Hippolyte A. Taine - "The Origins of Contemporary France, Volume 4"

Various - "The Atlantic Monthly, Volume V, Number 29, March, 1860"

Ignatius Donnelly - "The Antediluvian World"

Robert Bloomfield - "The Farmer's Boy"

Annual Bibliography of Commonwealth Literature 2007
This paper argues that discourses of love in Ghanaian market literature for youth offer a view into complex negotiations of agency and empowerment. Drawing on Deborah Durham's notion of youth as "social `shifters'" and Francis Nyamnjoh's conception of the "interconnectedness" of agency, I take Ghanaian market literature as one specific case of how African literature for youth foregrounds questions of continuity and change as African societies enter into increasingly complex global relations. In this literature for youth, received notions of love, often constructed out of impressions from American pop and hip hop music, carry new notions of agency that compete with existing "domesticated" forms. Authors like Ike Tandoh and Evelyn Tay employ discourses of love to offer youth alternative avenues for empowerment in a context of socio-economic disenfranchizement. In a creative process of "straddling", this writing both reveals and reproduces the contradictions that obtain in youth configurations of agency.

The Handy Cyclopedia of Things Worth Knowing

J >> Joseph Triemens >> The Handy Cyclopedia of Things Worth Knowing




Crepe is no longer obligatory in even first mourning. Many widows only
wear the crepe-bordered veil hanging from the conventional bonnet for
the funeral services and for a few weeks afterward, when it is replaced
by an ordinary hat and veil of plain black net bordered with thin black
silk. Widows wear neck and cuff bands of unstarched white book muslin,
this being the only sort of white permitted during the first period of
mourning. Young widows, especially those who must lead an active life,
often lighten their mourning during the second year and discard it at
the end of the second year. Of course the conventional period of
mourning for a widow is three years, but, if there should be any
indication that a second marriage is contemplated, black should
gradually be put aside.

However, the discarding of mourning is no indication that a woman is
about to change her name, and the wearing of black is so much a matter
of personal feeling that a woman should not be criticised for curtailing
the conventional period.

In this country it is not the custom for young children to wear
mourning, and with men the wearing of a black band about the hat or on
the left arm is all that is deemed necessary.

A woman wearing full mourning refrains from attending the theater or any
large functions. She may properly be seen at concerts, club meetings or
lectures, and she may receive and visit her friends informally.



ETIQUETTE OF THE VISITING CARD.

The prevailing shape for a woman's card is nearly square (about 2-1/2 by
3 inches), while the correct form for a man's card is slightly smaller.
The color should be pure white with a dull finish, while the engraving,
plain script or more elaborate text, is a matter of choice and fashion
varying from time to time. It is safe to trust the opinion of a
first-class stationer in this matter, for styles fluctuate, and he
should be constantly informed of what polite usage demands.

A woman's card should always bear the prefix "Miss" or "Mrs." There is
no exception to this rule save in the case of women who have regularly
graduated in medicine or theology and who are allowed therefore the use
of "Dr." or "Rev." before the name. "Miss" or "Mrs." should not be used
in addition to either of these titles.

The card of a married woman is engraved with her husband's full name,
such as Mrs. William Eaton Brown, but she has no right to any titles he
may bear. If he is a judge or colonel she is still Mrs. James Eaton
Brown and not Mrs. Judge or Mrs. Colonel Brown.

A widow may with propriety retain the same visiting card that she used
during the lifetime of her husband, especially if she has no grown son
who bears his father's name. In that case she generally has her cards
engraved with a part of her full maiden name before her husband's name,
such as Mrs. Mary Baker Brown. In this country a divorced woman, if she
has children, does not discard her husband's family name, neither does
she retain his given name. For social purposes she becomes Mrs. Mary
Baker Brown or, if she wishes, Mrs. Baker Brown.

The address is engraved in the lower right corner of the visiting-card,
and, if a woman has any particular day for receiving her friends, that
fact is announced in the lower left corner. As a rule even informal
notes should not be written on a visiting-card, although when a card
accompanies a gift it is quite proper to write "Best wishes" or
"Greetings" on it. This is even done when a card does not accompany a
gift, but it should be borne in mind that a card message should not take
the place of a note of thanks or be used when a more formal letter is
necessary.

