Show r domars mars sphere by one oho of the sex lw story T for the chil dren after the tin horn has tooted its last dreadful note after the last chocolate cream candied elephant has disappeared down childish throats after doll and wagon have become a well known friend the shades of the swift coming christmas night comes on and mamma is called upon to tell the children just one story before the fired eyes close in restful dreamless sleep dreamless did I 1 jay say that depends upon the plum pudding and infant powers of digestion however it may go 90 so and we will turn with willing arms to hold the baby while the other children crowd around our knees and tell them the story of the christmas perhaps you are one of those mothers who have no prejudice against repeating fables and fairy tales to your children if so tonight the sweet christmas eve you will tell your little ones about jolly kris kringle and his funny sleigh and it may be you will tell them all the sto story ry of the dear holy babe who was born in a manger but just here I 1 want to ask you latter day cint saint mothers if you think it wise and best to teach your children that jesus was born on the of december come may say this is a small matter but it is these same small matters which are making deep impressions upon the plastic minds of your children why not at least to the six and eight year olds say that this holiday was one which was kept by the old romans and that when wily king constantine embraced t the faith to further his own ambitious projects this particular feast day was set apart as the christmas holiday or divine birthday it is not his natal da day every one knows that and yet we go on perpetrating pet rating the errors of the outside world cannot the mothers of this people at least teach their children the truth and tell them that while this is not the birthday of christ yet it is a time for good cheer and a time when we can think of christ and his teachings and for the renewal of friendships and the forgiveness of enemies if they wish to hear the story of christ no better time can be chosen to tell that story but by teaching them the whole truth dont you see that you are steeling their minds against the errors of the world after you have explained this then go on and tell them the beautiful story of the royal birth in dealing with this sub subject hect try and explain to their uncomprehending pre hending ears what a shepherd is and 1 if they are city bred tell them about sheep and how sheep live tell them too what an inn was in the saviors time and how it was that many people lodged in stables as they wera were sheltered places and not uncleanly take them out for one moment and show them the li heavens F a v e n above and point out the stars while you are telling them about the star that appeared in the east then while you are out speak of the heavenly choir which fahed the universe with melody do not forget to tell them how the birth of the savior was heralded on this continent and what the condition oi of the people was at that time you must im press upon them that the babe was in looks just like other children and that only those who wd had revelation from god to know who ami am what he was were aware of the fact of his divine origin tell i hem of the visit of the wise men and explain what the gifts were and why the wise men brought such gifts then speak of the wicked king herod and tell them why he was so anxious t to have the new jewish king killed if you can read any authentic life of christ you will be able to glean very much as to the circumstances and conditions under which the savior was born if not study well the testament and book of mormon and be sure you bring all your words down to a perfect understanding by the little ears around you and you will not go yourself for your time and effort one little lesson that can well be impressed on older childrens minds in connection with the infancy of jesus is that while it would have been an easy matter for our heavenly father to so arrange conditions in jerusalem that it would be unnecessary lor for the child jesua to be concealed in egypt yet it is not in that way that god ever does his work he uses men and conditions and while never interfering with the agency of any man he rules and overrules and accod elishes his purposes sometimes in one way and sometimes in another but al ways through natural means in any story of christ the one lesson firmly to 0 be taught and constantly to be borne in in mind by the narrator is the life of infinite love and infinite patience you may not think oh mother of a half dozen noisy boys that your words are having the least effect upon the active somewhat quarrelsome dispositions around you but persevere I 1 the lessons you thus teach will remain when alt all things else have faded from the mind and sooner or later you will see the beauty of the labor you have wrought here a gleam and there a flash and in the years you will know that your efforts were not in vain the tre tr e or the 1 away out in the country districts it is next to impossible to have a tree that sounds strange for one would think that surely out in the country was the very place to get trees the difficulty is that fathers and brothers have not been educated u up to the tree business and therefore don dont