Glances  Hither  and  Yon. 
The  Mother-Sex. 
ARION  HARLAND  happily  calls  the  women 
whose  hearts  are  full  of  love  for  children,  as 
such,  “  being's  of  the  mother-sex.”  She  says  to  step¬ 
mothers,  what  might  well  be  applied  at  times  to  the 
mother  of  children  all  her  own:  “You  make  tremendous 
strides  toward  their  love  when  they  cannot  point  to  a 
single  unjust  act  which  you  commit  against  them. 
The  fondest  love  often  covers  real  injustice  to  the 
child  ;  yea,  sometimes  causes  it. 
Practical  Blessings. — It  isnoticeable  that  so  large 
a  proportion  of  those  who  write  about  the  advantages 
of  farm  life,  mention  the  milk,  cream,  and  eggs  in 
almost  perennial  supply.  No  one  can  avoid  seeing 
these  advantages;  but  never,  we  fancy,  are  they 
fully  appreciated  except  in  late  winter  when  the  sup¬ 
ply  sometimes  fails.  The  universal  law :  “Blessings 
brighten,”  etc.,  is  true  here,  as  everywhere. 
Known  by  Her  Works. — Speaking  about  women 
who  are  known  by  their  works,  we  might  mention 
Hannah  Whitall  Smith  as  a  shining  example.  Her 
name,  perhaps,  calls  up  no  gleam  of  recognition  in  the 
eyes  of  those  who  read  it ;  yet  a  reference  to  “  The 
Christian’s  Secret  of  a  Happy  Life”  places  liei  at  once  ; 
for  this  work  has  so  touched  the  popular  heart  that  it 
has  been  translated  into  several  foreign  tongues.  The 
soft  thee  and  thine  of  Mrs.  Smith’s  speech,  and  the  plain 
garb  proclaim  her  birthright  among  the  Society  of 
Friends.  Would  we  know  the  beauty  of  her  private 
life  ?  Let  us  consider  the  answer  which  one  of  her 
daughters  made,  when  asked  her  opinion  of  a  newly- 
written  tract:  “Oh,  mother,  I  don’t  need  to  read  thy 
tracts  to  know  that  they  are  good;  thee  lives  them.” 
Yet  both  a  son  and  daughter  have  been  heard  to  say  : 
“We  would  rather  hear  mother  preach  than  to  hear 
any  other  sermon.”  Mrs.  Smith’s  Bible  readings  draw 
immense  audiences. 
Recipes  for  Using  Cream. 
IN  families  where  but  one  or  two  cows  are  kept,  it 
often  happens  that  the  quantity  of  cream  is  insuffi¬ 
cient  for  churning,  and  the  use  of  it  as  a  substitute 
for  butter  or  other  shortening  becomes  a  positive 
economy.  The  following  recipes  are  evolved  from 
actual  kitchen  experience.  The  cup  used  is  one  hold¬ 
ing  half  a  pint,  and  is  even  full.  The  flour  is  sifted  be¬ 
fore  measuring,  and  twice  after  the  addition  of  baking 
powder  and  salt,  that  these  latter  may  be  evenly  dis¬ 
tributed  : 
Cream  Biscuit. — Four  cupfuls  of  flour,  one  teaspoon¬ 
ful  of  salt,  three  teaspoonfuls  of  baking  powder:  sift 
all  together.  Add  one  cup  of  pure  cream  and  one  cup 
of  milk.  Stir  and  mix  lightly  with  spoon  or  knife,  and 
tarn  out  on  floured  mixing  board.  Sift  a  little  Hour 
on  top,  and  roll  to  the  thickness  of  an  inch  with  the 
fewest  possible  strokes  of  the  roller.  Cut  in  long  strips 
and  lay  on  a  baking  sheet,  marking  deeply  with  a  knife 
so  as  to  form  small,  square  biscuits.  Bake  in  quick 
oven.  Of  course,  they  may  be  cut  in  the  usual  man¬ 
ner,  but  they  lose  some  of  their  delicacy  in  the  extra 
rolling  required. 
Cream  Pancakes. — .Sift  together  three  cupfuls  of 
flour,  one-half  cupful  of  sugar,  one  teaspoonful  of  salt, 
three  teaspoonfuls  of  baking  powder.  Beat  in  thor¬ 
oughly  three-fourths  cupful  of  cream,  2%  cupfuls  of 
milk,  yolks  of  three  eggs.  Then  stir  in  lightly  the 
stiffiy-beaten  whites  of  three  eggs.  Bake  them  the 
size  of  a  breakfast  plate  on  a  greased  griddle.  Dress 
each  with  a  little  butter  and  sugar,  and  pile  six,  one 
upon  the  other.  Cut  as  you  would  jelly  cake,  but  heat 
the  knife  blade  that  it  may  not  make  them  heavy. 
