The Commoner.
8
VOLUME 9, NUMBER 41
f.
Am Old Hymn
My faith looks up to Thee,
Thou Lamb of Calvary,
Saviour Divine;
Now hear me while I pray,
Take all my guilt away,
0, let me from this day
Be wholly Thine.
May Thy rich grace Impart
Strength to ray fainting heart,
My zeal inspire;
As Thou hast died for mo, -O,
may my love to Thee
Pure, warm and changeless be,
A living fire.
While life's dark maze 1 tread,
And griefs around me spread,
Be Thou my guide;
Bid darkness 'turn to day,
Wipe sorrow's tears away,
Nor let me ever stray
From Thee aside.
When ends life's transient dream,
When Death's cold, sullen stream
Shall o'er me roll,
Blest Saviour, then, in love,
Fear and distrust remove;
O, bear me safe above,
A ransomed soul.
Dr. Ray Palmer (1830).
"An Old Hymn"
The words of this beautiful old
hymn: are 'given at the request of
one who' would' like to know some
thing of the author. She tells us
the hymn was a special favorite with
her mother, and was the last she
gang ere she died. The author was
Dr. Ray Palmer, and the words were
written shortly after his graduation
from Yale College in September,
1830. The author tells us that "it
had no external occasion, whatever,
but the author, having 1aeen accus
tomed from childhood. to the
occasional expression of what his
heart felt in the form of verse, it
was in accordance with this hatiit,
and in an hour when Christ, in the
riches of his grace and love, was so
vividly apprehended as to fill the
soul with deep emotion, that the lines
were composed." A year or two
later, Doctor Lowell Mason wrote for
It tho tune, "Olivet," and incorpor
ated words and music in his "Hymn
and Tune Book." Doctor Palmer
was then about twenty-two years old.
He was born in Little Compton, R.
I., November 12, 1808, and died at
Newark, W. J., March 29, 1887. The
hymn which made him famous is
found in nearly every hymn-book. It
has been translated' into more than a
score of languages and "is to be
found wherever missionaries have
rendered into native tongues the
hymns familiar to themselves or
their home churches." It is the
hymn "which most accurately ex
presses the aspiration of many trust
ing hearts, and wherever it is start
ed, the multitude gladly joins in
singing it, and is claimed to be one
of the most useful hymns, especially
where there is sorrow or trouble."
It is written that Queen Victoria
went to sleep for the last time slowly
but distinctly repeating "My Faith
Looks Up to Thee." It is one of the
beautiful things that will never die.
and ceiling finished In buff tones,
which may bo either paint or some
one of tho washes that will not rub
off. The buff tone will give a pleas
ant appearance of warmth to the
light. There should be plenty of
windows, and some soft toned shade
should bo at every window, ready
to lower if the sunlight is too strong
at a particular time of day. There
should be pictures on the walls; a
broad, bare expanse of vacant wall
is by no .means attractive at any
time. Good pictures, imitations of
tho works of fine artists, are to ' e
had very cheaply, and the children
may be taught to frame them. A
picture molding will be better than
nails, and a copper wire to hang
them by Is 'an economical invest
ment. With picture hooks that can
be bought at five or ten cents a
dozen, the pictures may be suspend
ed from the molding and placed at
any height, and in any position. The
copper wire and picture hooks will
last as long as they are taken care
of.
. Remember that the common drink
ing cup should be abolished. The
water should be let out of the re
ceptacle through a faucet, and each
child should be taught to use its own
cup. See that the floor is tight, and
all drafts sweeping under the house
are stopped, either by banking ort by
a solid foundation. No child can)
study when its feet are cold. Tjocik
after the heating arrangements; and
try to have all parts of the house
of a comfortable temperature. Many
a time, so simple a thing as a heated
board under the feet will prevent a
spell of sickness, and it should be
one of the duties of the teacher to
see that the very little children are
looked after in this particular.
ing; below it hang two breadths of
the material on a brass pole, the cur
tains to be pushed back to the sides
during the day. Colored muslin,
Chinese crepe silkollne, cretonne,
madras, and dotted muslin can any
of them be used with good effect.
The ruffle, as well as the curtains,
should be hung on brass rods, the
double vestibule rods being used.
For tho School Room
Be sure to look after the school
room In which the little children
will spend the winter. See that
there is plenty of light, and if the
room is dark, have the room walls and hang across the top of the cos
Fall Honscwork
In answer to several inquiries, we
give the following: A blue and
white cotton rug may be put into. a
tub of warm soapsuds and scrubbed
with a brush, or rubbed on the
board with the hands, and when
clean, rinsed well and laid on the
grass to dry. Japanese jute rugs
can not be washed. This for a small
rug.
For the dining room of the farm
house, choose a soft green paper
with the design printed In a deeper
shade of green. The green and
brown carpet may be made into a
rug, leaving a border on all sides
eighteen Inches wide. If the floor
is in bad condition, one width of car
pet in plain color (an oak tone is
good) may be tacked over the bare
space. There are cotton and wool
fillings, and either may be used, and
it should be the best the purse can
afford.
For the dr.rk kitchen, have the
paint white, or a light yellow. Two
coats of ordinary paint should be
given, followed by one of a special
enamel finish made for kitchen use
This can be yashed off when smoked
or dirty. The ceiling should be two
shades lighter than the walls in
color. Kalsomining, alabastine. or
other wall covering Is cheaper than
paint, and two coats a year can be
given it. Do not paper.
