'This is essentially a year of costly simplicity. I never remember havin'? seen so much costly lace used on sum mer gotvnS as this year, and besides this introduction of rare old lace the ulous: of Japsr.sss Silk. The broad kimono straps snow a cen tral insertion of embroidered muslin, and then, in front, the blou3e Is finely tucked and inserted with lace, groups of tiny silken buttons being another pretty detail of its trimming, while the elbow sleeves are arranged in quite' a new way with crossed and many-buttoned straps of silk, to hold in their puffed fullness above a lace-inserted cuff. muslins themselves have been em broidered—by hand—in a manner so elaborate and fine as to defy descrip tion. Some of these embroidered mus lin gowns are worn with the smartest possible little coatee-boleros of tus sore or chine taffetas. For example, Bloucs of Broderie Anglaiss. The dainty effect of this blouse is en hanced by insertions of lace, all edged with tiny frilling, the scalloped yoke and the prettily shaped cuffs also introducing this pretty contrast of fine lace the more boldly patterned broderie. the skirt of one which I saw the other day was of very fine broderie Anglaisa, entirely worked by hand, with bold cross-bars of Venetian guipure inser tion. At the extreme hem these cross bars were filled in with rich design of Clucy, and the whole thing was mar velously effective in a subdued way. Blouse of White Net and Lace. This blouse id lined with Japanese silk, while, outwardly, it is finished with ef fective touches of pale blue satin, and crochet lace, and buttons of the blue, all edged with rufflings of Valencienes lace. The yoke of Valenciennes insertion is outlined with scrolls of guipure ap plique, and connecting folds of the blue satin, the sleeves being distinguished by the novel and pretty way in which folds of satin are passed through circlets of lace, while then "frills of lace frame the elbow becomingly; and, finally, there may be noted a deeply draped satin waist band, fastened at the back with two of those button-rosettes. The little coatee—which in front was' shaped like an Eton jacket set in wide pleats—was made of ivory taffetas. Blouse of Chiffon Taffeta. Specially adapted for wear with morn ing and tailor-made costumes. It is of finely cheeked chiffon taffeta, and is ar ranged with a chemisette and cuffs of fine guipure, and trimmings of Soutache braid and buttons, a further finish being given by a smart scheme of stitehings. It fastens at the back. which showed blurred roses, in faint delicate shades, all over its surface, and at the back this-quaint coat was cut In sac form and the sleeveb were kimono in design and extremely short. The blouse worn with this most oitgina! cress was made of Cluny in set with guipure and with Valen ciennes, and there was a folded waist band in a pale shade of rose pink, with the loveliest buckles of tortoise shell and filigree silver. The rage fcr the “grey note" is un abated! Tale grey gloves and shoes, pau. grey bats triramed with shaded roses and lined with dull black, pale, grey waistcoats for tailor-made gowns. Two important points of (the toilette Clouse of White Silk and Chiffon. The white silk and chiffon of the blouse is veiled with lace, which makes soft background for bands of delicate green silk.edged with narrow silken braid, and connected just above the waist by other pointed tabs, which give a corselet effect. Then below the folded band comes a smart little basque edged with braiding and a kilted frill, festoons of wee roses, embroidered in pale yellow and pink also entering into the decorative detail. which will certainly remain “pale grey” until winter is with us again are the long suetle gloves and the Blouse of White Chiffon. Tile white chiffon, which is patterned with Mack velvet spots, is tucked and ar rai','.'d with scarves of beautiful chine ribbon, broadly bordered with white satin, and also dotted with black velvet, white filet lace embroidered In floss silk, being a third fabric and factor of the chine ribbon and spotted chiffon drawn beneatii the deep waistband of black glace. floating shoulder-scarfs, the latter ire quently inset with fine black Chan tilly and embroidered all around the edge with black silk. Some of the loveliest muslin gowns for afterncon wear are made of pure white Indian muslin, embroidered in pale-hued silks and inset with Maltese or Brussels lace. Silk embroideries in pale colors look exceedingly well on fragile muslin, though I much dislike them on linen, but they demand an ac companiment of lace motifs and inser tions. All the embroidery designs of the moment are arranged to include inserted motifs of lace, and in some cases these designs are carried to an exaggerated degree of elaboration. When flowers in colored silks are in troduced on white muslin dresses the silks are always of the softest and most subtle shades, and I have seen the loveliest