riter, "when
right beside us, possibly touching our hand, was one greater than he?
One whose battle has not been petty--whose conflict has not been of
short duration, but has for us fought many a severe fight.

"When we had the scarlet fever or diphtheria and not one would come
near us, who held the cup of cold water to our fever-parched lips? Who
bent over us day and night and fought away with almost supernatural
strength the greatest of all enemies--death? The world's greatest
heroine--Mother! Who is it that each Sunday dinner-time chose the neck
of the chicken that we might have the juicy wing or breast or leg? Who
is it stays home from the concert, the social, the play, that we may go
with the others and not be stinted for small change? Who is it
crucifies her love of pretty clothes, her desire for good things, her
longing for pleasure that we may have all these? Who is it? Mother!"

The greatest heroine in the world is the mother. No one else makes
such sacrifices, or endures anything like the suffering that she
uncomplainingly endures for her children.

What is the giving of one's life in battle or in a wreck at sea to save
another, in comparison with the perpetual sacrifice of many mothers of
a living death lasting for half a century or more? How the world's
heroes dwindle in comparison with the mother heroine! There is no one
in the average family, the value of whose services begins to compare
with those of the mother, and yet there is no one who is more generally
neglected or taken advantage of. She must remain at home evenings, and
look after the children, when the others are out having a good time.
Her cares never cease. She is responsible for the housework, for the
preparation of meals; she has the children's clothes to make or mend,
there is company to be entertained, darning to be done, and a score of
little duties which must often be attended to at odd moments, snatched
from her busy days, and she is often up working at night, long after
every one else in the house is asleep.

No matter how loving or thoughtful the father may be, the heavier
burdens, the greater anxieties, the weightier responsibilities of the
home, of the children, usually fall on the mother. Indeed, the very
virtues of the good mother are a constant temptation to the other
members of the family, especially the selfish ones, to take advantage
of her. They seem to take it for granted that they can put all their
burdens o