.6!

defile

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0

 

 

 

 

 

DETROIT, MAY 30, 1887.

 

 

THE HOUSEHOLD-"Supplernent.

 

 

TH E’ WOJIJX-SO L'L.

“ The womansoul leadeth us upward and on."
—La~/ line of Girl/W's "Falls-t."
There is :1 region of the upper life
Where all I love. where hate and fear and strife
Beleaguer not. The soil of that fair land
Is rich with generous sward and foliage fanned
By breezes of repose. A paradise
of peace it spreads. Its mansions rise
With portals smiling on a sylvun scene
Delectable. fast by whereintervene
Still waters. Its halcyon vistas end
Only with vastcr views to interblend;
While. put-pied in deep air, its mountains rise
To lose their summits in the summer skies
0f blue.
He who in that land liveth gleans
The wheat of life without its chaff; he leans
L'pon a rod and statf of strength; he eats
Hfjoy and beauty for his daily meats.
Nor fume nor wealth nor power may secure
An entrance to this Eden; there lure
Of pomp. the panoply of circumstance
Commands not access.
In its free expanse
What man so‘e‘r would gain his blest abode
As guide and guardian upon his road,
He fain must for his guest a woman find.
A woman tuned and tempered in her mind
To all the fair humanities, a being
So tried by tribulations that she, seeing
A need, her mission also sees, who wears
Not sumptuous silks nor glaring gems, but bears
For ornament a meek and steadfast soul,
And who unto the man she loves the whole
of her doth give? her ardent energy,
Ruled by a regnant will, must guerdon see
In sympathy, while, free as is the sky.
She must be pure as the clear lake where lie
The sun and shade reflected.
Guiding grace
Like that would life uplift from commonplace
Resplendent unto rectitude. The empty Shams,
The meaner striving after ends that damns
The better self, all these in nakedness
Would sink from her, but every spell to bless,
All witcheries of womanhood,
Would she avoke, her loved one‘s highest good
Her fullest joy.
——+o*————

THE UNKNOWABLE.

“Still on the lips of all We question
The finger of God‘s silence lies.
Shall the shut hands in ours be folded?
Will the closed eyelids ever rise?

"0 friends! no proof beyond this yearning.
This outreach of our souls. we need;
God will not mock the hope He giveth:
N0 love Lie prompts shall vainly plead.

“Then let us st'retch our hand; in darkness
And call our loved ones o'cranll o'er:
Some time their arms shall close about us,
And the old voices 5; eat: once more."
—-W/’.:;/tier'.
There are many people who are con-
tinually striving to look beyond the veil
which intervenes between this world and
the next, through which only the freed
spirit may pass, and speculating upon what
our condition will be therein. What is
Heaven, where is it, what- is it like; will we ,
remember our present existence; shall we t

 

renew our earthly ties the re, are questions
over which they weary themselves l.: fruit-
less conjecture. This desire to penetrate
the mysteries of a future existetr-c appears
co-exiStent with the idea of the immortality
of the soul, which in some form
common to all nations: and vain as the
quest is acknowledged to'be. still the specu-
lation goes on.

Who can sit by the bedside of a beloved
friend whose moments are numbered. who
is slipping away front us into that l'ualiss
covered Country we must enter alone and
unattended, without longing to know tint
it is indeed Well with our dear one, and
wondering what mysteries are perhaps al-
ready dawning upon the departing soul?
It is an awful thing to think of going out
into the darkness, a thought brightened
only by our belief that in another world the

St‘t’lll‘i

souls that were one with our own here,-

will be drawn to us again. It would be a
dreary thing to go to the land of strangers.
Bishop Clark, of Rhode island, in a lecture
once said: “Personal identity, without
which immortality would be worthless, in-
volves a knowledge of those whom we have
known and loved on earth. Is it to be sup-
posed that the emotional part of our natures
will be so altered or extinguished that we
shall cease to love that which on earth was
the centre of our most earnest and tender
affection? Those who have gone before
cannot forget those whom they left behind,
nor will their cup of happiness be full unless
they expect to welcome us where they have
gonefl’

