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The Commoner.
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VOLUME 4, NUMBER 45
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Christmas Ev
Mother kissed each little nursling,
With caresses, laughter-light,
"Go to sleep now, children," said she;
"Santa Claus will come tonight.
And remember now, no peeping
Santa Claus detests a spy,
And if you would have full stockings,
Ho must find no wakeful eye." -
Patting down each dainty pillow,
Tucking in the blankets white,
Mother, laughing, chatters softly,
Kisses them, and calls good-night
And the children, glad, expectant,
Call goodnight adown the stair;
Mother's heart is like her children's
Lightsome, loving, free from care.
Then they whisper for a moment,
But the white-winged angel, Sleep,
Presses down each snowy eyelid,
Steeps their souls in slumber deep.
And when silence fills the chamber,
Through the softly-opened door, '
Grandma comes, soft-stepping, slowly,
Laden with a precious store.
Fills with lavish hands' ne stockings
Swelled and bulging, Ril the row,
Toy and sugar-plum and riti;e,
;Ori the1-carpet overflow '
Thenrwhen all is ready Waitfyg,. (l t,
For the morning's mercy , gjee, ,
Grandma "bends above itye peepers,
KlsseS each, most te'n'der'ly; V . ,"'
Prays for them, as pra,y The jnpthers
Who have kissed ,frfl Wintered
.cross; ' .
Who; have caught the glory-gleaming
Or the crown beyond the crpss. ,,t
Then sne opes a close-shut drawer,
Takes from it a package white,
Softly draws away the wrappings,
Lays her treasures in the light.
Just a baby's silken stocking; , tj, .,
Just a tihy, wrinkled shoe; j , .'
ust a velvet cap and mittens,
'Anil a Huffy scarf of bhie, . "
Many years have drifted o'er her
'Since she wrapped her treasures so
Since her heart broke o'er' the baby
ii-irsc to come, ana nrst to go.
When her- life was new and sunny,
This 'great shadow o'er her fell,
And through years of pain and sorrow
She has learned to say, "'Tis well."
So she folds the shoe and stocking
In their wrappings, silver-white.
Kisses them and whispers .softly,
"Safe within the fold, tonight",
But the little cap and mittens
Pressed to lip and cheek and, brow, ''
Blinding -tears upon them falling-
Where is he who wore them, iow?
Tossing o'er life's stormy ocean?'
Swirling In the maelstrom's migbt?
Far from love, and home, and harbor;
Will he lose the beacon-TightY
Little fluffy scarf 't was Girlie's--
Girlie, now a matron grown;
O'er her path, no frost has fallen;
Only fragrant flowers have'.growh,
Grandma wraps again the' parcel
Kissed it, as we kiss our dead; '
" 'For His Name's sake,' Hd has prom
ised ' V
I.Will trust Him still," she said, '
H. W. 'M;
less and the "good will toward men"
that ripens hearts for noble deeds of
loving kindness and active charities in
the broadest sense of the words. To
many it can not be a "merry Christ
mas," yet let. us hope that it may be
a comfortable one, full of broad sym-
lUULuiua uau nopeiui enueuvura. xte-
mdmber that all poverty is not of the
purse, and that to the hungry-hearted,
kind words and companionship are
more precious than pearls. Gifts are
of many kinds, and few of the most
appreciated have a money value. Give;
but let the giving bo done in loving
kindness and according to your means.
A kind word, a touch of tenderness, a
show of sympathy, a cordial hand
clasp, a note of remembrance sent out
across the dividing distance all these
are more precious than silver or gold.
Nothing satisfies t&e heart so much as
appreciation. May your holiday, season
be a happy ope. Look for the bright
side. ... .