For the dining room window,
cream white madras curtains may be
hung at the windows, reaching only
to the sills. A very pretty arrange
ment for either dining room or
kitchen is to make a ruffle of soma
sheet material twelve Inches deep)
General Household Helps
Cushions for chairs or sofa in the
living room where wear is severe,
are most serviceably made of duck
or denim, blue or other color. These
wash well, and wear well, and will
stand hard usage.
Worn kitchen chairs are well
worth a fresh coating of paint. First
go over them with an eye to any
needed repair with tools and glue
pot; then mix a pint of shellac in a
quart of alcohol, stirring well to
dissolve. The thickness of shellac
differs, so you must use judgment
as to quantity, as a pint may be too
much. When thoroughly mixed, stir
in enough Chinese vermillion to give
the desired color, if red is wanted,
and you will have a really good mix
ture which is easily and inexpensive
ly made and has the further virtue
of drying quickly Paints of all col
ors are to be had, ready mixed, in
cans of varying size, and nothing
adds to the attractiveness of the
home more than fresh paint, paper
and varnish.
The stove merchants keep an ex
cellent quality of enamel for stoves
and grates, which does away with
the burden of frequent blacking. A
very good article sells for fifteen
cents a can, and one can contains
enough to enamel two stoves. One
pint of asphaltum well mixed with a
gill of turpentine and applied with
a brush to grates, fronts of fireplaces
and belongings will give them the
shiny appearance of newness. This
amount should paint five grates.
Sheep skin rugs may be washed
at home, using suds made of a good
white soap. To each gallon of
strong suds add one tablespoonful
of powdered borax dissolved in a lit
tle boiling water. Have the suds
lukewarm, put the rug in the suds
and soak an hour or more; then wash
well, take, out and wash through a
weaker suds, then rinse in- clear
tepid water to which a very little
soap may be added. If the rug is
a white one, put Into the last rinse
water a very little bluing. Do not
wring, but- squeeze with the hands,
using plenty of clear cold water to
rinse out all soap, squeeze dry as
possible and hang in the shade.
When done dripping and nearly dry,
rub and pull into Bhape with the
hands to prevent hardness and
shrinking. Care must be exercised
throughout the process.
Query Box
W. H. K. The little cayenne pep
pers are pickled by simply putting
them in bottles and pouring cold
Vinegar over them. Small green
peppers are put into a strong brine
for three days, the brine then drained
from them, and then covered with
cold vinegar in which a little mace
or whole allspice is dropped,
L. L. For removing cream spots
from table linen without washing
the cloth, touch tho spots lightly
with household ammonia, then put
a piece of clean white blotting paper
underneath and iron with a moder
ately hot iron until the stain disap
pears. E. E. Rub a little butter on fing
ers and knife when 'seeding raisins
to prevent sticking.
"Beginner" Dumplings in tho
stew will not be tough if they are
laid on the meat. They should not
sink into the broth, and if there is
not meat enough, put some potatoes
in, and drop the dumplings on them.
They should steam, not boil.
O. S Wash materials are not
suitable for a" princess dress, as the'y
are likely to shrink, or "pull" out
of shape when laundered. With care
in cutting and seaming, however,
they can be used after being
shrunken.
M. M. "Sore spots" such as you
describe, which are probably not sore
so much as sensitive, are often
caused by disordered nerves. It is
claimed that they show a tendency
to nerve prostration; or, if on tho
scalp, and not caused by disease, such
as dandruff, they may indicate d
rheumatic or gouty condition of tho
system.
Sweet Tomato Pickles
Before the "killing" frosts come,
gather all the green tomatoes that
are nice and smooth, but not too
immature to taste nicely. Slice one
peck of these and six large onions
(the onions may be omitted),
sprinkle with one cupful of salt and
let stand over night. In the morn
ing drain and add to the tomatoes
two quarts of water and one quart
of vinegar, and boil all for three min
utes; drain again and throw this
liquid away. Put two quarts of vin
egar In the preserving kettle, add
one and one-fourth pounds of sugar,
one tablespoonful each of allspice,
cloves, i cinnamon, ginger and mus
tard; and add a teaspoonfult of cay
enne1 pepper, if liked, 'tying, all to
gether in a cheesecloth bag, and put
into the vinegar and boil five min
utes. Add the tomatoes and boil
until the tomatoes are barely tender,
then put in self-scaling jars. More
sugar may be added if liked sweeter.
Requested Recipes .
Wild Crabapples Choose the
largest, best flavored fruit, and stew
In weak saleratus water (about a
teaspoonful to a peck of fruit) until
the fruit Is tender. Tho water may
become very dark colored, and it
may be necessary to change the wa
ter once or twice; the housewife
should taste the water when tho
fruit has boiled a few minutes, and
if when the fruit begins to soften,
the taste is still bitter, a little more
saleratus should be added to the next
water. When the apples are tender
all the way through, and the skins
begin to crack; drain off the salera
tus water and pour over the fruit a
r
A Fine Pair of
Tension Shears
is being sont FREE AND POST
PAID by Tho American Homo
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next few days to every subscrib
er who sends in a yearly sub
scription at tho regular price
60 cents a year. This great farm
and household paper contains in
valuable information on all farm
topics, household matters, fash
ions, building plans, homo gard
ening, fruit growing, bee-keeping,
poultry, etc.
This is tho paper that offers
$5.00 overy month for tho best
recipe or housohold suggestion.
Send them your favorite recipes
at onco. You have an opportu
nity every month to secure this
cash prize. Head description of
this great paper, ahd full in
formation regarding this offer
to send, without extra cost, a
pair of lino Tension Shears. Boo
offor on Pago 12.
IJUflSBW!
