St. Johnsbury Caledonian. [volume] (St. Johnsbury, Vt.) 1867-1919, 1878-08-02

full hour the memory of my mothers
came before me like a great, shining
light, and l felt that my mothers God
and Saviour must and should be mine !"
And the daughters! Oh, they will
never forget yOui If they live to sit
the memory of their mothers steals over
them perhaps never till then will they
know the depth of your love. Be hope
full and faithfully tender, and may God
make them all to shine as jewels in
your crown.
cannot help thinking tonight of
those mothers whose darlings have been
taken from them, whose homes are des-
olate and silent. o friends, it seems
very hard now and yet the time will
come when we shall see how love has
led us all along. Gods plans are like
some pure white flower, slowly blossom
ing. We cannot tear the leaves apart,
but must patiently wait until in his
good time the petals unfold and the
golden calyx appears. Do you remem-
her, once, how your darling leased for
some more confectionery of which you
had given her some? She could not see
that it was kindness and love on your
part to take it away; that any more
would be dangerous for her. You knew
what was best for your child. So God
sometimes takes away the sweets of life
| from us; but oh, how like a mother
denying a child what it Graves! And
how often he sends other joys to us to
try and comfort us, just as you brought
that pretty book to your child to make
its trial less severe. If we could only
learn to feel that our children are lent
to us. They are Gods, and we are
taking care of them until he is ready to
receive them to himself. They Irvine
around our hearts SO closely that this is
not always an easy task but if the
souls, perhaps life and death, too, will
Fathers hand.
Let us trust the children. We do not
know what harm we may do ehild's
heart by looks of suspicion and dis
trust. A lady, herself now IL mother,
told me that one of the bitterest mem
cries of her childhood was of a day
when her teacher accused her of fault
of which she was innocent, and sent to
her mother a communication of her
supposed guilt. The child asserted her
innocence. but circumstances were
against her, and even her mother, to
whom she had always spoken the truth,
would not take her word. For hours
the mistaken mother talked to the
child, trying to make her cOnfess-the
poor little thing still asserting her in
nOcence. At last, her nerves so over
wrought, and her whole being culver
ing with excitement and unjust treat
ment, she actually confessed herself
guilty of fault that she had never
committed but from that day to this,
a reserve has existed between that
mother and daughter which will never
be broken down until, in the light of
eternity, all these earthly stains and
mistakes are washed away. mothers,
have faith in your children 1t will he
their greatest safeguard in this world
of temptations to know that you trust
them.
Dear friends, shall we not throw open
the windows of our souls and let in
Gods sunshine to every corner, taking
our children into its depths with us,
keeping them there, warmed and COM
| lOfteu NlUn nlOtnef-lONe, SO UlaU no
other earthly love shall ever seem to
them so sweet and precious?
o mothers, in cottages and mansions,
by the sounding sea, or meath the
mountain shadows in lonely backwoOds
places, in the far West, or in our own
crowded cities, wherever stands baby's
crib, OF blooms a baby's grave, let us
clasp hands and come close together in
sympathy and thought, and be of some
aid to each other. Let us not think the
labor of our hands frutless; the small
est duties are sometimes followed by
the greatest results, and a mothers in
| f1uence is unbOunded.
think none but mother knows all
the sweetness there is in child, and so
none but mother knows all that lit
tie grave tells us. While guided, sus-
tanned and comforted by him who took
little children in his arms and blessed
them, we can go forward in our sublime
life-work with no anxiety for the future,
glad in the service, for it is for loves
sake. Good night.-ZiOn's Herald.