Christmas Greeting
To our thousands' of ' readers, " wo
send cordial greetings attdslncere good
wishes. .May the deaT'-'dhrist-child
spirit enter, in atyour 'door' 'and abide
with you through 'coming "Qrfyg. ' May
it bring to you the peac3 tnt is price-
Odds and Ends
' A jnarrdw strip of cream colored
canvas was (converted in to. a wall. pock
et, of five .compartments, and decorated
with cross-stitch design in two shades
of red, black, and green, with; heavy
morcerized t cotton. It hancs under
neath, .the-bedroom mantel, and holds
snoestpjngs,, corset laces, wastt,,rib
hons; tapes,, etc. In the kitclien is a
good ,si4ed'Twall pocket made Qf.vgreen
art linen, that was a sofa pillow, coyer
when new, .16 hold house cloths. On
the same wall is a similar case of
green denim for papers, magazines,
etc., for reading during the intervals
of cooking. On the pantry door a bag
of ticking showing 46032385s on a cream
ground,, holds wrapping paper, neatly
folded. Some pretty flowered ticking
made a trunk .cover, another, piece cov
ered a large box for patches. A piece
of white flannelette with, black dots,
was fashioned into a broad, shallow
bag with drawstrings, to hold all
scraps of embroideries and laces, all
neatly rolled. Silkoline of Oriental de
sign made a neat bag, for holding tapes,
braids, narrow laces, finishing braids,
whalebone casings, etc. To hang un
der the lid of the sewing machine, for
catching scraps instead of letting them
fly at random about the room, is one
of the well-known bags with an em
broidery 'Hoop in its mouth, or opening.
One of like design may be used as a
receptacle for soiled collars and hand
kerchiefs, that one ofton wlahoa rf
to go with the reguar wash, and one
of smaller size and dainty material
makes a.pretty hair receiver. Vnn win
.probably find material also, for a nice
sewmg-Dag, a, uarnmg bag and large
and small, embroidery bags. Pieces
from perpale, chambray and other
shirt wafets .were packed neatly and
sent to thc grandmother, whn taima
muoU pleasure in making quilts for
her numerous; grandchildren, t hum
not' mentioned the use of silk patches.
oiii iw uugo uj. vuuuua lunas, and
I would send the Surplus to some
friend who is interested in the making
of rugs, portieres, or something of that
kind, as large quantities can be used
in that way and it is not worth while
to.sjart with a limited amount. Sev
oraj, bunches of, ribbon remnants pur-
cnasea jn a largo department store
can easily be , used in making these va
rious articles, also a box of assorted
sewing sUks,, which come ln,thocheap
grades; .Mcary, other articles Vxwuld be
often take pleasure in conjuring some-
uung useiui out or a given piece ot
matorial. never being satisfied until i
feel sure the result will be worth while.
In that way my time is not wasted, and
someone is benefited. Selected.
Christmas Giving
In Twentieth Century Home, Eliza
beth, M. Gilmer says: "An exchance
for Christmas gifts, where you might
unload'Vour celluloid tokens of affec
tion, and wnere harassed young men
could swap off the nameless embroid-.
ered mysteries that their, feminine
friends send them for an honest gar
ment, would meet a long-felt want;
but these" things jmust be left to .the,
reformer. Surely, out of all this an
nual hurley-burley and worry and anx
iety and confusion that leaves us
wrecked in health and nervies and
spent in spirit, there must be some ra-
tionai way. .Let's start an anti-ynrist-mas
crusade, and let's begin at the
fountain head of misery and abolish
the Christmas gift among e,ldjers. Let's
give our children less; let's have plain
er dinners and eat less; let's ven re-
.TTlOTYl'hQ'n lm fmrvn nftonnn A-rir? nni. 1nl
uvaaivv mu I'uui Ulisuu, CIU.U UVk UUl
.so much in that chaTity wtylch bestows,
turkevri on the twent.v-fiffh,n,'fWprn
,ber and leaves the needy to starve the
neace on eartli1 hnr Ancr'wlfi Vnwnr1
men, but 'it 'Istf t In the3evdays when
the only Joyful thing about yChristmaa
a mf if ntroa V.nf nWnW oUSo r'
. w v 4,,r t
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Christmas Dooorctions (.
Christmas decorations are very gay
this season, -and many very loviely
things are very cheaD. with no find nf
designs and new inventions from Santa
uiaus land. Tinsel, cotton, wool, spun
glass tissue paper, scrap pictures, and
many other materials are liberally
used in the manufacture of all kinds of
attractions. The counters are bril
liant with shining things, while the
display windows are scraps of real
fairy-land. Spun-glass flowers and
fruits, baskets of tinsel and cotton,
ships of cotton with ribs and masts of
tinsel, sail under a spread of isinglass
canvas. Birds, butterflies, babies and
unnumbered other like lovely things
are shown; silver lilies with centers of
gilt tinsel, candle-holders of bell-like
flowers, with, crinkled petals, stars that
glitter like "the real things," scrap-picture
angels and heads of beautiful ba
bies nestled in the heart of exquisitely
shaped and colored flowers, all sorts of
impossible animals and ingenuous toys
it is a veritable fairy-land, lacking
not even the funny, old Santa Claus
himself, to make it the more beautiful
in sweet, childish eyes,
Qviry Box
Anxious. All ; animal oils used on
the face are said"to stimulate a growth
of hair thereon; vegetable oils are less
likely to do sol Ask your druggist
Housowifle. The conventional sup
ply of chairs for a bedroom is one side
chair and one low rocker, but others
chairs may be introduced.
