Virginia citizen. (Irvington, Va.) 1891-1921, 1903-06-05

iiiS SudSiu Ot inuluerence, ever Wiucu-
Ing, ever becoming blacker and more
fatal to marital love.
Now, mothers, I want to say to you
that a woman cannot be a true moth
er unless at the same time she Is q
true wife. want to say that IL n wife
will not enter into the joys and hopes
and sorrows and cares and perpiexi-
ties OF the husband who Is by her side
and wants TO love her and have her
share his burdens she cannot be true
to the daughters, who will follow In
her footsteps. 1 want to tell you that
no daughter is developed Alright unless
she has had before her the example
of mother who has been faithfully
trying to be true TO her father as well
as to her. Would that every mother
might have as beautiful a eulogy pass
ed upon her by her husband as Pliny
the Younger wrote about his beloved
wife: "She has great talents. she Is
an admirable economist and loves me
with entire affection. To these quail
tiles she unites taste for literature
inspired by tenderness for me. When
I plead, how great is the anxiety she
suffers! She engages people to tell her
what applause 1 have gained, what
acclamations l have excited and what
judgment is pronounced upon my ora.
tions- She sings my verses and, I'M
taught, adapts them to the lutte. Love
is her only instructor; hence expect
with certainty that our happiness will
be durable and that 1t will daily in
crease" ! wish that such a eulogy
might be given to every mother. A
woman's direct relation to her hus-
band is almost as important in the de
velopment of a daughters life as the
mothers direct relation to her child.
The true mother also should be a
true daughter and sister. A woman
cannot rightly meet the cares and re-
sponsibilities of her husbands home IL
she is forgetful of the Preside where
she spent her childhood, before which
the banquet table was spread and the
wedding cake cut on the night she left
to preside at her own table. The
young mother, bending over the cradle
of her baby, can feel no genuine, holy
rapture If she has no gratitude or
reverence for her gray haired father
and mother, who watched over her
own infancy, or love for the brothers
and sisters who were her childhood's
companions.
Strong Links Of Steel.
God develops true motherhood In
many ways. The factory's machinery
may seem to the unframed eye to be
working uselessly and In ridiculous
confusion. There are some wheels
running from right to left, others from
left to right. There are sagging belts.
and great piston rods moving up and
down, and strong steel bars whirling
round and round and round. There
are tanks where the goods are soaked
and places where the raw goods are
chewed into pulp. But after awhile.
under the explanation OF the superin-
tendent or guide, the visitor TO the fac
tory finds that every belt and every
wheel and every cylinder of the ma
chinery is put there for purpose. All
the different parts OF that machinery
are working together for good, for the
completion of n finished article. So
God In the great human factory for
the creation OF n consecrated mother
hood has many wheels and at times
seemingly conflicting duties. They oil
have purpose. not the least OF which
Is the influence resulting from the
right performance OF the duty a wife
home.
My sister. how can you honestly ex-
pect your children to respect you II
you are stony hearted and refuse to
honor the many wrinkles and the be-
dimmed sight OF an aged parent1 Can
your mother breathe forth the bitter
lamentation OF the neglected old
woman who said. when i was young
my children used TO tread upon my
feet; but now. when am old. they are
treading upon my heart" Are you
going to show the selfish spirit of the
brutal people OF the Pacific isla nds
who were accustomed TO bchend or
bury alive their fathers and mothers
as soon as they became crippled with
agef Are you a heartless woman. GO
ing TO tear your parents from your
thoughts and affections, merely be-
cause you can get no more service out
or them? How can you expect your
little children TO love each other after
you are gone when you yourself have
nothing TO do with the brothers and
sisters of your childhood? Is IL moth.
ing to you when they are sick or In
financial trouble? Is IL nothing to you
when they are dead? Why, some
mothers who think they are good and
true mothers never pretend to have
any affection for their parents or
brothers and sisters or for their
nephews and nieces. The inevita BILE
result will be that some day your own
children will cease to love each other.
All, my friends, blood ought to be
thicker than water. The ties which
bind the human heart to the home Of
childhood ought to be as strong as
links Of steel.
Today the sacred memories Of the
past are calling many a mother to her
nobler and truer self. A short time
after her marriage a young wife told
me of n vision she had that was SO
vivid 1T was difficult to believe that II
was not real AS she lay IN bed I'm the
early morning Of the day when she
was to leave her fathers home her
thoughts We're busy with her past life,
In which her mother, then six months
dead, occupied a prominent place.
What, she thought, would that dear
mother say to her If she were then liv-
ing? The beloved form, the tender
tones OF her voice, were we'll remem-
bered. AS she dwelt on the memory II
seemed to her that her mother stood
beside her. She had the same dear old
face, the same look OF love. Dressed
in pure white, she came and stood at
the foot of the bed. 81 was not in the
least affrighted," said the young girl.
II felt and knew that l was awake. ]
raised myself upon my elbow and said.
rs that you, motherT 'Yes. daughter
the mother answered. TT is i. have
come back TO have n few parting words
before you start out In your new life
Then, after talking awhile, the mothe,
| said: Daughters be true to yourself: be
true to your new home; but, daughter.
also be true to your old home. Never
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