The San Francisco Call. Newspaper, April 20, 1902, Page 14

-t 'S who dreamed that ariot rushing down cey terrible and immi- the ynoment about to cru : little one, the figure of T was lying on 2 tomb s m his stony sleep and blew f warning. while an angel 1 s fortt he little or s thought of this t recently felt and ¢ over-wroug 1 he fe. The re- anc and be y 1 that the ar- d models for terature offer us alué of child life id, infancy was manhood, the er. Only Before sion itic xtre: ough frequenc of licentiou: feeling of the heart s were but little rec- orrs said tha s changed this sad state were of the identified him- the remarkable words such little my name receiveth me.” It is with childhood, oloring to modern liter- be traced back to the ve influenced more e and art of modern ye become as little chil- enter the kingdom of w saying to the world under which all dence appeared in the g was evidently be- arers jes for the Christian full meaning of ces, and it is only recently realized as a fact of ordi- receive or e important question and state to-day than f childhood. The most times is the great taking in solving coming to be rec- A pastor was the question of so- came in with de- 2d - wanted advice ‘Oh, my dear,” he ot give my time to little mestic service. 1 am try- the social problem of the Well,” replied the wife, in the kitchen promise to s e the problem e in twenty-four hours know w near that house- the truth in the matter r reply to her husband, would not have over- e facts of the situation if she tuted “f problem in the the sroblem in the proble two orgaffizations which em- he great importance of child The National Congress of Mothers, recently convened at Washington. Outlook, speaking of the congress, seems to confirm the pre- there exists a » who belfeve that the world pays so much as her work. Interest in the work of congress is probably deeper and more in that of any other special ization, for its subject is the very nature of things ; always be pre-eminent true womanhood.” ser association which is serving effective way the vital inter- the home and ehfld life is the League for the Protection of Its twenty-second annual a decided Increase of in- various problems affecting e the divinely appointed their children, and what- benefits which accrue to them zations, their personal duties re be given over to another or rganization than can a star its to another or a flower its beauty rance to another. f the first things for parents to roughly into their minds und eat truth that “children are a heritage of the Lord.” n Oriental a imerous progeny was the first of blessings, giving value and ta to ali others. gift of children was considered a f Divine favor and blessing; the g them was evidence of Divine witauol displeagu ldren were considered emphatically With many to-day children, welcomed with joy, af- 1 thaksgiving, are regarded as s incumbrance and & burden. God’' has designed that one of the se- rets of a happy home is in childhood. A child s one of heaven's choicest gifts, 2nd in that home where a child is unwel- come there can be no true, happy home. 300 home is one where the merry voice of childhood is heard. Childless homes, however, adorned with worldly afiluence are most unenviable. In much of soclety, so called in these imes, the advent of a child is looked upon 2s & curse, while & pug or poodie dog worshiped and adored. = Kennels are ccoming more numerous than radies, and dog raising is quite a lucra- tive business. stead babe in & ¥ e is @ well-spring of pleasure, messenger of peace and love, resting piace for immocence on earth, link & n angels and men. S Ghe RECIPROCAL Y/ aid of little children that those who receive them in his name receive hin.. It.should be looked upon as a sacred hour in a home when God places a little babe in the arms of loving parents. Such » comes directly from God's hands fragments of heaven trailing it to the home it enters. It comes possibility of blessing and hap- s to the don’t k Jesus w how big a place these prattling little ones fill in our nearts and homes until they are gone from us. Ask that mother who sits by that empty crib and with empty arms how much home happiness she got from the children. Once she was easily wearied by the children’s noise, but now, with aching heart. she would give the world to have her baby to nurse or her rollicking boy or girl to care for. Margaret E. Sangster writes beautifully of— , The Little Arm Chair. Nobody sits in the lttle armchair; It stands in a corner dim; But white-haired mother gazing there. And yearningly thinking of him, Sees through the dust of the long ago The bloom of her boy's sweet face, As he rocks so merrily to and fro, With a laugh that cheers the place. Sometimes he holds a book in his hand, Sometimes a pencil and slate, . And the lesson is hard to understand, And the figures hard to mate. But she sees the nod of his father's head, So proud of the little son, And she hears the words so often said: “No fear for our little one.” They were wonderful days, the dear, wweet days, When a child with sunny hair ‘Was hers to scold, to kies, to praise, At her knee in the little chair. She lost him back in the busy years When the great