The new Northwest. [volume] (Portland, Or.) 1871-1887, 1876-05-19
Tired Mothers.

seems GnaJ can never get TO the enQ OF
my burdens, and l have no heart to try.
What with the steps of the little ones to
mind, and the house to keep in order;
my work basket heaped with sewing,
which must be done to make the chill
dren comfortable for the winter school,
to say nothing of the kitting and mend
ing, and thousand other things, it al
most makes me crazy to think of it.
1t is such a hard existence, with no
brightness in it, and there is no escape
from it, not while life lasts-not, at
least, while health and strength hold
out. Health and strength | had not
thought of that-what if my health and
strength give way? Would not pain
and suffering be harder to bear than
WEAKNESS And the little ones-Heaven
bless sthem!-Ought it not to be accounted
blessing, instead of hardship, to be
able to care for them? / have some
thing yet to be thankful for, though a
moment ago l thought there was not
one single thing to be thankful for in
my life"
Yes, tired mother, there is yet many
cup of blessing within reach of thy
lips. Thy life is not all desert; there
are lovely oases, green, sunny spots,
with springs bubbling over with living,
refreshing waters, scattered here and
there in thy way. There are blessed
riffs in the clouds of sorrow which hang
over thee-granting that clouds of sor-
row do really hang over thee. But do
they? Ponder for moment. You are
weary, over-worked, and disheartened; !;
but are you really fOrsaken of Heaven?
Are yourchildren all spared to- you? All!
"There's many an empty cradle,
There's many vacant chair"
Does healthy blood course through their
veins? and are they sound of limb?
You would not envy the mother who is
this moment bending over the wasted
| form of her darling, soothing the ach-
ing brow, and cooling the parched lips;
nor her, who is tenderly nursing one
who is cripple for life. Does the light
of intelligence glow in their faces I
knew a mother who, for ten long years,
carried her boy in her arms, and in afl
! that time, not one answering smile was
given to brighten or repay her toll
And then the good Lord said, at is
enough" and gently lifted him from
| the tired, patient arms.
Can you give your children nourish-
| ing food, and warm, comfortable cloth
! ing? and have you provisions made for
| the long, cold, winter months An
/ guish is wringing the hearts of thous-
ands of mothers, even in our own happy
! land, because they know not where to-
morrow's bread is coming from to nour-
ish the dear ones who are dependent
upon them for supplies; or to-morrow's
wood or coal, to keep their half-clad
forms from perishing.
Are your children affectionate and
loving? and, as you tuck them into
their little beds at night, can you kneel
and thank God that every one nestles
beneath your sheltering care? Re-
member the mothers who shed sealding
tears, and keep lonely vigil for reckless
and erring ones; or those whose chill
dren are scattered so far from the home
nest that no eight in the window" can
reach them and guide their feet to
mother and home.
Tired and hard-pressed mother, al
most fainting under your burdens, il
you would take time to think, aud
count over your blessings, you would
find much to be thankful for; and as you
thought, mayhap you would cease to
complain, and instead of repinings,
your lips would take up glad refrain
for the mercies which have fallen to
your share.
Yet | know that a mothers lot is
often hard one, viewed only from the
dark side; there are many cares and
many burdens, and especially if she
have no help; if her own pair of hand:
must take up and go through with al
the varied duties and labOrs of the
household.
1t is poor economy for a mother, i
she can afford to have help, to slave anC
fag herself out, day after day, through
J summers heat and winters cold, thu!
expending the life-energies that shoulC
be carefully husbanded to bestow upoI
the more important interests of he
family. Sometimes it is the wife's faul
that she does so, but Oftener, think, i
is the husbands.
1t is the wife's fault if she foregoe
needful help that she may save money
to bestOw upon the useless adCrnmen
of her little ones; fOrgetful that her son
were entrusted to her charge that sh
might train them to be men-noble
worthy, self-sacrificing men, fitted t.
take their places, in their proper lot ant
station, in this onward marching world
That her daughters were placed in he
care that she might have the honor O
training them to be pure, godly, intel
lectual women.
1t is her fault if, forgetful of tn
, higher needs of her children, she spend
the hours she needs for rest and recrea
! ton, in toiling and stitching, that Mar
l may have delicately-embroid slip
or Johnny an elabOrately-trimmed sui
! 1t is the husbands fault if he is so ab
. soTbed in business and money maxim
that he fails to see that his wife is weaI
ing herself out in the attempt to max
his home comfortable, and bring up hi
children respectfully, while, very likely
she is straitened for want of means, an
J everything she has to do with is as IN
: handy as it is possible to be; but he doe
not notice that her wearing cares ar
eating into her life, making her prema
turely old, irritable, and unlovely. H
> may even look on wonderingly and say
''HOw is it, wife? You are getting t
y be a regular scold. l don't see how tn
i work can be so very hard. Mother ha
: twice the family that we have, and ye
! she always managed to do her wor
: without help" Little he knew wha
{ struggles and sacrifices his mother ha
: to bring his wayward feet up the sliE
= perry sleeps to manhood.
E E But, mother, if your lot is hard, an
u you cannot change it, resolve to max
9 the best of it. A cheerful disposition
: aud determination to look at tn
J bright side of things, will go far towar
{ tightening your burdens; and a trU
{ sense of the obligations of motherhood
with an earnest desire to fulfill them !