138 
THE RURAL MIW-YORKER. 
FEU. 26 
half Inches high. At the base, just above the 
broken portion, the stone Is ninety-two and three- 
quarter Inches thick, and at the top, at the edge of 
the pyrlmldton. it la sixty-three inches thick. The 
pedestal on which It will stand is cdghty-three and 
three-quarter Inches high, and its weigh Us ninety- 
eight thousand pounds, the obelisk ltseif weighing 
tour hundred and thirty-eight thousand live hun¬ 
dred pounds. When Anally set up, the entire mon¬ 
ument, Including the steps and pedestal, will he 
just eight.y-one feet high, it must be the happiest 
stono of all, for It stands under a clear, blue sky, 
much like Its old Egyptian sky, and It reals In peace 
among green fields and pleasant gardens. A stream 
of carriages passes close beside It under the trees, 
and happy children look up at Its straDge plcliue- 
letiers, and wonder what it thinks of Its final home 
in a land of which Its old Egyptian master never 
so much as dreamed.—St. Nicholas for February. 
Atlantic Monthly.— Contents : Friends, A duet 
IV., v,: The Wives of Poets: Night on the ock- 
lawaha; The Future ot American Shipping: in 
the Certosa; The Portrait ot a Lady, XV.-XV11I; 
German Cooperative Credit-in tons; Who arc the 
Aryans? Reminiscences ot Washington, X. The 
Taylor Administration, 1840-50; The Wizard Poet; 
In Locdon again; Is Anything Lost ? Dexters 
Congregationalism; Recent Volumes of Short 
Stories; The Spell-bouud Flddlef; Les Deux 
MasqucB of .Saint-victor; Mr. Tilton’s Pictures; 
The contributor’s Club; Rooks of the month. 
German Cooimchati vk Credit-unions. — No 
healthy social science ever came before the public 
with plans which were to render labor, energy, 
and mental exertion unnecessary. Even if it were 
possible, no sound political economy would desire 
to make the struggle tor existence less earnest. 
Social reforms, however, have the object of divid¬ 
ing material goods—and thesplrllual ones to which 
the first serve as a necessary basis—more In pro¬ 
portion to useiul intellectual and physical labor 
pertormed, and less la accordance tp inheritance^ 
privilege, and class; of easing the contest for the 
means of subsistence In borne places, and giving it 
a better prospect or success; of rendering It really 
earnest in others. 
Such is t he atm or the credit- unions, rounded and 
managed by a warm-hearted humanitarian for the 
purpose ol elevstdng the moral and material wel¬ 
fare of entire classes or society. They are not 
charitable Institutions, on the contrary, one main 
object Is to render laborers and tradesmen inde¬ 
pendent; to give them sucb a consciousness or 
thelr.own dignity as men, as shall make them scorn 
charity. Their waich-word Is “self-help;” the 
principle upon which they are based Is “ that man 
has received from nature not only wants, but also 
powers, the proper use of which gives him the 
means of satisfying hLs wants.” Schulze Delltzsch 
comes repeatedly back to this lundamentai propo¬ 
sition, and Is unable to value too highly a manly 
self-reliance. ‘We wish no aid from the state,” 
cries he, “ we desire no public subventions! Let us 
alone. Give us freedom and the liberty of manag¬ 
ing our own affairs, and wo ask no further assist¬ 
ance.” SchUize-Delllzsch does not decry generos¬ 
ity and the doctrine of human “brotherhood.” 
These are noble principles of our nature, and use¬ 
ful m relieving individual cases ot distress, lie 
contends, nevertheless, that where classes of the 
people are concerned, charity, whether public or 
private, la powerless, instead of strengthening, 
It weakens; instead or elevating the character of 
the recipients of its benefits, It debases it. coop¬ 
erative associations, rightly understood, have a 
far weightier mission than that of relieving depen¬ 
dent poverty, namely, that of preventing it — 
R Ichard 1'. Ely In Atlantic for February. 
Appletons’ .Journal. Contents:—The Veter¬ 
ans of Yesterday. In Three Farts. Fart Second. 
