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To Clean Decanters.â€"Get some old pieces of blotting paper and soap them well, roll the bits up small and put about twenty little pieces into the bottle to be cleaned,. than half fill the Runner with warm water. Let it 8mm: five minutes, and then shake Patching Socks.â€"A correspondent has discovered that she can patch socks more quickly and just as serv- iceath as she can darn themH not to mention saving her eyesight. She takes the sock in hand, trims the edge of the hole, cuts a patch from the good part of another, whips it down over the hole on the wrong side, then turns and does the same on the right. There mm no seams to hurt the flesh, and the patch wears as long" as the darn- iug would. To Clean Hair Brushesâ€"Dissolve a piece of common soda the size of :1 Walnut in proporiion to aquart of writer, dip the bristles of the brush briskly in and out of the water again; keep the back and handles as free as possible. Repeat this until the brush looks clean, then dry the back and the handle, shake well to throw as much wet as possible out of the bristles, and set in the sun or near the fire to dry. bpoom bags of canton flannel, made up with tho fleeced side out. Tie the «broom on one of these bags, and by dimming it over a polished floorI you may gather up all the dust and lint, and save yourself the tiresome stoop- ing necessary to wipe it up with a cloth. The broom bag, too. is agreat mid in cleaning house, in wiping the dust off the walls. It will take up the dust from matting as easily as (Bum. u painted floor, and by rinsing out in clear water occasionally does excellent service. [f you will make coverings for your furnil ure. you will ilud it will not only saw it a great deal, but you will find that the appearance of your rooms is agrgeufbly chrmg-gd, Then again, TL is also an excellent plan to take a good-sized piece of drugget and place over your carpets. it will save an immense amount of Wear and dirt from working in, and there is nothing so destructive as dirt. To VVuish Silk Stockings.â€"\Vash silk stockings in cold mater, and with whit-e soap, rinse in cold water, then lay them flat in a clean towel, roll them up tightly, and let them remain till they are dry. If you rub them with apiece of flannel it will give them a gloss, and \they will not reâ€" quire ironing. Silk stockings should never be left in water; they must be washed quickly, and rolled up at once. A Broom Bag.â€"Whoever has hardâ€" wood or painted {1601‘s to keep clean should provide herself with several It is a good plan, when possible. to lake. down all heavy drupings, as per. tierres, lambrequins, etc., and replace them with something that is more in keeping with the heated season. A pair of lace curtains hung over the fulding doors, a lace lumbrequin over the mantelpiece. will do much toward making a room look cool and inviting on, a warm day. It is about this time that the old- fmshi-onaed housewife sets about the yearly bcmsecleaning. Of course, than: are some, who belong to that en- ergetio class who begin early in April. and plan and systmnize their work, and rush through it, and by the time May lat comes around, they are seated ser- enely, with bands folded, and smiling I smile of supreme contentment and nestfulness. There are others who would not think of doing any such thing as cLeaning house at this sea- “What,” some will cxvlalm, "go to all the bother of cleaning and drag- ging one’s life out at this time of the year. when for four or five months to follow doors and windows are to be open all the time, not only to let in air, but all the sitting dust from with- out to clog up everything. Humph! Nu. indeed! No spring cleaning for me. I shall do mine in the fall. when I know I can keep things spick and span, 1111 through the winter." Well. so be it. Each will work at their own time and according to their lnclina‘ions. The good, old-fashioned housekeeper will, however, look to do the great labor of housekeeping about the last week in April or l'hel first in 80" May Like the leaves that {all around us In au.uu1n’s fading hours ' Are the tnaitor-‘sm‘lvas that darken When the cloud of sorrow lowers; And. though many such we've known, love, . Two prone, alas! to range. We hmh can spank of one. love, Wh-om time could never change. “’0 have lived. and loved together Through many changing years; \‘Ve have shared each u.ht-,r's gladness And wept each other’s tears; ‘And Let us hope the future As the past. has been will be; I will share with thee thy sorrows, And thou thy smiLes with me. We have lived and loved together Through many changing years; We have shared each 01 her's gladness And. wepL each other’s tears; I have never known a sorrow That was long unsoothed by thee; For Lhy smile can make a summer Where darkness else would be. i About I‘ HOUSEKEEPING SUGG ESTIONS ‘mmemouuuoocrgoug Womomuiuo LIVED AND LOVED TOGETHER. About the House. SPRING CLEANING The use of dogs for the purposes of draft was abolished, as regards Lundum by an act of parliament, passed in August, 1839, and ‘he prohibition was extended to all parts of the United Kingdom in Jul]. lb‘iL “I told him to write me out a list: of everymlng he wanted for hls birthday. and he's still at II.”