WOMAN’S WORLD.

Evening Star, Issue 11168, 17 February 1900, Page 7

WOMAN’S WORLD.

[By Viva.]

TO CORRESPONDENTS,

“ Bmrty,” Cavetaham.—Your macintosh may be easily cleaned by spreading it out flat on a table, and then scrubbing it with yellow soap and soft water, applied with a nail brush. When the dirty spots are all out, rinse the macintosh in several lots of clean, cold water, Vid hang it out to dry. Shako, to remove tts much of tho water as possible, but never wring a macintosh or pub it near a tiro. “ Vexatious.”—Millai bark is excellent for promoting a strong and vigorous growth of the hair.

“ Misery.”—Be very sure all your garments are quite loose and comfortable, and that your ankles, hands, and wrists arc not contracted in any way. ' “Bda.”—For tho lines round your eyes rub in a little vaseline or lanoline twice a day. Always rub in one direction, until tho grease is absorbed, and afterwards massage the skin. Apply twice a day, at some other time, glycerine and tannin two tenepoonfuls, rose water two teaspoonfuls. Mix well, and paint the lines with tho lotion and a clean camel’s hair brush. HOUSEHOLD RECITES. Apple Tart, (excellent recipe).—-Line a pie dash with puff paste; peel, core, and quarter a dozen, apples, and lay them in the dish with some blanched and pounded almonds-; heat a quarter of a pound of butter to a cream, add a cupful of castor sugar and four eggs; heat all well together, flavor with ■pounded cinnamon ; pour over the apples, and bake in a moderate oven for about an honr.

Dessert Sweet.—Boil a pint of sugar in half a, pint of water to >v> syrup ; clarify by stirring in yie white of an egg and boiling briskly till the syrup is frothy ; then strain

into little square paper shapes or ramequin cases after having mixed in some chopped almonds and grated lemon or orange peel. Serve when cold. German Wahmt Cake.—Method : Shell and chop finely about quarter of a pound of walnuts. Make a custard with a pint of milk, two eg-s, and a tablcspoonful o' sugar. When tho custard is made stir in tho walnuts, and pour into a basin to cool. Cut a round sponge cake into three slices ; put the bottom piece on a. dish, cover it with a layer of the walnut custard, then put tho second slice- in, and so on. Coat with royal icing, and decorate the top with walnuts. This cake may be made with cocoamit instead of walnut. Marmalade Cream Tarts.—Line some patty pans with puff paste, and fill them with the following mixture ;—To each tablcspoonful of apricot marmalade add the yolks of two egws, the white of one, and the weight of an egg—that is, about an ounce—each of sugar and butter. Whip all to a cream, three-quarters fiR the tartlet tins, and bake in a hot oven for twenty minutes. These are eaten cold.

German Teacakes.—Required : A pound of butter, a pound of flour, a, pound of castorsugar, sis eggs, fifty sweet* almonds, four ounces of currants, half a teaspoonful of rock ammonia, a teaspoonful of* powdered cinnamon. Beat the butter to a cream; add the sugar and the eggs, one. by one, beating all for twenty minutes ; then add the flour, cinnamon, and rock ammonia. Drop the mixture in spoonfuls on greased paper, sprinkle over with chopped almonds mixed with currants, cinnamon, and crystallised sugar, and Like for twenty minutes. (These Httlo cakes are verv good.) Cinnamon Cakes.—Take a- pound of flour, a- pound of sugar, four eggs, quarter of a pound of butter, a dozen pounded cloves, a teaspoonful of powdered cinnamon, a teaspoonful of carbonate of soda, a- tcaspoonful of cream of tartar, and tweutv-iive almonds. Beat the butter to a cream, add the sugar and the eggs, and beat for twenty minutes. Mis the soda, cream, of tartar, add spices with the flour. Form into cakes the size of a walnut, and put on a Puttered tin. Bake fo: twenty minutes.

