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The Commoner.
VOLUME 10, NUMBER 38
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The Baby's Face
Who can fathom the fairy graco
That dwells In a velvety baby face?
Who can fathom the fairy glee
That rings In a oaby's melody?
And who can unravel the secret wile
That sleeps In the nest of a baby's
smile?
The hungry and lingering joy wo
know
When our rough face touches a
babo's, and, lo, ,
Wo feel the touch of the "velvet skin
And the warm, sweet lovellght bound
. therein!
A baby's face how can one tell '
,Its mystic charm and its holy spell?
Rough hearts go by, rude, rugged
men,
From the dust and grime of mar,t
and fen,
But under the cloak of their outer
din
Love's hunger sleeps their souls
within, ,
And when thoy see a- baby's face
Hound and rosy and sweet with,
grace
Thoy long, as you and I, to press
The velvet joy of its warm caress.
How much it holds, how deeply lays,
Within its soft and gentle maze,
The charm to soothe, the charm ,to
heal,
The hurt that lives so often feel!
A baby's face along the way
Is like a little bloom-o'-day;
And, like a little flower, it brings
The sweetness of a thousand springs;
The balsam of the heart-made-well
Is in the touchstone of its spell.
-Author Unknown.
leg with a brickbat or bit of wood.
Get a new one'.
Wall paper is cheap, and easily
applied, and fredh paint renovates as
nothing else can. See that all hinges
are working easily, and that the
doors do not gag, or hang. For old
furniture, renovate with sandpaper
and varnish. Sometimes a cabinet
scraper or a piece of glass will re
move the old paint or varnish better
than sandpaper. Give it several
coats of varnish, then, after the last
one dries, rub with hard-oil, using
a soft cloth.
Getting Ready for Winter
The fall house-cleaning will soon
be in order, and rugs or carpets that
need taking up should be cleaned
before the heaters are brought in.
It is a good idea to have a heater sot
up in Bome one room as soon as the
evenings begin to get chilly, as. a
little fire will free the house from
dampness and prevent many discom
forting colds. Where there are lit
tle children, this is a necessity, as
they can not always be kept in the
kitchen while the family work is
going on.
For carpets that are not to be
taken up, a" handful of coarse salt
sprinkled over them and then care
fully Bwept up with short broom
strokes, will clean and brighten them
wonderfully. Tea leaves, shredded
paper, damp saw dust, may any of
them be used; but the salt is best.
If there are grease stains on the
carpets, Bpread a layer of French
chalk, or Fuller's earth on the spots,
cover with blotting paper and iron
with a hot flatiron, repeating if nec
essary. Fuller's earth is better
made into a paste, using a little ox
gall in the paste, may be pread on
the stains and left until dry, then
brushed off. Oil paint spots should
be removed .with very pure spirits of
turpentine, as impure turpentine will
leave a stain of its own, There are
some excellent cleansing soaps and
preparations on the market for this
purpose.
Have the heaters and stove pipes
blacked before bringing them in,
and that is a job that a strong man
should take care of, rather than the
woman. See that the stoves are in
good order, with serviceable grates
and all broken pieces replaced with
aew.
How You May Detect Bad Food
Products
(Prepared by . government and
state food inspectors for house
wives.) Smooth, shiny eggs are usually
bad. Rough-shelled eggs are fresh.
Good cider vinegar will give off
an odor of apples when heated over
a slow fire, and will leave a reddish
brown residue in a pan when evapo
rated. When a sardine dressing attacks
the metal of a can, the contents are
invariably bad.
.Good lemon extract will turn milky
and oil will immediately form on top
when it is mixed with equal parts
of water.
Pure ground coffee , will not col
or cold water. Coffee adulterated
with chicory will stain cold water
brown.
.Swelling of cans containing fruits
and vegetables indicates fermenta
tion. If cans contain more than one
soldered perforation, they should be
avoided. Cans are perforated origi
nally at the center of the bottom.
Any subsequent .perforation shows
tampering to prevent swelling, and
indicates a product spoiling ,f rom im
proper cooking.
Noodles of a bright yellow color
are often colored.
Cheap, shiny candies are coated
with shellac or other resin and
should be avoided.
Oleomargarine may be detected by
examining the wrappers of the pack
ages. The law requires a label "Oleo
margarine." This label is often very
dim and printed with ink of nearly
the same shade as the wrapper Oleo
margarine crackles and gives off an
unpleasant odor when placed in a
hot pan.
of embroidered net or lace frills.
Many band embroideries are rich in
color and are used for out-lining
yokes.
Satins of the present day are en
tirely unlike the stiff, heavy goods
our mothers knew. Now it is soft,
supple, and usually described as "dull
finish," and is of different weaves.
Wool-back satin is used for suits and
evening coats. Some dark coats are
lined with some brilliant solid color
and trimmed -with bands of Persian
silk. Paisley effects are much seen
in trimmings.
Combinations of materials are
much seen, satin with rough faced
silks, figured foulards, crepe weaves,
etc., while chiffon and chiffon cloth
are much used with silks and veil
ings. These combinations are used for
both afternoon and informal evening
wear. Persian silks are full of Orien
tal suggestions and colorings.
From the Stylo Books
Blouses of cotton prints are used
with skirts of rough wool mixtures
which are worn with separate coats.
Hand-work is much seen, and a
great deal of braiding and embroid
ery, together or separate, is in high
favor.
Black is the color most in style
this season, while the popular navy
blue has assumed a slightly purple
tinge. Rich, somber colors are used
Xor street costumes.
