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The Commoner
VOLUME 10, NUMBER 6
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. . Merry Christmas
In clouds the western beams expire
Tho night Is wild with sleet and
storm j
Come, heap tho yulo logs on the fire
To keep tho Christmas hearth
stone warm.
With holly branches deck tho room,
Turn on a dazzling flood of light;
No somber shade of grief or gloom
Should dim tho mirth this happy
night.
Ring, bellman, ring a merry chime;
Tonight a thousand youthful feet
And happy hearts will dance in time
To music's numbers, Joyous, sweet.
A thousand furrowed brows grow
bright,
With pleasure's warm, unclouded
glow;
A thousand aged bosoms light
With memories of long ago.
Ring, bellman, ring a chime of
praise!
Tonight, amid the ait gel throng,
A thousand golden harps will raise,
A thousand mortal tongues pro
long, The glories of that blessed night
That ChristmaB night of glad re
nown, "When o'er Judea's silent plains
Tho Birth-Star of our Lord looked
down!
Emma Garrison Johnes.
wishes you all a happy, comfortable
Christmas.
Sand Cure for Dyspepsia
In regard to tho Item going the
rounds, recommended by those who
have used the sand-euro as success
ful, a doctor of Indiana has this
to say: "There Is a general belief
that by eating gravel (or fine sand)
it aids In digestion of foods, for it
requires less work on tho part of the
stomach to grind up the food. It
probably cannot bo disputed that it
will give temporary relief, but the
walls of the digestive organs are by
the use of gravel greatly irritated,
and even havo been perforated by
tho small stones, when the resulte
will be worso than the indigestion.
I therefore do not recommend such
proceedings, and advise against try
ing it. Poor digestion can be cured
by much simpler means, and in a
way not at all dangerous."
bones should be cut in such a way
as to leavo on It tho white meat and
the brown skin. The carcass should
be divided from the neck down, and
tho rump form a portion by Itself.
Divide the legs at the Joints; the
second Joint is a choice piece, and
if the tendons have been removed
before cooking, the drumsticks will
be excellent.
The napkin should be unfolded
and placed across the knees. It is
not allowable to tuck it under the
chin or fasten in the buttonhole of
tho vest. Do not use it towel-fashion;
ono corner is enough at a time.
If visiting, lay the napkin loosely
beside your plate without folding
when done with it.
Good manners is the outgrowtn of
kindliness and a desire to please.
Different localities have different
customs, and rules laid down In the
best of books are subject to such
moderations.
"Merry .Christmas to All'
In discussing the remembrances
for our friends at Christmas time,
there is a great deal said about the
"personal touch;" the giving of
something "made especially for you,
and not bought at random." We
are urged to "give of ourselves."
making an especial "personal" gift
to each of our friends. But if we
waited to do that, I am afraid a
large number of us would givo no
gift at all; for, say what you will,
many of us really have not the time;
wo scarcely havo the thought to
give, much lees the time and
strength to do. We may have sur
passing skill with needle and brush,
or In other ways, but the big world
pushed us on; we dare not drop out
of the struggle lest we lose our foot
hold in the line, and every moment
seems full of duties. Even the lit
tle, easy-made and Inexpensive
trifles call for too much time, and
where one might pinch out the time
to construct the gift, there Is the
gathering up of the material, and
this often costs us more in time and
strength than we can possibly afford
to give. So the "personal touch"
must, In many the majority of
cases, be lost sight of, and we must
depend on the stores for our gifts,
even to our most loved ones. A
writer says: "If your friend has
any brains, give a book; If not, give
a flower or a box of candy." But
oftentimes the book will prove but
a duplicate, or will nor "fit In;" It
may never be read or appreciated,
and will serve but to "clutter
things." So, after all, the flower
mav be the most prized. A card, a
m kindly n6te, a letter of remembrance!
to tne aosent any or cnese win
do. "Christmas giving is either the
purest expression of friendship, or
It is tho meanest and shabbiest of
shams. Givo of yourself, if you can
If not, do the. best you can under
the circumstances. Give good wish
The Old Children
Some one has said that, while the
children would be cared for by tho
churches, Sunday schools, lodges and
newspapers, the old and lonely peo
ple would be over-looked and ne
glected at the Christmas 'holiday
festivals. Everybody thinks of the
children, and the children think of
themselves so far as being heard and
seen goes; but the old people suffer
for want of sympathy and tender
ness. They are unobtrusive, ask
nothing, voice no wants, and accept
the neglect without a protest. Many
of these old people are. possessed of
some means, but find it hard to man
age through the winter season, and
necessity crowds out even comfort
at tlmesand they often suffer. Oth
ers have Indeed a seat at the fire
side of some relative; but that does
not always constitute a home, or
home affection. Many have nothing
except the pittance they can earn
with their limited strength, and
their patient struggles and little
subterfuges to hide their needs are
pitiful. These dear old children have
little to do with Christmas cheer.
They live solely upon their memories.
In every neighborhood there should
be an active Old Folks' Happiness
club. Why not start one?
For tho Dining Room
If hot dishes are to be served, let
them be really hot, as few things
are more objectionable than luke
warm foods or beverages that re
quire to be hot.
The wing of a swimming blr4 and
the leg of a flying bird are the choic
est portions. The head pieces of all
fish are considered the mosf delicate.
A piece of the roe should be served
with every portion of shad or mack
erel. A piece of tho back and belly
of salmon ought to go with each
portion.