Cream  Doughnuts. — Beat  two  eggs  lightly;  add  one 
cupful  of  sugar,  one  cupful  of  cream,  one  cupful  of 
milk,  one  teaspoonful  of  vanilla  ;  add  five  cupfuls  of 
flour  sifted  with  four  teaspoonfuls  of  baking  powder 
and  one  teaspoonful  of  salt.  Turn  on  to  a  floured 
board  ;  give  it  a  slight  kneading  to  make  it  of  even 
consistency,  and  roll  thin  (about  a  quarter  of  an  inch). 
Cut  round  with  holes  in  the  center  and  fry  in  hot  lard. 
Roll  in  granulated  sugar  while  hot.  Cut  as  many  as 
possible  without  rolling  the  second  time. 
Indian  Mead  Puffs. — Sift  together  1%  cupful  of 
Indian  meal,  1H  cupful  of  flour,  one-half  cupful  of 
sugar,  three  teaspoonfuls  of  baking  powder,  one  tea¬ 
spoonful  of  salt ;  beat  in  one  cupful  of  cream,  one  cup¬ 
ful  of  milk,  yolks  of  two  eggs.  Add  the  stiffly  beaten 
whites  of  two  eggs.  Bake  in  gem  pans  in  a  hot  oven. 
Wheaten  gems  may  be  made  by  the  same  recipe,  sub¬ 
stituting  flour  for  Indian  meal. 
Morasses  Cake. — Mix  together  one  cupful  of  mo¬ 
lasses,  one  cupful  of  sugar,  one  cupful  of  cream,  3  % 
cupfuls  of  flour,  one  heaping  teaspoonful  of  salt,  one- 
half  teaspoonful  of  allspice,  one-half  teaspoonful  of 
cinnamon,  one-half  teaspoonful  of  cloves,  two  tea¬ 
spoonfuls  of  ginger  ;  add  one  teaspoonful  of  soda  dis¬ 
solved  in  one-half  cupful  of  hot  water,  Alice  h.  smith. 
“They  Set  Me  to  Thinking.” 
THE  prize  articles  set  me  to  thinking  how  hard  it 
seems  to  have  a  variety  and  I  wondered  how 
many  different  kinds  of  victuals  we  prepare  in  a  year. 
I  thought  I  would  keep  an  account  of  one  week.  I 
give  you  the  result  below  in  “victuals  and  drink.” 
Boiled  potatoes,  pancakes,  maple  syrup,  fried  ham, 
fried  eggs,  apple  pickles,  maple  sugar  cookies,  tea, 
milk,  butter,  chickens  with  biscuit  and  gravy,  apple 
pie,  fried  salt  pork  with  milk  gravy,  fried  mush, 
red  raspberry  jam,  white  bread,  water,  canned 
strawberries,  stirred  cake,  crust  coffee,  dried  beef 
gravy  with  biscuit,  salsify  soup,  crackers,  black  rasp¬ 
berry  pie,  steamed  bread,  boiled  pork,  beans  boiled  in 
bags,  ginger  cookies,  apple  sauce,  boiled  pork,  fried, 
boiled  parsnips,  scrambled  eggs,  cherry  sauce,  pork 
cake,  coffee,  fried  salsify,  pork  omelet,  fried  parsnips, 
cherry  pie,  custard  pie,  maple  sugar. 
These  41  items  do  not  give  the  different  combina¬ 
tions,  and  represent  I  think  a  fair  average  of  our  bill 
of  fare.  They  do  not  include  all  the  variety  we  have 
by  any  means,  but  just  what  we  happened  to  get  for 
that  week.  I  think  most  of  us  would  be  surprised  to 
know  how  many  different  sorts  of  food  we  eat  in  the 
course  of  a  year. 
Last  year  we  had  fresh  fruit  nearly  every  day  all 
summer.  Wild  strawberries  in  a  grove  nearby  were 
quite  large  and  easy  to  pick.  Raspberries  set  out  near 
the  house  supplied  all  our  desires  in  that  direction. 
I  am  of  the  opinion  that  farmers  live  a  great  deal  bet¬ 
ter  than  they  did  20  or  30  years  ago.  Gi.en. 
“Women  and  Children.” 
MY  friend,  whom  I  know  and  love,  writes  in  No. 
