Abilene weekly reflector. [volume] (Abilene, Kan.) 1888-1935, 1890-03-27
THE CHILDREN.
Dr.. TaImage Discourses on Youth
and Old Age.
Old People Should Not Forget That They
Were Once Young-The Duties of
the YOung-Home Influences
Parental Anxiety.

All parents want their children to
turn OFT we'll However. poorly father
and mother may have done themselves,
they want their sons and daughters to
do splendidly. Up to forty years of age
parents may have ambitions for them
selves, after that their chief ambitions
are for their children. Some of the old
time names indicate this. The name of
Abner means his fathers lamp" The
name of Abigail means ''her fathers
JOY" And what parental delight was
Solomon to David, and Samuel to Han
nah, and Joseph to Jacob! And the
best earthly staff that father has to
lean on is a good son, and the strongest
arm mother has to help her down the
steep of years is that of a grateful child.
But it is not rare thing to find people
unfilial, and often the parents are them
selves to blame. Aged persons some
times become querulous and snappy, and
the children have their hands full with
the old folks. Before entering my pro-
fession / was for three months what is
called colporteur. One day in the
country districts 1 stopped at the house
of good, intelligent, genial farmer.
The hospitality of such country house
is especially pleasing to me, for l was
born in>the country. This farmer and
his wife were hardworking people, but
tried to make their home agreeable and
attractive. The farmers father, about
sixty-fye years of age, and his grand
father, about ninety, were yet alive and
with him. Indeed there were four gen.
erations in the house, for the farmer had
little children playing about the room.
We gathered at the dining table. After
the blessing was asked the farmer put
some of the meat upon his plate and
courteously passed it to me, when his
father of sixty-five years of age cried
out to his son, who was at least thirty
years of age: why do you not pass the
meat as you always do and let US take
it of the plate ourselves? You are try
ing to show off because we have COM
pany." Meanwhile his grandfather of
ninety sat with his hat on at the table,
his face unclean and his apparel untidy.
Still the farmer kept his patience and
equipoise. and /. never think of him
without admiration. He must have had
more grace. than ever had.
Because people are old they have no
right to be either ungentlemanly or I'M
canny. There are old people so dis
agreeable that they have nearly broken
up some homes. The young married
man with whom the aged one lives
stands it because he has been used to it
all his life, but the young wife, coming
in from another household, can hardly
endure it and sometimes almost cries
her eyes out. Andewhen little children
gather in the house they are afraid of
the venerable patriarch who has forgot
ten that he ever was a child himself,
and can not understand why children
should ever want to play hide and
seek" or roll hoop, or fly kite, and he
becomes impatient at the sound from
the nursery and shouts with an expend-
iture of voice that keeps him coughing
fifteen minutes afterwards: 'Boys, stop
that racket as though any boy that
ever amounted to any thing in the
world did not begin life by making a
racket! ti-
Indeed, there are children who owe
nothing to their parents, for those
parents have been profigates. My la
mented friend, good and Christian and
lovely Henry Wilson, Viee-President of
the United States, in early life changed
his name. Henry Wilson was not his
original name. He dropped his fathers
name because that father was drunk
ard and disgrace, and the son did not
feel called upon to carry such carcass
all his life. While children must al
ways be dutiful, sympathize with all
young people who have disagreeable or
unprincipled old folks around the house.
Some of US, drawing out of our mem
cries, know that is impossible after
sixty or seventy or eighty or ninety years
of age for the old to be kind and genial;
and the grandest adornnent of a home
is an aged father and on aged mother, If
the process of years has mellowed them
Besides that, If your old parents are hard
to get along with now, you must remem-
Der there was a time when they had
hard work to get along with you. When
you were about five or seven or ten or
twelve years of age what time they had
with you! If they had kept written
account of your early pranks and mis-
doings, it would make a whole volume
That time when you gave your little
sister clip; that time when you ex-
plored the depth of a jar of sweet things
for which you had no permission; that
havoc you one day made with your jack
knife; that plucking from the orchard of
unripe fruit; that day when, instead of
being at school, as your parents sup
posed, you went fishing; and many a
time did you imperil your young life in
places where you had no business to
climb or swim or venture. To get you
through your first fifteen years with
your life and your good morals was a
fearful draft upon parental fidelity
and endurance. Indeed, it may be
that much of this present physical and
mental weakness in your parents
may have been a result of your
early waywardness- You made such
large and sudden drafts upon the bank
of their patience that you broke the
bank They were injured in being
thrown while trying to break the colt. 1t
is only matter of common honesty
that you pay back to them some of the
long suffering which they paid to you.
A father sad to his son: Surely no
father ever had as bad boy as have"
Yes" said the son, my grandfather
had" 1t is about the same from gen.
Grafton to generation, and parents
need to be patient with chill
dren, and children dutiful to their
parents Taking it for granted
that those who hear me to-day have had