The Bolivar bulletin. (Bolivar, Tenn.) 1888-1946, 1896-09-04

are IN hundreds of the schools and
families of this country to-day chill
dren who love God and keep His com.
tnahdnents, and who are to be fore.
most among the Christians and phi
lanthropists and the reformers of the
next century. The grace of God never
kills anyone. A child will be more
apt to grow up without it. Length of
days Is promised to the righteous. The
religion of Christ does not cramp the
chest or curve the spine or weaken the
nerves. There are no malarias float
ing up from the river of life. The re-
ligion of Christ throws over the heart
and life of child a supernal beauty.
Her ways are ways of pleasantness,
aud all her paths are peace. "
l pass on to consider the susceptible
ity of childhood. Men pride themselves
on their uRchaDgeability. They will
make an elaborate argument to prove
that they think now just as they did
20 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 skepti-
cism Christian. The sword of Gods
truth seems to glance off from those
mailed warriors, and the hemlet seems
battle-proof against Gods battle
AK. But childhood; how suscepti-
bic to example and to instruction!
You are not surprised at the record:
Abraham begat Isaac, and Isaac be-
gat jacob" for when religion starts in
a family, it is apt to go all through.
Jezebel a murderess, you are not sur
prised to fnd her son Jehoram at
tempting assassina ton. Oh, what re-
sponsibility upon the parent and the
teacherl The musician touches the
keys, and the response of those keys is
away off amid the pipes and the chords,
and you wander at the distance be-
tween the key and the chord. And SO
it is in life; if you touch a child, the
results will come back from man
hood or old age, telling just the
tune played, whether the dirge of a
great sorrow or the anthem of a great
joy. The word that the Sabbath
whisper in the ear of the class will be
echoed back from everlasting ages of
light or darkness. The home and the
school decide the repu bile or the des-
potism; the barbarism or the civ'liza-
ton; the upbuilding of an empire; or
the oyerthrowing of it. Higher than
parliament or congress are the school
and the family, and the sound of a
child's foot may mean more than the
tramp of host. What, then, are YOU
doing for the purpose of bringing your
children into the kingdom of God2 If
they are SO susceptible, and if this is
the very best time to act upon their
eternal interests, what are you doing by
way of right impulsion? There were
some harvesters in the field of Scot
land one hot day; and Hannah Lemond
was helping them gather the hay. She
laid her babe under tree. While she
was busy in the field, their was a f1ut-
ter of wings in the air, and golden
eagle clutched the swaddling band of
the babe, and flew away with it to the
eyrie. All the harvesters
and Hannah Lemond started for the
cliffs. 1t was two miles before they
came to the foot of the cliffs. Getting
there, who dared to mount the cliff?
No human foot had ever trod it. There
were sailors there who had gone up
the day of terrible TEMPEST; they did
lare risk it. Hannah Lemond sat
here, for awhile and looked 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
5rod, crag after crag, catching hold of |
his root or that root, until she |
reached the eyrie and caught her babe,
he eagle swooping in fierceness all |
around her. Fastening the child to
Ter back. she started for her friends !
md for home. o, what a dizzy descent! |
sliding from this crag to that crag, |
by that vine and by that root, |
coming down further and further, to |
he most dangerous pass, where she I
ound goat and some kids. She said: |
Now I'll follow that goat; the goat |
will know just which is the safest |
way down." and she was led by the
animal down to the plain. When
he got there, all the people cried:
Thank God, thank God!" her strength
not giving way until the rescue was
Effected. And they cried: ''Stand
pack, now. Give her air!" O, if a
woman will do that for the physical
ife of her child, what viii you do for
he eternal life of your boy and your
yirl? Let it not be told in the great
lay of eternity that Hannah Lemond
,ut forth more exertion for the saving
# the physical life of her child than
you, o, parent, have ever put forth
or the eternal life of your little one.
Tod helpyou!
| pass on to consider the power
which aschild yields over the parental
leart. We often talk about the ,influ-
nee of parents upon children. | never
lear anything said about the influence
If children upon their parents. You
70 to school to them. You no more
EDUCATE them than they educate you.
With their little hands they have
.aught hold of your entire nature and
-ou can not wrench yourself away
rom their grasp. You are different
men and women from what you were
,efore they gave you the first lesson.
They have revolutionized your soul.
There are fountains of JOY in your
leart which never would have been
discovered had they not discovered
hem. Life is to you more stupendous
hing than it was before these little
eet started on the pathway to eter-
ity. Oh, how many hopes, how many
oys, how many solicitudes that little
ne has created in your soul. You go
o school every day-a school of self
enial, a school of patience, in which
GU are getting wiser day by day; and