The Tiffin weekly tribune. (Tiffin, Ohio) 1859-1868, 1867-01-24
Maternity.
Dr MRS. rLlzABrru oAKrs SMITH.

No woman is fit to be a mother till
she is a grandmother, Before / was
3 >, / had been tho mother Of six boys
three at this writing live to comfort
and bless me.--threc await my coming
at the Crystal Gate. | canhardly cou-
coiye human being less adapted to
ernity than myself, in all but the
quality Of exceeding love aud dovout
faithfulness. l did not make myself
a slave to my children | did not de.
erade myself that they might be okiugsi
but carly and late, my thoughts and
careiulness surrounded them with un.
firing devotion. l directed their
studies, informed their opinions, Incl.
ted theirOspiration, andwas with them,
"Guids, counselor Nni rtisnd.p
strove to prolong their freshness
and seniority Of childhood by ming,
ling in their sports aud rendering
home attraetive--the companioushiI
Of children was always pleasant to me
Children love me, like to listen to me
in conversation, and. as an oil aunt
once said, the little fools would 20
hungry for the sake of hearing her
talk, and this, when / did not direct
myself to them, which simply shows
that there is an affinity in the oharac-
teristies Of childhood and myself In
return for my devotion, my children
love and believe in their mother as
few children ever did.
Coleridge has called experience the
sternlight Of the ship, showing the
psth she has sailed, but throwing NO
light upon the one she is to pursue.
OF one thing my maternal expert
ence has convinced me, that early ma.
ternity involves unnecessary suffering
to both mother and child. is pit.
iful to see the poor little things sub.
jected to the immature judgment of a
girl in her teens, and no such young
mother can fail to recall her many
mistakes without grief Of heart. A
young mother once related one Of
those sad errors with burst of tears
although the incident occurred many
years before, when she was but a child
wife.
Her child was very i'll, and drafts
had been ordered to his feet, but she,
ignorant Of the indications of disease,
did not realize how very i'll he was
She lifted the bedding from his feet
and while she was placing the drafts
the child kicked she babe him gent.
J ly be quiet, but he repeated the move,
ment more violently, and she gave hi
foot slight slap. He was still anC
she proceeded to finish her work
When all vas done, she looked at hi,
face-he was dead I
She had given him blow in hi,
death struggle. She was naturally
gentle, but the irritability aud mex
perience Of girlhood betrayed her 10,
to cruelty, the memory of which nev,
er left her.
Maternity prcsupposes a stationary
home, and plenty Of bread and butter
cherries in the summer and nuts and
apples in the winter; linen without
measure all through the glowing sol
stice; candies, cream, rose buds ent
daisies, buttereups and marigolds
fleecy blankets, aud flannel brOiderie
while the air crackles with frost.
Nothing more forelorn than slen
der, poetic mother trying to hide he
poverty, and cOmpassionately nest
ling to her bosom pale precious chill
which looks out Of place in her arms
| like a large, soft lap ia q mother
, redundaucyOf bust, and swellin
girdle for such women have some
thing uuctious about them, es'
= pecially sOnsOlipg to childhood,
voice rich and sonorous, coming ffOp
" the warm rSgien Of the hcsrA and no