Dutch 1 Oilcakes,—lake a pound of flour, three-quarters of a pound ot brown sugar, quarter of a. pound of butter, two ounces of dripping, quarter of a pound ox sweet almonds, an egg, a tcaspdoahil c;ich of carbonate of soda and pounded cloves, two tcaspoonfuis of powdered cinnamon, and a quarter of a pint of claret. Rub the drioning into the flour, add the butter, soda, spices, the egg, and, lastly, the wine. Roll the dough out, and cut, into small cakes with a pastry cutter or a. wine glass. Bake on greased tins, putting a piece of citron on each cake, for about twenty minutes. Sweet Cracknels.—Method ; Mix it. pound of flout with, a po.uud. of. sugar, - quarter of a teaspaoaful of cinnamon, and a teaspoonful of potash; moisten with three well-bcaleti eggs. Roll out, and form into shapes like the-flgure 8, and bake in flat tins for-half an hour.

Au excellent Feather Cake.—Whisk the ■whites of seven eggs to a froth with seven ounces of castor susf.tr; add the well-beaten yolks, tie weight of three eggs in' Hour, twenty-five chopped sweet almonds and ton bitter, some chopped citron, and the grated nnd of a -lemon, Bake in a well-buttered mould.

Birthday Cake.—Required ; A pound of flour, three-quarters of a pound of simar, the same quantity of butter, a pound of 'currants, half a pound of chopped raisins, ctuarter of a pound of blanched and chopped almonds, quarter of a pound of citron peel, nutmeg, cloves, cinnamon, and ginger, seven eggs, and a, glass of brandy. °Beat the butter to a cream, add the sugar, eggs, etc. and bake for three haul's in a, moderate oven. Be careful to butter the cake mould and to line it with buttered paper. Chippolata (a delicious puddiind. Method : Make a custard with a pint of milk and two eggs, sweetened bo taste. Soak a quarter of an ounce of gelatine in a little water and add it to the custard, Boak some sponge fingers in fruit syrup ; put a layer of them into a decorated mould ; put over the biscuits a layer of preserved ginger (cut small) or any other fruit preserved in syrup, then another layer oi biscuits and so on till the. mould is tilled. Put the custard over the whole while warm, and let it stand for twelve hours. If it can he set on ice so much the better. Turn out and serve.

Lemon Sponge.—One ounce of gelatine one pmtof water (hot), juice and rind of two lemons, two ounces of cantor sugar, (he whites of two eggs. Dissolve the gelatine in the water (it must be allowed first to soak for about an hour), then nut in a nan with the water, and stirred over the fire*till it is d\ssolved. Then add the rinds of the lemons and the sugar. Strain the juice of the lemons into a basm on to the whites of egg, then strum the dissolved gelatine on to ’them. Now whisk all together till they arc a stiff troth, then either pom- into a pretty fancy mould, and when set turn ou't on to a glass dish, or you may color part of it red, and Leap the two colors up roughly on a glass dish and serve. This hist way is very pretty and effective.

Stone Creanu—Three-quarters of an ounce ot gelatine, one gill of hot water, two ounces or castor sugar, a flavoring of vanilla, almond, nr lemon, naif a pint of thick cream, rind of one lemon, jam or stowed fruit, red curra.nl jelly, or crystallised fruits. Put the water and gelatine into a pan, and stir ovefthe lire ttl dissolved, Then add the grated rind of the lemon, the castor sugar, and llavorincr VVhisk the cream till firm. When the oelatino feels' just warm to your Unger, strain it into the whipped cream, and mix well. Piit a thick layer of jam or any nice stowed fruit at the bottom of a glass dish, then peur the cream smoothly over so that it covers them like a slab. Then leave till cold. Decorate the top either with little heaps of red jolly or crystallised fruit. Cold 1-owl Masked with White SauceOrder the fowl _ trussed for boiling. Then tie it up m a piece of buttered paper—this f to keep the bird a good color. Make a few holes in the paper. Put it in a. pan of bodmg white stock in which you have mil two large onions, one largo carrot two pieces of celery, and a hunch of herbs. There should be about two quarts of stock • if you have no stock, use water. The vegetables give a good flavor to the fowl and you will require some of the stock for sauce The fowl will probably take about threequarters of an hour. When it is tender take it out and let it get cold. Then make the sauce. Melt three ounces of butter in a saucepan; stir into it three ounces of flour and mix smoothly. Cook this for a few minutes over the fire, but do not let it get brown. Now stir in one and a-half pints of the broth, and allow it to boil. Add half a tablesooonful of cream and strain in an ounce of gelatine which has been dissolved in a little of the stock. Place the bird on a

