The Birmingham age-herald., 1903-08-16

highest honor any woman can have Is to preside over and dedicate her life to her home.
 The name of home ought to have for I every true housewife a charmed sound. I It ought to be spelled by her as her grand mothers used to spell it, in many letters of gold. It ought to be spelled in tongues of flame. glowing above the hearthstone. | It ought to be spelled in a word of eleven 1 letters, "opportunity;" in another word of nine letters, happiness. It ought tc be spelled in two words, the one of eight and the other of three letters, maternal l joy" It ought to be spelled in another word of seven letters, "liberty.3 The true wife should never want to be any where but under the shadow of her home. But though Mary Anderson, the queen of l the American stage. gladly abdicated her theatrical throne in order to be queen of her domestic fireside, danger ous tendency of this age is for wives and mothers to yacate their domestic thrones. They want to hand over the kitchen to their cooks. They want to leave their children under the exclusive control of the nurses. They want to be separated from their husbands. on account of their clubs. They want to be liberally edu- cated in everything on earth, except in the old fashioned way of learning how to be a good housewife and mother.
 Honorable Employment.
 Now, housekeepers is it right to ex- pect your servants to be proud to work In the kitchen when you yourself are ashamed to be found doing kitchen work? Is it more of an intellectual ac- compishment to be able to speak poor French than it is to cook good bread? Lord Aberdeen. the governor general of Canada, did not think so. A few years ago. in a public speech, he said that the most pleasant experience of his sojourn in America was in the following inci- dent: He was in an official capacity. travelling through one of the Canadian provinces and was stopping at a promi- nent officials home. After an elaborate meal perfectly cooked and perfectly served he turned to the hostess and congratulated her upon her cook. With that the lady's face frightened up with pleasure, as she answered: My lord, I thank you for your compliment. Your words of praise sink deep into my heart. This afternoon our regular cook was talk en. sick and so my daughter took her place. She will be in presently from the kitchen. You can then, face to face, con graduate her upon her success"
 Is 1t disgrace, as many women seem to think 1t is, for a mother to be seen wheeling her baby carriage along the street with her own flesh and blood in that carriage? For my own part I think such public sight of a wife and mother Is far more honorable one than .for such a woman to be seen carrying around pet dog or to be seen out driv- ing with a French poodle by her side. You smile if you will at the figure I have drawn, but l say unto you, oh, wives and mothers. that you can never get your servants to appreciate the no- bilty of a domestic calling until you yourself fully realize that the greatest work and the most honorable work you can have is that which is to be found within the four walls of a consecrated home.
 The housekeeper is the servants model. Then she must give to them her love as well as her sympathy. "Oh, mo-" some housewife answers, T could not love my servants. l could sympathize with them in their troubles. but I could not love them. Why If loved them should have to receive them into the holy of holies' of my heart. I should fin one sense have to make them part of my own family I can not place my servants side by side with my children" Yes, my sister, you can love as well as sympathze with your do- mestics. You can give them your heart as well as your hand You can make them part of your household. You can look upon your domestic help in the same way that King Solomon looked upon his He was verbally painting the ideal condition of his home when he wrote, And had servants born in my home" That means. as take 1t, that the servants were part of himself If any troubles should come those servants would clng to him and love him on account of the love with which he loved them You can learn to love your servants just the same as your servants can work for you from a higher motive than that of getting money. They can learn to love you.
 Cords Of Affection.
 Housewives. if you will only learn to love your servants and make their in- terests your interests, that love would be retu1Md to you in thousand blessings We Mh prove this by the silver cords of affection which bound some of the south ern planters to their black slaves Did not those slaves return their masters love by noble devotion. There was many and many a woman in the south who, after her husband had been shot in the civil war, you'd have starved to death had not the strong limbed negroes who worked for her as slaves of the law" continued, of their own free will, to work for her as slaves of love" There was many a wounded Confederate soldier who would have died had not his body servant, who easily could have escaped into the northern lines. gladly and willingly and prayerfully nursed him back to health and strength. There is many a servant working today as hireling in some home who if she was loved by her mistress would return a wealth of affection and devotion such as she herself does not be- lieve herself capable of giving. The true interpretation of love means simply this: If you love your servants you will take them into your life and make their inter- ests your interests. And by your loving them they will let you creep into their hearts and make your interests their in- terests.
 The housekeeper is the domestic model also in religion. Therefore by her life she should teach her servants that religion is not a mere sham, but a reality, and that