The Project Gutenberg EBook of Life and Literature, by J. Purver Richardson
This eBook is for the use of anyone anywhere at no cost and with
almost no restrictions whatsoever. You may copy it, give it away or
re-use it under the terms of the Project Gutenberg License included
with this eBook or online at www.gutenberg.org
Title: Life and Literature
Over two thousand extracts from ancient and modern writers,
and classified in alphabetical order
Author: J. Purver Richardson
Release Date: October 31, 2009 [EBook #30373]
Language: English
*** START OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK LIFE AND LITERATURE ***
Produced by Barbara Tozier, Bill Tozier, Lisa Reigel, and
the Online Distributed Proofreading Team at
https://www.pgdp.net
Transcriber's Notes: Words surrounded by _underscores_ are in italics in
the original.
Variations in spelling and hyphenation have been left as in the
original. Some typographical and punctuation errors have been corrected.
A complete list follows the text.
A row of five asterisks surrounded by blank lines represents a thought
break. All other asterisks indicate ellipses. Ellipses match the
original.
Table of Contents was added by the Transcriber.
LIFE
AND
LITERATURE
[Illustration]
OVER TWO THOUSAND EXTRACTS
FROM ANCIENT AND MODERN WRITERS,
AND CLASSIFIED
IN ALPHABETICAL ORDER
BY
J. PURVER RICHARDSON.
COPYRIGHT 1910
BY J. PURVER RICHARDSON
PRESS OF
BROWN-MORRISON CO.
LYNCHBURG, VA.
PREFACE
Good sir, or madam, whosoever thou mayest be, to whom this volume shall
come, cast it not aside, but read it. Its quaint, curious, and helpful
selections have been gathered through many years of careful research on
both sides of the Atlantic. They will make thee wiser and better, and
will conduce to the growth of thy mind, and the health of thy body. Let
this book be to thee a magazine of literary food, of which thou shalt
partake, and which thou shalt assimilate and digest to the constant
increase of thy well being.
The gathering of this bouquet of literary gems has been a work of
pleasure, but the compiler shall say nothing of himself for, "the least
that one can say of himself is still too much."
DEDICATED
AFFECTIONATELY
TO
MY CHILDREN
JOHN PURVER AND ANNIE SUE,
AND
"_To mine own People: meaning those within
The magic ring of home--my kith and kin;_
_And those with whom my soul delights to dwell--
Who walk with me as friends, and wish me well;_
_And lastly, those--a large unnumbered band,
Unknown to me--who read and understand._"
CONTENTS
PAGE
PREFACE 3
Letter A 7
Letter B 27
Letter C 46
Letter D 99
Letter E 112
Letter F 119
Letter G 148
Letter H 168
Letter I 199
Letter J 210
Letter K 213
Letter L 220
Letter M 248
Letter N 295
Letter O 300
Letter P 306
Letter Q 332
Letter R 333
Letter S 344
Letter T 379
Letter U 399
Letter V 400
Letter W 402
Letter Y 433
Letter Z 435
INDEX 437
LIFE AND LITERATURE
A
1
_Abilities_--No man's abilities are so remarkably shining, as not to
stand in need of a proper opportunity, a patron, and even the praises of
a friend, to recommend them to the notice of the world.
--_Pliny._
2
Absence, with all its pains,
Is by this charming moment wip'd away.
3
Abuse is the weapon of the vulgar.
--_Goodrich._
4
It is told of Admiral Collingwood that on his travels he carried a bag
of acorns, and dropped one wherever there seemed a likely spot for an
oak to grow, that England might never lack ships.
--_English Newspaper._
5
_Acquaintances_--It is easy to make acquaintances, but sometimes
difficult to shake them off, however irksome and unprofitable they are
found, after we have once committed ourselves to them.
6
Acquaintance softens prejudices.
7
Many persons I once thought great, dwindle into very small dimensions,
on a short acquaintance.
--_Bacon._
8
Speak out in acts, the time for words
Has passed, and deeds alone suffice.
--_Shakespeare._
9
All may do what has by Man been done.
--_Young._
10
An act, by which we make one friend, and one enemy, is a losing game;
because revenge is a much stronger principle than gratitude.
11
All the world practices the art of acting.
--_Petronius Arbiter._
12
Do what you can, when you cannot do what you would.
13
A good action performed in this world receives its recompense in the
other, just as water poured at the root of a tree appears again above in
fruit and flower.
14
If the world were to see our real motives, we should be ashamed of some
of our best actions.
15
Our actions are our own; their consequences belong to Heaven.
--_Francis._
16
What thou intendest to do, speak not of, before thou doest it.
17
There is as much eloquence in the tone of voice, in the eyes, and in the
air of a speaker, as in his choice of words.
--_Rochefoucauld._
18
_Actions_--What I must do, is all that concerns me, and not what people
think.
--_Emerson._
19
An actor, when asked by the Archbishop of Canterbury why actors were
more successful in impressing their auditors than preachers, replied,
"Actors speak of things imaginary as if they were real, while you
preachers too often speak of things real as if they were imaginary."
20
ON LEAVING, AFTER A SHORT VISIT.
She gazed as I slowly withdrew;
My path I could hardly discern;
So sweetly she bade me "adieu,"
I thought that she bade me return.
--_W. Shenstone._
21
Adversity is sometimes hard upon a man; but for one man who can stand
prosperity, there are a hundred that will stand adversity.
--_Carlyle._
22
Adversity does not take from us our true friends; it only disperses
those who pretended to be so.
23
Adversity has the effect of eliciting talents, which, in prosperous
circumstances, would have lain dormant.
--_Horace._
24
He who never was acquainted with adversity, has seen the world but on
one side, and is ignorant of half the scenes of nature.
25
In prosperity the proud man knows nobody; in adversity nobody knows him.
--_From Scottish-American._
26
The finest friendships have been formed in mutual adversity.
--_Latin._
27
It is a disingenuous thing to ask for _advice_, when you mean
_assistance_; and it will be a just punishment if you get that which you
pretended to want.
--_Sir A. Helps._
28
Before giving advice we must have secured its acceptance, or rather,
have made it desired.
--_Amiel._
29
There is nothing more difficult than the art of making advice agreeable.
30
Every man, however wise, sometimes requires the advice of a friend in
the affairs of life.
--_Plautus._
31
He who gives advice to a self-conceited man, stands himself in need of
counsel.
32
Pouring water on a duck's back. (Fruitless counsel or advice).
--_Chinese._
33
Most people, when they come to you for advice, come to have their own
opinions strengthened, not corrected.
34
CLERICAL AFFECTATION.
In man or woman, but far most in man,
And most of all in man that ministers
And serves the altar, in my soul I loathe
All affectation. 'Tis my perfect scorn;
Object of my implacable disgust.
What! Will a man play tricks, will he indulge
A silly fond conceit of his fair form
And just proportion, fashionable mien,
And pretty face, in presence of his God?
Or will he seek to dazzle me with tropes,
As with the diamond on his lily hand,
And play his brilliant parts before my eyes
When I am hungry for the bread of life?
He mocks his Maker, prostitutes and shames
His noble office, and, instead of truth,
Displaying his own beauty, starves his flock.
--_Cowper._
35
_The Cure of Affectation_--Is to follow nature. If every one would do
this, affectation would be almost unknown.
--_J. Beaumont._
36
Affectation of any kind, is lighting up a candle to our defects.
--_Locke._
37
Affectation is the vain and ridiculous attempt of poverty to appear
rich.
--_Lavater._
38
How sad to notice in one--changed affections,
A cold averted eye.
--_Observer._
39
AFFLICTION.
Be still, sad heart, and cease repining,
Behind the clouds the sun is shining;
Thy fate is the common fate of all;
Into each life some rain must fall--,
Some days must be dark and dreary.
--_Longfellow._
40
_Affliction_--For every sort of suffering there is sleep provided by a
gracious Providence, save that of sin.
--_J. Wilson._
41
Affliction's sons are brothers in distress;
A brother to relieve, how exquisite the bliss!
--_Burns._
42
_Affronts_--Young men soon give, and soon forget affronts; old age is
slow in both.
--_Addison._
43
Old age is a joy, when youth has been well spent.
44
THE APPROACH OF AGE.
Six years had passed, and forty ere the six,
When time began to play his usual tricks;
The locks once comely in a virgin's sight,
Locks of pure brown, displayed the encroaching white;
The blood, once fervid, now to cool began,
And Time's strong pressure to subdue the man.
I rode or walked as I was wont before,
But now the bounding spirit was no more;
A moderate pace would now my body heat,
A walk of moderate length distress my feet.
I showed my stranger guest those hills sublime,
But said, "The view is poor, we need not climb."
At a friend's mansion I began to dread
The cold neat parlor and gay glazed bed;
At home I felt a more decided taste,
And must have all things in my order placed.
I ceased to hunt; my horses pleased me less--
My dinner more; I learned to play at chess.
I took my dog and gun, but saw the brute
Was disappointed that I did not shoot.
My morning walks I now could bear to lose,
And blessed the shower that gave me not to choose.
In fact, I felt a languor stealing on;
The active arm, the agile hand, were gone;
Small daily actions into habits grew,
And new dislike to forms and fashions new.
I loved my trees in order to dispose;
I numbered peaches, looked how stocks arose;
Told the same story oft--in short, began to prose.
--_George Crabbe._
45
Age is a matter of feeling, not of years.
_G. W. Curtis._
46
Men are as old as they feel, and women as they look.
_Italian._
47
May you all be as old as I,
And see your sons to manhood grow;
And many a time before you die,
Be just as pleased as I am now.
--_Bloomfield._
48
Old age and faded flowers, no remedies can revive.
--_Chinese._
49
'Twas impious then (so much was age rever'd)
For youth to keep their seats when an old man appear'd.
50
Goethe said: "It is only necessary to grow old to become more indulgent.
I see no fault committed that I have not committed myself."
51
The young are fond of novelty,
The old of custom.
52
Speak gently to the aged one,
Grieve not the care-worn heart;
The sands of life are nearly run--
Let such in peace depart!
53
Elderly people look back upon the friends, relatives and acquaintances
of thirty, forty or fifty years ago, and say, "There are no friends
now-a-days like the old friends of long ago." It is natural for them to
think this way, particularly when most of the old friends are dead; but
the fact is, that there are friends as true now as ever.
54
These are the effects of doting age,
Vain doubts, and idle cares, and over-caution.
--_Dryden._
55
Do you seek Alcides' equal? There is none but himself.
--_Seneca._
56
EVIDENTLY UNSATISFACTORY.
"When I look at my congregation," said a London preacher, "I say, 'Where
are the poor?' When I count the offertory in the vestry I say, 'Where
are the rich?'"
57
ALMSGIVING.
At table, discussing with some friends the subject of raffles, Bishop
Wescott said that he objected to them as part of the gambling question,
and also on wider grounds. He objected to all the "side means" which
were sometimes combined with sales of work for "getting money out of
people." Such money, he thought, as distinct from that which is given,
was not wanted nor acceptable.
--_The Contemporary Review._
58
What stamps the wrinkles deepest on the brow,
It is to be alone, as I am now!
59
The following Hawaiian alphabet, consisting of twelve letters, was in
use, and had been for something like a hundred years, when the compiler
visited the Islands in 1886. It was given to the Hawaiians by the
missionaries, viz.:
a, e, i, o, u, h, k, l, m, n, p, w.
60
THE AMBITIOUS MAN.
A slave has but _one master_; the _ambitious man_ has as _many masters_
as there are persons whose aid may contribute to the advancement of his
_fortune_.
--_La Bruyere._
61
How easy it is to be amiable in the midst of happiness and success!
--_Madame Swetchine._
62
The sea of ambition is tempest--tost,
And your hopes may vanish like--foam.
63
To be happy at home is the ultimate result of all ambition.
64
_Amusements_--The mind ought sometimes to be amused, that it may the
better return to thought, and to itself.
--_Phaedrus._
65
Thy father's merit sets thee up to view,
And shows thee in the fairest point of light,
To make thy virtues, or thy faults conspicuous.
--_Addison._
66
THE QUEST OF ANCESTORS.
"Of all the notable things on earth,
The queerest one is pride of birth."
A few years ago a well-known Bostonian, the descendant of an honored
family, began the ancestral quest with expert assistance. All went merry
as a marriage bell for a time, when suddenly he unearthed an unsavory
scandal that concerned one of his progenitors. Feeling a responsibility
for the misdeeds of his great-grandfather, he ordered all investigation
stopped, and the disagreeable data destroyed; but he had delved too far.
His genealogist had told a friend, and the secret was out beyond recall.
--_D. O. S. Lowell._
67
MERIT FROM ANCESTORS.
Were honor to be scann'd by long descent
From ancestors illustrious, I could vaunt
A lineage of the greatest; and recount,
Among my fathers, names of ancient story,
Heroes and god-like patriots, who subdu'd
The world by arms and virtue.
But that be their own praise;
Nor will I borrow merit from the dead,
Myself an undeserver.
--_Rowe._
68
He who constantly boasts of his ancestors, confesses that he has no
virtue of his own.
--_Charron._
69
Never mind who was your grandfather. What are you?
70
A good man's anger lasts an instant,
A meddling man's for two hours,
A base man's a day and night,
A great sinner's until death.
--_Persian._
71
Have nothing to do with men in a passion, for they are not like iron, to
be wrought on when they are hot.
72
Anger generally begins with folly, and ends with repentance.
--_Pythagoras._
73
He who subdues his anger, conquers his greatest enemy.
74
A fit of anger is as fatal to dignity as a dose of arsenic to life.
--_J. G. Holland._
75
It is much better to reprove, than to be angry secretly.
76
Catch not too soon at an offence, nor give too easy way to anger; the
one shows a weak judgment, the other a perverse nature.
77
He who can suppress a moment's anger, may prevent a day of sorrows.
78
Nothing can be more unjust, or ridiculous, than to be angry with others
because they are not of our opinion.
79
When a man grows angry, his reason flies out.
--_Spanish._
80
Animals are such agreeable friends--they ask no questions, they pass no
criticisms.
--_George Eliot._
81
HIS CREATURES.
The daughter of an army officer, whose life had been spent in the far
west, told the following anecdote: "Indians, when they accept
Christianity, very often hold its truths with peculiar simplicity.
"There was near our fort an old chief called Tassorah. One day, when I
was an impulsive girl, I was in a rage at my pony, and dismounting, beat
him severely. The old man stood by, silent for a moment.
"'What words have I heard from Jesus?' he said, sternly. 'If you love
not your brother whom you have seen, how can you love God whom you have
not seen?'
"'This horse is not my brother!' I said scornfully.
"The old man laid his hand on the brute's head and turned it toward me.
The eyes were full of terror.
"'Is not God his creator? Must He not care for him?' he said. 'Not a
sparrow falls to the ground without His notice.'
"I never forgot the lesson. It flashed on me then for the first time
that the dog that ran beside me, the birds, the very worms were His, and
I, too, was one of His great family."
82
Kindness to animals is no unworthy exercise of benevolence. We hold that
the life of brutes perishes with their breath, and that they are never
to be clothed again with consciousness. The inevitable shortness then of
their existence should plead for them touchingly. The insects on the
surface of the water, poor ephemeral things, who would needlessly
abridge their dancing pleasure of to-day? Such feelings we should have
towards the whole animate creation.
--_Sir Arthur Helps._
83
THE GRACIOUS ANSWER.
(The first half of each stanza should be subdued; the last half
confident and full of assurance.)
The way is dark, my Father! Cloud on cloud
Is gathering thickly o'er my head, and loud
The thunders roar above me. See, I stand
Like one bewildered! Father, take my hand,
And through the gloom
Lead safely home
Thy child!
The way is dark, my child! But leads to light.
I would not always have thee walk by sight.
My dealings now thou canst not understand.
I meant it so; but I will take thy hand,
And through the gloom
Lead safely home
My child!
The day goes fast, my Father! And the night
Is growing darkly down. My faithless sight
Sees ghostly visions. Fears, a spectral band,
Encompass me. O Father! Take my hand,
And from the night
Lead up to light
Thy child!
The day goes fast, my child! But is the night
Darker to me than Day? In me is light!
Keep close to me, and every spectral band
Of fears shall vanish. I will take thy hand,
And through the night
Lead up to light
My child!
The way is long, my Father! And my soul
Longs for the rest and quiet of the goal;
While yet I journey through this weary land,
Keep me from wandering. Father, take my hand;
Quickly and straight
Lead to Heaven's gate
Thy child!
The way is long, my child! But it shall be
Not one step longer than is best for thee;
And thou shalt know, at last, when thou shalt stand
Safe at the goal, how I did take thy hand,
And quick and straight
Lead to Heaven's gate
My child!
The path is rough, my Father! Many a thorn
Has pierced me; and my weary feet, all torn
And bleeding, mark the way. Yet Thy command
Bids me press forward. Father, take my hand;
Then, safe and blest,
Lead up to rest
Thy child!
The path is rough, my child! But oh! how sweet
Will be the rest, for weary pilgrims meet,
When thou shalt reach the borders of that land
To which I lead thee, as I take thy hand;
And safe and blest
With me shall rest
My child!
The throng is great, my Father! Many a doubt,
And fear and danger, compass me about;
And foes oppress me sore. I can not stand
Or go alone. O Father! take my hand,
And through the throng
Lead safe along
Thy child!
The throng is great, my child! But at thy side
Thy Father walks; then be not terrified,
For I am with thee; will thy foes command
To let thee freely pass;--will take thy hand,
And through the throng
Lead safe along
My child!
The cross is heavy, Father! I have borne
It long, and still do bear it. Let my worn
And fainting spirit rise to that blest land
Where crowns are given. Father, take my hand;
And reaching down
Lead to the crown
Thy child!
The cross is heavy, child! Yet there was One
Who bore a heavier cross for thee; my Son,
My well-beloved. For Him bear thine; and stand
With Him at last; and from thy Father's hand,
Thy cross laid down,
Receive a crown,
My child!
--_Henry N. Cobb._
84
Anxiety is the poison of human life.
85
Beware, as long as you live, of judging men by their outward appearance.
--_La Fontaine._
86
_Appearance_--Thou art after all what thou art. Deck thyself in a wig
with a thousand locks; ensconce thy legs in buskins an ell high; thou
still remainest just what thou art.
--_Goethe._
87
A man's reception depends very much upon his coat.
88
APPEARANCES OFTEN MISUNDERSTOOD.
Sometimes our estimate of men and women
On short acquaintance is very much at fault.
A gentleman and his wife--Pierrepont by name--passengers on one of the
great Atlantic steamers, not knowing any of the other passengers, kept
very much to themselves; he usually reading aloud to his wife, and she
occupied in some needle work; for this, they were commented upon, and
not very favorably, and generally were called the "stupid couple."
Little did these same passengers know the true character of that
gentleman and lady. An incident that occurred on board soon proved the
bravery and heroism of the one, and the gentleness and self-sacrifice of
the other. The captain had with him his only son, a boy of some eight
summers, a great favorite of all on board from fore to aft. The little
fellow, climbing on the side of the ship, somehow fell overboard. The
lady happening to be on the other side of the deck, saw the child climb
up, and immediately missed him. She quickly laid her hand on her
husband's shoulder, looking in his eyes, and cried out, "Oh, save the
boy, he has fallen overboard." In one moment he was on his feet, kicked
off his canvas shoes, threw his hat on the deck, and turning his face
toward the bridge, where he knew some of the ship's officers were always
stationed, he called out in a voice which rang like a trumpet call over
the ship, "Man overboard." Then, with a quick run and leap, he cleared
the rail, and the broken twisting water of the ship's track had closed
over him. He was on the surface again in a moment, and taking a glance
back at the ship to know his position, stretched out into a long steady
stroke in the direction where he knew the child was.
Instantly the captain's hand was on the engine-room telegraph, and down
into the depths of the ship went the signals. First to "stop," and the
tremor all over the ship ceased. The bell rang again, and the index
moved to "astern-slow;" then in a minute or two, to, "half;" then he
called out to the second officer--"Man overboard! Stand by to lower away
the gig," which was quickly obeyed, and four hands, a coxswain, and a
man for the boat's bow were instantly off and rowed fiercely.
In a little while Mrs. Pierrepont--who was on the bridge with Captain
Hood--said, "Do you see them; are they together?"
"Yes," replied the captain, "I believe they are." But his voice was now
broken, and he took hold of Mrs. Pierrepont's hand. "I have watched my
child from here with the glass, till at last he floated so low that I
could scarcely see him, and just as he seemed sinking your husband
dashed across the spot where he was, and I saw by a wave of his hand
towards the ship that he caught him. He is now waiting for the boat."
It was getting dark when they returned. The child, who was shivering,
was immediately carried away to have a warm bath, and a little later was
in the saloon with dry clothes on, as merry as if nothing had happened.
When Pierrepont stepped on the deck, a rush was made at him, and both
hands were shaken till he thought his arms would be pulled off.
The captain said all he had to say in a very few words, and with a
hand-grasp which said more than words.
89
A man to whom God hath given riches, wealth, and honor, so that he
wanteth nothing for his soul of all that he desireth, yet God giveth him
not power to eat thereof, but a stranger eateth it.
--Eccles. 6, 2v.; Saint Luke 12, 20v.
90
To love applause is praiseworthy; to seek it is weakness.
91
Eat an apple on going to bed, and you will very soon send the Doctor
begging his bread.
92
Appointments may be given,
Not the capacity to fill them well.
93
_Dr. Johnson to Boswell_--"If general approbation will add anything to
your enjoyment, I can tell you that I have heard you mentioned, as a man
whom everybody likes. I think life has little more to give."
94
If you arbitrate a dispute between two of your friends, you are sure to
make an enemy; if you arbitrate between two of your enemies, you are
sure to make a friend.
--_Bias, a Greek._
95
Never contend with one that is foolish, proud, positive, testy; or with
a superior, or a clown, in matter of argument.
96
ASKING AND BESTOWING ASSISTANCE.
Those who are constrained to solicit for assistance are really to be
pitied; those who receive it without, are to be envied; but those who
bestow it unasked, are to be admired.
97
_Associates_--A man should live with his superiors as he does with his
fire; not too near, lest he burn; nor too far off, lest he freeze.
--_Diogenes._
98
If you always live with those who are lame, you will yourself learn to
limp.
--_Latin._
99
Never forget that if you are not interesting your audience, you are
fatiguing it.
B
100
BEAUTIFUL.
The beautiful are never desolate,
For some one always loves them.
101
Beauty of face is but a fleeting dower,
A momentary gleam, a short-lived flower,
A charm that goes no deeper than the skin;
Beauty of mind is firm enthroned within.
102
There is the beauty of infancy, the beauty of youth, the beauty of
maturity, and, believe me, ladies and gentlemen, the beauty of age.
103
Beauty with selfishness, is a flower without perfume.
104
What is beauty?
'Tis the stainless soul within
That outshines the fairest skin.
--_Sir A. Hunt._
105
FRAGILE IS BEAUTY.
Fragile is beauty: with advancing years
'Tis less and less, and, last, it disappears.
Your hair too, fair one, will turn grey and thin;
And wrinkles furrow that now rounded skin;
Then brace the mind and thus beauty fortify,
The mind alone is yours, until you die.
106
Beauty without kindness dies unenjoyed and undelighting.
--_Johnson._
107
O bed! Delicious bed!
That heaven upon earth to the weary head!
108
Generally men are ready to believe what they desire.
--_Caesar._
109
The kindest benefactors have no recollection of the good they do, and
are surprised when men thank them for it.
110
A beneficent person is like a fountain watering the earth, and spreading
fertility; it is, therefore, more delightful and more honorable to give
than receive.
--_Epicurus._
111
There is no benefit so small, that a good man will not magnify it.
--_Seneca._
112
To receive a benefit is to sell your liberty.
--_Laberius._
113
He who receives a benefit should never forget it; he who bestows one
should never remember it.
114
To act always from pure benevolence is not possible for finite beings.
Human benevolence is mingled with vanity, interest, or some other
motive.
115
Bereavement makes the heart tender and sympathetic.
116
If you wish to become acquainted with your betrothed, travel with him
for a few days--especially if he is accompanied with his own folks--and
take your mother along.
--_Unknown._
117
The Bible is
The Index to Eternity;
He can not miss
Of endless bliss
That takes this chart to steer his voyage by.
--_Herbert._
118
The following lines of Sir Walter Scott are said to have been copied in
his Bible:
Within this awful volume lies
The mystery of mysteries.
Oh! happiest they of human race,
To whom our God has given grace
To hear, to read, to fear, to pray,
To lift the latch, and force the way;
But better had they ne'er been born
Who read to doubt, or read to scorn.
119
Remember, that in prayer, you are speaking to God; that in reading the
Bible, God is speaking to you.
120
FACTS ABOUT THE BIBLE.
The learned prince of Grenada, heir to the Spanish throne, imprisoned by
order of the Crown for fear he would aspire to the throne, was kept in
solitary confinement in the old prison at the Palace of Skulls, Madrid.
After thirty-three years in this living tomb, death came to his release,
and the following remarkable researches, taken from the Bible, and
marked with an old nail on the rough walls of his cell, told how the
brain sought employment through the weary years.
The 35th verse, 11th chapter of John, is the shortest.
The 9th verse of the 8th chapter of Esther is the longest.
The 8th verse of the 97th Psalm is the middle verse of the
Bible.
Each verse in Psalm 136 ends alike.
The 37th chapter of Isaiah and 19th chapter of 2d Kings are
alike.
The word "girl" occurs but once in the Bible, and that in
Joel, 3d chapter and 3d verse.
The word "Lord" is found 1853 times, the word "Jehovah" 6855
times, the word "reverend" but once, and that in Psalms 111th
chapter and 9th verse.
The four most inspiring promises are in John, 14th chapter,
2d verse, 6th chapter and 37th verse; Matthew, 11th chapter
and 28th verse, and in Psalms, 37th chapter and 4th verse.
The finest chapter is in Acts, 26th.
--_Christian Observer._
120a
THE BIBLE.
Who, coming to this sacred book, with a sincere desire to know God's
will for the direction of his life, will say that he can not find it?
Who, desiring to be instructed in the way of salvation "through faith
which is in Christ Jesus," will consult its pages, and say it is not
made plain to him? Who, coming to it for equipment of his spiritual
life, will say that there are still needs of that life which are left
unprovided for? Who, seeking direction in the way of the life
everlasting, can doubt that, if he faithfully obeys its teaching, he
will reach that goal? The Scripture fulfils the ends for which it was
given; no higher proof of its inspiration can be demanded. * * * * *
What the closing verse of the 20th chapter of John's Gospel says of that
book: "But these are written, that ye may believe that Jesus is the
Christ, the Son of God, and that believing ye may have life through His
name," may with equal truth be applied to the Bible as a whole.
--_James Orr, D. D._,
Glasgow.
121
_A Little Bird Told Me_--The origin of this phrase is doubtless to be
found in Ecclesiastes, x, 20:--For a bird of the air shall carry the
voice, and that which hath wings shall tell the matter.
122
Old birds are hard to pluck.
123
A man ashamed of his humble birth is never alone, because all good
people are ashamed of him for being ashamed.
124
Our birth is but a sleep and a forgetting;
The soul that riseth with us, our life's star,
Hath elsewhere had its setting,
And cometh from afar.
--_Wordsworth._
125
YOUTH.
My birthday!--What a different sound
That word had in my youthful ears!
And now each time the day comes round,
Less and less white its mark appears.
--_Moore._
126
Those who bring sunshine to the lives of others, can not keep it from
themselves.
--_Barrie._
127
_Boasters_--For boasters the world has no use; but it is always on the
lookout for men who do things. Solomon said: "Let another man praise
thee, and not thine own lips."
128
GOOD BOOK-KEEPERS.
Sir Walter Scott, in lending a book one day to a friend, cautioned him
to be punctual in returning it. "This is really necessary," said the
poet in apology; "for though many of my friends are bad
_arithmeticians_, I observe almost all of them to be good
_book-keepers_."
129
AN EXPERIENCE AND A MORAL.
I lent my love a book one day;
She brought it back; I laid it by:
'Twas little either had to say,--
She was so strange, and I so shy.
But yet we loved indifferent things,--
The sprouting buds, the birds in tune,--
And Time stood still and wreathed his wings
With rosy links from June to June.
For her, what task to dare or do?
What peril tempt? What hardship bear?
But with her--ah! she never knew
My heart, and what was hidden there!
And she with me, so cold and coy,
Seemed like a maid bereft of sense;
But in the crowd, all life and joy,
And full of blushful impudence.
She married,--well, a woman needs
Someone, her life and love to share,--
And little cares sprang up like weeds
And played around her elbow-chair.
Years rolled by--and I, content,
Trimmed my own lamp, and kept it bright,
Till age's touch, my hair besprent
With rays and gleams of silver light.
And then it chanced I took the book
Which she perused in days gone by;
And as I read, such passion shook,
That, I needs must surely cry.
For, here and there, her love was writ,
In old, half-faded pencil-signs,
As if she yielded--bit by bit--
Her heart in dots and underlines.
Ah, silvered fool, too late you look!
I know it; but let me here record
This maxim: Lend no girl a book
Unless you read it afterward!
--_F. S. Cozzens._
130
We should make the same use of a book that the bee does of a flower; she
steals sweets from it, but does not injure it.
--_Colton._
131
Be as careful of the books you read, as of the company you keep; for
your habits and character will be as much influenced by the former as
the latter.
132
BOOKS.
If thou art borrowed by a friend,
Right welcome shall he be,
To read, to study, not to lend,
But to return to me.
Not that imparted knowledge doth
Diminish learning's store;
But books, I find, if often lent,
Return to me no more.
--_Murphy._
133
BOOKS.
The feeling that books are real friends is constantly present to all who
love reading. "I have friends," said Petrarch, "whose society is
extremely agreeable to me, they are of all ages, and of every country.
They have distinguished themselves both in the cabinet and in the field,
and obtained high honors for their knowledge of the sciences. It is easy
to gain access to them, for they are always at my service, and I admit
them to my company, and dismiss them from it, whenever I please. They
are never troublesome, but immediately answer every question I ask them.
Some relate to me the events of past ages, while others reveal to me the
secrets of Nature. Some teach me how to live, and others how to die.
Some, by their vivacity, drive away my cares and exhilarate my spirits;
while others give fortitude to my mind, and teach me the important
lesson how to deport myself, and to depend wholly on myself. They open
to me, in short, the various avenues of all the arts and sciences and
upon their information I may safely rely in all emergencies. In return
for all their services, they only ask me to accommodate them with a
convenient chamber in some corner of my humble habitation where they may
repose in peace; for these friends are more delighted by the tranquility
of retirement than with the tumults of society."
--_Petrarch._
134
BOOKS.
Books introduce us into the best society; they bring us into the
presence of the greatest minds that have ever lived. We hear what they
said and did; we see them as if they were really alive; we are
participators in their thoughts; we sympathize with them, enjoy with
them, grieve with them; their experience becomes ours, and we feel as if
we were in a measure actors with them in the scenes which they describe.
135
BOOK-LENDING.
Those who have collected books, and whose good nature has prompted them
to accommodate their friends with them, will feel the sting of the
answer made by a man of wit to one who lamented the difficulty which he
found in persuading his friends to return the volumes that he had lent
them:
"Sir," said he, "your acquaintances find, I suppose, that it is much
more easy to retain the books themselves, than what is contained in
them."
136
The following gives a pathetic description of a studious boy lingering
at a bookstall:
I saw a boy with eager eye
Open a book upon a stall,
And read, as he'd devour it all;
Which, when the stall-man did espy,
Soon to the boy I heard him call,
"You, sir, you never buy a book,
Therefore in one you shall not look."
The boy passed slowly on, and with a sigh
He wished he never had been taught to read,
Then of the old churl's books he should have had no need.
--_Mary Lamb._
137
Books that you may carry to the fire, and hold readily in your hand, are
the most useful after all. A man will often look at them, and be tempted
to go on, when he would have been frightened at books of a larger size
and of a more erudite appearance.
--_Dr. Johnson._
138
COSTLY, YET USEFUL BOOKS.
How foolish is the man who sets up a number of costly volumes, like
superfluous furniture, for mere ornament, and is far more careful to
keep them from contracting a single spot of ink, than to use them, as
the means of instructing his ignorance, and correcting his faults!
Better a man without books, than books without a man.
--_Scriver._
139
There are two bores in society--the man who knows too much, and the man
who knows too little.
--_London Paper._
140
Those who would scorn to "accept"--
Borrow, and keep without qualm.
141
A boy of 17, 18 or 19 has reached an age when he should win his own way,
and seek his own sustenance, physical and mental.
142
"My boy," said a father to his son, "treat everybody with politeness,
even those who are rude to you, for remember that you show courtesy to
others, not because they are gentlemen, but because you are one."
143
GRACEFUL AND GALLANT.
It is reasonably safe to assume from a story in the New York Tribune
that the late Henry Harland, the novelist, was seldom kept after school
in his boyhood.
Among Harland's early teachers was a charming young lady, who called him
up in class one morning and said to him:
"Henry, name some of the chief beauties of education."
"Schoolmistresses," the boy answered, smiling into his teacher's pretty
eyes.
--_From Youth's Companion._
144
John Ruskin, in one of his lectures, said: "There is just this
difference between the making of a girl's character and a boy's: You may
chisel a boy into shape as you would a rock, or hammer him into it, if
he be of a better kind, as you would a piece of bronze; but you can not
hammer a girl into anything. She grows as a flower does--she will wither
without sun; she will decay in her sheath as a narcissus will if you do
not give her air enough; she must take her own fair form and way if she
take any, and in mind as in body, must have always--
"'Her household motions light and free,
And steps of virgin liberty.'"
You bring up your girls as if they were meant for sideboard ornaments,
and then complain of their frivolity. Give them the same advantages
that you give their brothers; teach them, that courage and truth are the
pillars of their being.
Again: "The man's work for his own home, is to secure its maintenance,
progress, and defence; the woman's to secure its order, comfort, and
loveliness.
"What the man is at his own gate, defending it if need be, against
insult and spoil, that also, not in a less, but in a more devoted
measure, he is to be at the gate of his country, leaving his home, if
need be, even to the spoiler, to do his more incumbent work there.
"And in like manner what the woman is to be within her gates, as the
centre of order, the balm of distress, and the mirror of beauty, that
she is also to be without her gates, where order is more difficult,
distress more imminent, loveliness more rare."
145
You can lead a boy to college, but you can't make him think.
146
PARENTAL AUTHORITY.
The boy who does not respect parental authority, will very soon be apt
to repudiate all law, both civil and ecclesiastical, human and Divine.
147
THE BLIND BOY.
"O say! What is that thing call'd light,
Which I must ne'er enjoy?
What are the blessings of the sight?
O, tell your poor blind boy!
You talk of wond'rous things you see,
You say the sun shines bright;
I feel him warm, but how can he
Make it day or night?
With heavy sighs I often hear
You mourn my hapless woe;
But sure with patience I can bear
A loss I ne'er can know.
Then let not what I can not have
My cheer of mind destroy;
Whilst thus I sing, I am a king,
Although a poor blind boy."
--_Old Magazine._
148
THE ORPHAN BOY'S TALE.
Stay, lady, stay, for mercy's sake,
And hear a helpless orphan's tale,
Ah! sure my looks must pity wake,
'Tis want that makes my cheek so pale.
Yet I was once a mother's pride,
And my brave father's hope and joy;
But in the Nile's proud fight he died,
And I am now an orphan boy.
Poor foolish child! how pleased was I
When news of Nelson's victory came,
Along the crowded streets to fly,
And see the lighted windows flame!
To force me home my mother sought,
She could not bear to see my joy;
For with my father's life 'twas bought,
And made me a poor orphan boy.
The people's shouts were long and loud,
My mother, shuddering, closed her ears;
"Rejoice! rejoice!" still cried the crowd;
My mother answered with her tears.
"Why are you crying thus," said I,
"While others laugh and shout with joy?"
She kissed me--and with such a sigh!
She called me "her poor orphan boy."
--_Mrs. Opie._
149
Emerson said: "Give a boy address and accomplishments, and you give him
the mastery of palaces and fortunes wherever he goes; he has not the
trouble of earning or owning them; they solicit him to enter and
possess."
150
A great man being asked what boys should learn, he replied, "That which
they will use when men."
151
It is good to rub and polish our brain against that of others.
--_Montaigne._
152
Eaten bread is soon forgotten.
--_English._
153
Birth is much, but breeding is more.
154
Good breeding consists in having no particular mark of any profession,
but a general elegance of manners.
--_Dr. Johnson._
155
Good breeding is the result of much good sense, some good nature, and a
little self-denial.
156
_Climate_--The climate of Great Britain, as that of no other country in
a like latitude, derives its peculiarity from its situation and from the
prevailing winds, which are from the southwest, except in the months of
April and May. The thermometer for six months in the year averages near
60 degrees, and seldom, if ever, drops below 36 degrees during the
remaining six months, thus affording, according to all authorities, one
of the healthiest climates in the world.
--_Students' Reference Work_,
Edited by Chandler B. Beach, A. M.
157
_The Nobility of Great Britain_--The British nobility is the most
enlightened, the best educated, the wisest, and bravest in Europe.
158
A brother's sufferings claim a brother's pity.
--_Addison._
159
When thy brother has lost all that he ever had, and lies languishing,
and even gasping under the utmost extremities of poverty and distress,
dost thou think to lick him whole again only with thy tongue?
--_South._
160
_A Saying of Napoleon_--Once at St. Helena, when walking with a lady,
some servants came along carrying a load. The lady, in an angry tone,
ordered them out of the way, on which Napoleon interposed, saying,
"Respect the burden, madam." Even the drudgery of the humblest laborer
contributes towards the general well-being of society; and it was a wise
saying of a Chinese Emperor that, "If there was a man who did not work,
or a woman that was idle, somebody must suffer cold or hunger in the
Empire."
--_Dr. H. D. Northrop._
161
No one knows the weight of another's burden.
--_German._
162
The more we help others to bear their burdens, the lighter our own will
be.
163
WHAT WE OWE TO ROBERT BURNS.
Burns has been one of the world awakeners. His voice rang out of the
stillness, like the clear sweet notes of a bugle horn, and his songs
were sung with a nerve and strength of nature that stirred to its depths
the popular heart.
Describing Robert Burns' conversational gifts, Mr. Carlyle wrote: "They
were the theme of all that ever heard him. All kinds of gifts, from the
gracefullest allusions of courtesy to the highest fire of passionate
speech, loud floods of mirth, soft wailings of affection, laconic
emphasis, clear piercing insight, all were in him."
He awoke the poor and the despised to the dignity of man as man,
irrespective of the accidents of poverty or wealth.
"The rank is but the guinea's stamp,
The man's the man for a' that."
Thus helping to deliver men from the debasing worship of sordid gold,
and of such rank as kings can confer on even the most worthless.
"The man of independent mind
He looks and laughs at a' that."
He opened the eyes of the Scottish people, at home and abroad, to the
glory of their nation's history, and glowing with the hope of a day--
"When man to man the world o'er
Shall brithers be for a' that."
He also opened men's eyes to the hatefulness of all shams and
hypocrisies; of meanness, selfishness and pride; of all narrowness and
greed and cruelty thus--
"Man's inhumanity to man
Makes countless thousands mourn."
And again: He opened men's eyes to the cruelty and injustice of harsh
judgment, seen oftenest perhaps in people judging, or misjudging others,
who have yielded to temptations, or sunk under debasing influences, to
which they themselves have never been exposed. Where has Christian
charity and kindly consideration for others been more nobly taught than
in these lines:
"Who made the heart, 'tis He alone
Decidedly can try us;
He knows each chord, its various tone,
Each spring, its various bias.
Then, at the balance, let's be mute,
We never can adjust it;
What's done we partly may compute,
But know not what's resisted."
He opened many eyes when he wrote the following:
"O, wad some Pow'r the giftie gie us
To see oursels as ithers see us!
It wad frae monie a blunder free us,
And foolish notion;
What airs in dress an' gait wad lea'e us,
And even Devotion!"
164
We all, according as our business prospers or fails, are elated or cast
down.
165
I'll give money to any well deserving friend, but in the matter of
business, I'll cavil on the ninth part of a hair.
--_Shakespeare._
166
Sentiment is not now recognized in business affairs.
167
To business that we love, we rise betime,
And go to it with delight.
--_Shakespeare._
168
_Keep to Your Calling_--Bishop Grostest, of Lincoln, told his brother,
who asked him to make him a great man: "Brother," said he, "if your
plough is broken, I'll pay the mending of it; or if an ox is dead, I'll
pay for another; but a ploughman I found you, and a ploughman I'll leave
you."
169
BUSYBODIES.
Who, knowing nothing, claim to know it all.
What each intends, or will intend, they know.
What in the queen's ear the king said, they know.
What never was, or is--they know it, though!
--_Plautus._
170
The would-be buyer, alas! so often depreciates.
171
The road to "bye and bye" leads to the town of never.
--_Spanish._
C
172
CALAMITY.
Do not insult calamity:
It is a barb'rous grossness, to lay on
The weight of scorn, where heavy misery
Too much already weighs men's fortunes down.
--_Shakespeare._
173
I can't, does nothing.
I'll try, effects miracles.
I will, accomplishes everything.
--_Unknown._
174
Among the ancient warriors it was a custom, when any one did a
meritorious action, to say: "That will be a feather in his cap."
175
Whom the cap fits, let him wear it.
--_Latin._
176
Capacity without education is deplorable.
--_Saadi._
177
As to cards and dice, I think the safest and best way is never to learn
to play them, and so be incapacitated for those dangerous temptations
and encroaching wasters of time.
178
Cards were at first for benefits designed,
Sent to amuse, not to enslave the mind.
179
To carry care to bed is to sleep with a pack on your back.
--_Haliburton._
180
Put off thy cares with thy clothes; so shall thy rest strengthen thy
labour; and so shall thy labour sweeten thy rest.
181
To win a cat, and lose a cow. (Consequences of litigation).
--_Persian._
182
Deliberate well on what you can do but once.
183
A life of caution is overpaid by the avoidance of one serious
misfortune.
184
Say not always what you know, but always know what you say.
185
Never sign a paper you have not read, nor drink water you have not
examined.
186
No two persons are ever more confidential and cordial than when they are
censuring a third.
187
There are ceremonious bows that repel one like a cudgel.
--_Bovee._
188
Excess of ceremony shows want of breeding--that civility is best which
excludes all superfluous formality.
189
The only sure things are those that have already happened.
190
LONDON MISSIONARY SOCIETY.
Dr. Chalmers of Scotland, arrived in London, on the 13th of May, 1817,
and on the following day preached in Surrey Chapel, the anniversary
sermon for the London Missionary Society. Although the service did not
commence till eleven o'clock, at seven in the morning the chapel was
crowded to excess, and many thousands went off for want of room. He rose
and gave out his text from 1 Cor. xiv, 22-25. He had not proceeded many
minutes till his voice gradually expanded in strength and compass,
reaching every part of the house and commanding universal attention.
His sermon occupied about an hour and a half in the delivery. A
gentleman wrote to a friend: "I have just heard and witnessed the most
astonishing display of human talent that perhaps ever commanded hearing;
all my expectations were overwhelmed in the triumph of it."
At an afternoon service he preached in the Scotch Church, in Swallow
Street. On approaching the church, Dr. Chalmers and a friend found so
dense a mass within, and before the building, as to give no hope of
effecting an entrance by the mere force of ordinary pressure. Lifting
his cane and gently tapping the heads of those who were in advance, Dr.
Chalmers' friend exclaimed, "Make way there, make way please, for Dr.
Chalmers." The sturdy Londoners refused to move, believing it was a
ruse. Forced to retire, Dr. Chalmers retreated from the outskirts of the
crowd, crossed the street, stood for a few moments gazing on the growing
tumult, and had almost resolved altogether to withdraw, as access by any
of the ordinary entrances was impossible. At last a plank was projected
from one of the windows very near the pulpit, till it rested on an iron
palisade, and the Doctor and others gained entrance. The impression
produced by the service which followed, when all had at last settled
down into stillness, was deeper than that made by any of those which
preceded it.
--_From Memoirs of Thomas Chalmers, LL.D._
By Rev. Wm. Hanna, LL.D.
191
What can be more foolish than to think that all this rare fabric of
Heaven and earth could come by chance, when all the skill of art is not
able to make an oyster!
192
Times change, and we change with them.
193
When you seek to change your condition, be sure that you can better it.
194
BROTHER AND SISTER.
In a village churchyard in England, there is the following epitaph. It
is there applied to a husband; but, by altering a single word, it can be
made to apply to brother, sister, or comrade; and the one who fulfils
all that is implied in the praise, is surely a most admirable character:
"He was--
But words are wanting to say what;
Think what a husband should be.
He was that."
195
The sun has some spots on his surface, and the best and brightest
characters are not without their faults and frailties.
196
The crown jewel of character is sincerity.
197
An appearance of delicacy is inseparable from sweetness and gentleness
of character.
--_Mrs. Sigourney._
198
THE UPRIGHT CHARACTER.
He is not just who doth no wrong, but he
Who will not when he may; not he who, lured
By some poor petty prize, abstains, but he
Who with some mighty treasure in his grasp
May sin securely, yet abhors the sin.
Not he who closely skirts the pale of law,
But he whose generous nature, void of guile--
Would be,
Not seem to be,
The upright man.
--_Philemon, a Greek._
Translated by Millman.
199
As daylight can be seen through very small holes, so little things will
illustrate a person's character.
200
CHARACTER SHOULD NOT BE BELOW HOME STANDARD.
Alexander Simpson, the elder brother of Sir James Simpson, watched over
the boyhood of the latter with parental care. When the social usages of
the town and the prevalent free mode of living presented strong
temptations to the boy, Alexander would put his arm round his neck and
tenderly warn him: "Others may do this, but it would break a' our hearts
and blast a' your prospects were ye to do it." After one such warning,
"Jamie was greatly troubled, and cried nearly a' the nicht (night) like
to break his heart." He obeyed the warning, and became a celebrated
physician in Edinburgh.
201
LITTLE THINGS.
Small kindnesses, small courtesies, small considerations, habitually
practiced in our social intercourse, give a greater charm to the
character than the display of great talents and accomplishments.
--_Kelty._
202
_Character_--After I have named the man, I need say no more.
--_Pliny the Younger._
203
Oaths are not the cause why a man is believed, but the character of a
man is the cause why the oath is believed.
--_Aeschylus._
204
There is no man suddenly either excellently good, or extremely evil.
--_Juvenalis._
205
He who aspires to public position, offers his character for a football.
206
No character is more glorious, none deserving of universal admiration
and respect, than that of helping those who are in no condition of
helping themselves.
207
Prosperity tries the human heart with the deepest probe, and brings
forth the hidden character.
--_Tacitus._
208
The history of a man is his character.
209
The firm foot is that which finds firm footing;
The weak falters, although it be standing upon a rock.
210
To be thoroughly good natured, and yet avoid being imposed upon, shows
great strength of character.
211
The charitable give out at the door, and God puts in at the window.
--_From the German._
212
CHARITY--IN WORD ONLY.
When thy brother has lost all that he ever had, and lies languishing,
and even gasping under the utmost extremities of poverty and distress,
dost thou think to lick him whole again only with thy tongue?
--_South._
213
CHARITY.
That charity begins at home is true,
Yet this is rightly understood by few.
But, lest you should not easily discern,
I counsel you, my friends, this lesson learn;
The home of charity is a mind possess'd
Of wishes to relieve whoe'er's distress'd;
In town, or country, or on foreign shore,
She's ne'er from home when pity's at the door.
214
CHARITY.
Be not frightened at the hard words "imposition," "imposture;" give and
ask no questions. "Cast thy bread upon the waters." Some have, unawares,
entertained angels.
--_Lamb._
215
As charity covers a multitude of sins before God, so does politeness
before men.
--_Lord Greville._
216
Do good by stealth, and blush to find it fame.
--_Pope._
217
Where there is plenty, charity is a duty, not a courtesy.
--_Feltham._
218
We step up, when we stoop down, to help the needy.
219
CHARITY--INGRATITUDE FOR.
Did you ever see the horses taken to water? They rush into some
beautiful stream, and drink of it to their heart's content; after which
they turn their backs upon it, or stamp in it with their feet, until the
water is polluted. This is the price they pay for their refreshing
draught. But what, then does the noble river? It immediately floats away
the mud, and continues after, as it was before, full and free of access
for the same or other thirsty creatures. And so must you also do. If
there be a fountain of genuine charity in your heart, it will
constantly, and spontaneously overflow, whether those who drink of it
are thankful or not. This life is the season for sowing and scattering;
we shall reap hereafter.
220
Give freely to him that deserveth well, and asketh nothing.
221
INASMUCH.
I asked for alms!
He flung a coin at me
Contemptuously.
Not without sense of shame
I stooped and picked it up.
Does this fulfil
The Master's will
To give a cup
Of water in His Name?
I asked for bread!
He handed out to me
Indifferently
A ticket for some food.
It answered to my need.
Was this the way
On that great day
Christ stopped to feed
The hungry multitude?
When we shall wait,
After this mortal strife,
Eternal life,
And to His presence go
As suppliants indeed,
Will it be thus
He will on us
In our great need
His priceless gift bestow?
--_The Outlook._
222
It is charity not to excite a hope, when it must end in disappointment.
223
When you see a man in distress, acknowledge him at once your fellow man.
Recollect that he is formed of the same materials, with the same
feelings as yourself, and then relieve him as you yourself would wish to
be relieved.
224
_Leviticus, xxv, 35._--"And if thy brother be waxen poor, and fallen in
decay with thee, then thou shalt relieve him; yea, though he be a
stranger, or a sojourner; that he may live with thee."
Mr. H----, an ingenious artist, being driven out of all employment, and
reduced to great distress, had no resource to which to apply except that
of an elder brother, who was in good circumstances. To him, therefore,
he applied, and begged some little hovel to live in, and some small
provision for his support. The brother melted into tears, and said,
"You, my dear brother! You live in a hovel! You are a man; you are an
honor to the family. I am nothing. You shall take this house and the
estate, and I will be your guest, if you please." The brothers lived
together without its being distinguishable who was proprietor of the
estate, till the death of the elder put the artist in possession of it.
225
UNAWARES.
They said, "The Master is coming
To honor the town to-day,
And none can tell what house or home
He may choose wherein to stay."
Then straight I turned to toiling,
To make my home more neat;
I swept and polished and garnished,
And decked it with blossoms sweet.
But right in the midst of my duties
A woman came to my door;
She had come to tell me her sorrow,
And my comfort and aid to implore.
And I said, "I can not listen,
Nor help you any to-day;
I have greater things to attend to."
So the pleader turned away.
But soon there came another--
A cripple, thin, pale and gray--
And said, "O let me stop and rest
Awhile in your home I pray."
I said, "I am grieved and sorry,
But I can not keep you to-day;
I look for a great and noble guest."
And the cripple went away.
And the day wore onward swiftly,
And my task was nearly done,
And a prayer was ever in my heart
That the Master to me might come.
I thought I would spring to meet Him,
And treat Him with utmost care,
When a little child stood by me
With a face so sweet and fair--
Sweet, but with marks of tear drops--
And his clothes were tattered old;
A finger was bruised and bleeding,
And his little bare feet were cold.
And I said, "I am sorry for you:
You are sorely in need of care,
But I can not stop to give it;
You must hasten other where."
And at the words a shadow
Swept over his blue-veined brow.
"Some one will feed and clothe you, dear,
But I am too busy now."
At last, my toil was over and done,
My house was swept and garnished,
And I watched in the dusk alone;
I waited till night had deepened,
And the Master had not come;
"He has entered some other door," I cried,
"And gladdened some other home!"
Then the Master stood before me,
And His face was grave and fair;
"Three times to-day I came to your door,
And craved your pity and care.
Three times you sent Me onward,
Unhelped and uncomforted;
And the blessing you might have had was lost,
And your chance to serve has fled."
"O Lord, dear Lord, forgive me;
How could I know it was Thee?"
My very soul was shamed and bowed
In the depths of humility.
And He said, "The sin is pardoned,
But the blessing is lost to thee,
For failing to comfort the least of Mine,
You have failed to comfort Me."
226
John Paul, of Siena, was always very liberal to the poor. On his
deathbed he exclaimed, "What I have kept, that have I lost, and what I
have given away, that I have yet, what I have refused I now regret."
Another is reported to have said: "I have lost everything except what I
have given away."
227
A SERMON OF MOHAMMED.
When God made the earth, it shook to and fro till He put mountains on it
to keep it firm. Then the angels asked, "O God, is there anything in Thy
creation stronger than these mountains?" And God replied, "Iron is
stronger than the mountains, for it breaks them." "And is there anything
in Thy creation stronger than iron?" "Yes, fire is stronger than iron,
for it melts it." "Is there anything stronger than fire?" "Yes, water,
for it quenches fire." "Is there anything stronger than water?" "Yes,
wind, for it puts water in motion." "O, our Sustainer, is there anything
in Thy creation stronger than wind?" "Yes, a good man giving alms; if he
gives it with his right hand, and conceals it from his left, he
overcomes all things." Every good act is charity; your smiling in your
brother's face, your putting a wanderer in the right road, your giving
water to the thirsty is charity; exhortation to another to do right is
charity. A man's true wealth hereafter is the good he has done in this
world to his fellowmen. When he dies, people will ask: "What property
has he left behind him?" But the angels will ask: "What good deeds has
he sent before him?"
228
_Charity_--It is another's fault if he be ungrateful; but it is mine if
I do not give. To find one thankful man, I will oblige many that are not
so.
--_Seneca._
229
He gives double who gives unasked.
230
He that cheats me aince (once) shame fa him; but he that cheats me twice
shame fa me.
--_Scotch._
231
The cheek Is apter than the tongue, to tell an errand.
--_Shakespeare._
232
If you have a word of cheer,
Speak it, while I am alive to hear.
_Margaret Preston._
233
You find yourself refreshed by the presence of cheerful people. Why not
make earnest effort to confer that pleasure on others?
--_L. M. Child._
234
Cheerfulness smoothes the road of life.
--_German._
235
Cheerfulness is full of significance: it suggests good health, a clear
conscience, and a soul at peace with all human nature.
--_Charles Kingsley._
236
Chide a friend in private, and praise him in public.
--_Solon._
237
A CHILD'S SERMON.
A writer once told how a little child preached a sermon to him.
"Is your father at home?" I asked a small child at our village doctor's
doorstep.
"No," she said, "he's away."
"Where do you think I could find him?"
"Well," she said, with a considering air, "you've got to look for some
place where people are sick or hurt, or something like that. I don't
know where he is, but he's helping somewhere."
238
A SLEEPING CHILD.
How happy are thy days! How sweet thy repose! How calm thy rest! Thou
slumberest upon the earth more soundly than many a miser and worldling
upon his bed of down. And the reason is--that thou hast a gracious God
and an easy conscience. A stranger to all care, thou awakest only to
resume thy play, or ask for food to satisfy thy hunger.
239
A full-blown rose besprinkled with the purest dew, is not so beautiful
as a child blushing beneath her parents' displeasure, and shedding tears
of sorrow for her fault.
240
A torn jacket is soon mended; but hard words bruise the heart of a
child.
--_Longfellow._
241
He who does not correct his own child, will later beat his own breast.
242
The future destiny of the child is always the work of the mother.
--_Napoleon._
243
A child's eyes! Those clear wells of undefiled thought! What on earth
can be more beautiful! Full of hope, love, and curiosity, they meet your
own. In prayer, how earnest! In joy, how sparkling! In sympathy, how
tender!
--_Mrs. Norton._
244
These little shoes! How proud she was of these!
Can you forget how, sitting on your knees,
She used to prattle volubly, and raise
Her tiny feet to win your wondering praise?
--_William Canton._
245
INSCRIPTION ON MY LITTLE SON'S SILVER PLATE.
When thou dost eat from off this plate,
I charge thee be thou temperate;
Unto thine elders at the board
Do thou sweet reverence accord;
And, though to dignity inclined,
Unto the serving-folk be kind;
Be ever mindful of the poor,
Nor turn them hungry from the door;
And unto God, for health and food
And all that in thy life is good,
Give thou thy heart in gratitude.
246
Words of praise are almost as necessary to warm a child into a genial
life as acts of kindness and affection. Judicious praise is to children
what the sun is to flowers.
--_Bovee._
247
What the child says out of doors, he has learned indoors.
248
LINES ON MY NEW CHILD-SWEETHEART.
I hold it a religious duty
To love and worship children's beauty;
They've least the taint of earthly clod,
They're freshest from the hand of God;
With heavenly looks they make us sure
The heaven that made them must be pure;
We love them not in earthly fashion,
But with a beatific passion.
I chanced to, yesterday, behold
A maiden child of beauty's mould;
'Twas near, more sacred was the scene,
The palace of our patriot Queen.
The little charmer to my view
Was sculpture brought to life anew.
Her eyes had a poetic glow,
Her pouting mouth was Cupid's bow:
And through her frock I could descry
Her neck and shoulders' symmetry.
'Twas obvious from her walk and gait
Her limbs were beautifully straight;
I stopp'd th' enchantress and was told,
Though tall, she was but four years' old.
Her guide so grave an aspect wore
I could not ask a question more;
But follow'd her. The little one
Threw backward ever and anon
Her lovely neck, as if to say,
"I know you love me, Mister Grey;"
For by its instincts childhood's eye
Is shrewd in physiognomy;
They well distinguish fawning art
From sterling fondness of the heart.
And so she flirted, like a true
Good woman, till we bade adieu.
'Twas then I with regret grew wild,
Oh, beauteous, interesting child!
Why ask'd I not thy home and name?
My courage fail'd me--more's the shame.
But where abides this jewel rare?
Oh, ye that own her, tell me where!
For sad it makes my heart and sore
To think I ne'er may meet her more.
--_Thomas Campbell._
249
INASMUCH.
One day a little girl looking out of the window saw a number of poor men
from a nearby jail, working in the hot sun of a July day. They looked
tired and hot, and she knew they must be thirsty. She remembered
Christ's words, "I was thirsty and ye gave Me drink, was in prison, and
ye came unto Me," and the thought came to her, "I can do both." With her
mother's permission she took a little bucket of cold water, with a
dipper, and gave to each man in turn, refilling the bucket several
times. As she went from one to another in her white frock, her sweet
smile gave even better cheer than the water. The thanks of the prisoners
were very hearty. One asked her, "Little lady, what made you do this?"
After a moment's pause, she replied, "That is what Christ said to do,
and--I was sorry myself." He lowered his head and said, "God bless you,
little Christ-child."
250
A man soon learns how little he knows, when a child begins to ask
questions.
251
The child's restless observation, instead of being ignored or checked,
should be diligently ministered to, and made as accurate as possible.
--_Herbert Spencer._
252
Speak gently to the little child!
Its love be sure to gain;
Teach it in accents soft and mild:
It may not long remain.
--_Geo. W. Hangford._
253
_I Samuel ii, 18_--"Samuel ministered before the Lord, being a child;
girded with a linen ephod."
