The worst sort of clever men are those who know better than the Bible and are so learned that they believe that the world had no Maker, and that men are only monkeys with their tails rubbed off. Dear, dear me, 8
H4 JOHN PLOUGHMAN'S PICTURES.
this is the sort of talk we used to expect from Tom of Bedlam, but now we get it from clever men. If things go on in this fashion a poor ploughman will not be able to tell which is the lunatic and which is the philosopher. As for me, the old Book seems to be a deal easier to believe than the new notions, and I mean to keep to it. Many a drop of good broth is made in an old pot, and many a sweet comfort comes out of the old doctrine. Many a dog has died since I first opened my eyes, and every one of these dogs has had his day, but in all the days put together they have never hunted out a real fault in the Bible, nor started anything better in its place. They may be very clever, but they wrill not find a surer truth than that which God teaches, nor a better salvation than that which Jesus brings, and so finding my very life in the gospel I mean to live in it, and so ends this chapter.
TWO DOGS FIGHT FOR A BONE,
AND A THIRD RUNS AWAY
WITH IT.
W
E have all heard of the two men who quarrelled over an oyster, and
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n6 JOHN PLOUGHMAN'S PICTURES.
called in a judge to settle the question: he ate the oyster himself, and gave them a shell each. This reminds me of the story of the cow which two farmers could not agree about, and so the lawyers stepped in and milked the cow for them, and charged them for their trouble in drinking the milk. Little is got by law, but much is lost by it. A suit in law may last longer than any suit a tailor can make you, and you may your- self be worn out before it comes to an end. It is better far to make matters up and keep out of court, for if you are caught there you are caught in the brambles, and won't get out without damage. John Ploughman feels a cold sweat at the thought of getting into the hands of lawyers. He does not mind going to Jericho, but he dreads the gentle- men on the road, for they seldom leave a feather upon any goose which they pick up. However, if men will fight they must not blame the lawyers ; if law were cheaper, quarrelsome people would have more of it, and quite as much would be spent in the long run. Sometimes, however, we get dragged into court willy nilly, and then one had need be wise as a serpent and harmless
LITTLE IS GAINED BY LAW. 117
as a dove. Happy is he who finds an honest lawyer, and does not try to be his own cli- ent. A good lawyer always tries to keep people out of law ; but some clients are like moths with the candle, they must and will burn themselves. He who is so wise that he cannot be taught will have to pay for his pride.
Let dogs delight to bark and bite,
And lose the marrow bone ; Let bears and lions growl and fight,
I'll let the law alone.
To suffer wrong is surely sad,
But law-suits are in vain; To throw good money after bad
Will but increase my pain.
HE LIVES UNDER THE SIGN OF THE CAT'S FOOT.
THE question was once asked, When should a man marry ? and the merry answer was, that for young men it is too soon and for old men it is too late. This is (118)
THE CAT'S FOOT 119
all very fine, but it will not wash. Both the wisdom and the folly of men seem banded together to make a mock of this doctrine. Men are such fools that they must and will marry even if they marry fools. It is wise to marry when we can marry wisely, and then the sooner the better. How many show their sense in choosing a partner it is not for me to say, but I fear that in many cases love is blind, and makes a very blind choice. I don't suppose that some people would ever get married at all if love had its wits about it. It is a mystery how certain parties ever found partners ; truly there's no accounting for tastes. However, as they make their bed they must lie on it, and as they tie the knot they must be tied by it. If a man catches a tartar, or lets a tartar catch him, he must take his dose of tartaric acid, and make as few ugly faces as he can. If a three-legged stool come flying through the air, he must be thankful for such a plain token of love from the woman of his choice, and the best thing he can do is to sit down on it, and wait for the next little article.
When it is said of a man, " He lives un- der the sign of the cat's foot," he must try
120 JOHN PLOUGHMAN'S PIC TUBES.
and please his pussy that she may not scratch him more than such cats generally do. A good husband will generally have a good wife, or make a bad wife better. Bad Jack makes a great noise about bad Jill, but there's generally twenty of one where there's a score of the other. They say a burden of one's own choosing is never felt to be heavy, but I don't know, some men are loaded with mischief as soon as they have a wife to carry. Yet
A good woman is worth, if she were sold, The fairest crown that's made of gold.
