The enterprise. [volume] (Wellington, Ohio) 188?-1899, 1892-01-20

her thoughtless butterfly in our pres
once. You see we would not stand it."
The fact is that the son and daughter OF
the family did not promise much at the
start but they are now an echo, a
glorious echo, of parental teaching and
example.
A Vermont mother, as her boy was
about to start for life on the sea, said;
Edward, have never seen the ocean,
but I understand the great temptation
is strong drink. Promise me you will
never touch it," Many years after that,
telling of this in meeting, Edward
said: II gave that promise to mother,
and have been around the world and at
Calcutta, the ports Of the Mediterra-
mean, San Francisco, Cape Of Good
Hope, and north and south poles, and
never saw glass of liquor in all those
years that my mothers form did not
appear before me, and do not know
how liquor tastes l never have tasted
1t and all because Of the promise made
to my mother" This was the result Of
that conversation at the gate Of the
Vermont farm house. The statuary OF
Thorwaldsen was sent from Italy to
Germany and the straw in which the
statues had been packed was thrown
upon the ground. The next spring
beautiful Italian flowers sprang up
where this straw had been cast, for in
1t had been some Of the seeds of Italian
flowers, and, whether conscious Of it or
nor, we are all the time planting for our
selves and planting for others roses or
thorns You thought it only straw, yet
among 1t were anemoncs
But here is a slip-shod home. The
parents are goddess pair. They let
their children do as they please. No ex.
ample to follow. No lessons of moral
ity or religion. Sunday no better than
any other day. The Bible no better
than any other book. The house is
sort of inn where the older and younger
people of the household stop for awhile.
The theory acted on, though perhaps
not announced, is: ''rhe children will
have to do as | did, and take their
chances Life is lottery anyhow, and
some draw prizes and some draw blanks,
and we will trust to luck" Skip twen-
ty years and come back to the neigh.
borhood where that family used to live.
You meet on the street or on the road
an old inhabitant of that neighborhood,
and you say: "Can yon tell me anything
about the Petersons who used to live
here?' YES says the old inhabitant
II remember them very we'll. The
father and mother have been dead for
years" "Well, how about the children?
What has become of them?" The old
inhabitant replies: "They turned out
badly. You know the old man was
about half an infdel and the boys were
all infdels. The oldest son married, but
got into drinking habits, and in few
years his wife was not able to live with
him any longer and hts children were
taken by relatives and he died Of de
lirium tremens on Blackwell's island
His other son forged the name of his
employer and fed TO Canada. One Of
the daughters Of the old folks married
an inebriate with the idea of reforming
him, and you know how that Away,
ends--in the ruin Of both the expert
menter and the one experimental with
The other daughter disappeared mys
teriously and has not been heard Of.
There was young woman picked out
OF the East river and put in the morgue,
and some thought 1t was her, but can
not say" as 1t possible?" you cry
out "It is possible. Tho family is o
complete wreck" My hearers, that is
Just what might have been expected.
All this is only the echo, the dismal
echo, the awful echo, the dreadful
echo Of parental obliquity and unfaith.
fulness. The old folks heaped up a
mountain of wrong influences, and this
Is only what my text calls ''the sound
ings of the mountains" Indeed our
entire behavior in this world wiH have
resound. While opportunities fly in a
straight line and just touch us once and
are gone never TO return. the wrongs
we practice upon others fly in circle,
and they come back TO the place from
which they started. DIR. Guillotine
thought it smart TO introduce the in
strunient OF death, named after him;
but did not like it so we'll when his own
head was chopped off with the guillo-
tine.
So, also, the Judgment day will be an
echo OF all our other days The uni.
verse needs such day, for there are DC
many things in the world that need to
be fixed up and explained. II God had
not appointed such a day all the ma
tions would cry out 20 God, give us
q judgment day." But we are apt To
think OF II and speak about 1t as day
away off in the future. having no spe-
cial connection with this or any other
day. The fact is that we are now max
ing up its voices, its trumpets will only
sound back again 20 us what we now
say and do This is the meaning of al
that Scripture which says that Christ
will on that day address the soul, say.
ing 81 was naked and ye clothed me,
was sick and in prison and ye visited
me-" All the footsteps in that prison
corridor as the Christian ReformeI
walks TO the wicket Of the incarcerated
yea all the whispers OF coincidence in
the ear Of that poor soul dying In that
garret, yea AZ the kindnesses are
being caught up and rolled on until
they dash against the judgment throne
and then they will be struck back into
the ears of these sons and daughters Of
mercy. Louder than the crash of Mt
Washington falling on It's face in the
world wide catsastrophe. and the boil.