Newspaper Page Text
4
Ella Wheeler Wilcox
Tffy
LETTER TO A BRIDE
Eume Is the Ante-Room to Heaven and
Should Be Patterned on That Plan
ELEPHANT POWER AND THE PLOW
ME
By ELLA WHEELER WILCOX.
NUMBER IV.
T o a Younf? Bride: Your letter,
full of happiness and homey
ness. was a delight to read.
H is good to know you are so deep-
interested 1n your home; and that
miii have started your married life
with such an Ideal Instead of wasting
,:, e first year in a hotel or boarding
house, or on the dangerous Bohemian
style of living, so often popular with
your.g married women.
Home Is my Idea of the ante-room
in heaven, and should be patterned on
that plan. You say your home is
liny, hut that is air the better for a
beginning.
There Is so much to think about n
home making, and if you learn to
have perfect details and to keep per
fect order In a small home, it will be
come a simple matter for you to carry
out the same system when your abode
enlarges.
Make Your House Pretty.
You are so pleasing to look upon
that it will be like a Jewel in a box,
if you make your little house pretty
in every department.
I know you have great taste in col
ors. and that, everywhere your cur
tains and rugs and walls and dra
peries will be beautiful in tone, and
there will be no clashing or glaring
colors. -
And I can imagine the happiness of
your husband when he comes home
and sees you tastefully garbed, wait
ing him in your pretty room.
Remember the need of a man toy a
room all his own. Arrange such space
for him even at the sacrifice of some
usuries you might enjoy otherwise.
An English woman writing about
American homes justly criticised
mem for this very lack; and the cor-
1-t standing lac* in the heart of the
;:Y. who did not realize the fact that
. v man on earth wanted a room
which was all his own—one into which
rn other person entered unless in
ns a guest; one where he could
sc 'tiilte undisturbed and be alone
if o mood for solitude or a quiet
smoke seized him.
Don't Pester Him.
Ami be sure if such a mood seize
,,ur man, to leave him to its enjoy
ment: and do not imagine he has
cp..sed to love you. because he may
like to read his paper there or smoke
; s cigar or take a nap. maybe, alette
bv himself.
1 hope your little domain lias a
pleasant kitchen and maid’s room.
If this part of the house has been
neglected by the architect, try to
brighten it as much as possible in
vour treatment of it. For when you
think of the important part a good
domestic plays In a home, it should
seem an important thing to give her
as much comfort and convenience as
possible, and to give her pretty and
attractive things to please her eye
ar.d train her taste to an understano-
rig of beauty. , ,
If your husband belongs to a rlub
make the hours of his going and com-
ing as pleasant as he was accustomed
to find them when a bachelor. Be
fore he married you, quite possibly i
he gave up many club evenings to be
with you; but now that he lias you !
all the time, it is quite natural he i
should want to be with his men i
friends occasionally.
Don’t Play the Martyr.
Bo not play the martyr or act the
role of the neglected wife.
It would be well if you joined a
club of your own, and if you are
musical it would be wise to arrange
a little evening of music at home the
night he goes to his club or lodge.
Nothing keeps a man more inter
ested in a woman than the knowledge
thal she can interest herself, and
that she can call about her an agree
able circle instead of sitting at home
moping.
Take up some study early in your
married life.
Your husband is a wide-awake man j
and in touch with the outer world,
and you must keep abreast of the !
times.
Learn a new language or pursue .
some line of reading—natural history
would be excellent—for when your
babies come (as I hope they will) all
you learn in this matter will be of
inestimable value to them.
The mother who can begin in the
small years of her boy’s life to tell
him the beautiful and interesting
things about bird and insect and
animal life will never find him want- 1
ing to be a killer of dumb things.
Such a mother was startled recent
ly by having her little boy say.
‘‘Mother, 1 want to go hunting birds.”
Then he added, “Please buy me a
camera: I want to hunt with a
camera; and take pictures of my lit
tle friends myself.
Keep Yourself Beautiful.
Watch yourself after the honey
moon wanes, to see that yon do not
grow careless in regard to your per
sonal appearance.
Some brides fade with the wedding
finery; and lose all interest in ap- :
pearing attractive because they feel
they have attained their goal; they \
are married: and settled; and there
ia nothing else to work for. But to
win is oftUmes easier than to keep
what we win.
Keep your house beautiful and keep
yourself beautiful. Be the most
amiable, the most sensible, the most
agreeable, the best groomed, the pjost
loyal and the most loving woman it
will be possible for your husband to
find anywhere.