The Rev. John Brown was born in 1722, in the county of Perth in
Scotland. In a narrative of his experience, he remarks, "I reflect on it
as a great mercy, that I was born in a family which took care of my
Christian instruction, and in which I had the privilege of God's
worship, morning and evening. About the eighth year of my age, I
happened, in a crowd, to push into the church at Abernethy, on a
Sacrament Sabbath. Before I was excluded, I heard a minister speak much
in commendation of Christ; this, in a sweet and delightful manner,
captivated my young affections, and has since made me think that
children should never be kept out of church on such occasions."
254
To impose on a child to get by heart a long scroll of phrases without
any ideas, is a practice fitter for a jackdaw than for anything that
wears the shape of man.
--_Dr. I. Watts._
255
The tear down childhood's cheek that flows,
Is like the dewdrop on the rose.
--_Scott._
256
THE CHILD AND THE "RISING DAY"
The following is a true narrative of an experience in life:
It was nearing three o'clock of last Easter afternoon, when a woman,
clad in deepest mourning, entered the gates of the beautiful "sleeping
place" on Walnut Hill. Her attitude, as she sank upon a carefully tended
mound, denoted deep dejection. She had not yet learned that the "tree of
death is fruited with the love of God," neither the joy of the
"afterward," but knew only the grope of a stricken soul.
In the distance, sat a child upon a grave, alone. Coming nearer, she
recognized him as one who had never known a mother, and whose father had
lately been taken, leaving him without kindred. The love between that
father and child had been passing sweet.
The bereaved lady knew this, and that he had been thrown homeless upon
the world. Yet, absorbed in her own grief, had given him little thought.
Drawing near, she observed closely the rare beauty of the boy, scarcely
five years of age, genius and nobility stamped on his brow, and
exquisite tenderness on the mobile lips.
He looked up eagerly, asking fearlessly, "Is your name Mary? Are you the
woman who talked with the angel when the stone was rolled away."
"Oh, no, dear," she replied. "Whom are you looking for?"
"For Jesus!" said the boy reverently.
"But he is not here. He is risen."
"Yes, I know, that's it, but I've been waiting here all day for Him to
come and raise my papa up. He's late, and I thought maybe He sent you to
tell me to wait a little, just as He sent Mary to tell His disciples,
you know," said the boy, wistfully.
"Yes, dear, but"--hesitating to shatter the boy's beautiful faith.
"I am tired" (pathetically), "but it is never too late for Jesus," he
added bravely, while a tear rolled down the velvet cheek. "He is sure to
come, 'cause it is the Rising Day" (exultingly). "Don't you 'member?"
The woman stooped to kiss the child, and began to sob violently,
dropping on the grave beside him.
"What makes you cry, lady? Is your papa here to be raised up?"
"No, no, darling, but my sweet daughter is."
"Don't cry, then," stroking the lady's hand. "Jesus never goes by Rising
Day. He'll surely come and give you your little girl and me my papa!
He'll come to-night. I saw the two men who came from [256:A]Emmaus go by
early this morning, and they will be walking back soon in the evening,
and Jesus will meet them and turn and walk with them, and they will all
be talking gently about the dying and the rising, and the men will not
know Him, but I shall, and He will stop here when I call, and raise my
papa up."
"How will you know Him, dear boy?"
"By His smile and the Transfiguration picture that papa showed me in his
study. But I'll know Him bestest in here," putting his hand on his
breast, "by the love!" raising his lustrous eyes to hers.
"Will you know your papa? Are you sure?"
"My papa!" with wondering ecstatic voice. "My own papa! I shall know him
by the love, and you your little girl. They will not look the same,
'cause Jesus didn't, but they knew Him by their love!"
"Yes?"
"And we'll know them by our love!" lingering fondly on the repetition
with lustrous, far-seeing gaze.
The woman clasped the child to her breast with a passionate embrace,
while rising to meet a supreme hour. (The child must not--shall not be
disappointed and his beautiful faith shattered).
"Phillip!" she said, "listen. The angel sent me to tell you that Jesus
had gone into heaven, and to take you to your papa. Come!"
Without a moment's hesitation he took his messenger's (?) hand and
passed out of the gates, looking not backward by a glance. Expectation
held him silent, while the woman's face was illumined by a great light.
Entering the door of a pleasant house, she passed on through the hall
into the dining-room, saying to the maid: "Bring some food for this dear
child; he has fasted all day."
A pitcher of milk and a plate of bread and honey were set beside a plate
of cold, broiled fish.
"Now I know this is the house," the boy exclaimed exultingly, "for they
had the fish, the bread and the honey! It's all here, just the same, and
he'll come to-night!"
Turning swiftly to the hall, the woman almost flew along the corridor to
meet her husband's steps. Drawing him to one side, she told with rapture
of her encounter and the sweet expectancy below.
"Now, Harold, Heaven has sent us a child, who shall be the angel to roll
away the stone from our grave. His wonderful vision must not be
darkened, neither his faith destroyed. Rise, my husband, to the most
glorious hour of your life. 'I shall know him by the love,' he said. Let
us see that he does."
Returning for the child and extending her hand with a smile, he eagerly
asked, "Will you wash and comb me to meet my papa? It isn't too late
yet, is it?"
The voice was half a sob, but full of hope. The ineffable trust pierced
her heart while reassuring him with swift, tender tones.
"Come, Phillip, we will go to him," she cried tremblingly.
As she opened the door upon a winning, noble-faced man with tears on his
cheek, smiling with outstretched arms upon the boy, he hesitated a
moment, took one step forward and then leaped into the open arms, threw
his noble head back, and gazed with lustrous, questioning eyes.
"You don't look like my papa, quite."
"No?" (anxiously).
"'Cause you are changed. But I know you by the love, and you know me,
don't you?"
"By the love, dear boy," with shining eyes, but marble lips.
The child nestled down upon the breast, his chest heaving, while the man
stroked the soft curls, soothing him with every word known to love's
alphabet, till finally, crooning a cradle song, the exhausted child fell
asleep. He had found a father by the love. His faith was saved, and by
it, she who had groped blindly among the tombs had found her Easter.
--_From the Christian Observer_, March 30, 1904.
By Mrs. Helen Strong Thompson.
FOOTNOTES:
[256:A] _St. Luke, xxiv, 13._
257
Say "Yes" and "No" to a child and stick to it. This is the beginning of
discipline.
258
The way to spoil a child is to give it all it wants and require nothing
in return. The way to make a child grow up sensible and unselfish is to
give it little, and require of it much. For it is not what others do for
us that benefits us, but what we do for ourselves and others.
259
Some one truly said, the best way for a man to train up a child in the
way it should go, is to travel that way sometimes himself.
260
_I Kings, i, 6_--"His father had not displeased him at any time in
saying, 'Why hast thou done so?'"
A young man, as he was going to the place of execution, desired to
whisper something into his mother's ear; but when she came, instead of
whispering, he bit off her ear, telling her, that it was because she did
not chastise him for his faults when a boy, he was brought to such an
unhappy end.
261
Could it be believed that a child should be forced to learn the
rudiments of a language which he is never to use, and neglect the
writing a good hand, and casting accounts?
--_Locke._
262
Childhood shows the man, as morning shows the day.
--_Milton._
263
Children, a bond of union than which the human heart feels none more
endearing.
264
What children hear at home soon flies abroad.
265
CHILDREN.
I never hear parents exclaim impatiently, "Children, you must not make
so much noise," that I do not think how soon the time may come when,
beside the vacant chair, those parents would give all the world, could
they hear once more the ringing laughter which once so disturbed them.
--_A. E. Kittredge._
266
Children are certain cares, but uncertain comforts.
267
What is there in nature so dear to man as his own children?
--_Cicero._
268
The dutifulness of children is the foundation of all virtues.
--_Cicero._
269
His cares are eased with intervals of bliss:
His little children, climbing for a kiss,
Welcome their father's late return at night.
--_Dryden._
270
A BAD EXAMPLE.
Whatever parent gives his children good instruction, and sets them at
the same time a bad example, may be considered as bringing them food in
one hand, and poison in the other.
271
Children have neither past nor future; and what scarcely ever happens to
us, they enjoy the present.
--_La Bruyere._
272
An honorable life is the best legacy a father can leave to his children.
273
Children should not be flattered, but they should be encouraged. They
should not be so praised as to make them vain and proud, but they should
be commended when they do well.
274
Children are excellent physiognomists, and soon discover their real
friends.
275
_Dr. Guthrie_--He believed--to use his own words--that "where parents
will never punish their children, those children will punish them."
_From Dr. Guthrie's Memoir._
276
Indulgence to children breeds ingratitude.
277
A man who gives his children habits of industry, provides for them
better than by giving them a fortune.
_Whately._
278
Choose rather to leave your children well instructed than rich. For the
hopes of the learned are better than the riches of the ignorant.
279
WOULD YOU HAVE ANSWERED SO?
You would not be in a Japanese house long without noticing their extreme
politeness, and that this politeness was especially shown by children
toward their parents. The one thing that Japanese children must learn is
perfect obedience; a child would as soon think of refusing to do a thing
altogether, when told, as to ask why he must do it.
A little * * * girl, the child of a missionary, was playing in the
street with some Japanese children.
"Mary," called her father from the house, "come in."
As she paid no attention, the others thought she had not heard, and
began to say to her: "Your august father is calling you," "Your
honorable parent is beckoning to you," and so on.
"I don't care," said Mary.
The children stopped playing and looked at her in astonishment. Her
father called her again. This time she answered crossly, "I don't want
to come in. What for?"
At this the children picked up their playthings and hurried home,
talking excitedly all the way. "Rude little foreigner!" "Bad little
girl!" they said, and it was a long time before Mary saw anything of her
friends again.
_Juniors in Japan._
280
_Children_--Living jewels, dropped unstained from Heaven.
--_Pollock._
281
Children know,
Instinctive taught, the friend and foe.
282
Do not confine your children to your own learning, for they were born in
another time.
283
Children are like the to-morrow of society.
--_Whately._
284
Children think not of what is past, nor what is to come, but enjoy the
present time, which few of us do.
--_Bruyere._
285
_Children_--I love these little people; and it is not a slight thing
when they, who are so fresh from God, love us.
--_Dickens._
286
Love of children is always the indication of a genial nature, a pure and
unselfish heart.
287
MY CHILDREN.
What use to me the gold and silver hoard?
What use to me the gems most rich and rare?
Brighter by far--aye! bright beyond compare--
The joys my children to my heart afford!
288
Children need models rather than critics.
--_Joseph Joubert._
289
_Spurgeon said_: "With children we must mix gentleness with firmness;
they must not always have their own way, but they must not always be
thwarted. If we never have headaches through rebuking them, we shall
have plenty of heartaches when they grow up. If you yield up your
authority once, you will hardly ever get it again."
290
Parents deserve reproof when they refuse to benefit their children by
proper discipline.
291
My dearest pastime is with children.
292
Children are poor men's riches.
293
Nothing has a better effect upon children than praise.
--_Sir P. Sidney._
294
_Their Little Needs_--It is often asserted that both men and women would
be selfish beings but for children. They call out, and refine, and
soften the best feelings of the parental heart. Their little needs are
so many, and their simple ignorance so affecting, and their very
caprices so winning, that love and attention flow out to them almost
instinctively.
That must be a hardened nature which can be unmoved by the soft touch,
the playful childishness, and the hundred little pranks of a baby.
--_Unknown._
295
You can not expect better manners from your children than you teach
them. They imitate instinctively.
296
Children should be taught early to sympathize with the deformed, the
crippled, and otherwise unfortunate beings: A little dwarfed girl in one
of our great cities committed suicide a few years ago because she was
so weary of being laughed at and ridiculed by her associates in the
streets and at school.
An old street pedlar was set upon by school children and so annoyed and
misused that he became insane.
297
MY CHILDREN STILL.
A young preacher recently called upon an eminent Divine, and in the
course of conversation asked him how many children he had. "Four, sir,"
was the reply. At the supper-table, the visitor perceived two beautiful
children seated by the side of the mother. Turning to his host, he said,
"I thought you had four children, sir: Where are the other two?" Lifting
his eyes, the holy man of God pointed upwards, while a sweet smile broke
over his countenance. "They are in Heaven," he repeated slowly and
calmly; "yet my children still: not dead, but gone before."
298
Dr. Samuel Johnson once said, "Above all, accustom your children
constantly to tell the truth; without varying in any circumstance." A
lady who heard him said, "Nay, this is too much, for a little variation
in narrative must happen a thousand times a day, if one is not
perpetually watching." "Well, madam," said the Doctor, "you ought to be
perpetually watching."
299
He knows not what love is, that has no children.
300
Children are travelers newly arrived in a strange country; we should
therefore make conscience not to mislead them.
301
IT'S ONLY ME.
A lady had two children--both girls. The elder was a fair child; the
younger a beauty, and the mother's pet. Her whole love centered in it.
The elder was neglected, while "Sweet" (the pet name of the younger)
received every attention that affection could bestow. One day, after a
severe illness, the mother was sitting in the parlor, when she heard a
childish footstep on the stairs, and her thoughts were instantly with
the favorite.
"Is that you, Sweet?" she enquired.
"No, mamma," was the sad, touching reply, "it isn't Sweet: it's only
me."
The mother's heart smote her; and from that hour "only me" was restored
to an equal place in her affections.
302
Children are usually what their mothers were, or are.
--_Landor._
303
Be careful to discountenance in children anything that looks like rage
and furious anger.
--_Tillotson._
304
Children will grow up substantially what they are by nature--and only
that.
--_Mrs. Stowe._
305
_St. Luke, xxiv, 29_--"Abide with us, for it is toward evening, and the
day is far spent."
(Two of the disciples to our Lord on the way to Emmaus.)
306
DESCRIPTION OF THE PERSON OF JESUS CHRIST.
The following description is alleged to be derived from an ancient
manuscript sent by Publius Lentellus, President of Judea, to the Senate
of Rome:
"There lives at this time in Judea, a man of singular
character, whose name is Jesus Christ. The barbarians esteem
Him as their prophet; but His followers adore Him as the
immediate offspring of the immortal God. He is endowed with
such unparalleled virtue as to call back the dead from their
graves and to heal every kind of disease with a word or a
touch. His person is tall and elegantly shaped; His aspect,
amiable and reverend; His hair flows in those beauteous shades
which no united colors can match, falling in graceful curls
below His ears, agreeably couching on His shoulders, and
parting on the crown of His head; His dress, that of the sect
of Nazarites; His forehead is smooth and large; His cheeks
without blemish, and of roseate hue; His nose and mouth are
formed with exquisite symmetry; His beard is thick and
suitable to the hair of His head, reaching a little below His
chin, and parting in the middle below; His eyes are clear,
bright, and serene.
"He rebukes with mildness, and invokes with the most tender
and persuasive language--His whole address, whether in word or
deed, being elegantly grave, and strictly characteristic of so
exalted a being. No man has seen Him laugh, but the whole
world beholds Him weep frequently, and so persuasive are His
tears that the whole multitude can not withhold their tears
from joining in sympathy with Him. He is moderate, temperate,
and wise; in short, whatever the phenomenon may turn out in
the end, He seems at present to be a man of excellent beauty
and Divine perfection, every way surpassing man."
307
LAST SUPPER.
To turn one's back on the Memorial Supper is to disregard the most
tender, and loving, and melting of all our Saviour's commandments. It is
not needful to know just how obedience will help us. It is enough to
know that it was His dying command that we keep it till He come.
--_Henry M. Grout._
308
No man ought to profess the name of Christ who is not willing to do the
deeds of Christ.
309
Our Saviour is represented everywhere in Scripture as the special patron
of the poor and afflicted.
--_Atterbury._
310
IS NOT THIS THE CARPENTER?
_Mark, vi, 3._
Yes, yes, a Carpenter, same trade as mine.
It warms my heart as I read that line.
I can stand the hard work, I can stand the poor pay,
For I'll see that Carpenter at no distant day.
--_From Thoughts for Every-day Living._
311
He that thinks he hath no need of Christ hath too high thoughts of
himself. He that thinks Christ can not help him hath too low thoughts of
Christ.
--_John Mason._
312
A Christian is the highest style of man.
--_Young._
313
He that is a good man, is three-quarters of his way towards the being a
good Christian, wheresoever he lives, or whatsoever he is called.
--_South._
314
There is no fire without heat,
No light without brightness,
No voice without sound,
No water without moisture,
And there is no Christian
Who is not Christlike.
--_Rev. L. W. Irwin._
315
As Henry Drummond, on board a government packet, was steaming away from
that group of islands known as the New Hebrides, after having visited
the missions there, he was asked by a fellow-passenger who had been
visiting the islands for a very different purpose, what good the
missionary had been to those people. "My dear young man," said Drummond,
"only for the missionary, you and I, instead of being in this cabin,
would probably by this time have been inside some of those savages, as
you call them, who waved us such an affectionate farewell from their
shores." Yes, Christianity is now recognized the world over, as foremost
among the moral forces that are civilizing the dark corners of the
earth. Even Matthew Arnold was forced to admit that there is no
civilization without it. "Show me," he said, "ten square miles outside
of Christianity where the life of man or woman is safe, and I'll throw
over Christianity at once."
--_From the Missionary Outlook._
316
Christmas is truly merry only to those who think of others.
317
PLENTY OF ROOM.
A visiting bishop, in Washington, was arguing with a senator on the
desirability of attending church. At last he put the question squarely:
"What is your personal reason for not attending?"
The senator smiled in a no-offense-intended way, as he replied: "The
fact is, one finds so many hypocrites there."
Returning the smile, the bishop said:
"Don't let that keep you away, senator; there's always room for one
more."
--_Evening Post._
318
Some bring their clothes to church rather than themselves.
319
Bare communion with a good church can never alone make a good man.
--_Dr. South._
320
HOW THE CHURCH MUST GROW.
It has seemed sometimes in recent years as if the deaths were more than
the births. This has brought home to the Church the absolute need of the
revival of religion if Christianity is not to perish from the world
which it has re-made. The Church is not an establishment in the world,
but an encampment. She has no natural increase. She lives only by
capture, by winning over from the world the citizens that make her
number. One must arm another with the Christian panoply, if the Church
is to continue.
--_The British Weekly._
321
HOW TO WARM UP THE CHURCH.
I was once preaching in Scotland, and when I got to the church it was so
cold that I could see my breath three feet away, said Rev. D. L. Moody.
I said to the "beadle," as they call him:
"Aren't you going to have any heat in this building?"
He said they had no stoves or any other provision for heat.
"Well, how do you expect people to get warm?"
"Oh!" he said, "we expect the pulpit to warm us up."
NOTE: _In Dr. Guthrie's Autobiography_, vol. I, page 125--Describing the
first church he became pastor of, in Arbirlot, in 1830, he says: "As to
stoves, they were never thought of--the pulpit had to keep the people
warm."
322
LATE CHURCH-GOERS.
A minister, observing that some of his people made a practice of coming
in very late, and after a considerable part of the sermon was over,
determined that they should feel the force of public reproof. One day,
therefore, as they entered the place of worship at their usual late
hour, the minister, addressing his congregation, said: "But, my hearers,
it is time for us now to conclude, for here are our friends just come to
fetch us home."
We may easily conjecture what the parties felt at this curious but
pointed address.
--_Anon._
323
BOTH KEPT AWAKE IN CHURCH.
A country minister in Scotland, who was much annoyed by two members of
his congregation, Macpherson and Macintosh, sleeping during the sermon,
hit upon a way to put an end to this state of matters. Calling on
Macintosh, he said: "By the way, Mr. Macintosh, have you ever noticed
Mr. Macpherson sleeping during the sermon?" "Many a time," replied
Macintosh, virtuously. "Well, next Sunday you might sit beside
Macpherson and try and keep him awake." "I'll do that sir," said
Macintosh. Then the minister went to Macpherson and went through the
same programme concerning Macintosh.
Next Sunday it was highly amusing to those in the secret to see
Macintosh and Macpherson sitting next to each other, both perfectly wide
awake.
324
When once thy foot enters the church, beware, God is more there than
thou; for thou art there only by His permission. Then beware and make
thyself all reverence and fear.
--_Herbert._
325
Take the child to church, whether he likes it or not. What he likes has
nothing to do with it; what is best for him is the only question.
--_Bishop Vincent._
326
There are two classes of people in the church; the one is made up of
those who do the hard work of the church, and the other of those who sit
at home and--criticise.
--_Lutheran Weekly._
327
Men are dependent on circumstances, and not circumstances on men.
--_Herodotus._
328
A great merchant was asked by what means he contrived to realize so
large a fortune as he possessed. His reply was: "Friend, by one article
alone, in which thou may'st deal too if thou pleasest--civility."
329
Civility is a desire to receive civility, and to be accounted well-bred.
--_Rochefoucauld._
330
The clergyman who lives in the city may have piety, but he must have
taste.
--_Emerson._
331
AN IDEAL.
Before me on the mantel-block,
There ticks a busy little clock--
The measurer of time.
It never stops or tries to shirk;
Unceasingly it plies its work
With zeal almost sublime.
Oh could I work as steadily,
Oh could I just as faithful be,
As this minute machine--
My life would be filled with success,
with industry,
with usefulness,
and happiness serene.
_M. in Hampden-Sidney Magazine._
332
I do not envy a clergyman's life as an easy life, nor do I envy the
clergyman who makes it an easy life.
--_Dr. Johnson._
333
A clergyman should never come tired before his people, but rather like
an engine when it leaves the round-house, oiled, equipped with fuel and
water, and with all its strength waiting to be put forth.
334
In his last annual report, President Eliot states that the average age
of students entering Harvard is eighteen years of age and ten months. He
then intimates that if students could be induced to enter college
earlier, as they did in Emerson's time, there would be fewer failures.
335
When musing on companions gone
We doubly feel ourselves alone.
336
"Aye gang (always go) wi' them that's better than yerself."
--_Old Scotch Saying._
If this was done generally, there would be a levelling up, instead of a
levelling down.
337
Pleasant company shortens the miles.
338
COMPENSATION.
Mothers of many, with envious eyes,
Gaze as I drive through the evening cool,
Swift as I pass them, we mingle our sighs,
For my arms are empty--and theirs over-full.
"See her," they say, "with her laces and pearls!
All for the rich! 'Tis the world's common rule.
We have but rags for our boys and our girls;
Empty our pockets--her coffers are full."
Mothers! To yours, tender voices reply,
Little ones' hands at your skirts softly pull;
Widowed and lonely and childless am I,
Empty my heart--though my coffers are full.
--_Gus Gordon._
339
POOR AND RICH.
Art thou poor, yet hast thou golden slumbers?
O sweet content!
Art thou rich, yet is thy mind perplexed?
O punishment!
340
Every one must see daily instances of people who complain, from a mere
habit of complaining.
--_Graves._
341
A compliment is usually accompanied with a bow, as if to beg pardon for
paying it.
--_J. C. Hare._
342
Illuminate me with a ray of your intelligence!
343
Deference is the most complicate, the most indirect, and the most
elegant of all compliments.
344
_Legitimate Sport_--Those who fish for compliments deserve to get a
bite.
345
To attempt to advise conceited people is like whistling against the
wind.
--_Hood._
346
Never seem wiser, nor more learned, than the people you are with.
347
I've never any pity for conceited people, because I think they carry
their comfort about with them.
348
Conceit may puff a man up, but never prop him up.
--_Ruskin._
349
Many persons are obliged to their imagination for more than
three-fourths of their importance.
350
Discuss your plans with many, decide on them with few, or by yourself.
351
Between right and wrong never waver a moment.
--_From the German._
352
Confidence always gives pleasure to the man in whom it is placed.
353
No one so sure but he may miss.
--_Dutch._
354
Don't cry hurrah till you are over the bridge.
--_From the German._
355
Confidence is a plant of slow growth in an aged bosom.
--_Wm. Pitt._
356
He who knows the road, can ride at full trot.
--_From the Italian._
357
Never put much confidence in those who put no confidence in others.
--_Hare._
358
A good conscience is sometimes sold for money, but never bought with it.
359
Money dishonestly acquired is never worth its cost, while a good
conscience never costs as much as it is worth.
360
A clear conscience is a good pillow.
--_Kingsley._
361
A quiet conscience makes one so serene!
362
Conscience is the chamber of justice.
--_Origen._
363
Conscience may be said to be the voice of God within us.
--_Aughey._
364
Conscience, that sound of God in the human heart, whose "still small
voice" the loudest revelry can not drown.
--_W. H. Harrison._
365
_Consistency_--Thou art a jewel!
366
Is there no constancy in earthly things?
No happiness in us, but what must alter?
367
Do even as you will, that this dispute live not between us as a
consuming fire forever!
368
CONTENTION--AVOIDING OF.
Where two discourse, if the one's anger rise,
The man who lets the contest fall is wise.
--_Plutarch._
369
"I never complained of my condition but once," said an old man, "when my
feet were bare and I had no money to buy shoes; but I met a man without
feet, and became contented."
370
It is right to be contented with what we have, but never with what we
are.
--_Sir James Mackintosh._
371
A favorite saying of the beloved Dr. John A. Broaddus was: "It is better
to like what you have, than to have what you like."
--_Christian Observer._
372
If you live according to nature, you never will be poor; if according to
the world's caprice, you never will be rich.
373
Happy the man, whose wish and care
A few paternal acres bound,
Content to breathe his native air
In his own ground.
374
Since we have loaves, let us look not for cakes.
--_Spanish._
375
To be content with little is difficult; to be content with
much--impossible.
--_Marie Ebner Eschenbach._
376
If thou hast but little, make it not less by murmuring.
--_Quarles._
377
Contentment will make a cabbage look as fair as a palace.
--_W. Secker._
378
May we never murmur without a cause, nor have cause to murmur.
379
He that is rich need not live sparingly, and he that can live sparingly
need not be rich.
380
Some have too much, yet still do crave;
I have little, and seek no more:
They are but poor, though much they have,
And I am rich with little store;
They poor, I rich; they beg, I give;
They lack, I have; they pine, I live.
--_Sir Edward Dyer, (Died 1607.)_
381
If all the gems of earth were mine
And wealth and power were to me sent,
How infinitely poor I'd be
Without content.
--_Annie W. McCoy._
382
Is it possible to find perfect contentment? Some one once said:--"The
secret of perfect contentment is, that there isn't any."
383
"It is a great blessing to possess what one wishes," said one to an
ancient philosopher, who replied, "It is a greater blessing still, not
to desire what one does not possess."
384
Contentment is a pearl of great price, and whoever procures it at the
expense of ten thousand desires, makes a wise and happy purchase.
--_J. Balgury._
385
He that deserves nothing should be content with anything.
386
He is a wise man who does not grieve for the things which he has not,
but rejoices for those which he has.
--_Epictetus._
387
When the well is dry, then we all know the worth of water.
388
In conversation avoid the extremes of
Forwardness
and Reserve.
--_Cato._
389
_Conversation._--To please others we should talk on subjects they like
and that interest them; avoid disputes, seldom ask questions, and never
let them see that we pretend to be better informed than they are.
--_Rochefoucauld._
390
The first ingredient in conversation is truth, the next good sense, the
third good humor, and the fourth wit.
--_Sir W. Temple._
391
Conversation is the music of the mind; an intellectual orchestra, where
all the instruments should bear a part, but where none should play
together.
--_Colton._
392
Never argue in society; if any person differs from you, bow, and turn
the conversation.
--_Beaconsfield._
393
I never, with important air,
In conversation overbear.
--_Gay's Fables._
394
One of the best rules in conversation is, never say a thing which any of
the company can reasonably wish had been left unsaid.
--_Swift._
395
_Conversation._--As it is the mark of great minds to say many things in
a few words, so it is that of little minds to use many words to say
nothing.
"So much they talked, so very little said."
396
To say nothing charmingly is a great gift.
397
_Conversation._--In general those who nothing have to say contrive to
spend the longest time in doing it.
--_An Oriental Apologue._
398
With thee conversing, I forget all time.
--_Milton._
399
It is better to turn back than to go astray.
--_From the German._
400
He who converses with no one, learns nothing.
401
As rust corrupts iron, so envy corrupts man.
--_Antisthenes._
402
_Corporations have no souls_:--Lord Chancellor Thurlow said, "that
corporations have neither bodies to be punished, nor souls to be
condemned; they therefore do as they like."
403
Corruption is a tree, whose branches are
Of an unmeasurable length: they spread
Ev'rywhere; and the dew that drops from thence
Hath infected some chairs and stools of authority.
--_Beaumont and Fletcher._
404
The thatched cottage where one is merry, is preferable to a palace where
one weeps.
--_From the Chinese._
405
Good counsel never comes too late.
--_German._
406
From a safe port 'tis easy to give counsel.
407
He that winna be counselled canna be helped.
--_Scotch._
408
In many counsellors there is safety.
--_From the Latin._
409
Cheerful looks make every dish a feast,
And 'tis that, that crowns a welcome.
--_Massinger._
410
The countenance is frequently more expressive than the tongue.
411
A pleasing countenance is no slight advantage.
--_Duport._
412
A smiling countenance indicates courtesy, joy, good humor and happiness.
413
The character of a man's native country is as strongly impressed on his
mind as its accent is on his tongue.
--_Rochefoucauld._
414
RURAL LIFE.
The fact that the following verses are heard to-day proves their
"convenience," to say the least, for they were written by William
Livingston in 1747:----
Mine be the pleasure of a rural life,
From noise remote, and ignorant of strife,
Far from the painted belle and white-gloved beau,
The lawless masquerade, and midnight show,
From lapdogs, courtiers, garters, stars,
Fops, fiddlers, tyrants, emperors, and czars!
--_Christian Advocate_
415
THE COUNTRY.
A breath of unadulterated air,
The glimpse of a green pasture, how they cheer
The citizen, and brace his languid frame.
Even in the stifling bosom of the town;
A garden, in which nothing thrives, has charms
That soothe the rich possessor.
And are these not all proofs that man immured
In cities, still retains his inborn inextinguishable
Thirst of rural scenes, compensating his loss
By supplemental shifts the best he may?
416
LOVE OF COUNTRY.
Breathes there the man, with soul so dead,
Who never to himself hath said,
"This is my own--my Native Land!"
Whose heart hath ne'er within him burned
As home his footsteps he hath turned
From wandering on a foreign strand?
If such there breathe, go--mark him well;
For him no minstrel raptures swell;
High though his titles, proud his name,
Boundless his wealth as wish can claim--
Despite those titles, power and pelf,
The wretch, concentred all in self,
Living, shall forfeit fair renown,
And, doubly dying, shall go down
To the vile dust from whence he sprung,
Unwept, unhonored, and unsung.
--_Sir Walter Scott._
417
The wise men of Greece were asked which was the best governed country.
Clemenese replied, "the people who have more respect for the laws than
the orators."
418
He who loves not his country, can love nothing.
419
A great deal of talent is lost to the world for the want of courage.
--_S. Smith._
420
Life is not so short but that there is always time enough for courtesy.
--_Emerson._
421
The courtesy with which I receive a stranger, and the civility I show
him, form the background on which he paints my portrait.
422
Courtesy on one side, never lasts long.
423
Men dream in courtship, but in wedlock wake.
--_Pope._
424
_Courtship and Marriage._--"Their courtship was carried on in poetry."
Alas! many a pair have courted in poetry, and after marriage lived in
prose.
--_Foster._
425
Courtship may be said to consist of a number of quiet attentions, not so
pointed as to alarm, nor so vague as not to be understood.
--_Sterne._
426
_Covetousness._--A young man once picked up a sovereign lying in the
road. Ever afterward, in walking along, he kept his eye fixed steadily
upon the ground in hopes to find another. And in the course of a long
life he did pick up, at different times, a goodly number of coins, gold
and silver. But all these years, while he was looking for them, he saw
not that the heavens were bright above him, and nature beautiful around.
He never once allowed his eye to look up from the mud and filth in which
he sought his treasure; and when he died--a rich old man--he only knew
this fair earth as a dirty road to pick up money as you walk along. Thus
you see the desire of having is the sin of covetousness.
--_Dr. Jeffrey._
427
The coward only threatens when he is secure.
--_Goethe._
428
The hand that rocks the cradle rules the world.
429
Credit, like a looking-glass, broken once, is gone, alas!
430
He who doesn't take care of his credit will soon have none to take care
of.
431
There are two directly opposite reasons why some men cannot get
credit--one is because he is not known--the other because he is.
432
THE CRITIC.
The critic stood with scornful eye
Before a picture on the wall:
"You call this art? Now see that fly,
It is not natural at all.
It has too many legs, its head
Is far too large--who ever saw
A fly like that, so limp and dead,
And wings that look as if they--pshaw!"
And with a gesture of disgust
He waved his hand, when lo! the fly
Flew from the picture. "Ah! some dust,"
The critic said, "was in my eye."
--_Henry Coyle._
Some one has said that finding fault is done on a smaller capital than
any other business, and it is a very fascinating business, too, for
people of--small calibre.
433
A man must serve his time to every trade,
Save censure; critics all are ready-made.
--_Byron._
434
The culture of a man is like the changing of raw material into the
manufactured article. The uncultured man is comparatively helpless and
worthless.
--_The Religious Telescope._
435
Curiosity! who hath not felt
Its spirit, and before its altar knelt?
436
Custom forms us all;
Our thoughts, our morals, our most fixed belief
Are consequences of our place of birth.
--_Hill._
D
437
_Daughter._--To a father waxing old nothing is dearer than a daughter;
sons have spirits of higher pitch, but less inclined to sweet endearing
fondness.
--_Euripides._
438
BEREFT OF AN ONLY DAUGHTER.
This day my loved one leaves me, and my heart
Is heavy with its grief: the streams of sorrow,
Choked at the source, repress my faltering voice.
I have no words to speak; mine eyes are dimmed
By the dark shadows of the thoughts that rise
Within my soul. If such the force of grief
In an old hermit parted from his nursling,
What anguish must the stricken parent feel
Bereft forever of an only daughter!
Weep not my daughter, check the gathering tear
That lurks beneath thine eyelid, ere it flow
And weaken thy resolve; be firm and true--
True to thyself and me, the path of life
Will lead o'er hill and plain, o'er rough and smooth,
And all must feel the steepness of the way,
Tho' rugged be thy course, press boldly on.
Honor thy betters; even be respectful
To those above thee. Should thy wedded lord
Treat thee with harshness, thou must never be
Harsh in return, but patient and submissive.
Be to thy menials courteous, and to all
Placed under thee considerate and kind:
Be never self-indulgent, but avoid
Excess in pleasure; and, when fortune smiles
Be not puffed up. Thus to thy husband's house
Wilt thou a blessing prove, and not a curse.
439
See here it is dawning
Another bright day:
Think wilt thou let it
Slip uselessly away?
440
He mourns the dead who lives as they desire.
--_Dr. E. Young._
441
One of the Fathers said: "That there is but this difference between the
death of old and young men,--that old men go to death, and death comes
to young men."
--_Bacon._
442
THE REPROOF OF A FOOL.
There was a certain nobleman who kept a fool, to whom he one day gave a
staff, with a charge to keep it till he should meet with one who was a
greater fool than himself. Not many years after, the nobleman fell sick,
even unto death. The fool came to see him: his lord said to him--"I must
shortly leave you." "And whither are you going?" said the fool. "Into
another world," replied his lordship. "And when will you come again?
Within a month?" "No." "Within a year?" "No." "When then?" "Never."
"Never!" said the fool, "and what provision hast thou made for thy
entertainment there, whither thou goest?" "None at all." "No!" said the
fool, "none at all! Here then, take my staff; for with all my folly, I
am not guilty of any such folly as this."
443
The divinity who rules within us, forbids us to leave this world without
his command.
--_Cicero._
444
When a man dies, they who survive him, ask what property he has left
behind. The angel who bends over the dying man, asks what good deeds he
has sent before him.
445
Happy is, or ought to be, the man who owes nothing.
446
If you would avoid paying debts, avoid incurring them.
447
But wealth and power have no immortal day,
For all things ripen only to decay.
448
DECISION.
Lose this day loitering,--'t will be the same story
To-morrow, and the next more dilatory;
The indecision brings its own delays,
And days are lost lamenting over days.
Are you in earnest? Seize this very minute,
What you can do, or dream you can, begin it.
Boldness has genius, power and magic in it.
Only engage, and then the mind grows heated,--
Begin,
And then the work
Will be completed.
--_J. W. Von Goethe._
449
Let him that hath done the good office conceal it; let him that hath
received it disclose it.
450
NOBLE DEEDS.
He built a house, time laid it in the dust;
He wrote a book, its title now forgot;
He ruled a city, but his name is not
On any tablet graven, or where rust
Can gather from disuse, or marble bust.
He took a child from out a wretched cot,
Who on the state dishonor might have brought,
And reared him to the Christian's hope and trust.
The boy to manhood grown, became a light
To many souls, preached for human need
The wondrous love of the Omnipotent.
The work has multiplied like stars at night
When darkness deepens; every noble deed
Lasts longer, than a granite monument.
--_Sarah H. Bolton._
451
"He wishes well" is worthless, unless the deed go with it.
--_Plautus._
452
_Deformed._--Mock not at those who are misshapen by nature. He that
despiseth them despiseth God that made them.
--_Dr. Fuller._
453
Away with delay! it always injures those that are prepared.
--_Lucan._
454
Do not delay: the golden moments fly!
--_Longfellow._
455
True delicacy, that most beautiful heart-leaf of humanity, exhibits
itself most significantly in little things.
456
Nothing prevents our being natural so much as the desire to appear so.
--_Rochefoucauld._
457
Remember that your dependents have seldom a full power of replying to
you; and let the recollection of that make you especially considerate in
your dealings with them.
--_Sir Arthur Helps._
458
Honorable descent is in all nations greatly esteemed; besides, it is to
be expected that the children of men of worth will be like their
fathers.
--_Aristotle._
459
When any great design thou dost intend,
Think on the means, the manner, and the end.
--_Sir J. Denham._
460
The desires of man increase with his acquisitions.
--_Dr. Johnson._
461
DESTINY.
Ships that pass at night, and speak each other in passing,
Only a signal shown and a distant voice in the darkness:
So on the ocean of life we pass and speak one another,
Only a look and a voice, then darkness again and a silence.
--_Longfellow._
462
INSCRIPTION FOR A SUN-DIAL.
The shadow by my finger cast
Divides the future from the past:
Before it sleeps the unborn hour
In darkness, and beyond thy power:
Behind its unreturning line,
The vanished hour, no longer thine:
One hour alone is in thy hands--
The Now on which the shadow stands.
--_Henry Van Dyke._
463
RISE ABOVE YOUR DIFFICULTIES.
Not till after the death of a member of Parliament, a prominent county
magistrate, the owner of large estates, and an active, public-spirited
man in all local and national matters, was it known by those who had not
seen him, that it was but the misshapen block of a man that had lived
this active, manly life.
He was born with neither legs nor arms. After his death his story was
told: how he resolved, when but a boy, to act and live as did other
boys, without regard to his horrible misfortune; how he persisted in
studying every book, in learning every game, in joining in every
amusement possible to him, with his companions. How, to the last year of
his life, he held himself to be as responsible as other men, and bravely
paid every tithe of duty to God and to his fellows.
Even in lesser matters in life he pressed to the front. He was the most
genial, witty guest at social dinner tables. Strapped to his horse, he
hunted foxes in Yorkshire, or tigers in India, and with his brothers
made long journeys in other parts of the world. Everywhere his
cheerfulness and gaiety gave new life to duller souls.
Is there no lesson for us all in the life of this gallant gentleman?
--_Youth's Companion._
464
Dr. Roux, the celebrated French physician, said: "The greater part of
preparation for the digestion of food takes place in the mouth."
465
True dignity exists independent of--
"Studied gestures or well-practiced smiles."
466
We have all met with a great many disappointments, and if we live much
longer, shall likely meet with many more.
467
_Discontented People._--You have such a February face,
So full of frost, of storm, and cloudiness.
468
'Tis not my talent to conceal my thoughts,
Or carry smiles and sunshine in my face,
When discontent sits heavy at my heart.
--_Addison._
469
Discontent is a man's, and a woman's, worst enemy.
470
DISCONTENT.
Thinkest thou the man whose mansions hold
The worldling's pomp, and miser's gold,
Obtains a richer prize
Than he, who, in his cot at rest,
Finds heavenly peace a willing guest,
And bears the promise in his breast
Of treasures in the skies?
--_Mrs. Sigourney._
471
Be discreet in all things, and so render it unnecessary to be mysterious
about anything.
--_Wellington._
472
Thy friend has a friend, and thy friend's friend has a friend;--be
discreet.
473
Woe unto him that increaseth that which is not his!
--_Habakkuk 2, 6v._
474
No man's disposition will alter, say what we may.
475
Shut not thy purse-strings always against distress.
--_Charles Lamb._
476
Thou, who feelest not for the distress of others,
Meritest not to be called by the name of man.
477
It is better occasionally to be deceived in people than for one to be
always distrustful.
478
God and the doctor we alike adore
In times of danger, only,--not before:
The danger past, both are alike requited;
God, is alas!--forgotten, and the doctor--slighted.
--_Anon._
479
Did you never observe that dogs have not the power of comparing? A dog
will take a small bit of meat as readily, when both are before him.
--_Dr. Sam'l Johnson._
480
THE FAITHFUL DOG.
When wise Ulysses, from his native coast
Long kept by wars, and long by tempests tost,
Arrived at last, poor, old, disguised, alone,
To all his friends, and ev'n his queen, unknown:
Chang'd as he was with age, and toils, and cares,
Furrow'd his rev'rend face, and white his hairs,
In his own palace forc'd to ask his bread,
Scorn'd by those slaves his former bounty fed,
Forgot of all his own domestic crew;
The faithful _dog_ alone his master knew!
Unfed, unhous'd, neglected, on the clay
Like an old servant, now cashier'd he lay;
And, tho' e'en then expiring on the plain
Touch'd with resentment of ungrateful man,
And longing to behold his ancient lord again.
Him, when he saw--he rose, and crawl'd to meet,
'Twas all he could, and fawn'd, and kiss'd his feet,
Seized with dumb joy: then, falling by his side,
Own'd his returning lord, look'd up, and died.
--_Pope._
481
Food remains for three days in the stomach of the dog, because God knew
that his food would be scanty.
--_From the Talmud._
482
If you are in doubt whether to write a letter or not--don't! The advice
applies to doubts in life besides that of letter writing.
--_Zoroaster._
483
Our doubts are traitors,
And make us love the good we oft might win,
By fearing to attempt.
--_Shakespeare._
484
THE ORPHAN BOY'S DREAM.
The room is old--the night is cold,--
But night is dearer far than day;
For then, in dreams, to him it seems
That she's returned who's gone away!
His tears are pass'd--he clasps her fast,--
Again she holds him on her knee;
And, in his sleep, he murmurs deep,
"Oh! mother, go no more from me!"
485
_Dreams._--Children of night, of indigestion bred.
--_Churchill._
486
We sacrifice to dress, till household joys
And comforts cease. Dress drains our cellar dry,
And keeps our larder lean; puts out our fires,
And introduces hunger, frost and woe,
Where peace and hospitality might have reign'd.
--_Cowper._
487
Those who think that in order to dress well, it is necessary to dress
extravagantly or grandly, make a great mistake. Nothing so well becomes
true feminine beauty as simplicity.
No real happiness is found
In trailing purple o'er the ground.
--_Geo. D. Prentice._
488
_Numbers vi, 3._--"He shall separate himself from wine and strong
drink."
A heathen king, who had been for years confirmed in the sin of
drunkenness by the evil practices of white men on the Sandwich Islands,
had been led to forsake the dreadful habit. He said lately to a
missionary, "suppose you put four thousand dollars in one hand, and a
glass of rum in the other; you say, you drink this rum, I give you four
thousand dollars, I no drink it; you say you kill me, I no drink it."
489
THE RIGHT ANSWER.
In an address to a temperance society, Admiral Capps told a story which
is printed in the New York _Tribune_.--A man who had ruined his health
with alcohol sat looking sadly at his wife, to whom he had made many
promises of reform.
"Jenny," he said, "you are a clever woman, a courageous, good woman. You
should have married a better man than I am."
She looked at him, thin-limbed and stoop-shouldered, prematurely old,
and answered, quietly, "I did, James."
490
_Genesis ix, 21_--"Noah drank of the wine, and was drunken."
A person in Maryland, who was addicted to drunkenness, hearing a
considerable uproar in his kitchen one night, felt the curiosity to step
without noise to the door, to know what was the matter; when he found
his servants indulging in the most unbounded roars of laughter at a
couple of negro boys, who were mimicking himself in his drunken
fits!--as how he reeled and staggered--how he looked and nodded--and
hiccupped and tumbled. The pictures which these children of nature drew
of him, and which had filled the rest with such inexhaustible merriment,
struck him with so salutary a disgust, that from that night he became a
perfectly sober man, to the great joy of his wife and children.
491
From drink, with its ruin, and sorrow and sin,
I surely am safe if I never begin.
492
Pray tell me whence you derive the origin of the word dun? The true
origin of this expression owes its birth to one Joe Dunn, a famous
bailiff of the town of Lincoln, England, so extremely active, and so
dexterous at the management of his rough business, that it became a
proverb, when a man refused to pay his debts, "Why don't you Dun him?"
that is, why don't you send Dun to arrest him? Hence it grew a custom,
and is now as old as since the days of Henry VII.
--_Mulledulcia._
493
Knowledge is the hill which few may hope to climb;
Duty is the path that all may tread.
--_Lewis Morris._
494
When a minister preaches his sermon, he should do so fearlessly, i. e.
like a man who cuts up a big log,--let the chips fall where they may.
495
Do what you ought, come what may.
--_French._
496
_Duty_:--I hate to see a thing done by halves; if it be right, do it
boldly; if wrong, leave it undone.
--_Gilpin._
497
Whosoever contents himself with doing the little duties of the day,
great things will, by-and-by, present themselves to him for their
fulfilment also.
--_Howard Pyle._
498
We make time for duties we love.
--_Unknown._
E
499
One should choose a wife with the ears, rather than with the eyes.
--_Spanish._
500
What is told in the ear, is often heard a hundred miles off.
--_Chinese._
501
'Tis easy for any man who has his foot unentangled by sufferings, both
to exhort and to admonish him that is in difficulties.
--_Aeschylus._
502
If you take things easy when you ought to be doing your best work, you
will probably have to keep hard at work when you might be taking it
easy.
503
Nothing is easy to the unwilling.
--_From the German._
504
He that eats longest lives longest.
505
Half of what we eat is sufficient to enable us to live, and the other
half that we eat enables the doctors to live.
--_Dr. Osler._
506
Economy is the easy chair of old age.
507
He that will not economize may some day have to agonize.
--_Confucius._
508
Economy is no disgrace; it is better living on a little, than living
beyond your means.
509
In abundance prepare for scarcity.
--_Mencius._
510
Lay up something for a rainy day; it may be needed some day.
511
Economy is something like a savings-bank, into which we drop pennies and
get dollars in return.
--_H. W. Shaw._
512
Take care to be an economist in prosperity: there is no fear of your
being one in adversity.
--_Zimmerman._
513
For age and want, save while you may,
No morning sun lasts a whole day.
514
Economy is too late at the bottom of the purse.
515
Spend not when you must save,
Spare not when you must spend.
--_Italian._
516
Every man must educate himself. His books and teacher are but helps; the
work is his.
--_Webster._
516a
Scottish Education. "A boy was compelled by the poverty of his parents
to leave school and take temporary work as an assistant to Lady
Abercombie's gardener. When his services were no longer required, the
lady gave him a guinea and said, 'Well, Jack, how are you going to spend
your guinea?' 'Oh my lady,' he replied, 'I've just made up my mind to
tak' a quarter o' Greek, for I hadna got beyond Latin when I left
school."
--_Dr. J. Herr._
517
Nearly all things are difficult before they are easy.
--_From the French._
518
There is as much eloquence in the tone of voice, in the eyes, and in the
air of a speaker, as in his choice of words.
--_Rochefoucauld._
519
EXTERNAL SIGNS OF EMOTIONS AND PASSIONS.
One would not imagine who has not given particular attention, that the
body should be susceptible to such variety of attitudes and emotions, as
readily to accompany every different emotion with a corresponding
expression. Humility for example, is expressed naturally by hanging the
head; arrogance, by its elevation; and languor or despondence, by
reclining it to one side. The expressions of the hands are manifold by
different attitudes and motions; they express desire, hope, fear; they
assist us in promising, in inviting, in keeping one at a distance; they
are made instruments of threatening, of supplication, of praise, and of
horror; they are employed in approving, in refusing, in questioning; in
showing our joy, our sorrow, our doubts, our regret, and our admiration.
--_Lord Hames._
520
The evil one does not tempt people whom he finds suitably employed.
--_Jeremy Taylor._
521
To be employed is to be happy.
--_Gray._
522
Do good to thy friend, that he may be more thy friend; and unto thy
enemy, that he may become thy friend.
523
He who has a thousand friends,
Has never a one to spare,
And he who has one enemy,
Will be apt to meet him everywhere.
524
_Boswell said of Dr. Johnson_--"Though a stern true-born Englishman, and
fully prejudiced against all other nations, he had discernment enough to
see, and candour enough to censure, the cold reserve too common among
Englishmen towards strangers. 'Sir,' said he, (Johnson) 'two men of any
other nation who are shown into a room together, at a house where they
are both visitors, will immediately find some conversation. But two
Englishmen will probably go each to a different window, and remain in
obstinate silence. Sir, we as yet do not enough understand the common
rights of humanity.'"
525
Rochefoucauld said, "The truest mark of being born with great qualities
is being born without envy."
526
If we did but know how little some enjoy the great things they possess,
there would not be so much envy in the world.
527
All matches, friendships, and societies are dangerous and inconvenient,
where the contractors are not equal.
--_Estrange._
528
Equivocation is first cousin to a lie.
--_From the French._
529
What has been done amiss should be undone as quickly as possible.
530
Beware of errors of the mouth.
--_Hindu._
531
The man who never makes any blunders, seldom makes any good hits.
532
_Etiquette._--Good taste rejects excessive nicety; it treats little
things as little things, and is not hurt by them.
533
Certain signs precede certain events.
--_Cicero._
534
AVOIDING THE SUGGESTION OF EVIL.
Sir Peter Lely made it a rule never to look at a bad picture, having
found by experience that whenever he did so, his pencil took a tint from
it. Bishop Home said of the above: "Apply this to bad books and bad
company."
535
I am endowed by God with power to conquer all evil.
_Ursula._
536
How quickly and quietly the eye opens and closes, revealing and
concealing a world!
537
OTHER'S EYES.
Achilles: This is not strange, Ulysses,
The beauty that is borne here in the face
The bearer knows not, but commends itself
To other's eyes: nor doth the eye itself,
That most pure spirit of sense behold itself,
Not going from itself, but eye to eye oppos'd
Salutes each other.
--_Shakespeare._
538
The silent upbraiding of the eye is the very poetry of reproach; it
speaks at once to the imagination.
--_Mrs. Balfour._
539
Eyes are more accurate witnesses than ears.
--_Plautus._
540
Old men's eyes are like old men's memories; they are strongest for
things a long way off.
541
The eyes of other people are the eyes that ruin us. If all but myself
were blind, I should never want a fine house nor fine furniture.
--_Franklin._
542
The eyes are the windows of the soul.
--_Hiram Powers._
543
We always weaken whatever we exaggerate.
--_La Harpe._
544
He who has seen much of the world, is very prone to exaggeration.
545
Every man is bound to tolerate the act of which he has himself given the
example.
--_Phaedrus._
546
Noble examples excite us to noble deeds.
547
He who makes excuses, himself accuses.
548
A man must often exercise, or fast, or take physic, or be sick.
--_Sir W. Temple._
549
I am no longer the fool I was, I have learned by experience.
550
All is but lip-wisdom, which wants experience.
--_Sir Philip Sidney._
551
Among all classes of society we see extravagance keeping pace with
prosperity, and indeed outstripping it, realizing Archbishop Whately's
paradox: "The larger the income, the harder it is to live within it."
--_Hugh S. Brown._
F
552
A clouded face
Strikes deeper than an angry blow.
553
FACE PICTURES.
We write our lives upon our faces, deep,
An autograph which they will always keep.
Thoughts cannot come and leave behind no trace
Of good or ill; they quickly find a place
Where they who will may read as in a book,
The hidden meaning of our slightest look.
554
Nature has written a letter of credit on some men's faces which is
honored wherever it is presented.
--_Thackeray._
555
The surest way not to fail, is to determine to succeed.
--_Sheridan._
556
THE MOUNTAIN FLOWER.
In Ross-shire, Scotland, there is an immense mountain gorge. The rocks
have been rent in twain, and set apart twenty feet, forming two
perpendicular walls two hundred feet in height. On either side of these
natural walls, in crevices where earth has collected, grow wild flowers
of rare quality and beauty. A company of tourists visiting that part of
the country were desirous to possess themselves of specimens of these
beautiful mountain flowers; but how to obtain them they knew not. At
length they thought they might be gathered by suspending a person over
the cliff by a rope. They offered a Highland boy, who was near by, a
handsome sum of money to undertake the difficult and dangerous task. The
boy looked down into the awful abyss that yawned below, and shrunk from
the undertaking; but the money was tempting. Could he confide in the
strangers? Could he venture his life in their hands? He felt that he
could not; but he thought of his father, and, looking once more at the
cliff, and then at the proffered reward, his eyes brightened, and he
exclaimed: "I'll go if my father holds the rope." Beautiful illustration
of the nature of faith.
557
Faith builds a bridge from this world to the next.
--_Dr. Young._
558
To be trusted is perhaps a greater compliment than to be loved.
559
He who believes in nobody knows that he himself is not to be trusted.
--_Auerbach._
560
Trust not him that hath once broken faith.
--_Shakespeare._
561
It goes a great way toward making a man faithful, to let him understand
that you think him so.
--_Seneca._
562
All that a man gets by being untruthful is, that he is not believed when
he speaks the truth.
563
Telling an untruth is like leaving the highway and going into a tangled
forest. You know not how long it will take you to get back, or how much
you will suffer from the thorns and briers in the wild woods.
564
There is no greater mistake in social life than indulging in
over-familiarity. Intercourse, even between intimate friends, should
have some dignity about it.
565
A family is a little world within doors; the miniature resemblance of
the great world without.
--_J. A. James._
566
Where can one be happier than in the bosom of his family?
--_Young._
567
FAMILY REUNION.
We are all here--
Father, mother, sister, brother,
All who hold each other dear.
Each chair is filled, we're all at home;
To-night let no stranger come.
It is not often thus around
Our old, familiar hearth we're found
Blessed, then, the meeting and the spot:
For once be every care forgot;
Let gentle peace assert her power,
And kind affection rule the hour:
We're all, all here.
--_Charles Sprague._
568
Farewell! a word that must be, and hath been--
A sound which makes us linger;--yet--farewell.
--_Byron._
569
FAREWELL.
If thou dost bid thy friend farewell,
But for one night though that farewell may be,
Press thou his hand in thine.
How canst thou tell how far from thee
Fate or caprice may lead his steps ere that to-morrow comes?
Men have been known lightly to turn the corner of a street,
And days have grown to months,
And months to lagging years, ere they
Have looked in loving eyes again . . . . . .
Yea, find thou always time to say some earnest word
Between the idle talk, lest with thee henceforth,
Night and day, regret should walk.
--_Unknown._
570
MAN AND THE FARM.
It is a common complaint that the farm and farm life are not appreciated
by our people. We long for the more elegant pursuits, or the ways and
fashions, of the town. But the farmer has the most sane and natural
occupation, and ought to find it sweeter, if less highly seasoned, than
any other. He alone, strictly speaking, has a home. How many ties, how
many resources, he has!--his friendship with his cattle, his team, his
dog, his trees; the satisfaction in his growing crops, in his improved
fields; his intimacy with nature, with bird and beast, and with the
quickening elemental forces; his co-operations with the cloud, the sun,
the seasons, heat, wind, rain, frost. It humbles him, teaches him
patience and reverence. Cling to the farm, make much of it, put yourself
into it, bestow your heart and brain upon it.
--_John Burroughs._
571
A HINT TO A FARMER.
Shun thou seats in the shade, nor sleep till the dawn! in the
season
When it is harvest-time, and your skin is parched in the sunshine.
572
MY FATHER.
How beautiful is the following picture by Caroline Anne Bowles, only
child of Captain Charles Bowles, of Blackland, England. Born 1787:
My father loved the patient angler's art,
And many a summer's day, from early morn
To latest evening, by some streamlet's side,
We two have tarried; strange companionship!
A sad and silent man; a joyous child!
Yet those were days as I recall them now
Supremely happy. Silent though he was,
My father's eyes were often on his child
Tenderly eloquent--and his few words
Were kind and gentle. Never angry tone
Repulsed me if I broke upon his thoughts
With childish question. But I learned at last,
Learned intuitively to hold my peace.
When the dark hour was on him, and deep sighs
Spoke the perturbed spirit--only then
I crept a little closer to his side,
And stole my hand in his, or on his arm
Laid my cheek softly: till the simple wile
Won on his sad abstraction, and he turned
With a faint smile, and sighed and shook his head,
Stooping toward me; so I reached at last
Mine arm about his neck and clasped it close,
Printing his pale brow with a silent kiss.
--_From Littell's Living Age._
573
_Love for a Father._--In the year 1773, a gentleman in England, whose
health was rapidly declining, was advised by his physicians to go to Spa
for the recovery of his health. His daughters feared that those who had
only motives entirely mercenary would not pay him that attention which
he might expect from those who, from duty and affection united, would
feel the greatest pleasure in ministering to his ease and comfort; they,
therefore, resolved to accompany him. They proved that it was not a
spirit of dissipation and gaiety that led them to the springs, for they
were not to be seen in any of the gay and fashionable circles; they were
never out of their father's company, and never stirred from home, except
to attend him, either to take the air or drink the waters; in a word,
they lived a most recluse life in the midst of a town then the resort of
the most illustrious and fashionable personages of Europe. This
exemplary attention to their father procured these three amiable sisters
the admiration of all the visitors at Spa, and was the cause of their
elevation to that rank in life to which their merits gave them so just a
title. They were all married to noblemen: one to the Earl of Beverly,
another to the Duke of Hamilton, and a third to the Duke of
Northumberland. And it is justice to them to say that they reflected
honor on their rank, rather than derived any from it.
--_Arvine._
574
MY FATHER.
I have a Father!
It needeth not that I should see His face,
When each new day brings token of His grace.
Who can deny the Power that brings to pass
The yearly miracle of springing grass?
Who can withhold allegiance, that sees
The harvest glory of the fruited trees?
575
Confessing a fault makes half amends.
Denying one doubles it.
576
Not to repent of a fault, is to justify it.
--_Pliny._
577
Whoever thinks a faultless one to see
Thinks what ne'er was, nor is, nor e'er will be.
--_Pope._
578
_Faults._--Every man has a bag hanging before him, in which he puts his
neighbors' faults, and another behind him in which he stows his own.
--_Shakespeare._
579
Better find one of our own faults,
Than ten
Of our neighbor's.
580
A GREAT MAN'S FAULTS.
