Daily tobacco leaf-chronicle. (Clarksville, Tenn.) 1890-1895, 1892-12-12

| Your Neighbour
Docs God, our Mother, want to set forth
what foolish thing it is to go away from
the right, and how glad divine mercy is Il
+, take back the wanGcrer? How is iU done,
| By picture. i good father. Large farm
with fat sheep aud oxen. Fine house with
| exquisite wardrobe. Discontinued boy
Goes away. Sharpers fleece him. Feeds
| hogs. Gets homcsick. Starts back. Sees
an old man running 1t is father! The
| hand, torn OF the husSs, gets ring. The
foot, inflamed and bleeding, gets a sandal
| The bare shoulder, showing through the
tatters, gets a robe. The stomach, gnaw
| ing itself with hunger, gets Il full platter
smoking Wl5h meat Inc father cannot
| eat for looking at the returned adventurer
Tears running down the face until they
come to a smile--the night dew melting
into the morning.
| No work on the farm that day. for when
a bad boy repents and comes back promis
| ing to do better God knows that is enough
| for one day, And they began to be merry"
| Picture Proligal Son Returned from the
Wilderness" So God, our Mother, teaches
us everything by pictures. The sinner is
| lost sheep. Jesus is the bridegroom
| The useless man u barren fig tree. The
| Gospel is great supper Satan, sowei
| of tares. Truth, mustard seed. That
| which we could not have understood in
| the abstract statement God, our Mother
| presents to us in this Bible album of pic
| lures, God engraved. Is not the divine
| Maternity ever thus teaching usY
A SYMPATHY FOR THE WEAK.
remark again that God has mothers
| favoritism. A father sometimes shows q
| sort of favoritism. Here is boy-strong
WELL of high forehead and quick intellect
| The father says, 81 viii take that boy into
| my firm yet" or, 81 will give him the very
best possible education" There are in
stances where for the culture Of the one
boy all the Others have been robbed A
sad favortism, but that is not the mothers
| favorite. | will tell you her favorite.
There is child who at two years of age
had fall. He has never got over it, The
| scarlet fever muilled his hearing. He is
not what lie once was. That child has
| caused the mother more anxious nights
than all the other children. If he coughs
in the night she springs out of a sound
sleep and goes to him. The last thing she
does when going out of the house is to
give a charge in regard to him. The first
thing on coming in is to ask in regard to
him.
Why, the children of the family all know
that he is the fayoritc, and say: Mother,
you let him do just rs he pleases, and you
give him great many things which you
donot giveus He is your favorite." The
mother smiles; she knows it is so. So he
ought to be, for if there is any one in the
world that needs sympathy more than an
nth iS nI1tb a.
first mile of lifc's Journey; carrying an
aching head q weak side, an irrtated lung,
So the mother ought to make him favor
lite.
God, our Mother, has favorites Whom
the Lord loveth he chasteneth"-t is,
one whom he especially loves he chasten-
eth God loves us all, but is there one
weak and sick and sore and wounded and
suffering and faint? That is the one who
lies nearest and more perrotually on the
great loving heart of God. Why, it never
coughs but our Mother-God-hea it. 1t
never stirs n weary limb in the bed but
our Mother God-knoWs of it. There is
no such Il watcher us God The best nurse
may be ovcrborne by fatigue and fall
asleep in the chair; but God, our Mother,
after being up year of nights with a suf-
fering child, never Stun ers nor sleeps.
ooh" says one, II cannot understand all
that about alflirtonri A refiner of silver
once explained it to Christian lady, 81
put the silver in the fire, and | keep rein
ing it and trying it till can see my face in
it, and then tanG is out" Just so it is
that God keeps his dear children in the
furnace till Che divine image may be seen
in them; then they are taken out of the
fire. well" says some one, "if that is
the way that God treats his fayorites, l do
not want to la favoritc."
There is barren field on an autumn day
Just wanting to be let alone. There is a
bang ut the bars and rattle of whiffle-
trees and cIevises. The field says, What
is the farmer going to do with me now''
The farmer puts the pillow in the ground,
shouts to the horses, the Golfer goes tear
ing through the sod, and the furrow reachCs
from fence to fence. Next day there is a
bang at the bars and the rattle of whif1le
trees again. The field says, ~ wonder what
the farmer is going to do now" The farm
er bitches the horses to the harrow, and it
goes bounding and tearing across the field
Next day there is rattle at the bars
again, and the field says, what is the
farmer going to do now?" He walks heav-
lily across the field, scattering seed as he
walks. After awhile cloud comes. The
field says, what, mora troubled" 1t be-
gins to rain. After awhile the wind
changes to the northeast, and it begins to
snow Says the field: is it not enough
that | have been torn and trampled upon
and drowned2 Must be showed under?"
After awhile spring comes out of the gates
of the south, and warmth and gladness
vii 4 pf "A ~ hp
cash of the wheat field and the July morn
ing drops q crown of gold on the head of
the grain.
ooh" says the field, now know the
use of the plow of the harrow, of the
heavy foot, of the shower and of the snow
storm. 1t is well enough to be trodden
and trampled and drowned and showed
under if in the end | can yield such q
glorious harvest" He that goeth forth
and weepeth, bearing precious seed, shall
doubtless come again with rejoicing,
bringing his sheaves with him"
MADE PERFECT THROUGH SUFFERING.
When | see God especially busy in trou-
bling and trying Christian | know that
out of that Christians character there is
to come some especial good. A quarry
man goes down into the excavation and
with strong handed machinery bores into
the rock. The rock says, What do you
do that for?" He puts powder in; he lights
a fuse. There is n laundering crash. The
rock says "Why, the whole mountain is
going to pieces" The crowbar is plunged
the rock is dragged out After awhile it
is taken into the artists studio. 1t says,
"Well, now have got to good, warm,
comfortable place at last"
Rut the S-ulpfor takes the ChiCal and