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HomeMy WebLinkAboutThe Brussels Post, 1898-7-8, Page 3JULY 8, 1998, TSE BRUSSRILS POST. ...,,,....., HOUSEHOLD. A GIRL'S ALLOWANCE. Nothing is farther from the (Noughts sof parents than to make grown-up. -daughters who aro living et home prao- tieal Ineuclios'nts, with the feeling of beggars in their Lather's house. Yet this is net infrequently the result when the daughter has no income of her own, earns no money -by her par- ents own wishes -and simply has to an 1 c larger td handling entailer and a itr t mune by the rapacity which grows with exer- alae, we will find Lhe women of the fu - tem quite as bustaoe8iilm as the men. 7'o this encs the allowance is a first step Parents who wish their daughters' kept development, as welt as their hrrppinese and freedom from care, will not hesit- ate to grant them an allowance, lest as a privilege than as a right. TillREE TRIED RECEIPTS. Tomato Sauce.-Tfatlf an ounre of but- ter, half an onion, half an ounce of raw ham or bucon, a small bunch of herbs, a sprig or two of fuireley,four pepper- corns, Let them fry gently for five lninntes, 'Then add the tomatoes, which should be cut in slices, and the stock. It liked, panned tomatoes can be used, Let boil gently for 15 min, ales, then rub all through a wire or hair sieve, If this sauce is not thick enough, melt one auntie of butter in it Moen pan, stir into it half an ounce of corn starch, then acid this to the sauoo, and stir till 1.1 boils. It is then ready for use. A small piece of glaze, or two or three spoonfuls of brown sauce, is a great Improvemeat to the flavor of the saute. New Ilam Sandwiches, -Have ready some very thin slices of bread. Chop finely enough rather lean 000lced htun to fill three or more tablespoons. For each tablesltoonfal hate add one hard- boiled yelk of egg; next add one tea- spoonful of chopped parsley, a quarter of a teaspoonful of dry mustard, and one teaspuronful of warmed buffer. Pound alt well together in a mortar, or in en enamelled bowl, with a wooden potato masher. Spread the mixture on the bread, cover with another piece of bread,, out into neat shapes, serve on a glass dish covered with lace paper, and garnish with fresh parsley. Home -Made Wafers -Ingredients t One ounce of butter, one gill of milk, half u pound of flour, one teaspoonful of baking powder, half a teaspoonful of snit. Pat the milk and butter in a saucepan to get hot. Mix together the flour, baking powder, and salt, When the milk and butter are quite hot, pour them into the middle of the flour and stir it In, malting a smooth and very stiff paste. Rimed it well. Fl.ou!r a board.; roll out the paste MS thinly as possible; prick it all over with a fork. out it into neat rounds or ovals with the Lop .of a tumbler or a outt:er. Slightly grease a baking sheet; lay on the wafers. Bake in a moderate oven aboten or ftft.e.en minutes, or Lill each isut a pale straw color. When cold keep in a tin box, ask for what she wants. Only women who have had it to do have the faintest. conception of the misery there is in *eking for every penny, even when pence are ungrudgingly given in re - tarn for the asking. Wives dislike it when they are dealing with excellent husbands, and when they have but to .show an empty purse to have its yawn- ing awning oompartments promptly replenish- ed. And daughters, more than wives, recoil from going to papa every time they require a ribbon or a, ,pair of alines, every time a new gown is want- ed, every time they wish to bestow something in charity. The having to ren- der an account is humiliating, and the ,girl envies the superior independence of her brother, who is in business or in a profession, and is master of his own finances. Girls in well-to-do house- itblds where there is no visible strait- ness of means are often much happier when working for their own support than when receiving what their parents give them. When a young woman has only a' brief period at home between her school and college days and her marriage, the question of an allowance is less Press- ing; her parents are not having her sunny presence long, and the trous- seau and the usual expenses of a girl's position seam the natural consequences of their having so fetir a thing in their household, as n girl in her first bright .youth. 