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The Commoner.
Vol. a, No. 38.
....Zbe fybme Department... j
Little Golden Shoes.
May bought golden shoos for hor hoy,
Golden loathor, from heel to too;
With silver tassels to tie at top,
And silken lining as white as snow.
I bought a pair of shoos as well,
For the restless foot of a littlo lad,
Common and coarse, and coppor
tlpped, Tho best I could for the sum I had.
"Goldon," said May, "to match his
curls;"
I novor saw her pottod boy,
- I warrant he's but a puny elf,
All pink and whlto, liko a china toy.
And what Is ho, that his foot should
walk
Shod In gold over life's highway,
While littlo Fred, with a king's own
grace,
Must wear rough brogans every day?
And why can May, from her lily hand,
Fling baubles fair at her idol's feet,
Whilo I can scarcely shelter Fred
From tho cruel stones of tho broken
streetl
I do not onvy hor silken robe,
Nor her jewels rich, nor lackey's
care,
But, oh, to givo what I cannot reach :
This thus it Is so hard to bear.'
"Good-byo, friend Ellen," "Good-bye,
May;"
What Ib it dims her eyes so blue
As sho looks at the rugged shoes and
says,
"I wish my boy could wear those,
too.
But ho never will run, or walk, they
; say"
And May, with a little sob, is gone;
And I am left in a softened mood
To think of my wicked thoughts
alone.
Golden Bhoes that never would walk!
I clasped my sturdy rogue that night,
And thanked the God that gave him
health
Arid madeim such a merry wight,
Nor envied May one single gift
If with it I must also chooso
The' sight of little crippled feet
Shod but in useless, golden shoes.
Selected.
Stepping In Our Tracks.
. "I nover realized so fully my respon-
Bibility as a mother, as I did -a few
evenings ago," said my friend. "Tho
day had been rainy, and tho ground
was nice a sponge; walking was al
most animpossiUllity after one left
the pavement, and the street crossings
were simply dreadful. I had a siclc
friend, however, who lived on a shabby
Bide street, away from all pretense of
sidewalks, and I felt that I must go
and boo to her comfort.
"So, when tho rain had ceased, I
put on my rubbers, tucked up my skirt,
and prepared for the trip, not without
Borne misgivings as to how I should
got through. My little girl watched
my motions, helping mo as sho felt
that I needed assistance, and when I
was ready she stood beside mo, with a
light scarf thrown over her head,
ready to accompany mq.
" 'Why, Beth,' I said, 'you cannot go
today; you would get lo3t in the mud!'
"'I will bo careful, mamma,' sho
aid, smiling up Into my face.
" 'But the crossings are dreadful,' I
8aic Sho seemed a littlo discon
erted, but said, wistfully:
" 'You could carry me across, you
Jfcnow.1
" 'But after wo leave the sidewalks,
It is all mud, and you are such a big
girl.'
"The wistful eyes looked troubled,
as she scanned tho street anxiously;
but suddenly her countenance cleared,
and sho said, hesitatingly, but wholly
trustingly:
" 'But I could stop in your tracks,
if you won't wall too long.'
"What could I say. I took tho littlo
hand in mine and went my way, and,
somohow, wo did got along very well.
But the words she uttered kept repeat
ing themselves, over and over, in my
brain, for days, and taught mo how
very careful I should bo about my
tracks, because I nover knew into
which one of them my littlo daughter
would be stopping. When my friends
say to me, 'Both is liko her mother,'
in this respect, or that, I feol a great
dread lest my careless steps may lead
the littlo, trusting feet into tho mire,
or, stepping 'too long,' I may fail to
help hor, in hor need."
Wo mothers make so many "tracks."
Indeed, it seems we are always step
ping, and, in tho world about us,
every word or deed leaves its imprint;
every act or silent influence leaves
an impression into which somo dear,
trusting little foot may slip, heedless
of the mire because it is "mamma's
track," and to the little, loving heart,
"mamma" could not stop wrongly. Ev
ery hour wo aro leading the little, sin
less feet; and the trusting little soul
fears nothing in tho following.
