Several of New York’s society women 
have interested themselves in the im¬ 
provement of the public schools of the 
city, and have appeared before the Legis¬ 
lature and given their views of the situa¬ 
tion and the needed reforms. They have 
done their work quite as well as their 
sanguine supporters could wish, and are 
thus commended by a conservative news¬ 
paper : “ They have brought to the 
rescue of the people’s interests, a high- 
minded public spirit and an unswerving 
conviction that are refreshing to the 
moral sense of the community. * * * 
It is just possible that in the future con¬ 
flicts with political selfishness, we shall 
get our new strength from the matrons 
of the land.” 
* 
What a charm there is in change—in 
some things. Each season we think the 
fabrics for woman’s dress grow more 
beautiful. Those who take pleasure in 
such things, will find them “loveliest of 
all” this summer. Daintiness in color 
and effect was never before so success¬ 
fully combined with serviceable quali¬ 
ties. One of the prettiest fancies is in 
making up the grass cloth over a colored 
lining. The color shows through, and 
gives a beautiful two-toned effect, and 
ribbons of the same shade as the lining 
accentuate the color scheme, making a 
beautiful gown with wearing qualities. 
The grass cloth is a color which wears 
very well, and washes without injury. 
Lace insertions are used very effectively 
on these grass cloths, both with and 
without the color underneath. 
•x- 
The world moves on and on until con¬ 
ditions get so far in advance of its peo¬ 
ples’ theories and beliefs, that one day 
they begin to awaken and revolutionize 
their ideas, bringing them up to date 
with conditions. Here are some simple 
facts stated by Dr. Mary Jordan-Finley 
in the American Woman’s Magazine : 
“ Reproduction no longer requires the 
entire energies of one-half the race. The 
world is populated ; henceforth, not in¬ 
crease, but maintenance, is demanded. 
The dominion over nature has been 
achieved. Man is master ; he has come 
into his kingdom, and a new era of 
psychical progress is opening before 
him. With growing knowledge of the 
laws of life, great plagues have ceased, 
and epidemics are diminishing ; with a 
developing code of international law, 
and the perfection of the engines of de¬ 
struction, wars are becoming impossible 
between petty peoples, less frequent be . 
tween great nations ; with better hy¬ 
giene, infant mortality is diminishing ; 
and with the checking of the waste of 
human life, a decreased production will 
suffice to maintain the population.” It 
is not against nature for woman to wish 
to widen her sphere. Nature, herself, 
has widened it, as these facts show, and 
is calling upon woman to fill the heignt 
and breadth of her opportunities. 
COMFORT IN THE KITCHEN. 
N many homes, the kitchen is the most 
dreary and unpleasant room in the 
house. This is a great mistake ; some¬ 
body must spend many hours of each 
day in this room, and whether it be the 
wife, mother, sister, daughter or maid, it 
should be convenient and cheerful. Why 
not have a low rocker here where mother 
can drop down for a few minutes’ rest 
when watching her bread or cake bake ? 
A wall pocket might hold the latest 
magazine and newspapers. There are 
times when one can rest and read a few 
minutes, yet keep an eye on the oven. 
I think that I hear some housekeeper 
say, “ But this would never do ; it is not 
practical.” 
It has been done, all and more. Why 
should we follow in the beaten paths of 
custom ? Because our mothers and 
grandmothers did not have the conven¬ 
iences that we now have, is no reason 
why we should not enjoy them. Per¬ 
haps had they been able to take life 
easier, their daughters and granddaugh¬ 
ters might have been stronger, healthier 
women. 
It pays to have kitchen conveniences, 
even though the rest of the house is fur¬ 
nished plainly. Graniteware is gradually 
taking the place of iron and tin, and is 
much more satisfactory and easier to 
keep clean. 
It is as hard again to do work in some 
households where there is none of the 
so-called modern conveniences. A lemon 
squeezer, raisin seeder, iron dish cloth, 
wire kettle for frying potatoes and cro¬ 
quettes, double boiler, egg poacher, soap 
shaker, etc., are by no means new, 
neither are they expensive ; but they are 
considered useless luxuries in many 
homes where they should be necessities. 
