Hints for Busy Housekeepers. Recipes ané Other Valuable Information of Particular laverest to Women Folks te Christmas.--C. CHRISTMAS RECIPES. Grapes for Christmas.--Take a large pumpkin and cut off a round "piece of the top. Take out the seeds and then fill the pumpkin with large bunches of sound grapes. Whea filled place top back, tie carefully, and the top will seem to grow in place. Place in a 1 dry place until the Holidays, en you will find the grapes most delicious and sound. The pumpkin can be used as 2 center piece for the table filled with fruit. This is worth trying, and I can vouch for it being a very atisfactory way of keeping grapes Ohristmas: Fruit Cake--Christmas fruit cake and pudding should be le now, as both improve with time, and eggs are reasonable in price to what they will be later in e season. Appended are the re- cipes. There are none better. One pound of flour, one pound sugar, one and one-eighth pounds of but- ter, one-half round candied citron, four pounds currants, four pounds raisins {stoned and chopped), nine eggs, one tablespoonful each of mace, nutmeg,, cinnamon, cloves and three gills of brandy. Beat sugar and butter to a cream, add eggs, well beaten; flour and spices well sifted together, and last the fruit, well dredged in flour. This amount will make two cakes or one large one. Can be baked in a low earthen crock lined with oil paper. For half the quantity it will take three hours in moderate oven. It will keep for years and improve with time. Wrap in oiled paper and keep in airtight box Plum Pudding.--One pound of butter, one pound of suet freed from atrings and chopped fine, one pound of sugar, two and one-half pounds of flour, two' pounds of currants picked over carefully after they are washed, two pounds of raisins seed- ed, chopped, and dredged with ur, one-quarter of a pound of citron shredded fine, twelve eggs, white and yolks beaten separately, one pint of milk, one cup of brandy, one ounce of cloves, one-half ounce of mace, two grated nutmegs. Cream butter and sugar, beat in the yolks when*you have whipped them smooth and light; next put in the milk, then the flour alternately with the beaten whites; then the brandy and spices; lastly the fruit, well dredged with flour. Mix all thoroughly, wring out your pud- ding cloth in hot water, flour well inside, pour in the mixture and boil five hours. Steamed Christmas Pudding. For the best recipe in a competi- tion open to the world Queen Vic- toria gave the prize of two guineas to this recipe: One pound of seed- ed raisins, three-fourths of a pound of stale bread crumbs, one-fourth pound of flour, same of brown sugar, one pound of currants, one- half pound of minced candied orange peel, one pound of chopped suet, a scant teaspoonful of salt, five eggs, one-half a tumblerful of coffee or brandy, one-half nutmeg, and the grated pee] of a lemon. Mix flour, fruit, and spices well, add ertimbs and suet, beat the eggs, add to them the coffee or brandy, pour over the dry ingredients, an mix well. Pack into small greased molds and steam eight hours at the time of making and twa hours when wanted for use. Better re- sults are obtained by steaming than by boiling--it is more tender and better in every way. e water must be kept boiling stead- ily, adding to it occasionally. This can be made weeks before Christ- mas and will keep indefinitely. Serve with any preferred sauce, though German sauce or currant jelly sauce are favorites. TESTED RECIPES. Plum Pudding.--One and a half pounds soda crackers, buttered and soaked in sweet milk over night. Mash fine, add four beaten eggs, one and one-half pounds: seeded raisins, a cupful of good molasses, one-half teaspoonful ground cinna- mon, half a nutmeg grated, one- eighth teaspoonful of ground cloves. The mixture must be as thick as pancake batter. Put a layer of the batter in the bottom of a baking dish, then a layer of:raisins sprink- led with flour, and continue until all material is used, with a layer 'of 'batter on the top. Bake two and a half or three hours in a rather slow ovén and serve cither hot 'or cold. Sauce for the same is made as follows: One cupful of butter, two cupfuls of sugar beaten till light, then add four tablespoonfuls of thick, sweet cream. Flavor with vanilla. This is delicious for Christ- mas and is a tested' recipe: Beef 'Loaf.