Boys and girls between the ages of eleven and seventeen ought to spend
their evenings at home, as much as possible. In these busy, bustling
twentieth century days, there are many families--so much the worse for
them--that scarcely know what it is to spend an evening at home
together. Not only the young people but the older people are “on the
go.” The evenings are crowded with calls and invitations, which come
from far and near. It is nothing to go five or even ten miles to an
evening concert or social gathering, the trolley is so near, so cheap
and so universal. But I tell you, boys and girls, no matter what the
pleasure or amusement afforded--no matter what the instruction or
culture received--there are no social or similar opportunities good
enough to displace the home circle. The sooner young people realize this
the happier they will be.
Boys and girls ought to plan for some evenings at home. Let other things
have a share, but do not give up all the time to other things. Once a
week the young people ought to arrange for an evening at home. Decline
everything else for that evening, the same as you would for any other
engagement. Gather the family together. Make a special place for grandma
and grandpa. Sing merry songs; play innocent and amusing games; take
time to tell the home folks about some of the things that you do and
that you have seen in the world; get acquainted with the home folks; be
delighted in their delight; by special appointment, spend one or two
cheerful hours with the folks at home each week.
[Illustration: AN EVENING AT HOME.]
The young folks themselves should take the lead in this matter. A home
is not merely a place with four walls where people meet to eat and drink
and sleep securely beneath a roof. Nay, boys and girls, a house is
reared to be a _home_--the center where a family may gather into one; to
be a serene retreat where the tenderest affections may find rest; where
love may have a dwelling place, and the _amenities_ of life gain ample
scope; where parents and children may press one another heart to heart;
where sorrows and joys may be freely shared in sacred confidence; in a
word, where the great work of training human beings for the duties of
the present life, and the perfection of another, may be begun and
carried on.
There is one special reason for making much of the evenings at home that
young people are not likely to think of. _Inevitably_ the _family_
circle will be broken up very soon. Perhaps not by death, but most
certainly by change. When Fred goes to college that is the beginning of
new ties and new associations, and the home privileges can never be
quite so complete to him again. The years of the complete unity of the
home are very few indeed. While these years are passing, young people
especially should make the most of them. My dear boys and girls, get the
benefit of these years; get their joys; store up memories of home life,
for they will be in future years the most beautiful pictures of the
heart. However some may sneer at it, the memory of home and mother is a
great power for righteousness. It has saved many a person to God and
native land and race.
“Be it ever so humble--
There’s no place like home.”