The Birmingham age-herald. [volume] (Birmingham, Ala.) 1902-1950, 1906-03-11
% ANGELES, Call March 4.-1n this :
sermon the preacher pays tribute

| friends and to religious principles are es-
sential parts of the ideal character. The
text is Ruth l. 16, whittier thou goest,
viii co.
The mothers-in-law from time immemo-
rial have been an object the cheap and
coarse wits of the day have never tired
Of ridlculng. We do not know why this
is, but as soon as we mention the name
of mother-in-law almost everyone's face
begins to smile as though he expected a
| joke. Sunset" Cox the famous wit of
Congress, used to say that his audiences
| would never take him seriously. When
| ever he arose TO speak the men and wo-
men sitting before him generally began
to laugh And" said James A. Garfield
toa friend many years ago Sunset Cox
never got the credit that belonged TO him
as a far-seeing statesman because the
world always loked upon him simply as
a funny man" As the world looked upon
Sunset" Cox so It looks upon mothers-in-
| law. 1t considers the subject simply one
to tickle our risibilities and to start forth
whole chorus of cachlnnations and CUFF
flaws. But, though cheap wits may make
fun of our mothers-in-law, l for one am
not to be classed among these satirists,
for Of all people do not know any who
are nobler and truer and more self-sac-
rificing as a class and who can rise to
higher heights of inspiration than these
same women whom some of us may sheer
at with the derogatory appellation OF
mothers-in-law.
OF course some mothers do object to
their sons and daughters marrying But
in ninety-nine cases out of hundred this
objection is not based on selfish grounds.
When the subtle life companion for the
boys comes along, inevitably the mother
will say MY son, l want to see you
married to a good wife. Helen IS a good
girl am glad you are going to wed
her. OF course it is awfully hard for me
to give you up. You have always been
my baby Your room has always been
just off mine. Night after night | would
sit up waiting to hear your step and to
have our little talk and feel the good
night kiss. That must all end now. But
my boy, l know it is for your good to
marry. Helen is good girl. Be good
to her my son, and remember | will al
ways love her as a daughter for your
sake" Was not that the way your
mother did when you started out in life2
Was not the way your wife's mother
did when she gave her daughter to you
at the marriage altar?
Then there is the charge that our moth
ers-in-law are always meddling. OF course
some of them may. Mothers-in-law are no
more perfect as a class than we are per-
feet. But l for one have never looked
upon mothers-in-law as vicious meddlers.
| have always looked upon them as a
great reserve corps. ready to come to the
worlds help whenever they are needed.
Look back into your past life Was your
mother-in-law a vicious meddler? Did
she hang around your house until she be-
came a nuisance? Nay. She never both
cred you in that way. When that awful
sickness came into your house she came
as a ministering angel Day after day
and night after night she lowered about
that sick room. Don't talk to me about
mothers-in-law as a class being pests.
They are the nobest and most self.sacri-
| ficing women on earth. In the first place,
| they say TO the world: Here is my SON.
Here Is my daughter Take them. Let
others go and live with them and be
first in their affections" Then after these
mothers-in-law have effaced themselves,
when trouble beads towards our homes.
they are first to come to our rescue. All,
that was a sad day in your life when
your mOther-in-law died. There would
not have been the difficulties which have
since separated you and your wife from
been carried out TO sleep among the flow
ers.
A Perfect Mother-in-IaW.
Well, all that a perfect mother-in-law
ought to be Naomi was. She had reared
two fine boys. She had given these two
sons as husbands to two young maidens
in the land of Moab Then by a strange
series of fatalities Naomi not only lost
her husband, but her two sons, There
= -. T. g. 10
struggle of life. Naomi said to the two
girls: 81 will go back to my own coun-
try.s hear that the famine In the land
of Judaea is over. / will go back there
and live and struggle on, but you two
girls go back to your mothers houses
ard marry new husbands and all will be
we'll" Orpah one of the girls, wept over
her mother-in-law. She kissed her and
left. But Ruth, the heroine of my text,
would not do this She came near to
Naomi and said: ''Whither thou goest I
will CO." And she not only said this, but
she stayed by Naoms side. Such Is the
simple story of this perfect mother-n-law,
Naomi in her relationship to this model
daughter-in-law. Ruth. And we study
this subject you will see how Ruth, who
became the ancestress of the Saviour,
successfully met the duties of life in this
the darkest hour of her earthly existence.
. ful character was Ruth. She was not one
of those deceitful women who have smiles
and affectonate words and loving caresses
only for those she is using for a mer-
cenary object. She was not like the I'M
grateful elder daughters of King Lear,
who had raptuous terms of endearment
for their father only while their parent
sat upon his throne. But she was one of
those noble women who. If friend had
been good and true to her, never forgot
that goodness. That friend might live in
a palace or hut she might be honored
or despised by the world. she might be
old or young but Ruth would love her
and cling to her just the same. She had
all the chara teristics of stanchness to
her friends as had the great and noble
Emperor William |. of Germany, who was
never known to turn his back upon
true friend. So true was his heart that
when the German army started forth on
the Franco-P russian war 1t Is said that
he left the batallons and went to Pots
dam and there knelt at the tomb of his
mother Queen Louise. who had been
humbled by Napoleon |. And when he re-
turned as a conqueror while all the cap
ital of Berlin was ready to give him the
welcome of triumphal entry. he again
left the ranks and went to that same
tomb and knelt to thank God that her
disgrace had been avenged So with
Ruth. She never forgot those who had
been. true to her. Naomi might he de-
spised by fhe world, but Naomi had been
her friend. And because Naomi had been
true to her Ruth would never leave her
side.
A Crisis in Ruth's Life.