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The Commoner.
n
.ilitT A
VOLUME 8, NUMBER IT
Tho Two Bells
Long years ago, so runs tho anciont
story
Two bolls' woro sont from Spain to
that far cllmo
Now-found boyond tho sea, that to
God's glory .
And In Ills houso together they might
chime.
And to this day, ono bell Is safoly
swinging
Within its slioltorod tower, whore,
clear and free,
Its hallows each day with its mellow
ringing;
Tho other bell, its mato, was lost at
sea.
And when in gontlo chlmo tho boll Is,
poallng,
Tho peoplo listen, for they say thoy
near
An echo, from the distant ocean steal
ing It Is tho lost one's answer, faint, yet
cloar.
Ah, lovo, like thoso two bells wo
sailed togothor,
And you havo reached your holy
work and rest;
But stormy was tho way, and rudo
tho weather,
And I was lost boneath tho wave's
white .crest.
,
Over myUurlod heart tho white waves
gl feign fc
Across my breast tho soawoeds wave
and twine; ...'
Dead is my soul's best life save when
,, ' 1 listen
And hear your spirit softly calling
mine,
Then the old longing wakes; I start:
I shlvor;
I try to break tho bonds which hold
me dumb;
I turn, I strive, with many. a throe
arid quiver .,
I feebly answer, but; I cannpt como.
Tjho Century.
&r:v '
A-iv '."Improvement' ' Olub
don, and to do tho cleaning up; but
in others tho women of the family are
tho delinquents. Tho health of tho
family in most cases, tho charge of
ihn hnnanwffn. nnil ovon t.hoiltrh BllG
shpuld not do tho heavy work of
clearing ana cleaning, sno snouiu
make It her business to see that all
manner of offonslveness is kept strict
ly outside of the house-grounds. Men
becomo accustomed to the sights and
smollB of the stock yards, and are not
so quick to see tho unfitness of such
conditions about tho dwelling of a
family, but if their attention is drawn
to it, and care Insisted upon, tho con
ditions will be remedied willingly, In
most cases. Tidy house grounds are
of money value to any premises, and
should bo encouraged.
r
Tho organization of a neighbor
hood improvement club would bo a
boon to many communities. Mon no
matter how busy thoy may be, will
always find time to go where they
wish to go, aud if tho club were well
COIlduntnrl. with ntitnrtnlnmonto in
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Bustaln tho interest and encourage at
tendance, a rivalry as to the results
might be cultivated, and even prizes
offered for tho neatest-kept home
grounds. Very few will bo so busy,
oven at tho busiest tJ,me of the year,
that they cannot spare a few hours
once or twice a month, to mqet to
gothor and discuss questions concern
ing the betterment of the home life,
while such gatherings would bo a re
lief for the woman tied down to the
routine of housework.
The Homo Grounds
At many places, much attention is1
paid to tho beautifying of tho front
and sldo yards, while, In nearly all
cases, tho rear yard is pretty much
left to take care of itself. Now and
then, perhaps, a spasm of tidiness
will flash forth, but tho result Is as
temporary as the car glvei. yet tho
condition of the. rear premises is of
vastly more Importance to tho neigh
borhood as well as to tho family'
than that Of tho front. hnnnno 7i.'
liability pf contagion, or disease bolngj
.. -?,"" " " ubou. in many
homos, the blame should rest on tho
shoulders best fitted to bear tho bu'r-
Econoinizlng 1uel
Ono of our girls writes me that I
nhnnlrl Rtlr tin tho "hfin.fl of the fam
ily" in tho matter of providing fuel
for tho summer months, when the
whole family will be kept busy from
seedtime to harvest. The stirring
should havo been done somo time ago
especially on the part of the gude
mon, for by the time this gets into
print, the busy season will bo well
begun. But, If the supply has been
neglected, it is not yet too late to
"get busy" about tho fuel pile
whothnr n.nnl nr wnnr?. nnrl It. ,wlll ho
notter still, if gas is not available, to
supply the housewife with a good
Gasoline stove one of the latest im
proved kinds, from Which there is
little danger or explosion through
careless handling.
