7Jhe  RURAL  NEW-YORKER 
1209 
WOMAN  AND  HOME 
To  My  Children — Asleep 
List  to  their  gentle,  breathing  in  the  night, 
Flushed  pink  with  slumber.  Now  their 
curious  eyes, 
Pale-lidded,  shine  not.  nor  their  glances 
bright 
Welcome  the  new  day  with  its  new 
surprise. 
How  still  the  feet  that  raced — that  leapt, 
as  light. 
As  the  small  cloud  that  loiters  in  the 
skies : 
How  rare  the  bud  before  its  opening  hour 
With  fragrance  that  we  find  not  in  the 
perfect  flower. 
And  who  am  I  to  bring  this  rapture  down, 
Irradiant,  to  bless  the  arid  earth? 
For  I  have  ventured  to  the  high  unknown 
And  grasped  the  Godhead  in  the  hour 
of  birth ; 
My  clay  has  dared  to  wear  a  kingly 
crown, 
And  raid  the  heavens  to  appease  my 
dearth : 
So  close  the  ways  of  finite  mortals  bend 
To  mysteries  that  round  our  fleeting  lives 
extend. 
Now,  as  the  days  pass,  they  will  grow  and 
make 
A  God  of  me — less  worshipful  than 
they : 
Of  my  imperfect  image  they  will  take 
Only  the  good,  will  talk  of  me  at  play. 
Will  weave  me  through  their  souls,  so 
that  to  break 
Their  gentle  vision  is  to  take  away 
Their  best  delight.  Ah,  none  hut  children 
see 
Behind  the  world-worn  man  his  lost 
divinity. 
To  them  dim  years  will  open :  to  their 
gaze 
Will  mystery  and  prophecy  unfold. 
Strange  lights  will  shine  upon  them,  and 
the  rays 
Of  unborn  knowledge  he  in  flame  out- 
rolled  ; 
No  wonder  will  their  wondrous  eyes 
amaze : 
Rut  God  will  baffle  as  lie  did  of  old, 
Till,  on  the  steps  of  wisdom,  it  is  given 
That  man,  being  wise,  may  climb — a 
child — to  heaven. 
And  if,  still  tender,  they  shall  think  of  me. 
Keep  green  the  spot  and  guard  the 
springing  grass 
Then  T  too  shall  remember,  being  free 
From  earthly  duty:  I  shall  hear  them 
pass. 
Catch  even  the  word  and  live  on  memory 
Of  small,  fond  things:  My  soul  shall 
not  harass 
Those  whom  I  dragged  to  earth.  .  .  . 
See  how  they  stir  ! 
Put  out  the  light!  The  gloom  cloaks  best, 
a  worshiper. 
Alan  Sullivan  in  Scribner’s  Magazine. 
* 
Thk  cartoon  taken  from  the  New  York 
Tribune,  shows  quite  well  the  mental  at¬ 
titude  of  many  a  small  hoy.  lie  has 
been  running  about  the  fields  and  farm  all 
Summer — about  as  free  as  the  birds — 
absorbing  “education”  in  the  easiest  way. 
Now  comes  school !  lie  must  sit  in  a 
narrow  room  with  only  a  glimpse  at  the 
birds  and  the  clouds  through  a  dusty 
window.  It  is  one  thing  to  absorb  educa¬ 
tion  from  flowers  and  fresh  air,  and  quite 
another  to  have  it  poked  into  you  at  the 
eud  of  a  teacher's  finger  or  stick !  We 
sympathize  with  the  boy — having  been  of 
liis  size  in  years  gone  by.  At  the  same 
time  we  would  like  it  if  we  could  make 
the  hoy  realize  what  a  poor  place  in  life 
lie  would  occupy  if  there  were  no  school, 
no  studies  to  master,  no  self-restraint  to 
gain  through  hard  discipline.  As  the  hoy 
cannot  he  expected  to  absorb  these  things 
as  lie  does  the  fun  of  life  he  must  come  to 
it  in  the  old  way. 
* 
“Do  not  permit  anyone  to  kiss  your 
children  /” 
That  is  taken  from  a  set  of  rules 
adopted  by  a  New  Jersey  local  health 
hoard,  and  it  is  sound  advice.  Around 
New  York  City  parents  are  thoroughly 
aroused  over  the  danger  from  infantile 
paralysis,  and  most  people  understand 
the  nature  of  the  disease  and  the  way  ia 
which  it  is  conveyed.  There  is  danger  in 
the  kiss,  and  we  hope  that  the  present 
excitement  over  this  particular  disease 
will  lead  parents  to  protect  their  little 
•  •ups  hereafter.  Too  many  diseases  are 
conveyed  through  kissing.  The  mouth  is 
a  dangerous  “carrier,”  and  the  poor  baby 
has  to  endure  too  much  of  it.  Far  better 
keep  the  baby’s  admirers  off  at  arm’s 
length. 