From the French of Erekmaun-Chatrlan; Rambles 
among Books. I. Country Books; Parliamentary 
Anecdotes; Buddhists aud Buddhism In Burinali; 
Tho Irish Land Question; Shakespeare’s Tra- 
ducera: A Lady’s Wanderings in Japan; Music. 
A Deadly Feud. A Sketch. From the German of 
Rudolph Ltndau; Decorative Decorations; Ro¬ 
mances of Ancient Egypt; The Photophone; A 
Strange Story: Love in Dreams. A Poem; Edi¬ 
tor’s Table; Notes for Readers. 
The assertion so mquently made, that skill in 
handicrafts has declined and is declining, seems to 
be almost universally accepted as true. Jluskln 
has aatd so agatn and again: hosts of other critics 
have echoed the charge; It is a favorite theory 
with virtuosos and connoisseurs, who love nothing 
without a touch oi antiquity{ and Innumerable 
wiiters assume offhand that whai all these peo¬ 
ple so confidently affirm must not be questioned. 
What, now, If a little cursory Investigation should 
bring us to accept this general Indictment with 
some small measure of reservation ? 
In all comparisons between workmanship of t he 
present with that of the past, the work of to-day 
suffers greatly by one, perhaps unavoidable, cir¬ 
cumstance—which Is, that the selected work of 
bygone time, that which has survived, that which 
has made reputation In the midst ot much Inferior 
performance, Is in variably made the standard by 
which the average or current work is measured. 
Out or the past there comes down to us, for the 
most part, only the best work, or Ids only by the 
best work that judgment Is formed. And It Is the 
accumulation of lhls superior work, covering long 
periods and coming irom many lands, that oreates 
the vivid impression we have of ancient Bkill. 
Many splendid, buildings and great paintings, 
many immortal hooks and admirable specimens of 
handicraft, have come down to us, hut long Inter¬ 
vals have sometimes elapsed between them, muon 
Inferior work has been altogether overlooked and 
forgotten; It Is like a distant landscape In which 
we see only the hill tops that seem to stand plied 
together, unconscious or ignorant ot the level 
plalus that Intervene. It Is therefore necessary 
in comparing any kind ot performance of to day 
wltn mat ot tne past, to select only the very best, 
to pass altogether by the mass of cheap and tem¬ 
porary productions, aud coniine ourselves to those 
things which confessedly employ our best skill,— 
Appletons’ for February. 
The American Naturalist.— incomplete Adap¬ 
tation as illustrated by the History of Sex In 
Plants: A_ Partial Biography ol the Green Lizard; 
A New Leaf Cutting Ant; Comparative Neurology 
[Continued!; The Bee’s Tongue and Glands Con¬ 
nected with It; History of the Buffalo; Editors’ 
Table; Recent Literature: General Notes—Bot¬ 
any. .Zoology, Entomology, Anthropology, Geology 
andFaheontology; Geography and Travels; Mlo- 
rosoopy ; Solonliih! News; Proceedings ot Scien¬ 
tific Societies; selected Articles in Scientific Se¬ 
rials. 
A Partial Bioorapby oi the Green Lizard. 
Tbegreen lizard ( Anoltsprtnclpalts) orthe South¬ 
ern United States Is sometimes called the Ameri¬ 
can chameleon, but it is not related to the cham¬ 
eleon of the Old World. 
lt.B changeable coat, however, gives It a popular 
right to the name. Two specimens of Anolta that 
I have kept tor months In a wire-cloth cage have 
shown some Interesting habits. 
The female carno front South Carolina In Novem¬ 
ber. ism, In good condition, but with the greater 
part of the tall warning. She was placed in a 
small cage and supplied with files, but refused 
to eat. During the Winter the cage stood among 
house plants, In a room heated by a furnace, and 
although she was lively and ran around a good 
deal, she Ignored the files. Thus she remained 
without food and water (except an occasional drop 
that tell by accident when the plants were water¬ 
ed) for rour or five months. 
