THERE’S NO PLACE LIKE HOME

THERE’S NO PLACE LIKE HOME

The charms and pleasures of domestic life - The joys of home compared with other joys of life - Home is a school for acquiring- noble virtues - The pleasant associations of home - The real charms of home heightened by imagination.

The charms and pleasures of domestic life are known to every one just go out to another town to see your relative, and there you will be secretly pining for your home, sweet home. You will remember the delightful evenings you passed around the fireside. It will be delightful to recall the scene of your father returning home after his day’s work, the children climbing on his knee; the mother preparing the evening meal and your sisters, talking of sweet innocent things; The kindly neighbors drop in helping to pass the evening hours merrily with their pleasant and cheerful conversation.

These homely joys may at first sight seem to be some what commonplace. · But as we grow older we find that they are the true sources of happiness. The joys given by wealth, rank, position and fortune, are short lived; they soon pass away. But the joys of domestic life are of a permanent nature. They always remain with us. A kind father,

an affectionate mother, a sympathetic brother, a loving wife, a dutiful son, a devoted, obedient daughter fill our life with cheerfulness. Rank; wealth and fame are not within the reach of all, thy come only to those who are fortunate. But these domestic joys can be enjoyed even by the poorest laborer. While the pleasures given by wealth, position and fame are of an exciting nature and make our soul weary of the world, the serene joys of domestic happiness soothe our very soul and bring us peace, contentment, and cheer fullness.

But it is not for these joys alone that our home is to be valued. A home is often-the best school for acquiring the noble virtues of honesty, truthfulness, faithfulness, sincerity, obedience, sympathy, self-sacrifice, and self-denial. We imitate the actions of our parents and relatives. From them we learn to be sympathetic, obedient and true to others. The unselfish devotion with which the mother serves her husband and children and the wonderful self-denial which the father displays in daily life are noble examples of the highest virtues. Self-control, the noblest of all virtues, is largely a result of home influences.

Most of our pleasant associations are often connected with our homes. For it was there that most of us spent the happy days of our childhood and youth. Imagination clothes these scenes with loveliness and throws a charm of romance over them. So it is that, wherever we may roam, there is no place like home.