Sacramento daily record-union. [volume] (Sacramento [Calif.]) 1875-1891, 1890-08-24
for and by their own what seems to them
~ THE RIGHT TO CHILDREN.


| That she is the natural and proper person
| to raise them from their earliest infancy,
until she sends them forth to battle with
the world, no one can gainsay. That she
is better fitted by temper, character, habits,
and occupation to be intrusted with the
| training of the youths who, in their turn
become integral parts of the nation, no
one doubts; and SO far as the ability to
support and provide for their young is
concerned, taking all classes, the rich and
the poor together, it will be found that
there are more women taking care of and
supporting their offspring than there are
men. OF the laboring classes, the wages
of the men are diverted from their proper
use; it is only by the labor, economy and
| thrift of the woman that the children are
provided for; and it rarely ever happens
| that when by death or desertion the father
is removed, the woman is found unequal to
the task of taking care of herself and her
| little ones. What reason then can there
| be for the inhuman law that would rob a
mother Of her own, her very own offspring,
| to give it to the parent who cannot even
prove his right to it; and, whenever the
| legal question of right arises, it is very
seldom that the father can prove that he
is in any way better fitted to care for or
support it. Why have not the Woman's
Fighters turned their attention to the
amendment of this law, rather than to the
question of the privilege of voting? 1t is
of far more Importance and the abuse of
it occasions many heart-aches.
| NOVELTY.
Last Friday evening week christening
dinner was given in an uptown residence
of one of our chief cities, one feature of
which was novel. In front of each of the
guests at table was miniature model of a
baptismal font, with liliputian cradle at
| its base. The little font was made of wood,
covered with silk, and delicately painted
with all the symbols, tracery, and even the
delicate gold lettering above the rim
'Except man be born of water and of the
| spirit he cannot enter into the kingdom
of heaven"-that appears upon the orig
inal. Natural flowers filled the fonts. On
the front of each small silken cradle
wrought in fanciful gold letters, amid
| flowers and foliage, appeared the name Of
| the baby, "Helen," and the date of her
birth. Attached to each cradle was a
sllken ribbon, upon which was painted the
name of each of the guests before whom
they were placed as souvenir of the oc-
casion. The cost of each was $25.
The taste for novelty in dinner adorn-
ment is growing year by year. 1t is no
longer sufficient to dine and to wine ones
friends. 1t is necessary to surprise them
and delight their artistic tastes. So the
dinner-giver, as rule, no more pretends
to be his own artist than his own cook.
THE QUESTION OF NOVELTY.
1t is not difficult to achieve mere
novelty. That was attained in the bar
baric magnifcence of the bills of fare of a
certain San Francisco dinner year or
more ago. They were solid slabs of silver
which the guests were expected to carry
away with them, and which were good to
| melt or pawn upon occasion. Bot they
would have been Just as novel had they
been upon sole leather or sandstone, and
so far as value is concerned, the delicately
painted things not infrequently ordered
| for these things really cost more than did
these specimens of bonanza freit. Artistic
beauty is here consideration paramount
to mere novelty. A prominent member
of the Coaching Club of an Eastern city
not long ago contemplated giving dinner
to his associates, and ordered for the occa-
sion twenty-four bills of fare. The din
ner was at the time postponed, but had
not been abandoned, for the gentleman
named has sent back from Europe word
that it may be looked forward to as a
thing of the near future. The bills of
fare have been finished. They are of
bristol board, each about ten by fifteen
| inches in size, and are all handsome water
color paintings. Each represents some
memorable incident in the Individual ca
reer Of some member, or an adventure of
the club collectively, and their cost is
estimated at 500 each.
| EGYPTIAN NOVELTIES.
For breakfast, to be given before long,
which will be participated in almost exclu-
sively by artists, Egyptian fashions are to
prevail in everything except the viands.
The table service will be in Egyptian style,
as we'll as the decorations, and each guest
will be supplied with fan, delightfully."-
artistic and Egyptian, but of very weak
wind compelling power. A number OF
them have already been completed
strange looking things with long, thin,
polished maple handles sporting semi-cir-
cular forms, quilted silk on other studies
and colors, intricate in design, and of great
varieties, half dozen silk tassels dangling
from the straight side of each semi-circle.
They are quaint and pretty, as twelve dol
lar fans for single breakfast should be.
| Speaking of fans, one is preparing to be
sold at the forthcoming New York Seventh
Regiment Fair, which will certainly be
unique. 1t has twenty-three sticks, each
of which bears painting in oil by some
well-known New York artist. Each artisi
chooses his own subject and treats it in his
own way-in OIL of course-within the
narrow limits of his own allotted stick
Some little time ago, for dinner at Del
E.onico's, an artificial lake was constructed
in the center of the huge dining table, and
surrounded by aquatic plants. Several
swans, brought down from Central Park
for the occasion. were set afioat in the
lake and SWAN around there with placid
dignity and deeorum while the dinner
lasted. The entry into fashionable society
proved fatal to one of the BIRDS however
for he died shortly after returning to the
park. Early this season dinner is to bt
given by wealthy bachelor fond of anna
teur theatricals, for whom are to be sup
piled score of menus, each of which viii
bear an elaborately- painted .water-colol
picture, in each case an original desigr
illustrating scene in one of Shakespeare.
plays.
AT DINNER
Given last Easter the ladies present were
supplied with fans OF silk, gg.shaped
hearing on one side each painting o
some bird, and care was taken to, as far a.
possible, adapt the bird to the lady whC
received it. Thus one, who had an excel
lent soprano voice, received a nightingale
another, who carroled in an uptown choir
was given lark; another lady got tn,
gayest fan of the lot, the peacock; another
VINO is noted for her domesticity and mod
est, homely goodness, was the recipient o
the sober thrush. Each ladies' fan bors
her name painted on a broken egg shell il
the foreground of the picture. The cos
of these fans was S24 each.
As to the .'favors for the German" t
which fancy runs Wild every season, while
rivaling in their cost the beautiful fam
and scarfs, and menus of which mention
has been made, they are mere Vanity FAN
baubles of satin, lace, fringe, silk, ribbon
and what-not, upon some unique and too
often noisy basis. There was one German
last season, for instance, at which eact
lady had a tamborine of silk and kid gaily
! dacoratad with flowers and ribbons bearing