Newspapers / The Orphans’ Friend (Oxford, … / Jan. 5, 1876, edition 1 / Page 1
Part of The Orphans’ Friend (Oxford, N.C.) / About this page
This page has errors
The date, title, or page description is wrong
This page has harmful content
This page contains sensitive or offensive material
VOLUME ir OXFORD AVEDXESDAY, JANUARY 5, 1870. NUMRER for tlui Orjiliaiiy’ Frioml. BEN IfABAD^S BABSE!^. CIIAPTEU II. ON MATPIMOXY. Mr. Iladad and Miss Uil! wore sitting in tlio shade of a fruit-tree talking’ over the now serious as pect ot their once joyful future. He said, “Let us boldly cross tlie Ribicon and bravely' face our fate. Land and negroes, father and mother, I forsake them all for y'ou. The \vay may be dark before us ; but loving each other wo can bo happy' eveu in poverty and adversity.” Now Dora lo\’ed Ben Hadad, and had learned to eherish motherly feelings towards Mrs. ymith. yho had even ex pected to call her “mother,” at some day yet in the future. She had keenly felt her poverty, had often seen herself slighted on ac count of it, had been forced to move very far in the roar of the fashions, and haft longed for the day' when, as Mrs. Smith, the y'ounger, she could gratify her taste for dress and return some of the slights to which she had so gracefully seemed to submit. To marry Mr. Smith was a golden opportunity'. To man-y Ben Ha dad only, was to blast some of her most fondly' cberished hopes, and to pull down all the air-eas- ties wl icli her antici;)ating imag ination had been so diligently' building. She could not reject her only' lover who had thrown away jdl but lier : but slie could not make up liei' mind to a sud den surrender of all her expected wealth. She begged for thiie to confer with her parents, and re- ' quested Mr. Hadad to go and ask the advice of the ministei'. Dora’s motlier advised delay', hoping tiiat time and reflection would miti gate the wrath of Mr. Smith, and that after a few months a reluc tant consent might possibly bo secured. Mr. Dill was sure tliat Mr. Smith would grov/ strongoi' in his oonvictioiis and fe-elings, and he therefore advised the dis solution of the engagement, and a quiet waiting for the guidance of Rrovidence. lie also thought a poor man with a good trade would make his daughter a more duisirablo husband than a mere collegion, with kizy habits and no profession. A man too proud to work for a living, while desti tute ot the means of living, could not make a very' acceptable son- in-law. lie also feared that the transfer of one riaughtor to “high life” would excite tlie ambition of bis younger daughters, and make them refuse eligible offers itmong their equals. Mr. Dill iiifactlu'cl always doubted the propriety' of the match, and nov/ ho" deliber ately opposed it, and commanded Lis daughter not to offend Jir. Smith on whom his ^vhole family was dependent for a living. Mr. Hadad sought the advice of the minister, the Rev. Dr. Syntax, who, after hearing the case in full, presented a Bible view of the subject. lie thus be gan : “My son, lot us inquire of the Lord concerning tliis matter. Now God lias expressly com manded thco to ‘honor thy fatner and thy mother that may be long upon the the Lord thy God givetl; tliee.” 7Yill you dishonor 'your father, your mother, and your God, by a hasty, not to .say imprudent marriage ? It is generally dan gerous to disobey your parents ; but always unwise and ruinous to disobey God. It is your duty' to submit oven when your parents are mistaken. Your duty is to suffer wrong rather than be guilty' ot wrong’. Solomon was remark able for his sound and sensible views on many subjects. Hear him : ‘^ly' son, keep thy' father’s commandment, and forsake not the laiv ot thy' mother. Bind them continually upon thine heart, and tie thorn about tli\' neck.’ IVill you now prefer a blind cupid to the wisdom of in spiration f Solomon says again : ‘A prudent wife is from the Lord.’ My advice is that you return to your parents with me, and let us kneel together before the Lord and ask him to give you a pru dent wife. No man over found a better wife tiian the patriarch Isaac ; yet ho did not cl loose her tor himself; his father followed the advice of the Lord and found her for his son. Will y'ou madly prefer to follow the example of Samson who disregarded the ad vice of his parents and married a woman because v'heii he ‘had talked rvith her she jileased him well }' 'Then he was forced to follow the fashion and to give a teast, before the end of which he found himself a bankruptg’ambler, ready to murder thirty' innocent men in order to redeem his pledge. Samson went on fi’oin bad to worse, till having lost the strengtli which gave him his glory, and those eyes which gave him pleas ure in gazing at beauty', he was forced to grind in the mill of re- peulanoe, and was glad to die in the ruins which his oivii hands had wrought. You are standing on the edge of a precipice. Step back and you will bo safe ; step forward and your course will be downward.” i'r. Syntax ceased. It was