those who already know--this song of tribute and regret:
"'The hours I spent with thee, dear heart,
Are as a string of pearls to me;
I count them over, every one apart,
My rosary.
"'Each hour a pearl, each pearl a prayer,
To still a heart in absence wrung;
I tell each bead unto the end, and there
A cross is hung.
"'O memories that bless--and burn!
Oh mighty gain and bitter loss!
I kiss each bead and strive at last to learn
To kiss the cross,
Sweet heart,
To kiss the cross.'"
No man worthy of the name ever neglects or forgets his mother.
I have an acquaintance, of very poor parentage, who had a hard struggle
to get a start in the world; but when he became prosperous and built
his beautiful home, he finished a suite of rooms in it especially for
his mother, furnished them with all conveniences and comforts possible,
and insisted upon keeping a maid specially for her. Although she lives
with her son's family, she is made to feel that this part of the great
home is her own, and that she is as independent as though she lived in
her own house. Every son should be ambitious to see his mother as well
provided for as his wife.
Really great men have always reverenced and cared tenderly for their
mothers. President McKinley provided in his will that, first of all,
his mother should be made comfortable for life.
The first act of Garfield, after he was inaugurated President, was to
kiss his aged mother, who sat near him, and who said this was the
proudest and happiest moment of her life.
Ex-President Loubet of France, even after his elevation to the
presidency, took great pride in visiting his mother, who was a humble
market gardener in a little French village. A writer on one occasion,
describing a meeting between this mother and her son, says: "Her noted
son awaited her in the market-place, as she drove up in her little cart
loaded with vegetables. Assisting his mother to alight, the French
President gave her his arm and escorted her to her accustomed seat.
Then holding over her a large umbrella, to shield her from the
threatening weather, he seated himself at her side, and mother and son
enjoyed a long talk together."
I once saw a splendid young college graduate introduce his poor,
plainly dressed old mother to his classmates with as much pride and
dignity as though she was a queen. Her form was bent, her hands were
calloused, she was pr
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