American citizen. [volume] (Canton, Miss.) 1864-1890, 1878-01-05

preston of mingled fondness and dis [
couragement at his growing family of .
children. E'Man proposes and woman |
'disposes.' - laughed he, as final con-
clusion-" and between US, think they
who drift get about as much enjoyment, ,
and make just as good progress, as we
do who try to navigate. Take your
places as best you can, do the duty near
est to you, and live one day at time.
| Who ever saw to-morrow?''
&c L should like to give you even your
dinners on that plan, or no-plan, for
one week onlyi'' said the wife, amid
the laughter OF the company, who knew
quite well James's fondness for good
dinner For one,'' she concluded,
rising and preparing to put into execu-
ton her plan for getting home, &C L hold
that it is our duty to plan every thing to
the best of our ability, and do our ut
most to carry it out and leave 'the stars
in their courses or other people and
things in theirs, to thwart us if it be so
ordered. Let those go it blind who
have no eyes to see; and let people drift
who are either too unskillful to sail or
too lazy to i"-and with this scat
tering shot she marshaled the forlorn
picnickers to the station, and busted
herself on the way home in arranging a
children's birthday party, a round of
calls, charity concert, and the family
meals for the coming week.
Of course she came out strong on holt
dovC apd cDooia1 OccacionS Thanks
giving dinner was her delight. Every
dish, of course, and the people who
were to eat it-where each one was to
sit, and what games they were to play
to settle their dinner-were all clear to
her mind two months beforehand. The
Christmas holidays were only occasions
for the performance of parts already
mentally rehearsed. Any thing that in
terfered with her plans, and came in the
way of a surprise, was accorded a grudg-
ing welcome. Things that ''happened"
she had no great opinion of, as she grew
older, and her habits became more
fixed. And as a large share of the good
things of life come to us in the way of
what her husband called ''happenstan-
ces,'' her philosophy had many severe
tests. To plan for pleasure only to reap
disappointment, and then to meet hap
piness quite Unexpectedly on the road,
had tendency, she declared, to belittle
ones estimate of intellect.
Sometimes it was the unsystematic
James who was tried-as when her plans
failed to dove-tail on to his calculations,
y ! hn iod hn far !
he expressed it. On one occasion they
were to move; and as she had
planned to direct the whole work of
packing up, of course-such is lifei
she was taken sick. But her will
knew no illnesss, and from her bed she
dictated the contents of every box and
barrel, until terrible headache COM
PEELED her to leave to the rest the care
of the odds and ends. As she lay moan
ing involuntarily, with hot congresses
on her head, and the house was hushed
to stiffness, her husband saw slight
motion of her hands, and heard her
parched lips whisper his name. Bending
down tenderly to catch her words, and
ceasing his tanning for a moment, he
heard her say:
} "I-was thinking-how we could
carry fluctuations. Couldn't you
J This was too much. James rushed
from the room and sought the open air,
where he INDUCED himself in familiar
references to various heather gods and
dead military heroes, including great
Cassar's ghost,'' with a variety of en-
phases and gestures. Do not Judge him
harshly. He was only man.
Mrs Marlowe's girl was a boy-the
} fourth of the series, new but not i'm
: proved edition. When he was nine
years old, and her eldest son was %, she
2 sent a carefully made, but very yellow
5 and old-fashioned assortment of little
i girls clothing down to the Children's
l Home-with sigh, but no tears.
The first son, under the stress of I'M
, impaired energy of management, went
t to college, pulled through after a fashion,
, and Immediately took his knowledge Of
$ Greek roots and classic literature into a
l coal yard, where he made money in a
e manner that proved his possession Of
; the instinct for accommodating, and then
g used his gains in fashion that reflected
. no credit on his culture.
e The second boy, impatient of study
I, went from the high school into news
g paper office, and turned his mothers
L anxious forebodings into resignation
that was as near to joy as she ever came
1 when al plan miscarried, by making d
: brilliant success in the profession.
The third son, whom she had con
e secrated to the ministry during the re-
vival that occurred about the time he
5 was born, bought a sheep ranch in
4 Texas; and the ease with which he
t mastered the dialect of that region af
fords little room to expect that he will
come any nearer fulfilling his mothers
s hopes than is involved in being last
t ing subject for home missionary work.
1 Jimmy, the youngest son, was in
tended for the law, but he is just now
: driving a street-car. His bent toward
n horses was stronger than his mother
: ambition in the direction of the bar.
, Mrs Marlowe came near to the enc
of life without making any plan for dy-
D ing. Considering that death is the mos
! fearfully certain thing in the world, how
S few people do give any thought to it!
' But when the inevitable change drew
: near her ruling passion came to the