The Abbeville press and banner. [volume] (Abbeville, S.C.) 1869-1924, 1888-03-07
SUPPOSE YOU notice the wrinkles are gather

OH a parents coffin lid is the memory OF an
unsrateful daughter Oh, make theE lase
days bright and beautiful Do not act as
though they were in the way. ASK their
counsel, seek their prayers and, ateer lons
wears have passed, and you 60 out to see the
grave where they sleep, you will find grow
ing all over the mound something. loveler
than cypress, something sweeter than the
rose. something chaster than the lily-the
bright and beautiful memories or flllal klnd.
ness performed ere the dying hand dropped
on you a benediction, and you closed the
lids over the weary eyes of the worn out
pilgrim. Better that, in the hour OF your
birth, you had been struck with orphanage,
and that you had been handed over into
the cold arms of the world, rather thar
that YOU should have been brought up un-
der fathers care and mothers tenderness,
at last to scott at their example and deride
their influence; and on the day when you
followed them in long procession to the
toni, to find that you are followed by SILL
larger procession Of untilial deeds done and
wrong words uttered. The one procession
will leave its burden in the tomb and dis
band; but that longer procession OF ghastly
memories will forever march and forever
wall. Oh, it is good time for young wo-
man when she is in her fathers house. How
careful they are of her welfare How watch
full those parents Of all her interests Seated
at the morning repast, father at one end the
table, children on either side and between;
but the years will roll on, and great changes
will be effected. and one will be missed from
one end the table, and another will be missed
from the other end the table God pity that
young woman's soul who, in that dark hour,
has nothing but regretful recollectlonS.
60 further, and advise you not to depend
for enjoyment upon mere personal attrac-
tions It would be sheer hypocrisy, because
we may not have it ourselves, to despise. or
affect to despise, beauty in others. When
God gives it he gives it as a blessing and as
a means of usefulness. David and his army
were coming down from the mountains to
destroy Nabal and his flocks and vineyards.
The beautiful! Abigail, the wife of Nahal,
went out to arrest him when he came down
from the mountains, and she succeeded.
Coming to the foot of the hill, she kne;t.
David, with his army of sworn men, came
down over the cliffs, and when he saw her
knelling at the foot of the hill he cried Halt"
to his men. and the caves echoed it: halt
haiti" That one beautiful woman kneelinS
at the foot of the cliff had arrested all
those armed troops A dewdrop dashed
back Niagara. The Bible sets before us the
portraits of Sarah and Rebecca, and Abishag,
Absalom's sister, and Jobs daughters, and
saws: They were fair to look upon" BY
out door exercise, and by skilful arrange
ment of apparel, let women make themselves
attactive. The sloven has only one mission,
and that to excite our loathng and disgust.
But alas! for those who depend upon personal
charms for ter happiness. Beauty is such
a subtle thing, it does not seem to depend
upon facial proportions, or upon the sparkle
Of the eye or upon the flush Of the cheek.
You sometimes find it among irregular feat
ures. 1t is the soul shining through the face
that makes one beautiful. But, alas! for
those who depend upon mere pers )nal charms.
They will come to disappointment On to
great fret. There are 80 many different
opinions about what are personal charms;
and then sickness, and trouble, and age, do
make such ravages. The poorest god that
woman ever worships is her own face. The
saddest sight in all the world is woman who
has built everything on good looks, when the
charms begin to vanish. Oh, how they try
to cover the wrinkles and hide the ravages
of time! When time, with iron shod feet
steps on face, the hoof marks remain, and
you cannot hide them. 1t is silly to try to
hide them. think the most repulsiye fool
in all the world Is an o!d fool.
Why, my friends, sh ould you be ashamed
to be getting Old: 1t is a Sign-it is prima
facie evidence that you have behaved toler-
ably well or you would not have lived to this
time The grandest thing, l think, is eternity,
and that is made up Of countless years.
When the Bible would set forth the attrac-
tiveness of Jesus Christ, it says: "His hair
was white as snow.n But when the color goes
from the cheek, and the luster from the eye,
and the spring from the step, and the grace
fulness from the gait, alas! for those who
have built their time and their eternity upon
good looks. But all the passage of years can
not take out of ones face benignity, ,and kind
ness, and compassion, and faith. Culture
your heart and you culture your face. The
brightest glory that ever beamed from
woman's face is the religion of Jesus Christ
In the last war 200 wounded soldiers came to
Philadelphia one night, and came unheralded,
and they had to extemporize hospital for
them, and the Christian women Of my church,
and Of other churches, went out that night to
take care Of the poor wounded fellows. That
night saw Christian woman 60 through
the wards Of the hospital, her sleeves rolled
up, ready for hard work, her hair di-
sheveled in the excitement of the hour.
Her face was plain, very plain; but
after the wounds were washed and the
new bandages were put round the Splintered
limbs and the exhausted boy fell off into his
first pleasant sleep, she put her hand on his
brow and he started in his dream, and said:
"Oh, / thought an angel touched me-" There
may have been no classic elegance in the
features of Mrs. Harris, vino came into the
hospital after the Seven Days awful fight,
as she sat down by wounded drummer boy
and heard him soliloquize: "A ball through
my body, and my poor mother will never
again see her boy. What pity it is" And
she leaned over him and said "Shall be
your mother and comfort you" And he
looked up and said: Yes, I'll try to think
she's here. Please to write long letter to
her and tell her all about it, and send her a
lcck of my hair and comfort her. But
would like to have you tell her how much |
sutrered-yes, would like you to do that,
for she would feel so for me. Hold my hand
while die" There may have been no classic
elegance in her features, butall the hospitals
of Harrison's Landing and Fortress Monroe
would have agreed that she was beautiful;
and if any roug man in all that ward had
insulted her, some wounded soldier would
have leaped from his couch. on his best foot,
and struck him dead with crutch.
Again, advise you not to depend for hap
piness upon the batteries Of men. 1t IS
poor compliment to your sex that so many
men feel obliged in your presence to offer un-
meaning compliments. Men capable OF ele-
CANT and elaborate conversation elsewhere
sometimes feel called upon at the door of the
drawing room to drop their common sense
and to dole out sickening batteries They
say things about your dress, and about your
appearance, that you know. and they know.
are false. They say you are an angel;
You know you are not. Determined to tell
the truth in Office and store and shop, they
consider it honorable to lie to a woman. The
same thing that they told you on this side of
the drawing room three minutes ago they
said to some one on the other side Of the draw
ing room. Oh, let no one trample on your
self respect. The meanest thing on which
woman can build her happiness is the fatter-
les of men.
Again, charge you not to depend for hap
PineSs upon the discipleship of worldlness !
have seen men as vain of their old fashioned
and their eccentric hat as yon brainless fop
is proud of his dangling foOll ries. Fashion