The Anderson intelligencer. [volume] (Anderson Court House, S.C.) 1860-1914, 1884-06-05
Motherhood.


same coach was little woman, who had
a ouny, fretful child in her arms. It
was evident that she had been nursing
and dandlng this child all day, for she
had ridden nearly three hundred miles.
The poor child was not still FIVE minutes
Mt d time Patiently and constantly did
the little woman work with it. To the
honor and chivalry of more than dozen
men in the coach, 1t gives us pleasure TO
report that not single complaint, or
frown came from one of them, even when
the little thing was screaming loudest.
One of these men said to another "It ia
worth exactly $l1 100000 to raise a
child" The other man, large, strong,
good.hearted specimen he was, after
studying little, said "you are about
right. The figures are not far wrong.
If were to take that child and work
with it and dandle it on my arms for one
hour, it would break me down. | could
not do it," He was father and knew
what it was to pace the floor at night
with a sick child and to watch over them
in all their aches and pains. Did you
ever notice how much sympathy is pour
ed out on q man who happens to be forced
10 take care of an infant for few days?
Well, a woman will do this work all day
and all night, and week after week, un.
resting, accomplishing, and she expects
no wages except lore.
Some time ago Henry Ward Beeche.
preached sermon on "The Spirit of the
Cradle" which was published in Ply.
mouth Pulpit. Some of the paragraphs
are so admirable that We reprint them
and ask every one to give them read.
ing.
mo poet, no philosopher, can tell
what is the richness and fruitfulness and
wonder Of the imagination that hovers
over Christian woman's cradle. To her.
the star of the East comes again to stand
over where the young child lies. To
her, the wise men of the earth might
well come, bearing offerings and incense.
TO her again are renewed all the scenes
of tie sacred stable where the Child lay.
The cradle is her temple: the babe is her
divinity. And whatever reason can, and
whatever fancy can, when both of them
are stimulated by profoundest love, what.
ever there is near or far, present or to
come, that love is womans. MARY kept
these things in her heart and pondered
them" The pondering of mother If
it could be written, if there were any
angelic reporter band to take the best
thoughts and the sweetest fancies and if
the life of mothers heart could be
written in those early brooding days, it
would shine fit to be read in the libraries
of the heavenly world itself Human
nature never comes 80 near to the divine
as when royal woman pours out the
full blood of her thought and fancy and
love to the little unheeding, and to her
as yet useless child. Where else is she
30 beautiful rs when she sits in the center
OF this mystic circle: as when she sings
to her babe, or gazes silently az it feeds
upon her bosom 2: 4he stars have nothing
SO bright, and the heaven scarcely any
thing more pure and more holy than the
heavenly love service of mother to her
little helpless and unfashioned child.
Now let us not dwell simply upon this
phenomenal beauty. Look, tor one sim
Y. gle moment, upon the power of the
cradle; for all this love, this outfowing
of the divinest feelings of human nature
was not meant to be expended merely as
luxury for the maternal bosom. There
Is meaning in it. 1t is one of the sources
of the greatestpower that exists on earth.
The power of the cradle is greater, than
she power Of the taEnaa; greater really
in its diffusion and in its capacity Of
usefulness; ten thousand times greater.
Make me the monarch of the cradles,
and l will give to whosoever will the
monarchy of Kingdoms and of the
throne. Motherhood and fatherhood are
the foundation of the highest spiritual
conceptions sof life and society. There
is nothing beyond and higher. If you
would realize those wonderful passages in
the xiii chapter of 1st Corinthians,
iol 10 |; g.
seem impossibilities-Paul, will not cay
had them in his mind, but certainly he
might have had-"Lovc suffereth long
love is kind love euvieth not love
vaun,elh not itself''-this is the descrip.
tion of the mother overhauging her
cradle. Love is not puffed up; love
seeking not her own; is not easily pro-
voked thinketh mo evil rejoiceth not
in iniquity, Tejoiceth in the truth bear
eth all things, believeth all things, hopeth
all things, endureth ali things. Love
never faileth." It is never wearied, it
sleeps not, nor does its power depart from
1t; Now, aside from this generalization,
where is there an e4emplificationg of the
true Christian humility Where can you
ind in all the realm of imagination or in
all the cold and frigid definitions of the
ology, anything thHt will interpret to
man the real meaning of humility ?
which many folks suppose to be merely
feeling bad, or feeling as though they
weren't worth .anything. or, as ii they
were not good, all Of which things may,
on occasion, be very properly mixed in
but humility is not either Of these things.
For man may feel that he is strong and
wise, and stronger than other folks and
wiser than other folks, apd yet, be very
humble. It is the bringing down of
accomplishment and value, and organi-
cation Of character to the very loves:
levels of life for the sake of love; that is
humility lf,yep want a definition, re-
member your. .pa0sher. a.,-i.-.,s,.
I'm honor preferring one another"
But 1t Is impossible say some. You can
do it. 1t is done every day. TWAS done
when you were born, and all the way
through. It IL being done in ten thou
sand households, and the command Is to
make that common in all society which
Is, thank God, 30 almost universal in
every true household where love rules.
since the cradle is the very root OF
human society, it is a wise economy in
every community that sees to it, that all
the children are educated, and that the
means of education be made SO ample
aud convenient that there shall be no
need Of complaint! More than that, l
hold that no parent has any such right to
DIS child, as that he.shall withhold him
from knowledge, for the sake either of
pelf or 6inaF AZ a,tne eratitinn CON.