The Cecil Whig. [volume] (Elkton, Md.) 1841-current, 1889-10-12
sparkled with fun. 'You don't tell me

| you uon kHOW WHO SOtter IS r.
eyes, do tell you so," CRED "and
if you don't enlighten me now, l can't
begin to describe to you what dreadful
lengths my curiosity will lead me to.
Ever since L have been in your house
have heard of no one else. No deed is
done, nothing is discussed or thought
about, but Gotter. Gotter requires this,
and insists upon that. He rules every
body. and controls everything. Who is
he, what is he, that he governs whole
household where he never appears7"
"Ah we should do poorly without
Gotter," SAID my old friend, shaking
her matronly-like head.
"Probably," l said, with a good deal
of scarcasm, "seeing how constantly you
alluded to him."
"Did you hear Harry's last remark
before he went outl" she asked sud-
denly, with what seemed to my impa-
tience good deal of irrelevance. "He
mentioned Gotter's real true name GER
tainly three or four times. Did you
not hear it?'
mo l did not" l cried. ri heard
only the one name, the one that puz-
zles me so that l believe l shall become
quite i'll if my curiosity is not gratifed." !"
"Well, l shall have to tell you."
With very much amused air she be-
gan: CATER | was married and settled
cozily here in my home, with my brood
OF little ones around me, l naturally
began, as [ hope all mothers do, to
think how l might best train them up
to habits OF well dong and integrity,
and how to teach them that the first,
the most important, the great business
of life, in fact, was to do their duty to-
ward God and man, and never swerve
from the straight line taught by our
heavenly Father in His Holy Bo k"
"Ah, yes; but what has this to do
with Gotter1"
"Have patience. l very soon found,
as fancy most parents do, that among
my little flock, if the right thing was to
be done at all times and under all cir
cumstances, there had to be no small
amount of stern command and strict
enforcement of the rules and regulations
set down. There was good deal of
attempted appeal from a great many of
the laws that Henry, my husband, and
myself thought wise and good for the
government OF our little kingdom. And
great many of these appeals came
from little lips in that common phrase
which 1 fancy all children use, however
careful parents and teachers try to ex-
punge the word from their vocabulary.
Mamma, have L got to1' Papa, please,
have got to2 Mamma, must = 'Oh,
need ~ Have l got top"
"Aha ! l think l am beginning to see
now."
eyes, fancy you are"
"And got to- pronounced by little
lips was 'gotter' and 'gotter' very soon
became 'Gotter' with capital G., and
he became the ruling spirit of the
household"
eyes, you have unravelled the whole
mystery"
You can imagine how l laughed, and
how my friend laughed with me, when
l told her how puzzled l had been, and
what wild flights my imagination had
taken in accounting for this wonderful
Gotter. and settling who he might be,
and what his characteristics were.
But could household, or could any
of US, / ask you all, have better ruler
than "Gotter" another name for
that sense of duty, that quick response
to its call, that ready, cheerful obedi
ence to just authority, based upon
careful study of the laws of God.