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OCTOBER 6, 1905
The Commoner.
the braid around this beginning, sow
ing as you go, braiding a few yards
and continuing sewing until the mat
is as large as you want it. If well
braided and sewed, this makes a
most desirable mat for the outer door.
"When badly soiled, or filled from the
scrapings of the feet, it may be well
shaken to dislodge as much of the
dirt as possible, and it may then be
shaken about Jn a tub of warm water,
rinsed well and turned bottom-side
up to dry. If something fancy is
wanted, part of the husks may be
dyed with any of the ten-cent dyes,
and very attractive mats may thus
be made. Very nice mats for the
veranda steps, or to stand on in the
kitchen, may be made by using the
soft, inner husks, braiding tightly,
concealing the coarse ends in the
braiding, and sew very neatly and
closely.
Growing Palms
In spite of the popular belief to
the contrary, palms are really easy
to grow in the house. Half the fail
ures to raise them, and their poor
reputation among ordinary plant
growers is due to the fact that cheap
plants are bought; no one can
prophesy how long they will live; a
palm can be tested only by trying,
and it is the well established plant
that should be bought. The plants
sent out by the florists in packages
are not difficult to get to grow if
proper care is taken.
The Kentias are, perhaps, the best
of all house-palms, graceful and orna
mental, and they stand many changes
of temperature. Kentia Foesteriana
and Keritia Balmoreana are most ser
viceable. Not too warm a room and
plenty of light is the rule; the soil
should never be allowed to get dry,
as, if this happens, the Kentia will
not recover itself; but it should not
be kept too wet, as it will rot at the
roots. The best way to water the
palrn is to set the pot or tub in a
larger vessel of water, the water
reaching to within an inch of the
rim. The appearance of water on the
surface of the soil will show that
the roots have been well soaked; or
dinary surface watering rarely reach
es all the roots, and the inner ball
of roots and soil is left dry. The
leaves should be sprayed frequently,
all dust washed off, and no insect
pest allowed on the plant. A beauti
ful palm may be raised from the seed
of a date. This can be buried out in
the open; many plants spring from
seeds just thrown out in the yard.
During the summer, the tiny two
leaved plant, like a spear of stiff,
coarse grass, will appear, and in the
autumn the plant can be carefully
lifted, put into a rather deep pot, and
cared for until it gets established,
and the next spring other leaves will
come. Not until the third year will
the plant, under ordinary usage, show
its character leaf.
11
Query Box
Housewife. Tarragon vinegar is
made by adding tarragon leaves
(fresh, if they can be had; if not, the
powdered can be had of your grocer
or druggist) to white wine vinegar
and allowing it to stand until the de
sired flavor is obtained.
A. D. T. The salve you mention is
made by thickening' fresh lard or
castor oil with oxide of zinc, adding
iodine to color it yellow or light
brown. It is claimed to heal many
sores that all else has failed to cure.
Ask your druggist about it.
Mattie. For whitening the piano
keys, it is recommended to make a
paste of sawdust, water and the juice
of a lemon; apply to the keys and let
dry on; when dry, brush off with a
soft, firm brush, letting as little as
possiblo fall between the keys. It
is said to be effective.
C H.H your physician can not
help your muscular rheumatism, I am
afraid my advice would fail you.
Rheumatism is often tho result of
malarial conditions of ono's surround
ings, and in such a case, change of
residence, change of diet and hygienic
habits of living, either singly or col
lectively, will prove beneficial.
Invalid. You know the old adage.
"What is one person's meat is an-
other ono's poison." Excessive use
of any stimulant is disastrous. Beef
tea increases the pace of life, and
over-indulgence in its use would nat
urally cause tho body to wear out
quickly, just as the excessive use of
other stimulants would. Even exces
sive drinking of water will work hard
ships to some stomachs. Some peo
ple can not drink water without dis
agreeable sensations. I
L. M. The question as to whether
vegetable or animal foods are most
conducive to longevity is not settled.
