We need another punctuation mark 
in order to avoid misunderstandings 
when we write. Without something to 
distinguish them, jokes are sometimes 
taken in real earnest. 
* 
The side combs which have been so 
much worn are likely to result in some 
unpleasant accidents, as all of the 
cheaper ones are made of celluloid which 
takes fire easily. Many a girl has had 
the experience of singed hair, when 
bending too near the lamp, and this 
simple accident may be much graver in 
its results if celluloid combs are worn. 
One girl learned how easily they burn, 
as she attempted to straighten the bent 
teeth as one would those of a rubber 
comb, by heating them over the lamp. 
They exploded in a flame, almost at 
the moment they were placed in the 
heat. So, keep a cool head if you are 
wearing side combs that are not real 
shell. 
* 
The variety of cereal foods offered in¬ 
dicates that the right kind of nutriment 
is gaining appreciation. Yet are not the 
farmers’ families almost strangers to 
most of these nourishing grain foods ? 
Of all people, they should enjoy them 
most, for they are provided with the best 
milk and cream, without which the oat¬ 
meal, etc., is incomplete. But let the 
cook bear in mind that the manufac¬ 
turer’s guarantee that his oatmeal will 
cook in five or ten minutes, is to be given 
no consideration. Thorough cooking is 
necessary. Mrs. ltorer says: “Oatmeal 
is a valuable food if cooked three hours.” 
* 
A spoilt child will meet with a great 
deal of discomfort that will be avoided 
by the child of sensible parents. Per¬ 
haps the most trying time is in sickness 
when the doctor’s prescription of plain 
and nourishing food is declared impos¬ 
sible by the mother of the youngster 
who “ can’t” drink milk, or eat any of 
the simple and wholesome foods suitable 
for an invalid. Such a state of affairs is 
trying to the doctor’s patience, and 
sometimes makes the patient’s recovery 
tedious. While the children are well, 
drill their appetites until there is a re¬ 
spectable list of foods which they will 
not refuse should sickness make it neces¬ 
sary to deprive them of their preferences. 
OUR RELATIONS TO OUR CHILDREN. 
ANY are the ways of making home 
pleasant. So long as we have the 
full confidence of our children we may 
feel certain that home is to them the 
best place of all. I hope that the day 
will never come in which my children 
will no longer confide in me. Not long 
since, a mother and her three children 
were visiting us; one of the children told 
our little girls of some naughty words 
herself and brothers said when mamma 
wasn’t around, adding, “ Don’t you tell 
mamma, for if she knew, she would whip 
us awful hai'd.” Those childi'en, though 
only ten and eight years of age, already 
had secrets from their parents ; this is 
almost sure to end in heart aches for 
that mother by and by. 
If a child be whipped for every dish 
broken, every bad word spoken, every 
quarrel it has, or for other trivial 
things, he is driven from home and con¬ 
fidence. And worse still it is to be 
scolding continually. The mother who 
has acquired the habit of scolding and 
fretting, should try one week of quiet 
firmness, combined with gentleness and 
praise, and note the change. It’s our 
nature to love honest praise, and nothing 
spurs one on to better action more than 
to know that his labors and efforts to do 
right are duly appreciated. 
All of our children dearly love mosses, 
ferns and flowers ; they are continually 
coming to me with some thing to admire. 
Very often it is pebbles and pretty 
stones. They call them agates, and 
once in a while they do find a real agate. 
Were I to keep in the house all the 
things they find to admire, we would 
have to move out ourselves to make 
room for them ; so when they bring 
something pretty, I admire it, and if a 
stone I tell them we haven’t room for it 
in the house, but it is just the thing for 
the mound or rockery by the front porch. 
If they bring mosses, I arrange some of 
the prettiest around our house plants, 
and press some in books to send to east¬ 
ern friends; for our mosses are exquisitely 
beautiful, the prettiest known, 1 believe. 
In summer, we arrange them in shal¬ 
low dishes, wet thoroughly, then stick 
pansies, daisies or other flowers all over 
them. I do not keep all the children 
bring in the house, but I do admire the 
pretty things they find, be it stones, 
mosses, leaves or flowers. 
