Delaware gazette. [volume] (Delaware, Ohio) 1855-1886, 1866-04-20
4 DEFENCE OF 1rOTHERs-IY-L4W
From the London Poview.

may have bequeathed to him, his mind
naturally directs itself to how he had
best proceed. It Is more than probable
that he mentions his views to one or two
trusty friends who have seen few more
summers than himself He cannot keen
his secret and IN divulgingit, he realizes
the enjoyment of communicating to an
other a portion of the sweet load which
embarrasses his heart, and at the same
time raises the all important question
how he ought to approach the loadstOue
of his existence with the best possible
chance of securing the lovely prize
Most men are ready with advice As
ldepOsitOries of the precious secret, they
n will be far more ready with their advice
how to act than with their sympathy
/ with his wounded heart 1t Is possible
that our young adve nturer in the field of
Cupid will be advised, in the most une-
i quIYOcal manner, to make love to Emf
! lys mamma. The OutWOrks of the cita-
del must be stormed before the citadel
4 itself can be taken possession of. This Is
/ so obvious to our freshman that he forth
4 with acts upon the advice, and brings the
/ artillery Of his sudUiter an nodO to bear
upen the opposing fortress. 1t generally
/ turns out that mamma is not more drag
! on like than the majority of American mat
rOns. She does not dislike the little at
/ tentions of Robert; nay, more, she
/ would positively miss them If they were
/ discontinued aud without being aware
/ of the effect of her remarks, she has spo.
/ ken so highly of him to Emily that all
/ the objections which her worldly wisdom
/ might have urged against the wOoer OF
I her daughter-if he had not ingratiated
himself with her in the first instance
have been swept away by the very light
est Of field artillery, and the last tableau
Of the last scene of the last act of the
comedy is the wedding breakfast, with
mamma consoling herself over the loss OF
her daughter In the belief that she has
gained a son. Thus far all has gone oD
smoothly-the most amiable Robert has
carried his point, but henCefOrth mamma
has to pay the penalty Of being (" moth
er-in-laW.
Itcannot fairly be charged against A
mericans in general that they are an IN
genet Gus people. Indeed, their generOs-
ity displays itself in acts at every turn.
Perhaps the very virtue of generosity 10
developed into an unhealthy liberality
But liberality, generosity, liberation, and
their attendant virtues, eVenif forced IN
to supernatural growth, will always COM
mand the sympathy Of Englishmen, and
will continue to take deep root in the !
hearts of the people And yet to what
host of little traditional prejudices are
we the unreasonable victims. Haters by |
instinct and education of injustice and
oppression in every form, yet are we the |
unconscious promoters of endless acts OF
uncharitableness. Is there a class in the /
social community more sinned against |
than mOthers-in- law I? It would seem
that the mere title '' mother-in-laW" is
social target against which all the majoi |
and minor wits Of the day are expected |
to wing their arrows. A man must have |
a good deal of moral courage to take the |
side Of mother-iu-la And yet what /
have they done to merit this uDenviable /
distinction They have furnished a Ger
tain class of novel writers with a standing /
stock-in- trade, which the poorness OF |
their wit has been unable to draw from
aUv other source For it surely cannot |
be sign of wit that writer of fiction, 1
because some master of his art may have /
introduced into his plot designing, low /
minded mother-in-laW, should present to /
his readers another mOther-in-laW ans |
weriBg, according to his power of delinea- |
ton, to all the OdiOus characteristics !
which, under the hand of first rate ar
tist, stood out in his story with such tel |
ling effect. 1t is not too much to say /
that the exception In every possible form /
of variation has been again and again re- /
produced, until the mOrbidly false repre- |
sentatiOD Is substituted for the whole |
some reality.
Does not the mother-in-laW soon be- |
come the grandmother of our children + |
In her capacity of grandmother does the /
law of fiction hold her up as warning to 4
Young married couples As grandmoth- !
er she is generally welcomed and made /
much Of; and as that writer has not yet /
shown himself who Is strong enough to /
pass off grandmothers as current under /
another image and superscuption thar
that of amiable elder ladies prone to in
dulge their childTen's children, let US say /
happy are the mOthers-In-laW when they
change their title, although it be for a
less youthful one. But mOthers-ln-laW
have claim to be righted in some less
indirect way than by absorption into
graDdmammas It is not an easy matter |
however, to persuade a rising generation.
whose experience of life is mainly drawn
from the sensational novels of the day
that mothers in law are not persons to
whom we ought to be on our guard. So
interviewer with the ideas which govern |
society is the notion that they are ag
qressive. that when man for instance
mentions to two or three friends that his
wife's mother is on a visit at his house.
the suggestive smile may be reckoned
upon as the befitting acknowledgement OF |
the intelligence. Looking at an English
lady of the ordinary type, surrounded by
her children. we see, as rule, bond OF
2UGCLlO0.
are all and each intimate members of a
community having joint interests. 1t Is
beyond all dispute that the mother loves
her daughters, and that they love her IN
return The nature of the love which
the mother manifests toward her daugh
ters does not indicate that she is prepared |
to Willingly sacrifice the happiness of any
of them to crafty her own views of con
veneience. In other words, her love is
genuine, combining the force Of instinct
with the refinement of civilization. She
has trained them with mothers care,
and has watched their development into
WomanhoOd with a mothers anxiety.
And her recompense -? To what does she
look forward to compensate her for all
her care and anxiety? Is it not to see
her daughters prudent and careful moth
ers like herself-not only like herself,
but much better than herself Without
a shadow of doubt, then, she has the
true interests of her daughters at heart,
aud, to use a homely expression, her
heart is set upon seeing them happily set
tied in life, the mistresses of well regula-
ted households And the day at length
arrives when at the wedding breakfast
she plays her part in the last scene of the
last act of her direct control over the
daughter whose happiness she has con-
sented to entIust to the keeping of an
other. The drama of her immediate
motherhood has been played out, and a
new drama is to be represented In her
daughters regard from playing some part
In which she cannot conceive herself to !
be excluded. Now what should we ex-
pect, in the natural order fittings, would
be the part that she would take? ? 1t was