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The Commoner.
VOLUME 11, 'NUMBER 45
is excusable for a feeling of envy
that possesses her at thought of the
woman of tho future. Meantime,
keep the home as clean as pos
sible, and use freely the means wo
have at hand.
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The Near
O, near ones, dear ones, you In whose
hands
Our own rosts calm'; whose faith
ful hearts all day
Wide-open wait 'til back from distant
lands
Thought, tho tired traveler, wends
his homeward way!
Helpmeets and heartmates, gladden
ers of gone years,
Tender companions of our serious
days,
Who color with your kisses, smiles
and tears,
Life's warm web woven over
wonted ways.
Young children, and old neighbors
and old friends;
Old servants you, whose smiling
circle small
Grows slowly smaller until at last
It ends
Where in one grave is room
enough for all
Or shut the world out from the heart
you cheer!
Though small the circle of your
'smiles may be,
The world Is distant, and your
smiles are near;
This makes you more than all the
world to me!
Owen Meredith.
Hrht-m.Mnfir elothlnr. keeping thel
drafts open, the ashes removed, and
the piping in order. Looking after
the fires within is cheaper and more
satisfactory than attending the fur
nace in "the house-basement.
"Stoking the Furnace"
- These be tho days when the
fkrnace becomes "one of the family,"
and the comfort of the household is
largely dependent upon its proper
feeding and care. Indeed, so depen
ient upon outside heat do we become
that we blame much of our 111-feel-tngs,
and especially our "colds" nd
cold shivers upon the furnace. But
comfort is not a matter of outside
temperature so much as the internal
aodlly condition. Nearly all our all
sients 'depend upon how we "stoke"
the Inside furnace, the amount of
fresh air. the kind. Quality and
quantity of fuel, and how well we
look to keeping the drafts open and
the ashes removed. The people who
D shivering along the street in cold
' -weather ought not to feel chilly
mnless the system is weakened by
disease. Filing on furs and woolens
will not help matters if we neglect
ffce "fires Inside" the furnace we
Aid for tho Ieaf
I have several letters from those
afflicted with more or less deafness,
asking for advice and information.
There are several electric appara
tuses Jfor the partially deaf, from the
"slightly hard of hearing" to the
"shut outs" in the world of sound;
but while to some they are certainly
of value, others get no satisfaction
out of them, and at best they are but
a "crutch" to the disabled ear. The
application of electricity to this class
of afflictions is still in its beginning,
and the best of the instruments are
cumbersome, and are so much in evi
dence when in service as to attract
a great deal of attention from the
tactlessly curious. They are of much
greater value to some than to others,
owing more to peculiarities of the
individual than to the apparatus It
self. Many of the afflicted say they
would not like to do without them
after having become used to them,
while Others declare them of no good
whatever. The prices are high for
all grades, varying from tan to
fwfintv-flvA dollars fnr fh hfaTHst.
made for the "only slightly hard of 1
hearing," to the apparatuses made
for the "very hard of hearing' or
generally called "deaf" class, who
are so hard of hearing as to be
practically shut out from all social
pleasures. Instruments for these
range in price from $65 to $100. The
more expensive can not be carried
about, but must be used as station-
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and they exhaust themselves, whether
used or not, in from two to four
weeks, and can not be re-charged.
They cost from 25c to 36c each for
the smaller Instruments, making the
ubo of the instrument somewhat of
an expense, after It is purchased.
Deafness is such an intolerable afflic
tion, and so terribly ruins one's life
and usefulness, that one so afflicted
will do almost anything for relief.
As these instruments are improved
upon, they will doubtless be a won
derful blessing to the afflicted; but
time a lawsuit. Tour tradesmen
are not always honest, and they also
know that few women keep a receipt
after it is given, and the more un
scrupulous of them will put you to
much trouble if they think they can
make a little out of your carelessness.
