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The Commoner.
VOLUME 0, NUMBER 34
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Recompense
What though, through all tho goldon
days,
My low, Blck-couch I koop?
Many tho gladsomo, sunny rays
Down through tho casement creep;
'And when with pain I moan and fret;
With mute, caressing touch,
They turn my garments Into gold,
- And comfort mo so much!
And oft' while gazing on tho sky,
It makes my soul paln-froo
To seo tho birds, In circling by,
Just pause to sing to me.
They novor voice a plaintive lay,
But with a happy glee,
They sing, "Tho Lord is good -3s
good,
And cares for you and me."
And though I can not pluck the
flowers,
Dear hands will cull for me
From forost aisles and fields so wide
Como Lovo's sweet ministry.
Thus, though I lose some lAappy
hours,
Some dearor ones I gain -For
loving hands are over near
To bless and sooth my pain.
Invalid.
Work for September
So many things claim the atten
tion of tho housewife this month that
she should prepare a list of the must-bo-dones,
and do these, letting other
things go, unless there is time for
all- In tho matter of bed clothing,
it is time to get things "handy,"
though nothing may bo needed for
some time to come. Wo shall soon
have cool nights, when tho extra cov
ering should be found at hand, for
many a fall cold comes from the
chill of night after a day of heat.
Thicker night-wear will be needed,
and the doors and windows should
be kept open as late In the year as
possible. If you failed to wash up
Itho quilts and blankets In tho spring
now is the time to attend to it, while
wo still have hot sunshine during
the day. Bed clothing Bhould bo
washed on the hottest days, and
well dried. Sun the bedding as often
aB possible; let the night wear got
the hot sunshine, too. Do not wait
until "out of 'sheets and pillow slips"
before you replenish. It Is much
more convenient to get the new bed
wear by pieces a sheet or two, a
pair of slips, covering and cotton for
one comfort, will not sedm so bur
densome as to replenish entire.
While doing the fall sewing, save
all the pieces, whether in making
new garments or making over; put
them in packages, ready to make in
to covers for quilts or comforts. This
can bo pick-up work, and the saving
will be considerable. A quilt top,
made of pieces of the dresses, aprons
and other wear of the family or
friends, is a rominder of happy days,
In after years, and some of them are
"above rubles" in memory's store
house. Look over the yard and begin tho
fall cleaning up of the borders;
keep tho catalogues that will soon
be pouring In on you, and at your
leisure, hunt out tho things you wish
,to order, either for fall planting or
for tho house plants. Look woll
after the growing plants intended
for the window garden, and keep
them thrifty and healthy.
Against tho Ants
Our friends have sent in quite a
r- few letters, giving their views as to
cruolty to ants, and wo glvo soveral
of them in this Issue. They say
somo kind things in regard to the
usefulness of our department, for
which wo are very grateful.
Mrs. H. H. B., of Iowa, says: "I
may bo wicked, but I am right hero
to say that if I could get all tho
.nta that have been bothering me
this summer, lined up in a row, I
would pour boiling water on them
before you could say "scat!" I
would rather a daughter of mine
would kill them than to bo forever
picking thenl out of my cream and
butter. I have worked hard and
faithfully to drive them away, but
they would mako a path right
through the red pepper, and I did
not oven hear them sneeze."
W. It., of Texas, haB a grievance
from a business man's standpoint,
and says: "I will give you an ex
perience of my own with the de
structivoness of the ants. A few
years ago, I purchased a small iron
safe for tho protection of valuable
papers against fire hazards. As the
sal'o held only the documents, Idid
not open It for some months, when
I found to my sorrow that the so
called sugar ant, a very small va
riety, had used most all of my docu
ments as materials for their nests,
and to deposit their eggs on. The
papers were covered with a brown
substance after shaking off the ants
and larva, which made important
sentences illegible. I was obliged
to have my papers duplicated, which
required several weeks; so the ants
made me great inconvenience and
much expense, and a possible finan
cial loss, had I at that time needed
my papers. I assure you, I did not
coax them out with any sugar; I
took a rag, saturated it with coal
oil, and wiped the whole family out,
without the slightest remorse. I am
a friend of the feathered species,
especially pigeons, but can not raise
the young because the ants are so
ferocious in my pigeon loft that they
kill my squabs as fast as they are
hatched. Think of these tender
young birds undergoing the slow
torture of being eaten alive; surely
more painful than to be cremated
quickly! I do not favor taking any
creature's life wantonly, but I would
kill a rattlesnake, a scorpion, a
poisonous spider, or other pest, al
though I admit they ate created for
some purpose which is unknown to
us. But our Creator has given us
the faculty for distinguishing right
from wrong, and wo muBt exercise
discretion to protect ourselves. Men
who turn out to be murderers are
made for somo purpose, but that
should not prevent our making them
harmless."
Mrs. L. It., Ark., says: "Tho lit
tle red ants have about ruined all
my flno grapes for several seasons,
and I am compelled to patrol the
lawn and garden with a tea-kettle
full of boiling water wherever I find
their hillocks."
ter for a coating. Baskets, too, may
bo varnished, old chairs, clothes bas
kets, water pails, japanned trays,
flour pots, brackets of all kinds, and
tho thousand and one things that
get shabby with time, no matter how
well taken care of they may be. The
inevitable fall house cleaning is near
at hand, and nothing does as much
good as a coating of paint, followed
by a smooth flow of varnish. The
handling of the paint brush is not
harder work than tho wielding of
tho scrub brush, and every woman
can soon get tho "hang" of it. Ready
mixed paints of all colors and shades
can be had in large or small vquanti
ties, and the furniture or floor var
nishes and polishes are easily ap
plied. Now is a good time to remem
ber tho can of paint and the brush,
and if you are forgetful, just put it
down on the list of "things needed"
that you carry with you to the store,
next time you go.
top of tho crust; bake nicely, and
serve with cream.
