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The Commoner.
ol. a, No. 37.
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October
A crimson splondor,
Instoad of tho' tender
Green of the dowoy morn,
And, oh, the sweetness
Tho full completeness!
That undor his rulo Is born.
Russet and yellow,
In apples mellow,
And wheat and millet and corn,
. His frost so hoary,
Has touched with glory
Maplo and oak and thorn.
x No thrifty sower
But only a mower,
That comes when tho day Is done,
With warmth abeaming,
And gold agleaming,
Liko sunset after tho sun.
Alice Cary.
The summer is ended; its storms and
its strife, its torrid heat and tompests
of rain, its long, long days of toil for
man and beast, its anxious .planning
and wearisome doing all are with the
past. -Tho crimson and yellow blazon
ry of field and forest bring with them
s sense of peace a feeling of rest, as
over a finished work. There are golden
days tranquil days, when tho noise
of busy silence is hushed, and the
ski os are so cleanly, clearly blue; no
dull, sluggish haze only a tint of
color throughout space; no more dry,
piercing, glittering sunshine that
strikes, like needles; the light is soft
and cool, and fills the atmosphere in
an abandonment of joy. The winds are
asleep; tho world has ceased to strive;
the grass and leaflet are ripened.
This is tho Sabbath of tho year "in
which thou shalt do no work," and
nature is hushing her children to
Bleep. Distance draws softly near, and
watches and waits; even the winds are
hushed; everything Is still.
The prizes have been given out, ihe
recompense gathered, the rewards as
sured, the first fires lighted upon the
home hearths, the family gatherings
begun. Tho year is dying; its conflicts
ended, its victories won. Its opaline
mornings, its softened mid-days, its
golden evenings are but touches of
tender hands preparing it for burial.
The late lingerers of the flower world
the sturdy autumn flowers that
laugh at the frost touch, are part of
the pagaentry, and only when Novem
ber etrips the' world of its magnificence
will they bow their heads and fade
Into the whitish-brown rags that
strew the beds where nature's child
ren have sunken to sleep.
tho school or "meeting" house is tho
only relaxation from work and its
worry, that we find tho sunken cheek,
the leaden eye, tho wrinkled brow,
and gonorally hopeless, discouraged
appearance which ages one faster than
the fullest years should do.
Monotony of scenery, the awful
sameness of duties, tho clock-like re
currence of tho merely physical tasks,
unrelieved by even that detestation of
tho city woman tho continuous calls
of various "agents," all tend to hasten
decay, "and thus women grow old, not
only in face and form, but in fact.
When the .country woman's surround
ings or domestic duties are uncon
genial, or whoro she has "missed the
beautiful and lost tho true" by con
tracting an undesirable marriage, she
has nothing to turn to, in order to
satisfy her starving spirit, so she must
neods feed upon her own heart, and
thus, literally die, long before the
fleshly end comes. There are breaks
from bad usage, and the rust of des
pair enters into the very heart of her
being.
On tho other hand, her city sister, in
like circumstances, finds many outside
interests not always of the most de
sirable; but she finds them, and feeds
upon them, and sometimes she con
tracts a moral dyspepsia thereby, end
ing in spiritual ruin. But, even though
she sin, she does not grow hopelessly
old, for "tho wages of sin is death"
not old ago or imbecility.
One of the greatest works the now
order of intelligence is bringing about
Is that women are now supplied with a
literature of their own, in their own
interests, and written by the broad
minded, deeply sympathetic and earn
est workers of their own sex. They
may read now, or gather themselves
together for mutual improvement; and
it is no longer a cause for social ostra
cism for a woman to lay down the
dish cloth or needle, to take up more
congenial weapons with Which to fight
in the battle for bread. And the
woman who has learned to think for
herself, when she comes to understand
the laws of being and her amenability
thereto, will rear better sons and
daughters; will recognize the fact that
man is her mate-not master and own
er ana sne will grow to understand
the beauty of the arrangement which
God himself instituted when "in tho
beginning" male and female created
he them companions and co-workers
in the wonderful world in which his
love had placed them.
Woman's Awakening:.
