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The Commoner.
VODlIMiil 8, NUMBER 15
10
"Tho Pitying Ones"
SouIb that havo grown sorono and
strong,
Patient, nnd of lovo's kinship
wide
These lwivd been mates with sorrow
long
Those souls of purpose tried.
Tho loneliness of wistful night,
Tho hoartaeho of tho weary day,
Tho shadows, whore they looked for
light,
Have 'companiod them alway.
Thoso woro tho hopeful souls, and
glad,
Strong, with tho strength of gold
en dreams;
Touched with tho gift, all magic
mad, That makes life what it seems;
'Till thoir swoot youth had wandorod
on,
Laughing, with curled and care
less lip,
And thoy awoko, to find joy gone,
To servo grlof's 'pronticcship.
And that ,so prodigal thoy spoilt
Their g'ladness in Life's singing
time,
Poor, shivering souls wero thoy, and
bent
With famine in their prime;
Their olden bliss oh, bitterer far
It made the pain that took its
place;
Whore onqe was laughter came the
scar
Of sufferng on each face.
B:tftheso same souls of simple kind.
Steadfast aro they in thoir own
guise.
Not in thoir fabric may you find
Tho weakness of vain cries;
Silent, thoy pay what price they
must;
Dumb, by disaster's proudnoss
stilled,
'Til they arise from out the dust
With a great pity filled;
Pltyfof all who to the woight
Otv life's grim care must bond
them low,
But most, for thoso of darkest fate,
The gentler ones thoy know;
The loving ones that count no cost,
The faithful, that but faith de
mand; Tho truthful, whoso poor way is lost
In a misleading land.
These, that aro glad and childlike
born,
Not armed to cope with hate and
doubt,
So trustful, that the rogue's rich
scorn
Shall follow them about;
High souls, that yet aro reckoned
' cheap, '
And oftenest drink Life's foulest
lees ,
O, pity, poignant, deep and strong,
The calmed ones feel for these!
And for their sakes the song is heard
That cheors the way on which thoy
wend
Tho heartening cry, tho manful word,
The hail that means a friend
Comfort for a'll? Ayo, in God's
grace,
But most to these dear ones ad
dressed Who find tho world a cruel plnce
i For them that lovo it best! v
Ripley D. Saunders, in Ex.
Floral Notes
Begin your preparation for next
winter's garden now, by planting
Hud sowing seeds of such as must
have the summer's care for devel
opment. Study tho florist's 'cata
logue, and got to work in tho right
season and manner.
May and Juno plantings, slippings
and rooting cuttings are absolutely
necessary, unless you havo the
means with which to purchase plants
from tho florist, which is sometimes
expensive. If one raises her own
plants and seedlings, there is a hot
ter acquaintance between the flower
lover and the flower.
Mrs. L. M. tells us how to get
bono meal for our plants. Dissolve
one can of potash (concentrated lye)
in a suitable vessel, with about half
a gallon of soft water, over tho fire.
Sot away to cool, and into this lyo
put any kind of bones that collect
chicken, beef, pork, as they may bo
stripped in the kitchen. Keep add
ing tho scraps of hone until the lyo
will eat no more. Pour off the lye
into a glass jar, jug or bottle, and
when watering the plants, to each
gallon of water add ono tablespoon
ful of the bone liquid. (These are
the directions set in, and if any one
has tried tho method satisfactorily,
or unsatisfactorily, wo should be glad
to hoar from such.)
Remember that a flower or foliage
plant will grow wherever a weed
will, and a fruiting shrub is just as
easy grown as a bramble or useless
shrub. A good grape vine will ask
no more caro than ,a wild ivy, but
will appreciate, all it gets. "Jim
son," burdock, cockleburr, pokeberry,
and the like, aro all unsightly, and
would bettor bo cleared away, and
the room they occupy given to some
beautiful or useful plant.
Many unsightly views may be
screened away by a wall of vlning
plants, annuals or norennials. and the
.whole family would be the happier
tor the change. Do not forget that
tho back yard will grow flowers as
well as weeds. Plan for beauty
spots. Got all of them you can.
clothes, or for their dollies, in which
they will take interest. Quilt-piecing
can be done so rapidly and so
well on tho sewing machine that,
after the cutting out of the blocks
has been done, it takes but a little
while to put the number of blocks
needed together strongly and service
ably. One can piece quilts "while
they rest," when they could not bear
to touch work requiring more
thought.
There are many books published
giving all directions with illustra
tions, from which even the inexperi
enced can learn todo many kinds
of fancy-work knitting, crocheting,
tatting, netting, and stitches with
the needle.
Mint Sherbet
Here is a delicious ice for an
evening refection: Macerate the
leaves of a good handful of fresh
garden mint, adding afterwards the
juice of two lemons; cover, and let
stand for fifteen minutes or half an
hour. Put two cupfuls of sugar and
a pint of water into a porcelain ket
tle and stand over the fire, stirring
until the sugar is dissolved; let cook
until the syrup threads, then remove
from the fire, add half-teacupful of
orange juice and the mint leaves and
lemon, and when cold, strain and
add other flavoring, if desired, to
taste; freeze and serve in glasses.
Every garden should have Its bed of
mint, as many pleasant and healthful
drinks" may be made from it during
the hot season.
For" tlio Sewing Room
For finishing ruffles, handkerchiefs
and children's clothing, try the ma
chine hem-stitching. Rub the cloth
where the threads are to be drawn
out with a piece of pure white soap,
rubbing on tho wrong side of the
cloth, then draw the number of
threads desired from the goods to
be stitched; fold the hem over and
baste the edge of the hem to the
Center Of thO drn.wn annoa !,
loosen the tension on the machine
and stitch exactly along the edge of
tho hem. Take out the basting
threads and pull tho edge, of the hem
to the bottom of the drawn threads.
