The Jersey City news. (Jersey City [N.J.]) 1889-1906, 1889-11-25
GIFTS FOR BRIDES.
THE FASHION OF MIXING LISTS
GROWS IN FAVOR.

--.
1t is a Useful practices and Prevents
Duplicates-Ever Busy wonien-The
Quaint Device of n Glider Baby.
At a State street jewelers.
Miss Sailor Hat-Good morning. Lovely
day, isn't it?
Miss Brown Bonnet-Is it?
why what's the matter? You look
disconsolatep'
~ am. Here I've been for two mortal
hours trying to buy a wedding present
for Gertrude T. with $25, and posi-
lively the only Things l can find that l
really like are a $40 fan and a $500 minia-
turei"
"oh' but haven't you seen her list''
you have evidently not been to call on
her lately. Why, she's adopted q brand
new English fashion, and has a list OF all
the things she wants given her displayed
on a small table in the drawing-room, so
that all her visitors can examine it for
themselves and mark off the articles they
prefer to give. 1t is a strip of satin paper
about two yards long, and a gold pencil
lies beside it."
Are all the articles mentioned expen-
sive?n
"Oh, dear, no! Some of them are, but
bhC1 4 AttOAO AV 4t1 "a ohA5* -
gold thimble. a Steinway baby grand
piano, a writing case, a pair of sleeve
links, q glove buttoner, a pearl necklace.
a lace handkerchief, silver forks and
spoons, a gold pen, silver tea service. and
so on. Gertrude told me she'snearly sure
her father intends to give her the piano,
and she examines the list first thing every
morning, hoping to see a cross against
baby grand but it's not.there yet, and
she thinks he's just teasing her. One Of
her uncles has put his cross and initials
opposite the tea service, and against the
pearl necklace | noticed Il C." which is
the b~ridegroom's initial. Lucky girl,
isn't she?''
II really think it's a very good plan this
present listing,' as they call it." said a
little North Side woman who is credited,
rightly or wrongly, with having married
off" three younger sisters.
II only wish it had been in fashion when
Jeanette was married last year. Ii we'd
been able to list her presents the poor
girl wouldn't have five sets of salad forks
and spoons, all marked with her initials,
or three cases of after Inner coffee
spoons Yes, it's an English fashion, and
some Washington girls were the first to
follow it in this country. You know
Washington brides, il they've any social
position at all. always get such quantities
of presents. They say, and | dare say it's
true, that the pretty daughter of Senator
O. received 208 salt cellars on her mar
riage. Another Washington bride, land
this | know to be true) was given no less
thar 400 presents in silver, all in cases.
She was marrying a poor man, n whaq
do YOU suppose that girl did? Bought a
silver chest and packed all the things
away in it, and then sold the cases to the
jeweler from whom they had been origin
ally purchased. She has dressed beauti-
fully on the proceeds ever since. n it's
now nearly two years acc
''There's always q fashion in wedding
presents-I mean a thing that's SWELL
as a gift n year may be anything Il
swell the next. Salt-cellars, for instance.
There was quite a craze for salt-cellars a
year or two ago. witness the Washington
bride 1 was telling you of. Let me see, it
happened in 'S7. Yes, that was a salt
cellar veal. Away back in '2 it was
clocks. | remember, because / was mar
ried myself that year, and we had one for
every room in the house. Last year was
a lamp year. No bride of '88 will ever
need TO buy a lamp If she lives to be a
hundred.
"And this year? Why, this year it's
candlesticks. There is q flood of candle
sticks of all kinds and sizes and values.
Louis XIV Renaissance Wedgewood,
Leeds and Sevres, they just pour ia on the
brides, at least ON those who don't follow
the new fashion, and there are lots of girls
who won't. They say it seems too much
like asking for things. And it's true one
can't help having a little feeling of that
sort. But it's foolish, because if you an
u your wedding at all there are a Ger
tain number of people who will give you
presents whether you want them or not,
and how much better TO let them have the
pleasure of giving something that they
know you will be glad to receive, to say
nothing of your own satisfaction in the
arrangement.
ss"Then the amount TO be expended is
still left entirely to the giver. For in
stance, If you put down a paper knife on
your list, the friend who chooses to mark
off nat item may send you a Japanese
knife costing s. or Sc, or may sQuander
several hundreds on a historic shell and
silver affair like the one given the Ouch
ess Of Fife, just as he pleases. "A water
color may be an amateur effort or a Corot:
a breakfast set may be translated into a
Haviland or Wedgewood. Oh, / think
there's so much in favor of '~present-list-
ing that it will surely gain ground.
"Do you notice what fashionable gifts
fitted travelling bags are now? A short
time ago a dressing-case was considered
the handsomest present a pride could re-
ceive, but lately the travelling bag has
come into favor. They are immensely
| expensive, always fitted with either silver
or gold, and with the brides initials on
every box and bottle top. Morocco, lined
With SILK, is The 1aYOrlCe KIND.
has gone out of fashion.
Hitherto it has always been thought
| that the bridegroom's gift to the bride
must consist of jewelry, but we've
changed all that now, and the young
man is allowed to present anything he
p~leases, the preference being usually
| given to furs, from Russian sable down.
The BRIDES gift to the groom is always
quite insignificant; anything costly
| would be considered in bad taste, Did
you notice that Princess Louise gave the
Duke of Fife q pair of opera glasses,
with monogram Sufficiently simple,
wasn't it?
''The gifts for the bridesmaids and
pages grow morege elaborate every year
and add considerable to the unfortunate
groom's expenses. Brooches, with the
date of the year set in precious stones,
are used a good deal for the purpose, and
they say lockets, with m~onograms, are
coming in again. Riding whips, mounted
in silver, are favorite presents for the
| small boys who so frequently officiate
neutrality-suspicious. Herald.
Busy Women.
Does anybody know of a woman who
has any leisure time? If so, let her be
brought forward, for she would be a rare
curiosity. Formerly it was the old peo-
pie who complained of the rapid flight of
time, but now the cry comes from young
as we'll as old, and from the so-called Wo-
man of leisure as we'll as the working