Men fancy Heaven to suit their own
opinions and desires. To some it is a
perpetual song-service; to others a place
where all that defiles and debases the soul
in this world shall be eliminated. and
purified spirits dwell together in full and
perfect development. The Indian fancied
he was still to know the pleasures of the
chase, and his bow and arrows were buried
at his side; the Chinese spread a yearly feast
for the spirits of the dead, and burn etligies
—-“paper servants”——to serve them in an-
other world. Mahomet peopled Paradise
with dark—eyed houris for the delight of the
faithful; and the heathen Plato dreamed of
it as a place where the just dwelt in
philosophic calm. A great poet has given
these definitions:

"Hell. the shadow of a soul on tire;
Heaven. the vision of fulfilled desire."

A prominent clergyman of this city,
whose sermons are full of terse epigrams,
says, “Heaven is the promise of pro-
gressive development.”

Canon Farrer says heaven and hell are

 

 

umloubtedly states of
view in which modern
.\ man carries hetvcn

the soul’s being. a
theology Cnl’ifltltBS.
or hell in his heart,
aCCording to his lite: not a material heaven,
nor a hell of physical punishment, but the
state of his soul. Unite, in his [aria-2m,
said the Canon, whose lecture upon Dante

heard when he visited Detroit, saw the
soul of a man whom he knew to be alive
and upon earth. Asking how he came to he
in the place of departed spirits, he was told
that this man. who was a. priest, had slain
his guest at a banquet given in his honor.
and that for this dreadful deed his soul had
gone to the depths of hell, while his un-
settled body remained upon earth. moving
among men. And why should not our
good deeds lit't our souls to heaven, if our
bad ones can keep us in torment? It is a
strange. thought, that the soul may be tilled
with heaven or hell, as we will it, while
the body walks the earth. with no evidence
of the spiritual condition except those
gleams from those “ windows of the soul,”
the eyes, which sometimes chance to be-

tray us.
Men and women have gone insane
in their attempts to penetrate the

mysteries ofafuture existence; and many
saner ones have followed wild vagaries to
their own undoing. Others have unsettled
their faith by their Speculations, instead of
grounding it more firmly. That the at-
tainments of earth are amplified and per-
fected in a future existence is beyond a.
doubt. The talents we have here are ours
in the life to come, and the more we in-
crease and perfect them, the higher the en-
joyment we may attain in it. According to
our life here will be our capacity for the
highest blessedncss and happiness here-
after; for that there are degrees of happi-
ness in heaven we cannot doubt. The more
we cultivate, the more we develop, the
nearer we. approach the Divine thought, the
fuller and more complete our enjoyment,
both here and hereafter.

What matters, then, the exact nature of
our reward, so we but win it. confident 13 we
are that it is good beyond our deserts? he
way to gain it has been made clear to us,
why then should we disquiet ourselves con-
cerning that which has been hid from us by
the Wisdom of the Almighty, and of which
it is impossible for us to know more than He
has chosen to reveal? Should we. not
rather leave these profitless conjectures,
these arrogant assumptions founded on our
own wisdom, and spend our time and
strength in fitting ourselves for that better,
richer, more. complete. life?

" Sing thou thy souc; and do thy deed.

Ilope thou thy hope. and pray my prayer.”
and with steadfast heart expect a just re-
“ ard. BEATRIX.

 


 

2 THE HOUSEHOLD.

 

 

UNMARRIED WOMEN.

._—__.

While there is nothing that moves so
slowly toward civilization as society, that
progress is made we see by various indica-
tions, and one of the most noticeable is
that the phrase “old maid,” is well nigh
out of fashion. I believe that the majority
of unmarried women are so from principle,
because they had too muth honor and
delicacy of feeling to form a marriage
merely of interest or convenience, without
love or feeling in the matter, and resolve
that the solitary life shall be‘ made cheer-
ful by being useful. Why should such a
life be one of aversion? Why need they be
joked upon the subject by such rem irks as
“ What, not married yet? if you don’t look
out you’ll outstand your market.” To a
woman blessed with sensibility and natural
refinement, such remarks must be im-
pertinent and disagreeable if not very
offensive, for no one likes the idea of
being considereda commodity. Who can
not remember some dear good unmarried
woman whom everybody called “Aunt,”
who was so kind and sympathizing in
sickness; to whom little children loved to
go with childish hurts and differences; to
whom maidens went to confide little love
quarrels, or to whisper of the great hap-
piness that had come to them; who was al-
ways ready to advise older ones, in fact
proved herself often a “good Samaritan?”
We perhaps know one who is the “main-
stay ” of an aged father and mother, whose
hand has resolutely put aside all thoughts
of self, all girlish fancy and romance, and
pushed forward faithfully in the path of
duty. The refrain of many a joyous,
thoughtless girl has been,