Mrs. M. B. Materials and directions
for making Teneriffe wheels can be
purchased at almost any store dealing
in art or fancy-work materials.
Mrs. JJ. A good quality of, Floren
tine orris root can be had for about
ten cente an ounce, and "used alone
makes a delightful perfume for sachet
bags. Patronize a reliable4 druggist
- Reefle.raveuotite is a .pftcess, not
a cloth, and , s used to -repder fabrics
beu
make the ffaiySS yU caQ
Florist-Tho Mexican exhibit J
chids at the World's fair ,! i of or'
to Shaw's gi&estteft
particularly fine. No admS In V6t
charged at Shaw's garden ls
J. B. There were about linnnnnft
admissions to the World's fair SSI
at St. Louis, but thousands o?
were for the army of people entltK
free admission because of Sim
ployes, while other thousands wereZ
another army of people to whom tho
association extended, for various rea
sons, the courtesy of a "pass."
Mrs. Alice R. For a lavender sachet
for-your linen closet, take one pound
of dried lavender flowers, one ounco
of benzoid. half an ounce of oil of
lavender and one ounco extract of
musk; mix well, put in sachet bags and
lay among your linen.
Householder. Send for Farmer's
Bulletin No. 183 for information ie
garding" butchering, curing and pre
serving meats; also for Bulletin No
203 for household methods of putting
up fruits. The bulletins are free. Ad
dress Division of Publication, Depart
ment of Agriculture, Washington, D.
C.
.. , .Dressing Tho Baby
The 'temptation- with too many of
jus is td keep the baby in white clothes,
:no 'matter what its surroundings, and
'wliile.v the dear' little due does look
sweetidn "white, the'dvor-worked moth-ieiABfcouid'iseek-tb
lessen' her laundry'
iworlc byvdtessing hini in colors. Dear
'jlittlGlBrJgllteyes will look just as sweet
itoMfusyKand .we shall have more time
itarfadhiir'e him, if ' 'we' lay aside Iho
idaintyebcambrics' and 'muslins with
jtheitftidis'tractlng fUcSks, rufffes, lacw
jandiadmbroideries,- and replace them
(WithUfienslbld -colors-- and simpler trim
(mingsj3ifSo many of the new cotton
ifabrlcs, icalldoe and-feinghams in pret
ityidark colors, are now open to our'
choice and launder so daintily that the
luse of them will make a large differ
ence in the size of the laundry work
while in no wise detracting from the
baby's sweetness. If light gray ilannel
Skirts and ( drawers are combined with
the little colored dresses, a still great
er reduction may be effected, and they
may be trimmed' with worsted lace or
contrasting braids, making them quito
as pretty in their way as the white
ones, and a deal more comfortable to
the baby.
Governing Children
Headstrong children are plentiful
now-a-days, and it requires almost in
finite patienqe and wisdom to guide
intp safe channels their self-will. We
are told that "to spare the rod is to
spoil the child,!' and sometimes forco
is right and necessary, but more often
it isn't. Much depends on the temper
ament of the child, as to the Hind ot
restraint that should be placed upon
it, and wliat will be "good" for one
child will do infinite harm to another.
There .are many ways to punish a
child, when there is need of it, other
than by whipping. bii in whatever tho
punishment may (Sdnsist, one should
firmly impress upon the child's imnu
that it must yield 'obedience to your
guidance. One thing must absolutely
be avoided that is, telling the ch id
an untruth. Let it know it can de
pend upon your word, and that, if you
promise it a thing even if that tiling
be a punishment-Tit will get it. If yJ
lie to your child, how can you punisa
it when it lies to you? Qnco let tno
fact that you' are. Untruthful become
clear to the child, and you lose its re
spect .and confidence.; it .will not be
lieve .you: nor trust you implicitly
again. - ..
. j:.dolino,t know but that a strong J J
is one of the best endowment a cnu
n.tfir Q wAttifwili' cods as tne
mmibin; it can novel hold its own,
ill
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