f i mvt in-pftf' " fWn "
!
S"
n ,
3V V
BA
H
f
rh
.,.
Li t
The Commoner
, - ' ,
S& LSBHeJ 71 l-H j1 1 III NrI I L fi
P3 Z-iP ' ' JTt'--- S1I svuu w-t i-w ! m . m"lL m. t 'K' - "5
VKMlZ'
VOL; lV'NG. 12
Conducfc
Welen Watts MVe
Wintry Dnya
What though Ihy kiss be cold, 0 win
ter drear?
Thou bringcat much, the heart of
man to cheer;
fho rich red holly berry 'midst the
green,
The crackling of tho logs, the flames
between,
The cold, calm heavens, so brilliantly
alight
With friendlier stars than on a sum
mer's night,
For Jthey are closer come, and- seem
to bo
Just twinkling neighbors unto you
and me.
And in tho wood what lovely scenes
aro there,
When, clad by fairy hands and frosty
air,
The limbs and branches of tho sleep,
dug trees
Seem but the fragile work of silver
filigrees.
What music in the chimes that ring
.out clear
Across the crisp of icy .atmosphere!
What grandeur in the swelling har
on'onies Of wintry winds; and what tranquil
ities In winter silences!
And for tho soul of man, what sweet
er thrill
Is found than in tho message of good
will
That in the darkest hours of winter's
day
Dotlr warm the heart, as with a splen
did ray r ,
F.rom out tho sun. east, west and
south and north,
When Christmas morn from frozen
night springs forth.
John Kendrick Bangs.
simple, iriexpen ive gift is received,
it is often far more welcome than one
which causes us to stop and count
our small balance to see how much is
left for a return gift. So many dainty
little things can be had at the Ten
Cent stofes, often for but two or
three cents, that it seems one might
satisfy every taste and make quite a
few presents for a dollar. Beautiful
boxes for tho' home-made candy, or
vases for holding the few rosebuds
thero aro so many things; and for
tho children, thero seems no end to
tho attractive toys, while whole
Christmas trees can be made a-glitter
for a few cents with the offerings
that used to call for dollars. Itis
useless to give gifts to children that
will last but an hour, if one has to
pay-a big price for it; but where the
purchase cost but a few cents, one
does not feel so resentful for the al
lowed destruction. Useful things for
the little 'tots are Beldom appealing.
It is the unusual, the attractive, the
bright colors. Do not leave the
shopping to the last minute, for the
stores are always crowded in the last
hours, and one has to wait to the
point of exhaustion before getting
what they want. It is better to pick
up a few things at ,a time, here and
there, now and then, or .better still,
to have your Christmas box open all
the year, dropping little things in the
"slot," as you come across them, and
getting only the particular gifts for
the individual tastcSs as the shopping
season opens.
various nut meats, fruits and colors.
A dollar's worth of materials will
make several dollars worth of good,
candy better than you can buy, be
cause it will be pure.
For tho .Christmas Season
rr
Tho Christmustido
To each and all, we wish a com
fortable Christmas, and one full of
the "good will toward men" that
alone will make life happy for our
selves and others. It is of little
use to toll you to rejoice because your
Christmas may be fuller of joy than
that of your neighbor. The lonely
homes, the desolate homeB are many,
and you are doubtless not to blame
for any of them. The ona thing you
can do is to give of your joy to others
as you can, lifting tho shadows by
"doing unto others" as your circum
stances give you the ability. Give of
yourself, realizing that thousands
would bo happier for a kind word, a
cheery greeting, a touch of sympathy
than for all tho "gifts" you could
pour into their hands. To those
, afar, a cheery letter, a postal card,
a paper "from homo, would be more
comforting than any thing else you
can send. May you all brighten some
life, thereby brightening your own.
A box of home-made candies is a
welcome remembrance for Christmas,
and if. one makes the candy in their
own kitchen, it is supposed to be a
purer article than can Tie bought, and
it is far less expensive. Preparing
tho boxes requires some taste and
artistic skill, which one" may get 'from
practice. Candy boxes of any desired
size and price can be bought very
reasonably at the ten cent stores, or
they can be made at home, using art
"In Strange "Lands"
A few 'days ago, in attending to 'a
business matter, I found myself in
the waiting room beside an elderly
lady of very intelligent" features, and
somehow, we got 'to talking to each
other. She said she was a stranger
'in the neighborhood in which she
lived, and also in the city; that she
was alone in the world, and was
sometimes very lonely, especially
since coming to her new home. She
said she had boarded and roomed
,for years, but that her longing for a
real home had become so strong that
she had bought a plain little cottage
within her reach, ana was trying to
make a homes of it, but there were so
many needs about the. place that she
found herself decidedly cramped for
means at times. "In the new home,"
I asked, "what do' you miss the
mos't?" "My birds and; flowers," she
said. "I could do without anything
else better, and I cpuld do without
a bird, if I could only have plants."
I remarked that plants were cheap,
and that t perhaps she might get a
start from her neighbors if she were
short of money. A wistful look came
into .her kindly eyes as she said,
"Frankly, X have no neighbors. I
havd. lived- on the street for six
months; but no one has come to see
me,-nnd although I speak to them
when I pass them, they never seem
to remember it, and I am utterly
alone. No, I have no neighbors, and
I do get so lonely, especially at lamp
lighting and at meal times." Then
she turned her face away, and soon
her turn with the business man came,
and as she said, "Goodbye, and thank
you kindly," x at she passed out, I
could but notice the sorrowful ex-,
pression of the eyes and face. And
the thought came to me, "I was a
stranger, and ye took me not in; an
hungered, and ye gave me no meat."
hing brush, to remove" the dirt and
greasy feeling of the skin. Scrub
welj, . then rinse thoroughly whpn
.clean. Draw the entrails, and wash
well inside and out, then wipe dry.