--Beef Loaf with To- mato-Celery Sauce--Threa pounds of beef from lower round and a piece of suet the size of a lemon _ground twice; two small onions choppel: fine, two -tablespoonfuls of, pa rsley chopped -fing,- three-fourths - ul of three eaas, .cizht- nloth crumbs, one. tablespoonful salt, cayenne to taste. Mix all the in- gredients well together and pack firmly into a greased square bread tin. Turn, upside down into a greased baking or roasting pan and bake in moderately quick oven one hour. By leaving it in a square tin the loaf retains all its moisture and has no crust. When done put away unti! cold and then cut in thin slices and serve with tomato- celery sauce. For the sauce take twelve large ripe tomatoes, four ripe or green peppers, two onions, three large heads of celery, two tablespoons.of salt, two tablespoons of sugar, and three cupfuls of vine- gar. Peel the tomatoes and onions and chop very fine. Add the other ingredients and boil one and one- half hours. If you like it hotter, add cayenne or hot pepper to taste. Put sauce away in well sealed bot- es. ORIGINAL RECIPES. Pickled Figs.--For every pound of pulled figs allow three-fourths pound sugar and one cupful of water to each pound of sugar; boil five minutes and skim. Drop in figs and let simmer until fork will penetrate them, being careful that they are not too soft. Put in jars with a few cloves, bits of cinnamon, and very little mace. Cover well with syrup. Do not close jars for three mornings. Each day pour off syrup without removing figs; re- heat to boiling point and pour over figs. On the third morning mea- sure syrup and allow one eupful of vinegar to three cupful of syrup. Boil and pour over figs; seal while => ot. . Spaghetti, Bacon and Tomatoes. --One 5 cent package of spaghetti, five slices of bacon, cut into small squares and fried crisp; one-half can of tomatoes. Empty spaghetti into two quarts of rapidly boiling salted water, add a half teaspoon- ful of pepper (red or black) and boil hard for twenty or thirty min- utes; stir frequently to prevent scorching; drain spaghetti in a col- ander and rinse thoroughly in cold running water. Now add to bacon and tomatoes, season to taste, an boil thirty minutes. This will serve six persons. It is just as palatable when reheated. Delicious Salad.--One-half head of cabbage, finely shredded. One cup of celery cut in half inch pieces. Two medium sized apples cut in small squares. Juice of half a le- mon and a teaspoonful of sugar. Mix with the following dressing, while dressing is hot. Dressing -- To one cup of vinegar add two tablespoonfuls of sugar, one tea- spoonful of dry mustard, a gener- ous pinch of salt, and a sprinkling of pepper. Put over to boil. Cream four tablespoonfuls of flour, add to the boiling vinegar, stirring con- stantly to prevent lumping, cook five minutes, and as soon as taken from the fire add two eggs well beaten. This amount will suffice for one pint of salad. Serve salad cold on a nasturtium leaf, garnished with two nasturtiums. HOUSEHOLD HINTS. Onion skins should be boiled in soup, as they make the liquor a nice color. Sweet orange peel, if dried and powdered, makes an exceient flav- oring for cakes and puddings. When stewing prunes add a hand- ful of stoned raisins to every pound of prunes. This is a great improve- ment on the ordinary method. Delicate cretonnes may be wash- ed in a lather made of Castile soap and warm water. his soap con- tains nothing which will injure the colors. Badly stained lamp chimneys may be cleaned by rubbing with methy- lated spirit. It the stain be very obstinate, add a little whiting. Boots that have become hard from wearing,in snow or wet wea- ther can be softened by being rub- bed with mutton fat. To keep carpets fresh looking, wipe them over once a month with a cloth wrung out in ammonia and water. This must be done after sweeping. : After washing a teapot dry thor- oughly and leave the lid off so that air may enter. Remember it is im- possible to dry the spout, and if you close the pot Yightly it will very likely smell musty. To keep lemons hang them up separately, so that they do not come into contact with anything. This prevents the juice remaining in one place, which is certain to decay the fruit. A hair-ribbon should never be ironed. Make a warm lather, wash the hair-ribbon and rinse it in warm water, then wind it round a glass bottle. When dry it will look as good as new. When' ironing; place-a ey aaa ROVADREGE: £ 'Tia very often the case if the news-|the result is equally against paper is not employed. To Dry ' Mix white flour and bran together and gently rub this mixture with a clean piece of flannel into the col- lar, which should be stretched out on a hard surface. Beat out the mixture with a stick. If necessary repeat the process. i; For Cooking Vegetables.