I think that, when children see that 
we are working for their best interests, 
they will, sooner or later, acknowledge 
it and profit by our teachings. Early 
training will surely tell in the end, even 
though children seem sometimes way¬ 
ward and willful. Do trust your chil¬ 
dren ! Don’t doubt their words unless 
compelled to do so ! Don’t be all the 
time accusing them of going contrary 
to your wishes ! Another thing, don’t 
educate the children with the idea in 
mind that they must pay it back, and 
continually tell them that they can never 
repay what you have done for them ! We 
don’t expect them to ! They must go 
out into the world as we have done, and 
battle for themselves, and we must take 
our comfort from our children as we go 
along. If they have been properly 
trained, they will repay us the more 
quickly for our not expecting it. Let 
us not spend our time in vain regrets, 
but look ahead with our minds not on 
self, but on what we can do to make 
others happy. Sighing over might have 
beens, will not make us rich, healthy or 
happy, neither will it cure hidden heart 
aches. I do not believe that there is a 
skeleton in every closet, but I do believe 
that there is likely to be if we do not do 
our duty nobly, bravely and wisely. 
Lack of firmness on the part of parents, 
is sure to cause future trouble. 
MABEL H. M0N8EY. 
A GOOD CLEANSER. 
SPOT on the front breadth of one’s 
best, blaek wool gown, or unex¬ 
pected guests arriving at an inopportune 
moment, when there’s “ nothing for 
dinner,” are among the grievances of 
life that many women fail to accept 
philosophically. The best “klenzer” for 
the wife’s black gown or the husband’s 
soiled coat collar, costs little and is 
easily prepared at home. Six cents 
worth of soap bark, slowly boiled two 
hours in two quarts of rain water, and 
then strained through a fine cloth and 
poured into a large bottle or glass pre¬ 
serve jar, with the addition of four 
tablespoonfuls of ammonia, furnish a 
“klenzer” that one can depend upon, 
and that at the usual price of patented 
cleansers would cost dollars. 
A soft black woolen cloth, for instance 
cashmere, is best for cleaning soiled 
spots; white cloths leave a lint, and 
sponges crumble and leave bits to be 
brushed off. Wet the spots thoroughly, 
rub well, then stretch the wetted sur¬ 
face and place in an airy spot to dry ; it 
will look “ sudsy,” but do not rinse off, 
only wipe with another dry, black cloth 
as dryly as possible. Above all, never 
“ wring” a spot that has been cleaned. 
If the stretching has not smoothed the 
place sufficiently, when it is dry, wet 
again with clear water, and lay over it a 
black cloth, and gently press with a 
well-warmed, but not hot, sadiron. A 
hot iron will leave its shape imprinted 
upon the surface. Never place a sad¬ 
iron on ribbons, silks or woolen without 
a dry cloth between. 
Ribbons are best renovated by first re¬ 
moving all dust, then wetting thor¬ 
oughly with two parts alcohol and two 
parts water ; then stretch and roll 
tightly around some large, smooth sur¬ 
face, either bottle or clean stick. I have 
an old rolling-pin discarded from the 
cook’s department, covered with soft 
cotton cloth ; on this, sashes and bonnet 
strings, laces and many other things are 
often refreshed. Leave till thoroughly 
dry. Black laces are treated with 
alcohol and water, the same as ribbons. 
White laces are washed, but squeezed 
—not wrung out—and then rolled and 
dried. keziah shelton. 
A DAINTY BOOK COVER. 
N o daintier gift could be devised for 
a friend than a pretty book cover 
to hold the new book while it is being 
read. It is a gift, too, into which one 
can put some of her own deft stitches or 
drawing, giving it a personality much 
more pleasing to the recipient than a 
gift from a store or shop—made by un¬ 
loving fingers. The particular book 
cover shown at Fig. 58, is made of col¬ 
ored linen with dainty ribbons to match 
or harmonize. The decoration on the 
front is done with a coarse pen and liquid 
sepia. This cover folds about the cover 
of the book, bringing the ribbons at the 
back, where those at the top are tied 
with bows to those at the bottom, the 
ribbons being crossed as suggested by 
the dotted lines, to hold the cover on 
firmly. A. h. d. 
