Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1890-01-04
Written for THE EVENING STAR.
ATTRACTIVE HOMES.
The Waste Basket as a Thing Of Beauty
and Source of Comfort.


and n Source Of Comfort.
PRETTY EFFEcTs GAINED BY DECORATING DAINTY
BASKETS WITH RIBBoSs-FLowERs THAT ARE
IN FASHION THIS SEASON. NEW AND CHARM
mo FORM OF ENTERTAINMENT.
There are certain articles which, once used,
soon become a household necessity and supply
much comfort il a domestic sense. Some time
ago waste-paper basket was only to be found
In offices, where at business desks such con-
venience would appear. If man wrote much
at home receptacle for waste paper would be
placed at his library table. Nowhere else
about the house was anything of this kind in
basket shape, of all others the best and easiest
to use. Rag bags OF gay chntz or sober calico
hung in closet or store room, and odds and
ends of cloth or paper would be cleaned from
accumulations of such trash and put in these
bags. Other scraps were carried at once to the
Kitchen fire and summarlly disposed of. OF
course that is the final disposition of the waste
basket collections, but 1t is the immediate
lance or the destroying fire that these
convenient little affairs save us.
They only gradually came into
use, first by substitute, and then by boldly
snatching the comfort, as it were. from the
masculine element of the family. Long ago l
remember with what admiration heard of the
ingenuity of a lady who from pasteboard
muf box evolved such catch-all. The box
was lined and covered with pink paper cam
brio, which filed the place then that India silk
does today. From the rim of the box on the
outside hung fall of ecru macreme lace, the
very latest novelty of the hour. This was
dainty and pretty addition to the bed room or
sitting room, and, setting on table or floor, was
always ready for anything one wished to get
rid of. After appreciating the usefulness of
such thing one was led to taking the large
office baskets for house USE and by lining with
bright colors and tying on ribbons make them
seem more attractive i'll appearance with their
change of surroundings. or course demand
soon created the supply, and baskets of smaller
dimensions and finer weave began to
appear, so that for years pretty
scrap baskets have been in the market. All the
time they have been growing more popular,
and dalntler forms and more delicate decora-
lions constantly appear One of the first deco
ratlons which L remember was a lambre-
quin effect of leaf-shaped pieces of red flannel,
with black and white figures. applied with scar
let and yellow sewing silk. This, compared
with the pink and gold baskets used now for the
purpose. with a big bunch of most natural
looking roses tied on with broad pink ribbons,
seems very crude and glarng. 1t Is only by
such contrasts that one realizes how much our
tastes have been cultivated and eyes trained to
appreciate the difference between the crude
and refined in even such small things as
WASTE BASKETS.
The presence at many summer
sorts OF Indian or gypsy camps, with the at
| tendant basket making, has brought tho pretty
wares to the notice of thousands of people. who
see the weaving, get interested and finally
| enthusiastic over making collection of
all the pretty forms and combinations
of color The delicate tones, soft and vet gay
made up with the fragrant sweet grass, are
quite fascinating and irresistible to most
women. These basket makers will initiate any
pretty form shown them in woven work. and a
really large variety may thus be obtained from
one such camp. young lady visitor, waxing
more and more interested in her collection last
summer, and feeling sure of not being able to
house permanently her constantly increasing
store, made satisfactory resolve in regard to
it. She decided to present each friend-man
or woman-on whom she wished to bestow a
Christmas gift with a scrap-basket Having
thus easily settled the matter of Christmas
presents usually such difficult one she re-
solved to still further simplify the matter by
putting bows of the same color of ribbon on
each and every one. Buying ribbon by the
bolt, and giving up a day two early in the
season, her work was done betimes and whole
regiment of waste baskets adorned with bows
OF old-rose ribbon. was marshaled in her
room, waiting to be dispersed at the
pretty basket can be used i'll place of box it
is dore. The shapes sold at the confectoner's
are as lovely as possible. and the ribbons dis
played on them seem more exquisite in shade
than any one can procure at the shops. The
sale OF candies in baskets or not is simply enor-
nous at the holidays. Young and old meet on
common ground i'll the devouring of sweets at
this time. Modjeska is said to rail at Ameri-
cans for being a candy-loving race, but with
the CONNECTIONS so alluring how can one abb
stain, and as some one asks. lis it not prefer
able to smoking cigarettes, as she does?"
FASHIONABLE FLOWERS.
With the opening of the social season, the
subject Of flowers comes to the fore as an i'm
portant one. for flowers have their fashions
quite as much as gowns, and last years styles
are as by-gone with one as the other. Indeed
the gowns have the best of it, for they can be
remodeled so as TO- serve on many
occasions, while the same flowers
are entirely "out'' the next. Expense is gen.
orally the criterion of what is the really most
fashionable flower of the moment. This is
probably the principal reason of the choice of
orchids in giving bouquets to debutantes.
Every one sees at glance what bouquet of
orchids meaps-the giver wishes to lavish, say,
$50 worth of attention on the fair young re-
cipient, all condensed into one bunch of posies
Some one has called debutante's bouquets the
prophesy OF her career. OF these signs and
tokens Miss Wanamaker is said to have received
forty-eight at the recent coming-out tea given
for her. Violets are the proper flowers for out
door wear only. There is no proper flower for
INDOOR wear at present, that fashion having
passed away, to be revived again, no
doubt, in the future sometime. Any
number can be worn with street dress
until one is led to speculate on how such
quantities are made to adhere to a person.
Bouquets-immense ones-are carried with
evening dress, only one at time, however
while, if others have been bestowed, they are
displayed on table near. The lovely flowers
used in trimming ball dresses-what the fashion
writer's describe ''garniture"-are all fine
French flowers which come in punches and
garlands for that purpose.
Mrs. Cleveland has, or had. a favorite flower
the pansy, but az sentiment must be cast aside
for fashion her house was decorated entirely
with crysanthemums at a reception she gave
the other day.
Besides giving a reception Mrs Cleveland has
been buying watch. Such charming little
one, too. The sides are miniatures in enamel
one representing rural scene in ancient
Greece, the other a maiden and lover sitting
beside stream. The watch proper is a very
fine one. On one edge is a spring, and when
this is touched silver bell-fairy-like as to
size-rings out the hour and minutes of the
day or night 1t is said to have no exact dupli-
cate in New York, where it was purchased.
THE MoNoLoGuE.
Something fresh has been thought of in the
way Of entertainment-thati is, fresh for this
country. 1t is monologue and has long been
popular in France. NJ. Coquelin gave several
specimens of it last winter with great success.
Nl,a. D,~-