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The Commoner.
VOLUME 5, NUMBER 17
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Two Women
1 know two women; and ono is chaste
And cold as the snows on a winter's
f waste,
Stainless even in act and thought
t(As a man born dumb.in speech errs
.' ''Viot).
But she has malice toward her kind
A cruel tongue and a jealous mind.
.Void of pity and full of greed,
Sho judges the world by her narrow
creed,
'A brower of quarrels, a breeder of
hate
, Yet sho holds the key to "Society's"
gate.
1 Tho dther woman, with a heart of
1. flame,
'Wont mad for a love that marred her
' "' name,
- 'And out of tho grave of her murdered
faitli
She rose like a soul that had passed
through death.
Her ajm is noble, her pity so broad
It covers tho world like tho mercy of
God.
A healer of discord, a soother of woes,
Peace follows her footsteps wherever
sho goes,
Tho worthier of tho two no doubt;
And yet "Society" locks her out.
-Ella Wheeler Wilcox.
; ,. y
Home Chats
Wo can scarcely pick up a paper
or periodical, now-a-days, that does
not devote more or less space to tho
discussion of evils arising from food
adulterations and "doctored'1 table
drinks. Whilo this is a wise move,
wo hear far too little said about our
-drinking water, and water otherwise
used for domestic purposes. We can
not live without water, and students of
hygiene aro awakening to the fact
that many of the ills of the digestive
organs are directly traceable to tho
use of Impure water. Water is sel
dom or nover found perfectly pure;
especially is this the case in the neigh
borhood of human habitations. Water
holds in solution -something of nearly
everything with which it comes in
contact, and, although rainfall, in reg
ions remote from human, habitations,
Is the purest water known, yet even
this gathers, in its descent from the
clouds; the dust and gases of the at
mosphere. Snow, falling, as it does
go yearly solid, when melted, is purer
. than tho rain fall, as it gathers loss
of the gases.
Distilled water is tho purest of any.
Woll and spring water is usually
impregnated with minerals, such as
lime, magnesia, soda, oxide of iron,
etc., combined with carbonic and sul
phuric acids, forming carbonates, sul
phates and chloride of sodium, or com
mon salt. A clear, sparkling water
does not always mean a pure water.
Saline ingredients, which in very small
quantities may be harmless, if used
in excessive quantities usually serious
ly affect the digestive organs.
But tho drainage from dwellings,
animal quarters, and the washings of
surface impurities, such as decaying
vegetablo matter and dead animals
and insects, is the greatest menace to
health from waters found in springs
and wells. "Wet weather" springs,
which are fed from surface drainage
almost entirely, and the stagnant
"springs" made in low places by dig
ging a hole in the ground to hold the
surface drainings, which so often
serve as the only source of water sup
ply for both man and animals in some
parts of the country, is a prolific
source of "chills" and malaria. Great
care should be taken to have the build
ing and animal quarters so located
that it will be impossible for the drain
age from them to flow into the water.
In the cities, we are still more at the
mercy of disease breeding conditions,
but I must &peak of this at another
time.
gouges and teeth marks are not plead
ing to tho eyes of the rest of the com
pany. If salt cellars are on the table, not
salt shakers, take some salt from the
former with the salt spoon, of course,
and place it on the edge of the plate.
It should be sprinkled lightly over the
food with the knife held in the right
hand. Do not snap it off the knife
blade with a fork, as is sometimes but
most incorrectly done.
Remember that cresses, olives, rad
ishes, and celery are all to be eaten
with the fingers. They should be
placed on the bread-and-butter plate,
not on the large plate. Fish in this
country is properly eaten with a fork,
and a morsel of bread held in the left
hand. In foreign countries both knife
and fork are brought into service. For
fresh fruit a silver bladed knife should
be used.