--All vegetables excep potatoes should be put into boiling water. All ex- cept peas and beans should be boiled with salt--boil peas with sugar; beans with fat. -- Roo' should be boiled slowly with the lid of the saucepan on, Boil green vegetables quickly with the lid off. MISTAKES ABOUT SHARKS) =2< EVIL REPUTATION ATTACHES | TO THE WHOLE TRIBE. Thoir Voracity and Dizestion-- Fights to Death in the Sea. Sharks are both cowardly and cruel but it is difficult to study their ways from the deck of a ship, as they move slowly: in a tefractive medium such as water some twenty or thirty feet below the observer,. Hence the many erroneous deduc- tions of seamen with respect to unsociable déhizens of the dee} which appear to justify not only the statement of Le Conte that the evidence of the senses if often unreliable but also the jocular op- inion of a novelist that "no story with a shark incidentally thrown in can fail to be interesting."' Yet the shark belongs to a type which has survived the flight of time, while other more attractive species have ceased to exist. The early voyagers were wont to attri- bute supernatural prescience to the shark. - Often during light winds one of these sca scavengers will follow a slow sailing ship for several succes- sive days and nights, and it was er- roneously assumed that he does so because aware in some myterious way of an impending death on board which will insure for him a sumptuous repast Heredity has similarly been put forward as an explanation of this tendency for a solitary shark to keep company with a ship, writes W. Allingham in Chambers's Mag- azine, although the experience of countless generations has not suf- ficed to impress upon him that DEATH BY TORTURE awaits any shark who dares seize a bait that trails attractively from a ship's stern and encloses a stout hook that will not be denied. Na- tural history notes by illiterate sea- men on imperfectly appreciated data are worse than useless, for they are misleading Many a shark is preceded by a few shimmering companions known as pilot fish because they are sup- posed to warn tbe shark of danger ahead, but they n-ver prevent this hostis humani generis from swal- lowing the tempting morsel and its cunningly concealed hook. These irridescent pilot fish move hither and thither in close proximity to the shark's cruel "nouth, and some assert that they occasonally take refuge therein should danger threat- e n. Inasmuch as the shark's mouth is inconveniently placed behind -- his snout and underneath his body this can only be aiscerned from above when he turns on his back and despite travellers' tales to the con- trary it is simply unbelieveable that either pilot fish or young sharks seek safety within the cavernous jaws of a mature shark, for he would never permit egress to an bonne bouche so easily obtainable. A SHARK'S VORACITY is not less marvellous than his dig- estion. Whether he be a man eater by choice (as seems the more probable) or by the compulsion of hunger (as is occasionally asserted) the fact remains that any one who happens to fall overboard in the vicinity of a shark is likely to be snapped up by the latter without ceremony. It is the evil reputation attaching to the whole shark. tribe as regards comes a meal that renders them so abhorrent of seafarers. Old sailors never weary of en- larging upon the voracity and the digestion of sharks When in the China Seas, as related by the late Capt. Basil Hall, a large shark was eaught by H. M. 8. Alceste which was found to contain, among other things, a buffalo hide that had been thrown overboard the preced- ing day. One of the sailors explained this in a way which seemed irresistibly man Clean Lace Collars. --* sim. accounts are indifference whence! pected saat the did he have all his wits about Nevertheless circumstantial in evidence of in- stances wherethe shark has been defeated by the man. 4 At Jamaica a huge shark is said to have been a terror to frequent- ers of the harbor he affected. Once he overtirned a boat' carrying pro- visions to the shipping and deyour- ed the wife of the boatman. The maddened widower reached the nearest ship. : SEIZED A SHARP KNIFE. invoked the aid of his patron saint, leaped into the water, gave battle to the shark despite the awful and succeeded in avenging his