-000). (5280,-000). The telescope will not be swung in a domed building, but one of horizontal hori-zontal position on solid supports ot masonry, and will receive the light of the heavenly bodies oy reflection from a movable plane mirror two meters in diameter (78 inches). This plane mirror mir-ror is 13 inches thick and weighs 3, COO kilogrammes (7.920 pounds). It has been in process of grinding for seven months and is not yet finished. It Is expected that a magnifying power of 6,000 will be usefully employed, and occasionally oc-casionally 14.000 may be used. The highest existing telescope does not exceed ex-ceed 4,000, and there Is great expectations expecta-tions from the working power of this new telescope. An Improved Microscope. The microscope, as constructed heretofore, here-tofore, only allowed the inspection of even surfaces, and its focus was so limited lim-ited that objects of any thickness had to be first prepared between glass plates or upon a flat surface to become visible at all. This quality makes it a most difficult matter to observe objects ob-jects through a microscope of great enlarging power. In order to obviate this difficulty and to enable the enlarging en-larging of small bodies as well as of flat surfaces, an American living In Paris, Mr.Greenough, constructed a microscope mi-croscope with a greater depth of focus, which has since been further Improved by the optician, Czapskl. of Jean, Germany. Ger-many. Its lenses are so arranged that they will permit the inspection of uneven un-even surfaces, and in order to make the vision more perfect, two systems of lenses are provided, giving the im age a strongly stereoscopic effect. How Cold Crows Warm Their Feet. From Rockbridge county comes the report that there are an enormous number of crows there, and they are committing unheard of freaks. They have been seen on the backs of the sheep on several farms. A gentleman stated that he saw three crows at the same time on the back of one sheep and the animal did not appear to mind them, but continued to walk about and feed. The only reason assigned for the crows being there was that they had frosted their feet during the cold spell and were using the wool on the free list as an antidote for their injured in-jured feet. Alexandria Gazette. Her Ape at Monte Carlo. A enrlous story comes from Monte Carlo, the heroine of which has lost a large sum through excusable female vanity. She entered the gambling saloon sa-loon while a former friend .of hers was winning in a sweeping style that seemed destined to break the bank. "I am so glad to see you here, prince, and in such luck, too!" she exclaimed. "Do tell me a lucky number; it is sure to win, for you are now in the vein." The prince generously placed a pile of gold louis before the vivacious lady, whose be2uty hd BnouJiy defied the effects of thirty-six winters, and said: "Put it all on tbe number of your years and reap a golden harvest." The lady reflected, hesitated, and then placed the pile on twenty-seven. An instant later the croupier sang out: "Thirty-six red wins'." "Heavens!" muttered tho lady, as she fainted away, "thirty-six Is exactly my age!" Tit-Bits. Heroic. She "If I were a man I would never rest until I had become a hero. It seems to me every man who is a man ought to do something heroic a least once In his life." He "Well, I don't know but that you're right. I think myself that every ev-ery man ought to be a hero once in a while." She "Then why don't you have the courage of your convictions?" He "I have. Didn't I walk clear down the aisle to the front pew with you after the preacher had got nearly through with his sermon last Sunday morning?" A Man of Great Parte. "Brumbleton is a man who ought to be representing this country at some European capital. There is the man who has the natural qualifications of a diplomat. "Do you think so?" "I don't merely think so. I know it. He has been living with his 14-year-old boy at a boarding house for the past three weeks and is still on good terms with everybody from the landlady land-lady down." Delicate Distinction. "Do you think." said Mr. Orestes Van Ham. "this manager will pay me all the money I earn." "I guess so." said Mr. Stormington Barnes, with the quiet superiority of a veteran. "But I doubt whether he will ever pay you half of what he promised you," Washington Star. |