MENU FOR FEBRUARY.

Purée of Haricot Beans.—A pint of beans will make a large quantity, say two quarts, of soup, therefore half-a-pint would suffice for one dish of soup for an ordinary family. These beans should always be soaked overnight in cold water; they will dissolve so much more readily. Place them in a stewpan with rather more than sufficient water to cover them, let them simmer for three hours, then rub through a tamis. While the rubbing goes on, cook a finely-minced onion in a little butter, add the bean purée to this, some salt and pepper, and then sufficient hot milk and water to make up the requisite quantity. This might simmer a while longer, and then just before serving a spoonful of cornflour wet with a little milk should be stirred in, and all brought up to the boiling point once more.

Smelts should be wiped with a clean cloth, coated with beaten egg, rolled in bread raspings, and fried in butter. Serve fresh lemon cut in slices and thin brown bread and butter with them.

A dish of carrots for eating with boiled beef is nice done in the Flemish mode:

Pare the carrots and cut them in strips lengthwise, and then cut them up precisely as you would kidney beans; put them in a stewpan with well-fitting lid, add to them a good spoonful of beef dripping and a little pepper and salt. Cover closely and let them cook in their own steam for an hour or more, seeing that they do not catch on the bottom. Pour the fat off and add a few drops of vinegar just before dishing up.

Ptarmigan are rather dry birds and they require a thin piece of bacon wrapping round them before roasting, also to be frequently basted. Let them do rather quickly, so as to be nicely browned, but they will take rather less than an hour. Serve good gravy and bread sauce with them.

Apple Fritters.—For frying these a good depth of boiling lard is necessary if they are to be done successfully. Take the cores out of large apples, and pare them thinly. Cut across in slices not too thin. Dip each slice in batter made from the whisked whites of two eggs, a spoonful of flour, a pinch of salt, and enough salad oil to make it like thick cream. When fried drain each ring on kitchen paper and sprinkle with castor sugar. Pile high on a paper doyley.

And now as to the directions for the making of orange marmalade. The following plan is one I have pursued for several years and it has always produced excellent marmalade:

To every twelve Seville oranges allow two lemons; slice them across, rind and pulp, as thinly as ever it is possible to do with the sharpest of knives. Pick out the pips as you go along, but put these in a basin instead of throwing them away, for it is surprising what amount of gluten clings to the pips, which is lost if they are not saved. When all the fruit has been cut up into lined earthenware pans, cover it with water until the vessels have as much as they will hold. Set these aside out of the way of dust, and let them stand so for twenty-four hours. After this boil fruit and water together for perhaps two hours, but gently so that it does not burn; then turn it back again into the vessels and let it stand for another twenty-four hours. After this it should be stirred up and weighed, and to every pound of fruit and liquor allow a pound of lump sugar; when the pulp has boiled for about an hour the second time, the sugar may be put in, and then constant stirring will be necessary and faster boiling. From the time the sugar is added half-an-hour’s boiling ought to suffice. Put it into hot jars, but do not tie down until it is cold.

[FROCKS FOR TO-MORROW.]

By “THE LADY DRESSMAKER.”

Now that the sales are proceeding, there is always a lull in the production of novelties; and the shopkeepers set themselves to the work of disposing of their heaped-up stock, which, however, does not appear to me to be as plentiful as usual. This fact tends to prove that the past season, with its sunshine and brightness, was a good one, so far as they were concerned. While wending my way through several of the crowded shops, I gathered together, however, a few notes for my dress article, which show how ideas may trend in the coming days of early spring.

TWO WARM GOWNS.

I am inclined to think that the reign of the shaped flounce is perhaps nearly over. Never have its inconveniences been more shown than during the present winter, when those who wore them cut long enough to be in the fashion have been really encumbered by them, and wretched from the impossibility of holding them up. Certainly there were many who never even attempted to raise them and just simply let them drag in the dust or mud, and one shudders to think of what their feet and undergarments must have looked like, apart from the dress itself. Frenchwomen held their dresses up in the style of long ago, taking a good grip one hand on each side, the effect being most odd and funny.

Just as many blouses have been worn as ever this winter underneath the ever-fashionable coat and skirt; and at the sales there has been quite as great a rush for the remnants of silk, which are always prepared for those occasions. Nothing can be more ornate than some of the blouses and fancy tea-jackets; and there seems to be a very generally united opinion that, having a proper skirt to wear with them, they are not an extravagant purchase, as they perform so many parts and are suitable for a variety of occasions.

There are two new basques which, however, remind one more of the coat-tails of the ordinary dress-coat than of anything else. They go by the name of the “swallow tail” basque, and lie extremely flat; by no means could one wear any such thing as gathers beneath them on this particular account. They may be very long, or they may only measure about half a yard in length. The basques nearly meet in front, and are cut in one with the swallow tails; but when it is so cut, it is called by many people the “spoon-shaped basque.” However, I find in many of the French papers, as well as the English ones, that both are called by the all-covering name of Directoire—an epoch of time which describes many articles of dress of late years. I should not be surprised if these basques were much worn when the spring appears.

The fancy for wearing tan shoes has been very remarkable this winter. Rather a dark wood-shade is worn—not too dark, but darker than was in vogue last season. Both glacé kid and calf are used; and, in any case, they should be of an extra good quality, as, otherwise, they will not stand the winter’s hard wear.

