The clarion. [volume] (Jackson, Miss.) 1883-1888, 1886-11-24
ADVICE TO PARENTS
THE THEME or REV. DR.. T. De WITT
TALMAcE'S SERMON.

How chiidrea Ought to be Brought Up.
Sins shat Are Inhorited-Ir You Do
Not Live Right Yourselves, You Can
not aspect Your Children to Do So.
BRooKLYN, Nov. q The Rev. 7. De VITA
Talmage, D. D., preached Ia the Brooklyn
Tabernacle THIS morning on the subject:
what is to Become Of Our ChildrenT The
opening hymn begins.
CONF ~ Us Join our friends above
Who have obtained the prize;
And on the eagie wings Of lOvo
To joys celestial rise.
After expanding from Genesis Xix,
Jacobs wonderful discrimination of the char
ecterisiss ~ bis sons, the preacher took for
his text Genesis xiv, 20. Seeing that his
life Is bound ap IA the lads lie, anu oeliv-
cred the following discourse:
These words were spoken by Judah as de-
scri9tiye o, the tenderness and affection
which Jacob felt toward Benjamin, the
youngest son ~ that patriarchal family; but
they are words just a appropriate 70 many q
parent 10 this housc-since "his life Is bound
~ IN the lads hfc.n have known parents
that scented D. have but little interest in their
children. a father says. My son must look
Nttt Ahi AAstl-HiA IT ut Ef}iiE1a lJ We'll, al
right; IL he turns out badly cannot help It.
] am not responsible for his behavior He
must take he ,arne Iisls in lie that TOOK
As well might the shepherd throw a lamb
into den Of lions and then say: Little
lamb, lool, out for yourself,7
Il IS generally the ca-s that oven tho beast
looks after g. young. 1 have gone through
the woods On a summers day, aud have
heard great outcry IN a birds nest, and
have climbed up TO see what was the matter
! found out that the birds were starving and
that the mother bird had gone off not 10
come back aga u. But that is IN exception.
IL is generally the case that the old bird will
picl, your eyes out rather than let you come
nigh it, brood The Lion win rend you in
twluu il you approach too Eearly the wheps
the fowl ia the barnyar1, clumsy footed and
heavy winged flies Gercely ut you If you
come too near the little group, and God in
tended every father and mother to be tue
protection and the help Of the child Jesus
comes into every dwelling and says TO the
father or mother: you have been looking
after this child's body and mind; the time
has come when you ought to be looking after
is immortal SOUL ] stand before hundreds
of people with whom the question morning
noon and night Is: ''lVhat is to become OF
the chld3 What will be its histolyi WIN it
choose paths Of virtue or vicel WIN it &C
ccpt Christ or reject himi Where viii it
spend rteImtyf
read of a vessel that foundered The
boats were lnunchcd many Of the passengers
were struggling in the wnter mother
with one hand beat the waves, and with the
other hand lifted up the little child toward
the lifebo1t. crying: Save my child. Save
my child,' The imprisoned cutlery OF that
mother is the prayer OF hundreds Of Christian
people who sit listening this morning while
speak. propose 10 show some OF the causes
OF parental anxiety and then how that aIx-
iety may be alleyiated
] fnd the first cause Of parental anxiety in
the iuefiicilncy and imperfection of parents
themselves We have a slight hope, all Of
US that our children may escape our faults
We hide our imperiections, and think they
will steer clear OF them. Alas, there is a poor
prospect OK that, There is more probability
that they VIII choose our vices than choose
our virtues. There is something like sacred
ness in parental imperfections when the child
looks upon them. The folly OF the parents
is not so rcpulsive when the child looks at it,
He says: "futher INDUCES IN it, mother in
duiges ia IS, it can't he SO bad" Your bow
10 years OF age, goes up back street smoS-
ing his cigar-an old stump that he found in
the strcet-nud a ncighbcr accosts him and
says: "What are you doing this for9 What
would your father say if he knew itf" The
boy snys: "Oh. father does that hmselfi"
There Is not ono of US this morning that
would deliberately choose that his children
Shoald in all things follow his example, and
it Is the Consciousness of imperfection Of our
part rs parents that makes US most anxious
Tor our children.