Lord Bolingbroke was one evening at a large party. Political subjects
were talked of, and the conversation finally turned on the famous Duke
of Marlborough. Every one had something to say against him, many blaming
his avarice. Bolingbroke was silent. One of the company inquired, "How
is it that you say nothing? You knew him better than all of us, and
could tell us a good deal about him." Bolingbroke replied, "He was a
great man, and I have forgotten all his faults."
581
Each should be sure of an untarnished name,
Before he ventures others' faults to blame.
582
The greatest of faults, is to be conscious of none.
583
Wink at wee (little) faults; Your ain are muckle.
--_Scotch._
584
He who asks timidly courts a refusal.
585
There is pleasure in meeting the eyes of one on whom you are going to
confer a favor.
--_La Bruyere._
586
FAVORITISM.
A little figure glided through the hall.
"Is that you, Pet?" the words came tenderly.
A sob--suppressed to let the answer fall,--
"It isn't Pet, mama, it's only me."
The quivering baby-lips! They had not meant
To utter any word that could plant a sting,
But to that mother-heart a strange pang went;
She heard, and stood like a convicted thing.
One instant, and a happy little face
Thrilled 'neath unwonted kisses rained above;
And from that moment "Only Me" had place
And part with Pet in tender mother-love.
587
We like better to see those on whom we confer benefits, than those,
alas! from whom we receive them.
588
It is not the quantity of the meat but the cheerfulness of the guests,
which makes the feast.
--_Lord Clarendon._
589
Feast to-day with many makes fast to-morrow.
--_Plautus._
590
FEASTING AND FASTING.
Accustom early in your youth
To lay embargo on your mouth;
And let no rarities invite
To pall and glut your appetite;
But check it always, and give o'er
With a desire of eating more;
For where one dies by inanition,
A thousand perish by repletion:
To miss a meal sometimes is good,--
It ventilates and cools the blood.
--_Raynard._
591
Every young man has a fine season in his life when he will accept no
office, and every young woman has the same in hers, when she will accept
no husband; by and by they both change, and often take one another into
the bargain.
--_Richter._
592
FIDELITY.
He was--True as the needle to the pole,
Or as the dial to the sun.
593
MY OWN FIRESIDE.
Let others seek for empty joys
At ball or concert, rout or play;
Whilst, far from fashion's idle noise,
Her gilded domes, and trappings gay,
I while the wintry eve away,--
'Twixt book and lute the hours divide
And marvel how I e'er could stray
From thee--my own Fireside!
594
All that a fish drinks goes out at the gills.
(Spent as soon as got.)
595
Did we not flatter ourselves, the flattery of others could never hurt
us.
--_Rochefoucauld._
596
_Boswell_: "No quality will get a man more friends than a disposition to
admire the qualities of others. I do not mean flattery, but a sincere
admiration." _Johnson_: "Nay, Sir, flattery pleases very generally. In
the first place, the flatterer may think what he says to be true; but in
the second place, whether he thinks so or not, he certainly thinks those
whom he flatters of consequence enough to be flattered."
--_Boswell's Johnson._
597
_Flowers._--These children of the meadows, born of sunshine and of
showers!
--_Whittier._
598
_Flowers._--Pretty daughters of the Earth and Sun.
599
What a desolate place would be a world without a flower! It would be a
face without a smile--a feast without a welcome Are not flowers the
stars of the earth? and are not the stars we see at night the flowers of
heaven?
600
It is my faith that every flower which blows
Enjoys the air it breathes.
--_Wordsworth._
601
How many a flower is born to blush unseen,
And waste its sweetness on the desert air.
--_Gray._
602
I never cast a flower away,
The gift of one who cared for me;
A little flower--a faded flower,
But it was done reluctantly.
--_L. E. Landon._
603
Flowers are the pledges of fruit.
--_From the Danish._
604
He who gives advice to a fool, beats the air with a stick.
605
None is a fool always, everyone sometimes.
606
_Infallible Test._--A theological student, supposed to be deficient in
judgment, was asked by a professor, in the course of a class
examination, "Pray, how would you discover a fool?" "By the questions he
would ask," was the rather stunning reply.
607
One never needs one's wits so much as when one has to do with a fool.
608
Nothing is so silly as to insist on being the only person who is right.
609
How ill white hairs become a fool and jester.
610
If all fools wore white caps, the majority of us would look like a flock
of geese.
611
Young folks tell what they do, old ones what they have done, and the
others (fools) what they intend to do.
612
Where force prevails, right perishes.
--_Spanish._
613
If there is a harvest ahead, even a distant one, it is poor thrift to be
stingy of your seed-corn!
--_Carlyle._
614
A FOREST IDYL.
Stranger, if thou hast learned a truth which needs
No school of long experience, that the world
Is full of guilt and misery, and hast seen
Enough of all its sorrows, crimes and cares
To tire thee of it, enter this wild wood
And view the haunts of Nature. The calm shade
Shall bring a kindred calm, and the sweet breeze
That makes the green leaves dance, shall waft a balm
To thy sick heart.
--_Bryant._
615
A retentive memory may be a good thing, but the ability to forget is the
true token of greatness.
616
If there be
One of you all that ever from my presence
I have with sadden'd heart unkindly sent,
I here, in meek repentance, of him crave
A brother's hand, in token of forgiveness.
617
'Tis easier for the generous to forgive
Than for the offender to ask it.
618
THE ALTERNATIVES.
A gentleman went to a friend, in great anger at a real injury he had
received, which he intended to resent. After relating the particulars,
he enquired if it would not be _manly_ to resent it? His friend replied,
"Yes; it would doubtless be _manly_ to resent it, but it would be
_godlike_ to forgive it."
619
FORGIVENESS.
How beautifully falls
Forgiveness--'tis the attribute of God--
From human lips that bless'd word, Forgive;
Thrice happy he whose heart has been so schooled
That he can give it utterance; it imparts
Celestial grandeur to the human soul,
And maketh man an angel.
620
We forgive just as long as we love.
621
FORGIVE.
Hast thou a grudge within thy breast,
Which time will not repair?
Is hatred still a lurking guest
To intercept thy prayer?
"Forgive, and thou shalt be forgiven"
Is the decree of heaven.
"Till seven times! shall I forgive?"
Was asked our gracious Lord,
List to his answer, heed and live,
"Seventy times seven" 's His word.
"Forgive, and ye shall be forgiven;"
Doubt not the word of heaven.
--_Unknown._
622
He that cannot forgive others, breaks down the bridge over which he must
pass himself, for every one has need to be forgiven.
--_Lord Herbert._
623
The world never forgives; it is only God and our mothers that can do
that.
--_Ellen F. Fowler._
624
Forgiveness that covers only part of the wrong, is like two fingers
given in a handshake.
--_Wells._
625
SUPPOSE YOU TRY FORGIVENESS.
The story is told of a British soldier who had broken every rule of the
army and on whom every form of punishment had been inflicted without
avail. He sinned again. His commanding officer was in despair as to what
should be done. A fellow officer said, "Suppose you try forgiveness."
The guilty soldier was summoned. On being asked what he had to say in
palliation of his offense, he hung his head and replied: "Nothing,
except I'm very sorry." "Well," said the officer, "We have decided to
forgive you." The culprit looked dazed, burst into tears, saluted, and
went out to become one of the best soldiers in the army.
--_From The Rise of a Soul._
By James I. Vance.
626
Individuals sometimes forgive, but bodies and societies never do.
627
Nothing is more dangerous to men than a sudden change of fortune.
--_Quintilian._
628
The continuance of good fortune forms no ground of ultimate security.
629
Fortune gives too much to many, but to none enough.
--_Martial._
630
Good-fortune comes to some people while they are asleep, i. e., without
their seeking it.
631
Good fortune that comes seldom, comes more welcome.
--_Dryden._
632
How often it is, in the twinkling of an eye one vicissitude of fortune
follows another.
--_Horatius._
633
That which we acquire with most difficulty, we retain the longest; as
those who have earned a fortune are usually more careful of it than
those who have inherited one.
--_Cotton._
634
Fortune knocks once at least at every one's door.
635
If fortune favors you, do not be too elated; if she frowns, do not
despond too much.
636
Manners often make fortunes.
637
Fortune sometimes makes quick despatch, and in a day
May strip you bare as beggary itself.
--_Cumberland._
638
_The Result of Fortune_:--The generality of men sink in virtue as they
rise in fortune.
--_Sir J. Beaumont._
639
Don't live in hope with your arms folded. Fortune smiles on those who
roll up their sleeves and put their shoulders to the wheel.
640
Whil'st fortun'd favour'd; friends, you smil'd on me:
But, when she fled, a friend I could not see.
--_Burton._
641
GOD IN THE HEART.
Collins, the freethinker, met a plain countryman going to church. He
asked him where he was going. "To church sir." "What to do there?" "To
worship God." "Pray, whether is your God a great or little God?" "He is
both, sir." "How can He be both?" "He is so great that the heaven of
heavens cannot contain Him, and so little that He can dwell in my
heart." Collins declared that this simple answer had an effect upon his
mind such as all the volumes which learned men had written against him
had not.
642
The bird once out of hand is hard to recover.
--_From the Danish._
643
FREEDOM WEEPS.
A time like this demands
Strong minds, stout hearts, true faith and ready hands;
Men whom the lust of office cannot kill,
Men whom the spoils of office cannot buy,
Men who possess opinion and a will,
Men who have honor, men who will not lie,
Men who can stand before a demagogue
And scorn his treacherous flatteries without winking,
Tall men, sun crowned, who live above the fog
In public duty, and in private thinking;
For while the rabble with their thumb worn creeds,
Their large professions, and their little deeds
Mingle in selfish strife, lo! Freedom weeps,
Wrong rules the land and waiting Justice sleeps!
--_Unknown._
644
He who attacks an absent friend, or who does not defend him when spoken
ill of by another--that man is a dark character; beware of him.
645
Be my friend, and teach me to be thine!
646
TIMON'S SOLILOQUY.
My shadow, wheresoe'er I wend,
Is with me, like a flattering friend.
But chiefly when the sun in June
Is climbing to its highest noon,
My fond attendant closes near,
As I were growing still more dear;
And then, to show its love complete,
Falls even servile at my feet,
Where, proud of place, it scarcely nods
Before the temple of the Gods.
But when the evening sun descends,
It seems to seek for other friends,
Making a dial of the town,
To tell that Timon's day goes down;
And when the stormy night comes on,
I look, and lo! my shade is--gone.
--_Atlantic Monthly._
647
Ah, how good it feels;
The hand of an old friend!
648
If you want enemies, excel others; if you want friends, let others excel
you.
649
A man may have a thousand intimate acquaintances and not a friend among
them all. If you have one friend, think yourself happy.
650
Go slowly to the entertainment of your friends, but quickly to their
misfortunes.
651
LEAVE A FRIEND.
Leave a friend! So base I am not. I followed him in his prosperity, when
the skies were clear and shining, and will not leave him when storms
begin to rise; as gold is tried by the furnace, and the baser metal is
shown, so the hollow-hearted friend is known by adversity.
--_Metastasio._
652
Do not lose sight of old attachments for the sake of making new
friendships.
653
A man who is fond of disputing, will, in time, have few friends to
dispute with.
654
AN OLD RHYME.
I once had money and a friend,
By both I set great store;
I lent my money to my friend,
He was my friend no more.
If I had my money and my friend,
As I had once before,
I'd keep my money to myself,
And lose my friend no more.
--_Living Age._
655
If you have a friend worth loving,
Love him. Yes, and let him know
That you love him, ere life's evening
Tinge his brow with sunset glow;
Why should good words ne'er be said
Of a friend till he is dead?
656
It is more dishonorable to distrust a friend than to be deceived by him.
--_Rochefoucauld._
657
No life is so strong and complete, But it sometimes yearns for the smile
of a friend.
--_Wallace Bruce._
658
He was never a friend who ceased to be so--for a slight cause.
--_Seneca._
659
A friend cannot be known in prosperity; and an enemy cannot be hidden in
adversity.
660
When a friend asks, there should be no tomorrow.
661
The best mirror is an old friend.
662
I am not of that feather to shake off my friend when he must need me. I
do know him, a gentleman that well deserves a help, which he shall have:
I'll pay the debt and free him.
--_Shakespeare._
663
A cut or slight from a foe or stranger, may be scarred over, but a stab
from a friend you love hardly ever heals.
--_H. L. Meader._
664
He that telleth thee that thou art always wrong, may be deceived; but he
that saith that thou art always right, is surely not telling the truth.
665
No man can be happy without a friend, nor be sure of his friend till he
is unfortunate.
666
He that ceases to be a friend never was a good one.
667
A FRIEND THAT STICKETH CLOSER THAN A BROTHER.
One there is above all others,
Well deserves the name of Friend!
His is love beyond a brother's,
Costly, free, and knows no end:
They who once His kindness prove,
Find it everlasting love!
--_Newton._
668
If you wink at your friend's vices you make them your own.
669
Without a friend the world is but a wilderness.
--_German._
670
Absolute friends are very rare.
671
Friends, but few on earth, and therefore dear.
--_Pollok._
672
It is to chance we owe our relatives, to choice our friends.
673
Equals make the best friends.
674
False friends are like our shadows, keeping close to us while we walk in
the sunshine, but leaving us the instant we cross into the shade.
--_Bovee._
675
There are plenty acquaintances in the world, but very few real friends.
--_Chinese._
676
By my skill I have got many acquaintances, my manners very many friends.
677
Friends are lost by calling often, and calling seldom.
678
CHOOSING FRIENDS.
We ought always to make choice of persons of such worth and honor for
our friends, that, if they should even cease to be so, they will not
abuse our confidence, nor give us cause to fear them as enemies.
--_Addison._
679
Let us make the best of our friends while we have them, for how long we
shall keep them is uncertain.
680
Friends are like melons. Shall I tell you why?
To find one good, you must a hundred try.
--_Claude Mermet._
681
Friends are sometimes like titled husbands, easy to get, if you have
enough money.
--_H. L. Meader._
682
Make new friends, but keep the old;
Those are silver, these are gold.
683
My treasures are my friends.
684
Without friends, no one would choose to live, even if he had all other
good things.
685
Old friends and old ways ought not to be disdained.
--_Danish._
686
FRIENDS--PAUCITY OF
Friends, but few on earth, and therefore dear.
--_Pollok._
687
The poor man's assets are his friends.
688
Purchase not friends by gifts; when thou ceasest to give such will cease
to love.
--_Fuller._
689
RECOGNITION IN HEAVEN.
Baxter said:--"I must confess, as the experience of my own soul, that
the expectation of loving my friends in heaven principally kindles my
love to them while on earth. If I thought I should never know, and
consequently never love them after this life, I should number them with
temporal things, and love them as such; but I now delightfully converse
with my pious friends, in a firm persuasion that I shall converse with
them forever; and I take comfort in those that are dead or absent,
believing that I shall shortly meet them in heaven, and love them with a
heavenly love."
690
A gift kept back where it was hoped, often separateth chief friends.
691
Strange to say,--I am the only one of my friends I can rely upon.
--_Terence._
692
There is no living without friends.
--_Portuguese._
693
True friends anticipate each other's wants.
694
Friends are sometimes like mushrooms, they spring up in out-of-the-way
places.
695
At the gate of abundance there are many brothers and friends; at the
gate of misfortune there is neither brother nor friend.
696
It is one of the severest tests of friendship to tell a man of his
faults. So to love a man that you cannot bear to see the stain of sin
upon him, and to go to him alone and speak painful truths in touching,
tender words,--that is friendship, and a friendship as rare as it is
precious.
697
Henceforth there shall be no other contention betwixt you and me, than
which shall outdo the other in point of friendship.
698
Cultivate your neighbor's friendship; he needs you and you need him.
699
Friendship often ends in love;
But love, in friendship
--Never.
700
Renewed friendships require more care than those that have never been
broken.
--_Rochefoucauld._
701
_Need for making Acquaintance._--If a man does not make new
acquaintances as he advances through life, he will soon find himself
left alone. A man should keep his friendship _in constant repair_.
--_Sam'l Johnson._
702
Suspicion kills friendship.
--_Hugh Black._
703
Who friendship with a knave hath made,
Is judg'd a partner in the trade.
704
What need of years, long years, to prove
The sense of friendship, or of love!
705
There is truly nothing purer and warmer than our first friendship, our
first love.
--_Jean Paul Richter._
706
The permanency of most friendships depends upon the continuity of good
fortune.
707
Quickly made friendships, are often eagerly and quickly ended.
708
FRIENDSHIP--RARITY OF.
Rare is true love: true friendship is still rarer.
--_Rochefoucauld._
709
Real friendship is like a sheltering tree.
710
He is my friend that helps me, and not he that pities me.
711
Friendship has a power
To soothe affliction in her darkest hour.
--_H. Kirke White._
712
O summer friendship,
Whose flattering leaves, that shadow'd us in
Our prosperity, with the least gust drop off
In th' autumn of adversity!
--_Massinger._
713
THE HIGHER FRIENDSHIP.
Love Him, and keep Him for thy Friend, who, when all go away, will not
forsake thee, nor suffer thee to perish at the last.
--_Thomas A'Kempis._
714
True friendship is one of the greatest blessings upon earth; it makes
the cares and anxieties of life sit easy; provides us with a partner in
every affliction to alleviate the burthen, and is a sure resort against
every accident and difficulty that can happen.
715
True friendship is like sound health; the value of it is seldom known
until it is lost.
--_Colton._
716
Those who speak always and those who never speak, are equally unfit for
friendship.
717
He who never gives advice, and he who never takes it are alike unworthy
of friendship.
718
He who is worthy of friendship at all will remember in his prosperity
those who were his friends in his adversity.
719
Value the friendship of him who stands by you in a storm; swarms of
insects will surround you in the sunshine.
720
No matter how poor and mean a man is, his friendship is worth more than
his hate.
721
Good fruit never comes from a bad tree.
--_Portuguese._
722
There is nothing like fun, is there? I haven't any myself, but I do like
it in others.
--_Haliburton._
723
_Groping for the Door._--O door, so close, yet so far off!
--_Miss Mulock._
724
If you would have your name chime melodiously in the ears of future
days, cultivate faith, and not doubt, giving unto every man credit for
the good he does, and never attribute base motives to beautiful acts.
--_Unknown._
725
_Future_:--The future does not come from before to meet us, but comes
streaming up from behind over our heads.
--_Rahel._
726
_Future--to be met without Fear_:--Look not mournfully into the
past,--it comes not back again; wisely improve the present,--it is
thine; go forth to meet the shadowy future without fear, and with a
manly heart.
--_Longfellow._
G
727
One thing obtained with difficulty is far better than a hundred things
procured with ease.
--_The Talmud._
728
Gain, has oft, with treacherous hopes led men to ruin.
--_Sophocles._
729
Either hand must wash the other;
If you take, then you must give.
730
Gain has a pleasant odor.
731
Prefer loss before unjust gain; for that brings grief but once; this
forever.
--_Chilon._
732
Gain at the expense of reputation should be called loss.
733
No pains, no gains.
--_Italian._
734
It is impossible to be just, if one is not generous.
--_Joseph Roux._
735
Justice should precede generosity.
736
Generosity should never exceed ability.
--_Cicero._
737
A GENTLEMAN.
Show me the man who can quit the brilliant society of the young and
listen to the kindly voice of age, who can hold cheerful converse with
one whom years have deprived of charms. Show me the man of generous
impulses, who is always ready to help the poor and needy; who treats
unprotected maidenhood as he would the heiress surrounded by the
protection of rank, riches and family; who never forgets for an instant
the delicacy, the respect, that is due a woman in any condition or
class. Show me such a man and you show me a gentleman--nay, more, you
show me a true Christian.
738
It's not the gay coat makes the gentleman.
739
The man who is kind and obliging and is ready to do you a favor without
hope of reward, who speaks the truth--is a gentleman,
In any garb,
And wherever he may be found.
740
Propriety of manners and consideration for others are the two main
characteristics of a gentleman.
741
REAL AND ARTIFICIAL GENTLEMEN.
A friend of mine, not long ago, coming over from Ireland, heard a man
asking, in reference to another, who he was. "I don't know," was the
reply; "but he's quite a gentleman. He always wears a tall hat." Indeed,
there are those who seem to be incapable of valuing their fellow-men by
anything except their clothes. A story is told of a Persian prince,
which well illustrates such worldliness. Dressed as a poor man, this
prince went to a feast. He was pushed here and there, could not get to
the table, and had soon to withdraw. On going home, he dressed himself
in his best, placing jewelled slippers on his feet, and putting on a
cloth-of-gold cloak. Then he returned to the feast, where matters were
immediately altered. The guests made room, and the host, rushing up,
cried, "Welcome, my lord! What will your lordship please to eat?" The
prince's answer was very expressive. Stretching out his foot, so that
his slipper sparkled and glittered, he took his golden robe in his hand,
and said with bitter irony, "Welcome, my lord coat! welcome, most
excellent robe! What will your lordship please to eat? For," said he,
turning to his surprised host, "I ought to ask my coat what it will eat,
since the welcome was solely to it."
742
We never teach men to be gentlemen, but we teach them everything else;
and they never pique themselves so much on all the rest, as on knowing
how to be gentlemen. They pique themselves only on knowing the one thing
they have not learnt.
743
The true gentleman is he who does not plume himself on anything.
--_Rochefoucauld._
744
Let him speak who received; let the giver hold his peace.
745
Give freely to him that deserveth well and asketh nothing; and that is a
way of giving to thyself.
--_Fuller._
746
Better a penny given with a smile than a pound given with a frown.
747
To give so as to bestow a favor and not create an obligation, is a
delicate art.
748
He gives twice who gives quickly, according to the proverb; but a gift
not only given quickly but unexpectedly, is the most welcome of all.
749
He who sedulously attends, pointedly asks, calmly speaks, coolly
answers, and ceases when he has no more to say, is in possession of some
of the best mental gifts of mankind.
750
THE BEST GIFTS.
The best of gifts to mortal man is health;
The next, the bloom of beauty's matchless flower;
The third is blameless and unfraudful wealth;
The fourth with friends to use youth's joyous hour.
--_Millman._
751
THE DYING GIRL TO HER LOVER.
Fare thee well, love, fare thee well,
From the world I pass away,
Where the brightest things that dwell
All deceive and all decay;
Cheerfully I fall asleep
As by some mysterious spell,
Yet I weep to see thee weep--
Fare thee well, love, fare thee well!
Tell of me, love, tell of me,
Not amid the heartless throng,
Not when passion bends the knee,
Not where pleasure trills the song.
But when some most cherish'd one
By your side at 'eve shall be,
Ere your twilight tales are done,
Tell of me, love, tell of me!
Leave me now, love, leave me now,
Not with sorrow, not with sighs,
Not with clouds, love, on thy brow,
Not with tears, love, in thine eyes.
We shall meet, we know not where,
And be blest, we dream not how,
With a kiss and with a prayer
Leave me now, love, leave me now!
--_By Winthrop M. Praed._
752
ADVICE TO A GIRL.
Never love unless you can
Bear with all the faults of man!
Men sometimes will jealous be
Though but little cause they see,
And hang the head as discontent,
And speak what straight they will repent.
Men, when their affairs require,
Must awhile themselves retire;
Sometimes hunt, and sometimes hawk,
And not ever sit and talk:----
If these and such-like you can bear,
Then like, and love, and never fear!
--_Thomas Campion._
753
THE EDUCATION OF GIRLS.
The Princess of Wales has decided views on the education of children.
Her Royal Highness, it appears, strongly objects to "cramming" children
with useless learning, which she declares is a mere waste of time.
The Princess considers it harmful to force a child in studies which are
distasteful to it, and that the child should be allowed to abandon that
study, and take up one it likes better.
Similarly, she disapproves of advanced arithmetic for girls. She
considers that all that most girls need ever know about arithmetic, is
addition and subtraction, "enough to know how to do their housekeeping
and pay their debts," she says.
--_London Paper._
754
No one can give what he has not.
--_Latin._
755
Not every one that dances is glad.
--_French._
756
THE HOUR GLASS
Is an emblem of human life. Behold! how swiftly the sands run, and how
rapidly our lives are drawing to a close! We cannot, without
astonishment, behold the little particles which are contained in this
machine; how they pass away almost imperceptibly! And yet, to our
surprise, in the short space of an hour, they are all exhausted. Thus
wastes man! To-day he puts forth the tender leaves of hope; to-morrow,
blossoms, and bears his blushing honors thick upon him; the next day
comes a frost, which nips the shoot; and when he thinks his greatness is
still aspiring, he falls, like autumn leaves, to enrich our mother
earth.
757
_The Greatness of God._--Said Dr. Guthrie, "If philosophy is to be
believed, our world is but an outlying corner of creation; bearing,
perhaps, as small a proportion to the great universe, as a single grain
bears to all the sands of the seashore, or one small quivering leaf to
the foliage of a boundless forest." Yet even within this earth's narrow
limits, how vast the work of Providence! How soon is the mind lost in
contemplating it! How great that Being whose hand paints every flower,
and shapes every leaf; who forms every bud on every tree; who feeds each
crawling worm with a parent's care, and watches like a mother over the
insect that sleeps away the night in the bosom of a flower; who throws
open the golden gates of day, and draws around a sleeping world the
dusky curtains of the night; who measures out the drops of every shower,
the whirling snowflakes, and the sands of man's eventful life; who
determines alike the fall of a sparrow and the fate of a kingdom; and so
overrules the tide of human fortunes, that whatever befall him, come joy
or sorrow, the believer says--"It is the Lord; let Him do what seemeth
Him good."
758
But as it is written, "Eye hath not seen, nor ear heard, neither have
entered into the heart of man, the things which God hath prepared for
them that love him."
--_I Cor. 2, 9v._
759
Every little blade of grass declareth the presence of God.
--_From the Latin._
760
THE FATHER'S LOVE.
Rest and be still:
Nought happens thee but of His blessed will.
There's not a wind that blows,
There's not a lily grows
Without His bidding--and His child shall He
Forget and leave uncomforted? Nay, see
How not a small brown sparrow (sorry thing!)
Without His hand can droop or raise a wing!
And thou art better far unto thy God!
Lo! if He calls thee to a way untrod
Where stones and rugged places tear thy feet,
And bitter herbs alone are for thy meat,
Or if He set thee high, and with a song
Fill thy rejoicing mouth, and make thee strong;
Yet know thou this: He loves thee just as dear
When dimpling laughter lights thy face, or tear
With bitter tear goes chasing down thy cheek,
And thy poor heart may break but cannot speak!
Rest and be still.
God hath not good and ill.
All that He sends is good, altho' our eye
For weeping scarce His rainbow can descry.
He is our Father, and His name is Love.
E'en when thy grief is greatest--look above!
Look up! look up! and thou shalt surely see
A Father's loving face down-bent to thee!
--_Deborah._
761
The more a man denies himself, the more he shall obtain from God.
--_Horace._
762
THE LOVE OF GOD.
The following beautiful lines were composed in 1779, by a distinguished
scholar--at the time partially insane.
Could we with ink the ocean fill,
Were the whole earth of parchment made,
Were every single stick a quill,
Were every man a scribe by trade;
To write the love of God alone,
Would drain the ocean dry;
Nor would the scroll contain the whole
Though stretched from earth to sky.
763
Whoever devotes himself to the veneration of God, whatever road he may
choose, will come to God, and that the means to this, is, to avoid
hurting any living being.
Be true and thou shalt be free;
Truth belongs to thee, and thy success to the creator.
_From the Persian._
--_By David Shea and A. Troy._
764
Who comes to God an inch, through doubtings dim,
In blazing light God will
Advance a mile to him.
--_Sayings of Rabia._
765
A gold key is apt to open every door.
--_Massinger._
766
THE GOLDEN RULE.
If I should see
A brother languishing in sore distress,
And I should turn and leave him comfortless
When I might be
A messenger of hope and happiness--
How could I ask to have what I denied
In my own hour of bitterness supplied?
If I might share
A brother's load along the dusty way,
And I should turn and walk alone that day--
How could I dare,
When, in the evening watch, I knelt to pray
To ask for help to bear my pain and loss,
If I had heeded not my brother's cross?
And so I know
That day is lost wherein I fail to lend
A helping hand to some wayfaring friend;
But if it show
A burden lightened by the cheer I sent,
Then do I hold the golden hours well spent,
And lay me down to sleep in sweet content.
767
GOLF AND MATRIMONY.
"As an illustration of the enthusiasm with which golf is pursued by its
votaries," says _Harper's Weekly_, "the following anecdote is told of a
well known Scotch author, and a young friend of his. The two had spent
the whole day on the links, and had had some close and exciting matches;
as they left for home the elder man remarked:
"'Do you think ye could play again to-morrow, laddie?'
"'Well,' answered the youth, 'I was going to be married to-morrow, but I
can put it off.'"
768
All things come round to him who will but wait and work.
769
Every person is responsible for all the good within the scope of his
abilities.
770
Doing good is the only certainly happy action of a man's life.
--_Sir P. Sidney._
771
The pleasure of doing good is the only one that never wears out.
772
The good we have received from a man requires us to be tender of the
evil he does us.
773
Seeking others' good, we find our own.
774
What is the difference between being good and bad? The good do not yield
to temptations, and the bad do.
The definition was so simple and so wise, that Leonard was more struck
with it than he might have been by an elaborate sermon.
--_Sir E. B. Lytton, Bart._
775
TOO LATE.
And as each day, that ne'er returns,
But joins the past,
Comes and goes by, the rich man toils
Hard at his task,--
No time for thought or anything
But just his wealth.
Can he be dreaming life's for aye?
Now fails his health,
And death comes in and beckons him away.
Good that was in his hands to do,
He left undone,
Forgetting, in his race for wealth,
Life's setting sun!
His thoughts all lay in how to make
One dollar seven:
And then, too late, he found, for gold
There's no demand in heaven.
776
GOOD-BY.
"Farewell! farewell!" is often heard
From the lips of those who part:
'Tis a whispered tone,--'tis a gentle word,
But it springs not from the heart.
It may serve for the lover's closing lay,
To be sung 'neath a summer sky;
But give to me the lips that say
The honest words, "Good-by!"
"Adieu! adieu!" may greet the ear,
In the guise of courtly speech:
But when we leave the kind and dear,
'Tis not what the soul would teach.
Whene'er we grasp the hands of those
We would have forever nigh,
The flame of friendship bursts and glows
In the warm, frank words, "Good-by."
The mother, sending forth her child
To meet with cares and strife,
Breathes through her tears, her doubts, and fears
For the loved one's future life.
No cold "adieu," no "farewell," lives
Within her choking sigh,
But the deepest sob of anguish gives,
"God bless, thee, boy! 'Good-by!'"
--_Anonymous._
777
The sign of goodness in the young is to love the old; and in the old to
love the young.
778
To all, to each, a fair good night,
And pleasing dreams, and slumbers light.
--_Sir Walter Scott._
779
The Cross is the guarantee of the Gospel; therefore it has been its
standard.
--_Amiel._
780
There is so much bad in the best of us,
And so much good in the worst of us,
That it hardly behooves any of us,
To talk about the rest of us.
--_Robert Louis Stevenson._
781
_Leviticus xix. 16._--"Thou shalt not go up and down as a talebearer
among thy people."
At a small town in ----shire lives a decent honest woman, who has for
more than forty years gained her livelihood by washing in gentlemen's
families. She gives the highest satisfaction to all her employers, and
has, in several instances, been the whole of that time in the employ of
the same families. Indeed, those whom she has once served never wish to
part with her. She has one distinguishing excellency, it is this:
through all this course of years,--forty--she has never been known, by
either mistress or servant, to repeat in one house what was said or done
in another.
--_John Whitecross_, _Edinburgh, 1835_.
782
Tale-bearers, as I said before, are just as bad as the tale-makers.
--_Sheridan._
783
The inquisitive are the funnels of conversation; they do not take in
anything for their own use, but merely to pass it to others.
--_Steele._
784
What future misery ought they to endure who talk of what is not good in
others.
--_Chinese Maxim._
785
If families have no sons devoted to letters, whence are the governors of
the people to come?
(Necessity for general education.)
--_Chinese._
786
He governs best who governs least.
--_Latin._
787
GRACE.
Some hae meat and canna eat,
And some that want it, but canna get it;
But we hae meat, and we can eat,
And sae the Lord be thankit.
--_Burns._
788
REBUKED BY A KING.
The king of one of the Friendly Islands became a Christian, and once
went on board of a British vessel, where he was invited to dine with the
officers. Observing he did not taste his food, the Captain inquired the
cause; when the simple native replied, that he was waiting for the
blessing to be asked. All felt rebuked, and the king was desired to say
grace, which he did with becoming solemnity.
789
Expect not praise from the mean,
Neither gratitude from the selfish.
790
THANKS--FOR FAVORS.
Your bounty is beyond my speaking;
But though my mouth be dumb, my heart shall thank you;
And when it melts before the throne of mercy,
My fervent soul shall breathe one tear for you,
That heaven will pay you back, when most you need,
The grace and goodness you have shown to me.
791
God judges your gratitude more by your hands than by your hymns.
792
Many a thanksgiving sermon mistakes glorification of self for gratitude
to God.
793
May we look around us with pleasure,
And above us with gratitude.
794
GRATITUDE.
Nought so becomes a man as gratitude
For good received; Noble deeds are still
The offspring of benevolence, whilst he
With whom remembrance dies of blessings past
Is vile and worthless.
--_Sophocles, born 496, B. C._
795
It is much better to make presents in articles than in money, because
gratitude for the latter is spent as soon as that is.
--_Jean Paul Richter._
796
Gratitude, we find in the dictionary, but not often in the heart of man.
797
When the tree is felled, its shadows disappear.
(Desertion of the great by their parasites.)
--_Chinese._
798
AGAINST EXCESSIVE GRIEF.
(From a letter addressed to the Countess of Essex on the loss of her
only daughter.)
"I know no duty in religion more generally agreed on, nor more justly
required by God Almighty, than a perfect submission to His will in all
things; nor do I think any disposition of mind can either please Him
more, or become us better, than that of being satisfied with all He
gives, and contented with all He takes away. None, I am sure, can be of
more honor to God, nor of more ease to ourselves. For, if we consider
Him as our Maker, we cannot contend with Him; if as our Father, we ought
not to distrust Him: so that we may be confident whatever He does is
intended for good; and whatever happens that we interpret otherwise, yet
we can get nothing by repining, nor save anything by resisting.
Submission is the only way of reasoning between a creature and its
Maker; and contentment in His will is the greatest duty we can pretend
to, and the best remedy we can apply to all our misfortunes."
799
GOD'S SURE HELP IN SORROW.
Leave all to God,
Forsaken one, and stay thy tears;
For the Highest knows thy pain,
Sees thy sufferings and thy fears;
Thou shalt not wait His help in vain;
Leave all to God!
Be still and trust!
For His strokes are strokes of love,
Thou must for thy profit bear;
He thy filial fear would move,
Trust thy Father's loving care,
Be still and trust!
Know God is near!
Though thou think Him far away,
Though His mercy long have slept,
He will come and not delay,
When His child enough hath wept,
For God is near!
Oh, teach Him not
When and how to hear thy prayers;
Never doth our God forget;
He the cross who longest bears
Finds his sorrows' bounds are set;
Then teach Him not!
If thou love Him,
Walking truly in His ways,
Then no trouble, cross or death
E'er shall silence faith and praise;
All things serve thee here beneath,
If thou love God.
_From the German of Anton Ulrich, Duke of Brunswick, 1667. Translation
of Catherine Winkworth, 1855._
800
He grieves more than is necessary who grieves before it is necessary.
--_Seneca._
801
"A great Latin poet said nearly two thousand years ago:
'If you would draw tears from the eyes of others,
Yourself the sign of grief must show.'"
--_From W. J. Bryan's speech in Japan._
802
They truly mourn that mourn without a witness.
--_R. Baron._
803
There is no grief that time will not soften.
--_Cicero._
804
He mourns indeed who mourns when he's alone.
805
"Maybe the remark of a child I once overheard helped me to learn to
complain and grumble as little as possible," said Dr. Burt. "While I was
studying at Wilbraham Academy I spent a few days with this child's
father, a good man but a chronic growler. We were all sitting in the
parlor one night, when the question of food arose. The child, a little
girl, told cleverly what each member of the household liked best.
Finally it came to the father's turn to be described as to his favorite
dish.
'And what do I like, Lucy, my pet?' he said, laughingly.
'You,' said the little girl, slowly--'well, papa, dear, you like most
anything we haven't got.'"
806
Guilt is always cowardly.
--_From the Latin._
807
Dr. Guthrie tells an anecdote in which he humorously introduces a
Brechin citizen, alive in his youthful days:--"An honest countryman came
one day to Mr. Linton (head master of the grammar school) with a
halflin[807:A], a long, empty chap, who had taken it into his head that
he would have some little learning. Said the father, 'Mr. Linton, ye
see, my laddie's fond o' lear'[807:B], and I'm thinking o' makin' a
scholar o' him.' 'But,' said Mr. Linton, looking at the youth, and not
seeing any sign that there was much in him, 'What are you to make of
him?' 'You see, Mr. Linton,' rejoined the father--and it showed how
sound the old Scotchman was--'if he gets grace, we'll make a minister o'
him!' 'Oh, but,' says Mr. Linton, 'if he does not get grace, what will
you make of him then?' 'Weel, in that case,' said the parent, 'if he
disna get grace, we'll just mak' a dominie o' him! '"
--_From Memoir._
FOOTNOTES:
[807:A] Half-grown.
[807:B] Learning.
807a
_Dr. Guthrie to his Son_: "I saw an adage yesterday, in a medical
magazine, which is well worth your remembering and acting on, it is this
wise saying of the great Lord Bacon's:--'Who asks much learns much.' I
remember the day when I did not like by asking, to confess my ignorance.
I have long given up that, and now seize on every opportunity of adding
to my stock of knowledge."
--_From Memoir of Dr. Guthrie._
H
808
HA AND AH!
Ha, is an exclamation denoting surprise or joy; ah, an exclamation
expressive of pity or grief.
--_Fuller._
809
How use doth breed a habit in a man!--
--_Shakespeare._
810
HOW TO CORRECT A BAD HABIT.
Penn was once advising a man to leave off his habit of drinking
intoxicating liquors.
"Can you tell me how to do it?" said the slave of his appetite.
"Yes," answered Penn. "It is just as easy as to open thy hand, friend."
"Convince me of that and I will promise, upon my honor, to do as you
tell me."
"Well, my friend," said the great Quaker, "when thou findest any vessel
of intoxicating liquor in thy hand, open the hand that grasps it before
it reaches thy mouth, and thou wilt never be drunk again."
The man was so pleased with the plain advice that he followed it.
--_Monthly Magazine._
811
You need not wrestle and strive with the old habit, only just be
persistent in forming the good one, and the bad one will take care of
itself.
--_Ursula._
812
Habit is like a cable; we weave a thread of it every day, and at last we
cannot break it.
--_Horace Mann._
813
No man is free who is a slave to any kind of useless habit.
--_Seneca._
814
Habit, if not resisted soon, becomes necessity.
--_St. Augustine._
815
Habit with him was all the test of truth,
"It must be right: I've done it from my youth."
--_Crabbe._
816
INNOCENCE AND GUILT.
A painter, desiring to paint a picture of Innocence, found a beautiful
boy playing at the side of a stream, who became his model. He painted
him kneeling, with his hands clasped in prayer. The picture was prized
as a very beautiful one. Years passed away, and the artist became an old
man. He had often thought of painting a counterpart, the picture of
guilt, as a companion to the other; and at last he executed it. He went
to a neighboring prison, and there selected the most degraded and
repulsive man he could find. His body and eye were wasted; vice was
visible in his very face. But what was the artist's surprise when, on
questioning the man as to his history, he found that it was he who, as a
lovely boy, had kneeled for him as the model of Innocence! Evil habits
had gradually changed him, not only in heart and mind, but in face and
form.
817
All habits gather by unseen degrees.
As brooks make rivers, rivers run to seas.
--_Dryden: Ovid._
818
Old habits are hard to break; new habits are hard to make.
819
Taste may change; our inclinations never change.
820
Habits are soon assumed--acquired--but when we strive to strip them
off,--if of long standing--'tis being flayed alive!
--_Cowper._
821
To stop the hand, is the way to stop the mouth.
(If a man will not work, neither shall he eat.)
--_Chinese._
822
ELOQUENCE OF THE HANDS.
The hands are, by the very instincts of humanity, raised in prayer;
clasped in affection; wrung in despair; pressed on the forehead when the
soul is "perplexed in the extreme;" drawn inward, to invite; thrust
forth objectively, to repel; the fingers point to indicate, and are
snapped in disdain; the palm is laid upon the heart, in invocation of
subdued feeling, and on the brow of the compassioned in benediction. The
expressive capacity of the hands was never more strikingly displayed
than in the orisons (prayer) of the deaf and dumb. Their teacher stood
with closed eyes, and addressing the Deity by those signs made with the
fingers which constitute a language for the speechless. Around him were
grouped more than a hundred mutes, following with reverent glances every
motion. It was a visible, but not an audible, worship.
823
THE MOST BEAUTIFUL HAND.
A dispute arose among three ladies as to which had the most beautiful
hands. One sat by a stream, and dipped her hand into the water and held
it up; another plucked strawberries until the ends of her fingers were
pink; and a third gathered violets until her hands were fragrant. An
old, haggard woman, passing by, asked, "Who will give me a gift, for I
am poor?" all three denied her; but another who sat near, unwashed in
the stream, unstained with fruit, unadorned with flowers or perfume,
gave her a little gift, and satisfied the poor woman. Then the woman
asked them what was the subject of their dispute; and they told her, and
lifted up before her their beautiful hands. "Beautiful indeed!" she
exclaimed, as she saw them. But when they asked her which was the most
beautiful, she said: "It is not the hand that is washed clean in the
brook; it is not the hand that is coloured with crimson tints; it is not
the hand that is perfumed with fragrant flowers; but the hand that gives
to the poor, that is the most beautiful."
824
TRUE HAPPINESS.
True happiness
Consists not in the multitude of friends,
But in the worth and choice: nor would I have
Them popular:
Let them be good that love me, though but few.
--_Ben Jonson._
825
Happiness consists in being perfectly satisfied with what we have got,
and with what we haven't got.
826
Happiness consists not in possessing much, but in being content with
what we possess. He who wants little, always has enough.
827
A cottage will hold as much happiness as would stock a palace.
--_Hamilton._
828
With "gentleness" his own character, "comfort" in his house, and "good
temper" in his wife, the earthly felicity of man may be said to be
complete.
--_From the German._
829
What dangers threaten a great reputation!
Far happier the man of lowly station.
830
We are happy in this world just in proportion as we make others happy.
831
A HAPPY COUPLE.
I think you the happiest couple in the world; for you are not only happy
in one another, but happy in yourselves, and by yourselves.
--_Congreve._
832
Surely happiness is reflective, like the light of heaven; and every
countenance bright with smiles, and glowing with innocent enjoyment, is
a mirror transmitting to others the rays of a supreme and ever-shining
benevolence.
--_Washington Irving._
833
To rejoice in the happiness of others is to make it our own; to produce
it, is to make it more than our own. There is happiness in the very wish
to make others happy.
--_Dr. Chalmers._
834
Unmixed happiness is not to be found in this world.
835
Hatred always hurts the hater most of all.
836
It is the nature of the human disposition to hate him whom you have
injured.
--_Tacitus._
837
I am almost frozen by the distance you are from me.
838
If a man makes me keep my distance, the comfort is, he keeps his at the
same time.
839
Health is rightly appreciated only when we are sick.
--_German Proverb._
840
A man too busy to take care of his health is like a mechanic too busy to
take care of his tools.
841
He that is well does not know how rich he is.
Better a healthy beggar, than a sick king.
--_German Proverb._
842
It is better to have less wealth and more health.
843
Health is so necessary to all duties, as well as pleasures of life, that
the crime of squandering it is equal to the folly.
844
HEALTH.
Thou chiefest good,
Bestow'd by Heaven, but seldom understood.
--_Lucan._
845
The only way for a rich man to be healthy is, by exercise and
abstinence, to live as if he were poor.
--_Sir W. Temple._
846
An innocent heart suspects no guile.
--_Portuguese._
847
A BROKEN HEART.
Dr. Mitchell of Philadelphia, in lecturing to his pupils upon the
diseases of the heart, narrated an anecdote to prove that the expression
"broken heart" was not merely figurative. On one occasion, in the early
period of his life, he accompanied, as surgeon, a packet that sailed
from Liverpool to one of the American ports. The captain frequently
conversed with him respecting a lady who had promised to become his
bride on his return from that voyage. Upon this subject he evinced great
warmth of feeling, and showed Dr. Mitchell some costly jewels,
ornaments, etc., which he intended to present as bridal presents. On
reaching his destination, he was abruptly informed that the lady had
married some one else. Instantly the captain was observed to clap his
hand to his breast, and fall heavily to the ground. He was taken up, and
conveyed to his cabin on board the vessel. Dr. Mitchell was immediately
summoned; but, before he reached the poor captain, he was dead. A
postmortem examination revealed the cause of his unfortunate disease.
His heart was found literally torn in twain! The tremendous propulsion
of blood, consequent upon such a violent nervous shock, forced the
powerful muscle tissues asunder, and life was at an end. The heart was
broken.
848
Every heart has its secret sorrow, which the world knows not; and
oftentimes we call a man cold when he is only sad.
849
PARTING.
To know, to esteem, to love,--and then to part,
Makes up life's tale to many a feeling heart.
--_Coleridge._
850
Some men's hearts are as great as the world, and still have no room in
them to hold the memory of a wrong.
851
How small is the human heart, and yet even there, God enters in.
852
A ROYAL HEART.
Ragged, uncomely, and old and gray,
A woman walked in a Scottish town;
And through the crowd, as she wound her way,
One saw her loiter and then stoop down,
Putting something away in her old, torn gown.
"You are hiding a jewel!" the watcher said--
(Ah, that was her heart, had the truth been read.)
"What have you stolen?" he asked again;
Then the dim eyes filled with a sudden pain,
And under the flickering light of the gas
She showed him her gleaning. "It's broken glass,"
She said. "I hae lifted it up frae the street
To be oot o' the rood o' the bairnies' feet!"
Under the fluttering rags astir
That was a royal heart that beat!
Would that the world had more like her
Smoothing the road for its bairnies' feet!
--_W. H. Ogilvie._
853
IS IT INSTINCT?
Ye who know the reason, tell me
How is it that instinct
Prompts the heart to like or not like
At its own capricious will?
Tell me by what hidden magic
Our impressions first are led
Into liking or disliking,
Oft before a word is said?
Why should smiles sometimes repel us?
Bright eyes turn our feelings cold?
What is it that comes to tell us
All that glitters is not gold?
Oh! no feature, plain or striking,
But a power we cannot shun
Prompts our liking and disliking,
Ere acquaintance hath begun.
Is it instinct? or some spirit
Which protects us, and controls
Every impulse we inherit,
By some sympathy of souls?
Is it instinct? is it nature?
Or some freak or fault of chance,
Which our liking or disliking
Limits to a single glance?
Like presentiment of danger,
Though the sky no shadow flings;
Or that inner sense, still stranger,
Of unseen, unuttered things?
Is it? oh! can no one tell me,
No one show sufficient cause
Why our likings and dislikings
Have their own instinctive laws?
854
_The Bitterness of Estrangement._--To be estranged from one whom we have
tenderly and constantly loved, is one of the bitterest trials the heart
can ever know.
--_Prynne._
855
There is no place where weeds do not grow, and there is no heart where
errors are not to be found.
856
We open the hearts of others when we open our own.
857
Earth hath nothing more tender than a woman's heart, when it is the
abode of piety.
858
And yet when all is thought and said,
The heart still overrules the head.
859
The All-Seeing Eye, whom the sun, moon and stars obey, and under whose
watchful care even comets perform their stupendous revolutions--pervades
the inmost recesses of the human heart, and will reward us according to
our merits.
860
There's many a good bit o' work done with a sad heart.
861
To meet, to know, to love--and then to part,
Is the sad tale of many a human heart.
--_Coleridge._
862
The heart is a small thing, but desireth great matters. It is not
sufficient for a kite's (bird of the hawk kind) dinner, yet the whole
world is not sufficient for it.
--_Quarles._
863
MY HEART.
The heart resembles the ocean! has storm, and ebb and flow;
And many a beautiful pearl lies hid in its depths below.
--_Heine._
864
The turnpike-road to people's hearts, I find,
Lies through their mouths; or I mistake mankind.
--_Dr. Warton._
865
The merry heart goes all the day,
While a sad one tires in a mile-a.
--_Shakespeare._
866
DISSENSION BETWEEN HEARTS.
Alas! how slight a cause may move
Dissension between hearts that love--
Hearts that the world in vain had tried,
And sorrow but more closely tied;
That stood the storm when waves were rough,
Yet in a sunny hour fell off,
Like ships that have gone down at sea,
When the ocean was all tranquility!
A something light as air--a look--
A word unkind or wrongly taken;
Oh, love that tempests never shook,
A breath--a touch like this hath shaken.
--_Thomas Moore._
867
Men, as well as women, are much oftener led by their hearts than by
their understandings; indeed nine times in ten it is so.
868
HEAVEN.
If God hath made this world so fair,
Where sin and death abound,
How beautiful, beyond compare,
Will Paradise be found!
--_Montgomery._
868a
Let others seek earth's honors; be it mine
One law to cherish, and to track one line--
Straight on towards heaven to press with single bent,
To know and love my God, and then to die content.
--_Newman._
869
Many a man who prides himself on doing a cash business, regards his
debts to Heaven with indifference.
870
THE DELIGHTS OF HEAVEN.
"Of the positive joys of heaven we can form no conception; but its
negative delights form a sufficiently attractive picture,--no pain; no
thirst; no hunger; no horror of the past; no fear of the future; no
failure of mental capacity; no intellectual deficiency; no morbid
imaginations; no follies; no stupidities; but above all, no insulted
feelings; no wounded affections; no despised love or unrequited regard;
no hate, envy, jealousy, or indignation of or at others; no falsehood,
dishonesty, dissimulation, hypocrisy, grief or remorse. In a word," said
Professor Wilson, "to end where I began, no sin and no suffering."
871
BELIEVE AND LIVE.
O how unlike the complex works of man,
Heaven's easy, artless, unencumbered plan!
No clustering ornaments to clog the pile;
From ostentation, as from weakness free,
It stands majestic in its own simplicity.
Inscribed above the portal, from afar,
Conspicuous as the brightness of a star,
Legible only by the light they give,
Stand the soul-quickening words--Believe and Live.
Too many, shocked at what should charm them most,
Despise the plain direction, and are lost.
Heaven on such terms! (they cry with proud disdain,)
Incredible impossible, and vain!
Rebel, because 'tis easy to obey;
And scorn, for its own sake, the gracious way.
872
IS THAT ALSO THINE?
A beautiful reply is recorded of a peasant, whose master was displaying
to him the grandeur of his estates. Farms, houses, and forests were
pointed out in succession, on every hand, as the property of the rich
proprietor, who summed up finally by saying, "In short, all that you can
see, in every direction, belongs to me." The poor man looked thoughtful
for a moment; then, pointing up to heaven, solemnly replied, "And is
_that_, also, thine?"
873
THE BETTER LAND.
"I hear thee speak of the better land,
Thou callest its children a happy band:
Mother! oh where is that radiant shore?
Shall we not seek it and weep no more?
Is it where the flower of the orange blows,
And the fire-flies glance through the myrtle boughs?"
"Not there, not there, my child!"
"Is it where the feathery palm trees rise,
And the date grows ripe under sunny skies?
Or 'midst the green islands of glittering seas,
Where fragrant forests perfume the breeze,
And strange, bright birds, on their starry wings
Bear the rich hues of all glorious things?"
"Not there, not there, my child!"
"Is it far away, in some region old,
Where the rivers wander o'er sands of gold?--
Where the burning rays of the ruby shine,
And the diamond lights up the secret mine,
And the pearl gleams forth from the coral strand?
Is it there, sweet mother, that better land?"
"Not there, not there, my child!"
"Eye hath not seen it, my gentle boy!
Ear hath not heard its deep songs of joy;
Dreams cannot picture a world so fair--
Sorrow and death may not enter there;
Time doth not breathe on its fadeless bloom,
For beyond the clouds and beyond the tomb,
It is there, it is there, my child!"
--_Mrs. Hemans._
874
Plants look up in heaven, from whence
They have their nourishment.
875
Help, when we meet them,
Lame dogs over stiles.
876
It is not enough to help an erring brother out of the mire,--we must
help to get him upon a rock.
877
History is little more than the register of the crimes, follies, and
misfortunes of mankind.
--_Gibbon._
878
My precept to all who build is, that the owner should be an ornament to
the house, and not the house to the owner.
--_Cicero._
879
HOME.
Cling to thy home! if there the meanest shed
Yield thee a hearth and shelter for thy head,
And some poor plot, with vegetables stored,
Be all that Heaven allots thee for thy board,--
Unsavory bread, and herbs that scattered grow
Wild on the river brink or mountain brow,
Yet e'en this cheerless mansion shall provide
More heart's repose than all the world beside.
--_From the Greek of Leonidas._
880
DEFINITIONS OF "HOME."
Having offered a prize for the best definition of "Home," London
_Tit-Bits_ recently received more than five thousand answers. Among
those which were adjudged the best were the definitions as follows:
A world of strife shut out, a world of love shut in.
Home is the blossom of which heaven is the fruit.
The best place for a married man after business hours.
Home is the coziest, kindliest, sweetest place in all the
world; the scene of our purest earthly joys, and deepest
sorrows.
The place where the great are sometimes small, and the small
often great.
The father's kingdom, the children's paradise, the mother's
world.
881
The ornaments of a home are the friends who frequent it.
--_Emerson._
882
God hath often a great share in a little house, and but a little share
in a great one.
883
Home is the grandest of all institutions.
--_Spurgeon._
884
Stay, stay at home, my heart, and rest;
Home-keeping hearts are happiest,
For those that wander they know not where
Are full of trouble, and full of care;
To stay at home is best.
--_Longfellow._
885
There's little pleasure in the house when our gudeman's awa'.
--_W. J. Mickle._
886
How many fine, well furnished and pretentious houses we now see around
us, occupied and owned by successful people, in which there is hardly a
market-basket full of books! Evidently showing that the material is of
more importance than the intellectual.
--_Observer._
887
We neglect the things which are placed before our eyes, and regardless
of what is within our reach, we pursue whatever is remote. This is
frequently and properly applied to the rage for visiting foreign
countries, in those who are absolutely unacquainted with their own.
Abroad to see wonders the traveler goes,
And neglects the fine things which lie under his nose.
888
A man without a home is like a bird without a nest.
889
Many a home is nothing but a furnished house.
890
ONE'S OWN HOME.
Travel is instructive and pleasant, but after all there is nothing so
enjoyable as the independence and the luxury of one's own home. Travel
is pleasant, but home is delightful!
891
Without hearts, there is no home.
--_Byron._
892
A man unconnected is at home everywhere; unless he may be said to be at
home nowhere.
--_Dr. Sam'l Johnson._
893
HOME--DEVOID OF LOVE.
He enter'd in his house--his home no more,
For without hearts there is no home--and felt
The solitude of passing his own door
Without a welcome.
--_Byron._
894
Be it ever so humble, there's no place like home.
--_Payne._
895
THAT LAND THY COUNTRY.
There is a land, of every land the pride,
Beloved by Heaven o'er all the world beside;
Where brighter suns dispense serener light,
And milder moons emparadise the night;--
There is a spot of earth supremely blest,
A dearer, sweeter spot than all the rest
Where man, creation's tyrant, casts aside
His sword and sceptre, pageantry and pride,
While in his softened looks benignly blend
The sire, the son, the husband, brother, friend;--
"Where shall that land, that spot of earth, be found?"
Art thou a man?--a patriot?--look around!
O, thou shalt find, where'er thy footsteps roam,
That land thy country, and that spot thy home!
--_Sir Walter Scott._
896
It is a great happiness, if after being absent from home for a time you
find no troubles awaiting your return.
897
Filling a house with bargains is apt to keep a couple from owning the
house in which they place them.
898
'Tis sweet to hear the watch-dog's honest bark
Bay deep-mouthed welcome as we draw near home;
'Tis sweet to know there is an eye will mark
Our coming, and look brighter when we come.
--_Byron._
899
My house, my house, though thou art small,
Thou art to me a palace.
900
TRUE NATURE OF HOME.
This is the true nature of home--it is the place of Peace; the shelter
not only from all injury, but from all terror, doubt and division. In so
far as it is not this, it is not home; so far as the anxieties of the
outer life penetrate into it * * * it ceases to be home; it is then only
a part of that outer world which you have roofed over and lighted fire
in.
--_John Ruskin._
901
THE WANDERER'S RETURN.
He seeks the tranquil scenes of early days,
Leaving the dazzling haunts of vain ambition;
And now, he longs to meet a kindly gaze
And hear a warm and cheering recognition.
How changed he seems! Though still in manhood's prime,
Long hath he striven with care, want, and danger;
Their iron grasp has wrought the work of Time,
And all who view him, deem him as a stranger.
He meets with one who knew him when a boy:
How oft, beneath yon trees, in summer weather,
They sat, and pictured scenes of future joy,
When they should tread the far-off world together!
They stand upon the old familiar spot:
One feels long vanished memories steal o'er him;
The other sees, yet recognizes not
His blithe companion in the form before him.
Next comes a friend who in his wavering youth
His footsteps had upheld with patient guiding;
Wise in his counsel, steadfast in his truth,
Prompt in his praise, and gracious in his chiding.
Hath he, indeed, discarded from his mind
The object of his care and admonition?
He hath not--yet he casts no glance behind;
The wanderer fails to make his recognition.
What, doth his image live indeed with none?
Have all expelled him from their recollection?
Lo! a sweet lady comes--the cherished one
To whom he breathed his vows of young affection.
He views her--she has lost the airy grace
And mantling bloom that won his boyish duty;
And yet a winning charm pervades her face,
In the calm radiance of its mellowed beauty.
Can she forget? Though others pass him by,
Failing his former features to discover,
Will not her faithful heart instruct her eye
To recognize her dear, her long-lost lover?
Oh! in that grief-worn man, no trace remains
Of the gay, gallant youth from whom she parted;
A brief and careless glance alone she deigns
To the poor sufferer, chilled and broken-hearted;
Who feels as though condemned to lead henceforth
A strange, a sad, a separate existence,
Gazing awhile on those he loves on earth,
But to behold them fading in the distance.
Lo! a pale matron comes, with quiet pace,
And aspect of subdued and gentle sadness;--
Fondly she clasps him in a warm embrace,
And greets him with a burst of grateful gladness!
"Praise be to Heaven!" the weary wanderer cries,
"All human love is not a mocking vision:
Through every change, in every varied guise,
The son still claims his mother's recognition!"
--_From the Danish, by Mrs. Abdy._
902
HOME.
Home's not merely four square walls,
Though with pictures hung and gilded;
Home is where affection calls,
Filled with shrines the heart hath builded!
