Institute; and
what forms have to be gone through before a pupil can enter; and how old
a pupil has to be? Good-by, dear ST. NICHOLAS.--Your faithful reader,

SARAH D. O.

The "Woman's Art School" of the Cooper Union, about which Sarah D. O.
makes inquiry, is for pupils between the ages of sixteen and
thirty-five.

Applications for admission should be made, personally or in writing, to
the Principal, Mrs. Sarah N. Carter, giving a responsible written
reference as to character, fitness, etc.

The free school holds session from 9 a.m. to 1 p.m. There is a "paying"
class that meets three times a week in the afternoon, under the charge
of the first assistant in drawing of the "Woman's Art School" and of the
clerk of the school, and the general superintendence of the principal.
But the "paying" class is only for those who wish to study art merely as
an accomplishment.

* * * * *

DEAR ST. NICHOLAS: I thought you would like to hear about a little girl
who is very fond of you. She always took ST. NICHOLAS until last autumn,
then the times were so hard we were unable to get it for her; so she has
read and re-read the old ones. Mamma has been sick a great deal for two
years, and Agnes, who is ten years old and the oldest of the family,
has learned to do a great many things. She can make bread, biscuit, pies
and cake,--but her chief accomplishment is toast-making. Last fall, when
berries were ripe, she picked and dried some currants, raspberries and
blackberries, and put them carefully away. Ever since, when any one is
sick, she puts some of her berries in a cup and cooks them nicely; then
she makes such a nice piece of toast, so delicate, never scorched or
raw. She has no fruit-closet of delicacies to go to, but the common
things she has are so nicely prepared that they become luxurious, and
often make mamma think of Bayard Taylor's little rhymes about mush and
milk, a couplet of which reads:

"And common things that seem most nigh,
Both purse and heart may satisfy."

Her little brother, eighteen months old, claims much of her care, and in
return loves her as much as he does mamma. He calls her Tee, and misses
her sadly if she is out of sight an hour.

When Agnes was three years old, she said one day:

"Papa, how I love you!"

"What makes you love him? See how homely he is," teasingly answered
mamma.

The little one took a good look at papa, and throwing her arms around
hi