“I call him my consolation,” said his mother. “He can do _anything_, and he does it so easily, so quietly.” And, indeed, the way in which this refined lad handed you your plate, your glass of milk, or cup of coffee, gave a dignity to the meal, while conferring honor on all parties concerned. The phrase “menial labor” had no significance when he was basting the meat or ironing the “belated” table-cloths for his mother. Usually, when a woman in very straitened circumstances has an extremely large family, she presently becomes oppressed and discouraged. Her ambition is foiled. She can neither clothe, educate, nor train the children properly, and the latest comers are apt to have a poorer make-up--a fag-end sort of air. Here, on the contrary, was the flower of the flock, a youth full of _faculty_, at home on the piano-forte stool as at the knife-board, _determined to sustain his mother_ at all hazards. I sought eagerly the explanation of this phenomenon, and the happy mother in full, varied, and affectionate tones, gladly replied to my inquiries. “When I found myself pregnant with my tenth child, the nine were living and all at home. My husband’s salary--he was a preacher--was between three and four hundred dollars a year. Fortunately, we owned the little place on which we lived, and yet, if you will recall those Eastern winters, you will realize the great difficulty I had in keeping us all clothed as well as fed. It seemed to me not a virtue, but a sin, to bring more children into the world, and I made up my mind that _this_ should be the _very last_. I would take matters into my own hands. “But the thing now to be thought of was a little clothing for the expected baby. I had not a rag to make over, not a dollar for the purpose. “At this juncture a gentleman, an agent for some religious publication house, called, and as the custom was, I asked him to spend the day, which he did, and I had considerable talk with him. He left, and returned while I was preparing supper, and seemed greatly surprised to find that I had no help. ‘What! _nine_ children to cook and sew for, and no help!’ He had never supposed such a thing possible. I explained that I had a _primitive_ constitution, but still I found myself giving way lately. Whenever I had a trifle ready to pay out, which was very seldom, I employed, it was true, a woman poorer than myself, but less burdened, to do the washing. His astonishment, however, continued. “A week or two after this visit, I received a letter from a distant city, saying that my case had made a profound impression on him, and that having met with a coterie of ladies belonging to a certain congregation who were anxious to assist some missionary, or help in some other good cause, he had mentioned me and my circumstances, and they were of one mind, eager to help me, and wished to know if I would accept a present in the spirit in which it was offered; and if so, would I indicate what things would be most useful to me.