The Salt Lake herald. [volume] (Salt Lake City [Utah]) 1870-1909, 1896-02-23
KEEPING LENT.
Some Novel and Profitable ways of
Observing the Church's Great
Fast.

Now that the Lenten season is at hand,
women who usually observe the church 8
fast are determining upon various
methods of carrying it out in full signif-
canoe of the word They wish to make the
claim of forty days time of real self
denial from which they will then
emerge strengthened and refreshed for
the regular routine of their lives.
One woman, 1 know detests darning
and even refuses to wear mended hose.
Consequently she has quite stock of
partly worn stockings stuffed away among
her odds and ends. Having asked all her
near friends to swell this number with
contributions of a similar kind she will
have many dozens of pairs ready for a
unique Lenten task: She will devote two
hours of every week day during this six
weeks to darning the accumulated stock
of hosiery. At the end of the allotted
period they will be handed over all neatly
mended and useful articles to some char
liable institution.
Another clever woman, with decided
taste for millinery, will bring to light all
her old bonnets stored away for several
years past She, also, has called upon her
wealthy acquaintance to contribute to this
list of out-of-date articles. Realizing that
the love of an Easter bonnet is Unborn in
the feminine heart, and knowing what de-
upon that festal day, she yearns to
bestow the same pleasure upon
others less blessed with resource.
After investing some of her al
lowance upon simple straw frames the
trimmings from her large stock of flow
ers, she will add feathers that will be
used to adorn old fashion numbers of
pretty eastern hats, which she intends
shall gladden. the hearts of as many
poor girls.
A young mother of four bright children
whose heavy social obligations allow a
very limited amount of leisure to bestow
upon her little ones intends to devote
herself to them exclusively during the
forty days of fasting. She will be in the
nursery as much as possible during the
day, attend them on their walks, and see
that the "children's hour from seven
till eight in the evening is never in
fringed upon This hour will be spent in
entertaining reading or in storytelling
and she moreover insists that no COM
pany shall break in upon this arrange
ment. [ doubt not that her happy chill
dren will wish Lent might continue the
year around.
Another woman with a different idea,
but one calculated to give equally as
much pleasure will observe certain spec
ial Lenten duties. Every week she will
invite twelve working girls to luncheon
and 1 o'clock on Saturday afternoons.
She proposes acting as their escort to
some of the art galleries, stimulating their
interest in and striving to cultivate love
for the beautiful which must eventually
lift them somewhat from the hopeless and
grey monotony of their lives.
These are only a few of many novel
ways that the women of today will en-
ploy in keeping her days of penance. They
have probed to the kernel the meaning of
the season and the sweetness thus ex-
tracted will be shared by many who per-
sonally know nothing of the true Lenten
sacrifice of time and self.
GERTRUDE ELOISE BEALER.