She is a pleasure, a treasure, and a joy with- out measure. A good wife and health are a man's best wealth ; and he who is in such a case should envy no man's place. Even when a woman is a little tart it is better than if she had no spirit, and made her house into a dirt pie. A shrew is better than a slut, though one can be quite miser- able enough with either, If she is a good housewife, and looks well after the children, one may put up with a Caudle lecture now and then, though a cordial lecture would be a deal better. A husband is in a pickle in-
THE CAT'S FOOT. 121
deed if he gets tied up to a regular scold ; he might as well be skinned and set up to his neck in a tub of brine. Did you ever hear the scold's song ? Read it, you young folks who think of committing matrimony, and think twice before you get married once.
When in the morn I ope mine eyes,
To entertain the day, Before my husband e'en can rise,
I scold him — then I pray.
When I at table take my place,
Whatever be the meat, I first do scold — and then say grace,
If so disposed to eat.
Too fat, too lean, too hot, too cold,
I always do complain; Too raw, too roast, too young, too old —
Faults I will find or feign.
Let it be flesh, or fowrl, or fish,
It never shall be said, But I'll find fault with meat or dish,
With master, or with maid.
But when I go to bed at night
I heartily do weep, That I must part with my delight —
I cannot scold and sleep.
122 JOHN PLOUGHMAN'S PICTURES.
However, this doth mitigate
And much abate my sorrow, That though to-night it be too late,
I'll early scold to-morrow.
When the husband is not a man it is not to be wondered at if the wife wears the top-boots : the mare may well be the best horse when the other horse is a donkey. Well may a woman feel that she is lord and master when she has to earn the living for the family, as is sometimes the case. She ought not to be the head, but if she has all the brains, what is she to do ? What poor dawdles many men would be without their wives ! As poor softy Simpkins says, if Bill's wife becomes a widow who will cut the pudding up for him, and will there be a pudding at all ? It is grand when the wife knows her place, and keeps it, and they both pull together in everything. Then she is a helpmeet indeed and makes the house a home. Old friend Tusser says,
" When husband is absent let housewife be chief, And look to their labor who live from their sheaf, The housewife's so named for she keepeth the house, And must tend on her profit as cat on a mouse,"
He is very pat upon it that much of house-
" SARVES HIM RIGHT." 123
hold affairs must rest on the wife, and he writes, —
"Both out, not allow, Keep home, housewife thou."
Like the old man and woman in the toy which shows the weather, one must be sure to be in if the other goes out. When the king is abroad the queen must reign at home, and when he returns to his throne he is bound to look upon her as his crown, and prize her above gold and jewels. He should feel " if there's only one good wife in the whole world, I've got her." John Ploughman has long thought just that of his own wife, and after five-and-twenty years he is more sure of it than ever. He never bets, but he would not mind wager- ing a farthing cake that there is not a better woman on the surface of the globe than his own, very own beloved. Happy is the man who is happy in his wife. Let him love her as he loves himself, and a little better, for she is his better half.
Thank God that hath so blest thee, And sit down, John, and rest thee.
There is one case in which I don't wonder
124 JOHN PLOUGHMAN'S PICTURES.
if the wife does put her mate under the cat's foot, and that is when he slinks off to the public, and wastes his wages. Even then love and gentleness is the best way of getting him home ; but, really, some topers have no feeling, and laugh at kindness, and therefore nobody can be surprised if the poor wife bristles up and gives her lord and mas- ter a taste of tongue. Nothing tries mar- ried love more than the pot-house. Wages wasted, wife neglected, children in rags : if she gives it him hot and strong who can blame her? Pitch into him, good woman, and make him ashamed of himself, if you can. No wonder that you lead a cat and dog life while he is such a sorry dog.
Still, you may as well go home and set him a better example, for two blacks will never make a white, and if you put him in hot water he's sure to get some spirits to mix with it.