Jackets are but slightly shaped
in to the figuree some of them show
ing a seam under the arm at the
waist-line, giving the garment a
short-waisted effect.
One-piece tailored dresses are very
popular, and for street wear may be
made of serge, mohair, wool-back
satin, velvet or velveteen. The light
er models may bo worn with the
long coat. These are all in short
walking-lengths. Many of these
dresses are in reality in two pieces,
set together at the waist-line and
belted or girdled.
Tho Home Seamstress
As the cold weather will bring
waists and dresses that can not be
tubbed, or must be tubbed with care,
it is well to Use plenty of dress
shields. Do not place them directly
under the arm, but slightly forward,
and sew them at each end and at
both lower edges one edge to the
under-arm seam, and one to the in
side seam of the sleeve. Put your
hand inside the sleeve and find just
where the shield touches tho seam,
so there will be no pulling and draw
ing; hold the shield firmly in place
and take the hand out, holding the
shield and sleeve seam and sewing
them together at this point. All the
sewing on the shield should be
French tacks, which are made by
taking three stitches, ..allowing them
to be loose enough to 'give" a quar
ter of an inch; then work with a
button-hole ,stitch as you would a silk
eyelet. The reason that shields do
not keep their proper place is be
cause they are not properly put in at
first. Shields should be taken out
and washed occasionally, to prevent
odor.
All short waist seams should be
fitted with the arms crossed behind
the back of the head, as well as in
some of the reaching positions. A
sleeve that is too short from the arm
hole to the elbow can never be com
fortable, and is apt to drag; in many
cases this makes the back of the
blouse draw and wrinkle'between the
shoulders.
Soft mull ties are easily made
with attractive embroidered or lace
finished ends, and these are particu
larly becoming to elderly women; the
softening effect of lace neckwear can
not be over-estimated, and some
thing softening should always be
worn next the ageing face, white
preferably, but always of light color.
Stiff linen collars are usually unbe
coming to the fading face. A touch
of color of becoming shade should
always bo worn at the throat; it may
be either a brooch with the desired
setting, or a bit of ribbon.
tract are caused by insufficiency of
the food supply. It is not only those
who cannot afford a well supplied
table who are under-fed; many peo
ple Who have full pocket-books, and
especially women who work, suffer
from an ill-regulated diet, and from
a non-observance of the laws of diet
Foods enter largely into the medici
nal aspect of things, and students of
hygiene are learning more and more
that nourishment, nursing and a
cheerful habit of mind are the real
remedial agencies, rather than drugs
As the Beason for "colds" ap
proaches, it would be well to remind
you that one can guard against much
discomfort by keeping clean inside
as well as outside. For the internal
bath, use water of the temperature
you like best, and drink not less
than two quarts a day of the purest
water you can get; eat only plain
foods, such as will nourish, not clog
the system; get all the fresh air pos
sible, and use every bit yon can get.
A bath of some kind should be taken
daily, but. if it can not be takerf so
often, take as often as you can. Once
a week there should be a . warm,
scrubbing bath, and if you can stand
It, do not neglect the morning cold
bath and quick rub-down with a
coarse towel. Keep the internal or
gans active, and allow no clogging of
the ,sewers. Learn to loolc out for
the funny things of life, and to see
the humorous in everything. Think
health, talk health, and enjoy health.
"Sickness is sin."
Good Things to Know
No two persons, no matter who
they are, should habitually sleep to
gether, for it is inevitable that the
one will thrive and the other lose.
An agqd person and a child should
never be bed-mates; great is tho
pleasure to grandma to cuddle the
little one in her.arms, and much as
the child enjoys the warmth and
comfort of. the other, it is a well es
tablished fact that the child will suf
fer while the old person is benefited.
Babies are better in the.ir cribs, and
the. crib should be near enough so
that the mother has but to stretch
out her hand "and touch the child,
thus knowing all its needs. A baby,
cradled in the exhausted mother's
arms will both injure and be injured
thereby.
If space is small, two single beds
occupy but little, if any, more room
than one large one, and this will give
the desired propinquity and comfort
ing sense of nearness 'without the
bodily contact that will inevitably de
range the nervous system of one, if
not both the sleepers. One person
will always be eliminatiye of nerve
force, while another is absorbent,
while if each slept alone, there would
be no robbing one to enrich the other.
Too much stress can not be laid
upon the necessity of keeping the
nursing bottle and all apparatus con
nected with it perfectly sweet and
clean, even in' cold weather- The
most serious trouble with the bottle
fed baby is from neglect here, and
the personal supervision of the moth
er should be given to the matter, let
ting nothing interfere with-it.
For some dressy costumes of black
Don't replace a lost or broken satin, the trimming Is merely bands
Some Health Notes
Oil-fish dishes, such as sardines,
salmon, and tho like, should always
be sent to the table with vinegar or
slices of lemon, as these acids aid
in their digestion.
Lamb should be served with mint;
roast goose with sage and onion be
cause these relishes counteract the
extreme richness of the meats.
Under-eating is just as harmful as
over-eating, and many stomach
troubles and ailments of the digestive
Making a Housewife
Mrs. S. asks for directions for mak
ing the little convenience known as
a "housewife," used for holding
needles, thimble, thread and Scissors.
This may be made of chamois skin,
thin leather, silk, or any suitable
material. Cut a" strip of the material
four Inches wide by eight inches
long, and In the center of one end
make a round hole to the edges of
which ovorseam a small bag just big
enough to hold a thimble. Turn the
end of the strip down, having the
thimble bag inside, andseam it down,
making a casing large enough to hold
a spool of thread at each side of the
thimble pocket, and in each end over
seam a circle of the material in order.
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