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J2? In Woman’s Realm
Edited by Mrs
of Thought and Home
Mary E Bryan
TalKs on Timely Topics
I twentieth century people will learn tifu , tulIp tree fl ower (often called the
■ tha t tn nefk thamrht and will . , >
SABEL MORELL. says-
“One Of the most helpful
things to women, who real
ly long to rise into
larger view of life is
study of the lives of the
great women of the world.
Such a study would reveal
to us, as in a mirror, our
own weaknesses, our own
inherent strength as w-ell.
It would show us that
these great souls, Deborah,
Esther, the good Queen
Martia, of London, Distema,, Elizabeth,
Joan of Arc and others, do not stand afar
off, isolated and separate from durselves
We would see that they have had the
same sorrows, the same joys, the same
difficulties, but, alas! fewer opportunities.
We would see how intimate and deep is
their lationship to ourselves, to our own
time. We would realize that our destiny
as was theirs is not mean, but sublime
for all of us, as women, belong to one
universal family. And such a study leads
us to glimpse a true philosophy, until, lit
tle by little, almost without knowing it,
we would rise into a larger life.
♦
Solitude end Society
It takes two for a kiss.
Only one for a sigh;
Twain Vf twaTn we marry.
One by one we die.
- Joy is a partnership,
Grief weeps alone;
Many guests had Cana,
-cjj ' Gethsemane had One’
—FREDERICK L. KNOWLES.
♦
Three Soclel Nuisances
A woman without tach is a nuisance,
you never know what mal-appropriate
thing she is going to sav. A tactless per
son often wounds feelings without in
tending it and persistently rubs one's
“fur” the wrong way.
A strong-minded woman with vehement
likes and dislikes and a yet more vehe
ment way of expressing these is another
nuisance. She monopolizes the conver-'
sation, expresses extreme views as to
women's superiority to men. is super
cilious to the women and eager te to
argue with the men.
The would-be professional wit is hard
ly to be tolorated. She mistakes rudeness
for wit; coarse personality for sharp
ness; vulgarity for chic. Her lack of
courtesy shocks and annoys ; her tongue
- too sharp, her temper too uncertain
t- ® r her to have true friends, since to be
' loved Is a consequence of being lovely.
Her •mart "spokcns” are always at the
dTjllT of others; her "chaff” is 111-
toeaj-personalities. She Is In short a
the Greatest Woman
Of the Last Century?
.1*Wfco was the greatest woman of the
nineteenth century?" is a question sent
us by a Georgia woman's club which
' has had the matter una«f dim<—laa wiih-
v,t arriving at. ahjr aaUrfactory ceeciu.
*JL, •ra' imt'aay that the womb ot
the nineteenth century who repryaeoted
tha beat and widest dayetopwnt of her
PAeX—who was at once the grandest and
the sweetest flower which the stalk of
time ha« borne—was Elizabeth Barrett
Browning?
Her mind was strong in its grasp, her
imagination bold, yet pure, and she was
k the Woman you might hear
Itlng in her brain."
wnm bar. hrat. as to mental endow
ment* ' ‘■poetry * is conceded to be the no
il blest form of literature, and ih this Mrs.
• Browning holds a far higher place than
any woman who ever lived. "Aurora
‘Leigh." though it may have minor de
flects. Is. as Barry Cornwall has said, "a
\hundred times over the greatest poem
,’ver written by a woman.” You cannot
Arlticlse the poem as you read it. The
fetish of burning words sweeps you along
.as a torrent: the wealth of imagery daz-
ales you; above all, the noble passion,
the Uve. earnest human feeling that
throbs through It seizes hold of you and
makes you forget that it is a work of
art.
As a woman. Mrs. Browning was a
complete expression of all the distinctive
ly female attributes in their highest form
—love, sympathy, charity, endurance.. All
these she Illustrated in her life and in her
art.
As daughter, sister, wife and friend
she was devoted In her attachments, and
fwheu. at last, though late, the crown of
motherhood was dropped on the brow
that long before had been garlanded with
laurels, how well she honored it! The
poet forgot her fame in the mother.
Even her dearest brain-chjjd, "Aurora,"
was lost sight of while she rocked her
"blue-eyed young Florentine" and looked
out through the windows of the old pal
ace of Casa Guido upon the olive-clad
bills of her beloved foster land, Italy,
with whose struggle for freedom she so
passionately sympathized.
H»r devotion to her family was intense.
He/ brothers were so dear to her that
i lhe best beloved one was taken
\ fr</m her by a sudden and terrible acci-
dit—drowned in sight of land when he
Id Juat left her with a kiss—she was so
ken that for months her life was
paired of. She was a devoted daugh-
to a fond, but whimsical father. Only
nca did she disobey him. It was when
■ed her marriage without the
reason, save that he loved her
tn BBd held her "as too good to be
to Btiy man.”
glflod to his wishes at first,
It almoft. broke her heart. She
up the sWeet, late gleam of joy
' id come to her. bringing her back
from the threshold of death on
I’hich *he had stood so long. But she
ould not withstand her lover's plead,
united to her own heart's prompt-
aud at the age of 37 (though still a
woman in looks and heart) commit-
st Bet of filial disobedience by
(ray with and marrying the
“grueiaBs singer of great
per girlish hero
she had read his
lined to her Invalid
jfce sonnets which she wrote
./ her marriage descriptive of
g«wth of her love for Robert Brown-
itand utterly alone in literature as
Itatlng with passion, yet pure, as
tal and free from the slightest.taint
ensuousness.
