The St. Johns herald., 1900-07-07
HOME INFLUENCE.
Proper Training Has Neral Value That CannGt Be OvcrestI-
 mated.


 mated. What a sweet and profound truth ? those familiar words express! Home
 is rightly the earthly center of nuI , affections as well as the great source of our earthly joys; around 1t cluster
 our fOndest memories and our fairest
 hopes; and all that comes to us in
 this life Of brightness or sweetness
 suggests the thought of home. God pity the hcmelessI Home and family
 may not be exact synonyms. but 10 is
 no easy matter to dIssOcI;tIe tksm IE
 our thoughts. each implies the other.
 Home is certainly not home where | the wise counsets ot Kind father or the tender mlmStratIons of fond
 mother are wanting. for these art- eS-
 sentIai to the true conception ot home
 Again. home Is where our loved ones
 are, and where should these be in a | Christian land if not III sweet com
 munI0n under the famIiy rOof-tree? |? | Possible exceptions do not negative | the rule, says Housewife. | Parents are the natural home makers to their children. and the ideal home can only be found where
 there is perfect harmony between | them Mutual affection and respect between them will render un!lIndneSS on the part of either toward the other impossible. UnkIndness makes any
 home dreary. while love is the genus of the home circle that lightens la
 bor. dIsiIlls Joy and dispenses warmth and sunshlns. Love halIows and ef- fectuates the marriage vows.
 Blessed are the children of loving. sensible parents. If there is love and final piety in their own hearts! To such children and parents home will ever be the dearest spot On earth. the one nearest in brightness to Heaven. that eternal abiding place of the Christian, where loved ones shall dwell together in everlasting union when the trials of this life are ended. If our homes are what they should be. Heaven lies about us in cur infancy" in an almost literal sense; and holy influences rmanate from the true boiGe that keeps Heaven close to it's inmates throughout life.
 We must not forget to say that the mother IS the greatest of all home makers to the child. and no one else can fully supply her place. If she is disqualified. in any essential particu- lar. for this responsible position Uf home maker. her children and her husband are much to be pitIed If she is deficient in heart or mInd lacking in tenderness or judgment, her de fects will be intensified in her off spring. as men and women are gs sner- ally what their mothers make them- The mother creates the home atmos- phere which determines the course Of the child's life. If she IS no true homGmaker she will not be permit ted to taste the sweetest JOY of moth erhOod, that of bshoiding the good ness of her own children Of course We do not wish to ignore he father. for to the perfect home both parents are essential The two lovingly unite in caring for the bodIes and souls of the children.
 The moral value of proper home influences cannot be oyerestimated; for ail virtue starts in the home ln- deed, true morality is inconceiyabie apart from home associations. Love of God. love of man and love of eOun- try are alike impossible in q land that !as no real homes. Certainly man owes his country exactly in the pro- portion in which he loves his home. The homeless wanderer may be a lero. but he cannot Ee q patriot. So | man who never experiences the love ,f father or of q brother can hardly appreciate the fatherhood Of God CT he brotherhood Of man. X nation is ;rrong only when it's homes are happy md family ties held sacred Love of ruth and right is best fostered in he family circle, and ideas of moral purity and excellence take deeper root vhen inculcated there. 4 person is pt to have living faith in God. be- ause he has seen that faith eXempli- ed by his parents. We do not eX- ect good men and women to spring rom vicious or neglected homes while re can be almost certain that the hiidren of good mothers will be- ome useful and respectable mem CTS of society.
 Home cannot we'll be made too leasant or too beautiful. II is only ight that if should be the most att ractive spot on earth to it's inmates. frightened and sweetened by paren- Il. flial and fraternal love. The )unding Of such hCavenlike homes is ne mission of Christianity. as their lfiuence is to elevate mankind for ne glory of God. The Christian ome is the true palladium of moral y and religion and all that is noble man.
 ''I suppose he's deep in loves young aream." ''No; he's got beyond that ;tage. He loves her so much now it las given him insomnia. ."-PhiladeL- 'hia Press.