larj;o dish, and as the sa.uce gets cooler and firmer poor it very smoothly over every part of the fowl. If the sauce is allowed to get too cold it will become lumpy, and if too warm, too much of it will run off the bird. • When masked all over, lift the bird on to a clean dish. A very pretty garnish for tho dish is chopped iispic jelly. This can bo arranged in two lines down the breast, or on the dish round the bird. HINTS. To cool a dish in a hurry place it in a vessel full of cold salt water. A cracked egg may be safely boiled if wrapped in a piece of greased paper. A sprinkling of ground coffee will keep game sweet for several days. Spirits of turpentine is the best thing with which to cleanse and brighten patent leather. To relieve the pain ,pf a bum soak at once in cold water, in which plenty of soda has been dissolved. Milk will remove ink stains from cloth if it is applied immediately.

Ground mustard mixed with a little water and rubbed over tho hands removes strong odors and stains from them.

Moderately strong salt and water, taken by the teaspoonful at intervals, is a cure for catarrhal cold and sore throats.

When making tea, if the kettle should have boiled, pour a, eup of cold water in and let it boil up again before making, and you will find the tea will be as nice again. Never over-tax the eyes if that can be avoided. They will bear as much hard work as any other portion of the human frame. Do not make them bear more. When you come in tired and lie down to test weary limbs, rest your weary eyes too. Do not “just look over the newspaper” while you rest yourself. Close your eyes and determine to rest absolutely for a time ; then sit up and read if you will, and you will feci less fatigue than if you had been overworking these tired little organs. Eor greasing cake tins, etc., nothing is nicer than a wide, Hat paint brush. Melt the fat, dip tho brush in it, and the greasing can be done i(i almost no time, and iar more effectually than in any htber way. Old tan shoes should bo washed with lukewarm water, wilh a little washing soda added. When they have dried, black ami polish in the .usual way. You will be surprised at tile improvement. To prevent illness Hush the kitchen sink with seme good disinfectant at least once a fortnight. If water in which vegetables have been belled is poured down, clean water should nalways be poured into the pipe immediately afterwards.

To whip cream quickly got- a glass jar with an airtight cover. Put the cover firmly on and shake vigorously. A tiny pinch of salt and a little lemon-juice helps to make it turn ; but don’t shake too long, or you may find it has developed into butter.

The Care of Jewellery.—Remember that pearls should never bo damped, though they should be exposed to light and air as much as possible. If turquoises are wetted they are liable to change color. Opals must not be exposed to gre&t heat, or they are liable to crack and fall from their setting. To keep the hair in curl simmer thirty crushed quince seeds in a pint of distilled water for two hours. Let cool, and then add one gill of alcohol, refined spirits of wine or brandy, a 'tcaspoonful of alumwater, and a teaspoonful of rose-water or eau-de-eologno. Bottle and use for damping the hair before putting in curlers. If you have to go out in an east wind wash your face afterwards in warm milk or equal parts of milk and water, rubbing it well in. To anyone with a delicate skin milk for bathing the face is invaluable in winter time, as it keeps it soft and prevents that dried-up feeling that causes so much discomfort. Always dry your face very thoroughly, as if left ever so slightly damp it is sure to get rough.

