The Washington herald., 1913-09-01
BY FRANCES sHAFFER.

One fancies that in all this world there
is scarcely a mother with grown son
who would not have listened intently,
perhaps with a touch of envy, TO a bit
of talk the other day in which young
man was the dominant figure, the wom-
an more an interested listener than any
thing else.
They were drifting from one thing to
another when the subject of politics and
public issues was brought to the fore.
And then, more than ever, the woman
became a listener because that talk was
prettily revealing Of more than 1t seemed
TO tell.
The young man was deerly interested
in all that he said, and all that stood
back of it. and was not lacking in opin-
ions of his own, but the thing that i'm
pressed the listener the most was has
frequent reference to his mother and the
way she figured things out
After several references to my moth
err and her viewpoints, the young man
whimsically paused to eXplain-'1 must
tell you that my mother lets not a thing
escape her; she reads every side Of a
question, then thinks it all out for her
self" And as he enlarged bit, telling
of her habits of thought, of her interest
in all that affected the government and
of the very machinery that helped make
il, the listener instinctively began to let
her fancy try to picture the manner Of
woman that mother must be.
And though fancy evolved very pleas
ant picture. it did not call for a master
mind TO draw it.
Because, as he passed from politics 10
other things, there was delightful
whoIesomeness about his ideas that the
woman was pleased TO count, at least
h., I'D TIa
influences there.
Not only that, there was breadth of
vision about him that seemed to show
him how and when to dare be quite indie
pendent. 1t may have been born with
him, but. Judging from his eloquent my
mother" from his pride in her and her
opinions. it was rather natural TO con-
lecture that she had beautifully helped
it along.
And the listener wondered
Did the mother half guess where her
influence carried? And was she as proud
and glad as she had a right TO be?
But these are idle questions. For never
Yet a woman with a mind to be a real
companion to her son and to follow him
out in some of the wider ways, who did
not look ahead to the harvest she hoped
to see gathered from all her abundant
sowing. And never yet A woman with
tiif ldNf" Nilt luNt- anu Nllt bdAltllCt ~
build a helpful background. who did not
know right well when she had builded
to very good purpose.
And, of course, she is proud OF the flu
iShed product. with her handiwork show
ing all through.
Yet the listener learned that that
mother was not woman of elegant leis-
ure, following the pursuits that appealed
the most She did he- own housework,
and a few other things beside. But she
did something more than that
And as the UOman's mind trailed away
10 another type, she could easily see why
the difference in Sons For she thought
of the kind-some with an abundance of
money, some with little enough-that
never seem to reckon at all with the
rare dignity of opening a royal vista to
sons. 1t never occurs to them-at leasS,
it never seems to-that as sons go about
here and there in the world they carry
with them more or less faithful pictures
of mothers, for all to read who will, or
who care 10. Perhaps if it did they might
be spurred to greater pains. And if they
had listened TO that son as he spoke of
his mother and as he, all unCOnsciously,
revealed far more than he meant to re-
veal, possibly then they might have
counted it worth while to set a pace that
even sons would be proud to follow.
One expects the wee girl to look up to
her mother and to follow her steps pretty
closely. and it is quite natural TO see her
following the mother-way long after ma
ture years are reached. II is pretty. and
a mother has a right to be proud when
it happens.
Perhaps it is a bit too much TO expect
so much between mothers and sons ard
pUU IppINE WOMEN