The Republican journal. [volume] (Belfast, Me.) 1829-current, 1882-09-28
Why They Die.
RI ROSE TERRY COOKE.

why Iu6y Dle
RI ROSE TERRY COOKE.
hear it now all over the country,
"lamentation, and weeping, and great
mourning. Rachel weeping for her chill
lren, and would not be comtorted be-
cause they are not" Here in the place
where | live | hear it like an undertone
in all the brightness of love. Mothers
crying for the babies laid from their
breasts into the cold bosom Of earth !;
children sickening from their careless
play and creeping into tender arms TO
die. Children die daily all over our
! broad land, and leave vacancy that no
| other member of a household can ever
leave; the death Of hope, the loss OF a
living future, the agony of battied love,
And why do they die
1T is the will, the mscrutablc will,
Of God y says the clergyman who stands
/ by the tiny, pallid shape, and prays with
! all his heart for the stricken parents,
not knowing but that his household may
| be the next to gather about a little coffin
and heap pure buds against a waNen
/ cheek.
! In a certain sense the minister is quite
right the inscrutable will of God is the
! utint0 ratio. no doubt; but neither is
there any doubt that a part Of that will
| is to leave a certain responsibility of
! thought and action with ma so that he
Justly reaps the fruit which he sows, and
receives the reward of good or i'll for his
! deeds in the body and his careless, reck
less disregard Of natural and spiritual
! laws seems often to the thoughtful OBJ
server quite as "inscrutablc' us the will Of
| God
My dear Rachel, mourning for the
child you cannot forget, refusing to he
coniorted, why did You kill it!
! lou think this is a terrible accusation :;
bat hear what a physician said to me Of
one specific case.
"lou had very sick family on Hill
| top, doctor" said.
"les: the youngest died yesterday !;
first they had the a -- town doctor,
and when The oldest Girl died, they sent
they sent for me. ! found one child bet
ter, but the girl Of six very i'll indeed"
"Was it diphthcria ~
"les, bat not aS severe cases as |
have seen recover Vet | wonder they
didn't all die; no physician on earth
could save them The one that did
| ike, bY force Of a strong constitution,
had the disease less severely and will
recover. if there is no relapse"
"Was this last child, then. hopclcssly
| i'll before you were called y
''Not At all, not at all. But they did
not lo what was necessary. Mrs. G.. |
stayed by that child as long as possibly
could, for knew the people. made
the proper applications myself for sev-
eral hours, but ! was on my way to
an urgent ease and promised to call
again coming back. The child was
easier when left, and | told the
parents its life depended on the means
4 left for their use. did not get back
\ for six hours, and found the poor
little creature then past help and hope.
/ said at once, 'WhV didn't yon do what
| told you tor well, it hurt her, and she
wouldn't let us, and we hated to cross
| her, it made her cry so; 50 we let it
| alone. Mrs. G., those parents killed that
! child lust as surely as if they had shot
! it /: for it had a strong constitution and
was on the way TO recover when left it. =
"But, doctor, were the parents fools y
"NO, they We're about the average OF
hard working New Englanders. But the
| trouble lay back OF that day. The child
had never been taught obedience, and
there are thousands on thousands like it
all over the country. When Il time
comes to do a disagreeable thing as Il
matter of life and death, the children
viii not do it, and a severe physical
] II t,.in Il
harm than good"
recalled to myself a day when a
delicate child Of four, the very darling
of my heart, had sharp attack of
scarlet fever. Her throat was coated
with the white signal Of the enemy, and
1t was needtul to paint it every few
hours with caustic
''Opcn your mouth, Fairy" said |,
quietly, trying to keep down the choke
in my own throat as her weak, hoarse
voice cried out, "P'ease don't, darlin'
Nan, pease don't! Sail die. know |
sail die if YOU does it ADAM
And the great, clear gray eyes looked
up to me in perfect agony of entreaty.
Bat | knew my grille; she could and
would obey, 50 | said again, quite
calmly, but with an effort she was
altogether unaware Of, "Open your
mouth, dearw
And the quivering lips opened wide,
and stayed open without remonstrance
till ] had touched every surface that
needed, and could sooth the dropping
| tears Of pain and distress from the eyes
! loved, and love, best Of all in the world.
1t was hard. Rachel. | don't deny it ;
but oh, how much harder would it have
been to see her die, and know that my
weakness and failure had laid th: t silkcn
head on its last lowly pillow
Two physicians in the town where |
live have said repeatedly that, during an
epidemic of diphtheria in this and the
neighboring towns, one third ut least of
the fatal cases were fatal because the
| children would not submit to remedial
measures, and the parents could not
make them.
| said to Il woman not long ago, whose
child had light attack of scarlet fever,
81 hope you will keep him indoors Il
long time. Mrs. Blank these light at
tacks have such bad sequences if they
take cold"
"Well, | will if | can. don't know as
| can make him stay in, though"
The child was four or five, the mother
at least twenty years older, but he was
the master in that family, and he knew
it. Another child in my neighborhood
died from no other reason since its all
ment was slight attack Of fever-than
| its persistent refusal to obey orders to
| stay in its room and swallow a little med
icine.
How often does physician hear such
addresses as this: Come, Freddy! here's
some nice medicine; drink it up, and get
the sugar
II WO-O-O ont -
go Freddy, dear. do be good now you
don't want to be sick mamma'll give you
stick Of candy if you'll take this spoon
ful.'
II won't | won't amt a-goin' to-"
and 50 on, till either the dose is split in
the conflict, or the weary mother, tired
out with the struggle, puts down the
medicine and yields to the rebel.
Don't you think, Rachel, that | may
have come pretty near the truth when
asked Won WHY Won ki11a1 vnur child 2