A man's visiting-card should bear his full name with the prefix "Mr."
unless he has a military title above the grade of lieutenant or is a
doctor or clergyman. In these cases the proper title should be used in
place of "Mr." Courtesy titles, although they may be common usage in
conversation and a man may be known by them, are best abandoned on the
visiting-card.

During the first year of marriage cards are engraved thus:

Mr. and Mrs. William Eaton Brown

and this card may be used in sending presents, returning wedding
civilities or making calls, even when the bride is not accompanied by
her husband. After the first year these cards are discarded, and husband
and wife have separate visiting-cards.

In some communities it is not the custom for a young girl to make formal
calls without her mother. To meet this requirement the girl's name with
the prefix "Miss" is engraved on her mother's card, below her mother's
name.

It is no longer considered necessary to leave a number of cards at the
same house when calling in person or sending cards. If there are several
women members of the family one card suffices. If a woman wishes to
leave her husband's card she should leave two, one for the mistress and
one for the man of the house. A woman never leaves a card for a man
unless she has called on him on a matter of business and wishes him to
be reminded of the fact.

At a tea or large afternoon reception a card should be left in the hall
as a guest departs, so as to enable the hostess to preserve a record of
those who have called on her. If she is not able to attend she should
send her visiting-card so that it may arrive on the day of the function.
After a dinner or any formal function she should make a personal call or
leave her card in person.

When making an ordinary call it is not necessary to send one's
visiting-card to the hostess by the servant who opens the door.
Pronouncing the name distinctly is sufficient, but, if it is a first
call, and there is danger that the hostess may not be familiar with the
caller's address, it is best to leave a card on the hall table when
leaving, no matter if the hostess herself conducts her visitor to the
door.

When one is invited but unable to attend a church wedding it is
necessary to send, on the day of the ceremony, cards to those who issue
the invitations. An invitation to a wedding reception or breakfast
demands a more formal acceptance sent immediately on receipt of the
invitation and couched in the same manner in which the invitation reads.

A newcomer in town or a young married woman may receive a card from an
older woman indicating her receiving days and hours. This is a polite
invitation to call, and if she is unable to make a call at the time
indicated she should send a card on that day.

Cards of condolence are left as soon as possible after learning of the
affliction. It is not necessary to write anything on the card; in fact,
it is better not to do so, for, if the acquaintance warrants a personal
message, it should take the form of a letter. On the other hand it is
quite proper in felicitating a friend on a happy event, such as the
announcement of an engagement in the family or the arrival of a new
baby, to send a visiting-card with "Congratulations" written on it.

There are times when it seems necessary to send cards to practically all
one's acquaintances, This is wise after a long absence or a change of
residence, and when one is leaving town for a long period it is proper
to send cards with the French expression, "Pour prendre conge."



FORMALITIES IN DRESS AND ETIQUETTE.

"Costly thy habit as thy purse can buy" was old Polonius' advice to his
son, and he counseled suitability as well. It is this question of
suitability that is the hall mark of correct dressing. A safe rule to
follow, especially in the case of a young woman, is not to be
conspicuous in attire and to conform to the standards of dress as set
down by older women of recognized standing in the town in which she
lives and the community in which her social or business life is spent.

A young girl needs little adorning. Her school or college dresses should
be characterized by their neatness, freshness, correctness of cut and
utility rather than by elaborate trimmings or costly materials. Her
party gowns are simpler than those of a girl who has left school, and
she wears less jewelry. At the end of school life, if her parents are
able and willing to give her a coming-out party, she begins her social
career under the pleasantest auspices, and this is the opportunity for
her first elaborate gown.


The Debutante.

The character of this gown depends largely on the nature of the
entertainment given her.

It most commonly takes the form of an afternoon tea or reception to
which her mother invites all of her friends as well as the younger set.
The debutante receives with her mother and wears an elaborate frock of
light material and color, made high in the neck and with elbow sleeves.
Long white gloves are worn, and her hair is more elaborately arranged
than it was during her school-girl period. In fact, she is now a full-
fledged young lady and is dressed accordingly. Such a gown may serve
later as an informal evening gown, or, if it is made with a detachable
yoke, it may be worn as a dancing-frock or for any evening occasion for
which a full evening gown is expected.