But when me warm Spring dayscame, she greed¬ 
ily devoured the files, and when water was sprink¬ 
led in the cage, she eagerly lapped it up with her 
tongue, it. is said that the Old World chameleons 
drink In the same manner. She would not notice 
water that was lu a small jar In the cage, although 
very thirsty. 
Sometimes when I approach the cage she lifts 
her head and opens her mouth, l do not know 
whether she Is conscious of asking tor water, hut 
I soon recognized this an indication of t hirst. In 
April a new tall began to show Itself, looking Uke 
a small black wart, aud since then It has grown 
nearly an inch. Ai first It was distinct and looked 
like a graft on the other portion, but now, after 
several moultlngs, It Is continuous, although it 
can be easily distinguished from the rest; me 
scales are smaller, It always remains darker than 
the rest of me body.—Sarah P. Monks lu American 
Naturalist. 
Lii’PiNCG'i t s Magazine for February Is the sec¬ 
ond number of the new series, and gives most sat- 
Islactory evidence ot the improvements promised 
at the Ume of the change. Down the Red River 
or the Norm, by Alice Ilgenfrliz, is a sprightly and 
profusely Illustrated sketch or a trip through the 
province or Manitoba, a section or our continent 
that has attracted considerable attention ot late. 
In A Celestial Colony a graphic descilptlon is 
given by C. Baldwin of that parr of San Francisco 
knowu as Chinatown, with an account or the life t 
ot its Chinese Inhabitants. The interest of the 
paper Is enhanced by several very good illustra¬ 
tions. Fiction la attractively aud HbcraUy repre¬ 
sented by t he serial “ Lilith,” which is continued 
with increasing luteresi, and mice capital short 
stories, viz,, Monsieur Paul’s Heroism, by Louise 
S. Houghton ; The K ourasoffs, by Vera Lapouk- 
liyu; and A Midwinter Romance, by L. K. Black. 
The more solid articles or me number—although 
none can he called heavy—are an analytical de¬ 
scription of Welsh women, by Wirt Sikes; a dis¬ 
cussion, under the title or Power-cent res, oy an 
old journalist, or the various t ypes of Journals, and 
the why and the wherefore of their existence; an 
able criticism of Sarah Bernhardt In her various 
characters, by M. G van Rensselaer; and “Among 
the Cberokees,” un account of that prominent 
tribe, with observations made durjng a visit, by 
A. M. Williams. A bright sketeh entitled A Coun¬ 
try Tavern lu Winter, by Mary Dean, two sulking 
poems, with tbe usual variety cf Monthly Gossip 
and literary criticisms, form the balance of a 
choice number ol this JusUy popular magazine. 
Scribner's monthly,— contents: An Old Vir¬ 
ginia Town : Men and Spiders; John La t arge; 
’Ihe Silence of the UUls; Ills Footsteps; Notes of 
a Walker; Foreign AcotfB on the American stage; 
Thackeray s Relations to English Society; Peter 
the Great as Ruler and Reformer; Souvenir of 
Italy; The Fair Baroarlan ; The Music of Niagara; 
Aunt ’CTnda Ranch; Completeness; Garrison 
Life at Governor's island, New York Harbor; The 
Heart of a Hose; Norway’s Constitutional Strug¬ 
gle; llow the New Testament came Down to Ls; 
some Quacks; Agricultural Experiment Stations; 
Topics or tne Time; Communications; Home and 
Society; Culture and Progress; The World’s 
Works; Brlc-a-Brac. 
The arl Idea, as usual, are of an Interesting char- 
acter. One on “Experiment Stations” Includes 
!ti its descriptions that or the experiment farm be¬ 
longing to the Rural New-Yokekh. 
- *-*-• -- 
NEW PUBLICATIONS. 
