The morning news. [volume] (Savannah, Ga.) 1887-1900, 1895-12-09

6
ences. You can scarcely expect a young
man TO go in his room and sit there from
seven 10 eleven o'clock in the evening,
re4ding Motley dutch Republic' on
John Fosters essays. 1t would be a very
beautiful thing Tor him TO do, but he VIII
not do il. The most of our young men are
busy in offices. ia factories, in banking
houses. In stores. in shops, and when
evening comes they want the fresh air,
and they want sightseeing, and they
must have 10, they VIII have II, ana they
ought to have 10. Most Of the men here
assem- bled VIII have three or four even
lngs OF leisure on the winter nights After
tea. the man puts on his hat and coat and
he goes out. one form Of allurement says,
Come in here Satan says, 1T is best
for you TO go in; you ought not TO be so
green; by this time you ought 70 have
seen everything" and the temptations
shall DE mighty in dun times such as we
nave mad, but which, 1 believe, are gone,
for hear all over the land the prophecy of
great prosperity, ana the railroad men and
The merchants, they an tell me Of the days
OF prosperity they think are coming, and
IN many departments they have already
come, and they are going to come in all
departments; but those dun times through
Whlcn we nave passed have destroyed
great many men. The question OF a live
lhOOd is with a vast multitude the great
question. There are young men who eX~
pected before this to- set up their house
hold. but they have been disappointed
in the gains they have made. They can
not support themselves, how can they
support others? and to the curse of mod
ern society, the theory is abroad that
man must not marry until he has achieved
a fortune, when the twain ought to start
at the foot Of the hill and together climb
TO the top. That is the old-fashioned
way, and that will be the new-fashicned
way If society is ever redeemed. But
during the hard times, the dull times, so
many men We're discouraged, so many
men had nothing to do-they could get
nothing to dO--a pirate bore down on
the ship when the sails were down and
the vessel was making no Roadway. Peo-
pie say they want more time to think.
The trouble is, too many people have
had too much time to think, and If our
merchants had not had their minds di-
verted. many OF them would long before
this have been within the four walls of
an insane asylum. These long winter
evenings. be careful where you spend
them. This winter will decide the tenn
poral and eternal destiny of hundreds
Of men in this audience.
Then. the winter has especial tempta-
tons in the fact that many homes are
peculiarly unattractive at this season.
In the summer months the young man
can sit out on the steps, or he can have
a bouquet in the vase on the mantel, or
the evenings being 50 short, soon after
gaSlight he wants to retire any now. But
there are many parents who DO not un-
derstand how to make the long winter
evenings attractive to their children. II
is amazing TO me that so many old peo-
pie do not understand young people. To
hear some of these parents talk, you
would think they had never themselves
been young and had been born with
spectacles on. Oh, it is dolorous for
young people to sit in the house from
z to IL o'clock at night and to hear
parents groan about their ailments and
the nothingness' of this world. The moth
ingness of this world! How dare you
talk such blasphemy2 It took God six
days to make this world, and he has
allowed it six thousand years to hang
upon his holy heart, ana this world mas
shone on you and blessed you and ca
resscd YOU for these fifty or seventy
years, and yet you dare talk about the
IA e Ia 10
a magnificent world. / do not believe in
the whole universe there is world equal
to it. except il be heaven. You cannot
expect your children to stay in the house
these long winter evenings to hear you
denounce this star-lighted, sun-wGrmed,
shower baptized foWer-strewn, angel
watched, God-inhabited planet
OH make your home bright. Bring IN
the violin or the picture. 1t does not re-
quire q great salary or big house, or
chased silver, or gorgeous upholstery TO
make a happy home All that is wanted
is a fathers heart, a mothers heart IN
sympathy with young folks. l nave
known q man with seven hundred dollars
salary, and he had no other income, but
he had home so happy and bright, that,
through the sons have gone out and won
large fortunes, and the daughters have
gone out into splendid spheres and be-
come princesses of society, they can never
think of that early home without tears
of emotion. 1t was to them the vestibule
of heaven, and all their mansions now,
and all their palaces now, cannot make
them forget that early place Make your
homes happy. You go around your
house growing about your rheumatisms
and acting the lugubrious, and your sons
Will go into the world and plunge into dis
sipation. They VIII nave thelr own rheu,
matisms after awhile. DO not forestall
their misfortunes. You were young
once and yO had your bright and joy
Gus time. Now let the young folks have
a good time. l stood in front of a house
and / said to the owner of the house: This
is a splendid tree" He said, in a whin-
ing tone; Yes but It win fade l walked ak, q
| around in his garden, and said: This
| is glorious garden you have. Yes, ="
! he said, but 1t Will perish Then he
said to my little child, whom 1 was lead
! ing along: Come and kiss me-" The child
protested and turned away He said:
4 "Oh, the perversity of human nature!'
4 Who would want to kiss him? was not
/ surprised to md out that his only son
/ had become a vagabond. You may groan
/ people out of decency, but you can never
4 groan them into it, and l declare in the
/ presence of these men and women of COM
/ mon sense that it is a most important
/ thing for you to make your homes bright
/ if you want your sons and daughters to
turn out well.
Alas: that old people so much misunder-
stand young folksi There was a great sun
! day school anniversary, and there were
/ thousands of children present; indeed, all
/ the Sunday schools of the town We're in
F, the building, and it was very uproarious
/ and full of disturbance, and the presiding
/ officer on the occasion came forward and
/ and the more noise the presiding officer
made, the more noise the children made
] Some one else rose on the platform and
/ came forward, and with more stentorian
/ voice shouted silence and the uproar
rose TO greater hight and it did seem as
/ if there would be almost a riot and the
police have to be called in, when old Doc
tor Beaman his hair white as the driven
I snow. said: Let me try my hand" So he
/ came forward with a slow step to the
front of the platform, and when the chill.
dren saw the venerable man and the white
hair. they thought they would hush III
that instant. and hear what the old man
had to say. He said: Boys / want to make
a bargain with you. II you VIII be still
now. while / speak, when YOU get TO be as
old as I am l will be as still as a mouse %
There was not another whisper that after.
noon. He was as much a boy as any OF
them. Oh. in these approaching holidays
let US turn back our natures to what they
were years ago, and be boys again anC
girls again. and make all our homes happy
God will hold you responsible for the in
fiuence you now exert, and it will be very
bright and very pleasant if some winter
night. when we are sleeping under The
blankets of snow, our children shall rid,
along in the merry party and hushng
moment into sOlemnitY. look off and say
There sleep the best father and mother
that ever made a happy new year" Arm