Knoxville daily chronicle. [volume] (Knoxville, Tenn.) 1870-1882, 1881-10-19
TIE cH1LDREr.


discovery or invention, no new phase
of modern thought, or development
of science no new triumph of art {;
no great sphilosopher or poet; no
king, or warrior. with HIS pyramid OF hu.
man skulls for monument; nO statesman
or reformer, actor or teacher but TO one Q.
the commonest of subjects, . class OF beings
best beloved, but most abused mos! In
portant, but most neglected; most-fAmiiisr'
but least understood-the chi'dren.yester-
day unborn, tomorrow the men ana womo1
~ our land The children OF wealth petted
nam oered and csressed, eaIinS ooncon.
And drinking nectar, daring ieArien hignt
and tempting lcar,sn . tss brn;.ed % and
b,a.%;1s hungry for food aud hungry for
love; sroveling and growing, and growing
and rroveling, born 10 beggAry, aud bound
for life of toll, children Of health and hope;
children of disease AID despair: children
of happiness, xnd children of misery;
children Of Law, and children of love;
ssdfsn Of ' ssd ii .ds s' Of
and sorrow. and vice and crime; with
parents and without; parents who love, and
parents who storm and scold. and beat nd
bruise; in palace aud hall. in mansion and
cottagej in hat and hovel-sll launched,
unwittingly, unwillingly,. 10 fail bsrks,
upon the great ocean OF life, tempest.
tossed and stofm-driven, some to sail, and
sympathy, for help. for Heaven! What
can we do-whAt ought we not to do for
thsmS s%z
rulers and reformers-feom poets and phil
osophers-since the world began How
sImost uncared for and deapised they were
till Jesus declared them types OF the King
I haf hat hn
Christian Era they were sucked and
nursed, and cuffed and slapped, - nov:
that mothers protected them and nourished
theu,. with, perhaps, the same instinct that
The Iioness. or the COW, defends and pre-
serves her young. know that in Persia
the boys were taught to run, 10 ride, to
draw the bow and to speak the truth. which
the modsrns seem to undervalus. know,
100 that the Spartsns trained their children
in schools. But what . trainingl Lest
love for mother should efsminxte the
strong, they wore taken away in early in
fancy, and without mother or father,
brother or sister. they were reared in the
ssverest school. according 10 strict military
discipline. The weakly ami deformed
were killed outright.
Not only did the Hindoo mother throw
her laughing athen babe to the monster
of the gauges, ard hear its little bones
crush in his gigantic jaws, and the ANNA
ri.ish give hsrs into the mighty arms Of
molten Aoloch. gradually to be broiled 10
human cIndsr, while its piteous shrisks
we're drowned in the din Of pans, beaten
BY priests. but even Abraham, the
father of the faithful had built an altar
and bound thereon son for burnt Offer,
ing, not in Jest, or play, but with the Sc
the jealousy of the mother of his other
child. he drove Ishmsel. blood Of his blood
and bone Of his bone, into tbs waterless
wilderness of Beersheba, to fsmish and
suffer. and barely escaping death, to grow
up into . savage manhood, bis hand agai INST
every man, Ind every mans hand against
him And Moses, Joshua ard David. lead
Rether with thousands of older persons.
hundreds and hundreds Of pratsling little
ones, whose tongues had never lisped a
hxrsher word than mother, and her they
had CALLED only in want and love.
In the ante Christian literature, too,
have found little reference to children, ex,
oept such a would imply that they were 4
horse. or monkey
There are exceptions, I know but they
are rare, and will bs found to exist in ex-
csptional times or places, when come
Sappho, or Cornelis, by exceptional supe-
riorIty. or advantage, raising herself out of
the degraded condition 10 which we're the
women of even the high civilizations Of
ancient times, asserted her true woman
hood. and challenged the attention of writ
srs to herself or her children. And it may
be mentioned, IS one VI the crowning glo-
riea of Christ's presence. that in addition
TO the blind receiving their sight, the lame
walking. and the poor having the gospel
preached to them, even tbs disciples we're
rebuked for Ignoring the importance OF
childhood, and children were elevated into
the plane o. humanity. Suffer little chill
more correctly and happily rendered." Let
the little children come unto me-" for the
great Lover OF man wished &c break down
the barrier that separated humanity. that
kept Children away from men, wished. not
only to elevate the children, but to assimi.
late the men to them.
From the closing verse of the Old Testa>
usnt Scripture, We may imagine the aliens-
ton Of fathers and children, the neglect of
the latter by the former. and the consequent
death of affection in the old dispensation.
And he shall turn" wrote Malachi. 1.-THE
heart Of the children to the fathers, lest I
come ana smite the earth with . curse"
Jesus spoke the word and it was DONE
Hs took = child upon His knee and blessed
It, and from then till now. every hid who
IA. beard that simple story. plainly told,
h 40. ,eN that the blessing was vicsrious, and
na been drawn to love Hin for it. There
no insoluble mystic y i'm it. No need of
cfeeds. and dogmas. and catechisms, and
COZ fsssIons to enforce it. 1t is the old. old
ssory OF loye. We love those that love us.
Iniiosophy cannot explain it. Sermonia.
ing cannot unfold it. The will cannot con.
no, spontaneonsly, instinctiyely, love
seeks its own. Reason may interpots;
jGasmens may forbid; policy may inter
Si.s, .no prudence restrain. Friends may
.n1er,ere, and We may yield to them; but
SILL the love goes Oh. We do not love.
properly speaking, for We are, in no sense.
.aolects OF the verb. We do MOI. act We
afe acted On, and this power, subtle ~ cleo
nieHy, strong d gravitAtion, and universal
humanity. leads Us captive, whitherso-
ever it will. =. 81. rsssT- 81
This promise and blessing, however. wer 9
Glow to fulallment.
1t took mankind, it took the Church cen>
su,iss to learn this lesson from Christ
Women remained degraded, and till they
we're elevated the children could not rise
30 long as they we're made the servants sod
slaves Of men, so long must the children
pArt.ke Of theil mental lot. And not till
lie Church encountered and found lodg-
nent in the homes of the liberty>lovinG
heashen nations Of the North. which had
Always, from earl est history, honortd and
tespec ed mother and wife. did even Chris.
NAn women, es class, come to be Yecor.
nised a. NJ companions and .ssoci,tas ~
men. Siosos "a
Inc emancipation of woman. now han
Ply almost com plete, began with the DAYS
% A"Hea ana Charlemsgne, ana hsnd-in-
r;.h Win mel, Tor better, for worse. for
nu9er, iot poorer, for freer, and higher
the children. till now, at last in tha liz
teenth century We seem 10 h. 49,,