,,advertisements4 ,,mitchell1 ,,vance ,,co4 #hcf #hch ,,broadway1 ,and #acth ,street1 ,,new ,,york1 ,offer an ,unequaled ,assortment of ,,gas ,,fixtures1 ,,in ,,crystal1 ,,gilt1 ,,bronze1 ,,and ,,decorative ,,porcelain4 ,,fine ,,bronze ,,and ,,marble ,,clocks4 ,,moderator ,,and ,,other ,,lamps1 ,,in ,,bronze1 ,,gilt1 ,,porcelain1 ,,cloisonn1 ,,etc4 ,elegant in ,styles and in ,greatest ,variety4 ,a ,cordial ,invitation to all to examine our ,stock4 ,,chas4 ,e4 ,,bentley1 7,,successor ,,to ,,bentley ,,bros47 ,manufacturer of ,,decorative ,,art-,,needlework ,in ,crewel1 ,silk1 and ,floss4 ,,novelties ,,in ,,embroideries1 ,with ,work ,commenced and ,materials to ,finish4 ,perforating ,machines1 ,stamping ,patterns1 etc41 etc4 ,wholesale1 #ci #da ,,east #acth ,,st41 ,retail1 #hed ,,broadway4 ,,full ,,line ,,of ,,materials ,,used ,,in ,,fancy-,,work4 ,,all ,,the ,,newest ,,stitches ,,taught ,,in ,,private ,,lessons ,,by ,,thorough ,,experts4 ,,stamping ,,and ,,designing ,,to ,,order4 ,send #c cents for ,catalogue4 ,gatherings from an ,artist's ,portfolio4 ,by ,,james ,e4 ,,freeman4 ,one volume1 #afmo4 ,cloth #a4be4 8,the gifted ,american artist1 ,mr4 ,james ,e4 ,freeman1 who has for many years been a resident of ,rome1 has brought together in this tasteful little volume a number of sketches of the noted men of letters1 painters1 sculptors1 models1 and other interesting personages whom he has had an opportunity to study during the practice of his profession abroad4 ,anecdotes and reminiscences of ,thackeray1 ,hans ,christian ,andersen1 ,john ,gibson1 ,vernet1 ,delaroche1 ,ivanoff1 ,gordon1 the ,princess ,borghese1 ,crawford1 ,thorwaldsen1 and a crowd of equally famous characters1 are mingled with romantic and amusing passages from the history of representatives of the upper classes of ,italian society1 or of the humble ranks from which artists secure the models for their statues and pictures40--,new ,york ,tribune4 8#8,an ,artist's ,portfolio' is a charming book4 ,the writer has gathered incidents and reminiscences of some of the master writers1 painters1 and sculptors1 and woven them into a golden thread of story upon which to string beautiful descriptions and delightful conversations4 ,he talks about ,leslie1 ,john ,gibson1 ,thackeray1 and that inimitable writer1 ,father ,prout 7,mahony71 in an irresistible manner40--,new ,york ,independent4 ,new ,york3 ,d4 ,,appleton ,,co41 #a1 #c1 #e ,bond ,street4 ,appletons' ,home ,books4 ,,home ,,amusements4 ,by ,m4 ,e4 ,w4 ,s41 ,,author ,,of 8,,amenities ,,of ,,home10 ,,etc4 8,there be some sports are painful2 and their labour ,delight in them sets off40 8,ye elves of hills1 brooks1 standing lakes1 and groves2 ,and ye that on the sands with printless foot ,do chase the ebbing ,neptune1 and do fly him1 ,when he comes back60 ,i do invoke ye all4 ,,new ,,york3 ,d4 ,,appleton ,,and ,,company1 #a1 #c1 and #e ,,bond ,,street4 #ahha4 ,,copyright ,,by ,d4 ,,appleton ,,and ,,company1 #ahha4 ,,contents4 ,,page ,i4--,,prefatory #e ,,ii4--,,the ,,garret #g ,,iii4--,,private ,,theatricals1 ,,etc4 #i ,,iv4--,,tableaux ,,vivants #bj ,v4--,,brain ,,games #be ,,vi4--,,fortune-,,telling #cg ,,vii4--,,amusements ,,for ,a ,,rainy ,,day #de ,,viii4--,,embroidery ,,and ,,other ,,decorative ,,arts #ej ,,ix4--,,etching #fd ,x4--,,lawn ,,tennis #fg ,,xi4--,,garden ,,parties #gg ,,xii4--,,dancing #hf ,,xiii4--,,gardens ,,and ,,flower-,,stands #ic ,,xiv4--,,caged ,,birds ,,and ,,aviaries #ajd ,,xv4--,,picnics #aab ,,xvi4--,,playing ,,with ,,fire4 ,,ceramics #aag ,,xvii4--,,archery #abd ,,xviii4--,,amusements ,,for ,,the ,,middle-,,aged ,,and ,,the ,,aged #aca ,,xix4--,,the ,,parlor #ace ,,xx4--,,the ,,kitchen #adj ,,xxi4--,,the ,,family ,,horse ,,and ,,other ,,pets #add ,,xxii4--,,in ,,conclusion #adh ,,home ,,amusements4 ,i4 ,,prefatory4 ,goethe1 in 8,wilhelm ,meister10 struck the key-note of the universal underlying dramatic instinct4 ,the boy begins to play the drama of life with his puppets1 and afterward exploits the wild dreams of youth in the company of the strolling players4 ,we are1 indeed1 all actors4 ,we all know how early the strutting soldier-instinct crops out1 and how soon the little girl assumes the cares of the amateur nursery4 8,i have learned from neighbor ,nelly ,what the girl's doll-instinct means40 ,we begin early to play at living1 until ,life becomes too strong for us1 and1 seizing us in merciless and severe grip1 returns our condescension by making of us the puppets with which the passing tragedy or comedy is presented4 ,with this idea in mind we have begun our little book with the play in the garret--the humblest attempt at histrionics--and so going on1 still endeavoring to help those more ambitious artists who1 in remote and secluded spots1 may essay to amuse themselves and others by attempting the rle of a ,cushman1 a ,wallack1 a ,sothern1 a ,booth1 or a ,gilbert4 ,our subsequent task has been a more difficult one4 ,to tell people how to give all sorts of entertainments--in fact1 to tell our intelligent people how to do anything--is nearly as foolish a practice as to carry coals to ,newcastle1 and implies that sort of conceit which ,thackeray so wittily suggests when1 in his 8,rebecca and ,rowena10 he presents the picture of a little imp painting the lily4 ,it is hard to know where to draw the line4 ,it would be delightful to amuse--to help along with the great business of making home happy--to tell a mother what to do with her active young brood1 and yet to avoid that dreadful bore of mentioning to her something which she already knows a great deal better than we do4 ,the ,scylla of barrenness and the ,charybdis of garrulity are before any author who tries to speak upon a familiar theme4 ,let us hope that1 through the kindness of our readers1 we may not have wrecked our little bark on either4 ,,ii4 ,,the ,,garret4 ,happy the children who have inherited a garret6 ,we mean the good old country garret1 wherein have been stowed away the accumulations of many generations of careful housewives4 ,the more worthless these accumulations1 the better for the children4 ,an old aunt who saved all the old bonnets1 an old uncle who had a wardrobe of cast-off garments to which he had appended the legend1 8,too poor to wear1 too good to give away--0 these are the purveyors to the histrionic talents of nations yet unborn4 ,old garrets are really the factories of ,history1 ,poetry1 and the ,drama4 ,into such a garret crept the lame little ,walter ,scott1 and what did he not bring out of it6 ,talk of the lumber of a garret and the accumulations of a house1 and you mention to the thoughtful the gold and diamond mines of a future literature4 ,a bright boy or girl will unearth many a pearl of price from those old trunks1 those dilapidated bureau-drawers1 those piles of old love-letters1 those garments of the past1 that broken-down guitar1 that stringless violin1 that too-reedy flute4 ,the taste for old furniture has rather emptied the garret of its time-honored chairs and old clocks1 but there is still in its ghost-haunted corners quite enough goblin tapestry for the fancy of the growing child4 ,a country home is1 of course1 the most precious possession a child can have--a country home in which his ancestors have lived for years1 and which has a large garret1 a capacious cellar1 and several barns4 ,one might wish that every child might be born in ,salem or ,plymouth1 or near one of those old settlements4 ,but as that would be quite impossible1 considering the acres which we are compelled to cover as a nation1 we may as well see what can be done1 in the way of ,home ,amusements1 with the garret as well as the parlor4 ,the garret1 in both town and country1 has been the earliest home of the legitimate drama since the first youthful aspirant for histrionic honors strapped on the sock and buskin4 ,a good country barn has also been sometimes the scene not only of the strolling but of the resident player4 ,,iii4 ,,private ,,theatricals2 ,,acting ,,proverbs ,,and ,,charades4 ,wherever the amateur actor pitches his tent or erects his stage1 he must consider wisely the extraneous space behind the acting arena necessary for his exits and entrances1 and his theatrical properties4 ,in an ordinary house the back parlor1 with two doors opening into the dining-room1 makes an ideal theatre2 for the exits can be masked1 and the space is specially useful4 ,one door opening into a large hall is absolutely necessary1 if no better arrangement can be made4 ,the best stage is1 of course1 like that of a theatre1 with areas all around and behind it1 so that the actors have a space to retire into4 ,this is difficult in a parlor1 unless it be a very large one4 ,the difficulty1 however1 has been and will be solved by the ingenious4 ,drawing up the big sofa in front of the footlights1 and arranging a pair of screens and a curtain1 has often served well for a parlor play4 ,it is hardly necessary to say that all these arrangements for a play depend1 in the first place1 on the requirements of the play itself and its legitimate business1 which may demand a table1 a bureau1 a piano1 a fireplace1 etc4 ,and here we would say to the youthful actor1 ,select your play at first with a view to its requiring little change of scene1 and not much furniture4 ,a young actor needs space2 he is embarrassed by too many chairs and tables4 ,then1 again1 choose a play which has so much varied incident in it that it will1 as it is said1 8play itself40 ,of this branch of our subject we will treat later4 ,the first thing to be built is the stage4 ,any carpenter will lay a few stout boards on end-pieces1 which are simply squared joists1 and for very little money will take away the boards and joists afterward2 or a permanent stage can be built for a few dollars4 ,sometimes ingenious boys build their own stage with old boxes2 but this is apt to be dangerous4 ,very few families are without an old carpet1 which will serve for a stage-covering2 and1 if this is lacking1 green baize is very cheap4 ,a whole stage-fitting--curtains and all--can be made of green cambric2 but it is better to have all the stuffs of woolen1 for the danger from fire is otherwise great4 ,footlights may be made of tin1 with pieces of candle put in2 or a row of old bottles of equal height1 with candles stuck in the mouth1 make a most admirable and very cheap set of footlights4 ,the mother1 an elder brother1 or some one with judgment1 should see to all these things1 or the play may be spoiled by an accident4 ,the curtain is always a trouble4 ,a light wooden frame should be made by the carpenter2 firm at the joints1 and as high as the stage1 to the front part of which it should be attached4 ,this frame forms three sides of a square1 and the curtain must be firmly nailed to the top-piece4 ,a stiff wire should be run along the lower edge of the curtain1 and a number of rings be attached to the back of it in squares--three rows of four rings each1 extending from top to bottom4 ,three cords are now fastened to the wire1 and1 passing through the rings1 are run over three pulleys on the upper piece of the frame4 ,it is well for all young managers of garret theatres to get up one of these curtains1 even if they have to hire an upholsterer to help them4 ,the draw-curtain never works surely1 and often hurts the dnoment of the play4 ,in the case of the drop-curtain which we have described1 one person holds all the ends of the cords1 tied together2 and1 on pulling this1 the curtain goes up and down as if by magic1 and rarely gets out of order1 which is a great gain4 ,now as for stage properties4 ,almost any household1 or any self-respecting garret1 will hold enough of 8things40 ,if it does not1 let the young actors exercise their ingenuity in making up1 with tinsel-paper and other cheap material1 all that they will want4 ,turnips1 properly treated with a jackknife1 have heretofore served for ,yorick's skull in the great play of 8,hamlet40 ,a boy who knows how to paint can1 on a white cotton background1 with a pot of common black paint1 indicate a scene4 ,if he be so fortunate as to know a kindly theatrical manager who will let him for once go behind the scenes1 he will find that the most splendid effects are gained by a very small outlay4 ,as for the theatrical wardrobe1 that is a very easy matter1 if the children have an indulgent and tasteful mother1 who will help a little and lend her old finery4 ,a brigand's costume 7and brigands are very convenient theatrical friends7 is easily arranged4 ,procure a black felt hat1 fastened up with a shoe-buckle2 a bow and a long feather2 a jacket1 on which ,fanny will sew some brass buttons2 one of mamma's or sister's gay scarfs1 tied round the waist several times2 an old pair of pantaloons1 cut off at the knee1 and long stockings1 tied up with scarlet ribbons2 a pair of pumps1 with another pair of buckles1 and any old pair of pistols1 dirks1 or even carving-knives1 stuck in the belt1 and you have1 at very small expense1 a fierce brigand of the ,abruzzi4 ,girls' dresses are still easier of attainment4 ,but the great trouble in the dressing of girls for their characters is the frequent inattention to the time and style of the character4 ,a young lady who plays the part of ,marie ,antoinette must remember the enormous hoops which were a part of the costume of the unlucky queen4 ,she must not be content to merely powder her hair4 ,she must remember time1 place1 circumstance1 and dress herself accurately1 if she wishes to produce a proper dress4 ,a lady once wore in the part of ,helen of ,troy1 for private theatricals in ,new ,york1 a pair of high-heeled ,french slippers1 with the classic peplum4 ,a gentleman of archological tastes declared that he could not stay in a house where such crimes were committed against historical accuracy6 ,she should have worn the classic sandal1 of course--not modern black slippers4 ,the 8make-up0 of a character requires study and observation4 ,in the painting and shading of faces1 adaptation of wigs1 application of mustaches and whiskers1 there is much to be done4 ,a box of water-colors1 a little chalk1 camel's-hair pencils1 a saucer of rouge1 a burnt cork1 and some ,india ink1 all are useful4 ,if these can not be got1 one burnt cork1 aided by a little flour1 will do it all4 ,mustaches can be made by borrowing mamma's old discarded artificial curls1 cutting them off to a proper length1 and gumming them on the upper lip4 ,the hair of a good old ,newfoundland dog has served this purpose4 ,a very pretty little mustache can be painted with ,india ink4 ,however1 if near a barber or a hair-dresser--or1 still better1 a costumer--it is well to get ready-made mustaches1 which come of all colors1 already gummed4 ,if the make-up of an old man is required1 study a picture of an old face1 and trace on your own face with a camel's-hair pencil and ,india ink the wrinkles1 the lines of an aged countenance4 ,make a wig of white cotton if you can not hire one of gray hair4 ,if a comic face is needed1 stand before a glass and grin1 watch the lines which the grin leaves1 and trace them up with a reddish-brown water-color4 ,put on rouge particularly about the nose and eyes4 ,a frown1 a smile1 a sneer1 a simper1 or a sad expression1 can always be painted by this process4 ,the gayest face can be made sad by dropping a line or two from the corners of the mouth and of the eyes4 ,for a ferocious brigand1 cork the eyebrows heavily1 and bring them together over the eyes4 ,if you wish to produce emaciation or leanness1 cork under the eyes1 and in the hollow of the cheek 7or make a hollow71 and under the lower lip4 ,to make up a pretty girl1 even out of a young man's face1 requires only some rouge and chalk and a blonde wig4 ,there should be also a powdering about the eyebrows1 ears1 and roots of the hair4 ,there should be a heavy coat of powder on the nose1 and after the rouge is put on1 a shower of powder over that4 ,all will wash off without hurting the complexion4 ,for a drunkard or a villain1 purple spots are painted on chin1 cheek1 forehead1 and nose4 ,the theatrical wardrobe1 to be complete1 should have several different wigs1 and as these can not be made well except by an artist in hair1 we recommend the actors to lay out all their spare cash on these adjuncts4 ,having dressed for the part1 the acting comes much more easily4 ,no one knows the effect of dress better than the real actor1 who calls it 8the skin of the part40 ,the lines to be spoken should be committed most thoroughly to memory4 ,without this no play can be a success4 ,each performer should write out his own part1 with the 8cues10 or the words which come directly before his own speeches1 and commit the whole to memory4 ,when the performer hears the words of the cue1 the words of his own part come to his lips immediately4 ,the exits and entrances1 and what is known as 8stage business10 are always difficult to beginners4 ,the necessity of closets1 etc41 in a small stage1 places to retire to1 and the like1 can be managed1 however1 by screens1 and these are so useful in all private theatricals that one should be made1 six feet high by three feet wide1 hinged1 and covered with wall-paper1 before any plays are attempted4 ,we are describing the very cheapest and most unsophisticated private theatricals--such as those which school-boys and girls could get up in the country1 or in a city basement or garret1 with very little money or help from their parents4 ,and these are the ones which give the most pleasure4 ,expensive and adroitly-conducted theatricals1 in a city where experts can be hired to do these things1 have no lasting charm4 ,it is1 as in all other things1 the amount of ourselves which we put into anything which makes us enjoy private theatricals4 ,and in a city1 grown people have the privilege of the best theatricals1 beside which all amateur efforts are lamentably tame4 ,but a party of fresh young people1 full of the ichor of youth1 can with the slightest help produce the most delightful effects with very simple means4 ,young girls are too apt1 in playing private theatricals1 to sacrifice character to prettiness4 ,now this is a fatal mistake4 ,to dress a part with finikin fineness1 which is to be a representation of quite different sorts of qualities1 is poor art4 ,let them rather imitate ,miss ,cushman's rags in ,meg ,merrilies1 or ,bastian ,le ,page's homely peasant simplicity in ,joan of ,arc4 ,remember1 the drama is the mirror of nature1 and should produce its strong outlines and its deep shadows4 ,it is in this realism that men surpass women4 ,the college theatricals1 in which all parts are played by men1 are by far the best4 ,in selecting a play1 amateurs should try and find one1 as we have said1 which 8plays itself40 ,they should not attempt those delicate and very difficult plays which only great artists can make amusing4 ,they should select the play which is full of action and situation1 like 8,the ,follies of a ,night10 or 8,everybody's ,friend40 ,the most commonplace actors fail to spoil such plays as these2 and there are for younger performers hundreds of good plays1 farces1 and musical burlesques to be found at every book-store4 8,naval ,engagements10 8,a ,cure for the ,fidgets10 8,the ,two ,buzzards10 8,betsey ,baker10 8,box and ,cox10 8,a ,regular ,fix10 8,incompatibility of ,temper10 8,ici l'on parle ,franais10 8,to oblige ,benson10 are among the many which really help the amateur1 instead of crushing him4 ,but no one who is not a first-rate actor should attempt 8,two can play at that ,game10 8,a ,morning ,call10 8,a ,happy ,pair10 or any of those beautiful ,french trifles which look so easy1 and in the hands of good actors are so charming1 for they depend upon the most delicate shades of acting to make them even passable4 ,for those players of a larger growth1 who attempt the very interesting business of amateur theatricals on a more ambitious plane1 we can illustrate our meaning as to plays which 8play themselves0 by two instances3 8,ici l'on parle ,franais0 gives the two amusing situations of a man who is trying to speak ,french with the aid of a phrase-book1 and the counterpoise of a ,frenchman who is trying to speak ,english in the same fragmentary manner4 ,their mutual mistakes keep the house in a roar2 and almost any clever pair of young men can assume these two characters to great advantage4 ,they each have an eccentric character mapped out for them1 and very little shading is necessary4 ,again1 for a very much more poetical and entirely different range of part1 but yet one which 8plays itself10 we would suggest 8,pygmalion and ,galatea10 ,gilbert's beautiful and poetical play4 ,here we have the great novelty of a young lady disguised as a marble statue4 ,she can be 8made up0 with white powder and white merino drapery to look very like a marble statue1 and a powerful white lime-light should be thrown on her from above4 ,there is a tableau within a play to begin with1 and something novel and interesting4 ,the marble statue1 however1 at the very start becomes endowed with life1 steps down from her pedestal1 walks forward to the footlights1 talks1 and receives the homage of a lover4 ,now1 almost any pretty and intelligent maiden can make this part very interesting4 ,she needs nothing but grace and a good memory to do this ,galatea well4 ,the part plays itself4 ,the same young actress could not do ,lady ,teazle--that delightful and intricate bit of acting1 so dependent upon stage tradition and stage training that old theatre-goers say that in fifty years only five actresses have done it well4 ,still less could she approach the heroine in the 8,morning ,call0 or the young wife in 8,caste40 ,these parts demand the long1 severe stage training of an accomplished artist4 ,the ,galatea is assisted by the novelty of the position1 by the fact that every young maid is a marble statue1 in one sense1 until ,love makes her a woman1 so that each person may give a strikingly individual portrait2 and1 above all1 it is a play which is a new creation1 and therefore capable of a new interpretation4 ,we do not advise amateurs to undertake ,shakespeare1 unless it be 8,katherine and ,petruchio10 which is so gay and scolding that it almost plays itself4 ,the very beautiful comedies of ,robertson seem very easy when one sees ,mr4 ,wallack's company play them2 but they are very difficult for amateurs4 ,they depend upon the most delicate shading1 the highest art1 and the neatest finish4 ,the sterling old comedies--all excepting 8,the ,rivals0--are almost impossible1 even those which are full of incident and full of costume4 ,their quick movement seems to evade the player2 and what is so terrible to the listener as to endure even a second's suspension in the 8give and take0 of a comedy8 8,the ,rivals10 strange to say1 is a very good play for amateurs4 ,boucicault's farces and society plays run very well on the amateur stage4 ,lady ,gay ,spanker is not a difficult part4 ,bulwer's 8,lady of ,lyons0 should never be attempted by amateurs4 ,it becomes mawkishly sentimental in their hands4 ,but ,charles ,reade's 8,still ,waters run ,deep0 is excellent for amateurs2 and 8,money0 runs off rather more easily than one would suppose4 ,amateurs are very fond of 8,a ,wonderful ,woman10 but we can not see much in it4 8,the ,wonder0 is very picturesque4 ,it is one of the plays which plays itself2 and the ,spanish costumes are beautiful4 ,the famous comedies1 8,my ,awful ,dad10 8,woodcock's ,little ,game10 and 8,the ,liar10 should be studied very thoroughly by observation and by book before being attempted by amateurs4 ,the 8,little ,game0 has two very hard parts to fill1 ,mrs4 ,colonel ,carver and ,woodcock2 still it has been done moderately well4 ,for a parlor comedy1 8,the ,happy ,pair0 is a great favorite2 and 8,box and ,cox0 can be done by anybody1 and is always funny4 ,music helps along wonderfully1 as witness the immortal 8,pinafore10 which has been played by amateurs to admiration for hundreds of admiring audiences4 ,a stage manager is indispensable4 ,in getting up ambitious plays in a city1 which the courageous amateur sometimes attempts1 an actor from the theatre is generally hired to 8coach0 the neophytes4 ,in the country1 some intelligent friend should do this1 and he can properly be arbitrary4 ,it is a case for an absolute monarchy4 ,the stage manager must hear his company read the play over first1 and tell ,john faithfully if he is better fitted for the part of the lackey rather than that of the lover4 ,he must disabuse ,seraphina of the belief that she either looks or can play the ingenu1 and relegate her to the part of the housekeeper4 ,we all have our natural and acquired capabilities for various parts1 and can do no other4 ,then1 after reading the part1 comes the rehearsal2 and this is the crucial test4 ,the players must study1 rehearse1 rehearse1 study1 and not be discouraged if they grow worse rather than better4 ,there is always a part lagging1 and the dress rehearsal is invariably a discouraging thing4 ,but that is a most excellent and advantageous discouragement if it inspire the actors to new efforts4 ,nothing can spoil a private theatrical attempt like conceit and self-satisfaction4 ,the art is as difficult a one as playing on the violin2 and1 although an amateur may learn to play pretty well1 the distance between him and a professional is as great as that between an amateur violinist and ,vieuxtemps4 ,the amateur must remember this fact4 8,acting proverbs0 is an ingenious way of suggesting an idea by its component parts rather than stating it outright4 ,the parts are not written1 but merely talked over1 and are often done by clever young people on the spur of the moment4 ,it is well1 however1 to consult beforehand as to the argument of the play4 ,the books are full of little plays written upon such proverbs as 8,all is not ,gold that ,glitters10 8,honor among ,thieves10 8,all is ,fair in ,love and ,war10 etc4 ,but we advise young people to take up less well-known proverbs1 and to write their own plays4 ,they might learn one or two as a sort of exercise1 but the fresh outcrop of their own originality will be much better4 ,the same may be said with the acting of charades4 ,a dramatic charade is a very ingenious thing1 and a very neat little play in four acts can be made from the word ,,ab-,,di-,,cate4 ,a ,b1 of course1 presents a school scene4 ,and at a watering place1 if some witty man or woman will represent the schoolmaster or schoolmistress1 all the pupils can be the grown men and women who are well known4 ,the entrance of a fashionable mamma1 her instantaneous effect on the severity of the teacher1 the taking off the fool's-cap from the head of ,master ,tommy1 who has been in disgrace--all will cause laughter and an opportunity for local jokes4 ,this is ,act ,i4 ,di can be represented by the dyeing process of a barber who has to please many customers2 or 8,the die is cast02 or an apposite allusion to ,walter ,scott's 8,die ,vernon02 or some comico-tragico scene of 8,i can but die40 ,this is ,act ,,ii4 ,cate1 to 8cater10 8,kate0--for bad spelling is permitted--all these are in order4 ,this is ,act ,,iii4 ,the last act can be the splendid pageant of a ,turkish ,abdication1 in which a sultan abdicates in favor of his son4 ,all the camel's-hair shawls1 brilliant turbans1 and jewelry of the house and neighborhood can here be introduced with effect4 ,charades in which negroes1 ,irish or ,german people1 or anybody with a dialect1 enter in and form a part1 are very amusing if the boys of the family have a genius for mimicry4 ,amateur minstrels are very funny4 ,the getting up of a party of white men as black men is1 however1 attended with expense4 ,the gift of singing a comic song is highly appreciated in the family circle of amateur dramatists1 and a little piece with songs is very sure to be acceptable4 ,if every member of the party will do what he can1 without any false shame1 or any egotistical desire to outdo the others1 if the ready-witted will do what they can to help the slow-going1 and if the older members of the family will help along1 these amusements will cheer many a winter's evening1 many a long rainy week1 and will improve all who are connected with them2 for memory and elocution1 good manners and a graceful bearing1 are all included in the playing of charades1 proverbs1 and the little dramas4 ,,iv4 ,,tableaux ,,vivants4 ,we now come to one of the most artistic of all ,home ,amusements--the ,tableau vivant4 ,lady ,hamilton amused the people of her age1 all over ,europe1 by playing in a parlor very striking living pictures4 ,all she asked was a corner of the room1 a heavy curtain behind her1 and a few shawls and turbans4 ,being a beautiful and graceful woman1 with the dramatic instinct1 she gave imitations of celebrated statues and pictures1 and was no doubt aided by some very ingenious painting1 which she knew how to apply to her own fair face4 ,the art she discovered is certainly worth trying in the present age as an amusement4 ,the preparations for good tableaux should be somewhat elaborate4 ,a vista should be built and lined with dark-colored cloth2 lights should fall from the top1 sides1 and front1 so as to avoid shadows4 ,the groups should be striking1 the colors clear1 and the attitudes simple4 ,sometimes there are such wonderful and unpremeditated effects from these living pictures that artists hold up their hands in despair2 more often they are ruined by shadows2 the lights are not well arranged1 and the whole effect lacks elevation and meaning4 ,it is difficult to arrange a crowded tableau1 but it can be done4 ,the principle of a picture--a pyramidal form--should be observed closely in tableau4 ,to secure this desirable object the persons in the background must stand on elevations4 ,boxes covered with dark cloth1 so as to be unnoticeable1 are the best of all devices1 and the effect of any object held up in the hand1 as a scepter1 a bird1 a distaff1 or a wreath1 must be carefully noted1 as it may throw a shadow on the picture in the background4 ,there never was1 or could be1 a tableau which did not have some weak spot1 and these shadows are the faults which most easily beguile2 but they can be avoided4 ,a group of ,puritans make into many very striking pictures4 ,the costume is beautiful and becoming2 red cloth can be laid on the table or floor to set off the grays2 and the many picturesque incidents in our early history form very pleasing subjects4 ,it is a beautiful dress for women and a dignified one for men--that gray dress and high ruff1 that broad hat1 and plain1 long gown4 ,a group of young people might take a winter's amusement out of reading up the ,puritan annals1 and giving at the ,academy or in their own homes a series of ,puritan tableaux4 ,a tableau can be given in parlors separated by folding-doors2 but they are not by any means as good as those for which a stage1 vista and footlights1 flies and side-lights1 are arranged4 ,if there is a large unused room1 where these properties can stand1 the result is very much better4 ,there should be a gauze curtain or one of black tarlatan1 which should have no seams in it1 and this curtain should hang in front of the stage all the time4 ,the drop-curtain must be outside of this4 ,the gauze curtain serves as a sort of varnish to the picture1 and adds to the illusion4 ,although the pure white light of candles1 gas1 kerosene1 or lime-light is the best for tableaux1 very pretty effects are produced by the introduction of colored lights1 such as can be produced by the use of nitrate of strontia1 chlorate of potash1 sulphuret of antimony1 sulphur1 oxymuriate of potassa1 metallic arsenic1 and pulverized charcoal4 ,muriate of copper makes a bluish-green fire1 and many other colors can be obtained by a little study of chemistry4 ,here are some simple recipes3 ,to make a red fire4--,five ounces nitrate of strontia1 dry1 one and a half ounces finely-powdered sulphur4 ,take five drachms chlorate of potash and four drachms sulphuret of antimony and powder them separately in a mortar2 then mix them on paper1 and1 having mixed the other ingredients1 previously powdered1 add these last1 and rub the whole together on paper4 ,in use1 mix a little spirits of wine with the powder1 and burn in a flat iron plate or pan4 ,a green fire may be made by powdering finely and mixing well thirteen parts flour of sulphur1 five parts oxymuriate of potassa1 two parts metallic arsenic1 three parts pulverized charcoal1 seventy-seven parts nitrate of baryta2 dry it carefully1 powder1 and mix the whole thoroughly4 ,a polished reflector fitted on one side of the pan in which this is burned will concentrate the light and cast a brilliant green luster on the figures4 ,a bluish-green fire may be produced by burning muriate of copper finely powdered and mixed with spirits of wine4 ,these fires smell unpleasantly in the