California Agriculturist and Live Stock Journal, 



gauscbcrldiicaflittg. 



MOTHER. 



A COMPOSITION BY WM. PEABCE. 



^^HE name of mother should be held 

 Tfjfc sacrej in the memory of everyone. 

 ^fJt) In the name of mother is embodied 

 5<X something that mortal lips cannot 

 J^iy interpret. In the true sense of 

 mother there is found something that 

 gives joy and peace of mind (when tried 

 with the battles of life) that nothing else 

 can give. Show me a man who does not 

 cherish the love and attention paid him 

 by his mother in his childhood days, and 



I will show you a man who has not a 

 spark of that affection and love that he 

 shoxild have for himself and his fellow- 

 man. A maa cannot be a friend to him- 

 self and disregard the love and affection 

 shown him by a mother. Ah ! I fancy I 

 see a man, who has drank deep of dis- 

 sipation, and who has defied the laws of 

 the land to effect a reformation, dragged 

 from the haunts of vice and sin, and 

 even farther — yea, I may say from the 

 gallows and the drunkard's grave, by the 

 sweet recollections of a mother's love. 

 Her influence has taken hold of the ten- 

 der cords of the heart when all else had 

 failed. Many there are who do not fully 

 appreciate the present love shown them 

 by their mothers — because that love, to 

 them, now seems small — until separation 

 takes place, either by the solemn mes- 

 senger of death or by being called to 

 other climes — not till then do they know 

 how to appreciate and value a mother's 

 love. If by death our mother has been 

 taken from us, we should cherish her 

 memory in love, which we do in the fol- 

 lowing 



TO MI MOTHER. 



Mother! Sweet Mother! O where canst thou have 

 gone? 



Since long have thy children been wandering 

 alone: 



Though far we have roamed from our own na- 

 tive shore. 



No home have we found like the dear home of 

 yore. 



Mother! Sweet Mother, why speakest thou not 

 To those of thy bosom who forgetst thee not, 

 Nor how, when in childhood we shared thy dear 



love. 

 With blessings invoked from heaven above . 



Motherl Sweet Mother! must we plead in vain 

 To hear but a word from thy lovt-d voice again? 

 Thou often didst speak of a world bright and 



fair 

 Where dread death and sorrow can not enter 



there. 



^[titherl Sweet Motherl thy cheeks were all cold, 

 Tliy eyes are closed, which shone with pure love 



untold. 

 Thy true longing spirit hast taken its flight 

 To dwell in the regions of heavenly light. 



Mother! Sweet Mother! thou art freed from all 



strife, 

 From the cankering cares and burdens of life. 

 Xn harsh sound of discord shall e'er grate thy 



ear — 

 The sounds of •sweet music are now with tliee 



there. 



Mutherl Sweet Motherl thy^ lone grave shall be 



strew 'd 

 With flowers that emblem thy happy abode; 

 I'-rightly will they bloom o'er thy grave and 



around, 

 .\iid hold sacred to trust thy dust in the ground. 



Miither! Sweet Mother! we may not live in vain 



I I 'tis ill the hope of our meeting again 



III the land of the blest, where only is bliss 

 And unknown are the cares and sorrows of this. 



Motherl Sweet Motherl our abode shall be bright 

 With radiance shining of heaven's own light; 

 Our breftthings shall be of the heavenly air. 

 And sweetest bliss shall be ours lorever there. 

 Sas Jose Institute, May, 187C, 



Health first, then comfort and compe- 

 tence. 



MUSINGS. 



BY MHS. D. C. O0NN. 



In the hurry and bustle of life do we 

 ever pause to realize the beauty, the 

 wonder, and the use of the world we live 

 in? Amid all the worry and trouble of 

 this existence, do we ever tako breath 

 long enough to account some of the 

 many ■wonderful results that man has ac- 

 complished? Listen! "In the begin- 

 ning God created the heaven and the 

 earth," and man finds himself upon a 

 globe with its mighty oceans, vast plains, 

 lofty mountains peering into the sky, and 

 dense forests, while above all is the blue 

 vault of heaven with its sun, moon, and 

 starry hosts. For what purpose was this 

 glorious world created? For whom exist 

 the legions that till the animal kingdom? 

 Beneath the dark water live countless 

 numbers of the finny tribes; over the 

 mountains and plains wander ever vari- 

 ety of animal life, from the animalcule 

 too small to be seen by the unassisted 

 eye to the giant monsters that prowl in 

 dark and tangled glens; everywhere the 

 woods and groves are melodious with the 

 music of nature's sweetest songsters, the 

 beautiful birds. For a noble purpose, 

 and for man who was formed "a little 

 lower than the angels, ' ' this 'n'orld exists. 

