Tombstone epitaph., 1891-02-22
FEMININE ODDITIES.

THE use of tobacco among women is on the increase in Franco, and even in London it is not unusual to see lady produce her silver or enameled cigar case in the drawing-room. Cigarettes are giving place to cigars in Paris, and some fears are entertained of the smoking habit among women becoming uncon- trollable.
 THE female bookmaker is tho latest departure. She made her first appear ance at Kempton Park, clad in flash costume, and gave or took the odds as nonchalantly as a man, shouting in mu- sical tones what her prices were, and cashing up promptly when each race was over. The next in order will be, no doubt, the woman horse jockey, and with them in the pool room and oa the horse, racing will have more fascination than ever.
 A MOST peculiar will made by de- ceased duchess in Paris sets forth her desire to be buried without any floral decorations about her coffin, but to have at the funeral ceremony some good mu- sic, for 'it elevatcs the soul and in- spires one to pray better" and concludes with the strange request that her body may be buried by the side of her hus- band, and her heart taken out and con- veyed in an urn to be buried in the cof- fin with her mother.
 THERE is great flutter among the Ger man girls on account of a recent order which excludes candidates from being confirmed if not dressed entirely in black. From time immemorial white has been the color for confirmation, as well as for wedding gowns. The new regulation cmanates partly from Ger man thrift, which considers that poor people can not afford the expense of white confirmation dresses for which they have no other use, and partly ec- clesiastical authority based upon his- torical supposition that true Protestant ism is always connected with black. Some girls who presented themselves in white and were refused have aroused a great deal of bitter feeling between the clergy and the people.
 LONDON women do not seem to be what Jennie June calls "clubable" women, for, notwithstanding the in- creasingly prominent place they occupy in sport and recreation, their amuse- ments arc as rule unorganized. The Row is each season crowded with eques- triennos, and in the winter too, when the riding is something besides ''gen- teel cantering." All manner of smart ponies and carts and jaunting cars go the pace continually, and last season lady "tooted" four-in-hand each day around the drive, her horses held splen- iidly in hand. The prejudice against the cycle for ladies is fast dying out, and though at present not so general in London as among the provinces, one may expect soon to see it command the situation in London streets.
 ganized at Girton College, St. Michaels House, and other large institutions for women in England. They are said to understand and perform their duties well, and to find their greatest difficult ties come from lack of suitable dress. The new ladies' fire drill dress is to con- g ist in the future of a waterpr oof over- kirt, with belt three inches vide and two buttons, just tight enough to keep it from slipping down over the hips. This overskirt will reach jusy below the knees, and cover an all-wool divided rnderskirt, fastening arounI each leg at the top of the boots, which it overhangs il little to carry the water outside. A Norfolk jacket of fine waterproof cloth and fireman's hat complete the dress, beneath which corsets must not be worn,