t care to venture into the cold canyons for something which has no money value now little country mother if you are sentimentally inclined you must try and train your boys up to thi the tree tradition so that their wives wives will not experience the same difficulty you have done if you cannot get the tree do be earnest about carrying out the stocking tradition dont don t refuse to hang up your own or the papas stockings simply because you are weary and the thing is so old and well known you cant realize how generous enthusiasm on your part will help out the occasion and your own youth will return to you in in joyous memory as you enter into your childrens gleeful labor if you can get a tree it is a charming addition to the christmas tremon ire mories es and will repay you for all your trouble and expense christmas Cook luff maybe you have not prepared your plum pudding perhaps you are a young and inexperienced housekeeper who dreads to put together a lot or of expensive materials which possibly may turn out a dismal failure I 1 remember years ago I 1 took a recipe from a book a very expensive recipe indeed it was and after properly compounding my materials I 1 tremblingly tied up the dough in a stout bag and put it on to boil the regulation twelve hours with the fatality of young housekeepers I 1 invited all my husbands family to come and partake of christmas hospitality there was no lack of good things to eat and in the early course of the dinner I 1 went out to lake out the pride of my heart and the eagerly expected triumph of the feast that rich and delicious plum pudding I 1 turned it out on the plate and oh dear me something had happened the bag had leaked the water had stopped boiling or some wicked sprite had determined to ruin my dinner and my reputation that plum pudding poured all over the table in one thin watery mass of fruit it seemed as if there was nothing but water and fruit and I 1 gazed at the mess in wordless despair my dear little mother in law came out and helped me to recover speech but not peace of mind nor could she restore solidity to the dumpling dessert that day began and ended with mince pie the little mother inlaw i in nl law was an experienced cook that miserable fruit was all gathered up suet debris and all flour and yeast powder was added and it all went into the oven and came out several hours after a fair enough brosi cross between baked plum pudding and fruit cake to recommend itself to all the boys of the family and one solid week of enjoyment of of fruit cake and nightmare night mare made them all f forget et e the christmas catastrophe oth the e little mother in law brought over after that her modest little recipe for plum pudding one that came in her dear little head clear from old england the home of plum puddings it is safe digestible and as rich as a pudding ought ever to be here it is one pound 1 I take a pint measure for alt all these and press the weight into that as I 1 scales of chopped and shredded suet three and three quarter pounds three quarter pint pressed well down of bread crumbs one fourth pound of flour with one teaspoonful of baking powder sifted into it four eggs well beaten one cup of sugar one cup of milk enough milk to make a good god batter not too stif fone one pound of raisins raisins one pound of currants one fourth houna pound of citron and lemon peel each one ground nutmeg if you wish to use some wine or brandy do not use so much milk and you can add spices if you wish A little molasses in place of all sugar darkens the color and if you boil it twelve hours that will darken it the longer the boiling the darker the pudding I 1 always boil this in a tin budding bucket well greased inside a pot of boiling water and never use a bag any more oe be sure of that for sauce put a quart of boiling water in a abuce pan work together two large tablespoonfuls of butter with a large tablespoonful of flour when creamy add to the boiling water one cup of sugar and when cool nutmeg and lemon may be added some flavor with wine or brandy and some use vinegar the little mother in law al ways used a half a of rich cream instead of brand brandy or r wine MRS FRANCES V M RICHARDS how to darn well weli the secret of successful darning lies in running the thread of the darning cotton so far on each side oi of the hole bole that it does not immediately fray and pull out the goods take a long thread of darning cotton to begin with and run it at least half an inch along the goods on each side of the hole continue this until the hole is snugly covered now cross the threads in the regular darning style taking care that the same precaution is observed A stocking darned in this way will wear as far as the darning is is concerned just as long as though no conole hole had ever existed to darn ver very y large holes such as are apt to occur with even the most careful st eppers when shoes aie are loose at the heels or are ill fitting something more than a thread of darning cotton is feces sary A case like this requires a patch such holes almost always occur in the heel so that in treating of the method of mending them it is safe to take the heel for a model from the leg of an old stocking such as is sure to be found in your basket cut a kite shaped p piece bece of goods about five inches long and four