The receiving party at an afternoon function generally includes near
relatives of the debutante, and a number of her intimate girl friends
are asked to assist in various ways. These receive with her and her
mother in the early part of the afternoon and later assist at the tea
table or mingle among the guests. The ladies assisting do not wear hats,
and the young girls in the party are gowned much like the debutante,
except that their gowns may be less elaborate if they choose, and they
do not carry flowers.

A popular girl or one with many family connections may count on a good
many floral offerings on the occasion of her coming-out party. These are
scattered about the room, either left in bunches or arranged in vases.
One large bunch she generally carries in her left hand, and it is a wise
girl who avoids singling out anyone of her men friends by carrying his
flowers. A gift from her father or brother or the flowers sent by some
friend of the family is the better choice. The success a girl makes
during her first year in society depends more on her general popularity
than on the devotion of any one man.


Afternoon Reception.

For an afternoon reception light refreshments, consisting of tea,
coffee, chocolate, perhaps a light claret cup, with cakes and delicate
sandwiches, are sufficient, and these are set out on a long table in a
room adjoining the reception parlors.

If a large number of guests are expected it is necessary to have a maid
or two in attendance to remove cups and saucers, keep the tea urn
replenished with hot water and to bring additional cakes and sandwiches
if the supply on the table is in danger of running short. Two women
friends are generally asked to preside at the refreshment table, one at
each end to pour tea and chocolate, and, as this task is an arduous one
and much of the success of the entertainment depends on its being well
done, it is advisable to relieve the ladies in charge during the
afternoon. This, however, like every other feature of the entertainment,
should be arranged beforehand. The charm of an afternoon reception lies
in its apparent informality, but every detail should be considered in
advance and all contingencies provided for. The debutante, and
especially her mother, should be relieved from all such responsibilities
before the guests begin to come.

The mother's duties consist in welcoming her guests and presenting her
daughter to them. If many people are arriving the guests are quickly
passed on to some one of the ladies assisting, whose duty it is to see
that they meet some of those who are already in the room and are
eventually asked to the tea table. A part of the receiving party, and
certainly the hostess and her daughter, should remain together in a
place where they may be easily found as the guests enter the room.

No more sympathetic act of friendship can be shown a debutante than to
contribute toward the success of her party. Girls who are asked to
assist should remember that their first duty is not to entertain their
own friends who may happen to be present, but to see that everyone is
welcome and that especially those who are not acquainted with many in
the room have an opportunity to become so. Anyone asked to assist at a
function of this sort is in a sense a hostess, and it is quite within
her province to enter into conversation with any unoccupied guest
whether she has been introduced or not.

The usual hours for an afternoon tea are from four to six, but in the
case of a coming-out reception the hour is often prolonged to seven so
as to allow more men to be present than would be the case if the time
were restricted to the early afternoon. In these busy days few men are
at liberty to make afternoon calls, and it is always a compliment to a
girl if her tea includes a sprinkling of black coats. Whatever hours are
decided on, they should be engraved on the cards sent out two weeks
before the tea. These are of the form and size of an ordinary
visiting-card and include the daughter's name below that of her
mother's. If she is the eldest unmarried daughter or the only girl in
the family the card reads as follows:

Mrs. Geo. Baker Blank
Miss Blank

December 9, 1911
4 to 7 o'clock

The daughter's given name is only used in case she has an older
unmarried sister.


Ball and Evening Reception.

A more elaborate form of coming-out party consists of a ball or of an
evening reception followed by dancing, and in this case the card
contains the word "Dancing" below the date of the entertainment and the
hours at which it is given. Few homes are large enough to provide for
even a small dance, and so a party of this sort is generally given at a
hotel. The guests as well as the receiving party wear evening gowns
without hats, and men are expected to come in full evening clothes,
which means the long-tailed coats and not the popular Tuxedo, white
gloves, and, although this is not obligatory, white waistcoats.

After a girl has been introduced into society she has her individual
visiting-cards, makes her own calls and is allowed to receive her own
friends. Social customs differ with locality, and the chaperon is less
customary in the West than in the East. In many cities girls are allowed
to go to the theater and to evening parties with a man friend without a
married woman being included in the party. A wise girl, however, is
careful that any man she meets shall be introduced as soon as possible
to some older member of her family and to introduce a young man calling
for the first time to either her mother or father. Also when she accepts
an invitation to an evening's entertainment she insists that her escort
shall call for her at her own home and bring her directly home at the
close of it. Dining or supping at a restaurant alone with a young man is
sure to expose a girl to criticism.