It is claimed that vegetable foods
harden the blood vessels, deposit tar
tar on the teeth, causing them to
loosen; increase the fat of the body
and tend to fatty degeneration of the
heart, liver and brain. On the other
hand, it is claimed that flesh-eating
causes gout and rheumatism, blood
disorders, produces trichinosis, tape
worm troubles, erysipelas and other
skin diseases. It is also said that
the blood of meat produces consump
tion and cancer. An a proof of this
latter, it is cited that tho Jawiuh peo
ple, who romovo all blood from their
meat, are exceptionally free from
these two diseases.
Josslo J. Tho term Inlaid is ap
plied to a certain class of linoleums
because of tho fact that tho pattern
goes through tho entire thickness, In
stead of, as In cheap grades, being
simply stamped on tho surface. Tho
pattern of the inlaid will last as long
as there Is a shrod of the carpet. Tho
best linoleums have smooth, hard sur
faces, impervious to water, and can
bo washed off and cleaned without
Injury. Linoleum Is made of cork
ground in oil and subjected to tre
mendous pressure. The domestic pro
duct is now as good as tho imported
and costs much less. A good inlaid
linoleum can bo had for about $1.25
per square yard, and comes In widths
to suit your needs or tho size of your
room. Its flrst cost may seem expen
sive, but there Is practically no wear
out to a good grade.
Hardly any garden product can ho
made to servo so many uses as the
green tomato, and now,, at the sug
gestion of frost-time, those can be
found In abundance In the market or
garden. They can be put to an al
most endless variety of uses, and as
yet, I believe, science has not put
its prohibitive linger on this vege
table, or hygienic cookery found fault
with it.
and of his gift and is now repeated
for the flrst time on this the annlvcr-
AN OLD AND WELT TR1KD BKM15DY
, Mjw. WinsloWp Soothing Syhup. for children
icothnp should always bo nscd for' children whllo
"pthmjj. I,t8ofton8 tho-Rums, allays all pain, curou
wind colic and Is tho best remedy for dlarrhrea.
Awonty-llvocentsa bottle.
THE PASSION PLAY
Mrs. Bryan Writes of Inspiring Scenes at Ober
ammergau Five Hundred Performers None
But the Pure May Participate.
We all recall how much was "writ
ten of Oberammergau in 1900. Every
magazine and many newspapers gave
detailed accounts of the wonderful
Passion Play enacted there and of the
thousands who flocked to witness it.
Each writer emphasized the fact that
only once in ten years is the Passion
Play presented. You may imagine
my delight to learn that this year
an exception had been made and
that something worth while was doing
in Oberammergau.
The village lies quite encircled by
mountains and no railroads have yet
ventured there. The outer world was
quite unaware of the existence of this
little place until twenty or thirty
years ago. Then the newspaper men
raised a mighty shout. "Come
quick," said they, "we have found
something so old that it is very new
indeed. Nearly a thousand years ago
England saw our Christ live and die
and live again in these strange plays.
Long after, Germany's peasants won
dered and wept at the same sights.
But they all forgot. Only little Ober
ammergau remembered. Come and
see a living fragment of the long
dead past." And come they did. The
rich, the poor, the ignorant, the
learned, the priest, the scoffer poured
through the mountain passes and
broke the quiet of the valley. Ober
ammergau awoke and learned about
the world.
The village shows the trace of for
Aiirn finerers. Old Gasthauses are slyly
growing into large hotels; the shop
windows are full of souvenirs for
travellers; the girls are often not in
peasant dress; the young men wear
their curls with a more jaunty air.
Are you wondering, as I did, why
the peasants play this year? High
above the town on a mountain side
stands the answer; the three figures
of the crucifixion done in white mar
ble and of gigantic size. This roup
was given to Oberammergau by King
T.miwte. the Second, thirty years ago
'this summer. The play which we see
was given then in honor of tne King
sary of that occasion. The play tells
the story of King David and between
acts, tableaux from tho Passion Play
are presented, so that when the cur
tain goes down on the final act one
feels that he has seen not only the
life of David but the real pith of the
Passion Play as well.