13ut a girl growing older, set: • tliug down into spinsterhood, should be relieved from enduring anything which may be difficult for a sensitive nature to bear. In her position there , should be no indelicacy, .Either she should be allowed to work for herself, .and if she prefer it, and can arrange lt, should be permitted her independ- ent establishment, or else some ade- quate provision should he made for her to make her independent at borne. If her parents have ample means, she should have her allowance, regularly paid at stipulated intervals, on week- ly, monthly or quarterly dates, and this she should manage as she Pleases, hoarding it, saving it, investing it. or giving it away, as she sees best. The allowance must be determined, as to its amount, by the wealth and style of living of tee parents, also by what, It covers so fax as the young la- .dy'e expenses are concerned. if it must include all expenses of travel- ling, in longer than ordinary journeys the fact meat be considered when it .is apportioned. A good preparation for a girl's al- lowance is made by judicious parents who begin when their daughters are 'children, and from an early age ac- custom scustom them to the management first of a small, then of a gradually increas- ed, allowance. in the beginning the girl knows nothing of the value of money, she does not know what we may style the thrift of good spending, she cannot hay her clothing without waste. But if intrusted with funds and guided in their use, she learns by degrees how to exercise a stewardship over money, and she will letter cote - trot her finances, whether large or small, her life long, for the apprentice- ship she serves La the days when first she has something of her own to care for. The wise parent will not hesitate to let her tittle girl know the incon- venience of poverty Lf in those early days she spends the whole of her al- lowance in the first few hours of its po session. Only by the actual man- agement of money does a person arrive at the stage which it is regarded with the proper measure of respect and ap- preciation. A girl's allowance, once she hes reached womanhood, gauges very ac- euratel.y her contentment and ease of mince as a member os, the family and of society. Enough money, and no wor- ries about that subject, and the care lines do not furrow the smooth brow, the cheeky dots not grow hollow, the girl does not tole her youth and bloom hall so rapidly as in other conditions. Apure from the pride parents feel in saving their daughters from the strifes of the rnarket-place, there is real satisfaction in making an idolized child happy by plaring'her in the poet - tion of an adult person wlso has left the disabilities of the child belie nd her. If, however, for any reason a girl. ardently desires to bosom .her- self it bread -winner, and certainly al- ways where her staying at home in elegant leisure means a heavier load on the shotticlers of her father and brothers, she should be allowed to work at whatever calling is most con- genial. Work is honorable, The ability to earn an income is a demons- tration of talent mad capability, and In this period all doors open at the touch of a woman's hand. Men have always been very ready to treat; children and Women as about eq.,urlly improvident and unl'cnsoning beings in matters of money. They have taicen it for granted that wo- man were netttrelly spxsncithrlfts; the fact being that women, when trained to good management and when ander- standing their responsibilities, are adepts sn economy. Bat till one hen had the chance to try, oho never can show what is in her. Organized women in olubs, societies, and associations show ability end nee archon in the administration of their funds which will stand aomtparieon well with the mn.nn,gentent of menee by time, and one seldom hena's of honesty in a woinan treasurer. A high degree of honor in the conduct of money matters leas Usually been a feminine trait, rindif this be re-enfore- eel, Icy knowledge of o,Cdoirs, by skill in HER MAJESTY'S HhNDUOS1 THE QUEEN TAKES A DEEP INTER- EST IN THE EAST INDIES, SOUTHtIs'.1?Si CORN RECIPES. New Orleans Corn Egg -Bread. -One pint buttermilk, three eggs, one ounce butter. one teaspoon soda and enough meat to make a thick batter. Beat the eggs separately, stir the soda in the meal, and add one teaspoon salt, Beat the ingredients well together, adding the swell -frothed whites the last of all. Bake el a moderate oven in a bread. Pan, or fill muffin riags, with a lar ge spoonful of the batter to each, end bake to a light golden brown. This formula makes &Helens corn bread. New Orleens Corn Breakfast Cakes. - lour boiling water into a quart of corn meal and stir it until all the anal is wet. Add two eggs and buttermilk en- ough to make it' a thick batter, one teaspoon soda and one of slat. Butter square tin pans aid fill them half full and bake in a quick oven. CuL in squares and serve hot. They will be as light as a feather, with crisp top and bot- tom cruet. Spoon Bread in New Orleans. -This recipe is beyond comparison as 0 break - feet dish of corn mead. It never fails. The proportions are perfect•. An old colored cook originated Lt in IVliasis- eiippr, rand it is and has been for thir- ty years, a modest memorial of Aunt Hester's ability as to cook, particular- ly in dishes made of corn meal: One cup sifted meal with three cups of boiling water poured over it; three cups buttermilk, two eggs, one tea- spoon melted lard, one teaspoon soda and one of salt. Pour, in a bowl and bake. Taxes Corn