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the Commoner.
VOLUME 5, NUMBER 31
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Little Myself-As-I-Used-To-Be
Mrs. Carrie Cosby Fulton o
Bardstown, Kentucky, has written
a beautiful little poem entitled
"Little Myself-As-I-Used-To-Be." A
resident of Bardstown, writing
to The Commoner, says that Mrs.
Fulton's poem is "a fitting com
panion piece for the little poem, 'The
Kingdom of Never-Grow-Old.'" Mrs.
Fulton's poem follows:
Sometimes, when the work of day is
done;
When the ebbing light from the west
is gone;
When the present loosens its fetters
fast,
And the freed heart leaps to its
longed-for past;
When the twilight gathers, and shad
ows grow deep;
Out from the silence will timidly
creep
A dear little girl whom I clearly
see
Littlo Mysclf-As-I-Used-To-Be!
She talks of her school-days, her les
sons, her toys;
Her dally duties, her daily joys;
Her holidays glad, when no work is
done;
Vacation-time with its frolic and fun;
Thanksgiving and Easter; the Christmas-tide;
With, stockings hung at the chlmnoy-
slde;
Laughing aloud, as she stands by my
knee
Little Myself-As-I-Used-To-Be!
Often she prattles of childish plays,
And the little friends of those by
gone days.
Some are wanderers, some grown old,
With weariness, labor and sorrow un
told; Some in life's joy, their youth yet
keep;
And some in the churchyard, are fast
asleep.
But she talks of them all, with child
ish glee
Little Myself-As-I-Used-To-Be!
Where goblins and witches yet weave
their spells;
Where mirth and laughter all clouds
dispel,
And troubles, like fairy tales, all end
well;
Her days are all bright ones; her
skies ever blue,
Her lovers are faithful, her friends
all are true.
Never a care nor a sorrow knows
she
Little Myself-As-I-Used-To-Be!
But sometimes sometimes she lifts
her eyes
To my face, with a kind of puzzled
surprise
"What have you done," she asks of
me;
"With my faith and my truth and my
purity?
With the trustful love for -God and
your kind,
Tliat I gave to you when you left me
behind?"
These are the questions she puts to
me
Little Myself-As-I-Used-To-Be !
"Oh, dear little girl" I answer low;
"I lost them all, long years ago.
Amid life's bustle, its heat and its
dust,
I lost your innocence, truth and trust;
And I found, at an hour when I need
ed them most,
Thaf your faith and your love were
also lost.
Little remains that you gave to me
Little Myself-As-I-Used-To-Be ! "
made by
peanuts,
Oh, fair is
dwells,
the world in which 3he
"But we'll both creep out of this life,
some day;
I tired of work; you tired of play;
And perhaps we'll find on that other
shore,
Things we have mourned as lost, be
fore ;
Simplicity, innocence, love and truth,
The trustful faith that belongs to
youth.
And, clothed, in these, through eter
nity N
I'll be Myself-As-I-Used-To-Be."
Floral' Notes
It is high time we were thinking
of our window garden for the winter.
It is well to take thought ahead of
the time of actual need of work, and
thus be ready to test our plans when
the time for work comes. In a shaded
veranda close to my little summer cot
tage is a bench, loaded with most
beautiful flowering begonias and other
window plants, and the owner of the
collection is busy rooting cuttings and
arranging other plants for her win
dows. The sight awakens within me
a longing for home, to which I shall
certainly hie me away in a very short
time. For I, too, have windows that
will look bare enough without the
green things growing, even though one
has not bloom.
One of these begonias is the B.
carried; the flowers are large, pro
duced 'in loose clustors, well above
the foliage, and of a waxy-white color,
sometimes flushed with pink. The
foliage is a dark, glossy green, dense
and handsome, but, as the plant is
nearly always in bloom, it is nearly
always partially hidden by the profu
sion of flowers. This is one of the
most thrifty, easily grown of the be
gonia family, and for the amateur's
window garden, is perhaps the best
of all the white-flowered sort.
Another old, strongly-recommended
member of the begonia family is the
old rubra. It likes a partial shade,
but in other respects tne same treat
ment that will succeed with a gera
nium will succeed with this begonia.
Clogged drainage and the least chill
of atmosphere must be avoided.
For "slipping" roses, get good sand
and insert slips that have been broken
not cut, from the bush in August.
Keep them in a pot the first winter
after starting. Keep the sand damp
for six weeks after planting the slijis,
but do not keep so wet as to rot the
slip. -The vessel containing the slips
should be kept in a warm place, but
must not be allowed to dry out.
A medium size blooming plant of
the gloxinia may be grown In a four
inch pot; a seven-inch pot will accom
modate three bulbs, and a ten-inch
pot, five bulbs. In potting, do not
cover tlu' bulbs; the crown must pro
trude above the surface.
Query Box
G-. P. Can not aid you.
Gracio G. -You are not clear in
stating what you want to know. Write
again.
Mrs. B. English long-cloth Is pre
ferred to muslin for underwear, nq it
J does not "yellow" from laundering.
jrt is inexpensive.
M. S.-KPeanut butter is
grinding fresh roasted
shelled and the brown skin removed,
in a nut grinder.
Allon The ridges on the finger and
thumb nails are caused by some mor
bid condition of the blood. Improve
the health.
M. R., G. L., and T. D. -You should
have sent stamped, addressed envel
opes as your queries are of interest
only to yourselves.
E. G. For a light lap robe, pale
bUie, tan and pink form a pretty com
bination of colprs. For a dark one,
the color tones may be red, gray and
medium blue.
