Every woman has a mission on earth. There is "something to do" for every one — a
household to put in order, a child to attend to, some degraded or homeless humanity to
befriend. That soul is poor indeed that leaves the world without having exerted an influ-
ence that will be felt for good after she has passed away.
" What a blessing to a household is a merry, cheerful wife — one whose spirits are not
affected by wet days or little disappointments — one whose milk of human kindness does
not grow sour in the sunshine of prosperity ! Such a woman, in the darkest hours,
brightens the house like a piece of sunshiny weather. The magnetism of her smiles and
the electrical brightness of her looks and movements infect everyone. The children go
to school with the sense of something great to be achieved; the husband goes into the
world in a conqueror's spirit. No matter how people annoy and worry him through the
day, far off her presence shines, and he whispers to himself: ' At home I shall find rest ! '
So day by day she literally renews his strength and energy. And, if you know a man
with a beaming face, a kind heart, and a prosperous business, in nine cases out of ten you
will find he has a wife of this kind."
Many a mother by the quiet usefulness of her life fills her children with a desire to be
like her, that makes them in their turn unselfish. It is not those who talk about goodness,
but those who are good that are the light of the world. It may be ours only to sow little
seeds of love and kindness in some neglected corner of our surroundings, or to uproot
from our own hearts noxious weeds which may be thriving there; or it may be our mission
only to suffer the will of God. But, if we be faithful in that which is least, striving in
each little moment to know and do God's will concerning it and us, ours may be a
record of more perfect days, and we shall obtain an enduring crown, — a crown far more
29
3°
HOME DISSERTATIONS.
bright and beautiful than ever rested on the head of an earthly monarch. "We cannot
too honestly study to know ourselves. But we should also aim to look out of ourselves up
to greater and better models, and aim at being like them. When self-examination is
carried too far, it does harm in various ways — perhaps by excessive self-condemnation for
not coming up to a supposed standard, perhaps by hypocritical pretensions to a certain
unnatural sanctimoniousness. A sound religion is eminently conducive to that peace and
tranquillity of the mind which favor sanity and sobriety — it makes prosperity safe by teach-
ing its dependence on God and on the doing of that which is right and true; and it makes
adversity bearable by pointing out that it is temporary, and if patiently and piously borne,
' will work out good.' "
Oliver Wendell Holmes says: " You talk of the fire of genius. Many a blessed woman,
who dies unsung and unremembered, has given out more of the real vital heat that keeps
the life in human souls, without a spark flitting through her humble chimney to tell the
world about it, than would set a dozen theories smoking, or a hundred odes simmering in
the brains of so many men of genius.
Mr. Cross says of
to women, and to raise
thought, could best be
amateurs. But it was
Page 22
Presented as published in 1891. Historical recipes may not meet modern food-safety standards. Cook from the modern interpretation, not the original instructions.
AI-modernized reading of the original text
Every woman has a mission on earth. There is "something to do" for every one — a household to put in order, a child to attend to, some degraded or homeless humanity to befriend. That soul is poor indeed that leaves the world without having exerted an influence that will be felt for good after she has passed away.
" What a blessing to a household is a merry, cheerful wife — one whose spirits are not affected by wet days or little disappointments — one whose milk of human kindness does not grow sour in the sunshine of prosperity ! Such a woman, in the darkest hours, brightens the house like a piece of sunshiny weather. The magnetism of her smiles and the electrical brightness of her looks and movements infect everyone. The children go to school with the sense of something great to be achieved; the husband goes into the world in a conqueror's spirit. No matter how people annoy and worry him through the day, far off her presence shines, and he whispers to himself: ' At home I shall find rest ! ' So day by day she literally renews his strength and energy. And, if you know a man with a beaming face, a kind heart, and a prosperous business, in nine cases out of ten you will find he has a wife of this kind."
Many a mother by the quiet usefulness of her life fills her children with a desire to be like her, that makes them in their turn unselfish. It is not those who talk about goodness, but those who are good that are the light of the world. It may be ours only to sow little seeds of love and kindness in some neglected corner of our surroundings, or to uproot from our own hearts noxious weeds which may be thriving there; or it may be our mission only to suffer the will of God. But, if we be faithful in that which is least, striving in each little moment to know and do God's will concerning it and us, ours may be a record of more perfect days, and we shall obtain an enduring crown, — a crown far more
3°
bright and beautiful than ever rested on the head of an earthly monarch. We cannot too honestly study to know ourselves. But we should also aim to look out of ourselves up to greater and better models, and aim at being like them. When self-examination is carried too far, it does harm in various ways — perhaps by excessive self-condemnation for not coming up to a supposed standard, perhaps by hypocritical pretensions to a certain unnatural sanctimoniousness. A sound religion is eminently conducive to that peace and tranquillity of the mind which favor sanity and sobriety — it makes prosperity safe by teaching its dependence on God and on the doing of that which is right and true; and it makes adversity bearable by pointing out that it is temporary, and if patiently and piously borne, ' will work out good.' "
Oliver Wendell Holmes says: " You talk of the fire of genius. Many a blessed woman, who dies unsung and unremembered, has given out more of the real vital heat that keeps the life in human souls, without a spark flitting through her humble chimney to tell the world about it, than would set a dozen theories smoking, or a hundred odes simmering in the brains of so many men of genius.
Mr. Cross says of to women, and to raise thought, could best be amateurs. But it was