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The Commoner.
VOLUME 7, NUMBER -13
in
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Aldrich's Last Poom
(Wlint was probably the IhhI verse
written by Tliomas Bailey Aldrlch ap-
Iicnra in tbo Atlantic Mommy ior
March, and It a tribute to tbo memory
of Longfellow.)
Above blH grave (bo grass and Know
Their Hoft antlpbonal strophes write;
Moonrlse and daybreak come and go;
Summer by Hummer on tbe height
Tbo thrushes llnd melodlouH brealb.
Hero let no vagrant winds that blow
Across tbe spaces of tbe night
Whisper of death.
Thoy do not die who leave their
thought
Imprinted on some deathless page.
Themselves may pass; the spell Uiey
wrought
Endures on earth from age to age.
And thou, whose voice but yesterday
Fell upon charmed listening ears,
Thou shalt not know the touch of
years;
Thou boldest time and chance at bay.
Thou llvest In thy living word
As when its cadence llrst; was beard.
O gracious poet and benign,
Beloved presence! now as then
Thou standest by Uie hearths of
men.
Their fireside joys and griefs are
thine;
Thou speakest to them of their dead,
Thoy listen and are comforted.
They break tbe bread and pour the
wine
Of life with thee, as In those days
Men saw thee passing on tbo street
Beneath the elms 0 reverend feet
That walk in far celestial ways!
An
Sunshine
"Old People's
Room"
Some time ago I told you of tbe
need of a homo for refined old people;
people who have lived past the active
period of life, and found themselves
feeble in body, without means, or an
lnsulllclent amount by which to pro
vide a permanent home with the simple
comforts so necessary to the peaceful
passing of the few years still left
tbefn. Old people often have children
fathers and mothers themselves, who
. more or less willingly provide for
them In their own families. Some
times such an arrangement Is very
satisfactory, and this class of people
have no need of such a shelter as I
am going to tell you of. Other old peo
ple, though kindly treated, are con
tinually drifted from one to another
of the homes of their children, having
no settled abiding place, yet longing
in their poor, tired hearts, for even the
plainest, poorest room In which they
may sit down among their treasured
belongings, in tbo rest and quiet jf
permanency.
Others are domiciled In homes where
there are more or less small children,
in the taking care of which they are
expected to share, or thoy are expected
to help about the housework, doing
"light" chores, no matter how they are
longing for privacy and rest. Iff they
do not comply with these require
mentsit may be the son-in-law; it
may be the daughter-in-law; or It may
be a sister's, or a brother's home but
It is only a shelter for them. In many
cases, the fault lies with the old peo
ple themselves; but in any case, thoy
long for some one place which is whol
ly their own. Oh, you all know how
It is; these poor old people want rest,
companionship with people of . tbair
own times, and freedom fromV the
iiaunting fear of a homeless holrfless-
)il!
(hey can no longer take part in q
strife. They long to fold their hands
and rest.
I think you have all heard of the
International Sunshine society, of
which Mrs. Cynthia Wcstover Alden
is the president-general. This society
has its headquarters in New York
City, but it has many branches nil
over the country, In the big cities and
tlio small ones, wherever there is need
of brightening and bettering the lives
of the sorrowful or the helpless,
whether the tiny baby, the growing
child, the young people, the old people,
or the sick and aflllctcd all feel the
sunshine of the good work this society
is doing, with the help of its many
branches.
In this work, there is no "graft," no
money-making scheme, except the
money collected for the work it is do
ing. Many excellent women and men
ire giving their time, talent and means
to this end, and thousands are feeling
tlu effects of the work in their be
half. In St. Louis, the at homo branch
of the International Sunshine society,
through its president, Mrs. F. W.