â€"Excbange A Great Incentive. "I am really delighted at the interest my boy Tommy 15 taking in his writing." said Mrs. Hickleby. “He spends two hours a day at: it." “Really? How “range! How did you get him to do In" “But what makes me mad worse than anything else is the fact that I had made up my mind when she asked for the amount of my bill to try to remember that I had a mother once myself,”â€"De- t-roib Free Press, “During the afternoon I took her around to the places that I had overlooked in the morning. and later in the afternoon I drove her to one of the large department stores. as she wished to do a little trading before she left for home on the late train. “Maybe I'm green. but; I waited out-side for her for two hours hefan it dawned up- on me that something mightl be wrong Even then I should have notified the pn- lice that she was lost had not a fellow haokman told me that; he had seen an old lady who looked like my fare taking a late train out of the city. “She enjoyed it and asked me a chm}- sand and one questions. which I answered to the best of my ability. A PRETTY PANEL. A very pretty way to fill up an ugly space between two door casings which is not suiuable to bang 21 picture in, or in case one does not own a pdcture (be proper size and shape, is to take a length. of china silk of a harmonious tint, and lay it in tucks standing upâ€" ward. It is necessary to begin at the 1'00 Of that space. at the frieze, if pos- sible, and lay the tucks deep enough to hold up photogna‘phs. These tucks should be ‘ack‘ad with brass head- exd'lacks' [0 keep them in place, and the silk. fing-wn lightly across the. space. “At noon I loaned her 25 cents to pay for her lunch. as she had nothing smaller than a $20 bill, which she was afraid she could not get. changed. This is a pretty decoration even wi h but a few pictust if the color is well chosen. Where there are a great many pictures and. the background la completely covered, a firm ’quality of a less expensive material will do just as well. VVh-ere there is a. set of pictures which would make a straight string of views across the panel the silk can be especially arranged so as to form a top [old :15 well as the lower‘ holding fold with pretty effect. A Lattice of ribbons or tapes may be mad in the same way, and such’ a col- lection Ls always far more interesting than in a basket or album, both of which are so terribly passe that they are never seen nowadays, except as liteirLooms. “I flatter myself that; it has been some time since any one has seen in one day all the attractions that I allowed the old lady. “I followed her directions to the letter. I nearly drove my horse to death looking up attractions about the city that I thought would amuse the old lady and incidental» ly add a few hours to my bill. Old Fashioned and Motherly, but 31:. Dazed the Hack Driver. “I was at my usual stand near the de- pot the other morning," said the hack driver, “when an old lady came out of the station and took my hack. “She was a motherly looking old wom- an. with an old fashioned bonnet: and corkscrew curls, and it was very evident that she was from the country and not ao- customed to city life‘ “I congratulated myself upon securing such an easy fare, as she asked no ques- tion in regard to what the expense would be, meroly ordering me to show her all there was to be seen In the city. A new idea is to put the flavoring of make, puddings, sauces, etc., with the butter. The butter holds the flavor better than any other medium. Try potatoes, boiling. with a sharp, thin-blade knife. They will not split apart, as they do when they are tried with a fork, which. acts like a wedge, and they will not show where they are pierced. Cases of poisoning have arisen through a careless disregard for the cleanliness of the cooking utensils or of their perfect condition. As soon as a copper saucepan shows signs of being at all wiorrn it should be re- tinned, und in any case nothing of an acid nature should be allowed to re- main in it while cooling. The same with regard to zinc and lead vessels, which are unsafe her cooking pur- poses. Those of bin, steel, iron or nio- kel are the safest b0 emlploy. Remem- ber, too. that it is better to 1139 a wooden spoon than one of metal when stirring milk or soups, and that before using baking pens you should grease them inside thoroughly either with butter or lard. In order to prevent the tins from burning it is as well to take the precaution of sprinkling the shelves of the oven with salt. A new idea is to put the flavoring well for another five minutes. Rinse with cold water and set to drain; when d’ry it will be beautifully clear and bright. Chapped Hands.