New Orleans Republican. [volume] (New Orleans, La) 1867-1878, 1876-09-10
c,,.- HAYES, Grandmother

Mr. William u. dowo!is' "a Skatnh of
lantic Monthly, has written p.,,hsrt"rd B.
rhe Life and Character OF nu thronrh the
, my Messrs. Hurd e. Houghton' h Mr'
R Ho~oi,a WA born and long resided IL Onio,
and has been allowed access 10 1Mo mUss
ni,,ahja material for the work. Inc sauo
voinme will contain brief scc0nn', py o.. a.
o,har hand. of the life of Mr.. Wheeler tno
uominee for the vice presidency. Ono oAn
;,,Sna from the extract from the first cnaP'
1ar g;van below, in which Mr.. Howeils uo-
scri6es. in his dainty prose, MIS- e ChiUo
HAYES. the mother OF General hayes iaI"c.
how readable and enjoyable the oooA is'
likely to be: oh;,.
dren, and, becoming the motLer VI cio.on'
I'D tn an great an age a. to have left upon
the memory of many surviving grahocnl,,
dren and great grandchildren the personal
imuression of her strong and reso!ute
character, and her rugged Puritan virtue,
temnered and sOftened by 1sthetic gu0
Amounting almost 10 genius. 1t is TO ner
.hat her pOsrerity are fond OF ASCENDING ID
vsst measure Whatever is best IN their mere
diary traits. and she certainly merits more
than passing notice in the most cursory
characterization of her grandson. Aoovo
all, and first of all. she was deeply relgioue,
after the fashion OF the days tnst We nov
think so grim, and she set her duty 20 Uoo'
as she knew it, before every earthly con-
Germ and Affection With a devotion almost
as deep, she dedicated her days to incessant
work. and her toll often saved the
shirt that faltered in its religious gloom
she rose early and wrought late,
as the wife Of q farmer and nm
keeper and the mother of eleven chill
dren must, and as woman OF her tenn
permanent would; and she was as lntolerant
OF idleness in others as IN herself. Even
the great-grsndchildren had their tasks SET
them in their visits 70 this lnveterate
worker, who could not rest from her 'aoois
after eighty yeare. She was famous cook,
and tho triumphs Of her ekill at Thanks
givings and other siderable holidays, were
no less her own pride than the sOlace OF her
guests. But she shOne even more IN needle
work, and the now obsolete arts of the
wheel and loom. "She knit more stockings,
mittens and gloves, wOve more rag carpets,
spun and wOve more cloth, elaborated more
wonderful rugs, lamp-mats and bage, than
any other woman of her generation" writes
one of her grandsons; and the reminiscence
of granddaughter, at once touching and
amusing, gives the color of the Puritanism
which STEPPED in fear and isgiving the in
dulgences OF such love of beauty as she
permitted herself. II spoke of her pas
sion for worsted work. l have heard
her say that Saturday afternoon che put it
all into her work basket, and pushed it IN
der the bed az far as she could; then taking
out her prosy knitting work she tried to get
it all out of her mind for Sunday" Yet
she was q true artist in this passion; her
devices in worsted were her greatest de-
light, and she studied from nature, going
into her garden and copying the leaf or
H.. IL
an almost equal passion for flowers, for
which, doubtless, she suffered the same
lualms. In her old age she kept diary,
which remains to her descendants and
reflects her stern, resclnte,
1uteOus, God-fearing, yet most tender and |
owing soul. In a sketch Of family history.
with which she prefaces her journals, she |
ameuts, with simple pathOs which no |
words can produce without the context,
Ter possible error in setting work and duty |
before some other things. My husband |
would sometimes say, The horse |
8 standing in the barn, doing nothing. We
vill g and ride; it's no matter whether we |
top anywhere But l would say, L can't |
cave my work. So he would not 60 or 90 |
lone. Oh, now l would say to every wo- |
nan that has good husband, enjoy them |
while they are spared to you, or it will |
.rieve you to the heart when it is too late |
when all is oveIw But this cry of regret,
n sorrow as keen as if the husband she |
lad lost had been cut off in his prime, and |
lot in the fullness of his eighty years. is
imost the sole expression of miseiving in /
diary to which che confesses everything.
commits every hope, fear, doubt. and i'm
'arts every mood of her soul. The faded |
,ages, recording so wildly type of high
haracter which has passed away with the
hanging order Of things, are OF almost
lnique interest, but this is not the time or
'lace to explore them. Work, faith.
luty, self-sacrifce, continual self-a base.
nent in the presence of the
Divine perfection, are the ideal of iifa
Vhlch they embody-the old New England
deal. 1t VAS q stern and unlovely thing
item in it's realization; it must have made
'oomy weeks and terrible Sabbaths, but
ut OF the trne stuff it shaped character Of
uprightness and siren 9th. It
}. to thu indOmitsble will, the tireless in
ustry, the rectitude, the whole, ever yioi.
snt conscience, which it fOstered in bis
nstere ancestress, that this man of our
holce doubtless owes the virtues on which
ur hopes rest. From other progenitors
ome the geni | traits, the fine and ioyous
umOr, the quick cordiality. the amiable
resence, which superficial observation
as mistaken tor the whole man; but from
br the keen sarcasm, the active inteiIect
le ever present sense of duty, the immov-
Ole purpose, the practical religousness
Nv no longer bound to creeds, but fnllv
lrvlvlng IN the blameless and useful life