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The Commoner.
8
VOLUME 3, NUMBER 20.
riemorlal Day.
Tho day of tho Nation's weeping
At tho feet of her soldier-dead,
These years, Is steadily creeping
By winding paths that led
To a rite o a broader meaning
Than a pageant of war that waves
Its banners, with slant arms leaning.
Only at soldiers' graves.
I follow no black-draped banner;
I step to no throb of drum;
t take not your martial manner,
Armisonous ranks, that como
Prom crowded streets of the city,
In swaying, glittering lines,
To tho place of our sorrow and pity
In tho pall of tho sighing pines.
But I walk with arms that are folded
Over my burdened breast,
And the print of my feet is molded
In tho dust of my soul's unrest
I gather no gaudy garlands
Of rose, or lily, or vino;
For the meadows of memory's star
land Are dotted with dandelion.
I carry these common flowers
Because they wero loved of my dead;
A blossoms for each of tho hours
That flow o'er each sunny head;
Recalling the sweet, sago prattle
Of thoso two little soldiers of mine,
That foil In tho edge of tho battle
On Babyhood's skirmish line.
Strange prattle that fell as thunder
Falls out of a cloudless sky,
They silenced mo with dumb wonder
Till I saw them enshrouded lie.
TWo angels of God sped upward,
Away from my yearning sight;
They walked but a little way with
me
They tarried for only a night.
I hallow this day of tho Nation,
Sot thus for her dead, alone;
To the mourning of every station
It has tenderly spread and grown.
And so, after drooping banners,
I walk, with a sorrowing tread,
With my treasure of golden flowers,
To lay on the graves of my., dead.
I, too, am va war-scarred vet' ran,
I follow tho wailing fife;
I am old and gray and broken,
Bruised by tho cruel strife.
I tottor with bowed, bent shoulders,
To kneel on tho hallowed ground;
I long for my little soldiers
I'm waiting for "taps" to sound.
H. W. Taylor.
ten the most unselfish and most affec
tionate of women who fall into this
state; they are too much devoted to
their families to give themselves
enough of any healthy exercise and
diversion, enough of resting spells and
needed naps, or to indulge in recrea
tions and amusements, such as the
atres, concerts, or social gatherings,
in tho enjoyment of which she might
bo ablo to, for tho moment, get away
from, and consequently forget her
treadmill environments until her
overwrought nerves havo had time for
relaxation.
It is not best to blame a woman for
every shortcoming. A great part of
tho time, from too great nervous
strain, sho is rendered absolutely ir
responsible for her mental condition,
and the husband who will stop to
think of it, and act upon the result
of tho thinking, will greatly better the
home affairs if ho will preserve his
own good temper, and endeavor to
soothe, rather than t6 further irritate
the already abnormally excited ner
vous system. Ex.
In tin cans, so there will be no air
spaces, and solder tho cans. Make
a small hole in tho lid to let out the
air; set the cans in warm water and
raise tho temperature in the cans by
bringing the water in which they are
set to a brisk boil for -a few minutes,
and drop a bit of solder on the hole,
closing it, and set away in a cool,
dry cellar.
Mock Egg Plant Take fresh young
crook-necked summer squash; slice as
you would egg plant, without peeling;
roll or dredge tho slices well with
cornmeal; have your lard in tho
skillet frying hot, tmd lay the slices
of squash in it When brown on the
under side, turn them and sprinkle
with salt and. pepper; when done,
serve hot The difference between
the real and tho imitation vegetable
can scarcely be detected.
vegetable or fruit, and you will bo
surprised at its efficacy.
A convenience for ironing day ia
made thus: Take a piece of smooth,
clean board, a foot long and six inches
wide. Over the lower half, tack a
piece of screen wire; at the other end
i wrap soverai tmcimesses of clean
tuuui, taciung aiong tne slues. Bora
a holo in one corner to hang it up by.
When using the flat-Iron on starched
clothes, rub on the. wire to remove
all starch, then rub face of the iron
with beeswax, polishing it on the
cloth-padded end, and you may thus
always have a clean iron, no matter
how sticky the starch is. When not
in use, hang up out of tho way. When
the pad gets burnt or scorched, tear
off and put on another.