S parity for friendship, Mrs.
Ufa and poems furnish ex-
Like George Eliot, she did
lerself in many and shallow
The Inner sanctuary of the
spt sacred to a few whom she
unshaken loyalty.
_ ympathy with all humanity
— intense and active in e'xpres-
•roven by her "Casa Guido
“Cry of the Children”
and her “Cry of the Human.” that are
a-thrill with love and pity for human suf
fering and wrong.
The “motif* of “Aurora Leigh’* Is a
woman's love for'woman. and her power
of reaching forth a brave, clean hand
to lift a sister from the mire in which
a man's passion had cast her.
This rare charity for woman breathes
grandly through her sonnet to George
Sand, which recognizes (at that time a
perilous thing to do) the underlying
womanhood of the great but erring
French novelist. Nothing more nobly
generous in sentiment was ever written
than this sonnet, beginning—
“Thou large-brained woman and large
headed man.
Seif-called George Sand, whose soul awed
the lions
Of thy tumultuous senses moans defi
ance.”
Women of today owe more to Mrs.
Browning than to any other woman
of the jjast centuries. While she was un
fettered by cliques and not iden
tified with any organized reforms;
yet, her example and her bold,
earnest utterances were widely helpful
in clearing a path for women and digni
fying their demands for a larger sphere
of work and influence. More than any
thing ever written, has her magnetic por
trayal in “Aurora Leigh,” of an artist,-a
working woman, impressed men with tbe>
dignity of womens claims to do their
share of the worlds work. Better, too,
than any speech from a "strong-mind
ed” platform are these words of Au
rora addressed to men:
“If the day's work be scant.
Why call it scant, affect no compromise;
And in that we have nobly striven, at
least,
Deal with us nobly, women though we
be,
And honor us with truth, if not with
praise.”
Hers also was that pithy apothegm
which has been so helpful to women:
“Get work! It is better than what you
work to get.”
Seldom has Christian faith and forti
tude through guttering been more sublime
ly illustrated than In Elizabeth Brown
ing. Like Heine, she was for years con
fined to a "mattress grave,” hut unlike
the German poet. she. bore her lot bravely
and without bitterness. It was a marvel
to her friends how cheerful she was;
how vigorous the Imagination and keen
the sympathy with others that vitalized
the poems she wrote lying on her back
with no hope given her of final recov
ery.
"My window does not look on the dear
outdoor world,” she wrote. "So I have
had ivy planted In a box, and It has
covered one side of the window. When
the wind btaws the leaves strike against
the pane. Then I think of groves and
forests. This is not to sound like a la
ment. Books and thoughts and faith and
d jmestic tenderness can and ought to
leave nobody lamenting.”
Her religious and Bible poems testify
to her faith in God. Her patient endur
ance was born of Christian resignation,
as shown in her poem, "While My Days
Go On:**
' "For use wh'.te*dfs undergone,
Thou wiliest, taioweat what Is done;
Grief maybe U>y misunderstood,
Only-the <*ood discerns the good,
I ttj'et Thee while my days go^on. ^
“Through dark and death, through fire
and frost,
With emptied arms and treasure lost,
I trust Thee while my days go on.”
Only in her physical development did
Mrs. Browning fall in being the. repre
sentative of consummate womanhood.
Her great soul and brain in a fairylike
body brougt to mind Goethe’s simile of
an oak planted in a flower pot.
But this fragility was not natural. It
was due to an accident that nearly took
her life when she was just emerging
into girlhood. She was a blooming, beau
tiful girl when Miss Metford first saw her
and likened her to a rich, dark China
rose. "A girlish, graceful figure, a most
noble brow, large, dark eyes, flexible eye
brows and silken lashes touching her
damask cheek when she looked down.
A profusion of silky dark curls and a
look of youth and modesty not to ’ be
described. This, with the very simple
but graceful and costly dress by which
her family are distinguished is an exact
portrait of this, wonderful young poet.”
At a later period of her life the sculptor
Story said of her: -y
"To those who loved Mrs. Browning—
and to know her was to love i^er—she was
singularly attractive. Hers was not the
beauty of feature; it was the loftier
beauty of expression. He r slight figure
seemed hardly large enough to contain
the great heart that beat so fervently
within and the soul that expanded more
and more as one year gave place to an
other.”
♦
Three Grains o. Mummy Corn
that to use thought and will
aright is to control and use our
psychic forces in a wav to lengthen and
benefit all life. MARIE PERCY.
Oriental School, Chicago, Ills.
Queries
Margaret Holmes asks: “How shall I
paint a flower spray on a, gray velvet
cushion? and what kind of flower is pret
tiest? I understand how to draw, also
to paint a little, but there seems to be
a secret about palhting on velvet.” The
only secret about painting on velvet is
the use of turpentine and of a pointed,
stubby brush. The design should be
clearly drawn or stamped on the. velvet,
which should be of good quality. Use
the tube paints and a sable brush No. 12,
which you must first cut at each side and
at the front until it is firm and stubby.
