The Cambria freeman. [volume] (Ebensburg, Pa.) 1867-1938, 1879-12-26
HIS FIVE MOTHERs.IN-LAW.
A REAL TRUE STORY.

d
/ live in the same house with a mother
/ in-law. but Old Sol b. las he was
commonly called, of Boston, dwelt in
/ peace and comfort for several years
with five ladies bearing that relation to
1 him.
When I first knew that old gentleman
/ he appeared to be about fifty, but was
1 in reality about siXty-eight, and had a
charming wife who was then twenty
| six, and two lovely children, a boy and
girl; one seven, the other FIVE. His
/ children by his first wife were all mar
/ ried, and some of his grandchildren
1 were also married, and themselves had
children older than Mr.. BIS two
youngest.
On the first day of my visit at his
pleasant home, not many miles from
/ Boston, as | took my place at the dinner
table with Mrs. B, / was surprised
4 to see five old ladies come into the room
/ together and to be introduced to each of
/ them in succession as follows MY
/ own mother, Mrs. b. senior; my
/ next mother, Mrs. Henry; my third
mother, Mrs James my fourth moth
/ er, Mrs. Williams my fifth mother,
/ Mrs. john"
Mrs. B, senior, who seemed the
/ youngest of the old ladies, laughed
+
melOdiOuS laugh for one OF her years
and every one smiled but Mr.. -, who
/ invoked the blessing with his usual air
and led the table-talk on in different
! topics. That evening in the parlOT
young Mrs. B. gave us some music,
and the old ladies retired early, one al
/ ter another, the Gown mother going
/ last, when she was tenderly assisted up
/ stairs by her son. On his return Mr..
B-Said TO me with a smile of amuSe-
ment:
/ 4 see that you are, as the ladies say,
I dying to know what all this means. 1
purposely did not tell you that l have
+ five mothers-in-law, because ] always
like to see the effect produced by my
household on other people. You, for
instance, live SO differently. all alone,
/ how do we appear to YOU P''
Harmonious and happy; but have
seen you together only u very short
( time. What Is your everyday expert
ence -
Much the same, especially since my
dear wife came into our household. L
had al the old ladies when she arrived. -
But where did you get them all :;
/ they cannot all belong to you -
Yes, every one of them. l have
/ four mothers-in-law, and as my own
mother IS my wife's motheT-in-law, OF
course that makes five mothers-in-law,
in our house. Now. as my wife is Just
going to her little ones nursery. 1 viii
tell you about my old ladies.
Nv Ken | married my first wife her
mother, who was a widow, came to live
with us. She was a good creature. and
( had seen pretty bard times, having sup
ported herself by school teaching and
sewing for several 5aaIS, and she seemed
to greatly enjoy my comfortable home
| was always thriving man of busi-
ness. So one day | said to her, Now,
mother. there Is no reason why YOU
ShOuldn make your home with us al
ways while you live; You can bring
your own furniture if yoN choose, or
. you need not; the room you now occu-
py shall be your own always. and be-
sides what my wife may do l will give
you fifty dollars year for clothes THAT
was an ample sum for a woman 10 have
all TO herself in those times You can
teach if you wish to. or do anything
else to earn money if you wish to; you
/ Will always be welcome to our table and
parlor. or, if you prefer, you can cook
for yourself in your own room. Only
one thing l will exact in return-you
must never make any mischief nor quar-
rel with anybody in my house about
anything. And If sometimes YOU are
displeased you must go TO your room
and pOut 1t out alone. and only Join Us
again when You feel pleasant. For l
won't be worried, and least of all viii l
/ have my wife worried by auybOdy.-
Now. mother, what do you say -
''She only said, You are good man.
Solomon b, and the Almighty will
reward YOU, and thank you from my
heart. L viii do my part. -
/ so | never had any trouble with her.
+ We all lived together twenty years,
and then my wife lad an attack OF
pneumonia and died-and soon after
+ that my own mother was left a widow
and came TO live with me Ny mother
| is only sixteen years older than I am.
and being so lively and smart she seem
ed quite like q younger sister To mother
Henry, and they got on easily together.
But after awhile, when the children
were all about grown, | got so lonesome
that | cOaxed a real nice sensible lady, of
/ Philadelphia, not handsome, but just as
good as gold, 10 marry me. l told her
all about my old ladies, and found that
/ she had two mothers living with her,
her own mother and her husbands
mother. They had neither of them any
/ property, but she owned a house and
/ took boarders in il to support them all.
''Weli, / made the same proposition
/ 10 her old ladies that | had made to my
mother-in-law, and they both agreed
: Then l went home and built an addition
i to my house and soon brought my sec
ond wife and mother there. We rad
some occasional pOuting at first. but
always held two points without yielding
i was the master in my own house
and would never let anybody wOrry my
wife. So, pretty soon, my fOre-in-hand
learned to travel smoothly together.
All, me l looked forward to a hap
py old age with that dear wife, but in
two years she was killed in a railway
accident. | was with her on the train
and was badly hurt, lying for weeks in
state of unconSciOusneSs. When
recovered. my dear wife's grave was
green | felt SO bad and my health was
SO poor that / did not care for a woman
again until all my children were mar
ried and L was left alone with my -four
old ladies.
Then | met pretty little romantic
widow. who was so sorry for me She
wrote poetry and painted pictures and
was dying all the while of consumption
that scOurge of our city; and l thO'i
rs she had struggle TO take care OF
herself and her husbands mother,
! would smooth her passage TO the grave
$50 | married her and her mother
mean n-welI, you know what I mean
, ! I treated her mCther-in-laW lust as