“- Come deaf. and come blind and come cripple,
Oh! come any one 0‘ them a’,
Better be married to something,
Than na to be married at a‘."

But those thoughtless words come back
oh! so cruelly some day. There are women
who enter society and determine that they
will marry; they “play their cards well”
and succeed. “A life union should be re-
garded as too important and sacred to be
entered into merely from motives of vanity
or selfishness; to rear families is doubtless
the ordination of nature, and when it is
done conscientiously it is the best educa-
tion men and women can receive.

The great “Author of Nature ” intended
that men and women should marry, but
society has become artificial, and con-
sequently the number of unmarried ones has
increased. If humanity were in a state of
natural, healthy development, this would
not be so; as artificial wants diminish, real
happiness would increase in proportion.
There are single women who had “an
ideal” in youth, but they expected too much,
they never met their “hero,” but in after
years found happiness and delight in the
fruition of some young friend’s hopes.
George Eliot says of such: “When we are
young we insist upon having everything or
nothing, when we are older we find that
‘everything’ is an impossible, and ‘noth-
ing’ a somewhat bitter word. We are able
to stoop meekly and pick up the fragments
of the children’s bread, without feeling our-
selves altogether ‘dogs’.” In speaking
of two who had become estranged in youth,

 

but in after life were re-united, the same
writer says: “Young love is passionate,
old love is faithful; but the very tenderest
thing in all this world is a love revived.”
There are women who never seem to crave
or yearn for love and protection, whose
highest ideal is art, or music, or some
philanthropic work. to whom the passionate
lover could well cry

“ All thy passions matched to mine,
Are as meonlight unto sunlight,
Or as water unto Wine.”

There have been unions of sisterly love,
which resulted most happily—of brother
and sister that have been most beneficial.
Charles and M try Lamb seemed uui‘ed,
mind and body. Our own poet Whittier,
whom all held so dear, had a home made
beautiful by the same relation, mutual love
and dependence. Alice and Phoebe Cary
were devotedly attached; Frederica Bremer
was asingle woman; Maria Edgeworth,
Catharine Sedgwick, Miss Mitford, whose
writings are said “to cheer the soul like a
meadow of cowslips in the spring time;”
Miss Alcott—oh! so many have shown what
a, pure unselfish life can do. Their constant
labor for others’ goo i, and the cheerful
satisfaction resulting from such labor,
proves that to be steadily and pleasantly
employed is a preventive of despondency,
for there are temptations peculiarily in-
cident to single life, there is often suspicion
of neglect, ennui if idle. The measure of
strength in character will be shown in
putting these feelings and propensities
aside. That many women err in marrying,
is seen in peevish, fretful wives and mothers,
who have not or would not realize the hap-
piness they. anticipated. There is much
beauty and advantage in married life if One
is true to her womanly nature; what task
so sweet as rearing the young. what so
beautiful as the mother-love! There are
“women with faces like windows, thro’
which a sweat spirit shall smile.” “ Often
beneath a placid exterior may lie a silent
histOry of trouble and trial that have
been converted into spiritual blessings.
Hearts bleed and heal again, or learn to
cover their wounds, and the world goes on.”
Burns throws unsbed tears into his “ Fare-
well to N ancyz"

“ Had we never lov'd s'ae kindly,
Had we never lov‘d s’aeiblindly.
Never met and never parted.
We had ne‘er been broken hearted.”
Tom Moore says

“ Better be courted and jilted,
Than never be courted at all,"

and Lord Byron tells us in such a beautiful
poem that,

“ Love rules the camp, the court, the grove,
For love is heaven, and heaven is love;
80 sung the muse, yet thousands pine,
For want of that great love divine.”

