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The Commoner
VOLUME 4, NUMBER 15.
8
Tho Second Place.
Unto ray loved ones have I given all
The tirolcss sorvlce of my willing
hands,
Tho strength of swift feet running to
their call;
Each pulse of this fond heart whose
love commands
Tho busy brain unto their f use; each
graco,
Each gift tho flower and fruit of
life. To mo
They give with gracious hearts, and
tenderly,
Tho second place.
Such joy as my glad service may dis
pense, They spend to make some brighter
life more blest;
Tho grief that comes despite my frail
defense
They seok to soothe upon a dearer
breast.
Love veils his deepest glory from my
face;
I dimly seo how fair the light may
bo
Boyond tho shadow whore I, loving,
hold
Tho second place.
And yet, 'tis sweet to know that
though I. make
No soul's siipremest bliss, no life
shall lie
Ruined and desolated, for my sake;
Nor any heart be broken when I
die.
And it is sweet to see my little space
Grow . wider hour by hour; and
, gratefully
I thank tho tonder fato that graiitoth
mo
Tho second place.
Content to know that, as life's raco
is run,
My enger hands may pluck some
thorn away,
E'on though, my hands shall thus ho
Mecuing torn;
Tha't I may brighten more their day.
I do not grieve: J have a mother's
joy;
I watch them grow in beauty and in
graco,
And pray: "God help me faithfully
to fill
Tho second place."
Susan M. Spaulding.
Homo Chats.
I think I have said onco or twice
before that a woman owes something
more than more service to her family.
Sho also owes something to herself,
ana it is wen, always, to pay one's
debts as honestly and as fully as pos
sible. Tho average woman doo3 not
usually develop and improve after
marriage as sho should. A man In
his dally contact with other minds,
in his travels, his reading and con
stant rubbing against tho world,. soon
grows away from the woman he once
found so fascinating, unless sho is
keen-witted enough to determine that
he shall not. An observing woman
sees tho distance begin to' widen, and
says to herself: "This must not' be.
I must take time from the pots and
pans, sewing and darning, and read
at least tho news of the day, anvl
-whenever I can pinch out a moment, I
will keep in touch with intellectual
mtaSs hy reading the standard books
at f&e day," So, jf she is wise, sho
does not allow herself to narrow down
to the work which soon becomes de
tested drudgery by neglect of tho in
tellectual part of life.
0 O
The care-worn, stoop-shouldered,
discouraged-looking wives "of bright
men are often spoken of as being narrow-minded,
dull, and inferior to their
husbands, and more often than not,
the husband becomes an object of pity
because "tied down" to such an un
congenial mate; and in too many in
stances, the husband, seeing tho dif
ference, though not seeking the cause,
turns to other women for the compan
ionship he does not find at homo.
Whatever the cause, tho woman has
ceased to grow mentally, and, while he
has continued to grow and develop,
her improvement ceased when she be
came his wife. It has so long been
preached to women that their chief
aim in life should be to marry and
make a home for some man, and any
further seeking to advance mentally
after marriage so often discouraged,
that this neglect has become a sort
of second nature to many of them,
and they have rather prided them
selves on simply being some "John's
wife."
0 0
"John," meanwhile, congratulates
himself on having a very good house
keeper without hire, buthe goes to
the other woman for companionship,
and, in time, grows to wonder how he
ever- came to fancy that Mary was
anything but ordinary. He may be a
true husband, faithful to his marriage
vows and considerate of his wifes
needs, but he is not proud of her.
Sometimes there is a little lurking
sense of shame at thought of her sim
plicity. 0 0
Mary is to blame for this. From a
once bright girl she has allowed her-
soil to degenerate into a mere ma
chine, neglecting, and finally losing
all taste for the improvement of her
mind or adornment of her person, and
with this ambitionless Ufo nhn Rn
loses health as well; she grows ac
customed to the treadmill, and feels
awicwaru ir out of it, and finally it be
comes a burden for her to get off the
revolving track, and she soon refuses
to even try to do so. While her hus
band employs help about his work
she plods on, and though her family
care increases perhaps because of It
she thinks she must worry through
someway, as help is so expensive. So
3he docs the most extravagant thing
she can do she sacrifices herself in
stead of the dollar the help would
wat. une Dy one nor charms of mind
and person disappear; she grows ac
customed to neglect, both from hei
self and others, and soon becomes a
fretful, irritable, half-hearted nobody
even to her own family, ill-dressed
mentally and physically; she chooses
to stay in the background, and her
family graciously permits her to oc
cupy her chosen field.
0 0
to buy the new garment than to mend
the old one. The body is more than
the raiment, while the .soul stands
head and shoulders above even the
body. "Let your light shine," and
make it your business to see that
thero is plenty of oil, of goodly qual
ity, to keep the flame bright and
steady.
Forn Song.
Dance to the beat of the rain, little
Fern,
And spread out your palms again,
, And say, "Though the sun
Hath my vesture spun
He hath labored, alas, in vain
But for the shado
That the cloud hath made K ',
And the gift of the day and the
rain."
Then laugh and upturn ,
All your fronds, little Fern,
And rejoice in the beat of the rain.
Bvittcr milk tvnd Booking Powdor Bis
cuit. In answer to Sister Hattie, will give
the following directions for making
the bread she asks about: For break
fast, you can mix your flour, salt and
powder over night. Take one quart
of flour, one teaspoonful of salt, and
four scant teaspoonfuls of some good
baking .powder; sift these once or
twice, then add one large ,tablespoon
ful of lard; take two cupfuls of good
buttermilk and stir into it One small,
level teaspoonful of soda; put this at
once into tne prepared flour and mix
quickly; roll, and cut into, thin cakqs
and bake quickly. Much will depend
on the condition of the butter-milk
it must not be too sour. In makipg
baking powder biscuit it is alwajs
best to mix with sweet milk instead of
water. Avoid cheap baking powder,
as it is usually largely adulterated
with alum, which is ruinous to the
stomach.
v.,1 ? jnZLL TRUED KEMKDY,
wte 3VJutw be tor children T Wlo
Tfceuty.flTewntaabottfc. It to the beet, ".