IttMuinisceuccs ul Hr. Spu rzlieim nml George 
• om he. A Review Ol the Science of Phrenology 
from the Time of its Discovery by Dr. Gall, to the 
Time of the Visit of George Combe to the I'lilted 
States, in 1FM-1., with a new Pull rail ol Hpurzhejm, 
By Nalmtu Capon, L. 1,. l>.. New York: Fowler ,y 
Wells, Publishers, 1vol. If mo. extra cloth. Price 
81.60 
While the title or Uiis new and seasonable work 
ls su illi'ienily lull to give the reader an Impres¬ 
sion of Its general character, it should be said that 
the author, Dr. Cftpen, was himself a personal 
fileud and confidential assistant and adviser of the 
great advocate of Phrenology during his visit to 
this country. Being well versed In the history of 
Phrenology, from its earliest tnireduction to Amer- 
C:iu science, and a gentleman of wide learning, 
l)r, Capon is peculiarly qualified to prepare such 
a work, aud by so doing, has aided greatly toward 
completing cur biographical data touching the 
great apostles of Phrenology; especially Drs, 
Gall, Spurzhelm, and Andrew Combe, and George 
Combe, the last being generally acknowledged 
one of the most eminent men In modern literature. 
While “ Reminiscences” does not purport to be a 
treatise on mental science, It so clearly and can¬ 
didly discusses the questions naturally arising 
In Its course, in tbe relation of the brain to the 
mind, and the philosophy of human character, 
that It, ls a veiy Instructive volume aside from Its 
biographical specialty. 
Oil Ike Threshold By T. T. Monokh. 16-mo. 
Boston Houghton. Mifflin & Co., publishers. Price, 
81 . 00 . 
To a young man on the threshold of life, and to 
those even more advanced In years, this work ls 
particularly adapted. We know’ of no other pub¬ 
lication that ls so full of sensible, judicious, sym¬ 
pathetic, helpful talks to young people, and the 
agreeable and taotful style of the author creates at 
once the feeling ot a warm friend and wise coun¬ 
selor. No young man about to embark in life’s 
great enterprises should fall to read it. It will be 
of great use to such, aud may be the guiding ele¬ 
ment to their future destiny. 
The hook ls divided Into nine sections, viz.. Pur¬ 
pose, Friends and Companions, Manners, Thrift, 
Self-reliance and courage. Health, Reading, 
Amusements, Faith, each subject of which Is sym¬ 
pathetically and frankly discussed, and stimulates 
the reader with the idea that life Is worth living 
for. It should be in every household, and we pre¬ 
dict for it an immense sale. 
How lo I,i vein Winter, By Mu*. Amelia Lewis, 
New York : Food and Health Publishing Co. Price, 
26 cents. 
This little hook ls published In pamphlet form. It 
treats of " Our subjection to temperature and the 
Influence Of t he cold season on lifewhat food will 
best maintain the vital heat of the human body In 
the cold season“ The management ot dwellings 
in the cold season“The management of dress In 
the cold season“ Winter diseases and health 
measures.” These subjects necessarily engross 
our attention, and should receive greater consid¬ 
eration. In these times of cheap and good publi¬ 
cations, little excuse can be made for dearth of In¬ 
formation. This one or the many, supplies this 
want. 
The Minor Arts : By Charles G. Leland. Lon¬ 
don : Macmillan & Co. 
“ Porcelain Painting,” “ Wond-Carvlng,” “ sten¬ 
ciling, Modeling,” “Mosaic Work,” <fcc., are the 
particular features considered In this little work 
on decorative art. Its design ls to Instruct In 
these various methods The minor arts are now 
resorted lo in a remunerative sense to a much 
larger extent than formerly; consequently while 
lmpai tlDg Infoimatlon and pleasure to the mere 
lover or art, t he author has satisfied a two- fold 
need. The illustrations are good; tho descrip¬ 
tions clearly drawn and as a whole, this treatise 
Is worthy of notice. 
Jor Cffiomen. 
CONDUCTED BY MISS RAY CLARK. 
CONCERNINGBREATHING AND CLOTHING. 
MARY W AUER-FISHER. 