Bread. -Scald half of one quart of Dorn meal and stir into it one pmt of black molasses with a heap- ing teaspoon of socia., one of melted lard, a pinch of salt and two eggs. Beat the whole well together enol bake iu a moderate oven. The Texans eat this molasses bread with (toffee as a kind of dessert. It .rises light and is well - tasting. MY FIRST GREY HAIR. I found a streak of silver fair ' Among my Jocks of raven hair, Met made my eyes wide open stare, - My first grey hair! Come thou as friend, or come as foe, As sign of wisdom, or of woe1- Which of these tons I'd like to know, Thous lone grey hair I "Gray hairs are hon'rable," 'tis said, But raven black becomes my head, I'd rather far that thou wart red, My first grey hair! I hope the years to ootne may see A grandchild sitting on each knee. Grey hales will then'becomi1 g be. And dark ones rare I hope to hive to see the clay, Though may it yet be far away, When all mylocks shall turn to grey, All silvery fair! But not just yet, -no ! not for gold! Would I permit thee to have hold Upon lay scalp -I'm not that olsl 1 Begone I -grey. hair 1 J'OIIN HOU, TORONTO, CAN, Snt• Iles Sevel•eJ oriental Attendants, beers Inman .Irl and 1d 1t Student er the enngunge-Ten Queen's 'reel notably Saved Mille to England. Tn these days, when there is so mach talk of sedition and unreal In India, writes a 'London correspondent, it is pleasant to think bow mach the Queen has done 10 endear herself, 10 her peo- ple there and to cement the ties whish bind them to the drown of England, by her thoughtful and sympathetic in- terest in the political and sonial pro- gress of her Eastern empire, -iter dl- rect. interest in' India began at a time when the British rule in the East was in its greatest peril, and when the slightest diplomatic. or administrative blunder would probably have cost Great B.ritaih her empire in Asia..Just after the mutiny in 1857 there arose a strong feeling of bitterness and re- venge among the English people, both at home end in India, as Intense and widespread as it was dangerous and impolitic. Among the few who escap- ed this feeling was the Queen, and she showed her sorrow and indignation at its existence in it letter she wrote in 1857 to her Viceroy, Lord Canning, who shared her feelings, en this letter she deolared that her highest wish was to see her Indian sabjects beppy, 00n- tenled and flourishing. ROYAL PROCLAMATION .01? 1858. This document expresses the feel- ing of generosity, benevolence and re- ligious toleration of a female sever - HOURS ON STIIPBOARD, For the purpose of convenience and discipline the day on shipboard begins at noon, and is divided time: After - 11000 watch;, le' noon to 4 p,m,; first dog watch, 4 pen, to 0 p.m.; eeconcl.dog watch, G pan. to 8 p.m,; first wetoh, 8 part., is 12 midnight; middle watch, 12 midnight to 4 a,m,; morning watch, 4 a.m. to 8 a,m.; forenoon watch, 8 am, to 12 noon. docs who come letore her notice. Not so very long ago, when taking her us- ual drive in an open earrlago on a cold day, she observed an unlucky *yah, who was not only exceedingly thinly clad, but was wearing no shoes. Her Majesty stopped the carriage and en- tered into conversation with the poor, shivering creature- to her supreme delight in her own language -told her to take care of herself Ln a strange land, and finally ordered a pair of shoes to be made and sent to her, IL to always Lhe Queen's personal in - teres/ that tells, and nothing gave. the Indian cavalry offloore who formed a guard of honor to the Queen in the diamond jubilee procession Inst ,year more plot/rave than the fact that they received their jubilee medals from her own hands. It is deeds like these that have won the Queen the love and de- votion of her Indian subjects, and if only her example could he followed, and the spirit she evinces entered in- to there would be very little need for anxiety as to our future relations with India. The love of royalty is innate in the Hindoos, and 11 is only the feeble copy of royalty, as presented. to them by the government, lhuL reuses their ire and prevents them from settling down peaceably under the British rule. ANGL0-1NDIAN MARRIAGES. The Queen's devotion to India and everything connected with Lhat de- lightful but troublesome colony seems to have communicated itself to her sabjects. Hindoo students hold their own in all English universities, ere weleomed in Lhe highest circles, and last, but not leastare not infrequent- ly accepted as husban,ds by the daugh- ters of aristocratic families. At the present. moment a Bindoo bridegroom meet'. hngllsh bride are enjoying their honeymoon on Lhe Riviera, and the Queen rejoices to know that her godson -the child of her favorite Dbu- leep Singh -hat formed an alliance with land obnye hoisf the rhrigestwifahmitheebienahe- ful Lady Anne Coventry. sign speaking to more than 100,000,- 000 of Eastern people on assuming the direct: government over