Our girl says she would not so
much mind the cooking and laundry
in hot weather, if sho did not, Jialf
the time, have to go out and hunt up
fuel to "work with. A great deal of
tho work requiring a hot fire could.
If: the fuel was at,, hand, b$ done In.
tho, early hours ortu1, day, leaving,
the lighter work. tpH in later. But
when a woman nas to hurry break
j fast, with the least possible supply of
ruei, ana men, ueioro sue can go on
with tho heavy cpoldng and baking
go put and hunt up the necessary
fuel, often havingto chop or saw
her own wood that is too much. It
Is extravagance of time, fuel and the
strength of the woman. Ttjere is
little chance to lesson tho heafc..of tho
kitchen during tho hot hours. Men
that are so indifferent to their own
interest should bo made to Pat cold
meat scraps, baker's bread and pies,
and wear their clothes without iron
ing, -mat might not seem much of
a punishment, for a time; but let
him try It especially tho "store"
broad and ples-v-for a few weeks. I
think the fuel would be forthcoming.
A housewife gets what sho demands
no more, and if sue "puts up" with
such treatment, the hend of tho fam
ily is gonorally perfpetly willing to
bO reliGVGfl oiP tho fnl nuaetlnn
lenowing that if the ""lord" will not
provide, the wife wJll, and it would
uo mm goou t,p gp nungry awhile.
Try it. Nothing will stir such a man
llko hunger.
Tho act of eating Is not, at its hest,
an attractive perfprmance, and every
effort should bo mado to render it
as little noticeable as possible.
Thero aro certain rules which should
be enforced for the good of the child,
if for no other reason. If taught to
sit properly, there will be less temp
tation to "gorge and glutton," which
tho lazy, loafing posture encourages.
Tf von will loolf about von. at the
grown people you meet, you will no
tice many little untidinesses in the
specks and spots on the front of the
clothes, coats and vests of the men:
these little things evidence careless
habits at table indulged in, perhaps
from ignorance perhaps from Indif
ference but still marks of slovenli
ness at the table.
Tho work of training tho child
should not all fall upon tho mother,
and it cannot all bo done bv nrecent:
example especially that of the fath
er is a far more powerful factor, at
least with the boys. If children see
the parents handling the table-ware
ana eating tnelr rood in a slovenly
manner, no amount of telling will
teach them the proper way to do
these things. Many a young man and
maiden, on reaching adult age, have
been intensely mortified because of
mistakes made in table manners and
allowed to become bad habits, which
a little teaching would have rendered
impossible. A very good investment
for any family is a book on etiquette,
written by an authority on such mat
ters, to be Btudlouslv consulted by
every member of the family.. A well
bred, courteous manner Is a passport
into pleasant Eociety which nothing
else can give, and a delicate regard
for the feelings of other3 is of very
great value to anyone.
stances is "not Impossible, but "there
must be no let-up in the Yigilance.
Sometimes one or more may be
brought into the houso with pur
chases or packages from the store,
or gathered from the street 'cars, or
public halls, or a careless visitor may
bring one on her clothes. There is
positively no race suicide known
among tho vermin, and' every house
wife must watch, for she knows not
tho hour or the source of her' calamity.
Special Exercise-
While knowing that we should
"take exercise," yet we Jiave but the
vaguest ideas as to what particular
form of exercise would be the most
beneficial. Walking is claimed to be
the best of exercise, while, for wom
en, housework is especially recom
mended; but it often occurs that our
best-meant efforts in these directions
only result in increased lassitude and
weariness. Evidently, the action was
given where it was not required.