drawing-room2 and equally good effects may almost always be produced by colored globes1 if the light is not needed too quickly4 ,sulphate of copper1 when dissolved in water1 will give a beautiful blue color4 ,the common red cabbage gives three colors4 ,slice the cabbage and pour boiling water on it2 when cold1 add a small quantity of alum1 and you have purple4 ,potash dissolved in the water will give a brilliant green4 ,a few drops of muriatic acid will turn the cabbage-water into a crimson4 ,then1 again1 if a ghostly look be required1 mix common salt with spirits of wine in a metal cup and set it upon a wire frame over a spirit-lamp4 ,when the cup becomes heated1 and the spirits of wine ignite1 the other lights in the room should be extinguished1 and that of the spirit-lamp shaded in some way4 ,the result will be that the whole group will become like the witches in ,macbeth1 8,that look not like the inhabitants of the earth1 ,but yet are of it40 ,this burning of common salt produces a very weird effect4 ,it seems that salt has some other properties than the conservative1 preserving1 hospitable kind of quality which legend and the daily needs of mankind have ascribed to it4 ,a very fine and artistic set of tableaux can be gotten up by reference to such a great work as 8,boydell's ,shakespeare10 if it happens to be at hand4 ,also a study of fine engravings1 such as one finds in the 8,national ,academy40 ,if these books are not attainable1 almost any pictorial magazine will furnish subjects4 ,or1 if imagination is consulted1 construct a series out of ,waverley1 or from the but too well known scenes of the ,french ,revolution1 or from ,george ,eliot's delightful 8,romola0--a book full of remarkable pictures1 with the additional charm of the old ,florentine dress4 ,sometimes a very impressive poem is given in tableaux1 like ,tennyson's 8,princess10 or1 the 8,dream of ,fair ,women40 ,then there are many artistic but rather horrible surprises1 as 8,the ,head of ,john the ,baptist10 which can be 8cut off0 admirably by an intervening table1 and so on2 but nothing is so good as a study of the fine groups of the best painters4 ,venetian scenes1 from ,titian's and ,tintoretto's pictures1 can be admirably represented in tableaux4 ,the ,italian wealth of color is always impressive2 and as engravings of these pictures are attainable1 it is well to represent them4 ,roman scenes are very effective1 and especially as ,alma ,tadema arranges them for us1 with his fine feeling for the antique4 ,the humor of ,hogarth1 aided as it is by the picturesque dress of his day1 can be represented in a tableau4 ,but without some such aids humor is generally lost in a tableau4 ,there is not time for it4 ,some of ,darley's groups1 as1 for instance1 the illustrations of 8,rip ,van ,winkle10 are admirable1 and would seem to contradict this statement1 for they are full of fun2 but then--they are wonderfully well dressed4 ,that early ,revolutionary dress1 borrowed in part from the days of ,queen ,anne1 is very picturesque4 ,if there is some one in the group whose fine sense of the proprieties of art can be trusted1 the allegorical can be attempted4 ,but the danger is that the allegorical in art is generally ridiculous4 ,faith1 ,hope1 and ,charity1 ,mercy and ,peace1 are better anywhere than in pictures4 ,the grotesque is always lost in a tableau1 where there seems to be a sort of sthetic demand for the heroic1 the refined1 and the delicate4 ,a double action may be presented with very good effect2 as in some of those fancies of ,retzsch and ,ary ,scheffer1 where an angel bends over a sleeping child1 or a group1 unknown to the actors in front1 is representing another picture behind4 ,but the best effects are the simplest4 ,one should not attempt too much4 ,the old example1 called 8,the ,dull ,lecture10 painted by ,gilbert ,stuart ,newton1 where a prosy old philosopher is reading aloud to a pretty girl who is fast asleep1 is a case in point4 ,that has been a favorite tableau for forty years1 nor are its charms yet done away with4 ,tableaux from ,dickens have only a moderate success1 excepting1 perhaps1 the rather overdone 8,christmas ,carol40 ,the dress is wanting in color and character4 ,tableaux in which animals are introduced are sometimes very effective1 if stuffed bears and lions and tigers can be hired from a museum4 ,a fine tableau was once composed1 from a ,french print1 of the ,queen of ,sheba's visit to ,solomon2 but the camel on which that lofty lady arrived was a piece of scene-painting done by a very clever artist1 and it would be difficult to improvise one4 ,v4 ,,brain ,,games4 ,we now come to the winter evening1 and the pencil and paper4 ,it is a delightful feature of our modern civilization that books are very cheap1 and that the poets are read by everybody4 ,that would be a very barren house where one did not find ,scott1 ,byron1 ,goldsmith1 ,longfellow1 ,tennyson1 ,browning1 ,bret ,harte1 and ,jean ,ingelow4 ,very few boys and girls can reach the age of sixteen without having committed to memory some immortal poem of one of these most popular poets4 ,therefore there would be no embarrassment if we asked the members of any evening circle to write down three or four lines in the measure of 8,evangeline10 8,lady ,clara ,vere de ,vere10 8,the ,corsair10 8,the ,traveler10 8,marmion10 or 8,herv ,riel10 8,the ,heathen ,chinee10 or the pretty 8,bird ,song0 of ,jean ,ingelow4 ,not a parody only1 however1 but a parody involving a certain idea or word4 ,in the great year of ,coggia's comet this game was thus played1 and a young man was requested to speak of the comet in the style of 8,mother ,goose40 ,the result was as follows3 8,sing a song of ,coggia-- ,comet in the sky6 ,wonder if he'll trouble us1 ,whip up you or ,i6 ,when his tail is over1 ,then begin to crow2 ,four-and-twenty doctors1 ,tell us all you know60 ,another of the circle was directed to treat of the ,wood ,fire in the measure of ,tennyson's 8,may ,queen40 ,the result was the following3 8,if you're snapping1 snap out wisely1 snap out wisely1 burning wood6 ,you would not snap so wildly if your drying had been good4 ,nor had ,i1 sitting near you with the hearth-brush in my hand1 ,have found no peace in sitting1 for fear of burning brand40 ,this was declared to be too easy a game for such a wild and superfluous supply of brains1 and1 therefore1 the word ,poker was pronounced to be an essential element of every future poem4 ,poor ,browning and ,longfellow1 ,bret ,harte and ,walter ,scott1 were mercilessly spitted on that poker4 ,much foolscap was spoiled1 but much fun gained4 ,here is one of the poker successes3 8,,after ,,byron1 ,,with ,a ,,poker2 ,,also ,,after ,,drinking ,,flip4 8,here1 too1 the ,poker stands in brass6 and fills ,the air around with safety6 ,we inhale ,the ambrosial aspect which its heat instills 7,part of its immortality7 to ,flip 7,that beer which is half drawn71 within the cup ,we breathe1 and its deep secrets dip4 ,who ,flip can make--who cares where he may fail6 ,before its wide success let ,heliogabalus turn pale4 8,we drink1 and turn away--we care not where6 ,fuzzled1 and drunk with porter1 till the head ,reels with its fullness4 ,there1 for ever there1 ,stand thou in triumph1 ,poker1 strong and red6 ,we are thy captives1 and thine ardor share4 ,away6 there need no words1 no terms precise1 ,to say in loving accents1 ,flip-cup1 thou art nice60 ,to this class of ,home ,amusements belongs also the famous game of 8,twenty ,questions10 which was played so much at one time by the ,cambridge professors that they declared that any subject should be reached in ten questions4 ,the proper formula for this very intellectual game is this3 ,two parties are formed1 the questioners and the answerers1 the first having the privilege1 after the word has been chosen1 to inquire-- 8,is your subject animal1 vegetable1 or mineral80 8,what is its size80 8,to what age does it belong80 8,is it historical or natural80 8,is it ancient or modern80 8,is it a manufactured article80 etc4 ,the number of subjects which are none of these1 or which are all three1 or which can not be defined in some way1 is of course small4 ,thus1 a ,blush1 a ,smile1 a ,tear1 an ,echo1 an ,avalanche1 a ,drought1 are all indescribable by the exact definitions of the above questions4 ,but the questioner soon arrives at this negative1 and begins a new series4 ,perhaps one of the most puzzling of subjects is a 8mummy40 ,it fulfills certain conditions1 but not others2 and the final question1 8,what is its use80 and the answer1 8,it is used for fuel10 though true--for the ,arabs cook their dinners by them--does not at all cover the ground of the supposed use of a mummy4 ,the shield of ,achilles1 the ,hole in the ,wall through which ,pyramus and ,thisbe kissed1 have been asked and guessed6 ,a ,bat baffled even the most ingenious twenty questioners1 while the ,parlor into which the ,spider invited the ,fly was guessed4 ,it is a very intellectual and very amusing game1 and those who play it should be as honest as possible in their answers4 ,if puns and wordy equivoque are allowed1 the game ceases to be legitimate4 ,among games requiring memory and attention we may mention 8,cross ,purposes10 8,the ,horned ,ambassador10 8,i love my ,love with an ,a10 8,the ,game of the ,ring0 7arithmetical71 8,the ,deaf ,man10 8,the ,goose's ,history40 8,story ,play0 consists in putting a chosen word into a narrative so cleverly that it will not be readily guessed1 although several people tell different stories with the chosen word several times repeated4 ,the best way to play this is to have some odd word which is not the word--like ,banana--and use it several times2 yet one's own consciousness of the right word will often betray the story-teller4 8,the ,dutch ,conceit10 8,my ,lady's ,toilet10 8,what is my ,thought like80 8,scheherazade's ,ransom0 are very pretty1 and may be found in many ,manuals of ,games4 ,this last deserves a description4 ,three of the company sustain the parts of the ,sultan1 the ,vizier1 and the ,princess ,scheherazade4 ,the ,sultan takes his seat at the end of the room1 and the ,vizier then leads the ,princess before him1 with her hands bound behind her4 ,the ,vizier then makes a burlesque proclamation that the ,princess1 having exhausted all her stories1 is about to be punished unless a sufficient ransom be offered4 ,all the rest of the company then advance in turn and propose enigmas1 which must be solved by the ,sultan or ,vizier2 sing the first verse of a song1 to which the ,vizier must answer with the second verse2 or recite any well-known piece of poetry in alternate lines with the ,vizier4 ,forfeits must be paid either by the company when successfully encountered by the ,sultan or ,vizier1 or by the ,vizier when unable to respond to his opponents2 and the game goes on till the forfeits amount to any specified number on either side4 ,should the company be victorious and obtain the greatest number of forfeits1 the ,princess is released1 and the ,vizier has to execute all the penalties that may be imposed upon him4 ,if otherwise1 the ,princess is led to execution4 ,for this purpose she is blindfolded1 and seated on a low stool4 ,the penalties for the forfeits1 which should be previously prepared1 are written on slips of paper and put in a basket1 which she holds in her hands tied behind her4 ,the owners of the forfeits advance and draw each a slip of paper4 ,as each person comes forward1 the ,princess guesses who it is1 and1 if right1 the person must pay an additional forfeit1 the penalty for which is to be exacted by the ,princess herself4 ,when all the penalties have been distributed1 the hands and eyes of the ,princess are released1 and she then superintends the execution of the various punishments that have been allotted to the company4 ,another very good game is to send one of the company out1 and as he comes in again to address him as the supposed character of ,napoleon1 a ,russian emperor1 ,gustavus ,adolphus1 or some well-known character in history or fiction4 ,for instance1 a young lady leaves the room1 and as she enters some one says3 8,charming and noble heroine1 most generous and most faithful6 we are glad to see you4 ,how well you look1 after all that has happened to you6 ,burned alive8 ,yes1 ,i should say so2 and all that you suffered before6 ,how did you like wearing armor8 and what do you think of ungrateful kings8 ,how was it at home before you left----8 ,did you really see those visions8 and how did ,st4 ---- look8 ,and1 now that you are come back1 will you ever be so generous and noble as to fight for any cause except yourself80 ,of course1 the young lady knows that she is ,joan of ,arc4 ,but it is not necessary that character should be so plainly indicated1 however1 as in this example4 8,the ,echo0 is another very pretty game4 ,it is played by reciting some little story1 which ,echo is supposed to interrupt whenever the narrator pronounces certain words which recur frequently in his narrative4 ,these words relate to the profession or trade of him who is the subject of the story4 ,if1 for example1 the story is about a soldier1 the words which would recur the most frequently would naturally be 8,uniform10 8,gaiters10 8,chapeau bras10 8,musket10 8,plume10 8,pouch10 8,sword10 8,saber10 8,gun10 8,knapsack10 8,belt10 8,sash10 8,cap10 8,powder-flask10 8,accouterments10 and so on4 ,each one of the company1 with the exception of the person who tells the story1 takes the name of ,soldier1 ,powder-flask1 etc41 except the name 8,accouterments40 ,when the speaker pronounces one of these words1 he who has taken it for his name ought1 if the word has been said only once1 to pronounce it twice2 if it has been said twice1 to pronounce it once4 ,when the word 8,accouterments0 is uttered1 the players--all except the soldier--ought to repeat again the word 8,accouterments0 either once or twice4 ,these games are amusing1 as showing how defective a thing is memory1 and how apt1 when under fire1 to desert us4 ,it is also very queer to mark the difference of character exhibited by the players4 ,the most unexpected revelations are made4 ,another very funny game is 8,confession by a ,die10 played with cards and dice4 ,it would look at first like a parody on 8,mother ,church10 but it is not so guilty4 ,a person takes some blank cards1 and1 counting the company1 writes down a sin for each4 ,the unlucky sinner when called upon must not only confess1 but1 by throwing the dice also1 confess as many sins as they indicate1 and do penance for them all4 ,these can1 with a witty leader1 be made very funny4 8,the ,secretary0 is another good game4 ,the persons sit at a table with square pieces of paper1 and pencils1 and each one writes his own name1 handing the paper1 carefully folded down1 to the ,secretary1 who distributes them1 saying 8,character60 ,then each one writes out an imaginary character1 hands it again to the ,secretary1 who says 8,future60 ,the papers are again distributed1 and the writers forecast the future4 ,of course1 the ,secretary throws in all sorts of other questions1 and1 when the game is through1 the papers are read4 ,they form a curious and heterogeneous piece of reading4 ,sometimes such curious bits of character-reading crop out that one suspects and dreads complicity4 ,but1 if it is honestly played1 the game is amusing4 ,of ,ruses and ,catch-games1 ,practical ,jokes1 and all plays involving mystification and mortification1 we have a great abhorrence4 ,they do not belong to the class of ,home ,amusements4 ,let them be relegated to that bad limbo of 8college hazing10 and other ignoble tricks which some people call fun4 ,far better the games which call for wit1 originality1 and inspiration2 which show knowledge1 reading1 and a full repertoire2 and a familiarity with all the three homely studies--geography1 arithmetic1 and history1 including natural history4 ,one of these games is called 8,the ,traveler's ,tour10 and may be made very interesting1 if the leader is ingenious4 ,it is played in this way3 ,one of the party announces himself the 8,traveler40 ,he is given an empty bag1 and counters with numbers on are distributed among the players4 ,thus1 if twelve persons are playing1 the numbers must count up to twelve--a set of ones to be given to one1 twos to two1 and so on4 ,then the ,traveler asks for information about the places to which he is going4 ,the first person gives it1 if he can2 if not1 the second1 and so on4 ,if the ,traveler considers it correct information1 or worthy of notice1 he takes from the person one of his counters1 as a pledge of the obligation he is under to him4 ,the next person in order takes up the next question1 and so on4 ,after the ,traveler reaches his destination1 he empties his bag1 and sees to whom he has been indebted for the greatest amount of information4 ,he then makes him the next ,traveler4 ,of course1 this opens the door for all sorts of witty rejoinders1 as the players choose to exaggerate the claims of certain hotels1 the geographical position of places1 and the hits at such a place as ,long ,branch1 for instance1 by describing it as an 8inland spot1 very retired1 where nobody goes10 etc41 etc4 ,or it can be played seriously1 with the map of ,europe or ,america in one's memory4 ,the absurd way is1 however1 the favorite style with most1 as in this wise3 ,traveler4 8,i am going to ,newport this summer4 ,which is the best route80 ,answer4 8,well1 start by the ,erie ,railroad and try to form a junction with the ,pittsburg and ,ohio40 ,trav4 8,when shall ,i get there80 ,an4 8,if you take the ,southern ,pacific you may reach ,newport before the ,fall ,river boat gets in0 7sarcasm on the slowness of the boat74 ,trav4 8,how if ,i go by the ,northern ,pacific80 ,an4 8,well1 that is better than the ,wickford route40 ,or ,trav4 says3 8,i want to go to ,san ,francisco2 how shall ,i start80 ,an4 8,well1 at the rate the ,cunarders are going to ,europe now1 your quickest way is to take the ,gallia1 and on reaching ,liverpool to go to ,india by the ,overland ,route1 and so round the world40 ,the rhyming game is also very amusing4 ,it is done in this way3 ,speaker4 8,i have a word that rhymes with ,game40 ,interlocutor4 8,is it something statesmen crave80 ,sp4 8,no1 it is not ,fame40 ,in4 8,is it something that goes halt80 ,sp4 8,no1 it is not ,lame40 ,in4 8,is it something tigers need80 ,sp4 8,no1 it is not to ,tame40 ,in4 8,is it what we all would like80 ,sp4 8,no1 it is not ,good ,name40 ,in4 8,is it to shoot at ,duck80 ,sp4 8,yes1 and that ,duck to maim40 ,such words as ,nun1 ,thing1 ,fall1 etc41 which admit of many rhymes1 are very good ones to choose4 ,the two who play it must be quick-witted and read each other's thoughts4 ,the end rhymes1 which the ,french like1 are very ingenious4,a ,try making a poem to fit these words1 for instance1 and you catch the idea3 ,town4 ,lay4 ,place4 ,long4 ,run4 ,fame4 ,rain4 ,renown4 ,may4 ,space4 ,wrong4 ,sun4 ,name4 ,train4 ,the game of 8,crambo10 in which each player has to write a noun on one piece of paper and a question on another1 is curious4 ,as1 for instance1 the drawer may get the noun 8,mountain10 and the question1 8,do you love me80 he must write a sonnet or poem in which he answers the one and brings in the other4 ,the game of 8,preferences0 has had a long and a successful career4 ,it is a very good addition to ,home ,amusements to possess a blank-book lying on the parlor-table1 in which each guest should be asked to write out answers to the following questions3 ,who is your favorite hero in history8 ,who is your favorite heroine in history8 ,who is your favorite king in history8 ,who is your favorite queen in history8 ,what is your favorite male ,christian name8 ,what is your favorite female ,christian name8 ,what is your favorite flower8 ,what is your favorite color8 ,what is your favorite style of music8 ,what is your favorite style of climate8 ,what is your favorite amusement8 ,what is your favorite study8 ,what is your favorite exercise8 ,what is your favorite book8 ,what is your favorite game8 etc41 etc4 ,these questions may be amplified according to the taste of the owner of the book4 ,these books are very common in ,english country houses1 and the statistics of favoritism have been taken4 ,napoleon ,bonaparte1 even in the land of the ,duke of ,wellington1 had the greatest number of admirers as a hero2 ,mary1 ,queen of ,scots1 was the favorite queen in a majority of instances2 ,lord ,byron led off as a poet1 and the names ,edward and ,alice had the greatest number of votes as admired ,christian names4 ,joan of ,arc is always ahead as a heroine4 ,in ,america1 after a five years' experience1 a number of books were compared1 and resulted in a close tie between ,washington and ,napoleon as hero2 between ,charles ,x1 of ,sweden1 and ,francis ,i as king2 with ,mary1 ,queen of ,scots1 far ahead as queen2 with ,theodore and ,mary as ,christian names in advance4 ,yet an occasional originality crops out in these 8preferences10 and the examination of the different opinions is always interesting4 ,the game of ,authors1 especially when created by the persons who wish to play it1 is very interesting4 ,the game can be bought1 and is a very common one1 as1 perhaps1 everybody knows2 but it can be rendered uncommon by the preparation of the cards among the members of the family4 ,there are sixty-four cards to be prepared1 with each the name of a popular author1 and any three of his works4 ,the entire set is numbered from one to sixty-four4 ,any four cards containing the name and works of the same author form a book4 ,thus1 8,henry ,w4 ,longfellow1 #8,hyperion1' #8,evangeline1' #8,new ,england ,tragedies1'0 would form one set4 ,as the shuffling and distribution of these cards1 and the plan of also drawing from a pile in the middle of the table1 creates the greatest uncertainty as to the whereabouts of a certain card1 much amusement can be derived in the effort to make a book4 ,the cards must be equally distributed one at a time1 beginning at the left of the dealer4 ,the players then arrange their cards in the hand4 ,if one finds four of a kind1 he immediately declares a book1 and lays it face downward on the table2 and then1 if holding one of the 8,longfellow's10 he will say 8,evangeline40 ,he can ask any other player for 8,hyperion40 ,after receiving either the card or a negative answer1 the next player to the left goes on with his play4 ,players can only call for such cards as belong to books of which they hold a portion4 ,should a player call for a card which he already holds1 that card is forfeited to the person of whom it was called4 ,the caller always finds the name of the card he wants among those printed in small type2 the person of whom it is called finds it in large type at the top4 ,this game may be made very useful by using the names of kings and queens1 and the learned men of their reigns1 instead of authors4 ,it is a very good way to study history4 ,the popes can be utilized1 with their attendant great men1 and by playing the game for a season the dates and the events of some obscure period of history will be effectually fixed in the memory4 ,as the numbers affixed to the cards may be purely arbitrary1 the count at the end will fluctuate with remarkable impartiality2 thus1 the ,dickens cards may count but one1 while ,tupper will be named sixteen2 ,carlyle can be two1 while ,artemus ,ward shall be sixty4 ,this is made very amusing sometimes4 ,king ,henry ,,viii1 who set no small store by himself1 can be made to count very little in the kingly game1 while the poor ,edward ,,iv may have a higher numeral than he was allowed in life4 ,,vi4 ,,fortune-,,telling4 ,we now come to that game which interests old and young4 ,none are so apathetic but that they relish a look behind the dark curtain4 ,the apple-paring in the fire1 the roasted chestnut and the raisin1 the fire-back and the stars1 have been interrogated since time began4 ,the pack of cards1 the tea-cup1 the dream-book1 the board with the mystic numbers1 and the ,bible and ,key1 have been consulted from time immemorial4 ,the makers of games have given in their statistics1 and they declare that there are no cards or games so sure of selling well as those which foretell the ,future4 ,now a very pretty ,home ,amusement is to cultivate1 without believing much in them1 the innocent sciences of palmistry and of fortune-telling4 ,several years ago this led to the making of a very pretty book by ,mrs4 ,gilman1 of ,south ,carolina--a poetical and very harmless fortune-teller--made up of lines from the poets4 ,the young ladies of the period used to draw as future husbands3 8,a professor1 and a log cabin in the ,west02 8a lord1 and a castle02 8a merchant prince02 8an irresolute and an obstinate fool02 8a well-favored gentleman10 and so on1 the good fortunes being in great advance of the bad ones4 ,it was a popular work1 and amused many a tea-party4 ,many people1 since the advent of ,spiritualism1 have amused themselves with that wonderful toy1 8,planchette10 and other curious caprices of mind-reading1 clairvoyance1 table-tipping1 and knocks4 ,the ,key1 which seems to possess strong magnetic powers1 and all the performances which the unbeliever calls 8nonsense10 or worse1 and which the believing call 8manifestations10 are also interesting2 but we can not recommend this sort of tampering with nervous and exciting pleasure1 as it has undoubtedly sometimes unhinged the most truly innocent minds4 ,such investigations should be left to strong and sober men1 and should be approached in a very philosophical spirit1 or not at all4 ,there can be no harm1 however1 in a playful consultation of the leaves of the daisy1 the four-leaved clover1 the fortunate black cat who brings us luck1 the moon over the right shoulder1 the oracular 8,you shall travel over land and sea0--believing in all the good fortune1 but in none of the bad4 ,the salt should be carefully thrown over the left shoulder1 if spilled1 and all the ,fates and ,fairies should be propitiated4 ,it gives delightful variety to life to know all the superstitions and the lore of old nurses and grandmothers4 ,did we follow them back1 we should find that they each had a poetical origin4 ,we all like to believe that we can enumerate on our fingers the false friends1 the enemies2 but we may hope that the world could not hold the admirers and the friends whom one four-leaved clover or one black cat had given us--or promised us4 ,to be sure1 8we had dreamed of snakes1 and that meant enemies40 ,but1 after all1 are not enemies next best to friends8 ,they give us consequences1 and who that is worth anything was ever without them8 ,that would be a very colorless individual who should go through life without an enemy4 ,the riches which are hidden in a fortune-telling set of cards 7although like ,peter ,goldthwaite's treasure7 are very real and comforting while they last4 ,they are endless1 they have few really trying responsibilities attached1 they can not be taxed1 they are absolutely where thieves can not break through and steal4 ,they are so satisfactory1 which real wealth never is2 they buy everything we want2 they go farther than any real fortune could go2 they are our real and personal estate1 and our poetical dreams2 our ,lamp of ,aladdin1 and our ,chemical ,bank4 ,they are gained without hurting anybody2 they are dug out of the ground without painful backache or bloodshed2 they are inherited without stain1 and can be spent without fear of profligacy4 ,of what other fortune can we say as much8 ,it would be an unending theme to try to make a catalogue of the superstitions of all nations4 ,the ,irish1 with their wild belief in fairies1 that ,leprechaun--the little man in red1 who1 if you can catch him1 will make you happy and prosperous for ever after2 who has such a strange relationship to humanity that at birth and death the ,leprechaun must be tended by a mortal6 to read1 as they do--these imaginative people--a sermon in every stone2 to see luck beneath the four-leaved clover1 and to hang a legend on every bush2 to follow the more spiritually-minded ,scotchman in his second sight1 who holds that 8,coming events cast their shadows before40 ,a very learned book has been written on the 8,superstitions of ,wales0 alone4 ,eloquent and poetic are the people who have invented the ,banshee1 the ,brownie 7or domestic fairy who does all the work74 ,the more tragic and less loving superstitions of ,italy teach that the 8evil eye0 is always to be dreaded4 ,the ,breton superstitions are as wild as the sea-gust which sweeps from their coast4 ,all these are subjects of profound interest to those who read the great subject of race1 from ethnology1 folk-lore1 and ballads4 ,the superstitions of a people tell their innermost characteristics1 and are thus profoundly interesting4 ,the ,french have1 however1 tabularized fortune-telling for us4 ,their peculiar ability in arranging ceremonials and ftes1 and their undoubted genius for tactics and strategy1 show that they are able to foresee events with unusual clearness4 ,their ingenuity in all technical contrivances is an additional testimony in the same direction1 and we are not surprised that they have here1 as is their wont1 given us the practical help which we need in fortune-telling4 ,mlle4 ,lenormand1 the sorceress who prophesied to ,napoleon his greatness1 and to many of the princes and great men of ,france their downfall and their misfortunes1 has left us thirty-six cards 7to be bought at any book-store71 wherein we can read the decrees of fate4 ,her preface says1 8,thousands of noblemen did then acknowledge her great talent already during her lifetime1 and did often confess that her method was full of truth and exactness40 ,lenormand was a very clever sibyl2 she had great ingenuity2 she throws in enough of the inevitable bad1 and finds enough of the possible good1 to at least amuse those who consult her oracles4 ,whether we have confidence or faith in the divination1 we can not but look for the lucky cards4 ,in this game 8,the ,cavalier0 is a messenger of good fortune1 and1 if not surrounded by unlucky cards1 brings good news1 which the person may expect either from his own house or from abroad4 ,this will1 however1 not take place immediately1 but some time after4 8,the ,clover ,leaf0 is a harbinger of good news1 but if surrounded by clouds it indicates great pain2 but if ,no4 #b lies near ,no4 #bf or #bh1 the pain will be of short duration1 and will soon change to a happy issue4 8,the ,ship10 the symbol of commerce1 signifies great wealth1 which will be acquired by trade or inheritance4 ,if near to the person1 it means an early journey4 8,the ,house0 is a certain sign of success and prosperity1 and although the present position of the person may be disagreeable1 yet the future will be bright and happy4 ,if this card lies in the center of the cards under the person1 this is a hint to beware of those who surround him4 8,a ,tree10 if distant from the person1 signifies good health4 ,nine trees1 of different cards together1 leave no doubt about the realization of all reasonable wishes4 8,clouds03 if their clear side is turned toward the person1 it is a lucky sign2 with the dark side turned toward the person1 something disagreeable will soon happen4 8,a ,serpent0 is a sign of misfortune1 the extent of which depends upon the greater or smaller distance from the person2 it is followed invariably by deceit1 infidelity1 and sorrow4 8,a ,coffin10 very near to the person1 means1 without any doubt1 dangerous diseases1 death1 or total loss of fortune2 more distant from the person1 the card is less dangerous4 8,the ,nosegay0 means much happiness in every respect4 8,the ,scythe0 indicates great danger1 which will only be avoided if lucky cards surround him4 8,the ,rod0 means quarrels in the family1 domestic afflictions1 want of peace among married persons1 fever1 and protracted illness4 8,the ,birds0 mean hardship to be overcome1 but of short duration2 distant from the person1 they mean the accomplishment of a pleasant journey4 ,these are descriptions of a few of the picture-cards with which ,mlle4 ,lenormand tells fortunes still1 although she has gone to the land of certainty1 and has herself found out if her symbols and emblems1 and her combinations1 really did draw aside the curtain of the future with invisible strings4 ,we advise all our readers to possess themselves of her 8,fortune-telling ,cards0 if they wish to become amateur sibyls4 ,the cup of tea1 and the mysterious wanderings of the grounds around the cup1 so long the favorite medium of the sibyl1 seems to be an ,english superstition4 ,it fits itself to the old crone domesticity of the ,anglo-,saxon humble home1 rather than to the more out-of-door romance of the ,spaniards and the ,italians2 and yet the most out-of-door people in