The Abbeville press and banner. [volume] (Abbeville, S.C.) 1869-1924, 1915-01-13
HOME, SWEETEST WORD IN THE
LANGUAGE. !

The story is told of a perplexed
young man who wrote to the query
department of a newspaper to know
whether the editor would advise him
to buy an AUTOMOBILE or get mar
ried. He said he could not afford to
do both, and was in a quandary.
The editor cautioned. the young
man to deliberate earnestly and not
to make up his mind without due
consideration. He was reminded
that while an automobile costs more
1t doesn't talk back, and that a Sec
ond-hand automobile could be traded
for a new one. It is not recorded
what was the decision of the irreso-
lutte young man. !,
a. There have been men, good men,
whose lives, measured by ordinary
standards; were successful, who never
married; but those who hear or read
Of them feel that such careers were
incomplete.
To a certain degree, a young, man
should look upon marriage from "a
unitarian standpoint. A good wife
is SO much capital. She makes him
to be, By a kind Of grace, a great
deal more than he is by nature. She
contributes the qualities needed In
order to convert his vigor into a safe
as well as productive efficiency. She
introduces, for instance, into his IN
tellectual nature that ingredient OF
sentiment which intellect requires In
order to be able to do its best work
and makes home an Eden. ITO Adam,
Paradise was home; to the good among
his descendants, home is paradise"
Most married men are saner, much
more normal and ,leyelheaded, eco
nomical and careful, on account OF
their wives. A model home Is q great
corrective for a man. 1t keeps him up
to standard and saves him from get
ting blue and discouraged. It deyel-
OBS the affectionate side Of his ma
ture and renders his character strong
er and more symmetrical. Men can
produce very much more because OF
harmony and affection in the home.
There Is nothing else which will call
out the divinest qualities of a man or
woman like unselfsh service. The
very consciousness that one has 9TH
ers depending upon him tends to call
out the best in him.
A, happy marriage brings cunshine
into the life and broadens, softens and
sweetens the character. 1t is a great
educator, a perpetual influence for
good. I
Who could estimate what civiliza-
ton owes to mans dream Of a happy.
home Of his own!. What an incen-
tive to man in all ages has been this
vision of a home Of his own! 1t is
this picture which holds the youth to,
his task, buoys him up in times OF
hardship and encouragement. This
picture Of a home, this vision Of =
little cottage and some fair maiden
waiting at the door-this home vision
has ever been the great incentive OF
the struggler, the greatest incentive
of mankind! It is the dream Of "a
home of my own" that has lifted
multitudes of youths out Of obscur-
ity. There is no spur OF earth which
has haG anything like the influence
over man that this home vision has.
The thought of his home and wife
and children, dearer to him than life.
keeps vast multitudes Of men grind
ing away at their dreary tasks, when
they see no other light In the distance.
TO multitudes of people home is the
only oasis in their desert life.
Home is the sweetest word in the
language. 1t has ever been the favor
tie theme of the poet, the author, and
the artist. History is packed with
the achievements of men for the sake
of the home. They cross oceans, they
explore continents. They endure the
heat of the tropics and the cold Of
the arctics, they explore mines in the
wilderness, cut themselves off from
! civilization for years for the sake of
wife and home.
| Women are always sincere when