world caught the mat, And he strode away past hopes and fears To his place in the battle's van. But now and then in a wistful dream, Like & picture out of date, She sees the head with a golden gleam Bent over @ pencil and slate. And she lives again in the happy day, The day of her young life’s .spring, When the small armchair stood just in tne way, The ceniter of everything. (Il TRE SUNDAY FELATIONS e =) LD -, CALL. ¢ L ettt et ————————————————————— Truly, children are one of the secrets of 2 hapny home. As it has been truly de- clared: “It is a dismal house where there is a silent nursery. It may be scrupu- lously clean and faultlessly prim, but there Is a strangely felt absence of life, of voice, of genial humanity.” When the father of Jochn Wesley re- ceived his son uninjured from the window of the burning parsonage, he exclaimed: “Come, neighbors, let us kneel down; let us give thanks unto God; he has given me all my eight children; let the house go, I am rich enough.” He felt the truth of Robert Southey's words: “Call not that man wretched who, whatever ills he suf- fer, has a child to love”: and with Dick- ens, when he says, T love these little people, and it is not a slight thing when they, whe are so fresh from God, love us.” ’ A mother muses on God's gift of a babe tg her as follows: And thou art mine, thou helpless, trembling thing, 2 Thou lovely presence? Bird, where is thy wing? How pure thou art, fresh from the flelds of light, ‘Where angels garner grain in robes of white. Didst thou bring sealed instructions with thee, Dove, How to unlock the fount of mother love? Full well dost thou fulfill thy winsome part; With holy fire they're writ upon my heart. My child, I.fear thee; thou'rt & spirit, soul! How, shall T walk before thee, keep my gar- ments whole? O Lord, give strength, give wisdom for the task, To train the childsfor thee. Yet more I ask: Tiite of my lite, for thee I crave best gifts, and glad more tnan, even M dreams, thy mother had. O Father! fine this gold, oh, polish this, my Gem, Till it is fair and fitting for thy diadem! The next thing of importance to be real- ized and fully appreciated is that children, as. God’s heritage, are precious .in his sight and are worthy of honor. The apostle exhorts, “Provoke not your chil- dren that they be not discouraged.” Children begin life on the elevation at which we quit it and they ‘are deserving of honor from us. A child that is not worthy of some degree of honor is an anomaly in nature. Many a child ‘has been discouraged by the parents with- holding the homor due his noble nature. Parents who never see anything to honor in their children will never be of any help to them. Hono: feature in helpin; Children are wl make the are represented in Psalms, exxv “cg arraws in the hand of a mighty man.” From a knowledge of archery we learn that arrows go the way we aim them. As parents and teachers we are to aim them aright to the mark “in the nurture and admonition of the Lord” (Eph.. vi:7). The time will come when children will be arrows out of our hand. It will be too late then to bend them. Children may be- come arrows in the heart. " There is cer- tainly need of a revival of real heartfelt Interest among parents and teachers—a revival of appreciation for the value of childhood, of more wise and Christian training of children. The value of a child? Who can tell what possibilities are wrapped up in a little child! Children are a'sacred trust and solemn responsibility. . As they are weakly fon- dled or foolishly spoliled, or kindly, wisely and strictly disciplined to obedience and duty, will they be a source of dismal darkness and keen worrow or of blessing and happiness. One has forcibly sald: “Parents must not trifie with their children, like idiots playing with sharp tools; but ds the bow- man straightens and polishes his arrow, gives it a solid point and wings it with proper feathers, they must educate their sons and: daughters in the name and with the help of the Rewarder of them that diligently seek him.” Then another thing about the arrow that is suggestive ‘to us is that it is pre- pared and directed when in the hand. So the time for parents to direct and ‘prepare thelr children for life's batties is before they go forth into the world. God has made the parents his ordained guardians of the childhood, and he has promised if they “train up a child in the way he ‘should go, when he is old he will not depart from it. (Prov.-xxii:6.) The home and family life should be Jealously guarded. Home is the place ‘where childrer ought most to be, and ‘Where they love most to be. It is injuri- ous to the home and to the ones con- cerned to be much away from the home. In our fair California, whose climate per- ‘mits so mueh of an out-of-door existence, parents have speclal reasons to jealously guard the interests of home and the family life. The genial climate, With the cutdoor habits and pursuits which it fosters, is liable to rob us of much of the warmth and social intercourse of the common-and family hearth. Children of California, it is to be feared, do not come under the care and guidance of the parental eye as the children in the East, where the climate is so vigorous and causing more home staying. An Eastern critlc, speaking of the home and family life, says of our out- door life: ‘“‘Much of the life of child- hood is spent in the garden and on the street. 