To carve a turkey, insert the fork
across the middle of the breast bone
(which should be uppermost on the
plate), cut through tho skin between
the breast and the thigh; bend the
leg over and cut It off close to the
body and through the joint. Cut
through the top of the shoulder down
to the wing Joint. Shave the breast
off in thin slices, slanting from the
front of the breast bone down to
ward the wing joint. A piece of the
breast should be attached to each
wing. The breast should be cut in
Etiquette
In answer to many questions along
this line, we give the following: A
man should be able to put on his
own overcoat without a girl's help.
Her act may be prompted by good
intentions, but it is not good form
When a guest passes a dish to his
hostess before helping himself she
may accept the dish from his hand
and offer It to him, then help herself
and paBS it to her other neighbor.
When older ladies enter a room,
the girls should rise 'as. though to
greet her, and with that thought in
mind, the action will appear perfect
ly natural.
A girl may ask any one whom she
has met several times to call, pro
vided she is well assured that he is
the kind of man of whose acquain
tance her parents would approve.
Where a lady Is the guest, If the
host Is present, she should be seated
at his right hand; if not, she should
be placed at the right hand of the
hostess.
When a young man calls on a
young lady, she should rise at once
and go toward him a few steps, hold
ing out her hand In greeting.
Wedding announcements should
be mailed on the wedding day after
the ceremony has taken place. A
wife will move In the social circle
that Is warranted by her husband's
position and her own personal quali
ties and fitness.
It is a matter for individual' pref
erence whether to enclose the cards
bearing the address and reception
day within tho invitations and an
nouncements, or to send them later.
They should be engraved on separate
cards.
It is never proper for a man to
take a woman's arm, except to lend
her assistance in some way; neither
is it proper for her to take his arm
unless he offers it, which Is not now
done, except when passing through a
crowd, or to afford any required protection.
cloves in eight ounces of alcohol and,
mix with a pint of strong vinegar.
White, distilled vinegar is finest for
this-, purpose, but any good vinegar
will do.
Oil of butter is recommended as a
toilet preparation for making a rough
skin smooth. You must have a
pound of fresh, sweet, real cow's '
butter, unsalted; melt this slowly
and let the cheesy white sediments
sink to the bottom of the vessel;
pour off the oil of butter and suspend
in it a drachm of gum benzoin tied -In
a thin muslin bag; let the ben
zoin stay in the butter-oil for twenty-four
hours or longer, if liked.
Then, pour into small, wide-mouthed
bottles or jars and cork or seal.,
This is an excellent emollient for
chapped face or hands. Vegetable
glycerine is separated from nut and
seed oils, just as common glycerine
is made from animal fat, and is
much purer. It is the best for medi
cines and toilet uses, but is not gen
erally handled.
A friend recommends the cleans
ing of the face with equal parts of ,
alcohol and water, applied with a
soft cloth; go into the corners of the
mouth and creases about the nose,
and clean all the creases, carefully.
This is said to stimulate as well as
clean. Greasy preparations will
clean the face and make it smooth,
but if there Is the slightest ten
dency toward superfluous' hair, let
them alone.
During cold weather, if the hands
are very grimmy, be sure to first
grease them well with common lard,
rubbing, the grease well in, then, .
after a few minutes wash In hot wa
ter with corn meal and soap, drying
well, then wetting with vinegar and
let it dry on.
General Household . -, M
If green vegetables have become
frosted, steep them in cold water
for twelve hours before boiling; po- '
tatoes and other roots should be
peeled, then Bteeped an hour, and
when boiled, a piece of saltpetre
should be added to the boiling wa
ter about as large as. a pea.
Baked bananas are said to be one
of the best foods for nervous per
sons and brain workers. The raw
bananas are too heavy for some dell-"-"
cate stomachs. Bake the bananas
in the skin until quite soft and burst
open: this is claimed to build up and
strengthen persons with poor blood.
If you have no doub.le-boiler, get
a couple of pails, one much larger
than the other; have each of them
with a tightly fitting lid. Put what
ever Is to be coooked in the smaller
of the pails, close the lid tightly and
set the smaller pail in the larger one,
which should have enough water inr
It to reach nearly to the top of the
smaller one, but not deep chough to
boll over It.
For a steamer, get a lard or coffee
can that will just fit in the tea-kettle
top, and punch the bottom .full of
holes. If the can will set inside the
kettle an inch or two, holes may be
puuehed for an inch or more up tho
sides from the bottom. Puddings, '
brown bread and many other things "
may be put into smaller dishes and
cooked in the steamer.
delicate slices, after which the aide
rs. And th Horn Department ' bones should bo 'removed, th breast
For the Trfilet
Alkali water Is improved by the
addition of a tablespoonful of toilet
water to the basin full. Toilet vin
egar Is made In various ways, one
of the pleasantest being to dissolve
an ounce of acetic acid in a quart
of cologne, making in these propor
tions lra less- quantity is desired;
Scouring Wool
. .
The following directions for scour
ing wool havo been sent us by sev
eral readers: In manufactories this
is generally performed by an am
monical lye, formed of fivo measures
of water to one of stale urine; the
wool is Immersed for about twenty
minutes in a bath of this mixturo
heated to fifty-six degrees, then tak
en out, allowed to drain, and then
rinsed in running water, if It Is to
be had; but this can be done by
pouring water over tne wool in a
or, mix a quart of common vinegar
with an ounce of Peru balsam; or, basket: or it mav ba rinsed throuch
dissolve two teaspoonfula of oil of isveral waters in a tub. This manig-
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