“A woman may make a respectable ap-
pearance, as a wife, with a character far
less noble than is necessary to enable her
to lead a single life with usefulness and
dignity. She is sheltered and concealed
behind her husband; but the unmarried
woman must rely upon herself; and she
lives in aglass house, open to the gaze of
every passer by. To the feeble-minded
marriage is almost a necessity, and if
wisely formed, doubtless it renders the life
of any womar more happy. But happiness
is not the sole aim and end of life. We are
sent here to build up a character; and

 

sensible women may easily reconcile them-
selves to a single life, since even its dis-
advantages may be converted into means
of development of all the faculties with
which God has endowed them.”

BATTLE CREEK. EVANGELINE.

—-—-¢o+-—.—

OUR SURROUNDINGS.

 

V[Puper read by Mrs. Elliot T. Sprague, of Battle

Creek, at the Farmers‘ Institute at Athens]
(Concluded)

Not many months ago, a poor boy; em-
ployed about one of the large hote‘s in New
York city, was called by some errand down
to the wharf. Boy-fashion, he was gazing
around, and his attention was finally riveted
on some men who were pumping water out
of a boat. The pump threw such a small
stream of water that the boy took note of it,
and when the men went away he examined
the pump and quick as a flash he saw where
a great improvement could be made, where-
by a much larger body of water could be
thrown. He was almost afraid to think
about it until he had perfected hIS plans;
all night he lay awake thinking about it,
and the next day visited several tin shops
to have the various parts of the pump made.
not daring to have one man make the
whole for fear his secret should be dis-
covered. Alone in his little room be fitted
the parts all together, and found he had a
success. He dared not trust any one with
the secret for a long while, but finally en-
listed the sympathies of a kind-hearted old
gentleman, through whose influence it was
sold for forty thousand dollars.‘

Mother Earth holds countless treasures
for her children; all that is needed is the
observing eye, the inquiring mind the heart
open to others’ wants. This is no age for
selfishness, talents will not benefit humani-
ty folded away in a napkin, or hid under a
bushel. What is needed to-day is practical
knowledge; we have no need of theories;
they are a mere puff of wind, one might as
well follow a “ will-o’the-wisp.” One-half
the failures in life are due to theory.

Just as observation is necessary in the
world at large, we find it equally so in our
homes. There is no place where the quick
eye and ready intuition are more needed.
N o housekeeper has perfected those qualti-
ties which are essential in her department.
without making good use of her eyes. If
she had never noticed trifles this standard
would never have been reached. Her well
and carefully trained eye discovers instant-
ly if anything is amiss. The table linen
must be immaculately clean, the several
dishes in their places, the food well cooked
and served, furniture free of defects, dust
accumulations speedily removed, or her rep-
utation as an expert housekeeper is lost.
One of the writers of the present time says:
“Women should do less talking and fight-
ing against intemperance, and try a little

home work, perfect themselves in cooking;

many a husband and son are sent out in the
morning with empty stomachs, for the coffee
was sloppy, the breakfast hardly eatable,
and in order to accomplish a forenoons’ work
they resort to strong drink.”

But the slack, careless, slatternly woman
proves that her home is no better for her
being in it. Cobwebs may festoon the

.‘~

uni

I.

all-5M r‘w ‘

ii Wm:


.“

mi

 

