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The Commoner.
VOLUME GJ NUMBER 20
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My Child
You came to mo when cruol storms
Wore swooping o'er the wintry
earth ;
When clouds and darkness folded me,
And life grew sweeter at your birth,
And I could laugh at threatening
skies
Could mock the brooding tempest's
moan
The while I clasped you to my breast,
Your wee, warm lingers in my own,
Tho world grew fair and bright again,
And filled with flowers and sweet
perfume ;
With swoet bird-notes and flashing
wings
A world of warmth and song and
bloom !
And to my hungry heart I held
Your rosy form, and mocked at care.
Oh, love, you were so near to heaven!
I marvelled that you were so fair.
I marvel now I did not see
The halo shining round your head;
I marvel that I did not heed
The strangeness of tho things you
said,
Until one day, when scarlet leaves
And russet, told the year's decline,
Your warm lips suddenly grew chill
Your clinging fingers slipped from
mine!
And then I lost you;' Then, for me,
Tho clouds and darkness night
more deep;
Tho sun refused to shine tho stars
To hazier distance seemed to creep.
"-And song and flower 'and perfume
failed;
A sense of loss all things intoned;
The tempest broke with sobbing rain;
The wind, sleet-laden, 'round me
moaned.
I wander tlirouch a nlaco- of craves
-rThe mounds o'orheaped with grey
dead leaves;
The moaninc nines toss restlessly
Tho earth and air vith my grief
grieves.
T, sobbing, call, "Love, where art
thou?"
And "Whore art thou?" all things
repeat; ' ' .
Through tears, I lose and seek the
way
Tho paths grow rougher for mv
feet. v
0, Love, I lost you. Yet, some day,
The Gates of Peace shall swing
apart,
And I, from- all tho storms of time,
Shall rest my bruised and yearning
heart.
And from my blurred and earth-blind
oyes,
God's hand shall wipe all tears
away!
And in tho joy of that far time
My soul shall find you, Love, some
day.
II. W.-McV.
Nature Studies
A friend writes us, sending some
good suggestions, for which we return
thanks. -In the way suggested, the
Summer vacation may bo made a
summer school," without money or
prico. If a good microscope, or even a
magnifying glass, could be used in
these "studies" the lessons would bo
vastly more interesting and instruc
tive. Sho says:
"In many neighborhoods there are
from ton. to twenty children, perhaps
three or four in your own family.
During the long summer days many
times the little folks will say, 'What
can I do?' Why not gather these lit
tie ones about you for an -hour or
more each day, and study not books,
but nature. Learn of things at your
own door. There are the butterflies,
bugs, grasshoppers, frogs, worms,
ants, grass, trees, daisies, morning
glories, pansies, vines and birds.
"In connection with these studies,'
read or teach little poems, stories,
songs. Read, by installments, a book
liko 'Black Beauty,' for the older ones,
and 'Baby Plants' for the little ones.
Now and then take an excursion into
tho, woods, or climb some high hill;
these are a wonder and delight to the
children, and may be, also, to you.
These talks and excursions may make
the face of the little friend or brother
(who has been so dull at hid books
in school) glow, and his eyes shine;
they are reading books thus which
they can understand."
There are many helpful books on
nature study, etc., which may be had
for very little money. One might read
these, demonstrating the meaning by
the use of real plants, or butterflies,
etc., thus awakening great interest in
the minds of tho children, besides cul
tivating your own powers of observa
tion, as well as that of the children,-
The suggestions are timely, and the
older boys and girls, as well as the
parents, will do well to heed them.
The dujlest summer day can be turned
into a "real pi.cnic," if such a course
is pursued. There are thousands of
unseen things and unknown lives
right here In our own neighborhood,
and we need never spend a dull hour,
if we but use our minds.
the washable portion of them into
boiling water.
These pests are especially distress
ing to small children who do not
know how to get rid of them. The
use of liquid sulphur is recommended
and your druggist should be able to
tell you how to use it.
AN OT.n AND 7HT.T.ntTMn nmmn.
Mils. WlNBT.OW'SSOOTIHNa 8YTUnfor (Jhllflr.
tooth nguhould always bo use for chlWren" hSe
Veothlntr. Itsoftons tho Rums, allays all nnln m,,I?
wind colic nncl la the bwt remedy t Jro&taL
Summer Annoyances
Tho wood-tick (dog-tick, I believe
is the proper name) is partial to new
comers. The "oldest, inhabitant" is,
to a certain extent, immune; but from
early spring until lato summer the
tick, in its various stages of growth,
is a constant source of discomfort to
those who live in; or go Into, the woods
region. A few are to be found on the
prairies, but to no harmful extent.
On reaching the bare skin of the bddy,
tho tick will immediately proceed to
bury Its head in tho flesh and fill itself
with blood. It is almost impossible to
remove tho tick' without pulling it in
two, leaving the head in the flesh,
where a festering sore is likely to
appear. When one is found fastened
to the body, instead of jerking it off,
rub a drop or two of coal oil or
turpentine on it, and its hold will be
sufficiently loosened to allow of its
being brought away entire.