Now, don't you know, that won't
n 7 0WG duty t0 ourselves, as
veil as to our family, if wo are to be
tho mothers of the coming men and
women wo should fit ourselves for
motherhood, as well as wifehood; wo
the body, mind and manners; learn to
live the simple life-to have fowc?
rooms, and fewer norve-wrecklS
cares in regard to them. A disordered
house, howovor. 1h hatfnr n, Jru
.ai.i i. ' , ."T .. . .-"" B, U1B-
iy4uxcu uumo,.aau it iB often. .cheaper
Tho DisK Closet.
One of our girls who expects to &o
to housekeeping pretty soon wishes
to know something about the dishes
she will need. It is always a sale
plan to start in with a full set of good
dishes of as good quality as one can
afford. And by good quality is not
meant the most expensive china. Good
rllalioa nrn n-f nanonnn.n.. .
r z. "ccooatiiy expensive,
but they always cost more than poor
ones. The iron stone china of our
mothers' day was good and strong.
o ,. "u ijuiuomm is notter
so far as looks are concerned, and one
is always more careful in handling
YJtl? tiJI?gs- Women always love
da nty dishes. Plain white, or those
with some neat, inconspicuous decora
tion, is easier matched when broken
and a very serviceable set of ono hun-
SEft?,eCe?, may bG bought for Sne to
fifteen dollars, and from that price
upward very nice ones are to be had
of ?h866tfn UaVy C?,sts of twelvo 2
?of foilo.winS Plates: dinner, break
fast, and tea plates; twelve each of
cups and saucers; twelve sauce plates:
twelve Boun-nlatpa T ,como the
dishes for fli'SSF r, wls' Extra
in the list of colored 'dTshes'of fiT-
shapes generally. Wi w"Lof W,
'ii . . - -
saat. ana pepper shakers; and many
others, either colored, . or in reallv
pretty imitation cut-glass, may be
added at pleasure.
There is no end to the pretty table
furnishings to be had at comparatively
small cost, and 'it takes a level-headed
woman to pull' herself -away from the
china" department with any money at
all in her purse.
Quory Box
Pansy. The plants need partial
shade and moisture.
Lean S'ister. The acquiring of flesh
depends as much on the mental con
dition as upon the food eaten. A phy
sician will aid you.
Distressed. Oxalic acid will burn a
hole, in the material if hot washed out
immediately. I cannot aid you.
Laura. Lime and linseed oil is the
best, domestic dressing for a burn.
Any druggist will prepare it for you!
Sifnshine. The continued use of
ammonia will bleach the hair and
render it quite brittle. Do not use
it unless you wish to ruin, your hair.
Anxious Reader. The benefit of tlm
.exercise will depend on the cause of
the obesity. Undue fleshiness is of
ten caused by disease. Housework
and walking are excellent exercises.
Harriet. The poem will be found
in Joaquin 'Miller's Songs of the
Sierras, and is too lengthy for publi
cation in this department Any li
brary can supply you 'with the book.
Honora. A competent house-decorator
tell3 me that you cannot make
the kalsomine. satisfactorily, as it
must be mixed by machinery. It can
be bought of any. one dealing in such
goods.
Summer Girl. Almond oil is, used as
a toilet article; it is very softening to
the skin. Cocoa butter will not make
the skjn yellow. A lotion recommend
ed for the enlarged pores is one dram
of boric acid in four t ounces of witch
hazel, applied with xtr soft linen twice
a ay. . . "
Mrs. B. Do hot talk about your
troubles with every one. Try to" for
get them, and learn to realize that
there are thousands who are worse off
than yourself. Do not compare your
lot with that of another you may not
see the burden the other one is carr
rying.
Ugly Girl. Plenty of sleep and a hot
bath -will lift years frpjna woman's
shoulders.- Don't "orSj' eat when
you are worn out-Mtybad for. the
work, but worse -for the' woman. You
can't sleepyourself into beauty; but
don't imagine thaevprjy hour spent
in sleep, is wasted. ThVseven nurses
are fresh air, surisKine, warmth,
sleep, good- food, and whatever stirs
the bloqd, whether exercise, or en
thusiasm, with plenty qi rest.
Maid Marie. Glycerine-will take tea
and coffee stains romttiie fabric. Soak
the stain-in cold-water, then spread
with, glycerine and leave overnight;
wash in the usual way and the stain
will disappear. To take out the stain
of vaseline, have handy a bowl or
cup; pour on the stain .a few drops of
etner or chloroform and immediately
invert the bowl or cup over it to pre
vent the fumes from escaping, leaving
it thus for some time.
Orange B.lossom. The gentleman
walks on the side next to possible
danger, as a iprotectjon. In the city,
It is the side next to the street; in
the country, it is the side, whichever
that may be where his protection may
be required. The simplest and most
respectful way la the proper one. If
it were a girl of my own, I should
think she w3 not old enough, at fif
teen years, to "keep"- Company with a
gentleman." What does your mother
s&y? t
Experimenter. If yoj? are not very
h,andy with tools,. I shduld advise you
to let the home-making of furnitiuo
alone; bftt for perf ong remote from a
furnishing 'store, or those of limited
means nr .hn An nnt iiknWPi to Dlt
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