And make your home the most at
tractive place he can' find.
Then if he wanders into forbidden
paths or does not live up to his !
vows, it will be because he is not
worthy of any woman's faith. But
a vast number of men who go wrong
are really driven by the thoughtless,
indolent, careless, or disagreeable
wife.
Be the very best thing on earth,
and one of the rarest, a really admir
able, lovable wife, and homemaker.
And all other things shall be added
thereunto.
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Medicine Time of the Year
r
HIS is the medicine time of the
year,” remarked the young
woman who had come to call,
e are I don’t know how many dif-
assortments of medicine in our
in as many different places,
pa keeps his medicine in the bath
J keep the baby’s in the nursery.
:eep his behind the mirror in the
Jane keeps hers in a vegetable
on the buffet. The maid keeps
in the basement. Dick keeps his
out in the garage,
did keep the baby’s medicine in
ewing machine at first, but the
s accumulated so fast that I had
i more room for them,
e used to have t-wo small bottles,
she has six large ones,
it papa has the worst assortment!
ie is allowed to meddle with his
s, yet he is forever roaring about
one disturbing them and chang-
lem around and tasting them,
lere are a few toothbrushes in the
chest with his beverages, and he
s they are kept there merely to
us an excuse to meddle with his
>us medicine. He says if we are
areful there will be a mixup that
esult in his being poisoned.
iere used to be a small bottle of
polish in ihe very top of his med-
repository, and papa got up in the
, rather sleepy, and took a dose
for liis cough. Thinking it tasted
r funny, he turned on the light,
i he saw „it \was shoe polish he had
he threw the polish and every
thing else that wasn’t his own medi
cine out of the window
‘‘Bob complains of the dust that gets
on his medicine bottle, but as back of
the mirror is the only safe pi Ace for it,
he has no alternative.
‘‘The maid thinks it hard that she
has to go down into the basement to
get her tonic. And poor Dick! He has
to be constantly on the alert that he
does not drink machine oil or turpen
tine or something. He vows that he
took turpentine for a week, and thought
his tonic was tasting rather mild, for
it generally tasted like ground-up fire
works. Then he discovered that it was
only turpentine that he had been taking.
“I don’t know whether papa’s are the
worst doses or not, but he makes the
worst faces. My! I wouldn't look at him
again when he is in the act of taking
his tonic for worlds! He wouldn’t let
any one see him take a dose of his
latest tonic, anyway. It would be just
like seeing a hanging, he says. Bo he
goes into the bath room and shuts and
bolts the door. After a time we hear
a sputter and a yell, such as you would
expect from some one suddenly im
mersed in ice water. Then he comes out
still making faces and looking very sad
and iniured.”
T HE two pictures above illus
trate how plowing is done
in India and how an Eng
lish farmer made use of an ele
phant to prepare his lands.
In the upper picture may be <
seen the primitive plow- of India
and seated upon the .neck of the
beast the driver. Behind the plow
is another native who guides it.
In the low r er picture the Eng
lishman is shown guiding a mod
ern plow—ma’de in the Tnited
States’ by the way. He also does
the driving by word of mouth.
This Englishman declares that:
he ha<» secured better plowing in
less time with one elephant than
1m could have done in the same
time with three or four farm
horses.
On the Bad Habit of Apologizing r oo Much
Ey VIRGINIA TERHUNE VAN DE WATER
Cutting.
The
(II WOULD box your ears," said a
I young lady to her stutfid and tire
some admirer, "if”—
“If what?” he asked anxiously.
"If." she repeated, "I could get a box
large enough for the purpose."
-ts >
T HE apology has become a nui
sance. This may sound brutal,
but it is true. Not the humble
apology which the wrongdoer makes
to the person he has wronged-. That
is dignified and to be respected. But
the needless apology with which we
are all familiar has become a nui
sance.
"I don't like to take a meal in
Mrs. Blank's house,” said a woman
the other day, "for she apologizes
for everything she sets before • one.
It is, T am afraid there is too much
salt in this souji.’ or, ‘Oh, dear, this
meat is tough! I am so sorry!' or.
■My dear, this is a very plain din
ner. I hope you will pardon me for
having such a simple meal to-night.'
And al! the time everything is as
nice as it can be, and the only
things I can not excuse* are her ex
cuses.
Let Them Think!