 Placed upon this earth, ignorant of its 

 resources, heljiless in the extreme, how 

 great have been the deeds wrought by 

 the human race! By m.tn's inventions 

 and skill he has traversed the pathless 

 ocean, dividing the world into its great 

 divisions, establishing vast empires; 

 mighty nations, who have builded mag- 

 nificent cities, and whose power and im- 

 portance were once the wonder of the 

 world. Though many of these are now 

 in ruins, there comes down through the 

 long vista of ages past an influence upon 

 civilization which is still perceived. Man 

 has linked the past to the present by a 

 long chain of discoveries and inventions 

 that gives to the nineteenth century not 

 only the glory of the past, but a history 

 of its own that will be felt until the end 

 of time. 



By the care and industry of man, earth 

 is made to yield her richest productions 

 of the vegetable kingdom. He has pen- 

 etrated the deep recesses of the earth, 

 bringing forth rare and beautiful gems. 

 By his genius he fills the world with the 

 choicest treasures of poetry, painting, 

 sculpture and music. 



"In fields of air he writes his name. 

 And treads the chambers of the sky." 



With all these achievements he is not 

 satisfied, but is still marching upward 

 and onward. In estimating the greatness 

 of human nature, we must remember 

 there are several kinds or orders of great- 

 ness, and among them I would place first 

 moral superiority, or magnanimity, then 

 inlellectual, and lastly greatness of action, 

 or the accomplishment of some vast per- 

 cejitible effects. In each of these orders 

 there are manj- examples of indi'\-idual 

 greatness, but volumes would not be 

 sufficient to tell of the exploits of the 

 heroes of the world. Every civilized 

 people has contributed to the honor and 

 glory of the past its many glorious ex- 

 amples. 



By the side of the bright and glowing 

 record of man's greatness is another one 

 of darker import, blotted with tears of 

 the suffering, with cruel oppressions, 

 bloody wars, and with all the crimes that 

 have blackened the history of the world 

 since its creation. But upon this I will 

 not dwell. It is all sufficient for us to 

 know that from this chaos of human 

 misery Divine AVisdom will bring 

 forth a glorious ending, when all shall be 

 governed by the principles of truth and 



justice, when charity and lovo shall go 

 hand-in-haud with strength and power. 

 Goethe says "on every hight there lies 

 repose." When that highest of all hights, 

 goodness, perfect knowledge, and love, 

 is reached, may 'we not hope that there 

 will be sweet rest and peace for those 

 who have acted well their part in this fit- 

 ful dream that is called life':' 



GRANDFATHER'S 

 NO. 9. 



LETTERS- 



MA AXD ASOIE WKITP: TO ISGLEWOOD. 



Dear Inijkwood: Although we all know 

 by this time who Inglewood is, and in 

 your visits we shall know you by your 

 real name, for your present purpose you 

 can retain that of your choice, the nam 

 de plume. Aunt Mary insists on turning 

 over the correspondence to other hands. 

 She says she has found out enough of 

 Inglewood to recommend and invite him 

 as a visitor to the Hill-side Farm. Such 

 is the confidence we always place in Aunt 

 Mary, I cannot but heartily coincide. If 

 your sentiments and principles, on fur- 

 ther acquaintance, prove as good as those 

 expressed to Aunt Mary, I shall feel 

 honored by a more intimate acquaint- 

 ance? and that may lead to a membership 

 of the family — this, however, is a matter 

 for you and my daughter Angle to look 

 to. Friends' and even parent's wishes 

 are not always attended to in these mat- 

 ters. You have seen enough of the 

 world (for you are not like a man in or 

 just out of his teens) to know there is 

 an individuality peculiar to everyone,and 

 it is best to see that individuality under 

 different phases and circumstances to 

 form anything hke a correct judgment of 

 it. So I do not extend an invitation to 

 you for a set time, but just drop in as 

 you feel disposed to, and there will be 

 no lack of opportunity ,to learn some- 

 thing more of Angle, and for a display 

 of your own sentiments and principles. 

 This sudden attachment, falling in love 

 at first sight, as it is called, I am not 

 much in favor of. I know there is such 

 a thing, and occasionally it turns out 

 well, but often the reverse. On the 

 other hand, we sometimes come in con- 

 tact with those towards whom, at first, 

 we feel quite indifl'erent, but who, by a 

 continual display of qualities which ex- 

 cite and draw our attention, love, kind- 

 ness and sympathy-, change our indiffer- 

 ence to feelings of love and admiration. 

