I IZ 



FESTIVAL OF THE MONTHS. 



these and various other toys composed the stock in trade. 



April's bower was daintily trimmed with green and 

 white, with tiny bouquets of moss, violets and ferns 

 sprinkled about. A fine assortment of rubbers, gossa- 

 mers and umbrellas was constantly on hand. 



May had such a domestic and practical booth, that 

 even the draperies were composed of kitchen aprons, 

 and a bristling array of scrubbing brushes, brooms, 

 whisks, dust-pans, soaps and mops filled the counter. 



June, the month of roses, was a bower of vines and 

 flowers, with choice cut blossoms and pretty growing 

 plants for sale. 



July was resplendent in the national colors, and quanti- 

 ties of ice cream was disposed of within her bunting 

 bedecked walls. 



August was devoted to the seashore, and the little at- 

 tendants dressed in sailor suits did a thriving business in 

 pails and shovels, Japanese fans, painted shells and 

 shell jewelry. 



September's booth bore a profusion of all the fruit 

 and vegetables obtainable, and was decorated with vari- 

 ous grains to represent harvest time. 



In strong contrast to the fantastic ornamentation of 

 the last named booth, October's was plainly arranged 

 like a very neat store room with prettily papered shelves, 

 and arranged upon them were jars of jellies, jams, pre- 

 serves, pickles and sauces, while upon the little table in 

 front were baskets of nuts and heaps of winter apples. 



A quaint New England kitchen, with an old fashioned 

 thanksgiving dinner spread upon the table and the at- 

 tendants in Puritan costumes, made November a very 

 popular month. Dinner was served here, and there was 

 on sale home-made mince and pumpkin pies, baked 

 beans, doughnuts and various other indigestible dainties. 



December held the crowning glory in the shape of an 

 immense Christmas tree, beautifully trimmed and laden 

 with choice gifts, and the table that supported it was 

 filled with books, toys, and anything suitable for Christ- 

 mas remembrances. 



NOTES. 



A Novel Entertarnment. — A very pretty entertain- 

 ment was recently given by the Band of Hope con- 

 nected with an English Sunday school. The principal 

 feature of the programme was the rendering of a piece 

 called "The Flower Queen and her Court." A large 

 bower of flowers and evergreens occupied the platform, 

 and in the back part of this was the Flower Queen's 

 throne, with seats on either side for her court. The 

 Queen is supposed to have sent her nymphs on their 

 mission into the world to give comfort and sympathy to 

 the poor and distressed. The Queen tells this in an ad- 

 dress and at the words, 



" But hark ! I hear their welcome feet 

 Come tripping back again to me!" 



a door was thrown open, and the Flower Queen's court, 

 consisting of twelve young girls in white, covered with 

 wreaths and garlands of flowers, entered. Each 

 nymph in response to the command of the Queen told 

 the story of her mission, and at the end of the last re- 

 cital all knelt and repeated a prayer for all in distress. 

 After this the Queen, followed by her court, passed out 

 of the bower, through the centre of the room and out at 

 the opposite door. Appropriate musical selections be- 

 tween each recitation added attractiveness to the enter- 

 tainment. 



Flower Worship in India. — A traveler thus de- 

 scribes flower worship as practiced by the Persians in 

 Bombay: "A true Persian, in flowing robes of blue, 

 and on his head a sheepskin hat — black, glossy, curly, 

 the fleece of Kar-Kal — would saunter in, and stand and 

 meditate over every flower he saw, and always as if in 

 half vision. And when the vision was fulfilled, and the 

 ideal flower he was seeking found, he would spread his 

 mat and sit before it until the setting of the sun, and 

 then fold up his mat again and go home. And the next 



night, and night after night, until that particular flower 

 faded away, he would return to it, and bring his friends 

 in ever increasing troops to it, and sit and play the 

 guitar or lute before it, and they would all together 

 pray there, and after prayer still sit before it sipping 

 sherbet and talking the most hilarious and shocking 

 scandal late into the moonlight, and so again every 

 evening until the flower died. Sometimes, by way of a 

 grand finale, the whole company would suddenly arise 

 before the flower and serenade it together with an ode 

 from Hafiz, and depart." 



Winter Salads. — Cabbage, celery, etc., prepared by 

 any of the following methods will be found an appetiz- 

 ing addition to the winter bill of fare : 



Cabbage and Celery Salad. — Chop the vegetables very 

 fine, using two parts of cabbage to one of celery. Pour 

 over this a dressing composed of one cup vinegar, one 

 teaspoonful salt and one tablespoonful sugar. 



Cold-slazv -with Cream Dressitig. — Select a very firm 

 head of cabbage and slice the desired amount as fine as 

 possible. Mix one tablespoonful sugar and one tea- 

 spoonful salt in half a cup of vinegar. Stir into this 

 half a cup of cream or rich milk, and beat well for five 

 minutes. The dressing should be made just before the 

 cold-slaw is put on the table. 



Cabbage Salad Dressing. — Prepare the cabbage as for 

 cold-slaw and sprinkle lightly with salt. Into two 

 tablespoonfuls of butter braid one teaspoonful of flour ; 

 add to this a well beaten egg. Heat one cup of vinegar 

 almost to boiling ; put into it while heating one teaspoon- 

 ful of celery seed and a sprinkle of black pepper. Add 

 the egg, flour and butter, and let all boil for two min- 

 utes. Pour over the cabbage while hot ; mix well, and 

 when cold garnish with hard-boiled eggs. 