Dip it in the turpentine and try it on a
piece of old muslin, pressing out some
of it. Then dip it In the paint and again
press it on the muslin; then proceed to
paint your leaf or flower. A pretty and
rather novel design is a pink cactus, for
which you will need pink-madder, Iemon-
yellojy for stamens and center t and Zinl-
bar green and chrome green for stem and
leaves. Another graceful design would
be a large, spray of the southern yellow
jessamine vine with buds and blooms.
This and the superb magnolia and beau-
poplar) are our peculiarly American flow
ers and should be more prized than they
are.
Eflie W. asks: “What will take a stain
out of a white embroidered dress? It has
been set by washing with_j»aap and hot
water.” Try a strong solution of chlo-
riated soda. This potent chemical will
take out stains in all white goods that
have been set with washing and will
not injure the fabric If rinsed out when
it has done its work.
M. L. T. asks: “How can 1 stiffen a
white lace veil after washing it: also
some fine lace?” Wash the veil and tha
lace in pure alcohol and dry them be
tween two sheets of white, blotting paper.
They will look perfectly new and be
sufficiently stiff.
Mrs. Ellen Ford asks: “Was not Tam
many named after an Irish saint? 1
have heard the word all my life, applied
to the democratic party in New York,
but I don't know wlmt it means and no
one I have asked coulif tell me.” The
name Tammany owes it origin to a brave
and honorable Indian chief of the Dela
ware tribe. When he grew old he was
content to relinquish the chieftainship to
a younger man, which, perhaps, suggest
ed to “Boss” Croker the wisdom of let
ting another man succeed him, as he has
lately done.
Miss Nora Carr asks: "What common
measure is equal to an ounce?" Two ta
blespoonfuls of liquid make an ounce. In
butter and sugar one tablespoonful weighs
an ounce, and in flower it takes two ta
blespoonfuls to make an ounce. These
are "rounding" measurements, just as
mucli above as below the bowl ot the
spoon.
Marvin L. says: "Is It true that Benja
min Franklih did not believe In the. Chris
tian religion? I am president of a boys'
club, which we had named The Frank
lin, but our minister told us that Frank
lin was not a Christian. Is this true? I
have always thought he was the Ameri
can model man after Washington.”
Franklin was a' Unitarian.
He belieVed there Is only one God, but
that Christ was divinely inspired to give
the world the grandest example ot a
pure life and the noblest code of morals
ever known. When he was over SO
years old President Yates, o£ Yale col
lege, aaked him concerning his religious
belief and his reply was this: "Here
is my creed/ I believe in one God, the
Creator and Ruler of the universe. X
believe that he ought to be worshipd:
that the most acceptable service we ren
der Him is doing good to His other
children; that the soul of man is im
mortal. and will be treated with justice
in another life, resecting its conduct
in 'this." 1
i? S7>e Household ^
How To Be An Ag'reeable Guest
Mrs. Lipscomb treats cleverly and
charmingly every phase of as important
subject. The ideas she advances are
unique, and she impresses her conclusions
with apt Illustrations.
Written far ISK* Sunny South
BECOME the coming, speed
the parting guest," bears a
doubtful meaning; perhaps
it originated because so
few people knew how to
play the role of an agree
able guest, that the tired
hostess was indeed ready
to bid them a godspeed and
take chances on the new
comer being an improve
ment on the dear departed.
Since each of us is some
times guest and sometimes j
host, a few remarks on how to be a good
guest may not be amiss.
In America the old-fashioned invitation
to come and “pay us a good long visit
is a thing of the past, owing to the dif
ferent construction placed on the good
long” by host and guest. The visit too
often becomes a visitation. In accept
ing an invitation, relieve the mind of the
hostess by stating the exact number of
days vou will tarry.
Carefully avoid arriving £t an incon-
vementhour, preferring rather to incom
mode yourself than your hostess. Do not,
by any means, dispel the good impres
sion you have made in your letter. Of ac
ceptance by bringing a Saratoga large
enough for Gulliver on his traveis Noth-
ing is so calculated to overawe thehos-
tcSn lis cumbersome alia heavy baggage.
It Indicates a siege and recalls the Im
pression: "He may stay for a year, irto
came for a day.” The relaton of guest
and host does not begin until the former
has crossed the thresh hold and the moot-
ed question as to who is to pay for the
baggage is thus settled; the law of hos
pitality does not require the hosFlo pay.
It Is vulgar to come burdened with bun
dles and unpardonable to bring pug, puss
or parrot. The invitation is to you and
your pets cannot travel on that pass.
A great many people think it proper to
produce a present for the hostess, which
they dig out of their trunk on their ar
rival. This smacks of prepayment for
lodging and is villainous. Pray you avoid
lt The Christmas guest is an exception to
this rule. Then should he or she come,
like Santa Claus, a gift for all. The serv
ants especially Should be remembered.
Long mav this custom survive! Never
mind about the intrinsic value of the pres
ent as Ruskin says, "It is the giving
and not the gift.” If your means are
small, make some fancy and appropriate
ornament for the little folks' Christmas
tree. , ,
In the days gone by, I knew an ideal
Christmas guest, old Aunt Lucy, who
came once a year through the country in
her old canvas-covered wagon, loaded
grandfathers's household. She always
with gifts for every member of my
started at the same' hour and on the
same day of each year, reaching our home
Just before sunset with her tired mules.