How earnestly should mothers seek
to see aright; to keep in tho safe and
narrow pathway, away from forbidden
grounds. How anxiously we should
choose the safest, avoiding always the
doubtful, because, although our feet,
grown cautiotis through the teachings
of experience, may step safely over the
quicksands about us, other feet, unsus
picious of danger, may slip into the
mire of misdoing because of our se
curity. Stepping, in our tracks! The men
and women of the future; the fathers
and mothers of coming generations,
following as we lead! Our hands
guiding them, our conduct shaping
their course, moulding their character,
making or marring the lives that come
after us! Is it not a startling thought?
Many a man lies in a prison cell to
day; many a woman drinks the dregs
of despair; many a life worse than
wasted, and spirit broken beyond hope,
because of the "tracks" they followed
when little, trusting children.
., Floral Notes.
Roman hyacinths, while not so large
as the Dutch hyacinths, bloom more
freely, and give better results as pot
plants; they are not hardy enough for
the garden, but aro the best for win
dow culture. Three or four bulbs
should be planted in a four to six-inch
pot They bloom in eight to ten
weeks from time" of potting. Plant
thorn now for your Christmas festival.
Parrot 46032385s are the most showy of
their kind, having fringed or cut petals
of many brilliant colors. They can
be had in mixture, for 25c per dozen,
or 7Gc per hundred.
J
Don't neglect to have a few bulbs of
tho Polyanthus Narcissus for your
windows. Many of this class are suit
able for the open border, with protec
tion; there is really nothing that will
so largely repay a little labor indoors
as the paper white grandlflora. For
35c one can have a whole window full
of tho sweetest blossoms.
The autumn is tho time to plant iris
roots. . Very few absolutely hardy
plants give greater satisfaction than
a mixed bed of these, if planted in
a moist situation. Thev will irrnw -n,i
I bloom anywhere, but they do best
in moist places. In beauty, tho Ger
man iris rivals the orchids; are frag
rant, and are fine for cuttings. Japan
Iris is considered the finest of all the
Iris family, a later bloomer than tho
Gorman iris, but to do, their best muBt
bo plentifully supplied with water
while growing" 'and flowering.
X
If sweet peas are planted in October,
and given a protection of leaves during
tho winter, they' will bloom much earl
ier next spring.
A
Many of tho hardy roses are constant
bloomers, and these should be planted
largely by every .flower lover. They
can be planted in the fall and given
slight protection. I have had roses
in bloom when the snow fell in late
November.
A
The seeds of- many hardy annuals
an perennials should be sown in the
fall, ready to "come up" at the first
call .of reviving nature in the early
months of spring. Many people aro
"a-going to," in the matter of potting,
planting and sowing, but they never
"do," simply because of avh'abit of
procrastinating.
From Our Exchanges.
Cream Puffs. Put together in a
small granite saucepan, one-quarter
cup of butter, one cup of boiling water,
one teaspoon of sugar and a dash of
salt Let this come to a boil, then
gradually sift in one and one-quarter
cups pastry flour, beating constantly
with a whisk till quite smooth. Lift
from the fire and stir until cool, then
drop in, one by one, three unbeaten
eggs. Whip the mixture thoroughly,
and drop from a spoon on a buttered
tin in little balls, about two inches
apart ake thirty minutes, when
they will puff up and become brisk and
brown. Split open when cool, and put
in a well-sweetened cream filling, made
as follows:
Beat the yolks of three eggs, add
quarter of a cup of flour, and pour over
this one pint of scalded milk. Add
three-fourths of a cup of sugar, a dash"
of salt, then put in a double boiler
and cook twenty minutes. Flavor with
vanilla.- Good Housekeeping.
Lemon Pie. For two largo pies, boil
together five cups of water, one cup
of sugar, and the juice and rinds of
three lemons. Blend half a cup of
corn starch in a littlo water; add to
it the beaten yolks of Ave eggs. Stir
this into tho boiling water and stir
constantly until thick .and smooth.
