The weekly Ottumwa courier. [volume] (Ottumwa, Iowa) 1857-1872, 1861-06-05

| ssMO1her Made It."
When I was little boy at school, and
carried my dinner in satchel made Of calico
some of my schoolmates carried theirs in
fashionable willow baskets, and sometimes
teased me because carried mine in "poke. "
felt vexed, but reconciled myself with the
recoll lection that if did carry calico poke,
smother made it," In less than twenty five
years after that time, one of these same
school-mates was happy to avail himself Of
the privilege Of sending his children to my
school to receive gratuitous instruction, prof.
fered in view of his extreme poverty. His
children came to school without any dinner.
They had no nice willow basket; they need
ed no calico poke.
William Foster ruled his copy book with
a pencil set in fine silver case. He said
he would not carry such an ugly club of q
pencil as mine. compared the pencils his
was the handsomcst, but no better than
mine. I had good lead pencil, hammered
out Of piece of lead. "Mother made it,
and was satisfied with it. After we grew
up to be men, William Foster came to me to
calculate interest on small note at six per
cent. per annum he carried pencil worth
four cents.
I had no gum elastic ball; but I had ore
made Of woolen ravelings and covered with
leather. "Mother made it."
When in my twenty second year left
home to attend school in d. There
were in the school some fast young men, the
sons of wealthy parents, There were others
whose good sense was not annihilated by
pecuniary advantages. OF the former class
was John Stokes, who wore very fine broad
cloth. My best coat was not so fine; the
cloth cost two dollars and fifty cents yard !;
my mother had traded tow check of our own
manufacture for it, while was working to
assist my father in raising his family; she
paid fifty cents for getting the garment cut,
and made it herself. John Stokes came one
day to my desk, held out his arm. compared
his coat with mine, and inquired ironically
where got such fine coat. proudly told
him, "My mother made it,
He feigned great surprise, and carcasti-
cally observed he had mistaken it for impor-
ted goods he wished he could get such fine
clothes, and wondered if mother would not
get him up fine coat. A short time after
wards, he was in tailor's shop one morning
with fellow student, John Stokes's fine
coat was brought in by lad, with instruc-
tons to soour and press it. He was not in
his class that day he had been seen the pre-.
vious night on Water street, rolling in the
mud. drunk as Bacchus. He left school in
disgrace. He now lies in drunkard's grave
| boarded myself while attended school
here. walked nine miles home at the close
of each week, and returned on Monday morn.
ing with my loaf of bread under my arm
1t would become stale before Friday evening,
but always relished it when recollected
that "mother made it."
am now SO far advanced in life that my
friends begin to call ME old. But have
not lived long enough to learn why I should
not still respect my mother, and regard her
affectionately. She is quite advanced in
years, and has nearly lost her sight. She sits
within few feet of me, sewing up rent in
my linen coat, while write this. She knows
not what am writing. She has been a
widow eight years, and is still toiling for the
welfare Of her children. She has never stu.
died grammar, nor philosophy, nor music
These things .wsre seldom taught in hcl
young days; but she knows their value, and
has toiled many hard day tQpurchase books
for her children, and support them at school
And shall now curl the lip in scorn, 0,
blush in company, to hear her substitute q
verb Of unity for one Of plurality, or pro
nounce word twenty years behind the
Websterian era? Never-no, never! The
old djlapidated grammar, in my library nigh,
testify against her style, but its testimony
would be infinitely more terrible against my
ingratitude recollect well when she rod,
seven miles one cold winters day, to sell pro
duce and purchase that book for me, wher
was little boy. 1t required a sacrifice
but "mother made it."-Home journal.
WIp0t the EdifOr Of the L0mis,