wife by slaying her destroyer. At Bar- os similarly, if we may accept the report as authentic, a seaman fought with and killed a shark that had eaten a shipmate. Young Maoris, male and female, were once proficient in the slaying of sharks in open water, They would swim into the surf armed with a knife, dive under the near- est shark, rip open their enemy and return to tke shore. During the last decade it is said the sail- maker of the American warship Alliance, then at anchor at St. Thomas, West Indies, leaped over- board and killed with a knife a huge shark which was gaining upon some of the vessel's crew who h disobeyed orders by venturing on aswim A dog which was with them was seized by the shark, but the latter did not get beyond this hors d'oeuvre. A single female shark is quite capable of stocking a modern aquarium with young of consider- able size at one birth, and were it not for the want of something to eat and the liability to be eaten, certain parts of the ocean must teem with such voracious and fecund visitors In July, 1910, on the passage from Australia to New Zealand, the crew of a sailing vessel caught a shark containing 44 young, and in 1906 a nine foot long specimen captured on the Australian coast had 27 young al- most mature. Records of catches set forth in ships logbooks show that the numb- er of young sharks produced at one birth vary from 83 to 2. With this minimum total a doubt is pardon- able, because parturition may have been nearly completed just prior to the shark's capture. a STRANGE PLAN OF SUICIDE. Gave Instructions to Kill Poachers and Then Ran Into Danger. Suicides often adopt ingenious methods, but the art of the felo de se seems not to have advance materially during the centuries. he modern case of a heavily in- sured broker who on a_ feigned hunting trip stoop bare-legged in a@ quagmire for hours and so wil- fully contracted a fatal pneumonia, is matched in cleverness by one five hundred years old. The following facts are well vouched for, and, in- eed, were never questioned : Sir William Hankford, a judge of the King's Bench in the reign of Edward III., Henry IV., Henry V. and Henry VI., and at the time of his death Chief Justice of England, was a man of melancholy tempera- ment. He seems to have contem- plated suicide the greater part of his long life, and during his later years the idea became a fixed pur- pose. The act was of peculiarly serious consequence in those days, for the reason the law treated it as a@ capital crime. The offender was buried at the cross roads, with a stake driven through his body, and all his goods and property were forfeited to the Crown, to the ut- ter ruin of his family. Hankford made good use of his wits and succeeded in accomplish- ing his purpose without incurring either unpleasant penalty. He Rave open and notorious instruc- tions to his gamekeeper, who had been troubled with poachers in the deer preserve, to challenge all tres- passers in the future, and to shoot to kill if they would not stand and: give an account. One dark night: he purposely crossed the. keeper's path, and upon challenge made motions of resistence .-and--escape. The faithful servant, failing to re- cognize his master, followed in- structions to the letter as was ex of him, and Sir William fell dead in his tracks. The whole truth of the affair was common knowledge. but,;it was im-! possible to establish case of: suicide by legal proof/ The ser-| vant was protec by/ his instruc- 'tions. Hankford had\ honorable : boy does not get his 'new. job.'"' burial and-his estate passed to those whose interests as heirs he had so wisely considered. we. SWISS CITIES OWN FORESTS. logical in the opinion 'of his ship- mates "There, my lads," said t Jack, 'what d'ye think if that? He | The swallowed the whole buffalo right : he couldn't digest the: enough, but hide.'"" As a matter of fact the carcass of the buffalo, unknown to these amateur makers' of history, was still on board the Alceste. There are not wanting writers In Switzerland many of the best forests are owned by the cities. i city of Zurich has a highly : developed forest that has been pro- tected since 1680. It now returns a net profit of $12 an acre and sup- ports the city, no taxes being | day). Golden Text, Eccl. 12. 14. -1 41. 42). THE SUNDAY SCHOOL LESSOR| Lesson VII.--Belshazzar's feast and ' fate, Dam. 5..