The Louisiana cotton-boll. [volume] (Vermilionville [i.e. Lafayette], Attakapas, La.) 1872-1883, 1873-04-02
PUBLISHED WEEKLY.
An Indoor Tragedy.

Well nigh hall century ago newly
married couple settled in one OF the
western counties of Pennsylvania.
They had what their neighbors deemed
fair capital with which TO begin life
well-stOcked, though small farm,
sound health, good common sense, and
a more than average amount OF shrewd
intelligence and culture. Under oil
this was a sincere trust i'll God and
Jealous, sensitive love for each other,
neither of which their nPighbors knew
much about. American backwOOds far
me! take pride in covering their emo
tiOns under hide, rs tough as that OF
their beevcs They had three or four
children, and Mt night, over the kitchen
fire. the problem they set themselves to
answer was, what is the best thing we
can do with them, and for them the
question asked daily with such u wrench
ing of heart in myriads of homes, and
answered 50 differently. The fear OF
God seemed to Jacob and his wife the
| best her tage to give them the next
best, plenty of money. To give the
| first, they began by hedging the chill
! dren's lives with n system OF rules, bor-
rowed half from the Jewish laws, half
from the theory of their sect. Strict
morality, the keeping of Sunday as =
periodical day of penitence and wretch.
edness, the learning under p' nalty OF
dark closets and thrashings, of the chief
duty of man, therein was their religion.
Life they were shown as straight and
hard path through n dark valley with
the terrors of Sinai behind and the
traps and pitfalls of flaming hell on
either side Even jacobs wife, Mary
holding her darlings to her breast, than
which no mothers ever throbbed with
more tenderness, had no other sermon
to preach to them. It never occurred
tb her or her husband that it was into
inst such fields of grain as those about
them, under Just such towering cedars,
that Jesus led his disciples, and taught
them, by the sunshine and the rain, the
tender mercies of God. The world
grew green around them, faded again.
aud wrapped itself in deep SHOWS, year
after year the river sang its mysterious
song of the woods at their very door;
and overheard the stars that had de-
clared to patriarchs of the old world
the infinite secrets of Jehovah blazoned
them forth still unregarded. Day unto
day uttered speech. and night unto
night showed forth knowledge OF Him,
but both farmer and wife were deaf and
blind God was to be approached only
through q dog-eared catechism and field
and river we're worth onl y so much fish
and wheat per year.
The children's salvation being thus
provided for, the next thing to be in
sured was money. Husband and wife
worked and stinted as only n Scotch
Irish farmers family can work or stint.
All produce that was saleable went to
the market the children were reared
on the refuse, the skim-milk, poorest
bacon and watery potatoes. Their
clothes were coarse and patched. their
feet bare and chiiblained. The house
grew barer year by year, the fathers
back more bent, and his face harder,
but the balance increased dollar by dol
lar. As for the plump bonny Mary,
she had long ago joined that sisterhOod
OF lean, yellowskinned, toothless wO-
men, who, with dirty calico dresse and
wisps of hair twisted up behind, arS .
found in farm houses like
CHASTITY fnegrims or daylight specters OF
n wasted life. When churning and
scrubbing were done she would sit up
until near morning washing and darn
ing their clothes that they might look
more "genteel then she, dragging her
aching body to look at them when they
slept, praying for them with fierce
longing to have power to be God him"
self tC be able to protect and care for
them. The boys had certain strong an
imal propensities, and physical tenden-
hill atn1 lnn4xyl pIf
to guide or restrain One had n morbid
another tendency to al
coholic poisoning, against which his
diet and training from infancy should
have defended him. The girls, left to
themselves, were filling their brains
with sickly false fancies of life and their
work in it. But what time had Mary
to read or acquire in any way the power
to comprehend or help her children?
There was the scrubbing and churning
to be done, the money to be saved.
BOYS and girls were sent to colleges and
seminaries every advantage that edu"
cation could give them was theirs +; the
only mistake Jacob and his wife made
in this respect was not to educate them
selves as well. The children went for
ward, they sat down and grubbed.
What is the end of it all? The
grew up dyspeptic and sickly
for the lack of early proper food they
married and died before middle age,
brilliant, hard women, and neither OF
them in any sense religious. One son
went into politics, was successful, and
ia now q member of Congress, one of
the most influential of his party. Jacob
and his mother read of his life in Wash
ington, his wife's receptions, his popu-
larity. But long ago he was a stranger
TO them. It is years since he crossed
the old threshold. What is there in
common between him and the ignorant,
boorish farmer and his wife? A few
weeks ago, the last of the sons came
home to die the one of all the chill
dren who had real power of intellect;
the only one who was not ashamed to
talk of =" mother fondly to the last.
He died in her arms, drunken,
worthless sot. The thin, haggard wo-
man closed his eyes without tear. Il
have lost all my children, she said. II
mnst have made mistake somewhere
in the beginning. God know" Is no
other mother making this mistake Pm.
Y Tribune.