THE HOUSEHOLD. ‘ 3‘

 

corners, dirt accumulate until the whole
house is in disorder, what cares she, so long
as she can pore over some lackadaisical
love story, utterly oblivious to things about
her. Her surroundings are entirely different,
for in imagination she revels in scenes of
fairy-like splendor, sits with kings and
queens, or has as companions the great
mindiof ancient and modern times; she
cries over the thwarted union of “two
souls with but a single thought, two hearts
that beat as one,” never thinking that she
has a better nature to be true to, and that
she could improve her home by having less
to do with imagination and coming face to
face with reality, for there is a wide differ-
ence between dreams and realities. “No
matter how or where we are situated we
will always find opportunities for observa-
tion, it we will only keep our eyes open,
and our minds open at the same time.” It
is the brain behind the eyes that makes
Seeing of any value. Every gift may be per-
fected by self—culture, and by keeping the
eyes busy on things about us. By observ—
ing and comparing we color our future
lives, increase our intelligence, and are
never at a loss for new worlds to conquer.
What the world needs to-day is less out-
look and more insight. We need eyes to
see our own duty in every department of
life, to note our own faults, and to observe
the beauty rather than the blemishes of
of others; to see wherever we can be of
service, and in what way we can enlarge
our Opportunities and beautify our surround-

ings.
————¢oo——-

HUSBAND AND WIFE.

 

When Ifinished reading Beatrix’s article
“A Few Reasons” I said to myself:
“That’s splendid,” and fe‘t impelled to
fasten some of the thoughts it suggested.
I too, think that a man and wife, where
both have a desire to be and do right,
though with different temperaments and
training, may learn to live together with a
good degree of happiness and comfort,
though it may require patience and tact.

What is the use of wishing we were not
married; we wouldn’t be any better con-
tented, and the majority would do just so
again, perhaps with worse results, and life
is not a bed of roses to the single; or at
least they do not realize it, for most of
them want to see the “folly of it” for
themselves.

If husbands and wives would try as hard
to live together as they do to get apart, the
result would be far more satisfactory and
less unhappy.

I cannot fail in with the idea that a wife
can always be as attractive in looks or
actions as a sweetheart is expected to be
occasionally. We all have our own opinion
of a woman who does little but make her-
self look nice, and but few men want such
for wives. If the curls before marriage
were bewitching, it was because they had
been “done up,” and the husband would
hardly expect his wife to go home every
time she curled them after marriage, would
he? and if she had the toothache is she
under any more obligations to hide it under
a smile than he is? Would he do it?

I supposed marriage was a mutual con-
cern where labor and cares, sorrows and ad-

versities, as well as joy and prosperity, were
to be shared together. I do think we should
cultivate patience and neatness always, and
if we want to control a husband, we must
try and control ourselves. Let us try faith-
fully to make married life a success, that
there may be less reason for the conclusion
that is apparent, namely. that there are
few happy married people.

NORVELL. A. \‘lNE.

—-——-—-«o—-—

PRESERVING EGGS \VITH LIME.

1 have found so many good and valuable
recipes in the HOUSEHOLD that it has
come to be second nature to look in it
when I need help, so now, wanting a good
recipe for “limed ” eggs, and iinding none
I come to you, thinking that perhaps you
can aid me. I noticed an item in the
FARMER a While ago, saying a young man
bought a great many dozen at - nine cents,
and by putting them in lime was able to
realize twenty-two cents perdozen. I would
like to know how it is done. .

DUNDEE. MRS. E. R. R.

The usual method of preserving eggs for
sale during the winter months, is by put-
ting them in a “ pickle” of lime, salt and
water. The eggs must be perfectly fresh;
this is the first and great requisite. Use
the best quality of stone lime, th it which
will slake white and clean; good clean salt
and pure water. The proportions are one
bushel of lime, eight quarts of salt, 250
quarts of water. Slake the lime with a part
of the water. then add the salt and the re-
mainder of the water. Stir well several
times, at intervals, let settle, and draw off
the clear portion into the cask in which you
intend to keep the eggs. When you have
about 18 inches deep of the pickle
in the cask, put in the eggs, and
when you have a layer a foot thick,
stir up a little of the top of the lime in
the cask in which the pickle was mixed,
till it is milky in appearance, and then put
this around over the eggs. Add more of
the clear liquid, more eggs, and more
milky liquid. The object of adding this is
to have the fine lime drawn into the pores
of the shells, and so sealthem hermetically.
Care must be taken not to get in too much
of the lime, or it will settle on the shells
and make them hard to clean when taken
out. One unfortunate experimentor used so
much lime in putting down the eggs, that
when he came to take them out, it was im-
possible to do so; the lime had hardened
about the eggs till they could only be
broken out and were worthless. If not
enough lime is used (in the manner de-
scribed) the whites of the eggs become
watery. When the cask or tub is nearly
full of eggs, cover them with factory cloth
and spread on this two or three inches of
the lime that settled from the pickle; and it
is important that the pickle be kept at such
a height as to cover this layer of lime. When
you are ready to sell the eggs they should
be taken up, washed and dried quickly,
and packed for the market. The casks or
tubs containing the eggs should be kept in
a cool place which is free from bad odors,
and where the temperature is steady, and
as low as can be maintained above the
freezing point. Eggs packed in this man-

