I have been reading through a book online and was so pleased with it that I have ordered a copy from Amazon. The Mother at Home; or the Principles of Maternal Duty by the Rev. John S.C. Abbott is wonderful. You can see it all online here.
Flip through it and enjoy his instruction.

It is full of practical help and insight into the role and importance of the mother in the home (as our first sphere of government, right?).

Here is a quote concerning Washington that gives all mothers cause for pause:

The mother of Washington is entitled to a nation’s gratitude. She taught her boy the principles of obedience, and moral courage, and virtue. She, in a great measure, formed the virtue of the hero, and the statesman. It was by her own fire-side that she taught her playful boy to govern himself; and thus he was prepared for the brilliant career of usefulness which he afterward pursued. We are indebted to God for the gift of Washington; but we are no less indebted to him for the gift of his intestimable mother. Had she been a weak, and indulgent, and unfaithful parent, the unchecked energies of Washington might have elevated him to the throne of a tyrant; or youthful disobedience might have prepared the way for a life of crime and a dishonored grave.

 I love the language of liberty in this description. We should all keep in mind what Ms. Dang referred to as “the power of one.” Mrs. Washington understood this principle and a nation was born as a result.

This also reminds me of a passage in T&L by Rev. S. Phillips: “‘…when there is a Sarah in the house, there will be an Isaac in the cradle; wherever there is a Eunice teaching a Timothy the scriptures from a child, there will be a Timothy teaching the Gospel to the rest of mankind….’” (p. 11)

I cannot wait to get my copy to mark up and highlight!

Anna-Marie