Daily Kennebec journal. [microfilm reel] (Augusta, Me.) 1870-1975, 1902-10-02
Nagging.

A woman who had lost her mother in
| early childhood said to friend: Yes.
l know she was always suffering, and
now when l can realize what she had
| to bear, / think of her with pity and
tenderness; but the effect of the fault
| findins and injustice cannot be effaced.
| 1t embittered my childhood. When |
hear others speak of blessed memories.
| 1t cuts ME to the heart that 1 have no
memory of mOtherly, loving words.
You knew her so well that it is not
d1sloyalty to speak of it to you. / re-
member one day-you were in the room.
too--when she ragged at Joey till /
caught up the little sobbing fellow and
carried him away. and unhappiIy he
| remembers it and has spoken of it
many times
The instance is related of an orphan
girl who lived for some years in a house
where there WAS continual nagging and
fault-finding from mother and father.
sisters and brothers. She spent a Few
weeks with a gentle. metherly woman.
and on the last day of her visit. as she
sat with the loving arms about her. she
said, looking up with pitiful appeal
in the sensitive face:
"oh, you don't know how sorry l am
to leave you am sorry for many rea-
sons. but most of all because your voice
is sosweet and soft. Some voices-hard
angry voices-seem to go through and
through me. / dread to go where 1
must hear Them
vivid recollection of visit to a
summer resort is Of an irritable, invalid
mother and her unhappy. harassed boy.
she naSged at him in the dining room
until the poor child lost all appetite.
One morning the father came down
alone and explained that the mother
was not well enough to come down to
breakfast. WhereupOn the boy with
child-like frankness. exclaimed:
oh, I'm so gla1"' Then seeing his
fathers reproving glance. he explained
You know, papa, I'm not glad she is
sick, but-but / do enjoy my breakfast
so much more when she's not here"
The woman was an egotfst. Her own
ailments were her cotinuaI theme. and
the comfort of her husband and child
was wholly disregarded.
Il think mamma doesn't like me-
auntie," said another sensitive child.
20, If she would only sometimes seem
satisfied with me, and speak as you do
to Nellie! / used to try so hard to
please her. but it isn't any coed, for no
matter what do, she always thinks it's
wrong
There are nagging men as well as
nagging women, but as the fathers are 4
usually absent from home during many
hours of the day, they have less oppor-
tunity to destroy the family peace.
Memories Of a mothers sweet voice |
have led back wandering feet to paths |
of righteousness; but harsh words of |
other mothers have driven the children
to the broad ways OF destruction.
In another home the naggfng of the |
mother was repeated in the children
Old grievances were dwelt upon nagni- |
fed and brought forward at most in
oppOrtune moments, and there was a
continual round of petty fault-finding |
and retort. But a realization of her
came to the mother; she |
controlled the querulous words and
turned them to gentle ones. The chill
dren were puzzled. They did not expect
the new condition to last, and now it is
rare to hear an impatient word in that
house from any of the members.