Mineral Point tribune. (Mineral Point, Wis.) 1869-1938, 1883-12-27


encasing her toil-worn fingers in a
pair OF ten-button kid gloves; and she
can wear a three-yearold bonnet with
a cheerful smile-an accomplishment
rarely attained by the womep Of the
present day.
4 patch skillfully applied, gives her
more pleasure than does the acquisi-
ton Of new garment, for to her q
dollar never appears to be more than
a hundred cents and she acts accord
ingly.
Though the ambitious neighbor,
whose life is a painful struggle to
maintain a thousand dollar style of
living, 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 its wasting for lack of use
She, therefore, not only keeps an ac-
curate account of family expenses, but
acts as book keeper and business adj
wiser for her hard working husband.
Believing that gossip is almost as
disastrous as intemperance 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
does all in her power to direct the con
versation 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 viii last for years, while
she ispossessed of bravery sufficient to
enable her to wear garment many
times after il becomes old-fashioned
Moreover, her daughters early learn
that if their minds and hearts are
right, their faces viii take care of
themselves, and they share the labor
of the household, that their mother
may enjoy with them some leisIre for
Improvement
fear no farmer here can truthfully
call this an accurate desc option of his
wife, for no such being exists outside
of the imagination, but it would be
well for our peoples future if there
We're 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 motner. Are not the boys
and girls correct, in this idea c 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 it criminal to take up pen, or
book, except on the Sabbath, when
the body is 50 weary that the mind
cannot act.
When, as the butterfly leaves its
ugly chrysalis the last son leaves the
farmer for some more congenial oc-
cupatlOu, may not those parents left
alone in theirage say truly
For a cap and bells our lives we pay,
Bubbles We buy, with a whole souls tasking
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
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
rather inferior household machine;
useful about the place, but somewhat
superhuous, 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,
win wake up in her mind.
And she viii mourn and weep
For what she has left behind
tbs too true, the intellectual gifts of
most farmers wives are like the dairy
qualities of that city neighbours COW,
which was MIXED only when the
family craved custard pie Bat let
US make the most of what mental
force remains
Else our lives are incomplete,
Standing in these walls Of time:
Broken stalrWays, where the ieet
stumble, as they seek to climb
s--
valuable Medical Treatise.
The edition for 1881 Of the sterling MedicalAn-
nual, known as Hostetter Almanac. is now ready,
and may be obtained, free of cost, of druggists
oil t1Fflf ltf