The Commoner.
10
VOLUME 5, NUMBER 37
,1
Optimism
When all my fields are frozen,
When my orchards naked stand,
I hear a sound that is like the sound
Of a sower, sowing the land.
And all at once the limbs and leaves,
So darkly-dim before,
Shine round me like a thresher's sleeves
When he stands in his threshing-floor.
Awake from troubled slumber,
In the middle-watch of the night,
I see a hand that is like the hand
Of a painter, painting the light.
And all at once, with the shadows
Are threads of silver spun,
And all my room is like the bloom
Of a garden in the sun.
When pleasures please no longer,
When the charm of love is lost,
When my dearest hopes before me
Like chaff in the winds are tossed,
My empty heart forgets its lack,
And I hear a voice that sings
Like the mother-bird, when she calleth
back
Her little ones to her wings.
When the sea of lire Is darkest,
When the billows gap with graves,
I hear a step that is like a step
That is treading on the waves;
And all at once the clouds are rent,
And I wish my spirit see
That Time is but an incident
Of the great Eternity.
ALICE CARY.
am sorry I cannot help them. Many
of the churches, and most of the
benevolent associations have estab
lished homes for the aged, but by
most of them it is required, that, to
gain admission, the applicant must
be a member of that particular de
nomination or society, and, as one
circular puts it, the applicant "must
be over seventy years old; be in
Indigent circumstances, with no near
relative to support them," and at the
same time, make an entrance fee of
from one hundred dollars upward.
In short, as near as I can make out,
must be an acknowledged pauper and
friendless which few persons would
like to declare. Some of my corre
spondents say they could pay as high
as $1,000 if assured that they would
have refined and intelligent, cleanly,
moral associates; that they have no
children, and have to depend upon the
honesty and services of strangers,
drifting about, as circumstances may
determine. Surely, some way might
be made practical, in order to give
to these old people (and there are
thousands of them In the states) a
clean, comfortable, quiet home among
congenial surroundings. Cannot some
of our philanthropists take up the
matter?
Home Chat
That Is right, friends: When any
thing is wrong on the Home page do
not hesitate to set us right. Mis
takes will creep in, no matter how
careful one is. On the Home page of
The Commoner of date September 1,
there appeared a poem entitled "The
Beyond," signed Mrs. J. C. Renshaw,
Charlottesville, Va. The poem ap
peared, credit and all, just as it was
clipped from a city daily paper.
Since its reproduction, several of our
readers have written, asking me to
correct the mis-statement as to au
thorship, as the poem was written by
Mrs. .una wneeier-wncox, many
years ago. The poem is certainly
beautiful enough to tempt one to
covet its authorship.
well open, and a band of the material
applied directly over the right side of
the seam and stitched on its edges.
Cut your armholes just as small as
Is consistent with actual comfort, and
give necessary breadth across the
chest and extra length from the
shoulders to the waist line. This
will make your garment not only fit
smoothly and well, but will also give
actual comfort. To fit a sleeve prop
erly and to insure it against twist
ing, the curve for the elbow should
be over the bend of the elbow when
the hand is brought to the bust-line.
The inside seam should be in a line
with the thumb when the arm is
dropped to the side, and the palm of
the hand turned to the body.
Be sure to have your sewing ma
chine properly cleaned and oiled,
your scissors sharpened and all the
necessaries in the way of tape line,
needles, threads, thimbles, buttons,
hooks and eyes, pencil for marking,
pin cushion, etc., and all the attach
ments belonging to the machine, at
your hand. It will save you much
time and vexatious delays.
One of our friends says, in regard
to saving recipes which apppar on
the Homo page, that her husband will
not allow her to clip from The Com
moner, but that, as soon as ho has
finished reading it, he puts it in his
pocket to "read to So-in-So," and that
is the last she sees of It. She says:
"What can I do in such a case?"
Well, I should advise that she ask
her husband to subscribe for two
copies of the paper one for his own
reading and one for her. There is
much on the Home pages that is well
worth keeping. We get quite a few
calls for numbers containing recipes
which the writers meant to, but did
not, keep.
Since the appearance of the Home
Chat in wnicti was suggested the need
of some aafe method by which the
savings of elderly people might be
securely invested so they would bo
available when old ago paralyzed
their abilities, I have had quite a few
letters endorsing the Idea, and many
elderly persons some with, and
some without means, some without
children or relatives asking me to
direct them to a home (not a work
For the Sewing Room '
If the center front of a skirt hangs
too full, the other widths need rais
ing at the top. When basting the
skirt, commence at the top and fit
carjefully before stitching the seams;
have an easy tension' on the machine
to prevent drawing when stitching up
the seams.
In making your waist darts, be care
ful not to cut them too high and too
wide in the front of your waist; a
well-cut dart should be like a very
slender v-shape affair, one with a
very long point "at the top; the nar
rower you make your dart at the bust
line, the better will be the result.
In making buttonholes, strengthen
the material around the cut portion
with running stitches of thread and
carry a strand of the thread 'to pre
vent the buttonhole from stretching
along the top of the cut while work
ing it. A regular tailor buttonhole
has a bar worked across at each end.
When stays or bones are applied
to a waist-lining, -first catch the top
firmly to the lining, then press the
stay up and stitch the lower end,
making it seem a trifle short for the
space to be covered so that the
wearer can curve or "spring" the
stay in to the figure at the waist-line,
where it is firmly sewed again. A
fitted waist-band curved over the hips
and in front is best for a full or short-
waisted figure.
In using old goods, it is often the
case that the old machine stitching
shows too plainly; this difficulty may
generally be overcome by wetting
the stitch-marks thoroughly and al
lowing the goods to dry; this will
almost always bring into place the
threads which were flattened down
by the stitches; then smooth out the
material, cover with a wet cloth, steam
it over a kettle of boiling water and
press with a hot iron.
