The Ottawa free trader. [volume] (Ottawa, Ill.) 1843-1916, 1878-03-02
March Magazines.
ScrIlJners,

Personal "reminiscences of Lincoln have again
become quite the rage. No well constructed
Washington letter is now complete unless
topped oil'' with an anccdote or BON mot of
the great war president. Noah Brooks adds
the cap shcaf to the business in the March
Scribncr, cXhGusting the subject it is to be
hoped, for II year or two. Most of his material,
however, has the merit Of being entirely new.
Somewhat in the same VEN IS the paper Of
Mrs. Weiss on The Last Days OF Edgar A. Poe
She knew him long and intimately during his
residence in Richmond, and no estimate Of his
character can be complete without taking into
the account this newly printed evidence. There
are half dozen of copiously illustrated arti-
cles. AN American Colony in II Normandy
Manor House." gives rolliCking account Of
perencc" pictures wildly the commissions at
Frcderckstadt in 1867; "A Trip to Central
America" enlightens us wonderfully in regard
to coffee culture and cochlneal gathering in
that region; and the paper on dresden Chi
ma" which describes the discovery and manu-
facturc of this ware at the Royal Saxon Porcc-
lain Works at Nielsen, possesses IA special in
tercst from the fact that the beautiful art is
finding its way into our own country, crowd
ng aside the everlasting crochet needle. Says
the writer
Flowers lace and frctwork are frequent
decoration of groups, vases, and ornamental
pieces. Flowers are generally formed with a.
a. :. Il
Gus to watch the dcXtcrous operation. Every
little leaf and stamcn must be separately fash
toned, and attcrward united. In fact, almost
all the fancy work IS done by hand, ploddng-
ly and painfully, and often in II sitting atmos-
phcrc 4 woman sits at II table with lump
of kneadcd clay, very much like piece of
dough, at her side Near her are II few little
knives, Il syringe for squirting thread of
semi-liquid clay, and, perhaps, small form
for cutting IA given pattern-the implements
being not unlike those used by pastry cooks.
BY the aid Of these simple tools, series of Chi
ma flowers or fruits, orvin es are slowly formed,
and tastctully disposed upon Il vase, for IN
stance. China lace and wells are also usually
made by women. The process is truly mar
yclous requiring no end Of patience and the
utmost dclcaCy Of touch. A pot of liquu.
clay paste and small steel style are all that
the woman needs for her work. With these
she tediousy spends her time, dipping the.
sryle INTO the pot and letting II tiny drop fall
upon given spot, then another, and so ON,
drop by drop each of which soidiics almost
instantly in the dry, choking atmosphere of
the room until The fine threads and minute
mcshcs of the lace grow visible under her pa
tient operations. Wells are made by CovcringI
fine tule with the fluid mass and draplngI
this, while it is still moist, upon the hgure.
The educational article is devoted to Kenyon
College, Il well known Ohio institution, which
boasts such great names as President Hayes
Judge Davis, Bishop Chase, Stanley Matthews,
&c, among its alumni. In fiction, besides the
serials, there are two very pleasant short stories
and there are poems by Celia ThaNtcr, Boyc
son and Emma Lazarus. In Topics of the
Times DR. Holland has Il "Slashcr" under the
title of ".An Epidemic Of Dishonesty" besides
other trcnchant articles.
The otherdcpartmcnt are unusually well filled. |