effects obtained with em broideries in Japanese style, carried out entirely in two or three shades of the same color. Flowered muslins are also very fashionable for afternoon frocks and a favorite melange is flowered muslin and plain muslin, the latter being in the same shade as the groundwork of the former. It is predicted that we shall see ivory white lace blouses worn with colored linen and tussore skirts, but no one reading tills paragraph must run away with the idea that the funny old “blouse-and-skirt” idea is coming in favor again. It is quite possible that white lace blouses will be worn with pale blue linen, or pale peach tussore, skirts in the late summer, but these colored skirts will invariably be inset—in some way—with the same lace as that used for the blouse. It will not be a oast> of a “blouse-and skirt,” but of a specially designed cos ! tume. ' KNEW VALUE OF ALASKA. Seward’s Prophecy of Years Ago Has Been Fulfilled. June 20, 1867, the fortieth anniver sary of the day on which the Alaska, annexation treaty went into opera tion, is' a date mark of great im portance to the United States. When, shortly before his death, in 1872, Wil liam' H. Seward was asked what he believed to be the greatest achieve ment of his public career, he an swered: "The annexation of Alaska.” He added, however, “But the Ameri can people will not grasp the value of that acquisition for a third of a century yet.” This shows that Sew ard, the empire builder, was also a prophet. Seward has been dead for thirty-five years, and it is only in re cent times that his countrymen have appreciated the importance of Alaska as a poksessjpn. Strong opposition was offered In the house of represent atives in 1867 to making the appro priation oir 17,200,000, the price whi-;h Seward paid Russia for the province, one of the annexation's oppo nents in that chamber: “All that Alaska will ever be able to produce will be polar bears and icebergs.” For several years a nickname for the re gion was “Seward's folly.” But time has vindicated Seward. — Leslie’s Weekly. They were enjoying a quiet stroll out under the star-strewn veil of even ing, and he, bashful youth, eagerly grasped a stray opportunity to keep alive the languishing conversation. ‘Yes, Miss Georgians; that star over there is the planet Jupiter, which they say, js about 400 million miles from the earth; and that bright-red planet overhead is Mars, which just now is only a little over 400 million miles away. It’s a great question among scientists whether or not there are inhabitants on either of them.” ‘Well, George, said the fair listener, in her thirst * for astronomical knbwl edge drawing a little closes to her In formant, “if there really are, it doesn’t seem to me they’re near enough so that they could sue us on' a dark even ing like this, ev«a though they were looking this gray.’’—Judge.. TO WASH A PLUME. Takes a Little Time, but the Re sults Are Satisfactory. White plumes which have done duty on old hats should undergo a certain amount of renovation. One of the best methods of cleaning them is to place them first of all in a basinful of soapsuds made with cold water in stead of hot. anti in which they should be left to steep for an hour or two. They should than be removed, plunged into boilins water and al lowed to remain ia it for at least a quarter of an hour. Each feather should then be taken out, spread on a cloth, and every particle of dirt which may still cling to the froads removed by rubbing these with a-soft piece of silk dipped in soapsuds: They must then be rinsed in several changes of hot water and finally laid on a towel across the knee, the fronds being then dabbed gently with a towel made into a bail, the object being to regain the curved shape of the feather before it is returned to the hat. When almost dry the feathers should lie well shaken until they appear per fectly soft and fluffy, when they should be immediately inclosed in tissue pa per and placed in a cool oven or on the plate rack of the stove, so as to complete drying operations. To curl the feathers no tool is more effective than an ivory paper knife. Each frond should be picked up sep arately, and with a sharp but gentle turn of the wrist given the requisite curl, this being continued until the plume has regained its original ap pearance. WHEN FLOWERS HAVE FADED. Simple Method by Which They Can Be Revived for a Time. It always seems so distressing to see beautiful cut flowers wither and fade, and to revive flowers that are not actually dead try this plan. Cut a tiny piece from each stem and place the stems in a large glass, or, even better, jar of cold water; then sub merge the jar in a bucket of cold wa ter, allowing the entire bunch to be al most covered. Put all in a dark 'place, cover with a newspaper to ex clude the air; let them remain thus over night; in the morning they will be as fresh as new, even to the glist ening “dew