A Woman's Lunch.

There are many pleasant forms of entertainment offered to a young girl
entering society in which men are not included, and the most popular of
these is a woman's lunch. This is a favorite form of entertainment for a
young married woman to give in honor of some girl friend who has just
come out in society or whose engagement has just been announced. One
o'clock or half after is the usual hour, and the meal is served in
courses and is as elaborate as the household resources may allow. The
decorations of the table are important, and three courses are sufficient
if they are carefully arranged. Handsome street costumes are worn for a
function of this sort, and the guest of honor, if there is one, dresses
as the others do. Outer wraps are left in the hall or in a room put
aside for this purpose, and, as a rule, hats are retained and gloves
removed when the guests sit down at table.

The custom of wearing a hat during lunch is not an arbitrary one, and it
is not universal. In France, for example, where social customs are most
carefully observed, it is the custom to wear handsome afternoon gowns if
invited for the noon meal and to remove hats. The noon meal there is a
social function, and certain formalities are observed. In London, on the
contrary, no matter if a number of guests are expected, lunch is an
informal occasion, and women dress for lunch as they would for an
afternoon tea.

Hats are worn and women are prepared to rush off afterwards to meet
other engagements. The English custom prevails now in the large cities
in America, and, moreover, women seem disinclined to remove their hats
after they are once dressed for the round of the day's social
obligations.

It is simpler and really quite conventional to leave the wearing of hats
to the individual. The hostess should ask her guest if she wishes to
take her hat off or retain it, and she can at the same time intimate to
her guest, if she is a stranger in the town, what the others will
probably do in this connection. True hospitality on the part of the
hostess is to make her guests at ease, and true politeness on the part
of the visitor is to conform to the rules governing the community that
she is visiting.



PROPER APPAREL FOR MEN.

American gentlemen are no longer dependent on English tailors or on
English fashions as they were some years ago. The American type of
physique is a distinct one, and London tailors have never been able to
fit American men as well as they do their own clients. Moreover social
life is so different in the United States from what it is in England
that men really need different clothes.

Practically all American men are business men for the working hours of
the day, and few of them have any time or inclination for anything save
business clothes while daylight lasts. For dinner or for the evening
what are generally called evening clothes are permissible, and in fact
obligatory in large cities for anything beyond the most informal home
functions.

For the evening there is the informal and formal dress suit. The former
consists of the long-tailed coat worn with either a white or black
waistcoat. For a dancing party or formal dinner the white waistcoat is
generally preferred, and, if it is worn, it must be accompanied by a
white lawn tie. A made-up bow is considered incorrect. The
accompaniments to a suit of this sort are patent-leather shoes and white
kid gloves if dancing is a part of the evening programme.

The informal evening suit includes the shorter dinner jacket or Tuxedo,
as it was formerly called, and, strictly speaking, this is only
considered proper for the club or for parties where ladies are not
expected to be present. However, men who commonly dress for dinner in
the home circle generally prefer the dinner jacket to the long coat, and
well-dressed men are often seen wearing it at small dinner parties, at
the theater or at any informal evening event. This coat is always worn
with a black tie and waistcoat, and it is not a suitable apparel for a
dance or any large formal evening affair.

The correct dress for a daytime wedding is a black frock coat with light
trousers, light fancy waistcoat and gray gloves and gray Ascot or
four-in-hand tie, and the frock coat with black waistcoat proper for
church or when making afternoon calls. Many young men are adopting for
afternoon wear the English morning suit, which consists of a cutaway
coat with trousers and waistcoat to match and made of some other color
save black.



WEDDING ANNIVERSARIES.

First Anniversary Cotton Wedding
Second Anniversary Paper Wedding
Third Anniversary Leather Wedding
Fifth Anniversary Wooden Wedding
Seventh Anniversary Woolen Wedding
Tenth Anniversary Tin Wedding
Twelfth Anniversary Silk and Fine Linen Wedding
Fifteenth Anniversary Crystal Wedding
Twentieth Anniversary China Wedding
Twenty-fifth Anniversary Silver Wedding
Thirtieth Anniversary Pearl Wedding
Fortieth Anniversary Ruby Wedding
Fiftieth Anniversary Golden Wedding
Seventy-fifth Anniversary Diamond Wedding



HOW TO SELECT COLORS

The Natural Laws of Tints, Tones, Shades and Hues.