* 
The  following  news  item  ought  to  in¬ 
terest  our  women  readers: 
The  village  of  Swansea,  Ill.,  adjacent 
t"  northern  Belleville,  and  which  boasts 
of  a  municipal  light  plant,  has  day  ser¬ 
vice.  That  is,  after  hard  fighting,  it  has 
day  service  on  Monday  of  each  week. 
Many  Swansea  housewives  own  electric 
washing  machines.  For  two  or  three 
years  they  have  asked  for  day  electric 
service,  but  to  no  avail  and  much  of  the 
washing  in  the  village  was  done  at.  night. 
The  women  will  now  do  their  washing 
during  the  day  as  power  can  he  had 
each  Monday.  The  city  officials  expect 
to  receive  a  large  number  <>f  women’s 
votes  at  the  next  election. 
The  point  of  this  is  that  when  Illinois 
women  got  the  vote  they  became  more 
important  citizens  than  they  were  before. 
It  makes  great  difference  whether  a  pub¬ 
lic  demand  has  a  rote  back  of  it  or  some 
disfranchised  individual  who  can  only 
talk.  Some  voters,  however,  cut  little 
figure,  for  the  boss  knows  they  hark  but 
never  bite  with  the  ballot. 
* 
The  New  York  Sun  tells  a  little  story 
of  a  farmer  who  wanted  to  sell  his  farm. 
Along  came  a  man  in  a  car  who  ashed 
price  and  description.  The  farmer  want¬ 
ed  to  be  in  style,  so  he  talked  like  a  real 
estate  agent.  The  caller  drove  off  with¬ 
out  buying. 
“That  ends  him,”  said  the  owner’s 
wife,  grimly. 
“Why  do  you  say  that?"  asked  the 
hisband. 
“You  told  him.”  said  the  wife,  “that 
there  was  a  poultry  house  and  a  living 
room  and  master’s  sleeping  rooms  and 
servants’  quarters.  Don't  you  know  that 
these  people  who  hunt  farms  in  automo¬ 
biles  are  looking  for  farms  at  farm  prices 
and  not.  at  estate  prices?  You'd  better 
talk  more  like  a  farmer  and  less  like  a 
real  estate  agent.  The  next  time  any¬ 
body  comes  to  ask  about,  the  place  you 
tell  him  that  it’s  got  a  hen  house  am? 
a  parlor  and  three  big  bedrooms  and 
rooms  for  the  help.  "When  you  said  liv¬ 
ing  room  to  that  man  he  got  suspicious 
and  when  you  mentioned  master's  sleep¬ 
ing  rooms  lie  felt  sure  you  were  trying 
to  swindle  him.  Let  us  keep  our  cul¬ 
ture  for  the  family  fireside,  Edward.’ 
"Very  well,"  said  Edward. 
“Mother  is  right  1”  People  expect  a 
farmer  to  he  a  farmer,  and  if  lie  tries  to 
be  something  else  lie  usually  “gets  left." 
* 
Weix,  here  we  are  once  more,  with  the 
suggestion  for  an  apple  pie  contest.  We 
have  talked  this  for  years  without  result, 
hut  having  had  long  experience  in  de¬ 
veloping  such  things  we  keep  at  it.  What 
we  want  is  a  contest  at  some  of  the  larger 
fruit  shows  in  which  farm  girls  can  have 
a  chance.  No — they  are  not  to  read  es¬ 
says  or  make  speeches,  but  engage  in  the 
far  more  useful  occupation  of  making  an 
apple  pie — right  in  public.  Briefly  stated 
our  plan  would  be  to  offer  good-sized 
prizes  to  farm  girls.  Do  not  give  them  a 
medal,  a  “loving  cup”  or  some  trinket, 
hut  offer  a  crisp  new  $n<>  hill  for  the  best 
pie.  Rope  off  a  space  in  the  hall  and  put 
in  several  stoves,  gas,  electric,  or  what¬ 
ever  will  “heat  up.”  Then  give  each  girl 
a  quart  or  so  of  flour,  a  lump  of  butter, 
sugar,  spice,  and  all  the  apples  she  wants. 
Then  stand  off  and  let  her  nloue  to  make 
and  bake  her  apple  pie  before  the  crowd 
and  let  the  pie  he  judged  by  people  of 
good  taste — and  digestion.  Such  a  con¬ 
test  would  heat  anything  in  the  way  of 
attraction  that  has  been  tried  yet.  Who 
will  be  first  to  try  it?  We  know  from  ex¬ 
perience  that  you  will  not  all  speak  at 
once — hut  who  will  start  it? 
