The central Presbyterian. [volume] (Richmond, Va.) 1856-1908, 1881-01-26
Sweep the Corners.
Did you sweep the corners ?"

NOW, mother, what is the use of be-
ing so particular? The parlor looks Just
as nice as it can look Who's going to
move etageres and tables and poke be-
hind the piano to see if there's a few
grains of dust there?"
p" Have you never swept the corners
since you volunteered to take entire
charge of the parlor, Amy? You know
have been shut up in my room and have
trusted entirely to you
"Not exactly; Mrs. Strongmore, who
lectures SO delightfully."- you know, says
women waste so much time in pottering.
She says it's great thing to learn Just
how much homework and sewing is
necessary to enable one to get along, and
then we shall save the rest of the time
for higher. pursuits, and that is so much
gain"
Perhaps, if it really saves time let
us see how it is in this case. Move that
stand, dear, put your broom in that
corner"
why, mother, there are myriads of
black fuzzy little things crawling away,
and why it's too bad, they have eaten
all the pattern off of that corner of our
pretty carpet"
"That is what l feared. 1t is the Buff
falo moth, or carpet-bug, and having
once made Judgment, they will run
along every seam of the carpet; nothing
can save it but taking it all up and hav-
ing it thoroughly cleansed. 1t is too bad,
but it never would have happened if you
had swpet' THAT corner faithfully. Which
way do you think would have saved the
most timer"
Mother, 1 was so disgraced to-day.
L wore my new cambria to the Sabbath
school picnic, and when l was swinging
one of the children the whole sleeve
ripped right down and left my arm bare.
1t was especially notifying because I
had just been telling the girls how I had
made it all myself on my new machine
"Softly my daughter; did you take
needle and fasten all the threads as
suggested?'
why, no; that would have taken so
much time, and | wanted to make the
whole dress in two days, which, did"
I" Did you save much time by that pro-
ceeding?"
No mother, of course not; see what
you mean. It's another case of not sweep
ing the corners, suppose"
"My dear child, wish could impress
upon you now the Importance of doing
things thoroughly and not sighting the
parts of work that do not show at first
sight; duty and policy are alike con-
cerned in faithfulness to the corners. Ny
gardener made me a fower-bed on the
lawn once, but had hardly got it filled
with beautiful flowers when the quick
grass came up so thickly between them
that it took more time than l had to
spare to pull it out, and when / at last
had recourse to him, he acknowledged
that he had only turned the sod over,
not taking time to pick it out. Last
spring there was terrible accident in
New York; part of great building filled
with people gave way, destroying much
valuable life and property. Wby2 Be
cause somebody had not been careful of
the corners, the unseen parts of the build
ing, where the strain came, and this want
of faitbfulness rendered the whole thing
unsafe. Only two months before that
occurred the destruction Of the Tay
bridge in Scotland which thrilled the
public with indignation; whole train
of cars, with their crowd Of living freight,
was precipitated at once into the flood
and disappeared, because of the unfaith-
fulness Of contractors, workmen, every
one concerned, in those parts Of the work
whose unsoundness could not be detected
except by actual experiment and failure.
And when we come to things not tangi-
BILE, the principle is just the same-care-
lessness about the corners; the out-of-the-