Orleans County monitor. [volume] (Barton, Vt.) 1872-1953, 1905-03-27

IL L cOulu Jake you Dack 10 your ole
| homestead thirty years ago. | would
/ find all you children sound asleep The
mother and father-what are they talk
| ing so earnestly about? Father" says
| the mother. cannot you meet the mort
| gage on the farm unless we cut down
our expenses? Then l will have to let
the hired girl GO and | will do my own
| cooking and washing We'll" said
| your father. I'VE must not economic
1T the children's expense. | must make
! more money. We must raise the chill
| dren right. They must be educated
Cannot Forget Them.
Why did your mothers hair grow
white at thirty-fve years of age and
your fathers face begin to be GROW
markedT' Neither in the morning.
non nor night could they be found
| Sill hiking from their unceasing labors
| for feeding, clothing and educating
! their children. Now, man. do you think
II is possible, after a quarter of cen
fury Of the hardest kind of work has
gone for the support and development
! of the children, that the parents could
ever be Independent of them? Oh, no.
Your father practically said: IF my
children tnrn against me, then will my
life be failure indeed. If my boys
turn out badly and my girls do not do
what they ought to do, then will earth
ly life hold but little joy either for me
or their mother. My friends, your
fathers and mothers worked too hard
for their children for you to disappoint
them in the results of their life's work.
No matter what you do or say. YOU
cannot make them forget you or cease
TO live for you. Even the sinful plot of
Hebrew prince to steal from father
MS throne could not make David do
aught but cling to Absalom while he
was alive and sorrow for the hayward
boy after he was dead.
but another reason why the burden
OF sinful child is hard for the parent
TO Dear--no sooner does a boy or a girl
pegln to go aStray than a true father
and mother agonize on account of the
stlng1ngs of q bitter self reDroach.
Mark you this, Maynard children-your
parents do not blame you entirely for
your sins. They are blaming them
selves. They are looking away back
over the scenes of the past. They are
saying to their own hearts: did do
right when let my boy do this or that
or the other thing? Did | set nv
daughter the wrong example? Did |
pray earnestly enough for my children
when they were In my own nursery"
oh, the sadness; oh. the sorrow: oh.
the bitter, bitter pangs of a merciless
self denunciation which comes to the
parents when their boys and girls turn
out badly. "a foolish son is the heavi-
ness of his mother" Aye. heavy in
deed is he not only on account of the
boys sins. but also on account of those
of his parents.
Let me illustrate my thought by a
very common incident in life. There
comes a quick ring at the bell The
summons calls me to go to your home.
There I find your wife dying. I bring
to you all the gospel comfort I can l
say: MI. Se-and-so, Gods Will be
done. The Lord gave, and the Lord
taketh away; blessed be the name of
the Lord" You say nothing. You
keep your lips closely sealed. The
more [ call the less find that you are
cOmfOTted. At last, some day when
we are alone, 1 say, "Mr. SO-and-so,
what is the matter?' Well" you an
swer Il do not know what to think
You say it is Gods will that my wife
died. l know it is not Gods will. 1
know my negligence killed her For
months and months my wife coughed
badly. She had two or three hard
spells of sickness. The doctors told
me she ought to go south, but some
how I could not bring myself up to the |
resolve to let her go. The journey
would cost a lot of money. Besides
have saved her If had sent her south
in time. Oh, why did not let her go?
Why did l not let her go?' That is the
remorse the true mother and the ia
Their have when their boys and girls
go astray. ooh, why did l not do diff.
ferently when my children were by
my side? Why did 1 not pray more
and live better than l did?'
Trusted Too Much.
DuIy ny lHAOhuo, IAOuSn your
made many mistakes in your bringing
up, tell me were not most of their err
Fors made on account of the gentleness
rather than the meanness of their
hearts? Even in their weaknesses
would you not have had them just as
they We're? Let me see; you started to
go astray first because they trusted you
too much. They never thought that
you would or could do wrong. When
you came home from college they were
so proud to see you. They had kept
sending check after check. My, how
hard it was to get that money. But it
was for their boy. And, oh, the awful
awakening they had when they found
the money they sent. that hard earned
money. was being spent for sin. Don't
you remember how their hands trem-
bled when they were placed upon your
shoulder and their lips quivered when