Evening star., 1901-12-14

HOLD
lINTS

The season of hospitality again draws
near. The young people at school and col
lege are counting the days until 'ographies
and 'oolgies laid aside, they shall start
for home sure Of weeks frolic. The old
folks in the country are getting everything
ready to leave and giving the last injunc-
tions to the neighbor caretaker who is
coming in to do the chores while they go
in to daughter Mary's or son Johns for
their annual holiday visit.
Even the lonely inmates Of Institutions
homes for the aged" "asylums,'' charity
schools" etc.-feel the stir in the air and
are hoping that by some fortuitous combi
nation of circumstances some good fairy in
the world outside will remember them and
give them one more taste of the genuine
home life for which they long.
Mother is like 1.-The cat in the cream Jar
UP to her cheeks in work, but she is
happy, for she is going to make so many
others happy. To do this successfully,
however, she must economize her own
strength-for a dear, tired lady with fam
ing red cheeks and circles round her eyes
makes the rift within the lutte that spols
the otherwise perfect melody.
If she will sit down some evening now
and draw up a general plan for the next
four weeks ahead she will save both time
and headwork, which is often more IA
tiguing than mere bodily exercise. Don't
trust to your memory for the details of
what is to be done or supplied. Keep
memorandum book or diary, with page
for things to be done. AS they are accom-
plished check them off. Make up sched-
ule Of all meals for two weeks ahead, di-
VerSifying it SO that the leading dish will
not be repeated too often, and at the same
| time each individuals favorite dish be re-
membered. Make up like schedules of
friends to be remembered or entertained
games that may be played by the young
people and things that will be worth seeing
or hearing by the friends from out of town
If Tom or Jean or Janet need to have some
| special shopping done for them before they
go back to school put it down in black and
white then when you start on a shopping
expedition there will be no danger of for
getting half the things you meant to get.
And now word about table decorations
Take up any household or fashion maga-
zine these latter days, and you will find
page after page given over to illustrations
of dining tables bediZened and bedecked
with lace, embroideries, ribbons, silks and
satins, until all one can think of is some
gorgeous shrine in a Greek cathedral or
fancy table at bazaar. How many fami-
lies in this whole land are there, think YOU
who will care to sit down to a Christmas
dinner table with a green China silk cover
underneath lace spread candle shades of
blood-red silk and silver filigree, with
fringes of red beads, corsage knots of red
holly berries and thorny leaves tied with
many long loops and ends of red satin baby
ribbon for each feminine guest, and jap
anese mass of silk stuffed with sachet at
tached to the clusters? If you haven't
silver candlesticks exceedingly pretty
pressed-glass candlesticks with spiral fut-
ings can be bought for % cents each; 10
cents will buy dainty crimped pinked and
silver-laced candle shade; cents more will
line 1t with isinglass, and cents will buy a
brass support. If you can't afford a silk
under petticoat for this conglomerate you
| are gravely advised to use silkoline near
silk any cheap material
For the ribbons no makeshift Is as vet
suggested but to correspond with the glass
candlesticks and nearsilk Innings 1t is prob
able that any cotton back or even red wor-
sted braid might do. And now, imagine IL
you will, man. the head of the house, put
down in front of this millinery display and
told to carve the turkey, also tied with red
ribbons, garlanded with greens and wat
tied with paper ruffs and roses. Imagine a
row OF little children or hobbledehoy bows
for children are not as yet entirely out of
fashion, and they certainly ought to be
allowed to come to the Christmas dinner
| tahle-and think how woefully out of their
element they look. My friends 1t looks like
| a decadence In good taste and common
sense here In America when we are ad-
ytsed over and over again to put our whole
souls into such meretricious and inappro-
pirate furnishings for dining table. II
we as people have buffers and funkeys