I do not think, on the whole, that the Hydro fills one's best needs. It seems to do for certain lo, notably old maids
with cranks and imaginings. But the Eng-widows, who ye. ae 7 sion lish Hydro seems to nana bow ing house under another name, and the gossip incident to a Hydro is one of its drawbacks. Tu the evenings the ladies do fancy work in the drawing room, and are preparing Christmas gif a T learned something new at one of these evening sewing circles. Afterall, one can always learn new things if so inclined. It is a modest gift appropriate to a gentleman, and is very easy to make and useful. It is a boot-button case with thread and needles. Take two slips of ribbon about finger wide, and two and a half fingers long. Divide into three places, the centre one narrowest, just wide enough to slip a paper of strong boot button needles between the ribbon lengths. Sow up one side and feather stitch across the width of the ribbon, leaving space to slip-in the needles, to the paper case of which attach a narrow ribbon loop. Make bags of the other two divisions to hold the buttons in one end and spool of linen thread in the other. Draw the ends with draw strings of narrow ribbon, by which hang up the little button-housewife" on the knob on the side of the looking glass on the toilette table. There you are, handy and complete. No searching for these essentials in baskets and boxes. Behold them all in compact form. Perhaps they ought to be called temper saving cases. Any way they are not useless like most fancy work, but fulfill to the letter a homely mission.
Asste Wakeway Laturor.
8th July.
Text read from the printed page and cleaned; old type leaves the occasional error.