Muscatine journal. [volume] (Bloomington, Iowa) 1849-185?, 1854-02-03

love for them brings, seems impossible"
81 think youhave done wonders already,'
Mr.. Burton replied. "lf the first effort is
so successful, am sure you need not des-
pair of making the perfect conquest you
desire.r
81 am glad you are sanguine; only wish
i were equally so." &. ssrs Esa
IL might not be as well If you were. 1t
is almost always the case that we are most
in danger of falling when We think ourselves
secure. In conscious weakness there is
often real power.'' sts i,4s..s
"If that consciousness gives power, then
am strong enough,' replied Mrs. Burton.
And she was stfpnger than she supposed
and strong because she felt herself weak
Had she been confident of strength she
would not have been watchful over herself,
but fearing every moment lest she should
betray her natural irrascibility and fretful-
ness of temper, she was all the time upon
her guard. To her own astonishment and
that of her husband, she was able to main.
tain the power she had gained over Harry,
| and to be calm even when he was disturbed
But in all our states of moral advance
ment, there are days and nights as in our
natural life. There are times when all the
downward tendencies of our nature are ac-
tive and appear to govern us entirely; when
our sun has gone down, and all within us
is dark. At such times we are tempted to
believe that it has become dark forever,
that the sun will no moro appear in our ho-
rizon. This is only the night before the
morning, which will certainly break and
seem brighter and full of strength to the
anxious spirit.
Such changes Mrs. Burton experienced,
and they were the unerring signs Of her
progress. Sometimes for days together she
would not be able to control herself; against
all the perverse tempers of her child her
feelings would react unduly, But these
seasons were of shorter and shorter dura-
tion on every recurrence of them, and the
reason was, she strove most earnestly for
the sake of that child to reduce her whole
mind into q state OF order.
1t mast not be supposed that Mrs. Burton
always found the will of her boy ready to
yield itself up even to the control of gentle
ness and love. With him, too, was there
night and morning, q season when all the
perverse affections of his mind came forth
into disorderly manifestations, refusing to
hearken' even to the gentle words of his
mother, anu season when these were all
quiescent and truly human, because good
affections governed in theis stead. These
changes were soon marked by the mother,
and their meaning fully comprehended. AT
first they were causes of Encouragement,
but soon were felt to be really encouraging,
for they indicated advancement. Faithfully
and earnestly, day by day, did Mrs. Burton
strive with herself and her boy; the hardest
struggle was with herself = usually, when
she had gained the victory over herself, she
had nothing more to do, for her child op-
posed no longer.
Days, weeks, months and years went by,
during all this time the mother continued
to strive earnestly with herself and with her
child. The happiest results followed the
fretful, passionate, disorderly hoy, became
even minded and orderly in his habits. A
word gently spoken was all powerful in its
influence for good, but the least shade of
harshness would arouse his stubborn will,
and deform the fair face Of his young spirit.
Whenever mothers complain to Mrs. Bur-
ton of the difficulty they 6nd in managing
their children, shs has but one piece of ad-
vice to give, aad that is to s'sPEAK GENrLY.''
ANCIENT AND MoDERN SHIP-BuILDING