Along about vacation time, tho tiny
seod-tick" hatches out, and in some
localities, the. grass is covered with
them, As one passes along, the in
sects catch onto the clothing and soon
reach tho flesh, and, though often bo
small as almost to escape observation,
they have a way of making their pres
ence most vividly felt. To get rid of
these, the. best way is to wash the
body and limbs in a strong soap suds
or, In water into which a little car
bolic acid has been dropped; but the
soap suds is the most convenient,
The suds must b6 strong. Then
rinse the soap, off the body and put
on fresh earmonrn Ipntrino- ,.
tested clothing outside, or dropping
Transplanting Population
There is always more or less talk
among those philanthropically inclin
ed about "getting the people back to
tho soil," and societies are organized
having for their main object the trans
planting of families from the con
gested districts of the city to farms
on which, it is hoped, they will, .with
a little assistance, in time become
self-supporting. The object is a good
one, but one should clearly under
stand the-facts of the problem before
going too far, else failure is inevit
able. The families to be .assisted are sup
posed to be those of the "submerged
tenth," families that have failed to
sustain themselves in the city, where
thousands are more or less consciously
holding them up, and which are al
ways hanging on the edge of pauper
dom, willingly or unwillingly. Such
families will usually be failures any
where, especially on the farm, of the
labors belonging to which they are
intensely ignorant, and toward which
they are little disposed to turn; they
will be doubly unable to stand alone
in the country, and, in most cases,
will drift back to the cities through
sheer loneliness.. This class of peo
ple are like children, and unless
looked after and directed, are even
more helpless in the country than in
the city.
The Salvation Army is doing the
best that can be done for them, in
transplanting them from the factory
to the factory-farm, where there Is
some one to think for them, until they
are sufficiently developed to think ;'or
themselves; yet, even this is in the
experimental stage as yeC
The family which has come from
the farm from a mistaken idea of
"doing better," and which does sup
port itself while longing for a return
to the soil, realizing their mistake,
will hall such assistance with joy, as
only the lack of means keeps them
down and In the whirlpool; and these
are the families that can be success
fully transplanted to the soil, because
they know it and love it,md will hail
the exodus with an exceeding great
joy. These are tho people that should
be helped. Ex.
Defective Eyes
The fact that the wearing of glasses
Is largely on the Increase among the
American people does not mean that
our eyes are becoming more defective
than formerly, but it means that our
oculists aro becoming more able to
remedy defects which were once over
looked or deemed hopeless. Very
few people have perfect eyes, and as
the closer application of the eye
sight is demanded in these days,
these defects are becoming more ap
parent, and oculists are becoming
better able to cope with them througli
prescribing mechanical aids in the
way of properly adjusted lenses.
Defective eyesight does not always
or ordinarily mean disease of tho or
gan, but there are structural defects,
as woll as weaknesses, many of them
hereditary, and it is the business of
the expert oculist to know the proper
adjustment of suitable lenses in order
to remedy these defects.
Canning Small Fruits
Mrs. C. D. Cornman, in Colman's
Rural World, says: To-can berries
by this process, they must bo frash
from the vines. For .strawberries,
hull and measure, and take equal
parts of fruit and sugar. Put in a lay
er of sugar in bottom of can, then
one of berries, pressing the fruit
gently till the juice exudes and
smothers the fruit, then add more
sugar and more fruit alternatelv until
the can is full and ready to run over.
me ruuuers snouia oe in place be
fore beginning the work, and rubber,
can and cover should all be sterilized
by immersion in boiling water be
fore used. See that the cover
is perfect and screwed down
tight, taking the simple precautions
which must be taken in canning cook
ed fruits to make the jars perfectly
air-tight. All varieties of berries, and
any very juicy fruits may be put up
In this way, insuring perfect flavor;
but perfect freshness and quality are
indispensible to Insure success.
Don't forget that you get out of
the fruit jars only what you put into
them. Quality and freshness are of
first importance. ,;
The Frying Pan
A caustic observer says that the
devil of indigestion holds full sway
in some localities, because the frying-pan
has a firm grip on the affec
tions of the people. He complains
of seeing tall, gaunt men, sallow faces
like a corpse, having perfect satisfac
tion with the country, but a lack of
high, strong ambitions; women, gaunt,
haggard, and hopeless-looking, all
traces of womanly beauty long sinoe
gone, every line of their faces speak
ing want, privation, neglect of all san
itary laws, and unvaried monotony of
unwholesome food; little children,
flabby, yellow, pallid, with old faces,
and you will be told that this is ma
laria. But it is tho frying-pan. Give
them wholesome boiled and roasted
foods, abolish grease and boiling in
lard, and let them make their meals
on fruits, clean vegetables and - ce
reals, and within a year's time you
would not recognize them as the same
beings.
For the Toilet
For barley and honey paste, take
equal parts of bean and barley meal
mixed with a beaten raw egg; when
this gets hard and dry, grind it to
a powder and make into an ointment
with melted tallow and honey. Apply
thickly to the face, neck and hands
every night, let dry on, and in the
morning wash off; this is warranted
to keep the skin smooth and fine
grained. If one's lungs are weak to begin
With, the Inhalation of air by deep
breathing will prove painful, and the
patient should cease each time just
as the pain gives warning. In time
the painful sensation will cease, and
a feeling of rest and exhilaration will
take its place.
Harness for a Baby Jumper
Take a strip of strong cloth (shirt
ing or outing flannel will do), eight
inches wide and long enough to go
around the little one's waist, and two
inches longer. Fold in the center
lengthwise, turn in the edges and
stitch all aroundv At tho lower front
middle edgQ sew a piece about the
BETTER THAN SPANKING
Spanking doos not onro chlldron of hod wotting1
If it did thoro would bo few children that would do
it. Tli or o Is a constitutional causo for this, Mrs
M. Summers, Hoi: 118, Notro Damo, Ind., will Bond
her homo trontmont to nny mothor. Sho asks no
money. Wrlto hor today if your children troublo
you in this way. Don't blamo tho child. Tho
chances aro It can'tholp It
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