them, and did much in the way of pouring oilon the troubled waters, by reassuring Lhe English and conciliating the natives. This was a happy idea of the Queen herself, and by it the feelings of the native princes have been much grati- fied, while at the same time they have been bound together in a coniraterntty and attached by a personal Lie to their sovereign, The visit of the Prince of Wales to India in 1870, and the procla-I mutton of the Queen as Empress two years later, further accentuated Her Ileajesty's interest In the country, but! what has given more satisfaction than 1 anything else is the fact that that' energetic sovereign began to study Hindoostani at the age of seventy-one, being most anxious to become aequain- i Led with the language of so many of her subjects, and be able to converse with them in it, as she frequently does. It is really wonderful how she finds time amid her multifarious dui-' Ms to write the day's account in the Hindoostani dairy she keeps. The Niz-I am of Hyderabad, the premier prince! of Hindoostan and the lawfal patron! of the language of the ltfoghul, was so flattered by the Queen's compliment to his mother tongue, that he ordered a', sketch of her life to be written in Hindoostani on a single sheet of pa-. per in "'bat-e-guloar"-handwriting to, the shape of flowers. It took the hest artist in that line in India a year toe complete the work, which was pre -1 acnted to the Queen on her. birthday.) The contents of the single sheet of paper FILL A WHOLE BOOB of several hundred pages of llhat-e- nasia.lio -ordinary handwriting which accompanied the present. Not only for the language of thel Hindoo does the Quoen Empress show a predilection, but also for the Ilindoo service. Sha has at the present time three Indian attendants, who look to her personal oomfort, and a chef ov- er the Eastern kitchen. The Orient- al department of the royal household is in charge of her private Indian seo- retery, Hafiz Rabclul. Karim, who be - Longs to a good fancily at Agra and has been in .ler Majesty's service since the jubilee year 1887, discharging his duties faithfully and well. The Shahzadar Nazrnllah Rhan, an ortho- dox Moslem prince, who at an enter - Liniment given him by the Indian Of - Eke abstained from food on religions grounds, did Lull justice to the fnclian dishes provided for him by the chef when on a visit to the Empress. She shows her devotion to Indian art in various ways -by patronizing the embroidery, carpets and gold and silver industries of every kind. Every- one knows that she cannot refrain from presenting a bride -and the wed- dings that fall in her way are legion -with one of her beloved Indian shawls in addition to any other gift, Indian architecture is another of her hobbies. In evidence of this is a beeut.iful building adjoining her house at Osborne, in the isle o:f Wight, of ex- clusively Indian design, which she had erected. a few years ago by tan Tnclian engineer, and in which her Oriental visitors are received and entertained when the court is at Osborne, Li Hung Chiang and the ISing of Siam were the tact distinguished guests there, Every mac has heard of the Zenana Mission, yet few realize, even to they happen to know, that it entirely owns its origin Id the Q,ueon s sympathy with end desire to help the downtrod- den female subjeols in her Eastern Empire. What sufferings must have been endured by them in those days, when they were allowed to die retie or than be seen by a man doctor, and the only concession granted was per- mission to show their tongue and have their pulse felt TIiRO'UGH A SLI,'I! in the curtain, Now, by means of this mission Hindoo women can ,be ill with as enrich comfort as their West- ern sisters, inasmuch' as there are al- waysne, Indy doctors, ' Buil of probes. ube stoa skill, ready to attend to And while there is help note for the body in India, the mental and moral natures of the woman have not; been neglected, and female education and everything which tends to the ad, - advancement of the sex receive the Qu"ee's constant support, Many are the anecdotes of the Queen's sympathy with individual. kltn- ABOUT BOURBON BABIES. Expensive and iloraeeile Proceedings at the IClrthe 0f it0yalty in Parts. When the birth of a royal child was expected the "Te Deem" was sung in the churches of Paris, the Parliament sent to congratulate the Sing and Queen, and public prayers were said. When the confinement began relics, of St. Margaret were brought from St, Gnemain des Pres, and the Blessed Sac - transmit was exposed in all the chur- ches. The birth itself was to have many witnesses. In the room of the Qaeen or Dauphine as the case might be, was erected a great Lent, and with- in this a lesser tent, in which was the bed. To the outer tent were admitted Princes of the blood, the Chancellor, and later many other witnesses, up to 200 ladles in the time of Henry 1V.'Lat- er the whole court was admitted, and