the world--the gypsies--use it as a means of discerning the future4 ,the cup should be filled with a weak infusion of tea--grounds and all--and then carefully turning the cup toward one1 the tea should be carefully turned out1 waving the cup so skillfully that the tea-leaves are dispersed over the surface of the cup4 ,happy the maid who can turn out the tea without spilling the leaves4 ,if one drop of tea is left in the cup it will mean--a tear4 ,these grounds1 or tea-leaves1 have been used from the earliest days as the alphabet of the ,parc4 ,before ,chinese tea was brought to ,england the old fortune-tellers made some sort of a brew out of powdered herbs1 which left their mark on the cup4 ,we can understand how that sinuous serpent who has had so much to do with our destiny1 as a synonym of evil1 can be pictured or 8visualized0 by such a process2 but where the sibyl finds the light-haired young man crossing a river1 where she finds gold and where trouble1 we must leave to the interpreters4 ,that most interesting of sibyls1 8,norna of the ,fitful ,head10 used molten lead as a means of interpreting the unseen1 and that can be done by our modern soothsayers4 ,cards from early antiquity have been used to tell fortunes4 ,the ,queen of ,hearts is the heroine1 and as about her group the propitious reds1 or the gloomy blacks1 so may we hope for good or dread bad luck4 ,the ,ace of ,spades is a bearer of evil tidings2 the ,king of ,hearts1 at the right of the ,queen1 is the very ,fortunatus himself4 ,and now1 who is this goddess so often invoked8 ,fortuna1 courted by all nations1 was1 in ,greek1 ,tyche1 or the goddess of chance4 ,she differed from ,destiny or ,fate in so far that she worked without law1 giving or taking at her own good pleasure1 and dispensing joy or sorrow indefinitely2 her symbols were those of mutability--a ball1 a wheel1 a pair of wings1 a rudder4 ,the ,romans affirmed that1 when she entered their city1 she threw off her wings and shoes1 and determined to live with them for ever2 she seems to have thought better of it1 however4 ,she was a sister of the ,parc1 or ,fates1 those three who spin the thread of life1 measure it1 and cut it off4 ,fortunatus1 he of the inexhaustible purse of gold and the wishing-cap1 is too familiar a figure to the readers of fairy tales to be mentioned here4 ,and yet1 although all nations have desired to propitiate ,fortuna1 her high-priests and interpreters have ever been in disrepute4 ,in ,scotland1 that land of demonology and witchcraft1 of second-sight1 of dreamy superstition1 fortune-tellers were denounced as vagabonds1 and their punishment1 by statute1 was scourging and burning of the ears4 ,we all know how the knowledge of the 8black art0 was denounced in ,germany2 and the witches of ,salem1 while they were approached at dead of night by a pale magistrate who desired to have his fortune told1 were1 at his high behest1 tortured1 pilloried1 and hanged the next week1 if the fortune was a bad one1 or1 if being well foretold1 was slow of accomplishment4 ,that half-belief which superstitious persons repose in their oracles1 shown in the case of the ,indian1 who breaks or maims his ,god if he does not respond to his prayer1 and in the remarkable story of ,louis ,,xi1 of ,france1 who used to alternately pray to and abuse his leaden images of saints1 is repeated often in the history of fortune-telling4 ,mother ,redcap1 8a very witch10 was resorted to by hundreds of persons in ,england as a fortune-teller2 her image remains on a coin dated #affg4 ,the well-known prophecies of her neighbor1 ,mother ,shipton1 have come down to us4 ,poor ,redcap had all the duckings and the batings of the populace4 ,she and her black cat were the favorite horrors of the superstitious inhabitants of ,kentish ,town1 and hundreds of men1 women1 and children saw the devil come in state to carry her off4 ,but ,mother ,shipton 7who was born at ,knaresborough in the reign of ,henry ,,vii7 became the most popular of ,british prophets1 and1 although she was supposed to have sold her soul to the ,old ,gentleman1 she yet died in her bed decently and in order at an extreme old age4 ,so ,fortuna is capricious1 even in her treatment of her votaries4 ,it is not strange that 8,palmistry0 should have taken higher ground than mere fortune-telling1 and indeed the lines of the hand will seem to map out character1 and perhaps destiny1 with some accuracy4 ,the books say that the lines running through the palm indicate will or indecision1 force or weakness1 quickness or slowness2 indeed1 all which makes character and fate4 ,we are the arbiters of at least a part of our fortune4 ,the power to tell fortunes by the hand can be learned from any of the ,french books on palmistry1 and there are one or two little ,english translations4 ,it can be sufficiently curious and varied to amuse the home circle1 and so long as it is done for that purpose1 fortune-telling can do no harm4 ,but the moment we rise above the idea that the beans1 the tea-grounds1 the black cat1 the cards1 or the lines in the palm1 are but blind guides1 making the most palpable mistakes1 then the tampering with the curtain becomes dangerous1 and we had better leave the future alone4 ,,vii4 ,,amusements ,,for ,a ,,rainy ,,day4 ,it may seem an impeachment of the taste of our readers to have lingered so long on the lesser lights of games and fortune-telling as 8,home ,amusements10 when we have before us the great world of decorative art3 sthetic embroidery1 dinner-card designing1 china painting1 the making of screens1 and the thousand and one devices by which the modern family can amuse itself4 ,the making of screens is an amusement which occupies the whole family most profitably for a rainy day1 even if it is to be only the cutting out of pictures from the illustrated newspapers1 and the subsequent arrangement of them in curious conjunction on a white cotton or muslin background4 ,the use of screens has dawned upon the ,american mind within a few years4 ,they are delightful in a dining-room to keep off a draught or to hide a closet-door4 ,they break up a too long room admirably4 ,they are very useful in a bedroom to shut off the washstand and bath2 and they are very comforting to the invalid1 as a protection to his easy-chair against insidious breezes4 ,of course1 those of satin or linen1 embroidered by a skillful hand2 those painted on canvas by the best painters of to-day2 those from ,china and ,japan--are the screens of the opulent4 ,very pretty paper screens may be bought at the shops for three or four dollars4 ,but those on which a group of pictures are to be pasted are the cheapest and most amusing of any4 ,and do not go and buy highly-glazed pictures for the purpose4 ,if you do1 the screen looks like a valentine4 ,but cut out the pictures from old copies of the 8,london ,illustrated ,news10 8,punch10 8,harper's ,weekly10 8,harper's ,bazaar10 and the ,english 8,graphic10 paste them thickly one upon another1 and you have a curious and most interesting mosaic4 ,a lady in #ahgf1 the ,centennial year1 made a very beautiful screen of fashion plates from the ordinary magazines of the period4 ,already 7#ahha7 these fashions look very antiquated1 and the screen is becoming historically valuable4 ,the effect of these delicately-colored pictures1 put on as thickly as possible over the white muslin1 has an effect like a festal procession1 and is very pretty4 ,the medium used for adhering the pictures is common flour paste1 the pictures being also washed over the outside with the same1 and all the edges effectually fastened down1 the cotton cloth to which they are applied being tightly stretched over a wooden frame4 ,when domestic paste is made1 the material is frequently injured by scorching1 or by the addition of too much water4 ,good paste1 when spread on paper1 will not strike through it like water1 but will remain on the surface1 like butter on a piece of bread4 ,to make paste of a superior quality1 that will not spoil when kept in a cool place for several months1 it is necessary to add dissolved alum as a preservative4 ,when a few quarts are required1 dissolve a dessert-spoonful of alum in two quarts of tepid water4 ,put the water in a tin pail that will hold six or eight quarts1 as the flour of which the paste is made will expand greatly while it is boiling4 ,as soon as the tepid water has cooled1 stir in good rye or wheat flour1 until the liquid has the consistency of cream4 ,see that every lump of flour is crushed before placing the vessel over the fire4 ,to prevent scorching the paste1 place over the fire a dish-kettle or wash-boiler1 partly filled with water1 and set the tin pail containing the material for paste in the water1 permitting the bottom to rest on a few large nails or pebbles1 to prevent excessive heat4 ,now add a teaspoonful of powdered resin1 a few cloves to flavor the paste1 and let it cook until the paste has become as thick as 8,graham mush10 when it will be ready for use4 ,keep it in a tight jar1 and it will last for a long time4 ,if too thick1 add cold water1 and stir it thoroughly4 ,such paste will hold almost as well as glue4 ,the famous picture-books of ,walter ,crane make a very pretty frieze for screens2 the artists of the family sometimes paint a frieze4 ,in these days of dadoes the screens are often made with dado1 wainscot1 and frieze in three different colored papers1 so that there are three tiers of background for the pictures1 if the maker desires to leave spaces between them4 ,the cutting out of the pictures is an amusing occupation for all the family on a rainy day4 ,this making of screens sometimes leads to another very attractive work for a rainy day--the preparation for a fancy dress ball4 ,this1 in a lonely country house1 far away from the chance of any outward amusement1 has often cheated a fortnight's bad weather of its heart-depressing qualities4 ,as we have not the stores of old armor1 old brocade and satin1 powdered wigs1 and costumes of the different reigns1 which may be supposed from modern ,english novels to be the property of every ,english mansion1 we must call upon taste and upon our national faculty of invention to help us in this dilemma4 ,the country store will give us black and white tarlatan1 chintz1 cotton flannel 7a most excellent medium71 and1 indeed1 flannels of all sorts4 ,black lace1 jewelry1 and flowers are in every lady's trunk1 and1 with some stiff linings and appliqu chintz flowers1 an old silk can be made into a priceless brocade4 ,let us take a ,venetian dress first4 ,we will have ,king ,pantelon1 the ,lord of ,misrule1 in black with scarlet shirt and three-cornered hat1 and attended by his gay and dissolute crew4 ,we will have the ,illustrissimi1 wearing the dress of the ancient ,venetian nobility1 scarlet cloaks1 and long bag wigs1 mightily disdainful2 the ,chiozotti in black velvet1 wide lace collars1 and high cloth caps1 adorned with artificial flowers--they shall shower confetti and make jokes2 we shall have dominoes and masks1 ,egyptians and ,neapolitans in velvet1 with scarlet caps and stockings1 clapping castanets2 we shall have ,armenians1 ,levant merchants and sailors1 ,turks in caftans1 ,greeks and ,dalmatians1 regular-featured ,mussulmans1 ,hindoos with jet-black hair1 and ,malay ,lascars in many-colored turbans1 fez1 and scarf2 grinning soot-black negroes1 ,polish ,jews in furred caps and long coats1 ,magyars in ,hessians and pelisses2 ,bohemian nurses in ,czechen costume1 a colored handkerchief in the hair2 dark-eyed young bourgeoises in coquettish black veils2 elegant ladies in velvet and point lace2 the gondolier1 in his picturesque sailor costume and broad sash2 the ,finland peasant1 with short skirts1 long-dangling ear-rings1 and silver pins2 the ,maltese with her fazzoletto2 an old ,contadino1 with short velveteen knee-breeches1 gaiters1 and colored cotton umbrella2 priests all in black gown1 shovel hat1 and black silk stockings2 dashing naval officers2 the ,guardia ,nazionale1 and weather-beaten fishermen with bronzed faces and red ,phrygian cap4 ,we shall have ,lord ,byron1 pale and melancholy1 and picturesque ,masaniello2 the patriarchs of the ,greek ,church2 the ,spanish beauties1 the ,swiss peasant1 the ,german ,mdchen2 the madcap ,harlequin dress of a ,spanish princess4 ,then there will be all the seasons--winter1 for instance1 in tulle1 swansdown1 and spun glass2 the ,marie ,antoinettes1 in pink brocade with long1 square trains and trimmings of ,marabout feathers2 the lovely ,georgian costume1 a ,seville gypsy1 a ,russian peasant2 a flower-girl1 a ,nymph2 ,night and ,day2 ,spanish students and ,flemish boors2 ,pages of ,queen ,blanche of ,castile2 the beautiful white uniform of the ,dragon de ,villars2 a gothic costume2 ,charlemagne and his ,paladins4 ,in short--8the ,carnival of ,venice40 ,all this was done1 and well done1 at a country house and the adjacent village 7a village of not more than fifteen hundred inhabitants71 and for very little money1 only a few years ago4 ,the business is done if one only thinks he can do it2 and there are numbers enough to work at it4 ,a boarding-school holiday1 a watering-place1 a large town bent on 8getting up something0 for charity1 should have one such home behind it1 where a natural-born leader will set the whole thing going1 and the picturesque shores of ,italy will give up their delights to some western town1 some inland village1 some quiet and decorous hamlet of ,new ,england1 where all the inhabitants are dying of ennui4 ,but here1 from the pictures of our screen1 which have suggested all this1 we have been led off from ,decorative ,art into the business of giving a ball6 ,we have been entertaining a motley crowd indeed6 8,the day was dull1 and dark1 and dreary1 ,it rained1 and the rain was never weary40 ,but see6 how we have cheated the clouds6 ,the rainy fortnight has been the most dissipated season possible--all owing to our happy device of getting up a fancy ball--one of the very many pleasant thoughts which have grown out of screens and screen-making4 ,,viii4 ,,embroidery ,,and ,,other ,,decorative ,,arts4 ,let us return to our three legitimate decorations--our fan-painting1 our screen-painting1 and our embroideries4 ,of ,embroidery the world is full1 and at its best estate4 ,the foolish old ,german wool-worsted work has gone out1 and in its place we have the very elaborate church needle-work of the ,middle ,ages1 and1 better still1 its tapestry4 ,some ingenious lady discovered that a plain piece of carpet made a very good background for a rich curtain1 after a few stitches of embroidery were added2 and it took but one step farther for another lady to find in cotton velvet a good background for tapestry4 ,the figures are sketched on1 and then the embroidery is artistically added1 in the style of the thirteenth century1 when the characters were outlined by a single line1 which also designates the shape and folds of the garments4 ,these outlines are filled in with masses of stitches in two or three shades of color4 ,it is best1 in making tapestry1 to adhere to this simplicity1 as in attempting the later richness of the ,gobelins the work degenerates into a vulgar imitation4 ,and in stitching away at the tapestry frame1 the well-read mamma might give her daughters a little sketch of the history of tapestry4 ,how once these artistic draperies were the adornments of those stone castles which knew no plastered walls4 ,how they caught the story of the 8,iliad0 and 8,odyssey10 the scenes from the ,bible1 the whole story of mythology1 the history of great wars4 ,there hangs to-day1 at ,blenheim1 a perfect set of pictures of the victories of the great ,duke of ,marlborough1 done for him by the pious ,belgian nuns4 ,but those works anterior to the sixteenth century have the greatest interest for the student of tapestry4 ,gold thread and silk were freely used in their embellishment1 and the effect is rather that of a mosaic than of a picture4 ,the greens are a study4 ,they are produced with a dark blue for the dark1 and a yellow for the light tints4 ,the wonderful work of ,matilda1 called the ,bayeux tapestry1 wrought on brown linen2 the many historical pieces found in ,italy1 done in wools2 and the collections all over ,europe1 show a mastery over the needle which we have lost4 ,but it was left for ,francis ,i1 of ,france1 to establish the most renowned factory for these beautiful things1 when at ,fontainebleau he founded what is now the ,gobelins4 ,the ,gobelins were two ,dutch dyers of wool1 celebrated for their brilliant scarlets1 who eventually gave their name to the art1 and a 8,gobelin0 got to mean a tapestry4 ,under ,louis ,,xiv the ,luxurious this manufactory attained to highest importance4 ,they became the ,herters and ,marcottes of ,france4 ,colbert1 the ,prime ,minister1 united under one head all the different bands of workmen who were employed on furniture and decorations for the royal palaces of ,france4 ,to the weavers of carpets and tapestry were added embroiderers1 goldsmiths1 wood-carvers1 dyers1 etc4 ,charles ,lebrun and his pupils were charged with furnishing designs4 ,lebrun himself furnished over twenty-four hundred designs4 ,in #affg ,louis himself paid a visit of state to the manufactory1 accompanied by ,colbert1 and examined the magnificent carpets1 tapestries1 silver plate1 and carvings which formed the splendid 8,manufactory of ,furniture to the ,crown40 ,this great establishment1 however1 went down1 as ,louis lost money2 and after the death of ,lebrun 7he was father to the wretched husband of pretty ,madame ,le ,brun7 it returned to its original function of producing tapestry4 ,these ,gobelin tapestries grew to be the most wonderful reproduction of pictures ever seen4 ,but why1 one pauses to ask1 try to reproduce a picture 8done in oils0 by the laborious process of needle-work or weaving8 ,why by process of mosaic8 ,it is one of the useless fancies of the human race4 ,the old tapestry1 done by hand when there were no ,gobelins1 had a meaning and a use4 ,so has the modern tapestry done by hand4 ,it is cheap1 it is individual1 it is original2 but for the ,gobelins1 that favorite luxury of kings1 we fail to see an excuse4 ,however1 it is very beautiful1 expensive1 and rare4 ,the process of tapestry weaving is called the 8haute lisse10 the warp being placed vertically1 in contradistinction to the 8basse lisse10 a work with a horizontal warp1 as is usual4 ,the weaver stands with the model which he is to copy behind him4 ,as the surface of the tapestry must present a perfectly smooth and even surface1 all cuttings must be made on the wrong side1 for the workman never sees the beautiful work he is doing4 ,this has been made use of in poetry in the following simile3 8,we work but blindly at the loom1 ,nor see the pattern1 save in parts2 ,not ours to mark the gleam or bloom1 ,but labor on1 with patient hearts4 8,but when the angels overhead ,the soul-wrought tapestry unfurls1 ,perhaps the tears we vainly shed ,may glow amid the threads--like pearls4 8,the sorrow which has crushed the heart ,a lily blooms1 on azure field2 ,the strife in which we bore our part ,in bud and flower may stand revealed40 ,the ,gobelins used gold1 silver1 pearls1 and everything decorative in their work1 at times1 to produce effect4 ,the first ,revolution brought destruction to the ,gobelins1 as it did to everything else1 and many choice pieces were burned4 ,but it rose again under the first ,napoleon1 ,david furnishing designs4 ,in #ahga the ,communists again set fire to the manufactory1 burning up the exhibition-room4 ,four hundred thousand dollars was the estimated loss4 ,but when we remember that there perished tapestries of the fourteenth and fifteenth centuries1 including the 8,acts of the ,apostles0 by ,raphael1 and the now valuable1 graceful1 although affected1 charming designs of ,boucher1 which were wrought for ,pompadour1 besides historical portraits and scenes1 this seems a low estimate4 ,the embroidery of the cartoons of ,raphael1 copies of which may be seen at ,hampton ,court1 were among the greatest of the ,gobelin triumphs4 ,however1 to those who have walked the galleries of ,florence1 who have seen there the grand and beautiful specimens of embroidered tapestry of the sixteenth century1 there will ever be a charm about old tapestry in the crude perspective and the sudden shading4 ,it is this1 perhaps1 which can be copied4 ,it is this to which the modern tapestry worker should address herself1 if among the amusements of home she counts the making of curtains1 and wall-coverings1 and portires1 which shall almost suggest the possibility that they once hung in a ,florentine or a ,venetian palace4 ,a dark background of some cheap woolen stuff1 a knowledge of drawing1 the silk and woolen and cotton and linen threads now brought to our hand so cheaply--will all furnish forth the appliances for the making of tapestry hangings1 such as a castellan of the ,middle ,ages would not have despised4 ,painting on fans has become a very common ,home ,amusement1 and it is a very elegant one4 ,the white silk fan is usually selected1 although linen1 satin1 and wood fans are all easy and pleasant mediums4 ,for painting on silk1 some technical knowledge is necessary1 some gum-water1 or sizing1 to prevent the paint from spreading4 ,for painting on wood1 one needs only the common water-color box1 and a simple knowledge of drawing and painting4 ,flowers1 birds1 and butterflies are the favorite devices1 monograms having gone out of fashion4 ,it is better1 if possible1 to have the silk stretched on a frame before it is mounted on sticks1 as one still sees the masterpieces of ,boucher1 ,watteau1 and ,greuze1 not yet mounted1 but framed1 in galleries--far too precious to mount1 the ,marchioness who ordered them having1 perhaps1 fortunately forgotten her caprice that we may admire it4 ,and what pretty and pleasing and altogether historical memories come in with the fan6 ,it was created in primeval ages4 ,the ,egyptian ladies had them of lotus-leaves2 the ,greek and ,roman ladies followed4 ,the word flabellum occurs often in the ,roman literature4 ,they also had fans of peacock-feathers1 and of some expansive material painted in brilliant colors4 ,they were not made to open and shut like ours2 that is a modern invention4 ,they were stiff1 with long handles1 for ladies were fanned by their slaves4 ,the flabellifer1 or fan-bearer1 was some young attendant1 generally male1 whose common business it was to carry his mistress's fan4 ,would that were the fashion now6 ,there is a ,pompeian painting of ,cupid as the fan-bearer of ,ariadne1 and lamenting her desertion by ,theseus4 ,in ,queen ,elizabeth's day the fan was usually made of feathers1 like the fan still used in the ,east4 ,the handle was richly ornamented1 and set with stones4 ,a fashionable lady was never without her fan1 which was chained to her girdle by a jeweled chain4 ,a satirist of the day1 ,stephen ,gosson1 approves of the fan if used to drive away flies and for cooling the skin4 ,he1 however1 continues scornfully3 8,but seeing they were still in hand1 ,in house1 in field1 in church1 in street1 ,in summer1 winter1 water1 land1 ,in cold1 in heat1 in dry1 in wet-- ,i judge they are for wives such tools ,as babies are in plays for fools40 ,queen ,elizabeth dropped a silver-handled fan into the moat at ,amstead ,hall1 which occasioned many madrigals4 ,sir ,francis ,drake presented to his royal mistress a 8fan of feathers1 white and red1 enameled with a half-moon of mother-of-pearl2 within that a half-moon garnished with sparks of diamonds1 and a few seed pearls on one side4 ,having her ,majesty's picture within it1 and on the reverse a crow40 ,why not try1 young ladies1 to paint a fan like this8 ,use silver dust to illustrate 8sparks of diamonds40 ,it would be a very pretty conceit4 ,poor ,leicester gave1 as his ,new ,year's gift1 in #aegd1 8a fan of white feathers set in a handle of gold1 garnished on one side with two very fair emeralds1 and fully garnished with rubies and diamonds1 and on each side a white bear 7his cognizance71 and two pearls hanging1 a lion romping1 with a white muzzled bear at his foot40 ,this fan would be difficult to copy4 ,it was evidently a love-token from poor1 ill-used ,leicester to his haughty queen4 ,just before ,christmas1 in #aeie1 ,elizabeth went to ,kew1 dined at my ,lord ,keeper's house1 and there was handed her a 8fine fan1 with a handle garnished with diamonds40 ,fans in ,shakespeare's time seem to have been composed of ostrich-feathers1 and so on1 stuck into handles4 ,in 8,love and ,honor10 by ,sir ,william ,davenant1 we find the line1 8,all your plate1 ,vasco1 is the silver handle of your old prisoner's fan40 ,marston says3 8,another1 he ,her silver-handled fan would gladly be40 ,forty pounds were often given for a fan in ,elizabeth's time4 ,bishop ,hall1 in his 8,satires10 in #aeig1 says3 8,while one piece pays her idle waiting man1 ,or buys a hood1 or silver-handled fan40 ,the fan of the ,countess of ,suffolk resembles a powder-puff4 ,but gentlemen carried fans in those days4 ,we find in a manuscript in the ,ashmolean ,museum1 at ,oxford1 the following allusion3 8,the gentlemen then had prodigious fans1 as is to be seen in old pictures1 like that instrument which is used to dry feathers1 and it had a handle at least one half as long1 with which their daughters oftentimes were corrected4 ,sir ,edward ,cole1 ,lord ,chief ,justice1 rode the circuit with such a fan1 and ,william ,dugdale told me he was witness of it40 ,the ,earl of ,manchester also used such a fan4 8,but the fathers and mothers slasht their daughters1 in the time of their besom-discipline1 when they were perfect women40 ,both fashions have happily passed away4 ,lords ,chief ,justices no longer 8slash0 their daughters1 nor do they carry fans4 ,of ,catharine de ,braganza 7#affd7 we read that she and her maids walked from ,whitehall in procession to ,st4 ,james's ,palace through the park in glittering costume of silver lace in the bright morning sunshine4 ,parasols being unknown in ,england at that era1 the courtly belles used the gigantic green shading-fans1 which had been introduced by the ,queen and her ,portuguese ladies1 to shield their complexions from the sun1 when they did not wish wholly to obscure their charms by putting on their masks4 ,both were in general use in this reign4 ,the green shading-fan is of ,moorish origin1 and for more than a century after the marriage of ,catharine of ,braganza was considered an indispensable luxury by our fair and stately ancestral dames1 who used them in open carriages1 in the promenade1 and at prayers1 where they ostentatiously screened their devotions from public view by spreading them before their faces while they knelt4 ,but ,china and ,japan--the home of fans--are waiting to be let in6 and as soon as the ,india trade was opened by ,catharine's marriage treaty1 there entered the carved ivory fan1 the light bamboo and palm-leaf1 the paper fan1 the silk folding fan1 mounted on beautiful ,japanese sticks2 all came to ,england about this time4 ,the vellum fans of ,france1 on which ,watteau first painted his shepherdesses in hoop-petticoats1 and swains in full-bottomed wigs1 the choice impossible goddesses of ,boucher1 with cupids and nymphs1 all came next4 ,the history of fans1 in ,france alone1 would fill a volume2 and the neighboring kingdom of ,spain1 where the language of fans has become a very serious study1 would give us another volume4 ,the fans of tortoise-shell1 enriched with jewels1 are a favorite luxury of to-day4 ,oliver ,wendell ,holmes has written a delightful poem on the 8,origin of the ,fan40 ,in all our art loan collections there is1 nowadays1 an exhibition of fans4 ,the young student of fan-painting should strive to see some of those of ,watteau and of ,boucher4 ,tiffany to-day turns out some very beautiful specimens2 and more than one of our artists could admirably paint a fan or two as his contribution to ,fan ,history4 ,nothing can be prettier as a ,home ,amusement than fan-painting1 into which much1 but not too much1 ,japanese suggestion should creep4 ,remember1 young ladies1 the plea of that poor stork1 of which we have seen so much1 8that he be allowed to put down his other leg60 and spare us the gilded bird1 or give him to us but seldom4 ,the art of ,illumination1 which is now studied occasionally by our young ladies1 goes wonderfully well into fan-painting4 ,perhaps it is too good for it4 ,perhaps the same hand which can copy the old initial letter which makes the missals rich and rare1 should not condescend to the application of the same delicate manipulation in order to ornament a fan4 ,but a fan of vellum1 painted by an illuminator1 is still a very beautiful thing4 ,a fan painted to illustrate a song or a ballad is a very pretty thing4 ,the common linen fan1 on which a clever hand draws with pencil or ink the story of 8,mary1 ,mary1 quite contrary10 becomes a precious possession4 ,and in these days of ,kate ,greenaways and ,rosina ,emmets we ought to have many charming fan decorators4 ,we should not object if they selected the old-fashioned manir goddesses1 hovering cupids1 smiling nymphs1 and pos infants of ,boucher1 if they would give us his cool1 pearly grays1 and sweet1 soft rose tints4 ,we have had enough of realism and ugliness1 disagreeable cat-tails1 and harsh1 dirty ,joan of ,arcs4 ,let us have a little beauty by way of a change1 at least on our fans4 ,perhaps we could 8live up to it40 ,nor should we fail to note the pleasant possibility of all the dinner-cards of a winter coming fresh from the hands of the young ladies of the family4 ,what infinite suggestion does one glimpse of the garden on a ,june morning give to the fair artist6 ,we can imagine that some poetical member should thus summon and direct her sister and brother artists in the following manner3 8,do give me1 ,rosamond1 that spray of sweet-brier which has caught a bit of spider-web over its sweetest pink bud4 ,throw in that green dragon-fly who is about to dart through the spider's web4 ,give me1 ,grace1 that morning-glory cup with a yellow butterfly floating over it4 ,it will shame the best ,venetian glass of ,mrs4 ,crsus4 8,you1 ,jane1 paint me those dandelions1 strewed by some millionaire who is tired of his gold4 ,you1 ,constance1 take this volume of the old poets1 and hunt up appropriate mottoes to write under these fancies from ,nature4 ,they shall illuminate our dinners of next winter1 and breathe the breath of ,nature through our stiff conventionality4 ,they shall be our visitors from ,titania4 8,yes1 a happy thought6 ,you1 ,mary1 who are so akin to the fairies1 give us your kindred4 ,paint me ,oberon and ,queen ,mab giving a banquet in yon lily4 ,what a splendid and baronial apartment6 ,how the golden shower falls on their royal heads from those laden stamens6 ,true courtiers they1 who never stop flattering4 ,suggest1 if you can1 with your brush1 the perfume of luxury which is born and bred in this royal pavilion4 ,show me their delicate guests4 ,here comes the ,butterfly1 most repandu of beaus2 and the ,humming-bird1 rich bachelor 7hard to catch71 who dashes in for a look at the beauties1 and away again--you can put him in2 he is a type for a dinner-card4 8,and you1 ,paul1 who are of a strong1 masculine1 satirical turn1 shall make all these frogs and toads into guests in another set of dinner-cards4 ,give me the frog as an ,ambassador4 ,i like his pouting throat1 his puffy air--it so simulates importance4 ,how grand and disdainful he is6 ,i declare1 he looks so like old ,mr4 ----6 ,but do not make a portrait2 that would give offense4 ,these toads are just about as lively and as brilliant as the rank and file of diners-out4 ,put them all in ,worth dresses4 ,make the dishes on the table after ,hawthorne's delicate fancy1 the shapes of summer vegetables--squashes1 cucumbers1 pea-pods4 ,what is that pretty poem ,i remember about ,pods8 8#8,the ,monk's-hood and the ,shepherd's-purse1 ,and the ,poppy's pepper-caster2 ,the ,rose's scarlet reticule1 ,and the somber box of the ,aster2 ,nasturtion's biting brandy-flask1 ,infused with a wholesome smart2 ,and the ,milkweed's knot of white floss silk1 ,which will not come apart2 ,for next to the bud where the ,poppy nods1 ,and the sweet ,moss-rose--are the late ,seed-pods4'0 8,yes10 said ,mary1 8pods are very pretty40 ,well1 we have1 perhaps1 talked nonsense enough about the dinner-cards4 ,it is a pretty ,home ,amusement for the back piazza in summer1 or for the close and guarded warm home parlor of winter4 ,give us the results of both1 young ladies4 ,and since all the wealthy chromo people are offering such splendid sums for the ,christmas1 ,easter1 and even advertising cards1 why should not every group try their hand at the--perhaps--thousand dollar prize8 ,here