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The Commoner.
VOLUME 9, NUMBER 5
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Dying In Harness
Only a fallen horso, strotched out
thoro on the road,
Strotched lu tho broken shafts, and
cruahod by tho heavy load;
Onlya fallen horse, and a circle of
wondering oyes,
Watching tho frighted teamster goad
ing tho boast to rise.
Hold! for his toll Is over no more
labor for him;
Sco tho poor neck outstretched, and
tho patient eyes grow dim;
See on tho friendly stones' how per
fectly rosts the head
Thinking, if dumb beasts think, how
good it Is to bo dead;
After tho weary journey how restful
it Is to Ho
With tho broken shafts and the cruel
load waiting only to die.
Watchers, he died in harness died
in tho shafts and straps
Fell, and tho burden killed him; one
, . of tho day's mishaps
One of tho passing wonders marking
1 tho city road
A toiler dying in harness, heedless
of call or goad!
TasBors, crowding the path,way stay
"i hig your steps awhile,
What, is tho Bymbol? Only death
Why should wo cease to srallo
At death for a beast of burden? ' On,
' -through tho busy street,
That is evor and over echoing the
tread of hurrying feet.
;.What was tho sign? A symbol to
,j ...touch tho tireless will? .
HDoos Ho who taught in parables
-opohlc In parahlca otlll?-
, Tho seed on the rock is wasted on
. hoedless hearts of men
That gather and sow and graBp and
loso labor and sleep; and then
rhon for tho prize! A crowd in the
strcot of ever-echoing tread;
The toiler, crushed by tho heavy
load, lies thero in his harness
dead. John Boylo O'Reilly.
Spring Winds
It is claimed that once a year, the
whole world goes to seed, and as the
seed season is now so near at hand,
it is well to plan for tho beautiful.
On my tablo is an armful of florists'
catalogues, and a florist's catalogue
has for mo thn cirmn lvnnnt 1-.
fluenco that tho "bargain Bales" ad
vertisement has for tho woman who
shops. Many a woman, though thev
wore physically hungry, and had a
square meal" or a flowering plant
offered them, would let tho meal go
preferring to satisfy the spiritual
hunger rather than the physical
But many a woman goes spiritually
hungry needlessly; the flowers are
so easy to bo had.
I have had many abiding places
but whore I was, thoro wore the
flowering plants, also; not always
many of them, and often I did not
stay to see them bloom; bu some
heart was gladdened and tho wor"d
brightened because of the planting
Many a heartache has been lightened'
SW, dnj; briBhtonol many
a fit of the blues banished by a stent
of a simple flower. B1U
Thero is a fascination in watching
the plants grow from tho seed, and
many prefer to raise their own
plants, thinking them hardier. They
certainly como cheaper, for, from a
flvo-coiit paper of mixed seeds one
may havo dozens of plants of the
commoner kind, and oven from tho
scarcer kinds, several may be had
for tho price of a paper of seed.
Palms, cannas, dahlias, and many
kinds of shrubs and perennials will
do finely from seeds. If you have
not tho catalogues, send for them
now. But patronize responsible
seedsmen and florists.
AN OLD AND WELL TRIED ItEMFnv
Tho School Grounds
Whilo planning for the home
grounds this spring, do not forget
the school grounds. Tho school
buildings may be as much in need
of soap, paint, whitewash, hammer,
nails, hatchet and saw as are the
homo buildings. It is useless to try
to cultivate a love of the beautiful
in children if they are obliged to
spend all their school hours in a
dirty, unpalnted, unsanitary build
ing, the surroundings of which are
little better than tliriso nf tim cfnMa
or the hog house. And this is the
condition of many of our country
school houses. The glass in the
wmuow is seiuom washed, the floors
rarely scrubbed the walls dingy with
smoke and checkered with pencil
marks, the furniture chipped and
whittled by careless hands, tho walls
blank and bare and ;the. windows
shadeless. If there are trees or
flowering plants near, they are of
Nature's planting. If - there happens
to be any fence, it is usually an eye
sore, even to the children, and no
sort of protection to the grounds.
Under or alongside of many of the
buildings the hogs find wallows, and
the cattle seek the shade under the
windows, bringing with them the
flies and gnats. All manner of stock
share tho grounds with the children
and the whole aspect of things is de
grading. It would be but little
trouble for the taxpayers to get to
gether and give a few hours' work
to this spot where the children are
sent daily to be "educated," but
where tho conditions are such that
no self-respecting child will bo
proud to claim it as Iris "alma
mater." If the hard work of clear
ing up tho grounds, plowing, spad
ng, fencing and grading were done
ujr iuB miners, tue children would
take a pride in beautifying the place,
and the mothers would become in
terested. If nothing better can be
done, the inside should be given i
coat of paint or whitewash, the win
dows cleaned, shades hung, and
hardy vines planted about tho en
trance What is to hinder, having
an old-fashioned "bee" some day
and making, tho old building
thing of beauty" and the grounds a
source of pride to the children?
Teach tho children to respect the
property by remembering the fact
that it belongs to them, individually!
Some Good Perennials
If you have little time to give to
your garden, grow perennials The
biennials are good, and most of them
"seed themselves" after bloom Sc
Sw f them aro BatlafactoS
after the second year, while manv
live only until they bloom and bea?
seed. Perennials, if given half I
chance, after they get estabHshed KS
on growing bigger and better, BeasSS
after season, for many years. Manv
of the choicest bloom the first year
from seed; others, if the plants are
started early indoors, give bloom late
in the season, and one of their chief
recommendations is that a great
manv blnnm frnm pnrlv . cnrlnV in
late fall. All the hardy perennials
ask for is a little covering old,
well-rotted manure or barnyard lit
ter spread blanket-wise over the
roots after the ground freezes in the
fall, the covering to be1 forked in
around the plant in the spring.
