The Vermont watchman. [volume] (Montpelier, Vt.) 1883-1911, 1886-12-29
About Mothers.


they had for their mothers, to whom
they attributed all their greatness.
Curran spoke with great affection of
his mother as a woman of strong orig
inal understanding, to whose wise coun-
sci, consistent piety and lessons of
honorable ambition, which she dill
gently enforced on the minds of the
children, he himself principally at
tributed his success in life. "The only
inheritance" he used to say, " that |
could boast of from my poor father
was the very scanty one of an unat-
tractive face and person, like his own;
and if the world has ever attributed to
me something more valuable than face
or person, or than earthly wealth, it
was because another and dearer par
ent gave her child portion from the
treasure of her mind" De Maistre
described his " sublime mother" as
" an angel to whom God had lent
body for brief season." He said that
her noble character made all other
women venerable in his eyes.
with such mother Faith in womankind
Beats with his blood, and trust in all things high
Comes easy to him, and though he trip and fall,
He shall not blind his soul with clay
George Washington was only eleven
years of age-the eldest of five chill
dren when his father died. The
widowed mother had her children to
educate and bring up, large house
hold to govern and extensive estates
to manage, all of which she accom-
plished with complete success. Her
good sense, tenderness, industry and
vigilance enabled her to overcome
every obstacle, and, as the richest re-
ward of her soicitude and toll, she had
the happiness to see all her children
come forward with fair promise into
life, filling the places allotted to them
in manner equally honorable to them
selves and to the parent who had been
the only guide of their principles, con-
duct and habits. Mrs. Washington
used daily to gather her little flock
around her to read to them lessons of
Christian religion and morality, and
her little manual in which she wrote
the maXims which guided her was pre-
served by her son and consulted by
him as among his most precious
treasures.
A mothers love is always a sacred
instinct, but for it to become the
strength and blessing it may be to the
children the mother herself must have
a strong, holy and well-disciplined char
acter, like that of the mother of the
| Wesleys. She was very beautiful and
was married at nineteen to a country
clergyman. She bore him nineteen
children. To the end of her long life
her sons, especially John, looked up to
her and consulted her as the best friend
and wisest counsellor they could have.
The home over which Mrs. Wesley
ruled was free and happy and full of
healthful play as any home in the holi-
days, and yet orderly and full of health
full work as any school. The odious
noise :" of the crying of children was
not suffered, but there was no restraint
on their gleeful laughter. She had
many wise rules, which she kept to
steadily. One of these was to converse
alone with one of her little ones every
evening, listening to their childish con-
LESSONS and giving counsel in theil
childish perpleXities. She was the
patient teacher as well as the cheerful
companion of her children. When
some one said to her, " Why do you tell
| ludt DlOChutdu lHt Sdlllc lhluS lNclltN
times over ?" she replied, Because il
l had told him only nineteen times
should have lost all my labor" Sc
deep was the hold this mother had or
the hearts of her sons that in his early
manhood she had tenderly to rebukt
John for that fond wish of his, to die
before she died" 1t was through the
bias given by her to her sons minds in
religious matters that they acquired the
tendency which, even in early years
drew to them the name of Methodists
In letter to her son Samuel, when {
scholar at Westminster, she said: i" !
would advise you as much as possible
to throw your business into a certain
method, by which means you will learr
to improve every precious moment anC
find an unspeakable facility in the per
Torrance of your respective duties"
This method " she went on to de
scribe, eXhorting her son :" in all things
to act upon principle" and the society
which the brothers John and Charles
afterwards founded at Oxford is sup
posed to have been in great measure
the result of her eXhortations.-1h
QWirer for January.