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8
The Commoner.
VOLUME , NUMBER 59
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every one to give it a. trial, saying
from personal experience, that a dys
peptic can eat it, when no other
warm bread could be tolerated. H0
also warns that sometimes, at tho
first trial, one may fail from tho
milk being too sour for the amount
of soda used, or from making tho
dough too thin.
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Legend of the Star
As you sit beside- the hearthstone,
Where wo twain sat once, of old,
Listening to the. Christmas stories
Sweetest stories ever told!
Do you mind how it perplexed us,
When thoy said, "In well unknown
Lies the lost star, while the Wise
Men
Sleep, in honor, in Cologne?"
God, wo thought, should grandly
set it
High above the judgment seat,
That bright star that led the Magi
To tho King of Israel's feet;
Like the sun, as Easter dawnetn,
Should it shine upon the throne
Since the mortals that it guided
Sleep, in honor, in Cologne.
Ah, since then wo twain have
listened
Other lips the story tell,
And have learned the bitter meaning
Of the lost star in the well.
Ne'er again shall it perplex us,
While the star must lie like stone
'Neath the waves, while those it
aided
SJeep, in honor, in Cologne.'
"-- ' Anna C. Mlnogue.
Tho Christmas Spirit
To give gifts is the joy of the
Christmas season; hut we must not
foreet that the SDirit of civinc is of
more importance than the gift be
' atowea. To "Klve gladly, lovinulv. I
though the gift be but a cheery word
or brierhtonlngr smile that is the
spirit of giving; to give generously,
joyously, of "such as we have,"
though there be naught of silver or
gold in the giving that is the spirit
of loye -the spirit that came into
the world with the blessed Christ
Child. Every year, thousands of peo
ple give Teluctantly, because it is a
"duty" present, and because they
consider the gift an obligation.
Sometimes one hesitates to give, be
cause the value of their gift "must
be small, or because they fear that
the recipient will resent the giving.
But -Christmas should be a time of
good fellowship, and every gift
should take with it a sincere expres
sion of friendship and good will.
The "Wise Men" followed the
Star, with goodly gifts, and it led
them to the Babe and His mother.
So, today, the wise men, laden with
goodly gifts, follow the Star, and
it leads them to the babe and its
mother just as of old. And wise is
the man who follows the Christmas
fatarr Yet tnere are thousands to
whom the day brings no real cheer,
because of loneliness; because for
them, the bitterness of fate has left
them stranded upon the desert of
solitude, their gifts unclaimed. It
is not poverty of purse that makes
one really poor; for many who have
all that money can buy are yet
friendless, lonely, longing intensely
for a little loving sympathy. There
is many a lonely boy or girl, or adult
spending their first Christmas, it
may be for from home, who would
welcome a Kindly touch of comrade
ship as more precious than gold. Let
us try to brighten the sad lives about
us with cheerful good will, and to
each and all of our dear readers,
tho Home Department sends cordial
greetings and good wishes, hoping
the Christmas spirit may abide with
them "forever and a day."
Somo Christmas Customs
In some parts of England, there
is quite a contest between tho men
and women of tho household as to
whether the prickly or the smooth
holly is first brought into the house
on Christmas Eve, for the two kinds
are called "ho" and "she" respec
tively, and if tho smooth holly is the
first to enter the house, the mistress
will be "master" for the coming
year, and vice-versa. Similar su
perstitions once attached to the holly
and the ivy, the holly being consid
ered a" masculine and the ivy, a
feminine. Old songs refer to "Holly
and his men," and "Ivy and her
maids."
Girls who wish to know if they
will marry in the coming year,
should go out on Christmas Eve to
the chicken house at the stroke of
midnight and knock thrice at the
door, listening carefully for the
sound of any stir among the poultry.
If the cock chances to crow, it is a
sign of a wedding at hand, but if
the hens only cackle, another twelve
month of single blessedness awaits
the listener.
When the holly and the ivy are
taken ' down at Candlemas, girls
throw them on the fire to see if
their lovers will be faithful. If the
withered branches burn with a clear
flame and make a loud, crackling
noise, the course of true love is
supposed to run smoothly; but if
they smoulder slowly, or the blaze
dies out, the lover is growing cold
and faithless. s." v ;. . f .
Poverty of purse is. not the sad
dest thing in this, world. " There- are
thousands in the world who are well
fed, well housed aiid warm, yet
friendless and alone lonely for
love, and bitter with continued lone
liness through no fault of theirs. To
them, who can measure the value of
the smallest gift when given with a
friendly smile? Many, "fare sumptu
ously every day" in the lordly hall
who would gladly share your frugal
dinner for the sake of the compan
ionship which all their wealth can
not biiy the companionship of true,
loving hearts.
Lessons of tho Moon
A single halo around the moon in
dicates a storm; a double halo
means boisterous weather. If the
moon be bright and clear when
three days old, fine weather is prom
ised. A clear moon indicates frost;
a dull moon means rain. If the
moon changes witlwthe wind in the
east, then shall we have bad weath
er, if the moon looks high, cold
weather may be expected; if the
moon looks low, warm weather is
promised. When the moon is vis
ible in the day time, then we may
expect cool days. If the new moon
appear with its points " upward, the
month will be dry; if the points are
downward, more or less rain may be
expected during the next three weeks.
When the points of the crescent of
the new moon are very clearly vis
ible, frost may be looked for. The
new moon on her back always por
tends wet weather.