Home! go watch the faithful dove,
Sailing 'neath the heaven above us;
Home is where there's one to love!
Home is where there's one to love us!
Home's not merely roof and room,
It needs something to endear it;
Home is where the heart can bloom,
Where there's some kind lip to cheer it!
What is home with none to meet,
None to welcome, none to greet us?
Home is sweet,--and only sweet--
When there's one we love to meet us.
903
Beware of those who are homeless by choice! You have no hold on a human
being whose affections are without a tap-root!
--_Southey._
904
I am as homeless as the wind that moans
And wanders through the streets.
--_Longfellow._
905
GIVE GOOD MEASURE.
When I was a young man, there lived in our neighborhood one who was
universally reported to be a very liberal man, and uncommonly upright in
his dealings. When he had any of the produce of his farm to dispose of,
he made it an invariable rule to give good measure, over good, rather
more than could be required of him. One of his friends, observing him
frequently doing so, questioned him why he did it, told him he gave too
much, and said it would not be to his own advantage. Now mark the answer
of this man. "God Almighty has permitted me but one journey through the
world; and when gone I cannot return to rectify mistakes."
906
To be honest and faithful is to belong to the only aristocracy in the
world--and the smallest.
--_Israel Zangwill._
907
COMMERCIAL HONESTY.
On one occasion the first Napoleon being informed that a certain army
contractor had cheated the government by supplying the troops with very
inferior and insufficient food, sent for him to inquire into the affair.
"How is this?" said the Emperor: "I understand you have been violating
your contract." "Sire," was the answer, "I must live." "No," replied the
monarch, "I do not see the _must_. It is not necessary that you should
live; but it is necessary that you should do right."
908
Too much assertion gives ground of suspicion; truth and honesty have no
need of loud protestations.
909
REUBEN AND SANDY.
Can any one who was present ever forget the broken voice and streaming
tears with which he (Dean Stanley) told the story of two little Scotch
boys, Reuben and Sandy? The story was as follows: "On a cold winter day,
a gentleman in Edinburgh had, out of pity, bought a box of matches from
a poor, little, shivering boy, and, as he had no pence, had given him a
shilling, of which the change was to be brought to his hotel. Hours
passed by, and the boy did not return. Very late in the evening a mere
child came to the hotel. 'Are you the gentleman that bought the matches
frae Sandy?' 'Yes.' 'Well, then, here's fourpence out o' yer' shillin';
Sandy canna come. He's verra ill. A cart ran over him and knocked him
doon, and he lost his bonnet and his matches and yer sevenpence, and
baith his legs are broken, and the doctor says he'll dee; and that's
a'.' And then, putting down the fourpence on the table, the poor child
burst into great sobs. 'So I fed the little man,' said the narrator;
'and I went with him to see Sandy. The two little things were living
almost alone; their father and mother were dead. Poor Sandy was lying on
a bundle of shavings. He knew me as soon as I came in, and said, 'I got
the change, sir, and was coming back, and then the cart knocked me down,
and both my legs were broken; and oh, Reuby, little Reuby, I am sure I
am dying, and who will take care of you when I am gone? What will ye
do?' 'I took his hand, and said I would always take care of Reuby. He
understood me, and had just strength enough to look up as if to thank
me; the light went out of his blue eyes. In a moment,
He lay within the light of God,
Like a babe upon the breast,
Where the wicked cease from troubling
And the weary are at rest.'"
910
_Honesty._--If he does really think that there is no distinction between
virtue and vice, why sir, when he leaves our houses let us count our
spoons.
--_Dr. Johnson._
911
The birthplace of a man does him no honor,
But a man may do honor to his birthplace.
912
He, the Duke of Devonshire, was not a man of superior abilities, but was
a man strictly faithful to his word. If, for instance, he had promised
you an acorn, and none had grown that year in his woods, he would not
have contented himself with that excuse: he would have sent to Denmark
for it, so unconditional was he in keeping his word--so high as to the
point of honor.
--_Boswell's Life of Johnson._
913
Honor is like the eye which cannot suffer the least injury without
damage; it is a precious stone, the price of which is lessened by the
least flaw.
--_Bossuet._
914
JUDICIAL HONOR.
A poor man claimed a house which a rich man had seized. The former
produced his deeds and instruments to prove his right, but the latter
had provided a number of witnesses; and, to support their evidence the
more effectually, he secretly presented the cadi with a bag containing
five hundred ducats, which the cadi received. When it came to a hearing,
the poor man told his story and produced his writings, but lacked
witnesses. The other, provided with witnesses, laid his whole stress on
them and on his adversary's defective law, who could produce none; he,
therefore, urged the cadi to give sentence in his favor. After the most
pressing solicitations, the judge calmly drew from beneath his sofa the
bag of five hundred ducats, which the rich man had given him as a bribe,
saying to him very gravely, "You have been much mistaken in the suit;
for if the poor man could produce no witnesses in confirmation of his
right, I, myself, can furnish him with at least five hundred." He threw
him the bag with reproach and indignation and decreed the house to the
poor plaintiff.
915
What greater ornament is there to a son than a father's glory; or what
to a father than a son's honorable conduct?
916
The honor is overpaid,
When he that did the act is commentator.
--_Shirley._
917
_By Hook or Crook._--This saying is probably derived from a forest
custom. Persons entitled to fuel wood in the king's forest were only
authorized to take it of the dead wood or branches of trees in the
forest, "with a cart, a hook, and a crook."
--_From Mulledulcia._
918
Who bids me hope, and in that charming word
Has peace and transport to my soul restor'd.
--_Lord Lyttleton._
919
In all things it is better to hope than to despair.
--_Goethe._
920
How often disappointment tracks
The steps of hope!
--_Miss Landon._
921
He that lives upon hopes will die fasting.
922
Hoping is the finest sort of courage and you can never have enough of
it.
--_C. Wagner._
923
Who loses money, loses much;
Who loses friends, loses more;
Who loses hope, loses all: for he that wants hope is the poorest
man alive.
924
Were it no for hope the heart wad break.
--_Scotch._
925
Our hopes often end in--hopes.
926
The setting of a great hope is like the setting of the sun. The
brightness of our life is gone.
--_Longfellow._
927
Hope is sometimes a delusion; no hand can grasp a wave or a shadow.
928
So we do but live,
There's hope.
--_Terence._
929
_Hope._--"Hast thou hope?" they asked of John Knox, when he lay a-dying.
He spoke nothing, but "raised his finger and pointed upward," and so
died.
--_Carlyle._
930
HOSPITALITY.
You must come home with me and be my guest;
You will give joy to me, and I will do
All that is in my power to honor you.
--_P. B. Shelley._
931
All our sweetest hours fly fastest.
--_Virgil._
932
HOME.
We leave
Our home in youth--no matter to what end--
Study--or strife--or pleasure, or what not;
And coming back in few short years, we find
All as we left it outside: the old elms,
The house, the grass, gates, and latchet's self-same click:
But, lift that latchet,--
Alas! all is changed as doom.
--_Bailey: Festus._
933
CHILDREN IN THE HOUSE.
Lady, the sun's light to our eyes is dear,
And fair the tranquil reaches of the sea,
And flowery earth in May, and bounding waters;
And so right many fair things I might praise;
Yet nothing is so radiant and so fair
As for souls childless, with desire sore-smitten,
To see the light of babes about the house.
--_Euripides._
934
Often, old houses mended,
Cost more than new, before they're ended.
--_Colley Cibber._
935
Though we should be grateful for good homes, there is no house like
God's out-of-doors.
--_Robert Louis Stevenson._
936
_Boswell_: "I happened to start a question, whether, when a man knows
that some of his intimate friends are invited to the house of another
friend with whom they are all equally intimate, he may join them without
an invitation." Johnson: "No, sir, he is not to go when he is not
invited. They may be invited on purpose to abuse him"--smiling.
937
Houses are built to live in more than to look on; therefore let use be
preferred before uniformity, except where both may be had.
--_Bacon._
938
It's an unhappy household where all the smiles are dispensed in society
and all the frowns at home.
939
He has no religion who has no humanity.
940
Our humanity were a poor thing, but for the Divinity that stirs within
us.
--_Bacon._
941
With the humble there is perpetual peace.
--_Shakespeare._
942
When you see an ear of corn holding itself very high (or a human head)
you may be sure there is nothing in it. The full ear is the lowliest;
the full head the most humble.
943
Humility is the root, mother, nurse, foundation, and bond of all virtue.
--_Chrysostom._
944
Hunger is the mother of impatience and anger.
--_Zimmerman._
945
They must hunger in frost who spring-time have lost.
--_German._
946
The full stomach cannot comprehend the hungry one.
947
Wait is a hard word to the hungry.
--_From the German._
948
HUSBAND--EXCELLENCIES OF A.
Faithful--as dog, the lonely shepherd's pride;
True--as the helm, the bark's protecting guide;
Firm--as the shaft that props the towering dome;
Sweet--as to shipwreck'd seaman land and home;
Lovely--as child, a parent's sole delight;
Radiant--as morn, that breaks a stormy night;
Grateful--as streams, that, in some deep recess,
With rills unhoped the panting traveler bless,
Is he that links with mine his chain of life,
Names himself lord, and deigns to call me wife.
--_Aeschylus._
949
Between husband and wife there should be no question as to material
interests. All things should be in common between them without any
distinction or means of distinguishing.
950
WHAT A SONG DID.
A Scottish youth learned, with a pious mother, to sing the old psalms
that were then as household words to them in the kirk (church) and by
the fireside. When he had grown up he wandered away from his native
country, was taken captive by the Turks, and made a slave in one of the
Barbary States. But he never forgot the songs of Zion, although he sang
them in a strange land and to heathen ears.
One night he was solacing himself in this manner when the attention of
some sailors on board of a British man-of-war was directed to the
familiar tune of "Old Hundred" as it came floating over the moonlit
waves.
At once they surmised the truth that one of their countrymen was
languishing away his life as a captive. Quickly arming themselves, they
manned a boat and lost no time in effecting his release. What joy to him
after eighteen long years passed in slavery! Is it strange that he ever
afterwards cherished the glorious tune of "Old Hundred?"
--_Old Magazine._
I
951
The I is worthy of aversion when it is principally confined to the
person who uses it.
--_Pascal._
952
What am I?
Naught! But the effluence of Thy light divine
Pervading worlds, hath reached my bosom too.
Yes, in my spirit doth Thy spirit shine,
As shines the sunbeam in a drop of dew.
Naught! But I live, and on Hope's pinions fly
Eager toward Thy presence; for in Thee,
I live, and breathe, and dwell, aspiring high,
Even to the throne of Thy divinity.
I am, O God, and surely Thou must be!
--_Sir John Bowring's translation of
Derzhavin's "Ode to God."_
953
Ideas are like beards; men do not have them until they grow up.
954
A young man idle, an old man needy.
955
Labor is the divine law of our existence; repose is desertion and
suicide.
956
If you want anything done, go to a busy man;
Man of leisure never has time to do anything.
957
Lose this day loitering--'twill be the same story
To-morrow, and the next more dilatory.
--_Goethe._
958
If any man wish to escape idleness let him fall in love.
959
Better lose your labor than your time in idleness.
--_Dutch._
960
Idleness must thank itself if it go barefoot.
--_From the German._
961
I would not waste my spring of youth
In idle dalliance; I would plant rich seeds,
To blossom in my manhood and bear fruit
When I am old.
--_Hillhouse._
962
Never remain ignorant for the want of asking questions.
963
Ignorance is often a voluntary misfortune.
--_From the French._
964
Rather bear the ills we have
Than fly to others that we know not of.
--_Shakespeare._
965
Man's ills are in the main of his own seeking.
966
Those who imitate us we like much better than those who endeavor to
equal us. Imitation is a sign of esteem, competition of envy.
967
LONGING AFTER IMMORTALITY.
It must be so--Plato, thou reasonest well!--
Else whence this pleasing hope, this fond desire,
This longing after immortality?
Or whence this secret dread, and inward horror,
Of falling into naught? Why shrinks the soul
Back on herself, and startles at destruction?
'Tis the Divinity that stirs within us;
'Tis Heaven itself that points out an hereafter,
And intimates eternity to man.
The stars shall fade away, the sun himself
Grow dim with age, and nature sink in years,
But thou shalt flourish in immortal youth,
Unhurt amidst the war of elements,
The wreck of matter, and the crush of worlds.
--_Addison._
968
_Impertinence._--That man is guilty of impertinence who considers not
the circumstances of time, or engrosses the conversation, or makes
himself the subject of his discourse, or pays no regard to the company
he is in.
--_Fully._
969
Airs of importance are often the credentials of insignificance.
--_Lavater._
970
LIVING WITHIN OUR INCOME.
Live within your income. Always have something saved at the end of the
year. Let your imports be more than your exports, and you'll never go
far wrong.
--_Dr. Johnson._
971
All men are not susceptible to improvement.
972
It is better to have nothing to do than to be doing nothing.
--_Attilus._
973
Men of all ages have the same inclinations, over which reason exercises
no control. Thus, wherever men are found, there are the same follies.
--_Fontenelle._
974
What madness to carry all one's income on one's back.
975
Our incomes are like our shoes; if too small, they gall and pinch us;
but if too large, they cause us to stumble and to trip.
--_Colton._
976
_Fickleness._--Was ever feather so lightly blown to and fro, as this Mr.
---- ----?
--_Shakespeare._
977
Mankind is made up of inconsistencies.
978
BEGIN IT.
Lose this day loitering, 'twill be the same story
To-morrow, and the next more dilatory;
True indecision brings its own delays.
And days are lost, lamenting over days.
Are you in earnest? Seize the very minute;
What you can do, or think you can, begin it;
Boldness has genius, power, and magic in it.
Only begin it and the mind grows heated;
Begin it, and the work will be completed.--
--_Goethe._
979
I hate dependence on another's will,
Which changes with the breath of ev'ry whisper,
Just as the sky and weather with the winds:
With the winds, as they blow east or west,
To make his temper pleasant or unpleasant.
--_Crown._
980
INDEPENDENCE--CHECKED.
If any man can do without the world, it is certain the world can do
quite as well without him.
--_Hazlitt._
981
Living to-day on tomorrow's salary is a sure sign of financial
indigestion.
982
Seek not every quality in one individual.
983
That is the best gown that goes most up and down the house.
984
THE INEVITABLE.
I like the man who faces what he must,
With steps triumphant and a heart of cheer;
Who fights the daily battle without fear;
Sees his hopes fail, yet keeps unfaltering trust
That God is God, that somehow, true and just,
His plans work out for mortals; not a tear
Is shed when fortune, which the world holds dear,
Falls from his grasp; better with love a crust
Than living in dishonor; envies not,
Nor loses faith in man; but does his best,
Nor murmurs at his humble lot;
But with a smile and words of hope, give zest
To every toiler. He alone is great
Who by a life heroic conquers fate.
--_Sarah K. Bolton._
985
The smiles of infants are said to be the first-fruits of human reason.
--_Hudson._
986
THE NEW-COMER.
The hour arrives, the moment wished and feared,
The child is born, by many a pang endeared;
And now the mother's ear has caught his cry;
O! grant the cherub to her asking eye!
He comes, she clasps him, to her bosom pressed,
He drinks the balm of life, and drops to rest.
She, by her smile, how soon the stranger knows;
How soon by his the glad discovery shows!
As to her lips she lifts the lovely boy,
What answering looks of sympathy and joy!
He walks--he speaks--in many a broken word,
His wants, his wishes, and his griefs are heard;
And ever, ever to her lap he flies,
Where rosy sleep comes on with sweet surprise,
Locked in her arms, his arms across her flung,
That name most dear forever on his tongue.
As with soft accents round her neck he clings,
And cheek to cheek her lulling song she sings,
How blest to feel the beating of his heart,
Breathe his sweet breath, and kiss for kiss impart,
Watch o'er his slumbers, like the brooding dove,
And if she can, exhaust a mother's love!
--_From Littell's Living Age._
987
NO ONE SHOULD BE BLAMED FOR HIS INFIRMITIES.
A hound, who in the days of his youth and strength had never yielded to
any beast of the forest, encountered in his old age a boar in the chase.
He seized him boldly by the ear, but could not retain his hold because
of the decay of his teeth, so that the boar escaped. His master, quickly
coming up, fiercely abused the dog. The hound looked up and said: "It
was not my fault, master; my spirit was as good as ever, but I could not
help mine infirmities. I rather deserve to be praised for what I have
been, than to be blamed for what I am."
988
PERSONAL INFLUENCE.
"On a cold winter evening," said Dr. T. L. Cuyler recently, "I made my
first call on a rich merchant in New York. As I left the door and the
piercing gale swept in, I said:
"What an awful night for the poor?
"He said come back for a moment; and in a very few minutes brought me a
roll of bank bills, and said:
"Please hand these for me to the poorest people you know.
"After a few days I wrote him the grateful thanks of the poor whom his
bounty had relieved, and added:
"How is it that a man so kind to his fellow creatures has always been so
unkind to his Saviour as to refuse him his heart?
"That sentence touched him to the core.
"He sent for me to come and talk to him, and speedily gave himself to
Christ. He has been a most useful Christian ever since. But he told me I
was the first person who had talked to him about his soul in twenty
years. One hour of work did more for that man than the pulpit effort of
a life-time."
--_Selected._
989
HIS MOTHER'S INFLUENCE.
It is reported that a young man being examined preparatory to joining
the church was asked--"Under whose preaching?" The prompt reply--"I was
converted under my mother's practising." Did any preacher ever utter so
powerful a sermon as the young man embodied in those few words?
990
It is a common thing for men to hate the authors of their preferment, as
the witnesses of their mean original.
991
At the first entrance into thy estate keep a low sail; thou mayest rise
with honor; thou canst not decline without shame; he that begins as his
father ended, will be apt to end as his father began.
992
Some grave their wrongs on marble; He more just,
Stooped down serene, and wrote them on the dust;
Trod under foot, the sport of every wind,
Swept from the earth, and blotted from His mind;
There, secret in the grave, He bade them lie,
And grieved they could not escape the Almighty's eye.
993
One is keen to suspect a quarter from which one has once received a
hurt. "A burnt child dreads the fire."
994
The noblest remedy for injuries is oblivion.
--_From the French._
995
Hath any wronged thee?
Be bravely revenged;
Slight it, and the work is begun;
Forgive it, and 'tis finished.
He is below himself who is not above an injury.
996
A man hurts himself by injuring me: what, then shall I therefore hurt
myself by injuring him?
997
_Ink--Described_:--The colored slave that waits upon thought; a drop may
make a million think.
--_Byron._
998
The innocent are gay.
--_Cowper._
999
There is no real courage in innocence.
1000
What narrow innocence it is for one to be good only according to the
law.
--_Seneca._
1001
Better confide and be deceiv'd
A thousand times by treacherous foes,
Than once accuse the innocent
Or let suspicion mar repose.
1002
It is only the vulgar who are always fancying themselves insulted. If a
man treads on another's toe in good society, do you think it is taken as
an insult?
1003
I once met a man who had forgiven an injury. I hope some day to meet the
man who has forgiven an insult.
1004
POLITICAL INTEGRITY.
The borough of Hull, in the reign of Charles II, chose Andrew Marvell, a
young gentleman of little or no fortune, and maintained him in London
for the service of the public. With a view to bribe him, his old
school-fellow, the Lord Treasurer Danby, went to him in his garret. At
parting, the Lord Treasurer slipped into his hands an order upon the
treasury for £1000, and then went into his chariot. Marvell looking at
the paper, called after the treasurer--"My lord, I request another
moment." They went up again to the garret, and the servant boy was
called--"What had I for dinner yesterday?" "Don't you remember, sir, you
had the little shoulder of mutton that you ordered me to bring from a
woman in the market?" "Very right. What have I for dinner today?" "Don't
you know, sir, that you made me lay up the blade-bone to broil?" "'Tis
so; very right. Go away." "My lord, do you hear that? Andrew Marvell's
dinner is provided; there's your piece of paper, I want it not. I knew
the sort of kindness you intended. I live here to serve my constituents.
The ministry may seek men for their purpose; I am not one."
1005
Integrity is to be preferred to eloquence.
--_Aeschines._
1006
The integrity of men is to be measured by their conduct, not by their
professions.
--_Junius._
1007
One of dull intellect cannot come in, nor go away, nor sit, nor rise,
nor stand, like a man of sense.
--_La Bruyere._
1008
God has placed no limits to the exercise of the intellect he has given
us, on this side of the grave.
--_Bacon._
1009
Respect other people's opinions;
Intolerance is usually an index of weakness.
1010
_Irresolution._--Don't stand shivering upon the bank; plunge in at once
and have it over.
--_Haliburton._
J
1011
The wife of a distinguished man when asked where her jewels were,
replied, "my jewels are my children, my husband, and his triumphs."
1012
MOTHER'S JEWELS.
A lady who was very rich, and fond of pomp and show, after having
displayed, in a visit she made, her diamonds, pearls, and richest
jewels, earnestly desired Cornelia, the illustrious, to let her see her
jewels also. Cornelia dexterously turned the conversation to another
subject, to wait the return of her sons, who were gone to the public
schools. When they returned and entered their mother's apartment, she
said to the rich lady, pointing to them with her hand, "These are my
jewels, and the only ornaments I admire."
1013
JOY.
When you first saw the light of this world you were crying, and your
friends were full of joy;--Live, so, that when you die, your friends
will cry and you will be full of joy.
1014
Of joys departed,
Not to return, how painful the remembrance!
--_R. Blair._
1015
I cannot speak, tears so obstruct my words,
And choke me with unutterable joy.
--_Otway._
1016
Joy when it's shared, its pleasure doubles,
And sorrow, loses half its troubles.
1017
_Johnson_: "It is commonly a weak man who marries for love." We then
talked of marrying women of fortune; and I (Boswell) mentioned a common
remark, that a man may be, upon the whole, richer by marrying a woman
with a very small portion, because a woman of fortune will be
proportionally expensive; whereas a woman who brings none will be very
moderate in expenses. _Johnson_: "Depend upon it, Sir, this is not true.
A woman of fortune, being used to the handling of money, spends it
judiciously; but a woman who gets the command of money for the first
time upon her marriage, has such a gust in spending it, that she throws
it away with great profusion."
--_Boswell's Johnson._
1018
Never risk a joke, even the least offensive in its nature and the most
common, with a person who is not well-bred, or possessed of sense to
comprehend it.
--_La Bruyere._
1019
A CONSCIENTIOUS JUDGE.
Sir Matthew Hale was very exact and impartial in his administration of
justice. One of the first peers of England went once to his chamber and
told him--"That having a suit in law to be tried before him, he was
there to acquaint him with it, that he might the better understand it
when he should come to be heard in court." Upon which Sir Matthew
interrupted him, and said--"He did not deal fairly to come to his
chamber about such affairs, for he never received any information of
causes but in open court, where both parties were to be heard alike," so
he would not suffer him to go on. Whereupon his grace (for he was a
Duke) went away not a little dissatisfied, and complained of it to the
king, as a rudeness that was not to be endured. But his majesty bade him
content himself that he was no worse used, and said--"He verily believed
he would have used himself no better, if he had gone to solicit him in
any of his own causes."
1020
When we are too young our judgment is at fault; so also when we are too
old.
--_Pascal._
1021
Give every one the benefit of a doubt. You might be sadly in need of it
yourself some day!
--_N. S. Murphy._
1022
Gently to hear, kindly to judge.
1023
We shall be judged, not by what we might have been, but what we have
been.
--_Sewell._
1024
He hears but half, that hears one party only.
--_Aeschylus._
1025
Any time is the proper time for saying what is just.
--_From the Greek._
1026
Justice and truth may sleep but will never die.
1027
Habits of justice are a valuable possession.
--_Antiphones._
1028
Justice means that standard or boundary of right which enables us to
render to every man his just due without distinction.
K
1029
"I expect" said one, "to pass thro' this world but once. If therefore
there be any kindness I can do, or show, to my fellow-men, let me do it
now, as I shall not pass this way again."
--_Mrs. A. B. Hegeman._
1030
Kindness is the golden chain by which society is bound together.
--_Goethe._
1031
Kindness has converted more sinners than either zeal, eloquence, or
learning.
--_F. W. Faber._
1032
A long delay in kindness takes the kindness all away.
1033
To remind a man of a kindness conferred is little less than a reproach.
1034
In the _Gentleman's Magazine_ for September, 1797, published in London,
there appears a letter which shows Benjamin Franklin, the philosopher,
in the character of a creditor. The letter, which was written in Paris,
is as follows:--
April 22, 1784.
I send you herewith a bill for ten louis d'ors. I do not
pretend to give such a sum. I only lend it to you. When you
shall return to your country you cannot fail of getting into
some business that will in time enable you to pay all your
debts. In that case, when you meet with another honest man in
similar distress you must pay me by lending this sum to him,
enjoining him to discharge the debt by a like operation when
he shall be able, and shall meet with such another
opportunity. I hope it may thus go through many hands before
it meets with a knave to stop its progress. This is a trick of
mine for doing a deal of good with a little money. I am not
rich enough to afford much in good works, and so am obliged to
be cunning and make the most of a little.
1035
If none were sick and none were sad,
We scarcely would be tender.
1036
GRATITUDE OF AN INDIAN CHIEF.
A Scotch Highlander was taken prisoner by a tribe of Indians; his life
was about to be sacrificed, when the chief adopted him as his son. They
carried him into the interior; he learnt their language, assumed their
habits, and became skillful in the use of their arms. After a season the
same tribe began their route to join the French army, at that time
opposed to the British. It was necessary to pass near to the British
lines during the night. Very early in the morning, and it was spring,
the old chief roused the young Highlander from his repose: he took him
to an eminence, and pointed out to him the tents of his countrymen. The
old man appeared to be dreadfully agitated, and there was a keen
restlessness in his eye. After a pause--"I lost," said he, "my only son
in a battle with your nation; are you the only son of your father? And
do you think that your father is yet alive?" The young man replied, "I
am the only son of my father, and I hope that my father is yet alive."
They stood close to a beautiful magnolia in full blossom. The prospect
was grand and enchanting, and all its charms were crowned by the sun,
which had fully emerged from the horizon. The old chief, looking
steadfastly at his companion, exclaimed: "Let thy heart rejoice at the
beauty of the scene! To me it is as the desert; but you are free; return
to your countrymen, revisit your father that he may again rejoice when
he sees the sun rise in the morning, and the trees blossom in the
spring!"
1037
Little acts of kindness are stowed away in the heart, like bags of
lavender in a drawer, to sweeten every object around them.
1038
A good man that has done a kindness never proclaims it, but does another
as soon as he can; much like the vine which is satisfied by being
fruitful in its kind, and bears a bunch of grapes without expecting
thanks for it.
1039
There's no dearth of kindness
In this world of ours;
Only in our blindness
We gather thorns for flowers.
--_Gerald Massey._
1040
Money can be repaid--
Not kindness such as yours.
--_Shakespeare._
1041
_Returned Kindness._--When the country near Albany was newly settled, an
Indian came to the inn at Lichfield, and asked for a night's shelter, at
the same time confessing that from failure in hunting he had nothing to
pay. The hostess drove him away with reproachful epithets, and as the
Indian was retiring sorrowfully,--there being no other inn for many a
weary mile,--a man who was sitting by directed the hostess to supply his
wants, and promised to pay her. As soon as his supper was ended, the
Indian thanked his benefactor, and said he would some day repay him.
Several years thereafter the settler was taken a prisoner by a hostile
tribe, and carried off to Canada. However, his life was spared, though
he himself was detained in slavery. But one day an Indian came to him,
and giving him a musket, bade the captive follow him. The Indian never
told where they were going, nor what was his object; but day after day
the captive followed his mysterious guide, till one afternoon they came
suddenly on a beautiful expanse of cultivated fields, with many houses
rising amongst them. "Do you know that place?" asked the Indian. "Ah,
yes--it is Lichfield!" and whilst the astonished exile had not recovered
his surprise and amazement, the Indian exclaimed--"And I am the starving
Indian on whom at this very place you took pity. And now that I have
paid for my supper, I pray you go home!"
--_Dr. Dwight._
1042
KINDNESS TO INSECTS.
Let them enjoy their little day,
Their humble bliss receive;
Oh, do not lightly take away
The life thou canst not give.
1043
Getting money is not all a man's business: to cultivate kindness, is a
valuable part of the business of life.
--_Dr. Johnson._
1044
A more glorious victory cannot be gained over another man than this:
that when the injury began on his part, the kindness shall begin on
ours.
1045
If you grant a favor, forget it;
If you receive one, remember it.
1046
Whoever knows how to return a kindness he has received must be a friend
above all price.
--_Philoctetes._
1047
Write injuries in the dust and kindness in marble.
1048
DEFINITIONS OF A KISS.
The seal that stamps many a future.
A woman's most effective argument.
Woman's passport to her husband's purse.
A wireless message from the lips to the heart.
1049
A kiss of the lips does not always touch the heart.
1050
Pleasant is the welcome kiss
When the day's dull round is o'er;
And sweet the music of the step
That meets us at the door.
1051
KISSING--PROPRIETY OF.
Some say that kissing's a sin;
But I think it's nane ava,
For kissing has wonn'd[1051:A] in this warld
Since ever that there was twa.
Oh! if it wasna lawfu',
Lawyers wadna allow it;
If it wasna holy,
Ministers wadna do it;
If it wasna modest,
Maidens wadna tak' it;
If it wasna plenty,
Puir folk wadna get it.
--_Burns._
FOOTNOTES:
[1051:A] Won.
1052
Knowledge is a comfortable and necessary retreat and shelter for us in
an advanced age; and if we do not plant it while young, it will give us
no shade when we grow old.
1053
Ask the young people: they know everything!
1054
A Persian philosopher being asked by what method he had acquired so much
knowledge, replied, "By not being prevented by shame from asking
questions respecting things of which I was ignorant."
1055
Knowledge is not gained on a bed of roses.
1056
If you have knowledge let others light their candles at it.
--_Fuller._
1057
Men may acquire knowledge, but not wisdom. Some of the greatest fools
the world has known have been learned men.
1058
I have never yet found a man who did not know something of which I was
ignorant.
1059
If we do not plant it (knowledge) when young, it will give us no shade
when we are old.
1060
Knowledge without practice is like a glass eye, all for show, and
nothing for use.
1061
_Johnson_:--I remember very well when I was at Oxford, an old gentleman
said to me,--"Young man, ply your book diligently now, and acquire a
stock of knowledge; for when years come upon you, you will find that
poring upon books will be but an irksome task."
--_Boswell's Johnson._
1062
The Earl of Morton said at John Knox's grave,--
"He lies there who never feared the face of man."
L
1063
LABOR.
The beauty and blessedness of labor are finely presented by John
Greenleaf Whittier:--
Give fools their gold, and knaves their power;
Let fortune's bubbles rise and fall;
Who sows a field, or trains a flower,
Or plants a tree, is more than all.
For he who blesses most is blest;
And God and man shall own his worth
Who toils to leave, as his bequest
An added beauty to the earth.
1064
Genius begins great works; labor alone finishes them.
1065
The fruit derived from labor is the sweetest of all pleasures.
--_Vauvenargues._
1066
I have also seen the world, and after long experience have discovered
that ennui is our greatest enemy, and remunerative labor our most
lasting friend.
--_Moser._
1067
LABOR.
Some relaxation is necessary to people of every degree; the head that
thinks, and the hand that labors, must have some little time to recruit
their diminished powers.
--_Gilpin._
1068
None so little enjoy life, and are such burdens to themselves, as those
who have nothing to do. The active only have the true relish of life. He
who knows not what it is to labor, knows not what it is to enjoy. It is
exertion that renders rest delightful, and sleep sweet, and undisturbed.
1069
A LABORING SCARECROW.
Two old farmers were walking up a road near Dunfermline, when one of the
pair, shading his eyes from the sun, pointed to a distant field and
said:
"I wonder if that figure over there is a scarecrow."
He paused and considered the matter for a while, and then, in a
satisfied tone, concluded:
"Yes, it must be a scarecrow; it's not moving."
But the other Scot had a sharper pair of eyes, and perhaps a better
understanding of human nature.
"No," he said, dryly, "it's not a scarecrow; it's only a man working by
the day."
1070
ADVICE TO A YOUNG LADY.
The Rev. Mr. Berridge being once visited by a loquacious young lady,
who, forgetting the modesty of her sex, and the superior gravity of an
aged divine, engrossed all the conversation of the interview with small
talk concerning herself. When she rose to retire, he said, "Madam,
before you withdraw, I have one piece of advice to give you; and that
is, when you go into company again, after you have talked _half an hour_
without intermission, I recommend it to you to stop awhile, and see if
any other of the company has anything to say."
--_Old Magazine._
1071
SCOTCH STUDENT AS LAMPLIGHTER.
Many hardships endured by students attending university or college in
Scotland have been brought to light from time to time. A student of
Anderson's Medical College some years ago fulfilled the duties of
lamplighter during his spare hours in a neighboring burgh. He had no
other income than the few shillings he received weekly for lighting,
extinguishing and cleaning the burgh lamps, and from this he paid his
college fees and kept himself fairly respectable. On one occasion he
applied for an increase of wages, and was called before the committee.
One of the bailies remarked that an able-bodied healthy-looking young
man like the applicant, might find some other employment instead of
wasting his time as he was doing. The application for an increase was
refused. One may conceive the bailie's surprise at a subsequent meeting
when the town clerk read a letter from the lamplighter, tendering his
resignation, as he had passed his final examination as a fully qualified
doctor.
--_Glasgow News._
1072
Ah! how sweet it is to remember--the long, long ago.
1073
ORIGIN OF LANGUAGE.
Talking of the origin of language,--_Johnson_: "It must have come by
inspiration. A thousand, nay, a million of children could not invent a
language. While the organs are pliable, there is not understanding
enough to form a language; by the time that there is understanding
enough, the organs are become stiff. We know that after a certain age we
cannot learn to pronounce a new language. No foreigner who comes to
England when advanced in life, ever pronounces English tolerably well;
at least such instances are very rare. When I maintain that language
must have come by inspiration, I do not mean that inspiration is
required for rhetoric, and all the beauties of language; for when once
man has language, we can conceive that he may gradually form
modifications of it. I mean only that inspiration seems to me to be
necessary to give man the faculty of speech; to inform him that he may
have speech; which I think he could no more find out without inspiration
than cows or hogs would think of such a faculty."
--_Boswell's Life of Johnson._
1074
_Laughter._--To laugh, if but for an instant only, has never been
granted to men before the fortieth day from his birth, and then it is
looked upon as a miracle of precocity.
--_Pliny, the Elder._
1075
A good laugh is sunshine in a house.
--_Thackeray._
1076
John Dryden said,--"It is a good thing to laugh, and if a straw can
tickle a man, it is an instrument of happiness, and of health."
1077
He who laughs overmuch may have an aching heart.
1078
The vulgar laugh and seldom smile; whereas well-bred people often smile
and seldom laugh.
1079
Laughing is not always a proof that the mind is at ease, or in
composure.
1080
Agree if possible, for the law is costly.
1081
If you've a good case, try to compromise;
If you've a bad one, take it into court.
1082
The law's delay, the insolence of office.
--_Shakespeare._
1083
Law is sometimes like a mouse-trap; easy to enter, but not easy to get
out of.
1084
FOLLY OF GOING TO LAW.
To go to law is for two persons to kindle a fire at their own cost to
warm others, and singe themselves to cinders; and because they cannot
agree as to what is truth and equity, they will both agree to unplume
themselves, that others may be decorated with their feathers.
--_Feltham._
1085
He that goes to law for a sheep will be apt to lose a cow.
1086
A lawyer's office is, I'm sure you'll find,
Just like a mill, whereto for grinding come
A crowd of folk of every sort and kind.
1087
REQUISITES FOR GOING TO LAW.
Wisely has it been said--that he who would go to law,
Must have a _good_ cause,
A _good_ purse,
A _good_ attorney,
_Good_ evidence
And a _good_ judge and jury--and having
all these _goods_, unless he has also _good luck_, he will stand
but a _bad_ chance of success.
1088
In a lawsuit nothing is certain but the expense.
1089
The Talmud says that when a man once asked Shamai to teach him the law
in one lesson, Shamai drove him away in anger. He then went to Hillel
with the same request. Hillel said, "Do unto others as you would have
others do unto you. This is the whole law; the rest merely commentaries
upon it."
1090
Two go to law; a third, generally, bears off the spoil.
1091
LEAVING THE LAWYERS A MARGIN.
A man from the country applied lately to a respectable solicitor in this
town for legal advice. After detailing the circumstances of the case, he
was asked if he had stated the facts exactly as they occurred. "Ou, ay,
sir," rejoined the applicant, "I thought it best to tell you the plain
truth; ye can put the lees till't yoursel'."
1092
LAWYERS.
I know you lawyers can, with ease,
Twist your words and meanings as you please;
That language, by your skill made pliant,
Will bend to favor every client;
That 'tis the fee directs the sense,
To make out either side's pretence.
--_Gay._
1093
Lawyers' gowns are lined with the wilfulness of their clients.
1094
Two lawyers, when a knotty case was o'er,
Shook hands, and were as good friends as before.
"Zounds!" says the losing client, "How come you
To be such friends, who were such foes just now?"
"Thou fool," says one, "we lawyers, tho' so keen,
Like shears, ne'er cut ourselves, but what's between."
1095
Some lawyers have the knack of converting poor advice into good coin.
1096
Laziness grows on people; it begins in cobwebs and ends in iron chains.
1097
No man is so learned, but he may be taught; neither is anyone so
illiterate, but he may teach.
1098
The chief art of learning is to attempt but little at a time.
--_Locke._
1099
Learning by study must be won,
'Twas ne'er entailed from sire to son.
--_Gay._
1100
One pound of learning requires ten of common sense to apply it.
1101
Who swallows quick, can chew but little. (Applied to learning.)
--_Chinese._
1102
AUTUMN LEAVES.
"Come little leaves," said the wind one day,
"Come o'er the meadows with me and play;
Put on your dress of red and gold,
Summer is gone, and the days grow cold."
Soon as the leaves heard the wind's loud call
Down they came fluttering, one and all;
Over the brown fields they danced and flew,
Singing the soft little songs that they knew.
Dancing and whirling the little leaves went,
Winter had called them, and they were content.
Soon fast asleep in their earthly beds,
The snow laid a coverlet over their heads.
1103
GENERAL LEE'S REPLY.
After the Civil War many offers of places of honor and fame came to
General Robert E. Lee. He refused them all, says Thomas Nelson Page, in
his biography of the soldier. The only position which he finally did
accept, was the presidency of Washington College,--now Washington and
Lee University, at Lexington, Virginia, with a small salary.
On one of these occasions, Lee was approached with the tender of the
presidency of an insurance company, at a salary of fifty thousand
dollars a year. He declined it, saying that it was work with which he
was not familiar.
"But, general," said the representative of the insurance company, "you
will not be expected to do any work. What we wish, is the use of your
name."
"Do you not think," said General Lee, "that if my name is worth fifty
thousand dollars a year, I ought to be very careful about taking care of
it?"
1104
Colonel Chesney, of the British Army, said of R. E. Lee: "The day will
come when the evil passions of the great civil war will sleep in
oblivion, and the North and South do justice to each other's motives,
and forget each other's wrongs. Then history will speak with clear voice
of the deeds done on either side, and the citizens of the whole Union do
justice to the memories of the dead, and place above all others the name
of the great Southern chief. In strategy, mighty; in battle, terrible;
in adversity, as in prosperity, a hero indeed; with the simple devotion
to duty and the rare purity of the ideal Christian Knight,--he joined
all the kingly qualities of a leader of men. It is a wondrous future
indeed that lies before America; but in her annals of the years to come,
as in those of the past, there will be found few names that can rival in
unsullied lustre that of the heroic defender of his native
Virginia,--Robert Edward Lee."
_From "Lee of Virginia_,"
--_By Edward Jennings Lee, M. D._
1105
He that visits the sick, in the hope of a legacy, I look upon him in
this to be no better than a raven, that watches a weak sheep only to
peck out the eyes of it.
--_Seneca._
1106
Leisure is sweet to those who have earned it, but burdensome to those
who get it for nothing.
1107
Full oft have letters caused the writers
To regret the day they were inditers.
1108
Letters which are sometimes warmly sealed, are often but coldly opened.
--_Richter._
1109
FOR LIBERALITY.
Though safe thou think'st thy treasure lies,
Hidden in chests from human eyes,
A fire may come, and it may be
Bury'd, my friend, as far from thee.
Thy vessel that yon ocean stems,
Loaded with golden dust and gems,
Purchased with so much pains and cost,
Yet in a tempest may be lost.
Pimps, and a lot of others,--a thankless crew,
Priests, pickpockets, and lawyers too,
All help by several ways to drain,
Thanking themselves for what they gain.
The liberal are secure alone,
For what we frankly give, forever is our own.
--_Lord Lansdowne._
1110
LIBERALITY.
The office of liberality consisteth in giving with judgment.
--_Cicero._
1111
Libraries are the wardrobes of literature.
--_James Dyer._
1112
A lie has no legs and cannot stand; but it has wings, and can fly far
and wide.
--_Bishop Warburton._
1113
Equivocation is first cousin to a lie.
1114
One lie
Demands for its support a hundred more.
1115
One lie must be thatched with another, or it will soon rain through.
--_Owen._
1116
Life is a journey, and they only who have traveled a considerable way in
it, are fit to direct those who are setting out.
1117
A term of life is set to every man,
Which is but short; and pass it no one can.
--_Burton._
1118
Better, ten-fold, is a life that is sunny,
Than a life that has nothing to boast of but money.
1119
I have found by experience that many who have spent all their lives in
cities, contract not only an effeminacy of habit but of thinking.
--_Goldsmith._
1120
LIFE--DIFFERENT AGES OF.
At twenty years of age, the will reigns; at thirty, the wit; and at
forty, the judgment.
--_Gratian._
1121
I find one of the great things in this world is not so much where we
stand, as in what direction we are moving.
1122
There's a Divinity that shapes our ends,
Rough-hew them as we will.
--_Shakespeare._
1123
The husband and the wife must, like two wheels, support the chariot of
domestic life, otherwise it must stop.
1124
NOT A CANDIDATE.
The following well-merited rebuke by a slave to his master, shows that
persons occupying mean positions in this life are sometimes superior to
those above them.
A gentleman in the enjoyment of wealth, and of high social standing, and
wholly given up to the pleasures of this world, knowing that one of his
slaves was religious, and happening to see him in the garden near the
porch of his house, called him up rather to amuse himself than for any
serious purpose. When the slave came to him, cap in hand, he said, "Tom,
what do you think of me; do you believe I will be one of the elect when
I die?"
With a low obeisance, the slave replied: "Master, I never knew any one
to be elected who was not a candidate."
The master, struck with the gentle but just rebuke of the man's answer,
turned and entered his mansion, and from that hour became a candidate,
living thereafter a good life.
--_Belhaven._
1125
Every period of life has its peculiar prejudices: whoever saw old age,
that did not applaud the past, and condemn the present times?
--_Montaigne._
1126
In life, as in chess, forethought wins.
1127
Yes and No are, for good or evil, the giants of life.
--_D. Jerrold._
1128
THE SUNNY SIDE OF THE STREET.
An old gentleman, accounting recently for his age and his happiness,
said: "It is quite simple. Lead a natural life, eat what you want,--but
of course prudence must be exercised--and walk on the sunny side of the
street."
1129
It is to live twice, when we can enjoy the recollections of our former
life.
1130
LIFE.
Life! We've been long together
Through pleasant and through cloudy weather;
'Tis hard to part when friends are dear--
Perhaps 'twill cost a sigh, a tear.
Then steal away, give little warning,
Choose thine own time,
Say not "good-night," but in some brighter clime,
Bid me "good-morning."
--_A. L. Barbauld._
1131
LIFE--EVANESCENCE OF.
How short is human life! the very breath
Which frames my words, accelerates my death.
--_Hannah More._
1132
HUMAN LIFE.
Ah! what is human life?
How like the dial's tardy-moving shade,
Day after day slides from us unperceived!
The cunning fugitive is swift by stealth;
Too subtle is the movement to be seen:
Yet soon the hour is up--and we are--gone.
--_Young._
1133
Are we to have a continuous performance by "I did" and "I didn't"?
--_Unknown._
1134
Into each life some rain must fall,
Some days be dark and dreary
But--
Behind the cloud the sun's still shining.
--_Longfellow._
1135
Every man's life lies within the present; for the past is spent and done
with, and the future is uncertain.
--_Antoninus._
1136
Lord, help me live from day to day,
In such a self-forgetful way,
That even when I kneel to pray,
My prayer shall be for--others.
1137
No one sees what is before his feet; we all gaze at the stars.
--_Cicero._
1138
He who with life makes sport,
Can prosper never;
Who rules himself in nought,
Is a slave ever.
1139
A MISSION FOR EVERY ONE.
Think not thou livest in vain,
Or that one honest pain
Of thine is lost.
He, who in loving care,
Numbers thine every hair,
Knows all the cost.
No lightest care of thine
Escapes His love divine;
No smile's forgot,
Nor cup of water given.
Each tender, loving deed,
Like some strange, precious seed,
Shall bear its fruit in heaven.
Nor dream, if thou wert gone
From out life's troubled throng
Thou'dst not be missed.
Thou knowest not what heart,
That lives in gloom apart,
Would find its sunshine fled
If thou wert dead--
What slender thread of faith would break
If thou shouldest prove untrue.
The flower that blooms in desert place
And lifts its head with winsome grace,
Might sigh: "Alas; ah, me:
Why should I live where none can see?"
But He who made both field and flood,
Hath formed that flower and called it good,
And in His wisdom placed it there
To make the desert seem more fair:
And if He then hath need of flowers
To deck this barren world of ours,
He hath a use for thee!
1140
YOUTH, MANHOOD, OLD AGE.
How small a portion of our life it is, that we really enjoy. In youth,
we are looking forward to things that are to come; in old age, we are
looking backwards to things that are gone past; in manhood, although we
appear indeed to be more occupied in things that are present, yet even
that is too often absorbed in vague determinations to be vastly happy on
some future day, when we have time.
1141
Our little life
Is rounded with a sleep.
--_Shakespeare._
1142
LIFE REPRESENTED BY A NEWSPAPER.
This folio of four pages, happy work!
Which not even critics criticize, that holds
Inquisitive attention while I read--
What is it, but a busy map of life,
Its fluctuations and its vast concerns?
1143
The acts of this life are the destiny of the next.
--_Chinese._
1144
There are three whose life is no life:--
He who lives at another's table;
He whose wife domineers over him;
And he who suffers bodily affliction.
--_Talmud._
1145
Life is too short to be spent in nursing animosities, or in registering
wrongs.
1146
Think naught a trifle, though it small appear;
Small sands the mountain, moments make the year,
And trifles, life.
--_Young._
1147
THE HAPPIEST LIFE.
Life's fittest station needs must be
Midway between the poor and great:
Above the cares of poverty,
Below the cares of high estate.
--_E. C. Dolson._
1148
We find life exactly what we put in it.
1149
The sweetest thing in life
Is the unclouded welcome of a wife.
--_N. P. Willis._
1150
As we advance in life we learn the limits of our abilities.
--_Froude._
1151
Be ready at all times to listen to others.
1152
A man with an empty stomach is a poor listener.
1153
The only thing certain about litigation is it's uncertainty.
--_Bovee._
1154
Little by little added, if oft done,
In small time makes a good possession.
--_Hesiod, a Greek, 850 B. C._
1155
What loneliness is more lonely than distrust?
1156
THE THREE LOOKS.
The old man looks down, and thinks of the past.
The young man looks up, and thinks of the future.
The child looks everywhere, and thinks of nothing.
1157
For 'tis a truth well known to most,
That whatsoever thing is lost,
We seek it, ere it come to light,
In every cranny but the right.
--_Cowper._
1158
Where you are not appreciated, you cannot be loved.
1159
When people fall in love at first sight, they often live to regret that
they didn't take another look.
1160
"I'm sorry that I spelt the word,
I hate to go above you;
Because"--the brown eyes lower fell--
"Because, you see, I love you!"
--_John Greenleaf Whittier._
1161
Where there is love, all things interest; where there is indifference,
minute details are tedious, disbelief is cherished, and trifles are apt
to be thought contemptible.
1162
If he loves me, the merit is not mine; my fault will be if he ceases.
1163
LOVE.
To a man, the disappointment of love may occasion some bitter pangs: it
wounds some feelings of tenderness--it blasts some prospects of
felicity; but he is an active being; he may dissipate his thoughts in
the whirl of varied occupation, or may plunge into the tide of pleasure;
or, if the scene of disappointment be too full of painful associations,
he can shift his abode at will, and taking, as it were, the wings of the
morning, can "fly to the uttermost parts of the earth, and be at rest."
But woman's is comparatively a fixed, a secluded and a meditative life.
She is more the companion of her own thoughts and feelings; and if they
are turned to ministers of sorrow, where shall she look for consolation?
Her lot is to be wooed and won; and if unhappy in her love, her heart is
her world--is like some fortress that has been captured, and sacked, and
abandoned, and left desolate.
Shall I confess it?--I believe in broken hearts, and the possibility of
dying of disappointed love! I do not, however, consider it a malady
often fatal to my own sex; but I firmly believe that it withers down
many a lovely woman into an early grave. So is it the nature of woman to
hide from the world the pangs of wounded affection.
--_Washington Irving._
1164
To love and to be loved is the greatest happiness of existence.
1165
WHAT!
Since there's no help for me, come, let us kiss and part--
Alas! I am done, you see no more of me;
But I am sorry, yea, sorry with all my heart,
That thus, you have willed it,--to be free:
Shake hands forever, cancel all our vows,
And when we meet at any time again,
Be it not seen in either of our brows
That we one jot of former love retain.
--_Anonymous._
1166
Dr. Doddridge one day asked his little daughter how it was that
everybody loved her: "I know not," said she, "unless it be that I love
everybody."
--_Arvine._
1167
He who is loved by man is loved by God.
--_The Talmud._
1168
If there's delight in love, 'tis when I see
That heart which others bleed for, bleed for me.
--_Garrick._
1169
Love is the only passion that justifies a perpetual hyperbole, i. e.,
poetic exaggeration.
--_Bacon._
1170
There is an atmosphere in the letters of those we love which we
alone--we who love--can feel.
1171
LIFE WITHOUT LOVE.
Life without love is like day without sunshine,
Roses bereft of sweet nature's perfume;
Love is the guide mark to those who are weary
Of waiting and watching in darkness and gloom.
Love to the heart is like dewdrops to violets
Left on the dust-ridden roadside to die;
Love leads the way to our highest endeavors,
Lightens and lessens the pain of each sigh.
Life without love is like spring without flowers,
Brook-streams that move not, or star-bereft sky;
Love creates efforts most worthy and noble,
Prompts us to live and resigns us to die.
--_Unknown._
1172
LOVE.
The night has a thousand eyes,
And the day but one;
Yet the light of the whole world dies
With the setting sun.
The mind has a thousand eyes,
And the heart but one;
But the light of a whole life dies
When love is done.
--_Francis W. Bourdillon._
1173
One nail by strength drives out another,
So the remembrance of my former love
Is by a newer object quite forgotten.
--_Shakespeare._
1174
Love is like the moon; when it does not increase, it decreases.
1175
FORGET THEE?
Behold the sun forget to shine,
The brightest star to twinkle,
The ivy round the oak to twine,
The tearful heart to sprinkle
The sod that wraps affection's grave,
The never silent surging sea
The sandy shore to lash and lave--
Then think that I'll forget thee.
--_Winfred._
1176
THE MAIDEN IN LOVE.
Sweet mother, I can spin no more to-day,
And all for a youth who has stolen my heart away.
--_Sappho, 600 B. C._
--_Translated by Appleton._
1177
We are easily duped by those whom we love.
--_Moliere._
1178
MORE THAN HIS SHARE.
"Martha, does thee love me?" asked a quaker youth of one at whose shrine
his heart's fondest feelings had been offered up.
"Why, Seth," answered she, "we are commanded to love one another, are we
not?"
"Aye, Martha; but does thee regard me with that feeling that the world
calls love?"
"I hardly know what to tell thee, Seth; I have greatly feared that my
heart was an erring one. I have tried to bestow my love on all; but I
have sometimes thought, perhaps, that thee was getting rather more than
thy share."
--_Christian Observer._
1179
No disguise can long conceal love where it is, nor feign it where it is
not.
--_Rochefoucauld._
1180
LOVE.
Naught sweeter is than love. Whom that doth bless
Regardeth all things less.
If thou first taste of love, then shalt thou see
Honey shall bitter be!
What roses are, they never know, who miss
Fair Cytherea's kiss.
--_Nossis, Greek._
_Translated by Lilla Cabot Perry._
1181
How often love is maintained by wealth:
When all is spent adversity then breeds
The discontent.
--_Herrick._
1182
The moment one is in love one becomes so amiable.
1183
ONE WHO LOVES.
I had so fixed my heart upon her,
That whereso'er I fram'd a scheme of life
For time to come, she was my only joy
With which I used to sweeten future cares:
I fancy'd pleasures, none but one who loves
And doats as I did, can imagine like them.
1184
The secret _of being loved_ is _in being_ lovely, and the secret _of
being_ lovely, is _in being_ unselfish.
1185
A lover never sees the faults of the one he loves till the enchantment
is over.
1186
THE TRAGEDY OF FICKLE LOVE.
He came too late! Neglect had tried
Her constancy too long;
Her love had yielded to her pride
And the deep sense of wrong.
She scorned the offering of a heart
Which lingered on its way,
Till it could no delight impart,
Nor spread one cheering ray.
He came too late! At once he felt
That all his power was o'er;
Indifference in her calm smile dwelt--
She thought of him no more.
Anger and grief had passed away,
Her heart and thoughts were free;
She met him, and her words were gay
No spell had memory.
He came too late! Her countless dreams
Of hope had long since flown;
No charms dwelt in his chosen themes,
Nor in his whispered tone.
And when, with word and smile, he tried
Affection still to prove,
She nerved her heart with woman's pride
And spurned his fickle love.
--_Unknown._
1187
OH, NO! WE NEVER MENTION HIM.
Oh, no! we never mention him, his name is never heard;
My lips are now forbid to speak that once familiar word:
From sport to sport they hurry me, to banish my regret;
And when they win a smile from me, they think that I forget.
They bid me seek in change of scene the charms that others see;
But were I in a foreign land, they'd find no change in me.
'Tis true that I behold no more the valley where we met,
I do not see the hawthorn-tree; but how can I forget?
For oh! there are so many things recall the past to me--
The breeze upon the sunny hills, the billows of the sea;
The rosy tint that decks the sky before the sun is set;--
Ay, every leaf I look upon forbids me to forget.
They tell me he is happy now, the gayest of the gay;
They hint that he forgets me too,--but I heed not what they say:
Perhaps like me he struggles with each feeling of regret;
But if he loves as I have loved, he never can forget.
--_Thomas Haynes Bayley, 1797-1839._
1188
Is it possible a man can be so changed by love that one would not know
him for the same person?
1189
Girls we love for what they are; young men for what they promise to be.
--_Goethe._
1190
Love is loveliest when embalm'd in tears.
1191
Caresses, expressions of one sort or another, are necessary to the life
of the affections, as leaves are to the life of a tree. If they are
wholly restrained, love will die at the roots.
--_Hawthorne._
1192
MARTIN LUTHER AND HIS FRIENDS.
"My dear Veit," said Luther, "I have said it often and I repeat it
again, whoever would know God aright and speculate concerning Him
without danger, must look into the manger, and learn first of all to
know the Son of the Virgin Mary, born at Bethlehem, lying in His
mother's bosom or hanging upon the cross; then will he understand who
God is. This will not only then be not terrible, but on the contrary
most attractive and comforting. Guard yourself, my dear Veit, from the
proud thought of climbing into heaven without this ladder, apart from
the Lord Jesus Christ in His humanity. As the Word simple describes Him,
stick to this, and do not permit reason to divert you from it; then will
you apprehend God aright! I wish to know of no other God than the God
who hung upon the cross, Jesus Christ, the Son of God, and of the Virgin
Mary."
1193
Luther was remarkable for his contempt of riches, though few men had a
greater opportunity of obtaining them. The Elector of Saxony offered him
the produce of a mine at Sneberg, but he nobly refused it, lest it
should prove an injury to him.
--_Buck._
1194
LUXURY.
_Dr. Johnson_:--"A man gives half a guinea for a dish of green peas. How
much gardening does this occasion? How many laborers must the
competition, to have such things early in the market, keep in
employment? You will hear it said very gravely, 'Why was not the
half-guinea, thus spent in luxury, given to the poor? To how many might
it have afforded a good meal? Alas! has it not gone to the _industrious_
poor, whom it is better to support, than the _idle_ poor? You are much
surer that you are doing good when you _pay_ money to those who work, as
the recompense of their labor, than when you _give_ money merely in
charity."
M
1195
He who is too much afraid of being duped has lost the power of being
magnanimous.
--_Amiel._
1196
A MAIDEN'S LAMENT.
Full oft he sware with accents true and tender,
"Though years roll by, my love shall ne'er wax old!"
And so to him my heart I did surrender,
Clear as a mirror of pure burnished gold;
And from that day, unlike the seawood bending
To every wave raised by the autumn gust,
Firm stood my heart, on him alone depending,
As the bold seaman in his ship doth trust.
Is it some cruel evil one that hath bereft me?
Or hath some mortal stolen away his heart?
No word, no letter since the day he left me;
Nor more he cometh, ne'er again to part!
In vain I weep, in helpless, hopeless sorrow,
From earliest morn until the close of day;
In vain, till radiant dawn brings back the morrow,
I sigh the weary, weary nights away.
No need to tell how young I am, and slender--
A little maid that in thy palm could lie:
Still for some message comforting and tender
I pace the room in sad expectancy.
1197
He was a man, take him for all in all,
I shall not look upon his like again.
--_Shakespeare._
1198
A truly great man never puts away the simplicity of the child.
--_Chinese._
1199
He who does not advance, goes backward; recedes.
--_From the Latin._
1200
A man who is amiable will make almost as many friends as he does
acquaintances.
1201
An angry man is often angry with himself when he returns to reason.
--_Publius Syrus._
1202
AN OLD MAN OF ACUTE PHYSIOGNOMY.
An old man answering to the name of Joseph Wilmot, was brought before
the police court. His clothes looked as if they had been bought second
hand in his youthful prime.
"What business?"
"None; I'm a traveler."
"A vagabond, perhaps?"
"You are not far wrong: the difference between the two, is,
that the latter travel without money, and the former without
brains."
"Where have you traveled?"
"All over the continent."
"For what purpose?"
"Observation."
"What have you observed?"
"A little to commend, much to censure, and very much to laugh
at."
"Humph! What do you commend?"
"A handsome women that will stay at home, an eloquent divine
that will preach short sermons, a good writer that will not
write too much, and a fool that has seen enough to hold his
tongue."
"What do you censure?"
"A man who marries a girl for fine clothing, a youth who
studies law while he has the use of his hands, and the people
who elect a drunkard to office."
