The times. [volume] (Richmond, Va.) 1890-1903, 1898-02-20
Winter Pleasures and Duties.

and prompts US more than ever, 10 APP
| preciate the dear delights Of home.
CoWper attempts to celebrate whatever
| Is cheerful in the face Of nature in his
winter morning walk" and the WIN
ter walk at noon" but he was probably
more indebted 10 his fancy than 10 his
| actual experience Of such enjoyment; for
| his tender and sensitive muse was not
! one calculated TO battle with cold and
storm; but how genial and genuinely
hearty Is his portraiture OF the quiet in
door happiness OF "The Winter Evening"
TO him. external winter was an awful
| form. With
scattered hair with sleet like ashes
| filed.
Tts breath CONCEALED upon its lips. It's
| cheeks
| Fring'd with n beard made white with
| other SHOWS.
| Than those Of age. its forehead wrapped
I'm clouds.
| A leaness branch its sceptre.'
But the timid. tender poet could glow
| and feel his soul expand with unaffected
| and unalloyed delight, when the order
| came,
Vow stir the fire. and close the shutters
| fast
Let fall the curtains. wheel the sofa
round"
| and then as he tells us that, reclined at
ease. his pleasures began, when giving
rein to fancy he watched the glowing
| hearth and saw houses. towers. trees,
] churches. and strange faces depicted in
| the red cindcrs. and the uncOuth shadows
| dancing on the ceiling; until his reverie
was broken by tho din OF the Storm
| beating against the bOlted shutter, and
| then recovering himself. he could apDre-
| ciate the coziness of his retreat, and by
contrast learn how the storm
| Raging abroad and the rough wind en-
dearcd
The silence, and the warmth enjoyed
within"
But still dearer 10 him than silent med
| itatiOn was the society Of those who were
| the companions of his innocent pleasures
| on 9TH Winter Evening diversified
| with conversation. and song and some
| favorite author. read aloud, while among
| the female auditors
"The needle plies its busy task.
/ The pattern grows, the well depicted
flower
| Wrought patiently into the snowy lawn.
Unfolds its bosom; bud. and leaves and
sprigs.
| Follow the nimble fingers Of the fair. -
and all this closed and crowned by fami-
| ly worship. made the bard excaim:
! 81 crown thee king Of intimate delights,
| Fire-sidc enjoymonts. homebon happi7
! ness"
| This picture so happily drawn by Cow
| per. is one which has found its counter
| part i'm many "a home where refinement
| and taste and innocent gayety and the
| interchange Of an social and sacred ar
| fections have created as true a paradise
as can be found in this world.
Il is especially the duty OF parents TO
| endeay0r To make home the pleasantest
| place on earth 10 their children. ana
when the day has closed and the long
J winter night commenced. TO render ~
so attractive that they will feel no temp
| tation to seek amusement elsewhere.
| While the giddy vOtaries Of fashion and
| pleasure often convert the winter into
a season OF feverish and frantic gayety,
! and make 70 the carnival Of dissipation
and folly. Jet it be remembered that i'm
| ccLdemning such eXcesses 10 is not ne
| cessary 90 run into the opposite extreme,
as if either reason or revelation required
us TO lead lives of austcrity ana gloom.
| There is nothing I'm Christianity which
frowns upon harmless mirth. SoWness
| is not sanctlty, grimncss is not godii-
| ness. Some parents with the most hOn-
| est intentions. in their innexiblo deter
| minatiOn 10 do what they consider their
| duty, by their stern dcmcan0r. and NUM-
| berless restrictions and prohibitions.
! make their houses more like n dreary
| prison than a happy home TO their. chill
| dron. Lest they should love the world
| too much they pluck up all the flowers
that spontaneously grow I'm the pathway
Of childhood. and hedge 10 ia by petty
prohibitions which like thOrns goad them
at every step along their way.
Children will soon revolt from such ir-
| rtating restrictions. As they grow mp
they will have an increasing conviction
that such discipline is irrational. and
while they may not lose respect for their
parents. they will lose attachment to
! their homes. ard seek the enjoyment else
/ where which is denied them under the
parental Roof
Then comes the danger 1t is a peril
| on slime with "a boy when he can no
longer relish an evening az home and
when he goes elsewhere either with or
| without the consent Of his parents. 10
seek entertainment which cannot be,
found in the family circle.
Let it be the care and study OF parents
10 make home the brightest. most cheer
full and ATTRACTIVE place on earth to their
! children. Let them never frOwn upon
| any pastme or recreation which does
not lead into temptation, or give the heart
| a disrclish for those ways Of wisdom
which are pleasantness and peace. And
above all let them see TO il that they
never cause their children 10 associate
with austerity and gloom that heaven
| descended visitant which comes TO shed
a glow. more genial than that which
| CaWper describes, over the domestic cir
| cle-which diffuses a warmth that pene-
| trates and gladdens the heart-which sits
at the fireside. and with an inspiration
more cheering than that OF wine gives
| her bencdiction TO all innocent ioys-fll-
| ing our homes with music and our souls
/ with happiness. heightening and brighten
| ing every enjoyment by recognizing each
| az coming from the Giver OF all good
! Such is Christianity and such should be
| the Christian home.
Wordsworth abiding to the habit Of
the English skylark, which rising from
her nest at daybreak. scars upward to
| greet the sun. singing as she ascends.
and then drops down into her nest again.
| has drawn from il a beautiful emblem
| making the lark illustrate what the
| Christian ought 10 be:
| TYPE Of the good. who soar. but never
roam.
True to the kindred points Of Heaven
and Home
M. d. Hoge. in Central Presbyterian.
The Dreaded Comes To- Pass.
! them on"
| DO You think he is asleep"
Yes. but don't breathe. Now wait"
| How informally dark tho house IS