ev ident that liis words had deeply impre.ssed his youthful hearer. Ben Hadad spent the niglit with the minister; but he dreamed of Dora—fhoiight lie saw lior de- sei'ted and weeping. He awoke in anguish. He thought of .sui cide, and, though bravo among his fellowmon, lie was not ’willing, to .appear before bis Judge with so dark a stain upon his soul. He would go and talk again witli Dora.' A little boy' came to the door and informed Mr. Iladad that sister was sic.k and could not see him to-day'. He returned to the hospitable roof of Dr. Syntax, and made daily calls to tlie blaek- siTiitli’s cottage, ;uid was as often turned away with tiie same an nouncement. He found also that the children were forbidden to to pass anyr papers between them. After several plans had failed, he wrote with a piece of chalk on tiic foxy shoe of the little boy', and Dora read as follows : “F. 0. T. to-morrow.” On the next day .Dora rose early, assisted her mother in the house-hold duties, and gave signs of clieerful submission to her fate. member and prompt iu bis at tendance. A fanions orator was present, and delivered a cold- water oration, breaking a beauti ful goblet in order to illustrate how all that tempts us to evil sliould bo dashed away' from the lips. The neighbors were posted oil current events, and every' eve observed Mr. lladad’s movements. Ho politely bowed to Dora, and not a wcu’d was .spoken lietween them ; but he had contrived to have a letter placed in lier pocket witliont tlie knowledge of her watchful brother. In tliat letter he proposed an elopement. On the next Sunday' evening the sex ton display'ed iiuusnal activity in putting out the lights as soon as tlio services ended, and the peo ple hurried out in liaste and some confusion. Soon Dora was called and no answer retnnieil. Dr. Syntax called for Mr. Hadad, but called in vain. The excitement was intense. Curiosity stood on tip-toe. Ben and Dora has dis appeared, but nothing more was known. (COXTINUED NEXT IVEEK.) For tiio Orphans’ Friend. Dear Chikdp.en ;—Christmas with its festive scenes lias again passed and soon the year 187.5 will be no more. I propose to offer a prize for next Christmas Eve, like little Tommie Horner enjoyed, when on Christmas eve, “he sat in the corner, put in his thumb, pulled out a plum and said wliat a great boy am I.” It is offered tp tlie most truthful, honest and obedient boy in Ox ford Orphan Asylum during the year 187G; and an usesul book to the most tidy, truthful and obe dient girl. Do not tliink the time is too long, it will soon pass away. It seems but yestei’day' wlten y'ou were enjoying tlie niany' good tilings sent to tiie Asylum b\' kind friends in Petcr.sburg; and benevolent hearts in Norfolk, her droll’s jiatli by tlio evil one as well as with older persons; they are never too y'oung for his pois onous fangs to enter tlioir touder hearts, and plant seeds of corrup tion to bring forth fruits of bis liking, not any greater tliau h’- iugand clieatiug. They go hand iu hand, tlie boy' can practme it iu a game of marbles, and the girl iu selling’a tliinible, dishouer- iug tiieir teachers, for tliej dis obey’ their iustrnctious. The prize are of no great value, but you will learn a lesson by striv ing for it. The one great prize is won by' strictly' conforming to truth, lionesty, and obedience. Trutli is the word of God, and if we honestly’ obe;^ tlie precepts therein contained we will be apt to gain the prize of liigli call ing in Him. The Prince of Peace whose bii’tlidai/ we have just cel ebrated. Tliinkof this great prize dear cliil dren, and report honestly to your teachers every’ Friday' evening, and next Christmas Eve let them bo read out in the chapel. If yon know you liave deceived during the week, confess it truthfully, and ask y’our teachers to help you while you pray' for strength to overcome the bad habit. Perfec tion is not expected, but by watclitul care over your infirmi ties and constantly jiractisiiig truth and honest dealing with those iu authority over you ; ■\'ou may' be able to resist the evil one, making y'our hearts so pure within that it will be but a.jight work to gain tlie great prize held out to all tlie followers of the cross, the believers in our Emaii- ual, the Prince of Peace, S. A. E. J.IKSTASSY. city', now gladden your That evening siie w'ent ■with one tiiy' days of her brothers to a temporauco sisiter hearts again with a liberal” gift this feast of tno y’oar, in which rich and poor rejoice over tlie birth of the Prince of Peace. Do you think you ought to bo so kindly cared for every' y'enr if unwilling to contend for "the”prize ? 