under Louis XV. the adjoining rooms also were crowded with courtiers, maoy of them arriving in haste in their dressing gowns. In the following reign the crowd became so greet that Marie Antoinette was almost stifled, and Louts XVI. pushed through the crowd to the windows, which he smash- ed with his fist. The infant was chris- tened directly it wan torn, but Lhe solemnities of baptism were often de- layed for many years. A layette was provided beforehand, This trousseau for the eldest great grandson of Louis XIV. cost 120,000 !tyres, and later on it rose to 200,000: 'Cha matter was so important that this collection of baby clothes was brought in procession from Paris to Versailles with an escort of guaards. Ole Pope was accustomed to , send a second outfit. Those for the son of Louis XIII, arrived in two oases of red velvet adorned with silver, and ' ted embroideries of silk, silver and gold, with the royal and Papal arms and religious subjects, were an ob- 'jest of great admiration. They were always brought by some prelate of high rank, with the title of Vice -Le- gate, He was received with the greatest honors anti was aoeomlmnted, not like Ambassadors by a Marshal of France, but by a Prince of the House of Lor- raine. After an audience of the Ring he heal another trona the, royal intent, before whom the layette was spread out. Two gentlemen held the ends and the baby planed his hand upon it to take possession, The Vice -Legate made a complimentary speeob to the baby and gave hie blessing. et was usual for tate Xing to obtain for him in return e. Cardinal's hat. Depurtations also gravely made speeches before the infant Prince. Bells' ware given and festivities of all kinds. The expenses of the birth of the grandson of Louis XIV. amount- ed to 604,477 livres, probably more than £100,000 at the present retie of money. Louie XVI. and Marie Antoinette turn- ed this extravagance into a better channel, The Ring gave 100,000 livres to •alio poor, the Queen gave dowries to 100 poor girls and the good example was widely followed throughout Franco, Besides a wet -nurse the child had a trbmueuse Whose sola duty it was to rock the cradle at certain hours, Of the eight bedchamber women four were ap- pointed by the Xing, two by the Queen and two by the gouvernante, who was a great lady, usually a Duchess or Princess, charged tt'ith the royal child- ren until they reached /years of age. For each child the offices were renew- ed, and if one child died all his at- tendants passed on ipso facto to his brother. It happened thus to one young Prince to have thirty-two bed- chamber women, The number of oth- er persons connected with' the troy - al children may be estimated by the fact that the Austrian Ambassador, writing to his mistress in 1770, when Louis XVI. had as yet only e daugh- ter of 1 year old, declares that, in sprite of the Ring's attempt: to our, tall useless expenditure, the "house- hold" of the Princess consisted of eigh- ty persons. , BUY THE CROWN ,SHWELS, Moro than a third of the French crown jewels have been bought by Am- I - Young Folks. WUO'S mfi1AID IN TILS DARK? "Ob, not I," said the owl, And he gave a great scowl, And be wiped his eye And Huffed his jowl, "Too whool" Heid the dog, "1 bark Out loud in the clerk. Boo-oo I" Said the cat : 'Mi-ew I" I'll soratcb anyone who Dares say that I do Feel afraid, IeSi-ew 1" "Afraid," said the mouse, "Of the dark in the hoose1 Hear me scatter 'Weatever'a the matter 4 Squeak(" Then the toad in his hole And the bug in the ground, They both shook eads And passed the wordtheir arhound; And the bird in the tree, And the fish and the bee, , They declare, all three, That yon never did see One of them afraid In the dark! But the little boy who had gone Lobed Just raised the bedclothes and covered his head, GRANDFATHER'S FUNNY THUMB, It is 50 years since grandfather used to sit by the fireside in the old farm- house among the Green mountains, In the long winter evenings the firelight danced all over his polished head, and he sat very quiet until we three boys became so boisterous that something had to be done about it. "Sh-h-h, boys," said mother, "can't ye be a leette more quiet 8"' Then grandfather slowly raised his head, turned towards us, and began to wiggle his funny thumb at us. It was all out of shape, knobby, and the round- ing nail was right on top of the thumb, and grew over like the visor to a jock- ey's cap. It loolced as if some tunny little gnome was nodding at us. "Come on, boys," said Tom, "be's go - Mg to tell it," "When our folks Lust settled hero," grandfather began, "the bears gin us more trouble than anything else. We had to hunt 'em, and shoot 'em, and trap 'em all we could, of we wanted any crops at a11. And me and another boy, Ben Geer we got so smart we thought no more of ketcbin' a bear than we did a woodebuek. "One fall the bears got into our corn- field, and Ben and me, we sot a trap. The secone morning it was gone, bear, trap and all. Ben and me, we an after M. Ben took his gun and his dog, Watch, and I took my ex and Bose. "We hadn't followed the trail more'n two mile afore we nerd the dogs kl- yi terrible. We come out into a little Meares', and there stood a great, enor- mous she -bear backed un ager' a big stump of a tree, knookin' the dogs hither and yon whenever they come within reach, Our trap was on her off bind foot. "Ben chewed up his gun to shoot. ''Hold on, Ben,' I says, 'no need to waste your powder.' Ammynitlon was skur- se and hard to gib in them days. 