Democratic Northwest. [volume] (Napoleon, Ohio) 1869-1894, 1892-04-21

" 1AN AAAANn NAAal Al0luEI AUOA - LluIu
older than she really isi You say she
ought not yet 70 have one gray line IN her
hair. The truth is the family was not al
ways as well OF as now The married
pair had a hard struggle at the start.
Examine the tips OF the forehnger and
thumb OF her right hand, and they will
tell you the story Of the needle that was
piled day in and day out Yea, look at
both her hands, aud they will tell the story
OF the time when she did her own work,
her own mending and scrubbing and
washing.
Yea, look into the face and read the story
Of scarlet fevers and groups and midnight
watchings when none but God and herself
in that house were awake, and then the
burials and the loneliness afterward,
which was more exhausting than the pre-
ceding watching had been, and no one now
toput to bed. How fair she once was, and
as graceful as the palm tree, but all the
branches Of her strength and beauty were
long ago torn of and thrown into the path
way of her household.
Alas! that sons and daughters, them
selves so straight and graceful and edu-
Gated, should ever forget that they are
walking today over the fallen strength of
an Industrious and honored parentage A
little ashamed, are you, at their ungram-
matical utterancei 1t was through their
sacrifices that you learned accuracy of
speech. Do you lose patience with them
because they are little querulous and
complainingf
guess you have forgotten how queru-
lous and complaining you were when you
were getting over that whooping cough or
that intermittent fever. A little annoyed
are you, because her hearing is poor and
you have to tell her something twicel She
was not always hard of hearing. When
you were two years old your first call for
drink at midnight woke her from q sound
sleep as quick as any one will waken at
the trumpet call of the resurrection.
MATERNAL FIDELITY.
oh, my young lady, what is that under
the sole of your fine shoess 1t is palm
leaf which was torn off the tree of maternal
fidelity. Young merchant, young lawyer,
young journalist, young mechanic, with
good salary and fine clothes and refined
surroundings, have you forgotten what a
time your father had that winter, after the
summers crops had failed through
droughts or floods or locust, and how he
wore his old coat too long and made his
old hat do, that he might keep you at
school or college? What is that, my young
man. under your fine boot today, the boot
that so well fits your foot, such a boot as
your father could never afford to wearP
1t must be leaf from the palm tree of
your fathers self sacrifices. Do not be
ashamed of him when he come to town,
and because his manners are little old
fashioned try to smuggle him in and snug
gle him out, but call in your best friends
and take him to the house of God and in
troduce him to your pastor and say, This
is my father" If he had kept for him
self the advantages which he gave you
he would be as well educated and as we'll
gotten up as you. When in the English
parliament member was making great
speech that was unanswerable lord de-
risively cried out, 81 remember you when
you blackened my fathers boots' YES"
replied the man, land did / not do it
well2" Never be ashamed of your early
surroundings. Yes, yes, all the green
leaves we walk over were torn off some
palm tree.
FORGET THE UNPLEASANT THINGS.
have cultivated the habit of forgetting
the unpleasant things Of life, and | chiefly
remember the smooth things, and as far
as | remember now my life has for the
most part moved on over a road soft with
green leaves. They were torn off two
palm trees that stood at the start of the
road The prayers, the Christian example,
the good advice, the hard work of my
father and mother. How they toiled!
Their fingers were knotted with hard
work. Their foreheads were wrinkled
with many cares Their backs stopped
from carrying our burdens.
They long ago went into slumber among
their kindred and friends on the banks of
the Raritan, but the influences they threw
in the way of their children are yet green
as leaves the moment they are plucked
from palm tree. and we feel them on our
brow and under our feet, and they will
strew all the way until we lie down in the
same slumber. Self sacrificed What
thrilling word. Glad am 1 that our world
has so many specimens of it. The sailor
boy on shipboard was derided because he
would not fight or gamble, and they called
him coward. But when child fell over.
board and no one else was ready to help,
the derided sailor leaped into the sea, and,
though the waves were rough, the sailor,
swimming with one arm, carried the child
on the other arm till rescued and rescuer
were lifted into safety, and the cry Of cow
ard ceased and all huzzaed at the scene of
daring and self sacrifice.
WIDOWS HERoIsM.
When recently Captain Burton, the
great author, died, he left a scientific book
in manuscript, which he expected would
be his wife's fortune. He often told her so.
He said, "This will make you independent
and affiuent after lam gone" He sudden
ly died, and it was expected that the wife
would publish the book. One publisher
told her he could himself make out of it
100000. But it was book which, though
written with pure scientific design, shef
would do immeasurable damage to public
morals.
With the two large volumes which had
cost her husband the work of years, she
sat down on the floor before the fire and
said to herself, "There is fortune for
me in this book, and although my husband
wrote it with the right motive and scien-
tifc people might be helped by it, to the
vast majority of people it would be harm
full, and / know it would damage the
world" Then she took apart the manu-
script sheet after sbset and put it into the
fire, until the last line was consumed.
Bravol She flung her livelihood. her
home, her chief worldly resources under
the best moral and religious interests of
the world.
How much are we willing to sacrifice for
others? Christ is again on the march,
not from Bethpage to Jerusalem, but for
the conquest of the world. He will surely
take 1T, but who will furnish the palm
branches for the triumphant way? Self
sacrifice is the word. There is more money
paid to destroy the world than to save it.
There are more buildings put up to ruin
the race than churches to evangelize it.
There is more depraved literature to blast
men than rood literature to elevate them.