Newport weekly independent., 1902-06-13

unwelcome guests i'll the home. It is no longer fashionable to rear large | families, or even any families at all. How often the ewly-wedded pair, with | set purpose born of he'll deliberately determine that no baby voice shall | make music in their home, nor baby hand rest softly on the mothers breast! Selfshness and scientific non- sense of the day can dictate a longer list of reasons why the children are not wanted than we have space to emu merate here. But against every reason which the selfish heart can conjure up, these words of Jesus stand out like letters of fire: "Take heed, that ye despise not one of these little ones!" The presence of children in the Jew ish home was a manifest evidence of the blessing of God, and the cry of the chlldless wife was, give me children or die. Hannah in the temple, so over- come by the anguish of her loneliness as to appear to Eli, the high priest, to be in maudlin condition from too much wine, made one request of the Lord, that she might have children,
 
 heart. David sings: "Lo! children are an heritage of the Lord: and the fruit of the womb is His reward. Hap py is the man that hath his culver full of them; they shall not be ashamed, but they shall speak with the enemies in the gate"
 Responsibility of Parenthood.-- Through the open window comes the pleading, persistent notes of a moth- CT sparrow as she seeks by the tempt ing morsel in her beak to draw her little one away from the nest and get him to try his wings and obtain strength and skill to sail the blue heavens and successfully win a live lihood for himself. I notice she does not commit this important task to some zone else, nor does she leave the little one for club appointment, or social function, or even the sewing circle, until her task is accomplished and her birding can safely fly alone. The heartbreaking cry of the moth CT, "Where is my wandering boy to- night,' would not so often be wrung from the quivering lips if, when the boy was first learning to try his strength and was forming habits, his mother had been at his side to guide his feet and take the sting from the poisoned darts of the enemy of her boys soul. The fCul word, the un. clean thought, the lustful habit, the lying tongue, the evil associate would not have usurped her place in his heart if her watchful eye had been faithful to detect the sowing of the first seed, and in one of mothers quiet little talks she had disarmed the power of the enemy and made her boy strong against temptation. Take heed that ye despise not one of these little ones." To turn your child upon the street, to neglect him for responsibilities in society, in char itable work, in church activities, is to despise these little ones, and per- haps forever turn their feet away from the Lord. I do not know how it is in your community, your city, but in the locality where I live many children live upon the street and go home to eat and, when the hour grows late, to sleep. And oh the crime and nastiness which these lit- tie ones learn between the hours of dusk and bedtime. From one end of this land to the other we need ths ringing of the curfew bell but most of all we need an awakened parent hood which will not so despise these little ones as to feel that they are nuisance when they are around and be glad when they are away out of sight. Oh, the possibility which lies in that little life which God has com- mitted to your hands and which it is your solemn duty to patiently and lovingly develop. "Take heed that yc despise not one of these little ones."
 Angels as NIinistering Spirits.-It is beautiful thought, and one fully warranted by the words of our text, to know that Gods angels have spe- cial care for the little ones, flor I say unto you that in Heaven their angels do always behold the face of my Father which is in Heaven" It is as natural for the little one to unfold it's mind to the thoughts of loving Saviour and Heavenly Father as it is for the bright-faced flower to turn towards the warming rays of the sun or the lark to mount up into the heavens with his cheery song What sweet and wonderful secrets the angels of God can whisper in the tender little hearts, if only the world liness and unbelief of the parents are not allowed to first plant their blight ing seeds of death there. The little