The Cecil Whig., 1885-11-21
fs,'s. alo'''. Scientific, Historical.
An Original WHIG Feature.
THE LAW OF COMPENSATION.
BY L. NJ.

upon unlimitedly. In its financial refer
2nce it furnishes subject absolutely ex-
haustive. In its moral tendency it is
equally capable Of wide and lengthy
treatment, but more conclusively fitted
to the compact methods of the essayist's
quill. The law of compensation among
! its many infinite definitions furnishes
one that reaches to central point of in
terest in every heart. For under the
head of the law of compensation comes
| the inevitable debt the children of hu.
manity owe unto themselves, or to one
| another for favors rendered in the past,
| for By gone acts of kindness, and present
deeds of thoughtfulness and care. Each
one of us is called upon at some time to
compensate a fellow being, each one of
us when that time comes is capable, if
willing, to fulfill every decree of the
law. The poet, Thomas Moore, found
| the years of his life too short in which
to fully compensate his proud and patient
mother for the tender and loving cafe in
| which she bred her talented boy; be-
friending him in every mood of adver-
sity, guiding him through an infancy of
physical poverty and manhood of moral
weakness faithfully, holly and trust
ingly, as her deep parental affection di-
| rected and sustained her. When the
power of his genius blossomed forth
fully in the high noon of fame he turned
every rivulet of his heart back upon the
source from whence his power and fame
had been derived, illustrating thus the
law of compensation in its filial and do
| mestic reference. The mother of Thomas
Moore was not the only parent who re-
| ceived the loving compensation of her
| offspring in return for her labor and self
sacrificing devotion. There is hardly a
mother in the land who does not look
! upon the babe as it swings in its cradle
thinking, dreaming of the good great
man Or woman it may grow up into, re-
| turning her ten and even twepty-fold,
| the all of sustenance and affection she is
bestowing upon it in its infancy and
| daily growth. The child may be stricken
with illness, SO severe that all hope of
life is given DER and the spirits of the
stricken watchers sadly resign them
selves to the wise dispensation of Provi-
| dence, yet if it be true parent, a noble
father or mother, the eternal, kind old
| hope never dies till the child dies:
Heaven grant that he may be spared;
perhaps some day he will bless and COM
fort us just as we have watched and
| cared for him! In the end the life of the
child is spared. The developments of
nature carry him onward through the
direct stages of that growth that seeks
maturity, and then the gentle, patient
| trust of the parents is rewarded by the
generous compensations of their boy and
man. Do these compensations often
| fail? Alas! yes. Men are not always
perfect, and frequently, indeed, the low
| ing confidence of the parent is betrayed
by the ungratelul action of an undutiful
offspring. 1t is great crime to break
this divine law of domestic compensa-
ton. Just as Christ turned towards
God, after the days of His crucifxion
an resurrection, the love and passionate
| reverence of His sanctified manhood, SO
should the sons and daughters of our
| nineteenth century parents repay them
in after years for their care and love and
watchfulness. There could not be law
more just and reasonable than this same
law of domestic compensation. Your
| parents are noble in more ways than
| one-boys and girls. They are your best
friends, every time. Don't drift away
from them when you grow to manhood.
Perhaps the brows of the dear old
mother are creased with many line of
care; the silvery locks may glisten with
| the sorrows of years that have seen the
burden Of life bear down heavily upon
her patient shoulders. If you succeed
in your own chosen career, after you pass
| from beneath the voice of the parental
mandate, or if you fail, let neither con-
dition deter you from acting a manly or
womanly part towards the weary father
| and mother. Just as you received from
them, SO should you return-love and
| care and tender watchfulness. More
than the law of compensation, every
| higher law Of humanity demands this
| much of you. We know of many who
have forgotten the gray-haired mother
and father. Many, indeed, have drifted
so far away on the currents of the grasp
ing world as to lose every beautiful spark
| of that holy flame that should forever
burn in the core of their hearts for the
one with gentle hand and pleasant voice
who led their youthful feet and taught
their infant minds in the days gone by.
But nc true and upright son or daughter
would SO far discard the holy law of
| compensation as to commit deed so Bit
| terly cruel as this. Don't you think the
mother is proud of you? Do you sup
pose she ever forgets those first loving
thrills of pride she used to feel in
| thoughts Of your future career as she
nursed you through day and night un-
complainingly All, if you would but
steal some night to the door of her cham
| Der and overhear the prayer she utters
in your behalf, how quickly you would
want to fall upon Ter bosom thankfully
7 and worshipfully. This law of domestic
compensation is not sham or a hum
bug. 1t must never become dead law,
or be stricken from the statute books
of humanity. 1t can only be enforced
by the sons and daughters themselves.
If you are girl, strive to grow upward
into noble womanhood; strive to attain
this end not alone for the sake of the
beautiful life it would bring unto you,
but for the joy and peace and comfort of
the aged mother, the decrepid father,
who have reared you, fed and clothed
you, or taught you how to earn the means
for your own support. Your independ-
ence, that comes with the hopeful years
of discretion, should not make you an
migrate. Remember your womanhood,
and follow out strictly and willingly
every letter Of the law of compensation.
If you are a boy, endeavor to climb
the difficult ladder to perfect manhood,
for another's sake as well as your own.
You were a troublesome boy, maybe.
Every boy is, generally. Then don't