Toys and tho Toy-Makers
It is said that it costs the people
of America close on to twenty milt
lion dollars every year to fill the
stockings at Christmas time. Yet
very few know where the toys and
articles intended for Christmas come
from, or by whom made. Dolls for
girls and soldier toys for boys are
the leaders in popularity. The finest
dolls come from France, and the
manufacture is entirely in the hands
of a corporation representing a cap
ital of many millions of dollars. Ger
many and Russia also manufacture
dolls, and America does a little in
the business. In France and bther
European countries, machinery is
little used, and the hot liquid for
the heads is ladled into lead or
plaster molds. On this side of the
ocean, the workman holds tho mold
in one hand, turns a faucet and al
lows the steaming mixture to rush
into the cavity. It is very Interest
ing to read of the various processes
in the making of the dolls and toys.
Soldier toys, or the belongings of
the soldier as toys, are made in
Germany and France, and the boy's
chief delight is found in the posses
sion of a gun. The oldest toy center
is the thousand-year-old city of Nu-remburg.
For the Toilet
Answering A. M. For the cure
of dandruff, here is a lotion which
has been in successful use for ' a
long time, and is said to have cured
dandruff of long standing when oth
er remedies have failed. It is pois
onous, and must be kept out of care
less hands and carefully labeled; but
used externally, it is not harmful.
Only the scalp should be wet with
it, and for this, a glass medicine
dropper, or a small machine oil can
should be used, and it should be ap
plied by a second person who can
paft the hair and put It immediately
on the scalp." Dissolve ten grains
of corrosive sublimate in five ounces
of distilled witch hazel; apply every
night, just enough to moisten the
skin, rubbing it in with a bit of
absorbent cotton to prevent its
roughening the fingers. Some cases
require only two twenty-five cent
bottles, some only one; others re
quire much more, and longer use.
It does not injure, or stain or bleach
the hair, and when the dandruff
(which is a parasitic disease of the
scalp) Is cured, the hair will stop
falling. A fine comb should not be
used on the scalp, or any other comb
which scratches.
Sometimes, this lotion fails; but
there are several others which can
be recommended. One dram each of
powdered borax, sulphur, and glyc
erine, and eight ounces of rosewa
ter. Apply this mixture freely
every night. Another: Alcohol, two
ounces, witqh hazel, two ounces,
resorcin, fifteen grains. Apply daily
by rubbing into the scalp with the
fingers.
"Buckwheat Shortcake"
Mrs. J. C. asks for a recipe for
making buckwheat shortcake, and
we copy the following from a recipe
book for her:
Take three or four teacupfuls of
nice, sour milk, one teaspoonful of
soda dissolved in milk; if the milk
is very sour, you must use soda in
proportion, with a little salt; mix up
a dough with buckwheat flour
thicker than you would mix the
same for griddle cakes, say quite
stiff; pour it into a buttered tin and
put directly into the stove oven and
bake for thirty minutes, or as' you
would a shortcake from common
flour. It takes the place of the grid
dle cake, also the shortcake, in
every sense of the word; nice with
meat, butter, honey, molasses, etc.
No shortening is used; if any is left
wet the top a little and warm it up
for the next meal; it is just as good
as when fresh. The author urges
For Binding Papers
H. R. sends us the following: "if
you wish to save your Commoners
(which you certainly ought to do),
purchase a ten-cent box of copper
or hollow rivets, such as are used
to mend straps or harness; lay tho
papers for two or three months to
gether, evenly and smoothly, and
punch several holes through them
near the folded edgo, or back. In
sert the rivets and head them down.
The holes may be punched with an
awl, or wire nail, but a hollow
punch will cost but ten cents, and
is better. The numbers for one or
two months, fastened together in
this wise, wilfnot so easily be de
stroyed, and at the end of the year
can all be bound in one- volume with
a suitable protecting cloth back."
For tho Laundry
To wash sweaters, sozzle the gar
ment about in quite warm suds,
squeezing and pressing with the
hands until clean; then rinse thor
oughly in the same way, using clear
warm water. Do not hang the
sweater up, but lay it on a perfectly
clean, .flat surface a little slanting,
if possible, to drain the water off;
turn the garment frequently as it
dries; or, fasten a cloth by the four
corners to some supports, and swing
the sweater in that, leaving it to
'drip dry, with plenty of air. Washed
and dried in this manner,. it will keep
its shape. The same 'method may
be pursued with o'ther '' knit or
crocheted goods.
When ironing, instead of the iron
tripet or stand generally used for
depositing the iron when not in use,
use a clean, heated brick, and the
fiatiron will retain its heat much
longer.
When washing napkins, after they
are clean, rinse well and then dip
in boiling clear water, wring out at
once, and with a very hot iron, go
over them at once. They will bo
stiff as' new goods. Table linen and
napkins are best washed by them
selves, setting a time aside for that
purpose.
To relieve the hands after wash
ing, of the drawn, wrinkled feeling
the alkali gives them, there is noth
ing better than common, household
vinegar. If the lye has eaten into
the hands, or if chapped by exposure
to the air, the immediate effect of
the vinegar will be painful; but it
will last but a moment, and will
leave the hands soft and white, after
which a very little mutton or other
fat may be well rubbed in. Oil or
fat has a tendency to redden the
hands if applied without first wash
ing the hands with the vinegar to
kill the alkali.
Somo Good Calco Recipes
White Fruit Cake Cream well
half a cupful of butter, and add one
cupful of sugar and cream again;
add the stiffly beaten whites of six
eggs, then, alternately, two cupfuls
of sifted flour and one cupful of
milk. Beat well for ton minutes;
add one heaping teaspoonful of tak
ing powder, half a pound of seeded
raisins, half a pound of chopped
figs, one pound of grated cocoanut,
one-fourth pound ctf citron cut fine,
and one-half pound of almond ker
nels, blanched and cut into strips.
After blending well, bake in one, or
two, pans in a moderate oven for
two hours. , ,
Marshmallow Cake-One cupful or
butter, two cupfuls. of sugar, one
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