The Fargo forum and daily republican. [volume] (Fargo, N.D.) 1894-1957, 1910-09-01


| a widow with a young baby, whose
husband had been recently killed. The
charm of solitude did not work and
the woman was just preparing to re-
turn to civilization when the illness
of the widow took the entire time of
the elderly couple and left her to her
own resources, with the young baby
dependent upon her for life. She abb
horred the duty. but in the hand to
hand fight with death going on In the
cabin of her hosts there was no es-
cape for her. She was compelled to
feed and wash and dress the baby.
She even found herself forced to wash
the clothes necessary to keep 1t fresh
and clean. She made her own fires
and finally, as the disease passed to
the critical stage, she became her own
cook. So worn was she with the labors
that she slept whenever the baby
would let her. She ate the coarse
food with hunger unknown in her
pampered life. she hurried from duty
to ALPHABETICALLY at first and with
love and devotion at the last-with
such an unwavering desire to keep the
baby from crying, on account of her
nerves in the beginning and on ac-
count of the baby at the end, that she
found no time to think of herself, or
wrap herself about in self pity. The
end of the tale Is the obvious one. The
mother dies and the cured and de-
voted foster mother adopts the baby.
the rite ending takes nothing from
the real lesson of the story.
Here was duty from which she
could not escape. No sham philan-
throphy which could be dropped at a
moments notice. No spineless efforts
at occupation.
The woman who dances attendance
upon a young baby whose food has to
be prepared at regular intervals,
whose clothes have to be made clean,
who has to be washed and dressed,
and taken care of day and night. has
no sinecure. She has no time for ner-
vous prostration. She cannot afford
to lose sleep. When the baby will let
her she can take nap, day or night
If only the soul and mind sick
could be made to take upon themselves
duties which are unacceptable, then
would cures be wrought The trouble
with all the sham occupation is that
the real desire and intense force is
1lOL LUGI6s
Men of wealth gallop over the coun-
try in a vain hope for health, They
think they are busy and absorbed, but
when the business may be dropped at
moments notice or the absorption
pass with day. 1t does not go deep
enough.
1t Is not enough to say / will take
such and such exercise and do such
and such labor. Choppifig trees may
be good exercise, but the man who
does not have it to do for daily bread
will stop when he is tired--the place
where the laborer will nerve himself
to renewed effort. The 1aborer cannot
stop till his task Is finished-and when
1t Is done he Is ready to eat and sleep.
The lesson then is to get busy
really busy. Get an interest that
drives you, and hobby that will ride
you, If you attempt to dismount. DO
some real work. and do 1t with all
your heart, and nature will work a
cure while you are forgetting your
ills. This applies to every day life.
1t is not only the wealthy who ere.
afflicted with the diseases that come
from a lack of interest In life. 1t Is
trouble common to all alike. When
you begin to feel 1t fastening upon
your lifege busy!