* 
Ox  page  11  “4  we  gave  this  note  about 
personal  property  of  a  deceased  wife 
when  there  are  no  children  and  no  will : 
At  common  law  the  husband  was  en¬ 
titled  to  the  entire  estate  of  his  deceased 
wife:  and  the  statutory  enactments  have 
not  taken  away  such  right  of  the  husband, 
except  where  the  wife  leaves  descendants 
surviving  or  a  will  of  her  prsonnl  prop¬ 
erty. 
Let  it  lie  understood  that  this  refers  to 
the  wife's  personal  property.  Some  of 
our  women  readers  feel  that  this  law  is 
unjust.  Iu  one  case  there  were  two 
daughters.  Their  father  left  them  a 
legacy  of  personal  property  and  incum¬ 
bered  real  estate.  One  daughter  married. 
The  other,  in  order  to  accommodate  her 
sister,  took  for  her  share  the  encumbered 
real  estate,  supposing  naturally  that  the 
personal  property  would  always  belong  to 
the  two  sisters.  The  married  sister  died 
without  children  and  leaving  no  will. 
Thus  the  personal  property  goes  to  the 
husband  and  the  other  sister  is  left  with 
real  estate  which  she  cannot  pay  for.  I  a 
most  cases  where  married  women  have 
personal  property  it  comes  in  this  way  as 
a  legacy  from  the  parents,  and  should  re¬ 
main  in  the  family.  Such  women  should 
make  wills,  so  that  such  property  may  go 
as  they  wish. 
Last  month  we  referred  to  “The  Brown 
Mouse,”  a  hook  by  Herbert  Quick,  as  very 
suitable  for  country  people  who  are  in¬ 
terested  in  improved  schools.  The  read¬ 
ing  of  this  hook  will  surely  provoke  dis¬ 
cussion.  At  first  reading  some  will  fail 
to  grasp  the  author's  real  meaning,  but 
as  a  foundation  for  thought  on  the  coun¬ 
try  school  question  this  book  will  prove 
invaluable  in  any  school  library.  As  we 
have  stated  before  it  is  the  most  popular 
story  of  rural  education  since  “The 
I  lousier  Schoolmaster.”  One  of  our  corre¬ 
spondents  says  that  “The  Brown  Mouse” 
and  “The  Child,”  by  the  Hope  Farm  man, 
should  he  read  together  by  all  country 
people. 
* 
Now  it  is  frozen  sweet  corn.  “Cold.” 
the  cold  storage  magazine,  published  at 
Calcium,  N.  Y.,  quotes  from  a  "Western 
storage  company : 
Are  yon  goiug  to  be  prepared  to  serve 
sweet  corn  on  the  cob  to  your  customers 
this  Winter?  If  you  don’t,  your  nearby 
competitor  will.  There’s  no  reason  why 
you  couldn’t  serve  oorn-ou-the-cob  this 
Winter  at  from  10c  to  20c  per  ear.  Do 
you  realize  what  your  profit  would  he  on 
this  basis  when  you  can  buy  sweet  corn 
in  husk  at  10c  per  dozen  when  the  sup¬ 
ply  is  large,  and  freeze  it  in  sacks?  All 
you  have  to  do  is  to  freeze  good,  sound 
sweet  corn,  not  over-ripe,  take  it  out  of 
storage  this  Winter,  let  it  thaw,  give  it  a 
five-minute  boil,  and  Serve  your  custom¬ 
ers  oorn-on-t  lie-cob.  Merely  cook  it  half 
as  long  as  you  would  fresh  corn-on-the- 
eob.  Wouldn't  your  customers  appreci¬ 
ate  a  delicacy  of  this  sort  in  the  Winter 
time?  As  you  increase  your  business  and 
profits,  ours  correspondingly  increase. 
They  are  talking  to  restaurant  and 
hotel  keepers.  It  shows  what  the  food 
men  are  doing.  At  the  better  class  res¬ 
taurants  in  New  York  now  sweet  corn 
costs  25  cents  per  ear ! 
it 
The  woman  who  rises  at  four  a.  in. 
and  retires  at  nine  in  the  evening,  or 
latei*.  does  not  get.  enough  sleep.  My 
neighbor  with  two  babies  occupies  the 
time  during  their  afternoon  nap,  if  no 
sowing  is  on  hand,  by  crocheting  lace 
edging  for  pillow  cases  and  other  arti¬ 
cles  that  could  better  he  without  it  than 
she  without  the  sleep  she  might  then  take. 
