The National tribune. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1877-1917, 1897-02-18

W. - -
QUESTIONS.
Dearest. arc Spring flowers glad when meits the
snow?
When Winter comes do swallows Southwark go?
Do roses sweeten all the days Of June?
When the leaves fall. do robins hush their tuner
Know You the little answer. Love Of mine?
Would l. 0 would be your Valentine?
Do Winter woods long for their leaves again?
Do thirsty fiower-Iips drink the Summer rain?
Do prisoned moths crave wings of butterflies?
Do meadows smile where April sunshine lies?
And il You know the answer, Love Of mine.
Would !. o would be your Valentine!
Clara Wood Shipman in Wdghinaton Post.
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AFTER SUNSET.
One tremulous star above the deepening west;
The plash of waves upon quiet beach; .
A sleepy twtter from some hidden neat
Amidst the clustered ivy, out of reach.
The sheep. bells tinkle from the daised Ieas:
The rhythmic fall Of homeward. vending feet;
wind that croons amongst the leafy trees.
And dies away in whispers faint and sweet.
A pale young moon. whose slender silver bow
Creeps slowly up hey ond the purple hill;
And seems to absorb the golden afterglow
Within the far horizon lingering still.
An open lattice and the scent of musk;
Then, through the slumbr0us hush OF earth and
sky,
A tender mother voice that i'm the dusk
Sings to a babe some Old World lullaby.
e Mathcson. in San Francisco Call
s*x
The duchess" is dead. Peace be to her
oul! In her day she wrote many books. and
the womenfolk of our land delight in her
love tales. Her first novels-"Phyllis" and
molly Bawn ARE the ceverest of all. The
Is later ones are like unto these two, but not
SO bright. Her heroines are invariably saucy,
her heroes inevitably grave and serious. The
course of true love is always interrupted in the
first chapter and smoothed and Strengthened in
the last. Mrs. Hungerford had written ro-
nance. "Lovice," which is yet to be published
IT.
II built my house on dotted vails," asserted
wel-to-do occulist.
It is said that in these progressive days in
Japan the babies are learning to whimper
and cry as Western babies do; that before
Japan became one of the most modern Of Ma
tions the Japanese baby never cried nor
screamed, but was little model of infantile
propriety.
x*x
In the Argentine Republic there are actual
laws in force to promote matrimony. Bach
elors are taxed, and firtatious young women
arc fined every time they reject wooer, if the
authorities get an inkling Of the Irritation.
Furthermore. in New York City there is q new
phianthropic idea to provide dowers for wor-
thy, poor, would. be brides. If they can prove
they have all three qualifications, they are
given 500 in gold on their wedding day. and
another 500 FIVE years later if they live decent
sober lives. Thus, in these degenerate days
must Hymcn he goaded and Cupid bribed.
We publish to-day letter from one of our
subscribers on the subject of rag carpets. Be-
cause rag carpets are home. made and inexpen-
sive they are not to be despised. Usually rag
carpets have certain clean, "homey" charm.
and many are much prettier than certain in
grain. brussels. and even velvet carpets. with
abominable design and frightful coloring.
rag carpet we'll made, may be highly artistic
floor covering.
RAG CARPETS.
Rag carpets are growing more popular every
year, and they serve very useful purpose in
the household economy. For q room that gets
rough usage they wear longer and look better
than any other kind. When they become
badly soiled they are easily washed, with the
aid of washing machine and wringer. They
may also be very pretty. if the proper care is
taken in combining colors and doing the work.
Having decided to convert the clean rags
into carpet. cut or tear them in strips from
one-half to three .fourths of an inch in width,
according to the thickness of the goods. Dress
goods or muslin is preferable to other material
in either cotton or wooden goods. Decide on
the kind Of carpet to be made. Those with
mixed and fancy stripes are growing in favor.
and some of them are handsome enough to
please the most fastdious. Of course the white
rags must be colored, and ready prepared dyes
are excellent for that purpose. Yellow. red,
blue, and green brighten carpet wonderfully,
aud are especially good for cotton rags. The
rags for the hit-or.miss part should all be torn
and thoroughly mixed before any are sewed
This will make all the stripes look alike and
not have some too dark and others too light, as
they are apt to be If only few sewed at
one time. Plain or shaded brown, drab, gray or
any Of the neutral tints are also pretty for the
main stripe.
Sewing the rags is soon accomplished with q
good sewing machine. Lap the edges Of the
strips about one inch, begin at one edge and
stitch across diagonally and back again; sew
continuously for time. then cut the threads
and wind. The children will cheerfully lend
q hand at ball-making, especially if each one is
striving to wind the largest ball.
Hit-or-miss carpets look well if yol have
variety of colors, aud cost few cents less per
yard for weaving than striped carpets do. A
very handsome carpet seen recently was made
mostly of children's clothes, which make very
short strips. These were torn very narrow
and thoroughly mixed. making it so strangely
mingled that it scarcely looks like rag carpet.
Thus with a little perseverance and good
TASTE very desirable floor coverings may be
made of material that would otherwise be left
to cumber the closet or attic, or sold for paper.
rags J. G.
Bronze slippers are said to mako the feet look
smaller.
The turquoise is hurt by water, perfume or
oil.
Tho Princess of Wales is fond of Petunia
color--not that 1 know anything whatever of
her Royal Highness and her fads, or ever saw
her, or not that this particular one is important
or necessarily true; but all the fashion notes
mention it, SO it must come in here some