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Show j tEome Circle. Jg MAKHIAGE ENGAGEMENTS. Church Holds it to be a Grave Sin to Break Them. A correspondent of the Freeman's Journal proposes the following case, and asks for information and advice.' He writes: "A young man has been keepmg company with a very estimable .voting lady, taking up her time, and thereby preventing other company. Owing to a limited income and the care of an aged mother, he was not in a position to marry just yet, that Is, he was going to be married this year 1W2). During the past summer he made the acquaintance of a real young ! pirl. who flattered him somewhat, and he tells me he thinks he will break the engagement 'of ten years' standing as he does not feel like marrying the girl. Now. after this good. loyal girl "has stood the criticism of friends for all this time, he will treat her thus. I know that it is only a' passing fancy, and that he will repent it. Rut h seems very unreasonable. He says the Calholio church does not consider engagements en-gagements of marriage sacred. Now if you will, taking the facts I have Riven you, point out the sac-redness and obligations of an engagement I feel that it will set him straight, and prevent much misery and unhappi-ness." i ne young man in whom you take so friendly an interest is greatly misinformed misin-formed if he thinks the Catholic church does not hold an engagement or espousal es-pousal sacred. Not only does she hold such engagement sacred, but that it induces an obligation that cannot be disregarded without grave sin. An engagement en-gagement (espousal) is a. contract that binds both parties equally, and for either to break it without the consent or grave fault of the other is a sin against justice. Such contract constitutes consti-tutes an impediment or prohibitive impediment, im-pediment, so that a marriage with another an-other cannot be contracted lawfully in the eyes of the Church. Tell your young friend that the girl who. waited for him for ten years faithful and true, that he might take care of his good old mother is the girl that will make him a wife that an emperor em-peror might envy him. Considering that Brooklyn is called the City of Churches it is surprising that a young man so lacking in manly honor and Catholic integrity could be found in that town. SILLY LETTERS Young Folks Who Write For Advice on Love and Kindred Topics. I wish some of the young people who write for advice on love and kindred topics to the editors of columns devoted to the publication of such epistles, would stop and ask themselves if they would enjoy having their mother or father know that they were the authors of contributions. It seems to me distinctly dis-tinctly wrong to encourage the publication publica-tion of so much rot as appears every week in- such columns in some of the most widely circulated newspapers. The letters are far from enlightening, and the advice given is idiotic. When a young man writes to a newspaper, news-paper, tells its readers that he is handsome hand-some and well educated, but that his heart is broken because he feels that there is something wrong with his mental men-tal development. Ke gets advice to "bear up and perhaps all will be right in the end." Suggestions to try cold water duckings, duck-ings, plenty of exercise and work enough to keep his mind off nonsense, it seems to me would be more in order. "Pretty Miss" informs the public that she is "17 and called very beautiful." She has several, suitors and cannot make up her mind which to select. She goes on to say that she has allowed two of them to kiss her good-night, and she is much disturbed in consequence. conse-quence. "Will the kind readers of the letter suggest to her what to do?" Of course no one, save perhaps her chum, knows she has essayed this effusion ef-fusion for print. Her letter calls forth answers from readers as light of wit as her youthful self; the ball rolls back and forth, and an unhealthy, foolish atmosphere is created. For two or three years I have watched a steady increase in the publication pub-lication of letters such as I have quoted above. In some cases they are Worse than foolish, their influence being distinctly dis-tinctly bad. Is it quite fair in journals to encourage encour-age the publication and dissemination of such morbid nonsense? Marie Ri-deau Ri-deau in Boston Republic. PRIZE KECIPES. Sall-Kising Bread. At noon the day before you make your bread, take two-thirds two-thirds cup of new milk and let come to boiling point, then stir in one and a half tablespoonfuls white corn meal. Pour into a cup, cover and set in a warm place until the next morning; then take one quart of very warm water wa-ter and enough flour to make a stiff mush made the day before, with one teaspoonful salt, one teaspoonful sugar and quarter teaspoonful of soda. Mix thoroughly; set mixture in a vessel of water just hot enough to bear the hands for a few moments and keep at that temperature until the yeast rises; when it rises sift flour enough to make four loaves, and pour in yeast, knead quickly, mold and keep hot until ready to bake. Do not shake while rising. Boast Duck With Apples. Pluck and singe a duck, draw it without breaking the intestines, wipe with a wet towel and lay in a backing pan; wipe a dozen small sour apples with a wet cloth, cut out cores without breaking the apples, and arrange them around the duck; put pan in a hot oven and quickly brown the duck: then moderate the heat of the oven and continue the cooking cook-ing for about twenty minutes or until the apples are tender, but not broken; baste both duck and apples every five minutes until they are done, then serve on the same dish. Parents to Blame. Father Hogan. rector" of the Sacred Heart church, Trenton. N. J., makes the surprising statement that one of the causes of the decline of matrimony among young Catholics in Trenton is that parents encourage their sons to remain at home and share the financial responsibilities of the household instead in-stead of advising them to embark on the matrimonial sea.