San Antonio daily light. [volume] (San Antonio, Tex.) 1886-1907, 1897-04-11

es her heart beyond cure, but she suf-
fers and gives no sign.
What boy grown man would per-
NIT unrebuked and unpublished an in
suit to the mother who gave him life?
What boy not grown a man but would
in his soul resent the word that insult
ed mother or would not swear to
avenge that insult if ever he grew big
enough? What boy worth the name
would insult he name of mother, much
less the name of his own mother? Yet
this cowardly thing, this unmanly
thing, this despicable thing, this das-
tardly and sneaking and pitiful thing
is done by every boy who is bullied
or shamed or coaxed into being asham-
ed of Mothers apron strings If the
Devil had a mother, and there is no
one can show that he did not have
one, he would have licked the stuffin'
out of any kid that said aword about
his being tied to her apron strings, for
there was nothing mean about him.
He was proud, as proud as Lucifer,
but he was not mean and there was
man enough in him to fight for his
mother.
You cannot find a COW puncher on
the plains, a rOustabOut on the deck
of freight steamer, tramp on the
roads, prisoner in his cell, whose
heart does not soften at the thought
of Mother. The recollections of his
mother are the door to any better feel
ings that he may have surviving the
wreck of all that was best in his life
and character. And yet there are
well groomed and dressed and well
brought up boys and young men in
San Antonio who are today ashamed
way down in their souls that they
are guided by mother, that they obey
mother, that as mother directs them
so do they. They want it understood
that they do this or so because they
want TO, and not because they are tied
to mothers apron string. They are
little towards.
Tell boy that he has been caught
stealing watermellOnS or cheating an
other at marbles and he will mighty
quick tell you that it is none of your
business, but tell that he is tied to
mothers apron strings and he bushes
like girl when her first fellow asks
to see her home. He acts as though
it was the meanest thing on earth to
be tied that way and he will stammer
and color, and hesitate and deny it |
and look and act the fool all over.
One reason for this is that he knows
that he is doing mean and cowardly |
thing and feels as though he would |
like some one to kick him for it. |
There are boys who are sometimes |
shamed into doing this thing once and |
they feel so mean about it that they |
kick themselves for it until they are
sore all over There is hope for such |
a boy. Hope for him if he never is |
ashamed Of mother again.
My dear Boys! Let me ask YOU a |
few questions. Did you ever know |
any one who would as much for YOU |
as mother? Anyone who would lose
as much sleep without grumblng over
1t and on your account too as mother
ever made such pies as your mother.
up at night making and mending your
clothes that you might be cOmfOrta-
BILE, and this when all the rest of the
household was sound asleep Who
ever made such pies as your mother
such cookies. put up such lunches.
did everything and did it all the time
as mother did it? Who was as ten
der of your sores, brought you such
nice things to eat when you were
sick. made the pillows as soft and did |
what no other one person in the wide
world would or could do for you as
mother did it? You were not asham-
ed of being tied to her apron strings
then. Do you think it is more manly |
now?
The boy who is ashamed of his
mother is ashamed of himself. for he
is the son of his mother. That mother
er gave you the substance of her be-
ing and you are her boy. Are
that YOU got it from your mother
The amount of mother there
is in boy makes him smart.
just MS it does vinegar You /
never knew grand man on earth
who was not proud of his mother. |
Look at President Mckinney now. He
has the first place in the hearts of the |
American people, and he has it be- |
cause hr is 50 manly Il man. He |
shows. this in the way he revcrenceS |
and cares for and looks after his old |
mother. DO you suppose that VII |
liam Mckinley as boy was ashamed |
OF having it said that he was tied to |
his mothers apron strings. Not a bit |
of il. He was proud of it.
Those old apron strings are the
Quo"reSt things on earth. They are
the strongest and the weakest, the
shortest and the longest, the hardest
and the Softest strings that ever tied
n boy anywhere. Talk Of the strings
on the girls bonnet that tied young
mans heart in. They are not in it
with mothers apron strings. They
l"ngthen as the boy leaves home and
goes out into the world, until at the
other side of the earth they still are
around him. They shorten as he
comes back and still draw tight as he
is folded to mothers heart on his re-
turn. They are so weak that your
finger can unite them, so strong that
only your hand can affect them and
their strain withstands the pressure
Of the world. They are so soft that
to your manliness they never chafe, so