The Pulaski citizen. [volume] (Pulaski, Tenn.) 1866-current, 1886-11-25
ADVICE TO PARENTS

ADFICE III PARENTS
THE THEME OF REV. DR.. 7. DE WITT
TALMAGE's SERMON.
How Children Ought to be Brought Up.
Sins that Are Inherited-If You Do
Not Live Right Yourselves, You Can
not Expect Your Children to Do So.
BROOKLYN, Nov. 21-The Rev. T. De Witt
Talmage, D. D., preached in the Brooklyn
Tabernacle this morning on the subject;
"What is to Become of Our Children9" The
opening hymn begins:
Come let US join our friends above
Who have obtained the prize;
And on the eagle wings of love
To joys celestial rise.
After expounding from Genesis Xix.
Jacobs wonderful discrimination of the char
acteristics of his sons, the preacher took for
his text Genesis Xiv, so: Seeing that his
life is bound up in the ladis life,n and deliv-
cred the following discourse:
These words were spoken by Judah as de-
scriptive of the tenderness and affection
which Jacob felt toward Benjamin, the
youngest son of that patriarchal family; but
NANJ eA-O NOito JetoS 40 ekplOfI4oOS 10 uluIY q
parent in this house-since ''his life is bound
up in the lads life" have known parents
that seemed to have but little interest in their
children. A father says: ''My son must look
out for himself. If he comes up well, all
right; if he turns out badly cannot help it.
1 am not responsible for his behavior. He
must take the same risk in life that took
As well might the shepherd throw lamb
into den Of lions and then say: "Little
lamb, look out for yourselfl"
1t is generally the case that even the beast
looks after its young. 1 have gone through
the woods on a summers day, and have
heard a great outcry in a birds nest, and 1
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 to
come back again. But that is an exception.
1t is generally the case that the old bird viii
pick your eyes out rather than let you come
nigh its brood The lion will rend you in
twain if you approach too nearly the whelps;
the fowl in the barnyard, clumsy footed and
heavy winged, flies fercely at you if YOU
come too near the little group, and God in
tended every father and mother to be the
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
its immortal soul" l stand before hundreds
of people with whom the question morning,
noon and night is: ''What is to become of |
the childi What win be its history? VIII it |
choose paths of virtue or vice. Will it &c
cept Christ or reject himl Where will it |
spend eternityl"
l read of a vessel that foundered The |
boats were launched; many of the passengers
were struggling in the water. A mother |
with one hand beat the waves, and with the |
other hand lifted up the little child toward |
the ifeboat, crying: "Save my child Save |
my childr" The impassioned outcry of that |
mother is the prayer of hundreds of Christian |
people who sit listening this morning while |
speak. L propose to show some of the causes
of parental anxiety, and then how that anx-
iety may be alleviated
1 find the first cause of parental anxiety in
the ineficiency and imperfection of parents
themselves. We have a slight hope, all of
us, that our children may escape our faults
We hide our imperfections, and think they
will steer clear of them. Alas there is poor
prospect of thatl There is more probability
that they will 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 repulsive when the child looks at it.
He says; "Father indulges in it; mother in
dulges in it; it can't be so bad" Your boy,
10 years of age, goes up a back street smok-
ing his cigar-an old stump that he found in
the street-and a neighbor accosts him and
says: "What are you doing this for7 What
would your father say if he knew it9" The
boy says: "Oh. father does that himself!"
There is not one of us this morning that
would deliberately choose that his children
should in all things follow his example, and
it is the consciousness of imperfection of our
part as parents that makes us most anxious
for our children.
We are also distressed on account of the
unwisdom of our discipline and instruction
1t requires a great deal of ingenuity to build
a house or fashion ship, but more ingenu-
ity to build the temple of 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
a father who says: "My child shall know
nothing but religion; he shall hear nothing
but religion; he shall see nothing but
religion" The boy is aroused at 6 o'clock in
the morning to recite the Ten Command
ments. He is awakened off the sofa on Sun
lay night to see how much he knows of the
Westminster catechism. 1t 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 a religious alma
nae. Every minister that comes to the house
S told to take the boy aside and talk to
lim and tell him what a great sin
ler he is After while the boy
comes to that period of life when he is
,oo old for chastisement, and too young to
znow and feel the force of moral principle.
Father and mother are sitting up for the
BOY to come home. It Is nine o'clock at
light-ten o'clock-it is twelve o'clock-it is
lalf 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 accosted.
The father says, George, where have you 1
oeen?" "Been outi" Yes, he has been out,
md he has been down, and he is on the broad
'oaG to destruction, for this life and the life
20 come. Father says: "There is no use in
he Ten Commandments; the catechism seems
% me to be an utter failure" All, my friend,
7ou make a very great mistake. You stuffed
hat child with religion until he could not {
ligest it; you made that which Is joy in
many households an adherence in yours. A
nan in midlife said to me: II can't become
Christian In my fathers house gotsuch
prejudice against religion I don't want {
my of it My father was one Of the best
nen that ever lived, but he had such severe
lotions about things, and he jammed re-
igion down my throat, until / don't want {
my of it, sir" There have been some who !
lave erred in that direction. {
There are households where mother pulls
me way and father pulls the other. Father
ays: "My son, told you the first time l
aught you in a falsehood 1 would chastise {
7ou, and now am going to do it." Mother !
avs: "Don't, let him off this time" In some |
antilles it is all scolding>hnd fretfulness with {
he child; from Monday morning to Satur I
lay night it is that style Of culture. The boy
5 picked at, and picked at, and picked at !
Vow YOU might better give one sound chas- i
isement and have done with it, than to in l
Iulge in the perpetual scolding and fretful Q
less. There is more health in one good i