News and citizen. [volume] (Morrisville, Vt. ;) 1881-current, 1892-06-02

where this man was brought up. 1t is a
winter morning, and the tallow candle
is lighted, and the fires are kindled,
sometimes the shavings hardly enough
to start the wood. The mother is pre-
pairing the breakfast, the blue edged
dishes are on the table, and the lid of
the kettle on the hearth begins to rattle
with the steam, and the shadow of the
industrious woman by the Pickering
fame on the hearth is moved up and
down the wall. The father is at the
barn feeding the stock-the oats thrown
into the horses bin and the cattle
craunching the corn. The children, ear
lier than they would like and after be-
ing called twice, are gathered at the
table.
The blessing of God is asked on the
food, and, the meal over, the family
Bible is put upon the white tablecloth
and a chapter is read and a prayer made,
which includes all the interests for this
world and the next. The children pay
not much attention to the prayer, for it
is about the same thing day after day,
but it puts upon them an impression
that ten thousand years will only make
more vivid and tremendous. AS long as
the old folks live their prayer isfor their
children and their children's children.
DAWN and day out, month in and month
out, year in and year out, decade in and
decade out the sons and daughters of
that family are remembered in earnest
prayer, and they know it, and they feel
it, and they cannot get away from it.
Two funerals after awhile-not more
than two years apart, for it is seldom
that there is more than that lapse of
time between fathers going and moth
er's going-two funerals put out of sight
the old folks. But where are the chill
dren? The daughters are in homes
where they are incarnations of good
sense, industry and piety. The sons,
-r-5-@4s one u farmer, another a mer-
chant, another aemechanic, another a
physician, another a minister of the
Gospel, useful, consistent, admired, hon
ored. What a power for good those
seven sons and daughters! Where did
they get the power? From the schools,
and the seminaries, and the colleges?
Oh, no, though these may have helped.
From their superior mental endowment?
No, | do not think they had unusual
mental caliber. From accidental cir
cumstances? No, they had nothing of
what is called astounding good luck.
THE FOUNTAIN OF PIOUS INFLUENCE.
[ think we will take q train and ride
TO the depot nearest to the homestead
from which those men and women start
ed. The train halts. Let us stop a few
minutes at the village graveyard n sec
the tombstones of the parents. Yes, the
one was seventy-four years of age and
the other was seventy-two, and the cpl
taph says that "after a useful life they
died a Christian DEATH" How appro-
priately the Scripture passage cut on the
mothers tombstone, ''She hath done
what she could" And how beautiful
the passage cut on the fathers tomb
stone, BLESSED are the dead who die in
the Lord, for they rest from their labors
and their works do follow them"
On over the country road we ride
the road a little rough, for the spring
weather is not quite settled, and once
down in a rut it is hard to get the wheels
out again without breaking the shafts.
But at last we come to the lane in
front of the farmhouse. Let me get out
of the wagon aud open the gate while
you drive through. Here is the arbor
under which those boys and girls many
years ago used to play. But it is quite
out of order now, for the property is in
other hands. Yonder is the orchard
where they used to thrash the trees for
apples, sometimes before they were
quite ripe. There is the NOW where
they hunted for eggs before Easter.
There is the doorsill upon which they
used to sit. There is the room in which
they had family prayers and where they
all knelt-the father there, the mother
there and the boys and girls there.
We have got to the fountain of pious
and gracious influences at last. That is
the place that decided those seven earth
ly and immortal destinies. Behold
Behold! That is the secret place of
thunder. Boys are seldom more than
their fathers will let them be. Girls
are seldom more than their mothers will
let them be. But there come times
when it seems that parents cannot con-
troll their children. There come times
in a hOy's life when he thinks he knows
more than his father does, and l remem-
Der bow that l knew more at fifteen
years of age than / have ever known
since.
There come times in a girls life when
she thinks her mother is notional and
does not understand what is proper and
best, and the sweet child says, ''Oh,
pshawr' and she longs for the time when
she will not have to be dictated to, and
she goes out of the door or goes to bed
with p%outing lips, and these mothers re-
member for themselves hat they knew
more at fourteen years of age han they
have ever known since. But, father and
mother, do not think you have lost your
influence over your child. You have a
resource of prayer that puts the sympa-
thetic and omnipotent God into your
parental undertaking. Do not waste
your time in reading fimsy books about
the best ways to bring up children. Go
into the secret place of thunder.
PRAY FOR THE PREACHERS.
The rc..son that we ministers do not
accomplish more is because others do
not. pray enough for us and we do not
pray enough for ourselves. Every min
lister coulS tell you a thrilling story of
sermons-sermols hasty and impromptu
because of funerals and sickbeds and
annoyances in the parish, yet those SER
mons harvesting many souls for God.
And then of sermons prepared with great
care and research and toll uninterrupted,
yet those sermons falling fiat or power
less, or of the same sermon nightly
blessed on one occasion and useless on
another. How well [ remember a SER
mon l preached at a great outdoor meet
ing in the upper part of this state. For
several days in that place prayers had
been offered for the success of the serv-
ice, and l had myself bGen unusually
prayerful, and we had q P~entecostal
blessing while l was preaching it.
That afternoon | took the train for a
great outdoor meeting in Ohio. l said
to myself, "This sermon was blessed to-
day and it is fresh in my mind, and l
will preach it tomorrow in Ohio" And
| did preach it, but not in as prayerful a
spirit, and l think no n else had been
praying about it, and it turned into the
most inane and profitless discourse that
| ever delivered. 1t was practically the
same sermon, but on Wednesday it had