ner, where all the conditions are just right,
are quoted but slightly below strictly fresh
eggs in the market, and, as in the case men-

 

in selling value in midwinter and thetime at
which they were bought in, nets the packer
agood profit. The process given above is
that recommended by the United States
Butter and Cheese Association, and has
also the approval of packers.

.4..—
RED RASPBERRIES, JAM, JELLY,
ETC.

 

I want to tell the lady who cmiplained,
last year, of having trouble with her rasp-
berries, what I think is the matter. I have
put up red raspberries nearly every year
for the last twenty years, and have never
lost a can; but I think for canning and
jelly, they should be perfectly fresh, al-
though Ihave made jam several times when
the berries had been picked over night,
and it was just as nice. I can the red
berries the same as I do black ones. For
making jun I take equal quantities by
weight, and cook until it is rich and thick,
stirring enough to keep from burning. For
jelly I measure, using three cups of sugar to
two of juice; stir until the sugar is dis-
solved, and let boil three or four minutes.
I always use granulated sugar. I think the
jelly is the most delicate flavored jelly
there is made, and the jam is simply de—
licions. As a guarantee that I have good
luck, I would say that I have sent the jam,
jelly and canned berries, packed in a bar-
rel, With other canned and dried fruit,
shipped as freight to the “ far west,” and
it was nice after all that shaking up.

A BUSY HOUSEKEEPER.
—-O—H-__
THE HAIR.

DUNDEE.

“How shall I wear my hair?” inquires a
correspondent. Nearly every one wears the
back hair coiled flatly, fairly against the
back of the head, medium high, or braided
in the same way. Certain others Wear it
in a loose and somewhat untidy-looking
French twist, which commences low at the
back of the head, and requires a small
“rat” or roll-like pad. But this is not as
fashionable a mode as the former. The
front hair is still cut short, and worn in
loose rings or curls. Not so much of the
hair~is cut for this purpose as formerly and
the effect is lighter and more graceful. A
way which finds favor with many Detroit
ladies who have low wide foreheads, is to
comb the hair back, pufiing it slightly but
not using a pad, and also without parting.
The short locks in front are brushed up and
back against this, giving an effect a la
pompadour. More of the forehead is shown
in dressing the hair at present than for some
time past. The “Russian bang,” which is
cut slightly pointed in front, is still worn,
but is hardly a pretty style unless for
children. The most generally becoming
way for children to dress the hair, which
has also the further merit of being becom-
ing to most, is to have the front hair cut in
the pointed “ bang,” and the back hair of
medium length, left loose. Older girls
braid the back hair and loop it under rib-
bons, or tie it and curl the ends loosely.
A good many children are also wearing the
hair shingled, acool, comfortable fashion for
summer, and one which is popularly sup-

 

tioned by our correspondent, the difference

posed to strengthen and promote the growth
of the hair.

 


 

4:

THE HOUSEHOLD.

 

 

SCRAPS.

