The Topeka state journal. [volume] (Topeka, Kansas) 1892-1980, 1901-03-30

as well as being useful Time was when
1t was merely for show, and looked 1t,
but the new tables combine any amount
of service with a charmingly dainty ef=
feet. That they must be dainty goes
without saying, says a writer in the
Pittsburg Dispatch.
The very newest table is either made
with a top that looks like tray, or b Is
one with il. A tray there must be these
days. and happy the young woman who
has an old silver one Of her grandmoth
er's to fall back upon Nothing is quite
as effective, not even those beautiful
ones of teak or mahogany that are inlaid
with different colored woods. Next to
the grandmother's the most desirable are
those to be had in antique shops. ManT
are old Sheffield plate. and are identical
with those that have gone down tor
generations in a few favored families.
Their good service on the table is OBJ
Vious, for the tops Of the latter are high
ly polished wood that any hot cup would
mark, and the tray prevents anything
Of that sort.
Mahogany now is the fashionable
wood for drawing room or library tea
table. For boudoir or bedroom it is
prettier i'm light or white wood, besides
giving more variety Your truly up-tO-
date girl has a tea table in her own
room (if she has not a boudoir). quite as
much she has lace covered bed Ard
when her best girl friends drop in dur
ing the afternoon and she wants special
talks with them upstairs they go, safe
from the Interruptions of formal visitors,
and almost Immediately the kettle is put
on to boil
Gilt enters a good deal into the decor
alton OF the mahogany tables. when ore
wants to follow the fashions of the F'irs-
Empire. 1t is charming in throwing out
the beautiful color of mahogany, but it
is so peTishable as to be used only on the
formal table, that is those in drawing
rooms The upper shelf is a novelty that
has come to stay. Though that be-
meath the table is regulation, to have
one above stamps it for one purpose on'y
and besides that it is exceedingly con-
venient. Either the cups or the pot and
cream jug may be put on it, just as one
chooses, but it really amounts to having
an additional table
Almost without exception the legs that
supports these are on the spindle order.
Naturally they do not need to be very
stout, and the fine ones add TO the effect
Of daintiness. For the woman whose
finances are limited there are graceful
tables to be found in woods far less e.e-
pensive than mahogany And as for
variety, there Is no end to it. But the
advent of the tray has marked the de-
parture Of the tea cloth, without which
no table used to be complete.
Not that the cloth may not be used II
one wishes. Those hostesses who have
cobweb linen. or bits embroidered in eX-
quis.te designs need not relegate them
a rest Cloths may even cover the tray,
but when the latter is deliberately chass i
or ornamented it is rather painting the
lily to cover it
A most important part Of any table
should be some defense against the al
cohoI lamp under the kettle The best
of them get tricky sometimes, and bun n
ing alcohol is not only dangerous, but it
is calculated to ruin the tablet in just
about one minute. To avoid that is siIa-
the lamp. Lacking something better, a
plate should be used, but something of
the kind is really necessary.
Names Popular With Actresses.
What are the most popular names Of
the leading women in the theatrical pro-
fessiOn2 Despite the insinuations of the
romantic, the names that have been in
good showing when it comes to present
day nomenclature Suppose we take a
list say, 100 Of the best known women
on the American stage 1t viii be found
that the always favorite Mary holds its
own, says the New York Herald.
In the list selected there are found
more Marys thap any other name. To
be sure. they are not all straight
Marys That is, there are Maries and
Mays, and a Name here and there, and
even a Mai, but they are all forms of
the grand old name of Mary.
Next in point of numbers are the
forms and contractions of Eleanor There
are Nellies and Nellas and Nells and
Ellens and Eelenes and Helenas, and
once in a while the name is spelled Eli
more.
Annie, too, has its many vOtaries.
Maybe the spelling may be Anna. or
Ann. or Annabelle, for that matter. but
they all come to the same thing in the
end.
Emma is 8 popular name with the la
dies of the stage. There have been many
famous EnlTnas and many Emmas with
out fame
Virginia, too. has always had it's
many representatives on the boards
1t is a pretty name, as pretty in it's
original form as when shortened to the
more sprightly Virgie-
But if the old names still hold their
vogue, there is no dearth of names made
up according to the newer school. Here
and there is to be encountered a Ca
mile, and now and then Cleo. There is
one known Maxine and just one Etellza
There are two Bilious and a Francesca,