The  other  day  it  rained.  In  every  house 
on  our  party  telephone  line,  the  same 
situation  prevailed:  the  men  asleep,  the 
women  canning  fruit,  scrubbing,  sweep¬ 
ing.  etc.  Does  the  wife  look  older  than 
her  husband?  Generally,  yes.  Why  is 
it?  E.  w.  s. 
That  is  good.  Too  many  people  starve 
themselves  of  sleep.  Finally  they  reach 
a  point  where  they  cannot,  rest  and  then 
they  say,  “I  do  not  need  sleep  1”  Before 
long  Nature  claims  her  own  and  the  doc¬ 
tor  puts  a  big  name  to  the  disease.  If 
is  just  need  of  restful  sdeep.  It  is  a 
blessed  privilege  to  he  able  to  lie  down 
and  sleep  whenever  and  wherever  the  op¬ 
portunity  offers,  and  thus  store  up  en 
ergy. 
* 
Not  long  ago  we  had  a  letter  from  a 
Pennsylvania  man  whose  friend  had  gone 
blind.  This  sightless  man  begged  for  a 
chance  to  “do  something  with  his  hands.” 
He  must  keep  at  work  or  run  tiie  risk  of 
insanity.  It  is  desperately  hard  for  an 
active  man  to  sit  in  the  silence  with 
folded  hands — “just  waiting.” 
“ Doth  God  exact  day  labor — liaht  de¬ 
nied?" 
Fortunately  we  were  able  to  refer  this 
man  to  “The  Lighthouse,”  an  institution 
conducted  by  the  New  York  Association 
for  the  Blind  at  111  East  !50th  Street, 
New  York.  The  work  done  at  this  insti¬ 
tution  in  teaching  and  manufacturing 
and  selling  is  wonderful,  and  every  blind 
person  or  friend  of  the  blind  should  get 
in  touch  with  it. 
❖ 
Things  Worth  Knowing 
When  you  put  your  white  Summer 
clothes  away  for  the  Winter,  put  an  ex¬ 
tra  amount  of  bluing  in  the  last  water. 
In  the  Spring  wash  again,  and  they  will 
he  beautifully  white. 
Wash  the  soles  of  your  new  shoes ,  dry 
perfectly  in  the  sun  and  then  treat  to  a 
coat  of  dark  oak  varnish.  Dry  again  and 
give  a  second  coat.  They  will  outlast 
the  uppers,  and  the  only  cost  is  10  cents 
for  a  small  can  of  varnish. 
When  yon  address  your  parents,  say 
father  and  mother.  Note  how  much  your 
self  respect  will  rise.  Nothing  should  be 
too  good  or  respectful  for  them,  and  you 
can  never  pay  for  your  i-aising  no  matter 
how  hard  you  try,  or  how  well  you  suc¬ 
ceed. 
Serge  and  silk  are  combined  in  all  sorts 
of  pretty  ways  for  the  Fall  and  Winter 
one-piece  dresses.  Is  is  a  good  and  eco¬ 
nomical  idea  for  making  over  old  gowns 
that  are  worn  or  out  of  style. 
In  sewing  snaps  on  garments,  sew  the 
ball  snap  on  the  upper  piece,  and  thus 
eliminate  the  round  mark  on  the  goods 
which  is  always  left  by  the  socket  snap. 
Hang  your  clothes  out  with  the  opening 
toward  the  wind  :  they  will  dry  much 
more  quickly. 
They  say  it  helps  a  bit  to  wear  your 
corset  wrong  side  out  for  a  day  or  two  if 
the  bones  begin  to  poke  through. 
Did  you  ever  try  keeping  shears  iu  the 
kitchen?  They  are  indispensable  once 
you  get  used  to  them,  trimming  meat, 
cutting  up  fowl  or  fish,  shredding  lettuce 
or  peppers,  etc.  Of  course,  wash  care¬ 
fully  iu  hot  water  same  as  any  utensil. 
String  beans  fried  with  small  pieces  of 
bacon  or  salt  pork  are  extra  good.  Boil 
first,  and  then  brown  slowly  with  the 
pork. 
Give  the  baby  all  the  cool  water  he  can 
drink  during  the  hot  weather;  keep  him 
out  of  doors  from  eight  to  ten  in  the 
morning;  dress  him  very  lightly,  and  give 
him  a  hath  two  or  three  times  a  day  iu 
water  about  the  temperature  of  the  room. 
A  sponge  bath  of  pure  alcohol  is  good 
if  he  seems  to  feel  the  heat  unduly. 
b.  w.  h. 