HE WOULD PUT HIS FINGER IN
THE PIE, AND SO HE BURNT
HIS NAIL OFE
SOME men must have a finger in every pie, or, as the proverb hath it, " their
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126 JOHN PLOUGHMAN'S PICTURES.
oar must be in every man's boat." They seem to have no business except to poke their noses into other people's business: they ought to have snub noses, for they are pretty sure to be snubbed. Prying and spy- ing, peddling and meddling, these folks are in everybody's way, like the old toll-gate. They come without being sent for, stop with- out being asked, and cannot be got rid of, unless you take them by the left leg and throw them down stairs, and if you do that they will limp up again, and hope they don't intrude. No one pays them, and yet they give advice more often than any lawyer ; and though no one ever thanks them, yet there they are, peeping through keyholes and listening under the eaves. They are as great at asking questions as if they wanted you to say the catechism, and as eager to give their opinion as if you had gone down on your knees to ask it.
These folks are like dogs that fetch and carry ; they run all over the place like star- lings when they are feeding their young. They make much ado, but never do much, unless it is mischief, and at this they are as apt as jackdaws. If any man has such
MIND YOUR OWN BUSINESS. 127
people for his acquaintances, he may well say, " Save me from my friends."
I know your assistance you'll lend, When I want it I'll speedily send; You need not he making such stir, But mind your own business, good sir.
It is of no more use than if we spoke to the pigs, for here is Paul Pry again. Paul and his cousins are most offensive people, but you cannot offend them if you try.
Well do I remember the words of a wise old Quaker: — "John," said he, " be not concerned with that which concerns not thee." This taught me a lesson, and I made up my mind not to scrub other peo- ple's pigs for fear I should soon want scrub- bing myself. There is a woman in our village who finds fault with all, and all find fault with her ; they say her teeth are all loose through her tongue rubbing against them ; if she could but hold her tongue she would be happy enough, but that's the diffi- culty—
" When hens fall a cackling take heed to the nest, When drabs fall a whispering farewell to thy rest.'*
128 JOHN PLOUGHMAN'S PICTURES.
Will Shepherd was sitting very quiet while others were running down their neighbors. At last a loose fellow sung out " Look at Old Will, he is as silent as a stock-fish; is it because he is wise or because he is a fool ?" " Well/' said Will, "you may set- tle that question how you like, but I have been told that a fool cannot be silent." Will is set down as very odd, but he is gen- erally even with them before he has done. One thing is sure, he cares very little what they do say so long as they don't worry his sheep. He hummed in my ear an old- fashioned verse or two the other evening, something like this —
" Since folks will judge me every day, Let every man his judgment say; I will take it all as children's play, For I am as I am, whoever say nay.
Many there be that take delight To judge a man's ways in envy and spite; But whether they judge me wrong or right, I am as I am, and so do I write.
How the truth is I leave to you ; Judge as ye list, whether false or true. Ye know no more than before ye knew, For I am as I am whatever ensue."
MIND YOUR OWN BUSINESS. 129
If folks will meddle with our business it is best to take no notice of them ; there's no putting them out like letting them stop where they are ; they are never so offended as when people neither offend them nor take offence at them. You might as soon stop all the frogs from croaking as quiet idle gossips when they once get on the chat. Stuff your ear with wool and let them jab- ber till their tongue lies still, because they have worn all the skin off of it. " Where no wood is the fire goeth out," and if you don't answer them they can't make a blaze for want of fuel. Treat them kindly,, but don't give them the treat of quarrelling with them. Follow peace with all men, even if you cannot overtake it.
YOU CANT CATCH THE WIND IN A NET.
SOME people get windmills in their heads, and go in for all sorts of silly things. They talk of ruling the nation as if men were to be driven like sheep, and they (130)
YOU CAN'T CATCH THE WIND IN A NET 131
prate of reforms and systems as if they could cut out a world in brown paper, with a pair of scissors. Such a body thinks himself very deep, but he is as shallow as a milk-pan. You can soon know him as well as if you had gone through him with a lighted candle, and yet you will not know a great deal after all. He has a great head, and very little in it. He can talk by the dozen, or the gross, and say nothing. When he is fussing and boasting of his fine doings you soon dis- cover that he makes a long harvest of very little corn. His tongue is like a pig's tail, going all day long and nothing done.
