Orphans’ Friend.
VOL vni.
OXFORD, N. a, MARCH 16, 1883.
COUHTQ HOKE AT LAST.
\0n itfca^n of,,^in0ing\to i(igneri9a>the
. revtaifts pf .ffeiltArd
{WlUb O ABZ&'X’ON. ]
The bani^hmentwiis oscrlOng,
But soon “fee past;
'Pbft aanv.’s^owwrtftHanae^s sweetest
la oomlng borne at[ last.
- For y ears bie poor, abode was seen
In foreign lands alone,
And waves have thundered loud be
tween
The si^^iv.and ins dwn,*
But be will soon i:e journeying
'Tt/ friends across the sea:
' iAnd- grander than of any- king
' His welcome here-shall be!
He w‘jndered o’er the dreary earth,
Forgotten addvalone;
He ;who coulcEte-ch Home’s match
less.worth
Ne’er had one of his own.'
;*Nei.th winter's doad and summer’s
snn,
■ Along the lillljr road,
'jHetrorebiagreat heart,and had none
To help him'with the load;
And wheresoever in his loand
He went: with weiary tread,
His sweety pdthetia song he found
Had floatadftfm ahead I
He heard the.i&0lQdiiS9.i^mitde
r^(r!bmo.pfiaUp|g>d«-iaid o’er,
' From royal music bands that played
‘ H^ore the palace- door;
He hessd-its'geottleffeoneaof love
. From maay.a:Cot(f^e>«reep,
When tender croodng mothers
ffitowe
TQ'sragiitheicrhattes. to sleep;
And wheresoe’o^itme Jove had birth
1 his thrilling pong, had flown ;
Bntihe whoiiAr^tiHome’s match
less worth
Had no home .of Ins own!
The. banishment was.overlong,
Bat it will soon be past \ %
The man who ^ wrote Home’s sweet-
^est song
Shall'bave a home at last I
And he .shall rest -where laurels
wave
And fragrant grasses twine;
His sweetly kept and honored grave
Shall be a sacred shrine.
And pilgrims with glad eyes grown
. dim
Will fohdly'ben4trbGve
The ^man who^ sung the triumph
hymn
Of earth’s divinest!k>Te.
Tor the Orphan^ Friend.
SOBAFS.
In the de>8 of /Jong ago,
scraps were more important
than they are now,* OaKco was
dearer, blankets were scarcer;
wives and daughters had more
taste for useful bomo'-work;
books, papers and pianos were
much rarer; the ways of grat
ifying the love of the beauti
ful were fewer; andtbe neces*
sity of combining the ele
ments of help and comfort
with the ornamental, was bet*
ter understood and apprecia*
ted, than in these less simple
and less practical times. Con^^
sequendy th€f scraps leit" in
m^ing new dresses andscraps
that could be obtained from
dresses that . were old. and
worn, were ingenuiasly and
often most tasteftiUy wrought
into^deaigns foir quilts. Care^
'hilly folded and, packed away
or spread with mathematical
precision on the old-fashion
ed feather*mounds, these
quilts were an' honor to those
that made''them , a treasure to
the bouse-hold that contained
them, and no insignificant
guarantee and eueouragement
to the prudent young peo*
» pie that even in those days
looked forward wistfully to
the probability of new begin
nings in new homes Who
cannot recall those pleasant
scenes that enlivened the sit
ting-rooms when the new
quilt was brouglit out and ex
bibited to visitors! M';rk the
air of confidence and expec
tancy that is seen in the move%
ments and on the face of the
earnest daughter of industry
as she unfolds the dazzling
products of her skill. What a
charming study in her expres
sion as she stands, with one
hand resting on her side, and
quietly waits for the anticipa
ted judgement of those admir
ing friends! The young la*
dies utter words of enthusias
tic praise, and the older offer
their more conservative com
pliments, closing with a des*
cription of a new pattern they
have seen and of some unique
design that they intend to
work into their next effort on
the “frames.’^ Ahl such scones
are passed forever. No more
quiltings—no more play for
art and taste in those oid-time
fashions and toils of the dear
women of the South. All that
remains to tell of that part of
the past is seen in the still
beautiful mementoes that
whisper sadly and sweetly of
the deft fingers and faithful
hearts of departed days. Now,
“piecing a quilt’’ after the old
style is very ra;fe; seldom
done, save by some child of
poverty that has no other dr
better way of earning a few
dimes to buy bread and rai
ment, or by some silly aspi*
rant for praise and premiums
who tries to excel all others in
the number of “scraps” sewed
together and the number of
useless, time-wasting stitches
taken.