I have not seen anyone “wearing the green” in walking shoes, and do not think they would be popular. The shoes and boots most liked seem to be of American make, which are said to be excellent in cut and fit, and, what is better still, to wear well; at any rate, it is the smart thing to wear them. I think the toes are smaller and sharper than ever; and the more pointed, the more stylish. One never hardly sees a small foot, for no one can wear anything but shoes far too long for them; as they really cannot become like Chinese ladies and obliterate their full-grown toes immediately!

So far as millinery is concerned, the favourite hat or toque seems to be that turned up immediately in front over the forehead, and ornamented with a rosette, and generally a paste or steel buckle, or brooch. All the very smartest toques are trimmed with some kind of fur—sable, of course, for those who can manage it, then mink, and—perhaps the most fashionable of all—chinchilla, which, however, is rather a perishable fur. All of them are trimmed in the same way, with a big bunch of violets on one side, and some feathers. But I have just seen a sable-trimmed toque with a huge spray of moss-roses or buds, having their leaves mounted in front. This admixture of flowers and fur is one of the things our grandmothers would have shivered at.

The fashionable flower of the season seems to be the violet as usual; and, next to that, quantities of roses are worn, both most unwintry flowers. The flame-coloured roses are very fine in their colouring, but do not seem to me to be becoming; the colour, though so fine, is a little hard. Very beautiful ostrich feathers are worn in the larger hats, but are laid on in such a light and airy manner as to make one feel they will be blown off in the first gale of wind.

I notice numbers of Eton and other similar jackets, which the fine mild weather, so far, enables people to wear, and which look rather chilly. White veils and white lace ties are all worn, and also give the idea of summer rather than winter. However, it is as well to get out of our rather gloomy ideas of clothing, for, as it is, we wear far too much black; and the use of so much red this winter has been quite refreshing.

The first illustration consists of a group of two seated figures. That on the left side has a grey cloth gown, with an orange-velvet yoke, much pointed in front and braided all over with ivory braid. Pointed epaulettes on the shoulders to match, and orange-coloured tabs, turned over at the collar. The dress is braided with grey braid of a darker shade in long and narrow points. The figure on the right side wears a gown of a very bright rose-crimson, with narrow astrachan edging on the bodice and the skirt. The sleeves are much tucked, the pointed space in front is filled in with white satin and ivory lace over it, points of white satin at the collar, and a band of black satin ribbon at the neck.

A CRIMSON COAT.

The group of two figures standing up in out-of-door apparel shows one of the pretty bright-crimson jackets that have been so much worn this winter. It is braided with black scrolls, and has revers of black astrachan, and a collar of the same. The hat is crimson and black, and the skirt is black, with a band of crimson heading the flounce. On the right side the figure wears a straight-cut jacket, with the ever-popular horizontal tucks, which compose the whole bodice of the jacket, and appear again on the top of the sleeve, in rather narrower form. The colour of this gown is the fashionable blue cloth, and the collar and edging of the revers are of Caracul, while the centres are of black velvet, braided with black. Several rows of tucks edge the skirt, and the hat is of grey velvet, trimmed with grey feathers, and turned up with blue velvet.

One of the new arrivals in the trimming line is fringes of different widths and in colours to match the dresses for which they are required. I have also seen some new ribbons which are fringed at both edges. Although I say “fringes of different widths,” I must remark that I have not seen any wide ones—they are mostly narrow.

Perhaps, before I conclude, I may say a few words about the dressing of the hair, which never was more prettily done. It is waved in large waves, and is dressed fairly high for the evening; but I have seen a tendency to wear it lower in the day. At any rate, we have much more liberty accorded to us just now, and we take the liberty of dressing our hair very much as it is becoming to ourselves individually; and this has led to its being much lowered.

For young people, I notice that the hair is no longer permitted to stray wildly about, but it is tied at the back, at the nape of the neck; and for the evening it is tied in a Catogan loop, the hair at the top of the head being waved in large flutings. A very slight amount of what the Americans call “bangs” are allowed for young girls.

Our third drawing presents one figure only, and it is dressed in a tailor-made bodice and skirt, which make of dresses is rising in favour day by day. The material of which it is made is a dark green cloth, which is cut at the edges of the short coat and sleeves into rounded scallops and machine-stitched, a green gimp being placed below; a white lace ruff is round the neck, and the hat—or, rather, toque—is of dark green velvet, with green feathers, and large posies of violets. The machine stitching applied to gowns this year is singularly perfect, and cannot be done at home. I am told that it is all accomplished by a single expert hand at the large and fashionable ladies’ tailors, as no inexpert person could be trusted with it.

The latest fashionable fancy about the long gold chain is to wear it hanging down to its fullest length in front, and depending from it are a pencil, pen, or any such useful articles that the wearer may like to have at hand. The watered silk ribbons, with steel buckles or slides, have been more used than metal chains this winter for the muff, and they look far better and more ladylike.

DARK GREEN CLOTH GOWN.

[ABOUT PEGGY SAVILLE.]

By JESSIE MANSERGH (Mrs. G. de Horne Vaizey), Author of “Sisters Three,” etc.