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About The commoner. (Lincoln, Neb.) 1901-1923 | View Entire Issue (Aug. 22, 1902)
PIH 8 The Commoner. Tol. a, No. 3i. : i y& i. i i i i i THE HOME DEPARTMENT. A Ult of Cheer. Porchanco you fool lllco sighing, dear, Just check the sigh and smilo; And cheer somo wayworn wanderer O'er many a weary milo. A kindly word, a loving smilo, Groat blessing doth bestow; The power havo thoy to charm away, A heavy load of woo. Alas! tho many celling hearts, Along tho circling years, Tho' there bo deartli of all things olso Is novor dearth of tears. Then put asido thy griefs, dear heart, Nor grudgo a smilo to dolo; Twill cheor thino own sad lot, and bless As well thy noighbor's soul. For tliero was Ono whoso spirit1! 6ft Was wrapped, mothinks, In gloom. Boforo Him rose dark Calvary's cross, The agony, tho tomb And still Ho over strove to cheor Tho wayworn pilgrim lono; . Jesus! Imperial Prince of Peace, From heaven's otornal throne! TIs not tLo vcafiy gltt bestowed That cheers tho aching heart, It is the kindly sympathy, It Is love's magic art. And blessed shall thy memory bo, Tho' naught thou hast to give But kindly words and loving smiles; And lo! thy soul shall live. Housekeeper. and a truo ono, that "tho dog that will fetch a bono will carry ono away." Jupiter's Moons. Another sourco of deep interest seen through tho optical instrument and .tho hotter tho lens, tho hotter tho view is tho planet Jupiter, now very noar our earth, as earth passed be tween tho planet and tho sun on Aug ust 5; through a good glass you will seo tho great, glowing orb, spherical in shape, and on either side of it tiny points of light, four of them, visible, usually, which will readily bo recog nized as Jupiter's moons. You will not always find them in tho same posi tion, either as regards each other, 6r their places about the planet; but you will always find them, close attend ants upon the glorious orb, the largest of r our planets visible to tho naked oyo. A good glass will show you Saturn's rings, but a glass of low power is not' so satisfactory as with Jupiter. An other beautiful object, seen through a good glass, Is our charming planet, Venus. hurtful dosslp One of the greatest evils of our day, getting tho- unconscious support of many of our best-intentioned people, is tho sin of gossipplng afeout persons..! jvjiidulgenco in gossip Is like Indulgence In drink there Is no happy medium Which it is safe to ajlopt. Tho lino never can be drawn where drinking or gossiping can be safely done. Good women, everywhere, should frown down all beginnings of personal discussion of a harmful nature. If ono must criticise persons, or discuss them In any way except in kindness, let it be done in their presence, where thoy may havo an opportunity for de fense, or at least of explanation. We havo no right to suppose, or sup ply motives; we are forbidden to judge. Gossip has made wounds for which there seemed no balm; it has injured reputations, with an entirely unmer ited stain. Many a life has gone Bcarred to the grave by tho breath of thoughtless meddlers and tattlers. . A true woman 4s not given to wounding another. Womanhood liould seek to shield, not strike, even tho fallen. With life so full of stirring events, what time have you to lfstoti to a set of idle talkers, actuated moro often than not by a spirit of malice and envy? It is riot always the blame less who la most eager to condemn. The sinless hand rarely, if ever, casts the first stone. If one-half the indus try we were used to cultivate a kindly habit of speech, to unveil tho better side of humanity, that Is dovotpd to the collection and disemlnatlon of hurtful audovil rumors, there would bo les3 of tho "leaven of unrighteousness" scattered through tho world's three measures of meal. It is well to avoid a person who comes to you habitual ly full of confidences and communica tions which would not bear telling in tho prosonce of the person under dis cussion. It is a homely old saying, Herbert Spencer. For his first book, "Social Statics In 1850, Herbert Spencer tells us ho could not find a publisher willing (o take any rilc; so he was obliged to print it at his own cost and sell It on commission. Tho edition consisted of only 760 copies, but took fourteen years to sell them. Five years later he published, under like difficulties, an edition of 750 copies of his "Principles of Psychology." ('l gave away a con siderable number," he says pathetical ly, "and the remainder sold in twelve and one-half years." In spite of great losses and continued hardships, Mr. Spencer went courageously on In pub lishing, and twenty-four years after he published his first volume he had retrieved his losses and was again even twenty-four years of hard men tal labor for no pay. Since that time his work has, by degrees, brought him in satisfactory results. . Glorifying One' Work. "A few days ago," said my friend, the young matron, "I decided that I could not keep the girl any longer, as her work was so unsatisfactory; so I discharged her, and undertook tho work myself. I never did like house work, and especially dish-washing and cleaning up after meals, and had often said I would endure anything that could carry a bucket of coal or peel a potato, rather than attempt the dirty part of the work myself. "But when I went down into tho' kitchen I found everything out of place and there was a smell of old grease and stale victuals exhaling from every sup board and closet; tho pots and pans were slippery with grease and soap suds; tho dish rags literally, rags! were unbearable; tho dish towels looked as though thoy had been used to wipe up the floor, or wash off the stove, only the appearance of neither floor nor stoVe would allow of such an Jdea for a moment. "X looked at my hands, so white and