What fills the place of this
banished industry? Is the
change for better? Crochet
work, tatting and the like,
drawing, painting, mechanical
music, reading all sorts of
love stories, these occupy
much of the time of many
who might be useful and wise.
Others—I will hope that they
are the majority —devote the
precious hours to nobler em
ployment. Perhaps I am not
orthodox on the subject of
“modern accomplishments.” I
hesitate to write plainly, in
giving my opinion. To me it
^eems that female education
in many higher institutions is
itself departing from ortho
doxy. Too much stress is laid
upon . comparatively useless
art. Too much time is devo
ted to-what can aid but slight
ly if. at all, in the life^wo^k
that,awaits our daughters.
In this I am not unwarrant
ably utilitarian. I love the
beautiful, and highly prize it
as an instrument add as an in
spiration in true culture. But
I prefer the beautiful that
lives. I turn from the sap
less,breathless,frigid semblan
ces that human art creates, to
the glowing, throbbing, boun*
ding models of loveliness that
matchless Nature in her kind
profusion spreads around the
home and along the lile-path
of her children, be they rich
or poor. I see waste and folly
and violence and disaster in
that fanatical perversion of
skill and knowledge that
strives in wayward intoxica-
Idon to make lifeless, meretri*
cious Art.the mistress of Na
ture in pleasure, in poetry, in
song, in fashion, in all the do
main of the beautiful. Art
is loyal only when it toils to
relieve Nature of what hinders
her own development under
the laws appointed by Infinite
Wisdom.
Let me close with a few
sentences from one of the
most distinguished scholars in
America. He says of our wo
men—that “their main busi
ness, also, is to get an honest
living. The education that
unprepares them or leaves
them unprepared fDr this is
the height of folly and of
wrong The greatest .art
known among men is house
keeping, which is the life of
the family, I reckon house
keeping to be just the last
thing that any lady can af
ford to be ignorant of. —The
finest accomplishment too that
woman was ever beautified
with The fashion now is
to educate young women for
any place rather than for
home.. - -Our school education
is growing to be very much
a positive, dispreparation for
the proper cares, duties, inter
ests and delectations of life.
The farther a thing draws
from any useful service or
common occasion, the more
pridethere is in studying it....
We prefer something out of the
common way; something, that
can be turned to no account,
save to beguile a frivolous
and fashionable leisure or to
mark people off from .ordina
ry humanity, and wrap'thenii
up in the poor conceit of an
aristocratic style.”
Give our daughters taste
and skill for usefulness: above
all and in all, let them be tru
ly religious.
A. W. Mangum.
I KNOW ATHING OK TWO.
‘Dear boy, said a father to
his only, son “you are in bad
company. Tbe lads with
whom you associate indulge
in bad habits. They drink,
smoke, swear, play cards and
visit theaters. They Are not
safe companions for you. I
beg you to quit their society.’
•You needn’t be afraid pf
me, father,’ replied the boy,
laughingly. ‘I guess I know
a thing or two. I know how
far to go, and when to stop.’
The lad left his father’s
house, twirling his cane in
his fingers, and laughing at
the ‘old man’s notions ’
A few years later, and that
lad,grown to manhood, stood
at the bar of a court, before a
jury which had just brought
in a verdict of guilt against
him for some crime in which
he had been concerned. Be
fore he was sentenced, he ad
dressed the court, and said
among other things: ‘My
downward coarse began* in
disobedience to my parents
I thought I knew as much of
the wc rid as my father did
and I spurned his advice; but,
as soon as I turned my back
upon my home, temptations
came upon me like a drove of
hyenas, and hurried me to
ruin.’
Mark that confession, ye
boys who are beginning to be
wiser than yoar parents!
Mark it, and learn that diso
bedience is the first step on
the road to ruin._Don’ttakeitl
TEUE MANLINESS.