This is the man who can pay off the National Debt, and yet, in his little shop, he sells two apples in three days : he has the secret of high farming, and loses more at it than any man in the county. The more he studies the more he misses the mark ; he reminds me of a blind man on a blind horse, who rode out in the middle of a dark night, and the more he tried to keep out of ditches the more he fell in.
When they catch live red herrings on Newmarket heath he will bring out a good thing, and line his pockets with gold ; up
132 JOHN PLOUGHMAN'S PICTURES.
till now, he says, he has been unlucky, and he believes that if he were to make a man a coffin he would be sure not to die. He is going to be rich next year, and you will then see what you shall see: just now he would be glad of half-a-crown on account, for which he will give you a share in his in- vention for growing wheat without plough- ing or sowing.
It is odd to see this wise man at times when his wits are all up in the moon : he is just like Chang, the Chinaman, who said, " Here's my umbrella, and here's my bundle, but where am If" He cannot find his spectacles though he is looking through them ; and when he is out riding on his own ass, he pulls up and says, " Wherever is that donkey ? "
I have heard of one learned man who boiled his watch and stood looking at the egg, and another who forgot that he was to be married that day, and would have lost his lady if his friend had not fetched him out of his study. Think of that, my boy, and don't fret yourself because you are not so overdone with learning as to have for- gotten your common sense.
YOU CAN' TCA TCH THE WIND IN A NET. 133
The regular wind-catcher is soft as silk and as green as grass, and yet he thinks himself very long-headed ; and so indeed he would be if his ears were taken into the measurement. He is going to do — well — there's no telling what. He is full of wishes but short of will, and so his buds never come to flowers or fruit. He is like a hen that lays eggs, and never sits on them long enough to hatch a single chick.
Moonshine is the article our friend deals in, and it is wonderful what he can see by it. He cries up his schemes, and it is said that he draws on his imagination for his facts. When he is in full swing with one of his notions, he does not stick at a trifle. Will Shepherd heard one of these gentry the other day telling how his new company would lead all the shareholders on to Tom Tiddler's ground to pick up gold and silver ; and when all the talk was over, Will said to me, " That's a lie, with a lid on, and a brass handle to take hold of it." Rather sharp this of Will, for I do believe the man was caught on his own hook and believed in his own dreams ; yet I did not like him, for he wanted us poor fellows to put our little sav-
134 JOHN PLOUGHMAN'S PICTURES,
ings into his hands, as if we could afford to fly kites with laborers' wages.
What a many good people there are who have religious crazes ! They do nothing, but they have wonderful plans for doing everything in a jiffy. So many thousand people are to give half-a-crown each, and so many more a crown, and so many more a sovereign, and the meeting-house is to be built just so, and no how else. The mischief is that the thousands of people do not rush forward with their money, and the minister and a few hard-working friends have to get it together little by little in the old-fashioned style, v\ hile your wonderful schemer slinks out of the way and gives nothing. I have long ago found out that pretty things on paper had better be kept there. Our master's eldest son had a plan for growing plum-trees in our hedges as they do in Kent, but he never looked to see whether the soil would suit, and so he lost the trees which he put in, and there was an end of his damsons.
" Circumstances alter cases ;
Different ways suit different places."
New brooms sweep clean, but they mostly
YOU CAN'T CATCH THE WIND IN A NET. 135
sweep up dirt. Plough with what you please, I stick to the old horses which have served me so well. Fine schemes come to nothing ; it is hard work that does it, whether it be in the world or in the church.
" In the laborious husbandman you see What all true Christians are or ought to be."
BEWARE OF THE DOG.
JOHN PLOUGHMAN did not in his first book weary his friends by preach- ing, but in this one he makes bold to try his hand at a sermon, and hopes he will be ex- (136)
BEWARE OF THE DOG, 137
cused if it should prove to be only a plough- man's preachment.
If this were a regular sermon preached from a pulpit of course I should make it long and dismal, like a winter's night, for fear people should call me eccentric. As it is only meant to be read at home, I will make it short, though it will not be sweet, for I have not a sweet subject. The text is one which has a great deal of meaning in it, and is to be read on many a wall. •" Be- ware of the Dog." You know what dogs are, and you know how you beware of them when a bull-dog flies at you to the full length of his chain ; so the words don't want any clearing up.