Itaumhoff, is working to establish such
a homo as I have outlined. It is a
strictly charitable establishment, with
no paid ollleers, and is not intended to
incur any debts, cither in buying the
home grounds, or in its running ex
penses. As soon as one hundred char
ter members, paying In $100 cash, are
secured, the home will bo opened for ,
occupancy. The home Is intended to 1
shelter the old people of Missouri, only,
at first; but later, as its resources
grow, others will be admitted. It will
shelter people of all religions, and the
Sunshine mottoes will be its laws. This
home will belong to no private charity,
but will belong to the members and
occupants of the homo, itself. These
charter members may be either the old
people who ask for the comforts of
the home, or any charitable society
or association who wishes to aid in
the good work by paying $100, which
entitles the society to have one old
person, man or woman, provided for.
both the work and the worker is
spoiled, and discontent and bitterne83
of spirit are engendered.
It is said that "every human being
cgmes into the world with sealed or
ders from the infinite hand, and even
the closest friend cannot certainly
read the message therein contained."
When one finds what these orders are,
without a doubt, there will be no
straining or pulling against ihcllna-
tlon. Nothing will serve to discourage
or hold one back, and the hardest work
will seem like play. No matter what
the work is, the doing of it will not
degrade, discourage or embitter. It
is making a life not merely a living.
Fig Paste
Several of our readers have asked
that this recipe should again bo given
It is an excellent tiling for stimulat
ing sluggish organs and weak diges
tion: Chop finely one-half pound each
of fine raisins and figs and one ounce
of senna leaves; put them into a stow
pan with half a pound of sugar and a
half-pound of boiling water. Let them
simmer slowly for twenty minutes,
then pour out to cool in a baking tin
that is lined with oiled paper. About
a square inch at bedtime will do
wonders for a torpid liver and slug
gish bowers. The paste is perfectly
harmless.
and sent out by reliable parties, as
to varieties. Then, when the soil is
reasonably moist, or just after a rain,
sow plenty of seed, then rollr or pat
down the surface with a spade. Seeds
may be sown at any season, if the soil
is dry enough; but the best results
obtain from early spring or fall sown
seed. Good seed, of suitable mixture,
will cost about 80 cents per pound.
Where the ground is much shaded, a
special mixture must be used, and this
wili be supplied by your seedman at a
trifle higher cost; but it pays to get
good seed at first. Grass growing un
der trees should be heavily supplied
with an annual dressing of manure.
In planning for your lawn, study
it as you would a picture. Lot the
grass be the canvas and let your well
massed border be tbe frame Tall
trees and shrubs should only be used
as a back-ground, or as a screen to
shut out objectionable views, using
low shrubs and perennials in the fore
ground. , Do not crowd. Follow na
tine's plan, and avoid straight lines.
Most of hardy shrubs and perennials
should be massed, the taller growing
either at the outer, or fence-side, or
Id the middle, if set in the open lawn.
Keep to the hardy shrubs and peren
nials, as they make a magnificent
showing when well established, and
require but little care, where annuals
are very troublesome. In setting
shrubs, keep In mind the fact that they
spread rapidly, and sot the plants
wide apart, planting annuals among
them the first season. The formal
garden should be behind the house, or
at the side,, with the most of the front
given up as a lawn.
Certain Work Degrading
A young woman, discussing the do
mestic problem with her friends,
shocked the conservative element by
stoutly asserting that, whatever house
work might mean to others, to herself,
it simply meant degradation. Site
claimed that whatever was "written
in the blood" must be read and fol
lowed, and that the reason there are
so many mental and moral cripples
In life is that circumstances, or blind
obstinacy forces many into business
and avocations for which they have
neither a longing nor a natural capac
ity. They are like "square pegs in
round holes," and no manner of prun
ing, trimming or padding can ever lit
them for the work.
Every one owes it to himself, or
herself to grow to take every oppor
tunity for a correct expression of their
better, broader selves, and anything
followed simply because it is the
choice of some other person, forced
upon one, or because circumstances
force it upon the unwilling doer, can
but bo degrading In the individual in
stance, because a misfit vocation de
stroys self-respect and self-confidence,
and in the doing there is no joy, nor
ambition, nor aspiration on the part of
the door. The whole Individual rebels
igainst trying to do what Is so evi
dently what the inner conscience can
not approve. It is like forcing one to
eat of food which the stomach loathes.