If we could know just what special
muscles or organs were suffering
from inaction and could intelligently
apply the proper remedy, the result
would be worth while. Many times
it is the clogged skin, or the discour
aged liver, the sluggish bowels or
kidneys, the enfeebled heart, or the
weakened stomach, or starved lungs
that need looking after, and very dif
ferent treatment is required than the
mere exercise of our lower limbs,
even with the fresh air. A knowl
edge of the principles of hygiene,
baths, massage, physical culture exer
cises and the practical application of
the same, with an intelligent choice
of foods best adapted to our needs,
would bring about conditions of re
lief which can be had in no other
way. Yet like all other good things,
even the principles of rierht exercise
may be wrongly annlied or too lone
continued hy the enthusiast. . , In
many cases, change of scene, environ
ments and associations even for a
day, will so energize the mental fac
ulties as to work a revolution in the
health of the individual.
Tablo Manners for Cliildren
Do not let the children eat like
young .animals when at table. It is
anything but pleasant to sit at table
With children whosj manners in this
rospect have bee. neglected, Jf jju
J9wed to grdw up, eating in any fasU
ipn, handling their fopd as suits tnem
regardless of either manners or ap
pearance, it will seldom be possible
to overcome the habits in after life.
Several Ways of Doing
S. M. savs sho has recently mnvfirt
'into a house, the walls of which are
infested witn the leavings of a less
careful tenant, and she asks what
would be th3 best thing to do. On
first thought, the best thing to do
would seem to set fire to the build
ing and restrain tho fire company
from interfering. At least that
would be the most effective. The
next best would seem to be to tear
out the unclean linings and re-line
with fresh plaster and paper. But,
as in ine nrst case, one would be li
able to imprisonment for arson, and
the next might net be foasihlo. th
third best would seem to be to burn
suipnur liberally in each infected
room, after makinc: the room nn nir-
tight as possible to keep in the fumes.
xutm every crack, crevice, or hole
should be filled with insect powder
tho strong kind, and then putty, yel
low soap, or roach paste plastered
smoothly over this, and all the time
keep a close look-out for every ven
turesome insect that dared to show
itself. Eternal vigilance, cleanliness
and constant overhauling will win
out In time, and the more the vigil
ance, the less the time required. The
old fashioned wooden bedstead, with
mis, siiouia give place to the sani
tary Iron ono, and every break in the
plaster or paper should at once be
pasted over or filled up. It is a re
markable thing that popple will live
with such things, yet .many people
thinlc, they must accept their presence
as Jnevltabje. Where, vpn v zopves
Shout a great, deal and once a year
i too often it means a constant
wariaro, ana often a losing fight on
the part of tho neat housewife, but a
"Sometimes I have wondered how
it was, that old people could stand
trouble so much better than the middle-aged.
Now, I see that the hard
ships they have endured through a
long life have schooled them to bear
the strain when it came. As the
physical muscles develop and
strengthen only through use, so tho
spiritual strength and endurnnnn nr
developed and strengthened py dis-
cipunea. selected.
Housekeepers' Savingg
A nice point has been decided re
cently in regard to housekeeping sav
ings, and it is comfort to know that
it "happened" in a foreign country.
A husband went to South Africa from
English territory In 1903, leaving his'
wife and two children in that coun
try. He sent regular remittances to
his wife, who also had authority to
draw upon invested sums in a co
operative society, and upon the hus
band's return from South Africa he
found she had saved and placed 135
pounds in the Post Office Savings
Bank. This money, the County
Court judge said, rightly belongs to
the wife, but the High Court reversed
me juagment, so it may he taken as
finally decided that a wife has no
legal claim to money sho may havo
saved from the household allowance.
One cannot help thlnkingTthat this
High Court decision is one way of
banishing thrift from many homes,
and of putting a premium' pri deceit;
TT
AN OLD AND WELL TRIED" REMEDY
Mrs. Wnraikhv's SooritiNa SVWp forchfldroa
H .25sUSP?d always, po, used &r.cUHdreiuwiilB
ujemuiK. i eoiiens tue gums, allays tho pala.
nv "TO" "uuocwuo, yui, ai """"; fc mjuh ma gums, allays tno paia.
riddance, even under these clrcum- l?ir03 wm d cllcan1 ls best-remedy for nr-
wlco urcum- ruoea. Twenty-avo cents a botUo.
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