Holmes County Republican. [volume] (Millersburg, Holmes County, Ohio) 1856-1865, 1859-06-02
frgn ths Hcne Journal.
MOTHER MADE IT,


A few weeks sincs, While in one of th,
beautiful inland cities Of Wisconsin, m in
.cident occuued which awakened in NJ,
mind train Of reflections which possibly
may Be written and read with advantage
! ives hurging along the street, when
any attention was arrested BY the appear
ssce Of 3 little boy on the side ofthe pave
nent selling candy. He was not really
beautiful, nor was be decidedly the reverse
His age was about nine years; bis clothe.
were old and faded, but well patched. Hi.
candy was spread upon coarse, wbit<
cotton cloth, neatly stretched over wha,
had been jappanued server. He was
surrounded by small group of boys, evil
IDENTIFY belonging 70 different grades of so.
cisty.
As carne nearly opposite him, the Of
ten repested interlude, 'Candy, sirT fell
Upon my ears, and although opposed 70
the excessive uss Of candy, / stepped aside
% patrouizs the light-haired, pale, freckled
home,pnn little representative of trada
purchased Of him, partly for his encourage
ment but with particular reference 70 the
friendship of the little folks Of the family
with which Twas temporary guest.
The candy vas as white as the cloth be-
heath It, being free from the poisonous col
oring ingredients 50 extensively used in the
confectionery art. tasted il, and found
ft delicately favored and very nice.
my boy" said !, syour candy is very
good; let me have little more
] Immediately saw that my remark had
avakened in bis young heart emotions
which in themselves, were quite abstract
from the candy trade. His couutenance
beamed with joy as be raised his large eyes,
sparkling With delight. and observed in re-
ply:
ait is good, isn't III aAotaer made
a.n
Ia these few words was embodied an un-
conscious exhibition of character. Here
was spontaneous outburst of filial affec-
ton.
Now this ineideat, 10 itself was tri1ing;
but the spirit of the language carried my
mind back through life more than thirty
years, and at irregular intervals bade me
pause and apply the sentiment to some
item connected with my own history.
Before making the application, however,
I wish to disabase myself of the charge,
which such application may incur, of ap-
propriating to myself the nobility of char
aeter which / have above attributed to the
candy boy. Holding myself exempt from
this arrogance, / would simply say, / am
not ashamed of the profession of my affec-
tion for my parents, and hope I may not
oatiiye that profession.
When ! was little boy, al school, and
carried my dinner in sachel made of cali
60. some Of my schoolmates carried theirs
IN fashionable willow baskets, and some
times teased me because carried mine in
a apoke;" l felt vexed, but reconciled my
self with the recollection that if did carry
. apoke. "Nother made It." In less than
twenty-five years after that time, one of
thess same schoolnates was happy to avail
himself Of the privilege of sending his chill
dren to my school to receive gratuitous
instruction, profered in view Of his ex.
tseme poverty. His children came to
school without any dinner. They bad no
nice willow basket-they needed no calico
SPOKE
William Foster ruled bis copy-book with
speneil set in ine silver case. He said
he would not carry such great ugly club
Of pencil as mine. I compared the pen
els. His was the handsomest but not bet
ter than mine; had good lead pencil
hammered out of piece oflead. Mother
made 4, /" and was satisfied with it. Af-
ter we grew up to be men, William Foster
came TO me to get me to calculate interest
on a small note, at six per cent. per annum;
he carried pencil worth four cents. /
had no gum elastic ball; but / had one
made of wooden ravelings and covered
with leather. aKother made Il"
When in my twenty-second year, / left
home to attend school at L. There were
in The school some fast young men, the sous
Of weslthy parents. There were others
whose good sense was not snnihilated by
pecuuiary advantages. OF the former
class was one John Stokes, who wore very
fiue broadcloih. Ny best coat was not so
fine, the cloth cost two dollars and fifty
cents yard; my mother had traded tow
check of her own manufacturs for il, while
I was working to assist my father in rais-
ing bis family; she paid cents for getting
the garment cut, and made it herself John
Stokes came one day to my desk, held
out bis arm, compared bis coat sleeve with
mine. and enquiring ironically, where /
got such fine coat. Iproudly told him,
my saofhsr made am He feigued great
surprise. and sarcastically observed be had
mistaken il for imported goods; be wished
he could get such fine clothes, and won-
dered Il mother would get him up fine
coat.
Ashort lime sfterEard, while in tailor
shop one morning with . fellow student,
John Stokes fne coat was brought in by
lad, With instructions to scour and press it.
He was not ia his class that day he had
been seen the previous night on Walnut
street, rolling in the mud drunk as a Bac-
chus.. He left the school in disgrace
Nov be lies in drunkards grave.
I boarded myself while attending school
hero. ] walked nine miles home at the
close Of aaeh week, and returned on Mon
day morning with my loaf of bread under
my arm. Il would become stale before
Friday evening, but ] always relished it
when I1recolected that Mother made ii.