Virginia citizen. (Irvington, Va.) 1891-1921, 1901-01-18


Again. the penuIious Christian will
not have an abundant entrance. Fer.
haps he was not converted until all his
habits of tight tistedness were fixed be-
yond recovery. The people who are
generous were taught to be generous in
childhood. You can tell from the way
that boy divides the apple what his
characteristics for generosity or mean
ness will be for the next Sc years IL he
lives SO long IL he eat II all himself
while others look wtstfully on. he will
be Shylocls. Ii he give half of IL to
some one who has no apple. he will be
an ordinarily generous man. If he give
three-fourths of IL to another, lie will
be a Baron Hirsch or George Pea
body.
For 30 years this man has been
practicipg an economy which prided
itself on never passing u pin without
picking it up. and il he responded at
all i'm church would pct on the collec-
ton plate so Insignificant coin that
he held his hand over IL so that no one
could discover the smailness of the
denomination. Somewhere i'm the fif.
ties or sixties of his life, during n re
vival OF religion. he became u Chris
tan. He is very much changed in
most respects, but his all absorbing ac-
quisitiveness still influences him. To
extract from him gift for an orphan
age or church or poor woman who
has just been burnt out is an achieve
ment. You and l know very good
men, their Christian character beyond
fliSfpfa
by all as penurious. and they know II
themselves and pray against it. We
all have our bad habits and yet expect
TO get TO heaven. and this skinaint has
his mighty temptation. The passion
of avarice well illustrated it's strength
when i'm one of the houses of exhumcd
Pompeii was found the skeleton of n
man who was trying to escape with GO
coins and silver saucepan. For those
yaluables he dared the ashes and scoria
of Vesuvius which overwhelmed him.
and many good man has been held
nightly by avarice. But the day is
coming for that penurious Christians
departure from the world. He has an
awful struggle I'm giving up his gov
eminent securities. The attorney who
bANh Ills ASSN W al uDb TESTAMENT saw
how hard IL was for him to leave his
farm or his storehouse or investments,
especially those that In the markets are
called gilt edged. Those that yield
only per cent he easily resigns to the
care Of bis executors. but those that
yield = or 0 or 10 per cent. how can
he give them up while the market is
still rising? Bolstercd up In bed, know
ing be has got 10 sign Il. he reads the
document over and over again, aud
then. with n manner that seems 10
say. We'll. IL must. l must" he signs
his name to that surrender of his last
farthing of earthly possessions. He
enters heaven, but he has not an album
dant entrance.
Glorious Admission.
But that brings me TO the other
thought of my text. that there are
those who will when they leave this
life bound into heaven amid saiutations
infinite. For so an entrance shall be
administered unto you abundantly."
Such eNultant admission will await
those who enter heaven after on earth
living life for others and without ref
erence TO consplcuity. On the banks
of the Ohio or the Tuscaloosa or the
Androscoggin is large family, all OF
whom have been carefully aud reli-
giously reared. In the earlier stages of
that family there were many prIva.
tons. The mother OF the household
never had any amusements Perhaps
once In year a poor theatrical play
was enacted In the neighboring school.
house or squawking concert In the
town hall, and that was all the diver
sion afforded for the winter season. I
asked the manager OF an insane asy-
lum in Kentucky, "From what class OF
persons 10 you get most Of your pa
tientsf" and he said, Prom farmers
wives" asked the same question of
the manager OF an insane ASYLUM In
pennsylvania and the same question of
the manager of an insane asylum In
Massachusetts and got the same reply.
we have on our rolls for treatment
more farmers wives than persons COM
ing from any other class" That an
swer will be surprise 70 some. IT
was no surprise 10 me. The simple
reason is farmers wives as n general
iast' dinner ana supper, sewing. scour-
ing. scrubbing, knitting. mending. year
In and year out. That mother is the
miiliner. the mantuamakcr, the nurse
the doctor, the accountant, OF the whole
FAMILY. She plans the wardrobe of
spring. of summer, of autumn. OF win
ter. cutting. fitting. completing gar.
ments, out OF which the children soon
grow and must have something else
Inc newspaper does not come. or n |
coming there is no time TO read II. No
selection or good books. The neiyhbors
calling In arc full of the same grinding
routine. No wonder so many of them |
go into dementia. Oh, the country is |
beautiful TO look at and recuperative |
place IN which TO spend summer. and If |
you nave the means to bring yourself |
amusements or go where they are or |
you can surround yourself by inspiring |
social life 1t is good place to STAY all |
the year round. But alas for the thou |
sands or good and noble women who
are dying by inches In Its solitudes!
Now, the mother of whom l sneak
as living on the banks of that great |
river In Ohio or Alabama or Maine has
gone through all the drudgery mention
ed. and her children have turned out
well. good and useful men and women.
ornaments Of society. pillars In the
house of God. and that whole family.
aiter the years have passed by and
their work is done, will meet In the
heavenly country. From such family
some viii certainly have preceded her.
and the time Of her expected arrival
VIII be announced to all the members
or that family already glorified and to
the old earthly neighbors who nut
down their tolls little sooner than She
did, and she will have the warmest
kind OF home coming, and she will go
through the gate as easily as ever She
lirted the latch OF her front door COM
ing from the old country meeting
house where she used to worship. Go
IN, mother! Heaven has been waiting
Tor you good many years. Got rid