"What do you laugh at?"
"At a man who expects his position to command the respect
which his personal qualities and qualifications do not merit."
He was dismissed.
1203
Every man is a volume, if you know how to read him.
--_W. E. Channing._
1204
As no man is born without faults, the best is he who has the fewest.
1205
Burns, the poet, when in Edinburgh one day, recognized an old farmer
friend, and courteously saluted him, and crossed the street to have a
chat; some of his new Edinburgh friends gave him a gentle rebuke, to
which he replied:--"It was not the old great-coat, the scone bonnet,
that I spoke to, but the man that was in them."
1206
MAN.
Man has been thrown naked into the world, feeble, incapable of flying
like the bird, running like the stag, or creeping like the serpent;
without means of defense, in the midst of terrible enemies armed with
claws and stings; without means to brave the inclemency of the seasons,
in the midst of animals protected by fleece, by scales, by furs; without
shelter, when all others have their den, their hole, their shell;
without arms, when all about him are armed against him. And yet he has
demanded of the lion his cave for a lodging and the lion retires before
his eyes; he has despoiled the bear of his skin, and of it made his
first clothing; he has plucked the horn from the bull, and this is his
first drinking-cup; then he has dug even into the bowels of the earth,
to seek there the instruments of his future strength; from a rib, a
sinew, and a reed, he has made arms; and the eagle, who, seeing him at
first in his weakness and nakedness, prepares to seize him as his prey,
struck in mid-air, falls dead at his feet, only to furnish a feather to
adorn his head. Among animals, is there one, who under such conditions
could have preserved life? Let us for a moment separate the workman from
his work, God from nature. Nature has done all for this insect,--of
which they had been discoursing,--nothing for man. It is that man should
be the product of intelligence rather than of matter; and God, in
granting him this celestial gift, this ray of light from the divine
fire, created him feeble and unprotected, that he might make use of it,
that he might be constrained to find in himself the elements of his
greatness.
--_By X. B. Saintine, in Picciola; or,
The Prison Flower._
1207
Wherever a man goes to dwell his character goes with him.
1208
Our acts make or mar us,--we are the children of our own deeds.
--_Victor Hugo._
1209
MAN--ASSUMPTIONS OF.
O, but man, proud man!
Dress'd in a little brief authority;
Most ignorant of what he's most assured.
--_Shakespeare._
1210
I've learned to judge of men by their own deeds,
I do not make the accident of birth
The standard of their merit.
1211
MAN.
What a piece of work is man!
How noble in reason! How infinite in faculties!
In form and moving how express and admirable!
In action how like an angel!
In appearance how like a god!
The beauty of the world! the paragon of animals!
--_Shakespeare._
1212
Direct not him, whose way himself will choose.
1213
He that can please nobody, is not so much to be pitied as he that nobody
can please.
--_Colton._
1214
To quarrel with a drunken man is harming the absent.
1215
Goethe said that there is no man so commonplace that a wise man may not
learn something from him. Sir Walter Scott could not travel in a coach
without gleaning some information or discovering some new trait of
character in his companions.
1216
LIFE AND DEATH.
I have seen the wicked in great power,
And spreading himself, like a green bay-tree;
Yet he passed away, and, lo! he was not;
Yea, I sought him, but he could not be found.
Mark the perfect man,
And behold the upright,
For the end of that man is peace.
--_Psalms xxxvii, 35-37v._
1217
He who stands high is seen from afar.
--_From the Danish._
1218
I confess that increasing years bring with them an increasing respect
for men who do not succeed in life, as those words are commonly used.
--_G. S. Hillard._
1219
Beauty is good for women, firmness for men.
--_Bion._
1220
A man who is always forgetting his best intentions may be said to be a
thoroughfare of good resolutions.
1221
It is a matter of the simplest demonstration, that no man can be really
appreciated, but by his equal or superior.
--_Ruskin._
1222
It takes a great man to make a good listener.
--_Sir Arthur Helps._
1223
Our greatest glory is not in never falling, but rising every time we
fall. A gem is not polished without rubbing, nor is a man perfected
without trials.
--_Goldsmith._
1224
Be content with the day as it is; look for the good in everything.
1225
An honest man is believed without an oath, for his reputation swears for
him.
1226
A thread will tie an honest man better than a rope will do a rogue.
1227
Would you make men trustworthy? Trust them.
Would you make them true? Believe them.
We win by tenderness.
We conquer by forgiveness.
--_Robertson._
1228
If there is any person to whom you unfortunately feel a dislike that is
the person of whom you ought never to speak.
--_Richard Cecil._
1229
He is not yet born who can please everybody.
1230
Fenimore Cooper asserts, in one of his books, that there is "an
instinctive tendency in men to look at any man who has become
distinguished." Said Carlyle: "True, surely, and moreover, an
instinctive desire in men to become distinguished and be looked at,
too!"
1231
It is not what he has, nor even what he does, which directly expresses
the worth of a man, but what he is.
--_Amiel._
1232
Man is not allowed to know what will happen--tomorrow.
--_Statius._
1233
A horse is not known by his furniture, but by his qualities; so men
should be esteemed for virtue, not wealth.
1234
Man looks aloft, and with erected eyes
Beholds his own hereditary skies.
--_Dryden's Ovid._
1235
The best club for a married man is an armchair in front of a big
fire-place at home.
1236
Men take each other's measure when they meet for the first time.
1237
Does one see wolves taking to the road in order to plunder other wolves,
as does inhuman man?
1238
No man can end with being superior, who will not begin with being
inferior.
--_Sydney Smith._
1239
Never speak of a man in his own presence.
It is always indelicate, and may be offensive.
--_Dr. Johnson._
1240
No man is always wise.
--_Pliny._
1241
An obstinate man does not hold opinions, but they hold him.
1242
They that stand high have many blasts to shake them.
--_Shakespeare._
1243
Men possessed with an idea cannot be reasoned with.
--_Froude._
1244
The life of an old man is like a lighted candle in a draft.
--_Japanese._
1245
The gem cannot be polished without friction, nor the man perfected
without trials.
--_From the Chinese._
1246
He was--describe him who can,
An abridgement of all that was pleasant in man;
A truer, nobler, trustier heart,
More loving or more loyal, never beat
Within a human breast.
1247
Some men remain poor because they haven't enough friends, and some
because they have too many.
1248
A poor man, though living in the crowded mart, no one will notice; a
rich man, though dwelling amid the remote hills, his distant relative
will visit.
1249
Art may make a suit of clothes, but nature must produce the man.
--_Hume._
1250
The real man is one who always finds excuses for others, but never for
himself.
1251
It is not good that man should be alone.
--_Genesis 2, 18v._
1252
Silent men, like still waters, are sometimes deep and dangerous.
1253
Man is a social creature, and we are made to be helpful to each other;
we are like the wheels of a watch, that none of them can do their work
alone, without the concurrence of the rest.
1254
Strive not too anxiously for thy support, thy Maker will provide. No
sooner is a man born, than milk for his support streams from the breast.
--_Chinese._
1255
He that swells in prosperity will be sure to shrink in adversity.
--_Colton._
1256
The difference, he, Johnson, observed between a well-bred and an
ill-bred man is this: One immediately attracts your liking, the other
your aversion. You love the one till you find reason to dislike him; you
dislike the other till you find reason to love him.
--_Boswell's Life of Johnson._
1257
THE UNPUNCTUAL MAN.
He is a general disturber of other's peace and serenity. Everybody with
whom he has to do is thrown from time to time into a state of fever; he
is systematically late; regular only in his irregularity.
--_Smiles._
1258
NO.
No is a surly, honest fellow, speaks his mind rough and round at once.
1259
A true man never frets about his place in the world, but just slides
into it by the gravitation of his nature, and swings there as easily as
a star.
1260
He had nothing and was content. He became rich and is discontented.
1261
Thou canst mould him into any shape like soft clay.
--_Horace._
1262
None but the well-bred man knows how to confess a fault, or acknowledge
himself in error.
1263
A well-bred man is always sociable and complaisant.
--_Montaigne._
1264
"HOW MUCH DID HE LEAVE?"
The question is asked concerning the property of every rich man who
dies; and it was answered very happily by Cloots, who was executor upon
the estate of the late Mr. Snodgrass. His neighbor, Mr. Nailroad, was an
exceedingly inquisitive man. The day after the funeral, Nailroad visited
Cloots, and, with an inspecting face, began to question him. "Mr.
Cloots," says he, "if it is not improper, will you inform me how much my
particular friend Snodgrass left?" "Certainly," said Cloots:--"He _left_
every cent he was worth in the world, and didn't take a copper with
him."
1265
Who does the best his circumstances allow,
Does well, acts nobly; angels could do no more.
--_Young._
1266
If you would know a man truly, know him off duty, when the duties of the
day are over and he has left his post.
--_Observer._
1267
Men who want to do everything their own way must make a world to suit
them, for it can not be done in this.
1268
The man whom I call deserving the name, is one whose thoughts and
exertions are for others, rather than himself.
--_Blanchard._
1269
If a man write a better book, preach a better sermon, or make a better
mouse-trap than his neighbor, though he build his house in the
wilderness, the world will make a beaten path to his door.
--_Emerson._
1270
He who doth not speak an unkind word to his fellow-creatures is master
of the whole world.
1271
Those who think must govern those who toil.
1272
The wise man shapes himself according to his environments, as water to
the shape of the vessel into which it is poured.
--_Japanese._
1273
At the working-man's house hunger may look in, but dare not enter.
1274
I am almost frozen by the distance you are from me.
1275
Manners carry the world for the moment; character, for all time.
--_Alcott._
1276
Behavior is a mirror in which every one displays his image.
--_Goethe._
1277
MANNERS.
The distinguishing trait of people accustomed to good society is a calm,
imperturbable quiet, which pervades all their actions and habits, from
the greatest to the least. They eat in quiet, move in quiet, live in
quiet, and lose their wife, or even their money in quiet; while others
cannot take up either a spoon, or an affront, without making such an
amazing noise about it.
--_Bulwer-Lytton._
1278
Manners are the shadows of virtue.
--_Sydney Smith._
1279
Vulgar people can't be still.
--_O. W. Holmes._
1280
In society want of sense is not so unpardonable as want of manners.
--_Lavater._
1281
The wealthy and the noble when they expend large sums in decorating
their houses with the rare and costly efforts of genius, with busts, and
with cartoons from the pencil of a Raphael, are to be commended, if they
do not stand still _here_, but go on to bestow some pains and cost, that
the master himself be not inferior to the mansion, and that the owner be
not the only thing that is _little_, amidst everything else that is
_great_. The house may draw visitors, but it is the possessor alone that
can detain them.
1282
Marriage is the bloom or blight of all men's happiness.
--_Byron._
1283
A MAIDEN'S TRUST IN MARRIAGE.
There is no one thing more lovely in this life, more full of the divine
courage, than when a young maiden, from her past life, from her happy
childhood, when she rambled over every field and moor around her home;
when a mother anticipated her wants and soothed her little cares, when
her brothers and sisters grew from merry playmates, to loving, trustful
friends; from Christmas gatherings and romps, the summer festivals in
bower or garden; from the secure backgrounds of her childhood, and
girlhood, and maidenhood, looks out into the dark and unilluminated
future away from all that, and yet unterrified, undaunted, leans her
fair cheek upon her lover's breast, and whispers--"Dear heart! I cannot
see, but I believe. The past was beautiful, but the future I can
trust--with thee!"
--_Hunt._
1284
_Advice on Marriage._--An Athenian who was hesitating whether to give
his daughter in marriage to a man of worth with a small fortune, or to a
rich man who had no other recommendation, went to consult Themistocles
on the subject. "I would bestow my daughter," said Themistocles, "upon a
man without money, rather than upon money without a man."
--_Arvine._
1285
Keep your eyes wide open before marriage, half shut afterwards.
1286
ON A WEDDING DAY.
Cling closer, closer, life to life,
Cling closer, heart to heart;
The time will come, my own wed wife,
When you and I must part!
Let nothing break our band but Death,
For in the world above
'Tis the breaker Death that soldereth
Our ring of wedded love.
--_G. Massie._
1287
A SUCCESSFUL EXPERIMENT.
A man of experience, declares that men, like plants, adapt themselves to
conditions. To illustrate his theory, he told of two men, one of whom
said to the other, at a pleasantly critical period:
"Do you think two can live as cheaply as one?"
"Before my marriage I thought they could," was the guarded reply.
"And afterward?" anxiously.
"Afterward I found they had to."
1288
MARRIAGE,--CHOICE IN.
_Boswell_: "Pray, sir, do you not suppose that there are fifty women in
the world, with any one of whom a man may be as happy, as with any one
woman in particular?" _Johnson_: "Ay, sir, fifty thousand." _Boswell_:
"Then, sir, you are not of opinion with some who imagine that certain
men and certain women are made for each other, and that they cannot be
happy if they miss their counterparts." _Johnson_: "To be sure not, sir.
I believe marriages would in general be as happy, and often more so, if
they were all made by the Lord Chancellor, upon a due consideration of
the characters and circumstances, without the parties having any choice
in the matter."
_Boswell's Johnson, p. 283._
--_Samuel Johnson._
1289
Choose not alone a proper mate,
But proper time to marry.
--_Cowper._
1290
When a man and woman are married their romance ceases and their history
commences.
1291
Wedlock, indeed, hath oft compared been
To public feasts, where meet a public rout,
Where they that are without, would fain go in,
And they that are within, would fain go out.
--_Sir J. Davis._
1292
Marriage somewhat resembles a pair of shears, so joined that they cannot
be separated, often moving in opposite directions, yet always punishing
anyone who comes between them.
--_S. Smith._
1293
_Marry in your own Rank._ Wise was the man, ay, wise indeed, who first
weighed well this maxim, and with his tongue published it abroad, that
to marry in one's own class is best by far, and that a peasant should
woo the hand neither of any that have waxed wanton by riches, nor of
such as pride themselves in high-traced lineage.
--_Aeschylus._
1294
THE NEWLY WEDDED.
Now the rite is duly done,
Now the word is spoken,
And the spell has made us one
Which may ne'er be broken;
Rest we, dearest, in our home,
Roam we o'er the heather;
We shall rest, and we shall roam,
Shall we not--together?
From this hour the summer rose
Sweeter breathes to charm us;
From this hour the winter snows
Lighter fall to harm us;
Fair or foul--on land or sea--
Come the wind or weather,
Best or worst, whate'er they be,
We shall (D.V.) always share--together!
--_Winthrop Mackworth Praed._
1295
Whom first we love, you know one seldom weds.
--_Owen Meredith._
1296
A pious elder once said to his son in view of marriage,--"My boy, piety
is essential for the life to come, but good temper is the great
requisite for happiness in this world."
1297
The reason why so few marriages are happy is because young ladies spend
their time in making nets, not in making cages.
--_Swift._
1298
COMPANIONSHIP IN MARRIAGE.
If God had designed woman as man's master, He would have taken her from
his head; if as his slave, He would have taken her from his feet; but as
He designed her for his companion and equal, He took her from his side.
--_St. Augustine._
1299
The following was written on a card by an old friend of a young lady's
when he sent her some flowers on the eve of her wedding day:--"I have
sent you a few flowers to adorn the dying moments of your single life."
1300
The treasures of the deep are not so precious
As are the concealed comforts of a man
Lock'd up in woman's love. I scent the air
Of blessings, when I come but near the house.
What a delicious breath marriage sends forth--
The violet bed's not sweeter!
--_Middleton._
1301
Blessed their life whose marriage prospers well,
But if things fall out ill, no happiness
Awaits them, within doors or without,--so beware!
--_Unknown._
1302
THE MARRIAGE VOW.
Speak it not lightly; 'tis a holy thing--
A bond, enduring thro' long distant years,
Life will not prove all sunshine; there will come
Dark hours for all; oh! will ye, when the night
Of sorrow gathers thickly round your home,
Love as ye did in days when smooth and bright
Seemed the sure path ye trod, untouched by care,
And deemed the future, like the present, fair?
Age, with its silvery locks, will come stealing on,
And bring the tottering step, the furrow'd cheek,
The eye, from whence each lustrous gleam hath gone;
And the pale lip, with accents low and weak;
Will ye then think upon your youth's gay prime,
And, smiling, bid love triumph over time?
Speak it not lightly; oh! beware! beware!
'Tis no vain promise, no unmeaning word;
Before God's altar, now ye both do swear,
And by the High and Holy One 'tis heard!
Be faithful to each other till life's close;
Seek peace below, and you'll get Heaven's repose.
1303
Let him who weds, wed character, not money.
1304
A girl should look happy because she is not married; a wife because she
is.
1305
_A Gentleman, but a Fool._--Chief Justice Marshall once found himself
suddenly brought to a halt by a small tree which intervened between the
front wheel and the body of his buggy. Seeing a servant at a short
distance, he asked him to bring an axe and cut down the tree. The
servant--a colored man--told the judge that there was no occasion for
cutting down the tree, but just to back the buggy. Pleased at the good
sense of the fellow, Judge Marshall told him that he would leave him
something at the inn hard by, where he intended to stop, having then no
small change. In due time the man applied, and a dollar was handed him.
Being asked if he knew who it was that gave him the dollar, he replied:
"No, sir: I concluded he was a gentleman by his leaving the money, but I
think he is the biggest fool I ever saw."
1306
If thou art a master, be sometimes blind, and sometimes deaf.
--_Fuller._
1307
Let no man be the servant of another who can be his own master.
1308
Our master is our--enemy.
--_From Amiel's Journal._
Applicable to those who have formed a useless habit.
1309
_Matrimony._--He hath tied a knot with his tongue that he cannot untie
with all his teeth.
1310
_Numbers, xxxvi. 6_,--"Let them marry to whom they think best; only to
the family of the tribe of their fathers shall they marry."
Mr. John Martin used to give two advices, both to his children and
others, in reference to marriages. One was, "Keep within the bounds of
your profession." The other was, "Look at suitableness in age, quality,
education, temper, etc." He used to observe, from Genesis, ii, 18, "I
will make him a help-meet for him;" that there is not meetness, there
will not be much help. He commonly said to his children, with reference
to their choice in marriage, "Please God, and please yourselves, and you
shall never displease me;" and greatly blamed those parents who conclude
matches for their children without their consent. He sometimes mentioned
the saying of a pious gentlewoman, who had many daughters.--"The care of
most people is how to get good husbands for their daughters; but my care
is to fit my daughters to be good wives, and then let God provide for
them."
1311
MATRIMONY.
The sum of all that makes a just man happy
Consists in the well-choosing of his wife:
And there, well to discharge it, does require
Equality of years, of birth, of fortune;
For beauty being poor, and not cried up
By birth or wealth, can truly mix with neither.
And wealth, when there's such difference in years,
And fair descent, must make the yoke uneasy.
--_Massinger._
1312
MATRIMONY.
1. That man must lead a happy life
2. Who is directed by a wife;
3. Who's free from matrimonial chains
4. Is sure to suffer for his pains.
5. Adam could find no solid peace
6. Till he beheld a woman's face;
7. When Eve was given for a mate,
8. Adam was in a happy state.
Epigram: Read alternate lines,--1,3; 2,4; 5,7; 6,8.
--_Cowper._
1313
FROM A WORK ENTITLED "SKETCHES OF PERSIA."
The following admirable lines were inscribed upon a golden crown having
five sides, which was found in the tomb of Noosherwan.
_First Side._--"Consider the end before you begin, and before
you advance, provide a retreat.
Give not unnecessary pain to any man, but study the
happiness of all.
Ground not your dignity upon your power to hurt
others."
_Second Side._--"Take counsel before you commence any measure,
and never trust its execution to the inexperienced.
Sacrifice your property for your life, and your life
for your religion.
Spend your time in establishing a good name, and if
you desire fortune, learn contentment."
_Third Side._--"Grieve not for that which is broken, stolen,
burnt or lost.
Never give order in another man's house; accustom
yourself to eat your bread at your own table."
_Fourth Side._--"Take not a wife from a bad family, and seat
not thyself with those who have no shame.
Keep thyself at a distance from those who are
incorrigible in bad habits, and hold no intercourse
with that man who is insensible to kindness.
Convert not the goods of others.
Be sensible of your own value, estimate justly the
worth of others: and war not with those who are far
above thee in fortune."
_Fifth Side._--"Be envious of no man, and avoid being out of
temper, or thy life will pass in misery.
Respect and protect the females of thy family."
1314
The meals which are eaten in company are always better digested than
those which are taken in solitude.
--_Dr. Combe._
1315
The poor man must walk to get meat for his stomach, the rich man to get
a stomach for his meat.
1316
Johnson said melancholy people were apt to fly to intemperance for
relief, but that it sunk them much deeper in misery. He observed, that
laboring men who work hard and live sparingly, are seldom or never
troubled with low spirits.
--_Boswell's Johnson._
1317
Everyone complains of his memory, and no one complains of his judgment.
--_Rochefoucauld._
1318
By attention ideas are _registered_ on the memory.
1319
An old deacon was accustomed to offer this prayer: "Help us to forget
what we ought not to remember, and to remember what we ought not to
forget."
--_Weekly Paper._
1320
What nicer, what sweeter, than--
The remembrance of a past in boyhood's village days without regret!
1321
So many we find to be well fed but ill taught.
1322
_The Greatest Men Arose from the People._--The greatest scholars, poets,
orators, philosophers, warriors, statesmen, inventors, and improvers of
the arts, arose from the people. If we had waited till courtiers had
invented the arts of printing, clockmaking, navigation, and a thousand
others, we should probably have continued in darkness till this hour.
1323
I would as soon attempt to entice a star
To perch upon my finger; or the wind
To follow me like a dog--as try to make
Some people do what they ought.
1324
ABBOTSFORD.
When Washington Irving visited Abbotsford, Sir Walter Scott introduced
him to many of his friends and favorites, not only among the neighboring
farmers, but the laboring peasantry. "I wish to show you," said Scott,
"some of our really excellent plain Scotch people. The character of a
nation is not to be learnt from its fine folks, its fine gentlemen and
ladies; such you meet everywhere, and they are everywhere the same."
--_Smiles._
1325
MEN--UNLUCKY.
Never have anything to do with an unlucky man. I never act with them.
Their advice sounds very well, but they cannot get on themselves; and if
they cannot do good to themselves, how can they do good to me?
--_Rothschild._
1326
He that studies books alone, will know how things ought to be; and he
that studies men, will know how things are.
1327
Wise men care not for what they cannot have.
1328
Young people are very apt to overrate both men and things, from not
being enough acquainted with them.
1329
YOUNG MEN.
The trouble with most young men is that they do not learn anything
thoroughly, and are apt to do the work committed to them in a careless
manner. The business world is full of such young men, content in simply
putting in their time somehow and drawing their salaries, making no
effort whatever to increase their efficiency and thereby enhance their
own as well as their employers' interests.
--_Unknown._
1330
_The Clemency of a Queen._--It is related that during the first few days
of the reign of Queen Victoria, then a girl between nineteen and twenty
years of age, some sentences of a court-martial were presented for her
signature. One was death for desertion. She read it, paused, and looked
up to the officer who laid it before her, and said:--"Have you nothing
to say in behalf of this man?" "Nothing; he has deserted three times,"
answered the officer. "Think again, Your Grace," was the reply. "And,"
said the gallant veteran, as he related the circumstance to his
friends--(for he was none other than the Duke of Wellington)--"seeing
her majesty so earnest about it, I said--'He is certainly a bad
_soldier_, but there was somebody who spoke as to his good character,
and he may be a good _man_ for aught I know to the contrary.'" "Oh, I
thank you a thousand times!" exclaimed the youthful queen, and hastily
writing 'Pardoned' in large letters on the fatal page, she sent it
across the table with a hand trembling with eagerness and beautiful
emotion.
--_Hodgins._
1331
Mercy's door should open to those who knock.
1332
When there is doubt, lean to the side of mercy.
--_Cervantes._
1333
MAN--THE CHILD OF MERCY.
When the Omniscient Giver of all life,
In His eternal council first conceived
The thought of man's creation, forth He call'd
Into His presence three bright ministers--
Justice, and Truth, and Mercy, that forever
Had hovered around His throne--and thus He spoke;
"Shall we make man?" Then stern Justice replied:
"Create him not, for he will trample on
Thy holy law;" and Truth, too, answering, said,
"Create him not, O God! he will pollute
Thy sanctuary!" When forth Mercy came,
And dropping on her knees, exclaimed: "O God!
Create him! I will watch his wandering steps,
And tender guide thro' all the darksome paths
That he may tread." Then forthwith God made man,
And said: "Thou art the child of Mercy; go:
In mercy with thy erring brother deal."
--_Judge Crittenden, of Ky._
1334
MERCY.
Think not the good,
The gentle deeds of mercy thou hast done,
Shall die forgotten all; the poor, the prisoner,
The fatherless, the friendless, and the widow,
Who daily owe the bounty of thy hand,
Shall cry to Heaven, and pull a blessing on thee.
--_Nicholas Rowe._
1335
He that showeth mercy when it may be best spared will receive mercy when
it shall be most needed.
1336
MERCY.
I would not enter on my list of friends
(Though graced with polished manners and fine sense,
Yet wanting sensibility) the man
Who needlessly sets foot upon a worm.
An inadvertent step may crush the snail
That crawls at evening in the public path;
But he that has humanity forewarn'd,
Will tread aside, and let the reptile live.
Ye, who love mercy, teach your sons
To love it too.
--_Cowper._
1337
It is beautifully said that the veil of futurity is woven by the hand of
mercy.
--_Bulwer-Lytton._
1338
We pray for mercy, Let that same prayer teach us to render The deeds of
mercy.
--_Shakespeare._
1339
Merit does not always meet its due reward.
1340
Merit and good-breeding will make their way everywhere.
1341
All are not merry that dance lightly.
--_Herbert._
1342
When I dinna ken what I say, Sandy,
And ye dinna ken what I mean--that's metaphysics.
--_Scotch._
1343
Method will teach you to win time.
--_Goethe._
1344
FRIENDS IN NEED.
Perhaps one of the most noteworthy characteristics of Methodists is the
spirit of clannishness which runs through the whole body. Is any sick,
the rest are eager to pray; is any merry, the rest are delighted to sing
psalms; and they will not only pray and sing in sympathy, which is
comparatively easy, but they are ready to spend, and to be spent, for
the brethren to almost any extent. Men may know that they are Methodists
from the love they have one to another.
Through whatsoever ill betide
For you I will be spent and spend:
I'll stand forever by your side,
And naught shall you and me divide,
Because you are my friend.
--_Ellen Thorneycroft Fowler._
1345
Where might is right, right is not upright.
--_From the German._
1346
It is indicative of a weak mind to be much depressed by adversity or
elated by prosperity.
1347
A well-governed mind learns in time, to find pleasure in nothing but the
true and the just.
--_Amiel._
1348
Overtasking the mind is an unwise act; when nature is unwilling, the
labour is vain.
--_Seneca._
1349
Who fills his mind with matters small
For great things has no room at all.
1350
When the mind is in a state of uncertainty, the smallest impulse directs
it to either side.
--_Terence._
1351
MIND.
It cannot be too deeply impressed on the mind, that application is the
price to be paid for mental acquisitions, and that it is as absurd to
expect them without it, as to hope for a harvest where we have not sown
the seed.
--_Bailey._
1352
Narrowness of mind is often the cause of obstinacy: we do not easily
believe beyond what we see.
--_La Rochefoucauld._
1353
I am one,
Who finds within me a nobility,
That spurns the idle pratings of the great,
And their mean boast of what their fathers were,
While they themselves are fools effeminate,
The scorn of all who know the worth of mind
And virtue.
1354
All who know their mind do not know their heart.
1355
RESIGNATION.
Entire and perfect happiness is never
Vouchsafed to man; but nobler minds endeavor
To keep their inward sorrows unrevealed.
With meaner spirits nothing is concealed.
Weak, and unable to conform to fortune,
With rude rejoicing or complaint importune,
They vent their exultation or distress.
Whate'er betides us--grief or happiness--
The brave and wise will bear with steady mind,
The allotment, unforeseen and undefined,
Of good or evil, which the Gods bestow,
Promiscuously dealt to man below.
--_Theognis, Greek._
_Translated by Frere._
1356
Life will always be, to a large extent, what we ourselves make it. Each
mind makes its own little world. The cheerful mind makes it pleasant,
and the discontented mind makes it miserable. "My mind to me a kingdom
is" applies alike to the peasant as to the monarch.
1357
The face is the index of the mind.
--_Crabbe._
1358
It is not position, but mind, that I want, said a lady to her father,
when rejecting a suitor.
1359
Those who visit foreign countries, but who associate only with their own
countrymen, change their climate, but not their customs; they see new
meridians, but the same men, and with heads as empty as their pockets,
return home, with travelled bodies, but untravelled minds.
1360
Youthful minds, like the pliant wax, are susceptible of the most lasting
impressions, and the good or evil bias they then receive is seldom if
ever eradicated.
1361
Little minds are hurt by little things; great minds rise above them.
1362
Noblest minds are easiest bent.
--_Homer._
1363
DUTY OF MINISTERS.
My friends, the chief duty of the ministers of God, is, that they should
help their brethren to the best of their fallible knowledge and feeble
power. When there is a spirit of repentance; when men truly seek the
means of grace; when they have ceased to be insolent and defiant in sin;
when they do intend--were it but ever so faintly--to lead a new
life--then
Our commission is to heal, not harm;
We come not to condemn, but reconcile;
We come not to compel, but call again;
We come not to destroy, but edify;
Nor yet to question things already done;
These are forgiven; matters of the past;
And range with jetsam, and with offal, thrown
Into the blind sea of forgetfulness.
--_F. W. Farrar, D. D._
1364
One ounce of mirth is worth more than ten thousand weight of gloominess.
1365
Man is no match for woman where mischief reigns.
--_Balzac._
1366
Most just it is that he who breweth mischief should have the first
draught of it himself.
--_Jemmat._
1367
CONSTANTINE AND THE MISER.
Constantine the Great, born 274 A. D., in order to reclaim a miser, took
a lance and marked out a space of ground the size of a human body and
said to him: "Add heap to heap, accumulate riches upon riches, extend
the bounds of your possessions, conquer the whole world, and in a few
days, such a spot as this, will be all that you will have."
1368
A miser grows rich by seeming poor; an extravagant man grows poor by
seeming rich.
--_Shenstone._
1369
_Misers._--If I knew a miser, who gave up every kind of comfortable
living, all the pleasure of doing good to others, all the esteem of his
fellow citizens, for the sake of accumulating wealth; "Poor Man," I
would say, "you pay too much for your whistle."
--_Benj. Franklin._
1370
No thoroughly occupied man was ever miserable.
--_Dutch._
1371
'Tis time enough to bear a misfortune when it comes without anticipating
it.
--_Seneca._
1372
Learn never to repine at your own misfortunes, or to envy the happiness
of others.
1373
Any man may make a mistake; none but a fool will stick to it.
--_Cicero._
1374
Better a mistake avoided, than two corrected.
1375
I will not quarrel with a slight mistake,
Such as our nature's frailty may excuse.
--_Roscommon._
1376
There are few, very few, that will own themselves in a mistake.
--_Swift._
1377
No lessons are so impressive as those our mistakes teach us.
1378
Young heads are giddy, and young hearts are warm,
And make mistakes for manhood to reform.
--_Young._
1379
People seldom improve when they have no other model but themselves to
copy after.
--_Goldsmith._
1380
MODERATION.
He that holds fast the golden mean,
And lives contentedly between
The little and the great,
Feels not the wants that pinch the poor,
Nor plagues that haunt the rich man's door.
--_Cowper._
1381
THE CHARM OF MODULATION.
'Tis not enough the voice be sound and clear,
'Tis modulation that must charm the ear.
1382
The abundance of money ruins youth.
1383
I almost grow to believe there is a sort of curse on money which is not
earned, even when it is bestowed by father on son or daughter. It
cripples individual development, and I think only when it is earned is
it blest.
1384
A' complain o' want o' siller (money): nane o' want o' sense.
--_Scotch._
1385
Your money cannot change your blood,
Although you strut as though it could.
1386
A MONEY-LENDER.
He serves you in the present tense;
He lends you in the conditional mood;
Keeps you in the subjunctive;
And is apt to ruin you in the future!
--_Addison._
1387
The love of money is the root of much devotion.
1388
A man's money is either his master or his slave.
1389
Money doesn't make happiness. There is many a heart-ache behind plenty
of money!
--_Nettie S. Murphy._
1390
He who finds no money in his own purse, is still less likely to find it
in that of others.
1391
Agassiz said, "I have no time to waste in making money. Life is not
sufficiently long to enable a man to get rich and do his duty to his
fellow man at the same time."
1392
No bees, no honey; no work, no money.
1393
THE POWER OF MONEY.
Money will purchase occupation;
It will purchase all the conveniences of life;
It will purchase variety of company;
It will purchase all sorts of entertainments;
It can change men's manners; alter their conditions!
How tempestuous these slaves are without it!
O thou powerful metal! what authority
Is in thee! thou art the key of all men's
Mouths; with thee a man may lock up the jaws
Of an informer, and without thee, he
Cannot open the lips of a lawyer.
--_Broome._
1394
Mention money and the world is silent.
1395
How like a queen comes forth the lonely moon
From the slow opening curtains of the clouds;
Walking in beauty to her midnight throne!
--_G. Croly._
1396
MOON.
See yonder fire! it is the moon
Slow rising o'er the eastern hill.
It glimmers on the forest tips,
And through the dewy foliage drips
In little rivulets of light,
And makes the heart in love with night.
--_H. W. Longfellow._
1397
With morning cool reflection comes.
--_Sir Walter Scott._
1398
The morning hour has gold in its mouth.
--_Dr. Franklin._
1399
WHILE MOTHER WAS AWAY.
The Princess of Wales has trained her children so carefully in habits of
obedience and veracity that they are most trustworthy little persons.
Before her royal highness started on her trip round the world with her
husband, she drew up a list of rules to be observed in the nursery, and
added a series of light tasks to be fullfilled by each one of the
youngsters before the date set for her return.
The rules were to be enforced by the nurses. The performance of the
tasks was left to the honor of the children, and in addition there was a
list of things they must not do.
There were occasional lapses of memory as regards the forbidden things,
and some carelessness in carrying out the tasks, for royal children,
despite the severity of their training, are children still. But in the
main they respected their mother's wishes and commands, and took no
advantage of her absence. Upon one occasion, however, they were sorely
tempted. This was when their loving and beloved grandmother, Queen
Alexandria, brought them a big box of bonbons. But when the sweets were
offered to them, one child after another reluctantly but firmly declined
to take any.
"We like them, but mother has forbidden us to eat them," explained the
eldest prince.
"You can have the sugar-plums if I say you may," said the indulgent
queen. "I will tell mama all about it when she returns."
Prince Eddie wavered momentarily, then reiterated his refusal.
"We'd like them," he sighed, "but that's what mother said."
The queen was slightly annoyed by this opposition.
"But if I say you may--" she said.
Prince Eddie stood his ground, a hero between two fires--the wishes of
his adored mother, and those of his almost equally adored grandmother.
His sister and his brothers followed his lead. When the queen went away
she put the bonbons on the nursery table and there they stayed for
months untouched, a handsome monument to the thoroughness of the
princess' training and the respectful love and devotion of her children.
--_The Youth's Companion._
1400
Better the child should cry than the mother sigh.
--_Danish._
1401
THE DARING OF A MOTHER.
In Scotland a peasant woman had a child a few weeks old, which was
seized by one of the golden eagles, the largest in the country, and
borne away in its talons to its lofty eyrie on one of the most
inaccessible cliffs of Scotland's bleak hills; the mother, perceiving
her loss, hurried in alarm to its rescue, and the peasantry among whom
the alarm spread, rushed out to her aid; they all came to the foot of
the tremendous precipice; the peasants were anxious to risk their lives
in order to recover the little infant; but how was the crag to be
reached? One peasant tried to climb, but was obliged to return; another
tried and came down injured; a third tried, and one after another
failed, till a universal feeling of despair and deep sorrow fell upon
the crowd as they gazed upon the eyrie where the infant lay. At last a
woman was seen, climbing first one part and then another, getting over
one rock and then another, and while every heart trembled with alarm, to
the amazement of all, they saw her reach the loftiest crag, and clasp
the infant rejoicingly in her bosom. This heroic female began to descend
the perilous steep with her child; moving from point to point; and while
everyone thought that her next step would precipitate her and dash her
to pieces, they saw her at length reach the ground with the child safe
in her arms. Who was this female? Why did she succeed when others
failed? It was The Mother of The Child.
--_Cumming._
1402
FUNERAL OF A MOTHER.
The Rev. George Crabbe when describing the funeral of "The Mother," in
his passing glance at the half-interested spectators, says:--
Curious and sad, upon the fresh-dug hill
The village lads stood, melancholy still.
and in his description of the return to the house:--
Arrived at home, how then they gazed around.
In every place where she no more was found;
The seat at table she was wont to fill;
The fireside chair, still set, but vacant still;
The garden walks, a labor all her own;
The latticed bower, with trailing shrubs o'ergrown:
The Sunday pew she filled with all her race--
Each place of hers, was now a sacred place,
That while it called up sorrows in the eyes,
Pierced the full heart, and forced them still to rise.
--_From the Eclectic Magazine._
1403
A MOTHER'S LOVE.
Children, look in those eyes, listen to that dear voice, notice the
feeling of even a single touch that is bestowed upon you by that gentle
hand. Make much of it while yet you have that most precious of all good
gifts, a loving mother. Read the unfathomable love of those eyes; the
kind anxiety of that tone and look, however slight your pain.
In after-life you may have friends, fond, dear, kind friends; but never
will you have again the inexpressible love and gentleness lavished upon
you which none but a mother bestows. Often do I sigh in my struggles
with hard, uncaring world, for the sweet, deep security I felt when, of
an evening nestling in her bosom, I listened to some quiet tale,
suitable to my age, read in her tender and untiring voice. Never can I
forget her sweet glances cast upon me when I appeared asleep, never her
kiss of peace at night. Years have passed away since we laid her beside
my father in the old church yard; yet still her voice whispers from the
grave, and her eye watches over me, as I visit spots long since hallowed
to the memory of my mother.
1404
The mother's heart is the child's school-room.
1405
He who takes the child by the hand, takes the mother by the heart.
1406
Who ran to help me when I fell,
And would some pretty story tell,
Or kiss the place to make it well?
My mother.
1407
Each mother is a historian; she writes not the history of empires or of
nations on paper, but she writes her own history on the imperishable
mind of her child. That tablet and that history will remain indelible
when time shall be no more. That history each mother shall meet again,
and read, with eternal joy, or unutterable grief, in the coming ages of
eternity.
1408
MOTHERS AND MEN.
That it is the mother who moulds the man is a sentiment beautifully
illustrated by the following recorded observation of a shrewd writer:--
"When I lived among the Choctaw Indians, I held a consultation with one
of their chiefs respecting the successive stages of their progress in
the arts of civilized life; and among other things he informed me, that
at their start they made a great mistake,--they only sent boys to
school. These boys came home intelligent men; but they married
uneducated and uncivilized wives, and the uniform result was, the
children were all like their mothers. The father soon lost all his
interest both in wife and children. 'And now,' said he 'if we would
educate but one class of our children, we should choose the girls; for,
when they become mothers, they educate their sons.'"
1409
MOTHER.
Can'st thou, mother, for a moment think
That we, thy children, when old age shall shed
Its blanching honors on thy weary head,
Could from our best of duties ever shrink?
Sooner the sun from his high sphere should sink,
Than we, ungrateful, leave thee in that day
To pine in solitude thy life away,
Or shun thee, tottering on the grave's cold brink.
Banish the thought!--where'er our steps may roam,
O'er smiling plains, or wastes without a tree
Still will fond memory point our hearts to thee,
And paint the pleasures of thy peaceful home;
While duty bids us all thy griefs assuage
And smoothe the pillow of thy sinking age.
--_Henry Kirke White._
1410
MY MOTHER.
My mother! when I learned that thou wast dead,
Say, wast thou conscious of the tears I shed?
I heard the bells tolled on thy burial day,
I saw the hearse that bore thee slow away;
And, turning from my nursery window, drew
A long, long sigh, and wept a last adieu!
Thus many a sad to-morrow came and went,
Till, all my stock of infant sorrow spent,
I learned at last submission to my lot:
But though I less deplored thee, ne'er forgot.
--_Cowper._
1411
An ounce of mother is worth more than a pound of clergy.
--_Spanish Proverb._
1412
A MOTHER'S EXAMPLE.
It was a judicious resolution of a father, as well as a most pleasing
compliment to his wife, when, on being asked by a friend what he
intended to do with his girls, he replied: "I intend to apprentice them
to their mother, that they may learn the art of improving time, and be
fitted to become wives, mothers, heads of families, and useful members
of society." Equally just, but very different, was the remark of an
unhappy husband--his wife was vain and thoughtless--"It is hard to say,
but if my girls are to have a chance of growing up good for anything,
they must be sent out of the way of their mother's example."
1413
A MOTHER'S SORROWS.
My son! my son! I cannot speak the rest--
Ye who have sons can only know my fondness!
Ye who have lost them, or who fear to lose,
Can only know my pangs! none else can guess them;
A mother's sorrows cannot be conceived
But by a mother!
1414
Pomponius Atticus, who pronounced a funeral oration on the death of his
mother, protested that though he had resided with her sixty-seven years,
he was never once reconciled to her; "because," said he, "there never
happened the least discord between us, and consequently there was no
need of reconciliation."
1415
THE MOTHER'S HOPE.
Is there, when the winds are singing
In the happy summer time--
When the raptured air is ringing
With earth's music heavenward springing,
Forest chirp and village chime--
Is there, of the sounds that float
Unsighingly, a single note
Half so sweet, and clear, and wild,
As the laughter of a child?
--_Laman Blanchard._
1416
_A True Estimate of a Mother._--To a child, there is no velvet so soft
as a mother's lap, no rose so lovely as her smile, no path so flowery as
that imprinted with her footsteps.
1417
TURF FROM MY MOTHER'S GRAVE.
The following simple, beautiful lines contain an unadorned statement of
a fact in the experience of a friend, who is fond of wandering in the
Scotch highland glens:
As I came wandering down Glen Spean,
Where the braes are green and grassy,
With my light step I overtook
A weary-footed lassie.
She had one bundle on her back,
Another in her hand,
And she walked as one who was full loath
To travel from the land.
Quoth I, "my bonnie lass!"--for she
Had hair of flowing gold,
And dark brown eyes, and dainty limbs,
Right pleasant to behold--
"My bonnie lass, what aileth thee,
On this bright summer day,
To travel sad and shoeless thus
Upon the stony way?
"I'm fresh and strong, and stoutly shod,
And thou art burdened so;
March lightly now and let me bear
The bundles as we go."
"No, no!" she said, "that canna be,
What's mine is mine to bear,
Of good or ill, as God may will,
I take my portioned share."
"But you have two and I have none;
One burden give to me;
I'll take _that_ bundle from thy back
That heavier seems to be."
"No, no!" she said; "_this_, if you will,
_That_ holds--no hand but mine
May bear its weight from dear Glen Spean
'Cross the Atlantic brine!"
"Well, well! but tell me what may be
Within that precious load
Which thou dost bear with such fine care
Along the dusty road?
"Is it some present rare
From friend in parting hour;
Perhaps, as prudent maidens wont,
Thou tak'st with thee thy dower?"
She drooped her head, and with her hand
She gave a mournful wave;
"Oh, do not jest, dear sir--it is
Turf from my mother's grave!"
I spoke no word; we sat and wept
By the road-side together:
No purer dew on that bright day
Was dropt upon the heather.
--_John Stuart Black._
1418
When we are sick, where can we turn for succor,
When we are wretched where can we complain?
And when the world looks cold and surly on us
Where can we go to meet a warmer eye
With such sure confidence as to a mother?
1419
Is there a heart that music cannot melt?
Alas! how is that rugged heart forlorn.
--_Beattie._
1420
Music loosens a heart that care has bound.
1421
No music is so charming to my ear as the requests of my friends, and the
supplications of those in want of my assistance.
--_Caesar._
1422
His very foot has music in't,
As he comes up the stair.
--_Burns._
N
1423
For art may err, but nature cannot miss.
--_J. Dryden._
1424
Our nature exists by motion; perfect rest is death.
1425
Good-nature, like a bee, collects honey from every herb. Ill-nature,
like a spider, sucks poison from the sweetest flower.
1426
Good-nature is the beauty of the mind, and, like personal beauty, wins
almost without anything else.
--_Hanway._
1427
If you want to keep your good looks, keep your good nature.
1428
NATURE.
No ordinance of man shall override
The settled laws of nature and of God;
Not written these in pages of a book,
Nor were they framed to-day, nor yesterday;
We know not whence they are; but this we know,
That they from all eternity have been,
And shall to all eternity endure.
--_Sophocles, born 495 B. C._
1429
Every one follows the inclinations of his own nature.
--_Propertius._
1430
There is a pleasure in the pathless woods,
There is a rapture on the lonely shore,
There is society where none intrudes,
By the deep sea, and music in its roar:
I love not man the less, but nature more,
From these our interviews, in which I steal
From all I may be, or have been before,
To mingle with the universe, and feel
What I am can ne'er express, yet cannot all conceal.
--_Lord Byron._
1431
Who can paint
Like nature? Can imagination boast,
Amid its gay creation, hues like hers?
--_J. Thomson._
1432
Tender handed stroke a nettle
And it stings you for your pains;
Grasp it like a man of mettle,
And it soft as silk remains;
Thus it is with vulgar natures,
Use them kindly, they rebel:
But be rough as nutmeg graters,
And the rogues obey you well.
--_Aaron Hill._
1433
Where is there a sharper arrow than the sting of unmerited neglect?
1434
'Tis wisely said
To know thyself: equally profitable it is
To know thy neighbors!
1435
Say not unto thy neighbor, Go, and come again, and to-morrow I will
give; when thou hast it by thee.
--_Proverbs 3, 28v._
1436
_Very Few Live by Choice._--Every man is placed in his present condition
by causes which acted without his foresight, and with which he did not
always willingly co-operate; and therefore you will rarely meet one who
does not think the lot of his neighbor better than his own.
--_Dr. Johnson in Rasselas._
1437
We ought to do at once and without delay whatever we owe to our
neighbors; to make them wait for what is due to them, is the essence of
injustice.
1438
A BIRD'S NEST.
It wins my admiration
To view the structure of this little work--
A bird's nest. Mark it well, within, without;
No tool had he that wrought; no knife to cut,
No nail to fix, no bodkin to insert,
No glue to join; his little beak was all;
And yet how neatly finished!--What nice hand,
And every implement and means of art,
And twenty years' apprenticeship to boot,
Could make me such another? Fondly then
We boast of excellence, whose noblest skill
Instinctive genius foils.
--_Hurdis._
1439
The thing that hath been, it is that which shall be; and that which is
done, is that which shall be done: and there is no new thing under the
sun.
--_Ecclesiastes 1, 9v._
1440
He knocks boldly at the door who brings good news.
1441
The most ridiculous nicknames are often the most adhesive.
--_Haliburton._
1442
Coolness and counsel come in the night, and both are of God.
--_Arab Proverb._
1443
Quiet night, that brings
Rest to the laborer, is the outlaw's day,
In which he rises early to do wrong,
And when his work is ended, dares not sleep.
--_P. Massinger._
1444
Night is the time for rest;
How sweet, when labors close,
To gather 'round an aching breast
The curtain of repose.
Stretch the tir'd limbs and lay the head
Down on our own delightful bed!
--_Jas. Montgomery._
1445
Learn to say No! and it will be of more use to you than to be able to
read Latin.
--_Spurgeon._
1446
_Duty._--A wise man who does not assist with his counsels, a rich man
with his charity, and a poor man with his labor, are perfect nobodies in
a commonwealth.
--_Swift._
1447
IMPORTANT.
Nobody likes to be nobody;
But everybody is pleased to think himself somebody.
And everybody is somebody:
But when anybody thinks himself to be somebody,
He generally thinks everybody else to be nobody.
1448
By doing nothing we learn to do ill.
--_Watts._
1449
The young are fond of novelty.
1450
So easily are we impressed by numbers, that even a dozen wheelbarrows in
succession seem quite imposing.
--_Richter._
O
1451
A CLEVER "TURN."
Lord Elibank, the Scotch peer, was told that Dr. Johnson, in his
dictionary, had defined oats to be food for horses in England, and for
men in Scotland. "Ay," said his lordship, "and where else can you find
such horses and such men?"
1452
_Deuteronomy xxi, 20._--"This our son is stubborn and rebellious, he
will not obey our voice."
"I well remember," says a writer on Christian education, "being much
impressed by a sermon about twenty years ago, in which the preacher
said, were he to select one word as the most important in education, it
should be the word, obey. My experience since has fully convinced me of
the justice of the remark. Without filial obedience everything must go
wrong. Is not a disobedient child guilty of a manifest breach of the
Fifth Commandment? And is not a parent, who suffers this disobedience to
continue, an habitual partaker in his child's offense against that
commandment?"
1453
_Obedience._--Obedience, promptly, fully given, is one of the most
beautiful things that walks the earth.
--_Dr. Raleigh._
1454
Wise, modest, constant, ever close at hand,
Not weighing, but obeying all command,
Such servant by a monarch's throne may stand.
1455
An extraordinary haste to discharge an obligation is a sort of
ingratitude.
--_La Rochefoucauld._
1456
Most men remember obligations, but not often to be grateful for them.
The proud are made sour by the remembrance, and the vain silent.
1457
To John I ow'd great obligation,
But John unhappily thought fit
To publish it to all the nation:
Sure John and I are more than quit.
--_Prior._
1458
People newly emerged from obscurity, generally launch out into
indiscriminate display.
--_Jean Ingelow._
1459
Obstinacy is will asserting itself without being able to justify itself.
It is persistence without a plausible motive. It is the tenacity of
self-love substituted for the tenacity of reason or conscience.
--_Amiel._
1460
Thrice happy they who have an occupation.
--_Byron._
1461
An oil-jar can be used again for nothing but oil.
(A man should follow what he was bred to.)
--_Chinese._
1462
Others may use the ocean as their road,
Only the British make it their abode:--
They tread the billows with a steady foot.
--_Waller._
1463
To call people peculiar is only a polite way of calling them
disagreeable.
--_W. S. Murphy._
1464
WORDS.
Time to me this truth has taught
('Tis a treasure worth revealing,)
More offend by want of thought
Than by want of feeling.
--_Charles Swain._
1465
A dog's obeyed in office.
--_Shakespeare._
1466
A bad man in office is a public calamity.
--_French._
1467
Omissions, no less than commissions, are oftentimes branches of
injustice.
--_Antoninus._
1468
It has been shrewdly said, that, when men abuse us, we should suspect
_ourselves_, and when they praise us, _them_.
1469
No liberal man would impute a charge of unsteadiness to another for
having changed his opinion.
--_Cicero._
1470
SELF-CONFIDENCE.
Men often lose opportunities by want of self-confidence. Doubts and
fears in the minds of some rise up over every event, and they fear to
attempt what most probably would be successful through their
timorousness; while a courageous, active man, will, perhaps with half
the ability, carry an enterprise to a prosperous termination.
1471
Men spend their lives in anticipations, in determining to be vastly
happy at some period or other, when they have time. But the present time
has one advantage over every other--it is our own. Past opportunities
are gone; the future may never come to us.
--_Colton._
1472
To let slip a favorable opportunity is the greatest proof of imbecility.
1473
He loses all who loses the right moment.
1474
OPPORTUNITY.
Master of human destinies am I;
Fame, love, and fortune on my footsteps wait,
Cities and fields I walk; I penetrate
Deserts, and seas remote, and, passing by
Hovel, and mart, and palace, soon or late,
I knock unbidden once at every gate.
If sleeping, wake; if feasting, rise
Before I turn away. It is the hour of fate,
And those who follow me, gain every state
Mortals desire, and conquer every foe
Save Death, but those who doubt, or hesitate,
Condemned to failure, penury, and woe,
Seek me in vain, and uselessly implore.
I answer not, and I return no more.
--_U. S. Senator John J. Ingalls, of Kansas._
1475
OPPORTUNITY.
There is no man whom Fortune does not visit at least once in his life;
but when she does not find him ready to receive her, she walks in at the
door, and flies out at the window.
--_Cardinal Imperiali._
1476
_Didn't Know the Place._--A young man who left his native city to study
medicine in Paris, and had been applying his time and the paternal
remittances to very different purposes, received a visit from his
father, who intended making a short stay in the capital to inspect its
wonders. During an afternoon stroll together, the day after the elder's
arrival, the father and son happened to pass in front of a large
colonnaded building. "What is that?" said the senior, carelessly. "I
don't know, but we'll inquire," answered the student. On the query being
put to an official, he shortly replied: "That? It is the School of
Medicine."
1477
The opportunity is often lost by deliberating.
--_Syrus._
1478
We must take the current when it serves, or lose our ventures.
--_Shakespeare._
1479
Four things come not back.
The spoken word,
The sped arrow,
The past life,
And the neglected opportunity.
1480
To-day is the opportunity for enjoyment and work; knowest thou where
thou wilt be to-morrow? Time flies swiftly away, and we with it.
--_Gleim._
1481
OPPRESSORS--EVERYWHERE.
There are sharks in the ocean, and wolves in the forest, and eagles in
the air, and tyrants on thrones, and tormentors in cottages.
--_Dr. J. Hamilton._
1482
All orators are dumb when beauty pleadeth.
--_Shakespeare._
P
1483
Ambitious parents sometimes try to make lawyers, doctors, preachers and
statesmen out of boys nature meant for plowmen. How often do we find
misfits! There is nothing more pitiable than to see a man whose mind and
heart are completely wrapped up in one thing and yet condemned by
circumstances to do another.
1484
The cavalry captain Kurtzhagen was invited to dine with King Frederick
II. "From what noble house are you descended?" asked the king. "From
none whatever," replied Kurtzhagen. "My parents are only poor country
people, but I would not exchange them for any other parents in the
world." "Well said," replied the king. "Woe to him who is so mean as to
be ashamed of his parents."
1485
"Father," said a young man on his death-bed, "you have been very good to
me. You have given me a fine education, and you have placed me in a fine
social position; you have done everything for me in a worldly sense;
but, dear father, you never told me much of a hereafter. Now I am
dying."
1486
If any one toil for a parent, it is not fitting to bear remembrance of
the toil.
1487
The good conduct of the father and mother is the blessing of the
children.
1488
ALL FOOLS NOW.
A little Boston girl was encouraged by her parents to study so much that
her brain gave way, and she is now an idiot. This is a sad result, but
the parents must find some consolation in the thought that they have
made their daughter like themselves.
1489
It so falls out, that,
What we have we prize, not to the worth,
While we enjoy it; but being lack'd and lost,
Why, then, we rack the value, then we find
The virtue that possession would not show us,
Whilst it was ours.
--_Shakespeare._
Note: Applicable to one's parents.
1490
PARTING.
We twain have met like the ships upon the sea,
Who hold an hour's converse, so short, so sweet;
One little hour! and then, away they speed
On lonely paths, through mists, and cloud, and foam,
To meet no more.
--_A. Smith._
1491
PARTING FROM FRIENDS.
When forc'd to part from those we love,
Though sure to meet to-morrow;
We yet a kind of anguish prove,
And feel a touch of sorrow.
But oh! what words can paint the fears
When from those friends we sever,
Perhaps to part for months--for years--
Perhaps to part for ever.
1492
Control your passion or it will control you.
--_Horace._
1493
Nothing overcomes passion sooner than silence.
--_French._
1494
Remember, three things come not back;
The arrow sent upon its track--
It will not swerve, it will not stay
Its speed; it flies to wound or slay;
The spoken word, so soon forgot
By thee, but it has perished not;
In other hearts 'tis living still,
And doing work for good or ill;
And the lost opportunity
That cometh back no more to thee.
In vain thou weep'st, in vain dost yearn,
These three will never more return.
1495
Let by-gones be by-gones; let the past be forgotten.
--_Dr. Webster._
1496
Every one utters the word "past" with more emotion than "future."
--_Richter._
1497
The beaten path is the safe one.
--_From the Latin._
1498
A pearl is often hidden in an ugly shell.
--_Chinese._
1499
The pen is the tongue of the mind.
--_Cervantes._
1500
HOW TO WAKE THE PEOPLE.
An old peasant in a German village had to leave his children alone in
the house for the day. "If a thief comes," he said to them, "do not cry
'Thief!' For everybody will be afraid and will say to himself: 'After
all, it's not my property that's being taken.' No, my children; shout
'Fire!' The whole village will run to help you, for everybody will be
afraid the fire will spread."
--_Saturday Evening Post._
1501
Perfection none must hope to find
In all this world--in man or woman-kind.
1502
As the sun's shadow shifts, so there is no permanence on earth.
--_Chinese._
1503
By persevering, mountains will often become only mole hills.
1504
SCOTTISH PERSEVERANCE.
Scottish perseverance has itself become proverbial; we remember to have
met with a story which is said to be connected with the foundation of an
opulent mercantile house which has flourished for some generations.
Saunders, the traveler, entered a shop in London and enquired for the
head of the house; one of the clerks asked what he wanted; the answer of
Saunders was, as usual, a question, "Want ye aught in my line, sir?"
"No," was the prompt reply, accompanied by a look of contempt at the
itinerant Scotch merchant. "Will ye no tak' a look o' the gudes, sir?"
was Saunders' next query. "No, not at all; I have not time. Take them
away--take them away!" "Ye'll aiblins (perhaps) find them worth your
while, and I doubt na but ye'll buy," said Saunders; and he proceeded to
untie and unstrap his burden. "Go away--go away!" was reiterated more
than once by the clerk, but the persevering Scot still persisted. The
master of the establishment overheard all that had taken place, and now
he stepped forward, and, moved by some compunction for the treatment the
traveler had received, and some admiration, too, for the patience and
perseverance of the man, he consented to look over the contents of the
pack, found them to be exactly the goods he was in want of, purchased
them all, and gave a very large order; and thus, says Chambers, who
tells the story, assisted in the foundation of a large mercantile house.
But is not this the stuff of which also the Livingstones and the
Macleods are made? Was not this the spirit which set the brave Sir
Walter Scott to work, when sinking into his later years, to overtake his
fearful loss of one hundred thousand pounds? Is it not a commentary upon
that especial proverb which we have said so illustrates the Scottish
character, "He that tholes (or endures) overcomes?"
--_Chambers Journal._
1505
Better ask twice than lose your way once.
1506
THE FATE OF PETITIONS.
Petitions not sweeten'd
With gold, are but unsavoury, oft refused;
Or if received, are pocketed, never read.
--_Massinger._
1507
Jenny Lind was frequently known to pass unobserved from her residence,
as if to make a visit, and had been traced to the back lanes and
cottages of the poor, whose wants she ascertained and relieved. Several
times she had been remonstrated with, and warned by her intimate friends
against being imposed upon. She always replied, "Never mind; if I
relieve ten, and one is worthy, I am satisfied."
1508
NAME OF THE GOOD SAMARITAN.