The woman who is always younc.
always ready for tho work before her,
is the one. who lceeps in touch with
the times; who studies tho topics of
tho hour and intorests herself in the
affair? of tho day. To her, life is
something more than an existence.
She believes in tho balancing of the
mental with the physical; tho exercise
of the spiritual, as well as the flehly
functions. In. the rush, and hurry of
life in the., city, wo find mothers of
grown children, and often grand
mothers, still young in looks, and, save
in actual years, tho contemporaries of
country women not yet out of their
twenties.
While few things ago a woman faster
than hard, physical labor, and tho
worry consequent thereto, yet tho
mental inactivity of tho average wom
an contributes very largely to tho
same results. It is in the country vil
lages and, especially in farming com
munities, where tho one weekly gath
ering and not always even that at
ings. As a roward for care-taking
promise them articles of a better grade,
and bo sure to keep your promise.
Children, like grown-up folks, like to
work for a reward, and developing tho
care-taking habit in any ono line, will
develop it in others. Make them un
derstand that saving means more than
dollars and cents, for comfort and
cleanliness is also to be considered, as
well as possession of a plentiful sup
ply. Once a child is accustomed to tho
constant use of tho handkerchief, and
the consequent comfort of cleanliness,
11 will not like to dispense with it
Beautiful Homes.
There Is no way in which tho ex
ternal attractiveness of the home may
bo so perfectly and permanently en
hanced, at so little expense of money
and labor, as by tho planting of hardy
ornamental shrubs, herbaceous peren
nials and bulbs. It requires good soil,
planting in tho first place, and train
ing in the most effective shape of such
as do not by natural growth, develop
into beautiful forms. Once estab
lished, these generally take care of
themselves, though, like everything
else, reasonable care-taking pays. Oc
tober and November is a good time to
set out most of them, that the roots
may be "setting their house in order"
for top growth when spring comes.
After planting, the grounds should
be kept in neat condition. A certain
amount of protection should be given
them the first winter, and grass and
weeds should not be allowed to choke
them down the first sunlmer. Hardy
shrubs may be so chosen that one
may have blossoms from frost to frost,
while the perennials herabecous plants
and bulbs send up bloom stalks from
the latest snows of spring, even down
to the earliest snows of winter.
Nothing will give a beauty lover so
much uninterrupted satisfaction- as the
care of these beautiful accessories to
the home grounds.
Holland Bulbs.
The Dutch growers are particular
not to allow any manure to touch their
bulbs; they rest in clear, sharp sand,
with which they are also covered. Un
derneath the sand is put a foot of the
riches material. The sand serves, to
protect tho bulb from the attack of
worms a"nd insects; its sharpneess
hinders their approach. It may be
wise for us to remember this in plant
ing other bulbs beside hyacinths and
46032385s. Do not neglect to put out your
bulbs soon, for tho best results.
School Handkerchiefs
Among the very necessary school
furnishings for tho child, at this sea
son of the year, should be a goodly
supply of handkerchiefs. As the little
folks are very llaDle to drop, mislay
or lose this article, the material
should bo considered from the point
of quantity rather than that of qual
ity, except that ,they should be soft,
and comfortable to use. A dozen can
be had at the department stores for a
few cents, or they can be made at,
homo from any scraps of bleached
cheese-cloth, soft lawns, or even old
muslins and worn white goods.
A good material for this use is the
cheap, wide lawns and bleached
cheese-cloths, which may be had at
from 5c to 10c per yard, and one yard
of either will make eight handker
chiefs. The cheap figured lawns, "sure
to fade," and sold at two to four cents
per yard, may be used, as one or two
washings or boilings leave, the ma
terial soft and white. Hem these neat
ly, and mark each child's set with
his or her own "mark," and hold each
pne responsible for their own bolong-
Ornamental Climbers.
The Virginia creeper ampelopsis
quinquefolia is just now, October 1st,
arrayed in all its beauty. No tree or
shrub will give for a brief season such
a display of color, from bronze green
to blood red, bright scarlet, orange
and yellow. It is perfectly hardy,
can be propogated from layers, or
slips, as it roots readily. It climbs by
tendrils, or by twining, in the do
mesticated vino, while the wild "five
leaved ivy" clings by rootlets. It
must not be confounded, in the Tvild
state, with the three-leaved poison oak
vine. Tne ivy is as harmless as it is
beautiful.
