FROM DAY TO DAY. 
P E LI II APS “ favor is deceitful and 
beauty vain,” but that is no rea' 
son why we should permit “envy, hatred 
and malice, and all uncharitableness ” 
to write their characters upon our mid¬ 
dle-aged faces. Why not prepare for 
an attractive maturity while yet in the 
freshness and bloom of early youth ? 
When we are young, our appearance 
may govern our thoughts; later, our 
thoughts govern appearance. Just re¬ 
member that when knitted brow and 
nagging word come too easily. 
A pjietty pattern for a child’s nain¬ 
sook apron is a straight slip, without 
separate yoke or bodice. It is cut squai'e 
at the top, front and back gathered 
straight across. Across the top of the 
gathers, extending to straps over the 
shoulders, are bands of swiss insertion, 
with spaces wide enough for one-inch 
ribbon to slip through. The shoulder 
straps button at the top, and the ribbon 
drawn through the insertion band ties 
in a bow at each shoulder. There is a 
broad frill of embroidery in each arm¬ 
hole. Such an apron looks very smart 
over a plain frock. 
* 
The children’s table manners are only 
a mortification when they are allowed to 
cultivate “company” manners. The very 
best manners in the world are none too 
good for the home circle. When we see 
the mother move coffee-pot and milk- 
jug to an inaccessible corner because 
“ Baby will drag things off the table,” 
we can’t help thinking that the right 
tiling would be to remove the baby in¬ 
stead of the table service. Apart from 
the annoyance caused by this insubordi¬ 
nation, it is a constant danger ; one can’t 
keep everything out of the way. An¬ 
other mistake is allowing a child any¬ 
thing on the table. We can’t always 
cut down the regimen to milk for babes, 
and much trouble is saved by letting 
them understand that some adult viands 
are not for the youthful palate. The 
proper use of knife, fork and spoon, and 
all the minor niceties of eating, one 
would expect to be acquired without 
trouble; but the habits one sees every 
day in a city restaurant cause doubt on 
this point. The sight of a pretty girl 
holding an entire slice of bread on the 
palm of her hand, while she butters it 
with the motions of a mason finishing a 
course of bricks, makes one wonder 
what the untrammeled manners of her 
home circle might be, especially when 
she is seen to dispose of her bread-and- 
butter afterwards by devouring the un¬ 
broken slice in large, circular bites. 
WINTER GOWNS AND ACCESSORIES. 
T HIS winter sees one desirable 
change in our skirts ; the volum¬ 
inous width is gradually disappearing. 
Six and eight-yard skirts are modestly 
subsiding, and 4% to 5 yards are now 
ample. The terrible hair cloths and 
similar materials of torture are now 
gone, and excessive stiffness is no longer 
seen. For a really good dress, the best 
lining is black moreen, of a quality cost¬ 
ing, in New York, from 24 to 30 cents a 
yard. It takes seven yards to line a 
skirt. With this, no stiffening is used 
at the bottom, it being merely finished 
off with the velveteen binding. We are 
told that a mohair or silk braid one inch 
wide is going to supplant the velveteen, 
but the latter is still in general use. 
These skirts have seven gores, one in 
front, two on either side, and two in the 
back. The top of the back breadths is 
either pleated or gathered. A little 
trimming is often used on the skirt, 
either plain bands, small ruffles, or 
braiding. When the latter is used, it is 
often continued up the seams, with a 
very becoming effect on a stout figure. 
There is, also, a tendency toward double 
skirts, the two being of equal length, 
the upper one plain, the under trimmed 
with ruffles. This seems a move towards 
the threatened draped skirt. 
Waists are still very much trimmed, 
as an offset, perhaps, for the smaller 
sleeves. For the small sleeve has passed 
out of the realm of conjecture, and is 
now an accomplished fact. As a rule, 
the sleeves are tight all the way up, 
with a little trimming at the top. Some¬ 
times this takes the form of a cape or 
ruffled cap, sometimes a puff. A very 
pretty style is a straight sleeve slashed 
at the top on either side, with puffs ex¬ 
tending through the slashings ; butter¬ 
fly-wing drapings are also pretty. The 
sleeve is very long, often extending 
nearly to the knuckles ; as a rule, this 
style is flaring, cut into a point at the 
back and front with a frilling of chiffon 
or mousseline de soie inside. Frills of 
rich lace once more form a fashionable 
finish for sleeves. The collar is usually 
much trimmed. In a favorite style, the 
high stock has four tabs or battlements 
extending out, two on either side, and 
a bow in the back ; a full ruche is then 
put inside, extending around the back 
and sides, but not the front. Sometimes 
the flaring battlements extend all ’round 
both back and sides, but such trimming 
is usually cut away from the front. 
A favorite style of waist trimming is 
the bolero jacket, either in the same 
or a contrasting material. Braid is, of 
course, the prevailing trimming, and 
where the bolero is of the same material, 
this makes a nice finish. The ripple 
basque is still worn, also long Louis XV. 
coats ; but the favorite style extends 
barely below the waist line, and is often 
finished in front with a broad girdle. 
Green really seems the prevailing 
color, and is seen in dress goods, hats 
and jackets of every shade, the mixture 
of green and blue being much favored 
in millinery. Bright red, however, has 
become a fashionable color for cloth 
walking gowns, but this is only permis¬ 
sible in the woman with an extensive 
wardrobe. One of the smartest of the 
winter brides decided on red as her wed¬ 
ding color, the bridesmaids all wearing 
red silk and velvet gowns, and large, 
black picture hats. The floral decora¬ 
tions were red carnations. 
