The free lance. (Fredericksburg, Va.) 1885-1926, 1910-02-26
THE UkSPEAkABIE WORTH AND
THE VAST POSSIBILITIES
or A CHILD

and abode of the creature he after
wards made IN his own image. "a little
lower than the angels. and made him
70 nave dominion over all the works
of his hands. And as perfection and
utility characterize all his works and
there Is neither lack nor waste with
nun, IS Il not reasonable to suppose
that tins world will be fully peOpled and
occupied before the end comes? The
world is now but very partially and
sparsely inhabited. The people of the
United States could all dwell comfort
ably IN the State Of Texas. The vast
wealth OF minerals in the mines of the
earth God created for mans use. and
what very small part OF these min
erals has been consumed and is il
reasonable to suppose they will be utiI-
.zed before the end Of the world comes7
Will not be guilty Of the folly of
making any prediction as to when this
world shall come TO an end. but. as
think and reason about it, 1t appears to
me that the world IS much nearer its
infancy than its old age. And it seems
TO me quite probable that for thousands
OF years TO come. as for thousands of
years past, false prophets will rise mn
and predict the end of the world is nigh.
when IN fact 1t may be very far off.
however that may be, we know that
when God had created this world for
man $ use and abode he created Adam
and Eve, and the first command he
gave them was multiply and replenish
the earth and subdue IL" And when
her hrstbOrn came into the world. the
mother Of us all joyfully exclaimed:
nave gotten man from the Lord. -
Inc deVout mind loves to acknowledge
the bounty of the Lord in the gift of a
/ child
spring, SAID, these are the children
which God hath given to his servant. -
In the early and later history of the race
II was regarded as a token of divine
FAVOR TO be given a child or chill
dren- Divinely inspired David said
10, children are a heritage of the
Lord and the fruit of the womb il his
reward; happy is the man that hath his
culver full of them; they shall not be
ashamed, but they shall speak with the
enemies in the gate"
NO wonder that child was regarded
as a special gift and bounty of the
Lord, Tor who can tell the unspeakable
worth and vast possibilities Of a child?
IL is the greatest and best asset Of the
home, society, the nation, and the
world
A child is the only thing or being in
the universe which can be developed
into man or woman by any possible
processes OF evolution and development.
And without men and women this world
would be an idle. useless, uninhabited.
waste. Home. society, government.
nationality. and even human existence
would be an impossibility. He who is
consciously or Intentionally guilty of
race degeneracy or race suicide violates
me law OF God and is neither a philan-
thropist, patriot nor Christian, for he
does not love his race, his country or
his God.
Who can estimate the value or vast
possibilities of any child, male or fe-
male, no matter of what parentage born
or what its environments during in.
fancy When a child is born, no matter
how poor, obscure or illiterate its
parents. no one can foretell what its
character, abilities or career will be
when II Is grown TO manhood or woman
hood. We have read history and biog-
| raphy TO a poor purpose if we have not
learned that some of the greatest.
wisest and best of our race have been
born of very obscure and humble
parentage and reared in poverty. The
absence of human assistance is often a
great blessing. IL drives a man on his
own resources and develops i'm him
/ RCNNAc Va NAiSi Ait WAS WHOLLY unCO0-
scious. BY sharp, but heathful, dis.
cipline he is trained TO energy. courage
decision, and self-confidence. There Is
likely TO be some imbecility Of character
unless one has acquired force am
strenuousness of purpose and action by
stern, solitary wrestling with difficulties
| and disadvantages. Hence we some
times see the sons of royalty. nobility
and wealth dissolIte or worthless and
mere excresences on the body polite.
while on the other hand we find in the
roll of such as are born of humble and
obscure parentage the names of some
''sS%. iSao>SS-eRtest -wises. and best of stat1 +
ga ,r'v - -------.ih eSe'e1.s.'-~ & .0er
men, warriors, jurists, artists al -
| philosophers, phllanthropists.l inventors
diseoVerers, reformers, missionaries.
teachers, authors and preachers that
have ever lived and blest the world
and shed back lustre on their parents
ana the human race. The greatest
wisest and best of reformers, teachers
and preachers who ever lived or ever
Will live, the Son of Man, was born in
a stable and Graded in a manger be-
cause there was no place for him in the
Inn, and was brought up in a despised
hamlet of which it was said mo good
thing can come out of Nazareth. "
A child. any child, being gift from
God, no matter what its parentage, be-
ing OF great worth and of vast posi-
bilties, how childhood dignifies and en-
riches fatherhood and motherhood. A
Campanian lady, who was very rich and
fond of show, being on visit to Cor
nelia, the illustrious mother of the
Gracchi, displayed her jewels and dia-
monds somewhat ostentatiously, and
then asked Cornelia to let her see her
jewels also. She called her bows. and.
pointing to them, said: These are nv
jewels; the only ornaments | admire. .
Parentage brings with it very grave
responsibility. The newborn child.
though having the spark of divinity
within 1t, and having such mighty pos
slbihties, is the most helpless and de-
pendent of all Gods creatures, and so
continues through many months and
years, and the first care of it devolves
on the parents. The child being born
has an inherent right to live and grow
TO manhood or womanhood. and be
trained and fitted for life of useful |
ness and enjoyment. This will require
care and faithfulness on the part of pa |
rents The mortality among infants.
according to the United States census |
OF 1900, IS l6s per cent. One-sixth of |
the children born in the United States |
die before they are year old. 1t can |
not be supposed that this is according |
to Gods plan and purpose. Ignorance
or neglect on the part of parents, or |
the lack of knowledge or skill on the |
part of the rank and file of the medical |
profession, concerning the diagnosis |
and treatment of infantile diseases, are
doubtless among the causes for so great
mortality among young children. The |
child should not only be permitted to
live and grow up to manhood or wo-