is a suggestion for a ,christmas card3 ,a group of young pagans going out of the ,catacombs are represented as strewing flowers and singing gay songs4 ,on the other side a group of austere early ,christians are coming in1 singing hymns4 ,between the two a ray of light comes down through a fissure of the roof and forms a cross4 ,the religion that is going out1 the religion that is coming in--the cross is between them4 ,how much a clever hand could make of this moment of time1 so replete with interest to all the world6 ,it would seem as if1 with all the suggestions of ,easter1 that no one would need anything but a paint-box and a pack of blank cards to interest them at this season4 ,we should have the ,world being hatched out of an egg2 the ,saxon goddess ,eastre2 the ,legend of the ,stork2 the ,german children searching for the ,nest in the garden where the ,easter-hen had laid her egg2 the great ,sunburst2 the ,sun dancing on ,easter morning2 the games of medival ,england1 when the women played ball at one end of the town and the men at the other1 and one fine couple taking occasion to run away to get married on the sly4 ,the ,easter ,egg is full of meat for the artist4 ,growing out of these thoughts comes up the great and increasing taste for symbolism1 which finds its highest exponent in church embroidery4 ,the ,catholic ,church has ever been a good customer of the decorative art schools4 ,it needs and consumes or uses much embroidery4 ,but the pious women of ,protestant communion now also deem it a duty and a pleasure to decorate the altars of their beloved churches with much that is symbolic and beautiful1 and it is a favorite form of ,home ,amusement to create an altar-cloth or some draperies which shall engross an hour or two a day of the time of the best embroideresses in the family4 ,illustration ,the favorite symbols are these3 ,the ,cross in its various forms2 the monogram composed of the ,greek letters 7,ch7 and 7,r71 the first two in the name of ,,christ2 the ,apocalyptic letters and 7,alpha and ,omega71 often combined into a monogram2 and the ,greek characters 1 the first three letters in the name 7,,jesus74 ,this last symbol is sometimes interpreted thus1 in ,latin3 ,jesus1 ,hominum ,salvator--,,jesus1 ,,of ,,men ,,the ,,saviour4 ,less frequent is the ,fish1 which was often used by the early ,christians as a kind of secret sign of their faith1 the reason being that 1 the ,greek word for 8fish10 contains the initials of an article of their creed1 thus3 1 1 --,jesus ,christ1 ,god's ,son1 the ,saviour4 ,besides the foregoing1 we have the ,ship1 indicating the ,church1 as typified by ,noah's ,ark2 the ,anchor 7always in close connection with the ship7 entwined with a dolphin--emblems of ,fortitude1 ,faith1 and ,hope2 the ,dove1 occasionally bearing the olive-branch--the symbol of ,christian ,charity and ,meekness2 the ,phnix and the ,peacock--symbols of ,eternity2 the ,cock of ,watchfulness2 the ,lyre of the ,worship of ,god2 the ,palm-branch--the heathen symbol of ,victory1 but in a ,christian sense that of ,victory over ,death2 the ,sheaf2 the ,bunch of ,grapes1 with other ,biblical signs and allusions1 such as the ,hart at the ,brook2 the ,brazen ,serpent2 the ,ark of the ,covenant2 the ,seven-branched ,candlestick2 the ,serpent in the ,garden of ,eden2 and1 lastly1 the ,cross1 with flowers1 with a ,crown1 with a dove hovering about it4 ,many of these decorative symbols suggest themselves to the contemplative mind1 and enter into the appropriate designs for ecclesiastical embroidery4 ,this embroidery must be beautifully executed to be worthy of its mission4 ,the face of ,christ has been so exquisitely wrought by some devout embroideresses that it is like a painting4 ,the work should be done in a frame1 and after considerable study4 ,and how pleasant a study for a winter evening becomes the universal subject of symbolism6 ,we learn that the ,eagle and the ,thunderbolt were the symbols of ,power under pagan mythology1 because the attributes of the highest among the gods4 ,the ,rod1 with the two serpents1 indicated ,commerce1 because ,mercury1 whose insignia they were1 was the ,god of ,traffic4 ,the ,club1 the emblem of ,strength1 was the attribute of ,hercules4 ,the ,griffin--most useful animal for all decorative purposes--was sacred to ,apollo4 ,the symbol of the ,sphinx was taken from the fable of dipus4 ,we are coming back to the ,oriental method of teaching by parables in all our new internal decoration2 and for the illuminator the knowledge is priceless4 ,we mount up from these simpler emblems to a consideration of the myths of ,niobe1 of ,cupid and ,psyche1 of ,orpheus captivating the wild beasts of the forest by the sound of his lyre1 in which was supposed to lurk an analogy of the history of our ,lord4 ,then we come down to the materialism of the ancients1 by which a river is symbolized by a river-god2 a city1 by a goddess with a mural crown2 night1 by a female figure with a torch and a star-bespangled robe2 heaven1 by a male figure throwing a veil in an arched form over his head4 ,all these reflections1 born of study and leading to it1 are brought in by the practical application now made in embroidery1 painting1 and wall-decorations2 and it would be well if1 among the ,home ,amusements1 these graver studies went hand in hand with the pleasant duties of embroidery and illuminating cards and books4 ,ole ,bull says that he arrived at his wonderful effects upon the violin less by manual practice than by meditation4 ,it would be well to think much over the subject of art4 ,he practiced less and thought more1 it is said1 than other violinists4 ,no occupation conduces more to quiet and pleasant thought than that of embroidery4 ,we want realism2 but we also want idealism4 ,there is no sort of doubt that ,art1 once admitted as a friend of the family1 becomes the greatest instigator of all sorts of ,home ,amusements1 whether peeping out through the paint-box1 the needle1 the embroidering-frame1 the etching tool1 or the turpentine-bottle and the mineral paints which are to decorate the plaque4 ,art is a sprite whose acquaintance should be cultivated4 ,,ix4 ,,etching4 8,good etching is the poetry of drawing1 written down rapidly in short-hand40 ,no doubt many a very orderly mamma1 who has had a son or daughter afflicted with a mania for etching1 as so many young people are now1 has a vision of bath-tubs misappropriated to mixtures of what looked very unlike clear water for cleansing purposes1 and which turned out to have plates of copper inside waiting for a bite of acid4 ,such mammas will blame us for calling this a ,home ,amusement2 they call it--it is to be feared--8a ,nuisance40 ,and yet what form of ,art is so near the highest forms of poetry8 ,the etcher is next door to his subject and his public4 ,he has but the ink and himself between that cloud-shadow and them4 ,etching is defined by some writers as the stenography of artistic thought2 a system of short-hand writing4 ,given a copper plate1 an etching-needle1 and the proper knowledge--easily learned--of the action of the acid1 and etching can be done at home as well as crochet or embroidery2 and as only the simplest lines and the simplest curves are admissible1 the question of merit narrows itself to one of intelligent combination4 ,the best etching is that which combines the maximum of speed with the maximum of expressional clearness2 so that the landscape may be written on a 8monument less perishable than brass10 while the thought is fresh and vivid4 ,an artist can see in the short-hand of an etching the glory of a sunset amid its clouds4 ,highly-elaborated drawings can also be reproduced by etchings as in no other way1 as we have learned by consulting the ,magazines and ,art ,periodicals of the day2 and although a great etcher must have a genius for it1 many without genius can learn the art4 ,an etching is not a skeleton of a picture1 but a rsum4 ,samuel ,palmer1 ,frederic ,taylor1 and ,hook1 in ,england2 ,jules ,jacquemart1 ,flameny1 ,rajou1 ,boilvin1 ,le ,rat1 ,hdouin1 ,greux1 ,courtey1 ,laguillermie1 and others1 in ,france1 have taught us what a beautiful rsum it is1 not to speak of our own gifted interpreters4 ,the original etchers can produce strong sentiment concerning life and nature2 and although there is at first discouraging uncertainty about results1 yet there is a great chance of success4 ,and the capriciousness of the thing is one of its charms1 as it is1 like poetic expression1 dependable upon personal thought and feeling4 ,it is like the success which attends upon a happy hit in poetry when one makes a good etching1 yet a certain amount of mechanical exactitude can always be acquired4 ,let the boys and girls of a large family be taught etching1 and some one will turn out a clever and1 perhaps1 a first-rate etcher4 ,it is quite too unfortunate that our young girls in the country do not take more to sketching from ,nature1 and to water-color4 ,to sit at one's window1 and1 with a 8few telling touches10 to give the trees in the near foreground or the distant reach of the river1 is the every-day amusement of many an ,english lady4 ,our first efforts must be labored1 of course2 we must patiently observe and copy what we see2 but then comes the attainment of ease1 and our ,home ,amusements are infinitely enriched4 ,it is best to study at first in single tint until one gets accustomed to form1 and then to try varied colors4 ,the mastery of the three primary colors--yellow1 red1 and blue--is the ,alpha and ,omega of painting4 ,as force of color is only to be obtained by opposing one of these singly to all the others combined1 they are consequently all present whenever opposition occurs2 and no picture is perfectly pleasing without the presence of all three1 even though they may be subdued to the most solemn and sober undertones4 ,try the effect of mixing the various colors1 and preserve the mixtures you find most useful4 ,but this is an art which must be learned1 and for the elucidation of which we have no space here4 ,x4 ,,lawn ,,tennis4 ,and now we come to what1 perhaps1 our readers may imagine we might have come to before--the out-of-door ,games and ,amusements which radiate from ,home4 ,lawn ,tennis is so preminently the game of the present moment that we must give it a central place in our volume4 ,it has great antiquity1 of course4 ,what fashionable game has not8 ,did not ,agrippina play at croquet1 and ,cleopatra institute 8,les ,graces08 ,we know that ,diana started archery1 for isn't she always drawn with a bow8 ,and yet she died an old maid4 ,the ,greeks styled court tennis as 8,sphairistike10 and the ,romans called it ,pila4 ,it was the fashionable pastime of ,french and ,english kings4 ,charles ,v1 of ,france1 and ,henry ,v1 ,,vii1 and ,,viii1 of ,england1 were all good tennis players4 ,who does not remember the insult which the ,french king put upon royal ,harry8 8,tennis balls6 ,my lord80 ,it has been justly described as one of the most ancient games in ,christendom4 ,it became in ,england the exclusive sport of the wealthy1 owing to the expense of erecting and maintaining covered courts2 for in early days we learn that it was always played within doors4 ,indeed1 the history of ,france is full of it4 ,the unhappy ,charles ,,ix gave the order for the massacre of ,st4 ,bartholomew from a tennis court4 ,the ,french ,revolution was born in one4 ,but to ,major ,walter ,wingfield do we owe ,lawn ,tennis4 ,this officer1 of the ,first ,dragoon ,guards1 attempted1 unsuccessfully1 in #ahgd1 to procure a patent for a new game4 ,he had taken the net out of doors1 and no longer did four walls encompass the players4 ,a little pamphlet is in existence now which fully establishes the claim of this officer to the rightful title of inventor of lawn tennis4 ,it is called 8,the ,major's ,game of ,lawn ,tennis2 dedicated to the party assembled at ,nautelywdjin1 ,december1 #ahgc1 by ,w4 ,c4 ,w410 and is illustrated with an elaborate pictorial diagram1 containing a sketch of a lawn tennis court1 erected in a pretty garden4 ,the only difference appreciable to a modern player in the appearance of the court is that on one side it is divided into two squares1 and that on the other the server stands in a diamond-shaped space4 ,with slight exceptions1 the game remains as it did when ,major ,wingfield invented it4 ,now1 in #ahha1 as in the days of ,henry ,,iii1 of ,england 7about #abbb71 it is a favorite with people of superior rank1 well befitting the tastes of the nobility1 in the performance of which they could exercise a commendable zeal1 as also their whole physique2 that is to say1 it is the fashion4 ,the name undoubtedly comes from ,tennois1 in the ,french district of ,champagne1 where balls are manufactured1 and where1 it is claimed1 the game was first introduced4 ,a lawn1 well clipped and evenly rolled1 is the first requirement4 ,the courts should be laid rectangularly4 ,the game should be gotten up with reference to the wind1 the net being set at right angles with it4 ,thus will be avoided the tendency of air currents to carry the balls off or beyond the bounds2 and the play will be then against or with the wind4 ,in either case its influence can be more accurately calculated4 ,the lines of boundary and division should be indicated upon the greensward by means of whitewash1 carefully laid on with brush and string4 ,the larger or double court should be seventy-eight feet long by a width of thirty-six feet1 inside measure2 and the smaller or single-handed court seventy-eight by twenty-seven feet1 inside measurement4 ,as in the old game of tennis1 so in this1 the court is divided across the middle and at right angles to its greatest length by a net1 so stretched and fastened to and by two posts1 standing three feet outside of the side lines1 that the height of the net at each post for the double-handed or larger court is four feet1 and in the middle over the half-court line three feet six inches2 and for the single-handed or smaller court four feet nine inches at the posts1 and three feet in the middle over the half-court line4 ,these divisions are termed courts1 and are subdivided into half-courts by a line midway between the side lines1 and running parallel with the greatest length1 which is known as the half-court line4 ,the four resulting half-courts are respectively divided by a line on each side of the net1 parallel to and twenty-two feet from it4 ,these two lines1 called service lines1 it may be observed1 will then be seventeen feet inside of the lines of boundary for the short sides1 known as base lines4 ,the implements comprise net1 posts1 cordage1 balls1 and rackets4 ,the net should be taut1 the posts straight1 the ball hollow1 of ,india-rubber1 covered with white cloth2 in size1 two inches and a half2 weight1 two ounces4 ,the racket is made with a frame of elastic wood1 with a webbing nicely wrought of catgut4 ,the large-sized rackets made at ,philadelphia and in ,london are the best4 ,the players don a costume of flannel for the purpose1 wearing shoes of canvas with corrugated rubber soles1 without heels4 ,indeed1 a chapter might be written on lawn-tennis dresses1 aprons1 and other fancies4 ,but these--so they are loose and easy1 and not long or cumbrous--may be left to the fancy of the individual4 ,the choice of sides and the right of serving are left to the chance of toss1 with the proviso that if the winner of the toss choose the right to serve1 the other player shall have the choice of sides1 or vice versa4 ,there are double-handed1 three-handed1 and four-handed games1 each having some variations4 ,in the double-handed game the players stand on opposite sides of the net4 ,the player who first delivers the ball is called the server1 and the other the striker-out4 ,the first game having been played1 these interchange2 the server becomes the striker-out1 and the striker-out the server2 and so alternately in subsequent games of the set4 ,the server usually announces the intention to serve by the interrogation 8,ready80 ,if answered affirmatively1 the service is made1 the server standing with one foot outside the base line1 and from any part of the base line of the right and left counts alternately1 beginning with the right4 ,the ball so served is required to drop within the service line1 half-court line1 and side line of the court which is diagonally opposite to that from which it was served1 where the service from the base line must fall to be a service4 ,if the ball served drops on or beyond the service line1 if it drops in the net1 if it drops out of the court1 or on any of the lines which bound it1 or if it drops in the wrong court1 or1 if in attempting to serve1 the server fails to strike the ball1 it is a 8fault40 ,a fault can not be taken1 but the ball must be served the second time from the same court from which the fault was served4 ,though the service is made if the striker-out is not ready1 the service shall be repeated1 unless an attempt is made to return the service on the part of the striker-out2 which action shall be construed to be equivalent to having been ready4 ,no service is allowed to be 8volleyed02 that is1 the striker-out is not allowed to return a service while the ball is 8on the fly10 or before a 8bounce40 ,if such a return of service is made1 it counts a stroke for the server4 ,to properly return a service1 and have the ball in play1 the ball is to be played back over the net or between the posts before it has touched the ground a second time1 or while on the 8first bounce10 and is subject to no bounds other than the side and base lines of the court4 ,after the ball is in play1 it may be struck while 8on the fly10 but policy would dictate a bounce to determine whether or not it has been played beyond the boundaries of the court4 ,a ball served1 or in play1 may touch the net1 and be a good service or return4 ,if it touches the top cord it is termed a 8let10 a 8life10 or a 8net0 ball1 and need not be played if it drops just inside the net1 on the striker-out side1 but must be served again4 ,should it fall on the service side1 or in the wrong court on the striker-out side1 or out of bounds1 it counts a 8fault40 ,if1 however1 it falls so as to be a good return1 in any stage of the game other than service1 it must be played as a good ball4 ,in play1 if the striker-out volleys the service1 or the ball in play1 or fails to return the service or the ball in play1 or returns the service or the ball in play so that it drops untouched by the server1 on or outside of any of the lines which bound the court1 or if the striker-out otherwise loses a stroke1 as we will find presently1 when we consider the conditions common to both server and striker-out1 the server wins a stroke4 ,in the handling of the racket the greatest dexterity may be attained by careful study and practice4 ,the twist ball is a feature of the game which good players utilize to the greatest advantage4 ,the uncertainty of its bounces is calculated to outwit the most adroit4 ,since1 under certain conditions of failure on the part of the striker-out1 the advantage in count of a stroke comes to the server1 so1 too1 the striker-out reaps a harvest if the server serves two consecutive faults1 or if the server fails to return the ball in play1 or if the server returns the ball in play so that it drops untouched by the striker-out on or outside any of the lines which bound the court1 or if the server loses a stroke under conditions common to both server and striker-out1 in any of which cases the striker-out wins a stroke4 ,there are conditions under which each player loses a stroke3 ,if the service-ball1 or ball in play1 touches the player1 or anything worn or carried by him1 except the racket in the act of striking2 or if the player strikes or touches the service-ball1 or ball in play1 with the racket more than once2 or if in returning the service-ball1 or ball in play1 the player touches the net with any part of the body1 or with the racket1 or with anything that is worn or carried2 or if the ball touches either of the posts2 so if the player strikes the ball before it has passed the net1 or if the service-ball1 or ball in play1 drops or falls upon a ball lying in either of the players' courts4 ,so much for the conditions under which the players1 either server or striker-out1 win or lose a stroke4 ,as for scoring1 there are two systems1 each of which has its adherents4 ,both should be understood1 and the more thoroughly the player understands both1 the more at ease will he be in any company with whom he may be playing4 ,the first plan is this3 ,the first stroke won counts for the player1 winning a score of fifteen2 the second stroke won by the same player counts for that player an additional score of fifteen1 making a total of thirty2 the third stroke won counts for him an additional ten1 making the score forty4 ,unless there is a tie of forty1 the fourth stroke won by that player entitles him to score game4 ,if1 however1 both players have won three strokes1 the score is called deuce1 and so on until at the score of deuce either player wins two consecutive strokes1 when the game is scored for that player4 ,six games constitute a 8set10 and the player who first wins them wins the set1 unless in case both players win five games1 when the score is called 8games-all10 and the next game won by either player is scored advantage game for that player4 ,if the same player wins the next game he wins the set4 ,if he loses the next game1 the score is again called 8games-all02 and so on until at the score of games-all either player wins two consecutive games1 when he wins the set4 ,an exception to this is where an agreement is entered into not to play advantage sets1 but to decide the set by one game after arriving at the score of games-all4 ,in this mode of scoring both the server and the striker-out are entitled to count1 while in the 8alternative method0 it is different4 ,an alternative method of scoring is as follows1 in which the term 8hand-in0 is substituted for 8server10 and 8hand-out0 for 8striker-out40 ,in this system the hand-in alone is able to score4 ,if he loses a stroke he becomes hand-out1 and his opponent becomes hand-in1 and serves his turn4 ,fifteen points won constitutes the game4 ,if both players have won fourteen points1 the game is set to three1 and the score called 8love-all40 ,the hand-in continues to serve1 and the player who first scores three points wins the game4 ,if he or his partner loses a stroke1 the other side shall be hand-in4 ,during the remainder of the game1 when the first hand-in has been put out1 his partner shall serve1 beginning from the court from which the last service was not delivered1 and when both partners have been put out1 then the other side shall be hand-in4 ,the hand-in shall deliver the service in accordance with the restrictions mentioned for the server1 and the opponents shall receive the service alternately1 each keeping the court which he originally occupied4 ,in all subsequent strokes the ball may be returned by either partner on each side4 ,the privilege of being hand-in two or more successive times may be given4 ,what has been said of double-handed games applies equally well to the three-handed and four-handed games1 except that in the three-handed game the single player shall serve in every alternate game2 in the four-handed game the pair who have the right to serve in the first game may decide which partner shall do so1 and the opposing pair may decide similarly for the second game4 ,the partner of the player who served in the first game shall serve in the third1 and the partner of the player who served in the second game shall serve in the fourth1 and so on4 ,in the same order1 in all the subsequent games of a set or series of sets1 the players shall take the service alternately throughout each game4 ,no player shall receive or return a service delivered to his partner2 and the order of service and of striking-out once arranged1 shall not be altered2 nor shall the strikers-out change courts to receive the service before the end of the set4 ,the players change sides at the end of every set4 ,when a series of sets is played1 the player who was server in the last game of one set shall be striker-out in the first game of the next4 ,a ,bisque is one stroke which may be claimed by the receiver of the odds at any time during a set1 except that a bisque may not be taken after the service has been delivered4 ,the server may not take a bisque after a fault1 but the striker-out may do so4 ,one or more bisques may be given in augmentation or diminution of other odds4 ,half-fifteen is one stroke given at the beginning of the second and every subsequent alternate game of a set4 ,fifteen is one stroke given at the beginning of every game of a set4 ,half-thirty is one stroke given at the beginning of the first game1 two strokes given at the beginning of the second game1 and so on alternately in all the subsequent games of a set4 ,thirty is two strokes given at the beginning of every game of a set4 ,half-forty is two strokes given at the beginning of the first game1 three strokes at the beginning of the second1 and so on alternately in all the subsequent games of the set4 ,forty is three strokes given at the beginning of every game of a set4 ,half-court is when the players having agreed into which court the giver of the odds of half-court shall play1 the latter loses a stroke if the ball returned by him drops outside any of the lines which bound that court4 ,if the game is to be umpired1 there should be one for each side of the net1 who shall call play at the beginning of a game1 enforce the rules1 and be sole judge of fair and unfair play1 each on his respective side of the net4 ,we have followed the best manual and the best opinions of the most successful players in the above lengthy abstract for the use of many who may be confused by the very absurd and contradictory rules published in the newspapers4 ,these rules of ours are those which were used at ,newport1 at the ,casino1 during the famous ,lawn ,tournament of #ahhj1 which was so very interesting1 and in which the victors were rewarded by prizes1 from ,mr4 ,bennett1 of silver pitchers1 bracelets1 and rings of great value2 and which shows that the game of lawn tennis deserved the high encomiums pronounced by ,henry ,,iii on court tennis4 ,it is a game of science2 it does exercise every part of the body2 and it requires skill1 good temper1 staying power1 judgment1 and activity4 ,of course1 few groups at home will play with the science and skill displayed in these tournaments2 yet the rules of the game should be thoroughly learned1 and those who play scientifically will avoid those contentions and disputes which spoil any game4 ,it is better in giving a lawn-tennis party not to invite any but those who really are devotees of the game4 ,as to others1 the absorption of the players makes the party stupid4 ,,xi4 ,,garden ,,parties4 ,a ,garden ,party is a scene of enchantment1 to which the lawn-tennis net lends an additional grace and variety4 ,a lady1 living near a city1 who chooses to inaugurate the season with a garden party1 sends her invitations a week in advance1 and carefully incloses a card telling her guests by what roads1 railway trains1 and boats she may be reached4 ,there must be no confusion or lack of carriages at the end of the route4 ,this hospitality must cover everything4 ,if the weather is fine and the distance short1 ladies generally drive to these entertainments in gay dresses and bonnets or hats2 for a garden party should look as much like a ,watteau as possible4 ,those who have had the advantage of seeing a garden party in ,england--at ,holland ,house1 or at ,buckingham ,palace--will remember how beautiful1 finished1 and gay a scene it is4 ,a dressy parasol and a fan hung at the side are indispensable4 ,ladies go either in the short ,amazonian dresses which the practice of games has made so fashionable1 or else in ,worth's last and most elegant trailing costumes1 trusting to the grass being dry1 and knowing that they can sit on the piazza4 ,most garden-party givers provide band music1 which plays either in the grand hall1 or at some spot on the lawn where dancing can go on4 ,but our turf is not like the ,english turf1 and modern dancing is not that springing measure of 8young ,bertine10 as she bounds under the walnut-trees of ,southern ,france4 ,so we can not count in dancing as one of the usual pleasures of a garden party1 unless a broad platform is laid2 and this has in its way a very pretty effect under the trees or in a large tent4 ,a garden party is for all ages2 so there should be in our uncertain climate full provision for the elderly1 who can not always spend an afternoon on the lawn4 ,broad piazzas are very useful1 and much enjoyed by those who fear our treacherous malarious soil2 and if one can not exercise1 it is better to sit on a piazza than on the grass4 ,as it is always prone to rain at picnics and garden parties1 it is better to have the refreshments in the house4 ,gentlemen can run into the banquet-hall and get a plate of lobster-salad for a lady1 or the waiters can carry the refreshments about2 but for a sudden shower of rain to descend on a table is miserable1 and defeats the object of the table4 ,the lady of the house1 however1 often improvises a hasty roof or covering for her table1 put up by the carpenter at a small outlay1 if she is determined to have everything al fresco4 ,frozen coffee1 iced tea1 punch1 ice-cream croquets1 salads1 jellies1 pressed turkey1 potted meats1 pt de foie gras1 and sandwiches1 are spread about4 ,do not attempt any hot dishes at a garden party2 they are out of place1 and impossible4 ,the garden party is said to be 8the first hybrid which unites society and nature40 ,it is a growing taste with us ,americans1 and will grow to be a greater favorite as time goes on4 ,the popularity of the game of archery1 that relic of ,robin ,hood and ,maid ,marion1 8that vision of ,lincoln green10 is now added to lawn tennis1 croquet1 and 8les ,graces10 as one of the most popular features of a garden party4 ,one would think that there was nothing needed but the long sweep of the trees upon the lawn1 the vision of the distant city1 the flower-beds where geraniums and calceolaria vie in color1 the 8pleached alley10 the buttercup in the grass1 the ,watteau-like picture1 or groups of gay ladies and gallant cavaliers causing 8unpremeditated effects0 to make the garden party agreeable4 ,but there is always a need of preparation for such a party4 ,no lady should trust alone to the power of her guests to amuse themselves4 ,she must do all that she can4 ,in the country a lady can wait for a day of fine weather1 and invite her guests only the day before4 ,the grounds and garden walks1 the lawn tennis1 the archery1 should all be in order1 and a few chairs out under the trees4 ,it is not long before all her guests begin to enjoy themselves in their own way1 and to appreciate how much better a room is made by the ,gothic arch of the trees than by any sort of cramped-up house arrangement4 ,one can be more general in the invitations to a garden party than to any other2 for if people like each other they can group together1 and if they do not1 they can easily walk apart1 and get rid of each other4 ,in a small room1 particularly at a dinner party1 how two people can glow and glare at each other1 to the dreadful dismay of the hostess6 ,but at a garden party ,nature is too wide for them4 ,they are almost obliged to seem amused whether they are or not4 ,if not at all amused1 they can1 however1 go and sulk under the lilacs4 ,those fragrant vegetables will not care whether the guests sulk or smile4 ,every country house has its charms4 ,how lovely a garden party can be given at the ,locusts1 when all those trees are in flower1 sending down the perfume of ,araby the ,blest6 ,how the perfume reminds one of ,st4 ,john's ,gardens1 ,oxford1 when the lime-trees are in bloom1 and every bough is laden with wild bees who make a music as they sip6 ,a flowering tree is the most perfect thing which ,adam and ,eve saved from ,paradise4 ,one seems1 in inhaling its fragrance1 to have just recovered from a long illness4 ,the best part of a spring or early summer garden party is this first whiff of fragrance which is brought to the disused or insulted nostril of the city4 ,we little know until then how the most aristocratic of the senses has been wronged4 ,we are always1 and all of us1 most patient over our city bad smells until we go into the country and realize what a bath of delicious odors a forest is--a bit of woodland1 a field of growing grass1 one sweet cherry-tree1 an apple-blossom1 a violet6 ,the perfume of lilacs is the perfume of luxury2 and the first scythe of the mower1 as it sweeps through the young blood of the