Every ydung fellow con
siders it high praise to be
called a “manly fellow,” and-
>'et‘ how many false ideas
there are ol manliness?
Phy.sical strength is not the
test. Samson was endowed
with tremendous bodily pow
ers. He was a grand speci
men ot humanity. See him
rending the lion as he would
akid,'or carrying away the
gates of Gaza! But he was a
weak creature, after all, una
ble to resist the wiles oi an
artful woman.
Great intellect is not the
test of true manhood. Some
of the most intellectual men
who have ever lived were not
manly. Lord Francis Bacon
was a prodigy of intellect.
The sciences sat at his feet,
extolling him as their benefac
tor; yet vve see him let down
Tower Hill, a prisoner, for
swindling.
Fast living is not true man
liness. Some men think that
to strut and puff and swear is
to be manly. To some the
essentials of manliness are to
“toss off their glass like a
man,” spend money fieely
like a man,’ “smoke like a
a man,” drive a fast horse“Uke
a man,” forgetting that virtue
is true manliness. Temper
ance, chastity, truthfulness,
fortitude and benevolencP,are
the characteristics and essen
tials of manliness.
To be manly is to be bon
est, generous, brave, noble
and pure'in speech and life
The highest form of manli
ness is godliness. Some one
has said, “An honest man is
the noblest wojlc of God,” but
the man who is honest to
ward God and toward
his fellow man—in short,
Christian man—is thO noblest
work of God.- -John. !B. Gough
BE OP GOOD CHEEK.
A man who acquires a hab
it of giving way to depression
is one on the road to juin.
When trouble . comes upon
him, instead of rousing his en*
ergies to combat it he weak
ens, his faculties grow dull, his
judgment becomes obscured,
and he sinks into the slough
of despair; and if anybody
pulls him oqt by main _ force
and places him safe on solid
ground, he stands there dejec
ted and discouraged, and is
pretty sure 'to waste the
roeansof help which had been
given hitb Ho^ different it
is witli the man who takes a
cheery view of life even at the
worst, and faces every ill with
unyielding pluck! He may
be swept away by an over
whelming tide of misfortune,
but he bravely struggles for
the shore, and is very ready
to make the most of tbe help
that may be given him, A
cheerful, hopeful, courageous
disposition is invaluable and
should be assiduously cultiva^
ted.
ONE STEP AT A TIKE.
I once stood at the foot of
a Swiss mountain which
towered upfromthefoot'ofthe
Vispbach Valley to a height of
10,000 feet. It looked like a
tremendous pull to the top.
But I said to myself, “Oh it
will require but one 'step at a
time.” Before sunset I stood on
the summit, enjoying the ma
nificent view of the peaks a-
round me, and right opposite fo
me flashed the icy crown of the
Weisshorn, which Profes'?or
Tyndal wn.s the first man to
discover, by taking* one step
at a time- » '
Every boy who masters ii
difficult study, every youth
who hopes to go' on in the
world, must keep this motto in
hand. When the famous Ar-
ago was a school- boy he gOt
discouraged over matiiematics..
But one da-y he found on the,
waste leaf of t'’G cov^r of liis
text book a s!iort letter from
D’ Alembert to a youth dis-|
couraged like hitnoelf. The
advice which JD’ Alembert
gave was'‘’Go on sir, go on”
That little “sentence,” says
Arago, “was my best teacher
in mathematics,” He. did
push on steadily, until Ii8|
became the greatest mathe
matician of iiis day, by mas
tering one j^tep at a time:
THE WOKST OE ORIKBS
Dime?and dollars! dollars dimes!
An empt}'’ pocket!s'Llib’ worst .of,
crimes! ■• • •
If a man is down, give him a thrust;
Trample tbe begg.ir into the flust I
PresutuDtuous poverty’s quite appal-
ling;
Knock himbver! kick him for ftilling!
If a man is up, oh, lift him hig jer;
Your soul’s for sale, and he's a buy-
Dimes and dollars' dollars and diinVS!
An empty p:)cket’s tlie' worst rif
crimes !
NO. 42.
ly’spoken.”
For the sake of humanity
lotus give voice to our kindly
impulses and we will find tbe
.\Yoil(hgr,owing bright as with
pt a new day.-^-BaU
timoreari.
WO'EDS OP CHEEK.