2,197,  of  the  dark  side  of  the  life  of  a  farmer’s 
wife.  I  do  not  live  on  a  farm,  but  I  have  always  had 
friends  who  do,  and  I  know  there  is  another  side  to 
the  shield.  I  have  spent  six  months  at  a  time  with 
relatives  who  had  always  lived  on  a  farm,  and  their 
lives  seemed  to  me  almost  ideal.  But  the  picture 
drawn  by  my  friend  is  exactly  as  true  of  98  per  cent 
of  the  wives  in  towns  and  cities  as  for  those  on  farms. 
Working  as  I  do,  and  always  have,  among  the  poor  and 
in  mission  work,  West  and  East,  I  find  it  is,  for 
mothers,  “care  for  the  little  ones”  and  “routine 
household  work  ”  in  98  out  of  every  100  homes.  “  God 
works  no  otherwise,”  says  Mrs.  Whitney.  It  has  been 
this  way  ever  since  God  said  that  man  must  live  by 
the  sweat  of  his  brow.  For  6,000  years  man  lias  fought 
that  edict,  and  in  the  last  half  century  woman  has 
also  taken  up  the  cudgel. 
If  sin  brought  death,  it  also  brought  eternal  life 
'through  Christ.  God  says  that  at  the  first  we  were 
created  but  little  below  the  angels,  but,  as  redeemed 
souls,  we  must,  throughout  eternity,  stand  higher  than 
the  angels,  therefore  character  building  is  the  most 
important  thing  on  earth.  How  is  character  made  ? 
Isn’t  it  always  by  “  routine  work  ”  and  “  self-denial  ?  ” 
Whence  have  come  the  strong  characters  of  all  ages, 
and  what  lias  been  their  reward  for  uplifting 
humanity  ? 
The  great  men  of  earth  who  came  from  homes  of 
wealth  and  ease  are  so  few  that  we  can  count  them  on 
our  fingers.  Who  are  earth’s  workers  in  schools,  col¬ 
leges,  out  in  the  byways,  in  reforms,  as  statesmen,  as 
scholars  ?  They  come  from  homes  where  strong  char¬ 
acters  were  made  by  “routine”  and  “self-denial.” 
What  really  great  worker  was  ever  paid  in  this  world 
for  his  work — prophet,  priest,  poet,  reformer,  scien¬ 
tist  ? 
Jeremiah  ? — after  30  years  of  faithful  service  given 
a  prison  !  Paul  ?  A  dungeon  and  death.  Socrates  ? 
Poison  ;  death.  Homer,  Milton,  Dante  ?  He  who  dis¬ 
covered  the  telescope,  a  dungeon  ;  and  the  inventor  of 
the  microscope  died  of  starvation. 
The  whole  world  to-day  is  struggling  for  bread — 
dying  of  starvation  in  Russia,  fighting  for  daily  bread 
in  Austria.  In  Chicago  20,000  honest  mechanics  out  of 
work  and  honorable,  honest  men  sleeping  in  police 
stations  because  they  have  no  money  to  pay  for  a 
night’s  lodging.  In  every  town  and  city  in  our  land 
want  is  staring  many  a  bright,  intelligent  family  in 
the  face. 
Yesterday  a  prominent  minister's  wife  said,  “  I’ve 
worn  this  hat  five  years,  making  the  changes  in  trim¬ 
ming  myself  ;  it  is  nip  and  tuck  to  provide  for  us  all.” 
To-day,  while  writing  this  article,  a  neighbor  who  is 
having  her  first  experience  of  town  life,  came  in.  I 
read  the  article  in  The  R.  N.-Y.  to  her. 
“  My  life  was  very  much  easier  on  the  farm  than  in 
town,”  she  says.  “I  could  keep  up  my  mending,  get  my 
work  done  and  have  time  to  knit  lace.  My  mother 
and  my  sisters  always  had  time  on  the  farm  to  sit 
down  in  the  morning.  I  never  get  time  in  town.  And 
then  the  comfort  of  farm  life!  Always  plenty.  We 
had  our  own  beef,  pork,  lard,  cream,  eggs,  butter, 
fruit,  vegetables,  our  books  and  papers.  Look  at  the 
butter  I  have  to  eat  now  ;  blue  milk  to  drink  ;  tough 
beef.  A  person  who  would  fret  at  farm  life  would  not 
endure  town  life.”  She  continues,  “  A  great  deal 
depends  on  the  person.  I  was  taught  music  and  draw¬ 
ing.  Now  I  couldn’t  take  either  up.  On  the  farm  I 
did  not  want  to.” 
The  whole  secret  of  life  is  this — it  is  just  what  we 
make  it  whether  in  country  or  town.  Let  the  farmer's 
wife  thank  God  for  her  good  home;  for  her  dear, 
precious  children;  for  an  honest  husband;  for  health 
and  strength  to  do  her  work;  all  well,  both  the  seen 
and  the  unseen.  Let  her  thank  God  that  she  has  a 
purpose  in  life.  Thank  God  that  she  is  poor.  What  a 
tragedy  of  uselessness  is  the  life  of  the  wife  of  a  rich 
man:  the  average  life  of  the  rich  man’s  children. 