I wish I might give you a clear
idea of the stage. I had gathered
from reading that it was a huge
platform with the open sky and twit
tering birds with the audience also
under the canopy of Heaven; but this
is not altogether true.
Imagine a huge shedlike building
with a curving roof. All Lincoln
readers will be interested to know
that the general shape of the interior
lof the building, the girders and the
roof are an excellent counterpart of
the Lincoln Auditorium. Here are
seats for four thousand people. The
floor slopes to the front, the orchestra
sits in a neat little box next to the
stage, all quite comfortable and mod
ern. In this building I scented the
fruits of the foreign invasion. In the
good old days the peasants surely
did not fare so well. The stage is a
large platform, built of not too smooth
planks and open to the sky. In the
center from left to right, but at the
back a box-like house has been built,
severely Grecian in style. This is the
real stage, though acting is done on
the platform, the focal point is al
ways inside, and one could see with
his mind's eye the players scurrying
under this shelter if rain came. To
the right and left are porticoes and
arches through which one catches
glimpses of the flat roofs and low
turrets of Jerusalem. The stage dis
appointed me.
The drama is played by five hun
dred performers, a chorus of thirty
two voices and an orchestra of forty.
These people all live in the little
valley. They are all peasants. Th
moving power is the church
(Catholic). To take part in thes
plays Is a grant honor and can only
bo undortakdn by thoao whono Uvots
aro pure. Each porformaneo Is pro
ceded by (ho snernrnont and if it man
who lias onco nppoared (h guilty of
somolhlng dishonorable ho cannot
piny when the next decade rolls
round.
Ah to tho division of procoods, (no
small Itont In thono days) a priest
told us that tho noonlu who tilnv. unt
one-third of tho profits for division
among mom and tho romainlng two
thirds goon to tho church. In 1900
thoy clenrod a million marks, about
two hundred and fifty thousand-dollars.
TllO tableaux from thn Pniutlnn '0nv
aro eight In number, viz., the nativity,
mo noy (jurist in tho temple, tho
temptation, tho baptism, tho trial,
bearing tho cross, tho crucifixion and
tho resurrection. It Is difficult to
reullzo the figures as flosh and blood;
they seem much more like wax" fig
uros or very beautiful pictures. The
artistic grouping of bright colors In
clothing heightens tho effect, while
tho presence of many children lends
naturalness to tho scene. Some of
these tabloaux are modeled after
famous pictures which aro found in
European gallorles.
Ah to tho play the most attractive
scene to me was tho triumphal ontry
of David Into .Jerusalem. The pro
cession came through tho arches at
the loft and disappeared through
those at tho right; tho populace
singing and shouting, tho priests
bearing the Ark of the Covenant and
King David In royal robes greeting
his people from a gorgeous chair
borne by his retainers.
As one looks back upon tho play at
Oberammergau (beginning at half
pas' one and ending at six) tho char
acteristic which seems to save the
performance from a spirit of ridicule
and the audience from weariness, is
the absolute reverence which actu
ates the players. One feels the reli
gious fervor which pervades it all
and can but bo impressed and
strengthened.
MARY DA1RD BItYAN.
$42,000
in Cash
Prizes
will be given by The
Ladies' Home Journal
and The Saturday
Evening Post this winter
and spring; in addition to
first-rate pay for work that
is easy ancj'pleasant and sure.
One woman got 1810
last winter; another $1325;
another $900; a man got
1004; another man 1950.
No chance of not making
anything. It is almost too
easy people sometimes get
the idea they haven't got to
do anything at all. No
expense involved and no
experience necessary.
Simply write to
The Curtis Publwhing Company
E 72 Arch St, Philadelphia
t.
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MM
4-10 -ma-ltl-' -