A useful article of home manufacture 
consists of a soap box with casters on 
the bottom, neatly covered with pretty 
cretonne, and with a hinged cover which 
is first padded before putting on the 
cretonne. A flounce of the cretonne is 
fastened on by means of brass-headed 
tacks. Both the upper and lower edges 
are feather-stitched with black Roman 
floss. This is a combination affair 
answering for an ottoman as well as a 
receptacle for old newspapers, brown 
paper, bags and wrapping paper, as well 
as a ball of cord wound from the pieces 
wrapped around packages. 
A double wall pocket whose founda¬ 
tion consists of pasteboard covered with 
cretonne and finished with a row of 
feather-stitching done in Boston art silk, 
is most convenient for dusting rags, 
sweeping caps and rubber sleeves to pro¬ 
tect the dress sleeves. 
CARKIE MAY ASHTON. 
SHALL SHE PROPOSE? 
OM SAWYER, in his whitewashing 
experience, unconsciously “ dis¬ 
covered a great law of human nature,” 
namely, “ In order to make a man covet 
a thing, it is only necessary to make it 
difficult for him to obtain.” Therefore, 
to make ourselves appreciated, we must 
make ourselves difficult to obtain. 
Methinks that, were we to throw our¬ 
selves at the feet of our admirers, most 
of us would, for want of an opportunity 
to marry, remain spinsters. In nine cases 
out of ten, were the woman to propose, 
it would take the “ blush off the rose.” 
In other words, the man to whom the 
proposal had been made, no matter what 
his feelings for her had previously been, 
would suddenly discover that his idol 
was sadly lacking in what men most 
value in women—modesty. In view of 
this, it seems certain that she must find 
some other way to rid herself of the 
“ dog in the manger.” 
No girl of true refinement should show 
herself too anxious for the society of 
men. When one has “wooed” for a 
sufficient time without making his in¬ 
tentions known, he should be “ mit- 
tened.” If he care for her, this will be 
almost sure to bring about a proposal. 
If he is one of those who “ woo and woo 
and ride away,” she is safer without his 
society. A girl who continues, gracious¬ 
ly, to receive attention from a young 
man who, after repeated opportunity, 
fails to declare his intentions, is, to say 
the least, “ playing with fire.” 
My position as a worker in the young 
woman’s department of a Christian or¬ 
ganization, has brought me in contact 
with many young women of various 
classes. 1 have almost invariably found 
hat their standard is not high enough ; 
that is, they do not live up to their 
ideals. I have known nice girls to unite 
with a society, which requires its mem¬ 
bers to pledge themselves, to discourage 
in every way possible, the use of, and 
traffic in intoxicants, and which makes 
the laws of purity equally binding upon 
both sexes, and then receive attention 
from men known to frequent saloons 
and break the laws of purity. And, I 
know of one member of such a society 
who married a man of this class. 
I have found a tendency among girls, 
to think that they must have “gentleman 
company,” be it of what class it may. 
This is all wrong ; better would she be 
unknown outside the home circle, or re¬ 
main forever unmarried, than have her 
name coupled with that of such a man, 
or be tied to him for life ; Remember : 
Better the soberest, prosiest, life 
Than a blasted home and a broken heart. 
One of our national temperance lead¬ 
ers has said : “ There is much said about 
teaching girls the value of their smiles. 
But, as the average girl soon learns, the 
value of her smiles, it is more important 
to teach her the value of her frowns.” 
This is the point exactly. When she 
learns the value of her frowns, the 
necessity of her proposing will vanish. 
Men are rarely better than the women 
with whom they associate. Let her 
place her standard high, it cannot be too 
exalted, and have it distinctly under¬ 
stood that she will countenance no man 
who does not make an effort to approach 
her ideal. 
The “ dog in the manger” usually 
steers clear of such girls. If he does 
make advances, a few well-directed 
frowns will cause him either to mend 
his ways, or seek more congenial society 
elsewhere. A man of this class rarely 
has any use for a girl of such exalted 
principles. He prefers one of the silly 
sort, who care more for dress and the 
admiration and flattery of men, than 
they do for anything else. 
The “new woman” does not care to 
deprive men of the privilege of propos¬ 
ing. She may, with a clear conscience, 
usurp his place in the office or counting- 
room, but to take his place in this par¬ 
ticular, never. She will soon learn 
to value frowns and smiles alike, and 
from the height of her pure womanhood, 
put the “dog in the manger” to flight by 
a well-directed frown. lulu lane. 