A Tonic for the .Skin.—Scald two ounces of sweet almonds, skin, and pound in a mortar with a little rose-water til! you have a creamy liquid. When the almonds are thoroughly pounded, squeeze the whole through coarse muslin or strainer cloth into a glass receptacle. Dissolve twenty drops simple tincture of benzoin in half an ounce of rectified spirits of wine. Pour this on the almonds, add eight ounces of rose-water, mix well together, and bottle, and cork tightly. .Shako the Imttle before using. This may he applied to the face with the tips of the lingers two nr three times a day, and the skin then wiped with a- clean soft chamois leather. This tonic gives tone to the skin, keeps it soft, and helps to ward off wrinkles. It will only keep about six weeks.

Brittle .Hails. —A little abnnnd-oil well rubbed into the nails every night makes them less brittle and liable to break. If your nails break easily, always slip on an old pair of gloves before stirring anything over the fire, as the heat makes them more brittle than they otherwise would bo.

THE ETIQUETTE OF CONVERSATION*. Do not argue nr appear to notice other people's inaccuracies in speech. Do not interrupt others while speaking, but listen patiently until they have finished. Remember that theh good listener is generally more appreciated than the clever talker.

Do not talk of your private or family ailirs except to intimate friends, and then be careful not to do so oftcit.

Do not always begin a conversation by remarking on the weather. Even in this country' the topic soon becomes wearisome. Do not talk of things which the company present cannot be interested in. By doing so you may show yourself a clever and superior person, but you will he. voted a bore.

Do not find fault needlessly even with the weather. The habit of grumbling at cither people or things is most disagreeable. Do not speak mockingly of personal defects. Somebody present may have the same.

Do not talk loudly or fast. A clear, distinct voice has great power.

Do not, when narrating an incident, keep on saying “You sec,” “You know.” etc. Do not whisper. If yon have anything to say that the general company mny not hear, reserve it till you and the person to whom you desire to impart it are alone. ROYAL HOBBIES. The Dowager Empress Frederick of Germany is an excellent musician, and talented above most women both in sculpture nnd painting. She is, however, able to earn more than a few thalers annually from her knowledge and training in both floral and kitchen gardening. She is specially fond of raising choice roses for decorative purposes, and owns a largo nursery garden at Friedriehsliof, in the lodge of which are many diplomas of merit and prizes won at the different flower shows. Quite a little commotion and considerable amusement was caused last summer when it became known that tho fruit supplied for the banquet breakfast given to tho Emperor by one of the sv ell regiments of the guards had been purchased from the Empress Frederick’s head gardener, and probably from the Empress herself.

Queen Wilhclmina of Holland has one accomplishment That might, and perhaps does, save a great deal of money. She is an expert at the millinery trade, and iv. the royal residence there is an apartment in the seclusion of the Queen's ouarters where hats, bonnets, and tonnes are being fashioned and modelled after her own exclusive designs. Queen Elizabeth of Roumania is probably the only one among royalties who is’ licensed as a. public lecturer. For several yearn Her Majesty has given private talks on subjects of interest to young women in her palace, which has been well attended by the daughters of the Roumanian aristocracy. These lectures have, however, recently'become so popular and attractive, and the requests to attend them so many and persistent, that the Queen now lectures in the public high school for girls, and has obtained the necessary official professional diploma, which is signed by the King and by the Minister of Public Instruction.

Queen Amalie of Portugal is another clever woman of exalted rank. In order to be able personally to attend to and treat the King, who suffers a. good deal, she entered the University of Lislwn to study medicine. After going through a. four-years’ course of study, as severe in every wav as the ordinary medical student is forced to go through, she nu.ssed her examinations successfully and took her degree. To-dav slv’ is the only royal M.I). in the world. But Queen Amalie is as deft with her fingers as she is with her bruin. At a doll show