(Temperance Sun- Verse 1. A great feast to a thou- sand--Everything about the ban- quet suggests Uriental magaulicence. Lhe paiace in which it took place, with its immense halls, its columas, its tapestried wails, and its statues, was one of- the wonders of the world. Before his princes and tne rest Belshazzar (known by tae Babylonian inscription as "the Crown Prince"), seated on a raised dais at the end of the banquet chamber, and facing the guests at a separate table, drank wine. This was the customary manner of con- cluding a feast, wine flowing freely, and everyone becoming intoxicat- ed in the spirit of wild reyel. The unusual feature was the preseace of the king, inasmuch as he ordin- arily banqueted in solitary state in his ewn private chamber, none be- ing present but the queen and at- tendants. 2. Tasted the wine--Gradually came under its powerful influence. Commanded to bring the... .- vessels--See on Dan. 1. 2, Word Studies for September 10. The act was one of wild and irreverent folly. The well-known example and decrees of Nebuchadnezzar . ought to have been a warning. Assuming that the feast was in honor of some Babylonian deity, there could hard- ly be conceived a more impious in- sult to Jehovah than this public profanation of the sacred vessels which had been seized in the holy temple. His father--We know that Bel- shazzar was the son of Nabunaid. But by marriage Nebuchadnezzar may have been his father-in-law, or his grandfather. In either of these cases the word father, according to Hebrew usage, would be permis- sible. Wives . . . concubines--The pres- cence of women was not in keep- ing with ancient custom. In the Septuagint these words are omit- ted, as if there were an inexplicable impropriety here. But there was east. 3, 4. Drank in them--It was na- tural that lips which wantonly praiséd their heathen idols of every description, from gold to stone should also defile the holiest things with embruting wine. 5. And the king saw--It was pe- culiarly fitting that retribution should descend upon this heedless, riotous company in the same hour with their bestial revel. But as a sort of prelude of warning, seen at first only by the king, there appear- ed over against the golden chande- lier, and therefore on a part of the wall conspicuously bright,.the fin- gers of a man's hand. As the wall was either painted white, or con- sisted of slabs of alabaster, this would render the moving hand still more visible. 6. The king's countenance was changed--The color of youth and the flush of wine gave way to the pallor of fear. His conscience trou- bled him deeply, so that he lost control of himself and fell into vio- lent trembling. The events of Ne- buchadnezzar's reign were too re- cent for him to be ignorant of the awful power of the God whom he had trifled with. 7. Cried aloud--Not merely a forceful command, but a shrieking ery, filled-with alarm. For note on Chaldeans, consult Word Studies for September 10. The whole troop of Babylonian soothsayers and as-. trologers, in the book of Daniel, prove themselves an inane an worthless class. But the king's re- course to them was all that was left to him in his utter godlessness. He had joined in the praise of graven images, but now he knows they can do nothing for him, and he turns} to the equally impotent magi. Clothed with purple--A sign of royalty. The chain of gold reminds us of the honor done Joseph (Gen. A golden necklace was sometimes given as # compliment, and was worn as a token of rank. The expression, third ruler in the kingdom, is difficult, but seems to} refer to some such honor as that later enjoyed by Daniel (Dan. 6). The suggestion has been made that Nabunaid, being first ruler, an Belshazzar second, he was makiog room for one who with them should form a sort of triumvirate. How- ever, the promise was empty if we accept the tehory that Cyrus had al- ready taken the city and Belshaz- zar was simply holding out in the royal. palace. 8. They could not read the writ- ing--In every instance in which they are pictured in the Old Testament they ignominously fail. Their in- 'ability. now fills with alarm not necessary.-" ; é o A soft answer may turn away who . would, have believe _that men lose thei to pani wraih, but sometimes it comes hard. , only the king but his lords as well 9). nothing too rude or shocking in this A fi perk om the language of verse 11 may! im Y iy: : 13. Then was Daniel brought --It seems strange that his exce lent spirit, or surpassing ability -- (22), had been overlooked. But this -- was generally the case until the critical moment arrived. There is nothing Orientals esteem more ~ highly than riddles, unless it is the _ man who can solve them. 17. Let thy gifts be to thyseli-- Compare 2 Kings 5. 