THE RURAI> NEW-YORKER 
1037 
1914. 
A Wise Woman Says: 
it'T'IIERE are some mighty queer 
X things in human nature,” said 
Mrs. Sage, after spending a busy morn¬ 
ing working and thinking. “The people 
who are most determined to boss aren’t 
always most capable of directing others. 
Yet they do most of the planning and 
deciding in this world. Others give way 
to them because there is no living with 
them on any other terms. A natural boss 
will say things have got to be so and so. 
and by sheer force of will bring it to 
pass. It may be good or bad in result, 
but it is accomplished, and others have to 
stand back and say it is excellent and 
couldn’t be beat or there’s no comfortable 
existence with the boss. And it is 
usually better than nothing, and the 
long-suffering ones can usually take it 
and make very comfortable shift to ac¬ 
cept it as the best thing possible. Noth¬ 
ing of man’s make is perfect, and in a 
year or so some other idea will sprout in 
the mind of the boss, and perhaps the 
whole thing may be made over, or tossed 
in the junk heap. Then the meek ones 
will shy, ‘What a wonderful mind for 
planning! What ability !’ 
“Yes. I know that I have admitted 
there is nothing of human arrangement 
that is perfect, but there are good things 
and poor things. And the meek person 
is more likely to have good ideas than 
the bossy one is, in many cases. Why, 
I have seen a quiet, unassuming man 
who could lay out the day’s work for 
hired people, week in and week out. and 
make nearly every hour tell and nothing 
much neglected. And I have seen the 
man who bossed him not able to direct a 
piece of work so that the teams would 
not stand idle half the time, or the men 
soldier around filling in time with pre¬ 
tense at work because there was no¬ 
where to take hold. 
“Yet I own that the bossy man was 
after all the one who made the money and 
the meek one worked at day’s wages. 
Left to himself the meek man dreaded 
responsibility. Knowing bow much de¬ 
pended upon right management he could 
not sleep nights if burdened with the 
whole weight of care. He knew how. 
but he knew too much. lie saw too 
clearly the outcome of bad planning, 
and faulty work. He had not the dash 
and daring that could say: ‘Oh. hang 
the mistakes! If this doesn’t go right 
we’ll try some other way. If the men 
buck and aren’t respectful, pitch them 
out and hire others. Right or wrong 
the thing has got to go now. Eater we’ll 
count the costs. Try another plan next 
time if this one doesn’t make good.’ 
“Perhaps once in a while, nature puts 
both sorts of ability into one person, 
and the result is a captain of industry. 
But I suspect that more people succeed 
because able to select and keep efficient 
helpers than because fitted with extraor¬ 
dinary powers in several directions. It 
takes a certain share of generosity and 
forbearance on the part of the boss to get 
and keep a useful subordinate. Even 
the woman who keeps kitchen help 
knows that. In fact the meek people 
and the bossy ones need each other, but 
they don’t always know it. The rela¬ 
tions of the meek ones very seldom 
know it. They say, ‘But my son (or 
maybe it is my husband) does all the 
work. His boss couldn’t keep on a year 
if left to himself. Yet he takes all the 
profit, all the credit, all the leisure and 
all the satisfaction. It makes me mad, 
and I can’t help it.’ 
“No. she can’t help it, the woman who 
loves the meek man. Margaret Fuller 
told some great man of letters that she 
had become reconciled to the universe. 
We will skip his funny remark and ad¬ 
vise all women to become reconciled to 
the universe. They can’t alter human 
nature, but they can count their mercies. 
Often one they do not consider is that 
they do not have to live with the boss 
they are so tempted to hate. They love 
the meek man and feel tender of him for 
the very qualities that make him a con¬ 
trast to his boss. They wouldn’t have 
him different in any of his endearing 
qualities, but they would have him gentle 
and compassionate and patient at home, 
and a lion for boldness toward other 
men and the world’s affairs. 
“Here and there one sees a pair of 
brothers, a boss and a meek one. and 
they get on most successfully in business. 