-Insufficient drying is the cause of most chapped hands. It is an excellent idea to keep on one's dvmssing table a box of almond meal with a perforated cover. \Vhen the hands are dried with the towel, alit- tle almond meal dusted over them will complete the work of absorbing the moisture. THE DEAR OLD IADY. K [TC HEN HINTS “When aman is brought into this room, a statement is made of his name, his his- tory, his religion, his age, the crime he is there for and so on. There are maybe half a dozen women of his religion on the eligi- ble list and he is taken to the first one in the row. If after talking with her a few minutes he doesn't think he would like her he goes on to the next one. He is always covertly casting his eye along the line to see if there are any farther down that he likes better than those near the top. Somer times he sees one near the end of the line i that takes his fancy, and he will walk straight by all the others and go to her. If she likes him, toL they go up to the table and her history is remi to him. He may possibly object to the crime she was sent up for, and if so the affair is declared ofl But usually there is no trouble about that. “These marriage partles always take place on aSaturday, and jusba. week from that day the man is allowud to visit: the woman again for an hour and continue their acquaintanca If at the end of three Saturdays they are still of the same mind. ‘hey are married and taken on the boat down to the Nicobars, where they begin mheir married life. As I said. they give them I hut. n few m-res of ground and some provisions. and let them alone These couples generally get along pretty well together. though sometimes they ham 5 fight and one kills the other from were {one of habit. In that case tha sur- vivor is sent hack to the jail at- Andaman But- this very seldom lmppens. If they huve'children. which thvy generally do not, these are left with their pare‘nis till they die 011', for the Nit-uhan are an unâ€" henlchl‘ul and full of fever that puople don't live verr luau there. “When they have paired 03' as many as possible the keepers let the different cou- ples go out and walk about in the grounds for the rest of the afternoon, to got no- qualnted with each other and spark a lit- tle. maybe. Sometimes they don’t make more than one or two matches in a whole afternoon, for they are very hard to wit, those convicts, though you would think they would be glad to get anybody or uny- thing, just; for a change of life from that in the jail. “When they have maybe a dozen ticket of leave men and women, they have a sort of matrimonial reception. If any matches are made the couples are allowed to go up to the Nicobar group some dletance away and settle on the government land. There they get a oertnln number of acres. a hut and some commleeary stores, and are left to themselves. The ticket: of leave don’t take them anywhere except to the Nlco- bars. for they nearly all have llfe sen- tences. These matrimonlel reeeptlone are the funniest thing I ever saw. The men are brought one by one into a sort of re- ception room, where the women are stand- ing in a long row. There are generally several breaks In the line, to separate those of dlflerent cnetee and rellgloni. for they are very particular about that In In- dia. Some of these men haven’t seen a woman for ten years. maybe. and they look very curiously at them. “Generally one night of this is enough to make the worst case ready tor‘the work- room. but there was one glrl who stood the extreme penalty of three nlghts In this room and stlll refused to do a lick of work. She wouldn't work. and nothing could make her work. So finally they gave her up as a bad job. and made her sil: all day long in the workroom in men's clothes on a sort of elevated dunoe blook. She’ll never get a chance to make one of the marrlngee I‘m going to tell you about, because those are rewards for good be- havior, and she is the worst woman on the lsland. “All the prisoners have to work, and in the female prison they weave all the cloth for the men’s clothes and their own, and make them up, too, I