The seams of a gored skirt may be
finished In one of several ways; the
ordinary seam-finish, with the edges
pressed well open and the raw edges
"whipped" to keep them from fraz
zling; the "lapped" seam, which has
both edges turned In one direction
anu nem in place by one or more care
Warm tights for the little tots may
be made by cutting off the tops of
two large stockings to a length
measured from the waist to the knees
of the child; then slit the two stock
ing legs, stretch them out flat, and
cut by the pattern of the upper part
of a child's under drawers; sew to
gether, leaving a placket at the top
of each side, finish with a waist
band and- buttonholes; then sew to
these trunks a pair of child's stock
ings. When the heels of children's stock
ings are past darning, trim the thin
edges nicely, then, with a medium
size steel crochet hook and darning
cotton' or fine Saxony wool, crochet
around the edge of the hole, diminish
ing the stitches each round until the
hole is completely filled. The same
plan will work in the matter of
mending knees, but the work should
be carefully done, matching the size
of the thread and color of the stock
ing to be mended.
bo sure to avoid the baking, or stiffen
ing of the soil by too much water
If your beds are ravorably located
and well made, you may expect a
fine crop of mushrooms in about four
weeks. This crop grows winter and
summer alike, if the beds are kept
from freezing, and always brings a
high price in market.
Soil once set in spawn Is good for
years of growth; besides, if one has
to move, the beds can be shoveled
into boxes or barrels and moved with
the rest of the outside belongings
and spread out again at the new
home. To gather the mushrooms,
cut them close to the earth with a
sharp knife, leaving all the root,
which will grow four or five some
times eight or ten from the same
root. Ladies' Home Journal.
Growing of Mushrooms
The growing of mushrooms is said
to be an easy and fascinating work
for women, and almost any one who
i3 able to get about at all can see
after one or a dozen mushroom beds
and not miss the time that is given
to them. The cost of making the
beds is very little, and a cellar, shed,
stall in a stable, or any unused out
building will do in which to make the
beds, which may be of any size, ac
cording to the space at command.
You can add to the space by making
shelves or bunks like sleeping apart
ments in the hold of a ship. Take
equal parts of fresh soil and rotten
ieai-mouia or manure; mix well;
make the beds eight Inches deep;
smooth the earth, and water well with
warm, not boiling, water; cover to
keep damp for two or three days be
fore spawning. Buy mushroom spawn
from the most reliable seedsman in
your locality, allowing one pound of
spawn to every thirty square feet of
Dea. ureak dry spawn into bits about
the size of small hlckorynuts and,
aiter removing the cover from the
beds, plant spawn about two inches
deep and two inches apart all over
the bods; sprinkle, again and cover.
ieavo tne cover on for one week;
'Are Wives "Supported"
The Housekeeper (Minneapolis)
says: "Before a definite answer to
this question can be given, it would
be well to understand clearly just
what is meant by the term 'sup
ported.' Wives are, in the majority
of cases, dependent upon their hus
band's earnings for their food, shelter
and clothing; but they are not sup
ported in the sense that children, or
pensioners or objects of public char
ity are. In the ideal marriage, hus
band and wife are equal partners;
two departments engage the energies
of the firm the earning department
and the home department. One is
as important as the other; each re
quires an expert, industrious, watch
ful manager if the firm is to be suc
cessful. The manager of the earn
ing department may bring home a
pocketful of money every Saturday
night, but without the intelligent and
economic co-operation of the home
department manager, he will find him
coif ore inn ir n. bankrupt. Tho
money he earns is not all his; it
belongs to the firm. In managing
the home, superintending or prepar
ing the meals, looking after his ward
robe, looking after the little leaks
of the household, to say nothing ot
caring for the children, and perform
ing the thousand and one arduous and
nerve-wearing tasks which fall to tne
lot of the average housekeeper, ms
wife is doing just as much for the
success of the firm as he is, it not
more. She gives to this work, time,
talent, labor, health, strength-all ot
which, if sold in the market places,
would be accounted of money value.
Hence, if by 'supported' it is meant
that the wife is an idle, or unearning
pensioner on the husband's bounty,
then the term cannot be apphec 1 w
the wife in any of the walks of Hie.
In all instances, she gives as mucii as
she gets."
Ivtr !. 1 it.- 1. . .. ... . '
house) to which they might retire, ful lines of stitching; the "strapped" mS ,. T?, 7 ltJ3.
sure of reasonably kind treatment, ij seam, which has its edges pressed keep tho top of the beds moist, but
Query Box
Mrs. J. D. Velvet is especially be
coming to a person with a thin, mi
low face, or with a face that is losing
its bloom; or to an elderly lady, as it
gives a softened texture to the sum.
A. F.-The spots may be removed
from a varnished floor by rubbing
with a cloth dampened with paraffin9
oil (not wax,) but this treatment wm
not do on a floor that has a wax
finish. A, ootrV
Housewife For rolling the pasw
dough, try filling a large, long bou e
with ice water and using it as a rem
ing pin. Some stores keep hollow
glass rolling pins, to be filled with
ice water, for this purpose.
Mrs. G. H. Tells us that a neigo
bor of hers keeps weevils and otm-r
bugs-pests out of his flour and mew
by keeping a bulb of garlic In tm?
BETTER THAN SPANKING
Spanking dooB not euro children of bod p ,d(l0
If it did thoro would bo fow children tlm u M,
It. Thoro is a constitutional cause for tms. hor
Summors.Box 118, Notro Dame, Ind., vrU b
homo troatinontto any mothor. SboasKB jui
Wrltohor today If your chNdrontroubloyoui lc
way. Don't blaino tho ohUd. Tho chances a
an'thelplt.
Intuitu