St. Paul daily globe. [volume] (Saint Paul, Minn.) 1884-1896, 1893-03-22

A great deal is said about being good
mother, but it is hardly possible to be
good mother unless one is good to
themselves" as our German friends
say. Don't set up an impossible ideal
of housekeeping. then strain every
thought and muscle to do the bidding Of
your ideal, until your nerves are drawn
with such tension that the shrill whistle
Of your boy or the happy shout of your
girl, as they come rushing i'll like minia-
ture whirlWindS, ObIiyious to every
thing but the purpose of "telling
mother" sets them janglins, SO sadly
out of tune that a sharp reproot or
fOrbidding scOWl meets and checks the
mpulSiYe condolences on their lips.
ANY strong-armed woman can scrub and
sweep and clean the house, and be cross
over it. too, but only the mother can
settle childish disputes, give the longed-
for advice or explanation of the many
mysteries that compass the young
voyagerS on every side; or tie UP cut
fingers, with loving, sympathetic words,
or kiss bumped heads to take the pain
away.
One way to be good to yourself is TO
take rest enough so that your tired body
will not take vengeance by aching head
and const quent Impotence. One of
Mrs, Whitney'S heroines says ''ten
minutes horizontal rest is worth more
than an hour perpendicular" and | be-
lieye il, and that confirms my faith in
midday nap as one of the most efficient
helps toward good motherhood. 1t is
worth reamS of sermons en- self-cOntrOi,
or days of prayer for patience when
nature is outraged by overWork. Just
You Try it, my dears, if YOU do not be-
lieve what | say. No matter if BIddy is
minus. and even wash day on hand, just
shut the kitchen door, take Off your
sOiled apron. trust the children to Prov
idence, take the baby III your arms aud
lie down on your bed, forget the world
and lis stern demands. shut your eyes,
think of the deep, still woods or the
wide, free. Stiller prairieS, and II you
cannot sleep. just rest little. You viii
be a>t0nI>heu IT, see how smOorhly the
rest Of the day will 90. No other bit of
machinery One-hundIedth part as deli
cate as a woman would be allowed,
mach less expected. to 90 at the height
of lis speed for days and weeks at
time. Don't you know that a loco
motive, with its bones OF iron
and nerves OF steel and brains of
copper, is allowed to stop entirely
and run down, and get cold once i'll so
often. The most aYariciOuS money
maker that ever amasSed his millions
as railroad president would not expect
the engines on his road TO be putllng
and steaming and fretting al the time;
and there is no other piece OF machinery
so nearly human or seeming 10 possess
so many human attributes as a Loco
mOtive-yUu know the trainmen always
perSonify it by saying she" How
much more, then. should the mother
take time TO let the complicated ma
chinery that she calls her body have
time 10 run down. If sleep will not
come readily, just think Of some Sooth-
inc bit OF poetry, like
My soul today if far away,
Sailing the NeSuVian bay.
My winged boat a bird afloat,
Swings round the purple peaks remote.
Your thoughts will catch the rhythm,
will swing and sway till your tired body
will be dominated by the motion just as
in the days so lCng ago it was 10y. the
swing of the Old-faShiOned cradle, when,
with her foot on the rOcker,yOur mother
rocked YOU and sang in tones sweeter
10 your ear than any that shall greet 1t
again until you hear her singing In the
garden of Paradise. AUNT POLLY.