 

I NOTICE that certain of the Ladies’
Aid Societies, connected with various
churches in Michigan towns, have held
or are about to hold “flower fairs”
or shows, at which plants in bloom
are exhibited, and flowers and pot and
bedding plants are sold. What more
beautiful and appropriate way of raising
money for the service of Him who bade us
“consider the lilies of the field” could be
devised? How infinitely preferable to the
church fair or “bazar,” with its fancy work
at exorbitant prices, its “grab-bag,” and
“fishing-pond,” its quilt to be sold by lot-
tery, and its gold-headed cane to be “voted”
-—at ten cents a vote—-to the most popular
man; and all other devices employed to
coax money out of the pockets of the
victims who attend, and who are expected,
in fact compelled, to buy things they don’t
want and have no earthly use for, or be
tl’ought—perhaps be called, “real mean”
or “stingy old thing.” But then I’m
a heretic, and never did believe in
selling pious pincushions or ladling out
religious oysters, three to a stew, in
order to Spread the gospel, or purchase re-
ligious novels of a purely sectarian nature
for the Sunday school library. But a
biossoming plant can find aplace in any
home without shaming the surroundings; it
gives full “value received” in its beauty
and perfume, and even though it may fade
soon, we have had our share of pleasure
from it. And these fairs are educators, and
exerta beneficial and uplifting influence,
instead of lowering the moral sense, as do
lottery schemes, whether under the auspices
of the church or the betting-ring. By all
means let the flower sales flourish.

 

“EVERY one over against his house.”
I wonder sometimes if in these days of or-
ganizations, when there are associations for
the purpose of conducting all sorts of
philanthropic work, we are not in danger
of forgetting how Nehemiah rebuilt the
walls of Jerusalem, “every man over
against his house,” and not putting the
plan into practice in our own lives, by each
one doing the little she can in alleviating
the misery and wretchedness which comes
under her immediate observation. We
wait for our organizations to find out the
needy and help them, perhaps refer those
who apply'to us to the “ society” to which
we belong, and wait for them to be “in-
vestigated.” Are we not in danger of
letting “red tape” bind up our kindly im-
pulses as well as our funds? We may give
to the unwor hy, perhaps, sometimes, and
thus encourage vice; promiscuous and in-
discriminate giving ought not to be en-
couraged, but cannot we take a little of our
own time to look into the real merits of

those who apply for aid, instead of falling.

back on a “ committee?”

 

“ I AM wont to think that men are not so
much keepers Of herds as herds are the
keepers of men, the former are so much the
freer,” quoth Thoreau, poet and philoso-
pher, who dwelt for a time in a house he
built for himself at a cost of $28, and lived
for eight months at a total expense for food
of $8.74, and $8.40 for clothes. He shows

 

us conclusively, how cheaply man can live,
how few his real needs, if. he can but be
content to live simply and plainly, and put
aside those superfluities which to most of
us are necessities solely by custom. Many
a woman’s house keeps her, not she it,
because she makes herself a slave to sweep-
ing, and keeping free from dust its adorn-
ments, the knicknacks which are useless
except to take up time. Slaves to the
moloch Ofakitchen stove to get up good
things to eat; and held in bondage by yards
of ruffling and embroidery we put upon our
garments, simply because it is the custom
so to do. When shall we adopt Frances
Willard’s motto, “Plain living and high
thinking?” when follow Thoreau’s ex-
ample and give up the chase for fortune to
dwell near Nature’s heart and learn her
secrets? Never, so long as we let the
limitations of custom and luxury engross
us. BEATBIX.

___———..‘—-——

HOUSEHOLD HINTS.

 

Sonnrmus a new shoe will press so
closely upon a tender joint that great dis:
comfort results and one feels willing to
sacrifice annost anything to secure ease.
Try wetting a bit Of flannel in hot water
and laying it across the tight place. Do
this several times and the leather will have
stretched to the shape of your foot.

A RULE in the South for preserving hams
in warm weather is to place the hams in
flour sacks that have been boiled in un-
slacked lime—a gallon of lime being suf-
ficient for twenty-five sacks. Let the
sacks dry, then turn them inside out, drop
the hams into boiling water a few seconds,
dry them in the sun and sack them at once.

 

To WASH blankets, put three cents’ worth
of borax into a tub-full of warm water, put
the blankets in, and see that they are
thoroughly wet. Let them soak several
hours, or half a day, even, then squeeze
them through the hands a couple of times,
wring, rinse in plenty of hot suds, and they
will come out fresh, sweet, and soft. They
should be pulled, both lengthwise and
crosswise, finishing with a lengthwise pull.

