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

| lacerarsd by remorse because he has
been 100 kind to you?
But is IL to be wondered at that par
ents. on account of their great love for
their children, err many times over by
being lenient? For years | never had
| sympathy for fathers and mothers who.
as | expressed it, were willing to pay
their children's expenses to perdition.
l always said if / had any bows and
they got drunk once | would forgive
| them and get their clothes out of pawn
and get them on their feet again. If
they stole once l would keep them from
| going to Jail. But, if they did it the sec
| ond time, to Jail or to the county Door
house they would go. As my own
boys are now growing up, do think |
would do it? Perhaps But fear l
would do just as most fathers do. l
would make the mistake of giving all
| had, of running into debt and. if neces-
| sary, perhaps of destroying my own
| good name, if l could only save nv
| boys. Oh, hayward children. it is not
| you who should blame Your fathers and
| mothers for kindness which proves to
have been mistaken! They were indul-
| gent to you, they were blind to your
faults, they trusted you, believing that
| you would do right. You see now. as
| they see, that it would have been bet
| ter for you If they had been more strict
| and severe. But will you blame them
| for that? 1t was their love for YOU
that was their fault. How have you re-
paid that love? Return. beseech YOU.
| and beg their forgiveness
Backs Too Weak For Burdens
But there is another reason why we
sympathiZe with broken hearted par
ents who are bearing the heavy bur-
dens of hayward and sinful children.
Those burdens are placed upon backs
too weak to carry them and upon
hearts when they are too tender to
suffer. 1t makes great deal of differ
ence how a man can bear a burden.
whether he is old or young, sick or
well, lettering or straight limbed. You
would not hitch an old horse up to a
load he could easily have drawn in his
prime. Neither, foolish son, should you
make your parents in their old age
bear the burdens of your sins.
How old are your parents? "Oh,"
you say, father is about sixty years
Of age. and mother is about the same.''
You know when our parents married
they did not do as do many people of
the present day. They did not wait
until they had amassed a fortune.
Then the daughters were ready to start
with the sons at the bottom of the lad
der to climb up. Therefore they mar
ried when they were young Once
young together, now they have grown
old together" And then your lin quiy-
ers as you say: But mother is not as
strong as she used to be, and that old
pain has come back in fathers heart.
He had fainting spell last week."
All. yes, they are growing old together:
Perhaps one of them is already gone.
Is it not Il mean act, an awfully mean
act, on your part to take a broken
down woman or an old broken down
man and place upon them the burden
of your unpardOned sins? They once
carried you in their arms; now y0u
ought to be willing to let them lean
upon your arm. They once wiped |
away SONl AOW YOU NC
willing to wipe away theirs. They |
once lived and are still living to make |
you happy; now you ought to strive to |
make their last days happy. Do not |
put that heavy burden of your wicked |
ness upon their hearts They are too |
old to bear it.
But" some one says. "my old father |
and mother
upon me for their happiness. I am not |
the only child. AS my parents are old |
fashioned folks, so they had an old |
fashioned family. Their family was
big one. l have four brothers and |
three sisters, and, with the exception |
of one brother, we are all alive today
and have families of our own Two
OF my brothers are gospel ministers
L am the only black sheep in the fam
lily. Thus you need not worry about
the old folks. Five children out Of
six who are Christians is not such a
bad record All, my brother, when
you speak like that, even though you
are married, I know you have not yet
Iathomed the depth of your mothers |
and fathers love- The true Christian |
parents happiness is dependent not
upon the Christian lives of a few, but
OF all their children. No matter how
many children Christian mother has.
she IS never happy unless all are in the
sospel told. She will never be happv
II one fingers outside. You remember
the old story of how rich man want
ed to adopt one of the children of q
large family belonging to a German
peasant The rich man said to the IA
Their. Il will take any child YOU Sc
lect." That night while all the chill
dren were asleep the father and the
mother went from bed to bed to make
their choice. Not this one" said they; |
mot that one;" mot the other one
So they went through all the rooms. |
Though they had many children. they
could not let one of them 90. So. my
friends, though you may have brothers |