The Pacific commercial advertiser. [volume] (Honolulu, Hawaiian Islands) 1885-1921, 1901-01-15
TOTAL ABSTINENCE PLEDGE SIGNED BY
SCORES AT CENTRAL UNION CHURCH
Continued from Page u

Continued
hardly what to do, only to love them
and study them, and understand them,
but they turned out all right. I tell
you, love is an investment that pays
a hundred per cent. Why don't more
of US invest?
Maybe there are some of you here
tonight away from home; maybe you
forget to write a letter; maybe you
forget to send a Christmas present to
the folks? Oh, that is too bad! 1 tell
you what to do, my boy; you come up
here and sign the pledge and put it in
a letter and send it to the old folks.
Maybe you don't drink, but do 1t any
way. Your poor mother will be so
happy to see that pledge with your
name on it. She will kiss it and be SO
happy. She viii say to herself, oh,
my son John has signed the pledge and
he won't drink. 1 never thought he
would anyway, but now 1 know he
won't 1t will be such a sweet thing
to her; send it to her in a letter, love
letter to your mother; won't you, boys:
She will always be afraid until you
do.
There are prodigal boys who begin
to get wrong with their father like
early, and they run big tailor bills, and
accounts at the livery stable, and the
poor old daddy protests, and says, Go
slow, my boy, go Slow But the boy
wants to be sport. Boys will trot,
I tell you, boys will trot. Aren't you
ashamed of yourselves, you poor fell
lows, you, when you look back at the
way you treated your poor old father?
When you want to get hold of a ten
dollar bill go out and earn it, and then
you'll know the value of it. Don't go
down into your poor old dads pocket
for it, The school of experience is a
splendid thing for a boy that wants to
be a sport. The experience OF earning
money will soon take the sport out of
him. Well, the old man sees that his
Tom is going an awful gait, and he
tries to stop him, but maybe he goes
at it the wrong way, and there is a
row, and Tom gets mad and leaves.
Then the poor little mother she was
in it, too, she goes away and cries,
and her uear, tender heart is grieved.
Maybe the boy puts on his best clothes
and starts out, and his father asks him
where he is going.
Down town. says the boy. What
for?' asks the old man. 'Nothin', an
swers the boy; then the father gets
angry and says, What do you want
to go down town for nothin' for?' and
| town, anyhow and he starts, and the
father cries out after him.
you'd better be in early. If you
amt in by 10 o'clock I'll lock you out,
and the boys blood boils up In his
head and makes him dizzy, and he
shouts back, Well, then, go ahead and
lock me out and that's the way it
goes, and maybe it's a case of throw
out, instead of a lockout.
ooh, fathers, why don't you remem-
Der how you felt when you were boy
why don't you remember that your boy
has your blood in his veins, and that
he won't be driven! When you speak
| do this or not to do that, don't you
know that his blood, which is your
blood, is going to boil up within him,
and he is going to lose his head, and
leave you. Do you know what 1T is to
lose your boy? And you, yourself
don't you know you have got a big
load of passion on board, and that it is
| going to wreck your boys life if you
don't govern it, and lose your wrath In
love? 1t is so easy to manage the boy,
| don't you know it?
| why, I had a chap like that on my
hands once. He dressed up fine, and
had his cane under his arm and his
kid gloves on, and a flower in his but
tonhole, and the youngster starts out
asked him. Down town. says he
What are you going down town for?
says 1. oh, nothin',' says he. Where
are you going? L asked. Down town,
said he. What are you going for?
said I. 'Nothin,' said he, but I'm go.
in.
II reached up and got my hat;
didn't want to be deprived of my boys
company. I said, L guess I'll go with
/ YOU He looked at me a minute and
said, What, you, going down town, ano
going with me?' I said yes, and Their
he took off his hat and coat and gloves
and laid down his cane. Well then,
guess 1 won't CO. said he. All right
my son. said l. wen have pleasant
Ievening together and we did.
THAT boy wasn't a mean boy. There
isn't mean boy in town. All boys are
good. They are made bad by bad treat
| ment.
Il had another sort of boy, too
Once a great sorrow came into our
house, and the boy took it hard. He
went about quietly and didn't say
anything, but my heart ached for him
He would go upstairs and look at a
certain picture hanging on the wall
and when I'd call him to dinner he
would say, I don't believe I care for
| any dinner, father Poor child, he was
| grieving, and I couldn't say anything
to him. BY and by 1 had to go away
for a few weeks, and I thought maybe
L could turn his mind off of his grief
| / was in hurry, and so I left a very
important matter for him to attend to
and he promised he would When ]
came back the boys and girls came
around me and they were all so glad tc
see me home again. I was happy, too
and we were all happy together.
asked the boy about the matter 1 hat
left for him to do, and l saw by his
face that he had neglected it, even be
fore he said, oh, father, I forgot it.
| WE'LL 1 felt so badly that I just cried
1t had meant a great deal, and my
boy had forgotten it.
While I cried my boy came and pu
his arms around my neck and pleaded
for forgiveness. oh, father he said
if you will forgive me I will never
neglect you again, and I will Away.
love you and remember what you tel
me- / took the boy in my arms ant
kissed him and blessed him, and tha
was the beginning of a great under
standing between us. Ever since HI
has been an inspiration and a blessins
to me, my poor boy. If he knew hi:
father needed anything he would NOV,
heaven and earth to get it for me
Oh, fathers, have the doors of YOU
hearts wide omen. and full of love AND