THAT IS BEST WHICH ENDS WELL. 
E CONOMY r is not rightly esteemed by 
most people. It is called “ mean¬ 
ness” or “ stinginess.” It is neither, but 
is admirable and necessary. Most of the 
successes in life have been achieved by 
persons who studied and practiced econ¬ 
omy. Years ago, two young men “went 
West.” Each had a little money. They 
bought land within two miles of each 
other, and both were obliged to incur 
debt. One built quite a pretentious 
house and barn, with other outbuildings, 
farming implements and stock on the 
same scale. He soon married, and the 
young couple lived well and dressed 
well. Both kept hired help much of the 
time ; they drove their buggy, attended 
entertainments, and, in short, “ enjoyed 
life. ” The result was that, after children 
came to them and they needed their 
property more than ever, they were sold 
out by the sheriff. They are now living 
hand-to-mouth lives, as they near old 
age, with nothing laid by to keep them 
when they become too infirm to work. 
The same lack of economy has followed 
them through all the years, and charity 
stares their helpless old age in the face. 
The other one, with no better oppor¬ 
tunities, has succeeded beyond his ex¬ 
pectations, but his beginning was very 
different. The buildings he put on his 
farm were only what necessity demand¬ 
ed. He married at about the same time, 
but the clothing, food and other things 
were only what health and creature com¬ 
fort called for. He paid off the indebt¬ 
edness, bought more land, and now has 
a house so convenient and roomy as to 
gladden the heart of any woman so happy 
as to be its mistress. They drive their 
own carriage, and are so situated as to 
enjoy their declining days. Who would 
not “ skimp ” at the beginning to attain 
the prosperity that surely comes by good 
management and economy ? No young 
person who will reflect, can fail to see 
the advantages to be gained. A. m. w. 
* * ft ft ft ft * ft * * ft ft ft ft * * * ft * * ft * * * ft ft 
ft ft 
ft * 
ft * 
ft ft 
•4* »(» 
*»* V 
* # 
-I- 
*•* 
* 
ft 
ft 
ft 
ft 
ft 
* 
ft 
ft 
ft 
ft 
ft 
ft* 
ft 
ft 
ft 
ft 
ft 
ft* 
ft 
ft* 
ft 
ft 
ft 
* 
ft 
ft 
ft 
ft 
ft 
ft 
ft 
ft 
ft 
ft 
ft 
ft 
ft 
ft 
ft 
ft 
ft 
ft 
ft 
ft 
ft 
ft 
■v 
ft 
ft 
ft 
ft 
ft 
ft 
ft 
ft 
* 
Some girls 
bare made 
$10 a meek 
Representing The % 
Ladies' Home Journal,! 
a magazine which every | 
girl can feel proud to be | 
connected with, 
* 
ft 
ft 
* 
ft 
ft 
ft 
ft 
ft 
ft 
ft 
ft 
and in 
tbeir own 
tillage 
ft 
ft 
ft 
ft 
ft 
ft 
ft 
ft 
ft 
ft 
ft 
ft 
ft 
ft 
ft 
ft 
ft 
ft 
ft 
ft 
ft 
ft 
ft 
ft 
ft 
ft 
ft 
No going away from | 
home. This is a chance % 
for girls to make money f 
right at their own door- * 
ft 
steps. It is easy enough: J 
to make the trial is the | 
thing. | 
ft 
ft 
ft 
ft 
ft 
ft 
ft 
ft 
ft 
ft 
ft 
ft 
ft 
ft 
ft 
ft 
ft 
ft 
ft 
ft 
ft 
ft 
ft 
ft 
ft 
ft 
ft 
ft 
ft 
| Che Curtis Publishing Company % 
ft. 
Write about it to 
ft 
ft 
ft 
ft 
ft 
ft 
ft 
ft 
ft 
ft 
ft 
* 
ft 
Philadelphia 
ft 
ft 
ft 
ft 
«* 
ft 
«* 
ft 
ft 
ft 
ft 
ft 
ft 
« 
ftftftftftftftftftftftftftftftftftftftftftftftftftft 