believe. If any of the women refuse to do their stint of work, they are punished. The first pun- ishment is to out off their hair. This they don’t like very much. and the threat of it will generally bring them to terms, for they are just as vain as other women and don't want their long hair out ofl. If this doesn‘t convince them that it' better to work in the shop, they are made to wear men’s clothes and work in the grounds. which are beautifully kept. entirely by the women prisoners. The trousers and jackets given to those who are punished in this way are of the coarsest material, and are very unbecoming, and the women have to trundle wheelbarrows and dig in the dirt, Just like men. If even this fall, they are further punished by being put to sleep in a cell with the floor covered by branches laid in rows and then in cross rows, grill fashion. The branches are full of sharp thorns, which make it impossible to ‘stnnd, sit or lie down in comfort, “I have known of some queer marriages in the 20 years I have knocked about the world." said a sea captain the other day. “but I think the pairing 0“ of the jail- birds at Andaman was the strangest thing of them all. For a couple of years 1 com- manded the steamer that runs down monthly from Calcutta to the penal colony for British India on the Andaman and Nicobar islands. I was a youngster then and interestedTn all sorts of things. and it didn't take me long to strike up an ao- quaintance with the chief commissioner or president of the colony. who used to let me go all over the place. “The prison is as inaccessible as any suitan’s harem. It is built on a women tory and protected on the side toward the sea by a sheer ciifl‘ 200 feet high. while on the land side the grounds are surrounded by a 51 foot wall. There are several guards stationed at the entrance. and in order to get by the first of these a man has to give a certain password. In return this guard gives him another password. which takes him by the second, and so on, past half a dozen maybe. These police. as they are called, are the oldest and most hideous women in the jail. To be eligible a wom- an must have gray hair and a face that would stopa clock, besides a record for sobriety and obedience. Receptions at Which the Brides Are Selectedâ€"A Brief Conrphlpâ€"Sulb or: That Are Hard to Sunâ€"Wedded Life on a Prison Inland. CON V ICT MARRIAGES. PAIRING OFF THE JAILBIRDS AT AN DAMAN, INDIA. Lawyerâ€"A reconciliation has been brought; about between you and your hus- b;-.n(i. l infer. Ladyâ€"Gracious. no: He was run over amt killed by a freight train thisumrning. and I want t4: remin yuu in my suit against. the company (or damagea.â€"â€"Uh1- cage New.~ Ladyâ€"Thank fortune, 1 am not too late! Dust-my all papers and evidence at once, please. Olrounlltnnoel Alter Cruel. Lady (excitedly)â€"Have you filled my Application for a dim)ch yet? Lawyerâ€"No. madam. but I am at Work on the pupem uow It may not be so easy ta conquer the Murotse when the time comes, for they urn ; tall. well set up race, very black in skin. In manners they are courteous and in bear ing dignified. Every full blooded Murotse is by birthright a chief, and takes his piaoo in the aristocracy of the empire. The bare Inst that he isa Min-(nae insures the respect of the subservient tribes, and as he grows to manhood a sense of superiority usually implants in the native the dignity of self respect. The Em pire of Burnt-o. There now remains only one people and one little vullay south of the equator Whose sovereignty has not been claimed by some European poweri It is the valley of Bu- rotse, 50 or 60 miles WidB, north of Lialui, in South Africa. And the only reason why the Mai-obso, who inhabit it. have pre- served their independence is that. England and Portugal both claim is, and therefore the work of "civilization" is at; a stand- still A New Orleans Street. “Some of the names of streets here seem to bother visitors a. good deal, " observed I trolley car starter at the custom house. "and there’s one little experience that I have on an average of about six times a day. A stranger will walk up, generally carrying a bit of memoranda. and say. ‘Cnn you tell me where I will find theâ€" the'â€" When they get that far along. they look sort of wild. like a fellow with a wishbone in his throat, and I know right away what's the matter. 'Certainly,’ I reply, 'you will find the 'l‘ohoupitoulas street car on the fourth track. Please step to the other side to get on" As a. rule they look relieved. thank me and skip across, but not always. Sometimes they don't believe me and put up an argument. ‘Oh, that isn’t it at ull,’ a lady said 'to me this morning‘ ‘It's a name that begins some- thing like “’I‘ich" or “Tech.” ' ‘To be sure, Inudam,‘ I answered, ‘but down here we call it “choppy” for short.’ ‘How very extraordimu‘yl' she said and wrote Iomething in a notebook. "~New Orlean- Times-Democrat $6 the stifety pin is a. suggestion worth knowing, and the woman who learns this trick of using in can let the tape needle 30 Its elusive way. The worst of it is that when a tape nee. tile is wanted it I: wanted badly Just, as awonum ls uboufi to put; on a. pettlcoat. for instance, the mp0 slips out of the band and she can‘t by any possibility repair damage- wit'nnut a. tape needle. If she finds hers. all is well If it has taken unto itself legs. all is not well. and she goes through throes of annoyance unappreclatsed by the mascu~ lino mind. Women have been known to resort tog hairpin, but it is an unsatisfactory substi- tute. The ribbon usually slips. off of it when It is about; half way through the in- Iertion, and. moreover, the sharp points of the pin play havoc with the delicate lace. So. too. when the snowy piles of lingerie come up from the laundry. and yards of fresh “baby” rlbbon are at hand to add mhe finishing touch, it is a trial to the spirit to have the dnlnty garments around for hours and finally put away rlbbonleu because no needle is forthcoming lt linke- an Excellent 'l‘npe Needle. Surpu-Inu the Hnlrpln. When a woman loses her tape needle tho clovercsi: expedient lsa safety pin 'l‘ha resourceful woman who has just; hit. upon this novel way out of the difficulty never is circumvented by trlflos. and every wom- an who tries this improvised Lupe needle will bless the birthday of that clever-num- The wayto use It is thla: Stick the poll]. of the pln through the tape or rlbbnn. clasp the pin. use either end has lender. and there you are. with a smonth. blunt implement which will not. only weave through bands or insertion perfectly. but will hold the ribbon with absolutely se- curity to the flnlsh When a woman wants a tape needle and hasn't one she is the moss helpless crea- ture on the face of the earth Mostly she hasn’t one She thinks she has. 01' course. as no well regulated workbuskeu ls com- plete without it. but. the times she searches for it in vain are past. all counting A tape needle is a. slippery little thing that possesses a positive genius for disap- pearing. Lay it: down a. minute. and it will walk 011’ with itself in a manner equaled only by a man's shirt studs Its aggravat- lng propensities would fill a chapter‘ and one woman vows it was the knnwledge of Ibis that gave birth to that succinct, phrase, “the total depravity of inanimate things. " “There is only one resident oflloer at the Nicobar colony. for there has only been one Englishman found who could stand the climate. He lives there all alone with the convicts. and though the government has built him a fine house he leads the loneliest kind of life. for. of course. he can't keep a family there. be- cause they would get the fever and die inside of six months, The chief commis- sioner of Andaman comes down to see him occasionaliv. " 0“ do I raise In Idle days Great towers and temples to the It!“ And watch mam fade As i! afraid To bear the searching of my eyed. Dim fancies they That float away. leo vlslons in a flaming dream. Built on ‘he sands. The shifting strands That border on lll'e‘a sullen stream. â€"W Tyler Olcott in New York Sun. SAFETY PIN'S VERSATILITY. CASTLE BUILDING. An Ingenious butter 01" Paris consuma- ed a house nf felt made out of 24,000 uld bats. This house consisted of purlor, dinâ€" lna mom and hedmm: ulna a kitchen. To Care Cranky Shoal. “Cheap shoes are not necessarily of poor material." said a shoe store clerk. “Creaking often accounts for the low prica. Cheap double soled shoes nearly always crank, and the reason is that the two soles do not quite flu or one is of more pliable material than the other. so that they rub against each other. Among the remedies usually tried in soaking the shoe in water or oil. This in effective for a time, but: the cure is only temporary. The orenk invariably leturns in a few days. However. there ls one certain and simple remedy. It is to drive three little wooden pegs into the sole. The pegs prevent the friction of the soles Any cobbler will do it {or you for 10 cents, and so not only re- store your own peace of mind. but. also that of you: friends. " On going into the rooms of one of his friends, who was absent. Dr. Mansel saw on the table the opening linss of a poem in (who following lofty style: The sun‘s perpendicular hens Illumined the depths of the sea. and. taking up a pen. he completed tho stanza in the following witty way: The fishes. beginning