The Bossier banner. [volume] (Bellevue, Bossier Parish, La.) 1859-1952, 1886-07-01

your shops, your rising walls, your anvil,
are fortresses in which you may hide, and
from which yor may fight against the
temptations of your life. Morning, noon
and night, Sundays and eek-days, thank
God for plenty to do.
Another encouragement is the fact that
their families are going to have the very
best opportunity for development and use-
fulness. That may sound strange to you,
but the children of fortune are very apt to
turn out poorly. In nine cases out of ten
the lad finds out if a fortune is coming, by
twelve years of age-he finds out there is
no necessity of toll; and he makes no
struggle, and a life without struggle goes
into dissipation or into stupidity. There
are thousands and tens of thousands of
men in our great cities who are toiling on,
denying themselves all luxuries, year after
year toiling and grasping. What for? To
get enough to spoil their children.
The father was fifty years getting the
property together. How long viii it take
the boys to get rid of that property, not
having been brought up in prudent habits.
Less than five years to undo ali the work
of fifty. You see the sons of wealthy par.
ents going out into the world, inane, Nerves
less, dyspeptic, or they are incorrigible
and reckless; while the SON of the porter
that kept the gate learns his trade, gets
robust ply sical constitution, achieves high
moral culture, and stands in the front rank
Of Church and State. Who are the men
mightiest in our legislatures, and Con.
%s2 how IL a
steep of life in silver slippers? o! no. The
| mother put him down under the tree in the
shade, while she spread the hay. Many Of
| these mighty men ate out Of an iron spoon
and drank out of the toughest earthen-
ware-their whole life forcei march.
They never had any Injuries until, after
awhile, God gave them affiuence and use-
fulness and renown as reward for their
persistence. Remember, then, that though
you may have poor surroundings ami small
means for the education of your children,
| they are actually starting under better ad-
| vantages than though you had a fortune to
give them. Hardship and privation are
| not damage to them, but an advantage.
| Again, offer as encouragement that
! You have SO many opportunities of gain
ing information. Plato gave Il 800 for two
| hooks. The Countess of Anjou gave 200
sheep for one volume. Jerome ruined him.
| self financially by buying one copy of
| Origen. Oh, the contrast. Now there are
tens of thousands Of pens gathering up
information. Type-setters are calling for
"copy-" All our cities quake with the
rolling cylinders of the Harpers and the
Appletons, and the Lippincots and the
Petersons and the Ticknors, and you now
buy more than Benjamin Franklin ever
knew for fifty cents! A Woodworking
man comes along toward his home, and he
| looks into the show window of the book
store and sees an elegantly bound volume.
He says:
/ II wish had that book; there must be
| a great deal of information in it,"
| A few months pass along, and though
that book which he looked at cost five
dollars, it comes now in pamphlet shape
and costs him fifty cents. The high wall
around about the well of knowledge is be-
ing broken down, and people come, some
with porcelain pitchers and some with
pewter mugs, to dip up the living water
for their thirsty lips. There are people
who toll from seven O'Clock in the morning
until six O'Clock at night, who know more
about anatomy than the old Psychologists,
and who know more about astronomy
than the old philosophers. If you should
take the learned men of two hundred
years ago and put them on one bench, and
take twenty children from the common
schools in Brooklyn, and put them down
ON the other bench, the children could ex-
anime the philosophers and the philoso-
2 pliers could not examine the children.
l. Oh, ioice that you have all these oppor.
tunita As of information spread out before
you, and that, seated In your chair at
home, by the evening light, you can looh
over all nations and see the descending
morn of universal day. se
One more encouragement: Your tolls in
this world are only intended to be q disci-
pline by which you shall be prepared fol
heaven. "Behold bring you glad tidings
, of great joy" and tell you that Christ
, / the carpenter, of Nazareth, is the work.
. ingman's Christ. You get his love once
, in your heart, o, workingman. and vot
, can sing ON the wall in the midst of the
J storm, and in the shop amidst the showing
| of the plane, and down in the mine annie
, | the plunge of the crowbar, and OF
shipboard while climbing ratlines. Il
you belong to the Lord Jesus Christ h
, win count the drops of sweat on you
, brow. He knows every ache and pain 70,
, have ever suffered in your worldly occu
patton. Are you weary! He will Civ
you rest. Are, you sick? He will give yo'
health. Are you cold? He will wral
around you the warm mantle of his eter
; nal love. And beside that. my friends, yo'
, must remember that all of this is onl,
preparatory apreparatory and introduc
| tefysszIseea q great multitude before tn
shrone of God. Who are theyf &c." vol
, say, athose are princes. They must bav
|. always been in a royal family. The,
, dress like princes: they walk like princes
| they are princes. There are none of tn
, common people there--none of the peopl
} that ever toiled with hand and foot" All
goa are mistaken. Who is that brigh
/ spirit before the throne? Why, tina
WIS sewing girl, who, work as hard as
sh could, could make but two shilling
, the day. Who is that other illustriou
> soul before the throne? Why, that ma
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