tender from the recent illness, and a feeling of discouragement took posses sion of mo: I, felt so utterly helpless in tho faco of such a task that I be gan looking about for my sun-hat in order to go out and hunt up a woman to help me out; when I thought of what you had said about "glorifying evert the meanest tasks," and I said, "Well, I will seo what I can do to ward glorifying this kitchen." I started the fire, using those dish rags as part of the fuel, filled the tea kettle and the reservoir, got some new dish cloths, soap, soda, coal oil and scrubbing brush, and went to work, be ginning with the dish-pans and water pails themselves. I cannot tell you how long it took me. It was not done in one hour, nor two; and the tea kettle and reservoir were several times replenished; but when at last it was all dono, tho corners and cupboards cleaned out and-disinfected, the floors scrubbed, tables washed, pots scoured, pans and dishes polished, and every clean, sweet-smelling thing ranged about in its proper place, I sat down and admired tho work of my hands tired, but happy, for had I not con quered self and glorified my work? Why, I was proud of myself, sure enough! When I served up tho light luncheon I had prepared in place of the reg ular dinner, it did look so nice and appetizing that we almost overate our selves, and I have often thought that my lack of appetite was more than half due to thes disreputable condition that had so long prevailed, in the cook's domain. I am convinced that one can glorify even kitchen work, If she-tries. Yes, Indeed!" ..Celestial Sight Seeing. Have you an opera glass, a field glass, or even a good spy-glass? If so, did you ever look at tho moon through one of these instruments? If you have not, it .will pay you to do so. The sight will be a revelation to you. You will find tho apparently smooth sur face of "pale Luna" pitted and scarred and wonderful lines of light are drawn from a point on tho lower side of the moon, upward In all directions converging toward some point on the upper side. The face of the full moon resembles nothing so much as a fresh ly peeled orange. Begin your obser vations with the thin crescent show ing above the sunset,vand follow it nightly from new moon to full; then, from full, follow it waning until lost in the morning dawn. You will be well repaid. The "Good Old Days." "" If enforced labor is slavery, so Is enforced idleness. The imposition of either by any combination strong enough to enforce its decrees, turns 'to ashes upon the lips of labor the fruits of five centuries of struggle and prog-: ress toward freedom. In the reigu of Richard II. of England, the rustic toller was imprisoned for refusing the wages fixed by employer-made stat utes; for leaving his parish In search of better employment; for apprentic ing his children to a trade in town, or J for daring to educate them as "clerics." In those days thoro were land monop olies, and trade monopolies, and en forced labor In tho towns, where ev ery sort of calling or skilled work manship was tho oxcluslve privilege of some ono of an oligarchy of char tered trades, and craft guilds, member ship In which could bo acquired only by a long apprenticeship, large family influence and large cash payments. Such was the tyranny of property in exclusive possession of the law-making power, that It forced tho poor man to accept such slavery, or become an out law, with a price sot upon his head. Statistlcff'tell us that In the United States alone there aro nearly 3,000,000 women and girls who a"r wage-earners away from their homes. Tens of thousands of these girls and women must leave their homes In the dark ness of the early morning hours, to re turn to them after nightfall, exposed to all kinds of weather, liable to 'en counter a thousand dangers In tho streets of the city and alleys, armed with no other protection save their own sense of virtue and their natural 'weapons of defense. They must wdrk, and must brave these dangers or those dependent upon them must starve. The habit of thought Is the best in fact, the only guarantee of unflag ging good spirits. "Intellectual diver sions console the unfortunate as noth ing else can, and often saves the vic tim of material disaster from a melan choly 'which, through repeated dis couragements, becomes chronic and incurable. The right kind of education serves to lift one above the petty cares and trials which Inevitably beset each and every pathway, and the struggle of life will lose much of Its hardships if one can bTing to bear upon Its ever present problems the strength and clearness of a well-trained mentality. Hot Weather Cookery. Vegetables should be well cooked in boiling water until "just done;" very few of them are benefitted by being left in the water ""after thoy reach that point Dainty serving gives to all foods a relish second only to that of a good, healthy appetite. None but very coarse natures like their food "tossed up" anyhow. Fresh fruits are indlsponslble, such as acid berries, grapes, plums, peaches, apples" etc. These should be served uncooked, with,, or without, cream and sugar. Do not make them into pies, or puddings unless you like to work. For tea, serve creams, blanc 'mange, gelatine Jellies, fruit sponges and floats. All these' may be prepared in the cool of the day and, set aside. The juices of acid fruits, iced tea, lemonade, iced buttermilk, and sweet milk will all be found refreshing. A light, nourishing breakfast, a sub stantial dinner, followed by a cool or cold supper, consisting of cold meats, bread, butter, salad, eggs, fruits, cakes, Iced teas or mlllc. No matter if "they" do call you lazy; if you possibly can find tho tlmo and a cool place, indulge In a nap in tho afternoon. By so 3tolng,auaro TU ouv. enabled to attend mucha , -, A.K..A'.. ;. v. A WAtab' -"