Sweet Potato Pig Steam tho po
tatoes until tender; mako a syrun
of sugar and drop into it a few
cloves; lay the sliced potatoes in tho
syrup, which muat bo quite hot, and
set aside to cool. Make a nice paste
and line a deep pio plate, place tho
slices of potato on this evenly, drop
bits of butter about and sweeten
well, then cover with pasto and bake.
Or, steam the potatoes until done
slice, and lay in the pie-tin that has
been lined with a bottom crust, then
drop bits of butter over the slices,
sprinkle generously with sugar, ad-
uing a nttiQ ground cinnamon, cover
with crust and bake.
"Old-Time" Ideas of Women
Pericles thought a "woman's chief
glory was to be known neither for
good nor evil." Socrates thanked
the gods daily that ho had been
"born a man, not a brute." Eras
mus prayed that all people might
come to read the Bible "even
women and Turks."
We are becoming civilized, though
slowly. In some parts of this coun
try women enjoy the full voting
privileges with men; yet it was only
a century ago that France guillot
ined a woman for daring to assert
woman's right to the ballot. It was
only twenty-flve years ago that we
In America began really to think
women worth educating.
As a student in the theological
seminary I remember the professor
saying of woman's place in the
church, "Women may sing in prayer
meeting, and play the piano or or
gan; if the meeting is not too public
they may offer up prayer." He for
got to say that they might also con
tribute to the preacher's salary.
Robert Browning asserted that of
the two, it was his wife who had a
creative genius; yet to him, and not
to her, England accorded tho honor
of a burial in Westminster.
Pilgrim.
Requested Information
In preserving quinces, cook in
clear water until you can pierce
easily with a straw; then add tho
sugar, and when it boils again, add
tho sweet apples, and cook until the
apples aro done. The quinces will
bear longer boiling than the apples.
Pears should be cooked before ad
ding tho sugar.
White Soap Five pounds of clari
fied fat; one pound of potash; one
tablespoonful of powdered borax,
one quart of cold soft water. Put
the potash in an earthen jar and
pour the water over it, adding tho
borax. Let stand until perfectly
cold (the dissolving lye heats it),
which will be about two hours. Melt
the fat, cool in a granite vessel until
it will not run, then pour over it
the potash in a thin stream, stir
ring constantly, and for' ten min
utes after it has mixed. It should
look thick and ropy. Pour into a
shallow box, three or four inches
deep, and when firm, cut into con
venient br.rs, after two days. It will
then be ready for use. Good for all
cleaning purposes.
Cleaning Up tho Yard
Remember that this is the season
when a great deal of the trash that
litters the yards and gardens should
be gathered up and made into a bon
fire. Many things have done bloom
ing, and the tops fallen in a heap
of dry, dead rubbish, and these can
all be cleared away.
It is well to study the "lay of the
land," and plan now to plant new
things or separate old ones, and this
will make the later work much
easier to accomplish.
Paints and Varnish
In every household thero should
bo a can or pail of varnish, with a
good brush, or brushes, and every
woman should learn to use them.
Thero aro many times, a few min
utes of leisure, in which the house
wife can touch up somo shabby piece
of furniture, or old trunk, suit-case,
valiso, or other traveling conven
iences, making them look as good
as new. Old, rusty pails, tin boxes,
or smooth pine boxes aro all the bet-
Requested Recipes
Peach Cobbler Peel, but do not
stone, cling peaches; put them on to
stow with a little water and sugar
until tender; make a short biscuit
dough and roll thin; turn the
peaches into a bakhig pan and cover
with the crust, first adding a table
spoonful of butter and sugar to
them. Cut a slit in the center of
the crust for a vent, and bake brown ;
lift off tho crust and lay the top
down in a platter large enough to
hold without breaking, and turn the
peaches onto it. This is tho old
fashioned cobbler, and should bo eat
en cold with plenty of rich milk or
cream.
Peach Cobbler Peel and pit ripe
peaches; If the clings are used, Btow
them in a very little water until
tender; for free Btones, no cooking
is necessary. Line a pie tin with a
rich biscuit dough and fill with
peaches; If the peaches are juicy, no
water is needed; otherwise, use two
tablespoonfuls of water to each pie.
Sprinkle with sugar to taste and
dredge over the top a littlo flour.
Cover with top crust in which holes
are cut, pinch the edges together,
and spread melted butter over the
Somo Vegetable Recipes
Nothing can be daintier than
young, tender beets, washed, cooked
rapidly in salted water until done,
then drop into cold water and slip
off the skins very quickly; Blice in
rather thick slices and pour over
them a hot butter sauce, made in
this way: Put into a sauce pan one
cupful of water, a tablespoonful of
lemon juice, a teaspoonful (scant)
of salt, and a teaspoonful of finely
chopped parsley; let come to a good
boil, and beat into it the well beaten
yolks of two eggs; stir until it
thickens, then beat- In two table
spoonfuls of butter. Lay In this
the slices ofbeets and heat again
over hot water, but it must not boil.
Freda S., St. Louis.
An old fashioned cabbage salad is
mado of ono head of cabbage and
one bunch df celery. Chop fine by
running through a vegetable chop
per, sprinkle with a teaspoonful of
salt and mix thoroughly. Into a
double boiler put two tablespoonfuls
of butter, and blend with it one
tablespoonful of flour; then add a
generous half cup of cider vinegar,
a tablespoonful of sugar, a teaspoon
ful of ground mustard, tho beaten
yolk of two eggs and three table
spoonfuls of cream. Cook, stirring
constantly until thick and smooth;
add a dash of cayenne, pour over tho