The farmer and mechanic. [volume] (Raleigh, N.C.) 1877-1885, 1883-10-31
For the +. & M.-Household.
Grandma a has Come!

My dear children. grandchildren. and
friends of the Household. / reallv
thought that had taken my final leave
of YOU all. and would drop out of the
Household like withered leaf; but you
do not forget yoUr grandma. and it
would seem almost unkind to refuse the
many calls that have been made for my
return. | therefore come. with loving
greeting to each one of you. beginning
with my brown-eyed "Em Broiderie. :
whose sweet face is fair index to the
beautiful soul within. And next comes
my noble. true-hearted Cecil" whose
exquisite poems have so truly touched
and thrilled my Southern heart. Then
here are ''Anita,'' charleston" Il.
B." Judith" Lucille, chow are
e turkeys, dear p and kathleen" !"
All! Kathleen Mavourneen, / must
scold you my child! Was it not most
undutiful in you to come within reach Of
your grandma's house, and not to look
in to see if your venerable relative was
laid up with what my dear Cecil calls
THAT pesky rheumatism. 1t is pos
sible though that you might have found
me swinging in the grove with my little
eleven year old friend Charlotte. OF
| elm bin9 the rocks on a mOsS-hunt
both of which are favorite amusements
of mine in the intervals of rheumatic
; twinges.
IN. l.. H. nv deaI. began a letter
to you once, in reply to your question
''do you not understand for it touch.
ed tender and sacred chord in my
heart. and / could not answer through
the columns of newspaper. But re-
membered all at once that | do not
know your name, tho YOU seem botf
near and dear to me. And now yru
must let me sit down AM rest. while
you come one at a time and clasp your
grandma's hand. and tell her what you
have done this summer for the good o
| others. and for the growth of your owr
hearts and souls ? One of you suggest
: ed that we should talk of our reading
and kathleen tells us how she enjoys
Mr.. Roe's novels are indeed
most excellent-U wish all novels
were as good) Well. have just rea(
| book that 1 wonder had not fallen In
to my hands long ago. it has Sc
thoroughly pleased me 1t is Carlyle:
Heroes. and Hero-W orship" I re
marked as | returned the book to it:
owner. ''what a grand old man Carlyl,
/ himself must have been"-to which m,
frien replied. ''but he was not, he was
Grabbed. and disagreeable." Well
then. / say now. he must have had ;
| diseased liver. for with such an intense
hatred of all that is false or mean, ant
such thorough appreciation OF all tina
10 noble. good, and true. surely his minC
and his heart were ''all right. but
some one saws. Ibis wife made him.
Well. as IN. L. H. once remarked
..he was an intellectual giant" what
ever with. or without his wife. / thinl
there are some men who will be grea
an spite of their rires. Tho ''pertec
woman nobly planned lis Gods bes
gift. and not half so rare as the perfec
man, And when woman IS trr'
help-meet. and ''stimulant' to her hus
band. there is no telling to wha; height
he NAV reach if he has within him tn,
soul of one of Carlyle's heroes. thni
if | were to write book. | would tax,
| for nv subject "HerOineism. and tru,
womanhood" But neither as Divini
ties. Prophets. Poets, nor scholars
would my heroines play their part. bu
like the violet and the hearts-ease, thei
sphere would be in the lowly hooks
and under the shadows of life-whil
their sincere and earnest homage. thei
genuine "Hero-wOrship" might glow t.
| their hearts content, and their lives
fragrant with love. and gentle deeds
prove the needed stimulant TO the great
ness of their chosen Heroes But
have talked enough. my dears, for thi
tirie. Maybe l will come again if yo
all want to see me very much. Good
bye. Your loving GRANDMA.