Year: 1867

One Mother and Seven Children.
"One mother can take care of seven
children better than seven children can


take care of one mother" old Cassimer
| was accustomed to say. He was


shrewd old peasant, and had gone about


the world, and had seen great deal.


But his son Jacob thought him in the


wrong in that expression.


'See," said Jacob, 81 am only one per


son, and would do for you everything
| that could. would work until the


very blood came out of my finger


sooner than you should not get every


thing that you needed. Now, how much


better it would be for you, if you had


seven boys instead of one; and how


much better they could take care of you


than you could of them"


Casimer laughed and shook his old fur
cap from one side Of his head to the
other, and said:


s.Now, let me give you an example Of
the truth Of what say. You know old


Madelen, who goes around and washes
clothes for rich people. She was once
very nice looking woman, though she


always worked hard from morning till
night, to take care of her seven child
rem and she took care of them well, for
they did not want either food or cloth
ing without getting it. So long as she


was young, everything went on well;


but when her seven children grew up to


be men, her strength had left her, and


now it was their turn to take care of her.
But none Of them seemed disposed to pay


her special attention, or to offer her
comfortable home. They were all in
good circumstances, and each had
thriving business. Their mother was
old and very homely, and the truth was
that they were very much ashamed of
her. They little thought how kind she
had been to them, and how she had
spared no pains to improve them. If


her days wages did not go far enough


to supply her seven children with food.
she would sit up in the night, while other
people slept, and would make waistcoats
and shirts for dealers in clothing. It
was astonishing how this woman could
make money out of almost nothing.


Broken needles, bits of thread or blocks
Of wood, were carefully saved by her;
for she looked upon everything as worth
something. But having raised her child
rem, and seen them comfortable in busi-
ness, she said to herself, Now am get.
ting old in years, and am almost worn
out with hard work, and it is high time
that my children should take care
of me-


"One Saturday evening she invited
them to her little house, where she gave


them supper of hard crackers, tea and
prunes, ana then she represented her
case to them.


"'My dear children, cannot live q
great while, and l have quite lost my


strength. The food place before you
is very nice compared with what usually
eat. l know my appearance is objec-
tionable to you, but il seems to me quite
right that you should take care of me-


"'With the greatest pleasure taey
cried all together.


s'The eldest, who was a goldsmith,
said: My dear mother, I will do any
thing in the world for you. Come to
my house, and you shall live in the par
lor all the time.'


"The old lady appointed a secretary
just then to take down the promises,
and the name Of the eldest son, who had
just made that promise.


'sThe next one who spoke was the
tailor. He said to his mother. MY
dear mother, / would drink up the Rhine;
l would go through raging fire;
would leap down from church tower
all for you--for you, my mother


'And that promise was taken down.
And each one made promise of doing
just as great things for his mother as
those two had done. and having finished