I can see her now perched on the front
seat looking as stately as an old Indian
princess in her red and yellow calico
frock, with holly berries strupg and 'hung
in festoons around her bronze neck.
“Blow your horns, shoot off your fire
crackers. Christmas and Aunt Lucy have
By MRS LAMAR LIPSCOMB
ing the family interchanged their pres
ents. but some how the giving and tak
ing lacked the charm which Aunt Lucy
brought with her humble gifts, the intrin
sic value of which was small, but every
Mrs. Lamar Lipscomb
In the Woman's Department of The
Sunny South for February 1 one of Mrs.
Bryan's editorials was "The Romance of
a Peachtree," giving two instance* of
the germination of seeds after many
years. This leads me to recount a story
which I feel sure is authentic.
Three or four years ago the mummy
of an Egyptian of royal blood was found,
and in the inner wrappings of the. body
among amulets, sacred scarabael, wrens'
heads and other ornaments was “a little
urn containing three grains of corn, not
wheat, but a corn resembling maize,
..though of a different color and shape
from ordinary corn. The inscriptions on
the outer case, on the papyrus rolls, con
taining the chapters from "The Book of
the Dead,” necessary to insure the safe
passage, of the soul of the royal woman
through the Hall of Osiris, before the
forty-two assessors of the underworld all
showed the body to have been over 2,000
years old. Of course it lay entombed,
away from air, light and extremes of
heat and cold till the modem explorer
brought it to light. In this case It was
a missionary from Illinois who brought
the seeds to this country. They were
planted in Elgin 111*, where two grains
germinated. The stalks grew to an un
usual height, while the ear, from which
the kernels in my possession grew, were
20 inches long. There Is every reason to
believe the story: the missionary Is a
woman of irreproachable character and
it is an undoubted fact that she. brought
the trinkets and the eeeda with her to
this country, where they grew.
To one who believes that life is a ne.ver-
ending cycle; that there is as long a
history for us behind the cradle as there
is beyond the grave, no story of the
preservation of life Is incredible. It is
only because we shut our eyes and ears
to the book natue continually bolds open
before us and seek too much for phenom
ena that we miss the wondefiful message
and benefits that in our haste and incred-
uplity we entirely overlook. Qtch day re
veals wonderful inventions showing how
mind controls inanimate matter and
eventually w* hurrying.
come.
We children would crowd up at the back
of the wagon, each crying: “What did
you brijig me. Aunt Lucy; what did you
bring me?” “Hush, honey; be easy, help
old Aunt Lucy out with her truck. I
come to spend more'n a week, so I fetched
my bode.”
First came a hamper: in this was a cali
co quUt. a pair of knitted white yarn mit
tens, a bottle of eiderherrv wine, reed
whistles, some long handle gourds and a
tin snutf box full of resin and sweet gum.
a dozen or more com shucks filled with
molasses candy.
Next came a box, which lopked as if it
was covered with rawhide. In this was
her “bode.” Meal from her own grist, a
couple of hams, a dressed fat gobler and
some duck and guinea keat eggs. In an
old feed sack were hickory nutsf walnuts
and chinquapins.
One Christmas I remember a huge pump
kin she brought. It was llterarly as bie
as Cinderella's, for once I was dragged
around the lot in half of it by a black
and tan team of children. The next morn-
present seemed consecrat^ri because we
knew it represented .hour^* v , thought for
us. |apln£\
WW all went down toL,.-, -S-gate to
•ay goodby. I will 'nevcff^'^^Ve pic-
tnresquenesss of the a>sifiPwaved
bar hand, saying "Goodby, chilluns, good-
by; God Mesa you; tfcailky. thanky. every
body. Aunt Lacy win come again next
year, but ef she don’t you may know,
honey, she is spending her Christmas up
yonder.”
When old Uncle Jerry came for .her af
ter the holidays more than one tear rolled
down a childish oheek. We all stood by
the gate and watched her old wagon
ladened with our gifts to her. grow
smaller and smaller in the distance, un
til it faded into nothingness.
Then we turned back to the .house with
sad hearts, for we knew that Christmas
and Aunt Lucy had gone!
Taste the glass of wine or the proffered
mint julip and do not create a temperance
discussion by a refusal (tihe heavens will
not fall), sustain yourself by the authority
of St. Paul.
Retire early the first night whether you
feel tired or not. The host will bless you!
Find out from some one the meal hours
and endeavor to be prompt at the table.
The hostess would much prefer to send
up your breakfast or dinner than have
you late to it.
Tardiness turns the time-table of the
house topsy-turvy, to everybody’s dis
comfort, causing a complete domestic
wreck.
If vou do not eat oat meal or fruit
for the first course, go through the form
of it at least.
The first night of your arrival do not
complain of sickness or fatigue, though
vou may have mal aux chevepu. Do not
tell a blood curdling story of how you es
caped accident or death en route. Do not
croak like a raven, but chirp of some
pleasant occurrence.