We are also distressed on account OF the
unwisdom Of our discipline and instruction
Ii requires great deal OF ingenuity TO build
a house or fashion ship, but more ingenu-
ity to build the temple of a child's character
and launch it on the great ocean Of time and
eternity. Where there is one parent that
seems qualified FOR the work there seem to be
twenty parents who miserably fail Here is
q father who SAYS: MY child shall know
nothing hut religion; he shall hear nothing
but religion; he shall see nothing but
religion Tho boy IS aroused at 6 o'clock in
Che morning to recitc the Ten Command
ments lie IS awakened of the sofa on Sun
day night to see how much he knows of the
Westminster catechsm. II is religion morn
ing, noon and night Passages of Scripture
are plastered on the bedroom wall. He looks
for the day OF the month IN religious alma
nae. Every minister that comes to the house
is told to take the boy aside and talk to
him and tell him what a great sim
comes TO that period OF life when he is
too old for chastisement, and too young to
know and feel tho force Of moral principle
Father and mother are sitting up for the
boy to come home. IL Is nine o'clock at
night-ten o'clock lit Is twelve o'clock-it is
hall past twelve, and they hear the night key
jingle in the door. They say he is coming
George goes very softly through the hall,
hoping to get up stairs before he is nccosted
The father says, George, where have you
beenT Been out!' Yes, be has been out,
and he has been down, and he is on the broad
roaG TO destruction, FOR this life and the life
70 come. Father says: There is no use in
the Ten commandments; the catechisn seems
to me 10 lie an utter failure" Alb my friend,
you make very great mistake, You stuffed
that child with religion until he could not
digest it; you made that which is a Joy in
many households an adherence in yours. A
man in midlfe said 10 me: Il can't become
Christian In my fathers house got such
a prejudice against religion l don't want
any of t. Ny father was one of the best
men that ever lived, but he had such severe
notions about things, and he jammed re-
ligion down my throat, until I don't want
any OF it. sir There have been some who
have crrp1 in that direction
There are households where mother pulls
Dilt WY utitA tAtAAii ifulkS tIt oktitF.
says: MY son, told you the first time
caught You in fasehood l would chastise
you, ami now am going to do it.n Mother
says: eDon't, let him off this time" In some
families It is all seoldng and fretfulness with
the child, from Monday morning to Satur-
day night it is that style Of culture. The boy
is picked at, and picked at, and picked at
Now you might better give one sound chas-
tisement i have done with it, than to in
dulge in the perpetual scolding and fretful-
ness There IS moro health in ono GOOD
thunderstorm than in three or four DAYS of
cold drizzlc.
Here Is parent who says: IL win not err
on the side that parent has erred. in being too
strict with his children. / viii let nino do
rs they please. Ii they want to como in to
prayers, they can; If they want to play at
cards, they can; they can do anything they
plcaSe-there shall be no hindrance Go it!
Here are tickets for the opera and theatre
son. Take your friends with you. Do Whit
ever you desire. - One day E gentleman comes
in from the bank to his fathers ollce and
says:
They want to see you over nj the bank a
minute Father goes into the bank. The
cashier says: is that your checkr Father
looks at Il and says: mo; never gave that
check. never cross u in that way; l
nSNSt Mat rug SutA 10 a y III t1at way III
Is not my check; that's a forgery. Send for
the police "Ah, says the cashier, don't
be 50 quick; your son did that Tho fact
was that the boy had been out in disSipating
circles, and $40 and $50 went in that direc-
ton, and he had been treated and he had to
treat others; and the boy felt he must have
500 to keep himself in that circle That
night the father sits up for the son to come
home, Ii is o'clock before he comes into
the hall. lie comes in very much flushed.
Lis ..S-r.s rrln,.irrr and III. lrnntl, fr.,s;...