J. S. Wishes the address of some
one who can reduce enlarged finger
joints. Will some one send address
of such person to the Homo depart
ment? Mrs. M. Elderly ladies with clear
complexions and some color look well
in gray. A, sallow woman must not
wear gray about her' face. A touch,
of magenta, or other bright color, is
desirable.
Mrs. H. Old ladies now wear very
bright colors, and they need them
much more than younger women do.
Yes, indeed, try to look as nice as
possible.
Emma S. Use salicylic acid and
white vaseline, equal portions of each,
to whiten the neck, apply at night and
wash off in the morning with soap
and warm water. This will gradu
ally take off the skin, so you must use
a little cold cream after each wash
ing. Beria All the laws of etiquette re
quire one to refrain from in any way
attracting attention while in public.
A well-bred person will suffer a great
deal of discomfort rather than make
herself conspicuous.
Hattie S. -The hair should be
washed twice a month; the scalp kept
clean at all times, or the hair will
lose its gloss. (2) Use almond -meal
instead of soap. Take in the palm,
moisten, and apply to the hands and
.face just as soap is used.
Elsie Use one color of your silk
for the head-rest, and the other piece
tor a ruffle for the same. Make your
rest about fifteen inches long, and
fold your eighteen inch piece of silk
and sew up the ends after basting the
ruffle, cut on the bias, round the four
sides. Inside place the soft pillow.
Hang by cords at each corner.
Mrs. C. The- klmona is intended
only to be worn in the dressing room
or for lounging. A simple white dress
of short length may be worn on the
street as an afternoon gown. White
shoes and stockings are worn for
house and street wear. A gown which
has a "dressed up" party look should
not be worn on the street.
"Ignorance." I quote you an autho
rity on etiquette: "A man or woman
who is perfectly aware of the nroner
thing to do in certain cases, does not
always wait to be introduced before
speaking, if there is no one present
to perform the introduction, where
the two may know one another per
fectly well without personal acquaint
ance. In such cases, it is excusable
for one to make overture by introduc
ing himself, and mentioning the fact
that he is acquainted by sight and
reputation, or by the recommendation
of mutually esteemed friends."
jar of lemonade to have a bitter taste
The jar should be one of the self'
sealing, screw top jars. Fill it with
alternating layers of sliced lomon and
sugar; put on the rubber and the lid
and set it in the coolest place pos
sible until morning. When the lunch
eon is ready, pour out the sweetened
juice and add water and ice. This
is an excellent method of preparing
lemonade for expected afternoon com
pany, saving much time ana consid
erable trouble in having the lomon
and sugar ready for immediate use
without the trouble of squeezing or
mixing.
Put a handful of cracked ice into
a tin shaker; into this squeeze the
juice of four lemons and add a gen
erous cupful of sugar. Powdered
sugar is best. Shake until the sugar
is thoroughly dissolved. Pour it into
the pitcher and add from one to two
quarts of water. The flavor of this
lemonade may be vastly improved hy
the addition of orange or pineapple
juice, or the' sliced fruit, although or
dinary lemonade is most relished hy
many people.
Summer Beverages
Lemonade' for the picnic should be
prepared at home the night before.
The peel and every seed must be re
moved, as a few seeds left in the
slice of lemon will cause the whole
The Baby
Do not forget the baby, dear moth
ers, now that we are so near the bor
der line of the year. Remember to
clothe the little limbs In the cool
early morning or the chilly evening,
even though the extra cloth
ing must be removed in the heat of
the day. The light flannel underwear
must be ready at hand, to be put on
at a moment's notice, for baby is sen
sitive to the change in the atmos
phere, and, having "no language but
a cry," can not voice his wants as
clearly as the older ones may. Watch
the little limbs, and do not allow tho
"goose bumps" or the "mottle" of
cold to testify against you. Remem
ber a well baby is a good baby, and
a healthy baby Is a nappy one, aim
to have either, you must watch over
its comfort carefully.
Soap Suds
Do not throw away your soap suds
on wash days, as the suds contain
much fertilizing material for certain
kinds of plants and vegetables, such
as soda. Dotash and nitrogen. Suds
should be poured on the asparagus
bed, or the garden compost heap. All
weeds, the refuse from the vegetables
used in the kitchen, the lawn clip
pings, and much of the waste about
the kitchen should bJ put into a neap.
or piled in a shallow hole, and into
it the dishwater and hand-washing
water should be poured, while, to
keep the smell and the flies from it.
a light covering of earui suuiuu -added
each day. This will make fine
manure for the kitchen or flower gm
den, and at he same time, dispose
of the waste material satisfactory.
Timely Recipes
Canning Tomatoes Take fully nPc
smooth, but not over-ripe tomatoes,
scald, peel, and, if large, Quarter or
halve them; if of suitable size to put
whole Into the jar (to not cut. rui
them into the preserving kettle, cover
closely, and bring to the boiling pome
niAitr o fVioir -mnv ho thorougniy
heated through; have your jars reaiy.
and lift the tomatoes carefully, witu
a perforated spoon, filling the jars i
the top, leaving the juice, which
n-anovnllv full nf BAGflS. in tllO KCIU"
Lfrom which it may be strained, re
heated and poured boiling hot nuu w
filled jars, letting it run over so icm,
as a bubble escapes. Or, you rawj"
boiling water, canning the tomaw
juice later by Itself for soups, uo
sure that your rings (it te "csc "Q
have new ones) and metal tops .u
perfect-fitting. Put on the caps, am
stand the Jars in a boiler of v,aun
AN OLD AND WELL TIUED BKMKDY
Mns. widow's soorawa SYitup for children
toothing uhould always bo used for ohjldron w uw
toothing. It softens tho gums, alloys all pa n. uire.
wind chollo and Is tho host romody for dlarrurc.
Twonty-flye coats a bottle.
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