grass1 reveals a thousand scent-bottles all uncorked for our use4 ,a lady in giving a garden party should always have a bundle of new-mown hay somewhere about the grounds4 ,and at the garden party what may not those who sit on the benches remember8 ,all the sprightly1 frivolous1 charming figures who seem to have posed for us at garden parties in ,france6 ,philippe d',orlans and ,la ,phalaris2 the ,duc de ,richelieu and the ,abbess de ,chelles2 ,watteau1 ,voltaire1 ,carmargo2 ,louis ,,xv1 with ,pompadour and ,du ,barry2 ,boucher and ,vanloo2 ,greuze1 ,voisenon1 and ,bernis2 ,guimaud and ,sophie ,arnould2 ,crbillon1 the tragic1 and ,dancourt1 the gay6 ,what a faithful study of naiads and hamadryads did the beautiful women of these days suggest to the artists at those garden parties when1 toward the end of spring1 the trees were in blossom1 and the enameled grass carpeted the parks6 ,madame de ,pompadour asked ,louis ,,xv to come and see her hermitage6 ,venus1 ,hebe1 ,diana the huntress1 the three ,graces--all were in order6 ,the garden itself a masterpiece of attraction--a wood1 rather than a garden--a wood peopled with statues1 formed of verdant and odorous arcades1 of charming groves1 of dark1 shaded retreats4 ,such was the ,parc aux ,cerfs4 ,we think again of the rose-tree of ,jean ,jacques at the hermitage4 ,we remember ,dufresny1 who 8studied love in his heart1 grandeur at the court1 war upon the field of battle1 architecture in the erection of buildings1 nature in his garden1 music in song40 ,dufresny was in love with gardens4 ,a poet1 a friend of ,louis ,,xiv1 he loved roses better than any other luxury4 ,it was he who broke up the stiff1 old-fashioned plan of gardening at ,vincennes1 and introduced ,nature with her charming caprices and fairy fantasies4 ,it was he who said1 8,cultivating roses1 marking out paths1 planting hedges1 is the same as writing sonnets1 songs1 and poems40 ,in his day a picturesque garden was often called 8 la ,dufresny40 ,under his rule ,versailles became what it is4 8,i shall never be poor while ,i have a garden60 said he to the ,king4 8,i find there the green vine-tendrils1 or the roses1 for a crown40 ,to him verdant prospects were real terrestrial paradises4 ,we can remember how the boy ,florian gathered cherries1 and forgot his ,greek and ,latin6 ,we remember him1 in ,voltaire's garden1 naming the poppies after the faithless ,trojans4 ,the most beautiful he called 8,hector10 and then demolished him with a blow from his wooden sword4 ,later1 when he had grown up1 still wandering in gardens1 he wrote his eclogues1 poems1 dramas1 fables1 and 8,numa ,pompilius40 ,his style has all the tender freshness1 the brilliancy1 the perfume1 the clear color1 of a 8garden party40 ,it is an idyl of primroses and dandelions4 ,we hardly think of ,buffon at a garden party4 7,when ,voltaire heard of his 8,natural ,history0--8,not so natural10 said the great wit47 ,the laborious and tranquil life of the great author of the 8,garden of ,plants0 seems out of place at a garden party1 and yet he lived and wrote in a garden4 ,he submitted ,nature to a crucible1 and tore a lily to pieces to see of what it was made2 and yet he brought together the flowers and trees of all nations4 ,we admire1 but do not love ,buffon4 ,we cross the ,channel and see1 in imagination1 the ,princess ,anne with ,lady ,castlemaine and ,miss ,stuart1 ,lady ,churchill1 and all their friends1 loftily walking in the groves and alleys of ,spring ,gardens1 emerging into ,st4 ,james's ,park4 ,the glories of ,bird-,cage ,walk come back to us4 ,from these models did ,colley ,cibber get his 8,lady ,betty ,modish10 and what a pretty1 stylish1 affected model it was6 ,lovely ,lady ,fitzhardinge was of the ,princess's party1 and later1 when ,lady ,churchill became ,duchess of ,marlborough1 what garden parties at ,blenheim6 ,a garden party always brings back ,lady ,mary ,wortley ,montague1 who left many an account of those stately old-time gardens at ,rome1 ,florence1 ,naples1 ,genoa1 ,avignon--not to speak of the early adventures at ,twickenham1 and later at ,strawberry ,hill4 ,all ,england is a garden4 ,the garden party is possible anywhere4 ,and the beautiful ,duchess of ,devonshire and ,mrs4 ,crewe6 ,how they adorn a garden party6 ,we almost see the splendid cream-colored horses of ,george ,,iii drive up past ,carleton ,gardens1 to proceed in solemn state to ,st4 ,james's1 as we hear the low1 rippling laughter of the two beauties in brocade4 ,the ,prince of ,wales forgot his two hundred thousand pounds of debts as he received the ,buffs and ,blues at a garden party1 which began at noon and continued all night1 at ,carleton ,house4 ,the ,duchess of ,devonshire was then lady paramount of the aristocratic whig circles1 in which rank and literature were blended with political aspirations4 ,it was she who canvassed for ,fox1 and allowed the butcher to kiss her for his vote2 and to her was paid the compliment1 highly prized1 by the link-boy who asked if he 8might light his pipe at her eyes40 ,these women seem to have lived in garden parties4 ,sweet ,madame de ,svign1 with her children1 at ,les ,rochers1 and later at ,paris1 talking gayly under the trees of her garden1 with ,corneille1 ,racine1 ,molire1 ,la ,fontaine1 and ,boileau1 again wins us back across the ,channel1 and back a hundred years or so4 ,garden parties have this advantage3 they are like ,madame de ,stal's age--8not dated40 ,they are of all time4 ,madame de ,svign's garden party comprised ,pascal1 ,bourdaloue1 ,mascaron1 ,bossuet1 the restless ,de ,retz1 the ,scotchman ,montrose1 ,la ,rochefoucauld1 ,marshal ,turenne1 ,le ,grand ,colbert1 and ,cond4 ,the ladies were the ,duchess de ,longueville1 the political intrigante of the ,fronde2 the penitent ,la ,vallire2 the heartless ,maintenon2 ,madame de ,montespan2 the ,comtesse d',olonne1 daughter of ,madame de ,rambouillet1 and one of the ,prcieuses2 ,madame de ,la ,fayette1 the authoress of 8,zaide40 ,alas1 and alas6 we could not get together such a garden party of to-day6 ,no6 not if we had a fortnight's time before us1 and all the wealth of the ,indies4 ,madame de ,svign was that delightful combination--a beauty1 a wit1 and a femme d'esprit4 ,as an instance of the flattery to which even genius stooped in speaking to a monarch who loved flattery and adulation more than anything1 she relates an answer made by ,racine to ,louis ,,xiv when that sovereign expressed his regret that the poet had not accompanied the army in its last campaign4 8,sire10 said ,racine1 8we had none but town-clothes1 and had ordered others to be made2 but the places you attacked were all taken before they could be finished40 8,this10 adds ,madame de ,svign1 8was well received40 ,it is in her famous correspondence with her daughter that we find many an account of a garden party1 or a fte1 which we should gladly have seen1 and which at our own garden parties we are glad to remember4 ,her letters contain much talk on books1 religion1 philosophy1 and politics2 on the frowns and smiles of the great monarch2 the favor accorded to this courtier1 the disgrace of that2 the marriage contracted1 the bons mots circulated4 ,but it is upon society that she is strongest4 ,she loved nature1 too1 in a ,frenchwoman's way4 ,when she walked the garden of her uncle1 the ,abb1 at ,livry1 or far away in the solitudes of ,brittany1 she rejoiced in the song of the nightingale1 in the change of the leaf1 in the glad freshness of the air4 ,she is a poet1 without meaning it4 ,her garden-party letters are her best letters4 ,very stately must have been those garden parties at ,wilton1 when ,ben ,jonson and ,philip ,massinger afforded amusement to the intellectual great4 ,the ,masque1 an entertainment of the rich and noble in the time of ,elizabeth and ,james ,i1 called out the powers of these men4 ,the actors were people of the highest class1 sometimes royal personages1 the masques always in the open air4 ,dancing and music were introduced4 ,these various actors learned their parts under the tutorship of the ,master of the ,revels4 ,lawes composed music1 to which the poetry of ,jonson was sung2 and the scenes1 decorations1 and dresses were contrived and executed by ,inigo ,jones4 ,certain great families copied the example of the court1 and ordered masques to be written1 and played at their own country-seats2 calling in for the choruses the children of the ,chapel ,royal1 who were regularly trained to take their part in masques4 ,at ,wilton1 at ,belvoir ,castle1 at ,whitehall1 at ,windsor1 these charming but costly diversions were carried on4 ,ben ,jonson might have been heard scolding and working over these garden parties at the house of the beautiful ,mary ,sidney1 sister to the author of the 8,arcadia10 who was afterward ,countess of ,pembroke4 ,she often gave these entertainments at ,wilton4 ,she there received ,queen ,elizabeth1 ,walter ,raleigh1 the ,earl of ,essex1 ,will ,shakespeare1 ,spenser1 and ,cecil4 ,philip ,massinger was in her servants' hall1 a humble retainer4 ,the pious ,countess1 for her solemn hours1 had ,dr4 ,donne1 most devoted of servitors4 ,the death of her noble brother1 ,philip ,sidney1 broke her heart1 and there were no more garden parties at ,wilton4 ,we all know how ,walter ,scott has described these garden parties in 8,kenilworth40 ,indeed1 they make us rather out of love with our later attempts4 ,once in our own land a masque was attempted1 the famous ,mischianza of ,major ,andr1 on the ,delaware1 at ,philadelphia4 ,had not he and ,arnold gone out together in that rather sad way1 we might like to tell of that garden party1 but we will skip it4 ,after all1 man was born1 the race was started1 in a garden4 ,adam and ,eve held the first garden party4 ,what a pity that the serpent crawled in6 ,,xii4 ,,dancing4 ,dancing is so well known to all young people as a ,home ,amusement that it seems perhaps banale to describe it4 ,a glance at the dances now fashionable may1 however1 not be out of place4 ,from the ,virginia ,reel to the ,german ,cotillon is indeed a bound4 ,our grandfathers were taught to dance the ,pirouette1 the delicate ,pigeon-wing--indeed1 all the paces of the dance such as it was when ,vestris bounded before ,louis ,,xvi4 ,when commanded to dance before him1 the dancer loftily replied3 8,the ,house of ,vestris has always danced for that of ,bourbon40 ,dancing then was an accomplishment4 ,who does not recollect seeing some grandfather still 8taking his steps08 ,now at the most is permitted the ,galop1 which has the needed element of jollity without coarseness4 ,it is l'allegro of the ballroom4 ,the ,gambrinus ,polka also lights up the ballroom occasionally4 ,with these vivacious exceptions1 dancing is reduced to the ,waltz--la valse trois temps--the various steps of which consist of the ,hop-,waltz1 the ,glide-,waltz1 the ,redowa1 and the ,waltz proper4 ,the ,boston 8,dip10 the 8,racket10 and the 8,society10 are spurious4 ,they are not taught by the best dancing masters4 ,they are 8rowdy10 but some people1 desirous of notoriety1 do dance them at the ,charity ,ball4 ,as a famous dancing authority observes1 8,did such a style of dancing prevail1 dancing must go down2 its enemies would have unanswerable arguments against it40 ,the dance of society is now quiet1 easy1 natural1 modest1 and graceful4 ,those who would make it otherwise must remember that they are copying the excesses of the ,bal ,mabille4 ,the spurious dances mentioned above are ridiculed in 8,punch0 as the 8pivotal0 dances4 ,the ,redowa is a pretty form of the ,waltz4 ,it is composed of a step known as the pas de basque4 ,its movements are indicated as a fte gliss and a coup dessous2 the feet1 however1 are never raised from the floor4 ,the ,galop is a great favorite with the ,swedes1 ,danes1 and ,russians2 it has a ,viking force in it2 while the ,redowa reminds one of the graceful ,viennese1 who dance it so well4 ,the ,mazourka1 danced to the wild ,polish ,mazourka measure1 is a more poetical dance1 and has many a poem written to its honor2 but it rarely appears seen at a fancy-dress ball4 ,the ,german ,cotillon1 born many years ago in a ,viennese palace to meet the requirements of court etiquette1 is now the favorite dance at home and at balls1 as a way of finishing the evening4 ,its favors1 beginning with flowers1 ribbons1 and bits of tinsel1 have ripened into fans1 bracelets1 gold scarf-pins1 and pencil-cases1 and many other things even more expensive4 ,favors now often cost #e1jjj for one fashionable ball4 ,so the ,german1 thus conducted1 can scarcely be called a ,home ,amusement4 ,to dance by the firelight to the music of the piano is a ,home ,amusement4 ,and if there be a good old kitchen1 with a hard floor1 into which a negro fiddler can be introduced1 and where the contra-danse can be also added1 and the evening can end with ,virginia ,reel--this is a ,home ,amusement4 ,the old-fashioned quadrilles1 the ,lancers--dances in which old and young can join--these are home dances6 8,there is something so conscientious about papa's dancing10 said a profane youth who was watching his estimable parent through the decidedly complicated mazes of ,money ,musk4 ,youth will always laugh at age when it attempts the accomplishments4 ,that is a real dance1 however1 when papa1 mamma1 and the children all join in1 and when ,jane1 aged seven1 leads out grandpa4 ,how ,dickens luxuriates in ,mr4 ,fizziwig's dancing at the ,christmas supper in the 8,christmas ,carol06 ,dickens could never have made the 8,german0 so pathetic or so funny6 ,all fashion polishes off the edges1 and causes an aristocratic icing to form over the outside of any expression of jollity2 so no wonder that fashionable dancing has become a gliss4 ,it would not be well to attempt any gay dancing at a fashionable ball--that would look like romping2 but surely in the old kitchen1 in the private parlor1 at ,christmas1 on birthdays1 one is allowed to romp a little4 ,the ,german is a dance of infinite variety1 and a leader of original fancy constructs new figures constantly4 ,the ,waltz1 ,galop1 ,redowa1 and ,polka steps occur in its many changes4 ,there is a slow walk in the quadrille figures2 a stately march2 the bows and courtesies of the old minuet2 and1 above all1 the tour de valse1 which is the means of locomotion from place to place4 ,the changeful exigencies of the various figures lead the forty or fifty or the two hundred people to meet1 exchange greetings1 dance with each other1 change their geographical position many times2 and the ,grand ,army of the ,republic did not have a more varied scope4 ,the ,kaleidoscope is one of the prettiest figures4 ,the four couples perform a tour de valse1 then form as for a quadrille2 the next four couples in order take positions behind the first four couples1 each of the latter couples facing the same as the couples in front4 ,at a signal from the leader1 the ladies of the inner couples cross right hands1 move entirely round1 and turn into places by giving left hands to their partners2 at the same time the outer couples waltz half round to opposite places4 ,at another signal1 the inner couples waltz entirely round1 and finish facing outward2 at the same time the outer couples chass crois1 and turn at corners with right hands1 then dechass1 and turn partners with left hands4 ,valse gnrale with vis--vis4 ,another pretty figure is ,la ,corbeille1 l',anneau1 et la ,fleur4 ,the first couple performs a tour de valse1 after which the gentleman presents the lady with a little basket containing a ring and a flower1 then resumes his seat4 ,the lady presents the ring to one gentleman1 the flower to another1 and the basket to a third4 ,the gentleman to whom she presents the ring selects a partner for himself2 the gentleman who receives the flower dances with the lady who presents it1 while the other gentleman holds the basket in his hand and dances alone4 ,counterpart for the others in their order4 ,le ,miroir is another very pretty figure4 ,the first couple performs a tour de valse4 ,the gentleman seats his lady upon a chair in the middle of the room1 and presents her with a small mirror4 ,the leader then selects a gentleman from the circle1 and conducts him behind her chair4 ,the lady looks in the mirror1 and if she decline the partner offered1 by turning the mirror over or shaking her head1 the leader continues to offer partners until the lady accepts4 ,the gentlemen refused return to their seats1 or select partners and join in the valse4 ,le ,cavalier ,tromp is another favorite figure4 ,five or six couples perform a tour de valse4 ,they afterward place themselves in ranks of two1 one couple behind the other4 ,the lady of the first gentleman leaves him1 and seeks a gentleman of another column4 ,while this is going on1 the first gentleman must not look behind him4 ,the first lady and the gentleman whom she has selected separate and advance on tiptoe on each side of the column1 in order to deceive the gentleman at the head1 and endeavor to join each other for a waltz4 ,if the first gentleman is fortunate enough to seize his lady1 he leads off in a waltz4 ,if not1 he must remain at his post until he is able to take a lady4 ,the last gentleman remaining dances with the last lady4 ,les ,chanes ,continues is another good figure4 ,the first four couples perform a tour de valse4 ,each gentleman chooses a lady1 and each lady a gentleman4 ,the gentlemen place themselves in line1 and the ladies form a line opposite4 ,the first gentleman on the left gives his right hand to the right hand of his lady1 and turns entirely around with her4 ,he gives his left hand to the left hand of the next lady1 while his lady does the same with the next gentleman4 ,the gentleman and lady again meet1 and turn with right hands1 and then turn with left hands the third lady and gentleman1 and so on to the last couple4 ,as soon as the leader and his lady reach the fourth couple1 the second couple should start1 so that there may be a continuous chain between the ladies and gentlemen4 ,when all have regained their original places in line1 they terminate the figure by a tour de valse4 ,a very pretty figure1 and easily furnished1 is called ,les ,drapeaux4 ,five or six duplicate sets of small flags of national or fancy devices must be in readiness4 ,the leader takes a flag of each pattern1 and his lady the duplicates2 they perform a tour de valse4 ,the conductor then presents his flags to five or six ladies1 and his lady presents the corresponding flags to as many gentlemen4 ,the gentlemen then seek the ladies having the duplicates1 and with them perform a tour de valse1 waving the flags as they dance4 ,repeated by all the couples4 ,another of the favorite combinations is ,les ,rubans4 ,six ribbons1 each about a yard in length1 and of various colors1 are attached to one end of a stick about twenty-four inches in length2 also a duplicate set of ribbons1 attached to another stick1 must be in readiness4 ,the first couple perform a tour de valse1 and then separate4 ,the gentleman takes one set of ribbons1 and stops successively in front of the ladies whom he desires to select to take part in the figure4 ,each of these ladies rises1 and takes hold of the loose end of a ribbon4 ,the first lady takes the other set of ribbons1 bringing forward six gentlemen in the same manner4 ,the first couple conduct the ladies and gentlemen toward each other1 and each gentleman dances with the lady holding the ribbon duplicate of his own4 ,the first gentleman dances with his partner4 ,the figure is repeated by the other couples in their order4 ,to give a ,german1 a lady should have all the furniture removed from her parlors1 a crash spread over the carpet1 and a set of folding-chairs introduced for the couples to sit in4 ,the great trouble of this proceeding is what has led to the giving of ,germans1 in large cities1 at private balls or in public places4 ,it is considered that all taking part in a ,german are formally introduced1 and upon no condition whatever must a lady1 so long as she remains in the ,german1 refuse to dance with any gentleman whom she may chance to receive as a partner4 ,every ,american must learn that he should speak to every one whom he meets in a friend's house1 if necessary1 without an introduction1 as the friend's house is an introduction4 ,so in the ,german1 the very fact that guests are there is an introduction4 ,in taking a review of the ,german we may as well say that1 in a country house1 the making of the favors is a very pretty amusement4 ,the ribbons are easily bought at the village store4 ,the same gold-paper and tinsel which furnishes forth the private theatricals will do for the orders and insignia1 and the prettiest bouquets come from the garden4 ,these hastily-improvised home ,germans are very amusing and very pretty4 ,the laws of the ,german are1 however1 so strict1 and so tiresome occasionally1 that a good many parties have abjured it1 and now dance some of its figures without a leader1 and as sporadic attempts4 ,a leader for the ,german needs many of the same qualities as the leader of an army4 ,he must have a comprehensive glance1 a quick ear and eye1 and a very great belief in himself4 ,he must have the talent of command1 and make himself seen and felt4 ,he must be full of resource and quick-witted4 ,with all these qualities he must have tact4 ,it is no easy matter to get two hundred dancers into all sorts of combinations1 to get them out of it1 to offend nobody1 but to produce that elegant kaleidoscope which we call 8the ,german40 ,the term tour de valse is used technically1 meaning that the couple or couples performing it will execute the round dance designated by the leader once around the room4 ,should the room be small1 they make a second tour4 ,after the introductory tour de valse1 care must be taken by those who perform it not to select ladies and gentlemen from each other1 but from among those who are seated4 ,when the leader claps his hands to warn those who are prolonging the valse1 they must immediately cease dancing4 ,the religious objection to dancing having almost died out1 we recommend all parents to have their children taught to dance4 ,it is a necessary thing toward physical culture4 ,it is the most embarrassing thing for a man later in life to find himself without the grace which dancing brings4 ,nothing contributes so much to ,home ,amusement as the informal dance4 ,nothing can be more innocent4 ,if1 in after-life1 this accomplishment leads to late hours and to reckless love of pleasure1 we must remember that all good things can be abused4 ,,xiii4 ,,gardens ,,and ,,flower-,,stands4 ,the making of gardens is decidedly and judiciously conceded to be a ,home ,amusement1 and it is a pity that the new fashion of bedding-out plants1 which is so beautiful in our public parks and in the pleasure grounds of the rich1 should have seemed to so utterly do away with a taste for the old-fashioned gardens of early ,english poetry--of ,miss ,mitford1 of every sweet ,new ,england dame of the early days1 who had her garden1 with its 8pretty posies10 and its bed of sweet marjoram1 lavender1 and sage4 ,it is1 however1 a hopeful sign to see in remote country towns some effort to keep up the old-fashioned idea of a pretty flower-plot1 and there are always women who have the gift of making flowers 8blow0 and grow in a quiet way4 ,yet science can help to bring the old-fashioned garden to perfection1 as well as to make those artificial beds of many-leaved coleus1 and steadier groups4 ,every garden design1 every project of garden furnishing1 and every item of garden work1 should be governed by this consideration1 that it is hard work to fight against ,nature1 and there is seldom thus a conquest worth obtaining4 ,aim modestly to gain a victory over the easily-cultivated native flowers at first1 and you will secure enjoyment4 ,fortunately1 if gardening is pursued with earnestness1 every soil and every climate will be found to produce some flowers in rare beauty and in unexpected luxuriance4 ,geometric plans1 if well carried out1 are very pretty1 and the amateur gardener should learn to mass her geraniums1 petunias1 and pansies1 her gladioli1 roses1 marigolds1 and poppies1 so as to give a good and really splendid result of color4 ,nature takes care to send us delicate1 pale yellows and lilacs in ,spring in her sweet daffy-down-dilly1 and the elegant fleurs-de-lis2 and the peonies come on mildly with pink and white before they dash into red4 ,then come the ,turkish carpets of the portulaca1 and so on until midsummer blazes with poppies1 gladioli1 and all the gorgeous zinnias4 ,these may all be found in the commonest garden1 without mentioning the larkspur1 the mignonette1 the petunia and the sweet-pea1 and a thousand other charming common flowers4 ,the delightful flowers which sow themselves1 and those hardy bulbs1 the crocus1 tulip1 lily of the valley1 snowdrop1 and hyacinth1 should not be neglected4 ,a quantity of white-lily bulbs stowed away in the garden reward one year after year with their elegant flowers and fragrance at no cost whatever4 ,pansies1 daisies1 and polyanthus keep from season to season1 and carnation pinks need to be two years old before they will blossom1 while the chrysanthemums make the garden gay in ,october4 ,now for borders to the garden beds4 ,common grass is the best and easiest1 as the gardener's boy can cut it with a sickle each week and keep it from spreading4 ,or the little1 cheap mosses make a pretty border1 as does the periwinkle1 which looks so like myrtle4 ,to attempt a border of the gorgeous coleus requires a hothouse and an accomplished gardener4 ,in the common large country garden rows of hollyhocks1 as against a stone wall1 or marking out the long walks1 are most ornamental4 ,dahlias also are very good in groups4 ,phlox1 that much-abused plant1 is also pretty in masses4 ,asters too1 of many varieties1 delight the eye1 and are easy of culture4 ,in trying to raise shrubs1 why not take the ,american wild pink1 or azalea1 the laurel and the rhododendron1 and1 by studying up their habits1 capture them8 ,the best soil for the rhododendron is a peat containing much sand and much vegetable fiber4 ,any clean1 pulverized product of vegetable decay will like them4 ,it is their native food4 ,the laurel is capricious1 and resents the act of transplantation2 but they will flourish if planted thick enough4 ,they love company1 and thrive in it4 ,the best way to treat them is to study their quality1 and to give them the same conditions which made them grow so luxuriantly on the hill-side4 ,but if even these plants resist you1 every lady loves a rosarium1 and it will go hard with her but she has a rose garden somewhere4 ,the gardeners now sell one hundred rose roots for a dollar1 at ,rochester1 and if planted out and attended to they give a million of dollars in pleasure back again4 ,some ladies understand budding1 and this is a very interesting process4 ,in this way an army of sweetbriers can be covered with yellow ,marshal ,neills and royal ,jacqueminots4 ,to propagate by layers is1 however1 the easiest way1 if1 indeed1 one does not prefer to buy them all started4 ,for garden roses we need vigorous growers that are sure to flower freely1 and will contribute to the gayety of the garden4 ,one of the best--the old-fashioned damask--if set out well1 will blossom for thirty years4 ,a very effective garden of roses is produced by roses pegged down4 ,a deep1 rather rich1 loamy soil is to be prepared1 the position selected being rather open4 ,when the plants are about a foot high peg down the strongest growths4 ,the rose prefers a firm soil4 ,those who desire to have firm blooms the second season must cut off a few inches of the flowering wood as soon as the first bloom is over1 and give the beds a thorough soaking of manure or sewage-water every third or fourth day4 ,but in this1 as in every sort of cultivation of an especial flower1 one should buy an especial treatise on the subject4 ,every lady gardener is troubled by insect pests--the horrid green canker-worm1 the little green louse1 the potato-bug2 these are everywhere4 ,one fights them with all sorts of powders and all sorts of syringes4 ,one very simple cure is not generally known4 ,it is to plant a lettuce beside your rose2 the vermin prefers the lettuce4 ,it is the same principle which induced the rich owner of a wine-cellar to put a barrel of whisky beside his best ,madeira2 the whisky went1 but the ,madeira stayed4 ,dirty flower-pots1 filled with dry moss1 put in the neighborhood1 will catch large numbers of these gentry1 for vermin are fond of dirt4 ,dusting with powdered lime1 or sulphurized tobacco-dust1 will kill the insects which destroy the asters4 ,lettuces also save the asters1 and a bed of green lettuce is not an ugly 8bedding-out0 plant4 ,no manure is so good as that common rotted vegetation of the forest4 ,bring a pailful home from every drive1 and it will make your flowers grow4 ,nothing1 also1 so good as this for that lovely flower1 the pansy1 which thus recalls its early start in the forest1 ,the pansy does not require much water1 but in very hot1 dry weather the beds should be sprinkled at night with a watering-pot4 ,but these few directions may seem impertinent1 as every lady has now the most ample means of reading up about her garden4 ,the cultivation of a few flowers in the house--window gardening--is by far the more essentially a ,home ,amusement4 ,and1 as almost everybody has once bought a lot of greenhouse plants but to see them fade before her eyes1 we recommend to all to either raise a slip from the root or to start very young plants in a dark room4 ,thus accustomed to the atmosphere of the house they are to live in1 they do sometimes live4 ,the hardier roses1 the calla-lily1 all the geraniums 7useful dear creatures71 the violets and the pinks1 grow well in the house4 ,hanging pots of calceolarias and healthy primroses are also possible4 ,some ladies can raise azaleas at home1 but they are difficult4 ,then there is the kangaroo-vine1 and the ,jerusalem1 and all the other very hardy vines4 ,if a large ivy-vine can he induced to grow over a picture-frame1 it is a beautiful friend in midwinter4 ,then come the delightful hanging baskets1 the ,wardian fern-cases1 the ornamental stands of pot-plants1 and the indoor box of earth for planting rice and grass seed1 the wild flowers1 which now have become exotics1 and all the pretty fancies of throwing seed over a wet sponge4 ,anything green in winter looks lovely4 ,nothing more charming than the branches of nasturtion growing in water can be imagined4 ,they grow and flower all winter1 and the blue convolvulus flourishes well in a hanging basket2 so do the common morning-glory and the scarlet bean1 both delightful1 airy visitors at ,christmas4 ,a wire-work ox-muzzle1 filled with moss1 makes an admirable basket4 ,it should be painted dark green1 and hang over a box of growing flowers1 so that it can drip when watered and hurt nothing4 ,put in the ivy-leaved geranium to drop over its edges2 fuchsia1 variegated geranium1 bright blue lobelia1 and the healthful dracnas1 begonias1 and sedums also make a very pretty combination4 ,the gardeners give you wooden baskets filled with flowers1 and ivy1 and ferns1 but it is ,home ,amusement to make these baskets yourself4 ,fern-cases are delightful as winter friends4 ,wardian cases can be made very cheaply1 and their perpetual condensation and shower is a very pretty study in physics4 ,a large case1 in which large-sized ferns can be accommodated1 is best4 ,as regards cultivation1 the first thing that demands attention is the drainage of the case2 for1 if that is defective1 neither ferns nor any other plants can be cultivated successfully4 ,in order to secure good drainage the case should be fitted with a false bottom1 into which the water may drain through perforated zinc or iron1 on which the rock-work and little bank for the ferns should be placed4 ,the false bottom1 being a little kind of tank or drainer1 should be perfectly water-tight1 so as to protect the carpet1 and should have a tap fixed in one corner of it1 by means of which the surplus water should be drained off4 ,to be able to give free ventilation to the plants every morning is another essential point1 as a stagnant atmosphere is as injurious to plants as it is to young children4 ,over the perforated tray of the case a good layer of broken pottery should be laid1 and this should be covered with cocoanut fiber1 on which the rock-work should be laid4 ,the space in which it is intended that the ferns are to grow should then be filled in2 and nothing is better than peat1 rotten turf1 and sharp grit sand as a soil for ferns4 ,in the parts of the case intended for the planting of rather strong-growing ferns a larger proportion of rotten turf should be mixed with the peat