SPRING SUITS. 
For tliin wools, summer cashmeres and nun’s veiliug, 
■embroidery seems to be the favorite ornamentation, and 
2s not, as formerly, limited to borderiug flounces, etc., 
but appears in sprigs upon a sufficient portion of the 
goods to furnish aprons or paniers as well as being used 
upon the waist and fichu. The fichu promises to be 
even more popular than last season, and, indeed, they 
are very dainty little wraps, adding much to the ele¬ 
gance of a suit when made of the same material aud 
richly embroidered. Soft puffs are used for the skirts 
of these thin wool costumes: the embroidered ruffles 
surmounting them. "When paniered effects are intro¬ 
duced, the front of the skirt should be filled with nar¬ 
row ruflles. 
Narrow velvet ribbon is seen upon many of the new 
suits and is used in quantities upon the box-plaited 
•skirts, sometimes being placed in three parallel rows 
down each broad box-plait and laid in loops that over¬ 
lap each other at the end, while on other dresses it is 
placed across the box-plaits near the foot forming a kind 
of border of three or four parallel rows. On the waists 
three or more rows are used very near together, and 
placed straight down the front from the collar to the 
top of the darts, the ends being turned under in loops 
giving the effect of a square plastron. The sleeves are 
trimmed with several rows around the wrist, or else the 
outer seam is left slightly open, and the velvet follow¬ 
ing the edges. 
For wearing over a skirt of plaited silk, surah or velvet, 
a polonaise of fine wool, vignones, cashmere and the 
like is used, and the newest design is cut in Princess 
style, draped high on the sides, the waist being as clearly 
defined as in a Jersey bodice. 
Most overskirts are irregularly draped, differing on 
the sides. If the much used deep apron is desired, it is 
naught up high on the left side and allowed to droop 
quite low on the right, and to ensure an easy effect 
should be full enough to hang in graceful folds diago¬ 
nally across the front. Draperies are more voluminous 
than formerly, sometimes a breadth and one-half of 
cashmere being required for the back. 
A figured foulard for the house or street has the 
skirt trimmed with a deep bias flounce, doubled in at 
the top to form a heading two inches deep and then 
shirred several inches. Above this flounce in front the 
drapery is arranged in two soft puffs extending to the 
waist, separated with several vows of shirring ; tho back 
drapery is also of soft undefined puffs. Round waist 
fitted smoothly and cut down in low poiut in tho neck, 
bordered by a puff. Oriental lace is then fulled in the 
neck, and extends down to waist line; sleeves are loft 
open on the outer seam aud just rounded enough to dis¬ 
pose of the corner, and a frill of oriental lace borders 
the edge. 
A browu Ottoman silk had its skirt trimmed with a 
flounce niue inches dee]), laid iu box-plaits two inches 
wide, close together and trimmed with three rows of 
velvet ribbon three-quarters of an inch wide, the same 
shade of brown as the silk ; this pleated ruffle ter¬ 
minated iu a soft puff. The front drapery was laid 
in full soft folds running diagonally across tho front, 
and on one side of the skirt a panel was simulated 
by placing the velvet ribbon in diagonal rows. The 
basque was cut away in front in two shallow points, 
and the backs terminated in two narrow-pointed pieces, 
while the side backs were elongated and widened suffi¬ 
ciently to make a full back drapery, which was grace¬ 
fully caught up and fastened underneath the pointed 
back pieces. 
Silks intended especially for spring wear are made 
with a short jaunty basque and a box-plaited skirt 
bouffantly draped, one of these new silks having green 
checks of the smallest size, and with strawberry red 
sprays brocaded upon the part used for basque and 
drapery is described as being made with “ short basque 
pointed in back and front and a Directoire collar of 
darker green velvet, which is notched and pointed down 
to the waist line, while close around the neck is a stand¬ 
ing collar of velvet fastened by a green velvet bow of 
many loops of narrow ribbon, and a similar thickly 
clustered bow is on the back of the basque instead of 
box-plaits. The small flat buttons are wooden moulds 
covered with any scrap of the silk ; some of the buttons 
showing the red brocaded figure, and others merely 
checked. The lower skirt checked without being 
brocaded forms five wide double box-plaits down the 
front and side breadths, separated by panels of velvet 
that fill all the spaces between the pleats. Five rows of 
inch-wide velvet ribbon cross the pleats near the foot. 
The brocaded checked silk drapes the upper part of the 
front diagonally, and four breadths of it are bunched 
up in the back and fall to the foot.” 
HOUSEKEEPING. 
Soap. 
We hear a great deal said in these days about soap. 
Scarcely do we take up a paper but we see some new 
.soap advertised, and each claims the merit of being by 
far the most superior article in the market. If we be¬ 
lieve all we read, it seems hardly necessary to do any¬ 
thing to the clothes we wish washed, more than to rub 
a little soap on them, rinse them, and hang them out. 
A gentleman of considerable experience with soaps, 
says in regard to the 'new method of rubbing soap on 
clothes, rolling them up and letting them lie an hour un¬ 
der water that the same result may be obtained by using 
any pure soap. It is certainly an improvement on the 
old way of soaking clothes over-night. A pure soap is 
of the greatest importance, and the surest way to 
