Virginia citizen. (Irvington, Va.) 1891-1921, 1903-06-05
TALMAGE
SERMON
BY Rev.
FRANK DE WITT TAr.a7AGE. DID,.
Pastor of Jefferson Park presby-
terian Cnureh, Chicago

Chicago, May 31.-In this sermon the
preacher illustrates the potential infiu-
ence OF the mother upon TIE character
OF the child and the Importance OF
that influence being OF kind that
goes to the formation and develop
ment of a pure and noble womanhood.
The text is Ezekiel xvi 44. "As is the
mother, so is her daughter"
The Philadelphia mint is one OF the
chief sights for the traveller In the
Quaker City. 1t has many wonderful
pieces of machinery, not the least OF
which are the powerful stamping ma
chimes, cutting the gold and silver bars
into pieces the size of a ten cent piece
or q dollar. Then. with one terrific
pound, they stamp them into United
States coins. These stamping ma
chimes nre powerful enough to crush
the hard metal into forms of eagles
bearing the impress OF the Goddess OF
Liberty, and yet they are capable OF
doing very delicate work. II a plain
piece of wet tissue paper is placed
under their stamp they can cut out OF
that wet paper a round piece the size
OF q silver dollar more neatly and &C
curately and surely than could be done
by any sewing girls scissors or any
surgeons knife.
1t Is wonderful that machine should
have the power of thus producing from
the hard metal thousands OF coins ex-
actly alike, each bearing accurately
the same impression; but / want to
speak to you today OF something still
more wonderful In our social and fam
Ally life. 1t is the power inhering in
every mother to mold her daughters
into her own image and TO impress
upon them her own characteristics.
An old college president was wont to
give this parting advice to his boys
when they were about to graduate
from his institutions: MY sons, you are
now to go forth into the great battle
OF life. 1t is right and must needs be
that most of you will soon marry and
start homes of your own. 1t is of
vital Importance that you marry the
right kind of girl. Therefore l am
going to give you the best test of what
n future wife will be. Always look at
the mother Of the young lady whom
you would marry more than to the
young lady herself. For 'as is the
mother, so is her daughter
This trenchant truth is well illus
trated by an old yet ever new story:
A young farmer wanted 20 find a fru-
gal and careful helpmeet. He started
out from home on his important jour
ney. Coming to q farmhouse, he in
Quired OF the farmers wife for some
dough which had been left in her bread
10 1a ho.l 81
he heard that dough could cure him.
The farmers wife said, 'Oh, yes, we
have plenty" She brought forth two
handfuls. The young man took it and
In silence drove away. At the next
farmhouse he asked the same question.
The farmers wife said: Il wish could
help you, but that is impossible. We
never have any dough left in the
bread pan OF this house. / always
scrnpe my bread pan clean. There is
no dough left" "Ahv' said the young
man. This is the home where, per-
haps, 1 can find my bride. For IL
the mother 10 so frugal her daughters
will surely be the same" And 1t was
there that he won his bride For he
was OF the prophets opinion, "As is
the mother, so is her daughter"
} The mothers life is inevitably pro-
duced in the lives OF her little girls
whom she rocks In the cradle. This
will happen whether she is conscious
OF 1t or not. How important then is ii,
for the sake of those children and for
the sake OF those whom they In their
turn will influence. that the influence
OF the mothers life should be OF the
wholesome and beneficent kindl The
girls Will be like her as they grow up,
and her faults will reappear in them.
Therefore, the object of this sermon
Is to show how the true wife and
mother should live. She should not
only be true 70 her husband, but also
true to her father and mother, broth
ers and sisters, and to her God, as well
as directly to the little daughters who
VIII soon follow in her footsteps. AS
she thinks, they will think. AS she
does, they will also do.
Z The true mother should, first, be true
wife. The butterfy's wing Is developed
in the chrysalis. The autumnal fruit
will not hang heavily from the tree
branch as nuggets OF gold unless the
apple blossoms were fragrant in the
springtime. The summer song OF the
nest Is only sweet encore OF the June
song, which once softly echoed its way
through the pillared halls in the temple
or the woods. Neither can the rich,
spotless robe of maternity ever be
woven in the home unless it comes
from a loom In which a brides pure
and consecrated fingers have already
woven out OF untarnished web, per.
TUNED with the orange blossoms, the
robe OF true wifehood.
Some Foolish Wives.
This statement Is automatic. Yet
there are some women foolish enough
to suppose that the names wife and
mother are not Siamese twins and have
no connection or afiiliation. They are
50 blinded that they cannot see that
the silver letters OF true motherhood
are written upon the golden back
ground OF true wifehood and that the
strongest and best cradle is that cut
from the scented wood OF the marriage
altar. The duties OF maternity must
never supersede or extinguish the
duties or the wife. There are many
women who are true wives until the
babies are born. Then, instead of be
ing any longer the comfort. the com
panion, the helpmeet of the man whom
they promised on their wedding day
to live for, they turn their backs upon
their husbands and bury their exist.
ence In the nursery. From morning un.
til night and from night until morning
those engrossed and absorbed mothers
think and dream and plan about moth.
Ing but the one theme of baby. Nc
waiter where they are, with whom
obey are talking or what subject OF
conversation may be started they talk
nothing but baby.
They will tell you over and over
again how many teeth their babies
have cut and when those teeth came,
but they cannot tell you about the
sharp. poisonous fangs OF business
worries that have buried themselves in
their husbands brains and heart
Neither do they care how sharp those
fangs may be. They can tell you,