The Monmouth inquirer., 1905-12-07

and moan and wiring his hands and cry
"Oh, Absalom, my son, my son, my poo
dead boyl oh, Absalom, my son, my son
my poor boyw He kept this crying anC
waillng up for hours and days. At las
Joab heard of the kings ingratitude
He walked into the royal chamber ant
said: MY king, have you any heart
Can you not realize the sacrifices Wa
have made for you? Can you not come
forth and thank us for shedding oul
blood, instead OF weeping over that II
centious, untilial child who tried tc
murder your And today, o man,
ask, cannot you stop weeping over the
lives of some people who have been un'
true to you and open your eyes to the
sacrifices of those who have been de
voting themselves to your comfort and
happiness for the last ten or perhaps
twenty years?
You have lost a child. He died as
the result of his sins, and you know 1t.
Yet you weep and cry for that child as
though he had been to you a saint.
What about the other children? What
about those lovely daughters and that
fine young son who are growing up by
your side? Are you just to them! DO
you try to make home happy for them
Are you true to them? You have dis
solute father. 'Oh," you keep com
planning, eff my father were only what
he ought to bel" Well, he is not. You
cannot help that But what about your
mother? Have you ever thanked God
that you have such a mother? Have
not her noble example and her tender
sacrifices been enough to start out a
dozen boys like you right, even though
your father has not been what he ought
to be? And yet the strange fact of life
is this: Most of our modern King Da-
vids win go on whining and grooming
and complaining about one person who
has done them a wrong and neglect to
show gratitude to the scores of noble
souls about them who are doing all in
their power to make them happy and
blessed.
A Brave Girl.
oh, the meanness of not trying to do
all we can for those who are doing ey
erything for usl Some years ago there
Joined my church one Of the brayest
young women ever knew. Her father
died when she was young girl. Then
the executors robbed the widowed
mother of her ali. The young girl, who
was brought up In luxury, went forth
to earn her daily bread. The mother
never seemed to care or to realize what
that daughter was doing. From morn
ing until night she kept up her never
ending series of complaints. She COM
planned about being left widow; she
complained about loss of money; she
because she had to live
where she did and that her daughter
had to be away all day long. But"
said one day, madam, you surely
should be thankful for that girl of
yours. A nobler girl never knew. OF
course you have to be alone, but think
of her down at the Office working. It
is not very pleasant for her" YES"
said the complaining old lady, 81 sup
pose l ought to be thankful and not
but it is my disposition, and
/ can't help it." All, mel How many
of us are like that dissatisfied old lady!
How many of us are like King David!
We brood over our misfortunes so long
that we not only make life miserable
for ourselves, but add to the burdens
of those who are striving to make our
lives happy and blessed.
But King David was awakened to
more than sentimental realization Of
his blessings. General Joab gave to
him a moral and spiritual galvanic
shock, which startled his hands, his
ears, his eyes, as never before. He
made the king leap to his feet and stop
his foolishness. General Joab practi-
cally said to King David: at is not
only mean and contemplate for you to
ignore the sacrifices your people have
made for you, but it is more. This
foolish crying proves to the world that
you are unfit longer to be king. II
you do not stop it your best friends
will turn against you. Within few
weeks you will have another insurrec-
ton upon your hands, compared to
which the late uprising will seem only
a plaything. You will be hurled from
your throne, and another will take
your place, and that rightly, for if a
man does not do as he ought to do the
world will throw him aside and he will
have no one to blame but himself"
All, that was a brave act of General
Joab! 1t was one of the bravest acts
Of his life He was willing, if neces-
sary, to sacrifice his own life in order
that his friend and king might see the
error of his ways and guard against
the danger lurking at his feet. Are
you and 1 willing to be as true to our
friends as Joab was to his king?
An Easy Task.
1t is easy to praise our friends when
they do right or to defend them when
they have injustice perpetrated against
them The story is told that many
years ago the officers of the army OF
the king of Hanover refused to have
anything to do with young lieutenant
who had been promoted on the field OF
battle for gallantry. They claimed
that he was not their social equal ever
though the shoulder straps of a com
missioned officer were his. The king
heard about the boycott. The mex
day at parade he called the young mar