St. Johnsbury Caledonian. [volume] (St. Johnsbury, Vt.) 1867-1919, 1901-06-05


fathers who drink their boys shoes,
coats, hats, and good times, but there
are hundreds of other boys in the same
plight and it is possible that you NAV be
enabled to help at least one. And to
this, teacher, if you are true teacher. IN
the day or Sabbath school, 1 would say
perhaps you have no idea how fully you
enter into these little lives, how closely
they mark and remember the thoughts
you express upon various subjects, and
repeat your words and even your actions
at home; and in view of this let me urge
upon you to let not one opportunity pass
to speak word or two for pure living in
general. There is hardly a day when such
an opportunity does not present itself.
BY temperance work mean, of course,
work for pure speech and pure living, as
well as work for the non use of intoxl-
cants and tobacco. And let me say that
believe immodest, impure speech to be
doing more to injure the characters of
our young people in Vermont than the
use of intoxicants. Sometimes, l am
sorry to say, it is very easy matter to
trace the source of such speech back to
the mothers and their acquaintance,
who are looked to as sort of ideals by
the girls, but who are perfectly reckless
in their talk before them.
In the first epistle of 'Peter, the third
chapter, the writer is advising the wives
to live so "that if any obey not the
word they also may, without the word,
be won by the conversation of the wives;
while they behold your chaste conversa-
ton coupled with fear"
1t is time fathers and mothers realized
the Importance OF keeping their children
away from these evil communications.
And above all, let them live and speak so
that none would dare utter one immod'
est word in their presence.
The temperance cause is in desperate
need of just the life, beauty, brightness,
and ability to be found nowhere but in
our young women. The mothers cannot
put the energy and cheerfulness into the
work that their daughters can now and
as they once could. Upon these young
women depends the future of the temper
ancecause and also the plane upon which
future generations shall live.
Just the purity and uprightness that is
found in our young women shall we find
in our young men, and consequently in
our history makers. A young lady of
my acquaintance has never been known
to keep company with young man of
impure or bad habits. What is the rea-
son? Is it because she is always con-
demning such things? No, that is not
the reason, but there is always such a
clean, pure atmosphere about her that,
in spite of all her attractiveness, no
young man of loose habits has the cour-
age to attempt any close friendship with
her. If this is true in one case, and
think all of you have probably made the
same observation or similar one, why
may it not be the general rule? If every
girl were as pure as the one mentioned
above, we would see a marked change
in our newspaper headings and the cases
in our civil courts.
But not only does the Christian tenn
perance work of the future depend upon
the young women, but the future of the
young women depends upon the Chris
tan temperance work. The time has
been when men expected greater purity
and fidelity in their sweethearts and
wives than they were prepared to return
them, and it is still the case, to sad ex-
tent, but there seems to be an increasing
tendency to demand "a White Life for
Two" which is very encouraging, and
we are hoping the time will come when
everyone will realize that the highest
happiness and the only true life are found
where young men and women are united
in equal and perfect purity.
Sir William Temple says: "Man is
thinking being, whether he will or no;
all he can do is to turn his thoughts the
best way" Keeping this in mind let us
fill our girls from childhood with the
spirit of love for truth, purity and tenn
perance. Let their education develop
the same spirit and let them see it in the
lives of those with whom they associate.
Let their mothers and older friends be
such women THAT they may teach the
young women to be sober, to love their
husbands, to love their children, to be
discreet, chaste, keepers at home, good,
obedient to their husbands, that the
word of God be not blasphemed." I'll
tus ii 4, 81
1t is only when education takes this
turn that our nation will be strong and
mighty, our family life perfect, and our
women possessed of the abilityto guide
the house and give none occasion to
the adversary to speak reproachfully."
1 Tim. V: IA.
So, then, we see that the relation be-
tween young women and temperance
work is mutual dependence that each
may gain prosperity and happiness in
the highest sense.