to sweat, Cried: “Hang ital How [m we shall be!" Dr. Watson. regius professor of divinity. had at one time been tutor of Trinity, and when he was made bishop of Llandafl', an honest publlcnn in Cambridge, who kept an inn called the “Bishop Blaiso," out of respect to Dr. Watson, changed his sign and replaced the hand of Bishop Blaise by that of Bishop Watson. This transfer drew from Mansel. who probably had some grudge ngninss the lafie tutor. the following epigram: Two of a trade can ne'er agreeâ€"- RU proverb are “'05! juuten They've w‘en down Bluisc, you not. Anti put up Biihup Bluster. â€"Gamlonmn‘a Minguninei A certain king had an intense longing for a fish called an “aphy.” at a timI when he was so far away from the sea that he did not suppose his desire could possibly be gratified, but his cock made him an artificial ‘ ‘aphy" out eta turnip and disguised it so cleverly by sauces that the monarch was completely deceived. Occa- sionally we hear of voracious gluttons among the old Greeks. One of the most noted was Philnxenus. who wished he had a neck like a crane, so that his enjoyment of what he swallowed could be lengthened by several inches. This selfish fellow used to keep his throat in training by gurgling it with scalding water. Then he bribed the cooks, wherever he went, to send in all the meals furiously hot; thus he finished the best there was of each dish before any one else dared to touch a morsel. A fel- low guest was once so offended at this that he refused to remain at the table of Phiâ€" lcxenus. saying he had been invited to dine with a man and not with an ovenâ€"E. EL House in St. Nicholas. Much Gluttony Among the 01d Greeks and llerllanl. Enormous feasts were spread at the Persian and other Asiatic courts, and the great Grecian conqueror of those regions was once or twice in his dnzziing career more lavish than even the successor of Caesar. But it was not a regular habit with him. nor was reckless prodigaiity ever a vice of his nation. Of course there were exceptions, and that societies devoted to luxurious living existed in Athens we know from the works of Arohestrntus and Athenaeus, who wrote long poems to the glory of cookery. The Hellenic epicures were ingenious and Often fantastic in their ideas, but were not. as a rule, guilty of gross extravagance. They were fond of such conceits as having in whole pig served, one side roasted and the other boiled and stufi‘ed with a great variety of delicacies, although the animal had never been out or separated in any way. Their cookl were also skillful in preparing vegetable! to taste like meat. In the Tyrol also eeoh valley has its own pronunciation. its own accent. its expres- sions unintelligible a few miles ofl'. The Lsdlns vure predominant in the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries. Toward the eighteenth century the Ituliens got the upper hand. but seem now to be becoming gradually outnumbered by the Germans. The Ledlns form a curious little group of from 10,000 to 20.000 in 'l'yroi, with near- ly 50.000 in Friuki (besides the 40.000 of the Grisons). Their language is nearer to Proveuoni or Ceteioninn than to Italian. They chiefly inhabit the valleys, while the German climbs the mountain sides. just as he has done in Bohemia, the Czechs mainly occupying the plnins.â€"â€"London Spectator Of thesea remarkable group ocoursln the barren Gotteelme country, southeast of Laybnch, only inhabited since the tour- teenth century. Here again we find a dialect unintelligible to other Germans. yet rich in tales u‘nd poetry. Strange to say. the reuwakening of the Slovenian race in the course 01 the last hundred years seems to have been determined by the first Napoleon. who replaced German in the normal schools of the so called liiyrian provinces (six in number) by Slovene and called forth the passionate admiration of the Slovenian poets. Tyre! and Vorarlberg. again, are divided be- tween Germans. itniians and "Ladine" (Latins). the so called Romansoh of Swltp zerland. In the Austrian Alps the local dialect! so vary as to ho unintelligible from one district to another and yet have been eul- tivated in passion plays and popular poetry. Over and above these dialects are scatteredâ€"chiefly in lower Austria. bu! even round Viennaâ€"Slaw colonies. Czechs, Slovake. Croats. In Vienna itself the Czechs claim to be 150.000. Slovenian! spread over three crown landsâ€"Styrla. Carinthin and Carmelaâ€"and dominate in the last. which contains also Uscoks, Ro- man Catholic Serbs; but the Slovenian. seem to be retreating before the Germans. Many Widely Dian-on! Tongues Spo- ken In the Vin-lou- Provincel. A BABEL IN AUSTRIA. Capping Vol-lea. ANCIENT FEASTS.