A woman who does not apologize
except when courtesy and common
sense demand it gave a dinner on
the evening of the day that a new
cook had been installed in her
kitchen. To her secret dismay the
strawberries—the first of the sea
son—were brought to the table
heaped in the center of a platter 1
plentifully garnished with parsley.
“What did you say?” asked the
friend to' whom the hostess men
tioned-the incident the following day.
‘‘Say? Nothing! T had a right to
garnish my strawberries with any
thing I chose. I let *my guests sup
pose Hhat ' it was an innovation—a
new thing in decorations—if they
thought anything at all about it. I
certainly did not call attention to
my cook’s J mistake.”
She was a wise woman. The habit
of apology, if persisted in, affects
one's self-confidence, for one at last
assumes a deprecatory attitude
about herself and- her possessions.
She fears that she ‘‘doesn’t look just
right”, when she. goes . abroad; she
feels that her own home is not as
handsome as her neighbor’s house,
and intimates as much; she at last
gets to the point when she is con
tent with nothing that belongs to
her. And alLthe w’hile her long-suf
fering friends pat iier—figuratively
speaking—on the back and try to
reassure her.
“Do not apologize." advised a wise
man, ‘‘unless you have been guilty
of actual wrongdoing. It lowers your
self-respect.”
Not long ago I heard a woman say
of a piece of work into which she
had put her best efforts:
There! That is done as well as
o
Are 7 Out of 8 Married Couples Unhappy)!
Dorothy Dix Says if So Many Yearned to Break the Bond of Matrimony, I hey Would Do It.
By DOROTHY DIX.
A UK seven out of eight married
couples unhappy?
A man out In Oklahoma, who
las turn lecturing upon (he subject of
tho relations of the sexes, declares that
I they are.
In this pessimistic sizing up of the
domestic situation undoubtedly he look
into consideration the family spat,
! which in the majority of households
is as much a. part of the matutinal
meal as the coffee and the rolls. In
fact, generally speaking, it may be as
serted that no breakfast table is com-
i pleto without one.
Likewise he could not have failed to
| notice that there is apparently no topic
( under the sun, from politics to pie,
upon which a hysband and wife Can
i not get up a heated argument at a mo*
j merit’s notice, and that the only thing
upon which they t an agree is to dls
agree ,
He has heard rows between the
loneses oier the size of the grocery bill,
or whetlu r the baby’s hair should be
cut or not, or the steak being tough,
, that would seem to lead straight to the
divorce mill.
He has heard Mrs. Jones, in the heat
of anger, say things to ’V. Jones that
were past all forgiving: and he has
listened while Mr. .lores retorted with
insult'- that called for some able-bodied
male relative of Mrs. Jones to fall
; upon him and beat him to a pulp.
Has Heard Spats Over Money.
IP* observes that when Mrs. Jones
asks her lord and master for the -nec-
•jssary money to run the house upon, it
is the signal for a storm of crimina
tion. complaints, sneers and gibes upon
■ her extravagance and bad management
to burst, and that Mrs. Jones dams the
! deluge by a series of counter charges
and recriminations about the money a
; man warten upon his cigars and drinks
and treating deadbeat friends, and eat
ing expensive lunches, while Ills poor
wife slaves her life away trying to make
: one dollar do the work of two.
Undoubtedly, likewise—for these
things are not done privately, more’s
the pit} the lecturer has been person
ally called upon to referee one of these
domestic mix-ups, and mentally called
the fight a draw when the wife retired
sobbing to her corner, moaning out that
she was “go-go-going ba-a-aek ho-ho-
liomo to mo-mo-mothor," and tbe man
jabbed on his hat and barged the front
• door behind hun ami hastened to the
nearest saloon for spirituous consola
, tion and refreshment.
Any dispassionate observer, noting
these facts, must conclude that the ma-
, joriiy of husbands and wives are about
as congenial as the Kilkenny cats, and
that their -one ardent desire in life
muss be to break the fetters that bind
DOROTHY DIX
together two natures that act on each
other as fire and tow.
That is the logic * of the situation;
but, fortunately, there is no logit; in
love. You can not judge by what you
je, for the veils of affection lie deep
down in the human soul; they are not
■on the surface for every casual passerby
to cast In a line and plummet and
measure their depth.