CONTENTMENT IN THE COUNTRY. 
W E frequently hear parents in the 
country regretting that their 
boys go so often to town to spend the 
afternoon or, especially, the evening, 
forming unfit acquaintances, perhaps 
learning to use tobacco, drink, and 
gamble ; or that their daughters go to 
dances and kindred places where the 
company they find is not such as is 
desired. Scolding and nagging at them 
about such things do no good, but some¬ 
times harm, as they cause unpleasant 
feelings, calculated to make the young 
dissatisfied with home, and increase 
their desire to get away. Youth loves 
companionship and entertainment, and 
must have it. If it is not provided at 
home, they seek it elsewhere as natur¬ 
ally as water seeks a level. The remedy, 
then, to keep our youth at home and 
contented, is to provide something bet¬ 
ter. They keep improper company or 
frequent questionable places only as a 
last resort to satisfy the natural longing 
for society and entertainment. But sub¬ 
stitute something better and these other 
places or companions will soon be for¬ 
gotten. A bright light with pleasant 
evenings at home ; suitable reading and, 
occasionally, a little invited company, 
will do more to keep our boys and girls 
contented with country life, and willing 
to stay at home, than all the sermons on 
duty ever preached. 
I know of no better way of fighting 
this discontent than by organizing a 
club or social circle where all may meet 
once a week, and where, tactfully 
guided by maturer minds, they may 
gradually be led to the study and dis¬ 
cussion of interesting and important 
themes. It will offer companionship 
and entertainment, at the same time 
contributing to the natural, though 
sometimes, unrecognized desire for 
mental growth and improvement. It 
will give them something to think about 
and plan for all the week, and an occu¬ 
pied mind is a contented mind. 
In conducting such clubs, the social 
element must not be omitted, but a regu¬ 
lar time given to music, conversation 
and pleasant games. The entire meet¬ 
ing should be conducted in an informal 
manner, more like a social than a stiff 
“ meeting,” so that all will feel free to 
take part in the talk on whatever theme 
has been previously selected. No officers 
are necessary, excepting a leader to open 
the subject and see that timid ones are 
called out and given a chance to ex¬ 
press themselves, who should be ap¬ 
pointed a week or two in advance, at 
the same time that the subject is de¬ 
cided upon. Care must be taken to se¬ 
lect subjects of general importance in 
which one is actually interested ; also 
simple enough to be intelligently han¬ 
dled. When once weighty subjects that 
puzzle the minds of our most learned 
professors, doctors, statesmen or divines 
are chosen, just so soon will the inter¬ 
est begin to wane, and if they be con¬ 
tinued, the life of the society is doomed. 
Better select such subjects as township, 
county, State and national officers and 
their duties ; school and road laws ; 
what constitutes a happy home ; one’s 
idea of a successful man or woman ; 
advantages of country life; disadvan¬ 
tages of other life ; bright side of farm¬ 
ing ; the other side of business life. One 
of the best themes to be discussed is, 
why one wants to leave the farm, for, 
oftentimes, we are dissatisfied because 
we see only the bright side of some other 
calling, and know nothing of its hard¬ 
ships and disadvantages. Contrasting 
these with only the hard side of farm 
life, we conclude that it is more disagree¬ 
able ; but nine times out of ten, experi¬ 
ence teaches that, as a rule, country 
life is the most satisfactory if all our 
opportunities are cultivated. 
MBS. C. S. EVEKTS. 
RURAL RECIPES. 
S TEWED ox-tails form a very appetiz¬ 
ing and nutritious dish. Have two 
tails cut into pieces two inches long, and 
wipe with a damp cloth. Put a table¬ 
spoonful of butter into a hot spider. 
Peel and chop one onion, one carrot, 
half a small turnip. When the butter 
is melted and at the boiling point, stir 
in the vegetables. When they begin to 
brown, put the pieces of ox-tail into 
the spider; turn them repeatedly until 
slightly brown, then remove them and 
the vegetables to a stew pan. Add two 
tablespoonfuls of flour to the butter, 
then mix in one pint of boiling water. 
Pour this gravy over the meat, season¬ 
ing with pepper, salt and a bay leaf. 
Keep the stew bubbling slowly (never 
boiling hard), for two hours. It may 
require the addition of a little more hot 
water, if it evaporate. Beef stew, made 
in this way, is also excellent. Hurried 
cooking always means a tasteless stew, 
whereas the cheaper portions of meat, 
flavored with nicety and cooked long and 
slowly, are both palatable and nutri¬ 
tious. 
A good dessert for this plenteous 
apple year is brown Betty. Butter an 
earthen pudding dish ; put in the bottom 
a layer of bread crumbs, sprinkled with 
sugar, a pinch of ground cinnamon, and 
dotted with small pieces of butter. Put 
over this a one-inch layer of apples, 
peeled and sliced ; season the apple, like 
the crumbs, with the sugar, spice and 
butter. Continue this until the dish is 
full, the top layer being of crumbs, with 
the sugar, spice and butter on top. Pour 
over it just enough water to moisten the 
mass. We have used milk for this pur¬ 
pose, but prefer the flavor when water 
only is used. Put in a steady oven, and 
bake for one hour, at fix-st with a cover 
over the dish, this being removed in time 
thoroughly to brown the top. 
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