Peninsula enterprise. [volume] (Accomac, Va.) 1881-1965, 1903-08-15
TAI Ne AGE
SER MON
Ely Rev.
FRANK DE WITT TALMAGE. DID,
. Pastor of Jefferson Park presby-
terrain Church. Chicago

the much veXed servant question
which should appeal to housekeepers
and heads of families everywhere. The
text is Psalm cXXiii. ,, LAS the eyes
of a maiden unto the hand of her mis-
tress." =
Two weeks ago "The Privilege of Be
inc Consecrated Domestic" was my
subject. Today preach from another
standpoint of this vitality important
thcme-namely. The Relations or
Wives. Mothers and HouSekcepers to
Their Servants" We would try to
show that the, antagOnisms ana dlln-
cultics and arrangements eXistlhs
between the parlor and the kitchen are
due to faults upon both sides. IL Is
eosv enough for the complaining
housewife to develop such kecnness or
ccpsorious vision that she can see IN
Vulnerable imperfcctions in her serV-
nnt's life. but when plucking the
NOTES from out of her humble sisters
eyes it is not always so easy for the
mistress TO perceive the. beam, the
huge destructive beam, projecting from
Onder her own overarching eyebrows.
That the houSekeeper as well as the
servant can be negligent in her duty
There is no doubt. The psalmist, as a
xniritual diagn0Stician of the heart s
weaknesses. asserts il. He figuratively
seems to place the mistress as proto-
=. n
Young artist crosses the seas to STUDY
nj the feet of the old masters ana Sis
day in and day out copying Raphaels
"Sistinc Madonna" or a Paul |ero-
nesc's Last supper or RuDens'
descent From the Cross" or a Mlchael
Angeles Last Judgment the psalm
isl raises the mistress upon pedestal
rs q model for her servants. Day In
and day ont the actions of the parlor
are being duplicated i'll the Kitchen.
Adam Clark. the great commentator,
interprets these words of my text III
the following way: "As servants look
TO their masters and miStresses TO see
how they do their work, that they may
do it in the same way" so may we cor
rect some of the evils found in the
kitchen by exposing the evils practiced
in the paror All virtues are not
clothed i'm broadcloth. All feminine I'M
faithfulneSS and injustice do not warm
themselves near kitchen stove or
center i'm a stupid and stOlid head with
4 waitress cap or nestle in the selnsn
heart of the girl who, wearing a
nurses apron, pushes the baby's car
rage along the avenue. If the head OF
the house wishes her servants to be
faithful and true to her then she must
first set an example of faithfulness.
She must be true and kind and loving
and ChriStianlike to her servants and
TO all the people with whom she comes
in contact in her dOmestice walk OF
daily life.
TncuIcate Honesty by Precept.
The housekeeper is her servants
model. That implies that the mistress
must be honest if she wants her serv'
ants to be honest. Plato. the philoso
pher. once tried TO convey the idea
cealed. at least for a time. He illus
trated this thought by the story OF the
tabled Gyges ring. which could make
the false actions of its wearer invisible
10 the naked eye. Thus wrote
Plato the Greek, the truly honest mar
is the one who would be honest at al
times when he could be dishonest an(
his dishonesty never be found out" Blu
is such Il contingency possible? Wh(
can ever be sure that his dishonesty
is safely hidden? The eyes of rivals
Of subordinates, of employees, are keel
and see more than we know. The!
are ant to initiate, too, both the goOC
and the bad. so that one wrongdoe
may cause deterioration through
whole circles of his social interiors. IL
the home, as in business, the example
of dishonesty has always the tendenc!
to recOil on the wrOngdOer. The mer
chant who cOnniyes at his clerk
cheating of the customers in his in
tcrests must not be surprised if thu
clerks cheat him in their own interest
. If farmer knowingly sends fals'
weights to market, and when he Il
packing q barrel of apples places tn
good apples upon the top of the barre
and lower grade of fruit beneath
that farmer is teaching his farm hand
TO be deceitfnl in their relations to hin
when they are gathering the fruit. II
is teaching his men to lie as he ha
lied and be dishonest as he was dis
honest. If the bank officials criminal,
misplace the institutions trust funds
there is likely to come time when on
Of those bank employees will default
and i'm the empticd safe Of that ban
the sins of that financial institute,
will. like the proverbial chickens, com
home to rOOst.
\ step further. If housewife wi
bid her waiting maid answer the from
door bell and tell the would be Gale
that she is out. when she is in, tina
mistress is teaching her servant to b
liar in all things rs well as in par
If wife is false in her dealings wit
her grocer and butcher and washer
woman ana idlSc III ncr ulltHcidI ued
ipgs with Ter servants, she need nc
be surprised if the laundress steal
the stray handkerchiefs and collar
and the cook sinfully wastes the bu
ter and filchcs the cupboard, and pei
haps goes - far as to sell the pOtatoe
and the eggs. II a housewife, to pre-
tect herself, is unjust to her servants
and turns them off at Il moments ne
tice when she is leaving fer the cOur
try vacation, then she should nc
grumblc if her servants treat her
the same way.
Dishonesty Is Contagious.
Dishonesty is contagious. Disho
esty is an immoral germ which is al
to spread through whole family
the diphthcria germ often in the oldt
times used TO destroy all the childrt
Of ono household The sinful plagl