'When evening comes the family do not always gather around a com- ‘mon hearth, or lamp; but some are romp- ing/about the streets or riding. on the free train, or are studying their lessons alone in their rooms, or are at the club or lodge meeping or at a neighber’s: in fact anywhere but at home. When sum- mer comes the annual hegira of ¢amp life Legins.” If it be a family party, where ather and mother and children; rela- tives and dear friends unite to form a temporary home under the trees, in wkich parental oversight ard discipline are not relaxed but exercised the more, even if exercised gently, such an outing is a blessing. But too often camp life not this—a mere aggregation of people with no- deeper bond than chance of superfi- cial acquaintance, with no moral purpose, devoted to eating, wining and flirting, and tending to no good end. “Most everything that is morally wrong in California is by some charged to her climate. One thing is certain—ther is need of parents guarding more carefully the life of their children at this point. The street school is net calcuated to aid in building up the interests of tne home. ‘The Standard says: “The old cus- tom of ‘ringing the curfew has been re- established In the villages and towns of Canada, in accordance with an act passed at_the last session of Parliament. This new act, though not as strict as the old one, requires that all children under 17 all be off - the street at 9 o'clock, the hour of the:ringing of the curfew The Exchange gives'a timely and earnest warning ‘o th& night-running of childrep. “Young men and boys, after the day's work is done and supper over, think they must have their relaxation and fun. There is no objection to this if it is sought for in a rational w In towns the coys and young men assemble on the street corners or in places where games are plaved or where beer or liquor is sold. The ques- tion is submitted whether these are ra- tional or proper wdys to seek recreation dnd fun. In the country they go to the store or the tavern or to the postoffice, or to the small village where these are lo- cated, in which case the occupatigns and the ‘relaxation and fun’ -are much like those sought and found in the towns. The ‘question is here again submitted whether trfiso” methods are rational and profit- able. Running about, at night is hard on the body, health and strength of voung men. When they have to work during the dey they are stupid and dull, apt tu be care- less and not_infrequently irritable and unpleasant. Loss of rest and sleep pro- duce these results, even though no indul- gence in drinking and carousing attend the night-running. But when these are added to the playing of games of chance, the indulgence of obscene stories and all the other crookedness inherent in night- running, the moral degradation is more deplorable than the physical strain. The whole thing in the shape in which it ex- ists is wrong. Who is to blame and how is it to be corrected? The appeal must be made to the parents to correct the grow- ing tendency to running about at night. It is one of the very worst things for thé physical and moral welfare of our youth. Bad habits are learned, morals are de- bauched, character is compromised. Pa- rents and guardians should therefore give this matter their serious attention. Home must be made attractive to the young. Furnish | them rational and- pleasant means of amusement. Make the social at- mosphere, the intelligence, the fun of home so pleasant and desirable that tue children will prefer them to running away from. home every night. Home should be made attractive, and children should have a chadge to enjoy themselves in the home. One of the first dyties of a parent is to show a generous sympathy with the plays of his children. If properly treated in the home the chil- dren will not prefer to spend their even- ings away from the home. Without proper entertainment at home _children will seek joy and pleasure on the street and in unhallowed places. One way to keep the boys at home evenings Is to give them some kind of interesting entertain- ment. Your boys go qut at night be- cause they find entertainment elsewhere, You should furnish it in some way at home. You, their fathers and mothers, are the ones to supervise their amuse- ments. Get some simple and interesting games of an innocent character, suggests an Eastern paper, lay aside your dignity, recall the spirit of your own younger days, entering heartily into the games with your boys, and vou will get a hold on them that will keep them at home Wwhen more stern commands would utterly fail. The wealth you are accumulatiag may be a doubtful blessing to the son Who is a stranger to you. Your beauti- fully kept house,; busy mother, can never be ‘a home to the daughter whom you have no time to caress. The influence of parents over their chil- dren begins very early in life. Child edu- cation begins long before responsibility be- gins. Home is the most powerful school an earth and the parent is the most power- ful