than in those intended for less robust varieties4 ,the adiantum pedatum 7maidenhair71 capillus veneris1 pteris tessulata1 eretica1 albo lineata1 polypodium vulgare1 acrophorus chairophyllus1 hispidus anemia adiantifolia1 asplenium striatum1 bulbiferum1 with trichomanes and lelazinellas1 are all useful1 pretty ferns for these cases4 ,if the fern-case be large1 it might be advisable to have an arch reaching from end to end4 ,but any intelligent gardener will tell more in an hour than we could do in a week on the subject of ferns4 ,many ladies delight in selecting these lovely aristocrats of the forest themselves4 ,they find no difficulty in arranging a little family of native ferns in an improvised ,ward's case2 and this pursuit1 as a reason for a woodland ramble and a subsequent fit of industry on the back piazza1 is one which has no end as a ,home ,amusement4 ,plant-stands for halls are very favorite decorations nowadays2 but1 of course1 the plants must be hardy1 as they will be subject to sudden changes of temperature4 ,one lady made a fine effect by cultivating young pine-trees1 spruces1 and firs in the large stone jars of her hall4 ,cocoanut palms or ,india-rubber plants are the favorite exotics4 ,hardy ferns group in well for these hall plant-stands4 ,in the bottom of each jar should be placed some broken pottery1 for drainage1 placed so that the moisture will drain down through the fragments without the soil choking the jar4 ,over the potsherds a little cocoanut moss should be placed1 and then a mixture of leaf-mold1 rotten turf and peat1 and glass-maker's sand1 to keep the whole porous4 ,on the surface of the pots and between them should be put wood moss1 as in the case of stands for sitting-rooms4 ,a common seed-pan1 filled with selaginalla denticulata dropped into a small vase1 has a fine effect2 long sprays grow out over the sides of the vase and drop down eight to ten inches4 ,in an ordinary apartment1 where the window-sills are not wide enough to hold flower-pots1 the plan of wire stands is an admirable one for the window gardener4 ,a piece of oil-cloth under the stand catches all the drippings1 and a servant-girl with a wiping-towel can clean up all the dbris4 ,soft-wooded plants and those with soft leaves should be arranged as near the window as possible2 and if rearranged and turned against the light often1 so much the better4 ,hard-leaved plants1 like ivy and the ,india-rubber plant1 may be put anywhere away from the light4 ,but most plants need light before anything4 ,the yucca quadricolor1 so much used in the decorative house-jars or vases1 becomes beautifully tinted with crimson if it has enough light4 ,now1 if a lady has not room for many rustic jardinires and ornamental flower-stands in her room1 she can have zinc-pans and pots1 neatly enameled and painted1 set on the floor1 in which her larger plants may be put out1 ,this is a very good idea for grouping2 for she thus produces in her tout ensemble some of the wild confusion and grace of ,nature4 ,a climbing rose should go scattering itself over an imperceptible wire trellis4 ,a geranium should steadily blossom beneath4 ,a group of yucca1 agave1 dracna1 ,jerusalem cherry1 should form a distinct and effective grouping below4 ,and then beautiful trailing plants should drop from hanging baskets1 and from every 8coigne of vantage40 ,ivy grows well in the shade1 and may be employed for trailing around sofas1 couches1 tte--tte chairs1 and picture-frames4 ,ladies sometimes tie a bottle of water behind a picture-frame1 and allow the long shoots of nasturtion to grow out as if from the wall4 ,the effect is startling4 ,mirrors are often cunningly placed behind a flowering plant which is growing in a hanging basket against the wall1 thus doubling the effect4 ,as the days grow shorter1 and the winter threatens to come upon us apace1 we are always tempted to bring in from the garden the flowers that we think will last4 ,just before the fatal frosts1 roots of mignonette should be planted in pots and put in a dark closet for a few days1 where the plant takes root and accommodates itself to its change of base4 ,it will make a room sweet all winter4 ,a lady can make all sorts of ornamental flower-pot coverings1 and herself arrange pretty leather and paper standard covers for the ugly but useful flower-pot of commerce2 or she can buy at most country potteries some very artistic flower-pots--also useful4 ,and to put red1 green1 and blue glass tubes for hyacinths among these gives her window a very pretty effect4 ,the very study of color in these minor matters adds much to her window garden4 ,it is lucky for all lovers of beauty that beauty is now cheap4 ,art is putting her slender foot down everywhere2 and it is almost possible1 in a remote country village1 to get the delicate classic shapes in cheap pottery which the cultivated ,greeks imagined three thousand years ago4 ,for internal decoration by means of cut flowers1 it seems almost absurd to attempt to delineate the proper thing to do2 for1 if a lady has taste1 she will know without being told4 ,but some few hints may not appear impertinent4 ,for the breakfast-table and dinner-table fresh flowers are almost indispensable4 ,the pretty1 cheap1 and useful combinations of glass and silver1 of china and pottery1 which are made to hold flowers1 are innumerable4 ,select a high vase1 and fill it every day with fresh grasses1 a few daisies1 or some graceful ferns combined with white lilies1 and you have always a superb center-piece4 ,for the summer1 a large lump of ice covered with flowers1 in a silver or glass dish1 is delightfully refreshing4 ,it also keeps away the flies4 ,in grand party decorations ice is now freely used1 and if some way can be devised to get the refuse water out of the way1 it will be always a good thing for a country party or at a grand fte at ,newport4 ,for great blocks of ice covered with vines and flowers1 lighted from behind1 have a splendid effect4 ,they cool the air and keep all the flowers fresh4 ,flowers1 when cut1 demand coolness2 and the effect of the white crystal column is always beautiful4 ,some ladies have a large tub put in the corner of the room1 and the pyramid of ice placed in that4 ,then the tub can be masked by moss1 branches of trees1 evergreen1 or any floral device1 and the ice is draped with garlands4 ,at a fte at ,newport1 in #ahgi1 this ice decoration was much admired4 ,at a ball given by the ,prince of ,wales to the ,czarina of ,russia in the large conservatory of the ,royal ,horticultural ,society of ,south ,kensington1 ten tons of ice were used to build an ornamental rockery4 ,this was draped with drooping ferns and graceful vines1 and was surrounded with crimson baize and lighted from behind4 ,nothing is so pretty for the breakfast- or dinner-table as a tall1 slender vase which carries the floral decoration high up above the articles of food4 ,nor is a garden necessary for this species of decoration4 ,wild flowers1 ferns1 grasses1 and all the beautiful furniture of forest and field1 make these vases doubly elegant4 ,in the rose season--in the sweet days of ,june--most country gardens overflow with the always regal flower2 and this is a table ornament of the highest4 ,the great1 broad1 low baskets are best for these full1 rich queens of color and fragrance4 ,mass your roses for the middle of the table1 and have specimen glasses for some of the more rare varieties4 ,the rose is a cleanly flower1 and can be put anywhere near food4 ,but if an unlucky visitor has the rose-cold1 then it must be put far away2 for the subtile1 pungent odor of a rose makes the sufferer sneeze fearfully4 ,there are some families in which roses are thus tabooed4 ,a basket of roses is the prettiest thing in the world2 and the lady going into the country for the summer had better supply herself with a number of these1 with handles1 from the florist or the basket-maker4 ,if she gets a tin pan also fitted in cunningly1 she has the loveliest table ornamentation all ready4 ,her buffets1 her parlor-table1 her piano1 her brackets can all hold these pleasant things1 for which no money need be paid1 but which have a value far above money4 ,never give these baskets a heavy1 packed look1 but allow plenty of the rich green leaves of the rose to set them off4 ,it seems to us that ladies might create an endless succession of ,home ,amusements by studying how to vary the effect of their vases and baskets of flowers4 ,a simple bunch of yellow buttercups in the early spring will make a purple room perfectly beautiful2 and dandelions can be massed with great effect4 ,yellow flowers are rare1 but necessary to produce fine contrasts of color4 ,we all tend too much to the red and white easily-obtained effects4 ,they are poor compared with what we can do4 ,if ,fashion has rather run its worship of the daisy into the ground1 ,fashion might have done a worse thing4 ,we can scarcely blame ,fashion for going back to this impressive flower1 which in its simplicity has moved all philosophers1 poets1 and fortune-tellers to admire and study it4 ,it seems to us that something more cheerful than our usual ,christmas decorations could be invented4 ,we make them too somber4 ,try mixing in the beautiful bitter-sweet berries1 which are so very easily obtained1 and which keep all winter4 ,the holly is not so common with us as in ,england2 still1 many a ,new ,england swamp produces a host of hips and haws and red berries4 ,the business of preserving autumn-leaves shows ten failures to one success4 ,yet1 when autumn leaves are well preserved1 they are very charming means of winter decoration4 ,they are luminous at evening1 and1 mixed with ferns and grasses1 are perpetual bouquets4 ,but do not varnish them3 that gives them a waxy effect1 which is detestable4 ,press them carefully1 and iron them under a piece of brown paper4 ,that seems to preserve the color4 ,grasses1 on the contrary1 and a thousand pods and seed-vessels1 grains and cat-tails1 and certain weeds1 dry into beautiful colors and make most wonderful groups for the parlor mantel4 ,the young ladies of our vast continent can not do a better thing than to each year add to these beautiful and most graceful bouquets1 which retain1 like the fabled ,dryads1 all the fascination of ,nature1 even when they have passed into sticks and dry leaves4 ,,xiv4 ,,caged ,,birds ,,and ,,aviaries4 ,from flowers to birds is a natural transition1 and we enter upon that part of ,home ,amusement which centers around a cage of singing-birds4 ,it is a dreadful thing to snare and to imprison an innocent bird2 therefore we begin with that bird which seems to take most kindly to captivity--the canary4 ,travelers tell us that this yellow darling has gray plumage at home2 but as we know them they are generally yellow1 white1 green1 or brown4 ,climate1 food1 and intermixture of breeds has1 no doubt1 to do with this4 ,the canary1 which in ,france is nearly white1 at ,teneriffe is as brown as a berry4 ,we can not tell why they are always yellow in cages4 ,the exact date of the introduction of the canary is not known to us4 ,in #afaj the bird was considered a great rarity4 ,according to some authors1 the island of ,elba was the first ,european ground on which the canary found a resting-place for its tiny foot4 ,a ship bound for ,leghorn1 they say1 having on board a number of sweet songsters1 foundered near this island1 on which the birds1 set at liberty by the accident1 found a refuge2 and the climate was so congenial to their nature that they remained and bred1 and would probably have remained there had not their unlucky1 fatal gifts of beauty and song betrayed them to the bird-catchers1 who hunted them so assiduously that not a single specimen was left on the island4 ,from ,italy these birds soon found their way into ,france and ,germany1 from the latter of which countries and the ,tyrol we now receive our best supplies4 ,canary breeding and teaching is conducted in the ,tyrol on a large scale1 and these trainers have the power always to obtain large prices for their birds4 ,canary societies exist in ,england1 and small traders1 like ,poll ,sneedlepipes1 compete for prizes4 ,canary critics recognize two varieties--two grand divisions--in fancy canaries3 8gay birds10 or 8gay spangles10 and fancy1 or 8mealy10 birds--the first being plain1 like the original stock1 and the last variegated4 ,this also includes the ,jonques1 or ,jonquils1 as the yellow birds are technically called4 ,the varieties of these two grand divisions are almost innumerable1 nearly every year producing a new one1 which1 like a prize flower1 is in high favor until superseded by a greater beauty4 ,every year has its fashionable bird1 its professional beauty1 its ,mrs4 ,langtry1 until some ,mrs4 ,cornwallis ,west or ,lady ,lonsdale carries off the palm4 ,like all hobbies1 this is a hobby desperately ridden4 ,it is a 8,dutch taste for tulips10 and immense prices are given for prize canaries1 even by men who can not afford to speculate in such very uncertain stock4 ,there are certain standard properties which are always considered essential toward gaining a prize4 ,the first property considered in the show bird is the 8cap10 which must be of a good gold color4 ,the next is purity of color through the whole bird4 ,then the wings and tail1 which must be black quite home to the quill4 ,the fourth relates to the spangle1 which must be distinct4 ,fifth1 size and shape4 ,besides these properties there are what are called 8additional beauties10 not essential to the winning of a prize1 but adding to a bird's chances4 ,these are five in number3 pinions1 for size and regularity2 swallow and throat1 for size2 fair breast1 for regularity2 legs and flight1 for blackness4 ,in explanation of this it may be noted that from the beak to the back of the neck is called the 8cap10 and this should be of a clear orange-color1 full and rich in the ground1 and with black edges to the feathers4 ,the feathers on the loins1 or the saddle as it is sometimes called1 as well as those of the breast1 must be free from black1 while the wings must have no admixture of any other color4 ,no bird can fairly compete for a prize which has not black on the stock or neb of the back1 flight1 or tail feathers1 or that has less than eighteen flying feathers in each wing or less than twelve in the tail4 ,such1 lady bird-fanciers1 is a prize canary in ,england6 ,holborn is the great canary mart4 ,in ,st4 ,andrew's ,street every third or fourth house is occupied by a dealer1 and those who desire to possess a first-rate singer should visit that street4 ,it is best to go by gaslight1 when all the birds are on the twitter4 ,now1 in ,america we have the plain yellow bird1 with no admixture of black2 and yet the same conditions seem to be observed as to his treatment4 ,sacrifice the beauty of your bird to his song1 which is his chief accomplishment4 ,he should have a comfortable mahogany cage1 and be allowed to step into it of his own accord4 ,it should be well furnished with seed and water4 ,place a light in front of the cage1 and he will begin to sing4 ,a single hemp-seed or a morsel of chickweed will induce the little prisoner to sing almost immediately4 ,they are very amiable and happy in captivity4 ,the blackcap1 called the 8mock-nightingale10 is a very charming household pet1 if he will live4 ,his power of song is almost equal to that of the nightingale4 ,he is sometimes called 8the ,english mocking-bird10 and he imitates any songster whom he may hear--blackbird1 thrush1 or meadow-lark4 ,they are by no means plentiful birds1 and they bring a good price in the market4 ,they are about the same size as the linnet1 and the prevailing colors of the plumage are ashen-gray and olive-green4 ,the old birds feed their young on caterpillars1 moths1 and other insects4 ,they can be reared1 however1 on bread and milk4 ,if brought up with a canary or a nightingale1 they will acquire a beautiful song composed of their own natural notes and those of these brilliant performers4 ,this bird has been known to live twelve or sixteen years in confinement4 ,it demands some sort of fruit1 like cherries1 currants1 or raspberries in summer2 a bit of apple1 pine1 or orange in winter4 ,to keep it in perfect health1 it must have an iron nail in its cup of water4 ,but chacun son got4 ,every lady has her preferences as to her feathered favorites4 ,suffice it to say a few words as to the care of these poor little creatures4 ,birds are naturally tender things4 ,they are not born to live in cages2 therefore they should be especially cared for4 ,domestic pets are apt to come to untimely ends1 particularly if left to the care of servants1 who regard them as a burden and a nuisance1 and too often cruelly neglect them4 ,birds in captivity are very liable to diseases which do not attack them in their wild state2 and in the various casualties which endanger their prison life1 their owners should seek to protect them and to cure them4 ,let it be one of the ,home ,amusements for the lady to feed her pet canary--to clean its cage1 or see that it is done4 ,we have seen a little boy of seven take such care of his pet canary that he shamed all the older people in the house2 and a happier bird never lived4 ,if you keep but one bird in a cage in very hot weather1 his cage should be cleansed once a day4 ,if you minister personally to the comfort of your bird1 he will grow very much attached to you4 ,if the perches are not kept clean1 the birds become afflicted with the gout and other maladies1 resulting in the loss of toes4 ,wooden cages1 especially of mahogany1 are the best1 as they are less likely to harbor insects4 ,if of fir or soft wood1 the cage should be painted green4 ,the wires of a cage should never be painted1 as the wire being non-absorbent1 the bird pecks off and eats the paint1 which poisons it4 ,japanned zinc cages are very well4 ,a cage should not be too open4 ,there should always be a snug corner or sheltered place1 where the bird can retire and shun observation4 ,it is great cruelty to hang a cage in the sun unprotected4 ,remember that in their free state birds seek the shady tree4 ,in a shower always bring your birds indoors1 for they are apt to take cold if wet in an imprisoned state4 ,it is a pity that more of our country residents have not the idea of an aviary4 ,it is so very pretty--an abiding-place of beauty1 love1 song1 and happiness4 ,surely it does not cost so much as a greenhouse4 ,the model aviary is built of brick or stone1 iron and glass1 with a stove and pipes fitted to keep it of an even temperature all winter4 ,the floor should be an earthen one1 beaten hard1 like the floors of some barns4 ,bricks are too cold4 ,planks harbor insects1 retain bad smells1 and form coverts for rats and mice4 ,the roof of the aviary should be semicircular or shelving1 with vines and flowing creepers trailing over it1 so that there shall be a rustle of green leaves steeped in sunshine1 and air laden with sweet perfume to delight the birds within4 ,there should be also creepers and shrubs growing inside for the birds to nest in4 ,perches and wicker baskets with horse-hair and wool should be left around1 and there should be a small marble basin and fountain in the middle1 of which the water should be always fresh and changing for the birds to drink4 ,this is1 of course1 a very magnificent aviary1 costing money4 ,but what an addition to ,home ,amusements to care for the happy family within6 ,the birds can be of all sorts4 ,at the period of migration--about the last of ,august--all birds kept in confinement show a great desire to get out1 and often beat themselves to death against the walls of their cages4 ,in this time of ardent enterprise the top of the aviary or the cages should be covered with dark cloth1 and the poor things shut out from the light4 ,a much cheaper aviary is built in the form of a large cage on the top of a tree1 with open exit and entrances1 fitted up with every convenience of bird-furnishing1 and visited twice a day by the boys of the family4 ,here many birds come to lodge and get tamed1 as the ,indian does by having a house and garden1 and often one pair of birds comes back several times4 ,this is a charming sort of aviary1 and very much to be commended4 ,what romantic tales of a wayside inn do the robin redbreasts and orioles tell the peeping boy as he goes up the ladder to feed his familiar friends6 ,it is the prettiest sort of correspondence with l'inconnu6 ,it is a curious thing that the lungs of birds in captivity always suffer from impurity of air1 especially when the temperature is at all varied2 this must be one of the points very carefully attended to4 ,for food--we now are getting to a very creepy stage of our narrative--meal-worms1 ugh6 are the pice de rsistance2 but canaries1 goldfinches1 bullfinches1 linnets--all1 ,god bless them6--prefer seed2 while chaffinches1 buntings1 and the whole tit family and larks must have seeds1 insects1 and fat meat--namely1 worms4 ,the nightingales1 thrushes1 redbreasts1 blackcaps1 must have worms1 crickets1 cockroaches1 and ant-eggs4 ,the maggots of the blow-fly and all such tidbits1 meal-worms1 and flesh-maggots must be kept in reserve2 and this kind of housekeeping is apt to shock the delicate sense4 ,let the boys of the family attend to this part of the birds' diet4 ,boiled cabbage1 green peas1 all sorts of pudding1 dry bread1 and a little finely minced cooked meat1 bread-crumbs mashed up and scalded in milk1 milk itself1 hemp-seed1 a little chickweed1 lettuce1 and cresses1 can be given to birds with advantage4 ,the bathing of birds must be done with great skill and wisdom4 ,after the operation of a warm bath1 with soap1 which should be given to nestlings who are troubled with vermin1 great care must be taken that they are not chilled1 as death will be the result4 ,wrap them up1 like little babies1 in flannel4 ,in teaching them to sing1 the voice1 the piano1 and flute are all good teachers4 ,the patient and music-loving ,germans teach all birds to sing4 ,it should be begun in the morning early1 when the bird is hungry2 and his lesson should not last more than an hour4 ,early and regular attendance1 gentleness and kindness1 are the rationale of bird-tending1 as of nearly everything else6 ,those half-captives1 the pigeons1 should be around every country house4 ,how beautiful they are in ,venice6 the pigeons of ,st4 ,mark1 which have swooped about that storied piazza for so many years1 because regularly fed there4 ,all boys should learn to cultivate them2 to have the lovely shifting luster of their necks lighting up the ground and making gay the twilight4 ,how proud and pompous are the pouters6 how gentle the ringdoves6 and how pretty the whole family6 ,peacocks are very stately visitors1 and1 except for their horrid shrieks1 are especially to be commended4 ,the old ruffled turkey-gobbler has his charms2 and the pages of ,hawthorne teach us how very amusing a group of hens and chickens may become4 ,we advise every family to have as many birds as they can possibly feed2 for every bird is a study1 from the blink-eyed owl which hides in the fir-tree1 to the poor old goose that quacks and hobbles toward the pond4 ,indeed1 the sthetics are all pretending that the goose is the most beautiful of them all6--a perfect love1 a type1 is a goose1 since ,walter ,crane and ,kate ,greenaway came in4 ,but we still prefer the stately swan1 of which splendid specimens are now beginning to add their attractions to our inland lakes4 ,the goose is all very well in her way1 but the swan is better4 ,,xv4 ,,picnics4 ,perhaps it is not well to class among ,home ,amusements a series of entertainments which imply1 at first sight1 the getting away from home4 ,but1 as the basket of luncheon has to be packed at home1 and the best part of a picnic is the getting home again1 we must be permitted a divergence4 ,it is curious to see how emphatically fond of picnics the ,americans are4 ,a universal national hunger seems to seize the tired cit as the first warm day of ,may beams upon us4 ,they 8babble of green fields40 ,best of all charities those which send the poor children off1 on boats and trains1 for a whiff of pure air6 ,it is the blessed privilege of the rich to thin out the crowded tenement1 and to send the overplus of an irrepressible civilization back to ,nature for a moment4 ,but1 for a ,home ,amusement in the country1 what can compare with the joy of getting ready for a picnic8 ,the baskets for the provisions 7and be sure1 ,mary1 not to forget the salt or the sugar71 the coffee-pot that will stand being poked down into the wood-coals1 the fine old swinging iron kettle1 the bread1 the knives1 and the pail of ice4 ,ah6 ,then1 as to carriages4 ,not the luxurious cushioned barouche1 but the shabbiest old rattletraps about the place are the proper ones4 ,a good old hay-wagon is the very best--if it have hay in it4 ,it may do very well at ,newport for the luxurious to drive out to one of ,mr4 ,bennett's picnics in a four-in-hand or a drag1 or a ,victoria or a barouche2 but in the country take the buckboard1 the old ,rockaway wagon1 which holds nine--the more the merrier--the farm-wagon1 and the market-cart4 ,filled with youth1 beauty1 and jollity1 these become the chariots of ,apollo4 ,it is not always easy to get mamma to a picnic2 but it is good for her1 and for all the others1 if she will go4 ,she is apt to be anxious about rain1 and is afraid of farmer ,bell's bull2 and she should be allowed to go in an easy carriage4 ,she also fears to take cold1 and is mightily frightened at those crazy boats on the lake4 ,but it is better for all parties if these fears are assuaged and she really goes4 ,the change does her good1 and she acts as a temporary restraint on the too volatile spirits of the party4 ,another power hard to coerce is ,statira1 who is the head of the commissary department4 ,statira1 cook and factotum1 was brought up on the wrong side of a mullein-patch herself1 and she is not in love with the country4 ,she remembers the woods as a place where she went to look1 in her youth1 for recalcitrant cows2 and in winter1 how cold and bleak the woods were6 ,her present warm and cultivated kitchen1 with stationary wash-tubs1 is to her a far more agreeable spot4 ,she hesitates1 as the young people ask for her delicate apple-pies and her delicious cakes1 8to cram into baskets10 to 8eat out in the pasture10 as she sniffingly avers4 ,however1 although ,statira is a greater tyrant than ,nero1 the young people prevail1 and the picnic gets started somehow4 ,what a jolly hour is passed in driving through the still valley to the brow of yonder hill1 which commands a view of the whole country6 ,then ,susan1 the thoughtful one1 dreads lest the coffee-pot has been forgotten4 ,hurried search6 ,the coffee-pot is found under a back seat4 ,happiness restored1 the songs go on1 and the murmuring pines and the hemlocks take up the wondrous tale4 ,then the party arrive at the lake4 ,the girls take off their hats4 ,the winds play with the 8tangles in ,nerea's hair40 ,the picnic is a nice opportunity for a pretty foot1 a fine figure1 and a splendid head of hair--so it is said4 ,then come rambles into the forest4 ,that is a pretty story of a nymph who appeared on the edge of a forest1 but who disappeared as she was followed1 until1 at last1 as her lover pursued her farther into the forest1 he threw his arms about a white hawthorn-tree4 ,it is the world's earliest romance that the first courtship took place at a picnic4 ,roses and briers twine around lovers for ever1 and the lotus and the buttercup tell the same story4 ,picnics are healthy2 but should be appropriately dressed4 ,balmoral boots1 broad hats1 and flannel dresses1 warm1 plain1 and serviceable4 ,a white ,marseilles which will wash--percales and cambrics and ginghams will do2 but no finery should be allowed4 ,at ,newport one may try the ,watteau combination of brocade and satin1 with fine old house1 grounds1 and trellised arcades4 ,but at a country picnic ,watteau dresses are out of place4 ,our climate is too fitful for safe picnicking1 as we dread rain4 ,in ,england they do not care1 but lunch at ,ascot1 with the rain pouring into the champagne4 ,but here we need to go prepared with aquiscutums and umbrellas1 and a neighboring barn is well in the near distance4 ,it is a common want1 this need of the confessional of ,nature4 ,we leave our morbid fancies1 our discontents1 in the bosom of our dear common mother1 and we come back as cheerful as is the dappled deer4 ,we like to go back to that idyllic spot where the race started4 ,in the spring certain natures get frisky1 like the colts4 ,one pasture will not hold them4 ,we get tired of white man's work4 ,it was a true reading of the human heart which made the ,greeks place ,apollo with the shepherds of ,admetus1 and ,jove stooping to the people of the hill-sides4 8,the populous all-loving solitude0 of ,nature draws us with a potent hand4 ,our houses are a false shell4 ,titania's subjects will rebel4 ,that rural solitude1 which has no conventionality2 that desert rock1 against which the noisy wave of human folly breaks itself2 the dense forest1 where is sung the mighty hymn of the pines2 the brow of the hill which the sun kisses last2 the lone seashore2 the distant heath2 that cloud-shadow on the mountain--these are all necessary to us once a year4 ,we must go once to 8,la roche qui pleure40 ,we must go where the forest-growths expand in all their strength and splendor4 ,we must find the shyest wild flower1 the most untamable vine4 ,it is in the fable of ,daphne that we read the deep significance1 the poetry1 the true meaning of our love of the picnic4 ,who of us--comfortable and well housed--but has in some moment of nomadic instinct envied the tramp and the gypsy their life of chapleted ease1 as they lie on the greensward1 hugging dear mother ,nature to their very bosoms8 ,who has not some wild1 untamed blood in his veins--some fellowship for the ,indian--some desire for the flitting caress of the passing breeze1 or the somber greeting of the mountain shadow8 ,but no more poetry1 if you please4 ,we are getting hungry4 ,where are those baskets8 ,ah6 the cold roast beef1 the wing of a chicken1 and the salt1 not forgotten6 ,those hard-boiled eggs--how good they are6 ,so glad that chicken-raising has been one of our ,home ,amusements6 ,just a high picket-fence1 a few good hens1 some boxes1 and a little attention1 and what eggs these are6 ,mamma will not1 however1 eat them2 she says they are unwholesome4 ,but she takes a piece of the breast of a noble pullet1 and a cup of coffee in a tin mug1 made by ,sam1 best of cooks1 amateur--college-bred cook--who has boiled it under the trees6 and laid the grounds with a dash of cold water4 ,sam puts his own clearness and strength into the coffee4 ,and now for an hour's reverie by the side of the lake2 and then a rough-and-tumble drive home6 ,how tired1 ragged1 jagged1 disheveled1 and happy we are as we get home6 ,statira has built a splendid wood-fire for us1 and has a supper of broiled chicken1 cold ham1 preserves and cream1 baked potatoes1 and toast1 and hot biscuits which might tempt the virtue of an anchorite4 ,we have no such proud resistance4 ,we have brought an appetite from the place where they make them2 and we can eat hot biscuits and still wrap the drapery of our couch about us and lie down to pleasant dreams4 ,a picnic is1 therefore1 a ,home ,amusement4 ,it has home at both ends2 else it would not be a picnic4 ,,xvi4 ,,playing ,,with ,,fire4 ,,ceramics4 ,now let us ascend from these trivialities to the consideration of the great subject which has been more talked of and dabbled in for the last seven years than any accomplishment ever was1 before or since4 ,the splendid display of ,ceramic ,art at our great ,exposition of #ahgf no doubt had its share in creating that intense interest in the subject which has been felt everywhere4 ,how it came into the category of ,home ,amusements we hardly know1 unless the art schools stimulated the pursuit4 ,but now we do know that nearly every lady paints a plate1 from grandma down to the smallest child4 ,especially has it become the pastime of middle-aged ladies1 who have got through with the work of life1 and have much leisure on their hands4 ,it is one of the many accomplishments which has taken the place of the ,german wool worsted abomination1 the canvas roses1 and counted out violets4 8,home would be happier were it not for the smell of turpentine10 said a lively girl as she found her grandmother1 mother1 and sister all hard at the plaques4 ,it is true1 this pungent liquid is necessary1 and the china after being painted has to be baked--two very unpleasant accompaniments4 ,but let us see how it is done4 ,one needs1 first1 a porcelain palette2 a glass slab about eight inches square2 