The Bossier banner. [volume] (Bellevue, Bossier Parish, La.) 1859-1952, 1899-05-25

In this important matter, seek Divine
direction, 0 father, . mother!
Someone asked the mother of Lord
Chief Justice Mansfield if she was not
proud to have three such eminent sons,
and all OF them SO good. No. she
said; sit is nothing to be proud of, but
something for which to be very grate-
full"
Again, there are many who are sac
rifcing their children to a spirit of
worldliness. Some one asked a mother
whose children had turned out very
well what was the secret by which she
prepared them for usefulness and for
the Christian life, and she said: ''This
was the secret: When in the morning
| washed my children, I prayed that
they might be washed in the fountain
of a Saviour's mercy. When 1 put ON
their garments, / prayed that they
might be arrayed in the robe of Saw
iour's righteousness. When gave them
food. I prayed that they might be fed
| with mama from Heaven. When I
started them on the road to school.
prayed that their path might be as the
shining light, brighter and brighter to
the perfect day. When 1 put them to
sleep, prayed that they might be en-
folded in the Saviour's arms" "Oh,'
you say, that was very old-fashioned"
1t was quite old-fashioned. But do you
| suppose that child under such nurture
as that ever turned out bad?
In our day most boys start out with
no idea higher than the all encompass
ing dollar. They start in an age which
| boasts it can scratch the Lords Prayer
on ten-cent piece and the Ten Com
| mandments on ten-cent piece. Chill
| dren are taught to reduce morals and
religion. time and eternity, to vulgar
| fractions. 1t seems to be their chief at
tainment that ten cents make dime
and ten dimes make dollar. How to
get money is only equaled by the other
art-how to keep it. Tell me, We who
know, what chance there is for those
who start out in life with such per-
yerted sentiments! The money market
resounds again and again with the
downfall of such people. If had a
drop of blood on the tip of pen, l
would tell you by what awful tragedy
many of the youth of this country are
ruined.
! Further on, thousands and tens of
thousands of the daughters of America
are sacrificed to worldliness. They are
taught to be in sympathy with all the
arti6cialities of society. They are in-
Quoted into all the hollowness of what
is called fashionable life. They are
taught to believe that history is dry,
but that so cent stories of adventurous
love are delicious. With capacity that
might have rivaled Florence Night
ingale in heavenly ministries or made
the fathers house glad with filial and
sisterly demeanor, their life is waste,
their beauty curse, their eternity q
demolition.
In the siege of Charleston, during
our civil war, lieutenant of the army
stood on the floor beside the daughter
of the ex-governor of the state of South
Carolina. They were taking the vows
of marriage. A bombshell struck the
roof, dropped into the group, and nine
were wounded and slain, among the
wounded to death the bride. While the
bridegroom knelt ON the carpet trying
to stanch the wounds the bride de-
manded that the ceremony be COM
pleted, that she might take the vows
before her departure, and when the
minister said: "Wilt thou be faithful
unto, death?" with her dying lips she
said, II will,' and in two hours she had
departed. That was the slaughter and
the sacrifice of the body, but at thou
sands of marriage altars there are
daughters slain for time and slain for
eternity. 1t is not marriage. 1t is a
massacre. Affianced to some one who is
only waiting until his father dies SO he
can get the property; then little while
they swing around in the circles, bril-
liant circles; then the property is gone,
and. having no power to earn a liveli-
hood, the twain sink into some corner
of society, the husband an idler and a
sot, the wife a drudge, slave and a
sacrifie. All, spare your denunciations
from Jephthah's head and expend them
all on this wholesale modern martyr
dom!
4 / lift up my voice against the sacri-
fee of children. / look out of my win
dow on Sabbath, and see.a group of
children unwashed, uncombed, un-
, Christianized. Who cares for them
Who prays for them? Who utters to
them one kind word? When the city
missionary, passing along the park in
: New York, saw ragged lad and heard
J him swearing, he said to him: my
| son, stop swearing! You ought to go to
| the house of God to-day. You ought to
, be good. You ought to be Christian.
The lad looked in his face and said:
"Ah! 1t is easy for you to talk. well
clothed as you are and well fed. But
we chaps hain't got no chance" Who
: lifts them to the altar for baptism
Who goes forth to snatch them up from
crime and death and woe? Who to-day
will go forth and bring them into