The Farmville herald. [volume] (Farmville, Va.) 1890-1934, 1905-05-05

your fathers face begin 20 be "crOW
markedT Neither IN the morning
noon nor night could they be found
shrinking from their unceaslng iabors
Tor feeding. clothing and educating
their children. Now, man, do you think
II Is possible, after quarter Of cen.
tury 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 turn against me- then will my
life be failure indeed. If my BOYS
turn ont 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 dlsappolnt
them In the results Of their llfe'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
bis throne could not make David do
aught but cling TO Absalom while he
was alive and sorrow for the wayward
boy after he was dead.
But another reason why the burden
OF sinful child is hard for the parent
to bear-no sooner does a boy or a girl
begin to 20 astray than true father
and mother sgonize on account OF the
stingings OF bitter self reproach.
Mark you this, wayward childrcn-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 I do
right when ! let my boy do this or that
or the other thingl Did | set my
daughter the wrong example? Did
pray earnestly enough for my children
when they were in my own nurseryT
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 OH account Of those
OF his parents.
Let me illustrate my thought by
very common incident IN life. There
comes a quick ring at the bell. The
summons calls me to go to your home.
There / find your wife dying. l bring
to you all the gospel comfort can. l
say: "Mr SOand-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 I call the less find that you are
comforted. At last, some day when
we are alone, | say, "Mr. So-and-so
what is the matter?" "Well," you an
swer, IL do not know what to think.
You say II is Gods will that my wife
died. | know II is not Gods will. l
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 10 the
resolve TO let her go. The journey
would cost a lot Of money. Besides
that, needed her by my side. l could
have saved her II ! had sent her south
in time. Oh, why did l not let her go?
Why did | not let her gol" That is the
remorse the true mother and the IA
ther have when their boys and girls
20 astray. "Oh, why did l not do diff
ferently when my children were by
my side? Why did / not pray more
and live better than didf"
But, my friends, though your parents
made many mistakes In your bringing
up. tell me were not most Of their er-
rors made on account Of the gentleness
rather than the meanness OF their
heartsi Even in their weaknesses
would you not have had them just as
they were? Let me see; you started to
20 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 10 was to get that money! But II
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 quiyered when
they kissed you for the first time after
that shocki Don't you remember how
their tears-not your tears, but theirs
were left upon your cheek when they
kissed you, a prodigal, returning home?
Don't you remember how angry your
father became when your employer
first insinuated that you had embez-
zled some OF bis money! Old as he
WAS. his clInched fist was ready to
knock that employer down. But after
the undeniabe proofs were presented
what did he dor Dld ne allow you 10
be sent to jail. as you ought to have
been? 1t did no good to pay up that
deficit or embezzlement. Since then
you have been cheating every one else
you could. No, he did not let you 30 TO
fail He took every dollar that be had
saved up to care for your mother and
himself In their old age. He turned
II all In and signed notes for a thou
sand dollars more to save you from
your just punishment. He ought not
to have done II, but now in his old age
are you still going to sin and have him
lacerated by remorse because he has
been too kind to your
But Is II to be wondered at that par
ents. Oh account Of their great love for
their children, err many times over by