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The Commoner.
VOLUME 8, NUMBER 12
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AN OLD POEM
The Pebble and the Acorn
"I am u pobblo, and yield to none!"
Wore the swelling words of a tiny
stono;
"Nor time nor seasons can alter me,
I urn abiding whllo ages flee.
Tho pelting hall and the drizzling
rain
Have tried to softon me long In vain;
And tho tender dew has sought to
molt,
Or touch my heart, but it was not
folt.
' "There's none that can tell about my
, birth,
For I'm as old as the big, round
earth.
Tho children of men arise and pass
Out of tho world, like blades of grass,
And many a foot on mo nas trou,
That's gone from sight and under the
sod.
X am a pobblo, but who art thou,
Rattling along from the restless
bough?"
Tho Acorn was shocked at this rudo
salute,
And lay for a moment abashed and
mu to.
Sho never before had been so near
'This gravelly ball, tho mundane
sphere;
' And she felt, for a time, at a loss to
know
How to answer a thing so coarse and
low.
Till something, without mo or within,
Shall show tho purpose for which I
have been."
Tho pebble its vow could not forget,
And it lies there wrapped in silence
yet.
Anonymous.
i But to give reproof of a nobler sort
Than tho angry look, or keen retort,
1 At longth sho said, In a gentle tone;
"Since it has happened that I am
thrown
From tho lighter element where I
grow,
Down to another, so hard and new,
And beside a personage so august,
Abashed, I will cover my head in
dust;,
, And, quickly retire from tho sight of
""Whonv.ltlmo' nor season, nor storm
norsun,
Nor tho gentlo dew, nor tho grinding
heel,
Has ovor subdued, or made to feel."
And soon, in tho earth she sank
away
( From the comfortless spot where the
jiobble lay.
' But It was not long ore tho soil was
broke
By tho peering head of an Infant oak;
And as It arose and Its branches
spread,
. Tho Pebble looked up, and, wonder
ing, said,
' "A modest acorn, novor to tell
( What was inclosed in its simple shell ;
. That the pride of tho forest was fold-
I In ther narrow space of its little cup,
And meekly to sink in the darksome
earth,
' Which proves that nothing could hide
Its worth.
"And oh, how many will tread on me,
. To come and admire the beautiful
tree,
Whoso head is towering toward the
sy,
y Above such a worthless thing as I
I Useless and vain, a cumboror hero
I I nave boon idling from year to year
j But never from this shall a vaunting
" -word b
- From the humble pebble again be
lteard,
tlT.:.wi ITnnti T.tun"
Among the thousands of readers of
tho Home pages there are many
perhaps the majority who are well
versed in all that pertains to good
housekeeping and home-making,
ready to handle any emergency, to
overcome every obstacle, and to meet
all demands with a clear judgment
and. practical skill born of knowledge
and careful training. To these, the
constant iteration, the "line upon
Hun." "nrecent unon nrecent." may
. ... wp A- - t- - 4 .j.-- , m
seem a wearisome re-hash. But there
are other women the young, or the
inoxperienced to whom the prob
lems of domesticity are as a blank
wall through, which they can not see
their way to successful home-mak-Iner.
Manv of these have no one to
whom to turn in their discourage
ments, and the domestic department
in their favorite journal is a never
failing fountain of help and hopeful
ness. Instead of asking for recipes
for fancy dishes or elaborate ways
of doing things, they are eager to
know the simnle wavs of the everv-
Iday doings; how to cook the plain,
nourishing dishes, to do the house
keeping with th fewest steps for the
best results, and for instruction in
the performance of the every-hour
tasks that confront the housewife at
every turn of the road.
It is a wearisome task for the in
experienced to make tho modest in
come cover tho necessary expense,
and only too often the "balance" Is
on the wrong side of the sheet, try
as they may. There Is a foolish idea
ties through exercise, and to develop
judgment by their own efforts. It
is surprising, if one thinks of it, how
little children really know of the sub
jects discussed from the printed page.
It is like trying to cook with,
only a cookery book, with, no
knowledge of the cook stove or the
materials of which foods are made
except the names and direction found
on the printed page. Ask them ques
tions about the things about them;
teach them to notice, and ask them
to explain to you why they think
things are so what their ideas are
of the matter. Do not rob them of
the practical education and strength
that comes of mental training rather
than memorizing. Let them solve
their own problems.
ing its own self. A healthful baby
will lie for hours, "learning things"
by studying its own wonderful activi
ties, and any one who has ever no
ticed the baby's absorption in tho
study of its own feet and hands will
readily understand this. If the baby
is comfortably dressed, and in a com
fortable condition, it will go through
more exercises and motions than any
thing that could be arraneeri rnr t
and will enjoy every one of them'.
If the baby gets to expecting some
one to amuse it, it will be hard to
break the habit, and the mother or
some one of the family must always
be ready to serve. Even a sick child
is better off, generally, out of any
one's arms, and many mothers are as
ignorant of the kind of handling a
baby requires as it is possible to be.
Teach the baby from the first to de
pend upon itself for all amusement,
even while giving it every necessary
care.
"Tho Coffee Habit"
We are told so many contradictory
things about the effects of coffee
drinking that it is almost impossible
to decide whether or no it is best
"to drink, or not to drink." An ex
change tells us that the yellowness
of the complexion of which so many
women complain is caused by the
drinking of coffee, which, as it goes
through the system, gets into the
pores of the skin, and the result is
a muddy discoloration which is hard
to remove. As il is very hard to get
people to abstain from the use of
the beverage, it is recommended that
plenty or, water drinking through the
day be indulged in, thus flushing the
system and washing out the objec
tionable matter. A half hour before
breakfast is the time for the "first
glassful of water, which may be .of
the temperature best liked; but ice
water should be avoided at all times.
