St. Tammany farmer. [volume] (Covington, La.) 1874-current, 1899-04-01

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 well gather into
your homes only the shadows. But
when God has strewn the earth and the
heavens with beauty and with gladnesss
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 Tor
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 confront the voice OF
nrayer 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, ana
therefore ask il. 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 ana
think of father and mother at family
prayere will they take the old family
Bible and open it and see the mark OF
tears of contrition and tears OF consoi-
ing promise wept by eyes long before
rome out into darkness? Oh, II 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 on into dissipation
and into infidelity and at last make
sbipwreck 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 9
history-the mortal and immortal life
of your loved ones! Every parent u
writing the history Of his child. lie II
writing it, composing it into song, o.
pointing it with a groan.
Again, home is type OF Heaven. At
our best estatewe are only pilgrims and
strangers here. "Heaven is our home.
Death will never knock at the door OF
that mansion, and in all that country
there is not a single grave. How glad
parents are in the holidays to gather
their children home again! B0ti have
noticed there is almost always SON or
a daughter absent-absent from home,
perhaps absent from the country, per
haps absent from the world. Oh. how
glad our Heavenly Father will be when
| He gets all His children home with HIM
| in Heaven! And how delightful it will
| be for brothers and sisters to meet att
er long separation! Once they parted
| at the door of the tomb. Now thry
| meet at the door of Immortality. Once
| they saw only Through glass dark
H." Now it is face to face, corruption,
interruption, mortality, immortality.
Where are now all their sinsand SORROWS
and troubles? Overwhelmed in the Red
sea of death, while they pass through
dry shod. Gates of pearl, capstones OF
amethyst. thrones Of dominion do not
stir my soul so much az the thought OF
home. Once there, let earthly sor-
rows howl like storms and roll like
seas. Home! Let thrones rot and
empires wither. Homel Let the world
die in earthquake struggle and be bur-
led amid procession of planets and
dirge of spheres. Home! Let ever
lasting ages roll in irresistible sweep
Homei No sorrow. No crying. No
tears. No death. But home. sweet
home, beautiful home, everlasting
home, home with each other, home
with angels, home with God!
One night, lying on. my lounge when
yery tired, my children all around about
me in full romp and hilarity and laugh
ter-on the lounge half awake and hall
asleep-I dreamed this dream: wasin
far country. It was not Persia, al
though more than oriental 1uxuriance
crowned the cities. 1t was not the
tropics, although more than tropical
fruitfulness filled the gardens. II was
not in Italy, although more than ltal-
ian softness filled the air. And wan
dered around looking for thorns and
nettles, but j found that none OF them
grew there, and saw the sun. rise, and
| watched to see it set, but it sank not.
And I saw the people in holiday attire,
and said: when will they put on thia
and put ON workmen's garb and again
delve in the mine and swelter at the
forge?" But they never put on the
holiday attire.
And wandered into the suburbs OF
the city to find the place where thu
dead sleep, ard locked all along t4<
line of the beautiful hills. the place
where the dead might most peacefully
sleep, and saw towers and castles, but
not q mausoleum or monument or
white slab could / see. And went lit
the chapel of the great town. and
said: where DO the poor worship AM
where are the hard benches on which
they sit?" And the answer was mads
me: I'VE have no poor in this coun
try." And then / wandered out to tint
the novels of the destitute, and founa
mansions of amber and ivory and gold
but not tear could / see, not sigl
could hear. And was bewildered
and sat down under the branches o
a great tree, and said: "Where am
and whence comes all thisscent? An
then, out from among the leaves nm
up the fiowery paths and across tn
broad streams there came beautiful
group throrgiEg all about me, and
saw them come ] thought ! kne,
their step. and as they shouted
|. thought / knew their voices, bat the
they were SO gloriousiy arrayed in al
parel such as l had never before wi
messed that I bowed A. stranger I
stranger. But when again they clappe
their hands and shouted: "Welcom
welcomed" the mystery all vanished
ard I found that time had gone an
, eternity had come and we were a
together again in our new home ]
Heaven. and ! looked around. and
said: "Are we all hereT and tt
voices Of many generations Responded
"A1l here!" An6 while tears OF gla'
rcss were rurniJ down our chee \