16. When he has thus cleared himself of any ob- - ligation to the king he has paved the way for his fearless denuncia tion of the king's conduct. 18-24.--David prefaces his inter- pretation with a daring reference to the affliction which came upon Nebuchadnezzar for his presump- tion, and an arraignment of the present king for his impiety, brut- ishness, disobedience, and irrever- ence. The blackness of Belshaz- zar's guilt is intensified by the light in which he had sinnéd--thou knew- est all this (22). 25. Mene, Mene, Tekel, Upharsin --Much thought has been expended in an effort toe decipher these words. The theory of a Frenchman, named Clermont-Ganneau, that we have here the names of three weights, a mina, a shekel, and two peras (or a half-mina), has met with most favor. Just why Belshazzar and the magi experienced any difficulty in read- ing these words on the wall cannot be determined, but it seems to have been because of some peculiarity in their arrangement. The mysiery ot their interpretation is another mat- ter. But the key appears to bq found in rendéring each word twice ; thus, the first word means both "eounted'? or "numbered," and 'thanded over'; the second means "weighed" and "thou art light'; while the third means "fragments," and "the Persias" or "Media and Persia." From this key it is easy to obtain the interpretation of the thing (26-28). 29. Clothed Daniel with purple-- In accord with the promise made him. In view of the near approach of the army of Cyrus, the coolness with which Belshazzar gives this command is inexplicable. A ee VALUE OF SILENCE. Too Much*¥alking as the Cause of Failures. Many of the failures in business and professional as well as social life are due to injudicious talking. young man of apparently very moderate ability has recently as- tonished his fellow workers by his noticeable success in _ business. 'Pure luck'? it has been called, but a policy or natural habit of silence is the real cause, says the Youth's Companion. In his first position he succeeded a man of long experience and ex- cellent judgment, a circumstance that made his youth and inexperi- ence conspicuous by contrast. made no apologies and asked little advice. He was courteous to his superiors, considerate of his busi- ness inferiors, but absolutely deaf to all the gossip and irresponsible talk so prevalent in every large business office, He had held his position for a year; gossip had it that he had fail- ed, for in that time he had not sug- gested a single innovation or en- larged his department in any way. But soon it became known that he had proposed a change that would result in an annual saving of $2,- 000. Gradually his step became firmer, his manner more assured, and he no longer outstayed the janitor at night. Slowly but sure- ly he gained the confidence of the general manager and the heads of other departments, and it soon be- came their habit' to come to him for advice. At the end of five years, when his former associates were wondering if they could af- ford to get married, he was admit- ted to membership in the firm. In every establishment where a number of persons is employed there is alwavs an undercurrent of gossip. A dissatisficd stenograph- er talks her troubles over with a bookkeeper. The bookkeeper con- fides to the telephone operator that he expects to get an increase in salary. The elevator boy explains that he is going to leave soon for a better job. These bits of news are exchanged until they become eommon preperty. The employer, learning that the stenographer is dissatified, tells her that she may leave at her pleasure. The bookkeeper fails to get his in- crease in salary and the elevator Especially if you are dissatified should you refrain from discussing your position. A man doesn't alwavs get what is coming to him when the postman ealls. pA te * If you think the world isn't pen ine ' perhaps you're partly to blame. pana Little Nelly tg}d little Anita what she termed a 'little fib." Anita-- "A fib is the same as a story, and &@ story is the same as a lie. Net No. it's not. Anita--Yes. it is, be cause my father said so, father is a professor at the univer- 10. The queen--The queen mother, had iven her conntensace rével." She was 58 rocasd oh: who had not to the fier rity, Nellv--I don't care if he is My father is a roal estate man'an haces, ; about | rin