THERE are three words, in the utterance of which more power over thefeelings is gained than in the utterance of any other words in thelanguage. These are "Mother," "Home," and "Heaven." Each appeals toa different emotion--each bears influence over the heart from thecradle to the grave.--And just in the degree that this influence isactive, are man's best interests secured for time and eternity.
Only of "home" do we here intend to speak; and, in particular, as tothe influence of the home of taste. We hear much, in these days, ofenlarging the sphere of woman's social duties; as if, in the sphereof home, nothing remained to be done, and she must either fold herhands in idleness, or step forth to engage with man in life'ssterner conflicts. But it is not true that our homes are as theymight be, if their presiding genius fully comprehended all that wasneeded to make home what the word implies. Among those in poorercircumstances, this is especially so. They are too apt to regardmatters of taste as mere superfluities; to speak lightly of order,neatness, and ornament; to think time and money spent on such thingsas useless. But this is a serious mistake, involving, often, themost lamentable consequences.
If we expect our children to grow up with a love for things pure andorderly, we must surround them with the representations thereof inthe homes where first impressions are formed. The mind rests uponand is moulded by things external to a far greater extent than manysuppose. These are not only a mirror, reflecting all that passesbefore the surface, but a highly sensitive mirror, that, like theDaguerreotype plate, retains the image it receives. If the image beorderly and beautiful, it will ever have power to excite orderly andbeautiful thoughts in the mind; but if it be impure and disorderly,its lasting influence will be debasing. If you meet with a coarse,vulgar-minded man or woman, and are able to trace back the thread oflife until the period of early years, you will be sure to find theexistence of coarse and vulgar influences; and, in most cases, theopposite will alike be found to hold good.
There is no excuse for disorder in a household, no matter how smallor how low the range of income, but idleness or indifference. Thetime required to maintain neatness, order, and cleanliness, issmall, if the will is active and the hands prompt. Every home, eventhe poorest, may become a home of taste, and present order and formsof beauty, if there is only a willing purpose in the mind.
It is often charged upon men--particularly operatives with lowwages--that they do not love their homes, preferring to spend theirevening hours in bar-rooms, or wandering about with other men aslittle attracted by the household sphere as themselves, until thetime for rest. If you were to go into the homes of such, in mostcases, you would hardly wonder at the aversion manifested. Thedirty, disordered rooms, which their toiling wives deem it a wasteof time and labour to make tidy and comfortable for their reception,it would be a perversion to call homes. Home attracts; but theserepel. And so, with a feeling of discomfort, the men wander away,fall into temptation, and usually spend, in self-indulgence, moneythat otherwise would have gone to increase home comforts, if therehad been any to increase. And so it is, in its degree, in the homesof every class. The more pleasant, orderly, and tasteful home ismade, in all its departments and associations, the stronger is itsattractive power, and the more potent its influence over those whoare required to go forth into the world and meet its thousandallurements. If every thing is right there, it will surely draw themback, with a steady retraction, through all their absent moments,and they will feel, on repassing the threshold, that, in the wide,wide world, there is no spot to them so full of blessings.
What true woman does not aspire to be the genius of such a home?
THE END.
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