MRS, ROOSEVELT AT HOME Clad in deep mourning, Mrs. Theodore Roosevelt entered the Executive Mansion, September 26, 1901, under sadder circumstances than have ever marked the installation of a "Lady of the White House "-although no one forgets how profoundly sorrowful were the times which called for Mrs. Lincoln's successor, nor of how the people grieved when Garfield died. With public buildings everywhere swathed in black, flags all over the Union flying at half-mast, a whole nation bowed in woe, herself as its representative wearing garments of grief, our "First Lady" needed some marks of cheer to greet her entrance into her new home; and one is glad to know that these were not lacking. Her husband met her at the door and led her to the dining-room, where a cozy luncheon was ready. With her came two of the children, Ethel and Kermit, and her housekeeper and her maid from Oyster Bay; so there was much to make her feel at home in her new abode. A number of changes are under way in the mansion. The big, canopied bedsteads have been relegated to the attic, and pretty white bedsteads have been placed in the rooms on the south side of the building, which will be occupied by the Roosevelt children. Much furniture from the house at Oyster Bay has been brought to the White House. Mrs. Roosevelt, it is said, will look personally after the ways of her household, superintending her own marketing, and giving much time to the education of her children. MRS. THEODORE ROOSEVELT There are six children in the Roosevelt family, Alice, Theodore, Kermit, Ethel, Archibald and Quentin. Alice, who is seventeen, is the daughter of Mr. Roosevelt's first wife. The household has always been a very happy one. At Oyster Bay and in the Governor's Mansion at Albany, Mrs. Roosevelt has sought to preserve the simplicity and privacy of the typical, democratic Amer ican home. Father and mother were comrades for their children; the little folks were jolly as jolly could be; guests were welcomed with hearty hospitality. Appointments of the house were daintiness and comfort combined. Elaborate entertainments and "swell" dinners with gorgeous decorations were not chronicled of the Roosevelts. They are not rich, and they lived well within their means. At Oyster Bay, Mrs. Roosevelt was fond of going about in a walkingskirt, and playing with her children. She is brown-eyed, brown-haired and rosy. It is a cause of congratulation to all Americans that the beautiful homelife of the McKinleys will be followed by that of another pair of wedded lovers, whose devotion to each other has made marriage the blessed relation it should ever be. Mr. and Mrs. Roosevelt are the youngest couple who ever entered the White House; and with their troop of happy children they will make a merry place of the historic dwelling. The public will doubtless feel the same sort of affectionate interest and proprietorship in the little Roosevelts that they have extended to other White House children. Little folks of the Executive Mansion have always been regarded as the "nation's babies," so to speak. CHILDREN'S SELF-DENIAL At an early age children may be taught to forego little things, especially for the sake of others; for that shows a purpose. Afterwards they may be taught to bear disappointments and crosses as benefiting their own character, and preparing them for the heavier trials and sacrifices of mature age. It will help to self-conquest, if one distinct act of self-denial is practised every day; and then it should be entirely voluntary and cheerful, for thus it is like fruit with the bloom on it; but when self-denial is grudging and complaining, it is indeed sour and acrid fruit.-Dulce Domum. ABRAHAM LINCOLN'S STEP-MOTHER The new Mrs. Lincoln, if she was disappointed in the home she found in Indiana never showed her disappointment to her step-children. She took hold of the duties and labors of the day with a cheerful readiness that was long and gratefully remembered by her step-son, at least. They were good friends at once. Of him she said, years after, "He never gave me a cross word or look, and never refused in fact or appearance to do anything I requested of him.” Of her, he said, "She was a noble woman, affectionate, good, and kind; rather above the average woman as I remember women in those days." Nor need we power or splendor, Wide halls or lordly dome; The good, the true, the tender -Noah Brooks. These form the wealth of home.-Lucretia P. Hale. THE FARMER'S HOME Webster defines home as a "dwelling-place," but it admits of a broader meaning. There are brilliant and elegant homes. Some are wise, thrifty and careful, and others are warm and genial, by whose glowing hearths any one, at any time, may find enough and to spare. There are bright homes and gloomy homes. There are homes that hurry and bustle through years of incessant labor, until one and another of the inmates fall, like the falling leaves, and the homes turn to dust. Science has done much to remove the drudgery in our homes, introducing ease and comfort. An ideal home must first have a government, but love must be the dictator. All the members should unite to make home happy. We should have light in our homes, heaven's own pure, transparent light. It matters not whether home is clothed in purple and gold, if it is only brimful of love, smiles, and gladness. Our boards should be spread with everything good and enjoyable. We should have birds, flowers, pets, everything suggestive of sociability. Flowers are as indispensable to the perfection of a home as to the perfection of a plant. Do not give them all the sunniest windows and pleasantest corners, crowding out the children. If you cannot have a large conservatory, have a small one. Give your children pets, so that by the care and attention bestowed upon them they may learn the habits of animals. Of the ornamentation about a house, although a broad lake lends a charm to the scenery, it cannot compare with the babbling brook. As the little streamlet goes tumbling over the rocks and along the shallow, pebbly bed, it may be a marvelous teacher to the children, giving them lessons of enterprise. and perseverance. in. In our homes we must have industry and sympathy. In choosing amusements for the children, the latter element must be brought To fully understand the little ones, you must sympathize with them. When a child asks questions don't meet it with, "Oh, don't bother me." Tell it all it wants to know. Never let your angry passions rise, no matter how much you may be tried. For full and intelligent happiness in the home circle. a library of the best works is necessary. Do not introduce milk and water fiction, but books of character. Our homes should have their Sabbaths and their family altars. Around these observances cling many of the softest and most sacred memories of our lives.—William H. Yeomans. Forenoon and afternoon and night; forenoon -E. R. Sill. THE BEST WIFE Womanhood is greater than wifehood. It comprehends and embraces it. The best woman will make the best wife. If the mind of a woman is dwarfed, and her faculties are weakened by disuse, she will be an inefficient wife, because she is an inefficient woman. If, on the other hand, her mind is trained, her judgment cultivated, her powers developed, she will be adequate to any emergency as woman or wife. Let girls be taught to make the most of themselves. Let them fulfil present duties, and the future will take care of itself. She who walks grandly as a woman will not walk unworthily as a wife. She who stands upright alone, will not drag her husband downward. She who guides her own life wisely and well, will not rule her household with an erring hand. Familiarity with the details of domestic management will be a help, but want of familiarity will not be an insurmountable obstacle.-Gail Hamilton. THE PRAISE OF SERVANTS The most authentic witnesses of any man's character are those who know him in his own family, and see him without any restraint or rule of conduct but such as he voluntarily prescribes to himself. If a man carries virtue with him into his private apartments, and takes no advantage of unlimited power or probable secrecy; if we trace him through the round of his time, and find that his character, with those allowances which mortal frailty must always want, is uniform and regular, we have all the evidence of his sincerity that one man can have with regard to another; and, indeed, as hypocrisy cannot be its own reward, we may, without hesitation, determine that his heart is pure. The highest panegyric, therefore, that private virtue can receive, is the praise of servants. -Dr. Samuel Johnson. HUSH THEE, MY BABY Hush, hush thee, my baby, hush, hush thee to rest, Oh, weep not, my baby, weep, weep not to-day, |