The Washington critic., 1890-02-09
FOR THE WOMEN ONLY.
LOVE FOR THE BEAUTIFUL INNATE
IN THE SEX.
Crockery Taik-wbat Housekeepers
Look for in Dishes-From Grown
Derby to Royal Observation-Disclosures
with Artistic Instincts.

comes connoisseur In the imple.
ments and appurtenances OF civilized
life.
Unless she is possessed of Alladins
lamp and can rub up her cut. glass
and royal Worcester genii she might
better have lived and died in the dull
atmosphere of plain earthenware.
All women have an innate love of the
beautiful, and their ideas of beauty ex-
pand and flower with astonishing rapid
ity when opportunities for cultivation
present themselves. A squaw having
once luxuriated in the deer.skin gowns
painted with brilliant carmine and
green flowers embroidered in beads
and decorated with porcupine quills
and buffalo teeth, will never willingly
90 back to the plain, unfringed and un-
lovely rough skin.
A housekeeper who has once fallen
under the baleful influences of con-
noisseur, and has permitted herself to
be dragged into friendly acquaintance
with fine china, cut glass and seductive
table linens, has laid up for herself ex-
travagance and remorse, or self-deuial
and suffering.
While iii true that certain lines of
table ware and china are steadily de-
creasiDg in price, 1t is also true that
each year brings out new and bcwilder.
ing novelties, and that quality Of ware
and beauty of decoration keep pace
with increasing demands. One would
think that the moderate housekeeper
would be perfectly happy in the pos
session Of dinner-se costing but S15
or SIG, for which our grandmothers
would have paid three or four times
that amount. Such dinner-set of 142
pieces, beautiful English ware, deco
rated with various flowers or in con-
ventional designs, would seem to be
sufficient for the general uses of we'll
regulated family. But the full dinner
| set, with its array of plates, platters.
| side dishes and cups and saucers, is
nothing but the basis of table acces-
| sories.
Every proud and prudent housekeeper
| feels the absolute necessity of two sets
| of dishes, and every woman of taste
who is not absolutely barred by poverty
will possess herself of the extra service.
| While she willingly sees John and the
children dining from plain and un-
ostentatious dishes, it grinds her spirit
to seat her guests around SIG plain,
English service.
| Once crossing the barrier OF the
"plain and serviceable." crockery seems
10 take every range Of price, quality and
decoration. A finer service of English
porcelain, decorated in clear blue and
| gold, consisting of 125 pieces, may be
had for $3S or $40. While the Tren-
ton, fIecked with blue daisies and banded
with gold, is a few dollars cheaper.
If one is inclined to little greater
extravaganza, the exquisite blue and
gold of the English Mison, copied from
the old German, and costing $50 a
service, may be quite the thing.
Plain white French china and the
famous Canton blue is not what one
might term fashionable, but the dealers
say that a steady trade of this ware is
kept up by the persons who must match
old sets, and the fact that broken dishes
may be replaced at small cost will sus-
tain the trade in plain white china and
the quaint willow pattern with its ro-
mantle history.
There are some fastidious ladies'
however, who will continue to insis,
upon special designs, both in shape and
decoration, and if one has the money i,
gives much satisfaction to know that
only limited number of people will
enjoy particular service. One such
service of the Haviland ware. white
with borders of brilliant colors and
gold outlinings, was especially attrac
tive. Vienna china, with its high
colored or blue and gold decorations, is
especially pretty when used sparingly
for one course of the dinner or brought
out only in the after dinner coffees.
There are some especially beautiful
and unique plate patterns. and extra
dishes of various quality which are
rarely needed, except as odd pieces or tC
serve one course. The Chinese medal
lion is of this character, and the pro
fuse decoration of Chinese coloring ant
design would make a single course o.
soup, game or oyster plates very pretty
when an entire service would be rathe
tiresome.
An exceedingly pretty course plate, il
gold, red and blue, is of Grown Derby
and $50 or $40 dozen is not much /
one has the cash.
However, 1t is but step from Grown
Derby to Royal Worcester, and th
woman whose soul once goes out afte
this ware is creature given over to al
unqucnchable thirst.
Royal Worcester, like olives, is a cul
tivated taste. and the dull, cream,
background, the exquisite coloring o
the flowers, and the profuse and deli
cate gold outlining grow upon one a
the appetite for drink.
Let the woman of restricted purs
and artistic instincts refrain from
! reaching out for temptation. Let he
pass by ON the other side from wher
The Minton plates are glowing lik
flower beds. A delicate white trans
lessly flung either full-blown damask
white, or yellow rose, which, with
graceful bud or two, stands out in fin
relief against a background of soli
, gold leaves. These leaves are gold
: not gilt-made from the melted coli
and laid on by the decorator with
slow and skillful hand.
To smear these works of art wit
, meats, or any sort of food, would b
; little short of desecration, and so til
thrifty woman, who pays from $50 t
$50 for dozen such plates, must pre-
serve their beauty to her guests b
presenting them as a finger bowl plate
The finger-bowl should, of course,
cut,glass, and, in order to harmonic
should not be less per dozen than til
| plates.
/ A new design in English fruit plate
| is very pretty. A china plate wit
festooned edges shows white groun
over which is irregularly scattered tin
pink roses and TIMER pink buds.
Not quite so expensive yet nearly a
beautiful as the Minton plates are thos
J of English Copeland ware, in whic
4 the deep nurnling blues are brought OF