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The Commoner.
VOLUME 6, NUMBER: IS?
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Little Feet
,Tvo H'ttlo feet, s6 small that both
may nestle
In ono caressing hand;
' .Two tender feet upon the untried
border
Of life's mysterious land;
Dimpled and soft, and pink as peach
tree blossoms
In April's fragrant days
How can they walk among the brlary
tangles
Edging tho world's rough ways?
-These rose-white feet along the doubt
ful future
Must boar a woman's load; .
Alas! since woman has the heavier
burden.
And walks the hardest road.
Love, for a while, will make the path
before them
All dainty, smooth and fair;
Will cull away the branches; letting
only
The roses blossom there.
Hut when the mother's watchful eyes
are shrouded
Away from sight of men,
And these dear feet are left without
her guiding
Who shall direct them then?
.How will they be allured, ( betrayed,
deluded
' Poor little, untaught feet!
Into what dreary mazes will they
wander?
; What dangers will they meet?
Will they go stumbling blindly in the
darkness
Of sorrow's tearful shades?
Or find the upland slopes of peace and
beauty,
Whose sunlight never fades?
Will they go tolling up ambition's
i summit,
The common world above?
iO'v In some nameless vale, secure-
.', ly sheltered,
,f Walk side by side with Love?
'" Some feel there be which walk life's
j track unwounded,
Which find but pleasant ways;
Some hearts there be to which this
s life is only. ,
A round of happy days.
But they are few. Far more there bo
who wander
Without a hope or friend;
Who find their journey full of pains
and losses,
And long to reach the end.
The Aftermath
In the long ago, when the term
"nervous exhaustion" was almost un
known, the coming of the springtime
was hailed with unmixed joy. But ih
these days, the very first bright day
opens up such vistas and visions of
work to be done that we hardly
know where to begin or how to meet
the new duties. The plannings for
the summer sewing; the increased
laundering; the house-cleaning; the
gardening; the catering 'to capricious
appetities; the dread of the enervat
ing heat to come, and the thought of
many other things of like nature, rob
us of our rest by night and by day,
until the actual coming of these du
ties brings so much in its train that
we simply have to shut our eyes to
consequences and go ahead.
When the battle has been fought
and we come forth in all the beauty
of cleanliness and order, we find that
tlie victory has been dearly bought;
we are almost too tired to rally, and
wo wonder if we ever will get rested
enough to enjoy the comfort our
hands have brought out of the phaos.
We turn to almost anything that
promises relief from this condition,
and It Is a pity that so many of us
plan, dear mother, for I know where
of I speak.
The House Fly -
Prevention of an evil Is far less
costly and vastly more easy than its
cure, and, if matters have been neg
lected heretofore, right now is the
time for the housewife, and every
member of the family, to wage a per
sistent warfare against the breeding
places of the house fly. The filthy
scavenger should be barred from the
dwelling, and other places where eat
ables are kept, -where it Is at all pos
sible, by the use of suitable screen
wire at door and window The horde
can be vastly lessened by seeing that
no slops or garbage, or other filth
is allowed about the premises, and all
cess-pools should be done away with.
By keeping everything that "draws"
flies well covered and shut away from
them, and by keeping things as clean
as possible indoors and out, the num
ber will be greatly lessened, but even
a few are enough to do great damage.
Do not allow decaying fruits or veget-.
ables about the house, and keep all
garbage boxes, barrels or "heaps well
covered and frequently disinfected by
the use of lime, carbolic acid, coppe
ras, or other antiseptics. Burn or
bury all refuse matter, and keep all
fermenting filth as far from the house
as possible. It Is useless to make a
vjuijc-guuu UJ. tut) iiiuaiiunu wiuic
careful to keep-.things picked up and
put in place, the yard about the
kitchen door may be as lovely as that
in front of the house. This is the
part of the premises more often seen
by the housewife than any other, and
it should have .bright things in.lt.
But the housewife can not haye this
beauty without co-operation of the
rest of the family, and she will oftqn
be blamed for a dirty, disorderly
Imck yard when she has no sort'pf
control over it. This is where co-operation
should be strpngly in evi
dence. I am sorry to say that tlie
most frequent offender against, the
rules of order as they affect the back
yard Is the father ofjttie family, him
self. , '
depend on drugs for the relief longed suffering the more filthy and danger
How shall It he with herthe tender
stranger, 7
Fair-faced and gentle-eyed, '
Before whoso unstained feet the
world's rough highway
Stretches so rude and wide'
Ah, who may read the future' For
our darling ' r
We crave all blessings sweet,
And pray that He who feeds the crv
ing ravens
Will guide the baby's feet.
Elizabeth Akers Allen.
(From two copies of the above
poem sent in for re-prlntlrig, I find
ni?diicd ?, Florenco Percy, and
, ,t0J;V0 author whose name I have
nf,vd"EIi,zaboth AkGra . Can
anyone give me tho name 'of the real
author? Editor)
AN OLD AND WKLLTR1KT1 nrntwr!
MllS. V!N8LOWRRnivriiiwn o,. .
teo h DRBhould always bo used for eh ldrSS W
IcethlriK. It softens tho gums! allays ail r?n -Uo
wind colic and Is tho best r'omor ?il?,nJW
.weuijr-nvecont8a bottle. -uw
for, despite the fact that we are as
sured by many of our best physicians
that drug treatment has but little, if
any permanent beneficial effect on
nerve ailments.
If we might only accept the restor
atives and stimulants which Nature
offers so abundantly in fresh air,
nourishing foods, sleep and rest, how
much better it would be for all con
corned! If we might only accept
the Divine Injunction to "take no
thought of the morrow, for tomorrow
will take thought for the things of
itself," how many sleepless nights
and anxious hours we might be
spared! But we are borne along on
the flood of toll, seemingly helpless,
until at last, we slip into the great
ocean of Eternity "where the weary,"
so far as this life is concerned, "are
at rest." And what have we gained?
