The Sunday herald and weekly national intelligencer., 1890-05-25

Tic TOPICS MIS-. senator lngallS is uyplcal
mother. She is gentle and motherly in ap-
pearance voice, and manner.
81 had three children" said Mrs. ingalls, to
THE HERALD writer on a recent call, "when
had been married five years, and six when l
had been married eight, and no twins among
them. In all l have been the happy mother of
eleven. There are four in baby graves at Atchi-
son, Kan, and seven with us here-three sons
and four daughters l think on the whole that
1 have had the most to do in our household
with managing our children, for even the Sen
ator jokes about me with our eldest born. we
must mind the boss, must we not p he asks,
when yielding to some of my expressed wishes.
Our oldest, boy, has lovely disposition. To
this day-and he is twenty-three-he would not
go out to be unusually late without telling me
of it before he went, lest shall be anxious; and
if he is detained he will telephone to me, that
l may not fret. We considered our active gov
ernment of the children pretty much at an end by
the time they are twelve or fourteen. Then indi-
viduality begins to show; and the Senator and l
have always tried to encourage rather than re-
press it, for only thus can we understand their
needs. We never forced our children to school
or to study, but called attention to the cuti-
waited people in our circle and explained that
what made them so agreeable was education.
Thus, if once the desire for learning or for
high place in life is awakened, no boy in Amer
ca, be he richer or poorer, he have high courage
can fail to find it through the night schools,
high schools, libraries or museums, even if he
does fail OF a college career. tried to make
my boy think that money getting should not be
the first object in fe but that to fill position
with dignity and honor, whether it be in busi-
ness or professional life, is the first thing. All
our great intellects, our best public men, have
come from the lower classes or the great middle
oil nj ha m N uho nir-
cles neglect their political duties. like poll
tics, and have tried TO make my boys feel the
dignity and duty of citizenship.
"You wish to have my views on the moral
training of boys? have set up for my boys the
same pure standard as for my girls, but despair
of the youth of this generation reaching it..
Luxury of living, plentiful supply of unearned
| pocket money, the lack of pleasant home influ-
| ences united to the seductive influence of some
women who ought to know better, and the
shameless decollete dresses of our young society
| women, all have tendency to corrupt our young
! men, in spite of their resolves 1t is only a
| happy home with mother whom the boys look
up to, and intellectual pursuits that will tide
! them over the dangerous period. My boys
thoughtfulness about my feelings and comfort
make me think he will make good husband
some day for some woman of his choice. There
| are but few girls whom would think quite good
enough for my eldest born.
| ''What have said about the decollete dress
and its effects is not new. was brought up in
society, and l have never known time when
| some women were not wearing very decollete
| dresses. Not content with showing pretty necks,
| they uncover that which should be sacred to the
functions of family life and the eyes only of the
| dearest ones. performed all my maternal du-
| ties for two good reasons. | considered it a
| privilege first, for loved all my children before
they were born, and look upon infanticide in all
its forms with unspeakable aversion, as demoral-
| iZing and degrading to our civilization, q blot
| upon all womanhood, and retlectively upon men,
| oil maternal n
stinctively turn away from the masculine women
to the feminine types as their ideals You see l
have to talk good deal about other things be-
| fore | actually get to my girls.
81 think that too much intellectual training
has tendency to react upon that which is ply
sical, and that motherhood pure and simple is a
grander thing than the loftiest intellectual life.
| cit is true that women have in many instances q
| masculine grasp of mind, like Amelia b. Ed
| wards, for instance, and yet it has even in her
a feminine expression, There is no use in max
ing comparisons between men and women,
giving one credit above another That is where
| / quarrel gently with Susan b. Anthony and
Gail Hamilton, who are battling for rights
| They set down all men masse as brutal OF
drunkards or inferior beings, and set up all
women as superior in purity, morals, religion
and everything else. The truth is that men and
women are mixture of bad heritage, bad
morals, irreligion, and frivolity. You cannot
influence men by such talk, nor will woman's
rights battles be ever won on that line But
| these questions are upon us anu we nave lC
consider them for our daughters sake | be-
lieve that too much intellectual training has
tendency to unfit a woman for the monotony
and necessary trials OF home life. | have no
ticed that the foremost women in church and
benevolent work who have families are apt tc
neglect them because of these other pursuits
1t is the worlds or the Lords work which some
one must do, and | believe that it belongs
especially to women whose children have growI
up, to women who can delegate their house
keeping cares to competent hands, to single
women once derisiyely called 'old maids.
These are the women to call upon to lead in the
Ladies' Aid,' the sewing circles, the fetes, and
the fairs. Even society, which | own has it
legitimate demands, should yield to motherhood
l have tried to teach my girls that motherhood
and wifehood are woman's highest vocation,
believe it is every girls right to be intelligent,
prepared for these by her mother. A cir
should understand her physical life and its re
quirements before marriage, and also that o
her prospective husband Who but a mothe
should give this holy instruction? l trust IN,
daughters may be so happy as to choose and b
chosen to wifehood and motherhood although
do not believe in marriage except from TIT
higher point of personal choice and suitability
rather than for home 1t is always a misfort
une for girl to take UP with any offer through
fear of being an old maid. L know that ther
are exceptional girls as we'll as talented boys
and if one of mine deliberately chose a career
should not say her nay, but If she married
should expect her to fall short somewhere on thu
domestic side of her life. What have saiC
about the careers of women is only my opinion
| can see no objection to a woman pursuing lit
erature or art along the lines of domestic life
and it may be that i am prejudced. l hay'
changed my views many times on Housekeeping
should again. Only it is less likely to occur tC
me now since these theories have grown out O.