Suggestions.
Trim off the superfluous linen
around articles having a button-holed
odge after, not before, laundering, as
washing the first time always causes
a little shrinkage and leaves a ragged
edge if the cutting-out process pre
cedes tho launderlnc.
Sofa pillow tops, colored linen cen
terpieces, and other embroidered ar
ticles which do not require washing
after the needle-work is completed,
should be spread out on a wide, thickly-padded
surface, with the wrong sido
up, covered with a thin white cloth
which has been wrung out of clear
water as dry as possible, and pressed
with a hot not scorching Iron phtifo
thoroughly dry and perfectly smooth
Never touch embroidery with an over
heated flat-iron.
Why She Naga.
A physician expresses tho opinion
that nine times out of ten tho woman
wlfo nags is tired. Ono time out of
ten she is hateful. Times out of mind
her t husband is to blame. The cases
that come under tho physician's eye
aro thoso of tho women who urn t.irnri.
and who havo been tired so long they
are suffering from some form of ner
vous disease. They think they aro
only tired, but, in fact, they are ill.
In such cases tho woman often suffers
more from her nagging than her hus
band or the children with whom sho
flnda fault. Sho knows he does it;
sho does not intend to do it; Bho suf
fers in her own self-respect when Bho
does it, and in the depth of her soul
longs for something to stop it
The condition Is usuallv hrnncrlit. cm
by broken sleep, improper food, want
qi some other oxerclse than house
i keeping, and enough outdoor air and
irucucai ODjectlvoNthlnking. It is of-
A Cleanslaff Fluid.
For cleaning men's clothes, the fol
lowing is a good fluid: Shaye two
ounces of good, pure soap; pour a pint
of boiling water over it, and after it
has dissolved, put in two ounces of
borax. Set aside until cool; then add
one ounce each of ether and alcohol,
and two quarts of water. Stir until
well mixed, put in jug and keep tight
ly corked. When you wish to take
out spots, or clean coat collars, etc,
mix one cup of water with a cupful
of the fluid, put the garment on a
clean, smooth loard or table and
scrub it thoroughly with a brush
dipped in-the suds. Change the water
as often as it gets dirty. Rinse with
clean water and hang up until nearly
dry, then cover with a thin cloth and
press dry.
A
For Light Kid Gloves.
Timely Recipes.
To Can Okra. One part of tomatoe3
to three parts of okra will supply
sufficient acid to make the okra keep,
but more will not hurt. If the flavor
is liked, onions may be added. -
A Good Tomato Sauce. To three
quarts of ripe tomatoes, add about
half pint of onions; season well with
pepper and salt, using red pepper.
Chop all together fine and cover with
pure vinegar. To.be made late in the
season. H. B.
String Beans. Strintr and hrenlr in
small pieces, and to one gallon of
beans add one teacupful of vinegar
and water to cover. Cook twenty
minutes. If the slight acid taste is not
liked, pour off the first water they
aro boiled in, cover again with slight
ly salted water, bring to a boil, pack
tightly in cans and cool. Mrs. H.
J. 13.
Green Beans. Choose tender young
beans, string and wash clean; boil n
salted water until just tender; have
jars perfectly clean and well aired.
To each quart of beans allow two ta
blespoonfuls of cider vinegar; put tin
vinegar in the jar and fill with the
hot beanjJ; allowing plenty of water to
stand on top. Pour boiling water
uver me covers ana lift them with
out touching tho inside; lay on the
jar and seal. Keep in a cool, dark
place. 0. S. G.
To Can Pumpkin. Pumpkins aro
difficult to can so they will keop, hut
delightful to have on hand. Cook tne
pumpkin as dry as possible without
scorching them, and pack very closely
Put the gloves on the hands and
wash with ga'soline until clean, rinss
in same, and let dry on the hands.
Gasoline must not be used where there
is the least spark of fire. It is well al
ways to do such work out of doors.