A philanthropist, when a candidate for the ministry, was traveling on
one occasion from Strasbourg. It was in the winter time. The ground was
deeply covered with snow, and the roads were almost impassable. He had
reached the middle of his journey and was among the mountains; and by
that time was so exhausted that he could stand erect no longer. He was
rapidly freezing to death, and sleep began to overpower him. He
commended himself to God, and yielded to what he felt to be the sleep of
death. He knew not how long he slept, but suddenly became conscious of
some one rousing him. Before him stood a wagon-driver in his blue
blouse, and the wagon not far away. His rescuer gave him a little wine
and food, and the spirit of life returned. He then helped him upon the
wagon, and brought him to the next village. Oberlin, the philanthropist,
was profuse in his thanks, and offered money, which his benefactor
refused. "It is only a duty to help one another," said the wagoner; "and
it is the next thing to an insult to offer a reward for such a service."
"Then," said Oberlin, "at least tell me your name, that I may have you
in thankful remembrance before God." "I see," said the wagoner, "that
you are a minister of the Gospel. Please tell me the name of the Good
Samaritan." "That," said Oberlin, "I cannot do; for it was not put on
record." "Then," replied the wagoner, "until you can tell me his name,
permit me to withhold mine."
1509
_A Sensible Answer._--A story is told about Wendell Phillips--a story
that must have made even the serious-minded Abolitionist laugh heartily:
He was in a hotel in Charleston, had breakfast in his room, and was
served by a slave. Mr. Phillips spoke to him as an Abolitionist, but the
waiter seemed to be more concerned about the breakfast than about
himself. Finally Mr. Phillips told him to go away, saying that he could
not bear to be waited upon by a slave.
The other remonstrated: "Scuse me, massa, but I's obliged to stay yere,
'cause I's 'sponsible fo' de silverware."
1510
MY FIRST PATIENT.
A lady sent for me in haste to come and see,
What her condition for a cure might be.
Dear me! a patient--what a happy tone,
To have a patient, and one all my own--
To have a patient and myself be feed,
Raised expectations very high indeed--
I saw a practice growing from the seed.
--_Wm. Tod Helmuth._
1511
Fretting is the doctor's best friend all over the whole world.
1512
Temperance and toil are the two real physicians of mankind.
1513
The purse of the patient frequently, alas! protracts his cure.
--_Zimmerman._
1514
Physic, for the most part, is nothing else but the substitute of
exercise and temperance.
--_Addison._
1515
To pity distress is but human; to relieve it is Godlike.
1516
The thirsty earth soaks up the rain
And drinks and gaps for drink again;
The plants suck in the earth, and are
With constant drinking fresh and fair.
--_A. Cowley._
1517
THE BREVITY OF PLEASURES.
Pleasures are like poppies spread,
You seize the flower, its bloom is shed;
Or, like the snow-fall in the river,
A moment white, then melts forever.
--_Burns: Tam O'Shanter._
1518
There is a certain dignity to be kept up in pleasures as well as in
business.
1519
The greatest pleasure I know is to do a good action by stealth, and to
have it found out by accident.
--_Charles Lamb._
1520
To make pleasures pleasant, shorten them.
--_Buxton._
1521
Pleasures make folks acquainted with each other, but it takes trials and
griefs to make them know each other.
1522
Our sweetest pleasures--oft
Are in our memories.
1523
A man would have but little pleasure if he did not sometimes flatter
himself.
1524
The most delicate, the most sensible of all pleasures, consist in
promoting the pleasures of others.
--_La Bruyere._
1525
ONE WAY OF AVOIDING PNEUMONIA.
When the fire in your room goes out, drop your pen, or, if reading, your
book, and go out too; If you remain, and continue your work, you may
regret it. Many a student in the universities, anxious to get on with
his studies, has worked in a cold room and paid the penalty
with--Pneumonia, ending sometimes in death.
--_Observer._
1526
Modern poets mix much water with their ink.
--_Goethe._
1527
Avoid all haste; calmness is an essential ingredient of politeness.
--_Alphonse Karr._
1528
A BUDDING CHESTERFIELD.
A small boy was at a table where his mother was not near to take care of
him, and a lady next to him volunteered her services. "Let me cut your
steak for you," she said; "if I can cut it the way you like it," she
added, with some degree of doubt. "Thank you," the boy responded,
accepting her courtesy; "I shall like it the way you cut it, even if you
do not cut it the way I like it."
1529
TRUE POLITENESS.
The following beautiful incident is related of the late Prince consort.
On one occasion a humble but very worthy man who had befriended the
Prince in early life called to see him, and was invited to come to the
family table. He began to eat with his knife, as he had always been
accustomed to do, and this excited a little quiet merriment among the
young people. Prince Albert looked round upon them, as if to say, "Stop
that!" and at once began himself to eat with his knife, and continued to
do so to the end of the meal. After dinner, one of the children asked
him why he did so. The Prince replied: "It is well enough for us to
observe the etiquette of the day; but it is far more important to avoid
insulting people. I wanted my old friend to enjoy his dinner, which he
could not have done had he seen you laughing at him. He is accustomed to
use his knife, and it would doubtless be quite difficult for him to use
the fork instead."--This was genuine politeness, and the world would be
happier if the same feeling were always shown.
1530
Politeness is as natural to delicate natures as perfume is to flowers;
it smoothes wrinkles.
1531
Ceremonies are different in every country; but true politeness is
everywhere the same.
--_Goldsmith._
1532
_Dr. Johnson_:--"Politics are now nothing more than means of rising in
the world. With this sole view do men engage in politics, and their
whole conduct proceeds upon it."
--_Boswell's Johnson._
1533
Few, save the poor, feel for the poor.
1534
Poor folks' wisdom goes for little.
--_Dutch._
1535
He that thinks he can afford to be negligent, is not far from being
poor.
--_Dr. Johnson._
1536
Poor and content, is rich and rich enough;
But riches, is as poor as winter,
To him that ever fears he shall be poor.
1537
Speak gently, kindly, to the poor;
Let no harsh term be heard;
They have enough they must endure,
Without an unkind word.
--_George W. Hangford._
1538
The poor, the humble, and your dependents, will often be afraid to ask
their due from you: be the more mindful of it yourself.
1539
The poor, who envies not the rich, who pities his companions in poverty,
and can spare something for him that is still poorer, is, in the realms
of humanity, a king of kings.
1540
The man who says, "Let me wait a little, when I have something to spare,
I will relieve the poor," will never relieve them.
1541
THE COMPLAINTS OF THE POOR.
"And wherefore do the poor complain?"
The rich man ask'd of me:
"Come, walk abroad with me," I said,
"And I will answer thee."
'Twas evening, and the frozen streets
Were cheerless to behold;
And we were wrapp'd and coated well,
And yet we were a-cold.
We met an old, bareheaded man,
His locks were thin and white;
I ask'd him what he did abroad
In that cold winter's night.
The cold was keen, indeed, he said--
But at home no fire had he;
And therefore he had come abroad
To ask for charity.
We met a young barefooted child,
And she begged loud and bold;
I asked her what she did abroad
When the wind it blew so cold.
She said her father was at home,
And he lay sick abed;
And therefore was it she was sent
Abroad to beg for bread.
We saw a woman sitting down
Upon a stone to rest;
She had a baby at her back,
And another at her breast.
I ask'd her why she loiter'd there,
When the night-wind was so chill;
She turn'd her head, and bade the child
That scream'd behind, be still--
Then told us that her husband served,
A soldier, far away;
And therefore to her parish she
Was begging back her way.
I turn'd me to the rich man then,
For silently stood he;
"You ask'd me why the poor complain
And these have answer'd thee!"
--_Old Magazine._
1542
The world caresses the rich, though vulgar and ill-bred, and avoids the
poor man of merit in the threadbare coat.
1543
ONE "ALWAYS RIGHT;" THE OTHER, "NEVER WRONG."
A worthy old Ayrshire farmer had the portraits of himself and his wife
painted. When that of her husband, in an elegant frame, was hung over
the fireplace, the gudewife remarked in a sly manner: "I think, gudeman,
noo that ye've gotten your picture hung up there, we should just put in
below't, for a motto, like, 'Aye richt!'"
"Deed may ye, my woman," replied her husband in an equally pawkie tone;
"and when ye get yours hung up over the sofa there, we'll just put up
anither motto on't, and say, 'Never wrang.'"
1544
Not every man who has an easy place has a soft pillow.
1545
CONCEALING POVERTY.
If rich, it is easy enough to conceal our wealth; but, if poor, it is
not quite so easy to conceal our poverty. We shall find it less
difficult to hide a thousand guineas, than one hole in our coat.
1546
Poverty is the only burden which grows heavier when loved ones help to
bear it.
1547
Poverty is in want of much, but avarice of everything.
--_Publius Syrus._
1548
POVERTY.
A poor man resembles a fiddler, whose music, though liked, is not much
praised, because he lives by it; while a gentleman performer, though the
most wretched scraper alive, throws the audience into raptures.
1549
The love of power is an instinct of the human heart.
--_Tacitus._
1550
Power often goes before talent.
--_From the Danish._
1551
When power puts in its plea,
The laws are silent.
--_Massinger._
1552
A partnership with men in power is never safe.
--_Phaedrus._
1553
And (strange to tell) he practised what he preached.
--_Armstrong._
1554
Praise is the best diet for us after all.
--_Sydney Smith._
1555
Just praise is only a debt, but flattery is a present.
--_Johnson._
1556
The love of praise, howe'er concealed by art,
Reigns more or less and glows in every heart.
--_Dr. E. Young._
1557
Most persons are like Themistocles that never found himself so well
contented, as when he heard himself praised.
1558
PRAISE.
How could my tongue
Take pleasure, and be lavish in thy praise!
How could I speak thy nobleness of nature!
Thy open, manly heart, thy courage, constancy
And inborn truth, unknowing to dissemble!
Thou art the man in whom my soul delights
In whom, next heaven, I trust.
1559
_Self-Praise._--It is a sign that your reputation is small and sinking,
if your own tongue must praise you.
1560
The sweetest of all sounds is,--praise!
1561
No man ever praised two persons equally--and pleased them both.
1562
DIRECTED IN A DREAM.
A zealous divine, who had prayed earnestly that God would teach him the
perfect way of truth, was directed in a dream to go to a certain place,
where he would find an instructor; when he came to the place, he found a
man in ordinary attire, to whom he wished a good morning.
"I never had a bad morning," replied the man. "That is very singular; I
wish you may always be as fortunate." "I was never unfortunate," said
he. "I hope you may always be as happy," said the divine. "I am never
unhappy," said the other. "I wish," said the divine, "that you would
explain yourself a little."
"That I will cheerfully do," said the other; "I said that I never had a
bad morning, for every morning, even if I am pinched with hunger, I
praise God. If it rains, or snows, or hails, whether the day is serene
or tempestuous, I am still thankful to God, and therefore I never had a
joyless morning. If I am miserable in outward circumstances, and
despised, I still praise God; you wished that I might always be
fortunate, but I cannot be unfortunate, because nothing befalls me but
according to the will of God, and I believe that His will is always
good, in whatever He does or permits to be done. You wished me always
happy, but I cannot be unhappy, because my will is always resigned to
the will of God."
The divine, astonished at the man's answers, asked him whence he came.
"I came from God," he replied. "Where did you find Him?" "Where I left
the world." "Where did you leave God?" "With the pure in heart." "What
are you?" "I am a king." "Where is your kingdom?" "It is within my
bosom. I have learned to rule my appetites and passions, and that is
better than to rule any kingdom in the world."
"How were you brought into this happy condition?"
"By secret prayer, spiritual meditation and union with God; nothing
below God could satisfy my desires; I have found Him, and in Him I have
found Peace and Rest."
--_Old Magazine._
1563
A PRAYER "FOR ABSENT RELATIVES AND FRIENDS."
"Our Father, in Thy mercy
Hear our anxious prayer:
Keep our loved ones now far absent
'Neath Thy care."
1564
NO ROOF ON THE HOUSE.
A laborer went to work for a wealthy farmer. It was regarded as
something of a favor to be employed by him, as he was a prompt and
liberal paymaster, and was look'd upon by his neighbors as a very
superior farmer. The man remained with him only a few days.
"I'm told you've left farmer P," said a neighbor.
"Yes, I have," was the reply.
"Was the work too hard for you?"
"There was nothing to complain of on that score."
"What then? Were the wages too low?"
"No."
"Why did you leave?"
"There was no roof on the house!" And he went on his way, leaving the
questioner to ponder on the strange answer he had given.
The man's meaning may be found in the saying of an old writer, who
affirms that a dwelling in which prayer is not offered up to God daily,
is like a house without a roof, in which there cannot be either peace,
safety, or comfort.
--_Old Magazine._
1565
Prayer in the morning is the key that opens to us the treasures of God's
mercies and blessings; in the evening it is the key that shuts us up
under his protection and safeguard.
1566
When thou prayest, rather let thy heart be without words, than thy words
without heart.
--_Bunyan._
1567
A QUAINT OLD PRAYER.
"Oh, that mine eyes might closed be
To what concerns me not to see;
That deafness might possess mine ear
To what concerns me not to hear;
That love my tongue might always tie
From ever speaking foolishly!
But what are wishes! Lord, mine eye
On Thee is fixed. To Thee I cry.
Wash, Lord, and purify my heart
And make it clean in every part;
And when 'tis clean, Lord, keep it, too,
For that is more than I can do."
--_Unknown._
1568
_Rev. Thomas Guthrie_:--"As an ambassador for Christ, I regard a
preacher of the Gospel as filling the most responsible office any mortal
can occupy. His pulpit is, in my eyes, loftier than a throne; and of all
professions, learned or unlearned, his, though usually in point of
wealth the poorest, I esteem the most honorable. That office is one
angels themselves might covet."
--_From Memoir of Dr. Guthrie._
1569
When the preacher seeks fame he is sure to find folly.
1570
Opinions founded on prejudice are always sustained with the greatest
violence.
1571
He who never leaves his country is apt to be full of prejudices.
--_Goldoni._
1572
_Enjoy the Present._--Our advantages fly away:
Gather flowers while ye may.
1573
YESTERDAY, TO-DAY AND TO-MORROW.
We cannot change yesterday--that is clear,--
Or begin on to-morrow until it is here;
So all that is left for you, and me,
Is to make to-day as sweet as can be.
1574
Many delight more in giving of presents than in paying their debts.
--_Sir Philip Sidney._
1575
People who strive to appear to be what they are not, only succeed in
being nothing.
1576
An ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure.
1577
Thou art proud; believest thou thyself to be one of the more exalted
beings?
1578
Proud people seldom have friends. In prosperity they know nobody; in
adversity nobody knows them.
1579
Never be too much elated.
--_From the Latin._
1580
How little do they know of human nature, who imagine, that pride is
likely to be subdued by adversity.
--_Sir Arthur Helps._
1581
Be unable at all times to forsake your principles.
1582
ACCOMPLISHMENTS AND PRINCIPLES.
Mrs. Campbell, a Scotch lady, was recommended as sub-governess to the
Princess Charlotte, and the old King George III formed a high opinion of
her. She felt reluctant to accept the post, urging her deficiency in
the necessary accomplishments. "Madame," said the king, "I hope we can
afford to purchase accomplishments, but we cannot buy principles."
1583
What may be dune at ony time, will be dune at nae time.
--_Scotch._
1584
Professing, without practising, will never do us any good.
1585
Honor and profit do not always lie in the same sack.
--_George Herbert._
1586
_Lord Chatham_: "I would have inscribed on the curtains of your bed, and
the walls of your chamber, this:--If you do not rise early, you can make
progress in nothing."
1587
My deeds, and speeches, sir,
Are lines drawn from one centre; what I promise
To do, I'll do.
--_Shakespeare._
1588
There is no piety in keeping an unjust promise.
--_From the French._
1589
When you have promised to do any good office, the right of the thing
promised, hath passed over from you to another; consequently, you will
esteem yourself obliged to stand to the performance of your word, though
it may be to your own prejudice.
1590
A man who means to keep his promises can't afford to make many.
--_Rousseau._
1591
He that gives away his property before death must prepare to suffer.
1592
FULFILMENT OF A PROPHESY.
The minuteness and accuracy of God's program of the ages is often
overlooked. There is a singular and striking instance of this in the
triumphal entry of our Lord into Jerusalem. [1592:A]The command to go
into the village nearby and bring the colt that would be found tied
there, was in fulfillment of a prophesy made five hundred years before
by Zachariah, 9th chapter, 9th verse:--"Rejoice greatly, O daughter of
Zion: shout O daughter of Jerusalem: behold, thy King cometh unto thee:
He is just, and having salvation; lowly, and riding upon an ass, and
upon a colt the foal of an ass."--That same donkey colt was so essential
to the transaction of that day, that the pageant could not have gone on
without it.
--_Rev. L. W. Irwin._
FOOTNOTES:
[1592:A] _Mark xi, 2v._
1593
Let those who propose, be willing to perform.
1594
As distant prospects please us, but when near,
We find but desert rocks, and fleeting air.
--_Sir Sam'l Garth._
1595
Now that I have a sheep and a cow, everybody bids me good morrow.
1596
Prosperity often creates selfishness.
--_Thos. D. Brown._
1597
Hard work is still, and always will be, the only road to prosperity.
1598
If you know how to spend less than you get, you have the philosopher's
stone.
1599
In ascending the hill of prosperity, may we never meet a friend.
1600
Prosperity makes friends;
Adversity tries them.
--_Publius Syrus._
1601
Prosperity makes some friends, and what is too true, many enemies.
1602
Prosperity in business is not always a sign or proof of the rectitude of
one's principles.
1603
It shows a weak mind not to bear prosperity as well as adversity, with
moderation.
1604
We are pleased with one who instantly assents to our opinions; but we
love a proselyte.
--_Sir. A. Helps._
1605
JAPANESE PROVERBS.
He who knows not, and knows that he knows not, is humble. Teach him.
* * * * *
He who knows, and knows not that he knows, is asleep. Wake him.
* * * * *
He who knows, and knows that he knows, is a wise man. Follow him.
1606
Punctuality is one of the characteristics of politeness. He who does not
keep his appointments promptly, is hardly fit for the society of
gentlemen.
1607
Punctuality begets
Confidence
and Respect.
--_From the German._
1607a
PUNCTUALITY AS A VIRTUE.
It is neither polite nor honest to be behind hand when one can just as
easily be on time. An artist solicited and obtained permission to paint
a portrait of Queen Victoria. The hour and place for the important
undertaking were named. Promptly the queen was present; but the artist
was not when the hour came. He arrived at length, but too late, for her
majesty had departed, leaving a message that she would not return. The
queen had kept her promise, but the artist had failed to keep his, and
thus lost the rare chance to win both fame and fortune.
--_T. J. MacMurray._
1608
_Lord Nelson used to say_: "I have always been a quarter of an hour
before my time, and it has made a man of me."
1609
_Horace Mann said_:--Unfaithfulness in the keeping of an appointment is
an act of dishonesty. You may as well borrow a person's money as his
time.
1610
To be unpunctual is sometimes considered a mark of consequence by little
great men, but the truly great have always thought differently.
1611
Purposes, like eggs, unless they be hatched into action, will run into
decay.
--_Smiles._
1612
CONSUMPTION OF THE PURSE.
I can get no remedy against the consumption of the purse: borrowing only
lingers and lingers it out, and I find the disease is incurable.
--_Shakespeare._
1613
Who has an empty purse must have a sweet tongue.
1614
Not to oversee workmen is to leave them your purse open.
--_Franklin._
Q
1615
_Quakerwise._--"William, thee knows I never call any bad names; but,
William, if the mayor of the city were to come to me and say, 'Joshua, I
want thee to find me the biggest liar in the city,' I would come to thee
and put my hand on thy shoulder, and say to thee, 'William, the mayor
wants to see thee.'"
1616
THE BEST TIME TO QUARREL.
In Lanarkshire, there lived a sma' laird named Hamilton, who was noted
for his eccentricity. On one occasion, a neighbor waited on him, and
requested his name as an accommodation to a bill for twenty pounds at
three months date, which led to the following characteristic and truly
Scottish colloquy:
"Na, na, I canna do that."
"What for no', laird? Ye hae dune the same thing for ithers."
"Ay, ay, Tammas, but there's wheels within wheels ye ken naething aboot;
I canna do 't."
"It's a sma' affair to refuse me, laird."
"Weel, ye see, Tammas, if I was to pit my name till't, ye wad get the
siller frae the bank, and when the time came round, ye wadna be ready,
and I wad hae to pay't; sae then you and me wad quarrel; sae we mae just
as weel quarrel the noo, as lang's the siller's in ma pouch."
1617
In all thy quarrels leave open the door of reconciliation.
1618
To quarrel with one person to please another, is to meet what we
merit,--the displeasure of both.
--_Crete._
1619
He that blows the coals in quarrels he has nothing to do with, has no
right to complain if the sparks fly in his face.
1620
If you wish a wise answer you must put a rational question.
R
1621
WHEN IT RAINS.
THE PESSIMIST.
The rain is coming down in sheets;
It makes me sad to think about
The mud that will be in the streets
And all the crops and things washed out.
THE OPTIMIST.
This rain will wash the dirt away,
And leave the pavements nice and clean;
I needn't use the hose to-day
To keep the front yard looking green.
1622
My high birth suffocates me. If thou love me, mother, thou wilt not on
all occasions quote my high rank; it is those only who have no peculiar
good in their own nature who are constantly speaking of their noble
birth.
1623
A man who attempts to read all the new publications must do as the fly
does--skip.
1624
Man is not the prince of creatures,
But in reason. Fail that, he is worse
Than horse, or dog, or beast of wilderness.
--_Field._
1625
When a man has not a good reason for doing a thing, he has one good
reason for letting it alone.
--_Sir Walter Scott._
1626
"Live and let live" was his rule: no more I'll say.
1627
There is one word which may serve as a rule of practice for all one's
life, that word is reciprocity;
What you do not wish done to yourself,
Do not do to others.
--_Confucius._
1628
The bow cannot possibly stand always bent, nor can human nature subsist
without recreation.
--_Cervantes._
1629
_Regret._--It is folly to shiver over last year's snow.
--_Whately._
1630
Relaxation above produces remissness below. (In authority.)
--_Chinese._
1631
A religion that costs nothing, does nothing.
1632
They who doubt the blessings of religion because they find no Christian
who is perfect, might as well deny the existence of the sun because it
is not always noonday.
--_Marchioness de Spadara._
1633
Religion is good for nothing one day in the week, unless it is also good
for all the seven days.
1634
Religion is the knowledge of the most excellent truths; the
contemplation of the most glorious objects, and the hope of the most
ravishing pleasures, and the practice of such duties as are most
servicable to our happiness, our peace, our health, our honor, our
prosperity, and our eternal welfare. Virtue needs no outward pomp; her
very countenance is so full of majesty, that the proudest pay her
respect, and the profanest are awed by her presence.
1635
It is rare to see a rich man religious; for religion preaches restraint,
and riches prompt to unlicensed freedom.
--_Feltham._
1636
Religion lies more in the walk than in the talk.
1637
Religion presents few difficulties to the humble,
Many to the proud,
Insuperable ones to the vain.
1638
Religion, if in heavenly truths attired,
Needs only to be seen to be admired.
1639
REPENTANCE.
I will to-morrow, that I will,
I will be sure to do it;
To-morrow comes, to-morrow goes,
And still thou art to do it.
Thus still repentance is deferred,
From one day to another:
Until the day of death is come,
And judgment is the other.
--_Drexelius._
1640
'Tis not, to cry God mercy, or to sit
And droop, or to confess that thou hast fail'd:
'Tis to bewail the sins thou didst commit;
And not commit those sins thou hast bewail'd,
He that bewails and not forsakes them too;
Confesses rather what he means to do.
--_Quarles._
1641
_Profanity Gently Reproved._--It is related that the excellent John
Wesley, having to travel some distance in a stagecoach, was thereby
brought into the company of an intelligent and gentlemanly officer of
the British army. The officer was very social with his traveling
companions; but the enjoyment, which his society would otherwise have
afforded to those with him, was sadly lessened by the profane
expressions he used.
While stopping at a station, Mr. Wesley called the officer to one side,
and, after expressing the satisfaction he had enjoyed in his company,
told him he felt encouraged to ask of him a very great favor. "I shall
take great pleasure in obliging you," replied the officer, "as I am
certain you would not make an unreasonable request."--"Then," said Mr.
Wesley, "as we are to travel together for some days, I beg that if I
should so far forget myself as to use any profane language, you will
kindly reprove me." The officer immediately perceived how faithfully and
how delicately his own conduct stood reproved, and, smiling, said, "No
one but Mr. Wesley could administer reproof in such manner."
--_Anonymous._
1642
After I have named the man, I need say no more.
1643
PERFECT RESIGNATION.
It is reported of a person who, being ill, was asked whether she was
willing to live or die; she answered--"Which God pleases." "But," said
one, "if God should refer it to you, which would you choose?" "Truly,"
replied she, "I would at once refer it to Him again."
--_W. Secker._
1644
REST.
Some seek bread--no more--life's mere subsistence,
And some seek wealth and ease--the common quest;
And some seek fame that hovers in the distance;
But all are seeking rest.
1645
OUR PRESENT NEED.
Pray, give us rest. A little rest
From peace-destroying hurry;
A moment of the quietest,
As balm for work and worry.
Pray, give us rest. A little rest
For people and for nation;
A moment's time to stop and test
The purpose of creation.
--_Wm. J. Lampton._
1646
Rest is sweet to those who labor.
--_Plutarch._
1647
_Take Rest._--A field that has rested gives a bountiful crop.
--_Ovid._
1648
The man who goes easiest and best,
Is he who gives his tongue
Vast quantities of rest.
1649
"If I rest too much, I rust,"--says the key.
1650
Quick resolves are often unsafe.
1651
Irresolute people often let their soup grow cold between the plate and
the mouth.
1652
Sleep over it and you will come to a resolution.
--_Spanish._
1653
Those who act in a disinterested way seldom miss their reward.
1654
One knows not for whom he gathers.
--_French._
1655
It is wealth to a man to be able to live contentedly upon a frugal
store.
1656
RUSKIN MEETS SOME TOURISTS.
"I was fated the other day to come from Venice to Verona with a
family--father and mother and two girls--it matters not what country
they came from--presumably rich--girls fifteen and eighteen. I never
before conceived the misery of people who had evidently spent all their
lives in trying to gratify themselves. It was a little warm--warmer than
was entirely luxurious--but nothing in the least harmful. They moaned
and fidgeted and frowned and puffed and stretched and fanned, and ate
lemons, and smelled bottles, and covered their faces, and tore the cover
off again, and had not one thought or feeling during five hours of
traveling in the most noble part of all the world except what four poor
beasts would have had in their end of a menagerie, being dragged about
on a hot day. Add to this misery every form of polite vulgarity, in
methods of doing and saying the common things they said and did. I never
yet saw humanity so degraded (allowing for external circumstances of
every possible advantage) given wealth, attainable education and the
inheritance of eighteen centuries of Christianity."
--_Letter to Charles E. Morton in the Atlantic._
1657
They call him rich; I deem him poor;
Since, if he dares not use his store,
But saves it for his heirs,
The treasure is not his, but theirs.
1658
The generous should be rich, and the rich should be generous.
1659
Very rich men seldom or never whistle; poor men always do.
1660
Who is truly rich? He who is satisfied with what he possesses.
--_From The Talmud._
1661
It is difficult to gather a heap in a long time, but it is easy to
squander the whole in a day.
--_Diphilus._
1662
Sir Thomas Sutton, the founder of the Charter House, was one of the
wealthiest merchants of his day. Fuller tells how he was overheard one
day praying in his garden: "Lord, Thou hast given me a large and liberal
estate; give me also a heart to make use of it."
1663
_The Influence of Riches._--A respectable widow lady, with a very small
income, which she was obliged to eke out by the produce of her own
industry and ingenuity, was remarkable for her generous liberality,
especially in contributing to the cause of religion. When any work of
pious benevolence was going forward, she was always ready to offer a
donation equal to those of persons in comparative affluence. In process
of time this lady came into the possession of an ample fortune, greatly
to the joy of all who knew her willing liberality. But she no longer
came forward unsolicited towards the cause of Christ, and when applied
to, she yielded her aid but coldly and grudgingly, and sometimes excused
herself from giving at all. On one occasion she presented a shilling to
the same cause to which she had formerly given a guinea when in a state
of comparative poverty. Her minister felt it his duty to expostulate
with her, and reminded her of her former generosity when her means were
so circumscribed. "Ah! sir," she affectingly replied; "then I had the
shilling means, but the guinea heart, now I have the guinea means, but
only the shilling heart. Then I received day by day my daily bread, and
I had enough and to spare; now, I have to look at my ample income, but I
live in constant apprehension that I may come to want!"
1664
Riches and care are as inseparable as sun and shadow.
1665
As riches and favor forsake a man, we discover him to be below
mediocrity, but nobody could find it out in his prosperity.
1666
I remember when Mr. Locke first came over from Italy. Old Dr. Moore, who
had a high opinion of him, was crying up his drawings, and asked me if I
did not think he would make a great painter? I said, "No, never!" "Why
not?" "Because he has six thousand a year."
--_Northcote._
1667
Few men are both rich and generous; fewer are both rich and humble.
--_Manning._
1668
Riches serve a wise man but command a fool.
--_German._
1669
'Tis strange, the miser should his cares employ
To gain those riches he can ne'er enjoy.
--_Pope._
1670
_Riches_:--We see how much a man has, and therefore we envy him; did we
see how little he enjoys, we would rather pity him.
--_Seed._
1671
My riches consist not in the greatness of my possessions, but in the
smallness of my wants.
--_Cobbett._
1672
OPULENCE.
Every one who rightly considers it, may know, that eminence and opulence
in the world are not real divine blessings, notwithstanding man, from
the pleasure he finds in them, calls them so; for they pass away, and
also seduce many, and turn them away from heaven; but that eternal life,
and its happiness, are real blessings, which are from the Divine: this
the Lord also teaches in Luke: 12 ch., 33-34. "Make to yourselves a
treasure that faileth not in the heavens, where the thief cometh not,
nor the moth corrupteth; for where your treasure is, there will your
heart be also."
--_Emanuel Swedenborg, 1688-1772._
1673
Without frugality none can become rich, and with it, few would become
poor.
--_Dr. Johnson._
1674
No man has a right to do as he pleases, except when he pleases to do
right.
1675
_Late Rising._--He who rises late, must trot all day, and will scarcely
overtake his business at night.
--_Dr. Fuller._
1676
To wish for anything that is unattainable is worthless, and a poor road
to travel.
1677
He that is robb'd, not wanting what is stolen,
Let him not know't, and he's not robb'd at all.
--_Shakespeare._
1678
One roof and two winds--i. e., persons of opposite tempers living
together.
--_Chinese._
1679
Water and protect the root;
Heaven will watch the flower and fruit.
--_Chinese._
1680
If a man could make a single rose, we should give him an empire; yet
roses, and flowers no less beautiful, are scattered in profusion over
the world, and no one regards them.
1681
Royalty is but a feather in a man's cap; let children enjoy their
rattle.
--_Cromwell._
1682
There cannot be a greater rudeness than to interrupt another in the
current of his discourse.
--_Locke._
1683
No rumor wholly dies, once bruited wide.
--_Hesiod, a Greek, 850 B. C._
S
1684
He who ordained the Sabbath loved the poor.
--_O. W. Holmes._
1685
Those persons who are in the habit of avoiding worldly cares on the
Sabbath, are the most remarkable for the perfect performance of their
duties during the week. The influence of a change of thought on the
Sabbath upon the minds of such persons, resembles that of a change of
food upon the body. It seems to give a fresh spring to the mental
operations, as the latter does to the physical.
1686
SABBATH.
Hail, Sabbath! thee I hail, the poor man's day:
On other days the man of toil is doom'd
To eat his joyless bread--the ground
Both seat and board--screen'd from the winter's cold
And summer's heat, by neighboring hedge or tree;
But on _this_ day, embosom'd in his home,
He shares the frugal meal with those he loves.
--_Grahame._
1687
A well-spent Sabbath on earth, prepares us for the spending of a better
one in heaven.
1688
Better a little in safety, than an abundance, surrounded by danger.
1689
More can be said in one minute than can be forgotten in a lifetime.
1690
SALT.
When Henry Drummond was traveling in tropical Africa, he found that salt
was regarded by the natives as a rare luxury. Often he offered the
native boys the choice between a pinch of salt and a lump of sugar, and
they always chose the salt. Once he presented the head man of a village
with a spoonful of salt. The chief twisted a leaf into a little bag,
into which he poured the salt. Then he held out his hand to the children
who crowded around, and each was allowed one lick of his empty palm.
1691
A NAME ON THE SEA SAND.
Alone I walked the ocean strand:
A pearly shell was in my hand;
I stooped and wrote upon the sand
My name, the year, the day.
As onward from the spot I passed,
One lingering look behind I cast;
A wave came rolling high and fast
And washed my lines away.
And so, methought, 'twill shortly be
With every mark on earth from me.
The above pretty lines are only superficially true. No man can live on
earth without leaving, "footprints on the sands of time," which will
influence those who come after him for good or evil.
1692
EMULATION IN A SCHOOL.
More is learned in a public than in a private school from emulation:
there is the collision of mind with mind, or the radiation of many minds
pointing to one centre.
--_Dr. Johnson._
1693
THE DAME--SCHOOL.
Here first I entered, though with toil and pain,
The low vestibule of learning's fane:
Entered with pain, yet soon I found the way,
Though sometimes toilsome, many a sweet display.
Much did I grieve, on that ill-fated morn,
When I was first to school reluctant borne;
Severe I thought the dame, though oft she tried
To soothe my swelling spirits when I sighed;
And oft, when harshly she reproved, I wept,
To my lone corner broken-hearted crept,
And thought of tender home, where anger never kept.
* * * * * * * *
But soon inured to alphabetic toils,
Alert I met the dame with jocund smiles;
First at the form, my task forever true,
A little favorite rapidly I grew:
And oft she stroked my head with fond delight,
Held me a pattern to the dunce's sight;
And as she gave my diligence its praise,
Talked of the honors of my future days.
--_Henry Kirke White._
1694
It has been remarked that some [1694:A]duxes at school and prizemen at
the university have run too soon to seed, and in after-years been heard
of no more; while on the contrary,--comforting fact for the parents of
dull boys--not a few who have become distinguished men made no figure at
all in their educational career.
--_From Memoir of Dr. Guthrie._
FOOTNOTES:
[1694:A] Top of the class.
1695
EARLY TRIALS OF DISTINGUISHED SCHOLARS.
It is related of Dr. Adam, the celebrated rector of the High School of
Edinburgh, that when at college he had to be content with a penny roll
for his dinner. Similar, though more severe, were the early trials of
Samuel Drew, also of Edinburgh. At the age of ten he was apprenticed to
a shoemaker, a calling which he continued to follow long after he had
become celebrated as an author. For days and days together in his early
life he was too poor to spend even a penny for his dinner; and he was
accustomed, when dinner-time came, to tie his apron-string tighter to
lessen the pang of hunger, and go on with his work till evening. Through
years of hardship and drudgery his courage never forsook him; amidst
ceaseless labor he strove unremittingly to improve his mind, studying
astronomy, history, and metaphysics; and finally, from the humblest
circumstances, he rose to occupy a conspicuous place as an author, a
philosopher, and a metaphysician.
The life of Balzac too, the French author, whose brilliant abilities won
for him at last such wealth, fame and influence in France, is a type of
many a literary career. At the age of twenty his wealthy parents wished
to make him a notary. He announced his determination to become an
author. "But" urged the father, "do you not know to what state the
occupation of a writer will lead you? In literature a man must be either
king or a hodman." "Very well," replied Balzac, "I will be king!" The
family left town; the youth was left to his fate in a garret, with the
magnificent allowance of twenty-five francs a month. The first ten years
he fought with poverty and all its evils; the second decade made him his
own master. These ten years, says a writer in a British magazine, were
years of glory, wealth, and luxury. He had won the literary crown, as in
youth he predicted. His later residences were palaces, richly decorated,
and full of rare pictures, statuary, and valuable curiosities.
--_From "Getting on in the World."_
--_By William Mathews, LL. D._
1696
_Scotland_:--With a rigorous climate and a small country, much of it
wild and untillable mountain and moor, and with fewer people in the
whole country than in the city of London, and to-day she wields an
influence in the world out of all proportion to her population and
resources. In fact, the Scotch are in many respects the greatest people
of modern times.
--_From "A Year in Europe."_
--_By Walter W. Moore, D. D., LL. D._
1697
Love the sea? I dote upon it--from the beach.
--_Douglas Jerrold._
1698
How sweet it is, mother, to see the sea from the land, when we are not
sailing!
--_Archippus._
1699
THOUGHTS AT SEA.
There is something grand, even to awfulness, in the thought of utter
helplessness which you feel at sea. Sky and water--with no living thing
visible over the vast expanse--for days together just your own vessel
with its human freight--and God! To a thoughtful mind there is no surer
teaching both of humility and trust.
--_Punshon._
1700
Old people see best in the distance.
--_German._
1701
'Tis in my memory lock'd,
And you yourself shall keep the key of it.
--_Shakespeare._
1702
A secret is seldom safe in more than one breast.
1703
What is known to three is usually known to everybody.
1704
Those who enquire much into the affairs of others are seldom capable of
retaining the secret that they learn; Therefore,
Shun the inquisitive and curious man,
For what he hears, he will relate again.
1705
To keep your own secrets is wisdom; but to expect others to keep them is
folly.
--_Holmes._
1706
Secrets make a dungeon of the heart, and a jailer of its owner.
1707
Where secrecy or mystery begins, vice or roguery is not far off.
--_Johnson._
1708
Be able at all times to yield your personal preference.
--_Gestfeld._
1709
Be what your friends think you are; avoid being what your enemies say
you are.
1710
Wouldst thou be crowned monarch of a little world, command thyself.
1711
CONCEIT OF SELF REBUKED.
"When I was younger than I am now," says a lawyer who is still somewhat
this side of middle age, "I had a position in the office of a man who
has a big reputation. Naturally, I felt my responsibility. It was plain
to me that the head of the firm had outlived his usefulness, and I used
to feel sorry to think what would happen to him if I ever left him.
Sheer magnanimity made me overlook a lot of things.
"I wasn't treated in that office with all the deference due me, but I
stood it till one day somebody went too far. Then I marched into the old
gentleman's private office and laid down the law to him. I told him I
wasn't going to endure such treatment another day. I was going to quit,
that was what I was going to do, and I was going to quit right then and
there. I unburdened my mind freely, and then I stopped to give him a
chance to apologize and beg me not to ruin him by leaving. He didn't
look up from his desk. He said to me in a polite kind of way, 'Please
don't slam the door when you go out.'"
--_Washington Post._
1712
They that do much themselves deny,
Receive more blessings from the sky.
--_Creech._
1713
SELF-DENIAL.
Teach self-denial and make its practice pleasurable, and you create for
the world a destiny more sublime than ever issued from the brain of the
wildest dreamer.
--_Sir Walter Scott._
1714
Two things are difficult for man to do;
'Tis to be selfish and honest, too.
1715
Give us something to admire in yourself, not in your belongings.--(To
one who boasts of his ancestry.)
1716
Do you want to know the man against whom you have most reason to guard
yourself? Your looking glass will give you a very fair likeness of his
face.
--_Whately._
1717
Don't support yourself on others;
If the column falls, where are you?
--_Shaw._
1718
We judge ourselves by what we feel capable of doing, while others judge
us by what we have already done.
--_Longfellow._
1719
The personal pronoun "I" should be the coat of arms of some individuals.
--_Rivarol._
1720
He that is warm is apt to think all are so.
1721
The Lord doesn't look so much at what you've given, as to what you have
left.
--_An Old Writer._
1722
If solid happiness we prize,
Within our breast this jewel lies,
From our own selves our joys must flow,
And that dear hut, our home.
--_Cotton._
1723
Self-interest is the compass by which some men
Do set the course of their opinions.
1724
Remember that self-interest is more likely to warp your judgment than
all other circumstances combined, therefore, look well to your duty when
your interest is concerned.
1725
The world is very much ruled by interest alone.
1726
The least that one can say of himself is still too much.
--_Joubert._
1727
He that falls in love with himself will have no rival.
1728
No one can disgrace us but ourselves.
--_Holland._
1729
On their own merits modest men are dumb.
--_Geo. Colman._
1730
It is more easy to be wise for others, than for ourselves.
--_La Rochefoucauld._
1731
No man fights a harder battle than the man who overcomes himself.
1732
To me, there is none like you but yourself.
--_From the address of a grateful Hindoo
to Sir Wm. Jones._
1733
One always knocks one's self on the sore place.
--_From the French._
1734
You say, not always wisely, Know thyself!
Know others, ofttimes is the better maxim.
--_Menander, Born 342 B. C._
1735
No object is more pleasing to the eye than the sight of a man whom you
have obliged; nor any music so agreeable to the ear, as the voice of one
that owns you for his benefactor.
1736
Self-laudation abounds among the unpolished, but nothing can stamp a man
more sharply as ill-bred.
1737
We know what we are, but know not what we may be.
1738
Some persons have a prudent consideration for Number--one.
1739
Some persons can neither stir hand nor foot without making it clear they
are thinking of themselves, and laying little traps for approbation.
--_S. Smith._
1740
We hardly find any persons of good sense, save those who agree with us!
1741
We find few sensible people, except those who are of our way of
thinking.
1742
Never trouble another for what you can do yourself.
1743
The question was asked, "Why can we see other people's failings sooner
than our own? and why can we give advice to others easier than follow it
ourselves?" A sensible man asked in reply, "Why can our eyes see
everything else but themselves?"
1744
What others say of me, matters little.
What I myself say and do,
Matters much.
1745
Self-interest is but the survival of the animal in us. Humanity only
begins for man with self-surrender.
--_Amiel._
1746
Did it ever strike you that continual mourning was multiplied
selfishness?
--_Ursula._
1747
Take the selfishness out of the world and there would be more happiness
than we should know what to do with.
--_H. W. Shaw._
1748
"There is no harm in being respected in this world, as I have found
out," said Thackeray, "and if you don't brag a little for yourself,
depend on it there is no person of your acquaintance who will tell the
world of your merits, and take the trouble off your hands."
1749
Common sense among men born to fortune is rare.
--_Juvenal._
1750
He lacks sense who broods over the past.
1751
_2 Kings x, 16._--"Jehu said, Come with me, and see my zeal for the
Lord."
John Fox, the author of the "Book of Martyrs," was once met by a woman
who showed him a book she was carrying, and said, "See you not that I am
going to a sermon?" The good man replied, "If you will be ruled by me,
go home, for you will do little good to-day at church." "When, then,"
asked she, "would you counsel me to go?" His reply was, "When you tell
no one beforehand."
1752
A CRUSHING ARGUMENT AGAINST MANUSCRIPT SERMONS.
A clergyman thought his people were making rather an unconscionable
objection to his using a manuscript in delivering a sermon.
They urged, "What gars ye tak' up your bit papers to the pu'pit?"
He replied "that it was best, for really he could not remember his
sermons, and he must have the paper."
"Weel, weel, minister, then dinna expect that _we_ can remember them."
1753
PREACHING.
A leading Welsh minister--and Welsh ministers are, I think, among the
best preachers--was invited to preach an anniversary sermon before one
of the great societies in London. Naturally anxious to disregard no
propriety, he consulted the proper authority, the secretary. "Should I
read my sermon?" "Oh, it is no matter, only bring some of your Welsh
fire with you." "But you cannot, my dear sir, carry fire on paper." "No,
that is true; but you may use the paper to kindle the fire."
--_Rev. John Hall._
1754
A SCOTCH PREACHER.
The Rev. John Brown, of Haddington, rose from a poor shepherd boy to
become a distinguished minister, and afterwards a celebrated professor,
author of the "Self-Interpreting Bible," and many other works. Robert
Turnbull said of him in one of his books:--"When a poor shepherd boy, he
conceived the idea of learning Latin and Greek, and having procured a
few old books, actually accomplished the task, while tending his cattle
on the hills. So successful was he that some of the old and
superstitious people in the neighborhood concluded that he must have
been assisted by 'the evil spirit.' On one occasion he went to
Edinburgh, plaided and barefoot, walked into a bookseller's shop, and
asked for a Greek Testament. 'What are you going to do with a Greek
Testament?' said the bookseller. 'Read it,' was the prompt reply. 'Read
it!' exclaimed the sceptical bookseller with a smile; 'ye may have it
for nothing if ye'll read it.' Taking the book, he quietly read off a
few verses, and gave the translation; on which he was permitted to carry
off the Greek Testament in triumph."
--_Rob't Turnbull._
1755
THE BEST SERMONS.
If we would give ourselves only half an hour's reflection at the close
of every day, we would preach to ourselves the best sermons that could
be uttered every week.
1756
Oh ponder well! be not severe!
--_Unknown._
1757
What shadows we are! what shadows we pursue!
1758
THE LOST SHEEP.
"Oh, gentle Shepherd, climbing rugged mountains,
And crossing waters deep,
How long wouldst Thou be willing to go homeless,
To find a wandering sheep?"
"I count not time," the Shepherd gently answered,
"As thou dost count and bind
The days in the weeks, the weeks in months;
My count is just until I find.
And that should be the limit of my journey,
I'd cross the waters deep,
And climb the hill-slopes with untiring patience,
Until I found my sheep."
--_Luke xv, 4v._
1759
Sickness is every man's master.
--_From the Danish._
1760
No duns outside, and no doctors within.
(Absence of sickness and debt.)
--_Chinese._
1761
Out of sight, out of mind.
1762
Silence is the safest response for all the contradiction that arises
from impertinence, vulgarity, or envy.
--_Zimmerman._
1763
Silence is the best resolve for him who distrusts himself.
--_Rochefoucauld._
1764
Silence is the consummate eloquence of sorrow.
1765
Of keeping silence few have paid the cost;
Of having said too much, a countless host.
1766
Silence is often an answer.
1767
The silence often of pure innocence,
Persuades, when speaking fails.
--_Shakespeare._
1768
There is a sure reward for faithful silence.
--_Horace._
1769
He knows much who knows how, and when, to be silent.
--_Scotch._
1770
Plated silver.
(Sarcastically applied to pretenders.)
1771
Most rare is now our old simplicity.
1772
Commit a sin twice, it will seem a sin no longer.
--_From The Talmud._
1773
Men's sins are before our eyes: our own, behind our backs.
--_Seneca._
1774
Many a man will give another man a letter of recommendation, though he
would hardly lend the applicant a dollar.
1775
A HAPPY USE OF SINGING.
An excellent clergyman, possessing much knowledge of human nature,
instructed his large family of daughters in the theory and practice of
music. They were all observed to be exceedingly amiable and happy. A
friend inquired if there was any secret in his mode of education. He
replied--"When anything disturbs their temper, I say to them _sing_, and
if I hear them speaking against any person, I call them to sing to me;
and so they have sung away all causes of discontent, and every
disposition to scandal."
--_Arvine._
1776
He who stands still in mud,--sinks.
1777
SLANDER AND EVIL SPEAKING.
A lady who had been in the habit of spreading slanderous reports once
confessed her fault to St. Philip Neri, who lived several hundred years
ago. She asked him how she could cure it. "Go," he said in reply, "to
the nearest market-place, buy a chicken just killed, pluck its feathers
all the way, and come back to me." She was greatly surprised, wondering
in what way a dead chicken could help her overcome her evil habit; but
she did as he bade her, and came back to him with the plucked chicken in
her hand. "Now go back," he said, "and bring me all the feathers you
have scattered." "But this is impossible," she replied: "I cast the
feathers carelessly, and the wind carried them away; how can I recover
them?" "That," he said, "is exactly like your words of slander. They
have been carried about in every direction. You cannot recall them. Go
and slander no more." It was a striking way of teaching a very important
lesson.
1778
He who slanders his neighbors makes a rod for himself.
--_Dutch._
1779
He will always be a slave, who does not know how to live upon a little.
--_Horace._
1780
Slaves cannot breathe in Britain; if their lungs
Receive our air, that moment they are free;
They touch our country, and their shackles fall.
--_Cowper._
1781
SLAVERY.
O execrable son! so to aspire
Above his brethren, to himself assuming
Authority usurp'd, from God not given.
He gave us only over beast, fish, fowl,
Dominion absolute; that right we hold
By His donation; but man over men
He made not lord; such title to Himself
Reserving, human left from human--free.
--_Milton._
1782
_Sleep._--I never take a nap after dinner, but when I have had a bad
night, and then the nap takes me.
--_Sam'l Johnson._
1783
We are all equals when we are asleep.
--_Spanish._
1784
If you want the night to seem a moment to you, sleep all night.
1785
O sleep! it is a gentle thing,
Beloved from pole to pole.
--_Coleridge._
1786
_Sleep._--Even sleep is characteristic. How charming are children in
their lovely innocence! How angel-like their blooming hue! How painful
and anxious is the sleep and expression in the countenance of the
guilty.
--_W. Von Humboldt._
1787
When I go to sleep, I let fall the windows of mine eyes.
--_Shakespeare._
1788
The sleep of a laboring man is sweet, whether he eat little or much: but
the abundance of the rich will not suffer him to sleep.
--_Eccles. v, 12v._
1789
Heaven trims our lamps while we sleep.
--_Alcott._
1790
Sleep! to the homeless, thou art home,
The friendless find in thee a friend;
And well is, wheresoe'r he roams,
Who meets thee at his journey's end.
--_Ebenezer Elliott._
1791
A RESTFUL PREACHER.
Dean Ramsey relates that the Earl of Lauderdale was alarmingly ill, one
distressing symptom being a total absence of sleep, without which the
medical men declared he could not recover. His son, who was somewhat
simple, was seated under the table, and cried out, "Sen' for that
preaching man frae Livingstone, for fayther aye sleeps in the kirk." One
of the doctors thought the hint worth attending to, and the experiment
of "getting a minister till him" succeeded, for sleep came on and the
earl recovered.
1792
Come sleep, O sleep! the certain knot of peace,
The poor man's wealth, the prisoner's release,
The indifferent judge between the high and low!
--_Sir P. Sidney._
1793
Sleep.
Do not omit the heavy offer of it;
It seldom visits sorrow; when it doth,
It is a comforter.
--_Shakespeare._
1794
Sleep, thou patron of mankind,
Great physician of the mind,
Who dost nor pain nor sorrow know,
Sweetest balm of every woe.
--_Sophocles, born 496 B. C._
1795
Sleep has often been mentioned as the image of death, so like it, that
we should not trust it without prayer.
1796
MYSTERY OF SLEEP.
What mortal knows
Whence came the tint and odor of the rose?
What probing deep
Has ever solved the mystery of sleep?
--_T. B. Aldrich._
1797
SMILES ALWAYS ATTRACTIVE.
Whether seen playing upon the face of young innocence, or upon the
furrowed visage of venerable age, smiles are always attractive and
blissful. He who wears a smiling face is a practical philanthropist. He
dispels the clouds of gloom that overshadow the brows of care, and the
hearts of sorrow he meets in his life-paths, as the sun dispels the
misty clouds of morning from the face of nature.
1798
A smile is ever more bright and beautiful with a tear upon it.
1799
Put a smile on your face when you go out for a walk, and it will be
surprising how many pleasant people you will meet.
1800
Who can tell the value of a smile? It costs the giver nothing, but is
beyond price to the erring and relenting, the sad and cheerless.
1801
WHEN ADAM SMITH PROPOSED.
A new story of Adam Smith was told recently at a convention in Kirkaldy,
Scotland, the birthplace of the economist. The professor fell in love
and proposed. The offer was refused. Next day the lady met Smith in
Princess street, Edinburgh, and reopened the question of the proposal,
about which she had been thinking. "You remember what I said?" the lady
inquired, and the philosopher replied that he did. "Well," added the
lady, "I was only joking." "You remember what I asked?" said Smith.
"Yes" replied the lady. "Well," said Smith, "I was only joking too."
1802
It is said that Sir Walter Raleigh once made a wager with Queen
Elizabeth that he could weigh the smoke from his tobacco pipe. He
weighed the tobacco before smoking, and the ashes afterwards. When
Elizabeth paid the wager, she said, "I have seen many a man turn his
gold into smoke, but you are first who has turned his smoke into gold."
1803
Among unequals what society
Can sort, what harmony, or true delight?
--_Milton._
1804
Society is built upon trust, and trust upon confidence of one another's
integrity.
--_Dr. South._
1805
Society is no comfort
To one not sociable.
--_Shakespeare._
1806
If you wish to appear agreeable in society, you must consent to be
taught many things which you know already.
--_Lavater._
1807
Society is ever ready to worship success, but rarely forgives failure.
--_Mme. Rowland._
1808
_Johnson_:--"Sir, your levellers wish to level down as far as
themselves; but they cannot bear levelling up to themselves. They would
all have some people under them; why not then have some people above
them?"
--_Boswell's Johnson._
1809
The true art of being agreeable is to appear well pleased with all the
company, and rather to seem well entertained with them, than to bring
entertainment to them.
1810
LONGING FOR SOLITUDE.
Oh, for a lodge in some vast wilderness,
Some boundless contiguity of shade,
Where rumor of oppression and deceit,
Might never reach me more! my ear is pain'd,
My soul is sick, with every day's report
Of wrong and outrage, with which earth is fill'd.
--_Cowper._
1811
_Something._--To do something, however small, to make others happier and
better, is the highest ambition, the most elevating hope, which can
inspire a human being.
--_Lord Avebury._
1812
TO MY DEAR SON.
_On his 21st Birthday, with a Silver Lamp, "Fiat Lux."_
--_Lady Dufferin, 1807-1867._
How shall I bless thee? Human love
Is all too poor in passionate words;
The heart aches with a sense above
All language that the lip affords:
Therefore a symbol shall express
My love,--a thing not rare or strange,
But yet--eternal--measureless--
Knowing no shadow and no change.
Light! which of all the lovely shows
To our poor world of shadows given,
The fervent prophet-voices chose
Alone, as attribute of heaven!
At a most solemn pause we stand,
From this day forth, for evermore,
The weak but loving human hand
Must cease to guide thee as of yore.
Then, as thro' life thy footsteps stray,
And earthly beacons dimly shine,
"Let there be light" upon thy way,
And holier guidance far than mine!
"Let there be light" in thy clear, clear soul,
When passion tempts and doubts assail;
When grief's dark tempests o'er thee roll,
"Let there be light" that shall not fail!
So, angel-guarded, may'st thou tread
The narrow path which few may find,
And at the end, look back, nor dread
To count the vanished years behind!
And pray that she, whose hand doth trace
This heart-warm prayer,--when life is past--
May see and know thy blessed face,
In God's own glorious light at last!
--_From the Victorian Anthology_,
--_by Sir M. E. Grant Duff_.
1813
A clever man once said to his son: "John, when you chase the dollars,
all right; but look out, my boy, when the dollars chase you."
1814
Send your son into the world with good principles, a good education, and
industrious habits, and he will find his way in the dark.
1815
TO MY SON.
Some of the rarest gems and most beautiful flowers are often found in
out-of-the-way places. Here is one.
Do you know that your soul is of my soul, such part,
That you seem to be fibre and core of my heart?
None other can pain me as you, dear, can do;
None other can please me or praise me as you.
Remember the world will be quick with its blame
If shadow or stain ever darken your name.
"Like mother, like son," is a saying so true,
The world will judge largely of "mother" by you.
Be yours then the task, if task it shall be,
To force this proud world to do homage to me;
Be sure it will say, when its verdict you've won.
"She reaps as she sowed, lo, this man is her son."
--_Author Unknown._
1816
HIS FATHER'S ABILITY.
At ten years of age a boy thinks his father knows a great deal;
At fifteen he knows as much as his father;
At twenty he knows twice as much;
At thirty he is willing to take his advice;
At forty he begins to think his father knows something, after all;
At fifty he begins to seek his advice;
And at sixty, after his father is dead, he thinks he was the smartest
man that ever lived.
1817
A son who loves his home is a joy to his parents.
1818
A man who has got a good son-in-law, has gained a son; but he who has
found a bad one, has lost a daughter.
1819
Sorrow concealed, like an oven stopped, doth burn the heart to cinders.
--_Shakespeare._
1820
Sorrow's best antidote is employment.
1821
There are people who are always anticipating trouble, and in this way
they manage to enjoy many sorrows that never really happen to them.
--_H. W. Shaw._
1822
The love of the poor, to the poor, is often remarked: Privation and
sorrow knit hearts as no bands of gold can.
--_Thos. D. Brown._
1823
If hearty sorrow
Be a sufficient ransom for offense,
I tender it here; I do as truly suffer
As e'er I did commit.
--_Shakespeare._
1825
When sorrow is asleep wake it not.
1826
All sorrows are bearable if there is bread.
--_Don Quixote._
1827
Let your thoughts dwell on your blessings, and you will forget your
miseries.
--_Gestfeld._
1828
BRIEF PULSATIONS OF JOY.
The little that I have seen in the world, and known of the history of
mankind, teaches me to look upon their errors in sorrow, not in anger.
When I take the history of one poor heart that has sinned and suffered,
and represent to myself the struggles and temptations it passed through,
the brief pulsations of joy, the tears of regret, the feebleness of
purpose, the scorn of the world that has little charity, the desolation
of the soul's sanctuary, and threatening voices within, health gone,
happiness gone,--I would fain leave the erring soul of my fellow-man
with Him from whose hands it came.
--_Longfellow._
1829
Sum up at night what thou hast done by day,
And in the morning what thou hast to do.
Dress and undress thy soul, mark the decay
And growth of it; since we shall be
Most surely judged, make thy accounts agree.
--_George Herbert._
1830
SOMEWHERE.
Somewhere, beyond the limitless space,
That mantles the stars, there is a place;
A beautiful place, where angels dwell.
Somewhere--but just where, no one can tell.
Nowhere on this realm, from pole to pole,
Did God appoint a home for the soul;
Yet "somewhere," above yon starry dome
There's a "house not made with hands," a home.
There, all is fragrant with sweet perfume
That falls from flowers which ever bloom;
In that far-off unknown land so fair.
Where the great Redeemer dwells--'tis there.
1831
When you can say nothing good of a man, change the subject.
1832
Gentle speech and courteous mood
Cost nothing, and are always good.
1833
Loose thinking leads to inaccurate speech.
1834
Forbear sharp speeches to her. She's a lady
So tender of rebukes, that words are strokes,
And strokes death to her.
--_Shakespeare._
1835
Everything that one says too much, is insipid and tedious.
--_Boilau._
1836
It is unbecoming in inferiors to assume boldness of speech.
--_Aeschylus._
1837
Have more than thou showest;
Speak less than thou knowest;
Spend less than thou ownest.
--_Greek._
1838
_Obedience._--The man who has lost his purse will go wherever you wish.
--_Horace._
1839
STORY OF A STANZA.
Many years ago Dr. Valpy, a well known English scholar, wrote a little
verse of four lines as the longing of his heart and the confession of
his faith. This was the simple stanza:--
"In peace let me resign my breath,
And Thy salvation see;
My sins deserve eternal death,
But Jesus died for me."
