Peninsula enterprise. [volume] (Accomac, Va.) 1881-1965, 1894-01-20

put musket in his hand and said:
There, my son, take this and never
disgrace it, for remember / had rather
all my sons should fill one honorable
grave than that one of them should turn
his back OH an enemy. Go and remem-
Der, too, that while the door of my cot
tage is open to all brave men it is al
ways shut against towards" Agrip-
pima, the mother of Nero, murderess,
you are not surprised that her son was
a murderer. Give that child an over
dose of catechism, and make him recite
verses of the Bible as punishment,
and make Sunday bore, and he will
become a stout antagonist of Chris
tianity. Impress him with the kindness
and the geniality and the loveliness of
religion, and he will be its advocate
and exemplar for all time and eternity.
A few days ago right before our ex-
press train on the Louisville and Nash
vile railroad the preceding train had
gone down through broken bridge, 10
cars falling 100 feet and then con-
sumed, l saw that only one span of the
bridge was down and all the other spans
were standing. Plan good bridge of
morals for your sons and daughters,
but have the first span Of 10 years de-
fective. and through that they will crash
down, though all the rest keep stand
ing. o man, o woman, if you have
preserved your integrity and are really
Christian, you have first of all to thank
God, and l think next you have to
thank your mother. The most impress
I've thing at the Inauguration of James
A. Garfield as president of the United
States was that after he had taken the
oath Of Office he turned round and in
the presence of the supreme court and
the senate of the United States kissed
his old mother. If had time to take
statistics out of this audience, and !
could ask what proportion of You who
are Christians owe your salvation under
God to maternal fidelity, think about
three-fourths of you would spring to
your feet. Hal ha!'' said the soldiers
of the regiment to Charlie, one of their
comrades. What has made the change
in you? You used to like sin as we'll as
any of us" Pulling from his pocket
his mothers letter, in which, after tell
ing of some comforts sho had sent him,
she concluded, I'VE are all praying for
you, Charlie, that you may be a Chris
tian," he said, Boys, that's the SEN
tence.
THE NEEDLE ENTHRoNED.
The trouble with Sisera's mother was
that, while sitting at the window of my
text watching for news of her son from
the battlefield, she had the two bad
qualities of being dissolute and being
too fond of personal adornment. The
Bible account says: "Her wise ladies
answered her yea. She returned answer
to herself: Have they not sped? Have
they not divided the prey-to every
man damsel or two, to Sisera prey
of divers colors, prey of divers colors
of needlework, of divers colors of nee
dlework on both sides2'" She makes
no anxious utterance about the wound
ed in battle, about the bloodshed, about
the dying, about the dead, about the
principles involved in the battle going
on, battle SO important that the stars
and the freshetu:tt took part and theclasli,
of swords was answered by the thunder
of the skies. What she thinks most of
is the bright colors of the wardrobes to
be captured and the needlework. ITO
Sisera prey of divers colors, prey of
divers colors of needleworlS. of divers
colors of needleworh on both sides. -
Now neither Sisera's mother nor any
one else can say too much in eulogy of
the needle. 1t has made more useful
conquests than the sword. Pointed at
one end and with an eye at the other,
whether of bone or ivory, as in earliest
time; or of bronze, as in Pliny's time;
or of steel, as in modern time; whether
laboriously fashioned as formerly by
one hand, or as now, when 100 work
men in factory are employed to make
the different parts of one needle, it is
an instrument divinely ordered for the
comfort, for the life, for the health, for
the adornment of the human race. The
eve of the needle hath seen more domes-
tic comfort and more gladdened power
ty and more Christian service than any
other eye. The modern sewing machine
has in no wise abolished the needle, but
rather enthroned it. Thank God for the
needlework, from the time when the
Lord Almighty from the heavens or
dered in regard to the embroidered door
of the ancient tabernacle, Thou shalt
make hanging for the door of the tent
of blue and purple and scarlet and line
twined linen wrought with needle
work." down to the womanly hands
which this winter in this tabernacle are
presenting for benevolent purposes their
needlework. But there was nothing ex-
cept vanity and worldliness and social
splash in what Sisera's mother said
about the needlework she expected her
son would bring home from the battle.
And am not surprised to find that Sis
era fought on the wrong side when his
mother at the window of my text In
that awful exigency had her chief
thought on dry goods achievement and
social display. God only knows how
many homes have made shipwreck on
the wardrobe. And that mother who
sits at the window watching for vain
glorious triumph of millinery and fine
colors and domestic pageantry will aft
er awhile hear as bad news from her
children out in the battle of life as Sis
era S mother heard from the struggle at
Esdraelon.
AN AposTRopHE TO MOTHERS.
But if you still press the question,
where's mother?' l will tell you
where she is not, though once she was
there. Some of you started with her
likeness in your face and her principles