drops.” Roses and carnations respond bet ter than other flowers treated in this manner, but so far there has not been found auy way to freshen violets sat- , isfactorily. It might not be amiss to add that wilted green vegetables, such' as spin ach. lettuce and celery, are to be freshened by this same means, and may be kept for days, changing the water every morning, of course. How ever, we all know that the fresher all vegetables, the better they are. Improvised Hat Hangers. Being limited for closet room it was a puzzle to know just where to hang our hats, writes a correspondent of the Chicago Tribune. My hus band put a cleat 12 inches above the top.row of hooks in the clcset; in this strip of wood, with a three-quarter inch auger, he bored boles sixteen inches apart. Then from an old broom handle he cut pegs six inches in length which he drove firmly into the cleat. When completed the wood was stained and varnished to match the woodwork of the closet. With this arrangement the hats are out of the way, kept in good condition, and are not displaced when hanging up other garments. Spanish Omelet. Chop finely as much boiled ham, nsing fat and lean, as will fill a tea cup, and add to this a tablespoonful of minced onion and one-half of a green chili pepper chopped fine. Cook the ham, onion and pepper in a cup of tomatoes for ten minutes. Beat six eggs slightly, add salt to taste; fry in a buttered pan until delicately brown; place on an omelet dish gar nished with parsley; fold in the mix ture of ham, onions, pepper and to matoes; serve while hot. A Simple Luncheon. The third luncheon had linen doi lies on the table and a fern dish in the center. The menu had a rather simple first course: Creamed oysters on rounds of toast, potato croquettes, toasted muffins, olives, spice cake and coffee. The muffins were bought at a bak ery, split open, toasted and buttered. The spice cake was baked in one large loaf and served fresh, but cold.—Har per’s Bazaar. Fish Balls. Mix with one cup of hot mashed po tatoes (unseasoned) a half cup of shredded codfish, add to this one small egg and a speck of pepper, beating all till- light and creamy; shape, roll in dried breadcrumbs, dip in beaten egg, which has one teaspoonful of milk added to it, then in crumbs again; place in frying basket and fry in deep, hot fat, just below the smok ing point/till brown; drain on brawn paper. Coffee Cake. One cup sugar, one cup cottolene or butter, four eggs, one cup molasses, one cup strong coffee (cold), one tea spoon soda dissolved in a little boil ing water, four cups flour (pastry), one teaspoon cinnamon, one-half tea spoon cloves, one-lialf teaspoon nut meg, one cup well floured raisins. Mix in the order named and bake about an hour in a moderate oven. This rule will make two fair-sized ioaves. Cheese Dainty. Cut circular pieces of bread with a cake cutter, moisten them in melted butter, then roll in chopped celery and green peppers, then moisten again in butter, and this time roll in grated cheese, seasoned with pepper and salt. The dish is then set In the oven and baked a few moments. They are served on beds of watercress 'with a garnish of sliced tomatoes. Dainty Sandwiches. Remove seeds from four large, green peppers, cut in pieces, mix with one-half pound shelled pecans, and run through meat grinder. Sait to taste find blend with mayonnaise to a paste. Butter slice of bread, dip let tuce loaf in mayonnaise and place on bread. Spread the other slice with the paste and press together. Washington Gossip Interesting Bits of News Picked Up Here and There at the National Capital. I CONSIDERABLE FLIRTING IN PUBLIC BUILDINGS WASHINGTON. — The big public “show” buildings of Washington are the “flirtation clearing-house” of America. The capitol and the splendid library of congress are the favorites, but oth ers are only less popular. For many years the problem has been a serious one with custodians, watchmen and policemen, and this spring it has been worse than ever. Young men and women of the high school age, it is declared, make the library of congress a regular head quarters for the purpose of flirting. There are young men and women of maturer years who do much the same, and, finally, all kinds of people make the place a headquarters for meeting by appointment, or without appoint ment, as may be most desirable. The other day a corporal and pri vate of marines were ejected from the building by officers and immediately a tremendous protest was voiced by the navy department. “Another insult to the uniform,” it was alleged, and the demand arose from army and navy quarters as to whether the uniform of the nation must forever be thus subjected to in sult, till it was to be ejected on sight from public buildings. The secretary of the navy set an inquiry on foot. Then came the explanation that the two marines had been especially of fensive in their advances toward wom en in the building, and