The Manitowoc tribune. [volume] (Manitowoc, Wis.) 1866-1878, 1877-07-05
The Mother is the Desert.

The Mother "a. the Desert.
Many, many centuries ago, in a far
away country, whose laws and customs
were different from ours, and allowed
men to have several wives at time, if
they liked, there lived an old man who
had two. One of these wives was very
aged woman, but she was still wise and
beautiful, and the old man loved her
very much. The other wife was young
She had been slave in her husbands
family, and was still treated as an infe-
rior by the older wife, once her mistress.
This younger wife had little boy,
fine, hardy fellow. He was the only
child In the hOuse-or, rather, in the
tents, for there were no houses in those
days. I will not tell you The names of
these persons, but L think most of you
will guess them, for you all have heard
about them or read of them In that most
beautiful book of stories which we call
"The Old Testament
One of the mischiefs of putting two
wives into the SAME home is, that they
are almost sure to quarrel with each 9TH
er. 1t was so in this case. The wife
who had been a slave was proud of her
motherhood, and now and then would
say provoking things to the other wife
who had no boy to be proud of. Then
the older woman would feel jealous and
unhappy, and be in her turn unkind and
words, sobs and cries. At last a mar
velous event happened. God pitied the
childless wife, and to her, also, sent
boy, dear little baby, soft and sweet,
and helpless as our babies are to-day,
and just as much loved and rejoiced
over as they. For Il time the brown
tent, standing close to the green past
ures where the white, bleating sheep
nibbled and wandered, was happy
place. A great feast was given in honor
of the baby. Friends and relations came
on horseback and camelback from far
away. Kids were roasted, rich milk,
herbs stewed with butter, and all the
dainties known to the time prepared; and
the proud mother was never weary of
showing her child, and Boosting of his
size and strength and goodness, as moth
ers have done from that day to this
But after the feast was eaten and the
company dispersed, the old disturbances
began again. Each wife was Jealous;
the children quarreled with each other;
the good old man tried in vain to keep
the peace between them. At last mat
tiers came to crisis. The old wife said
she would dwell no longer under the
same tent with the other, and would not
let her boy be brought up with his big,
domineering brother. Both must go
away, she said-the mother and the
child-and she persisted, and stormed,
and urged, till her husband did not know
what to do
And, indeed, it was difficult to know
what to do. There were very few people
in the world in those days, and those few
were scattered about at long distances
from each other. The brown tents be-
side the sheep pastures were miles and
miles from any other tents. One could
travel for many days without meeting
human being. There was no particular
place to send any one to. saying, 'There
you will find shelter and food" and it
seemed hard and cruel to say $50" to
poor woman, without telling her where
to so. So the old man went to bed I'M
happy and puzzled-and no wonder.
But in the night God spoke to him in a
dream, as often happened in those times,
and told him not to fear. but to let the
mother and child go, for He would
take care of them and preserve their
lives, and the boy should grow up to be
the father of great multitude. I do
not think, except for this promise of the
Lords, that the old man could have
said Go, for he was Just and wise
man, and tender-hearted There is a ira
dition among the people of his
nation that he was the first man
in all the world whose beard became
white, and that he asked of God, ssWhat
Is this p and the Lord replied, cit is
token of gentleness, my son." The old
mans beard was very white as he lay
dreaming that night, and his heart had
grown gentle with the launching of his
hair so that it was not cruelty or I'M
kindness, but faith in the heavenly
promise, which, when morning broke
led him to comply with his old wife's re-
quest.
For, rising with the dawn, he called
the younger wife, filled bag with bread,
tied bottle of water to her back, point
ed to the desert, and babe her 90 Co."
Poor thing, her heart must have been
heavy enough as she turned her
face away from the tents. She
had not been always happy there.
There had been quarrelsome hours and
sad hours-hours of complaining and
hours of tears-but still, the tents were
home, there was food in them and shell
ter, and the Wilderness was desolate and
lonely. She went, however-there was
nothing else left her to do. Husbands
in those days. were masters as well, and
had power of life and death over their
wives There was the barley-loaf and the
water-bottle; there was the desert track;