 This is the kind of love and admiration 

 I am in favor of, and which I endeavor 

 to inculcate in others. It grows with 

 our growth and increases with our years, 

 till it may reach that climax that we may 

 anticipate even death itself will not blot 

 out those soul faculties from existence. 

 Such, Mr. Inglewood, may be your fac- 

 ulties and mine, and continued into the 

 next sphere. 



Yours, respectfully, 



Mrs. Saeah Moefatt. 



P. S. — J/r. Inqleicnod: In accordance 

 with Aunt Mary's and dear Ma's insist- 

 ing wishes, I break silence in reference 

 to your note, but only as a postscript 

 to Ma's letter, — you must remember that 

 will be quite enough to begin with— and 

 express my wonder at what you could 

 have seen in me to attract your fancy. 

 ^^'hen Ma told me your object, I ex. 

 claimed, "Why, he is old enough to be 

 my father!" so" it was an object with Ma 

 to'soften down this disparity of years. 

 What does Mr. Inglewood say to this 

 disparity? I cannot bnt think it objec- 

 tionable", though Ma does say there are 

 some decided advantages in it — that re- 

 mains for you to show in one of your 

 visits. 



Since I, also, am out of my teens, I 



expect not to be treated as a child, but 

 as a woman, and as one who has had the 

 benefit of those who have preceded me 

 in the same line, and who, on this and 

 all other matters, counsels her mother— 

 her dearest friend un earth. 



This trio, Aunt Mary, Ma and I, have 

 many a serious conclave in reference to 

 me and my future, I do assure you. On 

 the one hand, warning me how I listen 

 to your fascinating, endearing phraseol- 

 ogy; and on the other, how I place my- 

 self in a repellant mood. Keally, they 

 treat the matter with such serious gravity 

 as sometimes to have a depressing influ- 

 ence on my spirits. 



In this commencement of our epistol- 

 ary correspondence, I have been thus 

 frank, plain and sincere with you, and 

 intend to continue ao to the end, with a 

 request that it may bo so on your part. 

 If in our personal communications there 

 are excuses for our omissions and com- 

 missions of an indiscreet nature, there 

 can be none in our epistolary, for here 

 we can renew our thoughts before speed- 

 ing them off. So, till we hear from you 

 again, wo three. Ma, Angle and Aunt 

 Mary, a trio, remain your friends in sin- 

 cerity. • AxuiE M. 



UP-COUNTRY LETTERS—NO. 5. 



BY ItACHEL A, ELY. 



Spring is upon us— charming, joyful 

 spring— with its singing birds, noisy 

 crickets, bursting buds, smiling butter- 

 cups, and soft, emerald grass, over which 

 my frail foot steps love to linger, and 

 daily I take my quiet walk to the big, 

 old trees, and stretch my poor limbs 

 upon its soft, velvet bed, in the warm 

 sunshine, and doze, and read, and think, 

 and sleep. Yes, actually, sleep over- 

 takes my brain, and I awake so refreshed 

 that I wish every poor invalid in the 

 universe might feel as I feel, ond grow 

 strong as I do, in body and spirit too, 

 for my kind, good hostess is giving me 

 mental health as well as bodily strength. 

 It seems as if a new revelation were un- 

 folding to my eyes, and that God's laws 

 were but just being understood by me. 

 I wonder as I remember, years ago, 

 while I was heedlessly, ignorantly, en- 

 tering the downward path of disobedi- 

 ence to His laws, from which I suffer to- 

 day, and have suffered untold agonies, 

 how I could have so blindly fallen, all 

 the time attending divine service each 

 Sabbath, until my health failed entirely 

 and I could not leave the room, when 

 the good pastor came to me, and read 

 and prayed for the soul's health, but not 

 a word for the body's sake, that "living 

 temple" that holds the soul and its aspi- 

 rations. I begin to see hght ahead now, 

 and wonder why our ministers don't 

 take up the good tidings of obedience to 

 God's physical laws with the moral and 

 spiritual law combined. Ah! if they 

 could but listen to my brave, kind, little 

 teacher, living such a quiet, domestic 

 life among these mountains, surrounded 

 by her little children and home duties, 

 but doing her duty so bravely and earn- 

 estly, surely they would feel as I do that 

 His servants are many, and much scat- 

 tered among His children, and not al- 

 ways wearing the badge of honor among 

 men because of their fine oratory and 

 briUiant churches. Blessed simplicity 

 of truth and nature! Let me with open 

 eyes behold thy wondrous teachings, and 

 try to obey thy laws, believing as I do 

 that it is only through them that our 

 bodies can be strong to do the moral and 

 spiritual work for ourselves and others. 

 The sick woman at whose house I first 

 made my home is no better; indeed, her 

 doctor has given up the case, and calls 



