Gallipolis journal. [volume] (Gallipolis, Ohio) 1837-1919, 1855-08-30
INFLUENCE OF MOTHERS.

the failure OF elf-government IN nj
own country. came to the United States
for the purpose of examining our insti
tutions, and learning the secrets Of oul
J prosperity. One Of the first scenes ht
witnessed was a military display; and
supposing the enthusiasm that prevail
ed was Indicative of a general passion
for arms, he remarked, "That sir, viii
ruin you. It is the passion Of the peo'
pie for war, and their reliance on the
sword to carry their points, which has
been our bane and ruin in South Amer.
lea; unless you check it in season it will
prove your ruin too." But afterwards
he spent an evening in New Haven,
where males and females of the most
accomplished class in the city were as
sembled; on retiring from the party he
added, 81 have ascertained the secret
of your success in self-government, and
of your character, prosperity, and great
ness as a republic. You owe it to such
women. l never saw the like before
Such mothers must, and no others can,
make nation like yours. Give us in
South America such women for moth
ers, and we should, ere long, follow hard
after you in the race of national pros
perity and happiness"
We are accustomed to speak If the
achievements Of such men as Bacon,
Hall, Newton, Dwight, Edwards, and a
host of like renown, without duly ap-
preciating the worlds Indebtedness TO
their gifted and faithful mothers. That
maternal influences had much to do in
preparing them for the spheres Of ex-
tensive usefulness is evident from such
facts as the following:
Bishop Hall acknowledged maternal
agency in the formation of his own char
acter, and on one occasion wrote Of his
mother, "How often have | blessed the
menor of those divine passages Of ex-
perimental divinity which | have heard
from her mouth! What day did she
pass without large task Of private de-
votion, when she would still come forth
with a countenance of undissembled
modification! Never any lips have read
to me such feeling lectures Of piety;
neither have l known any soul that
more accurately practised them than her
own" .r... .... LIB.
John Quincy Adams once paid the
following tribute to his mother: at is
due to gratitude and nature that l
should acknowledge and avow that,
such as have been, whatever it was,
or as hope to be in all futurity, must
be ascribed under Providence, to the
precepts and examples of my mother"
The following very interesting testi-
mony of Rev. Richard Knill is quoted
at length: 81 have vivid recollection
of the effects of maternal influence
Nv honored mother was religious wo-
man, and she watched over and instruct
ed me as pious mothers are accustomed
to do. Alas! l often forget her admo-
nitions but in my most thoughtless
DAYS l never lost the impression which
her holy example has made on my mind.
CATER spending a large portion Of
my life in foreign lands, / returned
again to visit my native village. Both
nv parents died while was in Russia,
and their house is now occupied by my
brother. The furniture remains Just
the same as when l was a boy; and at
night l was accommodated by the same
bed in which had often slept before
but my busy thoughts would not let me
sleep. Twas thinking how God hadled
me through the journey Of, life. At
last the light of the morning darted
through the little window, and my eye
caught a sight of the spot where my
sainted mother, forty years before, took
me by the hand and said, come my dear,
kneel down with me, and 1 will go to
prayer
"This completely overcame me. L
seemed to hear the very tones of her
voice; recollected some of her express
ions; and / burst into tears, and arose
from my bed, and fell upon my knees
Just on the spot where my mother kneel-
ed, and thanked God that / had once a
praying mother. And o, if every pa.
rent could feel what I felt then, l am
sure they would pray with their child
ren, as well as pray for them"
Equally to the point and touching is
the following incident Of the life of DR..
Todd. as related by himself. His moth
er was deprived of her reason while he
was child; and referring to this he says,
al can recollect that when 1 was child
l was standing at the open window, at
the close of lovely summers day.
The large red sun was sinking away
behind the western bills; the sky was
gold and purple connmingled; the winds
were sleeping; and soft, solemn still
ness seemed to hang over the earth. l
was watching the sun as be sent his yell
low rays through the trees, and felt a
kind of awe though / knew not where
fore! Just then my mother came to
me. She was raving with frenzy; for
reason had long since lett his throne;
and her a victim of madness. She came
up to me wild with insanity. ] pointed
to the glorious sun of the west, and in
moment she was calm. She took my
little hands within hers and told me that
the great God made the sun. the stars,
the world-eyerything; that he it was
who made her little boy, and gave him
an ..-1-tol o,;rit. fho wander sun