Year: 1873

Do you remember the little passag'


in "Faith Gartney's Girlhood," abou


nurse Samson choosing as her share


for dinner the usually rejected leg o


the fowl? The subject is remarked


upon by one of the family saying


"Here is q woman who makes it {


principle to go through the worlt


choosing drumsticks.


Somebody must always eat the


drumsticks, was the reply.


"Do you think everybody's got to eat


drumsticks ?" asks Faith. "We'd have


to kill an unreasonable lot of fowl tc


let EN-"


"No," replied nurse Samson. "The


Lord portions out breasts and wings,


as well as legs. If He puts anything


on your plate, take it."


Looking upon the world at large, il


does seem as though the Lord had


portioned out the lot of the different
classes of people something like this,


giving to some the tender, delicate
things like the breast of the fowl, to
another the richer, juicy parts, while
to others there seems left only the dry,
tough drumsticks.


But it is not for the world at large
for which have undertaken this little
discourse on homely subject, but the
world contained within each house
hold where these papers may be read.
If these many households make good
large lump of the world, supposing
they were all massed together, so
much the better; we shall get the ear
of the world, and at the same time
keep within our appointed sphere.


But to come to our subject, did you
ever know any one at your family table
to choose the drumstick in preference
to any other part of the fowl? No, of
course not, though they may, like nurse
Samson, be unselfish enough to appro-
pirate it sometimes to themselves.


What We wish to say here, is: please
then do not Oblige, or even allow any
one member of the family to always
eat the drumsticks. "But there are
drumsticks two to every fowl - and
somebody must eat them," you say.


Of course somebody must eat them,
but my dear Mr.. Head-of-the-T Table,
please don't be so partial as to think
that that somebody must most surely
be Tom, because he is healthy,
hearty lad, ready to eat anything that
is put on to his plate. If the Lord puts
only drumsticks there, all right, but
why should you usurp such authority :?
Don't you suppose that Tom knows
what is good as well as you do? And
though he may make no fuss if drum
sticks are sure to fall to his lot, don't
you suppose that he would relish the
wishing bone part occasionally as well
as does Lilly, who is sure always to get
it, and would like to pick a wing, or
back bone, as well as you do yourself !?
Of course Tom gets some parts of the
fowl besides leg, but he is quite sure
always to have as much as one drum
stick, whenever a fowl of any kind
comes ON to the table, while Lilly and
Arthur seldom have that part ON their
plates.


There are other kinds of drumsticks
on the table besides chicken legs -
sometimes it may be in the shape of
bread crusts, or part of the meat may
be tough, or ill cooked, or something
else. SO that all is not equally nice and
tempting to the palate. These things
are found in the best of families, with
out doubt, and in some more frequently
than warrants good housekeeping. But
whatever 1t may be, do not, 1 beg of
you, always put the most ordinary piece
on Toms plate. 1t may not hurt him
SO much to eat it, as it will surely hurt
his self-respect to be thus partially
dealt with. The better way is to give
each one at the family table portions of
the best and poorest as far as possible,
or if Tom has the drumstick to-day, see
that some one of the rest has it tO-mor-
row, not forgetting sometimes to appro-
pirate one to yourself. Even children
what it is to be dealt with
with polite consideration, and, if this
is not carried to foolish indulgence,
they are better, and will grow up less
selfish and more manly and womanly
than otherwise they might.


But drumsticks are not confined to
the dinner table. There are other tough
things in the family besides these;
there are hard jobs to do, trying things
to endure, unpleasant things to be made
the best of; as well as sweet, loving,
tender, and beautiful threads being
woven in this web of daily home life.


But is Tom to get large share of the
hard knocks, as well as the drumsticks
for dinner? Is he to have the dirty jobs
to do, because his hands are not so clean
or delicate as Arthur's? Must he be
sent on errands, five times to anyone
else once, because he likes to run, and
would be running at play if for nothing
else? All! do you not suppose he can
see the injustice of this, and feel it,
even though he may keep silent?


Said lad, who at home was treated
with far less consideration than was
his more attractive brother, ''They all
think that Edward is a genius, and a
perfect Sunday-school-book boy, while
am only common clay" and he tried
to laugh as he said this, but one could
perceive that there was something of
bitterness in his heart. And this mani
fest partiality towards Edward, with
the rougher way in which he was treated
was turning his heart from his brother,
while that brother, in turn, could not
but see, and perhaps feel, the superb
ority accorded to him over the palmer,
more prosy Richard.


Children in the same family, we all
know, have far different tastes and
and need different ways
Of amusement, as well as varied pur-
suits, but there is no reason why one
should have more tender regard shown
him, or his wishes be not at all con-
suited, while the other is favored, per-
haps beyond his deserts. The world
has hard knocks enough to be encoun-
tered, but, OF let us beware that neg
lect in the home circle bruise not ten
der hearts, or embitter the soul of one
Of these little onesl Many a noble
hearted youth with capacities for bet
ter things, has grown hardened and
callous, his life dwarfed and incom-
plete because .of the tough, homely
''drumsticks" which were sure to fall
TO his lot, while the more tender, re-
fining things were not preferred him.
For this many boy has left his fathers