recently held in Berlin the leading feature was a collection of dolls exhibited “by the Queen of Portugal,” every iirticlc of dress and decoration of wljich was made by herself. A gem of the royal handiwork was a charming reproduction in miniature of the carnage used at the coronation, drawn by eight tiny horses, whose silver harness is a marvel of workmanship. The groun is valued at 15,000d01, and is to be sent to this years Paris Exhibition. MEN MILLINERS. Hat-trimming him been believed to be an accomplishment exclusively possessed by women, but m New York and other American cities a number of men have made a specialty of •‘building” millinery. One of these innovators is a housc-to-house man milliner, who for 10s a day in English money trmis and renovates ladies’ hats, and he is said to be particularly clever as a designer. Patrons of these men milliners dec!a.re°that not only arc their designs attractive, and their work satisfactory, but that their judgment as to the becomingness of a hat Ts extraordinarily good. PERSONAL AND GENERAL. Considerable interest has been excited among Englishmen interested in philanthropic work bv the recent gift to Sir Richard Tarrant of £40,000 for a hotel in London for poor women. The money was contributed by an American, who desires that his name shall remain unknown. The intention is to build a hotel that will hold about 500 women. Any woman who can pay about four shillings a week for a room will be admitted. It is expected that the institution will be self-supporting. A young girl in the Attona (U.S.) Silk-mill prevented a strike of employes by continuing at her work when 800 others threatened to strike.

School girls should be taught not to carry their books or satchels resting on their hips. Carrying several pounds twice a day on one side will soon cause a one-sided development, and will, if persisted in, almost certainly result in a considerable difference in the height of the shoulders.

It is a strange, coincidence, if the rumors of the two intended morganatic marriages in the Imperial Austrian family are well founded, that the two personages who are shortly to become united with persons of non-royal blood are the present heir to the throne and the widow of the late heir (Prince Rudolph); and stranger still becomes the coincidence when we consider that some years ago it was generally believed that the Archduke Francis Ferdinand and the Crown Prince's widow were betrothed. It is said, and has not been officially contradicted, that the Archduke is shortly to be married to the Countess Sophie Choteck, a well-known and most charming member of the Austrian aristocracy. The Countess is thirty-one years of age, only a few years the junior of the Prince, and is very popular in Vienna and Bohemia, where her father possesses large estates. Should the marriage take place., the Archduke will not renounce his rights to the throne, but his children will not be able to succeed him.

. Madame Lebreton, whose death was mentioned in this column lastweek, was'better known by her maiden 1 name of Bourbaki. She was the sister of General Bourbaki, one of the heroes of the Crimean War, and one of the most brilliant officers of French arms in the war of 1870, and the fortunes of this brother and sister of low origin are as interesting as a tale told between covers. Charles Bourbaki rose like a comet in the French Army, to win the highest grade before Sebastopol, and to bo named aide-de-camp of the Fmperor and Commander of the Imperial Guard. At the same time, his sister entered the Tnileries as reader to the Empress Eugenic. The exploits of Bourbaki before the Prussians are famous, and his temperament is all summoned up in the fact that after a. disaster, and forced to retreat, he shot himself in the head in the midst of his a rrny. Madame Lcbrctou’s son was his uncle’s standard-bearer, and was killed under Metz, dying with the French flag in his arm. It is a curious fact that this brother and sister were not of French but of Greek origin. Madame Lebreton followed the Empress into exile, and when the latter in her turn lost her son on the battlefield it was Madame Lebreton who could best understand this loss. Common memories and similar griefs united her and the Empress. Captain Davis, of the steamship Niger, has sent Home an interesting account of the marriage of an American missionary on hoard his ship off the west coa.st of Africa. The American bride (Miss APLauchlan) sailed on the- English mail rdearner from tile Mersey to meet her future husband, Dr Lehman, at Balauga. When the steamer arrived the bridegroom was escorted on board, and under a canopy of palm leaves held by five Native boys, and backed by the Union Jack and the Stars and Stripes, the ceremony was performed by the Rev. F. O. Knancr. The bride w.is given away by the captain, and after lunch had been served the happy couple left for (he shore amid a shower of rice.

Irene Fedossora, who has just died in Russia, was one of the last of those professional storytellers once so very numerous in the East. She was quite illiterate, but she could recite over 100,000 lines of heroic and legendary poetry. She was frequently in St. Petersburg, and was often invited to the palaces of the Imperial Family and nobility to give recitations. In summer she. wandered from town to village, and had never been absent from the famous fair of Nishni Novogorod for sixty years.