HP 
head in a storm. From four and a-half to 
five and a-lialf yards are required for the 
above, according to size. For protection 
simply, no cape is needed. That is added 
for warmth. Pockets are applied to each 
side, opening from the outside or within, 
with a welt buttoning down. From twelve 
to fifteen gutta percha buttons, with a few 
{From the. Normal Diadem, by Wm. Toainohaht— now in press.) 
ter how dull the pupils may be, they will 
suddenly become alive,; they will make 
fluent, practical readers; they will gain a 
knowledge of current events, and perchance 
a taste for useful reading that they might 
otherwise miss. 
Encourage free criticism, and vary often 
your method of conducting the exercise. 
Sometimes let one critic be appointed, and 
let. the others be on the lookout to criticise 
the critic; again, let each criticise the one 
who reads after him; or, let all who notice 
faults raise hands, and call on different ones 
for criticism. Occasionally, let the class 
choose one of their number to read a selec¬ 
tion at some specified time. If you don’t 
do anything else as a teacher, strive to inter¬ 
est your reading classes. 
Most of the hard work ncccessaiy to make 
good spellers must be done at an early age. 
i incline strongly to the old-fashioned way 
of spelling, if the class is not too large, al¬ 
lowing extra credits to those who * l leave off 
at the head ” the most. If your pupils arc a 
liule.oarelcss, try another plau. If a word 
is misspelled, tako no notice of it, but let 
the first one who does notice it, spell it cor¬ 
rectly and go above the one who first missed 
it, and ueccessarily above the intervening 
members. This ensures the closest atten¬ 
tion. Again, dictate the lesson; let them 
exchange slates, and reporL the errors. With 
an older class try this planLet them write 
on paper and hand their exercises to you 
for correction. Mark, with rod ink, every 
fault in spelling, punctuation, use of capi¬ 
tals, or any lack of neatness, and upon the 
back place your class-mark. This is the 
best plan T. ever used; for my pupils were 
ashamed to find their exercises marked in 
scarlet, and worked hard to gain “ 5,” or the 
“5x ” that 1 gave to those who were abso¬ 
lutely faultless. Occasionally test them 
with lists of words in common use; for in¬ 
stance, tell them that they will find their 
uext special lesson in the grammar or geog¬ 
raphy, or it will be articles of furniture. 
You will find them wide-awake for such 
lessons, and I know of no style of spelling 
more practical. 
It sometimes troubles really good spellers 
to determine which of the two diphthongs ci 
and ie should be used. A general rule is: 
Use that diphthong the first vowel of which 
stands nearest the letter it is to follow in the 
alphabet, as feint, believe. There are very 
few exceptions to this rule, and a knowl¬ 
edge of it may be of great use. 
La Tenbjllk. 
tmtficrmtl 
anntrs 
READING AND SPELLING. 
FALL FASHIONS, 
BY MRS. ANNIE H. FROST. 
Ho. matrons and belles of the city! 
Ho, maids of the South, one and all! 
Would ye know the "nobbiest'* fashions, 
l’ho “ bon ton " and “tip-top ” for this fall? 
MAH’S MIHD HAS ATMOSPHERIC LAWS. 
Poetry by CHARLOTTE CORONER, from "Moore’s Rural New Yorker. 
Then pack up your satchels riitht quickly. 
Ton’ll hare no need of trunks or fine things, 
Don traveling suits, waterproofs, " round hats, 
Take express, or fleet horse, or wings. 
And hie to New England, the glorious; 
Come up to Vermont, best Slate of all; 
Come to the Connecticut Valley, 
And we'll show you the fashions this fall. 
Man’s mind has at - mos - pher-ic laws,Which all his moods con - trol, A 
Faith is the host which fills the space With my-riad points of light, When 
Our modiste, dame Nature, has set them 
You know Paris is nowhere at all— 
Yet dress was ne’er gnyer or Oner, 
Than we everywhere see It this fall. 
ing sleeves. For trimming, IK 
guipure lace, fringe, gimp, and 
velvet are used in conjunction 
with plaiting, frills, flounces 
and ruches of the goods. A 
stylish skirt trimming is formed [ 
of two or three narrow ruffles, | 
with a deep flounce above, I; 
headed by three standing plait- 
ed or gathered ruffles. Strait 
plaited flounces are gaining in 
favor. For winter aud summer j 
wear, trimming of the same, 
with the addition of lace would 
be serviceable. Fringe forms 
an equally elegant garniture, 
but is quite as expensive as lace, 
and not so generally useful. 
Overskirts are still cut long, j 
open or closed in front, and 1 
slightly raised on the hips; 
loops at the back take the place 
of sash; square and pointed 
throats still continue in vogue, | 
with white chemisette. Basques 
have long or short tabs, short 
on the hips aud with medium 
tabs in front. The long postil¬ 
lion back in two divisions is 
very stylish. Plain underskirts 
of rich material, with the over¬ 
skirts richly trimmed, have a 
certain elegance of style that is 
very commendable, and dis¬ 
pense with the much cutting 
up of new material, which 
seems so foolish and wasteful. 
