The Abbeville press and banner. [volume] (Abbeville, S.C.) 1869-1924, 1891-07-08
ReGnre You arc Fifteen.

Before YOu are Fifteen.
Do you know what is q beautiful
thing to learn before you are fifteen.
TO learn to do the little things that
no one else likes to do. But you DO
not like to, either! Then why should
you?
You see am taking it for granted
that YOU are the disciple of Christ, the
learner of Christ. To his learners he
said. .slearn of me.n Now is your
learning time; it will be SO easy never
to forget what you learn before you
are fifteen. Gwen Christ pleased not
himself" and you learn of him to
please not youself; is not that good
reason why you should learn TO 40
those thousand little things nobody
else likes to do? They are the very
things upon which depend the comfort
and health and movement of the
household. In one of the African
tribes the care of the fire is intrusted.
to the oldest unmarried daughter.
The care of the fire is great trust,
and who cares to take it? 1t is so
troublesome to remember that coal is
needed, that damper should be closed
or oDened, and to think of it the last
thing at night.
Fire is such All old-fashioned, troub-
lesome thing; but the old-fashioned
thing is in all the old-fashiOned homes,
and what country maiden has not
heard the groan of dismay, ooh, the
fire is out! / forgot it,"
And in setting the table, who likes
to make the tea, or go down to the cell
lar for butter?
Who likes to remember always to
shut the door land to shut it softly, to
dust the books or the mantel, or to
pick up and put away the countless
| things somebody is always dropping?
Who likes to stay home from even
| ing or morning service that somebody
may 60!
WHO likes to mend the household
rents, or to lay away the newly-ironed
clothes who likes to jump up from an
engrossing book and bring a glass OF
water, or help careless somebody
search for a mislaid something?
Did you ever notice what differ
ence there is when Mabel is away?
There are little bitches and draw
backs that nabody seems to under
stand the salts are not filled, a lamp
goes out, there's nobody to stay with
the baby, how dusty the sittlng-room
is it doesn't seem like home no one
ever thought before that Mabel did
ANYTHING. She was at school or study
ing to-morrow's lessons, or talking to
some girl in the parlor, and nobody
remembers till there is no fresh sponge
cake for company, and nobopy to sew
the shoebuttons on, and nobody to run
out for spool Of silk.
If there were always somebody to
do the left undone things, how sweet
temptered the whole house would be
Nobody will know it and praise you,
nobody will miss you until you 60
away; but do you not believe that
when Christ looks down upon the
home with his disciples in it, he would
miss something if she were not, like
her Master, doing the things that no.
body likes to do? "Such little things"
YOU exclaim again. But you know he
speaks of cup of cold water, and is
there any service in your home small
Ter than that?
"Let others miss me-; never miss
me, God,n says Mrs. Browning.
If you begin before you are fifteen
lallQ, OH, Qoj, louS, ionS oSiotS wv
arc middle-aged, you will be self-forget-
ting, without remembering when you
learned it /; it will be so natural that
everybody will think you love to do
disagreeable things and never had to
learn.
Said lady the other day about a
bright girl of eleven. 81 never ask her
now to do any little thing for me, she
does it so ungraciously, or refuses al
together" ,,
Can you think of Christ's little sis
ter being like that? But she is not
his sister unless she is doing the will of
his Father in heaven.
AS soon as you read this, will you
get paper and pencil and write,
"What No One in this House Likes
to Do," and under this heading jot
down the dozen or twenty things, and
before the year is out learn to do all
of them, and do them whenever you
can?