The prison mirror. [volume] (Stillwater, Minn.) 1887-1894, 1888-05-30
ssThe Hand That Rocks the Cradle
Rules the WOrld.,s

ClVllILdtluI Ill us NIISAty SIluco VI du-
vancement. has brought with it the eman-
cipatOn of the gentler sex, and to day, es-
pecially in our own land. woman is not re-
garded as the inferior, but the helpmate and
equal OF man. She is the instigator and
ennObler of the race. Without her int1u-
ence and aid the works of man would be
incomplete and imperfect.
The great Brooklyn preacher has said
that if you search the motive OF every
good and noble deed or work in behalf of
mankind, of every advancement of learn
ing and science, of every discovery which
has bettered us all, woman will be found
as the aid and stimulant to it.
Unlimited and incOnceivable are the ave-
nues open to woman by which she may ell
noble her country and herself. but the one
for which her Maker has especially endowed
her is as an educator, as a teacher and train
er. She, as mother, moulds the mind
of the child by her gentleness.
patience and tenderness, knocking off the
rough corners of the block of marble which
will make the man. and beauties it with
that which is foreign to the harsher nature
of man. Our mothers work not upon the
canvas that shall fail, or the marble that
shall crumble into dust. but upon the mind
the spirit of which is to bear for good or evil
through its duration, the impress of a
mothers plastic hand"
By thus moulding the mind of the boy
she moulds the opinions and thoughts of the
man by her own as model, making an
exalted nation of righteous rulers and noble
men. For the scriptures say, ''RighteOuS-
ness eXalteth nation"
Many men who have achieved great things
of their country. credit their success to
their mothers. Had it not been for the
wise policy and guiding hand OF Olympia,
the mother of Alexander. his cOnquering
tread might never have made the whole
world tremble. The mother of the Grac-
chi unlocked the secret of the career of the
noble tribuneS when she exclaimed, These
are my Jewels" pointing to her boys when
asked to display her ornaments to an admir-
ing guest. What would the father of his
country have been but for the upright and
patient character created in him by that
proud and noble Virginia lady. his mother.
Both our martyred presidents have said, II
owe all to my mother"
Not only the mother, but the sister, wife
and the woman herself have. and always
will. influence the destinies of nations.
Queen Esther of old. by her intercesSiOn
and influence, saved a mighty nation. AS
pasta is said to have written almost every
speech of Percles. which brought him so
much fame Doubtless our land would
have been discovered years later. and not by
the immortal Columbus. but for the pa
thence and persistence of one woman,
Queen Isabella.
Mrs. Washington and Mrs. Adams, whose
common sense frowned down the frivolties
Of court in this free government. were the
reformers of American political sotiety.
Miss Barton, by her great scheme for
humanity, has made all nations debtors to
the Red Cross Society. Mrs. johnson
taught her husband his letters and wrote his
speeches. The sister of Lord Byron was
the only one who had any influence over
his dark and reckless life, and his love for
his sister shOne like bright light in his be-
nighted soul. inspiring him to many deeds
of heroism in behalf of Greece.
Whittier's anti-slavery poems might never
have been printed but for the encourage
ment of his Quaker sister. WOrdSwOrth'S
sister. Dorothy, saved him from mental dis
traction and led him back to love of ma
ture and natures Lord and in this graceful
manner he acknowledged his debt to her.
she gave me eyes she gave ears,
And humble cares and delicate fears,
a heart, the fountain of sweet tears
And love and thought and joy
Mrs. Beecher-StOwe'S Uncle Toms
Cabin" wrought wonders in turning public
sentiment in favor of the abolition OF human
slavery in our land.
Why. then, this complaint of woman's
circumscribed sphere where her field is
world wide? True, she may not sit with
lawmakers. nor occupy the pulpit or ros-
trum in person. but when she has shaped
the sentiment and moulded the thought of
law-givers and orators, hers is the privilege
as an auditor to utter fervent amen-
Maud j. SOuders. in Dayton CO.. High
School Times.