The Lambertville record. [volume] (Lambertville, N.J.) 1872-1968, 1877-06-20
MISCELLANY.
an APoL0GT ron THE M0THER-I IN
BAW.

IN APOLOGY FOR THE M0THER-If-
Law.
s.
The mother-in-law has not had fair play.
She suffers with the widow and the old maid,
but she has been more cruelty abused, more
mercilessly ridiculed than eithers Like them
she is not responsible for her condition, but
unlike them the man who complains the most
about her is he who elevated her to the post
tion she holds, namely, the man who married
her daughter. She has been the subject of
countless brutal stories, myriads Of Offensive
jest- ard quantities of sarcastic rhymes. In
to all these has entered an element of bitter
ness which does not appear in the jests that
are hurled at the widow and the spinster.
Malice is the Inspiration of the assaults upon
born of sense of detected guilt-guilt which
has been hidden from the too confiding vito,
but detected promptly by the penetrating eye
of the mother-in-law. She is not blinded by
love for the man she made vigilant by
love for the wife, and to perfect clearness Of
perence of the methods of devious and de-
ceitfu1 husbands which enables her to laugh
and to scorn the hypocrisy which attempts to
excuse late hours upon the plea of business,
or to offer the claims OF the lodge in explana-
ton Of absent evenings that are spent In con-
VITALITY. For men who are guilty of such
crimes the mother-in-law operates as a kind of
second-conscience. She is an agent OF the
moral law to convey reproof; perhaps to exc
cute vengeance. In such character she de-
serves respect. The sinner who quais be-
meath her majestic glance of course does not
like her. Neither does the thief like the hal
ter. But for the part she plays in the econo-
my of the universe she is entitled to the re-
yerence Of the good. s
There are diyersities of mothers-in-law, as
Of all other things and it does happen
sometimes that worthy and well conducted
man finds himself subjected to mother-in-
law who is a real affection. But all things are
wisely ordered in this world. All the saints
have been made perfect through suffering
The thorn in the flesh sometimes point the
way to celestial joys. A terrific mother-in-
law may be good for discipline. She should
be regarded very much as an ascetc regards
a hair-cloth shirt as something which sub
a,es IN ,,,,dy Nth No ;utent - !. r;s,t AZ
spirit. She is hard to bear, of course, bit SO
are the trials Of life and yet II life had no
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h,nd aud on ;nnortal;ty ~ adm;rat,or l,e-
carso clio ,oved hsr Z, Il : i
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s.,, ~ x..o. ,afsr,s.fast<, ,va,,t ,,;tt III,
81 hsrS heds;ds and restored ber 70 health
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-. j. son,s ,,no,, the eart,, will hs ,h.t ~.
4 ,a,. will I'D ,a;nst
lou Possibly wa nav attr;buta Tho sa,, ~
j., tbe fact t,,st Adam had No r,o,,,er- 4,
law ~ look after him and his wife and e. warn
them. as the eficieut nother.in.l law AWAY.
will aoa;nst doing ,yropes solomon was the
wisest man that aver lived and be had seven
hundred motbers-in-law. unless aoue Of IA
wives we're orphans. and there a not a "a.
nroacl,fl word co,,cefnii,a them IN a,,y Of b;s
wr;f,nos. The modern man who has bnt one.
and Who. crowds about her. ought ia consider
tb;s and refrain.1 Is g Z - Ut