The daily intelligencer. [volume] (Seattle, Wash. Territory [i.e. Wash.]) 1876-1881, 1877-11-20

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The Traditional Mother-In-Law.
From time immemorial, the mother.
in.Lew has been the subject of inviii-
Gus comparison. the butt OF ridicule,
aud the butt Of severe criticism. For
centuries she has occupied but one DO
si'i"n. that Of boil upon the body cor
porate Of that great portion Of the hu.
man race made up Of gentle sons in.
law and loving daughters.i .in-lsw. With
oil the change Of modern thought. ideas
and views, no new characteristics have
been discovered in connection with the
mother-in. law Of to-day.
The typical mother.in law of litera.
ture aud legend comes to us with the
odOr Of the grave. aud the dust of the
tomb Of thousand ages ago. Ia the
living fl-sh we have but dead mummy
galvsnized into life, parsding its old
fSiliDgs aud ancient eccentiicities, for
the inspection aud criticism of carica-
turists. wits, or negro-minstrels.
In but one light has she eser been
presented to the public gaze, the same
to-day rs before tie food She is an
intruder upon the homes and hearth.
stones OF numberless young husbands
and wives; an imperial director of their
lives and habits; al insiduous enemy
who steals into camp only to carry on u
ruthless and offensive warfare upon the
happiness aud comfort of young mar
ried couples. =
To the man about to marry. she 10 =
phantom that will not down at bis bid
ding; she is the one obstacle in the way
Of his becoming Benedict. The idea
of having u"ther. in law to nose
around his house aud interfere ~ his
domestic affairs. burdens his mind and
destroys the anticipated happiness of
married life
The woman. with the putting on OF
the en2agrment.ring. coujures up fan
ci-s Of what has mother will do or
say. A thousand fears haunt her by
day and night; her dreams are of
age aud fsult.findiny propensities; her
thoughts are prolific Of wisl,es that her
intended husband might be- an orphan.
or or least O half.Orphan tradition,
having failed to clothe the father-in.
law. ancient or modern, with the offsn.
awe and offending qualities Of the
weaker but more persistent patient.
The only element Of oiscoId assigned
to the ancient mother -in-law was her
intrusivsness or ofiiciousness. On this
one chord has the harp Of malice been
turned necessarily, aud If there was .
warning in the picture il must have
been needed long ere this. That there
arc some meddlesome. prying aud in
triguing mOthsrs-in-law, ss irritating
to unfortunate husbands or Suffering
wives as were those who became the
type Of this much reviled class, is GER
tain. But, as rule. mothers Of to-day
are not Of that pattern. There is NO cx-
preston more commen in our homes
than that it is best for young married
people 70 live in homes Of their own,
an mort parents 80 advise their chill
dren.
While there arc so many homes that
owe much ut their brightness aud hap
piness to the mother OF the husband or
the wife. while 10 many Of our children
look to "grandmA" FIR the solAcs Of
their little wees; and while mothers %
often yield up the association and com-
panionship Of their children, In the bs-
lief that their presence - . usother.in-
lax might be the cause of some un.
pleasautness. do not the time worn as-
saults upon the mother-in law lose their
force. and ~ act upon the uDgenerous
asmilsnt.
The oother-iu-la as we have been
wont 70 read end hear of her. 10 a
myth. has no rial existence. While
tn~rc arc exceptional cases of moth.r
ln-law prosecutions. - . class mothers
in lew havc no inclination to interfere.
and are undeserving Of the ieprnach. "a
often hesped upon them. Let tn
mother in-isw bugaboo be driven fron
our every day literature and talk, and
the ircubus OF stapid stories aud stale
jokes throws c6.