“  The  human  race  does  not  render  due  thanks  to  the 
uncomplaining  mothers  ?”  A  mistake  my  friend  has 
made — she  knows  the  whole  world  of  great,  noble 
hearted  men  have  kissed  the  hem  of  the  garment  their 
mothers  wore;  have,  with  pride  said,  “  my  wife.” 
Supposing  it  is  the  truth — that  self-sacrificing  souls 
are  not  appreciated.  All  the  more  opportunity  for 
character-building.  If  one  knows  one’s  own  self  that 
she  is  doing  honest,  conscientious  work,  that  she  is 
constantly,  lovingly  doing  the  “  next  duties”  of  life, 
she  needs  no  other  reward,  she  has  the  kingdom  of 
heaven  within.  None  of  us  can  realize  our  ideal,  but 
every  woman  on  earth,  whether  in  country  or  town, 
can  realize  her  real.  Angels  can  do  no  more. 
MRS.  C.  F.  WILDER. 
A  Mirror  of  the  Home  Life. 
F  people  knew  how  accurately  teachers  judge  them 
by  their  children,  I  doubt  not  they  would  give 
them  more  careful  training,  from  pride  if  from  no 
better  motives.  The  wee  folks  particularly  reflect  in 
the  school  room  the  home.  I  remember  a  little  girl  of 
six  years  in  my  own  school,  pretty  and  attractive,  but 
one  of  the  most  troublesome  children  in  the  school.  I 
wondered  at  it  until  I  saw  the  mother  and  child  to¬ 
gether — the  mother  petulant  and  scolding  in  her 
commands,  yet  evidently  not  expecting  to  be  obeyed.  I 
pitied  the  child  and  felt  indignation  toward  the  mother. 
Most  parents  expect  too  much  from  the  teacher  in 
the  way  of  improvement  in  their  children’s  manners 
and  morals,  in  view  of  the  fact  that  she  has  them  under 
school  restraint  only  a  few  hours  a  day. 
To  see  children  at  play  is  to  learn  their  instincts, 
good  and  evil,  but  many  teachers  cannot  follow  them 
to  the  playground  or  into  the  street.  Our  children 
have  little  enough  to  counteract  the  influences  of  bad 
example  and  association  all  about  them,  when  the 
school  and  the  home  guardians  heartily  cooperate  in 
their  efforts  for  them;  but  when  the  teacher  must 
work  alone  or  with  the  indifference,  or,  worse,  the 
adverse  criticisms  of  parents  against  her,  it  need  not 
be  a  matter  of  surprise  if  the  children  remain  rude 
and  uncouth  in  manner  and  speech. 
I  wish  I  might  impress  upon  every  father  his 
responsibility  for  the  school  and  for  the  behavior  of 
his  children  while  in  it.  Let  him  bring  all  his  in¬ 
fluence  to  bear  in  the  making  of  a  sentiment  in  favor 
of  the  best  teaching  and  the  best  teachers;  and  let 
him  remember,  while  not  undervaluing  literary  quali¬ 
fications,  that  the  character  of  the  teacher  is  of  the 
utmost  importance.  If  we  would  have  the  children 
gentle  and  unselfish,  using  correct  and  choice  Eng¬ 
lish,  we  must  see  to  it  that  the  teacher  has  those 
qualities  which  we  wish  to  see  in  our  children. 
The  teacher  may  be  irritable,  unwise,  even  unjust 
at  times;  yet  what  help  is  it  to  the  child  to  know  that 
his  father  or  mother  considers  her  so?  Teachers 
often  make  mistakes,  but  so  do  housekeepers  and 
farmers. 
My  experience  has  shown  me  some  points  in  which 
children,  Otherwise  well-mannered,  are  often  deficient 
from  lack  of  home  training.  When  a  child,  instead 
of  using  the  hook  conveniently  placed  for  his  wraps, 
shows  a  decided  preference  for  the  floor,  I  know  his 
mother  has  been  in  the  habit  of  picking  up  his  cap 
and  playthings.  When  he  unconcernedly  scatters 
bits  of  paper  about  the  school  room  and  grounds  I 
know  there  has  been  some  one  always  willing  to  sweep 
up  juvenile  whittlings. 
When  parents  insist  upon  obedience  at  home  and  in 
school ,  and  when  they  show  an  interest  in  the  school 
by  giving  a  word  of  merited  praise,  then  will  life  and 
labor  be  sweet  to  a  primary  teacher. 
