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10
The Commoner.
VOLUME 8, NUMBER 50
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Through Death to Life
Have you heard the tale of the aloe
plant.
Away in the sunny clime
By humble growth of a hundred
years
It reaches its blooming time;
And then a wondrous bud at its
crown
Breaks into a thousand flowers.
This floral queen in its beauty seen
Is the pride of the .tropical bowers.
But the plant to the flower is a
sacrifice,
For it blooms but once, and in
blooming dies.
Have you further heard of this aloe
plant,
That grows in the sunny clime,' '
How every one of its thousand
flowers,
As they droop in the blooming time,
I an. Infant plant that fastens its
-rootm",..,-.
In the place where It falls to the
ground, ' .,;.
And fast- as -they drop; from the dy
ing stem -. - '
Grow lively and lovely around?
By dying it liveth a thousand fold
In the young (that spring from the
death of, the old.
Have you - heard the tale of the
pelican,
The Arab's' Gimer el Bahr,
That dwells in the African solitudes
Where the brides that live lonely are?
Have you ..heard how it loves its
tender young,
And cares" and toils for their good?
It brings them water from fountains
afar
And fishes the sea for their food,
In famfno.it feeds them what love
canfc'.deylsoj ; ,..is.
With bloodjofc its bosom', and: feeding-
them Idlest ... ,"
Have &oj heard the tale they tell of
the swan,'
The show-white bh:L.qtthc lake?
It ntt&llyt floats on the silvery
. wve?Bp'
'it ineritfyTiilts In the brake,
For'it saves its song till the end of
life,
And then fn the soft, still even,
'Mid the golden light of the setting
sun '
It sings as it soars into heaven;
And the blessed notes fall back from
tno HKICS,
'Tis it's only song, for in singing It
diet;
Have you heard these tales? Shall
I tell you one,
A greater and bettor than all?
Have .you heard of Him whom the
heavens adore,
Before whom the hosts of them fall?
lUm he left -the choirs and anthems
above
For earth in Its waillnes and woas.
To miffor the shame and the pain
of the cross;
And die, -for the life of his foes?
v, Prince of the noble! O, Sufferer
divine! , - .
What sorrow and sacrifice, equal to
Thlno?
Havo you heard this "tale, the best
of them all,
The tale of the Holy and True?
Ho died, but His life now In untold
aoujs ,
Lives en In the world, anew.
His seed prevails, and is filling the
earth
ts the stars fill the skie abow,
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He taught us to yield up the love
of life
For the sake of the life of love.
His. death is our life, His loss Is our
gain,
The joy for the tear, the peace for
the pain,
Now hear these tales, ye weary and
worn,
Who for others do give up yuur all;
Our Saviour hath told you the seed
that would grow
Into earth's due? bosom must fall;
Must pass from the view and die
away,
And then the fruit will appear;
The grain that seems lost in the
earth below
Will return many-fold In the ear;
By death comes life, by loss comes
gain.
The joy for the tear, the peace for
the pain.
Henry Harbough.
(Clipped, probably from the Bos
ton Congregatlonalist of some yeaTs
ago. Furnished our readers- by Mrs.
F. C. Grow, of South Dakota.)
Loneliness of Farm Life
A news item published, in the daily
papers says that mnmlifirfi nf
country life commission recently
btatea mac tne great drawback to
country life in Amm-inn t5 th lonir
of social intercourse. The commis
sion stated that this complaint was
encountered not only among the
poorer class of farmers, but among
the prosperous class, as well, over
a large area of countrv Bv fhn nt
personally familiar wffh nrivattnna
and isolations of even wellrto-do farm
ranmies, It Is contended Mm io
rural mail delivery, the telephone,
Huxley auu auiomomie nave brought
the farming communities infn nMi
.close touch with eaclV other and with
cue towns ana villager that it, is posi
tively absurd to say that farm life
is lonely and that its pleasures are
only limited by the neglect of the
farmer to avail himself o -these con
nections with his neighbors. In view
of the much talked of prosperity of
the farmer, it is generally supposed
that about all farming communities
enjoy all, or the most part, of these
conveniences and that the horse and
mule, as a means of transportation,
have about gone out of commission;
that about all the farmer Tinve thnv
automobiles, their telephones, and
trolley privileges. The truth is,
however, that there are thousands
of farming vicinities where all these
conveniences are absolutely un
known, and probably not one in a
thousand of even the prosperous
farmers owns an automobile, while
even the steam cars are very often
many miles distant from the well-to-do
farmer. On many farms, the
women are not nrovidori wiHi inv
transportation privileges," even in the
way of a saddle horse, or horse 'and
vehicle kept for their especial use,
and when any trips are made, either
for business or pleasure, the women
must go In the farm wagon or "take
It a-foot." Under these conditions
social life must necessarily suffer
and besides, no amount of reading'
or talking over telephones can ever
make up for the isolation that keeps
human beings apart. Porjaonal gath
erings are the most important.
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Getting the Most jfw. the Money
January and Fobruary aro the
months in witinli wihj-a -i .n?
I ready-inado garments are selling at
greatly reduced prices, and if one
is a judge of quality, much may be
saved by watching the special sales.
