The farmer and mechanic. [volume] (Raleigh, N.C.) 18??-19??, 1915-02-09
,u,T CHILD HEARD IN
CHURCH.
,,. international Sunday school Les
Ion for February ID is samuel
CnIIcd To BE a Prophet Sam.
.t.2i-2S: cb. 3.

hoA'S0 ~
king to a large company of infiu-
'l.,i,l men. and as he met one emil
oert citizen after another he was visi-
tN. IMPRESSED. The scholars embar-
r.esment was rather amusing, for, af-
tlr al these men to whom he spoke
,ere Al the wrong end Of the seventy
,.ar span to be permanently inf1u-
arced by his message. he might
more reasonably have been over
nhelmed had he been talking to the
same number of children. For it is
tbe person who influences childhood
who affects the future of the world.
THAT scientists mistake is being
daily repeated by the organized
,hurch. She is running after the
sreat and mighty. She is more pleased
Ia have the partial appreciation of a
millionaire or a statesman than to
have the life devotion Of a child. Down
in Augusta, thirty years age, two per-
sons were taken into the Presbyterian
church; one an old man of seventy,
and the other a little boy. Pastor and
elders were delighted over the Access
sion of the old man: 1t was a victory
for the church. The other was only
, boy" The old man has died long
since. but that little boy is the lead
or Of the organized laymen Of the
Southern Presbyterian church, who
are Assembling lIlS nOlln III lWO
great conventions in the
A scotch minister once said to a
friend, who asked him about his ac-
ceSsions at the preceding communion.
"Onlv a boy" But that boy was Rob
et Moffet, the great missionary.
The beautiful story from the Old
Testament. which is the days Sun
day school lesson, calls us back to
fundamentals and is the relative i'm
p~ortance Of the mother, the child and
the church. the three greatest factors
in civilization. A study of this idyl
may freshen our ideals for our own
times. and urn some persons back
10 a reading of the stories of the Ole
Testament. which makes a perma'
nent impression on the imagination
OF childhood.
The Seamy Side Of POlygamy.
our latest problems may gain ligh
from this old. old story. There is NJ
denying that the tendency today i
to loosen up historic family ties, ant
TO return. outside Of the law. to tn
laxer code OF the polygamist's day
and lands. Advanced" thinkers o.
social questions who are talking 8
loosely about the relation Of MAJ
and woman, need to look deeper int
what is involved in a plurality Q
wives. or a multiplicity Of ~"aff1nities.
The under side Of pOlygamy
s~cum-covered with the worst senti
ments of which the human mind
capable. Jealousy. rivalry, fear. an
deceit go hand-in-hand with plur:
marriage or it's equivalent. Elkana
had two wives. Hannah, the childle:
one. ne loved the better-for no ma
ever loved two ONE alike. TT
rival jeered and tainted the child
less favorite. and non of the cloth
and jewels that the husband lavishe
on her could compensate for lack
a child at her breast.
n ShrineS Signify.
Hannah is q normal type of won
snhood. not only in her religious II
Stincts, but also In her yearning 4
her w children. The woman wi
wilfully turns aside from motherhO'
Is a worse citizen of her country ths
the bewhiskered anarchist who thrOV
bombs and breaches revolution. Tn
type of womanhood is commOner
these artificial. modern days than ev
before.
The deepest desire Of the won
OF the world. taking them in the lars
Is to have sons. Before my mi,
There pas pictures of the shrines
which l " seen the women
many races praying for this SUPPER
boon. One Japanese shrine jim love
Nlhko was broken down with I
weight Of inscribed wooden nrav'
h"abed upon it. The women Of Bal
coma make pilgrimage TO the reput
Tomb of Ezra on the Tigris River
10" bagdad. to pray for sons. l ha
seen black ~Sudanese parents trav
NlS to the ANTIQUITIES at Cairo to ma
The same prayer
TIE Answered Prayer.
Many childless women are rs gr;
'">iN misunderstood as Hannah W.
-" was w~orshipping in shiloh. Ev,
4nre OF her being breathed one ov
mastering petition. In the on
court "f the tabernacle she was pr
A"@ with such intensity. that she t
Sot her surroundings. Her lins mo
"' 70 words came forth. Watch
ON I'll. the priest. thought she '
.h'"Alcated and rehuked her. II
may the lowest motives he attribll
:" highest actions. When he lear
4" truth, he like every true mi,