Virginia citizen. (Irvington, Va.) 1891-1921, 1903-08-14


conseerated home.
The bousekeeper is her servants
model. Then she must give TO them
her love as well as her sympathy. "Oh,
no. some housewife answers, II could
not love my servants. 1 could SYM
pathize with them I'm their troubles. but
could not love them. Why. IL loved
them / should have TO receive them
into the holy OF holies' of my heart. i
should in one sense have to make
them part OF my own family. i
cannot place my servants side 10y side
with my children Yes. my sister,
you can love as well as sympathiz
with your domestics. You can give
them your heart us well as your hand.
You can make them part OF your house
hold. You can look upon your domestic
help i'm the same way that King Solo
mon looked upon his. He was verbally
painting the ideal condition of his home
when he wrote. And bad servants
born in my home" That means, as
take Ii, that the servants were part OF
himself. IL any troubles should come
those servants would cling to him and
love him ON account OF the love with
which he loved them. You can learn to
love your servants just the same as
your servants can work for you from a
higher motive than that OF getting
money They can learn to love you.
Cords OF Affection.
Housewives. IL you will only learn to
love your servants ana make their in
terests your interests. TINT love would
be returned to you IN u thousand bless
ings. We can prove this by the silver
cords of affection which bound some
OF the southern planters to their black
slaves. Did not those slaves return
their masters love by a noble devo-
ton? There was many and many a
woman in the south who, after her
husband had been shot In the civil war,
would hive starved TO death had not
the strong limbed negroes who worked
for her as Slaves of the law" contin-
ued. Of their own free will, to work for
her as slaves of love- There was
many wounded Confederate soldier
who would have died had not his body
servant. who easily could have escaped
into the northern lines. gladly and will
insly and prayerfully nursed him back
10 health and strength. There Is many
a servant working today as a hireling
I'm some home who IL she was loved
by her mistress would return q wealth
Of affection and devotion such as she
herself does not believe herself capable
of giving. The true Interpretation OF
love means simply this: II you love
your servants, you will take them into
your life and make their interests your
interests. And by your loving them
they will let you creep into their hearts
and make your interests their interests.
The housekeeper Is the domestic
model also I'm religion. Therefore by
her life she should teach her servants
that religion IL not mere sham, but
"A reality, and that the noblest. OF all
lives Is that consecrated to the service
of the Lord Jesus Christ. II has been
said that mo man is n hero TO his
valet" Therefore mo mistress could
be 4 true Christian exemplar for her
servant" That statement Is only par
tally true. No housewife, if she Is
leading an insincere life. can have q
true spiritual influence over her sery-
ants. The nearer you come to the huge
piece of rock I'm the Yellowstone park,
which in the distance seems to be the
face of man. the more you see it's
jagged corners and distorted features
The nearer Il servant comes TO an in
sincere mistress the more she is re-
pulsed by her pretensions to religion;
but the nearer a domestic comes to a
pure, true, noble woman, who is ear
nestly and prayerfully trying to follow
out the teachings of the Christ love, the
more she realizes the Importance OF liv-
ing for eternity and not for time; for
Christ, and not for pleasure; for pres
ent duty, and not for n transient within.
The greatest cause OF unfaithfulness
lind dishonesty I'm the kitchen is the
fact that your servant girl is not con.
verted 10 Christ. Perhaps the chief
reason why your servant is not con-
verted is that she does not see you, her
mistress, processing Christian, liv-
ing the Christian life you ought to
live My sister, is IL not time for you
TO turn over new leaf and start
afresh for Christ? Is 1t not q good re-
question" once for all by surrender
ing yourself. body and mind and soul,
TO the service of your Master?
The Servant OF All.
The spiritual influence which a con-
secrated Christian woman can have
over the life of her servant was well
shown by Rev. Francis Il. Clark of the
Christian Endeavor society. He told
this beautiful story soon after his re-
turn from China: The wife OF an
American missionary, who was massa-
cred in the late Chinese uprising, was
one day teaching Sunday school class,
among whom was one OF her Chinese
servants. This servant girl, by coming
In contact with her mistress, was not
only led 10 the feet of Christ, but also
was led to believe that her faithful
mistress was her true spiritual ad-
wiser. So this day the young girl looked
up into the face OF this Christian lady
and said: Missionary, as you talk
about the great joys of heaven would
like TO ask you question. VIII we
know each other when we reach heav-
enf VIII you know your father and
mother and husband and little chill
dren? Will you know me and / know
you!" YES" answered the Christian
lady Then. missionary" said the
poor Chinese servant, ''you have been
SO kind to me that when get to heaven
L am going to ask Jesus to just let ME
sit by your side and hold your hand
forever and ever and ever" oh, mis-
tresses! Oh, housewives and house
keepers. in your dealings with your
servants may You reveal the same gen
tie Christian life that the martyred
Christian lady showed TO her house
hold In your prayers, in your conse-
Grafton, In your family affairs, In the
purity OF your life. may you always
help your household servants to look
beyond the grave and to look up. Then.
when your domestics. through your
Christian example, walk hand in hand
with Jesus Christ there will be no
servant question" Why? There shall
be no unfaithfui and slothful do