Morning journal and courier., 1892-02-06

| more than in some others, as it is to many particularly irksome, praise and reward should be generously bestowed, with much encouragement and some sympathy. Let ridicule be barred since it only grieves and irritates.
 There comes very vividly a memory of long ago. A large, well-furnished room, with some attempts at elegance, and pain fully clean, the parlor, in fact, of an old fashioned country house, seldom invaded by visitors even, and so partaking some what of the nature of a mysterious cham Der. The golden sunlight of early autumn nifty to explore an almost unknown region, and to brighten the faces and gowns of a party of ladies, all seemingly very elderly and grave, all sewing and all talking voluably. It is, in short, one of those solemn functions, meeting of a village sewing society.
 In an out of-the-way corner sits @ small girl, very demure and quiet for the time being, engaged in piecing together four bits of calico, two dark, two lighter and all uncommonly ugly. She does not speak, because she is not spoken to; the conver- sstion of her elders is but pleasant, un- apprehended sound in her ears; the sun shine and breeze lure her in vain: for the little city border has determined, for an afternoon at least, to be good, to behave
 like little lady, to do credit to her tenn porary guardian, and above all. to impress upon the ladies of the Primville church sewing society the fact that she also can sew.
 Too busy even to look about and feeling quite as elderly and dignifed as the rest, she sets her stitches with scrupulous care. When the block is finished someone will ask to see it, it will be handed from one to another, it will be inspected, ad- mired, exclaimed over, and great respect for her requirements will spring up in the hearts of these matrons, authorities upon all aIts known to woman kind. She does not love sewing for it's own sake, detests it, in fact, but brides herself upon her increasing skill, and their appreciation will be very sweeteto her.
 There is pleasant, subdued chatter of dishes in the kitchen, and delicious scent of hot biscuit steals in. The saored rite of tea-drinking is about to be administered, and an expectant hush falls upon the com pany, broken by glad little voice that pierces the stiffness with ooh! Pve made a stitch so little you can't see itl"
 There ia an outburst of laughter, and all eyes are turned upon the now embar- rassed child A deaf old lady asks: "Wbat's the matterF' and her impulsive remark is repeated in a dozen different keys. "Heyg' says the old lady, and again, with much laughter, it is repeated, to the utter discontinue of the small speaker. There is lump in her throat and a mist in her eyes, but she sets her lips as rigidly as she sets her remaining stitches, then she folds the finished block and carefully lays it away. Then beyond the sound of the voices and the smell of the biscuit, in her hiding place in the old, struggling, delightful garden, she wonders why everybody laughs so cruelty, and why no one asked to look at her sewing, especially at the dear, beautiful stitch, that was too small to be seen.
 KANDYAN SMELLS.
 For 8 court costume, simple in its con- struction, yet elaborate in effect and in the manner of wearing it, commend us to that adopted by the gentlemen of Randy, which, as every one knows, is the capital of "Ceylon's isle."
 Miss c. F. Gordon Cumming has written a delightful work entitled 1.-Two Happy Years in Ceylon." And it is to her that we are indebted for description of this extraordinary dress, as she saw it in all it's glory at a Government House recep tion. The Kandyan chiefs are hand  splendid, dark eyes, and slender, delicate fingers. To enhance the charms and make themselves as imposing as possible, they change the neat white jacket and "comboy," single piece of cloth worn in the fashion of @ kilt, for seven pieces of very fine silk or muslin, each nine yards in length, embroidered in gold and heavily fringed. These sixty-three yards of mate rial are wound around and around in such way that the figure gradually tspers from the waist down to the ankle and the man, so enveloped presents much the ap- appearance of an animated peg top. The of divided skirt, opening over long, tight, white trousers, which end in a frill above the bare brown feet Some of the ultra fashionables contriye to wind themselves up in a cocoon of one hundred and fifty yards of delicate and glistening silk. Over shirt or vest, fastened with jeweled but tons, is worn a short jacket with very large leg-o'-mutton sleeves, made of the gayest of colored silk or velvet and heavy with gold embroidery. Browning all is a gorgeous velvet hat, in shape much like large, flat pin-cush'on, surmounted with peculiar ornament of gold and jewels which suggests min iature Christmas tree. Their long black hair is parted in the middle and fastened at the back in @ sort of Pysche knot, and strange to say, these gentlemen monopolize tortoise-shell combs, the ladies contenting themselves with gold or silver pins as hair fastenings. With an immense ring upon the third or fourth finger the costume is complete, and the Kandyan swell very complacent, and very mag nifcent, sallies forth, followed by the de- lighted glances of his admiring female relatives. HILARY.