Bignonia Radlcaus, the Trumpet
flower, Is another old favorite, with
bright, orange scarlet, trumpet-shaped
flowers, perfectly hardy, will grow any
where, easily propagated from slips,
layers, or pieces of root. Its foliage
is fine, summer and autumn, and its
bunch of unopened buds are as lovely
as its expanded flowors.
Tho old "matrimony vine," of our
grandmother's garden, still holds its
own; will grow and flourish any
where; small purple flowers followed
by brilliant scarlet fruit, nearly an
inch long on well nourished vines
and crowding the lone:. todrll-uirA
I limb, are very attractive. This does
not "climb' but must be fastened un
as It grows. It makes a remarkably
attractive growth when trained on
walls or fences.
There is nothing than can take the
place of the hardy cimatics and won
derful rose climbers, after they are established.
For tho Lunch Basket.
Powder and rub to a paste the hard
boiled yolks of eight eggs; add two
tablespoonfuls of melted butter, a salt
spoonful of salt, and a dash of cay
enne, if liked. Mix, and spread on
slices of buttered bread.
Boil fresh egg-i for twenty minutes,
drop them in cold water, remove the
shells and lay the eggs in a stone jar.
Fill a bag with a few cloves, mace and
nutmeg, -and put Into a porcelain ket
tle with sufficient vinegar to cover tho
eggs, bring to a boil, skim, and pour
over the eggs. Ready for use in three
days.
For chicken sandwiches; take cold
boiled or roasted chicken, chop fine.
To every cupful of chopped meat add
two tablespoonfuls of melted butter, a
salt-spoonful of salt, and a dash of
white pepper; mix until smooth.
Spread on thin slices of buttered bread
and put two slices together.
Slice into very thin pieces, about a
quarter of a pound of good, fresh
cheese, let stand on the stovo for a
very few minutes, after adding butter
about the size of half an egg, with a
little salt and pepper. Sprinkle cracker
dust, 'stirring until the desired con
sistency is reached. Cut in squares for
biscuit
Remove seeds from dates and re
place with freshly roasted peanuts,
shelled and skinned, dust with pul
verized sugar, arid roll in tissue paper.
For nice crullers, tako nine table
spoonfuls of granulated sugar, and
four tablespoonfuls of melted butter;'
beat well together, then add three well
beaten eggs, two heaping teaspoonsful
of baking powder, one teacupfu'l of
sweet milk, one level teaspoonful of
salt, half a small grated niitmeg. Mix
with flour, just stiff enough to roll
nicely on board; cut as cookies, with
hole in center, fry in hot, sweet lard.
When slightly cool, roll in powdered
sugar.
I "
A Nutritious Breakfast Dish.
Take ono pint of cleaned, sound
wheat; wash the wheat through sev
eral waters and pick out all cockle
and other foreign seed; cover to tho
depth of an inch with- slightly salted
water and put to cook in a double
boiler. If you have not a double
boiler, put the wheat in a tin pail
large enough to allow for swelling,
cover tightly and set pail in a vessel
of boiling water; as the wheat grains
swell, add water to it as needed. Keep
boiling until thoroughly done. When
done, the grains will be round in
stead of oblong, and most of them will
have burst open.
Serve cold, with creom and sugar, or
buttar and sugar, as one may prefer.
It is a specific for indigestion, consti
pation and dyspepsia. It is much moro
nutritious than oats in any form, as
wheat contains all the elements neces
sary to a perfect food. '
When thoroughly done, the wheat
should bo nearly dry.
Washing: Flannels.
Flannels must always be washed
separately from the other clothing, as,
otherwise, they do not receive the care
and attention necessary to make them
perfect. When the other washing is
out of the way, cut into shreds a pound
of good soap. Put it into a clean sauce
pan vfth two quarts of water, and set
il on the fire until the soap is dis
solved. Let stanM until the following
day, when it should bo a jelly. Two
tubs, or pails, must be filled with wa
ter as liGt as tho hands can bear. Into