- This statement results from a house to house canvass of his parish made by Father Hogan last week. . He found an unusually . large proportion of unmarried men who were in a condition to support a wife. " Father -Hogan does not hesitate to blame the parents for this state of affairs, af-fairs, which he said is due to the fact that they wish to get their children's earnings. In a sermon he mentioned this fact from the altar. He has frequently fre-quently urged the young people of his parish to wed. This time he characterized charac-terized the parents who interfered with or discouraged the marriage of i their sons as unwise and selfish. He strongly censured the disposition to i defer tne matter out of a monetary consideration and counseled that often the happiest homes were begun amid humble surroundings. He said matrimony matri-mony was the foundation of 'happy-Christian 'happy-Christian homes and the conservation of good morals. Father Hogan is particularly interested inter-ested in the young people of his flock and has frequently stirred them upon the question of early marriage. Cold Feet. If a person suffering from persistent rolfl feet iu onnotilntinnallv nf l,i- "i'i im im euiisu i u Lioiiany cu low vitality, vi-tality, the first duty should he that of bracing her system by a generous dietary, diet-ary, and, in winter especially, by the addition of fat to her food the amount of fat usually taken should be somewhat some-what increased. The practice growing fairly common of taking after meals some form of fatty preparation is no doubt extremely useful. Some prefer cod liver oil or similar emulsion. The person who suffers from chilly feet must, of course, be careful to see that her stockings are changed frequently. The feet should be bathed in water to which borax has been added or salt. These applications appear to exercise a tonic- effect on the skin glands and it would be well to note that on the feet and into the stockings there should be dusted a "foot powder." which any druggist will supply. Tight shoes, also shoes with over-thin soles, and tight garters, restricting the cir-I cir-I culation of the blood, are all conducive conduc-ive to chill, and therefore pave the way for the inroad of more serious ailments. ail-ments. When Ready to Go, Go. Not all have learned the fine art of leave-taking in an appropriate . manner. man-ner. When you are about to depart, do so at or.ce gracefully and politely, with no dallying. Don't say, "It's about time I was going," and then settle set-tle back and talk aimlessly for another ten minutes. Some people have just such a tiresome habit. They will even rise and stand about the room in various va-rious altitudes, keeping their hosts dw standing, and then, by an effort, succeed in getting as far as the hall, when a new thought strikes them. They brighten up visibly and stand for some minutes longer, saying nothing of importance, but keeping everyone in a restless, nervous state. After the door is opened the prolonged leave-taking leave-taking begins, and everybody in general gen-eral and in particular ' is invited to call. Very likely a last thought strikes the departed visitor, which his friend must risk a cold to hear to the end. What a relief when the door is finally closed! There is no need of being offensively abrupt, but when you are ready to go, go. Two Keep a Good Fire. If you would keep a good range lire and save ccal try-Using try-Using a little more care and common een.e in caring for the range. Watching to see that a clinker is not allowed to form on the linings. In giving the fire a thorough raking, to remove all clinkers with the poker. Never to use the shaker when it is possible to avoid it; instead, try Uidng the poker freely and you will "have a birghter fire with less coal. To remember that shaking banks the fire down into a solid mass, and as the air cannot circulate through it,- the draft will be poor. Baking out the ashes lightly and putting put-ting on the drafts when the fire from any cause becomes duli: and do not stir it over the top nor put on wood. To leave the fire in good condition at night, the fire box should be even full of coal after raking out the dead ashes and cinders and putting on the night's supply. To avoid gas after banking for the night. Do not close the drafts and open the top as soon as the c.ial is put on, but let it burn a short time, or, as it has been expressed, "until you think the coal is warm all through." Then there is very little danger of gas through the night. To be careful in keeping the ashes' down; they should never accumulate in the ash pan until they reach the grate; if this happens often the grate will soon be burned out. ' Keeping the stove well polished; if the lids become greasy turn them over and let the top of the lid come next to the fire until the grease is burned off and it will take polish easily; and it will be found that a brightly polished range seems to radiate heat more readily read-ily than a dull, dusty, grimy-looking affair. Manage the range so that you can get all the heat needed without having the top red hot, as this will warp the centers and covers, and if a little water wa-ter should fall on the top at this time it will be very apt to crack. |