Portage sentinel. [volume] (Ravenna, Ohio) 1845-1854, 1846-11-11
most @ anxious ahd fdeyoted mothers, 3.
ven for the benefit Of the most precious, s 81 Il

|IeneoiaDly miserable, tor the whole ,day.
she had p hobby 1t was the education, tito, 81
MhFy She had been d tfs tf,esoitist tt 81 nR the
lsnBject 0f edilcdtions befo3re sIis possessed b q
I.lptlehter on whom 70 pracfi ai,d WHOM
she had one, she began on the most pro- BRO :
found principles laid down in her fiaivorrite fii rit
books before the child was month Old. 1t
proved no easy matter to adhere closely to
rules, for to her surprise, she found MAJ many
cases not provided for in any Of the books:
but she did what she could. When she
could not follow Mrs. Hamilton, she tried
to FIND. q precedent III Rousseau, and when
Mrs. Child failed her, she sought instrulc.
ton ia Mrs. Chapohe, or Locke, or Han.
nah Moore, Of Dr. Gregory. Or some one ne
Of the many good ladies who, have given
tons Of advice to the wives, mothers, grand
mothers and cousins Of England and A.
merica- And now to meet al implied cen.
sure! and from her husband, who had al
ways approved Of what she did, and con.
trasted Mary and her Accomplishments with
universal girldom, SO exultingly! It was
too much for her philosophy. <'s7 q ''''.
"Mother," said Mary, entering at the
moment when all this and much more had
come full upon The unhappy parent; ."Moth-
er! shall ], wear my new dress today"
t'Wear whatever you like, Mary" said
Mrs. Austin, determined to begin at once
to give Mary up to her own control, a sort
Of despair nerving her for the sacrifice of
her cherished supervision. ~ ''''sai -
Mary looked at her mother, scarcely
trusting her ears. She observed the cloud,
and added, perhaps, mamma, you would
rather should wear something else?"
"No, my DEAR" was the sad toned reply.
And Mary withdrew in complete puzzle,
not knowing what to do in such On emer
gencyt She stood balancing between the
new dress she longed to wear, and the ole
one, she more than half suspected her moth
er wished her to put on, in most painful
uncertainty The new one was taken up
and laid down half dozen, times, and the
old one glanced as often; the time for Dress
ing almost elapsed, and the first masters
hour was on the point Of striking, and still
Mary dutifully balanced. What a relief
was the sound other mothers voice at the
door. a.,.,-.S w.. s..[-~us,f.s, ~@l 4.
"Mary, / think as the walking is. very
bad, and you are going out, perhaps you
had better reserve your new dress for an
other day, but you can do just as you like d
| % And both were pleased, d,-thei mother to
think she had not controlled Mary, and the
daughter, that she was saved the new troub
eof deciding for herself. saz. 5aa saly -.
+ ~ .rs II assi,cHAPTER H. a'i ta. 4 @1.
| Was Mary always SO submissive? Sh,
endeavored to be so, for she was goot
girl; but she did not invariably succeed, ,fol
she had been endowed by nature with a
mind and heart, and such things are apt te
assert their rights in spite of education e.
Habit has a wonderful influence, and make.
things easy which would else be intolera
ble. Mary had never known freedom O
any kind. She had always been surround
ed with tender restraints, as ifby a netting
ofstrong wires, gilded2 but impossible. :
I Young companions had been selected fol
her, brought in with formal introduction
and d command, implied, at least, to love
and cherish; but these expedients turnet
out, as such things always must, complet,
failures, and Mary preferred her books, he
music, her flowers, and her needlewofk tt
such unnatural associations. So she grew
up d perfect child, without any Of thos,
precious limitations into the ways Of tht
wofldiwhich are so apt 10 be the coilse
quence ofsunllmited acquaintance. Sh,
read many books, but they were eithel
books Of direct instruction conned at thu
rate of acertain number of pages per day
or they were full Of erastires, leaves pasted
togethers and notes Of qualification Of dis
sent, the work of her mother. who had de
lterminedto be taste, conscience and jddg
tnent toaher daughter, until such time a
Ishe should have arrived at years sof discre
ton. when this important period wal
u likely tosarrive, it was NOT easy to say
/ AT seventeen, it was certainly as far off a
!, But this hint from Mr.. Austin, this crue
/ blow from quarter whence it was leas
!, anticipated, this flash Of unwelcome ligh
which suggested nothing but darkness
tEchanged thewhole current of Mrs. Austin
7Iiife and Mafy's. Such things coneupoi
US with double power when they CIV
force and form to suspicious whichwe hav
! before entertained but would not acknowl
ledge. Anunpleasant Of Mary's lacl
] |ofindividuality 'hadsolten, within year Q
, |two,s suggested. itself to Mrs. i.Austin, bu
she had crushed down the unwelcome tho
Las a heresy against thetrue theory of edu
, catioh. fT This was past now, and her vexd
! ttion was proportioned to5the dissolution q
ota lifelong dream: Mary must act for hel