that when their cases came to be looked into ample testimony against them would be ad duced. AN EXAMPLE OF SHORT CUT TO INNER SOCIETY IT’S really quite legitimate in Wash ington, you know, where one official ly, scarcely stays but more than one consecutive minute—to take all sorts of social short cuts. One may not wait for the natural evolution of things. Time flies. The other fellow’s turn is close upon us. So its hustle, hustle, and hump yourself while your stock is at a premium. The meteoric career of the Shonts at the capital offered an interesting example of the “off-again-on-again gone-again-Finnigan” system. Very charming people, indeed, with perma nent wearing qualities were Mr. Theo dore P. Shonts, former chairman of the Panama canal commission, his wife and two attractive young daugh ters, Miss Theodora, sought in mar riage by the Duke de Chaulnes, and her sister, Miss Marguerite. The Shonts girls have lovely clothe^ and a cordial grace of manner with a south ern flavor to it. Much of their life has been spent at their father’s handsome estate near Mobile, and on southern waters in the paternal yacht Marga dora. “Margadora” is a graceful tele scoping Together of the names of the two Misses Shonts. A story runs that at- the outset of her brief Washington career, Mrs. Shonts, wife of the present president of the Interborough-Metropolitan com pany of New York, desiring to give a large dining while comparatively a stranger, was assisted in the making out of her guest list by a friend who was a veteran social expert here. A certain venerable senator, who had never met the host and hostess, vague as to identities, was numbered in the company. “I am fnost happy to know you, Mr. Senator,” amiably proclaimed the lady of the house. “You will find on the table there the name of the lady whom you are to escort to dinner.” “Yes, thank you, madam,” said the old gentleman, in no wise recognizing his fair hostess, producing from his pocket a small card contained in an envelope, and proceeding to scrutinize it through his glasses. "I already have my happy fate right here. She seems to be a party by the name of—er—let me see—-by the name of Shonts, or something of that sort.” SMUGGLING IS POPULAR AMONG RICH AMERICANS £<117H have confidential information *» that the manufacture of trunks with false bottoms abroad is a thriv ing industry just now,” said a treasury department official the other day. “These trunks are designed primarily for rich Americans who are now trav eling in Europe and who will secrete diamonds, pieces of jewelry and other valuables in secret trays, false bot toms and other places where an in spector would not be expected to look. “These trunks are made very clever ly and, although it is an old dodge, it will be worked with some success this year. They used to make these trunks with false bottoms of such depth that the deception was quickly discovered. They do them much better now and our Inspectors will have to keep a sharp lookout to prevent fraud. Only the most experienced inspectors who have handled trunks for years can gauge these false distances accurately and had fraudulent trays and bot toms. “You would be surprised to know how many of our captures of smuggled goods are made. Our inspectors would be unable to expose many of these cheats but for information furnished by disgruntled maid servants. Many a fine woman returning to this coun try with a lot of undeclared jewels and other valuables has been discom fited by a word judiciously dropped by her maid. It is not always the wisest thing for a wealthy woman to dis charge her maid too soon after return ing from a purchasing expedition abroad. More than one Fifth avenue woman is wondering to-day how the government got the tip that she was bringing a diamond necklace without the formality of declaring it. “Modest clerks in high-priced jew elry stores in Paris earn a good deal of money on the side by keeping United States government officers ad vised of the purchases of expensive jewelry by traveling Americans. When the Americans return home their statements are carefully scanned to see if all their purchases are included. Many seizures are made in this way. The clerk is always rewarded by a percentage of the extra penalty im posed and in the same way maids and other servants who furnish informa tion are paid.” About 17,000,000 or 18,000,000 white ants have decided to raze the Smithsonian Institution, and the pre liminary work has begun. Woodwork is disappearing, the floor ing is falling away in places, and what the ants have done to the parts of the building which are hidden from open view can only be guessed, until neces sity shall require an overhauling of the whole building. Where the white ants came from nobody can tell. They cannot be killed by any means except fire or a liberal use of kerosene. They increase more rapidly than any other known species of ant, and that is at