It is very odd that the Bible never says a good word for dogs: I suppose the breed must have been bad in those eastern parts, or else, as our minister tells me, they were nearly wild, had no master in particular4, and were left to prowl about half starved. No doubt a dog is very like a man, and be- comes a sad dog when he has himself for a master. We are all the better for having somebody to look up to; and those who
138 JOHN PLOUGHMAN'S PICTURES,
say they care for nobody and nobody cares for them are dogs of the worst breed, and, for a certain reason, are never likely to be drowned.
Dear friends, I shall have heads and tails like other parsons, and I am sure I have a right to them, for they are found in the sub- jects before us.
Firstly, let us beware of a dirty dog— ox as the grand old Book calls them, " evil workers " — those who love filth and roll in it Dirty dogs will spoil your clothes, and make you as foul as themselves. A man is known by his company ; if you go with loose fellows your character will be tarred with the same brush as theirs. People can't be very nice in their distinctions ; if they see a bird always flying with the crows, and feeding and nesting with them, they call it a crow, and ninety-nine times out of a hundred they are right. If you are fond of the kennel, and like to run with the hounds, you will never make the world be- lieve that you are a pet lamb. Besides, bad company does a man real harm, for, as the old proverb has it, if you lie down with dogs you will get up with fleas.
BEWARE OF THE DOG. 139
You cannot keep too far off a man with the fever and a man of wicked life. If a lady in a fine dress sees a big dog come out of a horse-pond, and run about shaking him- self dry, she is very particular to keep out of his way, and from this we may learn a lesson, — when we see a man half gone in liquor, sprinkling his dirty talk all around him, our best place is half-a-mile off at the least.
Secondly, beware of all snarling dogs. There are plenty of these about ; they are generally very small creatures, but they more than make up for their size by their noise. They yap and snap without end. Dr. Watts said —
" Let dogs delight to bark and bite, For God has made them so."
But I cannot make such an excuse for the two-legged dogs I am writing about, for their own vile tempers, and the devil to- gether, have made them what they are. They find fault with anything and everything. When they dare they howl, and when they cannot do that they lie down and growl in- wardly. Beware of these creatures. Make no friends with an angry man : as well make
140 JOHN PLOUGHMAN'S PICTURES.
a bed of stinging nettles or wear a viper for a necklace. Perhaps the fellow is just now very fond of you, but beware of him, for he who barks at others to-day without a cause will one day howl at you for nothing. Don't offer him a kennel down your yard unless he will let you chain him up. When you see that a man has a bitter spirit, and gives nobody a good word, quietly walk away and keep out of his track if you can. Loaded guns and quick tempered people are dangerous pieces of furniture ; they don't mean any hurt, but they are apt to go off and do mischief before you dream of it. Better go a mile out of your way than get into a fight ; better sit down on a dozen tin- tacks with their points up than dispute with an angry neighbor.
Thirdly, beware of fawning dogs. They jump up upon you and leave the marks of their dirty paws. How they will lick your hand and fondle you as long as there are bones to be got : like the lover who said to the cook, " Leave you, dear girl ? Never, while you have a shilling." Too much sugar in the talk should lead us to suspect that there is very little in the heart. The
BEWARE OF THE DOG. 141
moment a man praises you to your face, mark him, for he is the very gentleman to rail at you behind your back. If a fellow takes the trouble to flatter he expects to be paid for it, and he calculates that he will get his wages out of the soft brains of those he tickles. When people stoop down it generally is to pick something up, and men don't stoop to flatter you unless they reckon upon getting something out of you. When you see too much politeness you may generally smell a rat if you give a good sniff. Young people need to be on the watch against crafty flatterers. Young women with pretty faces and a little money should especially beware of puppies !
