The Bolivar bulletin. (Bolivar, Tenn.) 1888-1946, 1896-07-31

she had been 5raying all night
The mother said: 20, stop pray
ingl don't believe in praying. Get
over all those religious notions, and
will give you a dress that will cost
$500, and you may wear it next week
to that party" The daughter took
the dress, and she moved In the gay
circle, the gayest of all the gay all
night; and, sure enough, all religious
impressions were gone. and she
stopped parying. A few months
after, she came to die; and in
her closing moments said: Mother,
/ wish you would bring me that
dress that cost $500" The mother
thought il. was very strange request,
but she Brought il to please the dying
child. Now" said the daughter,
mother, hang that dress on the foot
of my bed" and the lress was hung
there, onethe foot of the bed. Then
the dying girl got mp on one elbow
and looked at her mother, and then
POINTED to the dress and said: Mother,
that dress is the price of my soul!' o,
what momentous thing it is to be a
notherl
s Again, and lastly: Hannah stands
before you to-day the rewarded
mother. For all the coats she made
for Samuel; for all the prayers she Of
fered for him; for the discipline she
exerted over him, she got abundant
compensation in the piety and the
usefulness and the popularity of her
son Samuel; and that is true in all
ageA. Every mother gets full pay
for all the prayers and tears in
behalf of her children. That man
useful in commercial life; that man
prominent in the profession; thatsmas-
ter mechanically every step he takes
in life has an echo of gladness in the
old heart that long ago taught him to
be Christian and heroic and earnest.
The story of what you have done or
what you have written, of the inf1u-
ence you have exerted, has gone back
to the old homeStead-for there is some
one always ready to carry good tidings
and that story makes the needle in
the old mothers tremulous hand fly
quicker. and the fail in the fathers
hand come down upon the barn-fOOr
with more vigorous thump. Pare ats
love to hear good news from their chill
d-en. Do you send them good news all
ways? Look ont for the young
man who speaks of his father
as the governor" the squire
or the "old chap" Look out
for the young woman who calls
her mother her maternal ancestor"
or the odd woman" THE eye that
mocketh at his father, and refuseth II
obey his mother, the ravens of the val
ley shall pick it out, and the young
eagles shall eat it." God grant that all
these parents may have the great salts
faction of seeing their children grow
up Christians.
But, O., the pang of that mother who,
after life of street gadding, and gos-
sip-retailiDg, hanging on her children
the fripperies and follies of this world,
see those children tossed out on the
sea of life like foam on the wave,
or nonentitics in world where only
brawny and stalwart character can
stand the shock! But blessed be the
mother who looks upon her children as
sons and daughters of the Lord AL
mighty 0, the satisfaction of Hannah
in seeing Samuel serving at the altar;
Timothy learned in the Scriptures;
that is the mothers rccompensc--to see
her children coming up useful in the
world retaining the lost, healing the
sick, plying the ignorant, earnest and
useful in every sphere. That throws
a new light back on the old family
Bible whenever she reads it; and that
will be ointment to soothe the aching
limbs of decrepitude, and light up the
closing hours of life's day with the
glories of an autumnal sunset!
There she sits-the old Christian
mother-ripe for Heaven. Her eye
sight is almost gone; but the SPLEEN
doris of the celestial city kindle up
her vision. The gay light of Heavens
morn has struck through the gray locks
which are folded back over the |
wrinklcd temples. She stoopy very much
now under the burden of care she
used to carry for her children. She
way to the house of God; but while |
she sits there, all the past comes |
back; and tho children that 40 |
years ago trOoped around her arm
chair with their little griefs and joys |
and sorrows-those children are all |
gone now. Some caughtup into bet
ter realm, where they shall never die, |
and others out in the broad world, at |
testing the excellency of a Christian
mothers discipline. Her last days are
full of peace; and cal1ner and sweeter
will her spirit become, until the gates
of life shall lift and let the WORKOUT
pilgrim into eternal spr;ng-tide and
youth, where thcolimbs never ache,
and the eyes never grow dim, and the
staff of the exhausted and decripit pill
grim shall become the palm of the inn
mortal athlete.
WOMEN AND BUSINESS.