Some time afterwards he gave this verse to his friend Dr. Marsh, and it
became a great blessing to him. Dr. Marsh read the lines to his friend
Lord Roden, who was so impressed with them that he got the doctor to
write them out, and then fastened the paper over the mantlepiece in his
study, and there, yellow with age, they hung for many years.
--_By Canon Dyson Hague, in London Record._
1840
_Stars._--Those gold candles fix'd in heaven's air.
--_Shakespeare._
1841
MAN'S LITTLENESS IN PRESENCE OF THE STARS.
Thou, proud man, look upon yon starry vault,
Survey the countless gems which richly stud
The night's imperial chariot;--Telescopes
Will show the myriads more, innumerous
As the sea-sand:--each of those little lamps
Is the great source of light, the central sun
Round which some other mighty sisterhood
Of planets travel,--every planet stocked
With living beings impotent, as thee.
Now, proud man--now, where is thy greatness fled?
What art thou in the scale of universe?
Less, less than nothing!
--_Henry Kirke White._
1842
The stars govern men, but God governs the stars.
1843
No man can be expected to be wise on an empty stomach.
1844
The more violent the storm, the sooner it is over.
--_Seneca._
1845
If a man be gracious unto strangers, it shows he is a citizen of the
world, and his heart is no island cut off from other lands, but a
continent that joins them.
1846
Be willing to pity the misery of the stranger! Thou givest to-day thy
bread to the poor; to-morrow the poor may give it to thee.
--_Michaelis._
1847
THE PASSING STRANGER.
He passed me on the street,
And never guessed
The strength he gave my heart,
And needed rest.
His noble face so shone
With holiness,
The very sight of it
Could not but bless.
I met him only once
Upon my way,
Many years ago,
And yet to-day
That face of light and strength
Still dwells with me;
The man "had been with God"--
'Twas plain to see.
--_Edith Campbell Babbitt._
1848
Men of age * * * content themselves with a mediocrity of success.
--_Bacon._
1849
Experience shows that success is due less to ability than to zeal. The
winner is he who gives himself to his work.
1850
If you would go to the top, first go to the bottom.
1851
The worst use that can be made of success is to boast of it.
--_Sir Arthur Helps._
1852
Mediocrity succeeds best in the world.
--_Colton._
1853
FOOD FOR THOUGHT.
At a gathering in Australia, not long since, four persons met, three of
whom were shepherds on a sheep-farm. One of these had taken a degree at
Oxford, another at Cambridge, the third at a German university. The
fourth was their employer, a squatter, rich in flocks and herds, but
scarcely able to read and write, much less to keep accounts.
1854
SUCCESSFUL MEN WHO WERE NOT RICH.
A sense of the power and luxury in money, beyond all the wonder tales,
has suddenly come to us.
In times like these, it is good to remember Agassiz, who refused to
lecture at five hundred dollars a night because he was too busy to make
money; Spurgeon, who refused to go to America to deliver fifty lectures
at one thousand dollars a night, saying he could do better--he could
stay in London and try to save fifty souls; and Emerson, who steadfastly
declined to increase his income beyond one thousand two hundred dollars
because he wanted his time to think.
--_F. Bellamy in Everybody's Magazine._
1855
Attempt the end, and never stand to doubt,
Nothing's so hard but search will find it out.
--_Herrick._
1856
Those who accomplish great things always begin with little things.
1857
That success costs too dear, which is attained by any sacrifice of
_truth_, _honor_, or _justice_.
1858
He who waits to be absolutely sure of the success of an undertaking,
will never undertake it.
1859
The poor have little,--beggars, none;
The rich too much,--enough, not one.
1860
The man who has a sufficiency, generally smiles at the artificial wants
of others.
1861
The summer day
Endures not ever: toil ye while ye may.
--_Hesiod, a Greek, 850 B. C._
1862
_Sun._--The glorious lamp of heaven; with one eye vieweth all the world.
--_Shakespeare._
1863
When the sun shines on you you see your friends.
1864
Sundays observe: think when the bells do chime,
'Tis angel's music; therefore come not late.
--_George Herbert._
1865
FOR LITTLE BOYS AND GIRLS TO KNOW.
A boy of twelve, said to his little companion: "Do you know why Sunday
was instituted from the seventh to the first day of the week." "No, I
don't," replied the little boy, "I wish you would tell me." "Well, I
will, and I know it is true, for my father told me: It was instituted
from Saturday to Sunday in remembrance of Christ's resurrection from the
dead on the first day of the week."
--_Belhaven._
1866
The ways of superiors, are generally carried by inferiors, to excess.
1867
It is easy to swim when another holds up your head.
--_From the Danish._
1868
Sympathy is the golden key that unlocks the hearts of others.
--_S. Smith._
1869
A GOOD TEST.
A respectable merchant of London having become embarrassed in his
circumstances, and his misfortunes being one day the subject of
conversation in the Royal Exchange, several persons expressed the great
sympathy they felt for him; whereupon a foreigner who was present, said,
"I feel five hundred pounds for him; what do _you_ feel?"
1870
A clasp of hands will oft reveal
A sympathy that makes us feel
Ourselves again; we lose our care:
And in our heart's first glad rebound
At tender sympathy new found,
The world once more seems bright and fair.
1871
I LAY IN SORROW, DEEP DISTRESSED.
I lay in sorrow, deep distressed:
My grief a proud man heard;
His looks were cold, he gave me gold,
But not a kindly word.
My sorrow passed,--I paid him back
The gold he gave to me;
Then stood erect and spoke my thanks,
And blessed his charity.
I lay in want, in grief and pain:
A poor man passed my way;
He bound my head, he gave me bread,
He watched me night and day.
How shall I pay him back again,
For all he did to me?
Oh, gold is great, but greater far
Is Heavenly Sympathy.
--_Charles Mackay._
1872
The human heart sighs for sympathy and solace, in the dark hour of
suffering and sorrow.
--_Rev. Thos. M. McConnell._
1873
These two complain, but no one sympathizes with them:
He who lends money without witnesses;
And he who is lorded over by his wife.
--_The Talmud._
T
1874
For him who does everything in its proper time, one day is worth three.
1875
There is nothing like addressing men at the proper time.
1876
The world is always ready to receive talent with open arms.
--_O. W. Holmes._
1877
Talent is something, but tact is everything.
--_Scargill._
1878
All talk at once, to none respect is shown.
1879
_Talking._--What a spendthrift is he of his tongue!
--_Shakespeare._
1880
They always talk who never think.
--_Prior._
1881
He who talks much is sometimes right.
--_Spanish._
1882
The talker sows, the listener reaps.
--_Italian._
1883
You can doubtless name a number of people who talk too much--including
yourself!
1884
A man of sense talks little, and listens much.
--_Chinese._
1885
_A Quiet Rebuke._--When Washington's secretary excused himself for the
lateness of his attendance, and laid the blame on his watch, his master
quietly said--"Then you must get another watch, or I another secretary."
1886
The cost takes away the taste: I should really like the thing, but I
dislike the expense.
1887
To teach is to learn twice over.
1888
Nothing dies sooner than a tear.
1889
Do not make woman weep, for God counts her tears.
--_From The Talmud._
1890
He has strangled
His language in his tears.
--_Shakespeare._
1891
There are few things more beautiful than tears, whether they are shed
for ourselves or others; they are the meek and silent effusions of
sincere feeling.
1892
Tears sometimes have the weight of words.
--_Ovid._
1893
Tears are the diamonds of the eye.
1894
TEARS--SILENCE OF
See the tide working upward to his eye,
And stealing from him in large silent drops,
Without his leave.
--_Young._
1895
Control your temper, for if it does not obey you, it will govern you.
--_Horace._
1896
Good temper is like a sunny day.
--_French._
1897
If you have a good temper, keep it; if you have a bad one, don't lose
it.
1898
When you're in the right you can afford to keep your temper, and when
you're in the wrong you can't afford to lose it.
1899
Some temptations come to the industrious, but all temptations attack the
idle.
--_Spurgeon._
1900
Toil is a foil against temptation.
1901
ONE VIEW OF THEATRES.
The chief reason why no Christian should attend the theatre is the
character of a large majority of plays put on the stage.
Listen to what the play-writers and actors themselves say:
M. Dumas, a French writer of plays, wrote: "Never take your daughter to
the theatre; it is not merely the work that is immoral, it is the
place."
W. C. Macready, the great actor, said: "None of my children shall ever,
with my consent, enter a theatre, or have any visiting connection with
actors or actresses."
Edwin Booth, the great tragedian, wrote: "My knowledge of the modern
theatre is so very meagre that I never permit my wife or daughter to
witness a play without previously ascertaining its character. The
theatre is permitted to be a mere shop for gain, open to every huckster
of immoral adventures,--jimcracks."
Fanny Kemble, the actress, confessed that life on the stage was
unhealthy to morals, and said: "I never presented myself before an
audience without a shirking feeling of reluctance, or without thinking
the excitement I had undergone unhealthy, and the personal exhibition
odious."
--_Southern Churchman._
1902
An ounce of practice is worth a ton of theory.
1903
Everything that has a beginning comes to an end.
1904
Do little things now; so shall big things come to thee by and by asking
to be done.
--_Persian Proverb._
1905
Don't despise a slight wound, or a poor relative.
1906
Never despise small things, for we were all infants before we became
men, and pupils, ere we became teachers.
1907
_Thought._--How often must we repeat it?--rules the world.
--_Carlyle._
1908
At a dinner when Daniel Webster was Secretary of State, after a period
of silence which fell upon the company of some twenty gentlemen who were
present, one of the guests said, "Mr. Webster, will you tell us what was
the most important thought that ever occupied your mind?" Webster slowly
passed his hand over his forehead, and in a low tone enquired of one
near him, "Is there any one here who does not know me?" "No; all are
your friends." "The most important thought that ever occupied my mind,"
said Webster, "was that of my individual responsibility to God." And
after speaking on this subject in the most solemn strain for fully ten
minutes, he silently rose from the table and retired to his room. This
incident serves to illustrate the attitude of great minds towards
eternal things. Great men are not scoffers. The men of flippant jeers
and godless jests are invariably men of small calibre and shallow
intellect.
1909
First thoughts are not always the best.
--_Alfieri._
1910
In matters of conscience, first thoughts are best; in matters of
prudence last thoughts are the best.
--_Rev. Robert Hall._
1911
To be without evil thoughts is God's best gift.
--_Aeschylus._
1912
It is said, the thumb is stronger than all the other fingers together.
1913
THUNDER.--A LOVER OF
Such was the spirit of a venerable [1913:A]patriarch--who shed on a very
humble station the lustre of brilliant graces--that, when the storm sent
others in haste to their homes, he was wont to leave his own, and to
stand with upturned face, raised eye, and with his grey head uncovered,
to watch the flash and listen to the music of the roaring thunder. How
fine his reply to those who expressed their wonder at his aspect and
attitude--"It's my Father's voice, and I like well to hear it!" What a
sublime example of the perfect love that casteth out fear?
--_From Memoir of Guthrie._
FOOTNOTES:
[1913:A] Jamie Stewart, Dr. Guthrie's first preceptor.
1914
There is scarcely any one who may not, like a trout, be taken by
tickling.
--_Southey._
1915
Time is a great master, he sets many things right.
1916
With thee conversing I forget all time.
--_Milton._
1917
The happier the time, the quicker it passes.
--_Pliny, the Younger._
1918
Since time is not a person we can overtake when he is past, let us honor
him with mirth and cheerfulness of heart while he is passing.
--_Goethe._
1919
How noiseless falls the foot of time.
--_W. R. Spencer._
1920
An hour lost in the morning is never found all day.
1921
Time passes like the wind.
--_Portuguese._
1922
Spare moments are the gold dust of time.
1923
Time unveils truth.
--_Portuguese._
1924
ONE WAY OF ACQUIRING A TITLE.
"From time immemorial," said Judge Asher Carruth, of London, "Southern
people have been lavish in bestowing titles. I think there is something
in the Southern temperament which explains this. I didn't start out on
this, however, for a philosophical disquisition, but rather to tell how
a certain Kentucky gentleman established valid title to the rank of
Colonel. He went to Cincinnati once with a friend, who enjoyed many
acquaintances there; and who introduced him to every one as Colonel
Brown. Everything went along smoothly until finally one Cincinnatian
asked of the introducer:
"I suppose your friend Colonel Brown was in the Confederate army?"
"No, sir; he was not."
"Well, then, he fought on the Union side?"
"You are wrong there, too."
"Oh, I see now; he got his title by serving in the State militia?"
"No, he never entered the militia."
"Then, how did he get to be a colonel?"
"He drew a sword, sir, at a church fair!"
1925
_Tobacco-takers._--Dr. Caldwell says that there are but three
animals that can abide tobacco, namely:--The African rock goat--the
most loathsome creature on earth,
The foul tobacco worm,
And the rational creature, man!
1926
Talk less about the years to come--
Live, love and labor more to-day.
--_Alice Carey._
1927
Better be preparing for tomorrow, than regretting yesterday.
1928
To-morrow is, ah, whose?
--_D. M. Mullock._
1929
What cannot be told, had better not be done.
1930
Never hold any one by the button or the hand, in order to be heard out;
for if people are unwilling to hear you, you had better hold your tongue
than them.
--_Chesterfield._
1931
Though we have two eyes, we are supplied with but one tongue. Draw your
own moral.
--_Alphonse Karr._
1932
If you will control the tongue, you will soon be able also to control
the mind.
1933
_Tongue._--When we advance a little into life, we find that the tongue
creates nearly all the mischief of the world.
1934
The tongue is the instrument of the greatest good and the greatest evil
that is done in the world.
1935
Let mildness ever attend thy tongue.
1936
It is more necessary to guard the mouth than the chest.
--_From the German._
1937
It is related that a peasant once came to a monk to be taught the
Scriptures. The holy man began with the Psalm, 39 chapter, 1st verse: "I
said, I will take heed to my ways, that I sin not with my tongue."
The peasant went his way to practice this and never returned. Lifelong
was the lesson, and lifelong the endeavor to master it.
1938
The tongue's not steel, yet it often cuts.
1939
A sharp tongue is the only edged tool that grows keener with constant
use.
--_Irving._
1940
There are tourists who so busy themselves in traveling that they see
nothing.
1941
He'll seldom need aid
Who has a good trade.
1942
A useful trade may be said to be like a mine of gold.
1943
I see that conscience, truth, and honesty are made
To rise and fall, like other wares of trade.
--_Moore._
1944
He who has a trade may travel through the world.
--_From the Spanish._
1945
INFLUENCES OF FOREIGN TRAVEL.
One of the remarks which an American is expected to make on returning
from a foreign tour, especially his first return, is: "Well I'm a better
American for having gone abroad," meaning that foreign travel has
increased his love for his own country--in other words, has toned up his
patriotism. * * * * * * * *
Foreign travel will make any intelligent American a better citizen,
because an increase of knowledge is a betterment. One honored resident
of Washington, a gentleman past middle life, recently returned from his
first European tour, and on being asked if he could make the stereotyped
report of having been "made a better American," replied: "Yes; I think I
am a better American for having had a deal of conceit knocked out of
me." That was a profitable experience.
_From Baltimore Sun, November, 1906._
1946
He that would make his travels delightful, must first make himself
delightful.
1947
It will be observed, that when giving me (Boswell) advice as to my
travels, Dr. Johnson did not dwell upon cities, and palaces, and
pictures, and shows. He was of Lord Essex's opinion, who advises his
kinsman, Roger, Earl of Rutland, "rather to go a hundred miles to speak
with one wise man, than five miles to see a fair town."
--_Boswell's Johnson._
1948
_Deuteronomy xxxiii, 19_--"They shall suck of the abundance of the seas,
and of the treasures hid in the sand."
Among the hardships experienced by the first settlers in North America,
they were sometimes greatly distressed for food, which led the women and
the children to the sea side to look for a ship which they expected with
provisions, but no ship appeared for many weeks; they saw in the sand,
however, vast quantities of shellfish, since called clams, a species of
muscle. Hunger impelled them to taste, and at length they fed wholly
upon them, and were as cheerful and well as they had been before in
England, enjoying the best provision. It is added, that a good man,
after they had all dined one day on clams, without bread, returned
thanks to God for causing them to "suck of the abundance of the seas,
and of treasures hid in the sand." This text, which they had never
before observed particularly, was ever after endeared to them.
1949
THE BEECH TREE'S PETITION.
O leave this barren spot to me:
Spare, woodman, spare the beechen tree!
Though bush or floweret never grow
My dark unwarming shade below;
Nor summer bud perfume the dew,
Of rosy blush, or yellow hue!
Nor fruits of autumn, blossom-born,
My green and glossy leaves adorn;
Nor murmuring tribes from me derive
Th' ambrosial amber of the hive;
Yet leave this barren spot to me:
Spare, woodman, spare the beechen tree!
Thrice twenty summers I have seen
The sky grow bright, the forest green;
And many a wintry wind have stood
In bloomless, fruitless solitude,
Since childhood in my pleasant bower
First spent its sweet and sportive hour,
Since youthful lovers in my shade
Their vows of truth and rapture made;
And on my trunk's surviving frame
Carved many a long-forgotten name.
Oh! by the sighs of gentle sound,
First breathed upon this sacred ground;
By all that Love has whisper'd here,
Or Beauty heard with ravished ear;
As Love's own altar honor me:
Spare, woodman, spare the beechen tree!
--_Thomas Campbell._
(This piece was written for Miss Mary Campbell, the poet's sister; it
appeared first in the _Morning Chronicle_.
The tree, the subject of the lines still ornaments the grounds at
Ardwell, in Scotland, the seat of James Murray McCulloch, Esq.)
1950
Like a tree, am I sheltering others by my life?
1951
The greater the difficulty the more glory in surmounting it. Skilful
pilots gain their reputation from storms and tempests.
1952
TROUBLE.
When I waken in the morn
I'm sad, I must confess,
To think that ere I can go out
I must get up and dress.
1953
_Deuteronomy xxii, 4._--"Thou shalt not see thy brother's ox or ass fall
down by the way, and hide thyself from them; thou shalt surely help him
lift them up again."
Mr. George Herbert, the poet, when walking to Salisbury, saw a poor
man, with a poorer horse, fallen under his load. Mr. Herbert perceiving
this, put off his canonical coat, and helped the poor man to unload, and
after to load his horse. The poor man blessed him for it, and he blessed
the poor man, and gave him money to refresh both himself and his horse;
and told him, "If he loved himself, he should be merciful to his beast."
At his coming to his musical friends at Salisbury, they began to wonder
that Mr. George Herbert, who used to be so clean, came in such a
condition; but he told them the occasion; and when one of the company
told him, "he had disparaged himself by so dirty an employment," his
answer was, "That the thought of what he had done would prove music to
him at midnight; and the omission of it would have upbraided and made
discord in his conscience, whensoever he should pass by the place."
1954
I wrote down my troubles every day;
And after a few short years,
When I turned to the heart-aches passed away,
I read them with smiles,--not tears.
1955
To tell our troubles, is often the way to lighten them.
1956
PERFECT TRUST AND RESIGNATION.
During the Rabbi's absence from home, two of his sons died. Their mother
hiding her grief, awaited the father's return, and then said to him. "My
husband, some time since two jewels of inestimable value were placed
with me for safe keeping. He who left them with me called for them
to-day, and I delivered them into His hands." "That is right," said the
Rabbi approvingly. "We must always return cheerfully and faithfully all
that is placed in our care." Shortly after this, the Rabbi asked for his
sons, and the mother, taking him by the hand, led him gently to the
chamber of death. Meir gazed upon his sons, and realizing the truth,
wept bitterly. "Weep not, beloved husband," said his noble wife; "didst
thou not say to me we must return cheerfully, when called for, all that
has been placed under our care? God gave us these jewels; He left them
with us for a time, and we gloried in their possession; but now that He
calls for His own, we should not repine."
1957
_In Boswell's Life of Johnson_, he says:--Next morning, while we were at
breakfast, Johnson gave a very earnest recommendation of what he himself
practised with the utmost conscientiousness: I mean a strict attention
to truth, even in the most minute particulars. "Accustom your children,"
said he, "constantly to this: If a thing happened at one window, and
they, when relating it, say that it happened at another, do not let it
pass, but instantly check them; you do not know where deviation from
truth will end."
1958
Dare to be true: Nothing can need a lie.
1959
TRUTH, CONTRASTED WITH FALSEHOOD.
I once asked a deaf and dumb boy, "What is truth?" He replied by
thrusting his finger forward in a straight line. I then asked him "What
is falsehood?" when he made a zigzag with his finger. Try to remember
this; let whoever will, take a zigzag path,--go you on in your course
as straight as an arrow to its mark, and shrink from falsehood, as you
would from a viper.
--_Barnaby._
1960
Truth has such a face and such a mien,
As to be loved needs only to be seen.
Vice is a monster of such hideous mien,
As to be hated needs but to be seen.
--_Pope._
1961
The dignity of truth is lost
With much protesting.
--_Ben Jonson._
1962
Not to believe the truth, is of all ills the worst.
1963
ILL-JUDGING.
A woman stopped a divine in the streets of the metropolis with this
salutation: "There is no truth in the land, sir! There is no truth in
the land." "Then you do not speak the truth, good woman," replied the
clergyman. "Oh, yes, I do," returned she, hastily. "Then there is truth
in the land," rejoined he, as quickly.
1964
I cannot tell how the truth may be;
I say the tale as 'twas said to me.
--_Sir Walter Scott._
1965
Truth, like the sun, submits to be obscured; but, like the sun, only for
a time.
1966
To love truth for truth's sake, is the principal part of human
perfection in this world, and the seed-plot of all other virtues.
--_Locke._
1967
Truth, when not sought after, sometimes comes to light.
--_Menander._
1968
A thousand probabilities don't make one truth.
1969
TRUE TO TRUTH.
In an Eastern land a boy once set out from his mother's home for a
distant city, where he was to begin life and earn his livelihood. Before
parting with him, his mother gave him forty gold dinars, which, for
safety, she sewed inside his waistcoat. Her last counsel to him was, to
seek and to follow always the truth. On his way he had to cross part of
a desert, infested by robbers. One of these saw him and came galloping
up "Boy, what money have you got?" he sternly demanded. The boy looked
up at him, and said, "I have forty gold dinars sewed up in my
waistcoat." The robber burst into a fit of laughter; he thought the boy
was joking. And, turning his horse, he galloped back to his troop.
By-and-by, another horseman rode up to the boy as he trudged on, and
made the same demand: "Boy, what have you got?" "Forty gold dinars,
sewed up in my waistcoat," said the boy again. This robber, too, burst
out laughing, and turned away, thinking the boy was making fun of him.
They had some talk in their band about the boy's strange reply. Their
leader turning it over in his mind, said he would like to see him, and,
leaving the troop, soon overtook the young traveler. He put the same
question as the others, and again the boy gave the same answer. The
captain leapt off his horse, and began to feel the boy's clothes, till
he counted--one, two, three--the forty gold dinars just as he had been
told. "What made you tell the truth, my boy?" he asked. "My God and my
mother, sir," was the reply. "Wait for me here a little," said the
captain, and galloped back to his troop. In a few minutes he returned,
but so changed that the boy hardly knew him. By removing a false beard
and other disguises, his appearance was quite altered. "Come with me, my
lad," he said; and he pointed to the spires of a distant city. "I cannot
go with you," said the boy; "you are a robber!" "I was," the man said,
"but all that is over now! I have given it up forever. I have a large
business in yonder city, and I wish you to come with me and share it."
And so they went on together; and when they arrived at the city the boy
entered his employment, and ultimately became very wealthy and
influential.
1970
My aim is not so much to say things that are new, as things that are
true.
1971
TRUTH.
Seize upon the truth, where'er 'tis found,
Among your friends, among your foes,
On Christian or on heathen ground,
The flower's divine, where'er it grows.
1972
Better suffer for truth, than profit by falsehood.
--_From the Danish._
1973
A TOUCHING SCENE AT SEA.
Two weeks ago on board an English steamer, a little ragged boy, aged
nine years, was discovered on the fourth day of the voyage out from
Liverpool to New York, and carried before the first mate, whose duty it
was to deal with such cases. When questioned as to his object of being
stowed away, and who brought him on board, the boy, who had a beautiful
sunny face, and eyes that looked like the very mirrors of truth, replied
that his step-father did it, because he could not afford to keep him,
nor pay his passage out to Halifax, where he had an aunt who was well
off, and to whose house he was going. The mate did not believe the
story, in spite of the winning face and truthful accents of the boy. He
had seen too much of stow-aways to be easily deceived by them, he said;
and it was his firm conviction that the boy had been brought on board
and provided with food by the sailors. The little fellow was very
roughly handled in consequence. Day by day he was questioned and
re-questioned, but always with the same result. He did not know a sailor
on board, and his father alone had secreted him and given him the food
which he ate. At last the mate, wearied by the boy's persistence in the
same story, and perhaps a little anxious to inculpate the sailors,
seized him one day by the collar, and, dragging him to the fore, told
him that unless he would tell the truth in ten minutes from that time,
he would hang him from the yard-arm. He then made him sit down under it
on the deck. All around him were the passengers and sailors of the
midway watch, and in front of him stood the inexorable mate, with his
chronometer in his hand, and the other officers of the ship by his side.
It was the finest sight, said our informant, that he ever beheld--to see
the pale, proud, sorrowful face of that noble boy, his head erect, his
beautiful blue eyes bright through the tears that suffused them. When
eight minutes had fled, the mate told him he had but two minutes to
live, and advised him to speak the truth and save his life; but he
replied with the utmost simplicity and sincerity by asking the mate if
he might pray. The mate said nothing, but nodded his head and turned
deadly pale, and shook with trembling like a reed with the wind, and
there, all eyes turned on him, the brave and noble little fellow, this
poor waif, whom society owned not, and whose own step-father could not
care for him--there he knelt, with clasped hands, and eyes turned to
heaven, while he repeated audibly the Lord's prayer, and prayed the Lord
Jesus to take him to heaven. Sobs broke from strong, hard hearts, as the
mate sprang forward to the boy, and clasped him to his bosom, and kissed
him and blessed him, and told him how sincerely he believed his story,
and how glad he was that he had been brave enough to face death and be
willing to sacrifice his life for the truth of his word.
--_E. Davies._
1974
He who does not fully speak the truth is a traitor to it.
--_From the Latin._
1975
REWARD OF TRUTHFULNESS.
When Aristotle, the Grecian philosopher, who was tutor to Alexander the
Great, was asked what a man could gain by uttering falsehoods, he
replied, "Not to be credited when he shall tell the truth." On the other
hand, it is related that when Petrarch, the Italian poet, a man of
strict integrity, was summoned as a witness, and offered in the usual
manner to take an oath before a court of justice, the judge closed the
book, saying, "As to you, Petrarch, your _word_ is sufficient."
1976
Nature hath appointed the twilight as a bridge to pass us out of night
into day.
--_Fuller._
U
1977
The unexpected often happens.
1978
The unfinished is nothing.
--_Amiel._
1979
There is a chill air surrounding those who are down in the world, and
people are glad to get away from them, as from a cold room.
1980
SPEAK GENTLY.
"Please buy my penny songs!" cried a feeble voice in one of the streets
of a great city. The day was very cold, and little Katie had left her
cheerless home to earn, if possible, a few pennies. Poor Katie! Her
little voice was feeble because her heart was sad, for so many passed
her by unnoticed; and she felt almost discouraged.
Soon she found herself in a music store, standing near a beautiful lady,
who was sitting there selecting music. She again uttered her little cry,
"Please buy a penny song!" but the lady, not hearing what she said,
turned towards her, and, with the kindest, sweetest smile, said gently,
"What is it, darling?" at the same time putting a piece of money in her
hand. Katie, not thinking what she did, laid her head in the lady's lap,
and cried as though her heart would break. The lady tried to soothe her;
and soon Katie said, "O lady! I cry, not because you gave money, but
because you spoke so kindly to me."
--_Anonymous._
1981
He who serves the unfortunate, serves God.
1982
Everybody and everything unknown are often magnified.
--_Tacitus._
1983
Things unreasonable are never durable.
--_Italian._
1984
Whatever hath been written shall remain,
Nor be erased nor written o'er again;
The unwritten only still belongs to thee:
Take heed, and ponder well what that shall be.
--_Longfellow._
V
1985
TRIUMPH OF VICISSITUDES.
But yesterday the word of Caesar might
Have stood against the world; now lies he there,
And none so poor to do him reverence.
--_Shakespeare._
1986
I had rather be the first man in the village than the second man in
Rome.
--_Caesar._
1987
If you have performed an act of great and disinterested virtue, conceal
it; if you publish it, you will neither be believed here nor rewarded
hereafter.
1988
If there's a virtue in the world at which we should always aim, it is
cheerfulness.
--_Sir Edward B. Lytton._
1989
Our virtues disappear, said Rochefoucauld, when put in competition with
our interests, as rivers lose themselves in the ocean.
1990
Virtue, not pedigree, should characterize nobility.
--_From the Latin._
1991
The tones of human voices are mightier than strings or brass to move the
soul.
--_Krummacher._
1992
THE TONE OF VOICE.
It is not so much what you say,
As the manner in which you say it;
It is not so much the language you use,
As the tones in which you convey it.
W
1993
PALACE AND SWEATSHOP.
A lady sits in her boudoir
Languid with leisure's disease,
World-weary and worn with ennui--
Society fails to please;
She craves fresh scenes more alluring
But where is anything new?
She's tired of luxury's gilding,
Weary of nothing to do.
Her life seems empty and useless,
A played out, frivolous game,
Where fawning counterfeits friendship
And love is only a name;
Heart-sick she sulks in seclusion
And scans in mental review,
Her social realm and the follies
She knows are weak and untrue.
Thus over her life she ponders,
Scorning, rebellious in vain,
Till impelled by social custom
She resumes her mask again;
Her world must not find her sighing--
She brilliantly plays her part,
And bravely the queen of pleasure
Smiles still with an aching heart.
Nearby, but a few blocks distant
From plenty's palatial homes,
There is a contrasting picture
Of strenuous life in the slums;
A pale girl toils in a garret,
From dawn till the sunset's glow,
And the sweat-shop wolf is prowling
For aye in the street below.
Stitch, stitch all day without ceasing,
Knowing no rest or delay.
Humanity pleads for mercy--
* * * * *
--_Margaret Scott Hall._
1994
OUR WANTS.
We are ruined, not by what we really want
But by what we think we want;
Therefore never go abroad in search of your wants;
If they be real wants,
They will come home in search of you;
For he that buys what he does not want,
Will often want what he cannot buy.
--_Colton._
1995
_The Source of Wants._--It is not from nature, but from education and
habits, that our wants are chiefly derived.
--_Fielding._
1996
He cannot provide for the wants of others, whose own are numerous and
craving.
--_Plutarch._
1997
A BEAUTIFUL CHERRY TREE.
When George Washington was a boy, a beautiful cherry tree was killed in
his father's garden, by some violent hand stripping its bark. Mr.
Washington said he would not have taken five guineas for the tree, and
he would like to know the offender. Shortly after, seeing George with
an axe in his hand, he asked him if he knew who had killed the cherry
tree. George hesitated for a moment, then said, "I cannot tell a lie,
father, I cannot tell a lie. I cut it with the hatchet." "Come to my
arms," said his father; "you have paid for it a thousand times." Such an
act of heroism in telling the truth he valued more than a thousand
cherry trees.
1998
Hundreds would never have known _want_ if they had not first known
_waste_.
--_Spurgeon._
1999
He who plays with dollars in his youth, will be apt to have to beg for
farthings in his age.
--_Hone._
2000
When you take out, and do not put in, expect to reach the bottom.
--_Modern Greek._
2001
EXPLANATION OF THE WATER-CURE.
About three-fourths of the weight of the human body consists of water;
and as it is constantly being thrown off by the skin, lungs, etc., it
requires to be continually renewed, and water is therefore an essential
alimentary principle, and more necessary to our existence than even
solid food.
--_Dr. Turnbull._
2002
I am glad to find your great wealth has not changed you. "Well,"
responded Mr. Preston, "it has changed me a trifle. I'm eccentric where
I used to be impolite, and delightfully sarcastic where I used to be
rude--so they tell me."
--_Detroit Tribune._
2003
Extreme wealth brings excessive care; for the average man a moderate
competence is best.
2004
Golden roofs break men's rest.
--_Seneca._
2005
Much on earth, little in heaven.
--_Spanish._
2006
Ability is the poor man's wealth.
--_Matthew Wren._
2007
Many a lout is wealthy, and a clever man, hard put to.
--_Spanish._
2008
It is some relief to weep; grief is satisfied and carried off by tears.
--_Ovid._
2009
To say you are welcome, would be superfluous.
--_Shakespeare._
2010
A warm welcome after all, is the best cheer.
2011
Who comes seldom is welcome.
--_Italian._
2012
You're as welcome as the flowers in May.
2013
Dig a well before you are thirsty. (Be prepared against contingencies.)
--_Chinese._
2014
A RECOMMENDATION.
The following verses were sent to a graduate of Wheaton Seminary of the
class of 1866 by John G. Whittier, on the receipt of two pairs of long
stockings, which the young woman had knit. She was a frequent visitor in
the Whittier home, and often assisted in the entertainment of guests of
honor. Mr. Whittier regarded the verses as doggerel, and expressed his
intention of writing something worth while for his youthful admirer. But
the poem reveals a humorous side of his character, differing from what
one finds in his published poetry, and it is probable that neither Mr.
Whittier nor his young friend, who died in her early womanhood, would
have objected to the publication of the verses.
--_Editors of Youth's Companion._
My neighbor Acres said to me,
"I lead a lonesome life.
There's something lacking all the time,
I think I need a wife.
"I'm weary of my empty rooms
And stockings never mended.
If you could think of some nice girl
I'd feel myself befriended."
I sat and pondered for a space,
And then I spake up gaily:
"You just go down the Ferry road
And ask for Mary Bailey.
"She's bright as is a new-made cent
And smart as any steel trap;
I tell you grass will never grow
Beneath her restless heel-tap.
"A wiser little head than hers
Was never found a hat in;
She reads a thousand books a year,
And talks in Dutch and Latin.
"She always has a stylish dress,
And dainty slippered feet,
She's money in the savings-bank
Her every want to meet."
He sadly mused, "That sort of thing
Will never do, you see.
A wife that's all accomplishments
Is not the wife for me."
A lucky thought was mine. I kicked
Right off my old brogan,
And pulled my trousers to the knee.
"Look here, you foolish man!
"These stockings by her hands were knit."
"Why, sakes alive," cried he.
"The modern girl who knits like that
Is just the girl for me."
--_By John Greenleaf Whittier._
2015
Who sows thorns should not go barefoot.
--_French._
2016
_Advice to a Wife._--O woman! thou knowest the hour when the goodman of
the house will return, when the heat and burden of the day are past; do
not let him at such time, find upon his coming to his habitation, that
the foot which should hasten to meet him is wandering at a distance,
that when he is weary with toil and jaded with discouragement, the soft
hand which should wipe the sweat from his brow, is knocking at the door
of other houses.
--_W. Irving._
2017
A stubborn wife is a mat rolled up--i. e., useless.
--_Chinese._
2018
ADVICE TO A WIFE.
Fie! fie! unknit that threat'ning, unkind brow,
And dart not scornful glances from those eyes,
To wound thy lord, thy king, thy governor;
It blots thy beauty, as frost bite the meads;
Confounds thy fame, as whirlwinds shake fair buds;
And in no sense is meet or amiable.
A woman mov'd is like a fountain troubled,
Muddy, ill-seeming, thick, bereft of beauty;
And while it is so, none so dry or thirsty
Will deign to sip, or touch one drop of it.
Thy husband is thy lord, thy life, thy keeper,
Thy head, thy sovereign; one that cares for thee,
And for thy maintenance commits his body
To painful labour both by sea and land;
To watch the night in storms, the day in cold,
While thou liest warm at home, secure and safe,
And craves no other tribute at thy hands,
But love, fair looks, and true obedience:
Too little payment for so great a debt.
Such duty as one owes a prince,
Even such, a woman oweth to her husband:
And when she's froward, peevish, sullen, sour,
And not obedient to his honest will,
What is she but a foul contending rebel
And graceless traitor to her loving lord?
I am asham'd that women are so simple
To offer war, where they should kneel for peace;
Or seek for rule, supremacy and sway,
When they are bound to serve, love, and obey.
--_Shakespeare._
2019
I AM YOUR WIFE.
Oh, let me lay my head to-night upon your breast,
And close my eyes against the light, I fain would rest,
I'm weary, and the world looks sad; this worldly strife
Turns me to you; and, oh I'm glad to be your wife!
Though friends may fail or turn aside, yet I have you
And in your love I may abide, for you are true--
My only solace in each grief and in despair,
Your tenderness is my relief; it soothes each care.
If joys of life could alienate this poor weak heart
From yours, then may no pleasure great enough to part
Our sympathies fall to my lot. I'd e'er remain
Bereft of friends, though true or not, just to retain
Your true regard, your presence bright, thro' care and strife
And, oh! I thank my God to-night, I am your wife!
--_Old Clipping._
2020
THE WIFE.
I have often had occasion to remark the fortitude with which women
sustain the most overwhelming reverses of fortune. Those disasters
which break down the spirit of a man, and prostrate him in the dust,
seem to call forth all the energies of the softer sex, and give such
intrepidity and elevation to their character, that at times it
approaches to sublimity. Nothing can be more touching, than to behold a
soft and tender female, who had been all weakness and dependence, and
alive to every trivial roughness, while threading the prosperous paths
of life, suddenly rising in mental force to be the comforter and
supporter of her husband under misfortune and abiding with unshrinking
firmness, the bitterest blasts of adversity.
As the vine which has long twined its graceful foliage about the oak,
and been lifted by it into sunshine, will, when the hardy plant is
rifted by the thunder-bolt, cling round it with its caressing tendrils,
and bind up its shattered boughs; so it is beautifully ordered by
Providence, that woman who is the mere dependent and ornament of man in
his happier hours, should be his stay and solace when smitten with
calamity; winding herself into the rugged recesses of his nature,
tenderly supporting the drooping head, and binding up the broken heart.
I was once congratulating a friend, who had around him a blooming
family, knit together in the strongest affection. "I can wish you no
better lot," said he, with enthusiasm, "than to have a wife and
children. If you are prosperous, there they are to share your
prosperity; if otherwise, there they are to comfort you." And, indeed, I
have observed that a married man, falling into misfortune, is more apt
to retrieve his situation in the world than a single one; partly because
he is more stimulated to exertion by the necessities of the helpless and
beloved beings who depend upon him for subsistence; but chiefly because
his spirits are soothed and relieved by domestic endearments, and his
self-respect kept alive by finding, that though all abroad is darkness
and humiliation, yet there is still a little world of love at home, of
which he is the monarch. Whereas, a single man is apt to run to waste
and self-neglect; to fancy himself lonely and abandoned, and his heart
to fall to ruin, like some deserted mansion, for want of an inhabitant.
These observations call to mind a little domestic story, of which I was
once a witness. My intimate friend, Leslie, had married a beautiful and
accomplished girl, who had been brought up in the midst of fashionable
life. She had, it is true, no fortune, but that of my friend was ample;
and he delighted in the anticipation of indulging her in elegant
pursuit, and administering to those delicate tastes and fancies that
spread a kind of witchery about the sex.--"Her life," said he, "shall be
like a fairy tale."
The very difference in their characters produced a harmonious
combination; he was of a romantic and somewhat serious cast; she was all
life and gladness. I have often noticed the mute rapture with which he
would gaze upon her in company, of which her sprightly powers made her
the delight; and how, in the midst of applause, her eye would still turn
to him, as if there alone she sought favor and acceptance. When leaning
on his arm, her slender form contrasted finely with his tall, manly
person. The fond confiding air with which she looked up to him seemed to
call forth a flush of triumphant pride and cherishing tenderness, as if
he doted on his lovely burden for its very helplessness. Never did a
couple set forward on a flowery path of early and well-suited marriage
with a fairer prospect of felicity.
It was the misfortune of my friend, however, to have embarked his
property in large speculations; and he had not been married many months
when, by a succession of sudden disasters, it was swept from him, and he
found himself reduced to almost penury. For a time he kept his situation
to himself, and went about with a haggard countenance and a breaking
heart. His life was but a protracted agony; and what rendered it more
insupportable was the necessity of keeping up a smile in the presence
of his wife; for he could not bring himself to overwhelm her with the
news. She saw, however, with the quick eyes of affection, that all was
not well with him. She marked his altered looks and stifled sighs, and
was not to be deceived by his sickly and vapid attempts at cheerfulness.
She tasked all her sprightly powers and tender blandishments to win him
back to happiness; but she only drove the arrow deeper into his soul.
The more he saw cause to love her, the more torturing was the thought
that he was soon to make her wretched. A little while, thought he, and
the smile will banish from that cheek--the song will die away from those
lips--the lustre of those eyes will be quenched with sorrow--and the
happy heart which now beats lightly in that bosom will be weighed down,
like mine, by the cares and miseries of the world.
At length he came to me one day, and related his whole situation in a
tone of the deepest despair. When I had heard him through, I inquired,
"Does your wife know all this?" At the question he burst into an agony
of tears. "For God's sake!" cried he, "if you have any pity on me, don't
mention my wife; it is the thought of her that drives me almost to
distraction!"
"And why not?" said I:--"She must know it sooner or later: you cannot
keep it long from her, and the intelligence may break upon her in a more
startling manner than if imparted by yourself; for the accents of those
we love soften the harshest tidings. Besides, you are depriving yourself
of the comforts of her sympathy; and not merely that, but also
endangering the only bond that can keep hearts together--an unreserved
community of thought and feeling. She will soon perceive that something
is secretly preying upon your mind; and true love will not brook
reserve: it feels undervalued and outraged, when even the sorrows of
those it loves are concealed from it."
"Oh, but my friend! to think what a blow I am to give to all her future
prospects--how I am to strike her very soul to the earth, by telling her
that her husband is a beggar!--that she is to forego all the elegancies
of life--all the pleasures of society--to shrink with me into indigence
and obscurity! To tell her that I have dragged her down from the sphere
in which she might have continued to move in constant brightness--the
light of every eye--the admiration of every heart!--How can she bear
poverty? She has been brought up in all the refinements of opulence
* * *"
I saw his grief was eloquent, and I let it have its flow; for sorrow
relieves itself by words. When his paroxysm had subsided, and he had
relapsed into moody silence, I resumed the subject gently, and urged him
to break his situation at once to his wife. He shook his head
mournfully, but positively.
"But how are you to keep it from her? It is necessary she should know
it, that you may take the steps proper to the alteration of your
circumstances. You must change your style of living--nay," observing a
pang to pass across his countenance, "don't let that afflict you. I am
sure you never placed your happiness in outward show--you have yet
friends, warm friends, who will not think the worse of you for being
less splendidly lodged; and surely it does not require a palace to be
happy with Mary--" "I could be happy with her," cried he convulsively,
"in a hovel! *"
"Believe me, my friend," said I, stepping up, and grasping him warmly by
the hand, "she can be the same with you. Ay, more: it will be a source
of pride and triumph to her--it will call forth all the latent energies
and fervent sympathies of her nature; for she will rejoice to prove that
she loves you for yourself. There is in every true woman's heart a spark
of heavenly fire, which lies dormant in the broad daylight of
prosperity; but which kindles up, and beams and blazes in the dark hour
of adversity." I finished by persuading him to go home and unburden his
sad heart to his wife.
I must confess, notwithstanding all I have said, I felt some little
solicitude for the result. Who can calculate on the fortitude of one
whose whole life has been a round of pleasures? Her gay spirits might
revolt at the dark downward path of low humility, suddenly pointed out
before her, and might cling to the sunny regions in which they had
hitherto reveled.
In short, I could not meet Leslie next morning without trepidation. He
had made the disclosure.
"And how did she bear it?"
"Like an Angel! It seemed rather to be a relief to her mind, for she
threw her arms around my neck, and asked if this was all that had lately
made me unhappy."
Some days afterwards, he called upon me in the evening. He had disposed
of his dwelling-house, and taken a small cottage in the country, a few
miles from town. He had been busy all day in sending out furniture. The
new establishment required few articles, and those of the simplest kind.
All the splendid furniture of his late residence had been sold,
excepting his wife's harp. That, he said was too closely associated with
the idea of herself; it belonged to the little story of their loves; for
some of the sweetest moments of their courtship were those when he had
leaned over that instrument, and listened to the melting tones of her
voice. I could not but smile at this instance of romantic gallantry in a
doting husband.
He was now going out to the cottage, where his wife had been all day
superintending its arrangement. My feelings had become strongly
interested in the progress of this family story, and as it was a fine
evening, I offered to accompany him.
He was wearied with the fatigues of the day, and as we walked out, fell
into a fit of gloomy musing.
"Poor Mary!" at length broke, with a heavy sigh, from his lips.
"And what of her," asked I, "has anything happened to her?"
"What," said he, darting an impatient glance, "is it nothing to be
reduced to this paltry situation--to be caged in a miserable cottage--to
be obliged to toil almost in the menial concerns of her wretched
habitation?"
"Has she then repined at the change?"
"Repined! she has been nothing but sweetness and good humor. Indeed, she
seems in better spirits than I have ever known her; she has been to me
all love and tenderness and comfort!"
"Admirable girl!" exclaimed I, "You call yourself poor, my friend; you
never were so rich--you never knew the boundless treasures of excellence
you possessed in that woman."
"Oh! but, my friend, if this first meeting at the cottage were over, I
think I could then be comfortable. But this is her first day of real
experience: she has been introduced into an humble dwelling--she has
been employed all day, in arranging its miserable equipments--she has
for the first time known the fatigues of domestic employment--she has
for the first time looked around her on a home destitute of everything
elegant--almost of everything convenient; and may now be sitting down,
exhausted and spiritless, brooding over a prospect of future poverty."
There was a degree of probability in this picture that I could not
gainsay, so we walked on in silence.
After turning from the main road, up a narrow lane, so thickly shaded by
forest trees as to give it a complete air of seclusion, we came in sight
of the cottage. It was humble enough in its appearance for the most
pastoral poet; and yet it had a most pleasing rural look. * * * * * Just
as we approached we heard the sound of music--Leslie grasped my arm; we
paused and listened. It was Mary's voice singing, in a style of the most
touching simplicity, a little Scotch air of which her husband was
peculiarly fond.
I felt Leslie's hand tremble on my arm. He stepped forward to hear more
distinctly. His step made a noise on the gravel walk. A bright beautiful
face glanced out at the window and vanished--a light footstep was
heard--and Mary came tripping forth to meet us. She was in a pretty
rural dress of white; a few wild flowers were twisted in her fine hair;
a fresh bloom was on her cheek; her whole countenance beamed with
smiles--I had never seen her look so lovely.
"My dear George," cried she, "I am so glad you are come; I have been
watching and watching for you; and running down the lane and looking out
for you. I've set out a table under a beautiful tree behind the cottage;
and I've been gathering some of the most delicious strawberries, for I
know you are so fond of them--and we have such excellent cream--and
everything is so sweet and still here.--Oh!" said she, putting her arm
within his, and looking up brightly in his face, "Oh, we shall be so
happy!"
Poor Leslie was overcome. He caught her to his bosom--he folded his arms
around her--he kissed her again and again--he could not speak for the
tears gushed into his eyes.
He has often assured me that though the world has since gone
prosperously with him, and his life has indeed been a happy one, yet
never has he experienced a moment of more exquisite felicity than the
time when I accompanied him to the little cottage in the country.
--_Washington Irving._
2021
Better a fortune in a wife, than with a wife.
2022
A GOOD WIFE.
The good wife is none of our dainty dames, who love to appear in a
variety of suits every day, new; as if a gown like a stratagem in war,
were to be used but once. But our good wife sets up a sail according to
the keel of her husband's estate; and if of high parentage, she doth not
so remember what she was by birth, that she forgets what she is
by--match.
_Fuller._
2023
Of earthly goods, the best is a good wife;
A bad, the bitterest curse of human life.
--_Simonides._
2024
HUSBAND AND WIFE.
Be joined to thy equal in rank,
Or the foot of pride will kick at thee;
Let no one have thy confidence, O wife,
Saving thy husband:
Have not a friend more intimate, O husband,
Than thy wife.
2025
WIFE.
What thou bidd'st,
Unargued, I obey; so God ordains:
God is thy law; thou mine: to know no more,
Is woman's happiest knowledge, and her praise.
--_Milton._
2026
When Sir Albert Morton died, his wife's grief was such that she shortly
followed him, and was laid by his side. Wotton's two lines on the event
have been celebrated as containing a volume in seventeen words:
"He first deceased; she for a little tried
To live without him, liked it not, and died."
Certainly there are few higher tributes in the world to a good husband
than this.
2027
The wife is the key of the house.
2028
A man's best fortune--or his worst--is a wife.
2029
WIFE.
A modest, chaste, and an obedient wife,
Lifts her poor husband to a knightly throne:
What though the livelong day with toils be rife,
The solace of his cares at night's his own.
If she be modest and her words be kind,
Mark not her beauty, or her want of grace;
The fairest woman, if deformed in mind
Will in thy heart's affections find no place:
Dazzling as Eden's beauties to the eye,
In outward form: foul is her face within.
Better in dungeon, bound with chains, to lie,
Than, with at home, a wife of frowning mien.
Better bare feet than pinching shoes. The woes
Of travel are less hard than broils at home.
Contentment's door upon that mansion close,
Whence wrangling women's high-pitched voices come.
--_From Littell's Living Age._
2030
When a man has secured a good wife he can rest on his laurels; the world
has no greater prize to offer him.
2031
When the will is ready, the feet are light.
2032
When the will is prompt, the legs are nimble.
--_Italian._
2033
Where there is a will, there is a way.
2034
WILLS.
What you leave at your death, let it be without controversy, else the
lawyers will be your heirs.
--_Osborn._
2035
I hear the wind among the trees
Playing celestial symphonies;
I see the branches downward bent,
Like keys of some great instrument.
--_H. W. Longfellow._
2036
God tempers the wind to the shorn lamb.
--_Henri Estienne._
2037
Winter finds out what Summer lays up.
--_Hans Andersen._
2038
It is always safe to learn, even from our enemies--seldom safe to
venture to instruct, even our friends.
2039
To know how to grow old, is the master work of wisdom, and one of the
most difficult chapters in the great art of living.
--_Amiel._
2040
Youth is not the era of wisdom; let us therefore have due consideration.
--_Rivarol._
2041
He who pursues an idle wish
But climbs a tree to catch a fish.
--_Chinese._
2042
Best wishes! What avails that phrase, unless
Best services attend them.
--_Plautus._
2043
Wishing, of all employments, is the worst.
--_Young._
2044
You beat your pate, and fancy wit will come,
Knock as you please, there's nobody at home.
--_Pope._
2045
An eye witness outweighs others.
--_From the Latin._
2046
No greater woe
Can be, than to remember happy days
In misery.
2047
By telling our woes we often assuage them.
--_Danish._
2048
A fashionable woman is always in love--with herself.
2049
A WOMAN'S QUESTION.
Before I trust my fate to thee,
Or place my hand in thine,
Before I let thy future give
Color and form to mine,
Before I peril all for thee,
Question thy soul to-night for me.
I break all slighter bonds, nor feel
A shadow of regret:
Is there one link within the past
That holds thy spirit yet?
Or is thy faith as clear and free
As that which I can pledge to thee?
Does there within thy dimmest dreams
A possible future shine,
Wherein thy life could henceforth breathe,
Untouched, unshared by mine?
If so, at any pains or cost,
Oh, tell me before all is lost.
Look deeper still. If thou canst feel
Within thy inmost soul,
That thou hast kept a portion back,
While I have staked the whole,--
Let no false pity spare the blow,
But in true mercy tell me so.
Is there within thy heart a need
That mine cannot fulfil?
One cord that any other hand
Could better wake or still?
Speak now--lest at some future day
My whole life wither and decay.
--_Adelaide Anne Proctor._
2050
A WOMAN'S NOBLEST STATION.
Seek to be good, but aim not to be great;
A woman's noblest station is retreat:
Her fairest virtues fly from public sight;
Domestic worth,--that, shuns too strong a light.
2051
Kindness in women,
Not their beauteous looks,
Shall win my love.
--_Shakespeare._
2052
Alas! I am but woman, fond and weak
Without even power my proud, pure love to speak;
But oh, by all I fail in, love not me
For what I am, but what I wish to be.
2053
Manners, not jewels, are a woman's ornament.
2054
The woman who really wishes to refuse an aspirant to her hand contents
herself with saying, No. She who explains, wants to be convinced.
2055
Her voice was ever soft,
Gentle and low, an excellent thing in woman.
--_Shakespeare._
2056
In Dr. Johnson's opinion, "a woman was well dressed, when, after seeing
her, one could not remember what she had on."
2057
A beautiful woman without fixed principles, may be likened to those fair
but rootless flowers which float in streams, driven by every breeze.
2058
Where is the man who has the power and skill
To stem the torrent of a woman's will?
For if she will, she will, you may depend on't,
And if she won't, she won't, and there's an end on't.
--_Aaron Hill._
2059
A woman possessing nothing but outward advantages, is like a flower
without fragrance, a tree without fruit.
2060
The happiest women, like the happiest nations, have no history.
--_George Eliot._
2061
Learn above all, how to manage women: their thousand Ahs! and Ohs! so
thousand-fold, can be cured, but how,--I cannot tell.
--_Goethe._
2062
Pretty women without religion are like flowers without perfume.
2063
In women we love that which is natural,
We admire that which is acquired,
And shun that which is artificial.
2064
TAKE TO THE WOODS.
If thou art worn and hard beset
With sorrow that thou wouldst forget;
If thou wouldst read a lesson that will keep
Thy heart from fainting and thy soul from sleep,
Go to the woods and hills!--No tears
Dim the sweet looks that Nature wears.
--_Longfellow._
2065
How many a day has been damped and darkened by an angry word!
2066
No word He hath spoken
Was ever yet broken.
--_Anon._
2067
Many a word at random spoken,
May soothe or wound a heart that's broken.
--_Sir Walter Scott._
2068
It is as easy to draw back a stone thrown with force from the hand, as
to recall a word once spoken.
2069
The unspoken word never does harm.
2070
For want of a word, lives often drift, and remain apart.
2071
RASH, ANGRY WORDS.
Rash, angry words, and spoken out of season,
When passion has usurped the throne of reason,
Have ruined many. Passion is unjust,
And for an idle transitory gust
Of gratified revenge dooms us to pay,
With long repentance at a later day.
_Theognis, a Greek._
--_Translated by Frere._
2072
An able man shows his spirit by gentle words and resolute actions: he is
neither hot nor timid.
--_Chesterfield._
2073
Words are but wind, but writing may rise up in judgment.
2074
Stay longer--are two charming words in a friend's vocabulary.
2075
Fair words gladden many a heart.
--_Longfellow._
2076
To a good listener few words will do.
2077
Hard words break no bones, but they sometimes break hearts.
2078
He that would be well spoken of,
Must not speak ill of others.
2079
Kind words are the music of the world.
--_F. W. Faber._
2080
Kind words are a bright oasis in life's great desert.
--_The Coming Age._
2082
My words fly up, my thoughts remain below,
Words, without thoughts, never to Heaven go.
--_Shakespeare._
2083
Words are but pictures of our thoughts.
--_Dryden._
2084
If word of mine
Have harmed thee, rashly spoken, let the winds
Bear all remembrance of it swift away.
2085
There are words which cut like steel.
--_Balzac._
2086
If you think twice before you speak once, you will speak twice the
better for it.
2087
Thy words have darted hope into my soul,
And comfort dawns upon me.
--_Southern._
2088
A word and a stone let go, cannot be recalled.
2089
Like a beautiful flower, full of colour, but without perfume, are the
fine, but fruitless words, of him who does not act accordingly.
--_Buddha._
2090
It would perhaps be well for many of us to have in sight the following
little sentiment when writing letters:--
Words spoken are light as air;
Words written are always there.
2091
AN ILL-TEMPERED LETTER.
An ill-tempered letter, once sent, will sometimes embitter a life-time.
We once saw an old gentleman, with a wise, fine head, calm face, and a
most benevolent look, beg of a postmaster to return him a letter which
he had dropped into the box. To do so, as everybody knows, is illegal;
but won over by the old gentleman's importunity, the postmaster
complied, upon full proof, in comparing the writing etc. being given.
Then, with a beaming face, the old gentleman tore the letter into
fragments, and, scattering them to the winds, exclaimed--"Ah! I've
preserved my friend." The fact is, he had written a letter in a state of
irritation, which was probably unjust and hurtful, but which he had
wisely recalled. "Written words remain," is not only a proverb, but a
very grave caution; and hence the advice--never write in anger, or, at
any rate, keep your letter till next morning, when you probably will be
cool and in a better frame of mind.
2092
A good beginning is half the work.
--_Euripides._
2093
Art little? Do thy little well:
And for thy comfort know
The great can do their greatest work
No better than, just so.
--_Goethe._
2094
He who is willing to work finds it hard to wait.
2095
Never be ashamed of honest work. It is far better to be a good
blacksmith than a bad lawyer.
2096
YOUTH AND OLD AGE.
Youth is the seed-time, old age the harvest. If we lay nothing up for
old age it will be as related in the fable; namely: A cricket came to
the ant, and said, "Give me something to eat?" The ant asked, "What did
you in the summer?" "I whistled," said the cricket. "Then," said the
ant, "if you whistled in summer while I was working, you may dance in
the winter," and gave her nothing.
2097
We are best known by what we do.
2098
One's work is the best company.
--_French._
2099
I am often tired in, but never of, my work.
--_Whitefield._
2100
We often hear of people breaking down from over-work, but nine cases out
of ten they are really suffering from worry or anxiety.
--_Sir John Lubbock._
2101
Unless a man works, he cannot find out what he is able to do.
2102
I cannot abide to see men throw away their tools the minute the clock
begins to strike, as if they took no pleasure in their work, and was
afraid o' doing a stroke too much. The very grindstone 'll go on turning
a bit after you loose it.
--_George Eliot._
2103
THE TENT.
When my bier is borne to the grave
And its burden is laid in the ground
Think not that Rumi is there,
Nor cry, like the mourners around,
He is gone,--all is over--farewell!
But go on your ways again,
And forgetting your own petty loss,
Remember his infinite gain.
For, know that this world is a tent,
And life but a dream in the night,
Till death plucks the curtain apart
And awakens the sleeper with light.
--_R. H. Stoddard, From the Persian._
2104
The knowledge of the world is only to be acquired in the world, and not
in the closet.
2105
FROM "EVERY DAY CHRISTIAN LIFE."
Shall I tell you what a princess wrote--the Princess Amelia, who was an
aunt of our good Queen Victoria, and who after a long and painful
sickness and trial died at an early age?--
"Unthinking, idle, wild, and young,
I laughed and danced, I talked and sung,
And proud of health, of freedom, vain,
Dreamt not of sorrow, care, or pain.