teacher,” molding character and di- recting _conduct. The mother’s Influence is mightier than pulpit or throne. Then the parents’ influence makes permanent impressions upon the life of the children. it was Richter who sald: “Every first thing continues forever with the child; the fiTst color, the first music, the first flower, paint the foreground of iife. Every new educator effects less than his predecessor, until at last, if we regard all life as an educational ‘institute, a circumnavigator of the world is less influenced by all the nations he has seen than by his nurse.” Benjamin West says: “A kiss ffom my mother made me a vainter.” -~ Cowper voices a great truth when he says: The fond attachment to the well-known place, Whence first we started into life's long race, Retains its hold with such unfailing sway, We feel It e'en in age, and at our latest day— *“The Old Arm Chair,” or the regard of children for their parents. The words of holy writ. = “Honor thy father and thy mother,” need much emphasis in this day. Parents do not receive the honor due them from their sons and daughters because the latter ignore to a great extent this most sacred command. There are rare instances of filial love and devotion to home and parents which need to be mentioned.to Temind others less considerate of - their dear “old folks at home.” - At home slights and insults are given with impu- nity. No_ regard is paiG o courtesy or respect. No apology is offered for any in- justice. There is engendered by this spirit an enmity that becomes life-long be- tween brothers and sisters, and even pa- rents and children, Tt ls’fi‘trange how cruel Wwe are in our homes. ere relatives as- sume the privilege to criticize most mer- cilessly. 0 stranger would dare to do what they do. Many sons and daughters never do anything toward making home happy. They expect their parents to see to the home, As much as they may love the home seutiment, yet they do next to nothing toward embodying that sentiment in a bright, cheering home. Their amb tion is to make friends among strangers and not at home. They take it for gran ed that the friendship of the friends home needs not to be fostered and’culti- vated. Father, mother, brothers and sis- ters all seem to be beyond the pale of friendship. Brothers and sisters should be a courteous at home as they ’a\"z abroad. Only kind words, words of praise and encouragement should be spoken. The cold world on the dutside will do emougk scolding, fault-finding and beating. Thers should be real love and respect for one another in the home. It seems to be easier to give the smile to the stranger and the frown to dear one in the home. Many brothers and sisters have lived to regre! their thoughtlessness and indifference tg or. Many children have had one anot A plenty of time to repent as the: real?l}}:? bitter harvest o fathe and_mother. d urgent need o. children under- stand each ¢ other at valuation. give ¢ t from our I and 2 for the da ll may seem unn ake time to our dear on will come a tim no longer hear one expres: seem more wise than our be: The small courtesies, Which omitted because t day look larg which we have cov which we have stru; we should take time to get well acquainted. For the sake of 8 £ o be pleasant and all should do their best music for the rest To = While it may be possible to overlook slights and nkind things among the children of a home seem almost un- 2 able when inflicted upon father or pardonabl: n infli ES mother, especially in their old Think of such an advertisement as, this: “Wanted—A good home for an/ aged mother. Will be paid well for trouble. This flashes before us a picture. sweet young mother bending ove m! ing babe in the cradle, fair and beautiful and devoted. Cares now, grow h():v‘\"’ 1% the years go by. The d her boy grows the more grow the ¢ of her ii the! heavier her burdens, a devoted mother can do ly and tenderly her son’s hand, him safely through man: out smoother places for his fe h way grows ruzged, shields him and pro- tects him and guides him through child- hood's slippery paths, soothing his heart in sorrows and lovingly and nobly stand- ing by him in the sterner trials of man- hood. However much she suffers, she néver leaves nor forsakes her boy. There comes a change in the young man’s life; he marries a fair young woman and makes a home for himself, but he makes no provision in it for his mother. He says mother is old now and pe('u.k ays and somewhat of a burden [ sides, in these modern times especiall it isn't very pleasant to have old folks like she around when company is pres- ent. So he thinks it easier to pay some one for caring for her or to put her in an old people’s - home. Th_» older sl grows the more care she will require an the greater burden she will become. Then, you know, it isn’t the best thing for srow- ing children to have old folks around A them, as it will make them old in their ways, But stop and think, my boy! Re- sher you once were weak heip- ss and needed a strong and tender to feed you and steady your step er might have -turned you o nurse’s care with instructions that mwust be kept out of her sight a were so much trouble to her. But what true-hearted mother