But in villages and cities, especially,
'water held in cisterns is not fit for
drink or food purposes unless well
filtered, as tho rain, washing the roofs
of buildings, gathers smoke, soot, dust,
decayed vegetable matter lodged there
by tho wind, and the filth from birds
and insects, the latter often dying on
tho roofs and being washed down into
tho cistorn. This organic matter is
exceedingly dangerous to health. In
most waters containing organic mat
ter, animalculae abound; they serve
to dovour much of tho dead 'matter,
but they, in turn, contribute to the im
purities, as, when their mission Is
ended they sink to the bottom and
die. The only way to render cistern
water oven comparatively safe is to
liavo it pass through a good filter
wall. This filter may be composed of
Eand, crushed .charcoal, or -other por
ous r.ubatances, which will act as a
strainer, or tho water may be boll
od. and coolod. "Doctoring" the wat
er with chemicals, such as alum, per
manganate of potassium, lime or iron,
Jjb not to bo recommended, lis serious
stomach and kidney troubles may be
Jnducod by tho use of such water.
Trading Stamps
The custom of giving , "trading
stamps" by merchants to purchasers
with every purchase of ten cents or
Imore, and which are redeemable when
the holder collects a given number of
them, in articles of more or less val
ue, is a good thing for the merchants.
People never get tired of being hum
bugged, and the prospect of getting
"something for nothing" is too good
to be lost, The article, called "pre
mium" which the collected stamps
call for, is not generally worth very
much, but the customer consoles him
or herself, with the idea that it "didn't
cost anything." In this he is certain
ly mistaken, as it cost him every cent,
and probably more, than it is worth.
No merchant sells goods at a loss
to himself, voluntarily, or gives to a
customer what he can not afford to
give. The full value of the article is
added to the price of the merchandise
sold, and these stamps are simply a
bait to add to the custom of the store.
As long as intelligent people will al
low themselves to be humbugged, the
humbug will flourish. The state of
Massachusetts levies a tax of three
per cent on trading stamps,. Other
statos should follow her example.
Gasoline Stoves
If a gasoline stove is kept scrupu
lously clean, and the pipes cleaned
once or twice every year by some one
who knows how, there need be no ex
plosion. Buy the best stove to be had
for the price and at the first indica
tion that the burners are not working
just right, have them overhauled by
some one who understands how it
should be done. Don't try to do it
yourself. You would not tune your
own piano, nor repair your sewing
machine, nor half sole your own shoes.
Do not keep gasoline, and kerosene
I twin cans, and do not keep the
cans standing, in the same room with
a fire. Lamps are sometimes filled
from the gasoline can, and the tank
on the stove occasionally receives, a
dose of kerosene. We have known
of mistakes made at the place where
such explosives are sold, so it will be
wise to watch the grocer's boy and
see that he brings gasoline, if that
was ordered.
yellow, no matter how carefully wash.
ed.
Housewife To clean blackened sil
ver, take one part sal ammoniac, with
sixteen parts vinegar. Rub tho stains
gently with this and they will disap
pear. Then wash well in soap and
water; if necessary, polish afterwards
with sweet oil and magnesia, or whit
ing. Kerosene will sometimes clean
blackened silver almost immediately.
Estelle. For strawberry ice cream,
take one quart of cream, one quart of
strawberries, one pound of sugar, juice
of one lemon. Put half the cream and
half the' sugar on to boil in a double
boiler; when the sugar is dissolved,
stand aside to cool; add the remaining
half of the sugar and the lemon juice
to the berries, mash, and stand aside
one hour, then strain through fine mus
lin. Add the remainder of the cream
to the sweetened cream, and freeze;
when frozen stiff, put in the fruit
juice, beat thoroughly, repack and
stand away to harden.
Salmon
Salmon Is at its best from the first
of April to the end of July. The fresh
ness of the fish can be distinguished
by the brilliancy of the skin, and
bloody gills and eyes. If the skin and
eyes ar"e dull, the fish is not fresh.
Highly colored salmon is the best,
whitish fish denotes inferior quality.
Wash the fish and put it in a vessel
with sufficient cold water to cover it;
then throw in salt, pepper, bay-leaves,
thyme, vinegar, onions, the latter
shaved in round, thin slices, and car
rots cut in the same way. It must
be brought to the boiling point slow
ly. After cooking for eight or ten
minutes, strain the water and serve
on a folded napkin; trim with pars
ley and slices of lemon, with Holla
naise sauce.