Odd lengths of fine nainsooks, mus
lins and cottons, together with em
broideries, laces and other trim
mings, are to be be had at a much
less cost than when cut from the
piece before the holidays. "Bar
gain" counter goods are not always
"bargains" to the buyer, but if one
goes early, really good articles may
be picked out, as in nearly all lots
there are a few really valuable
pieces, which may be shop-worn, or
slightly soiled by handling, as well
as a few odd pieces that are as cjean
and good as new. If one is fore
handed, it Is a good time to buy
winter goods, for these, too, are
cheaper after the holiday trade is
over, and our real winter hardly ever
begins until January. If goods "in
the piece" are bought, they can be
made up while the winter leisure
Is with us, as fashions for under
wear, and every-day garments are
seldom arbitrary. The remnant coun
ter is a boon to mothers with several
school children, and many of the
pieces are of lengths suitable for
making clothing for the grown-ups.
Where the country stores do not
keep large supplies, many things
maybe safely, ordered through the
malls, or some friend having access
to the large department stores might
do the shopping for the country
housewife.
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Mothers and Children '
The objection Is often urged that
women in the business field have
little time to devote to their child
ren; but it is true that the business
woman sees quite as much of her
children as nine-tenths of the house
mothers do. Where the mother must
do with her own hands all the home
work and "chores" of housekeeping,
she has little time or energy to give
to the wants of the children. She
waits on them, attending to their
wants with her mind divided be
tween the children and the work
and hurries th'em off to school to
get them out of her way, In order
that she may devote her mind and
strength to the routine of house
work; when the lunch hour comes,
she is still busy with her work,
housekeeping. sewing, patching,
cleaning, and can give them but a
little hurried attention, getting them
off her hands again as soon as pos
sible, and when the aflcrnoon brings
them home again, she Is probably
Ironing, mending, sewing, or attend
ing to other demands of the home
life, which must be got out of the
way to give her free hands for the
dinner getting,' and when dinner (or
supper) Is over, the table must be
cleared, the dishes washed, the
chores for the night and prepara
tions for the morning consume her
time, and the hfi1nno rt fVio vn..nf
she has always some necessary work
to occupy her exhausted hands and
mind. If she seos anything at all
of her husband, or has any social
life, she must spend the time away
from her children, and if the even
ings are spent at home, she is usu
ally so worn out, Irritated and irri
tating throqgh exhausted nerves
that the young folks' 'are as glad to
get away as she is to have them
go, These mothers are not "society
WQtnen, or wage-earners, and they
& k ho S? Voting themselves
to their families, whereas, they are
attending to the material wants and
losing sight of the higher work nt
the real mother, .and the moMinf
of the young minds is given over to
chance and outside Influences. The?
are simply the over-taxed mothers
of the middle-class the comn n
people, whom circumstances fore"
into-being simply keepers of the ani
mal bodies of the household. The
majority of mothers know less of
their real children than do the neigh
bors outside the home.
A Mine of Information
r uely "iy people fail to get the
full benefit of their subscription to
the various papers and magazines
which come to them, because their
reading Is restricted, to the items of
news, or politics, articles on va
rious subjects, stories, and the like
They do not realize that they are
overlooking a perfect mine of infor
mation through their neglect to read
the advertising pages. By giving at-
icuLiou to cnese, one learns many
things of which they would other
wise be In ignorance. No one can
be regarded as strictly up-to-date in
knowledge of the advancement of the
industries of the world who is not a
close reader of advertisements, and
reputable publishers are becoming
very careful about the kinds of ad
vertising admitted to their columns,
thus protecting their readers, so far
as possible against frauds and unde
sirable appliances. Not long since,
one of our own readers asked where
she might obtain an article she very
much wished to get, saying she could
not find where It was manufactured.
She had entirely overlooked the fact
that The Commoner had been carrying-
the advertisement of the firm for
some time. Many of these advertis
ers offer to send free booklets, giv
ing information of the devices and
their uses, .and these booklets are
well worth asking for,, even though
you do not buv the article, as it is
hardly possible to read them without
getting some good ideas. This is es
pecially true of the inventions, de
vices and machinery intended for the
housewife's uses. The booklets of
recipes are well worth preserving, as
they are usually compiled by the
very best authorities along the lines
they represent. Now, when you
haye a moment's leisure, read the
advertisements every' one of them.
You will find it pays. When you
write to the firms, say you saw the
advertisement in our own paper.
i
Ways and Means
In these times, when the principal
"prosperity" is to be found only in
the newspaper columns, the ques
tion of "helping out with the family
income" Is a stirring one, and every
Item on the subject- Is eagerly read
by the women and girls of the fam
ily. In nearly all such advice, there
are usually a few "straws" which,
properly handled, may help to float
the one who grasps them; but the
worth of the straw is almost entire
ly dependent upon the person into
whose hands they fall. Too many
of these seekers are too impatient
for results to' give- any idea a thor
ough trial; they are looking for
"something easy," that will bring
quick returns. But everything that
"pays" requires hard, work, either
brain or muscle, and we should not
expect to reap the crop as soon as
the seed Is sown We must not get
discouraged, and -many of us must
pocket our pride and let it be known
that wo are in the market. Tne
question of a market is a vital one,
for it is a waste of time to make,
we can not sell. This question can
only be settled by the individual,
AN OLD AND Vmht !!FRIEE REMEDY
A a'fRsTfcsww's odTgSYKOP ftr children
tUiJHS should always be. UM for cliildron wliiw
teethm. it soneiw tb gums, allays Uio jwm
cure wind colic and te the best remedy for aiu
rhoaa. Treaty -five cents a bottle.
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