Some combinations of color are pleasing to the eye, and some are
discordant. The reasons for this are based on natural laws and are
explained in a very simple manner in a learned article by Dr. W. K. Carr
which originally appeared in Shop Notes Quarterly. Impressions continue
upon the retina of the eye, says Dr. Carr, about one-sixth of a second
after the object has been moved. For this reason a point of light or
flame whirled swiftly around appears as a continuous ring. Or take a
piece or red ribbon, place it on white paper, look intently at it for
thirty seconds and suddenly remove the ribbon. The portion of the paper
which was covered by the ribbon will then appear green. The explanation
is that the color sensation in the eye is caused by the almost
unthinkably rapid whirling of electrons around their atoms, and that the
retina, becoming fatigued by the vibration of the red, is therefore less
sensitive to them. When the ribbon is suddenly removed, the eye sees,
not the blue, yellow and red which produce the white surface of the
paper, but, because of the fatigue of the eye to the red, it sees only
the blue and yellow constituents of the white light. But blue and yellow
produce green; hence the tendency at the eye to see the complementary of
a color. This may be referred to as the "successive contrast of colors."


Colors for Blondes and for Brunettes.

Now, for a practical application of this knowledge.

The hair of the blond is a mixture of red, yellow and brown. As a rule
the skin is lighter, that is, it contains not so much orange, and the
tinges of red are lighter. Nature, therefore, very properly made the
blond's eyes blue, since the blue is complementary to the orange of her
hair.

The brunette's skin, on the other hand, has more orange in it, and hence
a color favorable to one would not be becoming to the other.

What would be the effect of green upon a complexion deficient in red? It
would certainly heighten the rose tints in the cheeks, but the greatest
care should be exercised in the selection of the proper shade of green,
because the brunette's complexion contains a great deal of orange, and
the green, acting upon the red of the orange, could readily produce a
brick-dust appearance. Green, therefore, is a risky color for a
brunette, and so is violet, which would neutralize the yellow of the
orange and heighten the red. But if the orange complexion had more
yellow than red, then the association of violet would produce pallor.
Yellow, of course, is her color, since its complementary violet
neutralizes the yellow of the orange complexion and leaves the red.

But with the yellow-haired blond the conditions are very different. The
complementary of blue is orange, which improves the hair and freshens
the light flesh tints. A blond, therefore can wear blue, just as a
brunette can wear yellow.

In arranging flowers the same law holds. Complementary colors should be
placed side by side; blue with orange, yellow with violet, red and rose
with green leaves. And anyone who successfully selects his wall paper
and house furnishings is drawing unconsciously, perhaps, on an intuitive
knowledge of these fundamental facts. Dark papers are bad, especially in
rooms with a northern exposure, because they absorb too much light. The
complementaries of red and violet are exceedingly trying to most
complexions, and orange and orange-yellow are fatiguing to the eye. The
most pleasing effects are to be had with yellow, light blue and light
green, for the latter freshens the red in pale skins, and the blue
heightens blond complexions, and goes well with gilding and with
mahogany and cherry furniture.


COLOR CONTRAST AND HARMONY.

The following tables will be found useful in selecting colors for dress,
decoration, or any other purpose in which the proper application of the
true laws of contrast and harmony in color is desirable:

Contrasts in Color.

Yellow contrasts with--
Purple, russet, and auburn.
Red contrasts with--
Green, olive, and drab.
Blue contrasts with--
Orange, citrine, and buff.

Harmonies in Color.

Yellow harmonizes with--
Orange, green, citrine, russet, buff, and drab.
Red harmonizes with--
Orange, purple, russet, citrine, auburn, and buff.
Blue harmonizes with--
Purple, green, olive, citrine, drab, and auburn.



THE CARE OF THE TEETH.

Decay of the teeth, or caries, commences externally, appearing upon the
enamel or bony structure of the teeth. Usually it is the result of
chemical action produced by decomposition of food. Acids found in some
fruits will cause decay if allowed to remain in contact with the teeth.
Then there are the natural mouth acids, which, although not strong, are
none the less effective if allowed to remain long enough around the
teeth. Microscopical examinations have shown that the secretions of
almost every person's month contain more or less vegetable and animal
life that will withstand the application of acids and astringents and
will only succumb to alkalies. A dentifrice or mouth wash should be
alkaline.

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