The Abbeville press and banner. [volume] (Abbeville, S.C.) 1869-1924, 1896-07-08
Mothers.

ua knows little of human nature
and little of the biography of the
worlds leading names, who does not
accord an immense potency 10 tne
ronIdinr influence of mother. Ii
would be useless to institute comparl,
cons between a mothers influence and
the influence of other persons, or he
tween q mothers influence and the
influence of the same woman in O'hel
relations of life; but even the most
self.distrusting mother, and the cyni.
cal critic, would find it impossible
successfully to deny a fact on which
the ages have laid such stress. Nc
doubt the prenatal influence of moth
er on her child is often very great. II
was not a mere accident or coincidence
that Walter Scott's mother was q
great lover of poetry and painting
or that Byron's mother was proud
woman, ill-tempered and violent
or that Nero's mother was a muir
deress or that Nopeleon's mother
was q woman of prodigious energy
or that Patrick Henry's mother was
a distinguished talker; or that Lord
Bacon's mother was remarkable fol-
her superior mental gifts; or that
Wesley's mother had executive
ability enough to manage state; OF
that Washington's mother was devout
and pure and true, and of the loftiest
character. There must be something
in an array of facts of which these
are only specimens, beside mere
chance. When to the prenatal lnllu-
ence there is added the after influence
of instruction and association ana
example, which moves along IN the
same direction, and continues withoul
check or abatement through all the
wears of special susceptibility to educa-
ting efforts. nothing short Of the
endless ages can reveal how
decisive and momentouS has been
the action of q mothers life and
personality on the life and personality
of her child. Benjamin West used to
say it was a kiss of his mother which
made him a painter. While a mere
lad he sketched in rough outline the
face of his little sister as she lay in the
cradle before him. The mother saw
promise in the work of the boy, and
she bent down over him and kissed
her appreciation and her hope into his
rosy cheek. Many boy has gone
bounding away to his apprenticeship, or
to his books, or to his first struggle
in business, because the mother has
had both the wisdom and the love
to speak an encouraging word at the
right time. Her words were at once
benedictions and inspirations. The
factors in society for which we have
the least use are bad mothers. The
IA, xr-l,i inh find II
hardest to counteract are the intlu-
ences of bad mothers. All are fa-
miliar with the famous reply of Ma
poleon to the question "What is
the greatest need in the French ma
ton ~ But we cannot recall the an
swer too frequently, nor repeat it
with too much emphasis, "Moth-
ers." He meant, of course, good
mothers, motherly mothers, faithful
mothers, pure mothers, mothers who
would take just pride in their sons
and daughters, and do their best to
train them in ways of industry and
virtue and high worth. Is there
anything any nation needs more? Is
there anything which, were nation
to be largely wanting in it, would
sooner work the ruin of people?
On no account can fathers be reliev-
ed of responsibility but when the
mothers in any land cease to be wise
and pure and true, civil order in
that land is near to its overthrow.
How much this nation owes to its
mothers! What different story
there would have been to tell had
the mothers of the Colonial period,
when Massachusetts and Rhode Is
land and Connecticut and Virginia
and Pennsylvania were in the form
ative stage, not been the large-mind-
ed and self-sacrificing and brave
women they were. How unlike
what it would have been the rec
ord of the Revolutionary period,
when it was as essential to the inde-
pendence and self-government of
the people that there should be
large souled and far-seeing and pa
triotic women to preside over the
hearthstone and rule in the domes-
tic circle, as that there should be
daring and determined and liberty
loving and splendidly devoted men
to take their places in Legislative
halls and in camps, had these women
been wanting. No author can fifty
tell the story of American history
without devoting ample space to the
high spirit and eminent virtue of our