Virginia citizen. (Irvington, Va.) 1891-1921, 1906-04-06

three or four families living such a life
as l have described on account of the
ungovernable teinper Of one of its
members.
The other day had this evil brought
to my attention In very forclble way.
The telephone bell rang. and gentle
man said: II am a stranger to you. 1
am in great trouble. Can / come and
see you at oncer' "Yes," said; "jump
on the car and come up" No sooner
did he enter my parlor than his eyes
filled with tears. and his lips trem-
bled as he said. MIR. Talmage, my wife
and my two daughters have left me,
and want you to help me to get them
to come back" do you drink?" 1
asked. NO, never drink" "Are
you n gambler2" "No," he answered.
Are you untrue to your marriage
vowsT NO" he again answered.
what is the matterY "weil. I Will
tell YOU" Then he told me a long sto-
~. He was very nervous man and
therefore very quick tempered. There
had been a family quarrel. and the
mother had taken the two girls and
left the house. And, OH he said, 81
sorry. What am I to do? Will you
help mer
"No," | said, 81 will not 1 admire
your wife for taking the stand she has
done. AS far as can make ont. you
Z have again aud again threatened her
life.', He said. Eyes, | have" ssYou
have been rging off In your ugly fits
OF Jealous rage for Mt least eighteen
Years lf-anytmng goes wrong In your
house. Sosl work yourself upinto per-
feet -panelemoniuna- OF fury. You IRE
an unworthy husband. aud there is no
excuse for your notions Fhe wonder
to me Is that your wife has lived as
long With you. You go to boarding
house aud get room and live there
alone long enough to prove that you
are sincere in your repentance. Give
part Of your weekly wages. and 1
wilfsee that she gets 1t. and that mon-
ey will help her support her daughters
while you are. away. Then. when your
repentance is an evident fact. she. |
know. will go back and live with you.
for she Is good woman" "Yes." be
answered. -"she is good woman"
hitter Word. N Curse.
do not know the history Of all your
homes, but ! do know this: Some are
homes IN which II is absolutely impos-
sible for peace and love TO dwell. Why?
Because in some OF those homes there
is father or a mother or sister or
a brother who has never learned to
control the temper. No sooner does
anything 80 wrong in those homes than
bitter words come TO the lips and sharp
sayings sting and lacerate. until life
itself becomes miserable burden to
every one around them. God forgive
you, my brother, my sister. If you have
been one of those who. on account OF n
vile temper. become n curse 10 all
about them.
What archie causes of. an ungoyern-
able temper?- There are two. and both
are directly or indirectly for the most
part attributable to the parents of the
man or woman having the vile temper
Father and mother sometimes are too
leDient with their children when they
raise them. They do not make their
children obey. They do not teach them
that yes means yes and mo"
means no" When their children be-
gin to cry or TO pout or. to sulk for
something the indulgent mothers and
fathers say. "Oh. well, 20 ahead and
do IL. II that will stop your crying"
The result Is that many children never
learn 10 subject their wills to higher
will. Allowed 10 indulge in FITS Of
temper az babies, they are learning how
to suik as men. AS spoiled children
ihey kick and scream because they can.
not have what they want, and as adults
they will lash themselves into fury
when they do not have what they want
In the home or In the store. Solomon
was right when he said, Train up a
child In the way he should 90, and
when he Is old he shall not depart from
II" A large percentage of ungovern-
able tempers can be charged directly
or Indirectly against wrong parental
training. Teach your children to obey.
Teach them to recognize other peoples
rights, as other people must respect
their rights. :.
The next great cause OF the ungoy-
ernable temper Is the custom of teas
Ing, which is to be seen everywhere
around us and especially In the home.
We find boys teasing boys. girls teas
ing girls, men and women teasing men
and women. men and women teasing
children and even fathers and mothers
delighting in tantalizing their own ba-
sbses. I'VE find that people are. often
more pleased at hearing other people
cry and stamp their feet in rage and
IN seeing their eyes flash and their fists
ciinched than In seeing them smile and
be happy. Beware. o man, how Won
make the angry passions OF some one
else &c, leap and blaze! Remember that
You cannot be true to your loved ones
II you suffer their baser passions to as
sumo the sway. -i8a 81,
In closing. would again read to Won
my text, HE that Is slow to anger ia
better than the mighty ana he that
ruleth his spirit than he that taketh a
city" You see. 1t Is written I'm the
present tense. 1t means for YOU to
learn to govern your temper now. Per-
haps by iaxity OF past training Won
have been guilty of, this sinful habit.
Will you not now begin systematically
TO curb your evil temper as general
lays out a campaign to capture q city?
You say You are not able to do it in
your own strength. That Is true. but
by the help Of Jesus Christ You can
conquer. And let me encourage you BIZ
reminding you that this temper is a
proof OF stored up energy, which, II by
the help OF God you can bring under