EASY ENOUGH TO BE PLEASANT. 
It is easy enough to be pleasant 
While life flows by like a song, 
But the man worth while is the one who will smile 
When everything goes dead wrong. 
For the test of the heart is trouble, 
And it always comes with the years, 
And the smile that is worth the praises of earth, 
Is the smile that shines through tears. 
It is easy enough to be prudent 
When nothing tempts you to stray; 
When without or within no voice of sin 
Is luring your soul away. 
But it is only a negative virtue 
Until it is tried by fire, 
And the life that is worth the honor of earth 
Is the one that resists desire. 
By the cynic, the sad, the fallen, 
Who hath no strength for the strife, 
The world’s highway is cumbered to-day; 
They make up the items of life. 
But the virtue that conquers passion 
And the sorrow that hides in a smile, 
It is these that are worth the homage of earth, 
For we find them but once in a while. 
—Ella Wheeler Wilcox. 
The breaking 1 of lamp chimneys is one 
of the housewife’s trials. The following 
suggestion will, probably, prevent some 
breakages. After cleaning the lamps 
and returning the chimneys to the 
burners, see that the burner does not fit 
too closely to the chimney. When the 
lamp is lighted, the heat expands the 
glass, and if held very tightly by the 
burner, this expansion may result in a 
cracked chimney. Only a small propor¬ 
tion of breakages is from this cause; 
but the careful person will avail herself 
of every little help. 
* 
A change of fashion receives due ap¬ 
preciation from the woman to whom it 
affords advantage by permitting her to 
practice economy. Often the popularity 
of a style is the result of its adaptability 
to the woman of limited resources. A 
feature of the spring styles is the ripple 
basque. This is not altogether new, 
but its introduction after a season of 
round waists, is sure to make it popu¬ 
lar, because it gives a decided change in 
effect, yet may be made an addition to 
the round waist. “Basque” does not 
mean, as we old-fashioned folks use it, 
a waist entire. It refers only to that 
portion of the waist below the waist¬ 
line, when it is cut separate and joined 
to the waist. The ripple effect has 
usually been attained by widening each 
part of the waist at the bottom ; but the 
ripple basque is made by cutting, for 
each side, a piece so shaped as to give 
the same effect when joined to the gar¬ 
ment. The economical woman will appro¬ 
priate this idea and accomplish wonders. 
Last year’s waist may be given this year’s 
style. A skirt that needs piecing to 
make it long enough, will not be trimmed 
all around the lower edge, as the round 
waist made necessary, but may be 
lengthened at the top. 
GAMES FOR GROWN-UPS. 
GOOD ENTERTAINMENT FOR BARGE 
COMPANIES. 
ORE and more, as public appetite is 
whetted, do invited guests of 
every degree grow to depend on the host¬ 
ess for entertainment. If dancing be 
out of order, my lady is expected to fill 
the evening with some special form of 
interesting amusement. People of this 
generation, evidently, are not conversa¬ 
tionists, and one doesn’t “amuse him¬ 
self ” any more. 
It is not so difficult to entertain small 
numbers of guests, without outside help, 
for there are plenty of amusing things 
in which a few people can engage. But 
if dancing and the various “ progress¬ 
ives” be left out, there seems to be, 
generally speaking, little but music to 
fall back upon. And unless the affair 
announce itself as a musicale, one doesn’t 
wish music all the evening. 
Games, as such, are considered to be a 
little below the dignity of full-grown 
guests ; but there is a variation of what 
used to be regarded as a game, and 
known as “Yes or No,” which may be 
used to the interest of an indefinite 
number of guests, and which proves very 
pleasing, and often instructive as well, 
while it is dignified enough to be en¬ 
gaged in by all classes of people, and 
simple enough for quite young maids 
and laddies. These last two facts make 
it of especial value in a company of 
mixed ages and interests, and it thus 
works very well, indeed, for sociables 
and kindred affairs. 
The preliminary work consists only 
in preparing a large number of slips, 
plainly written or type-written, each 
containing a name. These may be of 
people living or dead, of characters of 
fiction, or even of abstract characters, 
like the new woman. As the company 
gathers, a few of the active ones may be 
detailed as aids to the leader, for the 
purpose of pinning the slips on the backs 
of the various individuals. As soon as 
they are thus named, each tries to find 
out who he may be, by asking such ques¬ 
tions as may be answered by yes, or 
no, of any of his neighbors. A word of 
explanation is allowed in case the sim¬ 
plest answer may really mislead ; but 
some mystification is “ in the game,” if 
strictly within the bounds of fact. Such 
questions as “Am I alive?” “Am I 
real, or imaginary ? ” etc., may be heard, 
as one passes here and there among the 
guests, and there is plenty of scope for 
bright questioning and witty answers. 
