The mirror., 1896-07-02
known tongue to adequately express.

known tongue to adequately express.
Men, or children of mature age, may
be guilty of Offenses from the top to
the bottom of the criminal calendar, |
almost, and yet it is possible to find
some motive, or degree of pity for
them. But when grown boys with
sound minds and bodies wilfully and
persistently engage in the pastime of
bleaching the hair of loving mothers to
the Whiteness of snow, and of writing
deep and indelible wrinkles and seams
in their fair faces, it is time that such
vermin in human shape were banished
from the face Of the earth-they are
moral lepers who are both dangerous
and lOathsOme to the last degree.
Earth has no room for such reptiles,
and hell would be dishOnOred by their
presence. The wonder OF wonders is,
why mothers-event though their hearts
have been broken and death is impa-
tiently awaited by them-still cling to
these cruel young monsters, still love
them, still pour out priceless tears at
their feet, still cling to them with the
grip of an agonizing, never-dying
mothers love. 1t is a phenomenon
never witnessed in this world save in
mother, and must be sacred jewel
vouchsafed from heaven and dropped
only into the hearts of noble mothers
by God himself. 1t is love ever
living, ever first over all, and ever un-
quenchable by all the fires of hell that
may be poured upon it by tiendish off
spring. And yet there are many, as
the above and scores of other instances
here and everywhere else prove, who
seem to glory in the unutterable shame
of thus prosecuting mother, and of
stabbing the heart that contains such
heaven-sent-such a God-given-
jewel intended for the happiness and
redemption of those children who may
need its power.
We can almost imagine we see the
saddest scene of earth: One of these
precious, loving mothers land very,
very many of the mothers of these
boys are of the noblest class lying cold
and still in her coffin; the tired hands
crossed over a broken heart; the eyes
shut upon the last scene inflicted by a
heartless son; lines of deepest human
grief engraved in the now cold, mar
BILE face; sadness, inexpressible, resting
upon the lips now immovable in death;
the once brown hair-the glory of her
young mother -wOmanhOod-nOw a
white badge of the insupportable suf-
fering she has endured on behalf of the
son who slew her-who broke her
heart, wrecked her happiness, MUIR
dered her by inches and spurned her
priceless love by making wretch and
, moral monster of himself 1t is too
late now; whatever may be the remorse
he feels as he gaZes upon the wreck he
has made-if such feeling could ever
come to such a being-the opportunity
r to her has slipped forever from him
Suppose this, to him, most awful OF
| sights to have at last awakened his
senses, what can be his feelings? 1t is
+ not supposable that the perpetrator OF
, such work has any feelings or heart
s but yet imagine such to be the case
and what can he think as he views the
y remains of his noblest and only friend
=. The friend whose life was spent il
t daily and nightly care of him fol
f weary years, but which we're made {
Q followed and happy succession, as sh'
pictured in imagination a life Of no
9 bility and triumph for her darling boy
g Alas, for the change that came an(
S dashed her hopes to earth; the struggles
d and prayers and hourly anguish tina
e followed, as she sought to turn tn
d wayward feet back into the path from
: which they had wandered. Then, tn
l. heartless boy, deaf to her prayers ant
f entreaties, goes on from bad to wors
e as year succeeded year, until he ha
S cast her into a grave too sad to b
l. thought of. The lips that kissed hi
h brow with an ecstacy of love onl
h known to mother, and that lovingl
y taught him to lisp his first prayer, ar