The Birmingham age-herald., 1903-11-08

widow. not feel honored in the same way as we honor John Marshall since God has placed you in a position where your chil- dren and your ehildren's children may be nodded and started forth into Christian usefulness by the conservation an faith fulness of your life? You who have gone out to weep over your husbands grave. l beg and plead of you not to consider your life a poverty stricken one. In the glorious opportunities which have come to you in reference to your children you are rieh You are magnifieently and gloriously rich God has made you sole guardian of your little ones.
 Maternal Opportunities.
 Oh, the paternal as well as the maternal opportunities which are offered to the con- seerated Christian widowhood of the pres ent century, Some time ago beautiful faced lady was going through one of the great department stores in Columbus, O. She saw there a large eyed, wistful look ing cash boy, who was watching her and her son. My child" said she would you like to go home and be my little boy? There you could have money and play things and horses and carriages to make your life happy, as my little boys life is happy?'' T do not know, mum, whether I would like those things or not" he oiioNVA iid0 phi lttNiG poN d pdpd If l go with you will his papa be my papa? I want a papa. Because. num- before my papa died I had all those things. and now that my papa is dead 1 have nothing" An. yes, there was pathos, unfathomable pathos, in the an- swer of the little cash boy But that answer is not true in reference to all fa- therless children. When their fathers died they did not all lose everything. Their mothers not only remained their mothers, but they became their fathers also. o woman who art widow, I sym pathize with you in your sorrow and your hard lot but let me congratulate you, too. on the opportunity God has placed with in your reach of honorably and heroically performing a double duty. In paternal as well as a maternal sense you are ac- complaining much for the temporal and the eternal lives of your children
 The eonsecrated widow :s rich in the kindnesses and sympathes which are shown to her by her friends and neigh bors; rich because the chalice of sorrow which is placed at the lip is not entirely filled with acidities and bitternesses and unsavory nux vomicas, but 1t is also saccharined and nectared with the help ful sympathy of her true friends which mingles in her cup of woe.
 The World Is Kind.
 It is amazing how many kindnesses there are in this world if only one stops to catalogue them. You can see those ldndnesses manifested everywhere A few years ago man was caught in the crowd that serged into the cars, of the Brooklyn bridge. He was damned this way and that His hat was battered and crushed The more he vehemently denounced the e xrar tI.-
 tied and pushed along. When he was at last seated and was still complaining a gentleman next to him turned and said: ]: My friend. l am afraid that you have got into the condition of only looking upon the bad side of human nature Now. I nave schooled myself to look upon the good side, and to help me in my task of looking upon the bright side every day carry note book and jot down every good thing l see people do to other peo- pie. For instance, today on my way to the bridge my hat blew off I chased If. but before I could get it three other men whom l had never seen before ran after that hat. One of them caught it and brought it back to me. Now. that action was certainly unselnsh on his part. and vet you can see the same unselish act performed on any windy day
 As l was crossing City Hall park" he continued, "a woman in front of me lost her glove. Two newsboys saw it and ran to get it for her. That certainly was un- selfish. On my way down Broadway a truckman's horse fell Immediately the drivers of three other trucks stopped their horses to help the man who was in diff culty. That also was unselfish. These are but little things but every where you will see men and women doing just such kind fa 1,otts wl.l.
 stops you will see four or five gentlemen take their papers and give them 10 the newsboys for them to sell them over again. All these facts certainly show that the human race is not a collection of say ages. My friend you had better look upon the bright side of human nature and not dwell too much upon the dark side'
 The Widows Riches.
 The sermon which the Christian gentle man preached in the cable car of the Brooklyn bridge Is certainly true Every where one can see many kindnesses man. ifested toward those who are in distress. if those people in distress are worthy of human kindness. And so, widow. though you may have had your bumps and knocks, as that indignant passenger had who was trying to get into the train, though you may have had injustices prac- ticed upon you-for thieves and murderers from time immemorial have always felt that widows and orphans were their le- gitimate prey-you have also had many kindnesses shown you and yours. In old English folklore there was supposed to be in Alderley Edge a great cavern. And In this cavern was concealed. said the legend. nine hundred and ninety and nine horsemen. equipped and ready to come forth and fight for any leader who would blow for them the right bugle call No sooner did your husband die and the cen1- etery bell had tolled the knell when his body was carried to it's last resting place than that bell seemed to call forth hun