A lady who had suffered from pleurisy, which 
malady dad left her lungs with adhesions at the 
back and otherwise disabled, went to a skillful 
physician tor advice. After he had examined her 
lungs and listened to her breathing, he said:- 
“ You don’t know how to breathe. The first thing 
that you are to do is t-o breathe lo the bottom or 
your lunge with eterir breath y ou draw. You can, 
If you will, cure your lungs by breathing properly; 
your digestion will be Improved, too. Drink four 
quarts of milk a day, and eat salt codfish three or 
tour times a week. Soak the fish In salt water, 
then cook it In the usual way with cream or milk," 
That was the gist of the prescription to the woman 
who was generally debilitated, and who greatly 
Improved under the treatment. As milk, without 
suit, has a constipating tendency, the salt fish was 
probably recommended to counteract the effect ot 
so large a milk diet, aud also for Its tonic proper¬ 
ties. Loose as she thought she wore her clothlcg, 
she soon found that it was altogether too i lght for 
fuU, deep breathing. 
The great thing that the patient needed was to 
breathe properly, and the doctor's-comment Is 
applicable to a great many people, and especially 
to women, whose clothing ls very apt to compress 
the waist. 
1 do not suppose that any womankind who reads 
the Rural, deliberately and consciously laces her 
waist, for to do so ls intensely vulgar—Inexcusa¬ 
bly vulgar. But 1 suspect that there are many 
who unconsciously wear clothing that 1s much too 
tight. It one can breathe so as to fill every part 
ot her luDgs without difficulty, she may rest 
assured that her clothing is loose enough, Full- 
chested women are rare. Aside irom the good 
health secured by having a lull, deep chest, It. ls 
also a very great beauty. It adds dignity and 
grace to the form, to the carriage of it, and to the 
agreeableneas ot the voice. The size of the waist 
ls a matter of very small consequence, and, as a 
rule, It ls always In proportion to the rest, of the 
body if it ls allowed to grow and develop naturally. 
It Isnot an uncommon thing to hear women re¬ 
mark, •• My waist measured l<5 or IS Inches when I 
was manled, or when l was twenty years old,” as 
though the small circuinierence of it was equiva¬ 
lent to some marked virtue, as the possession of 
courage, or a fine accomplishment. The chest 
measure is a matter of some consequence, while 
the other is not. 
A matter which seriously interferes with young 
people ot both sexes rormlng an erect, lull-cheated 
figure ls the wearing ot high heels on the shoes. I 
never aoo a young person trying to walk on such 
stilts without a feeling of pity tor the ignorance 
that allows It, and the ignorance that endures It. 
For growing girls, high heels are diabolical. I 
use the word advisedly. The mischief they do ls 
almost Incalculable. There ls no excuse, hut 
dwarfne33 for high heels. The bootmaker will 
make heels of any size you order, and If you buy 
boots reaiy male, he will cut off the heels 
to suit your idea. Be sure too, that you 
have a shoe broad at the toe. Narrow toes are 
not comfortable, and happily they are no longer 
fashionable. To keep growing feet straight along 
the line of the great toe, and all the toes free and 
uncramped, ls a most essential thing. To cramp 
and distort the feet, ls to store up a va3t amount 
of discomfort and suffering for the future, as well 
as for the present. 
How to dress tho body with comfort, and grace¬ 
fully too, ls always a serious question with women 
I wish to tell you how one woman wliora I know’ 
dresses herself, and she always has an appe arance 
of marked trimness and style. To begin with. In 
the Winter, she wears woven underwear just as a 
man does-the drawers reach to the ankle and the 
stockings are drawn up over them. The next gar¬ 
ment ls ot canton flannel cut to fit the figure like 
a basque with the skirt reaching well over the 
knees. This buttons up the front, la high at the 
neck and with long sleeves. Over her knit fiannel 
under drawers she wears drawers of canton iian- 
nel. The long skirt of the basque serves for under 
petticoat, and ls trimmed around the bottom. 
