American citizen. [volume] (Canton, Miss.) 1864-1890, 1875-04-10


them.
Inc good mother who sees this will be
wise to withdraw. Let the young folk
alone They may burn their fingers to
be sure; get the wrong kind of carpet;
put the girl in the wrong room; and
generally make mess of 1t Tor want OF
your counsel. Never mind. Better
hey should do all this than SOW the
seeds of future trouble. Let them find
when the great hulking fellow comes
meekly with Mother, dear, Blanche
needs your advice" etc, go and give 1t
graciouslv, and not bit more than you
are asked; keep on this plan and all Will
be well.
,. Some If the troubles come from defect
ice manly ,oisdom. A man does not al
low for the mother-heart. Blanche was
married yesterday. But she never could,
never did, take care of herself. Her
mother does not see that the wedding
ceremony gave ner any new wisdom. 10
her Blanche is still Blanche, and in need
of all motheFly help as much as ever. SO
she tenders it; and the lord of creation,
not able to see much beyond his nose,
wants his wife to have Z" mind of her
own" Poor Blanche! mind never was
her forte. She cannot get along with
out mother; and she doesn't want to
vex "dear Tom" So she consults the
mother oracle in secret. and pretends to
have a mind of her own to Tom, who
finds out the consultations-which he
has no business to do-and imagines
half yards of silk whole dresses, and
gets from bad to worse till Blanche is
forbidden to go to her mothers, or Utcs
uersa: and the knowledge loving neigh
bors get hint of it, and a little vexa-
tious had taste and bad temper get ban
died about and magnified, until nothing
less than attempted assassination is sur
missed.
Then how much the case is compli-
Gated if there be a second guardian in
the shape of Toms mother! Her Tom,
now that he is away from her, is perfect.
" Not many girls were fit for Toms wife.
For her part she never could learn what
he saw in that little chit, Blanche, who
can do nothing but smile and show her
pretty teeth, and quote her mother; and
pretty rig their mother is running
them, to be sure. Two girls ought to be
abundance for the work in that house,
hut they have three. My sons wife
never asked my advice about it, but, be-
tween ourselves, I'm going to give Tom a
talking to-" etc, etc, etc, etc. Now,
when all this and the ETC., too, is be-
tween herself and her fifteen confiden-
tial lady friends some of them mothers
in-law also-and immensely relieved to
find that it is not all Paradise outside
their garden, it is not to be wondered if
things are made lively for Tom.
But Tom is like bull in net He
does not exactly know what's the mat
ter; but something is wrong, and when
he talks to Blanche, Blanche does not
know, only cries; and Tom can't stand
crying; and breaks out in denunciatiIn
of mother-in-lAw; and in her heart
Blanche Joins, meaning hers while he
means his and so the plot thickens. If
the world could not bear two suns, nor Asia
two kings. as His Majesty Alexander the
Great Of Greece told His Imperial High
ness of Persia long ago, just as little
can one house bear two such mothers
| in-law.
Now, there is nothing wanting here
| but little good sense and good temper
| Let the young people alone till they have
tried things and found out for them
| selves. Too much cookery spoils the
broth. Blanche will, by and by, feel q
| little pride in running her own house
Tom will learn, by and by. that Blanche
| must get advice from some more expe
rienced woman, and to whom should she
go but her own mother? He won't be
vexed when he sees the dependence or
:" grandma" of that cherub in whose
small, puckered, red face the loving
Blanche has already seen dear Tom.
very image" And now, at least, the
| girls are all needed, and there's no more
t. be said of TOMS mother; and Blanche
has now something to talk of to hei
mo, her-in-law. and Tom, junior, whose
| waking employment seems to be mostly
to feel for his eyes with his little, Grim
SON. dou Aled-up fists, is an unconscious
mediator between them.
Now, il ii MT hardship that little in
felicities should mar the reputation of
whole class? Why should traditiona
drollery be allowed to blind US to the
take up the burdens of life again in thu
marriage of their children? Who ha
/ not seen the motheE-in-law on duty a
sick How often she is the guard
ian angel that hOveTs around, and ward
off danger and misery! How often he
bosom is the pillow on which a chill
seeks repose again, when the dream o
life has gone by cOntraries. and the poo
heart wakes up disenchanted and broken
How often the mother in law is the on
link connecting the family with respecta
bility, comfort and sympathy Hoy
often widowed Ruth has dwell il
safety with her mother-in-law! Ho'
often the widower has blessed God tina
his wife's mother remaine when his wifi
was taken! If it is sometimes otherwise
the fact is to be traced to error and foil
on one side or the other. He who Ma
, ries wisely must think beforehand ths
he must sustain some kindly relation t
the family of his wife, and he who is nc
willing to bend little and make thing
pleasant, and allow for the tastes an
/, feelings of others, is not yet fit to be
, good husband or wise father.-Hou
Journal.