Fourthly, beware of a greedy dog, or a man who never has enough. Grumbling is catching ; one discontented man sets others complaining, and this is a bad state of mind to fall into. Folks who are greedy are not always honest, and if they see a chance they will put their spoon into their neighbor's porridge ; why not into yours ? See how cleverly they skin a flint; before long you will find them skinning you, and as you are not quite so used to it as the eels are, you
142 JOHN PLOUGHMAN'S PICTURES,
had better give Mr. Skinner a wide berth. When a man boasts that he never gives any- thing away, you may read it as a caution — " beware of the dog." A liberal, kind- hearted friend helps you to keep down your selfishness, but a greedy grasper tempts you to put an extra button on your pocket. Hungry dogs will wolf down any quantity of meat, and then look out for more, and so will greedy men swallow farms and houses, and then smell around for something else. I am sick of the animals : I mean both the dogs and men. Talking of nothing but gold, and how to make money, and how to save it — why one had better live with the hounds at once, and howl over your share of dead horse. The mischief a miserly wretch may do to a man's heart no tongue can tell ; one might as well be bitten by a mad dog, for greediness is as bad a madness as a mortal can be tormented with. Keep out of the company of screw-drivers, tight- fists, hold-fasts, and blood-suckers : " beware of dogs."
Fifthly, beware of a yelping dog. Those who talk much tell a great many lies, and if you love truth you had better not love them.
BEWARE OF THE DOG, 143
Those who talk much are likely enough to speak ill of their neighbors, and of yourself among the rest ; and therefore, if you do not want to be town-talk, you will be wise to find other friends. Mr. Prate-apace will weary you out one day, and you will be wise to break off his acquaintance before it is made. Do not lodge in Clack Street, nor next door to the Gossip's Head. A lion's jaw is nothing compared to a tale- bearer's. If you have a dog which is always barking, and should chance to lose him, don't spend a penny in advertising for him. Few are the blessings which are poured upon dogs which howl all night and wake up honest householders, but even these can be better put up with than those incessant chatterers who never let a man's character rest either day or night.
Sixthly, beware of a dog that worries the sheep. Such get into our churches, and cause a world of misery. Some have new doc- trines as rotten as they are new ; others have new plans, whims, and crotchets, and nothing will go right till these are tried ; and there is a third sort, which are out of love with everybody and everything, and
144 JOHN PLOUGHMAN'S PICTURES.
only come into the churches to see if they can make a row. Mark these, and keep clear of them. There are plenty of humble Christians who only want leave to be quiet and mind their own business, and these troubles are their plague. To hear the gos- pel, and to be helped to do good, is all that the most of our members want, but these worries come in with their " ologies " and puzzlements, and hard speeches, and cause sorrow upon sorrow. A good shepherd will soon fetch these dogs a crack of the head ; but they will be at their work again if they see half a chance. What pleasure can they find in it? Surely they must have a touch of the wolf in their nature. At any rate, beware of the dog.
Seventhly, beware of dogs who have re- turned to their vomit. An apostate is like a leper. As a rule none are more bitter enemies of the cross than those who once professed to be followers of Jesus. He who can turn away from Christ is not a fit com- panion for any honest man. There are many abroad nowadays who have thrown off religion as easily as a ploughman puts off his jacket. It will be a terrible day for;
BEWARE OF THE DOG. 145
them when the heavens are on fire above them, and the world is ablaze under their feet. If a man calls himself my friend, and leaves the ways of God, then his way and mine are different ; he who is no friend to the good cause is no friend of mine.
Lastly, finally, and to finish up, beware of a dog that has no master. If a fellow makes free with the Bible, and the laws of his country, and common decency, it is time to make free to tell him we had rather have his room than his company. A certain set of wonderfully wise men are talking very big things, and putting their smutty fingers upon everything which their fathers thought to be good and holy. Poor fools, they are not half as clever as they think they are. Like hogs in a flower-garden, they are for rooting up everything ; and some people are so frightened that they stand as if they were stuck, and hold up their hands in hor- ror at the creatures. When the hogs have been in my master's garden, and I have had the big whip handy, I warrant you I have made a clearance, and I only wish I was a scholar, for I would lay about me among these free-thinking gentry, and make them 10
146 JOHN PLOUGHMAN'S PICTURES.
squeal to a long metre tune. As John Ploughman has other fish to fry, and other tails to butter, he must leave these mis- chievous creatures, and finish his rough ramshackle sermon.