Seldom is anything seen that will so 
quickly break the ice, remove barriers 
of every sort, and set all tongues to buzz¬ 
ing, as this simple and easy amuse¬ 
ment. 
A shrewd 14-year-old girl attacked the 
lady near her with the abrupt demand, 
“Who ami” — against the rules, but 
hoping to betray her into a definite 
answer. But her interlocutor was also 
quick and bright. “ You’re a fraud,” 
was the reply, as the lady moved away 
with laughing eyes. 
As soon as any member of the com¬ 
pany has guessed his character, he may 
have the first slip covered with another, 
and the person guessing the most char¬ 
acters during the evening, may receive 
a prize, if the one who plans the affair 
so please. 
Playing at Artist. 
The other amusement to be noted, I 
saw gotten up almost as an impromptu 
entertainment, in the parlor of a great 
hotel, where the guests were not only 
from all over this country, but from 
many foreign lands. It was on Thanks¬ 
giving night, and one of the ladies, hop¬ 
ing to interest all these people away 
from home, and make them forget home¬ 
sickness for a time, prepared during the 
afternoon, two sets of slips. Of one 
set, each bore a number, and a charac¬ 
ter of some sort. Of the others, which 
were larger, each bore all the numbers 
of the first set consecutively. Both sets 
of slips were passed about among the 
company, to all who would take them. 
“ We want 30 artists,” began the bright 
leader—and a chorus of subdued “ohs” 
and “ahs” went ’round the room. “They 
need not be finished workers ; indeed, 
if they can draw a cat as we used to 
when at school—thus—(doing some pecu¬ 
liar triangular work on the little black¬ 
board at her elbow) we will accept them. ” 
On these terms, the slips were distrib¬ 
uted, and it was explained that each 
artist was to present her character to 
the audience in black and white, as her 
turn came, upon the blackboard, while 
all the rest were to record upon the 
larger slips guesses as to the character 
intended. Of course, rapidity was a 
necessary feature, in order to keep up 
the interest. 
As the first somewhat unwilling “ ar¬ 
tist ” passed to her place at the board, 
all faces were alert and eager. She 
had, evidently, had some instruction, 
for, with a few hasty lines, a vessel with 
white sails stood off before us. Was it 
the Valkyrie, or the Defender ? Most of 
the company were shrewd enough to 
guess that patriotism would be ahead, 
and recorded the first guess as “ The 
Defender.” 
No 2 happened to be the most aristo¬ 
cratic and handsomely dressed young 
woman in the room. Evidently draw¬ 
ing had not been included among her 
accomplishments, for a nondescript cow 
with sticks for legs and a three-cornered 
face, was only to be distinguished by 
the company as such, when a very ex¬ 
aggerated crescent appeared high in 
front of her. “ Cow” — “ jumped” — 
“ moon” were the loud whispers here 
and there. 
The foreign missionary and bishop 
essayed to make plain to us the story of 
Simple Simon with his fish-line and pail, 
while another struggled with the wheels 
of the Hotel ’Bus. 
The literary woman was lucky. She 
couldn’t “ draw a straight line,” but she 
knew one cute little trick, of drawing a 
cat hastily to amuse children ; and she 
happened to get the slip which read: 
“ Old Dog Tray.” A minute’s surrep¬ 
titious practice before her time came 
jirepared her. The picture finished, she 
turned to the company and said, 
roguishly: “The ears may be the ears 
of a cat, friends, but the tail is the tail 
(tale) of a dog.” Strange to say, few 
failed on this guess. 
“ Mark Twain” with his two marks as 
exemplar (II), “ The Bloomer Girl,” 
“ The Stream of Life,” “Love among 
Thorns,” and many others, most of them 
easily shown, followed hard after those 
described. When the 30 had all “made 
their mark,” the company agreed that 
seldom had a more amusing liour-and-a 
half been spent. myra y. norys. 
MIXING A CAKE. 