'You; wait a minute,' I says, 'and I'll split bee head wide open.' "I crepe up to the bear, and tasted up my ex, and brought it down, full chis- el. But that old bear, she kaoeked the an o'ut of my hamds as of it wa'n't nothio' but a feather. She ketched holt of me with one of her paws, and grab- bed at my throat with her jaws wide open, and tried to gib her other paw around me for the death hug. :But I dodged so'st ber paw slipped off, and I run my left hand clean down her throat, and hooked my fingers onder- neath the rharts of her tongue, and there I hilt." Little Ned dresv a long breath and grasped my finger in his chubby band. "Wal., sir," continued grandfather, "then come a tussle, Plungin' and rollin' about, sometimes the bear on top, and sometimes me, end every time the bear shot her mouth, she ohawed my thumb between her grind- ers ; and Ben hoppin' ail over the lots and callin' out 'I dement shoot, Ike, I dassent shoot, I'm *feared I shall hit e t y "flow long this would a -lasted, or whither -no Ben would a -fired, I can't tell. But in one of our flops we come upon the ax that the bear heal knock- ed oil of my bands- I took it in my right hand and brought it down acrost the small of the bear's back, and it cut the spine of her back right in two." "Goodenough, grandpa 1" cried -Tom, "That crippled the critter," sold grandfather, "and she loosed her hug, and I snatched my hand out of her mouth. Ben, he shot a ball through her brain, and that finished her. Then he helped me home, end I took no great harm, except that thumb. That never got straightened out." "Tell it again, grandpa," sighed lit- tle Ned. But grandfather only wig- gled his funny thumb at us, and said, Bed -time l'" --- PHYSICAL CULTURE POR GIRL'S. The need of the day is for a higher physical development of girls and young women, The world has moved along, and the fair sox to a certain ex- tent have gone with it. But it has been rather an intellectual develop- ment than a pbysical one. The women have stepped into the places formerly occupied by men, and taken all in all have hold their own very well, But in this they have shown only their mental oapabilities. There can be little doubt but that physically women have been comparatively at a stand- still. Therm is, to be sure, it move in the right direction, but it will take e, long time to effect a permanent or far-reaching result. Gists do not sacrifice either maid- enly modesty or refinement by in- dulging in athletics, and the tendency should be to encourage exercise that will devalope a more rugged constitu- tion, In this way girls will find them- solvoa Possessed not only of the increas- ed strength necessary to support them daring the days when they are nailed to business 000upatlons, but they will have the strength to sustain the bur- dens and trials of wifehood and mat'.et- nity, and of all the responsibilities of home making when that important time shall arrive. Therefore, girls, go In for ell the training you eau stand., and if there are enough, club k(wetter and have meetings at each other's homes and study and practice home athletics, and whenever an opportunity affords take it out doors, for that is the most vet - stable. LIFE IN A CUBAN VILLAGE, The People Are Exreedtngly .1.1>4h*'llcarlefl and Pond of Anluse,urnh A, long line of one -storied houses of white stone, flat roofedand while - washed, met and crossed by smaller analless regular lines of the aame,the whole set in a green ring of Mimeo) ante sugar cane, and sallied upon dur- ing eight months of the year by ,the brightest and bluest of ekies-su•h is an ordinary village in the island to which, lire eyes 05 the world have been recently turned, the island of Cuba. 11'ire and sword have devastated too mans of such fair scenes in recent years, but the life in them in times of peace is quiet and simple enough, Itis that life which the present ar- ticle will endeavor to describe. Most of the inhabitants are employ- ed in the plantations which encircle the village for the climate is tropi- cal and broolcs no delay in the morn- ings. Like all villagers, however, es- pecially those who dwell in tropical countries, the Cuban is naturally an early riser, by 5, or oven 4 °'clock in the morning he is afoot and enjoying the, morning bath, wbirh is one of the indispensable portions of his toilet. Bathing Is very