" Beware of the dog." Beware of all who will do you harm. Good company is to be had, why seek bad ? It is said of heaven, " without are dogs." Let us make friends of those who can go inside of heaven, for there we hope to go ourselves. We shall go to our own company when we die ; let it be such that we shall be glad to go to it.
LIKE CAT LIKE KIT.
MOST men are what their mothers made them. The father is away from home all day, and has not half the influence over the children that the mother
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148 JOHN PLOUGHMAN'S PICTURES.
has. The cow has most to do with the calf. If a ragged colt grows into a good horse, we know who it is that combed him. A mother is therefore a very re- sponsible woman, even though she may be the poorest in the land, for the bad or the good of her boys and girls very much de- pends upon her. As is the gardener such is the garden, as is the wife such is the family. Samuel's mother made him a little coat every year, but she had done a deal for him before that : Samuel would not have been Samuel if Hannah had not been Han- nah. We shall never see a better set of men till the mothers are better. We must have Sarahs and Rebekahs before we shall see Isaacs and Jacobs. Grace does not run in the blood, but we generally find that the Timothies have mothers of a godly sort.
Little children give their mother the headache, but if she lets them have their own way, when they grow up to be great children they will give her the heartache. Foolish fondness spoils many, and letting faults alone spoils more. Gardens that are never weeded will grow very little worth
LIKE CAT LIKE KIT. 149
gathering; all watering and no hoeing will make a bad crop. A child may have too much of its mother's love, and in the long run it may turn out that it had too little. Soft-hearted mothers rear soft-headed chil- dren ; they hurt them for life because they are afraid of hurting them when they are young. Coddle your children, and they will turn out noodles. You may sugar a child till everybody is sick of it. Boys' jackets need a little dusting every now and then, and girls' dresses are all the better for occasional trimming. Children without chastisement are fields without ploughing. The very best colts want breaking in. Not that we like severity ; cruel mothers are not mothers, and those who are always flogging and fault-finding ought to be flogged themselves. There is reason in all things, as the madman said when he cut off his nose.
Good mothers are very dear to their children. There's no mother in the world like our own mother. My friend Sanders, from Glasgow, says, " The mither's breath is aye sweet." Every woman is a handsome woman to her own son. That man is not
150 JOHN PLOUGHMAN'S PICTURES.
worth hanging who does not love his mother. When good women lead their little ones to the Saviour, the Lord Jesus blesses not only the children, but their mothers as well. Happy are they among women who see their sons and their daugh- ters walking in the truth.
He who thinks it easy to bring up a family never had one of his own. A mother who trains her children aright had need be wiser than Solomon, for his son turned out a fool. Some children are per- verse from their infancy ; none are born per- fect, but some have a double share of im- perfections. Do what you will with some children, they don't improve. Wash a dog, comb a dog, still a dog is but a dog : trouble seems thrown away on some children. Such cases are meant to drive us to God, for he can turn blackamoors white, and cleanse out the leopard's spots. It is clear that whatever faults our children have, we are their parents, and we cannot find fault with the stock they came of. Wild geese do not lay tame eggs. That which is born of a hen will be sure to scratch in the dust. The child of a cat will hunt after mice. Every
LIKE CAT LIKE KIT. 151
creature follows its kind. If we are black, we cannot blame our offspring if they are dark too. Let us do our best with them, and pray the Mighty Lord to put his hand to the work. Children of prayer will grow up to be children of praise ; mothers who have wept before God for their sons, will one day sing a new song over them. Some colts often break the halter, and yet become quiet in harness. God can make those new whom we cannot mend, therefore let mothers never despair of their children as long as they live. Are they away from you across the sea ? Remember, the Lord is there as well as here. Prodigals may wander, but they are never out of sight of the Great Father, even though they may be " a great way off."
Let mothers labor to make home the happiest place in the world. If they are al- ways nagging and grumbling they will lose their hold of their children, and the boys will be tempted to spend their evenings away from home. Home is the best place for boys and men, and a good mother is the soul of home. The smile of a mother's face has enticed many into the right path,
152 JOHN PLOUGHMAN'S PICTURES.
and the fear of bringing a tear into her eye has called off many a man from evil ways. The boy may have a heart of iron, but his mother can hold him like a magnet. The devil never reckons a man to be lost so long as he has a good mother alive. O woman, great is thy power ! See to it that it be used for him who thought of his mother even in the agonies of death.
