Bogus Mothers.
The better a thing is, the more certain it is to be counterfeited; and so we might be sure that there would be counterfeit mothers. Counterfeit money is often told by the absence of the tiny red and blue threads that run through the genuine paper, and bogus mothers are told by the absence of the red thread of sacrifice and the blue thread of love. Photography may perfectly copy the real money; but the expert can tell a counterfeit with his eyes shut, by the feel of it. Thus also true motherhood is a matter of feeling. Bogus money may circulate for some time without discovery, but it meets its Waterloo when it is presented at a bank. Bogus motherhood has the same experience, and its Waterloo is—the child.
A School for Motherhood.
A woman in Detroit, Mrs. Lizzie Merrill Palmer, has bequeathed $800,000 to establish a school for motherhood. A noble philanthropy! A glorious idea!
This school will be an art school, for motherhood is the highest of the arts.
It will be a medical school, for motherhood is the fountain of health
It will be a theological seminary, for the home is the basis of the church.
It will be a university, for motherhood is the universal wisdom, the fundamental science.
But after the school is established, the problem will be to get the students. Nothing else so great as motherhood is entered upon with so little preparation. In most of our homes it is insanely held to be a matter which will take care of itself.