Tucks may bo hem-stitched in the
samo way.
Every sowing room should have a
scrap-bag of generous . size, into
which should bo tucked all the new
pieces of cloth that are at all suit
able for making up Into quilts. 'All
serviceable pieces that may be saved
from the making over, or cutting
down of garments, should bo put
away in rolls and bundles, each
fabric to itself silks with silks, cot
tons with cottons, woolens with wool
ens, and when a leisure hour comes
they may be made into quilt covers'
thus saving tho price of eight or ten
yards of new goods, and giving nnf
as much service in their new form
Do not make the little girls "nte
quilts." Very few children like such
work, or can do it well enough to
pass, and thoy may just as well bo
given HUle tasks on thoirown
For What it is Worth
A famous French general, who
was noted for his youthful appear
ance, gave this as his rule for ward
ing off old age: Stand erect, bend
over without moving the lower limbs,
and touch the floor with his finger
tips thirty times every day. Had he
allowed himself to acquire rigidity
of the spine so he could not do that,
he would have had with it weak ab
dominal muscles, which result in por
tal congestion; this portal conges
tion interferes with stomach diges
tion and with the action of the liver.
The poison-destroying power of the
liver is lessened, auto-intoxication re
sults, and hardening of the walls
of the blood vessels brings on old
age at a much earlier day than it
would otherwise come. By keeping
the spine flexible and the abdominal
muscles strong through exercise, the
portal circulation is kept free", and
.the body supple. Medical Talks.
House cleaning will not be hard
to get through with, if you keep
things clean every day "by littles."
It is the accumulations of neglect
that make the mountain out of the
mole-hill. Do tho duty nearest to
hand every day, and the way will be
smoothed to the end.
Stitches for "Fancy Work"
Answering B. G. The names ap
plied to the various stitches in
crochet work are not always the
same in all "fancy-work" depart
ments. This is sometimes called
"long crochet:" Take up the thread
insert hook in the work, take up
thread and draw through, making
three stitches on the needle; take
up threa-1 and draw through one
stitch, again, and draw through two
stitches, then again, and draw
through the remaining two. This is
like what is called double crochet,
except that the thread is not put
over twice at the beginning. Double
treble, triple-treble, or other stitch
after treble, are called by the general
name of long crochet, often to the
confusion of the inexperienced work
er who can not judge correctly from
effect.
M. L. B. The star stitch in knit
ting is made as follows: Cast on any
number of stitches divisible by 3,
with 2 extra. 1st row: Knit one,'
over, knit three, slip the first of
these three stitches over the other
two; repeat "over, knit three and
slip first stitch over the other two"
until but one stitch remains; knit
this one plain. Second row: Purl
across. Third row: Knit three, slip
first .stitch over the, other two, over,
and repeat until but two stitches
remain, over, knit two. Fourth row:
Like second row. Repeat from first
row.
Beatrice. The stitch may be what
is called the "snail trail," which is
an old favorite. It is made in this
wise: Bring up the needle and floss,
hold the latter for a little under the
left thumb, pass needle from right to
left, with a movement of the thumb,
push the floss upward under point
of needle, turn it upward, reverso
position, of needle from left to right,
insert it horizontally to take up sev
eral threads of the material in tho
place where the knot is to be formed,
about one-eighth of an inch from
where the needle was brought up
first, then turn the floss downward
under the point of the needle and
draw carefully through. I hbpo you
can work by these direction's.
For the Toilet
Answering several querists: Fret,
restlessness and . overwork are all
causes of pale ' complexion and
pinched features. Fatigue ages one
more than anything else, and an ex
hausted woman is never a cheerful
or a happy one. Nothing can equal
rest and restfulness as aids to beauty
and health, as the reposeful condi
tion smooths out the wrinkles,
rounds out the lines of the body, and
gives a softness and clearness to the
complexion. "Laugh and grow fat,"
is a good recipe. A cheerful, opti
mistic spirit is the very best medi
cine one can take. It is all a ques
tion of nerve-force, or the lack of it.
For the hands, trouble must be
taken; keep a slice of lemon on the
wash stand to remove stains; use
only the best soap (not necessarily
the most expensive), and very little
of that. Press back the skin around
the .nails; don't cut, but file the nails
with a fine nail file that will cost but
a few cents. If the nails are brittle,
soak in warm olive oil every night.
Do not use any metal, or sharp in
strument for removing the dirt under
the nails; brush out with soap and
water, or clean with a toothpick or
orange stick that comes for that pur
pose. There is an old story that. tells us
of a woman Who committed suicide
because she was tired of the endless
washing, brushing, combing and do
ing up her hair, and of the never
endihgness of dressing and undress
ing her body. Now and then one
feels like canonizing her, because she
chose the better part," and gave
up the fight.
Where the hands and lips chap,
or roughen during the warm weather,
the cause is probably to be found in
some constitutional trouble. Usu
ally, this cause can be traced to poor
circulation, and poor circulation is
generally due to too little exercise,
or exercise of the wrong kind, or mal-
AN OLD AND WELTj TRIED REMEDY
I'fin? WFW!8 SooTiriNa Syrup for children
ffi u,l Bh?tUlSlwwK J,0Uficd for children VvX
toothing; it soOona tho gums, allays tho nnln.
SilS? "fr cllcnd is tho bl remedy IbrStak
rhoea. Twonty-uve cents a botUo, vr
9HI