A HORSE WHICH CARRIES A HAL- TER IS SOON CAUGHT.
WITH a few oats in a sieve the nag is tempted, and the groom soon catches him if he has his halter on ; but the other horse, who has no rope dangling from
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154 JOHN PLOUGHMAN'S PICTURES,
his head, gives master Bob a sight of his heels, and away he scampers. To my mind, a man who drinks a glass or two, and goes now and then to the tap-room, is a horse with his bridle on, and stands a fair chance of being locked up in Sir John Barleycorn's stables, and made to carry Madame Drink and her habit. There's nothing like coming out fair and square, and standing free as the air. Plenty will saddle you if they can catch you ; don't give them the ghost of a chance. A bird has not got away as long as there is even a thread tied to its leg.
"I've taken the pledge and I will not falter; I'm out in the field and I carry no halter ; I'm a lively nag that likes plenty of room, So I'm not going down to the ' Horse and Groom.' "
In other concerns it is much the same : you can't get out of a bad way without leaving it altogether, bag and baggage. Half-way will never pay. One thing or the other : be an out-and-outer, or else keep in altogether. Shut up the shop and quit the trade if it is a bad one : to close the front shutters and serve customers at the back door is a silly attempt to cheat the devil,
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and it will never answer. Such hide-and- seek behavior shows that your conscience has just enough light for you to read your own condemnation by it. Mind what you are at, don't dodge like a rat.
I am always afraid of the tail end of a habit. A man who is always in debt will never be cured till he has paid the last six- pence. When a clock says " tick " once, it will say the same again unless it is quite stopped. Harry Higgins says he only owes for one week at the grocer's, and I am as sure as quarter-day that he will be over head and ears in debt before long. I tell him to clean off the old score and have done with it altogether. He says the trades- people like to have him on their books, but I am quite sure no man in his senses dislikes ready money. I want him to give up the credit system, for if he does not he will need to outrun the constable.
Bad companions are to be left at once. There's no use in shilly-shallying; they must be told that we would sooner have their room than their company, and if they call again we must start them off with a flea in each ear. Somehow I can't get young
156 JOHN PLOUGHMAN'S PICTURES.
fellows to come right out from the black lot ; they think they can play with fire and not be burned. Scripture says, " Ye fools, when will ye be wise ? "
" April the first stands, mark'd by custom's rules, A day for being, and for making, fools ; But, pray, what" custom, or what rule, supplies A day for making, or for being, wise ? "
Nobody wants to keep a little measles or a slight degree of fever. We all want to be quite quit of disease ; and so let us try to be rid of every evil habit. What wrong would it be right for us to stick to ? Don't let us tempt the devil to tempt us. If we give Satan an inch, he will take a mile. As long as we carry his halter he counts us among his nags. Off with the halter! May the grace of God set us wholly free. Does not Scripture say, " Come out from among them, and be ye separate, and touch not the unclean thing " ?
AN OLD FOX IS SHY OF A TRAP.
THE old fox knows the trap of old. You don't catch him so easily as you would a cub. He looks sharp at the sharp teeth, and seems to say,
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158 JOHN PLOUGHMAN'S PICTURES.
" Hello, my old chap, I spy out your trap. To-day, will you fetch me? Or wait till you catch me ?
The cat asked the mice to supper, but only the young ones would come to the feast, and they never went home again. " Will you walk into my parlor ? " said the spider to the fly, and the silly creature did walk in, and was soon as dead as a door- nail.
What a many traps have been set for some of us. Man-traps and woman-traps ; traps to catch us by the eye, by the ear, by the throat, and by the nose; traps for the head and traps for the heart ; day traps, and night traps, and traps for any time you like. The baits are of all sorts, alive and dead, male and female, common and particular. We had need be wiser than foxes, or we shall soon hear the snap of the man-trap and feel its teeth.
Beware of beginnings : he who does not take the first wrong step will not take the second. Beware of drops, for the fellows who drink take nothing but a " drop of beer," or " a drop too much." Drop your