1 do not think it is riglit to spend money or waste time on tliose who will not strive to be honest, trutliful and obedient, tliereforo I want to impress tlio great neces sity' of these traits on youry’outh- ful minds. L'irst you must obey God andkeep His commandments. If you rejoice over the Sabbath, you must malce an effort to keep it Holy'. That one day' out of seven belongs to God and -you have no right to steal tiie time given lor y/our spir’tual iniprove- nierit, to devote to worldly' amuse ments. If you ind’ulgo in g.ames, marbles or anything that draws your thoughts from heavenly things y'ou cannot be honest, for you are stealing time that does not belong to y'Ou, and breaking’ a commandment. Little^liildren are apt to tliinli they are not to work for heaven until maturcr age. It is a false delusion. The day y’ou know right from wrong, you are old enough; and pur.sr.iiig the right, you gain one step to'.vards the salvation of your so'cls. Temyr.a'ans are pliu ed in > liil- In old Roman mythology JiiHii.s’ was a royal doorkeeper, an ap propriate name fi>r such a person age, inasmuch as tlie Latin word jaima, from wliich Janus is de- rivetl, means a door.—When Numa Pompilius, whose reign closed about six hundred and seventy-two years B. C, (Before Olinst), took it into his roy'iil liead to make a new ‘time table' for tlie world, he upset things generally. 1 iie ancient Jewish, Egy'ptian, Greek calendars began tlie y’ear on tlie 25th of March, and tliis system ran far onward into the Oliristian centuries. But Numa Pompilius iilaced two now mouths before the previous ten, and called the first January, in honor of Janus, and very appropriately’, for, as the old mytholgical deity was a door-opeiier, so January opens the y’ear. This Janus, by the way', had two faces (and the two-faced people of these days show that the race is not extinct,) —one looking forward and one backward, into the future and into the past. Occasionally he was represented with four faces, and thus he had the double name Janus Bifrons (two-faced) and Janus Qmdrifrons (four-faced). The Romans rvorshipped Janus as the guardian of the year and the seasons, ot gates and doors, and at the beginning of the day the people jirayed to him, and at the beginning of the y'car sacri fices were offered to him on twelve one fur each moritli. 'I’lie first day of January lias for many' centuries been cele brated by feastings and rejoicings, and the custom of making presenls dates back so far into the dim past tliat wo cannot trace its origin. Early Latin autliors mention it, and it was practised to greatexcess in tlio far-off y’ears of English and French hsitory. Tim... fashion was, in tliose days, to give such articles as wore I’are, and we read of presents of ‘glove-money,’ or gloves, when gloves were ex pensive.—About tlie beginning of the sixteenth century metallic pins wore invented, doubtless to tlie great joy and convenience of the ladies, and tliese useful littlo articles were often given ns Now Year’s presents, or money with which to purchase pins, and so ‘pin-money’ became a commoii gift. In process of time the phrase came to mean any' money to be expended for trifles. Before the sixteenth century pius tor fastening clothes were made of box-wood, bone, and silver for the rich, while ivooden ‘skewers’ served the limited wants of the poor. Wo now associate ‘skewers’ with the kitchen and roast meats. It has always been, and always will bo, an unanswered question, ‘What beomes of all the pins T— Christian Advocate, mODERlV ISCARIOTS. We do great injustice to Iscari ot in thinking him wicked above all wickedness. Ho is only a common money-lover; did not iinder.’^tand Clirist; could not make out the worth of iiim. He did not want him to be killed. He was horror struck when Im found tliat Christ would be killed ; threw his money awav instantly and hanged himself. How many of our present money-seekers, think y-ou, would have the grace to hang themselves whenever they killed? But Judas was a common, selfish muddle-headed fellow ; Ills hand always in the bag of the poor, not caring for tliein. H e didn't understand Clirist; y'et lie believed in him much more than most of us do: had seen liiin do miracles, thought lie -was strong enough to shift for himself, and lie miglit as well make his own by perquisites out of the affair. Christ would come out of it well enough and he Irave thirty pieces. Now, that is the money-lover’s idea, all over the world. He dots not hate Christ, but lie can’t un derstand him ; he does not care for him—sees no good in tliat be nevolent business, but takes liis own, “little job” of it at all events, come wliat may'. And thus out of every class of men you liave a, certain amount of bag'men—men whose main object in life is to make money ; and they do make it in all sorts of unfair wavs, chiefly by’ the weight and force of money itself, or wliat is called c.ipital; that is to say the power which money once obtained, has over the labors of the jioor, so tliat the capitalist can take all tho produce to himself except the laborers’ feed. That is the mod ern Judas’way of “carrying the ' bag” and “bearing what is nut therein.”
The Orphans’ Friend (Oxford, N.C.)
Standardized title groups preceding, succeeding, and alternate titles together.
Jan. 5, 1876, edition 1
1
Click "Submit" to request a review of this page. NCDHC staff will check .
0 / 75