Fill rich pie crust with tho mixture
and bake. Beat the egg whites stiff,
adding about three tablespoonfuls of
white sugar, heap on top of pie and
brown slightly in slow oven. Good
Housekeeping.
When making apple jelly add to part
of it a little lemon juice, to another
portion a little pineapple, and to other
portions add other juices, thus having
different flavors.
Uncleanness.
An exchange asks: "Why do you
permit a custom at the communion
table which you would not tolerate
in your own home? Why do you not
establh . individual communion ser
vice in your church in the interests of
hygiene? You would scarcely be so ill
bred as to offer to one guest the goblet
and its remaining contents from which
another had taken a drink, yet the
same goblet, containing the same wine,
is passed from one participant to an
other, each tasting therefrom, until
tho whole church membership is
served. Have you ever thought of the
custom as being unclean?"
bag, do not put it there. Carefully
rip apart or cuf out all seams, wash
all, oven tho thin pieces, and, after
ironing, smoothly, put where it can
be readily got at in an emergency of
cuts, breaks or bruises. Soft, clean
old rags aro, at such a time, more val
uable than a gold mine, and the house
mother does nbt know what a day
may bring forth.
If the little fingers or toes (or tho
largo ones) get mashed, " put them
at once in water as hot as can bo
borne, and keep them there until tho
pain ceases, keeping the water hot all
the time. The treatment is magical.
. Little Helps.
When white garments, table linen,
or fine towelling is ready for the rag
Unfermented Fruit Juice.
Pure, unfermented fruit juices can
not be too highly recommended for
the use of both, sick and well. It can
be successfully kept for two years by
tho following method: Take the juico
as soon as it comes from the press
(cider or grape juice), as early in the
morning as possible and place it, one
gallon at a time, in an agate ware, or
porcelain lined kettle, over a brisk
fire, viien the juice begins to steam,
place a like amount in a second kettle
over the fire. Skim off very carefully
any scum ttiat rises. Have ready a
quantity of clean pint or quart bottles
with corks or clean pint and quart
glass self-sealing cans. The moment
the juice comes to a boil remove it
from the are, pour through a funnel
in which a piece of flannel- cloth has
been placed, to strain out any possible
impurity left in tho juice, then cork
tightly, if in bottles, or screw the top
down and seal, if fruit jars are used.
Push the corks well into the neck of
the bottles, and when the juice is cool,
fill the space in the neck over the cork
with melted spermaciti or white wax.
Store the bottles on the cellar shelves,
placing them ..flat on their sides. Fruit
from which the juice is extracted must
be of good quality. Gpod Housekeeping.
October Work In the Garden.
"Line up line" about the planting
of the bulbs, indoors and out' Now is
the time to attend to it, and every mo
ment devoted to the work now will bo
repaid by days and weeks of bloom
and fragrance, next spring, when
bloom and fragrance are rare things.
Bulbs are so cheap, and so "sure to
bloom," requiring no "fussing" over,
so easily kept that it seems a pity that
so few comparatively have them in
their gardens, at least.
X .
First size, or very large bulbs, are,
of course, most satisfactory, and they
also cost a few cents more per dozen
or hundred; but "their bloom spikes are
larger and fuller, and often one bulb
gives out several spikes of' flowers.
But the second size bulbs are not to
be despised. They bloom freely and
beautifully, and what flowers they
bear are. just as lovely and as sweet
as those of the larger bulbs. There is
still .another size third size and
these are quite small, yet most of
them in fact with but few exceptions
give a bloom spike with rather thin
ly distributed blossoms. But they are
better than -none, and if planted out
doors, these will grow and do better
the next spring. A well prepared bulb
bed should, with proper care, last
several years before being disturbed.
The florists' catalogues are now "on
the wing," and if they do not come to
your home, it will require but a postal
card sent to the florist to have them do
so. Cultural directions, for both in
doors and out, also price and variety of
bulbs are given in each of them: "Col
lections" are also offered at very rea
sonable cost, ' yet these "collections"
often contain many sorts of compara
tively little value to one who has had
little experience in growing them; so
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