Table Etiquette
Soup should always be eaten from
the side of the large spoon, not from
its tip, and there should be no suck
ing sound. Nover break bread or
crackers into soup. The latter are
not correctly served with it. anvwav.
and the bread ought to be broken into
pieces with the left hand as it lies
at tho end of tho dish. If your host
ess invites you to partake of a second
dish of soup, decline. It is bad form
to do otherwise. Fish chowder offers
tho only other possible exception to
tins ruie, anu it is best to refuse
that.
Do not commit the blunder of hol
ing a slice of bread in the air to
butter it. Break it into two parts
if it is a large slice, and spread it
there. Above all do not hold it high
in tho air while "eating , it, as the
Query Box
Hattie K. One drop of beef gall
put into the ear is said to be a sure
cure for ear ache.
H. H. Sick headache can be great
ly relieved, and sometimes cured en
tirely, by the application of a mustard
plaster at the base of the neck.
Theresa. To restore the whiteness
to linen yellow from lying too long,
soak in buttermilk for several days.
Mrs. R. K. To clean smoked walls
and ceilings that have been blackened
by a kerosene lamp, wash off with
soda water.
N. W. L. To sweeten the water in
a cistern, put one or more pounds of
charcoal in a muslin bag, and hang
in the water.
S. C To set a color, whether in
silk, cotton, or woolen fabrics, use
one table spoonful of ox-gall in a
pint of water.
Ethel A good grease eradicator
may be made by using two ounces of
ammonia, an ounce of soap shavings,
a quart of soft water and a tea-spoon-
tui 01 sunpeier.
S. F. The white of an egg and salt,
mixed to a thick paste, is said to be
one of the best remedies for sprains,
uruiaos, or lameness lor men or ani
mals. Rub the affected parts well
with the paste.
Alice. Rubber rings that have harfr
ened should be dropped into a solu
tion of one part water, and two parts
ammonia. This will soften them.
Francis. If you have any reason to
think the muslin will turn yellow
after tho first washing, let it lie in
clean water several days befofo wash
ing. Some muslins invariably, become
What is your birthright It is a
body richly endowed with health and
strength, and a capacity for -happiness.
It is a mind thrilling with bright
affinities for all things Deautuui anu
high. It is a spirit in which 'are fold
ed the wings which can soar to Heav
en, and hold communion with tho
divine. It is life the Innocent bright
ness of childhood, the snrinc of youth,
the force of manhood, the snowy and
sunlit heights of age. Xt is a nappy
death, since death is but the vision
and Sabbath of God.: Selected.
Cleaning the Scalp
A correspondent says: "For a num
ber of years I was troubled with a
fine, white dandruff which formed on
tho scalp, and would show all through
my hair. I tried many remedies with
out success, such as cleaning with
egg, washing with soaps that were
recommended, and combing with a
fine comb, but the more I combed the
worse it got, and the washing only did
good for a few days. A friend ad
vised me to use kerosene oil. I first
gave my head a good washing, and
then poured out a little oil in a dish
handy to insert the ends of my fingers.
The ends of the fingers were dipped
into the oil, and the scalp thoroughly
rubbed with it. This burned and
smarted for some time, but it was
just what was needed to get up a
good circulation in the scalp.
"After three or four applications,
some time apart, the dandruff en
tirely disappeared, and never gives me
any more trouble. The smell of the
kerosene will disappear in a day or
two, but it is really no worse than
to have the hair filled with dandruff.
This is a simple remedy and one that
is always at hand, and will do the
work successfully."
Merrymaking In the Home.
Don't be afraid of a little fun at
home. Don't shut your house lest
AN OLD AND WELL TRIED BEMKDY.
Mns. Winbloit's Soothino StuOT for chlldrou
toothing should always bo UBod for children while
teolhlnjT. It eoftens the Rums, allays all pain, euros
vrlnd chollo and Is tho best remedy for diarrhoea.
Tvronty-fiYo centB a bottlo.
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