greatly practiced in Cuba; the men bathe three and four and the women five and sometimes six t imes in the course of a day. His ablutions over, the Cuban partakes of a cup of cocoa with (if there happens to be a baker in the village) a sweet - cake; if not, one or two plantains. This meal is called the disauueno,and when it is over the villager GIRDS ON HIS MACHETE (a species of cutlass which serves him both for a weapon and a toot, and which he carries as habitually as an Englishman carries his walking stick) and sets off for his work on the sugar or tobacco plantation, There are a good many peasant proprietors on the island, but their holdings are as a rule very small. Work proceeds busily upon the plantations until about 11 o'clock when the nun being now unbearably hot; and bright, there is a general cessation for almuerzo and siesta. The Coban has only two meals a day and the almuerzo is the first of them. In character it is equival- ent to our dinner. Soup is served first of all, and thereafter comes a pecul- iarly national dish known as putchero. Putchero is a conglotneratton or meat or f sh, plantains or yams and beans, too or garbanzos, a kind of large pea, all boiled together in one large pot, and forms the piece de ,resistance of the average Cuban menu. (fruit being plentiful everywhere there is always' an easily obtainable dessert, which may take the form of plantains boil- ed or fried, guavas, oranges or some other sweet fruit. With, the exception of the very poor- est classes, porters, MLe., for wbom unremitting toil is a necessity, every- body now indulges in a siesta until that beat of the day be quite overpast. Sometimes the siesta lasts a couple of hours, sometimes longer. ,When he rises from it, the Cuban has another bath and a draught of cocoa or choc- olate and then he goes to the fields again. There he toils until the sun falls and then his working day is ov- er. Wheal he reaches home his second meal is nwniling him, This is (ailed thesena, or slipper, and does not call for detailed description here, being very much on the lines of almuerzo. A third; bath is indulged in at the close of this meal, clothes are once more changed, probably for the third time in the day, and the villagers settle down to spend the evening, As a rule they spend it merrily. Gui- tars are got- out and song and dance engaged in. FAMILY 04.110ES are got up among the Cubaus on al- most any pretext-birtiia, baptisms, marriages, confirmations are all cele- brated, in this fashion. The people are exceedingly light-hearted and tend of amusements, the negroes especially, In the towns bands play twice a week, on Thursdays end Sundays. Sunday is very little obaei'vel in Cuba. Most of the shops are open, the cafes do a. thriving trade, and there is no siltI1- eu:ty whatever in getting liquor of any kind. No pablic houses, so-called, are Id be found on the island, but in one corner of every alrnaoen or store there is a bar where beer, cognac, wine, aqua, ttrden(ia, oto., are freely dis- pc.tcsed. These almacens ere equipped on the Antertenn eLm'e principle, and anything is obtainable in there from a needle to or sheet anchor. The dress of the people of Cuba is that al most other tropical countries. No hats or bonnets are worn by the women; they have instead mantillas or Owls of fine lace, generally black. The well-to-do Classes are able to af- ford boots, and shoes imported from Amc'ttea, and the poorer people have to be content with sandals and a great meny go barefoot. Clothes, as already mentioned, have to be changed set, eral times a day, owing to the heat. There are two seasons, a rainy sea- son and a dry one, Tho rainy son. - son extends, as a . rule, trout May to September, and the dry season daring the remaining months of the year. In the rainy season, the island reads be- come very bad and exceedingly diffi- cult/ of passage by the clumsy bullock trains which are ;used for the pur- pose of transporting goods from one pare of the islana t0 another, It Is no uncommon sight indeed, to see a bul- lock cart, the wheels of which stand three feet high, or even more, slunk fast: in the mire. in the more moun- tainous parts the bullock ie. supplanted by the suras footed lass, AAil the p108'- ing in the island is done by bullookg, THE' FAN. There la e. pr000 as well as a poetry of fans. The word, no doubt, sug, gest* at °nee tivk dainty weapon whic'it, In the words of a writer, "Inc either a prude or a coquette, accord- ing to the natare of the person who bears ht;" but it ipciedes, nevertheless, a largo number of very prosaic imple- ments, such ore winnowing fans, ven- tllalitrg funs and the indispensable punkah. Oddly enough., the Roman "vannas" was nota fan ai ail, bat a bt•crad, shallow basket which received the corn after threshing, and from, which it was tossed into the air so that the wind might carry away the chaff, And the use of any artificial. means of raising the