Like cat like kit
Charles Spurgeon · John Ploughman's Pictures; or, More of His Plain Talk for Plain People
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
flocrcrino- and fault-findino; ougrht to be
flosi'cfed 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
I50 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.