The Baltimore County union. [volume] (Towsontown, Md.) 1865-1909, 1880-11-06
GRuMBLE, GRuMBLE.

A few days ago young man died un
der peculiarly distressing circumstances
His death was so sudden, and it nigh,
have been so easily avoided by littl,
thoughtfulness, and he was so young
and so strong, and so we'll! But the mos,
distressing thing about il to his mother
was his evident lack Of readiness foI
death. Why he died-that is, the cause
of his death-thc doctor seemed not to
know ; but why hewas not ready to die,
some who Knew him and his family well,
have suggested mostsignifcant reason.
He died an ungodly man ifthese people
reason about correctly because Of his pa.
rents habit Of grumbling.
They were church members, but many
years ago had changed their residence
from the country to the city, and their
position in the church from one Of in
flucnce in small society to one of COM
parative obscurity in large one. The
new status never pleased them; they
were proud and disappointed 4; they did
not enjoy their back seats. Then they
began to grumble. They grumble at the
minister, he did not do pastoral work
enough to please them, they had been
accustomed to see the pastor every day
or two, in the old home, this man SEEM
cd indifferent to them neither did his
preaching suit them ; and he had alto
gether too biga salary, and they fancied,
seemed to preach for money. They
grumblcd at the aristocrats in the church,
people who had no business to be so
"s;uck up" the church itself was be-
coming "too expensive luxury for poor
folks. They grumbled at the hypo-
critics people who joined the church
who were no better than they should be /;
they did not know but there were as
good people out Of the church as in; the
church was afraid to discipline its black
sheep, and such state OF things was a
disgrace. They grumbled at the quar-
te;te choir, and all the city and new-fan-
gled notions at the stupid prayer-meet-
ings, and thc"clap-trap Sunday school |"
And every Sabbath at dinner-table, after
the morning sermon, the children heard
this same grumble, grumble, grumble,
till it was little wonder, il, after awhile,
this sort of endorsement of the church
and the minister by the parents, began
to bear fruit in an indifference and pres
entity even a hostility to the whole thing
represented by the church, which grad
ually made an irreligious, Sabbath-break-
ing, low-lived family out OF one which,
fifteen years before, had been conspicu-
ously Christian household.
The mother changed least. She made
no particular effort to silence the grum-
bling did her full share Of il; was very
ready to make 4 pretcxt Of illness to dis
continue church going altogether by
her incessant complainings made it de-
cidedly uncomfortable for the ladies Of
the church who called upon her, and for
the pastors who came one after another
and sought her out as church member,
and tried TO arouse her to her duty /; but
she was first to be conscious of a wrong
drift among those she loved she could
not long be blind to the change for the
worse which was 'transpiring in her sons.
She mourned the company they kept
the company they had often heard her
say was as good as the people in the
church, many of them she was wound
cd by their coarse abuse Of religious
people she began to be sensible Of
dull agony Of spirit on account of their
habits she was bewildered, and her own
faith was sometimes almost lost, as she
heard them boldly avow the greatest in
fidelity-those boys Of hers who, in their
country home years ago, had so delight
ed in the Sabbath-school, one Of whom
she had consecrated at his birth to the
Christian ministry; but the finishing
touch to her misery came when that same
son, having outstripped all the others in
boldncss Of infdelity and badness life,
was one day, without a moments warn
ing, summoned to yield his soul into the
hands Of his Maker. And now she sits
in her darkened room scarcely sure Of
her reason at times, going over again
the years Of the downward grade of her
family's career, and whether or not some
echo Of the reasons people are giving for
her sad experience has reached her ears,
her own words are no, empty Of bitter
self.reproach for this sin Of hers, repented
of-shall we say-too late ?-Consycga-
HoaAsf.