Waterbury evening Democrat., 1906-02-23

BY MARGARET E. SANGSTER. "The Birches are such united fam. fly! They seem to have good times among themselves, and to depend very little on the outside. world" The re. mark was descriptive of family which had so large a connection that 1t might almost be called clan. You know how it is in some localities. Many years ago the traditional three brothers came sailing over the great ocean, and established themselves on Long Island or in Otsego county, or drifted out in prairie schooners to the west or encamped in the south. Hence, there is in one place a great settlement of Browns, in another of Whites, in another of Grays. Up hill and down in adjacent parishes the ,cousinhood resides, and the outbranch. ing of the family to remoter regions starts from that point, SO that when there are family rallyings, old and young, distant and near, converge to the old ground and the old homestead. The tie of blood is always strong, but there are tribes of David and of Jonathan, where the tribal instinct is relatively more vigorous than in tribes, let us say, of Benjamin and of Theodore, who have the nomadic drop more deeply coloring their lives.
 When we come to united house. hold, We mean by 1t one where affec- tion is deep and true, where it is a joy to make concessions and sacrifices, and where one stands steadfastly be. side the other through thick and thin There are such homes. In them broth CTS and sisters love one another with a devotion that lasts to the latest hour of life. If one in the family is weak or erring, the others close around him like a wall and defend him from adverse criticism, shield him if they can from the conse- quences of his misdemeanors. and count no self-denial too great if they can uplift him and help him over his hard place.
 It is not unusual in a united fam. fly for the burden to press too heavily on some one whose ideal of the home is so lofty that he cannot bear to have anyone belonging to 1t suffer a mo- ment's uneasiness. One brother per- haps forges ahead, gets on in the world and is what is called successful He makes his mark. He becomes con. spicuous in finance, in politics, or in some walk of life which he is fitted for by reason of native talentlt or strenuous endeavor. The rest of the family lean on this one. The world is apt to be pretty evenly divided into those who lift and those who lean. The eminently successful member of the family is expected to carry the rest, and he often does 1t without single note of complaint.
 In the old days, before women were so generally self-supporting, it was not extraordinary to see number of brothers and sisters growing old to. gether, all unmarried, because no one was willing to diminish the family income by withdrawing his share from the common stock. Brothers do not so often in these days remain single that they may maintain spinster sisters in comfort, nor do the sisters wish it. They feel entirely able to take care of themselves, and 1t is decidedly their preference to be independent. There seemed no little selfishness in the demand that man or woman should live a solitary life. for the sake of others, and yet there was in it often a nobility greater than is, illustrated in the modern fashion of everyone for himself. Many daughter has put aside her own hope of individual ease and of happy marriage for the sake of mother whom she could not leave, and with whom she would not burden a husband. The mother has lived on contentedly accepting costly sacrifice which she has undervalued because its magnitude never entered into the scope of her imagination.
 In one of the most united families within the circle of my acquaintance there occurred something very like a tragedy when a girl year after year -zf,,.od to r,arrv har hatra.h.a h.