St. Tammany farmer. [volume] (Covington, La.) 1874-current, 1899-04-01
ISPRINGTIME OF LIFE.
A Sermon On the Scenes Of Youth
by Dr.. Talmagc.
A lGan.u True Character VIII Come
Out Beside the Elreside-HoAe
should he the Brightest
Place on Earth.

a A01s0 True A8oE0G0@E " 10 w.
Out Beside the Fireside-HoAe
should he the Brightest
Place on Earth.
(washington, Copyright. 1Ss9)
Many tender recollections are stirred
by DIR. Talmage's discourse, and scenes
Gf boyhood and girlhood days will be
lived over again; text, Timothy. v. 4:
LET them Learns first to show piety ut
home"
During the summer months the tend
ency is to the fields, to visitation. to for
eign travel and the watering places,
and the ocean steamers are throngeo,
but in the winter it is rather 10 gather
in domestic circles, and during these
months we spend many of the hours
within doors, and the apostle comes
to us and says that we ought to exer-
else Christian behavior amid alh such
circumstances. LET them learn first
to show piety at home"
There are great many people long,
ing for some grand sphere i'm which
to serve God. They admire Luther at
the diet of Worms and only wish they
had some such great opportunity in
which to display their Christian Prov
ess. They admire Paul making Felix
tremble, and they only. wish that they
had some such grand occasion i'll which
to preach righteousness, temperance
and judgment to come. All they want
is an opportunity to exhibit their
Christian heroism. Now, the apostle
practically says: II will show you a
place where you can exhibit all that
is grand and beautiful and glorious
in Christian character, and that is the
domestic circle. Let them learn first
to show piety at home" II one is not
faithful in an insignificant sphere, he
will not be faithful in a resounding
sphere. If Peter will not help the
cripple at the gate of the temple. he
will never be able to preach 5000 into
the kingdom at the Pentecost. IT Paul
will not take pains to instruct in the
way of salvation the jailer of the Phil
ippian dungeon, he will never make
Felix tremble. He who is not faithful
in skirmish would not be faithful in
an Armageddon. The fact is. we are
all placed in just the position in which
we can most grandly serve God. and
we ought not to be chiefly thoughtful
aboue some sphere of usefulness which
we may after awhile gain, but the all
absorbing question with you and with
me ought to be: lord. what wilt thou
l.
There is one word in ST. Paufs adj
| iuration around which the most of our
thoughts will revolve. That word is
'.home." Ask ten different men the
meaning Of that word, and they will
| give you ten different definitions. To
| one it means love at the hearth, plen'
| ty at the table, industry at the work
stand. intelligence at the books, devo-
| ton at the altar. In that household
discord never sounds its warwhoop and
deception never tricks with its false
face. To him it means greeting q,
| the door and smile at the chair, peace
lowering like wings, joy clapping its
hands with laughter. Life is tran
ouil lake. Pillowed on the ripples sleeF
the shadows. Ask another man what
home is, and he will tell you it is want
looking out Of cherries fire CRATE
kneading hunger in an empty bread
tray. The damp air shivering with
curses. No Bible on the shelf. Chill
dren robbers and murderers in embryo
Obscene songs their lullaby. Every
face a picture of ruin. Want in the
background and sin staring from tht
front. No Sabbath wave rolling ovel
that doorsill. Vestibule of the pit
Shadow of internal walls. Furnace lol
forging everlasting chains. Fagots fol
nm unending funeral pile. Awful word
It is spelled with curses, it weeps will
ruin, it chokes with woe, it swears with
the death agony of despair. The wore
shome" in the one case means every
thing bright. The word "home' in thu
other case means everything terrific.
| 1 shall speak now of home as tes
of character, home as refuge, home
as q political safeguard, home as
school and home as type of Heaven
And in the first place home is pow
erful test of character. The disposi
ton in public may be in gay costume
while in private it is dishabille. As pla.
actors may appear in one way on th'
stage and may appear in another wa.
behind the scenes, SO private charac
ter NAV be different from public char
acter. Private character is often pub
lie character turned wrong side out. !!
man may receive you into his parlor
though he were distillation of smiles
and yet his heart may be a swamp o
nettles. There are business men wh'
all day long are mild and courteous ant
genial and good natnred in CONNER
c.al life, damming back their irritable
Ity and their petulance and their dis
content, but at nightfall the dan
breaks and scolding pours forth il
Hoods and freshets.
Reputation is only the shadow o
) character, and a very small house some
. times will east very large shadow
! The lips may seem to drop with myrr
! and cassia and the disposition to be
bright and warm as a sheath Of sun
beams. and yet they may only be
magnificent show window for wretch
, ed stock of goods. There is many
. man who is affable in public life an
amid commercial spheres who in
/ | cowardly way takes his anger and hi
: petulance home and drops them in tn
domestic circle. The reason men d
not display their bad temper in publ
/ is because they do not want to b
) knocked down. There are men VIII
, hide their petulance and their irriia
: bility just for the same reason tha
they do not let their notes 60 to pre-
test-it does not pay-or for the sam
reason that they do not want man !
their stock company to sell his stoc
) below par lest it depreciate the valu'
Al 1T sunset sometimes the win
rises, 80 after . sunshiny day there ma
be tempestuous night. There u
people who In public act the philaI
:. thropist who at home act the Nero wit
respect to their slippers and theirgowl
Audubon, the great ornithologist. wit
!. gun and pencil went through the fol
ests Of America to bring down and I
sketch the beautiful birds, ard aft
years Of toll and exposure complete
Il sn