The weekly intelligencer. [volume] (Lexington, Mo.) 1891-1901, 1896-10-17

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| There Is something in all winter hOl-
idays to bring up the old folks. think
many of our thoughts at such times
are set to the tune of ''Auld Lang
| Svnc" The old folks were so busy at
such times in making us happy, and
perhaps on less resource made their
sons and daughters happier than you
| on larger resources are able to make
| your sons and daughters. The snow
lay two feet above their graves, but
! they shook off the white blankets and
mingled in the holiday festivities the
same wrinkles, the same stoop Of shoul-
| der under the weight of age, the same
| old style of dress or coat, the same
smile, the same tone of voice. | hope
| you remember them before they went
away. If not, l hope there are those
who have rccited to you what they
were, and that there may be in your
| house some article of dress or furni
ture with which you associate their
memories. l want to arouse the most
sacred memories OF your heart while l
make the impassioncd interrogatory in
regard to your pedigree: Whose son
art thou, thou young man?'i
First, l accost all those who are de-
seconded of Christian ancestry. I do
not ask if your parents were perfect
There are no perfect people now, and
1 do not suppos. there were any per-
feet people then. Perhaps there was
sometimes too much blood in their eye
when they chastised you. But from
what l know of you, yOu got no more
than you deserved, and perhaps n little
more chastiscment would have been
salutary. But you are willing to ac-
knowledge, think, that they wanted
to do right. From what you over
heard in conversations, and from what
you saw at the family altar and at
neighborhood obsequies, you know
that they had invited God into
their heart and their life. There
was something that sustained those
old people supernaturally. You have
no doubt about their destiny. You eX-
pect if you ever get to Heaven to meet
them as you expect TO meet the Lord
Jesus Christ. That early association
has been a charm for you. There was
time when you got right up from n
house of iniquity and walked out into
the fresh air because you thought your
mother was looking at you. You have
never been very happy in sin because
of sweet, old face that would present
itself. Tremulous voices from the past
accosted you until they were seeming
ly audible, and you looked around to
see who spoke There was an estate
not mentioned in the last will and
testament, n vast estate of pray
er and holy example and Chris
tian entreaty and glorious memory.
The survivors of the family gath
cred to hear the will read, and this was
to be kept and that was to be sold, and
it was "share and share alike" But
there was an unwritten will that read
something like this: ''In the name of
God, amen. l, being of sound mind,
bequeath to my children all my prayers
for their salvation; / bequeath to them
all the results of lifetime'S toll: | be-
queath to them the Christian religion,
which has been SO much comfort to me,
and hope may be solace for them;
bequeath to them a hope of reunion
when the partings of life are over.
Share and share alike may they in
herit eternal riches l bequeath to
them the wish that they may avoid my
errors and copy anything that may
have been worthy. In the name of
God who made me, and the Christ who
redeemed me, and the Holy Ghost who
sacrifices me, l make this my last will
and testament. Witness all you hosts
of Heaven. Witness time, witness
eternity Signed, sealed and delivered
in this our dying hour. Father and
Mother" You did not get that will
proved at the surrogate's Office, but l
take it out to-day and | read it to you.
l take it out of the alcoves of your
heart. | shake the dust off it. l ask if
you will accept that inheritance, or
will you break the will?
Oh, ye of Christian ancestry You
have a responsibility vast beyond all
measurement. God will not let you off
with just being as good as ordinary
people when you had such eXtraordi-
nary advantage. Ought not n flower
planted in a hothouse be more thrifty
than n flower planted outside in the
storm? Ought not factory turned by
the Housatonic do more work than a
factory turned by thin and shallow
stream? Ought not you of great early
opportunity be better than those who
had cradle unblessed? A father sets
his son up in business. He keeps an
account of all the expenditures. So
much for store fixtures, so much for
rent, so much for this, SO much for
that, and all the items aggre-
gated, and the father expects the
son to give an account. Your
Heavenly Father charges against
you all the advantage of a pious an
cestry-so many prayers, so much
Christian example, so many kind en-
treaties-all these gracious influences,
one tremendous aggregate, and he asks
you for an account of il. Ought not
you to be better than those who had no
such advantage? Better have been Il
foundling picked up off the city com
mons than with such magnificent in
heritance of consecration to turn out
indifferently. Ought not you, my
brother, to be better, having had Chris
tian nurture, than the man who can
truly say this morning: THE first
word l remember my father speaking
to me was an oath; the first time | re-
member my father taking hold of Te
was in wrath; l never saw Bible till
was ten years of age, and then was
told it was pack of lies. The first 20
years of my life | was associated with
the vicious. l seemed to be walled in
by sin and death"
Now, my brother, ought you mott
leave it as a matter of fairness with
you-ought you not to be better than
those who had no carly Christian influ-
ence? Standing as you do between the
generation that is past and the genera
ton that is to come, are You going to
pass the blessing on, or are you going
to have your life the gulf in which that
tide of blessing shall drop out of sight
forever? You are the trustee of piety
in that ancestral line, and are you go
ing to augment or squander that sol
emn trust fund? Are you going to dis
inherit your sons and daughters of
the heirloom which your parents left?
Ali that cannot be possible-that you
are going to take such a position as
that. You are very careful about the
life assurances, and careful about
the deeds. and careful about
the mortgage, and careful about
the title to your proper
ty, because when you step off the stage
you want your children to get it all.
Are you making no provision that they
shall get grandfather or grandmother's
religion? Oh, what last will and
testament you are making, my brother!
''In the name of God, amen. ], being
of sound mind, make this my last will
and testament. l bequeath to my