Juniata sentinel and Republican. [volume] (Mifflintown, Juniata County, Pa.) 1873-1955, 1880-07-28
On Grafton,

In pleasant grove, about one mile from
the village of Richfeld, this county, con-
vened on the morning of the 18th inst, a
large gathering of people, under the au-
spices of the Union Sabbath school of that
place; for the purpose of holding a celebra-
ton, and upon which occasion Mr.. S. V.
Mills, of the vicinity, was called upon to
speak, when he drose, and made, to the very
anxious and attentive assenblage, the fol-
lowing lively and glossy address. aud which
Is here given, at the request of the officials
of the school:
Friends Of The Sabbath-SchocI. Permit me
TO here acknowledge that l, but a few days
ago, was more than ordinarily surprised on
account of your written request, that
} should meet you here, upon this more than
common occasion, for the purpose of making
you public address, and can justly as
sure you, thar were it not repugnant to me,
: or rather TO my feelings, to have ii said of
me, that he is a recreant to the performance .
of moral duty, and one that lacks inspira-
lion in cause so all-important as is this
one, for which you have here so generally
and generously assembled as q Sabbath
school organization and a community, /
certainly would have declined your kind in
vitation to me, as a comparative stranger in
your midst, which it has been my honor to
receive, and your preference and pleasure to
give me.
Knowing, ladies' and gentlemen, that
brevIty of speech has become almost the
universal rule upon occasions of this kind,
and that their more especial object is that of
recreation for the young in the capacity of
outdoor freedom, shall forbear indulgence,
in offering here in my weak capacity, as
practical Sabbath school advocate, counsel
to the young, the able, and more appropri-
ate admonitions, than 1 in that direction
would have capacity to give, by your able
ministers here, already afforded, have In
my estimation, been all sufficient. Iwould
simply conform to the duty, to here public
/ ly allege and say the proprietors of this
work, that too little esteem, upon the part
of the outside world, by those who are not
co-operatives in this great cause, is enter
talned for the institution of the Sabbath
school. Too little credit indeed is given,
as it were, by every one to those who con-
stitute the moral guides and moral instruc-
tors of the youthful minds, beneath the tri
umphant banner of the Sabbath-school.
Would we, as parents, desire the moral
training of the child; would We have its
perceptibilties gilded with the light of
moral truth, as splendid indeed as is the
glitterlng dew-drop of morning upon the
opening flower; would We hope for the
moral elevation of our loved ones, and the
dissemination of the light of Christianity
throughout the world, We must unite in
moral action, and in the determination to
zealously prosecute the great work to which
it has been my pleasure, as well as domes-
tic profit, also to here allude.
Parents, counsel yourselves to assume not
the ability to ele, ate your representatives.
your children, to high pinnacle of literary
and scientific attainment, forgetful of the
fact, that in the absence, upon their part, of
love of virtue, and the making of a rep
utation for moral integrity, but little iustre
can they add to their mental achievements,
or honor TO those who sought to be their
parental benefactors. Forget not the moral
excellence of the Sabbath-schooi, and that
it may be termed ever appropriately, as an
indispensable auxiliary to the vital cause of
youthful improvement, and the nations
universal religious enlightenment As pa
rents, we are caused, from the result of OBJ
servation and public readings, TO know that
too many are the decisions with which the
rising generation is surrounded, and too
many the devices, infamous in character,
held out in life, IN the enchantment of
Youthful prostratiOn, and in order for the
serious consummation of youthful ensnare-
ment, and that the exercise of the most
careful ,igilance, upon the part Of one and
all, is the only requisite adequate to meet
the task of their preservation from the im-
pending doom of ignominy, and life's many
and unwelcome inglorious disappOintments.
Who, that is worthy the name of loving
parent, can carelessly omit to indulge In do
mestic teachings conducive to the moral
welfare and discipline of the family circle 2
Who, that is a true husband and father, can
exercise a disposition of indifference per-
tanning to the intellectual and religious wei
fare of those who, TO him, should be the
dearest in life, the foremost, and that con-
stitute the hope and pleasure of his domes-
tic tireside.
l would urge that We as intelligent people,
in realization of our mental abilities, and
superior calling in life, reject every element
detrimental TO our every moral success, and
initiate against the many insinuations utter
ed upon the part of philosophical pecula-
tors throughout the land, whose only pur-
pose foreshadows that of enmity to chris
tianity, and the Generalization of society,
Church and State. Let us ever strive to
show, as far as it is possible upon our part
amples, the true walks of life, impress upon
their minds and ours the fact that we as in
dividuals, society and nation, are fast
tending to responsible ends. Let us feel
humble in the fact, that ours is a religious
nationality, and that beneath the banner of
religious freedom, has it sprung from an in
fant government TO that of a worlds famed
and appreciated empire of religious liberty
that it is ours, as it was bequeathed TO us,
under the influences of a benign Provi-
dence, by our ancestry TO perpetuate and
enjoy, as ours, from the cause of a common
decentralization, to impair and sadly destroy
the history of nations, TO us as people,
have afforded satisfactory and impressive
proofs of sin, the many Forums that have
silenced, and from whose Spacious halls no
more the voice of the Champion Orator is
heard, and the many monuments of archi
tectural beauty, that throughout the world
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