A person bf a ge's’eroiis and
keenly appreciative rtaturb;
experiences pleasuie in accor
ding just praise to the fine
qualities or aclneyements of
another; yet liow often is ‘the
chilling shadow of disparage
ment thrown over some grace
ful deed or meritorious per*
formance!'
The earnest word of'encour-
agement, which would have
fallen like dew upon a tliirsl-
ing spirit is withheld md per
haps the “flowering moment’’
never comes again; thus a hu
man life'^ which tpigbl have
blossomed into enduring beau
ty, is left bleak 'and sterile.
And it is not o'thers alone
who suffer, for as wo' utter the
cordial expression 'of up . roVal
our own nature expand;:; as
we withhold them it cdhtrack,
crushing the bright enthusi*
asm which shed such a fairy
glow over existence. ' ‘ .
No human charadfor lias
ever been injured by ju^t and
judicious praise,but how*many
souls have starved for the lack
of its benign influence. ' If;
we could but know bow dark
ly the shadows are gathering
about some heart upon which
we could send golden sun
beams, how gladly would we
“open the shutters and.let in
more light. ’ But we are so
selfish or thoughtless; .so slow
to obey the 'voice of deity
within—that voice' whose
gentle whisperings, if
wrought into deeds, would
suffuse life with an.'inimortal-
ity of peace and glory;
A teacher of long experience
relates how once when weary
and disheartened, a- word ' of
childish encouragement writ
ten upon his slate by a little
pupil gave nCw life ' to hcV
flagging energies ' None but
she could kno^ the true heav-
onlineas of that “kind word fit-
AMUSING BLUNDERS.
Blunders on public occasions
arb oflmi as mortifying as they
•are amusing. For instance:
At a military dinner in Ireland
tiie following was on the toast
list “May the man who has
lost one eye in the glorious
servlet) (if his beloved country
never s6e distress with the oth
er.’’ But I he person whose
duty it was to read the toast
.a(icidently omitted tlie “dis
tress,” wlf c'l completely chan
ged the sentiment, and caused
no end of merriment by the
blunder.
Another instance may be
quoted, if only to show
Jiow careful people should be
in expressing tliemselves on
public occasions:
A church inSouth London had
been erected, when a dinner
was given, at the conclusion of
which the health of the build
er, w IS: proposed, when he
rather ,o igmatically replied
that he was “more fitted for
thd scaffbhl than for public
sp^^aking.”
: ,.Alo^a;nhir,lIaniiltO'i Steph*
erm was 7i o uars and 21 days
'bornin Talia-
ferfb" ^diu'ity, Georgia, 11th
Febua^y. 1812. He took
his nams from Rev. Alexander
Hamilton VYebstef, of Wilkes
county, a noted preacher of
the time. His mother died
in his infancy, and his father
wlien he was but fourteen
years old. He had a collegi
ate education and was admitted
to the bar when he was twen
ty-three. In 1836 lieentered
the Legislature. In 1843, he-
was irst elected to the Con
gress of the United States.
He was never in the United
States Senate.—Star.
About this season of the
year mauv people are seeking
what it is that determines the
date of Easter. The answer
is that it is the moon of March,
which Tennyson calls “the
roaring daffodils.’’’ The old
rule is that Easter shall tall on
the Sunday after the full moon
liicli comes after the vernal
equinox. That brings Easter
this year on tlie 25th of March.
In 1818 it fell on the 22d of
March, the earliest date possi
ble. It will not fall upon that
d,ate again in this or the fol
lowing century.— I
A .single vile book circula
ted aiaong the children may
do untold inu'ui. Thereiscon-
stunt weed that library author
ities, parents, teachers, keep
themselves informed as to the
character of the books the
children are reading, and that
they keep from them, at least
as zealously as they .would
strychnine or arsenic,the poi
son of an immoral literature.
JNO. T. WHITKHURST. 1 J. FItAKK HUNTKB.
■Whiteliurst & Hunter,
SASH, DOORS AND BLINDS,
PAINTS, OILS, GLASS, PUTTY, &C.
No. 139 Water St., aud 16 Niviaoii St.,
Norfolk, Va.
^^Aleo ageuts ior Roebuck’s Pat«ut
Weather Strips. feb7ii>t>