Decorah public opinion. (Decorah, Winneshiek County [Iowa]) 1895-1928, 1896-09-01

IUdhPS you tnlnk tnat the manu- Vi
Christ has been on 1t, saying: Let this
one come TO Me, and let it come TO Me
SOON" While that one tarried in the
house, you felt there was an angel in
the room. and you thought that every
sickness would be the last; and when.
finally, the winds OF death did
scatter the leaves, you were no
more surprised than to see a star
come out above the cloud on a
dark night; for you had often
said to your companion: "My dear, We
shall never raise that child" But
scout the idea that good children al
ways die. Samuel the pious boy, be-
came Samuel the great prophet.
Christian Timothy became a minister
at Ephesus. Yong Daniel, consecrated
to God, became prime minister of oil
the realm, and there are in hundreds Of
the schools and families Of this conn
try to-day, children who love God and
keep his commandments. and who are
to be foremost among the Christians
and the philanthropists and the re-
formers of the next century. The
grace of God never kills any one. A
child will be more apt to grow up with
religion than il will be apt to grow
up without it. Length of days is prem
ised to the righteous. The religion Of
Christ does not cramp the chest or
curve the spine or weaken the nerves.
There are no malarias floating up from
the river of life. The religion of Christ
throws over the heart and life of child
a supernal beauty. Her ways are
ways of pleasantness, and all her paths
are peace"
pass on to consider the susceptible
ity Of childhood. Men pride them
selves on their unchangeability They
will make an elaborate argument TO
prove that they think now just as they
| did twenty years ago. 1t is charged TO
! frailty or fraud when man changes
! his sentiments in politics or in religion,
| and it is this determination of soul that
| so often drives back the Gospel from
! a mans heart. 1t is so hard to
make avarice charitable, and fraud
honest. and pride humble, and
/ scepticism Christian. The sword
! of Gods truth seems to glance
off from those mailed warriors
and the helmet seems battle-prOof
against Gods battie-aX. But child
| hood; how susceptible TO example and
f; TO instruction! You are not surprised
at the record: Abraham begat Isaac
and Isaac begat Jacob" for when re-
ligion starts in a family, it is apt to sc
/ all through. Jezebel a murderess, you
are not surprised TO find her son Jeho-
ram attempting assassination. Oh
! what a responsibility upon the parent
! and the teacher! The musician touches
! the keys, and. the response of those
keys is away off amid the pipes and the
/ chords, and you wonder at the distance
between the key and the chord And
so it is in life; If you touch child
| the results will come back from man
hood or old age, telling just the tune
| played, whether the dirge of grea,
sorrow or the anthem of great joy
! The word that the Sabbath School
! teacher will this afternoon whisper in
1 the ear of the class, will be echoed
! back from everlasting ages of light or
darkness. The home and the school
| decide the republic or the despotism
| the barbarism or the civilization; the
upbuiiding of an empire, or the over
/ throwing it, Higher than parliament
or congress are the school and the
| family, and the sound of child's foot
may mean more than the tramp OF a
! host. What, then, are you doing for
the purpose of bringing your children
into the kingdom of God? II they are
so susceptible, and if this is the very
best time to act upon their eternal in
/, terests, what are you doing by way oil
right impulsion? There were some
harvesters in the fields of Scotland
one hot day; and Hannah Lemond
was helping them to gather the
hay. She laid her babe under a
tree. While she was busy in the field
there was a fiutter of wings in the air
| and a golden eagle clutched the swad-
| ding band OF the babe, and few away
with it TO the mountain eyrie. All the
| harvesters and Hannah Lemond start
! ed for the cliffs. 1t was two miles be-
| fore they came TO the foot OF the cliffs
| Getting there, who dared TO mount the
| cliff? No human foot had ever trod IL
| There were sailors there who had gone
| no the mast in the day OF terrible tenn
| nest; they did not dare risk IT, Hannah
Lemond sat there for awhile and look
| ed up and saw the eagle in the eyrie
| and then she leaped TO her feet. and she
started up where no human foot had
ever trod, crag above crag, catching
hold OF this root or that root, until she
! reached the eyrie and caught her babe
| the eagle swooping in fisrceness all
| around about her. Fastening the chi Id
| to her back she started for her friends
aud for home. o. what dizzy descent!
sliding from this crag 70 that crag.
ctaching by that vine aud by that root,
coming down further and further. to
! the most dangerous pass. where she
found a goat and some kids. She said
Nov I'll follow the goat; the goat will
know just which lis the safest way
down." and she was led by the animal
down to the plain. When she got there.
l. A l. I'D