After it is well washed both inside
and out, place it on a rack in a boiler
and give it a good steaming, or
put pieces of salt pork all over it
and set in the oven for an hour; the
steaming or heating melts the fat,
and as it runs down the sides of the
goose it takes the strong goose oil
-with it; then remove from the oven
and pour off all this fat, dredge well
with flour, add u little water and re
turn to the oven allowing twenty
minutes to the pound, including the
previous steaming or baking. Baste
it frequently and dredge with flour
after each basting. The goose may
be steamed until tender, then baked,
il liked.
Some recommend that the goose,
after steaming to remove the down,
be wrapped in a thick towel, or some
thing that will keep in the steam,
and left lie a few minutes, then the
down rubbed off.
Oyster Filling for Turkey
A sixteen pound turkey will re
quiro two and one-half dozen oysters,
one tablespoonful of chopped pars
ley, one teaspoonful of sweet marjor
am, one quart stale bread crumbs,
one tablespqonful of butter, one tea
spoonful of salt, and pepper to taste.
Drain the oysters wash them and
drain again. Mix the crumbs, salt,
pepper, and herbs together, add tho
butter melted, and then the oysters;
mix well, and it is ready for use.
Mrs J. C., Iowa.
crene nawer. baby ribbon, pretty col
ored cards, and a few sprigs of holly. And I thought, too, of the thousands
Parainne paper for packing the candy of lonely people, hungering for the
crumbs that could well be spared.
Tho Problem of Christmas Giving
Where one has a full purse, the
hardest part of tin Christmas shop
ping is eliminated that of stretch
ing one dollar to cover the purchases
of three. But the majority of us are
not surfeited with money, and much
"time is spent in planning to meet all
demands orwIat we fancy aro de
mands, upon our friendship. Many
-women aro now giving only simple
little gifts, sucli as cards, flowers, a
. ijpx of candy, or an inexpensive book.
' One does not like to receive with
out vgiving in return, and when a
can be had very cheaply in rolls of a
large number of sheets. For the soft
candies, a sheet of the paraffined pa
per, then a layer of thin cardboard
cut to fit the box, will keep the pieces
from crushing. The candies should
bo prepared before Christmas to al
low time for -them to harden. Use
unsweetened chocolate for the can
dies, unless otherwise directed. A
very good molasses is the real New
Orleans vaviety, and this is better
for some kinds of candy than sugar.
Coloring can be purchased at the
druggists, and in buying one should
always state that the colors ate to
be used In foods, to Insure getting
harmless vegetable coloring. Red
coloring will produce any shade of
pink; rose or scarlet according to the
amount used; violet will produce any
shade from pale lavender to deep
blue; pistachio or spinach is used
for green; egg-yolk can be used for
yellows, and a few drops of strong
coffee, or chocolate, will give browns.
Where there are several young peo
ple, and they have many friends, It
Is well to buy a book of directions on
candy making, or one can be made
by clipping reciRes and directions
from papers and magazines, making
into a scrap-book, une of the most
important things is to learn to make
the fondant and how to combine the
yet who were barred from the social
feast for no reason except that the
Iieople about them, "never seemed to
remember," and left them sick and
in prison, for no good reason in the
world. Do you know any 'of them?
: Florenco H.
Chicken Salad
Mrs. Eleanor P. sends' lis the fol
lowing:. Chicken Salad Cook two good
sized chickens very fender; season
with salt and pepper as for a .fricas
see; while still warm,1 remove the
skin and bones and4 pick, or cut tho
flesh into small pieces, or chop
coarsely if preferred, though running
meat through a chopper usually gives
it 'a pasty taste. Mix with it an
BUSY DOCTOR
Sometimes Overlooks n Point
For the Christmas Goose
t
One very strong objection most
people have to serving goose for
Christmas Is the strong flavor of the
bird. If you fatten yonr own goose,
-hAl (Lan in a meas'ure be done away
With by proper feeding. If you have
to buy your bird, try this:
The goose must be '.young, or at
least as young as you can get for
your money. After taking off the
outside feathers, the .undercoat of
down will be hard to rmnnvA Qrt,
of our readers recommend puttine
Into the wash boiler about two Inches
of water, and lay In this a couple of
bricks on which a light frame is
Placed, and tfyj goose laid on the
frame when the water commences .to
boll; cover the kettle arid let boil to?
two or three minutes, then remove
the goose and rub off the down as
quickly as. possible. When'th ,i
is all off, scrub the carcass with hot
water, soap and a vegetable scrub-
The physician is such a' busy man
that he sometimes overlooks a valu
able point to which his attention may
be called by an intelligent patient
who is a thinker.
"About a year ago my attention
was called to Grape-Nuts by one of
my patients," an Ohio physician
writes.
"At the. time my own health was
bad and I was pretty well run down
but I saw at once that the theories
behind Grape-Nuts were sound and
that if the food was all that was
claimed, it was a perfect food.
"So I commenced to use Grape
Nuts with cream twice-a day and in
a' short time I began to improve '"
every way and 1 am , now much
stronger, feel better and weigh more
than ever before in my life.
"I knpw that all of this good is du0
to Grape-Nuts and I am firmly con
vinced that the claims made Jor the
food' aro true.
"I have recommended, and still
recommend, Grape-Nuts to a' great
many of my patients with splenuiu
results, and In some cases the im
provement of patients on this fine
food has been vonderful.
"As a general food, Grape-Nuts
stands alone." ' "There's a Reason.
Name given by Postum Co., Battle
Creek, Mich.
Loolc iri pkgs. for the famous little
book, "The Road to Wellville."
Ever rend the above letter? A new
one appears from time to time. They
aro genuine, true, and full of human
interest.
r pV
4
&