At the first opportunity find something
to praise about the Jiome-a painting, a
bit of china, an old piece of mahogany, a
family portrait, grandfather’s clock, or
something of the Lares et Penates of the
household. Do not overpraise, for flat
tery. like paint, peels off when too thickly
spread.
The French say a guest and a fish af
ter three da^g are poison. A week is a
long visit: ten days extra long, and none
but the most intimate friends and rela
tives Rhould remain beyond the latter
time. Host, hostess and domestics at the
end of a week are fretted and overworked.
Twenty-one menus have been planned and
served. Tile general schedule of the house
hold has been changed. The host Is late
for his office, and if in the city a good
part of his time has been used in showing
you {he town and introducing you at the
club.
As a rule servants are incompetent and
extra labors during the visit must fail on
the hostess, who retires at night to ran
sack her wearied brain for the next day’s
nrogramme. If in the city, rfhe takes you
to the theater, oerhans to a poor vaude
ville, do. not abuse the pefomance.
Do not keep your hostess on the rack
for somehlng to do to amuse you. nor be
an ever-present shadow at her side, but
in heaven's name, give her a few hours
breathing spell in her boudoir! This con
stant being together is a tax on one s
wits and unless you are extremely clever
after the first day the conversation will
flag, povided your fund of gossip and
scandal has been exhaused.
Though the hostess be worth a million,
she is at the mercy of her servants. In
all households the power behind the
throne is the cook. When she is cross,
obdurate or pouty, the general peace is.
broken. This may sometimes be the fault
of the guest. Let the cook know you
have not come to spend the summer or
winter. Praise her dishes. Look over
vour rjbbons and laces and give her some
bagatelle. This not infrequently pleases
when money falls.
I was at a house party the past summer
in the mountains, and my hostess had
engaged for the season an excellent cook,
the fame of whose dishes reached the
ears of a neighboring inn keeper. He
sent an envoy into her back gate to ca
jole her away. She was about to accept
Ihis offer, so the housemaid told me in
confidence.
At breakfast the next morning my hos
tess bore a troubled look. My bon mots
fell flat; my stories were not heard.
A thought struck me. I met Aunt Ra
chel in the garden. She looked wistfully
at the lilac waist I wore, which she had
before admired. I said: "Aunt Rachel,
they tel-1 me you are going over to the
inn?” “Well,” she drawled, “I don't know,
honey; I does a might of fuss class cook
ing here and some of dem guests can't
'predate my 'ziety to please ’em and at
de inn dey tells me dey puts de 'preda
tion in yo' han'.”
I grabbed the hint and highly praised
her Sally Lunn and stuffed peppers. I
gave her the waist and promised to send
the skirt, provided she would not leave
my hostess until her cottage was dosed.
She stayed!
Judicious tipping in private houses rare
ly comes amiss. Keep the help in a good
humor. A pleasant look to them, a word
of praise, may lighten the day’s burden.
Hospitality ip fast dying out. It seems
as if those, best fitted to entertain are
most lrtith to open their doors. I asked
a friend of mine, a woman of wealth and
well equipped in every way, why she did
not entertain. She replied, solemnly and
honestly:
"I am afraid; I have seen too many
disastrous, results. Besides, I find so few
people know how to play the role of guest.
They pry. they peep, they pump the ser
vants and the children. They gossip!
They make excursions to the kitchen, the
stable, the basement and see more in an
hour than I in a year. -
The lowest and most vulgar sin that can 1
be committed is to steal the secrets from
the sacred hearth and air them to the
Srorld.
When democrats visit republicans, or
Methodists visit Episcopalians, it is well
to avoid political and religious discussions.
At any rate, the guest does not take the
Initiative in conversation, this being the
sole perogative of the host.
Do not boast of your home, your horses
or your help.
Contribute the talents God gave you to
brighten the home you visit. If you play,
sing or read well, do so. If you are not
acccompllshed in either one of these arts,
try something else. One of the most de
lightful guests I ever knev^ was a very
handsome girl who visited with me a
wealthy family in the east. Her family,
having lost their fortune, she had but
taw opportunities. She could neither play,
sing nor recite, bqt could do many other
things just as commendable.
When we reached there we found the
lawn dotted with Japanese lanterns, and
preparations briskly going on for an en
tertainment given in our honor. Our hos
tess seemed nervous, fretted, outdone.
The coachman had returned without her
hairdresser, Mme. Louise had sent her
garden bonnet home a sight and the ca
terer's mother had died, and she could
not get her salad. That day my friend
became a -heroine. She dressed our
hostess' hair most becomingly, retrlmmed
the bonnet like a Parisienne, rolled up her
sleeves and made a delicious chicken salad
for the invited guests. I san'g my songs
and drummed on my guitar* told my best
stories—but alas!. Rosalie had won the
hostess’ heart. It was she. not I. who
"paid her board.” Now and then I hear
from this model guest. 8he is ever a
bright spirit at house parties. In the town,
out of town, in the mountains, by the
seas. I confes' I quite envy those in her
cheerful present^.
If there werd \'(»re like her. no one
would "speed ths’f.arting guest.”
OOD morning, dear friends.
It is a sunshiny morning,
but cold a la Klondike.
