The Bossier banner. [volume] (Bellevue, Bossier Parish, La.) 1859-1952, 1899-04-06

ly. Every time you have given smile
of appreciation all the good cheer of
your life will come up again in the
geniality of your children. And every
ebullition of anger and every uncon-
trollable display of indignation will
be fuel to their disposition 20 or 30 or
40 years from now-fuel for bad fire
a quarter of a century from this. You
praise the intelligence of your child
too much sometimes when you think
he is not aware of it, and you will see
the result of it before ten years of age
in his annoying affectations. You
praise his beauty, supposing he is not
large enough to understand what you
say, and you will find him standing
on high chair before flattering mir
ror. Words and deeds and examples
are the seed of character, and children
are very apt to be the second edition of
their parents. Abraham begat Isaac,
SO virtue is apt to go down in the an
cestral line, but Herod begat Agchelaus,
so iniquity is transmitted. What vast
responsibility comes upon parents in
view of this subject!
Oh, make your home the brightest
place on earth if you would chain your
children to the high path of virtue and
rectitude and religion! Do not always
turn the blinds the wrong way. Let
the light, which puts gold On the gen
tian and spots the pansy, pour into your
dwellings. Do not expect the little
feet to keep step to dead march. Do
not cover up your walls with such pic
lures as Vests death on Pale Horse"
or Tintoretto's Massacre of the In
nocents." Rather cover them if you
have pictures with 'The Hawking Par
ty," and "The Mill by the Mountain
Stream" and "The Fox Hunt" and the
children Amid Flowers" and the
Harvest Scene and ''The Saturday
Night Marketing" Get you no hint of
cheerfulness from grasshopper's leap
and lambs frisk and quail's whistle
and garrulous streamlet, which from
down to the meadow ferns under the
shadow of the steep comes looking to
see where it can find the steepest place
to leap off at and talking just to hear it.
self talk? If all the skies hurtled with
tempest and everlasting storm, wan
dered over the sea, and every mountain
stream were raving mad, frothing at
the mouth with mud foam, and there
was nothing but simooms blowing
among the hills and there were neither
lark's carol nor humming birds trill.
nor waterfalls dash. but only bears
bark and panther's scream and VOLTS
howl, then you might we'll gather into
your homes only the shadows. But
when God has strewn the earth and the
heavens with beauty and with gladness,
let us take into our home circles all in
nocent hilarity. all brightness and all
good cheer. A dark home makes bad
boys and bad girls in preparation for
bad men and bad women.
Above ALL my friends. take into your
homes Christian principle. Can it be
that in any of the comfortable homes
whose inmates I confront the voice OF
prayer is never lifted? What! No sup
p.ication at night for protection?
What! No thanks giving in the morn
ing for care? How. my brother, my
sister. will you answer God in the day
of Judgment with reference to your
children? 1t is plain question. and
therefore ask it. In the tenth chapter
of Jeremiah God says He will pour out
His fury upon the families that call
not upon His name. Oh. parents. when
ycu are dead and gone, and the moss
is covering the inscription of the tomb
stone, will your children look back and
think of father and mother at family
prayer? Will they take the old family
Bible and open it and see the mark of
tears of contrition and tears OF consol-
ing promise wept by eyes long before
cone out into darkness? Oh, if you
do not inculcate Christian principle in
the hearts of your children, and you do
! not warn them against evil. and you do
not invite them to holiness and to God,
and they wander off into dissipation
and into infidelity and at last make
shipwreck of their immoral soul, on
their deathbed and in the day of judg-
| ment they will curse you!
Seated by the register or the stove,
what if, on the wall, should come out
the history of your children? What a
history-the mortal and immortal life
of your loved ones! Every parent is
writing the history of his child. He is
writing it, composing it into song, or
pointing it with groan.
My mind runs back to one of the best
of early homes. Prayer like roof over
| it. Peace like an atmosphere in it
Parents personifications of faith in trial
and comfort in darkness. The two
pillars of that earthly home long crum-
bIed to dust. But shall ever forget
that early home? Yes, when the flower
forgets the sun that warmed it. Yes
when the mariner forgets the star that
guided him. Yes. when love has gone
out on the hearts altar. and memory
has emptied its urn into forgetfulness
Then, the home of my childhood. will
forget thee! The family altar of ia
tker's importantly and mothers ten
,lerness. the voices of affection, the