The family scrap is bad taste, bad
■manner#, bad ethics, if you like; but it
is n*> sort of a sign that the couple
tjjat indulge in it are not devoted to
each other. On the contrary, it is
doubtful ff any other man and womd’n
have as great a perennial fascination
for each other as do those whose na
ture* constantly repulse and attract, and
who can neither get along with nor
without each other./
Life for them never settles down into
the commonplace. It is a perpetual se
ries of skirmishes, in which now one
is victorious, now the other; but the
fight isj always worth the price of ad
mission. and matrimony becomes a sort
cf bushwhacking warfare, which may
not be the ideal of the holy state, but
is undeniably thrilling.
Dr. Holmes once said that the reason
that families broke up and scattered to
the four corners of the world was to keep
the Browns from being Browned into the
asylums, and tlie Smiths from being
Smithed into tHe grave.
In the same way, It is evident that the
family spat was devised by nature to
break the awful monotony of domestic
life, and keep husbands and wives from
The Headwaitress
By HANK
taking the coffee pot and the ca
knife to each other when they e<J
longer endure hearing each other’]
the same remark f bout the Ban
jects every day. Tf they couldn’t,^
rel. they must inevitably fight: an
ell Is said, hard words break no bone#.
That married couples really enjoy a
tiff is amply proven by the fact that
they deliberately do things that bring It
on. They introduce topics that are IJlje
the waving of a red flag before a mad
bull when they might Just as well keep
quiet.
Why are men and women who are t«£t
Itself in dealing with others, apparently
brutal- in their relationship with efifch
other? Simply and solely because .tty)}' ’
• Ike the rumpus they create. they.e£4?* v ~
the verbal duet, and they couldn'^-J^e
without the fillip of the make-up.
Nor do husbands and wives take dkeh
other’s saying seriously. Mrs. J<mes 1
isn’t crushed and mortified to
, about Mr. Jones’ remarks about meaei^q:
every time she asks him for a penny^r#**
one W’ould think she would be, OF
would not* go to him a second time,, SUje )T
would force some financial arrangement
that would save her feelings and
I pride. - -
Little Meant; Easily Forgiven.
For she knows that Jones i» really-* .
! generous fellow, that he wants his fam
ily to have the very things he
■ u "roofs
such a pother about their having, efvfot
| his attitude of being held up and
by his wife is simply the fun ■
| for his work—his w r ay of bragging afld'
i calling attention to the luxuries in
he indulges his wife and children.
He simply loves to have her caas and „
! ask him for money. That’s the Lga®
j he doesn't make her-an allowance? j
Furthermore, husbands and wiVf*
give and forget the hard words each
j «ays in moments of anger, because mar-
rled life goes so much deeper than any
speech.
It is not the quick outburst of temper
: that a man remembers, but the Io~aalt|fi i
the faith, the unswerving devotiomHiat^
j his wife has given him, the days shp^has
I bent over the cooking stove for him, Hie
smiles she wore when things were dark
and hard, the vigils she lias kept by his
' sickbed.
It is not the swear word a man Hhfrti
out, or his growling over his dinner, th*!
a woman treasures and broods over *ii. ,
| memory; but the. way he has toiled for
her. the tenderness he has shown her,
the protecting arm that she sees him in
terposing between her and the world;
It Is this that makes the marriage tie
, the most elastic but the strongest^ bond
in the world, and you can neve*^Dti-;'
vince me. for one, that seven mirajpf
eight people yearn to break it.
Else they would do it. ** *!p!j
1
u
Mr
I <an do it. It may not bp as excel
lent as somebody else could have
made it, but I know it is as good a
thing as 1 am capable of at present.
So [ offer no apologies for it."
Was that not the sane and honest
stand to lake, and was il not more
pleasant tn her hearers than to haye
her deprecate that she had done “so
poorly?” When one has performed
any task to the best of one's ability,
there is no reason why one should
not acknowledge the truth. If one
is at heart and in effort sincere, he
need not lie ashamed. After all.
nothing is really contemptible except
affectation and sham.
Yes, of Course, Wliy?
An attitude of self-appreciation is
entirely compatible with true mod
esty. A man need not be conceited
to be aware that he has done well.
A great artist was exhibiting a'
painting he had just completed.
“That is a beautiful picture!” ex
claimed a friend to him.
“I know it, and I love it,” was the
painter’s naive rejoinder.
‘‘What a pretty dress that is you
have on!” said one woman to an
other.
“Yes, that is why I bought it,” the
wearer replied, smilingly. “i think
myself that it is very pretty.”*
Of course she did. If not, why
purchase it?
wants to bet me five
lars that you're married,”
(he Headwaitress to tho
Steady Customer.
•Why?” he asked.