They accumulate money, if they share 
equally. If one works for wages, the 
other has a growing bank account. 
Usually such a pair of brothers must 
have remarkable wives. At least the 
wife of the meek one must have unusual 
self-control and sagacity. If there are 
children in both households and the part¬ 
nership goes on peacefully there is a 
miracle somewhere, very great generosity 
and forbearance in both households. For 
one discontented wife will upset even 
the most prosperous business arrange¬ 
ment. , 
“How queer we all are. Or rather, as 
the old Quaker said, ‘Every one except 
thee and mo is queer, and sometimes wife, 
I think thee is a little queer.’ ” 
A. T. s. 
The Rural Patterns. 
When ordering always give number and 
size of patterns desired. Price of each 
pattern 10 vents. 
S1S5 Middy blouse for misses and small 
women. Cut in sizes 16 and 18 years, 
size 16 requires 2% yards of 36 or 44- 
inch material with two yards 27- 
inch for trimming. S310 Plain blouse. 
Cut in sizes 34 to 42 bust measure. Size 
38 requires 2% yards of 36-inch material. 
7907 Semi-prineesse dress for misses and 
small women. Cut in sizes 16 and IS 
years. Size 16 requires 3% yards of 36- 
inch material. S174 Seven-gored skirt. 
Cut in sizes 26 to 36 waist measure. 
Size 30 requires 5 yards of 27 or 36-inch 
material if it has figure or nap, or 3^4 
yards of 36-inch material which has neith¬ 
er figure or nap. S203 Two-piece skirt. 
Cut in sizes 22 to 30 waist measure. 
Size 26 requires 2% yards of 27 or 44- 
inch material with 3 yards 27-inch for 
long tunic. 
No. 778. A design for embroidering an 
infant’s pillow. The scalloped edges are 
to be padded and button-holed. The dots 
and ovals within the scallops can be 
worked either solidly or as eyelets; the 
ribbon, flowers and leaves are to be 
worked solidly and the stems are to be 
outlined. Stamped on 21x16 white pure 
Irish linen, with mercerized floss to work, 
60 cents. 
Two Good Relishes. 
T OMATO RELISH.—12 large toma¬ 
toes (green) ; four onions; six pep¬ 
pers. green and red; small cup of salt. 
Let stand over night, drain. Then add 
two bunches of celery, chopped; one-lialf 
cup sugar; one pint vinegar; spices to 
taste. 
Cucumber Relish. —One quart sliced 
cucumbers; one onion sliced fine; one 
green pepper: sprinkle with salt let 
stand three hours, drain well and add one 
cup sugar; one teaspoonful white mus¬ 
tard seed; a little pepper, 20 cloves. Add 
vinegar to cover, scald, not boil, put in 
cans and seal. mrs. a. r. 
The Front Porch Philosopher. 
M Y “front-porch philosopher” comes to 
me every Summer, pays her board, 
praises my efforts, brings me breezes 
from the big world where she works and 
travels, and leaves behind her some in¬ 
spiration and much advice. At other sea¬ 
sons of the year she is a professor of 
household arts in one of our big univer¬ 
sities. She has won me over to an oil 
range, simpler wall decorations and floor 
coverings; she has shown me how to 
fill my emergency cupboard, and many 
other helpful things; but just when I 
think she has a really intimate under¬ 
standing of things, she disappoints me. 
Last Summer she came to me quite ex¬ 
citedly. She had been making a study of 
my kitchen, of its inconveniences, and 
how to remedy them. She had plans on 
paper for remodeling it at an expense of 
$75 (Oh. that $75 !). In order to follow 
out her plans, to have the water-back of 
the stove nearer the pantry, she had de¬ 
liberately moved the range, without 
thought of the chimney! Gas-stove 
theories. 
While she was here, I thought I would 
ask a mutual friend, a professional man 
and his wife, to a Sunday supper with us. 