 

WASHING-POWDERS are almost always
composed of carbonate of soda. They may
occasionally be of use in removing very
obstinate spots, but their constant use
causes the clothing to wear out very rapidly.
Borax is less objectionable, and may
sometimes serve a good auxiliary to the
so p. Ammonia will often remove stains
which are not affected by the ordinary
cleansing process, but so powerful an agent
should be used with care.

 

THE process Of bluing illustrates an im-
portant law of color. Freshly washed
linen is of a slightly yellowish tint, which
appears to be an optical illusion depending
upon its excessive whiteness.
and yellow and complementary colors; that
is, when blue and yellow light are com-
bined, white light is formed. So the ad-
dition of a trace of blue color to the linen
neutralizes the yellow tint, and rendered it
apparently perfectly white. Bluing is
usually made from indigo, though Prussian

Now, blue -

 

blue, ultramarine, and aniline blue are
sometimes used. The same process of
bluing is applied to sugar to give it a whiter
appearance.

 

WHETHER a remedy for corns can legiti-
matcly come under the head of “House
hold Hints” is a question which might be
disputed. But those who have “ got ’cm ”
will not care particularly where they find
relief, if they only find it. Try a daily ap
plication of two drachms fluid extract In-
dian hemp, and two ounces styptic col
lodion.

 

CATHERINE Owax, author of that
seductive cookbook serial, “Ten Dollars
Enough,” says in the Inter Ocean: “ Let
it be understood that the delicate use of
such flavorings as fine cooking calls for.
does not necessarily imply that your dishes
will be highly Spiced or strong of herbs. I
have met many people who would not try a
recipe in which there was any parsley or
thyme flavoring; others who could eat
nothing in which onions were used, yet
who would eat a dinner at first-class res-
taurants and hotels with great relish and
wish they could have the same things at
home, little dreaming that the variety of
flavor and the richness of the sauces was
owing to the delicate proportions of the
very herbs they despised: that the con-
somme they enjoyed so much would have
been flat stuff, without the due proportion
of onion. Strong flavor of anything but
meat is to be avoided, and for any dish to
be strong of any one herb or spice. is an in-
dication of poor cooking. There are ex-
ceptions to this rule in such things as mock
turtle soup, Spiced beef, etc., but the rule is
that no particular flavor predominate.”

—————‘O.——-———
Contributed Recipes.

SCALLOPED SQUASH.-—Cut up a Hubbard
squash and take out the seeds; lay in a pan
and bake till soft. Scrape out the inside,
mash it smooth, season with butter, pepper
and salt, stir in two well beaten eggs. Butter
9. baking dish and pour in the mixture, cover
with cracker crumbs and bits of butter. Bake
half an hour, covered, then brown for fifteen
or twenty minutes.

DUTCH CREAM Town—Grate some rem-
nants of cold ham, previously removing all
the fat and drying in the oven till it will grate
like cheese. Cut bread into thin slices and
toast a'delicate brown; butter the slices and
spread with the grated ham. Take a cup and
a half of sweet cream or rich milk, with a bit

of butter added; heat boiling hot and pour ,

over the toast; serve immediately. Nice for
breakfast, and a good way to dispose of rem-
nants of ham.

ASPARAGL'S wr'rrr Boos—Boil a bunch of
asparagus in salted water till done. Cut the
tender part into inch pieces, lay in a buttered
dish, season with salt, pepper and butter;
beat four eggs just enough to break the yolks

and pour over the asparagus. Bake eight
m’nutes and serve with thin slices of holled
ham. B.

 

 

V ‘ __-___..___._____—..'...—..._. .

FLOWER SEEDS FOR 1887...

I will send one package of choice pansy sad,
mixed sorts, for 15 cents. Dahlias. any color, 12
cents each; five for 50 cents; 12 for $1. Seeds
from over 100 choice varieties of perennials,
everlastings, annuals or herbs, six packets for
250; 13 for 50c or 30 for $1. Send stamp for list

MRS. r11. A. FULLER (DILL),
Boa: 297.Fcnton. Mich.

I.

V.

3- maaiwmmmlaw-5,;