‘‘Well, she says her brother is a phiz
ology student—”
“A what?” queried the Steady Cus
tomer.
“Why, he's a face < Xpert,” explained
the U^adwaitress, ‘‘a sort of parlor lly-
ccp like Ibis feller Shy lock Holmes. Me
can look at anybody’s phiz and tell you
ail about thorn. That’s wlfy they call
is phizology.”
“What is there alsout my face that
makes Marie think I’m married?” asked
the Steady Customer.
“You’ll have to ask Marie,’’ replied
?he Headwaitress. ‘‘I figured you were
single because the bottom button on
your overcoat hasn't b<*en with you for
two weeks, and I’m willing to bet on
my buttonologv against all uf her phiz
ology. 1 donn believe in that kind of
stuff anyway. Now you take that lull,
dark, mysterious-looking guy that comes
in here with you sometimes. I figured
him to be a man with a qwful past, a
sort ot gea-but-I-could-tefl-soine- ter
rible- things-if-1-wanted-to. bloke. When
I first saw him I was wining to bet he’d
call for black coffee and Sinkers in a
hoarse voice.”
“And what did he do?” asked the
Steady Customer.
“He asked me for a bow l of milk and
crackers In the softest voice 1 ever
heard,” answered the Headwaitress,
"ar.d ended up with apologizing because
he asked for a second glass of water.
(Jee, if all the blokes that came in here
was as polite as your friend I’d hand
’em water enough to flood Dayton all
over again if they asked for it.”
“Nevertheless, there is something In
studying faces,” said the Steady Cus
tomer, “When I chose to Bit at you ta
ble, Louise, I figured from your face
that you were an attentive, fun-loving
girl, whose natural charms, would go
a great way to aid digestion.”
"You don't need no digestion-aider.”
said the Headwaitress-; “what you need
is a license, a collar and a chain, for I
never seen anybody get away with saq-
sages and mashed potatoes like you do.”
“Marie,” said the Steady Customer to
the cashier as he was paying his check,
"what is there about my face that made
you bet Louise I was married?”
“A serious expression,” answ’ered
Marie.
“You are a very observing girl,” said
the Steady Customer.
BACKACHE
A SYMPTOM
Of More Serious Illness Ap
proaching. Mrs. Ben
der’s Case.
Backache is a symptom of orgfchic
weakness or derangement. Jf 'ychi
have backache don’t neglect it?. 1 TPS
get permanent relief you must reitrh
the root of the trouble. Read
Mrs. Bender’s experience. *'
St. James, Mo.—“About a year
irregular,
By H ex Jones
POOR little chicken looked gloomy and glum,
Instead of all fluffy and flip.
And feebly R eLoeped. “Oh, this world's*on the burn,
For the poor little thing had the pip,
The pip-ip-ip-ip.
The poor litt!e thing had the pip.
The sun was as bright as a new-minted dime,
But that drooping wee chick wouldn’t skip;
It was having tho mournfulest possible time.
For the poor little thing had the pip,
The pip-ip-ip-ip.
The poor little thing had the pip.
So don’t think the world is a I’smal old place,
if mayhap you have loosened y our grip:
The sun’s shining still; get a smile on your face,
And never give in to the pip.
The pip-ip-ip-ip.
No. never give in to the pip.
had cramps every
month. heiidRtffcfc
and con t,-
backache. I, took
Lydia E. Pifet- 1
h a m's Vegetable
Compound
used the Sana
tive Wash, girrff I
am relieved ttf all
my troubles tfrifl
am in pert
health. I j
recommend
medicine
my friends^’
you may
this testimonial for t*ie benem^ofi
other suffering women.”—Mias A mm ‘
Bender, St. James, Missouri.
Another Case.
Dixon. Iowa.—“I have “ AfLlfi
ing Lydia E. Pinkham's Vegetable
Compound for some time and4HH^
done me much good. My back trou-^
bled me very much. It seemed weak.a
I had much pain and 1 wa& not asM
regular as I should have been. The®
Compound has cured these trouBLfcs^
and I recommend it to all my frieStH’’”'
—Mrs. Bertha Dierksen, Box 10*JJ
Dixon, Iowa.
* If you have the slightest doubt that
Lydia E. PinkharrYs Vegetable Com
pound will help you. write to Lydia
E. Pinkham Medicine Co. (copfiden
tial), Lynn, Mass., for advice. Yourj
letter will be opened, read and an
swered by a woman, and held
strict confidence.
•n-f?
•a#
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