several small and medium-sized camel's-hair brushes2 several blenders1 large and small2 a quart-bottle of spirits of turpentine2 a quart-bottle of alcohol2 a small bottle of oil of turpentine2 one of oil of lavender2 one of copaiba2 a steel palette-knife1 also one of horn or ivory2 a rest for the hand while painting1 made of a strip of wood about an inch and a half wide and twelve inches long1 supported at each end by a foot an inch and a half in height4 ,a flat ruler or thin strip of wood may be used for plates1 or any flat piece having a raised edge1 and may be found more convenient than the cumbrous rests4 ,a fine needle1 set in a handle1 for removing particles of dust which may settle in the painting1 and a small glass muller1 are required4 ,the china used for decoration must be of the finest quality1 and free from spots4 ,the hard porcelain of ,french manufacture is the best for this purpose4 ,the mineral paints bought in tubes 7those of ,lacroix1 of ,paris1 being the best7 are the colors which stand fire4 ,brushes1 as for water-color painting1 are used4 ,small camel's-hair brushes with square ends may be had1 which will do for blending when necessary in fine work4 ,in tinted surfaces and borders large blenders are necessary4 ,the brushes used by gilders1 and called 8trade-gilders' brushes10 make good blenders2 ,no4 #i is a very useful size4 ,in placing the color on these surfaces1 a broad1 flat camel's-hair brush1 rather more than an inch in width1 should be used4 ,in narrow bands and lines1 brushes of suitable size with very long hair and square ends are employed4 ,the colors most in use are3 dark carmine1 flesh-red1 capucine-red1 dark red1 brown1 iron-violet4 ,in purples--deep purple1 dark golden violet4 ,blues--sky-blue1 dark ultramarine1 deep blue4 ,greens--grass-green1 brown green1 apple-green4 ,yellows--mixing yellow1 ivory-yellow1 jonquil-yellow1 orange-yellow4 ,browns--dark brown1 yellow brown4 ,black--ivory-black4 ,permanent white2 pearl-gray2 black gray4 ,now1 in commencing to paint a design on china1 the first thing to be done is to sketch the outline4 ,the best way to do this is to prepare the china by rubbing the surface with spirits of turpentine1 and1 after having left it a few minutes to dry1 draw the design upon it very lightly with a hard lead-pencil4 ,alcohol may be used for the same purpose1 and has the advantage that it is not so liable to catch the dust4 ,the surface1 however1 does not receive the marks of the lead-pencil so well as when it is prepared with turpentine4 ,lithographic crayon may be used1 and without any preparation2 but the outline is not so delicate as that drawn with the lead-pencil4 ,if the subject is a difficult one1 as1 for instance1 a design containing several figures1 time may be saved1 and liability to error avoided1 by tracing the design1 which insures the correct relative position of the figures1 and tends to produce the object desired--a correct copy of the original4 ,it is better1 however1 to sketch simpler subjects direct on the china4 ,it is commonly supposed that a tracing is of great assistance to any one unskilled in drawing2 but if one is unable to draw a correct outline1 it is hardly possible that the painting will be good4 ,it is so very easy to lose the outline in working that1 after all1 a tracing is but a slight indication1 which has for its principal use the placing of the design in exactly the right position on the plate or other object to be decorated4 ,there are various ways of tracing1 the simplest and best of which is the following3 ,lay a piece of transparent paper over the design to be copied1 and trace the outlines very carefully with a hard lead-pencil4 ,then turn the tracing-paper over on any white surface1 and go over all the lines on the reverse side with a soft pencil4 ,you can now lay the tracing right side up on the china1 which has been previously prepared for the lead-pencil with turpentine1 and having placed it in exactly the right position1 secure it by means of bits of modeling-wax or gummed paper at the corners1 and pass over the lines with a hard point1 or rub the entire surface with a rounded instrument2 the handle of the palette-knife may be used for this purpose4 ,this will transfer the pencil drawing to the surface of the china4 ,the more delicate the outline the better1 provided it is more plainly visible1 as a heavy1 dark1 or colored outline sullies the colors used upon it1 and causes much annoyance in working4 ,although it may disappear in the firing1 it is better to avoid it4 ,faulty lines in the tracing may be rectified by the use of a sharpened stick of soft wood moistened with turpentine4 ,if tube-colors are used1 and found difficult to lay1 a drop of oil of turpentine may be added to the turpentine4 ,care should be taken1 however1 to avoid too much oil1 as it renders the colors liable to blister in the fire4 ,the use of clove-oil as a medium is advised by some4 ,the color can1 perhaps1 be more easily laid with it than with spirits of turpentine4 ,it does not dry so quickly1 however1 and1 unless recourse is had to the process of drying the work with the aid of an alcohol lamp1 its use involves tedious waiting4 ,it is better to use turpentine and finish the work at one sitting4 ,the drying of colors is affected by the state of the atmosphere4 ,if1 during the progress of the painting1 it is found to be difficult to work over the colors first laid--which are indeed very liable to come up--the piece of china may be placed in a moderately warm oven to dry before proceeding4 ,on being taken out of the oven1 the colors will be found to have lost their gloss1 if perfectly dry1 and1 perhaps1 will have changed their hue4 ,no alarm need be felt at this1 as they will return to their former brilliancy when fired4 ,but here we come to a great trouble4 ,the chance of a piece 8firing0 well is one of the great trials of the china painter1 and is beyond her control2 but this is always counted in4 ,it is best to send the piece to a pottery to be burned4 ,a cup containing turpentine should stand near the working table to wash the brushes2 and after using a color containing iron1 the brush should be carefully washed before it is charged with one which does not contain iron1 or if white is to be used4 ,the brushes ought not to be too small1 and the colors should1 as far as possible1 be laid in broad washes1 and decided touches placed lightly and quickly1 and not overworked4 ,the use of the blender may be resorted to if necessary1 especially in laying the first washes2 although it is better to avoid using it afterward1 if possible4 ,the same rules may be applied to china painting as to water-colors1 to which it bears a strong resemblance4 ,the greatest art consists in placing each touch where it should go1 and leaving it2 not spoiling it by uncertainty1 or degrading the tint by overwork4 ,in fine work1 lining and stippling are necessary in finishing1 but should not be carried to excess or made too apparent4 ,these latter processes are1 perhaps1 more indispensable in preparing work for a single firing1 as it is very difficult to lay repeated washes over one another2 the under-tint comes up so readily1 especially when it is not thoroughly dry4 ,the same place must never be passed over by the brush twice in immediate succession1 as the under-tint will certainly come up1 and the blot caused in the painting will be difficult to rectify4 ,it is of no use to attempt it while it is wet4 ,work on some other part1 and then go over it1 or first dry it in the oven4 ,some of the tube-colors may require to be rubbed down after being taken from the tubes4 ,this will be especially necessary in the case of the carmines and the whites4 ,a horn or ivory palette-knife should be used with these colors1 as well as with the blues1 and all colors containing no iron4 ,mixtures of colors on the palette may be rubbed down occasionally1 or mixed with the brush before using1 to prevent them from separating themselves into their component parts4 ,too much turpentine should not be taken into the brush when it is to be charged with color4 ,dip it into the turpentine1 and remove the surplus moisture by drawing the brush over the edge of the vessel containing it before taking up the color from the palette4 ,the tint may be tried first on the edge of the plate4 ,surplus color or moisture may be removed by touching the brush upon a muslin rag1 which should always be at hand for the purpose of wiping the brushes4 ,after using1 the brushes should be washed in alcohol4 ,the bottle containing it should be kept tightly corked1 as it evaporates very quickly when exposed to the air4 ,care must be taken that no drops of the alcohol drop upon the painting1 as it will immediately remove the colors from the surface4 ,when the large brushes are cleaned after being washed in the alcohol1 the hairs should be spread apart1 and the fingers passed lightly over them until they are dry2 otherwise the hairs may stick together in drying1 and the brush be rendered unfit for use4 ,washing in alcohol will prevent the turpentine used in painting from injuring the brushes1 as it would if allowed to remain in them4 ,the tube-colors should be preserved from heat as far as possible4 ,we have taken these rules1 partly from personal experience1 partly from the best manuals1 and the china painter can begin on them4 ,but a few lessons from a master are very valuable1 and the best of all teachers--patience--will help the young and inexperienced better than any written directions4 ,we would like to say a few words more on the all-important subject of firing4 8,the ,amateur's ,miniature ,kiln10 now sold by the ,decorative ,art ,society1 and by the patentee1 ,miss ,n4 ,m4 ,ford1 ,port ,richmond1 ,new ,york1 enables the amateur to fire small articles of decorated china with perfect success4 ,if near a large city1 it is better to send the plaques to a large establishment where they are in the habit of baking them4 ,the amateur has to make up her mind to a great many failures at first1 but after the accomplishment is somewhat conquered1 it is an inexpensive and delightful addition to ,home ,amusements4 ,no one should1 however1 attempt to paint upon china who does not know first how to draw4 ,the hand should be skillful on paper before it touches the flat brush2 for the outlines1 while seemingly coarse1 must be very expressive1 and very certain4 ,,xvii4 ,,archery4 ,fashion has again brought round as one of the ,home ,amusements this pretty and romantic pastime1 which has filled the early ballads with many a picturesque figure4 ,now on many a lawn may be seen the target and the group in ,lincoln green4 ,indeed1 it looks as if ,archery were to prove a very formidable rival to ,lawn ,tennis4 ,the requirements of ,archery are these3 ,first1 a bow2 secondly1 arrows2 thirdly1 a quiver1 pouch1 and belt2 fourthly1 a grease-pot1 an arm-guard or brace1 a shooting glove1 a target1 and a scoring card4 ,the bow is the most important article in archery1 and also the most expensive4 ,it is usually from five to six feet in length1 made of a single piece of yew1 or of lance-wood and hickory glued together back to back4 ,the former is best for gentlemen1 the latter for ladies1 as it is better adapted for the short1 sharp pull of the feminine arm4 ,the wood is gradually tapered1 and at each end is a tip of horn1 the one from the upper end being longer than the other or lower one4 ,the strength of bows is marked in pounds1 varying from twenty-five to thirty pounds4 ,ladies' bows are from twenty-five to forty pounds in strength1 and those of gentlemen from fifty to eighty pounds4 ,one side of the bow is flat1 called its 8back02 the other is rounded1 called the 8belly40 ,nearly in the middle1 where the hand should take hold1 it is lapped round with velvet1 and that part is called the 8handle40 ,in each of the tips of horns is a notch for the string1 called the 8nock40 ,bow-strings are made of hemp or flax--the former being the better material2 for though at first they stretch more1 yet they wear longer and stand a harder pull1 as well as being more elastic in the shooting4 ,in applying a fresh string to a bow1 be careful in opening it not to break the composition that is on it4 ,cut the tie1 take hold of the eye1 which will be found ready worked at one end1 let the other part hang down1 and pass the eye over the upper end of the bow4 ,if for a lady1 it may be held from two to two and a half inches below the nock2 if for a gentleman1 half an inch lower1 varying it according to the length and strength of the bow4 ,then run your hand along the side of the bow and string to the bottom nock4 ,turn it round that1 and fix it by the noose1 called the 8timber noose10 taking care not to untwist the string in making it4 ,this noose is simply a turn-back and twist without a knot4 ,when strung1 a lady's bow will have the string about five inches from the belly1 and a gentleman's about half an inch more4 ,the part opposite the handle is bound round with waxed silk1 in order to prevent its being frayed by the arrow4 ,as soon as a string becomes too soft and the fibers too straight1 rub it with beeswax1 and give it a few turns in the proper direction1 so as to shorten it1 and twist its strands a little tighter4 ,a spare string should always be provided by the shooter4 ,the arrows are differently shaped by various makers1 some being of uniform thickness throughout1 while others are protuberant in the middle2 some1 again1 are larger at the point than at the feather-end4 ,they are generally made of white deal1 with points of iron or brass riveted on2 but generally having a piece of heavy wood spliced on to the deal between it and the point1 by which their flight is improved4 ,at the other end a piece of horn is inserted in which is a notch for the string4 ,they are armed with three feathers1 glued on1 one of which is of a different color from the others1 and is intended to mark the proper position of the arrow when placed on the string1 this one always pointing from the bow4 ,these feathers properly applied give a rotary motion to the arrow which causes its flight to be straight4 ,they are generally from the wing of the turkey or the goose4 ,the length and weight of the arrows vary1 the latter 7in ,england7 being marked in sterling silver coin1 and stamped on the arrow in plain figures4 ,it is usual to paint a crest or a monogram or distinguishing rings on the arrow just below the feathers1 by which they may be known in shooting at the target4 ,the quiver is merely a tin case painted green1 intended for the security of the arrows when not in use4 ,the pouch and belt are worn round the waist1 the latter containing those arrows which are actually being shot4 ,a pot to hold grease for touching the glove and string1 and a tassel to wipe the arrows1 are hung at the belt4 ,the grease is composed of beef-suet and wax melted together4 ,the arm is protected from the blow of the string by the brace1 a broad guard of strong leather buckled on by two straps4 ,a shooting glove1 also of thin tubes of leather1 is attached to the wrist by three flat pieces ending in a circular strap buckled round it4 ,this glove prevents that soreness of the fingers which soon comes on after using the bow without it4 ,the target consists of a circular mat of straw1 covered with canvas painted in a series of circles4 ,it is usually from three feet six inches to four feet in diameter4 ,the middle is about six or eight inches in diameter1 gilt1 and called the 8gold02 the next is called the 8red10 after which comes the 8inner white10 then the 8black10 and finally the 8outer white40 ,these targets are mounted on triangular stands at distances apart of from fifty to a hundred yards--sixty being the usual shooting distance4 ,a scoring card is provided with columns for each color1 which are marked with a pin4 ,the usual score for a gold hit or the bull's-eye is #i2 the red1 #g2 inner white1 #f2 black1 #c2 and outer white1 #a4 ,to bend the bow properly the bow should be taken by the handle in the right hand4 ,place one end on the ground1 resting in the hollow of the right foot1 keeping the flat side of the bow1 called the back1 toward your person4 ,the left foot should be advanced a little1 and the right placed so that the bow can not slip sideways4 ,place the heel of the left hand upon the upper limb of the bow1 below the eye of the string4 ,now1 while the fingers and thumb of the left hand slide this eye toward the notch in the horn1 and the heel pushes the limb away from the body1 the right hand pulls the handle toward the person1 and thus resists the action of the left1 by which the bow is bent2 and at the same time the string is slipped into the nock1 as the notch is termed4 ,take care to keep the three outer fingers free from the string1 for if the bow should slip from the hand1 and the string catch them1 they will be severely pinched4 ,if shooting in frosty weather1 warm the bow before the fire1 or by friction with a woolen cloth4 ,if the bow has been lying by for a long time1 it should be well rubbed with boiled linseed-oil before using it4 ,to unstring the bow1 hold it as in stringing1 then press down the upper limb exactly as before1 and as if you wished to place the eye of the string in a higher notch4 ,this will loosen the string and liberate the eye1 when it must be lifted out of the nock by the forefinger1 and suffered to slip down the limb4 ,before using the bow1 hold it in a perpendicular direction with the string toward you1 and see if the line of the string cuts the middle of the bow4 ,if not1 shift the eye and noose of the string to either side1 so as to make the two lines coincide4 ,this precaution prevents a very common cause of defective shooting1 which is the result of an uneven string throwing the arrow on one side4 ,after using it1 unstring it2 and at a large shooting party1 unloose your bow after every round4 ,some bows get bent into very unmanageable shapes4 ,the general management of the bow should be on the principle that damp injures it1 and that any loose floating ends interfere with its shooting4 ,it should1 therefore1 be kept well varnished1 and in a waterproof case1 and it should be carefully dried after shooting in damp weather4 ,if there are any ends hanging from the string1 cut them off close1 and see that the whipping in the middle of the string is close and well fitting4 ,the case should be hung up against a dry internal wall1 not too near the fire4 ,in selecting your bow1 be careful that it is not too strong for your power1 and that you can draw the arrow to its head without any trembling of the hand4 ,if this can not be done after a little practice1 the bow should be changed for a weaker one4 ,for no arrow will go true if it is discharged by a trembling hand4 ,if an arrow has been shot into the target or the ground1 be particularly careful to withdraw it by laying hold close to its head1 and by twisting it round as it is withdrawn in the direction of its axis4 ,without this precaution it may be easily bent or broken4 ,in shooting at the target1 the first thing is to nock the arrow2 that is1 to place it properly on the string4 ,in order to effect this2 take the bow in the left hand1 with the string toward you1 the upper limb being toward the right4 ,hold it horizontally while you take the arrow by the middle1 pass it on the under side of the string and the upper side of the bow1 till the head reaches two or three inches past the left hand4 ,hold it there with the forefinger or thumb while you remove the right hand down to the nock4 ,turn the arrow till the cock-feather comes uppermost1 then pass it down the bow1 and fix it on the nocking part of the string4 ,in doing this1 all contact with the feathers should be avoided1 unless they are rubbed out of place1 when they may be smoothed down by passing them through the hand4 ,the body should be at right angles with the target1 but the face must be turned over the left shoulder1 so as to be opposed to it4 ,the feet are to be flat on the ground1 with the heels a little apart1 the left foot turned toward the mark4 ,the head and chest inclined a little forward1 so as to present a full bust1 but not bent at all below the waist4 ,draw the arrow to the full length of the arm till the hand touches the shoulder1 then take aim4 ,the loosing should be quick1 and the string must leave the fingers smartly and steadily4 ,the bow-hand must be as firm as a vice--no trembling allowed4 ,the rules of an ,archery ,club are usually these3 ,that a 8,lady ,paramount0 be annually elected4 ,that there be a ,president1 ,secretary1 and ,treasurer4 ,that all members intending to shoot shall appear in the uniform of the club4 ,that a fine shall be imposed for non-attendance4 ,that the ,secretary shall send out cards at least a month before each day of meeting1 acquainting the members with place and hour of meeting4 ,that there shall be four prizes for each meeting--two for each sex2 the first for numbers1 the second for hits2 and that no person shall be allowed to have both on the same day4 ,a certain sum of money is voted to the ,lady ,paramount for prizes for each meeting4 ,that in case of a tie for hits1 numbers shall decide2 and in case of a tie for numbers1 hits shall decide4 ,that the decision of the ,lady ,paramount shall be final4 ,that there shall be a challenge prize of the value of ---- dollars1 and that a commemorative ornament be presented to winners of the challenge prize4 ,that the distance for shooting be sixty or one hundred yards1 and that five-feet targets be used4 ,the dress of the club to be decided by the ,lady ,paramount4 ,the expenses of archery are not great--about the same as lawn tennis--although a great many arrows are lost in the course of the season4 ,bows and other paraphernalia last a long time4 ,sides are chosen as at lawn tennis1 and the game grows on one4 ,the lady archers are apt to feel a little lame after the first two or three essays1 but they should practice a short time every morning1 and always in a loose waist or jacket4 ,it will be found a very healthy and strengthening pastime4 ,we must not judge of the merits of ancient bowmen from the practice of archery in the present day4 ,there are no such distances now assigned for the marks as we find mentioned in old histories or poetic legends1 nor such precision1 even at short lengths1 in the direction of the arrow4 8,the stranger he made no mickle ado1 ,but he bent a right good bow1 ,and the fattest of all the herd he slew1 ,forty good yards him fro2 #8,well shot1 well shot1' quoth ,robin ,hood40 ,few1 if any1 modern archers in long shooting reach four hundred yards1 or in shooting at a mark exceed eighty or a hundred4 ,but archery has been since the invention of gunpowder only followed for pastime4 ,it is decidedly the most graceful game which can be practiced1 and the legends of ,sherwood ,forest1 of ,robin ,hood1 ,maid ,marian1 ,little ,john1 ,friar ,tuck1 and the ,abbot carry us into the fragrant heart of the forest1 and bring back memories which are agreeable to all people who have in them a drop of ,saxon blood4 ,,xviii4 ,,amusements ,,for ,,the ,,middle-,,aged ,,and ,,the ,,aged4 ,we can not but notice1 as people go on in life--when1 as ,lord ,mansfield said1 8,the absence of pain is pleasure1 just as in youth the absence of pleasure is pain0--that the quiet corner by the fire1 or the seat at the library-table with the shaded lamp1 and a quiet game or two when reading has fatigued the eyes1 becomes almost necessary4 ,of all the means of cheating a succession of dull evenings of their tedium1 perhaps that little invention called a 8,solitaire0 board--which is simply a board pierced with thirty-seven holes1 which are nearly filled with thirty-six pegs--has proved itself the most eminently successful4 ,it was invented1 it is said1 by a ,french ,jesuit1 in ,canada1 to help him through the long ,canadian winter evenings1 and it has proved to be a boon to mankind4 ,one peg takes another when it can leap over into an empty hole4 ,to get all off but one peg is nearly impossible1 but it can be done4 ,then comes 8,merelles10 or 8,nine ,men's ,morris10 which can be played on a board1 or on the ground1 but which finds itself reduced even to a parlor game4 ,this1 however1 takes two players4 8,american ,bagatelle10 which can be played alone1 or with an antagonist2 ,chinese puzzles1 which are infinitely amusing2 and all the great family of the sphinx known as puzzles--are of infinite service to the retired1 quiet1 lonely people for whom the active business of life is at an end4 ,the guessing of arithmetical puzzles1 the solution of enigmas1 and the solution of a paradox--these amuse many an evening4 ,we may give one of these old things as an example4 ,it is called 8,the ,blind ,abbot and his ,monks10 and is played with counters4 ,arrange eight external cells of a square so that there may always be nine in each row1 though the whole number may vary from eighteen to thirty-six4 ,a convent in which there were nine cells was occupied by a blind abbot and twenty-four monks1 the abbot lodging in the center cell1 and the monks in the side cells1 three in each1 giving a row of nine persons on each side of the building4 ,the abbot1 suspecting the fidelity of his brethren1 often went out at night and counted them1 and when he found nine in each row the old man counted his beads1 said an ,ave6 and went to bed contented4 ,the monks1 taking advantage of his failing sight1 contrived to deceive him1 so that four could go out nightly1 yet leave nine in a row4 ,how did they do it8 ,the next night1 emboldened by success1 the monks returned with four visitors and then arranged them nine in a row4 ,the next night they brought in four more belated brethren1 and again arranged them nine in a row2 and again four more4 ,finally1 when the twelve clandestine brothers had departed1 and six monks with them1 the remainder deceived the abbot again by presenting a row of nine4 ,try it with the counters1 and see how they so abused the privileges of a conventual seclusion4 ,then try quibbles--8,how can ,i get wine out of a bottle if ,i have no corkscrew1 and must not break the glass or make any hole in it or the cork80 ,the telling of a good story well should be encouraged4 ,the raconteur can be the most delightful of all household blessings4 ,a mother who can tell a story well by the nursery fire is a potent force2 and the one who will light up the winter evening by telling stories of adventures--the simplest every-day ones in the street--the little journey1 even the round of shopping1 becomes very much of a treasure4 ,some ladies commit to memory the stories of ,hans ,christian ,andersen2 ,grimm1 the fairy-story maker2 ,charles ,kingsley's short stories1 ,ouida's 8,a ,dog of ,flanders10 or the poems of ,dr4 ,holmes1 or some other benefactor of mankind1 and tell these stories and poems in a sort of unpremeditated way by the library-table4 ,this is a charming accomplishment4 ,some people have the gift of improvising1 and will tell a very good bit of ghost story in a very gruesome manner for the entertainment of those who enjoy the night side of nature4 ,but this talent should never be abused4 ,the man who in cold blood fires off a long poetical quotation at a dinner1 or makes a speech in defiance of the goose-flesh which is creeping down his neighbors' backs1 is a traitor to honor and religion1 and he deserves the death of a ,nihilist4 ,it is only when these extempore talents can be used without alarming people that they are useful or endurable4 ,we might make our ,christmas holidays a little more gay in this country4 ,we might read and study up all the old ,english and the ,german customs1 beyond the mistletoe1 the tree1 and the rather faded legend of ,santa ,claus4 ,there are worlds of legendary lore which would help us to make this time-honored festival even more lively and gay and amusing than it is4 ,we have not yet reached the ,english jollity at ,christmas4 ,the supper-table has1 as an ,american home festival1 rather fallen into desuetude4 ,we sup out1 but rarely have that informal and delightful meal which once wound up every evening devoted to ,home ,amusement4 ,mrs4 ,elizabeth ,montague1 in her delightful letters1 talks about the 8whisk and the quadrille parties with a light supper0 which amused the ladies of her day4 ,we still have the 8whisk10 but what has become of lansquenet1 quadrille1 basset1 and piquet1 those pretty and courtly games8 ,playing-cards made their way through ,arabia from ,india to ,europe1 where they first arrived about the year #acgj4 ,they carried with them the two arts1 engraving and painting4 ,they were the avants coureurs of engraving on wood and metal1 and of printing4 ,cards early began to be the luxuries of kings and queens1 the necessity of the gambler1 and the consolation of those who innocently like games4 ,piquet1 a courtly game1 was invented by tienne ,vignoles1 called ,la ,hire1 one of the most active soldiers of the reign of ,charles ,,vii4 ,this brave soldier was an accomplished chevalier1 deeply imbued with a reverence for the manners and customs of chivalry4 ,cards continued from this time to follow the whim of the court and to assume the character of the period through the regency of ,marie de ,medicis1 in the time of ,anne of ,austria and of ,louis ,,xiv4 ,the ,germans are the first people who essayed to make a pack of cards assume the form of a scholastic treatise4 ,the king1 queen1 knight1 and knave tell of ,english manners1 customs1 and nomenclature4 ,,xix4 ,,the ,,parlor4 ,that is a poorly-furnished parlor1 think some people1 which has not a chess-table in one corner1 a whist-table in the middle1 and a little solitaire-table at the other end near the fire1 for grandma4 ,people who are fond of games stock their table drawers with cribbage boards and backgammon1 cards of every variety1 bzique counters and packs1 and the red and white champions of the hard-fought battlefield of chess4 ,mrs4 ,frances ,anne ,kemble1 one of the most gifted of women--whose recollections would1 one would think1 be the most attractive book which one could read--is devoted to card solitaire4 ,every evening she describes herself as spending an hour or two over these combinations4 ,this is not to be confused with the game of peg solitaire4 ,whist6 ,who shall pretend to describe its attractions8 ,what a relief it is to the tired man of business who has been fighting the world all day1 to the woman who has no longer any part in the gay and glittering pageant of society6 ,what pleasure in its regulated1 shifting fortunes6 ,we all have seen that holding the cards--even the highest ones--does not always win the game4 ,we have noticed that with a poor hand somebody wins fame1 success1 happiness4 ,we feel the injustice of that long suit which has baffled our best endeavors4 ,whist is a parody on life2 we play our own experience over again in its faithless kings and queens4 ,the knave is apt to trip us up on the green cloth as on the street4 ,we are simply playing the real over in shadow4 ,the great passion for gambling is no doubt behind even the game of ,boston1 played for beans4 ,we all like to accumulate1 to believe that we are ,fortune's favorite4 ,what matter if it be only a few more beans than one's neighbor8 ,the principle remains the same4 ,so long as cards do not lead to gambling1 they are innocent enough4 ,indeed1 they are a priceless boon to eyes which can no longer see to read2 to those who must get rid of time2 to those who are ill1 weary1 or unfortunate4 ,we always wonder at seeing the young take to them2 it seems as if they could do so much better2 but the sight of a parlor1 warm1 well lighted1 with its games going on in every corner1 is not a disagreeable one4 ,especially should the young ladies of the family look to this arrangement1 and see that everything is comfortable for papa's game of whist1 bzique1 or cribbage4 ,they do not know how great a necessity it may be to him--what a relief1 what a consolation6 ,as for ,chess1 the devotee of this heavy1 remorseless game has no further need of our help or sympathy4 ,to any one who likes to puzzle his brain over the fantastic skips of the ,knight or the prodigious descent of the ,castle1 we can offer no suggestions except that he may be left undisturbed4 ,as for ,music1 one can hardly say anything which has not been said about its transcendent powers in assisting at every ,home ,amusement4 ,the family circle which has learned three or four instruments1 the brothers who can sing part songs1 are to be envied4 ,they can never suffer from a dull evening4 ,even the musical absurdities of ,kindergarten choruses are to be commended1 and the ,german mimicry of all the instruments4 ,what a blessing to a family is the man who can sing comic songs1 and who also does not sing them