In this respect, men are careless,
too, and have to repay; but they can
flght their way through such things
better than a woman can. If you
have been in the habit of destroying
your receipts, begin now to save
them. Either paste them in a regu
lar letter file, or scrapbook, or have
some large, heavy envelopes, those
opening at the end preferred, and
mark on the outside of each the na
ture of the bills to be filed gro
ceries, gas, etc., and as soon as a
bill Is receipted, or marked paid,
slip It at once in its envelope. Do
not lay it down, or hang it on a nail
In the kitchen; remember, It is just
so much money to you, in case of aJ
dispute about its payment. Keep
these receipts for several years as
long as the law will recognize the
debt, at least. It Is a good thing to
pay by bank check, so far as possible,
and keep both the returned check and
the stub of the check book on which
It Is written. This should not be
regarded as "too much trouble," but
as a part of the business of conduct
ing household expenses, and as the
envelope fills, it should be put away
in a tin box bought for that, purpose,
where it can be found at a moment's
notice.
e iurnace we mm Af f. - ft nn. ManA
& carry with us A .famoni 'Pl; faction. It is claimed that some
aU DDCO Daiu; JO. uilliijr uiau id
aick man," meaning that if ordinary
exposure to outside weather can
make r. one uncomfortably cold, there
Wiust be something wrong with the
physical condition or with his cloth
rac. The ordinary sensation of cold
seldom has an external cause. People
who go along the street shivering in
winter weather must have some
alreased bodily condition which ac
counts for it, and piling on furs and
fannols will not remedy matters.
Warm clothing should bo worn, but
the heavy, close-fitting garments keep
the skin from breathing, and as soon
as the skin is smothered, tho body
gets cold. The blood must have fuel,
and the fuel is air, just as much and
as fresh as can be absorbed. Tho
first dash into tho cold air sends the
blood from the surface, but if tho
circulation is good, the reaction will
follow, and the re-heated blood will
iow back to the surface, producing a
delightful tingle of life. It lies with
as, then, to "stoke" the internal fur
aace with the fuel of pure air, whole
food, plenty of breatmng
makes are better than others; but
I can not say.
through the' nose, bathing and ventl-1 to pay a second time, or to at least inventions brought out toward better lock, balsam of fir, oil of origanum,
iating the body, avoiding too heavy, ' suffer great annoyance, and some-1 sanitation, and the woman of today 1 0ii 0f fed cedar, Venice turpentine
Filing Receipts)
It is a common occurrence that
people are made to pay again a bill
that Is already once paid, simply be
cause the payee either did not take
a receipt for the amount, or did not
keep it when given. Once upon a
time, there was little danger of a
second "dun," but It is not so now.
Every bill settled should be receipted,
either on the bill, or by separate
receipt, and should then be filed away
in a safe place and kept. How long
these receipts should be kept Is de
pendent upon the statute of limita
tions of the state in which they are
given. In some states, the time Is
shorter than in others, but the time
can do learned rrom tne statute
books of the state, and should be.
Many families are dunned for gro
ceries, or gas, or other bills, several
years after the debt was Incurred,
and, having nothing to show that
the amount has been paid, are forced
House Dust
"Where does all the dirt come
from?" wails the discouraged house
wife, as she struggles with broom
and dust pan. During the summer,
with doors and -windows wide open,
the house is comparatively easy to
keep clean; but no sooner does the
closing up season arrive than the
housewife has to begin and wage
constantly a battle .with house dirt.