a rate almost be yond computation. They are hideous to look at, being soft, unlike the North American ant, and bristling with a slight fuzz. They are armed with little sawlike mandibles, which can make their way through the hardest wood in an incred ibly short time. And their appetite is appalling.' Whole window sashes were turned from solid wood to sawdust under the industry of their sawbills. The floor ing was eaten away from the walls for the space of three or four inches, and the cases in which rare specimens of butterflies and birds were kept were chewed to fine powder. Now there is positive danger to the institution in their annual appear ance, as the building is drawn on so heavily to feed them that the wood work has become weakened. ' If something be not speedily done to exterminate the white ants the building itself will be exterminated. ANTS THREATEN TO EAT SMITHSONIAN INSTITUTE The Smithsonian institution is one of the nation’s greatest ornaments. It was presented through a fund by the late James Smithson, a son of the duke of Northumberland, and the leg acy, brought to this country in gold sovereigns in 1838, yielded as a build ing fund more than 5500,000. The building is used to house speci mens of natural history. Whale Leather. The Newfoundland fishermen, ac cording to a consular report, have been attempting to make whale leather a commercial product, and are said to be meeting with some success. The average whale hide covers a surface of about 1,500 square feet. A square foot of the hide weighs from two to five ounces and is priced as high as 50 cents. The leather is unusually tough, and is said to have great wear ing qualities, and may therefore be adapted to the covering of furniture, buggy tops and seats, and also auto mobile uses. It is also said that it can be used for boots and shoes. Leather made from the intestines of the whale resembles kid, and is thin and tough. It will take color readily, and is to be offered to glove manufacturers for making the long sleeved gloves now worn by women. In Chicago. Mrs. Dearborn—How long has she been married? Mrs. Wabash—Four years. "And she doesn’t seem to be tired of her husband yet! “No, she’s only had this one three days!”—Yonkers Statesman. The international yacht races at Kiel to begin about the fifteenth of Au gust will be much in the public eye of America owing to the fact that this country is sending three crack boats to contest for the emperor's cup. The three boats are the Chewink VIII., Spokane I. and the Marblehead. Mr. B. B. Crowninshield, the designer of the Marblehead, and who is a clever skipper, raced a boat of his design called the Uncle Sam, some years ago at Kiel, and knows what the condi tions there are like, and he designed the Marblehead with a view to meet ing them. She may surprise some of those who think that she will not prove so fast as the other boats, but the general opinion inclines to the Spokane and Chewink if the condi tions are what are expected in August at Kiel. The first race will be on August 15, and the conditions will be practically the same as those which governed the Roosevelt cup races on this side last year. The first race will be eagerly awaited, as this will tell the story in a measure as to what the outcome will be. Mr. Otio Protzen is regarded as the most dangerous rival skipper, and his new boat is said to be going very fast, especially in breezes. He sailed the Wannsee on this side in the Roosevelt cup races, and saved the Germans from a complete shut-out by winning one of the series. The Germans have made great pre parations to meet the American boats, and will be represented at the start ing line by the pick of 30 boats, 17 of which are new craft designed very much along American lines, and which are far more radical than either the Wannsee, the Tilly VI. or the Gluckauf IV., which sailed here last year. It is believed that the Germans will make the American boats hustle as they will be fighting it out in their home waters and under different con ditions from those met at Marble head, but the three boats which go across will be handled as well as any three boats which could be picked, for it would be hard to get three bet ter skippers than Frank Macomber, Jr., of the Chew'ink, J. Lewis Stack pole of the Spokane and Sumner H. Foster of the Marblehead. They will have good crews. On the Spokane will be two experienced boat sailors, who raced with Mr. Stackpole, while on the Chewink will be Benjamin C. Tower, a relative of the German am bassador, Charlemagne Tower, and Matthew Boles, who sailed with Mr. Macomber on the Chewink VI. and other boats. Sumner Foster will have along with him his brother, Haverly Foster, a Harvard athlete, and Thomas Claflin, another Harvard man who has had plenty of experience in small boat racing. Mr. Benjamin C. Tower, who goes on the Chewink, owned and raced the Corinthian in the trials, but failed to land