What a grim parting (?)
embrace old winter is giv
ing us. Spring must be
"coming this way.” but as
yet we feel no touch of her
breath. None of you are
gardening this morning, I
am sure, unless it be those
who Uve—
"Where the birds have no
sorrow in their song,
'o winter in their year."
But, despite the cold, our Household is
bright and cheerful. I did not know there
was such a quaint old-world-looking vil
lage In Texas as this of Glen Rose, which
our new member. Elys Morris, graphically
describes. But Texas is a wonderful stale
—every kind or climate, scenery, people
and social conditions is comprised within
its wide borders. With the whir of a big
manufacturing tpwn scarce out of your
ears, you come within the shadows of pri
meval forests. You partake of a pink tea
in a "cultured center,” not a score of
miles from a backwoods corner, where
an old-fashioned singing school is in prog
ress or a "quilting,'’ such as M. R. F.,
another welcome newcomer, tells us about.
Our loyal Tessa rightly enjoins us to
do as Rome does when we go to see roy
alty enthroned, but I fancy few of us will
have an opportunity to put her counsel
into practice. I am trying, dear Tessa, to
make room for the list of books in the
Household library, for which your corre
spondents are calling. We will have It
in next week, I think.
Nannette, your picture of the patroniz
ing. affectionate colored maid at the New
York hotel is as true to life as it la
amusing. X have encountered the type.
Mrs. Benham gives a practical turn to
our talk today by telling us how to ^aise
turkeys. Her information is all the more
valuable through her being herself a suc
cessful turkey raiser, who knows the sat
isfaction of tucking crisp bills in her purse
after marketing a wagon load of Che gob
bling gentry.
I remember that the old black mammy
who raised turkeys and chickens for us
in my childhood used to bake "turkey
bread" in the ashes. There were piles of
the round, crustless “ashcakeB" made of
unsifted corn meal. She crumbled these
into a big pan. then moistened it with
milk and mixed it with a quantity of
“skellions,” finely cut, and a little cut
up red pepper. Mammy Ailaie raised
turkeys f<V us by the hundreds—a hardy
race they were, being crossed with the
Florida wild turkey.
Macaria, will you not write and give
me your address? I have an explanation
to give you. Will the member who men
tioned “Uncle Tom's Cabin," the play and
book, send her name? Tha page that
contained It was missing; Let qo one of
our friends feel unwelcome or alighted,
but come again, knowing there is never
any Intentional neglect, and never any
curtailing, save a very little in some in
stances. solely because of limited space.
The demand of the Dig editor is to "give
variety”—and this we try to do. More
than once, as in the case of our valued
contributor who described "Some wild ani
mals of Texas,” a Household letter has
been transplanted to The Constitution, of
which our paper is the Sunday supple
ment, but this will not happen any more.
Will not some of you say a comforting
word to Annie James. Whose little song
today is a sigh of heart-loneliness.
I wish you friends would read my edi
torial today in answer to a club question:
"Who Was the Greatest Woman of the
Last Century?” I thought at first of our
own Frances Willard, but the question
embraced woman in all her relations—
daughter, wife, mother, friend, artist—and
the one who seemed to me to have filled
all these most nobly was Elizabeth Bar
rett Browning. What do you think? Let
me hear from you. Thanking you for your
kind visits and hoping to see you often,
1 am your ever-welcoming
MATER.
Ike Heart will ask: "May I call you
Meb?” Yes, it will sound familiar; my
pet name among friends is Mab.
♦
At The Court or St. James
hand because this is the custom of their
country. It isn't the customs and fo-ms
we follow that can un-Americanlze us; it
is the spirit in Which we accept these
forms and customs and the effect they
have on our ideas and socialistic tenden
cies. A true, free-spirited American can
not be demoralized by "royal honors and
favors,” but may accept these with dlgni-
fled_ courtesy and conform with American
adaptability to the established rules of
monarchist court.
It is no more for us to kiss the hand of
their sovereign than for them to shake
the hand of ours. "Honors are easy” in
this respect, to use a term employed In
the old-fashioned way of playing whist.
The rain—it has rained—and the clouds
seem surcharged with more. The festive
Warrt*. river Is trying Its best to burst
its iegh: <ate bounds and get out and
play abouV'i bit. The colored population
are watching the rising waters with big
scared eyes. Still the rain; it rains on;
and the white folks fuss at the mud. Just
as they will fuss at the dust next summer
when the rain refuses to rain. Are peo
ple ever satisfied?
TESSA WILLINGHAM RODDEY.
Sylvan. Ala.
♦
What I Saw in New York
Women and the Home
Our Old Homestead
Our homestead had an ample hearth.
Where at night we loved to meet.
There my mother’s voice was always kind.
And her smile was aiwayq sweet.
And there I've sat on my father's knee
And watched his thoughtful brow,
With my childish "hand on his raven hair—
That hair is silver now!
But that broad hearth's light! oh, that
broad hearth's light!
And my father’s look and my mother’s
smile,
They are dll in my heart tonight.
ALICE CAREY.
■*
TGHT husbands and wives to
be ill-natured judges of
what is amiss with one an
other? Suppose a wife dis
covers that she has married
a very mortal man with-in-
firmitles of temper and
character. has she any
more right to treat him
with contempt than she
would have to condemn him
if he should be consump
tive and unable to walk a
long distance or lift a heavy
load? She should be as forbearing to
moral infirmities asfto physical ones. Com
plaints are unjust, unkind and unwise.