Houso dirt cornea rrom many
quarters. Part of it is tho "fluff"
from the clothing we wear," and
other sources aro particles worn
from the carpets, rugs, curtains, ceil
ings, walls, furniture, ashes from
the registers, radiators, stoves and
heaters, stray hairs from the famijy
and from pet animals, particles of
feathers, crumbs the sheddlngs from
insects, particles from our own
bodies, and the nap or fleece from
a hundred sources. This dirt or
dust settles, some of it on the floor,
some on walls and ceilings, and
some falls on the furniture, or clings
to our clothes. If allowed to accu
mulate in rooms, it gives the atmos
phere a bad, unpleasant odor, and
Invites fungi, bacteria, and other
poisons. If left long, the Inorganic
part of this dirt undergoes a species
of decomposition, giving off effects
similar to that of sewer gas. Added
to this is the dirt brought in from
the outside on shoes and clothes, no
matter how neat one may be. There
seems to be only one thing to do
Just keep on fighting. The vacuum
cleaner promises us relief, but as
yet even the cheapest of tho really
reliable ones seems to be beyond the
purse of tho average woman. Plenty
of fresh air and all the sunshine
ono can get, together with hot
water; soap and the scrub cloth,
seem to be our best disinfectants,
and these should be used in abun
dance. Every year there are new
For the Toilet
A good soap cream which dries on
the skin and leaves it soft and
smooth is made as follows: Take a
small cake of good toilet soap, grind
or pound it fine, and melt in a
double boiler with a teaspoonful of
powdered borax and one of oatmeal,
a tablespoonful each of witch hazel
and glycerine and two ounces of
rosewater. Melt and stir well to
gether, then pour into a small jar.
Use for cleansing with soft, water.
Here Is one of the best known tis
sue builders, anfl easy to prepare:
Four ounces of elder water, one
ounce each of spermaceti and white
wax and four ounces of sweet al
mond oil; melt the wax and the oil
and the spermaceti in a water bath
(a double boiler, or set the cup con
taining the ingredients in another
cup of boiling water) ; add a tea
spoonful of tincture of benzoin to the
elderflower water, warm it and pour
into the melted oils; beat as it
cools. Use as other tissue build
ers, first washing the face with
quite warm water and a mild soap
cream, rinsing and drying on a soft
towel, and rubbing in the ".ream.
For those who are often out in
the air,1 and consequently .suffer
from chapped lips or face, the fol
lowing Is a good salve: Mutton tal
low (melted and strained), one
fourth pound; raisins, one-fourth
pound; yellow beeswax, one table
spoonful. .Simmer these ingredients
slowly together until the raisins float
on top, then strain and pour Into
small jars to cool. This will never
get rancid, and is good for chaps on
lips, face, 'hands, and also for heal
ing cuts or sores; it has a pleasant
odor, but may' be perfumed if
wanted.
For the man of the family, whose
skin is exceedingly sensitive after
shayin,g, try this: One ounce of pure
glycerine, three ounces of rosewater
and half an ounce of best grain al
cohol. Use the palms of the hands
to apply the lotion, and let it dry on.
A little rice powder dusted over the
face Is good after the lotion.
Good Salves
A reader asks for the recipe for
a good salve, containing Burgundy
pitch, which was given several years
ago in our department. It is difil
cult to hunt up the article wanted
unless more Ingredients are specified,
as there are so many such plasters,
or salves for plasters. I 5Ive
several, and hope one of them may
be the one wanted. If amount given
is larger than wanted, reduce the
quantity but keep proportions of
ingredients.
(IrAAti Mmitilnln CnlvA TtGflin. fiV6
pounds, burgundy pitch, beeswax and
strained mutton tallow, each one
fourth of a pound; oil of hemlock,
balsam of fir, oil of origanum, on
of red cedar and Venice turpentine
each, one ounce; oil of wormwood,
half an ounce, verdigris very finely
pulverized, one ounce; molt tne
resin, pitch, beeswax and mutton
tallow together, then add the oils,
having rubbed the verdigris up witn
a littio or tne ous, ana pui . ---the
other articles, stirring well.
Then pour into cold water and worK
as wax until cool enough to roll.
Green Mountain Salve No. 2.
Two pounds of resin, one-fourtn
pound of Burgundy pitch, one-fourtn
pound each of beeswax and clear
mutton tallow, and melt together
slowly, stirring; when a little cooi.
add one ounce eacn or on ui -
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