Pleasantville weekly press. (Pleasantville, N.J.) 1890-1911, 1910-05-14

| economy of life there is no more exalted
| position, no more holier desire, no pure
| love, under Christ, than motherhood
| This was one of the cardinal principles
| woven into the Hebrew life and religion
| by the loom of divine teaching, and Han
nah was intelligent enough to recognize
and desire this great blessing. Not al
| may have it. To some God has assigned
| other work and other reward; but tn,
truly intelligent will earnestly covet il
as one of Gods best gifts. And in this
respect Hannah is unquestionably di
vinely portrayed model for the parents
and especially the mothers of today.
say parents, for doubtless the failure tc
recognize the supreme blessing of child
ren lies many times as sin at the door
of the husband not less than the wife
With the Bible full of divine promise
and rich with blessings for the parents
of large families, l am surprised at the
sinful attitude of even Christian parents
who often talk as if the coming of more
or of any children into their home must
be a curse instead of blessing. At the
best such attitude displays lamentable
ignorance of the divine Word and Will.
1t is not at all to the credit of so many
native Christian families of today that
the smallness of the family circle is the
more conspicuous in contrast to the fruit
fulness of the too much despised foreign
or. Sterility is sure sign of degener-
acy, while the failure to recognize the
supreme dignity of fatherhood and moth
erhood is closely allied to the craven sin
suspiciously frequent in these days of
child murder.
Hannah was intelligent on the ques-
tion of motherhood, but she was also
intelligent enough to give her child prop
er bringing up; and if anything requires
intelligence and wisdom the proper bring
ing up of child does. How wise must
the mother of a group Of them be. One
is tinid and must be reused up and
pushed into activity; another is for
ward and must be held back and tanned
down into modesty and polteness; a
different method of training demanded
for each child; reward for one, punish
ment for another; a rod for one, Il
frQvn for another; wisdom to know
which.
There are children in glory who never
had their back switched, and there are
others who would never have reached
that blcst abode if they had not been
soundly thrashed, first by earthly and
then by heavenly parent most of the
way
And then there is the physical and
mental development, requiring, oh, how
much intelligence. A little more mother
ly intelligence concerning the dietetics of
the kitchen, and of physiology in the
ho
many dyspeptic stomachs, weak nerves
curved spines, sramped chests, inf1amcd
throats, diseased lungs, and useless, in
active lives. A little more intelligence
in the mother and the children would
not be so much of a burden to some
parents as they are now, and they would
pray for more voices in the home in
stead of wishing there were less.
And then if mothers knew more of
genuine art, and were more in sympathy
with the beautiful and wove it into the
care OF the children, there would not be-
50 many of the latter coming out into
the world and society with boorish pro-
clivities; there would not be so many of
our young men spending their evenings
away from home and in most damaging
associations and company. Do you wish
to know who and what built the club
houses and lodge-rooms that have done
so much to kill the home life in our
large cities? / will tell you. 1t is
largely the lack of intelligence on the
part of many mothers. A mother is
surprised that the boy of her heart can
find SO much more pleasure out of her
presence than in it, away from home
~ Lo Io hoI ~
a little more intelligence into her con
duct of the family affairs; if she had
taken the same trouble to make herself
attractive to her children that she did
to attract her husband before marriage;
had she given them the same kind of
greeting when coming to the breakfast
table. or in from school as the lover used
to get; had she read the daily paper,
informed herself OH the stirring ques
tions of the hour, and followed them in
their studies, SO as to talk with them
intelligently upon the themes interest
ing them, the children would have been
drawn to her, and held there by a power
no club house could rival. | fear that
many women make their unrivallcd
charms net for one haul-and after
the Hcatch'-a husband, throw the net
away. Once they could play, or sing,
or read, or converse most entcrtainingly.
but the children are entirely ignorant
of their mothers maiden talents. Be
hold her then, in the woman of my
text, the Hannah of olden time, the
mother who is a model for the intelli
gence she brought to the care and train
ing of her children.
But coupled to Hannah's intelligence
was another very essential element OF
true motherhood, namely, Industry This
is beautifully outlined in the verse from
which | have taken our text. Now the
hoy could have cotton aIonu without