Sacramento daily record-union. [volume] (Sacramento [Calif.]) 1875-1891, 1885-02-28
FOR THE LADIES.
MATTERS OF INTEREST ABOUT
THE HOUSEHOLD.
Gossip About the Fair Sex-Fashion
Ltesns and Culinary Sug
gestiens.
HOMEMADE DECORATIONS.

In ho7ases where pictures are scarce the
walls often look bald, especially if covered
with hght-colored paper. Brackets are
great help to the housewife in getting rid
of this suggestion of badness. Any car
penter will make deal brackets to given
shape, and it is easy work to cover the
board and make valance for it. The
consideration OF what material is best to
use, and what should be the color, and IN
what style the ornamentatlon should be
carried out, are the main points or which
success depends. Virginia creeper leaves
look weldon white, gray and black grounds,
and they are we'll adapted for the valance
either of mantel-boards or of brackets
they can be massed together in punches, or
applied as bordering, and are equally eff
fective in both styles.
A charming screen can he made as fol-
lows: A length of satin, of delicate
gray tint, is worked with shaded chenille
The design may be formed Of flowers alone,
or birds may be introduced In one we
have seen the design consists of water
plants; exquisitely tinted flag, tall bull
ruslles of a red-brown hue, and various
grasses are lightly arranged so as TO leave
much of the satin ground visible; q king
fisher with It's brilliant blue plumage, set
ties on some of the lower foliage, whilst
his mate hovers above. The lovely blue
feathers of the birds give the color that is
requisite to throw up the rest of the piece;
while darting across the top of the panel IS
4 dragOn-hy. Various pieces of work could
be carried out in shaded chenille, and the
soft tints are suited to articles to be placed
in drawing-room. Banner screens, hand
screens, work-bags, tea-eosies, may ali be
ornamented successfully in this manner. 4
tea-cosy may have 4 spray of wild roses
branching across one side on the other a
few leaves rich in autumnal tints of
gold, red. and brown. The cosies are
made smaller than they used to be, which
is certainly an improvement. If large,
they take up too much room on the
occasional tables used for 5 o'clock tea,
and look rather clumsy but when Hastily
made and well worked, or painted, they
add to, rather than detract from the pretty
appearance of this fashionable and social
repast
An embroidered tea-cloth is sine qua
non, as MANY folks think. 1t may be
either embroidered all over in set pat
tern or merely bordered with crewel-work.
Yellow jasmine or pink convolvulus is
suitable for the latter purpose; they give
sufficient color without contrasting too
strongly with the white ground Vivid
colors are Objectionable, as the china gen
al tIn{ z,OOnl,o a-4I
must study to have our cloth decorations
harmonic with our cups and saucers, so
that we may secure a good tone O. color
throughout On entering a room the tea
table, although ii does nCs as formerly
occupy the center of the floor, is yet an
object that invites attention, and we shall
not be throwing away our time if We make
it as attractive as we possibly can Gas
sells Family Magazine for March.
TIE FEMALE FoEM DIVINE.
A stay-rnaker, asked by a reporter if he
ever thought Of studying women's figures
with respect to their nationalities, deliv-
cred himself Of the following: Yes, the
study is an interesting one. English
women, when they are young, have the
noblest figures, so far as have observed"
said the manufacturer, after {. pause, " but
they get corpulent and dowager-like after
marriage much sooner than American
women. after which they NAV be said to
have no figure at all. English women, as
rule. are less ashamed of their figures
when stout than most other fashionables,
and seldom resort TO tight laclng. Mrs.
Iaugtrv, who has been In our store several
tines is a superbly-shaped woman, say
what they will, and IS fine specimen of
English women in general, though ! believe
She is only half English after all. Among
fashionables, the French ladies are apt to be
spare to scrawfulness, but they have such
natural talent for making up and con-
cealiug their defects that it is hard 70
Judge Of them. There are some pretty
figures among the Cuban and other West
Indian women. but they are short, age
rapidly and soon grow dumpy; yet such
as have French maids manage to make up
well. Refined Irish and German ladies
have fine figures on the average. So do
the Italian ladies. The few Holland and
Belgian ladies have seen are rotund. and
essentially well built The best shaped
woman in every respect VINO comes into
the store is a Hungarian, wife Of a musi-
clan in one of our theater orchestras. Her
waist, bust and shoulders are Hike sculp-
ture. She is tall, willowv and statuesque,
and her walk is the melody Of motion
She doesn't walk at all, in the ordinary
sense, but floats over the ground. Her
natural waist measure Is twenty-eight
American fashionable women, though in
clined to iragility as rule, have naturally
excellent figures, but there are no other
women who so persistently deform and de-
stroy what nature has given them through
tight lacing and generally slayish obedi-
ence to the absurdcst freak Of fashion
American women are the most unconscion-
able lacers in the world. But, everything
said and seen, the British feminine figures
are the best models New York Letter
WOMEN WHO love FLOWERS.
Flowers 70 ahead Of all other gifts in
winning 4 woman's heart, and every
young gallant knows that, y said the dealer
" why SOP
Well, nearly all women love flowers,
and there is something so delicate, 50 aaIrh
unsaid, YET suggested, in flowers, tlt lie
simple gift Of one is always apprecla ea by
= woman-not TO speak Of the 8 rent
sentiments that are associated with q --
ent kinds Of Aowers. 1t is very intereatj7y
to note how different people regard fowci
Why, ! can tell almost the moment wo-
man enters whether she is fond of flowers.
Women who love flowers always have
sweet faces, soft ways, and gentle DISPOSE
tions. One OF that kind rarely asks for
The fashionable flower because it is fash
ionable. She loves flowers for their own
sake, and consequently she is almost sure
to call for her favorites, whether in fashion
or not. The woman who cares for flowers
simply because they are fashionable is gem
orally one Of the cold, naughty, airy kind.
She viii look around critically, seize some
flower aud pull it out of bunch, some
times breaking off leaf or catching one
Of its thorns in another rose and tearing
the petals. That's the difference, you see.
I u . al