inches across turn the stocking wrong side out and lay the kite upon the heel so that the ion long pointed end runs up the back of the i leg eg and the lower rounded part is at the base of the heel run down the centre of the kite with a stout linen thread taking rather large loose stitches now run in the same way across the kite shaped piece letting the thread be very slack the next step is to sew the patch tightly to the heel which is done by stitching it around the outside if deftly done there will be neither wrinkle nor crease to tell the wearer that so important an operation has taken place upon the heel of a stocking in batches patches that are made of material other than bits of old stockings are apt to be harsh and it is by their use that the patched stocking has fallen into disrepute among comfort loving people but let the housewife g give ive this simple little method a trial and she will live to rejoice that such a useful bit of knowledge has been added to her list of household facts not true of al nil I 1 women says the new york world the fact that men of learning have swung open college doors and men of business the doors of counting houses to her has not really changed the sweetly confiding and diffident nature of woman it is doubtful if the possession of the much demanded ballot itself would she still has implicit trust in the knowledge and power of man and sometimes she shows it in a most amusing way there was a woman of dignified bearing and apparent intelligence standing at a broadway postbox post box the other day near by a policeman looked upon the scene with the high and indifferent air common to potentates she had dro dropped ed in several letters and gazed h hesitatingly e si pt stingly at a small package which she held she glanced about for assistance in iier her problem and her eyes lit upon the policeman an expression of relief came upon her face and she advanced with her package ibea 1 I beg your our pardon she said sweetly holding tae the package up for his inspection but do you think that there are enough stamps on this to carry it and such is the chivalrous attitude of man towards perplexed woman that the policeman said bromly prom ly without making even an attempt to weigh the package in his hands aim 0 m theres enough maam her doubts banished by this statement and the lady droppel dropped her bundle and went ocher way rejoicing the Gari gardener lener felpel th ann says polly pry in the N Y recorder I 1 hear that queen victoria when a little girl I 1 was f fond on d of climbing trees and walls s whenever she could filch an opportunity which often on one occasion she had escaped from her attendants and climbing a particularly high tree asat sat there and enjoyed herself while she watched her chaperons chaperones chape rons running around wildly seek her As soon as they were out of sight she started to descend but became frightened at the height and drew back A young gardener named davis happened to pass at this time and she attracted his attention he ran for a ladder and soon had her on terra firma she gave him a guinea as a token of her gratitude and he had it framed and still shows it to visitors as he tells the tale victoria has done some lofty climbing since then and the selen splendid did eminence that she now occupies must possess a great attraction for her for she seems to feel no anxiety about getting down I 1 wonder if the prince of wales gladly run for a ladder to help her descend if she would only do it his reward be a guinea of course but it would be a crown I 1 As an others see Us V it is often well to see iee ourselves as others see us the following is clipped from an english paper no englishwoman can fully ap appreciate re the jealousy existing between new bew york and chicago girls new york girls say that chicago girls would be all very well in their way if they had not such large feet arid and declare that the rhyme odthe of the old woman who lived in a shoe originated thus A new york girl married as second wife a chicago widower and was blessed with three arrivals of twins not knowing what to do with them as she lived on a small flat she kept them in the first cifes shoe sho e the first wife was a chicago p girl i rl another story is told by the new yorkers Y 0 kers to the effect that when a boston woman wants to stop a train she waves a book the western woman whistles the new york woman signals with her parasol or umbrella while the Chicag merely put her foot on the linel line notes noted corsets have been found upon the waists of egyptian mummies what is pluck asks some one lating eating two pieces of your cifes christmas pie that is pluck the british government has made anne Hatha ways cottage at shottery Sh ottery national property paying for it fifty years ago it was sold for three hundred thousand dollars has been given to charity by the duki duke of portland since his marriage in fulfillment of his promise to his wife to devote to that purpose all the money he should win on the race track miss wanamaker counts among her various accomplishments the unusual but decidedly healthful one of boxing ing her tutor in great measure and the orle with whom she most frequently tries her skill is her father the postmaster gel general one Maj ajie a mysterious whom a traveler in the transvaal |