Wood County reporter. [volume] (Grand Rapids [i.e. Wisconsin Rapids], Wis.) 1857-1923, 1883-12-27

INSTRUCTIVE DOOk 10 READ With the
children, rather than the privilege of
encasing her toil-worn fingers in a
pair Of ten-button kid gloves and she
can wear three-year-old bonnet with
a cheerful smile-an accomplishment
rarely attained by the women of the
present day.
4 patch skillfully applied, gives her
more pleasure than does the acquisi-
ton of new garment, for to her a
dollar never appears to be more than
hundred cents and she acts accord
ingIy.
Though the ambitious neighbor,
whose life is a painful struggle to
MAINTAIN thousand dollar style of
nVlng, on a five hundred dollar in
come, pronounceS our ideal "a perfect
NOBODY, she persists in her course
With an untroubled spirit. as the love
and respect of husband and children
are dearer to her than praise from the
world
What education she possessed at
marriage was obtained at no small
cost, and simple motives of economy
prevent It's wasting for lack of use. p
She, therefore, not only keeps an ac1t
curate account of family expenses, but
acts as bo0k-keeper and business adj
wiser for her hard working husband
Believing that gossip is almost as
disastrous as lntemperance in its effects
on human happiness; she fills her
mind with more important questions
than those which usually agitate The
thoughts of a country community and
- i bn1 To -
yerSatlOn Of her children toward GEN
eral, rather than personal topics.
THAT sounds well'' signs some tired
sister, but | dare say, her husband
goes about with a darning needle tax
ing the place of the button she has
neglected to sew upon his coat" Not
so, deluded friend. She saves many
hours of toll by purchasing materials
OF dress that are substantial, and that
once made will last for years, while
she is pOssessed of bravery sufficient to
enable her to wear a garment many
times after 1t becomes Old-faShiOned.
Moreover, her daughters early learn
that IT their minds and hearts are
right, their faces will take care of
themselves, and they share the labor
of the household, that their mother
may enjoy with thena some leisure for
improvement.
L fear no farmer here can truthfully
call this an accurate description of his
wife, for no such being exists outside
Of the imagination, but it would be
well for our peoples future if there
were many like her.
People wonder to-day, at the grow
Tag disrespect of the young, and at the
inclination of children to the belief
that they know great deal more than
father, or mother. Are not the boys
and girls correct, in this idea of parents
who have been drudging on the farm
for twenty years, or more? so anxious
for means, with which to educate their
children, that they cannot allow them
selves even an occasional lecture;-
so driven with work that they almost
feel 1t criminal to take up a pen, or
book, except on the Sabbath, when
the body is so weary that the mind
cannot aet.
When, as the butterfly leaves its
ugly chrysalis, the last son leaves the
farmer for some more cOngenial Oc-
cupatiOn, may not those parents left
alone in their age say truly
For a cap and bells, our lives we pay.
Bubbles we buy, with whole soul s taSkng. >
We mothers on the FARMS are more
than any one else, the companions of
our children. 1t lies with us to mold
their characters, to lead them where
we will, If, however, the better part
of our mental power be eliminated,
if little remains, more than the knowl-
edge of how much salt is required to
make pound of butter, and how
many yards Of calico it takes to make
a Mother Hubbard" gown, how can
we claim their interest and respect?
The young minds are rising to the
light, with greater stimulus, perhaps,
than our youth afforded; yet they
seek a guide in mothers teaching. If
through our ignorance or indiffer-
ence, they are driven from us to other
sources of information, that aliena-
ton begins which rObs a mother of
her highest privilege and places her,
in her child's mind, in the light of a
rather inferior household machine;
useful about the place, but somewhat
superfuous, when her life's toll is
completed. Then, when it is too late
to retrieve her loss, she may wish she
had used the intellect, given by wise
Creator
And thoughts that were long asleep,
viii wake up in her mind
And she viii mourn and weep
For what she has left behind
lis too true, the intellectual gifts of
most farmers wives are like the dairy
qualities of that city neighbor's COW,
which was MIXED only when the
family craved custard pie. But let
us make the most of what mental
force remains
ELSE our lives are incomplete,
Standing, in these walls Of time.