The Portland daily press. [volume] (Portland, Me.) 1862-1921, 1871-05-01

PORTLAND.
MONDAY MAY, l.; 1871.


Marriage, Home, Children.
Rev. DR.. Scudder, in taking his farewell of
the Californians gave them a lecture on home
and its kindred joys, wherein some excellent
truths were brightly said:
Twenty seven years ago Yankee girl and
resolved to make home. l have heard it
said that In all such agreements the lady takes
the lnitiative-not vel bally, but in some gen
tie relation palpable to lovers. My vile and
myself have often disputed that point. Ste
says the assertion Is groundless and malicious.
And l think she is right. made the ad-
vance, and was considerably frightened; but
she helped me through it. The family rises
10 dignity and purity as the marriage Is held
sacred. think that ii we could compile a
cnapter on the honor in which men treat
tneir wives, we should have q most curious
history. In ancient Babylon all the women
were every year put up at auction. The
handsome ones vent off at high prices. and
the money that was realized was offered for
dOweries upon the ugly ones. 1t man got a
beauty he paid for her; if he got an ugly wo-
man, he got cash. They endeavor to sci love
liness without money against homeliness with
it. In Greece the bride went by night in a
chariot TO the house..o her intended. In an.
other ancient country the women had fash.
~" W ACnHS "uu UiIinS those VINO tnueaV-
Ored to take them away; although l am in
clined to think these kicks and bites did not
amount to much. In Dahomey the king
owns all women, and takes as his proportion
three thousand. Once year he parcels out
all the rest OF the women, in bis empire TO
his subjects just as he pleases, without con-
suliing their wishes. There are still lower
depths than this. In some tribes the man
iells the woman senseless to the ground and
bears her away. Where man has sunk thus
low we may well class him below the ourang.
outang. Even these homes are better than
no homes. They are better than wholly un-
regulated intermingliug. Yet hone of these
is like to that home which il product of
christian civilization; in which woman is
honored In the sharing of the purest and no.
blest rite. the rite of marriage, based upon
mutual affection, the ceremony Of wedlock be.
ing the VOW of fidelity and love. Marriage
began in Eden and it should be kept up. In
the Roman empire there were stringent laws
against bachelors. In Greece women took
switches and beat old patches In order to
whip matrimonial spirit into them.
A complete idea OF home can never be real
lied without children. They are part of
ourselves. We break out with children lust
as rockets that shoot up break out into stars
Man is a stick and paper filled with Mite and
charcoal and sulphur, but he does not break
out into stars OF himself. Parental instinct
is the great foundation of the family tie. In
the lower order OF animals this does not ex-
ist. The tadpOle never knows his father or
mother. These dear little pollywogy grow up
without care of father or mother. The hon
ey bee has good mathematical skill and a
knowledge OF practical botany, but it mani
tests no parental affection, for how could she
care for them all? find it hard work to
care for half dozen. With many of the ami
mails and insects, parental instinct ceases with
simple multiplication oil themselves. See
how, in the tOrrid zone, birds build their nests
away out at the end OF limb, so that the
monkeys cannot seize their young. The
monkey has to take back seat, and looks at
the nest and grits his teeth and winks, but
be dassent-he dassent try it. The humming
bird builds its nest Of non. conducting materi-
ais, so thst the thunder storm cannot spoil its
eggs. 1t knew the mysteries OF thunder long
before Benjamin Franklin brought dewn a
spark from thunder cloud. appeal to ev.
cry father here-dow did you feel when your
first child was boln? / felt that the house
could not hold me. 1t was not big enough to
breathe in. said 81 must get out of this"
Fortunately, I lived by the sea-a respectable
sized object to look upon. If had lived on
on the inland think I should have exploded.
Solon said every newly married couple
should be put into room together and made
to eat OF ounce, so that their breath should
be sweet, and they should not be offensive to
each other. II every newly married couple
would only eat something which would make
them always kind and loving and forgiving!
believe the difficulty is generally with the
man. He comes home grouty, his vile puts
some nice dish before him at lunch, and he
growls that there is not salt enough in it,
She puts the same dish on the table at dinr er,
aud he growls that there is too much salt in
it. His vile would rather have tooth pulled
than to ask him Tor money. A bad home is a
hell upon earth. A good home must have
mutual fol bearance and forgiveness. There
must be discipline in good family. be-
lieve in moral suasion, hut also believe in the
suasiOn oil the birch. My grandfather whip
ped my father, father whipped me, and l
whipped my children, and find it works very
well. do not believe in much biIch. But l
believe little birch brings out the spiritual
as well as the physical circulation, The fun
damental law Of household should be un-
questioning obedience to the parental will.
A weak man who has no government should
marry strong minded woman, who will whip
all the children and lick him too, il he needs
it.
Parents should be very sensitive In regard
to the different dispositions OF their children.
The father should be the governor, but he
should also be The friend ard play mate OF the
children. Be elastic. Forget that you have
got backbone. DO not let yourself be stiff
ened with the rheumatism of dignity. Let
your children be familiar with you. Let them
pull your beard and mOustach, if you have
any. Cultivate wit and humor in childlen.
1t is necessity. There is no wit like the wit
Of child. In family in which am intimate
very intimate-there are two little girls
One day they had little broiher-a new
brother. Some foolish person had told them
that angels Brought little children. They
went TO see their nt brother. He had red
face. New brothers have way oil being red
faced. When they went out the younger o!
the girls said, SISTER, did you see what a ret
lace our little brother had?" The other re.
Piled with great imp )rtance, SILLY child
Don't you know that when the angel brouohi
him down, as he passed the sun he forgot to
put veil over his face, and 80 he got red
hut he will opt nvpr IL -