Juniata sentinel and Republican. [volume] (Mifflintown, Juniata County, Pa.) 1873-1955, 1892-03-16
LOVERS IN THE FAMILY.
BY MARGARET SPENCER.

"'He is lover and friend and son all
in one, said a friend the other day,
telling me of her boy" writes Helen
Hunt to mothers in the long ago. Sand
a wise, sweet mother that boy hadp'
This same wise mother was on~e
asked by Charles Sumner in Washing
ton, to write book on boys and their
mothers, s'How to teach women the
way to make manly, honest boys like
your own four" The little woman
flushed away down to her white throat
and answered, "Mr. Sumner, you are
fiattering me; for really my boys bring
themselves upl" MIR. Sumner laughed,
but said, ''You can never make an old
bachelor like me believe that.
One of her first principles, even in
their childish days. was to require
nothing of her children because she
was their mother. Not the principle
of helplessness in the hands of power
"How rare and tender all her methods
were" saws "H. H." as for twenty
years she labored alone for these four
sons, of whom the world said, "They
are lovers and friends and sons, all in
one."
Every father and mother has it with
in reach to become the intimate friend
of the child, ''closest, sweetest, holiest
tie of blood to underlis the bond of the
SOUL" Such comradeship, the blessed
ness of which no words can measure.
We win love by loving, we win respect
! by being honorable; and gratitude Is
earned by our willing 6elpfulness. Our
children are trustworthy, as we trust
/ them; capable as we believe in their
l..
| t. them. I've seen little ones tease for
pennies, and tired mothers climb up
| stairs to find them, "because children
| cannot be trusted with the pocket.
book"
Oh, what pitiful thingi If my boy
or yours couldn't go to his mother.
portemonnaie for one or one hundred
| cents, and tell her the simple truth
about it, why, / should wish that boy
had never been given to mel Let them
be free agents; intelligent, Trustworthy
agents, and at ten years old they may
be SO sensible, 50 gentle and consider.
ate, as to make the common, hateful
"must rot" or ''must" unnecessary and
| absurdl
! Our children must be obedient, but
pounding, yelling. getting in rage
will bring about only obedience
| through fear, and not love. The heavy,
impatient hand on the little child oh,
that miracle might give the baby
equal chance and powerl A mother
writes: "We owe to them; not the obj.
| CATION is on their side. All we can dc
is to make them wise and good and
sweet, to spare them pain and evil, is
all too little! The joys of parenthood
are ours, the sacred, holy, blessed Joy
of these little souls; the greatness oi
calling them ours" how immeasura
! bly, dear and close is the child to usl
One of the White House family told
me during the Hayes administration,
that nothing could be more beautiful
than the peculiar intimacy that existed
between Mrs. Hayes and her children.
Up and down the corridors, or the big
East room, with their arms around
their mothers waist, the two boys
would walk beside her chatting,
laughing like school children together
sometimes they had games in the Red
room, and the handsome mother would
be 'caught" by the boys, who hugged
and kissed her by wav OF forfeit
'Lovers in the family" there will be
when mothers and fathers are reason
able and wise. DO as we would be
done bys Yes, as near as possible.
"Now Jack, be generous; give Joe hall
of that cake, papa says. If Jack
refuses, he tsays Gail Hamilton) is
buried under a ton of Sunday-school
literature and punishments. Very
WE'LL Now when Jacks papa's uncle
dies and leaves Jacks papa ten thou,
sand dollars, does Le turn about and
inst ntty give his brother half?
Let us make out" in the little chill
dren as little sin as possible; assume al
the good we can. Instead of com
mands let us have reason and '1ove
love, love, it makes the world g
round"