Catoctin clarion. [volume] (Mechanicstown, Md.) 1871-1940, 1905-06-29
OBSERVATION-DISCLOSURES
: SUNDAY SERMON :
= = = = y
9 A Scholarly Discourse DS I
D Rev. Robert Collyor.

in Greater New YORK, pfeacneu Ill INC
Second Unitarian Church, Clinton ana
Congress streets, Sunday morning. HIS
last appearance in that church was last
fall, when he delivered an address OH
the late Rev. DR.. John White Chad-
wick, the former pastor, who had just
died. The eloquent preacher took FOR
his text: Genesis xXXiii:13-14, The
children are tender; will lead on soft
ly," and said:
1t was one of the secrets of my craft,
in the old days when l wanted to weld
iron or work steel to a fine purpose,
to begin gently. If l began as all
learners do, to strike my heaviest blows
at the start, the iron would crumble
instead of welding, or the steel would
suffer under my hammer, so that,
when it came to be tempered 1t would
ety." as we used to say, and rob the
thing had made of its finest quality.
1t was the first condition of Il good
job to begin gently, later | could strike
with q tirmCr hand, and in the end pour
out all my might in storm OF sturdy
blows; but if l began so it ended, as a
rule, with q wreck The perfection of
the Nasmyth hammer lies in the blend.
ing of it's gentleness and it's pOndcrous
might, so that it can come down as
gently as a June shower or smite like 4
tornado, according to the need OF the
moment. SO the skillful mechanic
starts new machinery, a locomotive,
steam engine or even sewing ma
chine, gently. 1t is the first condition
of keeping the balance true that the
Iah
at high pressure. l noticed the same
in the building up of grand organ
The builder began gently in bringing
out its harmonies. with some fine
chords, made those true and went
on to the others, and so wrought
on to the end. Again an animal trainer
while he smites the tiger with an iron
bar, if he is wise talks tc a horse. al
lures him, courts him and makes him
his friend. We do not speak of "break
ing" horse, so much now; we train
him.
SO love to note such things as these
as | watch the perpetual advent OF
little children into this life of ours, and
wonder how we shall deal with them il
the one wise way which will weld
them, shall ! say. to whatsoever things
are true and lovely and of good report
start them to the surest purpose and
train them so as to bring out the
whole power for good which God has
hidden in their nature. There must be
one right way, and think this father
found it when he said: THE children
are tender; l will lead them on softly
They may seem crude, mere machines
or little brutcs; there are some men
who seem by their actions to have
such notions of child'S nature, &c
their eternal shame. Here is the prin.
ciple: They are tender; we must lead
them on softly. Solomon may slip in
with his cruel maxim of spare the rod
and spoil the child" He has no bust
ness about my place while my children
are tender. l can no more be hard
on them than Jesus could. If | hurt
them in this evil way l hurt those
who are of the kingdom of Heaven,
My white hairs have brought me this
wisdom: That the objectionable sin
Is to be hard on tender child. | do
not wonder that the old grandsire is so
gentle with the second generation. He
will not tell YOU. or himself, perhaps,
why he is. but he would fain recall
some passages of his fathcrh0Od, but
that cannot be DONE so he chOkeS back
the ineXtinguishablc regret and humbly
tries to get even through the over.
measure. My good mother was some
thing Of Spartan, very gentle
Spartan, with her children, but it was
wonderfully beautiful to see her in
hnr oil Il ,,-;J Il
mothcrly wings over the children Of
the new day. She could no more be
hard upon them, no matter what
FRANKS they played, than your May
sun can be hard upon your May bios
som, 1t was the return of the heart
to the soft answer, the sweet Submis-
sion to The better plan, the vision of
the infinite worth of gentle ways with
tender folk, the ondcavor, unknown to
herself, to ease her dear old heart of
what little pain there was from the
old days, the feeling that perhaps she
might have gone more softly once.
These children are not things at all
that we can turn out to pattern, but
human beings. each one living to him.
self or to hcrSslf, holding Sc
W.. we r",laot i"'t'oH,' potHces.''5
po"et' perhaps We 'a'iA"' gym
EutSs AZ - our cl'l'"rtn a,te' 'ne
, uou 'n'.ul,h "l',r ,hn SPi.l''
u"' lH'' ''l 10 our n"Hue "ilu noints
that, coming out of Heaven with hints
of the angels in them, they may 60
| back when their time comes as sealed
saints. The boy may be the image OF
urc l'lntI, s.. lo'"!lA "ihvlent "iln'H
We V"ln'H Try III our 'nlluFeii' SOM,
s e,> ~ str our maj, we ue'ec ,., d
! IIcui'A VI Temper we never l'ae. in,
hoIS 'plri', Mh'c,' "Hlches forever
seiuc'o "nu saws ny III" we no no'
! nan ul'ueTH'ahi' anu we no MOI "li
uelstahG theSe 'ehuer natures unt,l we
KNOW "i'dt 'liese powers are "hIch are
waking out Oh 'helr Steep MY oos
may nave l"cu'iS "hlcn III 'hlr,s
years mas DE Dehealctloh 10 IN.
! human I1MllN, IllJ tO-unN IL nav IOOk