WHAT ONE WOMAN DID. 
HE great question of the day (or 
one of them) is, “ What can a 
woman do to earn her own living ?” Per¬ 
haps a little of my own experience be¬ 
fore my marriage, may help some one, 
or give an idea of what she shall do. At 
my old home, was a large pear orchard, 
of which I had the charge, more or less, 
for several years. The varieties were all 
the common sorts, one-half being Bart¬ 
lett and Duchess. I took great interest 
in fruit growing, and read whatever I 
could in regard to growing and market¬ 
ing it. Many hours I spent in thinning 
out the fruit, and often the branches 
would have to be propped up to support 
the heavy weight, for size was what I 
was after, as well as smoothness. One 
season the fire blight attacked the 
orchard, but every affected branch and 
leaf was cut off and burned, and but 
little ever troubled us after. 
When the Bartletts began to ripen, or 
the twig cleaved from the stem easily, 
they were carefully handled and spread 
on woolen blankets in a dark chamber, 
with others thrown over them. Here 
they colored and mellowed beautifully, 
and when just right, were sorted into 
three grades, No. 1 going to private cus¬ 
tomers, who were willing to pay a large 
price for extra large and high-colored 
fruit. No. 2 went principally to the 
groceries and were culled fine fruit. No. 
3 sold for cooking, pickling, canning, 
etc., and the culls were fed to horses, 
cows and hogs. 
One autumn my father met with an 
accident, and I was obliged to take en¬ 
tire charge, barreling and shipping most 
of them to Philadelphia and New York 
City markets. As it was my first experi¬ 
ence in sending pears so far away, I took 
greater interest in having them as per¬ 
fect as possible. I took care that every 
barrel was white and perfect when it 
came from the cooper’s hands. White 
sheets of paper were placed in the bot¬ 
tom, and the pears were placed in rows, 
blossom end down. Each pear that went 
into the barrel, was placed in separately, 
not turned in from a basket. Not an 
imperfect specimen was allowed in. 
With my young brother’s assistance, 
they were pressed and headed, each 
marked with the name of the fruit and 
the grade. Some barrels of noble 
Duchess and Sheldons sent to New York, 
were rated extra fine and sold accord¬ 
ingly. It was hard, slow work, but it 
paid not only in dollars and cents, but 
in a wonderfully satisfying feeling to 
see the work of our hands well done. 
Illinois. MRS. FREDERICK C. JOHNSON. 
THE HANDY MAN. 
HAT a truly beautiful world this 
would be it things just wouldn’t 
forever “ rip, tear, and run down at the 
heel,” so to speak. It is astonishing 
what an amount of discomfort can be 
caused by a leaky pan, a loose screw, a 
dull knife, a missing caster, broken 
hinge, a lock that won’t lock, or a 
catch that refuses to catch. Of course, 
if you’re a born genius at tools, you can 
repair all these little damages as they 
occur, and your sufferings are soon 
over. But if you are not a locksmith 
and a scissors-grinder and a tinner and a 
carpenter, in addition to being a cook, 
nurse, housekeeper, and your liege lord 
isn’t much better in those respects, then 
what a comfort it is to have the “ handy 
man” come around once in a while ! He 
can just see what you need to have done, 
get the necessary equipments himself, 
and then go ahead and do things, leav¬ 
ing you all mended and sharpened and 
barred and bolted and screwed and 
learned by experience that 
some grains require far differ¬ 
ent soil than others. He 
knows that a great deal de¬ 
pends on right planting at the 
right time. No use complain¬ 
ing in summer that a mistake 
was made in spring. Decide 
before seed-time. The best 
time to treat coughs and colds 
is before the seeds, or germs, 
of consumption have begun 
their destructive work. 
Scott’s Emulsion of Cod- 
liver Oil, with Hypophos- 
phites, promptly cures lung 
and throat troubles. Do not 
neglect your cold. 
SCOTT’S EMULSION has been endorsed by the 
medical profession for twenty years. ( Ask your doctor.) 
This is because it is always palatable— always uniform 
—always contains the purest Norwegian Cod-liver Oil 
and Hypophosphitcs. 
Insist on Scott’s Emulsion, with trade-mar* of 
man and fish. 
Put up in 50 cent and $ 1.00 sizes. The small size 
may be enough to cure your cough or help your baby. 