I asked her for some suggestions for my 
menu. She was in her glory. She wrote 
it all down—a menu for an elaborate 
course dinner. There was work enough 
on it for two women a whole day. And I 
had said a Sunday night supper, and 
myself the only woman. At first I felt 
some resentment, and thought that I 
should tell her that I knew what a 
course dinner was, and what a farmhouse 
supper was, and of some of the simple, 
delightful meals which my friends and 
myself had exchanged. But I refrained. 
My friend meant well. No doubt she 
could have prepared that meal beautifully, 
without even soiling her white linen, but 
she would not have expected to gather 
all the vegetables required, tend the 
chickens from the cradle to the grave, fix 
the help’s table, see that the children 
were still presentable, meanwhile cooking 
and then serving the meal. 
I do not resent her possession of my 
cool porch. She may as well enjoy it; 
for the time I spend there is scarcely 
sufficient excuse for its existence. She 
knows it. She says she had always en¬ 
vied farm women their porch spaces and 
shady nooks; now she knows how little 
they count in a farm woman’s life. 
(Isn’t it a pity that she has measured us 
right in this respect?) It is her busi¬ 
ness to take pad and pencil, and outline 
plans to make it possible for us to find 
more time for those porch chairs. I 
grant that she and her kind have jarred 
us up somewhat -and I do think we are 
moving forward a little. 
I do not disapprove of courses in house¬ 
hold arts; I should like to take one my¬ 
self. But women of her type fill many 
columns in domestic papers, and farm 
women can always detect the lack of 
familiarity with their needs. We want 
more farm women to take such domestic 
courses, and write for us. They will 
find us responsive. L. s. 
Tomatoes Stuffed With Corn.— 
Here is another recipe which I think is 
deserving of a place among those delicious 
recipes you printed two weeks ago for 
tomatoes, as it is a universal favorite 
with everybody who comes to the house. 
Scoop out the centex-s of round, smooth 
tomatoes and fill the cavities with corn 
cut from cob. same having been previously 
cooked. The corn is put through the fine 
knife of the meat gxander, and a little 
sugar, pepper and salt added. A teaspoon 
of melted butter is poured on the top of 
each tomato just before putting in the 
oveu. Bake in a hot oven 15 minutes, 
or until tomatoes are soft. F. B. 
Concord Cream.—Mix one pint of 
cream, one and a quarter cupfuls of 
grape juice and one-third cupful of sugar. 
Add lemon or fresh lime juice until pal¬ 
atably acid. Freeze, and serve in glass¬ 
es. Garnish each glass with a table¬ 
spoonful of sweetened heavy cream beat¬ 
en until stiff, and delicately flavored with 
vanilla. Spi-inkle the top of cream with 
a pinch of pistachio nuts, finely chopped. 
Mrs. Peevish — “I declare, I’m 
ashamed to ask you into this 
smelly place, Anty Drudge, but 
you know how it is on washday, 
with boiling clothes filling the 
room with steam. I’m just sick 
with the odor, and I’m about 
ready to give up.” 
Anty Drudge —“I think it’s time you 
did give up your old-fashioned 
notions. Nobody up to date boils 
their clothes these days. They 
use Fels-Naptha Soap in cool or 
lukewarm water. There’s no 
chance for disagreeable smell 
then. The only smell to Fels- 
Naptha is clean smell.” 
When you wash 
with Fels-Naptha 
Soap and cool or 
lukewarm water, 
you don’t breathe 
in sudsy steam, 
nor fill your house 
with the smell of 
boiling clothes— 
and you get your 
work done easier, 
better and in half 
the time than ever 
before. 
Fels-Naptha 
dissolves grease 
and makes dirt 
and stains vanish. 
It’s just as good for 
all kinds of house¬ 
work as it is for 
washing clothes. 
Buy it by the box or carton and 
follow the easy directions on the Red 
and Green Wrapper. 
Fels & Co., Philadelphia. 
FELS-NAPTHA 
