St. Landry democrat. (Opelousas, La.) 1878-1894, 1886-12-04


let mine DO as they please II they wan,
to como n 70 prayers, they can; if they
want to play at cards, they can; they can
do any thing they please-there shall be nc
hindrance. Go it'll Here are tickets for
the opera and theater, son. Take your
friends with you. Do whatever you do
SIRE" One day gentleman comes in from
the bank to his fathers office and saws
They want to see you over at the bank a
minute" Father goes into the bank. The
cashier says: "Is that your checks" Fa-
Their looks at it and says: "No; never
gave that check; I never cross 't' in that
way; / never make the curl to sy' in
that way. 1t is not my check: that's a
forgery. Send for the police" "Ah," says
the cashier, ''don't be SO quick; your son
did that"
The fact was that the boy had been out
in dissipating circles, and $40 and $50 went
| in that direction; and he had been treated
and he had to treat others; and the boy felt
he must have $500 to keep him in that circle.
That night the father sits up for the son
| to come home. 1t is one o'clock before he
comes into the hall. He comes in very
much flushed, his eyes glazing and his
breath offensive. Father says: "My son,
| how can you do 500 have given you ev-
cry thing you wanted, and every thing to
make you comfortable and happy, and now
| find, In my old age, that you are a spend
| thrift a hbertine and drunkard." The
son says: CHOW, father, what's the use in
| your talking in that way! You told me l
might have good time and to go it. l
have been acting on your suggestion, that's
| all"
And so one parent errs on one side, and
another parent errs on the other, and how
to strike happy medium between severi-
ty and too great leniency, and train our
sons and daughters for usefulness on earth
and bliss in Heaven, is question which
agitates every Christian household in my
congregation. Where so many good men
and women have failed, is it strange we
should sometimes doubt the propriety of
our theory and the accuracy of our kind of
governments
Again, parental anxiety often arises
from an early exhibition of sinfulness in
the child. The mOrning-glories bloom for
little while under the sun, and then they
shut up as the heat comes on; but there are
flowers along the Amazon that blaze their
beauty for weeks at a time; but the short
lived morning glory fultills it's mission as
well as the Victoria Regia. There are
some people who take forty, fifty or sixty
years to develop. Then there are little
children who fling their beauty on the Wis.,
ion and vanish. They are morning-glorie
that can not stand the glare of the hot noon
sun of trial
have noticed that, esF the most part,
the children that live sometimes get cross,
and pick up bad words in the street. and |
quarrel with brother and sister, and prove |
Enthusiastically that they are wicked-as the |
Bible says, going astray from the womb, |
speaking lies. See the little ones in the |
Sabbath class, so sunshiny and beautiful, |
you would think they were always So but |
mother, seated little way off, looks over |
at these children and thinks of the awful |
time she has had to get them ready.
After the boy or girl comes little fur
Their on in life the mark of sin upon him or /
her is still more evident. The son comes in
from pugilistic encounter in the Streets
bearing the marks of defeat. The
daughter practices positive deception, and
the parent says: "What shall 1 doa l
can't always be correcting and scolding, |
and yet these things must be stopped" 1t
is especially sad if the parent sees his own
faults copied by the child. 1t is very hard
work to pull up nettle that we ourselves
planted. We remember that the greatest
frauds that ever shook the banking houses
Of the country started from boys decep-
ton good many years ago; and the
cleaning blade of the murderer is only
another blade of the knife with which the
BOY struck at his comrade.
Anxiety on the part of parents also arises
from the consciousness that there are so
many temptations thrown all around our
young people. 1t may be almost impossi-
Die to take castle by siege-straightfor-
u rS -hufc ;y,% no ;rrh++ !
s a traitor within and he goes down and
travis the bolt and swings open the great
IGOR, and then the castle falls Immediately. |
That is the trouble with the hearts OF the |
Toung; they have foes without and foes
within.
There are great many who try to make
ur young people believe that it is sign of
weakness to De pure. The man will toss
lis head and take dramatic attitudes and |
ell OF his own indiscretions, and ask the
'oung man if he would not like to do the
anne. And they call him verdant, and they
ay he Is green and unsophisticated, and |
Wonder how he can bear the Puritanical
traight jacket. They tell him he ought to | !
reak from his mothers apron-strings, and
hey say II will show you all about town.
;ome with me. You ought to see the !
7orld. 1t won't hurt you. Do as you
lease; it will be the making of you" After !
while the young man says: "Idon't want !
D be odd, nor can l afford to sacrifice these {
riends, and I'll go and see for myself" :
rom the gates OF hell there goes shout :
victory. Farewell to all innocence;
arewen to all early restraints favorable to
nat innocence, which, once gone, never I
)mes back
How many traps there are set for our '
Dung people! That is what makes parents c
} anxious There are temptations for a
very form of dissipation and every stage Q
it. The young man when he goes into q
is very particular where he T
pes: 1t must be a fashionable hotel He | b