Many do not require even this, while
still others strongly object to atten
tion of any kind. Once the plants
are established, they endure neglect,
hardships, and even abuse cheer
fully, and will even share the soil
with the grasses without a protest.
Could you ask for more? Among
the hardy perennials are the follow
ing: Iceland poppies, columbine, all
of the hardy pinks, sweet Williams,
canterbury bells, larkspur, gaillard
ias, hollyhock, linum perenne, peas,
hardy primroses, hardy phlox, hem
erocallis, lychnis, platycodon, pyre
thrum, golden glow, solidago (golden
rod), tradescantia Virginica, digi
talis, helichrysum, hardy himiscus,
penstemon, anemones, callirhoe, core
opsis, helianthus, monorda, Scotch
pinks, snap-dragon, meadow sage,
Shasta daisy, herbaceous spireas,
lavendar and ornamental peppers.
Of many of these, there are annual
species, and when ordering, distinc
tion should be made. Some of the
tender perennials are well worth the
care they call for among the most
desirable being the hibiscus, giant
primrose, which must be taken up
in the fall and kept in a frost-proof
cellar. It is sometimes called hibis
cus chrysantha. It may be started
in the house, as the seeds germinate
readily. It is beautiful.
"Blooms All the Year Round"
th' Sa?f S does not see how
the Baby Rambler rose," which Is
listed in tho catalogues as being
hardy V as an oak," blooms "all the
year round," as the catalogues say
J.nJl m' fr She ?ay' "How ca the
rose bloom when the snow lies on
the ground, and the mercury is at
fh0?fl , 2 M' M wil1 look in at
the florist's, or at her neighbor's
window, she might solve the piob-
unv mThH U,ny ,plallt blooras Wil
fully in the border during the sum
mer months, until heavy frost, then
if roses are desired through the win-
Ift inheth?anf ' B Hfted' potted
set in the window or green houso
and the blooming goes on The phint
is very desir.ihlo n n "i"dni'
2TWK turee ----
"Keeping Even"
A reader suggests that the failure
to keep even" in most famines fa
not so much due to a lack of L
egseofethe?n.tll Part f -W
cSuraire t0?8' aS a lack of 1D01
courage the courage to live with
in one's means; to buy no more Than
the purse will pay for, anS to do
without many things which arS
bought usually because we are ex
pected to buy them. We havl not
h? T,irage t0 say we can not affwd
the things we have been accuBtnmLi
to, arid which those In bette? niinmed
stances than ourselves regard Um"
cessities. Economy Sp V0"
not mean niggardliness orsa
possible in providing us with tho
comforts of life. It is often more
economical to spend money than to
save it, and this is a subject which
it will be well for all of us to think
seriously about. The value of econ
omy is shown where Christ ordered
that the fragments be gathered un
that nothing be lost. It is often
more economical to buy really good
merchandise, even at much greater
cost than to try to "save" by buyinc
worthless or inferior goods.
For the Home Seamstress
When making loops for hooks on
thin goods, laces, or loose-woven ma
terials, mark the distance apart on
a bit of paner, and sew through the
paper, which can afterwards be torn
out. .
Sew hooks and eyes three-fourths
of an inch apart on the front of a
tight-fitting waist, and tack from the
edge so as to prevent any gaping
Cover all but the extreme edges of
the hooks and eyes with a strip of
seam-binding hemmed down.
The arm size at the back should
be straight from the edge of the
shoulder seam to the side seam in
front and underneath the arm. Tho
arm size should be cut out on the
wearer according to the figure, hav
ing the curve close, yet easy. Tho
armslze should be overcast, not
bound.
Pin sleeves in, place on the wearer
before stitching in; overcast the
seam closely; sew the, dreBS shields
In toward the front, not straight
down, and put the stitches through
the binding only. Tack the under
part twice to the under-arm seam.
The placket opening should bo
cut two inches toward the right of
center back,, and the back fullness
arranged according to thQ prevailing
fashion.. The back edges, should lap
well and have the regular fastenings
for keeping them securely closed.
The skirt should not bo tight about
NO ftlEDICINE
But a Change of Food Gave Relief
Many persons are learning that
drugs are not the thing to rebuild
rulr0?' nerves but PrPer food is
There is a certain element in the
cereals wheat, barley, etc., which is
giown there by nature for food to
brain and nerve tissue. This is the
Phosphate of potash, of which Grape
tion? contains a large propor-
In making this food all the food
and barley, are retained. That is
why so many heretofore nervous and
run down people find in Grape-Nuts
a true nerve and brain food.
hnd S Say ,that GraPe-Nuts food
had done much for me as a 'nerve
renewer, writes a Wisconsin nVl
"A few years ago, before my mar
flrT'i1 TS'a b00eper in a large
SiTend n?amf S nervous ward
I m5 Hvaeacn WGek that t kerned
1 must give up my position, which I
could not afford to do.
"Mother purchased some finno.
cious out I noticed from day to dav
ea izldT wa?PnTIng Unt
"I htTl n0t nervous any more,
as a brain "yonded.ifr.to friends
taff found ?? DenIe f00drnever hav.
urape-wuts as it saved me from a
nervoUS collapse, and enabled m? to
retain my position."
WellviiiA " , -VP; Rad to
Reason!"' 'n pkgs" .here's a
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