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The Commoner.
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I often think, when loving lips
To music's soul is giving voice,
And tender melodies out-flow,
How those that hear them must rejoice.
Twould wake my gratitude, I know,
As of the blind, restored to sight;
And yet, they seem the draught to
drink
As though each note was their's
by right
I catch a ripple, now and then;
It thrills my soul, then melts away;
The silence might rebellion wake
If designation did not say:
Keep this dear comfort in thy mind
Though deaf, thou art not halt nor
blind."
For others I can freely feel,
And gladly strive to save them pain;
To further, if I may, their weal,
I all my selfishness restrain.
From social throngs I often shrink
Though such would pleasure bring
to me
Because it Is a pain to feel
That I, unwittingly, might be
A weary trial, or a tax
On patience, strength or courtesy;
Or, hearing not, may seem to be
Lacking in sense or modesty.
And so I bear my load alone,
Nor add to life one jarring tone.
Ah, I have seen, In days gone by,
What gave me pain, but not offense,
And wakened many a heavy sigh
A smothered laugh at my expense.
And some of those who sport could
find
In my misfortune, me perplex,
(And who forgot I was not blind)
Were of the gentler, tender sex.
It grieved me much; it pained me
sore;
It shamed me from them for all
time;
And yet, the burden which I bear
Misfortune is, yet is not crime.
I pray that heaven these mav save
From pains and stings such as they
gave.
5 am not super-sensitive;
My burden does not weigh me down;
The cup is mine, and I must drink;
Why should I shudder, shrink or
frown?
I cannot shun it, if I would;
Twas sent me by the hand Divine;
I would not shun it, if I could
T is best, else it would not be mine.
This is a truth with all life's ill3,
In fortune's frown or cold reverse,
Tis best to bear what heaven wills,
Nor deem the hardest fate a curse.
Life's richest blessings, deep-disguised,
Lie oft, unwelcomed, 'neath our eyes.
And oftentimes, the joys we crave
And cry for, In our puny might,
Would be for us the deepest wrong
Would lead our steps to darkest
night
One path alone our feet must tread
One fitted load our shoulders bear;
One holds our hands who cannot
stay
One loving voice we all may hear
A voice that calls, from out the
shade
"Lo!" It is L Be not afraid."
Selected.
It Is only necessary to state that they
f appeared originally in the columns of
tne Home Department of The Com
moner. Now, friends, we have no ob
jections to your copying whatever you
find good in these columns; in fact,
we rather like it; and I try to give you
something worth copying in every is
sue. But, don't you think It would
look better, instead of "running it in,"
in a "written for this paper" style, if
you would quietly tack onto the clos
ing sentence the fact that the article
was from The Commoner? H. W.
McY.
RabberSkccttar
A very useful thing to have about
the house, whether for baby's bed or
in time of sickness, is a square of
lubber sheeting. Do not make the
mistake of getting a cloth of inferior
grade because of the difference in price
of a few cents. Especially In this is
"the best the cheapest," as an inferior
grade will allow dampness to soak
through and stain or ruin your mat
tress. A sheet one yard square should
not cost more than a dollar or from
that to two dollars at the very high
est It is usually kept by the drug
gists; and may be found at the large
department stores, but It Is best to
get It of some reliable firm dealing
exclusively in such goods. The white
is the nicest looking for use about a
bed. It should always have a soft
pad, made as one makes a bed com
fort, of the requisite size, spread over
it beneath the ordinarv Kht Tho
pad and bed sheet can "thus be aired
ana washed, and. the rubber sheeting
should be given an occasional tmnk
scrubbing with very hot water and
anea in the sun, thus keeping the
bedding sweet and odorless. Nothing;
is more reprehensible than to allow
baby to lie in a bad smelllnz bed.
when a little care and smnii -rnanca
would keep him sweet and comfort-
auiC JLIie Sneeunff 15 R Ci-TMf Annron
lence In cases of sickness, preventing
the absorption by the mattress of the
bad smell and perspiration of fever
patients. It is also a very satisfactory
thing to have with you in visiting
overnight at a friend's, as most house
keepers have a dread of strange babies
occupying their "company" beds. For
the baby's special use, in going about,
there is nothing more satisfactory to
the mother than a napkin, or over
drawers, made of good rubber, to slip
on the young child, thus protecting her
own, as well as the baby's clothing.
Such a garment can be had at small
cost This, however, should not be
worn constantly, or It will cause too
much heat, causing much discomfort
to the little one.
Crt to Waam Craatt te Dm
fme our sIster exchanges pub
lish good articles. I know they are
ood, because I wrote them, myself.
As a further guarantee of their worth,
A Ward af Catttlaa
It is not always best, or even advis
able, to give too much credence to
recipes found floating about In the
columns of newspapers. What may
work well In one case, may do great
harm in another. Again, passing
through many hands, in copying from
one to another, alterations, uninten
tional or careless, are frequently made
the addition, omission or substitu
tion of a letter or letters, word or
words whereby Ingredients, propor
tions, or directions Tor mixing or us
ing, may be materially changed ren
dering the effect extremely problem
atic. An experienced, observing per
son will usually see at a glance that
something Is wrong, and may ba skill
ful enough to rectify the mistake; but
usually these are the persons that will
let it alone; it is with the inexperi
enced and thoughtless that harm gen
erally takes place. In making use of
even correctly given recipes, one
snouia remember that every person
has individual peculiarities; sometimes
these peculiarities amount to idiosyn
racies, and these demand care and at
tention In their treatment, or there
will be trouble. Every physician
knows this, and governs himself ac
cordingly. Especially should one be
careful in trying medical recipes. A
case in point is that of a lady who
was recommended by her physician to
drink of a certain well-known and
harmless herb tea; but upon doing
so, its action was that of a strong
poison. Another person, by his phy
sician's advice, applied Iodoform to a
simple cut, and was made to suffer
greatly by a severe Inflammation and
blistering of the surrounding parts,
which cost him much pain and many
dollars before it healed. The trouble
was no doubt caused by some tempo
rary derangement of the functions of
the skin, at the-time.