These articles, with the addition of a very light 
felt, flannel or merino skirt, constitutes her under¬ 
clothing. It ls warm, entirely comfortable and 
light to carry. The skirt of her frock Is never sus¬ 
pended about her waist. It ls cut as nearly like a 
Princess, or Gabrlelle frock, without sleeves, as 
can well be: but the part that constitutes the 
waist, from six inches below the waist line up, ls 
usually or Silesia, or muslin, so that there ls quite 
an economy In the dress fabric. The style, is 
much the same as If an ordinary dress skirt should 
he sewed to the bottom of the lining of a short 
round basque In a smooth, fiat seam. Of course, 
this gives added warmth lo the body, and over 
this the basque or *• body ” of the frock fits with a 
nicety not to be experienced lu the old style of 
dressing with the full chemise In a pucker around 
the waist, while the skirt and the waist never 
part company. Every part of the body is well 
protected, and what ls a great point, the warmth 
ls equally distributed. 
For Summer, tbe same style ls carried out In ma¬ 
terials of lighter texture, muslin being substituted 
for flannel ones, while for Spring and Fall there 
are Intermediate suits. AH In all, It, lathe best 
suit for women that I know of, and there ls no 
patent upon It. It dispenses with the chemise and 
corset cover, and the corset too, for that matter. 
If you wish to do without it. it Is capable of mod¬ 
ifications to suit the wearer, or the style of dress 
to he worn; It can he cut, square in the neck or 
short In the sleeve; may he made of flannel In Ueu 
of canton flannel and ornamented ad noil urn. 1 
earnestly recommend the style to all women read¬ 
ers of the Rural, feeling confident that when once 
they have adopted It they will be charmed with 
Its adaptability and comfort. The seams ot the 
long under basque, or basqulno, should be made 
quite flat. 
In making aprons, you will Hud that one width of 
wide goods, like gingham, muslin or linen, will 
make a good-sized apron, it you cut it with but 
one seam, and that run straight down through the 
middle. Measure off the length ol the apron—It 
should reach to the bottom or your frock—and If 
you have no more material take a atrip an Inch 
and a halt wide off one side for strings and bind¬ 
ing. Then fold the gingham diagonally the long 
way, so that the width at one end will be twice as 
much as at the other, and rather more If the apron 
Is as long as the frock. -See that the two wide 
ends, at opposite ends or the fabric, arc of equal 
width, and then cut along the diagonal fold Put 
the light ends together and sew the bias edges to¬ 
gether with a straight strip of muslin held In the 
sewing to stay the seam. Round out the top or 
small t nd lo fit the waist smoothly, and trim the 
bottom suitably at the seam. You will have a 
smoothly-fitting apron that will please you well, 
and with little trouble In the making. For a gar¬ 
den or sewing apron, a large square piece sewed 
flat on the fronc forms a very convenient pocket. 
A child's table, or eating apron, If lined on the 
under side ol the front with a thick piece of drill¬ 
ing or canton flannel, cut lllce a bib, will prevent 
liquids aud liquid food irom soiling the frock be¬ 
neath. 
- — 4 ——- 
WOMEN’S GOSSIPS. 
K. L. T. 
It appears to be a settled belief with every mas¬ 
culine observer that whenever two or three wo¬ 
men meet, the result ls sure to bo a stream ot aim¬ 
less, purposeless talk, usually given the name of 
gossip; a colled ion ot Idle chlt-cuat, omy to be 
round among women. 
Why women should gossip more than men seems 
lo he unknown and unexplained, except by the 
hypothesis of mental Inferiority, l think It could 
be better accounted for on the ground of defective 
education. The man has his business to engross 
hla thoughts; It briDgs him Into contact with 
many men and many minds. And then he has 
man’s prime consoler, the newspaper, to rresheu 
his thoughts aud ideas, ltla a lamentable fact, 
that lew women that Is. few lu comparison with 
men—read the newspapei’3. 11 has been said that 
the papers, especially those given to too much in¬ 
terviewing, encourage a gossiping disposition, by 
their trivial details about persons and things, but 
In such a case, it ceases to he gossip, according to 
the common acceptance of the term; H does not 
consist of meie frivolous personal items 
The thoughts or one occupied In the regular 
routine of household work are apt. to ruu In a 
certain groove; she ls “cumbered with many 
cares,” and her conversation very naturally con¬ 
sists of what Is called gossip. The average house¬ 
keeper has no Ume for a regular course of reading, 
but surely the tendency to gossip would be greatly 
