The Virginia enterprise. [volume] (Virginia, St. Louis County, Minn.) 1893-19??, 1899-11-24
Love Shouts Rule the Home and
+ - Make Itself Manifest.

Love Shout Rule the Home and
:. = Make Itself Manifest.
"The home is the soul Of the nation, and
a nations veal or woe, its growth or de-
cay, depends upon the homes provided
for it's people," said some wise man or
woman not long ago. This is especially
true Of a republic, for in its homes are
being nurtured its future rulers. Every
man or woman, boy or girl, who has
cheerful, happy home, is Il powerful fac
tor in the general progress Of the worlds
never-ceasing evolution Of humanity;
while, OH the other hand, the inmates
of unhappy, degrad cd homes look out
upon the world with spirit engendered
by their miserable environments, and,
through their misfortune rather than
their fault, become the dead weight upon
the wheels Of progress, the liberated spot
in the body of the nation.
To remove this blot upon the civiliza
ton of our day is one Of the most per-
picking problems with which political
economists, statesmen and hunanitari-
ans of the rapidly CLOSING century are
graphing, problem to which, with the
assistance Of the wise careful thought
key must in time be found.
Home-making in its true sense has
not by any means kept pace with the
worlds progress in other directions. And
really this is not to be specially wondered
ut when it is remembered that almost no
prepa ration is made by young men and
women for entering upon that most i'm
portant of all human works, the upbuild-
ing of homes and the sacred responsible
ty Of training immortal souls.
The first duty is to make the home
attractive in eXtcrnals, and fortunately
this is less matter OF money than of
good taste, cleanliness and cheerful dis
positions. Given these, and bright, pleas
ant homes may be had with comparative
amount Of money is Indispensable, but
less is needed than is often ina gined
Expensive furniture, costly collections of
pictures, elaborate Communications have
not all to do in making attractive homes
Some good books, a few-cven one or
two-good pictures, some bright flowers,
are more effective than mountains of
bric-a-brac, when nothing more vital is
back of them. 1t has been most happily
said that there are six requisites to the
perfect building of happy home: In
tegrity must be the architect, and tidi-
ness the upholsterer. 1t must be warmed
by affection, and lighted by cheerfulness;
industry must be the ventilator, renew
ing the atmosphere and bringin in fresh
SdIupAAtS WY Wy, AiiAN o'NA an, 40 -
protective canopy and glory, nothing will
suffice but love-
Love should be the ruler of the house
hold, and it should be Of the demonstra
tive sort as WE'LL not the unsatisfactory
kind which is so deeply buried that it
will not occasionally manifest itself in
the outward expression of an encourage
ing word of praise or appreciation. a
caress or a kiss. 1t was DR.. Holmes,
wasn't it, who said that 1.-THE sound of a
kiss is not so loud as that of cannon,
but it's echo lasts a great deal longer!'
1t is certainly wise enough and true
enough for that sunny philosopher to
have said, and it sounds like him, so
the credit of it shall be given him.
How comparatively few parents there
are who understand how to govern their
children with that wise admiXture of love
and discipline which results in the fOrma-
ton of noble characters. But the num-
! Der of enlightened ones is increasing,
thanks to the new phases of child study
and which so many mothers are follow
ing. They are studying to be wise, and
the next generation will show what so
devoted work has meant to humanity.
And not only are the educated mothers
seeking for light, but they in turn are inn
parting what they discover to thu, less
springing up wherever a company of car
nest women are banded together-under
whatever name-tO bring better OppOr-
tunities to all the other women about
them. And the result is already being
felt. Punishment is not so frequently
administered to satisfy the passion of the
parent without any question as to wheth-
er it is really merited or not, nor is praise
bestowed in an equally injudicious man.
ner. There is the dawning of Justice in
the treatment of children, where before
there has been no such thing as the
thought Of justice. Either of these meth
DDS is as harmful as that total lack of
discipline, which is one of the causes that
helps to fill the reformatories and pris~
OnS.
The mother need not be afraid to be too
lavish of her show of affection toward
her children. Many and many heart
has been starved into Indifference be-
cause somebody has been ashamed to ap-
by the undemonstrative, stern. Puritan
ancestors of ours which should be &c
longer cherished. To the young respon-
sive hearts these little demonstrations of
love are as sunshine and dew to the flow
ers, making them expand, drawing out
the beauty OF. their natures, and giving
them that choicest blessing, which is the
very best start in life, and one the men,
DRY of which they can never lose, sun
shiny childhood. How sadly to be pitied
is the child who has not this inheritance.
No matter how hard the life may be,
how constant the toll, how bitter the dis
appointment, the memory Of a happy,
sheltered, love-laden childhood will
sweeten toll and soften the dsanDoint-
ment. There is something bright in life
which cannot be taken away.
There is nothing too kind, too generous,
too disinterested,~ too graceful for the
home: and parents--fathers as. we'll rs
'mothers-who would train up their chill
dren TO be loyal. gracious. noble men and
women, must themselves be loyal, gra-
cious and noble, the very best they can
be, at their own firesides. Their example
should be an inspiration to their children,
who. seeing the beauty of the characters
of those who make the home for them,
will take it as an ideal, and try to follow
it. And besides this personal influence,
which is the most important of all, there
should be a constant endeavor to sur
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