could ever do su thing? She, knowing thaf no voice touch could soothe and quiet the sobs unrest of her boy like hers, ke close td her bosom and nursed through sickness and trouble to health and culetne: But row behold your own inhumanit yea, vour bestlality. How ecan you fuse mother, now weak and helpless and in need of your love and care, the devotion pessible? Can you for a mom refuse to_be aff to ste the feet her who ha the de: and noblest friend of fe, when she nee support the m Have you degene into such an ungrateful wretch that would kire with gold me one to hold the cup steady in her palsied hand? How unnatural for children ashamed of their pafent to aid them and to wantoniy imp ticnal burdens upon them. The mentable instances of such fil tude. There are daughters whose tion at boarding school was made pos- sible by the strictest economy practiced in the house by the mother, and whe after life have heaped insult and bur upon the plain, old-fashioned womaa whom they call mother. Oh, the gra- cious induigence of kind mothers and the ungratefulness of unkind daughters. How much more noble and beautif of John Randolph of Roa very much attached to his mot and her death left a melancholy and striki impression upon him ever afterward. He said: “I am all but friendless—only one humen being ever knew me. She knew me—my mother.” He always of her in terms of deepest affection and frequently visited her grave, where he would shed tears of sorrow. It was the last wish of his heart to be buried by her side. Henry Clay expressed profound af- 1 fection and veneration for his mother, whom he considered a model of maternal character and female excellence. 3 said _after his mother's death he met his constituents in Woodford County without some allusion to her which deeply affected both him and his audience. Near- Iy his last words were, “Mother, mother, mother.” Benjamin Franklin referred to his mother in the tenderest tone of filial affection and manifested his respect and affection for her among other ways in frequent presents. Thomas Gray, author of “Elegy in a Country '‘Churchyard, tenderly loved his mother while she livad, and - cherished her memory with sacred sorrow. It is sald he never mentioned his motheér's nime without a sigh. He placed the following indeription over her re- maips: ““The careful, tender mother of many children, one of whom alone had the misfortune to survive her.” One has sald: “Wherever the name and genius of are known there shall also his moth- gr's, virines be told for a memorial of o 1t is said a very tender love always ex- isted between Robert Browning and his mother. In his early manhood it was his rule, as long as he continued under the parental roof, never to go to bed)without giving her a good-night kiss. If out so late that he was obliged to admit himself with a latch key he still went to her in her_room. Whatever else these noted men may not have done, one thing cam never be charged against them—that of unfaithful- ness to the Divine command, “Honor thy father and thy mother.” With them blood didn’t run thin. The old armchair is worthy your re- spect and reverence. Don't let the dear ald folks feel that they cannot be useful any more. Respect their taste and judg- ment and old habits. These may have been all right in their day, and It Is not easy for them to relinquish their old ways as they descend the hiliside of life. All our_earthly relations will too soon charge. Broken tles will soon come. The home of our childhood will soon enough b= gone from us. Our friendship on earth | will sever. Then let us guard against giving needless offense. It is sad to part with those we love, but it is sadder to be self-reproached for unfaithfulness to friends. - We should enjoy our present life and relations in life until we meet where there shall be an eternal present. Eliza Cook says of “The Old Armchair”: 1 love it—TI love it, and who shall dare To chide me for loving that old arm-chai-? T've treasured it long as a sainted prize— T've bedewed it with tears, and embalmed ft “with sighs; *Tis bound by a thousand bands to my heart, Not a tle will break, nor a link will start Would you learn the spell? A mother sat there And a sacred thing is that old arm-chair. In childhood's hour I lingered near The hallowed seat with listening ear; And gentle words that mother would give To fit me to die and teach me to lve. She told me shame would never betide 2 With Gust for my creed. and God for my guide; She_taught me to lisp my earliest prayer, As T knelt beside that old arm-chair. I sat apd watched her many a day ‘When her eyes grew dim and her locks were And 1 almost worshiped her when she smiled And turned from her Bihle to.bless her child. Years rolled on, but the last one sped— My idol Was shattered—my earth-star fled I lsarnt how much the heart can bear, ‘When I saw her die in that old arm-chair. 'Tis past! ‘tis past! but I gaze on it now ‘With quivering breath and throbbing brow; ’Twanrnlehdere she nursed me—'twas there she And memory flowed with lava tide. S&" it l; folly, and deem me weak, While the scalding tears run down my cheek. But 1 lave it—I love it. and canmot tear My soul from my mother's old arm-chair.