a place. He is a clever skip per and will be a valuable assistant to Mr. Macomber. There is tremendous interest in Ger many over the coming international match, for the sonder klasse is the special pride of the German emperor. who has offered the cup for the races, while the king of Spain is not only interested in the class, but owns and sails one of these little racing boats. It is expected that a number of ! yachtsmen will go from this side with the owners and crews, and it is ex pected that Vice Commodore F. Lewis Clark^ of the Eastern Yacht club, owner of the Spokane, will send the Emerald, his fine auxiliary schooner, across and use her during the races. A big fleet of American steam yachts cruising in foreign waters will assemble for the racing. The Spanish yacht clubs will also give the Americans a royal reception. The races in Spain will not take place until September, so that the Ameri cans will have quite a stay abroad. Study of the German courses, tides and weather will form a very serious part of the preparatory work of the American crews at Kiel. The condi tions differ materially from those in which the boats have hitherto sailed, off Marblehead. There will be no windward and leeward courses, as here. This is due, in part, to diffi culty in getting sea room in which to lay out such a course. The starting line is across an estu trry, or arm of the sea, in Kiel harbor, •which has a width from shore to shore of about a mile and a width of prac ticable channel of about half a mile. The boats are started on a straight line to a mark boat anchored in mid channel, northeast three-fourths of a mile. On turning that they begin sail ing a triangle. The course is sailed twice around, the full distance being 11.5 nautical miles. The direction in which the boats are sent around depends on the direction of the wind. On two sides the course parallels the 10-meter depth line of the chan nel. An onshore breeze in this depth of water results in a strong chop, which in high winds is very trying. According to reports from the govern ment observatory at Kiel the wind averages above 20 knots an hour there j throughout August. The German method of starting their races is somewhat different from the American. The starting line is determined by ranges on the shore, and a starting steamer is anchored on. this line, at one side of the channel, and a flag boat at the other. On the steamer’s mast are three large black boards, or fields, and two white boards, past which a red starting ball slides. A preparatory gun is fired at 12 o’clock, and the red ball is hoisted to the lowest black field. At one-minute intervals it is hoisted one field higher. At the expiration of five minutes it is at the masthead. A gun is then fired. This is the signal for the start. The rules provide that when the re sult of the races has been determined the committee may recall the other . boats and declare the race finished. ,A. The dates, rules, etc., for the Span ish match have not yet been arranged. It is possible that part of the races may be sailed at the watering place of San Sebastian and part at the commercial port of Bilbao. | NEAT LITTLE BUNK& GAME. Hobo Lost His Wager, but His Thirst Was Quenched. “Getting a drink for nothing is the fine art of Hoboken,” said a mixer of spirituous fluids. “Why Hoboken?” “Why, that's where all the Hoboes come from." Then he said that a thirsty man came into his place one day just as a more prosperous person was about to take a drink. The newcomer eyed the glass thoughtfully, and then said: “I’ll bet 1 could drink ten glasses of that full to the brim without stop ping.” The prosperous man was interested. ■Til bet you a dollar you can’t,” he said. ‘I’ve only got two cents." “I’ll take you.” The prosperous patron ordered the ten drinks. The newcomer put up his two cents and tossed a couple off. Then he drank about half of the third net it down and said: “You win, old man; I’ve got enough.” And as the thirsty unfortunate left the prosperous patron swelled with pride and exclaimed: ‘I knew he couldn’t do it!” Wholesale Poisoning Order. In the fourteenth century the profes sional poisoner’s favorite agent was arsenic, and this was known to the crowned heads. Charles de Mauvis, king of Navarre, in that century, com missioned a certain Woudreton to go to Paris and kill with arsenic Charles VI., the duke of Valois, brother of the king, and his uncles, the dukes of Berry, Burgundy and Bour bon. Woud reton was detected and executed in 1384. Persistence. St. Lawrence Alma-Tadema, R. A., was intended for the law and his par ents so disliked the idea of his study ing art that Be was obliged to rise very early in the morning in order to paint. ThU had some good effect, for he formed a habit of early rising Jp and is often at work before most peo ple are out of bed. At :14 the great artist painted a picture of his sister, and at 16 an excellent one of himself