too often6 ,it is well1 where it can be done easily1 to allow young boys to sing in church choirs2 to train their voices1 and be with musical people2 to learn choruses1 chants1 etc4 ,in that way ,arthur ,sullivan began1 that benefactor of his species1 the author of 8,pinafore40 ,what has not 8,pinafore0 done to help along the musical education of our young people8 ,how it has been sung in country towns6 ,how church choirs have taken it up6 ,how popular1 innocent1 sweet it is6 ,now1 in our musical home training we may not make an ,arthur ,sullivan1 but we shall certainly add to the sum of innocent enjoyment2 and it is a delightful fact that if there are six or seven children in a family1 one of them is apt to have a good voice1 one a talent for the piano1 and generally all can be taught to play and sing a little4 ,sometimes there are rarely gifted1 great musical organizations in all the sons and daughters1 which is a supreme blessing4 ,for there is not only ,home ,amusement in it1 but a certainty of making a good living1 if fortune frowns and makes work necessary4 ,the only deep shadow to the musical picture is the necessity of practicing1 which is not a ,home ,amusement2 it is a home torture4 ,if only a person could learn to play or sing without those dreadful first noises and those hideous shrieks6 ,but1 since these are not to be avoided1 some one in the family must have the tact to arrange them well1 and to have the hours of the various students so placed that there need not be a perpetual tinkle-tinkle1 or something worse4 ,the season of early spring and summer6 ,oh6 what sounds come through the first open casement6 ,how dreadful is that appoggiatura6 how fearful that badly-played waltz6 ,is it possible that yon violinist will ever be ,maurice ,dengrmont8 ,and yet it is by these hard chromatic steps that all have mounted the heavenly stairs of melody4 ,no young lady should sing in public--that is1 before a party of friends--until she can sing well4 ,in these days1 when amateur cultivation has reached a high point1 let everybody say to herself1 8,am ,i sufficiently advanced to give pleasure by my singing80 and let her modestly abstain from singing if she finds that1 after hearing her once1 her friends do not press her to sing again4 ,there is1 perhaps1 nothing so foolish as for a woman to persist in singing in her own parlor when she is not a thoroughly good vocalist4 ,no one can get away from her there4 ,they must suffer4 ,still1 if birds can sing1 they should sing4 ,nothing is more disagreeable than to have to urge a person to sing4 ,the possessor of a voice is always a very rare and much to be envied person1 and a certain amiability in singing becomes such a person very much4 ,all young ladies who have been taught the piano should have some pieces learned1 and be able to play for the amusement of the home circle4 ,especially should they be able to play for dancing4 ,a few waltzes are very convenient4 ,they often help off a dull evening wonderfully4 ,the person who plays should be willing occasionally to be made use of4 ,are we not all made use of at times8 ,is not the good talker in perpetual request8 ,the raconteuse--is she not begged to tell that story over and over again8 ,does not the wit find himself invited out to dinner to amuse the company8 ,and are they not all1 if amiable1 glad to perform their part8 ,surely the pianist should be as amiable6 ,reading aloud is one of the most common of ,home ,amusements1 and one of the best4 ,it is a pity1 however1 that our women1 especially1 do not cultivate elocution a little1 so that they may read aloud intelligently4 ,there is no prettier accomplishment4 ,a lady at a watering-place1 who can read a poem or story well1 is always surrounded4 ,the sweet voice1 the correct accent1 the air of intelligence--all give the author a great help1 and ,longfellow never wrote a prettier stanza than this3 8,then read from the favored volume ,the poem of thy choice1 ,and lend to the rhyme of the poet ,the music of thy voice40 ,but1 when the favored volume and the poem have to be filtered through a nasal accent and an uneducated drawl1 we feel that the poet has been vilified1 and his gold and silver turns to dross4 ,every woman especially should remember the fable of the girl whose lips dropped pearls and diamonds1 who was so much more agreeable as a friend and acquaintance than that other damsel whose lips dropped toads and vipers4 ,the latter1 evidently1 had never taken lessons in elocution4 ,we have a certain national vice in pronunciation and in accent which we ought to correct4 ,a moment's listening to the ,english accent will soon teach us to pronounce with a more melodious finish4 ,we need not hug ourselves with any vainglorious national conceit4 ,we do not speak as well as our ,english cousins4 ,,xx4 ,,the ,,kitchen4 ,we began at the garret1 and we are now at the kitchen4 ,so our readers may learn that we are on the home-stretch1 and shall be through very soon4 ,if we have wearied them1 let them bear with us but a little longer1 and then1 on our faithful steed1 whom they shall find at the kitchen door1 they shall ride off and never be troubled with us any more4 ,a model kitchen is every housekeeper's delight4 ,in these days of tiles and modern improvement1 what pretty things kitchens are6 ,the modern dairy1 with its upright milk-pans1 in which the cream is marked off by a neat little thermometer2 the fire-brick floor2 the exquisite range1 with its polished batterie de cuisine2 every brilliant brass saucepan1 seeming to say1 8,come and cook in me02 every porcelain-lined pan urging upon one the necessity of stewing nectarines in white sugar2 every bright can suggesting the word 8conserve10 which always makes the mouth water2 every clatter of the skewers1 saying1 8,dainty dishes1 dainty dishes1 come and make me6 ,come and make me60 ,all this is quite fascinating to an amateur4 ,no pretty woman--did she but know it--is ever half so pretty as when she is playing cook4 ,the clean1 white apron1 the neat1 short cambric dress1 the little cap1 the fair bare arms--does the reader remember ,ruth ,pinch and the beefsteak-pie8 ,a lady should make the desserts in summer sometimes4 ,such ice-cream1 such glorified ,charlotte ,russe1 such cakes1 such delicate apple-pies1 such creams and jellies as fall from a lady's fingers--these are ambrosial food6 ,there is among certain women a great passion for the cleanly part of household work4 ,the love of a dairy has grown to be a favorite task with many a duchess4 ,in our country1 where ladies are compelled to put a hand1 perhaps once too often1 to the household work1 owing to the inefficiency of the servants1 this is not ordinarily considered the most thoroughly amusing of ,home ,amusements4 ,to cook a heavy dinner in warm weather1 to wash dishes afterward--this is sober prose1 and by a very dull author4 ,but the poetry of house-work1 the rose hue o'er our russet cares--this can be classed as a ,home ,amusement4 ,in the early morning we can imagine a lady going into her neat kitchen to prepare the desserts for the day1 and finding it very agreeable4 ,she will set her well-flavored custard away in the ice-chest with a serene knowledge of how good it will be at dinner1 and place her compote of pears securely on a high shelf1 away from that ubiquitous visitor the cat1 who has in most families so remarkable and irrepressible an appetite4 ,she can take a turn at the milk-pan1 and skim off the cream herself if she pleases4 ,it will be much thicker if she does4 ,it is a not unpleasant duty to steal into the kitchen ten minutes before dinner1 to see to it that the roast birds are garnished with watercresses1 that the vegetables are properly prepared1 that the silver dishes are without a smear4 ,all this sort of attention makes good servants1 and very good dinners4 ,it is often one of the ,home ,amusements for a party of girls to try their hand at clear-starching4 ,statira1 indeed1 does not like this2 but they should learn to flute their own ruffles4 ,who knows but they may marry an army officer1 and go to ,nebraska8 ,all sorts of fine washing and ironing1 all sorts of doing up of lace1 of renovating old silks1 etc41 may be made into ,home ,amusements1 if done cheerfully1 and in the right spirit4 ,the modern embroidery requiring pressing1 the many modern accomplishments of lace-making1 appliqu1 etc41 lead a young lady into the kitchen1 and she can derive a vast deal of amusement from this room1 if she chooses4 ,one of the holiest of duties is to learn how to cook for the sick4 ,this requires a great deal of patient talent1 and it is a sufficient reward if we can see the beloved convalescent tasting our arrowroot and sago1 and good beef-tea and jelly1 with approbation4 ,among ,home ,amusements1 how many reckon the jolly party assembled to make the wedding-cake8 ,susan and ,sarah shall stone the raisins1 ,charlotte and ,clara shall beat the eggs1 ,louisa shall slice the citron1 ,matilda1 who has a judicial mind1 shall weigh6 ,then all shall stir1 and who shall be the one to get the ring8 ,the baking is momentous4 ,mamma had better be consulted here4 ,and then the great question of the icing6 ,oh6 how anxious6 ,the mince-pies require another season of deep thought and much very stringent stirring4 ,the excellent brandy1 the dash of orange curaoa1 must be poured out by the lady1 else why is it that ever after the mince-pie seems to lack that inspiriting and hidden fire8 ,we read that there is many a slip between the cup and the lip6 ,the modern elegant devices by which strawberries1 violets1 and orange-blossoms are candied in sugar1 effect a ,home ,amusement for dainty-fingered girls2 and since the establishment in ,boston of a cooking club1 at which each young lady is to contribute some article of her own cooking1 we see signs of a revival in all branches of the great art of cookery which is most encouraging4 ,it was a notable old maxim among ,puritan mothers that every wife should know how to make bread1 and1 perhaps1 it has not died out yet4 ,looking at the subject broadly1 every thoroughly accomplished woman should know how to do everything1 from making a soup up to a cup of tea--the ,alpha and the ,omega of cookery4 ,in the matter of flavoring1 the colored race have us at a great disadvantage4 ,any old colored cook can distance her white 8,missus0 here4 ,this highly-gifted race seem to have a sixth sense on the subject of flavors4 ,the rich tropical nature breaks out in reminiscences of orange-blossoms1 pineapple1 guava1 cocoanut1 and ,mandarin orange4 ,never can the descendants of the poor1 half-starved1 frozen exiles of ,plymouth ,rock hope to achieve such custards and puddings as these ,ethiops turn out4 ,and as to the juicyness of their fried oysters and their inimitable terrapin1 who has ever approached them8 ,it is as if a luxurious and tasteful1 beneficent power had left us1 when we were given what we proudly call a 8higher intelligence40 ,who would not exchange all the cold mathematical supremacy in which we glory for that luscious gift of making pies and puddings ravir8 ,,xxi4 ,,the ,,family ,,horse1 ,,and ,,other ,,pets4 ,standing at the kitchen door1 all ready for the most timorous to drive1 is the most important minister to the ,home ,amusements--the family horse4 ,he is a beast of burden1 no doubt4 ,there is but little ,arab steed left in him1 if1 indeed1 there ever was much4 ,he is a plodder1 a patient1 much put-upon beast4 ,the boys can harness him1 the girls can drive him4 ,he is allowed to take out grandma--when she consents to be driven1 and isn't afraid of the railroad train1 and does not think that it is going to rain4 ,the baby1 when he takes his first adventurous journey down the village street1 is put in state and in blankets behind the family horse4 ,no one is afraid of ,blossom4 ,no one likes to whip him1 because if he were whipped1 what antics he might give way to6 ,blossom is an exceedingly inappropriate name4 ,dried ,leaf would be far more descriptive4 ,still ,blossom is adhered to1 because the suggestion that he was once young1 and that really he is frisky1 in his silent way1 is still a delightful legend in the family4 ,blossom1 who is an intelligent old beast1 knows perfectly well how utterly weak and imbecile the whole family are about him4 ,so he will never do anything but walk and trot very gently1 because he knows that no one dares to whip him4 ,once a young cousin1 who had none of the family reverence for ,blossom1 did give him a few cuts on his exceedingly smooth1 fat sides4 ,blossom had the presence of mind to stand up on his hind legs1 frightening mamma nearly to death2 and she mentioned1 in ,blossom's hearing1 that 8he never was to be whipped again1 because he really had a great deal of fire in him1 and would not brook whip or spur60 8,i remember1 dear10 she says1 8your father says that he heard1 when he bought him1 that he came of very proud stock40 ,it has been noticed that when papa wishes to catch the train ,blossom can go as fast as anybody4 ,blossom is a great pet1 and he has that instinct of a good family horse--he stops when anything is wrong4 ,once1 when the harness broke1 ,blossom1 instead of running1 stopped short1 and saved the lives of the whole family4 ,he has a quick ear for a coming railway train1 and never has balked going up hill4 ,the girls feed him with sugar1 and take their first ride on his dear1 safe1 hard old back4 ,the boys have had imaginary jousts with neighboring knights1 urging him in the lists4 ,he has been put through all the sports of the middle ages1 has ,blossom1 and probably he distrusts the institution of chivalry4 ,still1 he likes the boys1 and does all that a phlegmatic temperament and an indomitable laziness will allow in the way of a spirited and impulsive charge4 ,there are persons whom ,blossom dislikes2 one is the spinster sister1 ,miss ,caroline1 who drives him with many a whirrup1 and 8get up10 and 8g'lang10 and has a nervous twitch to her hand1 and a distrustful and uncertain temper with the whip4 ,miss ,caroline nags ,blossom1 as she has nagged everything and everybody all her life1 and ,blossom resents her absence of repose and confidence by starting wildly to right and left as he goes down the village street1 appearing to make for a distant fence when she is endeavoring to guide his nose toward the gate of the parsonage4 ,indeed1 the village wit says that if he sees only the back of the family carriage he can tell that ,miss ,caroline is driving1 as he watches that respected vehicle describing parabolas and angles as it wobbles down the street4 ,when mamma drives1 ,blossom goes in a slow1 stately1 but dignified manner1 and1 although he imposes upon her good-nature1 and does not put forth any mile-in-three-minutes style1 yet he shows a due respect for himself and her4 ,when the girls drive him1 he1 feeling through the reins a little of the ichor of their young blood1 becomes almost vivacious1 and goes almost half as fast as he can go4 ,when papa drives1 he feels a strong hand behind him1 and actually gets there4 ,every family should have as many animals as possible4 ,dogs of every breed and variety--especially big ones1 and good ones1 like mastiffs and ,newfoundlands1 and a few little ones to play with4 ,cats and kittens1 if they like them1 rabbits1 goats1 pigeons1 lambs1 peacocks1 etc41 and as much live-stock as can be accommodated about the place should be there4 ,these four-footed friends1 especially dogs1 are indispensable in the country4 ,what attachments one forms for them6 ,how dreary the hour when they die6 ,perhaps1 then1 we wish that they had not been so intimate1 so dear1 so loving1 so trustful4 ,the walk1 the ramble1 the quiet seat on the piazza--all1 all must be endeared by the silent friendship of the dogs4 ,there is sometimes a want of harmony among the pets4 ,carlo must be shut up while ,flirt is at large1 and the parrot must be kept away from the pigeons4 ,the parrot can take care of herself as to the cats2 but how about the canaries and the blackcap8 ,eternal vigilance is the price of liberty1 and the only safety of slavery4 ,and yet these enforced duties3 do they not fit the boys for the cares of government8 ,do they not tell the future politician what he is to do8 ,are they not1 after all1 a part of that great education which ,home1 and only ,home1 can give us8 ,we shall have few friends so faithful as ,blossom1 few who will impose upon us so gently1 and who will really impose upon us to our advantage4 ,we shall have few such friends as ,carlo and ,flirt1 who love us1 faults and all2 who never ask what wrong we have committed1 or how unworthy we are1 but who are1 without doubt1 the most flattering of worshipers1 loving us simply because we are ourselves4 ,how few love us for that1 and that alone6 ,,xxii4 ,,in ,,conclusion4 ,in looking over our list of ,home ,amusements--the private theatricals1 the tableaux vivants1 the brain games1 the fortune-telling1 the making of screens1 the painting of fans1 etc42 the games at cards1 the etching1 the lawn tennis1 the dancing1 the garden party1 the window gardens1 the birds1 the picnics1 the plaque-painting1 the archery1 the parlor and the kitchen--we can only feel how much we have left out4 ,why have we not spoken more fully of the library1 with its quiet and respectable arm-chairs1 its green table1 its shelves filled with those silent friends who never desert us1 its paper-cutter1 its wood-fire1 its latest magazine1 its quiet1 and the heavy curtain dropped at evening8 ,how did we happen to so slight this delightful room1 wherein so many of the best amusements of home are always arranging themselves8 ,perhaps because the story told itself1 and we did not need to tell it4 ,how could we have forgotten the quest for green apples and choke-cherries in the spring1 or the subsequent repentance8 the bird-snaring and nesting8 and in summer the search for wild flowers8 the attempts at making an herbarium8 the berry-picking8 the nutting in the fall8 that cracking of butternuts by the winter fire8 that arrangement of the autumn-leaves8 ,simply because the record of ,home ,amusements is endless4 ,it is almost all of life which is worth remembering4 ,but we can not leave the reader here1 particularly if that kindly personage be a young lady1 without congratulating her upon the age in which she exists4 ,she finds vastly more to amuse her in her home-life than her mother or her grandmother did before her4 ,they were content to receive once a month 8,the ,lady's ,book10 with a few hints as to lace-work1 worsted-work1 patterns for the embroidering of slippers or sofa-cushions4 ,a new suggestion for embroidery on white cambric1 or1 through a friend in some great mart of fashion1 the cut pattern of an article of dress--think of that1 ye who get the fashions by telegraph4 ,dress itself was a crude thing compared to what it is now4 ,there was not even at ,newport the slightest approximation to the luxury of to-day4 ,a 8,london-made0 habit1 for instance1 was almost unknown4 ,there was no 8riding to hounds10 no skating rink1 no casino2 there were quiet dinners1 and very many 8,germans10 but they were conducted inexpensively1 at the hotels almost universally4 ,of course1 ,new ,york and ,philadelphia1 ,boston and ,washington1 offered an exciting life to the prominent and fashionable women of the day for a few weeks of the season4 ,but the long life at home of the rank and file1 the severe winters1 during whose rigors the ardent and ambitious and pleasure-loving were shut up for months behind four dreary walls1 were not illumined by patterns of artistic fancy-work from ,south ,kensington1 or by the delightful knowledge of china painting4 ,no ingenious boy or girl thought of cutting or carving in wood beyond the vulgar whittling1 which all good housekeepers condemned4 ,the elderly lady sat about with her knitting--very plain knitting at that4 ,the crochet-needle had not then begun that endless chain which has since united our vast continent in a network of elaborate tidies1 and covered our babies with delicate flannel ,josies1 or given us1 for the head and neck1 the softest of wraps4 ,the sewing-machine had not begun its prodigious march down our long seams4 ,people did much 8plain sewing10 but knew not of artistic curtains made of cheesecloth1 or of unbleached muslin elaborated into ,roman scarfs--a singular marriage1 by the way1 of ,lowell and its looms with the ,eternal ,city1 all of which they know now4 ,young ladies had not then been taught to draw and paint artistically1 sincerely1 as they are taught to-day4 ,the education in music was infinitely less thorough4 ,it was an age when the person who aspired to the accomplishments had much to contend against4 ,there were but few railroads which penetrated to the remote villages2 and it must be confessed that life had its dull evenings4 ,but around the one astral lamp which then shed its uncertain rays upon the family circle there were the same elements of which human society is now composed1 and there was one amusement present whose absence we now sometimes have to regret4 ,we refer to that lost art of conversation which has1 it would seem1 departed from our busy last half of the nineteenth century4 ,indeed1 it has left the whole world1 if we can believe ,cornelius ,o',dowd1 ,mrs4 ,stowe1 and ,mrs4 ,julia ,ward ,howe1 and even some ,french writers4 ,mrs4 ,stowe1 in one of her books of early ,new ,england life1 referring to the art of conversation1 speaks feelingly of the change4 ,young ladies were driven by the very dullness of their lives to be readers of good books4 ,there were many admirable historical scholars and ,shakespeareans among the ,new ,england girls of a past generation4 ,they read ,milton and ,john ,bunyan1 and the early essayists and poets4 ,their novels had been written for them by ,walter ,scott and ,miss ,austen1 and they were an education in themselves4 ,and conversation1 such as we do not hear often1 lighted up those long winter evenings4 ,perhaps1 too1 this very quiet and dullness was helping to forge the armor of some heroine who was to take her part in civilizing the ,west4 ,certainly it made some great women4 ,however1 as we take account of what little we may have lost1 we are very grateful for all we have gained4 ,our present civilization rubs out individuality1 no doubt4 ,life is smothered in appliances4 ,what is called the higher education of women1 and the very superior culture now possible1 may not have yet made a race of good talkers1 but it has undoubtedly made an army of thinkers4 ,it certainly has helped to fill the country with refined and happy girls1 who have no reason to complain of repression4 ,it would seem almost impossible to find now the repressed1 morbid1 undeveloped1 and crushed natures which a gloomy religion and a lingering of ,puritan prejudice made almost too common in early ,new ,england4 ,many of those women still live1 and have found expression in literature to tell us how devoid their homes were of amusement4 ,the world is not filled with geniuses1 or with those fortunate people who can evolve an amusing life from out of the depths of their inner consciousness4 ,we may1 therefore1 be very grateful for every innocent amusement4 ,indeed1 we may be very grateful that amateur concerts1 little operettas1 cantatas1 musical clubs1 are now common1 and that the performers1 young ladies of all ranks and classes1 are admirably trained in music2 that in decorative art industries they are no longer novices1 but deserving of the higher name of artist4 ,all these better developments of the mind and power of each inmate can not but render home interesting1 gay1 cheerful1 happy1 blessed4 ,and all the ,home ,amusements should be made1 or studied to be made1 the amusements of the whole4 ,no pursuit or pleasure can be carried on in the best spirit without being in some measure unselfish if it conduces to the amusement of home4 ,thus the indulgence of a favorite taste may have the beauty of philanthropy in it1 if it is made to help along the cheerfulness of home4 ,there are some trades which are solitary and exclusive4 ,authorship is one of these2 and perhaps the author is not always a very amusing inmate4 ,but the actor in the private play1 the clever and ready wit who makes the charade lively1 the musician1 the embroideress1 the fortune-teller1 the good partner at whist1 the clever amateur cook1 and the artistic member--these can all add to ,home ,amusements4 ,,the ,,end4 ,,footnote3 ,a ,this was the invention of a poor poet named ,dulot1 who found rhymes for other poets4 ,,advertisements4 ,artistic ,wall ,papers1 ,,on ,,hand ,,and ,,made ,,to ,,order ,,by ,illustration ,,fr4 ,,beck ,,co41 ,at their ,factory1 corner ,twenty-ninth ,st4 and ,seventh ,ave41 ,,new ,,york4 ,,colors of ,,carpets and ,,draperies ,,matched4 ,,the ,,entire ,,work ,,of ,,interior ,,decoration ,,done ,,under ,,our ,,supervision4 ,ceiling ,decorations a ,specialty4 ,,appletons' ,,home ,,books4 ,appletons' ,home ,books are a ,series of ,new ,hand-,volumes at low price1 devoted to all ,subjects pertaining to ,home and the ,household4 ,,now ,,ready3 ,,building ,a ,,home4 ,illustrated4 ,,how ,,to ,,furnish ,a ,,home4 ,illustrated4 ,,the ,,home ,,garden4 ,illustrated4 ,,home ,,grounds4 ,illustrated4 ,,amenities ,,of ,,home4 ,,household ,,hints4 ,,home ,,decoration4 ,illustrated4 ,other volumes to follow4 ,bound in cloth1 flexible1 with illuminated design4 #abmo4 ,price1 #fj cents each4 ,for sale by all booksellers2 or any work sent by mail1 post-paid1 on receipt of price4 ,new ,york3 ,d4 ,,appleton ,,co41 #a1 #c1 #e ,bond ,street4 ,,new ,,and ,,enlarged ,,edition4 ,social ,etiquette of ,new ,york4 ,,contents3 ,the ,value of ,etiquette2 ,introductions2 ,solicitations2 ,strangers in ,towns2 ,dbuts in ,society2 ,visiting1 and ,visiting ,cards for ,ladies2 ,card and ,visiting ,customs for ,gentlemen2 ,morning ,receptions and ,kettle-,drums2 ,giving and attending ,parties1 ,balls1 and ,germans2 ,dinner-giving and ,dining out2 ,breakfasts1 ,luncheons1 and ,suppers2 ,opera and ,theatre ,parties1 ,private ,theatricals1 and ,musicales2 ,extended ,visits2 ,customs and ,costumes at ,theatres1 ,concerts1 and ,operas 7being two additional chapters written for this edition72 ,etiquette of ,weddings 7rewritten1 for this edition1 in accordance with the latest fashionable usage72 ,christenings and ,birthdays2 ,marriage ,anniversaries2 ,new ,year's ,day in ,new ,york2 ,funeral ,customs and ,seasons of ,mourning4 #ahmo1 cloth1 gilt1 price1 #a4jj4 8,this little volume contains numerous hints and suggestions1 which are specially serviceable to strangers1 and which even people to the manner born will find interesting and useful4 ,perhaps the best part of it is in what it does not say1 the indefinable suggestion of good breeding and refinement which its well-written pages make40--,new ,york ,evening ,express4 8,a sensible and brief treatise1 which young persons may profitably read40--,new ,york ,evening ,post4 8,everything which refines the habits of a people ennobles it1 and hence the importance of furnishing to the public all possible aids to superior manners4 ,this book will undoubtedly meet the needs of a large class40--,boston ,evening ,transcript4 8,a frank and sensible epitome of the customs of good society in the first city of ,america4 ,it admits the existence and need of certain rules of social behavior1 and then in a kindly and decorous manner points out how to conform to the best usage40--,boston ,commonwealth4 8,a very sensible and--if we may say it of a book--well-bred volume4 ,it gives the rules that are observed in the metropolis4 ,these sometimes seem artificial1 but they are usually founded on reason40--,hartford ,courant4 8,this is a timely work4 ,for years our people have followed the habits of the older nations4 ,in this young republic it can not be expected that the same rules exist as we find abroad4 ,this work is very complete1 and is easily carried in the pocket to read at odd intervals40--,albany ,sunday ,press4 8,the statements are exact and simple1 and cover all that any reader is likely to desire4 ,the work will convey positively useful and reliable instruction that can not always be reached otherwise40--,philadelphia ,north ,american4 ,d4 ,,appleton ,,co41 ,publishers1 #a1 #c1 #e ,bond ,st41 ,new ,york4 ,the ,music ,series4 ,the ,great ,german ,composers4 ,by ,george ,t4 ,ferris4 ,paper1 #cj cents2 cloth1 #fj cents4 ,,bach4 ,,handel4 ,,gluck4 ,,haydn4 ,,mozart4 ,,beethoven4 ,,schubert1 ,,schumann1 ,,and ,,franz4 ,,chopin4 ,,weber4 ,,mendelssohn4 ,,wagner4 ,by the same author4 ,the ,great ,italian and ,french ,composers4 ,paper1 #cj cents2 cloth1 #fj cents4 ,,palestrina4 ,,piccini1 ,,paisiello1 ,,and ,,cimarosa4 ,,rossini4 ,,donizetti ,,and ,,bellini4 ,,verdi4 ,,cherubini ,,and ,,his ,,predecessors4 ,m,,hul1 ,,spontini1 ,,and ,,hal,,vy4 ,,boieldieu ,,and ,,auber ,,meyerbeer4 ,,gounod4 ,great ,singers4 ,first ,series4 ,paper1 #cj cents2 cloth1 #fj cents4 ,,faustina ,,bordoni4 ,,farinelli4 ,,catarina ,,gabrielli4 ,,sophie ,,arnould4 ,,angelica ,,catalani4 ,,giuditta ,,pasta4 ,,henrietta ,,sontag4 ,,elizabeth ,,billington ,,and ,,her ,,contemporaries4 ,great ,singers4 ,second ,series4 ,paper1 #cj cents2 cloth1 #fj cents4 ,,maria ,,felicia ,,malibran4 ,,wilhelmina ,,schroder-,,devrient4 ,,giulia ,,grisi4 ,,pauline ,,viardot4 ,,fanny ,,persiani4 ,,marietta ,,alboni4 ,,jenny ,,lind4 ,,sophie ,,cruvelli4 ,,theresa ,,titiens4 ,great ,violinists and ,pianists4 ,paper1 #dj cents2 cloth1 #fj cents4 ,,corelli4 ,,tartini4 ,,viotti4 ,,de ,b,,riot4 ,,paganini4 ,,ole ,,bull4 ,,clementi4 ,,moscheles4 ,,the ,,schumanns ,,and ,,chopin4 ,,thalberg4 ,,gottschalk4 ,,liszt4 ,above volumes appear in ,appletons' 8,new ,handy-,volume ,series10 and are published in uniform style1 both in paper and cloth1 prices of which are given above4 ,d4 ,,appleton ,,co41 ,publishers1 #a1 #c1 #e ,bond ,street1 ,new ,york4 ,,books ,,on ,,art4 ,i4 ,introduction to the ,study of ,art4 ,by ,m4 ,a4 ,,dwight1 author of 8,grecian and ,roman ,mythology40 #abmo4 ,cloth1 #a4be4 ,,ii4 ,great ,lights in ,sculpture and ,painting4 ,a ,manual for ,young ,students4 ,by ,s4 ,d4 ,,doremus4 #abmo4 ,cloth1 #a4jj4 8,this little volume has grown out of a want long felt by a writer who desired to take a class through the history of the great sculptors and painters1 as a preliminary step to an intelligent journey through ,europe40--,from ,preface4 ,,iii4 ,schools and ,masters of ,painting4 ,with an ,appendix on the ,principal ,galleries of ,europe4 ,with numerous ,illustrations4 ,by ,a4 ,g4 ,,radcliffe4 #abmo4 ,cloth1 #c4jj4 8,the volume is one of great practical utility1 and may be used to advantage as an artistic guide-book by persons visiting the collections of ,italy1 ,france1 and ,germany1 for the first time4 ,the twelve great pictures of the world1 which are familiar by copies and engravings to all who have the slightest tincture of taste for art1 are described in a special chapter1 which affords a convenient stepping-stone to a just appreciation of the most celebrated masterpieces of painting4 ,an important feature of the work1 and one which may save the traveler much time and expense1 is the sketch presented in the ,appendix1 of the galleries of ,florence1 ,rome1 ,venice1 ,paris1 ,dresden1 and other ,european collections40--,n4 ,y4 ,tribune4 ,,iv4 ,studio1 ,field1 and ,gallery4 ,a ,manual of ,painting1 for the ,student and ,amateur2 with ,information for the ,general ,reader4 ,by ,,horace ,j4 ,,rollin4 #abmo4 ,cloth1 #a4ej4 8,the work is a small one1 but it is comprehensive in its scope2 it is written as tersely as possible1 with no waste sentences1 and scarcely any waste words1 and to amateur artists and art-students it will be invaluable as a hand-book of varied information for ready reference40--,n4 ,y4 ,evening ,post4 ,v4 ,ruskin on ,painting4 ,with a ,biographical ,sketch4 7,forming ,no4 #bi of ,appletons' 8,new ,handy-,volume ,series407 #ahmo4 ,paper1 #cj cents2 cloth1 #fj cents4 ,,vi4 ,majolica and ,fayence3 ,italian1 ,sicilian1 ,majorcan1 ,hispano-,moresque1 and ,persian4 ,by ,,arthur ,,beckwith4 ,with ,photo-,engraved ,illustrations4 ,second edition4 #abmo4 ,cloth1 #a4jj4 ,d4 ,,appleton ,,co41 ,,publishers1 #a1 #c1 #e ,,bond ,,street1 ,n4 ,y4 ,,esterbrook',s ,,standard ,,and ,,superior ,illustration ,,steel ,,pens ,,leading ,,numbers3 ,fine ,points1 ,nos4 #ccc1 #bcb1 #abh4 ,medium ,points1 #jdh1 #ad1 #acj4 ,blunt #abb1 #ahc1 #agdc4 ,broad #afa1 #bci1 #bhd4 ,,for ,,sale ,,by ,,all ,,stationers4 ,,the ,,esterbrook ,,steel ,,pen ,,co41 ,,works3 ,,camden1 ,n4 ,j4 #bf ,,john ,,street1 ,,new ,,york4 ,transcriber's ,note3 ,every effort has been made to replicate this text as faithfully as possible4 ,some minor corrections of spelling have been made4 ,italic text has been marked with underscores4