The Bossier banner. [volume] (Bellevue, Bossier Parish, La.) 1859-1952, 1886-05-06
woman through the trials Of home life. AZ

that will do for q substitute. The mar
riage hour has just pa sed, and the per-
plexities of the household are more than
atoned by the joy of being together, and
by the fact that when it is late they do not
have to discuss the question as to whether
it is time to go. The mishaps of the house,
hold, instead of being matter of anxiety
and apprehension, are matter of merri.
ment-the loaf Of bread turned into geo.
logical specimen; the slushy custards; the
jaundieed or measly biscuits. 1t is very
bright sunlight that falls ON the cutlery
and the mantel ornaments of new home.
But after awhile the romance is all gone,
and then there is something to be prepared
for the table that the book called Cookery
Taught in Twelve Lessons" will not teach.
The receipt for making it is not a handful
of this, a cup of that, and spoonful Of
something else. 1t is not something
sweetened with ordinary condiments,
or favored with ordinary favors,
or baked in ordinary ovens.
1t is the loaf of domestic happiness; and
all the ingredients come down from Heav-
en-, and the fruits are plucked from the
tree of life, and it is sweetened with the
new wine of the kingdom, and it is baked
in the oven of home trial. Solomon wrote
out of his own experience. He had o
wretched home. A man can not be happy
with two wives, much less six hundred;
and he says, writing out of his own expe-
rience: "Better is a dinner of herbs where
love is, than stalled OK and hatred there.
withn
How great are the responsibilities Of
housekeepers. Sometimes an indigestible
article of food, by its effect upon COM
mander or king, has defeated an army or
overthrown an empire. Houskeepers, by
the food they provide, by the couches they
| spread, by the books they introduce. by
the influences they bring around their
home, are deciding the ply intellect
| ual moral, eternal destiny of the race.
You say your life is one Of sacrifice. I
| know it. But, my sisters, that is the only
| life worth living. Tint was Florence
| Nightingale's life; that was Payson's
| life; that was Cbrist's life. We admire it
in others, but how very hard it is for us to
/ cultivate ourselves. When in this city
/ young Doctor Hutchinson, having spent a
| whole night in q diphtheritic room for the
relief of patient, became saturated with
4
/ would like to put garlands on his grave;
every body appreciates that. When in the
burning hotel at st. Louis. young man
on the fifth story broke open the door Of
the room where his mother was sleeping,
and plunged in amid smoke and fire, cry
ing: "Mother where are your and never
came out, our hearts applauded that young
man. But how few of us have the Christi
like spirit-a willingness to suffer for
others. A rough teacher in school called
upon poor, half starved lad, who had of
Tended against the laws of the school, and
said: y
"Take off your coat directly. SIR"
The boy refused to take it off. Where.
upon the teacher said again:
"Take off your coat, sir" as he swung
the whip through the air. The boy re-
fused. It was not because he was afraid
OF the lash-he was used to that at home
but it was from shame; he had no UNDER
garment. and as at the third command he
pulled slowly off his coat. there went a
sob through the school. They saw then
why be did not want to remove his coat,
and they saw the shoulder blades had
almost cut through the skin, and a stout,
healthy boy rose up and went to the
teacher of the school and, said:
"Oh, sir. please don't hurt this poor fell.
low; whip me; see, he's nothing but a poor
chap; don't you hurt him, he's poor; whip
me-"
"Wel1," said the teacher, ''it's going to
be severe whipping; / am willing to take
you as a substitute"
"Well," said the boy, 81 don't care: vou
whip me. if you will let this poor fellow
go.n
The stout, healty boy took the scourgine
without an cutlery.
"Bravo!" says every man-"Rravor
How many OF us are willing to take the
scourging, and the suffering, and the toll
and the anxiety for other people? Beauti.
full thing to admire, but how little we have
of that spirit. God gave us that self-deny.
ing spirit, SO that whether we are in hum.
BILE spheres or in conspicuous spheres, W,
may perform our whole duty-for thi.
struggle will soon be over
One of the most affecting "Reminiscences,
of my mother is my remembrance of he,
as Christian housekeeper. She worked
very hard, and when we would
come in from summer play and ST
down at the table at noon, re
member how she would come in will
beads of perspiration along the line O
gray hair, and how some times she woule
sit down at the table and put her heae
against her wrinkled hand and say
; swell, the fact is. I'm too tired to eat
Long after she might Rave delegated thu
duty to others, she would not be satisfied
unless she attended to the matter herself
In fact, we all preferred to have her do so
for somehow things tasted better when sh
, | prepared them. Some time ago. in an ex
, press train, shot past that old home
stead looked out of the window an,
, tried to peer through the darkness
While was doing so one of my oil,
schoolmates, whom l had not seen 20
many years, tapped me on the shoulle
and said:
"DeWitt, see you are looking out at th
scenes of your boyhood."
go, yes," replied, 81 was looking out a
the old place where my mother lived an,
died.n
That night, in the cars, the whole seen
came back to me. There was the eounsr,
home. There was the monday. table