Connecticut western news., 1896-04-02
COSTLY PRAYER BOOKS
D~inty Easter onerfnxs Which wnl Bs
 Seen In Fair Hands.

seen kA1r nnnus-
 The daughter of famous New York will walk up the church isle m Easter morning with a $500 prayer hook and hymnai in her hands.
 It is the Easter gift of her fiance, and 1t was ordered from n New York ieweler months ago. It Is not studded with gems. That degree of display has not been eaohed in prayer books yet. It Is bound soft leather, trimmed with heavy gold, ,ver whose snrface the Raster lily has been raced in enamel. The metal in the books 1rnamentation may not be worth moro than $40 or e50. The cost is in the artistic rendering of the special design. A mono yrana, half concealed among the enamel lilies, shows that the device was made to rder, and possibly enhances the value of Ehe gift In the eyes of the receiver. It Is pleasant to know that you havo something which Is unique as we'll as beautiful. To some 1t Is even pleasanter perhaps to know that their Easter gifts are costly, though believe that many . prayer book mark. with its dangling silver ornaments, which ,oss the thousandth part of what was paid for this book of prayer, is valued quite as highly and has created as much joy in the giving and receiving.
 1t takes an artist to make n a book sell or S5O0-an artist in selling as we'll as n artist in designing and in executing he design. The shopkeeper probably alculates that man who can pay $ao0 s~ $500 for an Raster gift can pay $500 as adily. But for the man who had not hundreds to apend the Easter shopping his year has had It's attractions. In fact, he popular taste at this season runs to what is comparatively inexpensive. Hun .rceis of prayer books with simple silver ,lasp will be seen in New York's churches at the Fla ter service. Individu- lily they will represent but hundredth the cost of the gold bound prayer book. The prayer book with the silver clasp is he least expensive form of this kind of Easter gift. In the great shops near Un- on square thesc cost hut s apiece. In the less pretentious places they have re. tailed at $3 and even less.
 The favorite form of Easter gift this ear is . combination of prayer book and hymnal 1t has come in styles both costly md inexpensive. In the fashionable shops he least expensive has cost $11. Both lssia leather. In the flap of one binding sa slit, into which the cover of the other ook slides. Thus they become one when hey are carried to church and two again moments notice, In the simpler Irms these books are decorated, each on 10 cover, with plain corner of silver, uch as decorates the corners of ladies, .ocketbooks- This is the style which sell; or &l1.
 There are books . little larger. with 6 rtvrated design in silver bordering ID nding. At each corner Is cross. Tnes<
 . valued at $40. They cost more than e bindings Of solid silver-for there ars . few people who want their prayer books >ed in solid metal. One which I saw is year has design In heavy relief or nh sides, and on each are stamped ths tile, Common Prayer'-oommonp prayer om a very uncommon prayer book, Il i'll be. The value of this was s30. The most costly prayer books which will carried on Easter Sunday will be thoss ith perforated covers of gold or silver IT the workmanship Is valued far abov, ,e metal used. Books bound in substan L padded leather, with but a thin veneer g of silver, which will be seen in som, f the fashionable churches, will repre- ent an expenditure of not less than $40 Prayer books and hymnals adorned witl perforated gold will have value of $75 u | s150 and those decorated in channels vii have cost se00 or $500 probably. There is keen competition in New Yori | so make things oostly-just as there Is al \ even keener competition in some quarter ' to make things cheap. In the first olas | are those who cater to the money princes | To many of these the money cost of al | article represents its value. There Is | | limit to the amount of gold and silye | with which even jeweler will incrust hymnal So the cost of these Easter gift was increased this season inanother direc tion. For the morocco and russia leathe of common use was substituted elephan hide for those who wished to pay for it nos in it's original thickness, but plane Town after 1t was tanned. There was tn hide of the cassowary, plainly perforate
 Shere tho feathers had been- There wa
 monkey hide, stiff and clumsy. Ther
 vas a honeycomb binding which was tn >Gippery tripe of traditional eoughness
 anned and reduced to make 1t serviceahlt
 And there were lizard skin and -alligato
 kin and snakeskin. silver gray and blac
 IT dyed, any one of a dozen fashionabl
 olors- All these were expensive, an
 ems of thousands of dollars will not cnve
 he cost Of nsose which will grace or des
 rate the Raster service in fashionabl | hurcbes.
 The taste of Easter givers has run {
 'rayer books and hymnals and Bibles tn
 ear as in years before. But the souyeni
 poon, with a cross stamped in Its glide
 owl, will adorn many an Easter dime
 able, and the simple book mark, to'
 which was made popular two seasons ag' nas lost none of Its attractiveness-poss ply because tho one can be purchased fC | dollar or two and the other for as lit l as 23 cents FLORA KNEELAND.
 General Markets.
 NEW YORK Marcn si.-fLoUR-Stafe al
 western quiet at un- hanged prites; city mi patents. s4.-Ua4-SS; winter patents $3Ss 1 ae5; city mills clears, $40 40. wint
 srraights- S3-,8aa6a
 wHEAT-NoL red steady. advanced | cold wave predictions and small spring l c-ipt sold of under local resL ii but a a rsi led oa fair cieatanceS March. 7Jss g.lIs 1 April. TU1xc-
 CORN No opened steady with wheat, b
 declined under liberal carlot receipts. Apr
 ss54e: May. s3&as51<c-
 ! OAT~No. 2 quiet and stesdy: May. si
 track. white. -rste. -4Gzsl1c.
 PORK-Qu ct; mess, SSGl9 family. sl1-5 [ l..0
 T. LARD-Dull. prime western. steam, s.
 Asked-
 BUTTER-Quiet: -tate dairy. uGaoc-; we
 -rn creamery. l3aslc-
 CHEESE Quiet. state. large. o1l0s4
 small. e6IUs1e-
 f EGGS-Steady: state and Pennsyivxn e ] lsc-. western- liGll3c-
 SCGAR-Rxw irmer: fair refining. 3s | centrifugal 4 test 3i6c-: refined firm | crushed. B l6c-: pow cred. T-l6c-
 MOLASSE$- Steady: New Orleans. sS9s.
 RICE-Quiet- aom-~uc. ssGoc-: Japan.