Another way: First rub with cream
of tartar, roll up and leave for an
hour; then rub with powdered alunr
and Fuller's earth in equal propor
tions. Next day, brush them unf.1
the powder is removed, and finish by
rubbing with dry oatmeal to which
has been added a little powdered whit
ing, afterwards wiping this off with y.
soft dry cloth.
In the Kitchen.
If you havo no large grater, make
one. Molt the seams of a tomato cau
or other large can straighten out
and lay on a smooth pine board. Take
a small wire nail and drive the tin
full of holes to within a quarter of an
inch of its sides. Take three nicp
smooth pieces of board two inches
wide and six inches longer than the
tin; place side border of the tin,
rough side up, on thQ edge of board
one on each side, with the tin half
inch over, and tack securely, leaving
threo inche above and below at ends.
Now tack the third piece on across
tho ends of tho lengthwise pieces for
a handle; this should not touch the
tin.
If you want a really good fruit or
vegotame, or even meat chopper, take
a tin can (a baking powder can of
suitable size will do), largo or small
as onb prefers. Make one large or
sevoral small holes in the closed end
for allowing the air to escape when
using; with tho open end, chop the
Query Box.
A Lover of Poems. Will do as ycu
request
Sybil, Olathe, Kas. Answered by
mail, as requested.
Carloy M., Dutton, Mo. To clean
coat collar, apply turpentine to tho
soiled places, let dry and apply morp,
several times; then, gently scrape of?
the loosened dirt Wet again and
scrape, repeating until all the spots
have been removed.
H. B. M., Claysville, Pa. Senna is
a popular purgative, consisting of the
leaves of two species of Cassia; is a
native of many districts of Nubia; ia
also grown in Timbucto and Sokoto.
It is a very common article of com
merce, and can be supplied by any.
druggist, who will also tell you how
to prepare and use it.
Lois, Creston, la. Oil of Benne is
expressedfrom the seeds of the Sesa
mus Orfentale, or oil plant, of the
West Indies. Can be had of almost
any druggist. Is used in medicine and
also in making perfumes. When ii
doubt as to nature or use of drugs, as'c
your physician or druggist
Annie S. For common furniture, an
excellent polisher and cleaner is kero
sine (coal oil). Wet old gingham or
calico rags quite wet with the oil and
rub briskly. It soon dries, and takes
every particle of dirt off. Be sure to
rub perfectly dry, leaving no oil on
the wood. Polishing with anything
means work.
"Poultry Farmer's Wife," Gueydan,
La, In The Commoner of date Jan.
23, Vol. 3, No. 1, is an article entitled
"Color in the Home," which, I think,
will answer your query. For hygienic
reasons, the kitchen walls should be
painted. Some light, cheerful color
will be best. It is always best, in ask
ing individual advice to enclose
stamped, addressed envelope for reply.
Annie M., Kansas City, Mo A'
useful, as well as dainty present for
your invalid friend would be an Eng
lish hot-water, or toddy tumbler. Tha
tumbler rests in light silver frame
with handle, and is accompanied by a
deep-bowled spoon. Hot water is
taken, now-a-days, by so many people
as a beverage, and is of such remedial
value that the custom should bo en
couraged. Mrs. L. M. A dairyman is respon
sible for the following, which you
might try: To test butter, take a lit
tle and rub it upon a piece of glass
and look through it towards the light
If tho smudgo forms a smooth blur,
the article is butter. If light, with
bright ppecks and spots through it, it
is oleomargarine;, these are crystals
of beef fat stearine. Pure lard may bo
tested in the same way; the lard will
make a smooth blur.
Beginner, Texas Co., Mo. Whites of
eggs are said to be "beaten stiff" when
you can turn the bowl that holds them
upside-down without their dropping
out; cut the mass of foam with a
knife, and if -it comes out clean, the
whites aro "stiff." To ho "beaten
dry ,'iwhip them until the mass cling
to the beater in a solid ball, when the
gloss leaves them, and the specks fly
, away from the beater. To "separate
?
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