The anti-monopolist. [volume] (Saint Paul, Minn.) 1874-1878, 1876-06-22

| Will some turtles mad caused ali the young
Brays to 60 extensively into the turtle bust,
ness; but the old gentleman did not allud,
to his former guests.
''Thls Is the sweetest place l have seen il
years, said the stranger, as he lifted the
blue yarn stocking from the little table
"Thats mothers work; she's always knit
ting for some of her boys, or boy 8 children
Mother never likes to be idle
The stranger held tie knitting work care.
FULLY, almost tenderly, and see ned lost in
thought: At last he placed it on the table
and said to his new friend: "You have GER
talnly something here, good sir, which mo-
ney cannot purchase, and which in my
wanderings | have longed fora happy
home"
Father Bray was one Of those delightful
old people it is sometimes our good fortune
to know. He could talk so cheerily of the
past, so happily ofthe present, and so hope
1ully Of the future, it was pleasure to hear
MIN. He never treated you to a chapter on
the sins OF the present time, and the virtues
OF the past; Of the good girls and boys of
his day, and the vicious ones of now-a- days;
on the contrary, he often declared that s.hu-
man nature was much of muchness, Just
about as it always was" Mother was mod
Ell woman, and lovely woman she was,
still erect, although nearly 10, rosy checked
brlght-eyed and kindly faced; she spoke to
you IN sweet, gentle voice, and looked so
charming under her white muslin cap, you
could forget yourself, if a stranger, and
call her "Mother" as sincerely as her own
proud children. Just the same, year after
year, "Mother Bray never seemed old Or
seemed to grow old; in fact, some of the
younger members of the flock have been
known to treat certain urchins to sound
drubbing for the unheard of impertinence
of saying cold Miss Bray
1t was pleasure to hear Father Bray
speak of his wife; since the day Sam, the
eldest, had nestled in her arms he had call
ed her ''mother;" boys and girls beside
their own gave her the sweet, holy title, and
froze all the fun stiff, wherever he appeared
called her no. only ''Mother Bray" but de-
clared that she was ga Mother in Israeli
Far away in the neighboring towns she
was known as skillful nurse, a trusted
friend, and "a good Christian, if there is
one on earth.''
Quite as handsome, bnt little more fee,
BILE, was her husband, who pointed out his
age in the old bible as Y, and told his
friends he chad reached his three score and
ten, and was now walking on borrowed
ground" Nothing except his bible pleased
the old man so we'll rs good listener, while
he preached from his favorite text, "Moth>
err Hand in hand, heart answering to
heart, they had journeyed on since the long
ago, when she blushing bride, had taken
him for ''better or worse" The years,
with their joys and SORROWS, had bound them
closer; and the husband of seventy-two far
surpassed as lover the bridegroom Of
twenty four. All his essays on "Mother"
ended with this sentence, uttered in the
most emphatic manner, II tell you, no one
on earth knew half her goodness; but there,
we are foolish pair of old lovers, mother
and IT,
Tonight, while the stranger rested, the
old man pointed out the homes Of his chill
dren, and, in reply to question Of hi guest
as to the means he used to induce them to
remain near them, he said: II owned all
the land about here, sir, and it always seem>
ed a pity to me to see families breaking up
and wandering away from each other; SO
Mother and l, we talked it all yer, and
agreed to treat all the Lord sent us precisely
alike; and, as men mostly want good homes
for their wives and children to start out
with, why. we thought we might help them;
so when Sam wanted to settle down, we gave
him the land and money enough to build a
comfortable house. Mother kept an account
of it, and put it down in what she calls the
''childrcn's hook and three years after we
did the same BY our first Cir. and so on,
all but one-his share is waiting for him,
if he wants it; if not, the Maker knows
best"
How many children in all, SIR"
Five about here, sir: one wanderer,
and three with God"
The maple leaves futtered . short inter
Jude. and once more the stranger spoke.
Would you mind telling stranger some
thing of your lifes Peace and prosperity
are 50 clearly yours, would like to find
your pathway"
There is not much to tell. SIR" the old
man said. IL was married to the best girl
in the next town, and settled down here to
work. We made our way slowly but sure
ly, adding to our house Is the Lord added
to our flock. If We have been more pros
porous than some, it's all mothers doing;
and as to peace, she is the best kind Of a
peacemaker Now and then. when the
boys were small. and things went contrary,
why. used to get grain cross, and nerv-
ous-hke, for had temper Of my own;
but, bless you. mother she'd just look up u
me, with those sorrowful looking eyes, and
il always made me feel mean and hate N.Y.
self. She brought her children up SO, sir;
her pitiful looks and her prayers did more
for them than sharp words or rod A.
to money, the credit is hers for it all; the
little man earns don't amount to much
but the little woman saves seems to count
up. What with her teaching the boys te
save school bills, and patching and making
to cheat the tailor, and turning this and
twisting that. she always made things come
out right Why sir; when l was mourning
because could not see my way clear to SEM
Will to college when foand he was set
about going, she told me not to worry; she
and the girls would manage it somehow
and they did. sir: they sold butter, eggs
milk monthly and took summer bOarders