This latter style is advised for 
you, if you arc not over tall, 
with trimming about the waist, 
and shoulders that best, becomes you, as 
every fashion is fashionable, aud none is new. 
Shirt From*. 
Edward D. W.—Shirt fronts are now 
made quite plain, with one broad plait on 
each side. To relieve this plainness some¬ 
what, very exquisite designs in embroidery 
3 Thoughts are the birds which round us range To brighten with their song, Or 
The Maples are out In bright scarlet, 
Hats, tunics, jackets, short-skirts and all; 
While their neighbor. Miss Beech, is lovely, 
In a sweet suit of yellow this fall. 
The Sumacs—sad flirts, every member 
Of the house, mother, daughters and all— 
Arc tossing their gay plumes of garnet 
And flaunting crimson sunshades this fall. 
king, they reign in ev - ery cause. That lift- eth up the soul. Love is the sun which 
we no more can see Love’s face, A - mid the gloom of night. Passions are breez-es 
And just look up street at those Poplars, 
Vainest, stiffest old dandieB of all; 
Yellow beavers, green neck-tics, “ Bismarcks, 
They’re a disgrace to their sex this fall. 
Madam Oak Is dressed as becomes her, 
Take into account her age and all: 
In bronze of the richest and deepest, 
X see she’s feeling her years this fall. 
discords make with voices strange Tc swell the side of wrong. Then if wc stud- y 
And the delicate Ferns so modest, 
Miss Maiden Hair, the belle of them all 
Are veiled in the purest of amber, 
And as graceful as ever this fall. 
While the cunning, coy little Mosses, 
Hiding low down by some waterfall. 
Press out. with their shy eyes and tender. 
From such Jaunty, wee “ round hats,” this fall 
But Miss Chestnut, who lives by th€ river, 
IXas arrayed herself, stately and tall, 
In garments so gorgeously golden, 
That she rather takes the lead this fall. 
clears the mist,Wliich sometimes round it lies, And Hope the moon which can as-sist To 
soft and mild Which Bway us by their breath, Or tempests in their ravings wild Which 
na- ture well And learn liow she con - trols We soon may gain the mag-ic spell,That 
And now all of you who want carpets, 
Will llnd by giving us timely call. 
That daintiest colors and patterns 
Are strewing all our sidewalks this fall, 
No Axmtnster, Wilton or velvet, 
Though adorning the klngllest hall, 
But is shamed by the splendor and glory 
Our common street" three ply ” this fall 
brighten midnight skies. Interlude, 
scat-ter woe and death. 
And oh. ye gay danglers at Stewart’s, 
Who sigh sofor a camel’s hair shawl, 
Just look at our lady, the mountain. 
See how grandly Bhe robes her this fall, 
Not a hue, not a shade, nor pigment 
That e’en India or PerMa could call. 
But the busy earth-gnomes have blended, 
For her royal draplDg this fall. 
And sbe wraps with an air so majestic, 
Round her shoulders the beauteous shawl 
That of our grand old mountain mother, 
We axe prouder than ever this fall. 
MINTWOOD’S CONVERSAZIONE. 
NEW PUBLICATIONS 
Blue Merino Dress. 
Country Cousin, Brewer ton, N. Y., asks 
for a suggestion in regard to fixing over a 
blue merino, etc. Get. two or three yards < 
merino, a shade lighter or darker than the 
dress, to ho made into flounces and ruffles. 
Place a standing ruffle above each flounce 
using the broad velvet to cover the junction 
of flounce and ruffle for the first one; the 
narrower for the second, and the narrowest, 
the last one. Three flounces will be enough, 
without an overskirt. Make a basque frill 
and pagoda sleeves to match. Or, as fluting 
and side plaitings are considerably worn, 
narrow rows on the bottom, of the light and 
dark merino alternating, say three rows, sur¬ 
mounted with a deep flounce of the shade 
unlike the body of the skirt, headed with 
velvet, above which are two standing ruffles, 
one of dark, theother of light. These shaded 
costumes are very fashionable, and the 
shading is varied in many ways, even to hav¬ 
ing the sleeves of one shade and the waist of 
another. 
“ What is the proper pronunciation of 
chignon ?” She-gnon, with the accent on the 
last syllable. “Of gros-grain?” Gh'o-grin. 
“ Guipure lace an inch wide ought to cost” 
from forty cents to $1 per yard. 
The Price of Silk. 
Hanna n, P. M.—The comparatively low 
price of silk at present, is owing to the sacri¬ 
fices made by French manufacturers, to place 
their silks beyond the possibility of falling 
into Prussian hands. Yes, it would be wise 
to purchase a “ spring silk ” now. 
Letters of Condolence, Etc. 
Barbara.— It is customary to send be¬ 
reaved friends a kind note, expressive of 
your sympathy in their loss. It is also cus¬ 
tomary to have wreaths of flowers that have 
ornamented coffins, preserved, framed and 
kept as a memorial of the dead. It is a 
shocking outrage on good taste, however. 
