The Wilmington daily Republican. (Wilmington, Del.) 1890-1902, 1898-10-10

think that they arc retired and sit r,ea
back out OF sight from the world, feeling
, that they have no relation to 1t. Tn,
mothers Of tho last century are today II
the person Of their descendants, In the son
ates, the parliaments, the palaces, the pull
pits, the banking houses, the professional
chairs, the prisons, the almshouses, the
company of midnight brigands, the cellars
the bitches Of this century. You have
been thinking about the Importance oil
having the right influence upon one nurs
cry. You have been thinking of the i'm
portance OF getting those two little fect on
tho right path. You have been thinking
OF your chtld's destiny for the next 80 years
II II should pass on to be an octogenarian.
That Is well, but my subject sweeps a
thousand years, million years, quad
rillion Of years. cannot stop at one
cradle. am looking at the cradles that
reach all around the world and across all
time am not talking Of Mother Eunice
am talking Of Grandmother Lois The
only way you can tell the force OF a cur
rent is by sailing up stream or the force
OF an ocean wave BY running the ship
against IT. Running along with It. We can.
not appreciate tho force. In estimating
maternal influence we generally run along
with 1t down tho stream Of time, and 30
We don't understand tho full force. Let
Ms come up to 1t from the t1ernity side,
after 1t has been working on for centuries
and see all the good 1t has done and all the
evil 1t has accomplished multiplied in
magnificent or appalling compound inter
est
Like Mighty Rivsr.
The difference between that mothers
influence on her children now and the In.
flnenoe when 1t has been multiplied In
hundreds Of thousands of lives Is the diff.
ference between the Mississippi river away
up at the top Of the continent starting
from the little Lake Itasca, seven miles
long and one wide, and It's mouth at tho
gulf Of Mexico, where navies might ride.
Between the birth of that river and it's
burial In the sea tho Missouri pours In,
and tho Ohio pours In, and the Arkansas
pours In, and the Red and White and the
Yazoo rivers pour in, and all the states
and territories between the Allegheny and
Rocky mountains make contribution.
Now, In order to test the power Of moth
er's influence, We need to come in off the
ocean Of eternity and sail up toward the
ono cradle, and we will find 10, 600 tribu-
taries of influence pouring In and pouring
down. But 1t ia, after all, one great river
OF power rolling on and rolling forever
Who can fathom itp Who cali bridge itY
Who can stop itP Had not mothers better
b. intensifying their prayerss Had they
not better be elevating their example3
Had they not better be rousing themselves
with the consideration that by their faith
fitness or neglect they are starting an In
1uence which will be stupendous after the
last mountain Of earth is fiat, and the last |
sen has dried up, and the last flake of the |
ashes Of consumed world shall havo been |
blown away, and all the telescopes of other
worlds directed to the track around which
our world once swung shall discover not
80 much as cinder Of the burned down
and swept of planetP In Ccylon there Is
granite column 86 square feet in size
which la thought by the natives to decide
the worlds continuance. An angel with
robes spun from zephyrs Is once century
to descend and sweep the hem Of that robe
across the granite, and when by that at
triton tho column Is worn away they say
time will end. But by that process that
granite column would be worn out of OK
istence before mothers influence will bo-
gin to give way.
Mothers Influence.
II q mother tell child II he Is not good
some bugaboo will come and catch him,
tho fear excited may make the child a
coward, and the fact that no finds that
there is no bugaboo may make him liar,
and the echo Of that false alarm may be
heard after IL generations havo been born
AMI have expired. If a mother promises
child reward for good behavior and after
the good behavior forgets to give the re-
ward, the cheat may crop out in some
faithlessness half thousand years farther
on. II a mother cultivate childs vanity
and eulogize his curls and extol the night
black or Sky blue or nut brown Of the
child's eyes and call out in his presence
tho admiration Of spectators, pride and ar
may be prolonged after half q doz.
On family records have been obliterated. II
o mother express doubt about some state.
ment Of tho Holy Bible in child's pres.
ence, long after the gates Of this historical
bra have closed and the gates Of another
sra have opened tho result may be seen in
\ champion blasphemer. But, on the other
land, II a mother walking with child
'ee suffering one by the wayside anil
'ays, my child, give that 10 cent piece to
hat lame boy" the result may be seen on
The other side of tSa following century in
ome George Muller building whole vii
age of orphanages. If q mother sit almost !,
very evening by the trundle bed of a !
hid and teach 1t lessons of Saviours
ovo and Saviours example, of the i'm =
'ortance Of truth and the horror Of lie
nd the virtues of industry and kindness 9
nd sympathy and self sacrifice, long after = =
he mother has gone and the child has !,
one and the lettering on both the tomb !
tones shall have been washed out by the
forms Of innumerab,e winters there may
Q standing as a result of those trundle
ed lessons flaming evangels, world NOV
,g reformers. seraphio Summerilelds, y
'eeping Paysons, laundering whiteaelds o
Washingtons. ii
God Never Forgets. b
Good or bad influence may skip one gen. p
alton or two generations, but it will DO - -
Ire to land In the third or fourth genera l,
on. just as tho Ten Commandments, u
'eaking Of tho visitation of God on fami- y
es. says nothing about the second gen. u, ~
alton, but entirely skips the second and ~
leaks of the third and fourth generation =. w
visiting the iniquitios Of the fathers y, VI
ION the third and fourth generation of Ut
en- that hate NO." Parental influence, =
yht and wrong, may jump over gon- T.,
alton, but 1t will come down further on Ia
sure as you sit there and stand here. s nV
mothy's ministry was projected by his .o'
Lois. There are men and a.,
'men here, the SONS and daughters of Va va
D Christian church, who are such as a ,a'
'ult Of the conservation Of greats great 10.
'ndmothers Why, who do you think "a
} Lord LISP You talk as though his mem ~
: was weak. He can as easily remem- co'
: prayer offered Ave centuries ago as ah
Eyer offered five minutes ago. This ex.
Inns what We often see-soms man or us ~,
man distinguished for beneyolenoo en- en-,
en- the father and mother wore distin- e''
shod for penuriousness, or you see some
ing man or woman with bad father 4
hard mother come out gloriously for ter,
rist and make the church sob and shout per
sing under their exhortations We the
nd In corners Of tho vestry and whisper eve
r the matter and say GLOW is this, 1t i,
b great piety In sons and daughters Of east
h parental worldliness and sing, L of
explain 1t to you If you will fetch me who
old family Bible containing the full 7
)r( Let somo saDtuooopur,,r loci, NJ,