Decorah public opinion. (Decorah, Winneshiek County [Iowa]) 1895-1928, 1897-06-08

@Tg land on the shore
u or on the bottom Of
the deep. The disciples in. the text
were caught in such stress of weather
and the sails bent and the ship plunged
for 'the wind was contrary There
is in one of the European straits q
place, where, whichever way you sail
the winds are opposing. There are
people who all their life seem sailing
In the teeth of the wind. All things
seem against them. 1t may be said OF
their condition as of that of the dis
ciples in my text: 1.-The wind was COLI
trary."
great multitude OF people are I'M
der seeming disadvantage, and | will
today, in the swarthiest Auglo-SaXon
that l can manage, treat their cases;
not as nurse counts out eight or ten
drops of a prescription, and stirS them
in half-glass of water, but as when
a man has by mistake taken large
amount of strychnine, or Paris green,
or belladonna, and the patient is walk
ed rapidly round the room, and shaken
up, until he gets wide awake. Many OF
you have taken a large draught OF the
poison of encouragement. and | come
out by the order of the Divine Physi-
clan to rouse you out of that lethargy.
First, many people are under The dis
advantage of an unfortunate name
given them by parents who thought
they were doing q good thing. Some
times at the baptism OF children, while
have held up one hand in prayer, l
have held up the other hand in amaze
ment that parents should have weight
ed the babe with such dissonant and
repulsive nomenclature. | have not so
much wondered that some children
should cry out at the christening font
as that others with such smiling face
should take title that will be the bur-
den Of their lifetime. 1t is outrageous
to sfflict children with an undesirable
name because it happened to be pos
sessed by a parent or rich uncle from
whom favors are expected, or some
prominent man of the day who may
end his life in disgrace. II is TO eX-
cuse, because they are Scripture names,
TO call a child Jehoikim, or Tiglath-
Pileser. l baptized one by the name
Bathsheba! Why, under all the cir
cumambient heaven, any parent should
want to give to child the name of that
loose creature of Scripture times ] cam
not imagine. l have often felt ct the
baptismal altar, when names werc an
nounced to me. like saying, as did the
Rev. DR.. Richards, of Morristown, y.
j., when a child was handed Glm for
baptism and the name given: Hadn't
you better call it something else?"
Impose not upon that babe name
suggestive of fiippancy or mcan1ess.
There is no excuse for such assault and
battery on the cradle when our Ian
guage is opulent with names musical
and suggestive in meaning, such as
John, meaning 1.-The gracious gift Of
Cod" or Henry, meaning 1.-THE chief
Of household" or Alfred. meaning
good COUNSELLOR" or Joshua. meaning
God, our salvation" or Ambrose.
meaning immortal" or Andrew,
meaning manly" or Esther, meaning
STAR" or Abigail, meaning my faith
er's Joy" or Anna. meaning grace"
or Victoria, meaning victory" or Ros-
allie, meaning beautiful as rose" or
Margaret, meaning "a pearl" or Ida.
meaning "godlike;" or Clara, meaning
"illustrious;" or Amelia. meaning
busy" or Bertha, meaning "beauti-
full" and hundreds of other names just
as good, that are a help rather than =
hindrance.
But sometimes the great hindrance
In life in not in the given name, but in
the family name. While legislatures
are willing to lift such incubus. there
are families that keep a name which
mortgages all the generations with a
great disadvantage. You say: Il won
der II he is any relation to So-and-so."
mentioning some family celebrated for
crime or deception. 1t Is a wonder 10
me that in all such families some shirt
ed young man does not rise, saving TO
his brothers and sisters: III Won want
to keep this nuisance or standardization
of name, l will keep it no longer than
until the quickest course of law I can
slough off this gangrene." The citv
directory has hundreds OF names the
mere pronunciation of which has heen
q lifelong obstacle. IL you have started
life under a name which either through
ridiculous photography or vicious sue-
gestion has been an encumbrance re-
solve that the next generation shall not |
BE SO weighted. 1t is not be,neaning
to change name. Saul OF Tarsus be- |
same Paul the Apostle. Hadassah.
the myrtle" became Esther. the |
star" We have in America. and | sup
pose 1T is so in all countries. names |
which ought to be abolished, and can |
be, and will be abolished for the reason |
that they are a libel and a SANDER. But |
IL Tor any reason you are submerged |
either by given name or by family |
name that you must bear, God will help |
you TO overcome the outrage by life |
consecrated to the good and useful. |
You may erase the curse from the |
name. II 1t once stood for meannass.
You can make it stand for generosity. |
II once it stood for pride. you can
make 1t stand for humility. II it once