The united opinion. [volume] (Bradford, Vt.) 1881-1970, 1890-03-21

uia Sui puIuiy uo iutucC oNoT uou Is
bad a boy AS ! have" YES" said the
son., my grandfather had" II is about
the same from generation to gener-
alton, and parents need to be patient
with children, and children dutiful ia
their parents. Taking it for granted
that those who hear me today have
had good parentage, want TO urge
upon all the young the fact that the
happiness and longevity of parents
much depends upon the right behavior
of their children, and can do this no
more effectually than by demonstrate
ing the truth of my text, "a foolish
son is the heaviness of his mother"
Perhaps some young man astray
may be brought back by thought OF
how they feel about him at home. A
French soldier lay wounded and dying
in the hospital at Geneva, Switzerland.
His father, at home. seventy years Of
age, heard of his sons suffering, and
started, and took the long journey, and
found the hospital, and as he entered
the son cried: 20 father. am SO glad
you have come to see me die" mo-"
said the father; "you are not going to
die; your mother is waiting for you,
and I am going to take you home; l
thing you need. "''No, "said the soldier;
they give me here everything that is
nice to eat, but I have no appetite,
and must die" Then the father took
from his knapsack loaf of rye bread,
such as the plain people of his country
at, and said: Here is loaf of bread
your mother made, and l am sure you
can eat this; she sent it to you" Then
the soldier frightened up and took the
bread and ate it, and said: 1T is so
good, the bread from home, the bread
that my mother made!" No wonder
that in few days he had recovered.
0 young man, wounded in the battle
of life, and discouraged, given up by
yourself, and given up by others, the
old folks at the country fireside have
not given you up. bring you bread
from home. It may be plain bread,
but it is that bread of which if man
eat he never again shall hunger.
Bread from home! Bread from home
Carrying out the idea of my text, l
remark that a reckless or dissipated
son makes heavy hearted parent be-
cause it hurts the family pride. It is
you received at the christening that is
injured by your prodigality. You can
not hurt your name of John or George
or Henry or Mary or Frances or Ra-
chel, because there have been thou
sands of people, good and bad. having
those name, and you cannot improve
or depreciate the responsibility of those
given names. But it is your last name,
your family name, that is at your mer-
cy. All who bear that name are bound,
before God and man, not to damage
its happy significance. You are charg-
ed, by all the generations of the past
and all the generations to come, to do
your share for the protection and the
honor and the integrity of that name.
You have no right, my young friend,
by bad life to blot the old family
Bible containing the story of the mar
riages and births and deaths of the
years gone by, or to cast a blot upon
the family Bibles whose records are
yet to be opened.
There are in our American city di-
rectories names that always suggest
commercial dishonesty or 1ibertinism
or cruelty or meanness, just because
one man or woman bearing that name
cursed it forever by miscreancy. Look
out how you stab the family name! 1t
is especially dear to your mother. She
was not born under that name. She |
was born under another name, but the |
years passed on and she came to young
womanhood, and she saw some one
with whom she could trust her happi-
ness, her life and her immortal desti-
ny; and she took his name, took it
while the orange blossoms were filling
the air with fragrance, took it with
joined hands, took it while the heav-
ems witnessed. She chose it out of all
the family names since the world
stood, chose it for better or worse,
sickness and through health,
by cradles and by graves.
Yes, she put off her old family name
to take the family name you now
wear, and she has done her part to
make it an honorable name. How
heavy trouble you put upon her
when, by misdeeds, you wrench that
name from its high significance! To
haul it down from your mothers fore
head and trample it in the dust would
be criminal. Your fathers name may
not be distinguished name, but 1
hope it stands for something good. It
may not be famous, like that of Ho-
ner, the father of epic poetry, or Izaak
the father of angling, or
the father of tragedy, or
the father of monks, or
the father of history, or
Thomas Aquinas, the father of moral
philosophy, or Abraham, the father
If the faithful, but your father has a
lame in small circle as precious to
lin as theirs in larger circle. Look
tut how you tarnish It'll
Further, the recklessness and dis
ipation of young man are a cause
# parental distress at time when the
'arent is less able to bear it. The vi
issitudes of life have left their i'm
'ression upon those parents. The eye
3 not as clear as once, nor the hear
ng as acute, nor the nerves as steady,
!or the step as strong, and with the
ide of incoming years comes the
Veight of unfilial behavior. You take
nv,r no uonfc NJ N r~roo< |