The Rock Island Argus. (Rock Island, Ill.) 1877-1885, 1883-04-28
MY NORTHUMBERLAND.

| How well remember the first time |
SAW her sitting out of doors on a lovely
summer evening surrounded by her chill
dren. Taey were of all ages. from ten
TO twentv-fonf. young men and maidens
as well as girls and boys. but to her they
were all the clIildren1 still. as she was
| to them the ideal mother.
was shy. awkward boy of sixteen,
who had come 70 attend school in the
| neighborhood, and had brought from
| my aunt a letter of Introduction to Mrs
GRAY. This | had sent to her the day
before, and now, AS / advanced upon
the garden path, she rose from her seat
and came forward to meet me. The
pleasant smile. the warm clasp Of the
hand, as she called me by name. seat
tered much of my usual bashfuiness at
once. She did not put me through the
ordeal of series of introductions; she
merely said: children. this is Frank
Fielding, whose mother was my dearest
friend at school.
Then turning 10 me, she said: Il shall
not puzzle YOU with long string OF
names, Frank; you will soon find out
for yourself which is Kate and which is
George. and all the rest of them. Now
sit down and tell me about your good
aunt and father.
While | answered her questions, the
girls were lifting hither and thither;
two of the boys brought out a table
and chairs, and presently Mr. Gray APP
pearet, and we all sat down to tea I'M
der the dropping branches of mag
nificeut oak which stood right near the
house
Then the merry chatter began, and
very soon | knew all the family names,
and amused myself by trying to appor-
ton each to its proper owner. When the
daylight faded, we wentindoors, and all
too soon the evening was ended, which
seemed to me enc of the pleasantest
had ever spent.
IL was my first glimpse of home life,
utterly unlike any had known before.
Nv father was a grave, stern man,
whose one ray of sunshine had passed
away when nv mother died, after a
single year of welded life. Kind to me
ALWAYS and conscientious in fulfilling
all father duties. he never knew how
to unbend. and | feared as much as |
loved him. His oldest sister. who had
como to take charge of the house and
me, was very much like him in charac-
ter and in manner, and | had grown up
in an atmosphere of restraint and re-
preston
w Hat IL IGNtlStiloI IL w 40 IVY iiN tto a
grew more familiar with this happy
family; for it soon came to pass that /
spent all my leisure evenings with them. ]
There | saw the father and mother treat
ed almost like an elder brother and sis
ter, called pet names, coaxed, and even
teased or iokcd, vet never with Il shad-
ow of disrespect; love ruling the whole
household, the fair reflection upon earth
of that perfect love which casteth out
fear.
was soon the familiar friend of the
boys and lis such treated with entire
lack of ceremony by their sisters. =
Bright. attractive girls, they were much
admired by all the young men of their
acquaintance; but in those early days,
if fell in love with any one under that
hospitable roof, it was with the moth
er rather than with any of the daugh-
tiers.
Years sped on. My school-days fin
ished, | entered bank in the same
town and settled down to a mans work
and a mans duties Then it was that a
sudden light tiawned upon me. We'd
ding after wedding had attended where
either bride or bridegroom had belonged
to the GRAY family The home nest was
almost deserted only the youngest
daughter remained What if some one
should steal her away? / could never go
to that wedding-never see my little
Jennie given to another.
NV little Jenniei / did go to her we'd
ding very soon after. but to stand he
side the fair bride, and to take her in
to my own keeping t.till death do us
part.
And now did sudden change come
o. er the spirit of my dream. Mrs. Gray
had seemed to me one of the noblest of
women; was she henceforth my natural
enemy because she was nv mother-in-
law? Let the record OF these years an
swer.
Did any change disturb the even ten
or of our lives. whether it was Joy or
sorrow, the first one we sent for was
Mother. Children were born to us;
they were first welcomed to her arms,
watched over night and day until their
Young mother was restored TO her usual
strength and health, and ever after rs
much at home at grandmamma's as I'M
der our own roof Ii one of them fell
i'll, she was at our side, relieving half
our anxiety by her mere presence. Was
there an interesting lecture or a concert
to which j wished to take my wife, or a
pleasant excursion to be enjoyed ON
holiday, she could go with an easy con-
science and light heart If only the ba-
bies were with mother.
Now, as look back, / wonder at the
seltishness which allowed us TO make all
such demands upon her time and
strength, for there were five other fam
lies of married sons and daughters to
whom she was all that she was TO u.s.
The officious interference so often
charged against mothersin-laws as