wind for winnowing towns not to have been known until quits late. On the other hand, the fans associate ed with lofty ceremonial and worship ere of the highest antiquity. Assyrian and Egyptian has -reliefs and memorials constantly represent Dings and Queens accompanied by attendants holding Lane. These era often of great size, carried on poles and appear to have been regular attributes of 'royalty, in the same way as horeshelr flappers and umbrellas. Shakespeare makes Cleopatra to be surrounded by "pretty - dimpLed boys, like, smiling cCupids, with divers ootor'd fans." In India fans have always been amongst the most prominent emblems of authority and sanctity. The use of fans in the churoh has now largely disappeared, so fax, at Least, as regards the West But from about the fourth century to the fourteenth, they were constantly - employed to keep oft flies from the secret elements in the sacrament. This practice still survives in the Greek Church and amongst the Copts. In the Greek Church, Leo, the deacons have Che curious duty of keeping flies off the priests by means of fans during the solemn celebrations. Although the Roman Church has abandoned the use of fans in the ordinary servtcee, large fans made of feathers are still carried in the state processions of the Pope, their use as symttols of authority and secrethees being tens remarkably preserved, oven after the usage has in general, become obsolete. In 'Mean, large non -folding fans are used in cere- monial dances and on state occasions, or, at least, were so before Japan be- came so eager to copy the customs of the West. Fans seem to have been known in England by the end of the fourteenth century, and no doubt owed their in - troduotion here to the luxury of the court of Richard IL. They came pro- bably by way of Venice from the East. Coryat, writing in 1008, says that they are common in Italy, and in France they were in ordinary use at the court during the sixteenth century, under the Italian influence of Catherine do Medici. During the next century fans reach- ed, perhaps, their highest magnificence. In France especially they were mane featured by the meat skititul work- men ork men and patnled by the most eminent artiste. Thus we find that amongst many others of great eminence, Wat- teau did net think it beneath him to paint designs for fans. Artists have, occasionally, followed phis example even in our own century; but the most beautiful painted tans in museum col - Motions and elsewhere belong to the eighteenth century. In 1870 an ex- hibition of fans was held. at South Kensington, and prizes offered, of , which the Princess Louise gained one, Thera is still a large collection to be seen in the same building. Fans have always been used in so- ciety es a means of signaling. In France, Italy and Spain these signals have been regularly recognized and noted. It may be supposed that the same thing w'as not unknown in Eng- land during Addison's time, for the Spectator for Wednesday, the 27th of June, 1711, is wholly taken up by 11 supposed letter from. a gentleman who has established an academy far teach- ing the use of the fan, according to the most fashionable airs and motions 0055' practiced at court." The use of the fan has, he says, been reduced to an orderly system. Ladies are taught how to "unfurl fans, discharge fans, ground. faun, recover fans, and flutter . rant. ' And these several exercises are particularly described, ;and the time necessary for learning theta mentioned. Thus, "unfurling," which "pleases the spectator more than any other part et the drill, may he learned in a month. "Discharging," 'w'hich, when properly clone, results in a general erects, "as loud as the report of a pocket -pistol," takes longer, whilst "grounding," which merely includes the graceful quilting of the fan, may Ira acquired in two days. The Masterpiece of the whole exercise, however -according to this ingenious description -is "flut- tering." This is so complicated, and needs such delicacy of handling, that it can not be mastered in less than three month% There are many flats tats --•"the angry. flutter, the modest flutter, the. timorous flutter, the con- fused Clutter, the merry flutter, the amorous flutter. Indeed, there is scarce any emotion of the mind which does not produce a suitable agitation of the :fan. I have seen," he concludes, "afen s° very angry that 11 would have been dangerous for theabsent lover to have come within wind al it, and, at other times so very languish+ ing that have been glad that the lover was a distance from it," IDEAS AND REALITIES. After a men proposes to a woman; and she accepts him abe tries td make hitt fit her ideals, for it rarely haps. pens that he Domes anywhere tear ben Mg the sort of marl she eepeeted tot marry. , AN UNAPPRECIATED INVEENTION. The Idler --What beeaane of that cat- tie eta you invented.I The Inventor -1 couldn't get the railroads Lo take any stooks in it.