Spirit of the age. [volume] (Woodstock, Vt.) 1845-1913, 1893-04-05

to be religious, but they do not want any
body outside to know it, They would be
mortified to death IL you caught them al
their family prayers They would not sing
in the worship for fear the neighbors would
hear them They do not have prayers when
they have company,
They do not know much about the nobility
of the western trlpper. traveller goin'
along was overtaken by night and q storm,
and he entered cabin. There were firearms
hung up around the cabin. He was alarmed.
He had large amount of money with him.
but he did not dare TO venture on into the
night in the storm. He did not like the looks
Of the household. After awhile the father,
the western trapper, caGi5 in, gun on
shoulder, and when the traveller looked at
him he was still more affrighted.
After awhile the family were whispering
.ogether in one corner Of the room, and the
traveller thought to himself; "Oh! now my
time has come; | wish l was out in
the storm AMI In the night rather
than here" But the swarthy man came up
to him aud said sir we are rough peo-
pie; We get our living by hunting, and we are
very tired when the night comes; but before
going to bed Wa always have habit Of read
ing little out of the Bible and having
prayers, and think we will have our usual
custom tonight, AMI IL you don't believe in
that kind oil thing il you will just step out
side the door for a little wnile | will be much
obliged to
OH there are many Christian parents
who have not half the courage Of that
western trapper. They do not want their
religion projecting too conspcuously. They
would like to have IL near by so as to call on
it in case OF a funeral, but as 20 navluy IL
dominant in ths household from the 1st OF
January, o'cloci a. NJ. to the 3lst OF De-
cemoer, 10 o'clock p m, they do not want
1t. They would rather lie AMI have their
families perish with them than to cry out in
the bold words of the soldier in my text
"As for me aud my house, we will serve
the Lord"
There was, in my anc estral line. an incl
dent so strangely impressive that it seems
more like romance than reality, II has
sometimes been so inaccurately put forth that
| now give you the true incident My grand.
father and grandmother, living at Somer-
vile, N. j., went to Baskinridge to witness
revival under the ministry Of the Rev. Dr..
Finley. They came nome SO impressed with
what they had sesn that they resolved on
the salvation OF their children.
The young people OF the house were to go
OIL Tor an evening party, and my grand
mother said
Now, whsn you are all ready for the
party, come to my room, for have some.
thing very important to tell you" All
ready for departure they came to her room,
and she said to them, Now, want you to
remember, while you are away this even
lngg, that an all the time in this room
praying for your salvation, and shall not
cease praying until you get back" The
young people went to the party. but amid
the louiest harities of the night they could
| not fprrnt tbat thn;r
Tor them. The evening passed, and the night
passed.
The next day my grandparents heard an
cutlery IN an adjoining roon and they went
in aud founl their daughter imp ring the
salvation of the gospel, TIL, daugh ter told
them that her brothers wer, at the barn
and at the wagon house under powerful con-
! viction of sin. They went to the barn
| They found my Uncle Jeliab, who after.
| ward became minister OF the gospal, cry
ing to God for mercy. They went to tie
wagon house. They found their son David,
who afterwlrd became my father implor.
ing Gods pardon and mercy. Before great
while the whole family Were saved, and
David Went an told ths story to young
woman to whom he was atiiancsl, who as
result OF the story became Christian, an
from her own lips-my mother'S-I have re.
ceived the incident.
The story of that Converted household
ran through all the naighborhooi from
family to family until the whole region was
whelmed with religious awakening, an at
the next communion in the village church
at Somerville over 30 souls STOP up to pro-
Tess the faith of the gospel. My mother,
carrying the memory of this scene from
sarly womanhoo iato further life, in after
years was resolvedu .'on the salvation of her
children, and for many years every week
she met three other Cnristial mothers to
pray for the salvation of their families |
think that all the ne n5ers of thos, families
were savel-:nyself, the youngest and last.
There were II of w cn.llren. trace the
whole line of mercy back to that hour when
my Christian grandmother sat in her room
imporing the blessing of Got upon her
! children. Nine of her descendants became
preachers OF tho gospel. Many of her de-
| scendantS are in heaven. many of them still
in the Christian conflict. Did it pay for her
to spend the whole evening in prayer for
her household? Ask her before the throne
of Go1 surrounded by her children. In the
presence of the Christian church to. day |
make this record of ancestral pety. On,
there is a beauty, AMI tenderness, and
sublimity in family religionl
There are but four or five pictures in the
old family Bible that inherited, but Dore
never illustrated a Bible as that book is il
Illustrated to my eyes. Through it eau see
into marriages and burials, joys and sor-
rows, meetings and partings. Thanksgiving
days and Christian festivals, cradles md
deathbeds. Old old book, speak out and tell
OF the sorrows comforted aud of the dying
hours irradated. Old, old hook, the hands
that held thee are ashes the eyes that per.
sued thee are closed. What pillar thou
llrt, 70 ,l,,,,, Z
all the memories of the past when | press it
to my heart and when press it to my lips.
Oh, that family Biblel The New Testa.
meut in small type is not worthy OF being
called by that name. Have a whole Bible In
| large type, with the family record of mar
riages and births and deaths. What if the
curious should turn over tn, leaves to see
how old you are? You are younger now
than you will ever be again. The curious
will find out from those with whom you
have played in your childhood how old you
are. Have family Bible. 1t will go down
from generation to generation, full Of holy
memories. A hundred years after you are
dead it will be benediction to those who
come after you. Other books worn out or
fallen apart, will be flung to the garrett or
the cellar but this will be invoate, and it
will be your protest for centuries against
lUluulUl dul III Deuhll VI righteousness.
| Oh, when we see what family religion did
for our fathers household, do we not want
it to come into the dining-room to break the
bread, into the nursery to bless the young,
into the parlor to purify the socialities, into
the library to control the reading into the
bedroom to hallow the slumber, into the hall
to watch our going out ami our coming in,
Aye, there are hundreds OF voices in this
house ready to cry ont: Eyes! Yes! As
for me and my house, we will serve the
Lord"
There are two arms to this subject. The
one arm puts its haul on all parents. It
says to Them Don't interfere with your
children's welfare, don't interfere with their
you do put out your foot AMI trip them into
ruin. Start them under the shelter. the in
surance, the everlasting help Of Christian
parentage. Catechisms will not have them,
though catechisms are good. The rod will
not save them, though the 70 | may be neces.
sary. Lessons Of virtue will not save them,
though they are very important. Becoming
through and through, up and down, out
and out Christian yourself will make them
Christians
The other arm of this subje,t puts its
hand upon those who had a pious bringing
up. but who as vet have disappointed the
expectations excite in regard to them.
said that children brought up in Christian
households though they might ma e
wide curve, were very apt to come back to
the straight path, Have you not been
curvng out long enough, and is it not most
time Cor you to begin to curve in?
Oh" you say, "they were too rigid"
Well now, my brother, think you have a
pretty good character considering what you
say your parents we're Do not boast too
much about the style in which your parents