I am sure you will ask me how
wo can "let things go;" and I am sure
I can not tell you. You each know,
or may learn, your own limitations,
and this you should do. So much
that is done in every home is utterly
useless, and we could so well do with
out It! And nobody can tell you what
these things are. You must find this
out for yourselves; this may be done
by studying your needs, rather than
your wants and wishes. You, who
have little children still clinging to
your garments, should begin now to
interest them in your life; to teach
them that every one has his or her
responsibilities, and give them the
happiness of helping you, even though
at first the hindrance is greater than
the help. Let them, of themselves,
study out ways and means of doing
things; teach them to think for them
selves. In givintr them this erluon.
tion, you will doubtless be learning a
few lessons, yourself, and, by help
ing them to plan and think, you, also,
win oecomo more proficient. Even
the tiny toddler at your feet can be
taught to put its playthings away,
and you can not mistake its pride
and delight when it is allowed to help
juu uccorumg to its tiny strength
ous house fly to plaster our. food and
dishes with the clinglngs of the filth
in which he make3 his home. Above
all things, do not let the feet of this
scavenger of disease-breeding refuse
wander at will ovgr the baby's face.
Let the war be one of extermination,
beginning with the breeding" places
of the nuisance.
Some one has said that it is far
more disgraceful to allow your house
to be overrun with files than that
your bedrooms should be the harbor
for its own enemy; and while these
things "needs must be" because of
the indifference, slovenliness or lazi
ness of your neighbor, see that you
are not one of these by whom the
reproach must come. ,
Some Needed Lessons
Teach the little ones (and admon
ish the older ones) that the screen
doors and window screens are not
made to kick, or shove against, or to
punch things through. How often
we see the wire either bulging out,
or pushed into holes where the feet
or hands press against it in opening
or shutting the doors, or the window
screens rendered useless because the
baby and his two or three year-old
elder are allowed to press or lean
against it, or to stick things through
it. Each one should be taught how
to handle such things, and not. al
lowed to touch the wire, under any
circumstances. A screen door patched
with a bit of cloth is unsightly enough
but it is better than the liole it cqv
ers, as it excludes the intruding in
sects. Old pieces of the wire,' saved
irom a lormor covering, is much bet
ter to use as a patch.
Teach the children and their eld
ers (and in some cases, yourself) not
to throw peelings, parings, paper,
bits of cloth, etc., about the back
door. There should be a box or an
old pail close at hand, and into this
one can put all refuse, emptying it
o xuuou uiiv;c u, uuy, oiuier to burn,
Strawberries
' There are so many ways of using
this delicious fruit that one hardly
knows how to choose. For breakfast,
if one can have them perfectly fresh,
it is best to serve them whole, with
the stems intact, so they may be
dipped individually into the sugar and
eaten one bV one. Particularly fine
ones should be selected for this -way
of serving. The usual way, however,
is to burr and serve them with cream
and sugar. Strawberries are deli-
cious served with whipped cream""
sweetened (and flavored with lemon,
if liked).
Of inferior, or somewhat stale ber
ries, pies, puddings, omelets, sauces,
shortcakes, buns, balls, baskets,
creams and even soups may be made.
Strawberry Cream. Soak a third
of a box of gelatine in a third of a
cupful of water; when dissolved drain
and stir it into a half pint of boiling
cream; beat the yolks of three eggs
with a cupful of sugar and add to the
boiling mixture a little at a time;
heat it until it begins to thicken,
then add a tablespoonful of lemon
juice and a cupful of strawberry juice ;
strain and set on ice until chilled
and beginning to harden. Then add
a cupful of whipped' 'cream and whip
gently until the mixture is of the con
sistency of spongecake batter; line
the bottom -and sides of a wetted
mold with strawberries, pour in the
mixture and set on ice until ready
to. serve.
Strawberry Balls. Make a good
biscuit dough and roll it out a quar
ter of an inch thick; cut into squares,
two and one-half inches; put a spoon
ful of berries on each square, bring
the corners together, pinch, and place
the baljs on a buttered tin. Melt a
tablespoonful of butter and tlie same
quantity of sugar in a fourth of, a
cupful of boiling water, and brush
the balls with it; bake in a hot oVen,
and serve with any preferred sauce.
Strawberries may be made Into
jams, jellies, preserves, wines, and
the juice may also be bottled in an
unfermented state.
Strawberry Jelly
Select fine-colored, fresh, ripe fruit;
hull, set over a slow heat so the juice
will flow; when perfectly clear (usu-
I ally twenty minutes) strain through
a jeuy bag without pressing; if not
quite clear, strain the second- time.
The general directions for making
the jelly are: Cover the kettle and
boil slowly until the fruit is broken
td pieces; put the fruit juice and all
Into a coarse-meshed jelly bag; hang
the bag in a warm place to drip.
Make this dripped juice by itself, as
it will make clear jelly. The remaind
er of the juice may bo gently pressed
out and made up for layer-cake use,
as it -will not be so clear. Measure
the juice and set over the fire, and
BETTER THAN SPANKING
Fpanklng does not euro children of b'dd wottlnir.
If It did thoro would bo fow children that would do
It. Thoro is a- constitutional causa for this. Mrs.
M. Summors, Box 118, Notro Daino, Inrt., wilt son!
Jlr uumu uuuvuiuub w aujr moinor. BhO aBKB uO
burv. nv ruif rn flm .,.,.,,. i mouoy. Write hor today if your clilldrnn tmubl
and mental development. Do try this nure pile. - If the who e family to ' lo?ll'Arm lb0 cUUd-
4H
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