An hour after breakfast the glassful
may be repeated, and as many drinks
may be taken during the forenoon as
upon like lines as the old one. They
do not know how to manage; they
know nothing of economizing, and
they have yet to learn the lesson of
"doing without" rather than going in
debt. How shall we teach them to
tread the better paths?
rrc nHoViaa 1-inf nnl. 1n4-n 4-1. l in
In some of the young heads that the an hour before the next meal. After
Yi 11" 1 : r "uumt dinner, t ie drinking may be resumed,
ana not less than three quarts should
be consumed during the twenty-four
hours. Plenty of water drinking is
one of the greatest beautifiers known,
as it washes out the "sewers" of tho
system as nothing else can.
Celery
According to analysis. nelorv rrm-
tains but little nutritive value, for
over ninety-three per cent of the
vegetable is water with a little oil,
and the balance is made up of about
3.5 per cent of starchy substances,
1.5 per cent of cellular fibre, and one
per cent of mineral salts. Celery
would, therefore, seem to play al
most exclusively the role of a season
ing rather than a food; it being the
flavor which makes it so popular.
Celery contains sodium and potas
sium suns, and also a well-defined
amount of Iron. In spite of the pres
onco of the substances mentioned,
there can be little doubt that many
persons find celery especially if eat
en raw -rather Indigestible, which
may be accounted for by the fact that
It is largely made up of stringy, cel
lular fibers. Even when cooked, the
fiber can not be taken up by the
human organs.
Mental Training
Do not be too eager to "help the
children get their lessons." It is
just as well to let them solve their
own problems, and therehv cer rho
strength tho mental exercise will give
them. More memorizing is by no
means learning, and many children
go through the school term parrot
ing uieir lessons, with no real idea of
tho moaning of any of them. "Knowl
edge is power" only insofar as it is
backed by an intelligent ability to
apply it to tho practical, every-day
demands of life, and. without this
mental force back of it, knowledge is
but as so much rubbish. Knowledge
alone is by no means a power, either
for good or for bad, without applica-
uuii.
In the every-day concerns of life
let tho little onos lea.'n to think for
themselves to solve their own prob
lems, to got at the "why" and "how"
of things. If they coue to you with
questions, it is well to nninf
ihem directions in which they may
"u " luiBwor, or one may teach
them to look into their own minds
by asking "What do you think of it?"
eiH ' em mime. Teach them
from tho start to be self-reliant, to
Query Box
Mrs. J. F. B. Many thanks for
kind words. Tho suggestion will bo
acted upon soon.
"Bebe." For making the eye
brows grow, use five grains of qui
nine in one ounce of almond oil; ap
ply twice a day with a fine sablo
brush.
L. S. For. clammy feet, bathe
them every night in warm water,
using salicylic acid soap; change tho
stockings daily, and the , shoes as
often as practicable, airing the shoes
well before wearing again. There
may be some constitutional trouble.
E. D. N. For practical informa
tion on floriculture and improving
home-grounds, subscribe for a good
floral magazine; write to1 the Secre
tary of Agriculture, Washington, D.
C, and also to the manager of the
agricultural experiment) -station of
your state. 'You should- get reliable
printed matter from -all these sources.
Al'lie M.7 The best medicine for
you is -nourishing food, plenty of
fresh air, comfortable garments, ex
ercise of all Darts of tho hndv. no
sweets or rich pastries, a cheerful
spirit andn a determination to keep
well. No drugs!
H. H. A salt rub is an excellent
tonic for the nerves, and is recom
mended by nurses and physicians.
You can take it yourself, but it is
better to have an assistant. It con
sists in rubbing the body all over
with handfuls of coarse, wet salt,
while in tho bath, then rinslne off.
and rubbing the body into a glow
with coarse, soft towels. Any coarse
salt will do.
! H. The pop corn stitch In cro
cheting is made by making, four or
more trebles In the same stitch, keep
ing the last loop of each stitch on
the needle until all are made, then
working them all off at once, bind
fast with a single crochet, and mak
ing one chain close to the group. Tho
size of the corn depends on the num
ber of trebles worked in the founda
tion stitch.
Handling tho Baby
"Medical Talks" insists that moth
ers handle the baby too much, and
says that the nervous mother makes
a nervous babv. nmi rinvj,, i
I. . ; ' uviuivCO IUU
strengthen tho.r own menta. ' to Z M Z7 SftSSta-
Homemade Laundry Soap
Mrs. H. M. sends in the following
directions for making "the best soap
I ever used. '
Measure twelve quarts of rainwa
ter; put six quarts of this Into a
large iron or copper kettle and put
over the Are. When it comes to a
good boil, add five pounds of any
kind of grease, from clean tallow
to cracklings from which the lard
has been fried, and let this boil a
few minutes until it gets well
warmed, stirring; then add gradually
AN OLD AND WELL TRIED REMEDY
Miis. WiNstow'a Soothing Svntrr for children
toothing Bhould ftlwuys bo usod for children whllo
toothing. It aoitona tho gums, nllnya tho pain,
curea wind colic and ia tho boat remedy for diar
rhoea. Twenty-nvo couta a botUa.
"WfcgliM
Ife".
