322 ANNUAL. REPORT OF THE Off. Doc. 



The most illustrious statesmen, tlie most distinguished warriors, 

 the most eloquent ministers, owe their greatness to the fostering in- 

 fluence of home. ]S\apoleon knew and felt this when he said, "What 

 France wants is good mothers and you may be sure then that France 

 will have good sons." Did not the homes of the American Revolu- 

 tion make the men of the revolution? The Spartan mother ani her 

 home gave character to the Spartan nation. But alas! The home of 

 an Aspasia had not the heart and ornaments of the Christian family. 

 Had the central heart of the Spartan home been that of the Christian 

 mother the Spartan nation would jjerliaps adorn the brightest page 

 of history. 



Home in all well constituted minds is always associated with moral 

 and social excellence. The higher men rise in the scale of being, 

 the more important and interesting is home. The Arab or forest- 

 man may care little for liis home, but the Christian man of cultured 

 heart and developed mind will love his home, and generally love 

 it in proportion to its moral worth. 



Our life abroad is but a reflex of what it is at home. If we use a 

 loud boisterous language and allow the temper its sway in every turn 

 of affairs be sure these threads are woven in life to appear when we 

 least expect them. We should remember that just what we are at 

 home so we will be abroad. If we attempt to appear otherwise, every 

 body will soon see through the attempt. We cannot cheat the world 

 long about our real characters. The thickest and most opaque mask 

 we can put on will soon become transparent. 



Deception most often deceives itself. The deceiver is most often 

 deceived'. The parents who pretend to be what they are not soon 

 leave a false impression on the olive plants of the home, and they 

 soon see through these foolish pretensions. Here is where the chil- 

 dren get an idea of a true home. They should not get in mind an 

 ideal of a place, but of the character of a true home. Place does 

 not constitute home. Many a guilded palace and sea of luxury is not 

 home. Many a mansion lacks all the essentials of home, for often 

 a liovel is more of home than a palace. 



If the spirit of congenial friendship link not the hearts of the 

 inmates and love binds together all the dwellers, it is not home. We 

 are fond of having idieal homes but we too often frame tliem of out- 

 ward things — such as a house, a garden, a carriage and other lux- 

 uries. Make right the inside and the outward things will care for 

 themselves. In nature everything grows from the heart, so in life 

 influence. 



A grand idea of home is a quiet, secluded spot, where loving hearts 

 dwell, set apart and dedicated to improvement, intellectuallv and 

 morally. It should not be a formal school of staid solemnity and 

 rigid d'iscipline, virtue a task and progress a sharp necessity; but a 



