Bryan daily eagle and pilot. [volume] (Bryan, Tex.) 1909-1918, 1910-11-25
GRAFTON OF Fathers DlY
The Duty Of the Father to the Family and Of
the Family to the Father

to divide the subject into two separate
and distinct phases--drst, the duty Of
the father to his home ana children;
and, second. the duty Of the home and
children to father. To begin with,
what il good father? Moses. the
great lawyer, to whom Jehovah spake
on the burning heights OF Sinai, speak
ing to US from the sacred pages Of the
Scriptures, says words to the effect
that good father Is one who walks
In the fear Of the Lord and rules his
home in righteousness before God. All
children, may safely say, believe
there IL no person upon the earth 50
absolutely perfect and wonderfully
great as father. Well do I remember
that as a child my heart leaped and
was made glad as l sat for hours at
la time and listened to father talk
Even though his talk was Of those
things which we're mere occurrences
LOT everyday life, still 1t was father
talking, and 1t thrilled me and filled
line, and longed for the time when
II would be grownup and could talk
understandingly OF those self-same
things. 1t was to me as impossible for
my father to do anything wrong as It
was for rock to be thrown 80 high
into the air that it would not fall down
again. I saw In him the nearest ap-
|proach to perfection that my childish
mind could conceive. And now that
have grown older, still believe that
God never made better father than
mine And as looked upon my father
In childhood, so every child looks
upon Its father. and because OF this
there is almost no limit to the In
fuence that father may have over
his child. Then woe be unto him when
this influence is not used Alright!
Children try to initiate their fathers
| In every respect. As an instance, no
| tice the little farmer boy. He goes
Tout TO the field where father Is plow
ing In the fresh soil and row after
row he follows his parent as he wears
the long day through, and steps just
as far as his little short legs will
reach In an effort to step in the same
tracks that fathers shoes have made
He watches his father and attempts
to do everything in the same way. He
swings his little shoulders from side
to side in an effort to walk just like
father. He talks with the same long
drawl that father uses. He even splits
through his fingers, like father. II
father curses, why he'll curse too; and
would like to see all the minister:
on earth convince him that II is wrong
Some time ago I heard minister re
late this little incident:
In certain community In which he
had lived there was very bright little
fellow, OF perhaps five or six years. He
was so extremely bright that everyone
in the community had taken notice OF
him. One day the minister heard him
cursing, and naturally feeling an inter
est in the little fellow, thought hi
would talk TO him. hoping that because
he was such bright boy he could
show him the evil OF cursing and
thereby break him OF the habit. Sc
he told him In the most vivid manner
possible what terrible thing 1t was
and what would become OF little boys
who took the name OF the Lord in vain
ending by saying that no man who die
such thing could be considered {
good man. While he spoke the little
boy listened very attentivelv and
looked up at him with awe and won
der in his little face; and when he had
finished the boys eyes grew large
with astonishment as he asked the
preacher TO say again what he had