Instead of these let us look for remedies,
and seek quietly and patiently to apply
them. The best , counsel to give husband
and wife and all who live in close inti
macy is to ask them to resolve in the
words 1 Shakespeare: “I will chide no
breather but myself against whom I know
most faults.” \
Our Friends
We say “a friend of mine” easily and
with little feeling 'of the importance that
attaches to the word friend. “Her many
friends are delighted at her return.” says
the reporter on the society page of the
dally paper. “Many friends!” Who
among us has many friends—friends who
will $tflr,d by us in storm as in sunshine,
who will defend our good names, geqtly
tell us. of our faults, but be silent about
them te others: who are ready with help
and comfort in time of trial, and with
sympathetic gladness when life is bright?
Two women meet at a “pink tea” and
are “delighted.” They hold similar views
as to dress goods, men and books—per
haps they agree on religious ‘Isms” and,
behold! scented notes fly back and forth
between them signed: “Your dear friend.
Mary C„” or “Ever your friend, Agnes.”
Try the friendship of these natures
which you touch so lightly “en passant."
Will they make a sacrifice for you. or
you for them? Do they know when you
need sympathy and give it from their
hearts—unmasked? Do they recognize the
best and finest in you and respond to it
in kind?
If not. beware lest you profane tbe name
ot friendship—for it is sacred to those who l
know its meaning—and in profaning it
you lose the power of its interpretation to
yourself.
painty Handkerchiefs
The handkerchief counters show every
variety of these indispensable little ar
ticles, from the plain hemstitched" squares
of cotton and linen to the expensive lace
and embroidered ones, and many of the
new designs are handsome. If a .young
lady can do hemstitching she can have,
real beauties at a very moderate price.
The linen chosen for this purpose should
be fine and soft in texture, and not too
Closely woven. Cut them in squares from
13 to 16 inches in size, according to the
depth of the hem desired. Draw out three
or four threads, and do the hemstitch
ing as evenly as possible. If you wish
a Face edge, get enough narrow lace to go
around the edge without any {illness ex
cept at the corners. They.are easy to
make and very fashionable. Others have
a lace insertion set In. When this is done.
Dear Mater and Household Friends: The
Sunny South didn’t come this Saturday
afternoon. I was sorely disappointed;
must now “meekly wait and murmur not’
until Monday. The Washington Times
for Sunday, January 26, came and I
enjoyed reading ih it about our Georgia
poet. Frank L. Stanton. (Wonder what
the L is for?) There are three
pictures of him and a long account of his
bring "discovered” by Mr. Grady; of his
going to Atlanta dnd being Installed as
sociate editor, and how surprised all The
Constitution people were at his appear
ance. so unlike the poet'in fiction.
We ail love our "Georgia cracker poet.”
I would give much to read the first col
umn he wrote for The Constitution after
he had searched in all of his pockets for
the “stubby pencil." then searched them
over again for a knife with which to
“point” the pencil, then fell into a
“brown study” as how to “head” his col
umn, finally deciding on the catchy, ap
propriate title, "Just from Georgia.” I
think we should have this column trans
ferred to our Sunny South, and I wish
that Lucian L. Knight, who gives us en
tertaining book reviews, would put this
column on the literary page for the ben
efit of we Household folk.
The Washington Times had a lot of
“society notes” all about well-known
Americans and their dinners and teas and
dresses. There was a great deal about
"the first young lady of the
land,” Miss Alice Roosevelt. who
is going to England as the
The most amusing person I saw in New
Tork was a chambermaid at the hotel
where I stopped. She was a Virginia ne
gro. She seemed devoted to Southern peo
ple. but she had a bad case of “New
Yorkites" and put on more airs than
Beauty Steele. When she answered our
bells, she would say in the most patron
izing manner: “Dear, did you want any
thing?” making one feel as though one's
swellest acquaintance had called and was
conferring a favor by her gracious pres
ence.
“Dear, how do you feel today? Ah! yes.
darling, a package, came for you yester
day." I wanted some things moved into
my room, and she superintended tile oper
ation. ordering life porter around. “This
way. James; even so. Yos, dear, he shall
put them just where you want them." We
enjoyed her immensely, but she was so
kind and good-natured that w.e simply hu
mored her and had our laugh after she
bad left us. * *
My first Sunday in New York was
memorable. There were so many differ
ent churchs to attend we just looked at
them from the outside, and could not
manage to take durselves out of the sun
shine Into the gloom of the cathedral or
the holy stillness of old Trinity. So. we
walked around, as David Harum would
say, for “a putty coneld'able spell." and
I am sure we saw almost as many new
and strapge things as he and Dolly Bfx-
bee did on their first venture Gothamward.
One building which must call forth ad
miration fronTevery thinking person was
the Young Woman’s Christian Association
at 14 East Sixteenth street. Here work
ing girls or business women may stop fori
six weeks and know that they will ba»
properly taken care of, as it Is like a
well organised, almost luxurious home, r
I /will not attempt to tell of the won
ders of the Metropolitan Museum of Art
or of the American Museum of Natural
History, or how grand it was to sit In
Central park and Just forget everything,
but the beauties arefind. My rustic brain
could only * ike in » Barits# amount of
Gotham aj a time, and I Bad than to alt
down and let Its bfinUdansent MtbaMa-
Davld Harum’s advice, “Da sale (ha
other feller the way he’d■ like t* de jros—
and do him fust.” seems to be well know*
add practiced in the metropolis. However,
New York people were very nice to me.
