Editorial.

A MOTHER'S TRIALS.

WHO shall enumerate them, or fathom their depth? A description of them on paper would resemble Ezekiel's roll, in which were written lamentations, and mourning, and woe.

A mother's trials commence early; she looks forward with the most anxious solicitude, whether the being which, through her instrumentality, is about to commence an endless, responsible, sensitive existence, shall have a perfectly-formed body, or be a cripple all its days. Whether it shall be endowed with the gift of reason, or be hidden in an asylum. Whether it shall be a blessing to its parents and an ornament in society, or the bane and curse of its species. Finally, whether it is to be the companion of perfect and angelic beings, or the comrade of debased and unhallowed spirits of despair, in an existence never to be ended. And, in addition to all these, there is the solemn thought, that, in giving birth to the child, she may sacrifice her own life, and leave her babe in a cold world, deprived of the tenderness of a mother's care, in the helpless season of infancy; to grow up without that watchfulness which, from no other eye, is so efficient.

Not only do a mother's trials commence thus early, but they greatly increase as the powers of the infant expand. In his boyhood he leaves the sanctum of the nursery, and takes his place among the peers of his day, and is exposed to scenes and examples, from evil influences, to which he was hitherto a stranger.

Every observing parent must have noticed, that there are in children certain propensities to evil, which need a determination to correct, on their first appearance, lest they should prove the ruin of the mind hereafter. The first falsehood; the first act of disobedience; the least obstinacy of temper; or a sullenness of disposition, will each call forth all the wisdom,' the firmness, and the prayers, of the anxious mother, that she may be successful in her attempts to counteract these appearances; but alas! how frequently has she had to wade through seas of trials, VOL. XVIII.NO. V.-9

and, with agonizing feelings, wrestle with God in prayer, that her warnings to, and her efforts with, her child may be effectual in restraining him from that indulgence, which she so well knows, if not checked now, will lead to everlasting ruin.

The numerous diseases to which the infant is exposed, and the sufferings which it so often endures, weigh more heavily upon the mother's heart than that of any others; her very nature and position render her more susceptible of sorrow, and place her among scenes where she so constantly comes in contact with pain, and sickness, and grief. The numberless accidents to which the child is exposed, when it begins to feel its own powers of body, and put them into practice, still more increase its exposure to bruises and other injuries, and adds to the numberless causes of anxiety which thrill through every fibre of a mother's heart. In an unexpected moment, a fall may render it a helpless cripple. The fire may cause it to endure intense agonies; or some article, left out of its proper place, within its reach, may endanger its life, or maim it for all its future days.

Should she be called to resign her babe to an early grave, who but a mother can fathom that depth of poignant grief, which corrodes her heart, when bending over her suffering babe, who is unconscious of the reason why it should thus suffer? The less hope there is of life, the more intense are the maternal yearnings; and, as the fact becomes more certain, that all her past hopes and prospects are to be crushed, the more firmly does her very nature cling to her helpless innocent. And it is a sacred, untold struggle, that desolates, as a tornado, her heart, ere she is fully brought to submit to the sovereignty of heaven; and even then she dares not trust herself to watch over the expiring moments of her loved one, but she exclaims, with Hagar, "Let me not see the death of the child!"

Should the child be spared, while he is increasing in years, and is less under the maternal vision, the mother's trials, instead of being diminished, become more numerous and perplexing. His absence gives rise to many fears, lest his companions should lead him astray from right paths; and the unhallowed language and depraved examples that now meet his notice, demand from her

redoubled vigilance, warning, and precept, lest her loved one should be enticed away, into the paths of the destroyer. As he grows older, and becomes more acquainted with the allurements, follies, and wickedness of the world, she tremblingly watches the effect of her own teaching upon the immortal mind she has been moulding, and hopes or desponds, as she has reason to conclude, that her instructions, under the divine blessing, have given a right bias to the mind of the youth, or that they have been unheeded, and he prefers the downward road to ruin and despair. And O! what gratitude is so deep and lasting as that which emanates from a mother's heart, when, bowing before the mercy-seat, she rejoices in the second birth of the object of her maternal solicitude.

We would here refer to the disobedience of children, and that want of affection which some parents have to mourn over, as their children are growing up, and fancy they no longer need their aid. From these two sources, many a mother's heart has been deeply lacerated. An unkind word, a remissness of former affection, try a mother's feelings, and occasion her to shed bitter tears, when she reflects that her past watchings and frequent self-denials should be thus rewarded.

Should her children succeed in life, and rise to stations of honor and eminence, she trembles for their safety, when earthly dignities and favors have passed away, lest they should prove the very means of the destruction of those principles in which she trained them. It is recorded of the mother of the Emperor Napoleon Bonaparte, that when her son was at the height of his power, and he was giving kingdoms to his brothers, a friend of hers one day expressed her surprise that she should feel the least anxiety about the future, for any of her family. "Who knows," she replied, "but that one day I may have to support all these kings?" Amidst scenes of disappointment and poverty, which may be the lot of him whom she has trained, the mother's love falters not; she still feels the same promptings of maternal solicitude, and only relieves her own heart of the burden of her trials, by still clinging to him or her, in whose life her own is bound up; and whose vicissitudes and trying circumstances render her children still dearer to her maternal heart.