One might as well frame the engraved plate 
of the coffin, with a sample of the shroud, 
etc., and bang them up for show. The pro¬ 
cess of embalming flowers Is a tedious and 
costly one, costing from $10 to $50 per 
wreath, cross, etc. 
Black Alpaca, Coiffure, Etc. 
Lulu Lane. —According to your descrip¬ 
tion of your alpaca, it is already fashionably 
made, and needs no altering. If the goods 
are the Buffalo Brand, you can turn it, and 
the utils and Other Poems, by Whit¬ 
tier, is the title of a noat little voluinn pub¬ 
lished by Fields, Osgood & Co., of Boston. This 
poem “Among the Hills" Is, in our judgement, 
one of the best, so fur as it appeals to those fa¬ 
miliar with the common Huml Life of our peo¬ 
ple, \VniTTrF.R has over written. It is one of 
the daintiest told and sweetest lovo stories of 
American literature, it ought to help to luro 
our city girls from the artificial life of tlio city 
as Mary was lured— 
" From school, und bull und rout she cutue, 
The city’s tuir, pule daughter. 
To drink the wine of iiimiiiliUn air 
Bcsido the Bcurciuup water. 
" Her step grew firmer on the hills 
That watch our homesteads over; 
On cheek and lips from summer fields 
She caught the bloom of clover.” 
And she also caught what other sensible city 
girls may, a farmer— 
“ Framed In It* damp, dark lock, his face 
Had nothing mean or common— 
Strong, manly, true, the tenderness 
And pride beloved of woman.” 
And so, 
“Alone the hangblrd Overhead 
His hair-swung cradle straining. 
Looked down to sec love’s merlcal— 
The giving Unit i* gaining.” 
Sacred Heroes and Martyrs, By Hon. J. T. 
Headley, with illustrations from original de¬ 
signs by A. 1,. itAWSON. (New York: E. B. 
Treat & Co.)—This Is a large and handsomely- 
printed octavo of over 000 pages, containing 
well-written biographies of the representative 
men of the Old nod New Testaments. Most of 
tho facts are, of course, taken from (ho Biblo; 
others from Josephus, and many of the writer’s 
deductions are sustained by quotations from 
eminent commentators, or references to them. 
By the skillful grouping of contra! and accesso¬ 
ry facts, the author has given to theso old 
stories, which were “ familiar in our mouths us 
household words,” a new significance and 
beauty, with all tho charm of a work of pure 
irnugi nation, though dealing only with facta and 
inevitable deductions from them. We commend 
the work to our readers, sure that, it will be read 
with pleasure and profit. 
First Steps in fing-lish Literature ,—(New 
York; Hurd und Houghton)—is tho title of a 
work by Arthur Oilman, the avowed purpose 
of which la "to furnish a guide to thoso enter¬ 
ing upon the study of the Literature of tho 
English Language;’’ to present iu small compass 
a comprehensive view of the great field; to 
trace the stages of growth through which our 
literature has passed, and to point out tho In¬ 
fluences which have caused the fruit of this 
growth to take now one form, now another. 
To the purely literary student whose lei sura or 
pursuits enable him to devote time to this study 
tlie book will prove an aid. 
Index to Uarper'u Mag-avins, — Harper & 
Brothers have published a complete index, al¬ 
phabetical, analytical and topical, of the first 
forty volumes of their magnzino, making a vol¬ 
ume of nearly 450 pages. 
EMBROIDERED BUTTONHOLES FOR GENTLEMEN’S 
SHIRT FRONTS. 
are wrought. For the benefit of yourself 
and your seamstress, two designs for em¬ 
broidered buttonholes are given, full size. 
They are worked in raised embroidery. 
Waterproof Clonk. 
“ Will Mintwood allow me to ask how to 
make a waterproof cloak ? How much cloth 
will it take? What other materials are 
needed, and what style of cloth is most used 
now ?”— l. 
PROPER SUPERSCRIPTION, 
I cannot agree with Mintwood as to the 
propriety of dispensing with the name of the 
husband in addressing a married lady, or 
widow. It certainly is not the usage in the 
most refined and cultivated society. It is a 
frail argument, to say that it is the custom. 
It is the custom to say “ lay ” for “ lie,” and 
“set” for “sit,” the house was “bet,” &c. 
Custom does not make wrong right, or that 
elegant which is inelegant. 
It is true, a lady iu affixing her signature, 
should write her own given name, without 
EMBitOIDERED AND 
A popular style is a long, loose sacque, I 
coming to bottom of the dress all around, ' 
straight sleeves, shirred at the wrist with ' 
heavy rubber cord, a round cape coming he- j 
low the hips, aud a deep hood, shirred with ( 
rubber cord, large enough to draw over the 
* TJVJXTF.r) BOJUIDER. 
title or prefix; consequently, if she is address¬ 
ing a stranger, and expects a reply, St is nec¬ 
essary for her to inclose her visiting card, 
unless, in place of a formal signature, she 
S refers my own style, which is to say, ad¬ 
less me as Mrs. Georg e Bart lktt, 
130 East H3d St. 