Ap
is
a
Oaery Box
A. P. Sorry I cannot aid you.
ply to some music dealer, if it
song.
M. E. R. See article in another col
um on Farm Sanitation, etc Hope
they may aid you,
Pauline W. The recipes were pub
lished in The Commoner of date May
15. Thanks for same and for kind
words.
"Daughter Violet" Answered you
by mail, sending sample copy of help
ful magazine. Wish you success.
B. M. J. Sent recipes. Do not think
I can Insure the finished product to
be "like those the stores keep," but
the recipes are by experienced house
wives. Reader. Thanks for kind words and
suggestions. Will give the "talks"
soon, and also recipes wanted. Hope
we sent you The Commoner contain
ing recipe wanted: if not wrifa 9ratn
specifying particularly.
Lillian. Good breeding demands
that, while you are in the house of
your friend, you should treat her
other guests politely, even though you
may not like them. The acquaintance
may end with the occasion, if you so
choose.
Weak Arms. There Is a bread-making
machine on the market, but, from
personal experience, I know nothing
of Its merits or demerits. I do not
know of any one who has used it, but
have seen and read its advertising
matter. The price, I believe. Is about
?12. It might be an expensive experi
ment Tillie. There are quite a number of
steam cookers on the market, and
wnere one wishes to save fuel, and
has a large family to cook for, I should
think the use of one might be a sav
ing; but for a small family, where fuel
Is no object as it certainly is not with
you, living in the woods, I am not so
euro that I would advise Its purchase.
5v 7 convenient, however, for
other things than cooking.
Young Cook. After dressing and
ISSSy y?Ur ?cken ae will be
sufficient for two diners), boil or
steam it until tender, take the meat
from the -bones and season with Den
Pfr and salt; line a deep pSto
biscuit pan with a rtrn mZn SZzJz:
put into this the prepared chlckenTand
VOLUME 3, NUMBER 29.
over It tionr rht - .
stewed (ad whiTh shouIdT 5 IT
down to a pint or less) or ,f L J1
the gravy which drpedfrTA
several lumps of butter an7a Li
We of flour; cover with riVbSj
dough, rub butter over it and S
from half u . " and bal.o
wuuee quanere of an ho ir
m lUre ? have S enugh? mo t
chicken pies are too dry. ' 0jt
Earnest Allia-For sauce for boll
fish, take one teacupful of sweet milk
and one of water; put in a doub
--, x in tt laoiespoonful of flour
(previously wet up with a little cold
water); add two or three beaten eggs
season with salt and pepper, a little
celery seed, tablespoonful of vinegar
and three tablespoonfuls of butter.
Boll four or five eggs hard, take off
the shells and cut in slices and lav
over the dish; then pour the sauco
orer and serve.
Tessie. Dry ingredients, such as
Hour, sugar, ground spices, and soda
rtates to the contrary. A tablespoon
lul of unsifted ;flour will measure al
most twice as much, after sifting, iu
measuring dry material, a spoonful
means that whatever is measured
should round up as much above the
spoon as the bowl is beneath. A cup
ful is an even cupful, levelled off, not
shaken down. Measuring cups may
now be had in glass, tin, aluminum,
agate, cr porcelain-lined.
Housewife. For cream nectar, take
one gallon of boiling water, four
pounds of granulated sugar, and five
ounces of tartaric acid; mix; beat the
whites of three eggs, and pour Into a
bottle with a little of ihn cm cT,Qt-a
briskly, and then nour it into tha .
tie of syrup and stir thoroughly. Boil
three minutes, removing the skum as
it rises; flavor with any preferred ex
tract, and bottle for use. When wanted
for use, take two or three tablespoon
fuls of the syrup to a tumbler of ice
water, and one-half teaspoonful of
baking soda.
Short Talk
Should baby's delicate skin become
chafed, which is apt to be the case
during hot weather, unless great care
is exercised in the matter of cleanli
ness, the parts should be gently
washed with warm water and a little
pure castile soap made into a suds
and squeezed over the raw surface
from a sponge until perfectly clean,
then dried by softly pressing and pat
ting with a soft absorhintr rint-h Ber
ing over it when dry talcum powder or
a little sifted corn starch. Do not
neglect this, as the baby suffers greats
ly at times, because of it
0 O
For the woman who must cook her
own dinner, preside at table, answer
the door-bell, meet her callers at the
door, and yet preserve a semblance of
tidiness, while compelled to- dress ac
cording to her work, a high-neck,
long-sleeve apron, reaching quite to
the bottom of her gown and covering
It completely, would be a sensible gar
ment Make it of linen, gingham,
calico, sateen, or any suitable wash
material, and, if liked, it may be
prettily trimmed. This will serve to
protect the dress, and Is easily slipped
on and off at a moment's notice. An
other way, which may be preferred,
would be & full-length, full-skirted
apron, gored, or gathered into a band,
buttoning at the back, with & pair of
calico over-sleeves to reach above the
elbows and -kept In 'place above and
below the elbow by elastic bands,
either separate, or run in sheerings in
the ends of the sleeves. The apron
should have a largo bib In front Pa
per patterns for these cost but 10
cents.
00
very pretty and .serviceable dishes
Mr holdlnr left wmto ealarta miH!.
jellies, fruits, souffles, 'sherbets, pies.