My tribulations (I got into numerous
“boxes,” and they wero not box parties
at Daly's theater, either) should lie at
my own door.
Among the grand sights of the city are
Riverside park with Grant's tomb near
its upper end. The tomb is an imposing
structure, but one. imagines that Mrs.
Julia Dent Grant must feel rather sol
emn and ghastly when she looks down at
the vault that has her name engraved
upon It. It is the penalty of being great.
Riverside park iiea along the verge of
the broad and beautiful Hudson from Sev
enty-first street to One Hundred and
Twenty-seventh, a distance of 3 miles.
Rustic, benches line the way where one
may rest and enjoy the fine view and
pure, moist air, scented by growing
grass. A prominent writer says that
“Riverside park Is destined to be the fin
est and most fashionable residence portion
of the city. Elegant homes surrounded
by expensive lawns and flower gardens
are rising about it, and its situation, over
looking the beautiful Hudson and extend
ing its ample ways for pleasure riding,
driving and walking for 3 miles to the
convent in Manhattanville makes it with
out a parallel among the famous avenues
of the world.”
I enjoyed my all too brief visit to New
York so thoroughly that I cannot refrain
from advising' .the Householders to take
a trip to America's metropolis every time
in the summer rather than to any summer
resort. No matter how swell the resort
may be or how aristocratic the people one
may meet there. New York affords a far
greater variety of entertaining and in
structive sights and a better opportunity
to study human nature in its various
types. One finds here representatives from
almost every quarter of the globe and one
may say without exaggeration that a visit
to New York is almost like taking a trip
around the world.
In my next letter I hope to tell my im
pressions of Buffalo and Niagara.
\ NANNETTE.
♦
The Quiltin' at Mis* Slmpson-s
a lace insertion ser in. v» uen inis is none. , hA r,ij. an j wi i, h „
the handkerchiefs are hemstitched as be- gue3t °* , KelaB - an p will be presented
fore, and a square cut out of the center
an inch and a half from the hem air
around. Finish the cut edge with very
narrow hems put around the small square,
and sew the outside hem to it.
It t’s necessary to launder handkerchiefs
properly if you wish them to retain their
beauty. Perhaps a good suds with soap
wkrm water, stir in a little powdered
[ and wash them between the hands
they are clean, rinse them in clear
t* which a little blueing has been
at court. I am sure ail Americans loyally
hope that she will bear the responsibili
ties of her trying position with womanly
grace and tact both at home and abroad,
and will cause Americans to feel glad
that they have so fair a representative at
the “court of St. James.”
It doesn’t detract from our republican
ism to be presented at the English court,
though many seem to think otherwise.
When English persohs of standing come
to America they attend our receptions
then dip them in very thin boiled ? nd * hake our president s hand, that be-
Spread them out on a marble toD- I * nar an established custom of our country.
When we go to England we wear court
— Iart page — I dress and kneel ind kiss the queen’s
“Well, Sallle, you must get up early in
the mornln' and stir around so's to get to
the quiltin’ in good time,” said ms the
night before Mis' Simpson's quiltin'.
We allers has a quiltin' every year in
our neighborhood, jest as old-time folks
used to do. We young folks enjoys it, too;
our fingers go over the quilt like light
enin’. a thinkin’ about the big supper
and dance that comes when the aullt is
out. *
bright and early next mornln’ we was
u, I should say dark and early, for we
aller- gets up before light, specially when
a quiltin' is on hand. We had breakfast
before suntise and the men folks went
out to feed the creturs while me and ma
milked, fed the pigs and straightened
things around. Then we got on our fix-
in's for the occasion. Ma says:
"Sallie, you must wear your new pink
S ercale frock and I'll do honor to Mis'
tmpson by wearin' by bombazine what's
just been made over.” Well, after so
long a time we got ready to start Wa
went In our bran new Barnesville buggy
as the men folks want a cornin' till near
ht to be in time for the dance.' Mis'
ipson's ain't but about 4 miles from
our house, so we were soon there, and
they had done started the quilt, but they
were mighty glad to see us. and to have
that much mor riiejp on the quilt. We
soon got to quiltin' in earnest, didn't take
us long to fllnish It. Then Mis' Sipmson
bfung in another quilt and when we got
through with that one it was purty nigh
time fQr the men folks to come with‘the
fiddle.
Mis' Simpson had been Axin' for that
supper for days and days: she allers will
have somethin' good when she has a
S uitin' and a dance. We Just had a plain
inner—friend chicken and the like.
Well, we tuk down the quilt to make
Mom for the dancers. Me and Joe Davis
led the first set. It was the old Virginia
reel. Then we wound up njth tucker. It
was late when was late when we got ome
was late when we got home, but we'd en
joyed ourselves so we dodp't care for
losin' sleep. We felt refreshed enough af
ter havin’ auch a good time. M. B. F.