Question. Is your mother living, or how old was you when she died?
| Mothers living | 766 | |||||||
| Under | 5 | years | 268 | |||||
| From | 5 | " | to 10 | years | 195 | |||
| " | 10 | " | to 15 | " | 277 | |||
| " | 15 | " | to 20 | " | 281 | |||
| Unascertained | 213 | |||||||
| Totals | 1234 | 766 | ||||||
| —— | 1234 | |||||||
| Aggregate | 2000 | |||||||
From the preceding tables, it appears that more than half of these women are orphans, 1349 of them have lost their fathers, and 1234 were deprived of their mothers. In both cases, the ages of the children at the death of their parents are in nearly the same ratio; thus, two hundred and eighty-nine fathers and two hundred and sixty-eight mothers died when their children were under five years of age; two hundred and eight fathers and one hundred and ninety-five mothers died when their children were under ten years of age; two hundred and fifty-two fathers and two hundred and seventy-seven mothers died when their children were under fifteen years of age. The average of the deaths of either parent will therefore be, when the children were
| Under | 5 | years | of | age | 279 | ||
| From | 5 | " | to | 10 | years | 202 | |
| " | 10 | " | to | 15 | " | 265 |
and the aggregate result that 1479 parents died before their daughters had reached the age at which a female most needs aid and advice.
At any time and under any circumstances the thought of death is dispiriting. The idea of rending all earthly ties; of bursting asunder bonds which have formed for years a part of our very existence, of leaving the world with its joys and pleasures, its cares and griefs, for the “undiscovered bourne,” is appalling in contemplation; more appalling still when the family circle is invaded, and a father whom we have revered, or a mother whom we have loved, is taken from us.
The death of a father is a sad calamity for his children; the hand that has nourished and protected them, that has toiled for their support, is cold in the grave; their earthly support is gone. But a more grievous affliction still is the death of a mother. It is she to whom the children look in all their infant sufferings; it is her ear that is ever open to their sorrows; it is her bosom on which they are pillowed in sickness; her care which guides their steps in infancy; her love which warns them of the dangers that menace them in after life. Bereft of a mother’s watchful tenderness, they are comparatively alone in the world, and many of their sorrows must be dated from that event.
The answers to these questions are full of material for mournful reflection, and strongly indicate the increased responsibilities of surviving relatives toward the orphans. This point has been already so strongly insisted upon that it would be a needless reiteration to argue its necessity.
Question. Do you drink intoxicating liquor? If so, to what extent?