In trying to lift the load so evidently
unfitted for the strength or ability,
The Monotony of It
it is not always work, or even
worry,, that breaks the busy woman
down, so much as the unvarying mo
notony of the round she follows. A
woman who puts in every" moment of
her time doing the work of her own
home, may not really work any harder,
or accomplish any more than does the
woman who "gets out among folks"
occasionally, and whets her intellect
against that of her neighbor. Tho one
toils as a machine, growing narrower
and narrower, trotting all day long in
the same tracks, day in and day out,
never lifting her eyes from the rut into
which she has fallen, while the other
straightens her bent back now and
then, and looks over the border be
tween her work and that of her neigh
bor; if she finds the neighbor doing
her tasks in a way different from that
which she employs, she wants to know
the reason for it, and if she finds it to
bring better, or even as good results,
while making tho burden lighter, she
is ready to adopt the new way. She
stretches herself into new shapes and
exercises otherwise untried muscles,
and tries all-around industries which
case and rest her, and in this way, she
literally "renews herself" by getting
the benefit of a new atmosphere. If,
as the Bible declares, It isT-not good
for man to be alone, it certainly is not
any better for the woman, and she
who is wise will get out of the tread
mill now and then, and "swap magne
tism" with her own species. No mat-
tor how entertaining one may be, we
do get tired of ourselves at times, and
long for a glimpse into other pastures.
For School Luncheons "
One of our readers sends in the fol
lowing: For individual chicken pie, to put up
for the, school lunch in the dish in
which it is baked, cut up .and cook:
the chickens as' for any pie. When the
moat is done, remove all skin and
bones and thicken the gravy as usual.
Chop or cut up the meat as for hash,
and season as you like. Have ready
little tin or earthenware dishes, place
in each a small 'raw potato cut into
small cubes, then a portion of the sea
soned meat, and pour over it some of
tho gravy. Cover this with a rich pas
try or biscuit dough, and bake twenty
minutes, or until done, cooking the po
tato and browning the crust. Let cool
before putting the pie in the lunch
basket
The House Grounds
For the lawn, have your ground
properly prepared by loosenlner the
soil, removing all sticks and -stones,
leveling and rolling so that all humps
and hollows may be done away with.
This Is very important, if you are to
use a lawn mower on the grass. The
soil should be thoroughly pulverized!
and if heavy clay, a little sand, with
plenty of well-rotted manure shouKl
be incorporated with it. Get the best
seed to be had not necessarily the
Floral Talks
Oxalis bulbs are not expensive, and
the flowers are in three shades 'of
red, white and yellow; it is a half
hardy perennial, and is useful to cov,er
rockwork, edgings for formal garden
beds, and for edging walks, or grow
ing in hanging baskets. It requires
good soil, plenty of moisture, and will
stand considerable shade. The corms,
or bulbs may be taken up in the fall,
treated as other bulbs, and replanted
In spring.
For a fine annual climber, covering
a large space in a season, the orna
mental Balsam Apple is very useful
It is very tender, and must not be
planted until all danger of frost is
over; planting the seeds where they
should grow. The plants require good
soil, and frequent cultivation. The
fruit, when ripened, will split open,
and if one apple is put into a half
pint of alcohol and allowed to stand
two weeks and bottled, it is ready to
be used for sterilizing and healing open
cuts and wounds. If one is-put Into
half a pint of sweet oil, the oil is ex
cellent for burns. -
The best shrubs for hardy, decidu
ous hedges are: California privet,
Barberry, Japanese Quince, Altliea,
AN OLD AND "WELL TRIED REMEDY
Mas. Winslow's SocmiiNG Svnur for chil
dren teothlnc should always bo used for okll
dren while teethincr. It softens the mims. nilavs
Ttinqf- nvnonqtvo- hnf lm an if i L, ' N pain, curcsvrlndcollo and Is tho best remedy
most expeusuo, but be sure it is fresh, fordiarrhoea. Twenty-five cents abottle.
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