OME of the amateur cooks may won¬ 
der why the cake is not a success 
when the ingredients are according to 
the recipe. Mrs. Lincoln, in the Ameri¬ 
can Kitchen Magazine, explains the 
right procedure in mixing a cake : 
“A correspondent writes, ‘ I would 
like some one who knows, to tell me 
why, when mixing plain cake, after beat¬ 
ing the butter and sugar to a cream, then 
adding the milk (after the eggs), it 
always curdles, and then my cake is 
always very coarse-grained.’ 
“ In rubbing butter and sugar to a 
cream, the warmth of the bowl, or the 
hand, if that be used, or the friction, 
causes the butter to soften and become 
almost a liquid or like thick cream ; 
that is why we call it ‘ creaming the 
butter.’ Some of the sugar, also, is 
melted and combines with the soft but¬ 
ter. When milk is added, especially if 
it be colder, and it usually is many de¬ 
grees colder than the creamed butter, it 
immediately chills the butter, and causes 
it to harden again in tiny lumps. It also 
unites with the sugar which has melted, 
and dissolves any that may be still in a 
crystallized form, and separates it from 
the butter. Tbe milk does not become 
sour as it does when curdled by an acid ; 
but the hardened butter separates from 
the liquid and gives it a curdled appear¬ 
ance. Probably the fat in the butter 
unites with the fat and with the casein 
of the milk ; but as fat does not unite 
readily with water, the whey or water 
of the milk separates from the other 
parts. 
“ In beating the eggs, we make bub¬ 
bles of air similar to soap bubbles when 
air is blown into soapy water; the 
albumen of the egg forms the tough, 
tenacious wall of the air cell. When the 
eggs are beaten into the butter, the fat 
combines with the albumen and helps 
to entangle and hold the air ; but when 
we stir a watery liquid, like milk, into 
the mixture, we break up some of these 
fine bubbles, this makes large cells, and 
the result is a coarse-grained cake, un¬ 
less we beat in at the last, enough more 
air to make another lot of bubbles. 
This may be avoided by simply pouring 
the milk into the bowl and not stirring 
it until the flour is added; or, better 
still, by adding a few teaspoonfuls of 
flour first, then a little of the milk, and 
then a little flour, beating well after 
each time, and so on alternately until 
the full measure is used. Add the 
beaten whites last. All cakes made with 
butter require to be beaten long and 
vigorously after the flour is in, that they 
may be smooth and fine-grained. But in 
sponge cakes, the flour should be mixed 
in lightly and carefully, with no more 
stirring or beating than will suffice to 
cover it up in the batter.” 
IN THE LAUNDRY. 
0 launder white shirts properly, is 
quite a task for young house¬ 
keepers, who have not had special train¬ 
ing for the work. For the benefit of such, 
I give the following directions: 
If no washing machine is used, soak 
well in warm suds, and rub the starched 
portions between the hands, never on 
the board, as it injures the fabric. Use 
plenty of rinsing water with a little 
bluing. 
Allow one tablespoonful of starch and 
a piece of prepared polish the size of a 
navy bean, for each shirt. The polish 
is made by melting together equal parts 
of spermaceti and white wax. Mix the 
starch with a little cold water, then 
add the polish and boiling water until 
of the proper consistency, and let boil 
five minutes. When cool enough to 
handle, rub well into the shirt, squeeze 
dry, and remove with the hand any 
starch adhering to the surface of the 
linen. 
After the shirt is dry, dampen it thor¬ 
oughly and roll up. If not stiff enough, 
The Weather Bureau em¬ 
ploys a skilled force of men, 
supplied with the most deli¬ 
cate scientific instruments, to 
foretell the weather. Per¬ 
haps you know when a storm 
is brewing without any word 
from the papers. Your bones 
ache and your muscles are 
sore. Your chronic muscular 
rheumatism gives sure warn¬ 
ing of the approaching storm. 
Scott's Emulsion of Cod- 
HverOiCwith'Hypophosphites, 
would be a most valuable 
remedy for you. The oil, with 
its iodine and bromine, exerts 
a peculiar influence over the 
disease, and the hypophos- 
phites render valuable aid. 
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 tbe purest Norwegian Cod-liver Oil 
and Hypophosphites. 
Put up in 50 cent and $1.00 sizes. The small size 
may b« tnouf h to cure your cough or help your baby. 
