The Austin weekly statesman. (Austin, Tex.) 1883-1898, 1892-03-03

lie was u u1luulo dSOu HH1ui gu ""J
busy. and always taking delight in
his work; man who had once been
animated with ambitions of his own,
perhaps, and had been intent on max
ing a name for himself, But now all
that was gone and even forgotten.
His talk was not of himself, nor OF any
possible aspirations he might once
have cherished, but of his four
children who were at the University.
1t was upon their success all his
thoughts ran; and in the simplest and
most matter-of- fact way he relegated
himself to the background. 1.-THE
oldest one is q, and will graduate this
year, he said. "He has been IN
school since he was 6. Fifteen years
Only think of it. And during all
that time he has done nothing but go
to school. He has never worked or
earned dollar, or helped me in the
least. Soon he will be out of school,
and will go to work, but he will not
work for me. II will be for himself.
But that is just what l want, and
what [ have worked for all his lite-to
give him all education, so that he
can make the most Of himself. L want
to bring all the others onto the same
point, and then I'll be satisfied"
Nv
These fathers and mothers that go
about, looking like everyday people,
and vet wear a crown of martyrdom
upon their heads, if one only had eyes
to see it! At every turn we meet peo-
pie who have made a complete sur
render of themselves to their children.
The mother has given up society and
friends and books that her daughters
may 90 abroad and always look
charming. The father has lost sight
of his early ambitions, and tolls his
life out at his daily treadmill that his
sons may be well educated and men
of means. And if the sons and daugh-
ters always appreciated the sacrifice,
one could bear to see it, and think 1t
only right; but alas! how few there
are who see it! The young lady, who
is always going, says mamma never
goes anywhere and thinks it
right that the mother should
be shut in from the world,
as in the walls of a convent.
And have we not all heard these
young men allude to 1.-The governor"
and ''the old MANI in tones of careless
contempt; while still the daily grind
goes on and the relentless wheels OF
daily drudgery are slowly grinding
out a life? Very many men and wO-
men give up the fight early. They do
not rust Quit would be relief just
to sit still and rust, once in a while
but they wear out toiling for their
children, and the children look on at
the martyrdOm and never know what
it means.
x*x
She was one of the smallest and
daintiest of little ladies, but when
some question arose about the most
becoming height for women she ut.
tered her indignant protest against
the way in which nature had de-
frauded her of the queenly statue she
admired. ooh, 1 love tall womenv'
she exclaimed. "I hate to be little
and insignificant looking and to be
treated with lCrdly tolerance on ac-
count of my size! People take lib
critics with me they wouldn't dream
of taking with taller and
statelier women. Only yesterday a
lady put her hand under my chin, TIL
ted my face back as though [ had
beena child, and remarked APPROX
ingly; You have a very becoming
hat y The idea! If had been five
and-a-half feet tall she wouldn't even
have dared to mention my head-gear
When [ feel as stately and dignitied
as 1 do, don't see why 1 couldn't
have looked dignified too !"
~
Whereupon the little lady was as.
sured that little women were the
fashion, now, because they always
had to look up at people to whom they
were talking, and nothing was so be
coming to ones eyes as looking up
besides showing off the lashes to the
best advantage, and displaying the
rounded contour of cheek and chin
But the little lady was not to he com
forted. She didn't want to be the
JaclIlOll, anu CilC NII VAIN w DO ldll
And as she went away, her stateliel
sisters looked enviously after her, ano
wished that they could be like her.
, The hands that had been so busy
lay still, folded over the quiet breast
The feet that had taken so many
thousand steps in loving service for
others would never go upon their
weary rounds again. The eyes thai
had been always filled with the stead
fast light of love and patience, were
closed, and would open no more, how
ever much they might pray and weel
above. They came, one after another
and bent over the still form in all the
agony of bereavement, for they haC
all loved her. In the broken word;
uttered in that still presence, tributes
| were paid to her worth that mus
have touched her, if she still fingered
near, and heard. But the most elo
quent tribute of all came from a bowed
and trembling old woman, who wa:
in her second childhood, people said
if that could be called childhood
which was fretful, exacting, ill-tem.
pered, and with nothing child.likt
about it but its responsibility.