Oh! then, in those bright hours of glee,
I thought the world was made for me.
But when the hour of trial came,
And sickness shook my feeble frame,
And folly's gay pursuits were o'er,
And I could sing and dance no more--
Oh! then, I thought how sad 'twould be,
Were only this world made for me."
--_F. W. Farrar, D. D._
2106
A man's quarrel with the world, is only a quarrel with himself.
2107
All my theology is reduced to this narrow compass--Jesus Christ came
into this world to save sinners.
--_A. Alexander._
2108
The world does not seem to care for honorable lives as much as it does
for a good bank-account.
2109
He who would enjoy many friends, and live happy in the world, must often
be deaf, dumb, and blind, to its vices and follies.
2110
IMPORTANCE OF ATTENDING PUBLIC WORSHIP.
Said the Rev. W. J. Dawson: "I know in my own heart how soon the spirit
of devoutness fades when from any cause I am deprived of public worship
for any length of time. And when I see a youth to whom religious worship
has been the atmosphere of his childhood, gradually withdrawing himself
from the means of grace, I tremble for him, because I have seen what
that means. I can think of men whom I loved, and who now lead wretched
and degraded lives, and all their misery began when they forsook the
tabernacles of their God."
2111
A soft answer turneth away wrath.
--_Proverbs xv, 1v._
2112
Call not that man wretched, who, whatever ills he suffers, has a child
to love.
--_Southey._
2113
A good life keeps off wrinkles.
--_German._
2114
What is writ, is writ--
Would it were worthier.
2115
HANDWRITING--NATIONALITY OF.
It is a remarkable fact, that no man can ever get rid of the style of
handwriting peculiar to his country. If he be English, he always writes
in English style; if French, in French style; if German, Italian, or
Spanish, in the style peculiar to his nation. Professor B----
states:--"I am acquainted with a Frenchman, who has passed all his life
in England, who speaks English like one of our own countrymen, and
writes it with ten times the correctness of ninety-nine in a hundred of
us; but yet who cannot, for the life of him, imitate our mode of
writing. I knew a Scotch youth, who was educated entirely in France, and
resided eighteen years in that country, mixing exclusively with French
people, but who, although he had a French writing-master, and, perhaps,
never saw anything but French writing in his life, or rarely, yet wrote
exactly in the Scotch style."
--_D'Israeli._
2116
The word that is heard, passes away; the letter that is
written,--remains.
2117
Every time you avoid doing wrong,
You increase your inclination to do right.
2118
The remedy for wrongs is to forget them.
2119
My ear is pained, my soul is sick with every day's report of wrong and
outrage with which earth is filled.
--_Cowper._
Y
2120
_Yankee._--The word Yankee is believed to have been derived from the
manner in which the Indians endeavored to pronounce the word English,
which they rendered Yenghees, whence the word Yankee.
--_From "Milledulcia."_
2121
Why doth one man's yawning make another yawn?
--_Burton._
2122
How often it is like autumn leaves, many hopes and ambitions that
yesterday were bright and strong, are now, alas, dead!
2123
Thy yesterday is past,
Thy to-day, thy future,
Thy to-morrow, is a secret.
--_From The Talmud._
2124
Speak gently to the young, for they
Will have enough to bear--
Pass through this life as best they may,
'Tis full of anxious care.
--_Geo. W. Hangford._
2125
YOUTH.
How beautiful is youth! How bright it gleams
With its illusions, aspirations, dreams!
Book of beginnings, story without end,
Each maid a heroine, and each man a friend!
All possibilities are in its hands:
No danger daunts it, and no foe withstands:
In its sublime audacity of faith,
"Be thou removed!" it, to the mountain, saith.
2126
An easy youth, generally means a hard old age.
2127
YOUTH AND AGE.
As I approve of a youth that has something of the old man in him, so I
am no less pleased with an old man that has something of the youth.
--_Cicero._
2128
Youth is ever apt to judge in haste,
And lose the medium in the wild extreme.
--_Aaron Hill._
2129
YOUTH.
Happy the youth that finds the bride
Whose birth is to his own allied,
The sweetest joy of life:
But oh, the crowds of wretched souls
Fetter'd to minds of different moulds
And chain'd t' eternal strife!
--_Dr. Isaac Watts._
2130
In youth we feel richer for every new illusion; in maturer years, for
every one we lose.
2131
What is youth?--a dancing billow,
Winds behind, and rocks before!
--_Wordsworth._
2132
You youngsters nowadays think you're to begin with living well, and
working easy: you've no notion of running afoot before you get on
horseback.
2133
Heavy work in youth is sweet repose in old age.
--_From the Italian._
Z
2134
_Excessive Zeal._--An Indian, having heard from a white man some
strictures on zeal, replied--"I don't know about having too much zeal;
but I think it is better the pot should _boil over than_ not boil at
all."
--_Macleod._
INDEX
Abilities, No man's, are so remarkably, 1
Absence, Pains of, wiped away, 2
Abuse, Weapon of vulgar, 3
Acorns, It is told of Admiral Collingwood, 4
Acquaintance, Easier to make, than to shake, 5
Softens, 6
Sometimes lowers opinion of one, 7
Act, Speaks out in, etc., 8
What is done by one, all may do, 9
Which makes a friend and enemy, what, 10
Acting, World practices, 11
Action, Do what you can, etc., 12
Good, receives recompense, 13
Judged by motive for, 14
Our, are our own, 15
Speak not of, before doing, 16
Thought, compared with, 17
What I must do, is all that concerns me, 18
Actor, Compared with preacher, 19
Adieu, Sweet, bids return, 20
Adversity, Contrasted with prosperity, 21
Does not take away true friends, 22
Effect of, 23
He who never was acquainted with, 24
Proud man in, nobody knows him, 25
The finest friendships have been, 26
Advice, Ask not for, when assistance wanted, 27
Before giving, we must have secured its, 28
Difficult to make agreeable, 29
Friends required, 30
Give not to self-conceited man, 31
Pouring water on a duck's, 32
Who comes for, wants not to be corrected, 33
Affectation, Clerical abhorred, 34
Cure of, 35
Lights candle to our defects, 36
Vain and ridiculous, 37
Affections, Sad to see them changed, 38
Afflictions, "Be still, sad heart," etc., 39
For every sort of, 40
Sons of, brothers, 41
Affronts, Young men soon give, 42
Age, A joy, if youth well spent, 43
Approaching, signs of, 44
Matter of feeling, not of years, 45
Of men and women, what, 46
Old, be happy in, 47
Old, and faded flowers, 48
Reverence for, 49
Should make one indulgent, etc., 50
Slave to custom, 51
Speak gently to aged, 52
Thinks the past the best, 53
These are the effects, 54
Alcides, No equal but himself, 55
Alms, Rich often slowest to give, 56
Side means used to raise, 57
Alone, What stamps the wrinkles deepest, 58
Alphabet, Hawaiian in 1886, 59
Ambition, Man of, has many masters, 60
Amiability, Easy, when, 61
Ambition, Sea of, tempest-tost is, 62
Ultimate result of all, 63
Amusements, The mind ought, 64
Ancestor, Merit of, effect of, on descendant, 65
Ancestors, Not always well to look them up, 66
Merit from, 67
Ancestry, Boasting of, lowers, etc., 68
Never mind, etc., 69
Anger, A good man's, lasts an, 70
Avoid a man in a passion, 71
Begins in folly, ends in repentance, 72
Effect of subduing, 73
Fatal to dignity, 74
Nurse not secretly, 75
Shows weak judgment, 76
Suppressed, prevents sorrow, 77
Unjust and ridiculous when, 78
When a man grows angry, 79
Animals, Agreeable friends, why, 80
Treat kindly, as God's creatures, 81
Kindness to, 82
Answer, A gracious, 83
Anxiety, The poison of human life, 84
Appearance, Beware of judging by, 85
Dress does not change the man, 86
Man's reception depends on, 87
Appearances, Often misleading, instance of, 88
Appetite, Riches cannot buy, 89
Applause, To love it, praiseworthy, 90
Apples, Good medicine, 91
Appointments, May be given, but, etc., 92
Approbation, If general, 93
Arbitration, Makes an enemy, or a friend, 94
Argument, Contend not with a fool, etc., 95
Assistance, Asking and bestowing, 96
Associates, Live not too near to, 97
Association, Produces like characters, 98
Audience, Interesting or fatiguing, it, 99
Beautiful, The, never desolate, 100
Beauty, Of face, and mind compared, 101
Of youth, age, etc., 102
Selfish, a flower without perfume, 103
What is? 104
What may be preserved, 105
Without kindness, 106
Bed, The, heaven to the weary head, 107
Believe, Men generally, what, 108
Benefactors, The kindest, 109
Beneficent, A, person is like a fountain, 110
Benefit, None too small to magnify, 111
Receiving, sale of liberty, 112
When to forget, when to remember, 113
Benevolence, Human, not always pure, 114
Bereavement, Effect on heart, 115
Betrothed, How to know him, 116
Bible, Index to eternity, 117
Mystery of mysteries, 118
Remember that God is speaking to you in, 119
Some curious facts in, 120
The, 120a
Bird, "A little bird told me," origin of expression, 121
Birds, Old, are hard to, 122
Birth, Be not ashamed of humble, 123
Is what, 124
Birthday, Has different sounds to different ages, 125
Blessings, Those who give them, keep them, 126
Boaster, World has no use for, 127
Book, Good keeper of, 128
If loaned to a girl, read it when returned, 129
Use as bee uses the flower, 130
Books, Be careful of what you read, 131
Borrowed, return, 132
Friends ever near, 133
Introductions to the best society, 134
Lending of, 135
Often denied the poor, 136
That you may carry to the fire, 137
Useless, costly, 138
Bore, Who is in society, 139
Borrowers, What some do, 140
Boy, At what age should win his way, 141
Be polite, advice of father to, 142
Gallant answer of one, 143
How to bring up,--Ruskin, 144
May be led to college, but, etc., 145
Results of disobeying parents, 146
The blind, 147
The orphan's fate, 148
What gifts help him best, 149
Boys, What they should learn, 150
Brain, (Mind), good to polish, 151
Bread, Eaten, soon forgotten, 152
Breeding, Better than birth, 153
Good, consists of having, etc., 154
Good, result of what, 155
Britain, Great, climate of, 156
Great, nobility of, 157
Brother, Sufferings claim a, pity, 158
Thy, in poverty, etc., 159
Burdened, The, respect them,--Napoleon, 160
Burdens, Another's, weight of, 161
Lightened by helping others, 162
Burns, Robert, what we owe to him, 163
Business, Effect of prosperity or failure, 164
I'll give money to, 165
Sentiment in, 166
To, that we love, 167
Your, keep to it, 168
Busybodies, Know all things, 169
Buyer, The, depreciates, etc., 170
By-and-by, Road to, leads where, 171
Calamity, Do not insult, etc., 172
Can't, I, does nothing, 173
Cap, "Feather in," derivation of expression, 174
Whom the, fits, let him, 175
Capacity, Deplorable, when, 176
Cards, Avoid as temptations, 177
For benefits designed, 178
Care, Carry not to bed with you, 179
Cares, Put them off, 180
Cat, To win a, and lose a, 181
Caution, Consider well, what can be done but once, 182
Life of, reward, 183
One rule for showing, 184
Sign not paper, etc., 185
Censure, Of one, makes two cordial, 186
Ceremony, A bow of, sometimes repels, 187
Excess of, a want of breeding, 188
Certainty, That which has happened, 189
Chalmers, Rev. Dr., in London, 190
Chance, Heaven and earth not made by, 191
Change, Times, and we, 192
When you seek to, 193
Character, An admirable, described, 194
Best, not without fault, 195
Crown jewel of, sincerity, 196
Delicacy, inseparable from sweetness of, 197
Description of upright, 198
Illustrated, by little things, 199
Keep it abroad, as at home, 200
Kindness, better for, than talents, 201
Man of, shown by merely naming him, 202
Men believed, or not, because of, 203
None suddenly very good, or very bad, 204
Of public man, a football, 205
One to be admired, 206
Prosperity brings forth hidden, 207
The history of a man, 208
What firm and weak feet do, 209
What shows strength of, 210
Charitable, Give, and God repays, 211
Charity, In word only, 212
Begins at home,--its home, 213
Cast thy bread upon the waters, 214
Compared with politeness, 215
Do good by stealth, etc., 216
Duty is, where there is plenty, 217
Exalts, though we stoop to bestow, 218
Fountain of, always clear, 219
Give freely to the deserving, 220
How to give it, 221
Not to excite hope when, 222
Relieve fellow man in distress, 223
See Leviticus XXV, 35, 224
Visit of, to needy, visit of the Savior, 225
What given in, is kept, 226
What is, and what its reward, 227
Who at fault with regard to, 228
Who gives double, 229
Cheat, On whom shame first time, 230
Cheek, The, is apter to tell, 231
Cheer, Speak word of, to the living, 232
Cheerfulness, Refreshes by its presence, 233
Smoothes the road of, 234
Suggests good health, etc., 235
Chide, A friend in private, and, 236
Child, A short sermon by one, 237
A sleeping, 238
Beautiful as rose, etc., 239
Bruise not its heart, 240
Correct, etc., 241
Destiny of, work of the mother, 242
Eyes of, beautiful, etc., 243
Her little shoes, lines on, 244
Inscription on silver plate of, 245
Judicious praise of, 246
Learns indoors, what he tells, 247
Lines on, by Thomas Campbell, 248
One who was a Christ-child, 249
Questions of, as teachers, 250
Restless observation of, 251
Speak gently to, 252
Take care of Christian instruction of, 253
Teach it ideas, not phrases, 254
Tear on cheek of, 255
The, and the "Rising Day", 256
The beginning of discipline for, 257
The way to spoil, or to benefit, 258
Trained by example, 259
Unhappy end of, 260
What it should be taught, 261
Childhood, Indicates the man, 262
Children, A bond of union, etc., 263
Are tattlers, 264
Be not impatient with, 265
Certain care, uncertain comforts, 266
Dear to parents, 267
Dutifulness, foundation, of virtue in, 268
Ease cares, with bliss, 269
Effect of good instruction, and bad example, 270
Enjoy the present, 271
Father's best legacy to, 272
Flatter not, but encourage, 273
Good physiognomists, 274
Dr. Guthrie's opinion, 275
Indulgence to, breeds ingratitude, 276
Industrious habits, better than, etc., 277
Instruction to, better than riches, 278
Japanese, always obedient, 279
Jewels dropped from Heaven, 280
Know friend and foe, 281
Let them learn more than yourself, 282
Like the to-morrow of society, 283
Live in the present, 284
Love, as being fresh from God's hand, 285
Love of, sign of pure heart, 286
More precious than gold, etc., 287
Need models, not critics, 288
Not always indulge, 289
Parents should discipline, 290
Pastime with, 291
Poor men's riches, 292
Praise, effect of, 293
Prevent parents from being selfish, 294
Reflect manners of parents, 295
Should be taught sympathy, 296
Still ours, though in heaven, 297
Teach children to tell the truth, 298
Teach love to, 299
Travelers newly arrived, etc., 300
Treat yours all alike, 301
Usually what their mothers are, 302
What to discountenance in, 303
Will grow up substantially what, 304
Christ, Abide with us, 305
Description of person of, 306
His last supper, a memorial, etc., 307
If you profess Him, do His deeds, 308
Patron of poor and afflicted, 309
The, a carpenter's consolation, 310
Think rightly of Him, 311
Christian, A, is the highest style of, 312
He that is a good man, 313
None, if not Christlike, 314
Christianity, No civilization without, 315
Christmas, When truly merry, 316
Church, A rebuke for staying away from, 317
Bring self to, not your clothes, 318
Cannot alone make good, 319
How it may grow, 320
I was once preaching in Scotland, 321
Late goers to, rebuked, 322
Plan to keep awake in, 323
Remember God is there, 324
Take your children to, 325
Two classes in, 326
Circumstances, Men are dependent on, 327
Civility, Bases of large fortune, 328
What is, 329
Clergyman, In city, what must have, 330
Clock, An ideal example of work, 331
Clergyman, Life of, is it enviable? 332
Should be like engine, etc., 333
College, Enter as early as possible, 334
Companions, Lonely, when musing on those gone, 335
Whom to choose, 336
Company, Pleasant, shortens miles, 337
Compensation, Child and childless, 338
What rich and poor find, 339
Complain, Every one must see daily, 340
Compliment, How usually accompanied, 341
Illuminate me with a ray of, 342
Compliments, Deference, most elegant of, 343
Fishers for, get bites, 344
Conceit, Folly to advise conceited people, 345
Not wise, 346
People conceited need no sympathy, 347
Puffs up, but does not prop, 348
Self, effect of imagination, 349
Conduct, How to discuss, how to decide, 350
Never waver between right and wrong, 351
Confidence, Gives pleasure, etc., 352
No one too sure to miss, 353
Over, indulge not in, 354
Plant of slow growth, 355
Who knows his road, he has, 356
Whom to put it in, 357
Conscience, Good, sold but not bought, 358
Good, worth its cost, 359
A clear, is a good, 360
Quiet makes serene, 361
The chamber of justice, 362
Voice of God, 363
Voice of God in the heart, 364
Consistency, Thou art a, 365
Constancy, None in earthly things, 366
Contention, Yield, rather than dispute, 367
Where two discourse, 368
Contentment, A reason given for, 369
Be not with what you are, 370
Comes from liking what one has, 371
Comes from nature, not the world, 372
Happy he who has, 373
Having bread, hunt no cakes, 374
Less with much, than with little, 375
Little, make it not less, 376
Makes palace of a cottage, 377
Murmur not, 378
One rule for, 379
Rich beg for, poor can give, 380
Rich, poor without, 381
Secret of perfect, 382
What brings, 383
When a happy purchase, 384
Who should be content with anything, 385
Wise, grieve not for, etc., 386
Worth of, known when lost, 387
Conversation, Avoid what in, 388
How to please others in, 389
Its best ingredients, 390
Music of the mind, 391
Never argue in, 392
Never over-bear in, 393
One of the best rules, 394
Say much in few words, 395
To say nothing charmingly, etc., 396
Who usually spend longest time in, 397
With thee conversing, 398
Conversion, Better to turn than to stray, 399
Converses, He who, with no one, 400
Corrupts, As rust, iron, so envy, 401
Corporations, No souls have, etc., 402
Corruption, A tree dropping infections, 403
Cottage, When better than a palace, 404
Counsel, Good, never too late, 405
When easy to give, 406
Who not helped by, 407
Counsellors, In many, safety, 408
Countenance, Cheerful, crowns a welcome, 409
Often more impressive than the tongue, 410
Pleasing, an advantage, 411
Smiling, indicates what? 412
Country, Character of, effect on man, 413
Life in, pleasure of, 414
Love of life, inborn in man, 415
Love of, 416
Which best governed, 417
Who loves not, loves nothing, 418
Courage, Want of, loss by, 419
Courtesy, Always a time for, 420
Background of one's portrait, 421
One-sided, dies soon, 422
Courtship, Men dream in, 423
Their, was carried on in, 424
What is, 425
Covetousness, Keeps the eyes on the ground, 426
Coward, Threatens when, 427
Cradle, The hand that rocks the, 428
Credit, Like looking glass, how? 429
Take care of it, 430
Two good reasons for not giving, 431
Criticism, Fascinating to people of small caliber, 432
Critics, Ready made, etc., 433
Culture, The, of a man, 434
Curiosity, All kneel before its altar, 435
Custom, Forms us all, 436
Daughter, Dear, of old father, 437
Lines on marriage, of an only, 438
Day, Let it not slip uselessly away, 439
Dead, He mourns, etc., 440
Death, Difference of, between old and young, 441
Folly not to prepare for, 442
Should come only with God's command, 443
What men and angels ask, when one dies, 444
Debt, Happiness to be out of, 445
Debts, Avoid paying, by not making, 446
Decay, Wealth and power not immortal, 447
Decision, Of character, requires use, 448
Deeds, Good, who should disclose doing of, 449
Noble, last longer than monuments, 450
Wishes without, worthless, 451
Deformity, Mock not at, 452
Delay, Injures those prepared, 453
Loss by, 454
Delicacy, True, exhibits itself, how, 455
Demeanor, Be natural, etc., 456
Dependents, Duty to, 457
Descent, Honorable, is in all nations, 458
Design, Think on means, etc., 459
Desire, Increased with acquisitions, 460
Destiny, Like ships on ocean, 461
Dial, Sun, inscription for, 462
Difficulties, Rise above your, 463
Digestion, Mostly occurs in the mouth, 464
Dignity, True, exists, how, 465
Disappointment, All have met, and will meet, 466
Discontent, Evidence of, 467
Not easily concealed, 468
Our worst enemy, 469
Where mostly found, 470
Discreet, Be, in all things, and so, 471
Discretion, Thy friend's friend has a friend, 472
Dishonest, The, woe to, etc., 473
Disposition, No man's will alter, 474
Distress, Shut not thy purse strings against, 475
Who feels not for, not a man, 476
Distrustful, Be deceived, rather than, 477
Doctor, The, when some adore him, some slight him, 478
Dog, Did you never observe that, 479
Instance of faithful, 480
Nature preserves his food, 481
Doubt, If in, don't, 482
Doubts, Traitors are, 483
Dream, The orphan boy's, 484
Dreams, Children of night and indigestion, 485
Dress, What woes it may bring, 486
What becomes true feminine beauty, 487
Drink, Avoid, instance of, heathen, 488
A wife's answer, 489
Habit, how cured in one, 490
To escape, never begin, 491
Dun, Derivation of the word, 492
Duty, A path all may tread, 493
Do it fearlessly, 494
Do it, let come what may, 495
I hate to see a thing done by, 496
Whosoever contents, 497
Time for that which one loves, 498
Ear, One should choose a wife, 499
What is told in the, 500
Ease, One at, easily admonishes others, 501
To be paid for by work, 502
Easy, Nothing is, to the unwilling, 503
Eating, How one should eat, 504
Half of what we eat, 505
Economy, Easy chair of age, 506
Effect of not practicing, 507
Exercise of, no disgrace, 508
In abundance, prepare for scarcity, 509
Lay up for rainy day, 510
Like savings bank, 511
Practice in prosperity, 512
Save for age and want, 513
When too late, 514
When to spend, when to spare, 515
Education, Every man must find his own, 516
A boy was compelled, 516a
Efforts, All difficult, nearly, before easy, 517
Eloquence, In tone, eye, etc., as in words, 518
Emotion, External signs of, 519
Employment, A guard against the evil one, 520
To be employed, is to be, 521
Enemy, Do good to, as a friend, 522
Ever too near, 523
Englishmen, Cold to strangers,--Dr. Johnson, 524
Envy, Born without, mark of what, 525
There would be little, if, etc., 526
Equals, Where all should be, 527
Equivocation, First cousin to lie, 528
Error, Correct immediately, 529
Beware of, 530
Who makes not, makes no good hits, 531
Etiquette, Good taste rejects, excessive nicety, 532
Events, Preceded by certain signs, 533
Evil, Avoid suggestion of, 534
Man endowed with power to conquer, 535
Eye, Opens and closes, revealing, etc., 536
Sees not itself, etc., 537
Silent speech of, 538
Eyes, More accurate than ears, 539
Of old, like memories of old, how? 540
Those of other people, effect, 541
Windows of the soul, 542
Exaggeration, Weakens statements, 543
Who is prone to, 544
Example, Given, must be tolerated, 545
Examples, Noble, excite to noble deeds, 546
Excuse, Accuses maker of, 547
Exercise, Dispenses with physic, 548
Experience, Can teach even a fool, 549
Lip-wisdom, which, 550
Extravagance, Keeps pace with prosperity, 551
Face, Effect of clouded, 552
Pictures thoughts, etc., 553
Sometimes a letter of credit, 554
Fail, The surest way not to, 555
Faith, Beautiful instance of, 556
Bridge from earth to heaven, 557
Compliment to be trusted, 558
Effect of want of, in no one, 559
Trust not that, once broken, 560
Faithfulness, Encouraged by trustfulness, 561
Falsehood, Reward thereof, 562
Telling of, like what, 563
Familiarity, Mistake to indulge in, 564
Family, Little world in itself, 565
Man happiest with his, 566
Reunion of, 567
Farewell, A sound that makes us linger, 568
How to say it, 569
Farmer, He alone has a home, 570
Must not sit in the shade, etc., 571
Father, Beautiful picture of, 572
Love of, reward, 573
One known without being seen, 574
Fault, Confession makes half amends, 575
Not to repent of a, 576
Faultless, Ne'er was, is, nor will be, 577
Faults, A man's and his neighbor's, 578
Better find one's own, than, etc., 579
Of great men, forgotten, 580
Of others, when we may blame, 581
The greatest of, 582
Wink at wee, 583
Favor, How to ask one, 584
Pleasure in conferring, 585
Favoritism, Effect of, on children, 586
Favors, One likes better to, 587
Feast, What makes the best, 588
Feasting, May make fasting, 589
Accustom early in your youth, 590
Feelings, When too fine, 591
Fidelity, True as needle to pole, etc., 592
Fireside, My own, 593
Fish, All that a, drinks, 594
Flattery, What kind of, hurts, 595
No quality will get a man, 596
Flowers, Children of the meadows, 597
Daughters of earth and sun, 598
Effect of, on the world, 599
Enjoy the air they breathe, 600
How many a, 601
I never cast a, away, 602
Pledges of fruit, 603
Fool, Advice to, effect of, 604
Everyone is sometimes, 605
How discovered, 606
One needs wit to deal with, 607
One who says he is always right, is, 608
White hairs ill become, 609
Fools, If all wore white caps, what then? 610
Tell what they intend to do, 611
Force, Where it prevails, right dies, 612
Foresight, Be not stingy of seed corn, 613
Forest, An idyl of, 614
Forget, Ability to, token of greatness, 615
Forgiveness, Asked, with repentance, 616
Easier to whom, 617
God-like, etc., 618
How beautiful, etc., 619
Lasts while we love, 620
Lines on, 621
Not given, destroys forgiveness, 622
Not of the world, 623
Of part only of wrong, what, 624
Try its effect, 625
Who do, and who do not, forgive, 626
Fortune, Change of, dangerous, 627
Continued good, not security, 628
Gives too much to, 629
Good sometimes without seeking, 630
Good that comes seldom, 631
Its vicissitude, 632
Hardest gained, longest kept, 633
Knocks once at every door, 634
Let it not elate or depress, 635
Manners sometimes make, 636
May change in a day, 637
Often harmful to virtue, 638
Smiles on those who labor, 639
Whil'st favor'd, friends, you smiled, 640
Free-thinker, One rebuked, 641
Freedom, Once gained, hard to, 642
Weeps, when, 643
Friend, Attack not, but defend absent, 644
Be mine, teach me to be thine, 645
Flattering, like one's shadow, 646
Hand of an old, 647
How to make a, 648
If you have one, be happy, 649
In misfortune, go quickly to, 650
Leave not, in adversity, 651
Lose not old, to gain new, 652
Lost by disputing with, 653
Lost by lending money to, 654
Love thine, 655
More dishonorable to distrust, etc., 656
No life complete without, 657
None, who ceases to be for slight causes, 658
Not hidden in adversity, 659
Oblige him to-day, 660
Old, the best mirror, 661
Shake not off, 662
Stab from, hard to heal, 663
Tells not truth, when, 664
When sure of, 665
Who never good, 666
Who sticks closer than brother, 667
Wink not at his vices, 668
World a wilderness without, 669
Friends, Absolute, rare, 670
But few on earth, 671
Due to choice, 672
Equals make the best, 673
False, are like our shadows, 674
Few real in the world, 675
Gained by good manners, 676
How lost, 677
How to choose, 678
Let us make the best of our, 679
Like melons, why, 680
Like titled husbands, when, 681
Make new, keep old, 682
My treasures are my, 683
Necessary to life, 684
Old, not to be disdained, 685
Paucity of, on earth, 686
Poor man's assets, 687
Purchase not, by, 688
Recognized and loved in heaven, 689
Separated by a gift kept back, 690
Strange to say, I am the only, 691
There is no living without, 692
True, anticipate wants, 693
Unexpected, spring up, 694
Where many, where few, 695
Friendship, A severe test of, 696
Contend which shall have most, 697
Cultivate your neighbor's, 698
In love may end, 699
Renewed requires more care, 700
Keep it in constant repair, 701
Killed by suspicion, 702
Make not with knave, 703
Needs not years to prove, 704
Nothing purer than first, 705
Permanency of, depends, etc., 706
Quickly made, quickly ended, 707
Rare is true love, true, is still, 708
Real, like what, 709
Shown by help, not by pity, 710
Soothes affliction's darkest hour, 711
Summer, drops off in adversity, 712
The higher, 713
True, great blessing, 714
True, is like sound health, 715
Who fit for, 716
Who unworthy of, 717
Who worthy of, will, etc., 718
Whose to value, 719
Worth more than hate, 720
Fruit, Good, never comes from, 721
Fun, Nothing like it sometimes, 722
Future, Groping for the door of, 723
If you would have, 724
The, does not come from, 725
To be met without fear, 726
Gain, Difficult, better than with ease, 727
Has oft, with treacherous hopes, 728
One must give, to get, 729
Pleasant odor, has, 730
Prefer loss to unjust, 731
When loss, 732
Gains, No pains, no, 733
Generosity, Justice and, 734
Justice should precede, 735
Should not exceed ability, 736
Gentleman, A good test of, 737
Coat, makes not, 738
Good rule to tell one by, 739
Main characteristics of, 740
Real and artificial, 741
Teach man to be a, 742
True, who is, 743
Gift, Donor should not speak of, 744
Give freely to him that, 745
Make with smile, not frown, 746
To make, delicate art, 747
Unexpected, most welcome, 748
Gifts, Mental, who in possession of, 749
The best, to man, 750
Girl, Dying, lines to her lover, 751
Some good advice to, 752
Girls, How they should be educated, 753
Give, No one can, 754
Gladness, Not to all who dance, 755
Glass, The hour, emblem of life, 756
God, Greatness of, 757
His love for man, 758
Presence of, shown by blade of grass, 759
The Father's love, 760
The more a man denies himself, 761
The love of, 762
Who serves, will come to Him, 763
Will meet one, who comes, 764
Gold, Key of, opens doors, 765
The golden rule in verse, 766
Golf, A rival to matrimony, instance of, 767
Good, All, comes to him who waits and works, 768
Doing, man responsible for, 769
Doing, is the only, 770
Pleasure of doing, wears not out, 771
Received, makes one tender of evil, 772
Seeking others', 773
What is the difference between, 774
When, comes too late, 775
Good-bye, Better than farewell, etc., 776
Goodness, The sign of, 777
Good-night, To all and each, 778
Gospel, The cross is the guarantee, 779
Gossip, Reasons for avoiding, 780
See Leviticus XIX, 16, 781
Tale-bearers, equal tale-makers, 782
Gossips, The funnels of conversation, 783
When they ought to endure misery, 784
Governors, If families have no sons devoted to, 785
Governs, He best who, 786
Grace, One, by Burns, 787
Saying at meals, instance of, 788
Gratitude, Expect not, from the selfish, 789
Fine expression of, 790
God judges one's, how, 791
How sometimes mistaken, 792
Look above with, 793
Naught so becomes man, 794
What presents make longest, 795
Where found, and not found, 796
Great, Desertion of the, 797
Grief, Excessive, not pleasing to God, 798
God sure to help in, 799
More than necessary, before necessary, 800
Shown, excites sympathy, 801
They mourn, who mourn without witnesses, 802
Time will soften, 803
When one mourns indeed, 804
Grumbling, Rebuked, instance of, 805
Guilt, Cowardly always, 806
Guthrie, Thomas, an anecdote, 807
Thomas, to his son, 807a
Ha, Contrasted with Ah, 808
Habit, Bred by use, 809
Drink, how to correct, 810
Form good, bad will die, 811
Like a cable, 812
No man free, who is a slave of, 813
Not resisted, becomes necessary, 814
Test of truth with some, 815
Habits, Evil, change innocence to guilt, 816
Gather strength like the seas, 817
Hard to make, and break, 818
Tastes change, inclinations never, 819
To strip off, flaying alive, 820
Hand, To stop the, is the way to, 821
Hands, Eloquence of, 822
The most beautiful, 823
Happiness, Consists in what? 824
Consists in contentment, 825
Consists not in, 826
Cottage can hold enough for palace, 827
Earthly of man, when complete, 828
Great in lowly station, 829
Made, by making others happy, 830
Of a happy couple, 831
Reflective, like light, 832
Rejoice in that of others, 833
Unmixed, not found, 834
Hate, Hurts the hater most of all, 835
It is the nature of the human, 836
Haughtiness, Freezes those below us, 837
Two may gain by it, 838
Health, Appreciated, when, 839
Be not too busy to care for, 840
Better than a kingdom, 841
Better to have, than wealth, 842
Necessary to duty and pleasure, 843
Thou chiefest good, 844
The only way for a rich man to be in, 845
Heart, An innocent, 846
Broken, instance of, 847
Every, has its secret sorrow, 848
Feeling, parting, tale of many a, 849
Great, has no room for wrongs, 850
Human, God enters, 851
Instance of royal, in poor woman, 852
Is it guided by instinct? 853
Most bitter trial of, 854
None in which errors are not, 855
Of another, how opened, 856
Of woman, most tender when pious, 857
Overrules the head, 858
Rewarded according to merit, 859
Sad, sometimes does good work, 860
Sad tale of many a human, 861
Small, but world cannot satisfy, 862
The, resembles the ocean, 863
The turnpike road to, 864
The merry, goes all the day, 865
Hearts, Dissensions between, 866
Men and women led by, 867
Heaven, Beautiful beyond compare, 868
Let others seek earth's, 868a
Debts to, sometimes disregarded, 869
Delights of, 870
Faith the road to, 871
Not the property of the rich, 872
"That better land," where is it? 873
Plants even look up to, 874
Help, Give, even to lame dogs, 875
What should be given, 876
History, Is little more than, 877
Home, Best ornament of, the owner, 878
Cling to it, from the Greek, 879
Definitions of, 880
Friends, ornaments of, 881
God's share in, 882
Grandest of all, 883
Home-keeping hearts happiest, 884
Husband, pleasure to, 885
Incomplete without books, 886
Know yours first, then other lands, 887
Man without, is like, etc., 888
Many a, is nothing but a, 889
More delightful than travel, 890
None without hearts, 891
A man unconnected, 892
None without love, 893
No place like, 894
Of every land the pride, 895
Return to, happy when, 896
Some things which prevent owning one, 897
Sweet to approach, etc., 898
Though small, a palace, 899
True nature of, 900
Wanderer's return to, 901
What makes, 902
Homeless, Beware of those who are, 903
I am as, 904
Honesty, A reason for giving good measure, 905
To be honest and faithful, 906
Commercial, obligatory, 907
Needs no protestations of, 908
Reward of, 909
When to count our spoons, 910
Honor, Birthplace is not, etc., 911
He, the Duke of Devonshire, 912
Injury to, 913
Instance of, 914
Of what to father, what to son, 915
When overpaid, 916
Hook or Crook, By, derivation of, 917
Hope, A charming word, 918
Always better, than despair, 919
Disappointment tracks step of, 920
Effect of living on, 921
Finest sort of courage, 922
Loss of, effect of, 923
None, breaks hearts, 924
Oft ends in hope, 925
Setting of, like setting sun, 926
Sometimes a delusion, 927
There is, if we live, 928
Where, in death, John Knox, 929
Hospitality, May give joy and honor, 930
Hours, All our sweetest, 931
House, Changed after absence, 932
Children, light of, 933
Mended, often more costly than new, 934
None like God's out-of-doors, 935
Not to go uninvited, 936
Houses, Built to live in, etc., 937
Household, What is an unhappy one, 938
Humanity, Goes with religion, 939
Our, were a poor thing, but for the, 940
Humble, Full the, there is, 941
Humility, Full head most humble, 942
Root of virtue, 943
Hunger, Mother of impatience, etc., 944
Who must, 945
Hungry, The full stomach cannot, 946
Wait, a hard word to the, 947
Husband, Excellencies of a, 948
Interests of, same as wife's, 949
Hymn, What one hymn accomplished, 950
I, The letter, worthy of aversion, when, 951
What am I? Naught, etc., 952
Ideas, Like beards, grown men have them, 953
Idleness, Brings need, 954
Desertion and suicide, 955
Idle man has no time for work, 956
Increases, if indulged, 957
Love, cures, 958
Lose labor, rather than time in, 959
Must thank itself, if barefoot, 960
Waste not my spring in, 961
Ignorance, For want of asking questions, 962
Often a voluntary misfortune, 963
Ills, Bear known, rather than risk unknown, 964
Of man, his own seeking, 965
Imitation, Sign of esteem, 966
Immortality, Man's longing after, 967
Impertinence, Who guilty of, 968
Importance, Self, as of, etc., 969
Imports, Should be more than exports, 970
Improvement, All not susceptible of, 971
Inaction, It is better to have nothing to do, 972
Inclinations, Men of all ages, have, 973
Income, Carry not all on the back, 974
Our, are like our shoes, 975
Inconstancy, Expressed by Shakespeare, 976
Inconsistency, Mankind made up of, 977
Indecision, Lose this day loitering, 978
Independence, To be loved, 979
If any man can do without, 980
Indigestion, Financial, sign of, 981
Individuals, Qualities of, 982
Industry, Makes the best gown, 983
Inevitable, The, bear with a smile, 984
Infants, Smiles of, 985
The first joy it brings, 986
Infirmities, Blame not one, for, 987
Influence, Personal, good result of, 988
It is reported that a, 989
Ingratitude, Common to hate benefactors, 990
Inheritance, Thine, how to enter on it, 991
Injuries, Write thine in the dust, 992
Injury, Creates suspicion, 993
Noblest remedy for, 994
Revenge of, forgiveness, 995
Who hurts another, injures himself, 996
Ink, Power of, 997
Innocence, Brings gaiety, 998
Foundation of real courage, 999
Narrow, if only according to law, 1000
Innocent, Better to be deceived, than to accuse the, 1001
Insult, Easy to take, sign of vulgarity, 1002
Harder to forgive, than injury, 1003
Integrity, Political, instance of, 1004
Preferred to eloquence, 1005
Shown by conduct, not by words, 1006
Intellect, One of dull, 1007
God has placed no limits to the exercise of, 1008
Intolerance, Index of weakness, 1009
Irresolution, Don't stand upon, 1010
Jewels, A wife's dearest, 1011
Children are mother's, 1012
Joy, At birth, and death, 1013
Departed, remembrance of, painful, 1014
I cannot speak, tears so, 1015
If shared, doubles pleasure, 1016
Johnson, Samuel, on marriage, 1017
Joke, Risk not one with ill-bred, 1018
Judge, A conscientious, 1019
Judgment, At fault, in young and old, 1020
Give benefit of doubt, 1021
Hear gently, judge kindly, 1022
How we shall be judged, 1023
Vicious, if based on evidence of one side, 1024
Just, Any time proper to say what is, 1025
Justice, Ever alive, 1026
Habits of, valuable possession, 1027
What its standard, 1028
Kindness, A, do it now, 1029
Binds society together, 1030
Converts more sinners than zeal, 1031
Delayed, destroys, 1032
Do not remind, of, 1033
How to multiply,--Franklin, 1034
Induced by sickness, and sadness, 1035
Instance of, by Indian chief, 1036
Little acts of, like what, 1037
Never proclaim doing of, 1038
No dearth of, 1039
Not to be repaid like money, 1040
Reward of, instance, 1041
Show, even to insects, 1042
Valuable part of business of life, 1043
Victory of, over injury, 1044
What to forget, what to remember, 1045
Who knows how to return, 1046
Write in marble, 1047
Kiss, Definition of a, 1048
Not always touches the heart, 1049
Of welcome, pleasant, 1050
Kissing, Some say that, 1051
Knowledge, A necessary retreat, 1052
Ask young people for, 1053
Gained by seeking, 1054
Is not gained on a, 1055
Let others light candle of, at yours, 1056
Man of, may be a fool, 1057
No one man has all, 1058
Planted when young, 1059
Practice, necessary to, 1060
Remember very well when at Oxford, 1061
Knox, John, eulogy on, 1062
Labor, Beauty and blessedness of, 1063
Finishes what genius begins, 1064
Fruit of, sweetest pleasure, 1065
Man's most lasting friend, 1066
Must have relaxation, 1067
Those most enjoy life who do, 1068
Laborer, How he works by the day, 1069
Lady, Young, advice to, 1070
Lamplighter, Scotch student as, 1071
Langsyne, Sweet to remember, 1072
Language, Origin of, 1073
Laugh, A, first of child, 1074
Good, sunshine in a home, 1075
Instrument of happiness, 1076
Laughing, Overmuch, have aching heart, 1077
Laughter, Contrasted with the smile, 1078
Not always proof of ease, 1079
Law, Avoid, by agreeing, 1080
Case, what to do with it, 1081
Delay of, etc., 1082
Easy to enter, hard to escape, 1083
Folly of going to, 1084
Gain and loss by, 1085
Lawyer's office, what it is, 1086
Requisites for going to, 1087
Suit in, uncertainty of, 1088
Taught in one lesson, 1089
Who gets spoils of, 1090
Lawyer, Leaving a margin for, 1091
Lines on, 1092
Lawyers, How the gowns of, are lined, 1093
Like shears, cut what is between, 1094
Some convert poor advice into good coin, 1095
Laziness, Begins in cobwebs, ends in chains, 1096
Learned, May be taught, 1097
Learning, Chief art of, 1098
Not entailed, gained by study, 1099
One pound of learning requires, 1100
Who swallows quick, 1101
Leaves, Autumn, lines on, 1102
Lee's, General, reply, 1103
Opinion of British officer, 1104
Legacy, Who watches for, like a raven, 1105
Leisure, Sweet, if earned, 1106
Letters, Often cause regret, 1107
Sometimes warmly sealed, coldly opened, 1108
Liberality, What one gives, is forever his own, 1109
The office of, consisteth in, 1110
Libraries, Wardrobes of literature, 1111
Lie, Cannot stand, but can fly, 1112
Equivocation is, 1113
One consequence of, 1114
One, must be, 1115
Life, A journey who may direct in, 1116
A term of, is set, 1117
Better sunny, than to boast of money, 1118
City, produces effeminacy of habit, etc., 1119
Different ages of, 1120
Direction of, 1121
Divinity shapes it, 1122
Domestic, the husband, 1123
Eternal, only candidates for election, 1124
Every period has its prejudices, 1125
Forethought wins in, 1126
Giants of, what are, 1127
Happy on sunny side of street, 1128
How to live twice, 1129
How to part with, 1130
How short is human, 1131
Human, what is, 1132
"I did," and "I didn't," 1133
If dark, still the sun is behind the clouds, 1134
Lies within the present, 1135
Live day by day for others, 1136
Look before thy feet, gaze not at stars, 1137
Make not sport of it, 1138
Mission in, for everyone, 1139
Only small portion of, enjoyed, 1140
Our little, is rounded with a, 1141
Represented by newspaper, 1142
The acts of this, 1143
Three whose lives are not, 1144
Too short to nurse wrongs in, 1145
Trifles make up sum of, 1146
The happiest, 1147
We find in it, what we put in, 1148
What the sweetest in, 1149
When we learn limits of, 1150
Listen, Be always ready to, 1151
Listener, Poor, who is, 1152
Litigation, Uncertainty of, certain, 1153
Little, By little, if oft done, 1154
Loneliness, What most lonely, 1155
Looks, The three, of men, 1156
Lost, The things, where we seek it, 1157
Love, Appreciation necessary to, 1158
At first sight, often regretted, 1159
Childish, sweetly expressed, 1160
Compared with indifference, 1161
Fault mine, if it ceases, 1162
To a man, the disappointment, 1163
Happiness of existence, 1164
How to part with, 1165
I know not, unless it be, 1166
If loved by man, loved by God, 1167
If there's delight in, 1168
Justifies poetic exaggeration, 1169
Letters of those we, 1170
Life without, day without sunshine, 1171
Light of life dies with, 1172
Like a nail, driven out by another, 1173
Like the moon, how, 1174
Loved one, not forgotten, 1175
Maiden in--600 B. C., 1176
Men easily duped by, 1177
More than his share, 1178
No disguise can conceal, 1179
Nothing sweeter than, 1180
Oft maintained by wealth, 1181
Produces amiability, 1182
Promotes schemes of life, 1183
Secret of obtaining, 1184
Sees no fault till, 1185
Tragedy of fickle, 1186
True, cannot forget, 1187
What a change it makes, 1188
What we love girls and boys for, 1189
When loveliest, 1190
Will die, if not expressed, 1191
Luther, Martin, and his friends, 1192
Was remarkable for, 1193
Luxury, Cost of, may help industrious poor, 1194
Magnanimous, He who is too much afraid of, 1195
Maiden, Lament of, lines on, 1196
Man, A compliment to, 1197
A truly great, never, 1198
Advances or recedes, 1199
Amiable, makes many friends, 1200
Angry, condemns himself, 1201
An old, of acute observation, etc., 1202
A volume, if one knows how to read him, 1203
Best, who is, 1204
Burns, his recognition of, 1205
By X. B. Saintine, 1206
Character goes with him, 1207
Child of his own deeds, 1208
Assumptions of, 1209
Deeds, standard of merit of, 1210
Description of, 1211
Direct not, who will himself choose, 1212
Dissatisfied, most to be pitied, 1213
Drunk, quarrel not with, 1214
Each may learn from other, 1215
End of wicked and righteous, 1216
Exalted, seen from afar, 1217
Failure of, do not destroy respect for, 1218
Firmness is for, 1219
Forgetting good intentions, what? 1220
Fully appreciated by equal or superior, 1221
Great, a good listener, 1222
Greatest glory, rising when he falls, 1223
Be content with the day as it is, 1224
Honest, believed without oath, 1225
Honest, tied by a thread, 1226
How to make true, 1227
If disliked, speak not of, 1228
Impossible to please every, 1229
Instinctive desire to see distinguished, 1230
It is not what he has, nor, 1231
Knows not the future, 1232
Like horse, esteemed for qualities, 1233
Looks aloft and beholds what, 1234
Married, best club for, 1235
Measures other, at first meeting, 1236
More inhuman than wolves, when, 1237
Must begin as inferior to become superior, 1238
Never speak of a, 1239
None always wise, 1240
Obstinate, held by opinions, 1241
Of high station, many blasts to shake, 1242
Of one idea, not to be reasoned with, 1243
Old, life like what, 1244
Perfected by trials, 1245
Pleasant, described, 1246
Poor, for want of, or from too many friends, 1247
Poor, unnoticed, 1248
Produced by nature, not by art, 1249
Real, finds not excuses for self, 1250
Should not be alone, 1251
Silent, sometimes deep and dangerous, 1252
Social creature, 1253
Strive not too anxiously, 1254
Swollen by prosperity, shrunk by adversity, 1255
The difference between, 1256
The unpunctual, 1257
Though surly, may be honest, 1258
True, never frets about place in the world, 1259
He had nothing and was, 1260
Weak, easily moulded, 1261
Well bred, acknowledges a fault, 1262
Well bred, always sociable, 1263
What did he leave at death, 1264
When act of equals, angel's, 1265
When he may be known truly, 1266
When to make a world for himself, 1267
Who deserves name of, 1268
Who excels, sought after, 1269
Who masters the world, 1270
Who thinks, governs, etc., 1271
Wise, shapes himself to environments, 1272
Working, hunger enters not his house, 1273
Manners, Coldness of, freezes, 1274
Contrasted with character, 1275
Mirror man's image, 1276
People with good, quiet, etc., 1277
Shadows of virtue, 1278
Vulgar people cannot be still, 1279
Want of, in society, unpardonable, 1280
Mansion, Be not inferior to thine, 1281
Marriage, A bloom or a blight, 1282
A maiden's trust in, 1283
Advice on, by Themistocles, 1284
Be careful before, 1285
Bond should be broken only by death, 1286
Can two live as cheaply as one? 1287
Choice in--Samuel Johnson, 1288
Choose not alone a proper, 1289
Effect on romance and history, 1290
Like public feast, 1291
Like shears, how, 1292
Marry in your own rank, 1293
Newly wedded, rule for, 1294
One seldom weds first love, 1295
Pious elder said to his son, 1296
Reason for many unhappy ones, 1297
Should be state of equality, 1298
The dying moments of a single life, 1299
The treasures of the deep are not so precious, 1300
Two views--beware, 1301
Vow, lines on, 1302
Wed for character, not money, 1303
Married, A girl should look happy, 1304
Marshall, Chief Justice, anecdote of, 1305
Master, Be sometimes blind and deaf, 1306
If your own, 1307
Our, is our, 1308
Matrimony, Knot tied with tongue, etc., 1309
Look for a help-mate in, 1310
Sum of happiness when, 1311
Two views of, 1312
Maxims, From the Persian, 1313
Meals, The, which are eaten in, 1314
Meat, How poor, and rich get, 1315
Melancholy, Johnson said of, 1316
Memory, All complain, but not of judgment, 1317
Ideas registered by attention, 1318
Prayer on the subject of, 1319
Sweetest, when without regret, 1320
Men, Better to be taught, than fed, 1321
Great, arise from the people, 1322
How hard to teach some, 1323
Middle class of, show nation's character, 1324
Unlucky, 1325
Study men rather than books, 1326
Wise, care not for what they cannot have, 1327
Young, apt to overrate, 1328
Young, the trouble with most, 1329
Mercy, Anecdote of Queen Victoria, 1330
Door of, when open, 1331
Lean to, if in doubt, 1332
Man, the child of, 1333
Not forgotten, the deeds of, 1334
Reward of him who shows, 1335
Teach your sons to love it, 1336
Weaves the veil of futurity, 1337
We pray for, let us render, 1338
Merit, Not always rewarded, 1339
Success of, 1340
Merry, All not who dance lightly, 1341
Metaphysics, Peculiar definition of, 1342
Method, Teaches to win time, 1343
Methodists, Noteworthy characteristic of, 1344
Might, If right, right not upright, 1345
Mind, A weak one, how effected, 1346
A well-governed, learns in time, 1347
Do not overtask, 1348
Effect on, of small matters, 1349
If uncertain, impulse directs, 1350
It cannot be too deeply, 1351
Narrowness of, is often, 1352
Noble, spurns idle pratings, 1353
Some know their minds and yet not their hearts, 1354
Steadiness of, a blessing, 1355
The, a man's kingdom, 1356
The face is the, 1357
True woman admires more than wealth, 1358
Untraveled--what is, 1359
Youthful, like wax, 1360
Minds, Small, hurt by small things, 1361
Noblest are easiest, 1362
Ministers, Of God, chief duty of, 1363
Mirth, Ounce of, worth more, etc., 1364
Mischief, Man no match for woman in, 1365
Most just is it that he who, 1366
Miser, Constantine's lesson to, 1367
Grows rich, by seeming poor, 1368
Pays too much for his gold, 1369
Misery, No thoroughly occupied man has, 1370
Misfortune, Do not bear, till it comes, 1371
Repine not at, 1372
Mistake, Anyone may make, fools stick to, 1373
Avoid, rather than correct, 1374
Quarrel not with slight, 1375
There are few, very few that, 1376
Mistakes, Teach impressive lessons, 1377
Young heads are giddy, 1378
Model, Copy not self, 1379
Moderation, Lines on,--Cowper, 1380
Modulation, Tis not enough the voice be, 1381
Money, Abundance of, ruins, 1382
A curse, if not earned, 1383
Complain of, want of, 1384
It cannot change blood, 1385
Lender of, his moods and tenses, 1386
Love of, root of much devotion, 1387
Man's master, or slave, is, 1388
Many heart-aches, behind plenty of, 1389
Not found in purses of others, 1390
No time to waste, in making, 1391
Obtained by work, 1392
Power of, 1393
Silences the world, 1394
Moon, Lines on,--Croly, 1395
Lines on,--Longfellow, 1396
Morning, Brings cool reflection, 1397
The, hour has, 1398
Mother, A royal, obedience of her children, 1399
Child and, Danish proverb, 1400
Daring of a, 1401
Funeral of a, 1402
Hallow her memory, 1403
Heart of, child's school-room, 1404
Heart, reached through child, 1405
Helpful comforter, 1406
Her history is written in her child, 1407
Moulds the man, 1408
Old, duty of children to, 1409
On death of,--Cowper, 1410
Ounce of, worth more, etc., 1411
Results of her examples, 1412
Sorrows of, 1413
Story of that of Pomponius Atticus, 1414
The, laughter of child, sweet to, 1415
True estimate of, 1416
Turf, from grave of, 1417
Whom can we better trust than? 1418
Music, Heart not touched by, forlorn, 1419
Loosens heart, bound by care, 1420
No, is so charming to my ear, 1421
Sometimes in a footstep, 1422
Nature, Errs not, though art may, 1423
Exists by motion, 1424
Good and ill, contrasted, 1425
Good, beauty of, 1426
Good, preserves good looks, 1427
Laws of, man cannot override, 1428
One follows the inclinations of his own, 1429
Pleasure of mingling with, 1430
Who can paint like, 1431
Natures, Vulgar, handle firmly, 1432
Neglect, Unmerited, a sharp sting, 1433
Neighbor, Profitable to know him, 1434
Put not off obliging, 1435
Very few live by choice, 1436
Neighbors, Duty towards, 1437
Nest, A bird's, 1438
New, There is nothing new under the sun, 1439
News, He bold is, who brings, 1440
Nicknames, Which stick best, 1441
Night, Brings coolness and counsel, 1442
The outlaw's day, 1443
Time for rest, 1444
No, Learn to say, 1445
Nobody, Who is, in the commonwealth, 1446
Who is, thinks everybody else is, 1447
Nothing, By doing, we learn to, 1448
Novelty, The young are fond of, 1449
Numbers, Easily impress us, 1450
Oats, Reply to Dr. Johnson's definition of, 1451
Obedience, Most important word in education, 1452
One of most beautiful things, 1453
Wise, modest, 1454
Obligation, Haste to discharge, sort of ingratitude, 1455
Most men remember, etc., 1456
Published, paid, 1457
Obscurity, People newly out of, etc., 1458
Obstinacy, Is will asserting itself, 1459
Occupation, Thrice happy those who have, 1460
A man should follow, 1461
Ocean, The abode of the British, 1462
Odd, Peculiar people, disagreeable, 1463
Offense, How people oftenest offend, 1464
Office, Power of, dog even obeyed in, 1465
Bad man in, public calamity, 1466
Omissions, No less than commissions, 1467
Opinion, It has been shrewdly said, 1468
No liberal man, 1469
Opportunities, Often lost by want of self-confidence, 1470
Past gone, future may never come, 1471
Opportunity, Let slip, proof of imbecility, 1472
Loss of, what lost by, 1473
Master of human destiny, 1474
Not seized, flies away, 1475
Poor use of, instance, 1476
Often lost by deliberation, 1477
Take the current when it serves, 1478
The, neglected, 1479
To-day it is offered, 1480
Oppressors, There are sharks in the ocean, 1481
Orators, All, are dumb, when beauty, 1482
Parent, Ambitious, misdirect children, 1483
Be not ashamed, if yours, humble, 1484
Effect of neglect of children, by, 1485
Remember not toil endured for, 1486
Parents, Good conduct of, blesses children, 1487
If fools, apt to make children so, 1488
We know not their worth, till lost, 1489
Parting, Like ships on the sea, 1490
Proves a kind of anguish, 1491
Passion, Control yours, 1492
Nothing like silence, 1493
Past, Comes not back, witness three things, 1494
Let by-gones be, 1495
Stirs man more than future, 1496
Path, Beaten, safe one, 1497
Pearl, Often hidden in ugly shell, 1498
Pen, The tongue of the mind, 1499
People, How to wake them, 1500
Perfection, Not in this world, 1501
Permanence, As the sun's shadow shifts, 1502
Perseverance, Makes mole-hills of mountains, 1503
Scottish, proverbial, 1504
Persistence, Necessity of, 1505
Petitions, Strengthened by gold, 1506
Philanthropy, Its satisfaction, 1507
True instance of, 1508
Phillips, Wendall, anecdote of, 1509
Physician, First patient, etc., 1510
His best fee producer, 1511
Real, of mankind, 1512
Satire upon, 1513
Physic, For the most part, is, 1514
Pity, Godlike, acted on, 1515
Plants, Fresh and fair, when, 1516
Pleasure, Brevity of, 1517
Dignity in, as well as in business, 1518
Greatest, what is, 1519
How made pleasant, 1520
Makes acquaintances, 1521
Oft sweetest in memories, 1522
Sometimes comes from flattery, 1523
The most delicate and sensible, 1524
Pneumonia, One way of avoiding, 1525
Poets, Modern, mix water with milk, 1526
Politeness, An essential ingredient of, 1527
Instance of, in small boy, 1528
Instance of true, 1529
Natural to delicate natures, 1530
True, everywhere the same, 1531
Politics, Are now, 1532
Poor, Few except the poor, feel for them, 1533
Folks' wisdom, 1534
He that thinks he can, 1535
Poor and content, 1536
Speak gently to, 1537
The, be mindful of, 1538
The, kings when, 1539
The, wait not to relieve, 1540
The, why they complain, 1541
The world avoids, 1542
Portraits, Husband and wife, mottoes under, 1543
Position, Not every easy, is soft, 1544
Poverty, Cannot be hidden, 1545
Grows heavier when, 1546
Is in want of much, 1547
Poor man resembles fiddler, etc., 1548
Power, Love of, instinct of human heart, 1549
Often goes before talent, 1550
Often silences the law, 1551
Partnership with men in, not safe, 1552
Practice, Strange, if what one preaches, 1553
Praise, Best diet for us, 1554
Just, a debt, 1555
Love of, in every heart, 1556
Of self, contents most, 1557
One who can be trusted, deserves, 1558
Self, a bad sign, 1559
Sweetest of all sounds, 1560
Use of indiscreet, when, 1561
Prayer, Brings all blessings, instance, 1562
For absent, 1563
House, in which there is none, has no roof, 1564
Key to God's mercies, 1565
Pray with heart, etc., 1566
Quaint old, a, 1567
Preacher, As an ambassador, 1568
Seeking fame, finds folly, 1569
Prejudice, Opinions, most violent, 1570
Prejudices, Who full of, 1571
Present, Enjoy it, 1572
Make it sweet, 1573
Presents, Many delight more in, 1574
Pretence, Makes people nothing, 1575
Prevention, An ounce of, is worth, 1576
Pride, Art thou an exalted being? 1577
Breeds no friends, 1578
Never be too much elated, 1579
Superior to adversity, 1580
Principles, Be unable to forsake, 1581
More precious than accomplishments, 1582
Procrastination, Effect of, 1583
Professions, Without practice, worthless, 1584
Profit, Not always an honor, 1585
Progress, None for the slothful, 1586
Promise, Deeds should equal, 1587
No piety in keeping unjust, 1588
Obligation of, 1589
Promises, To keep, make not many, 1590
Property, When not wise to give away, 1591
Prophecy, Fullfilment of a, 1592
Propose, Let those who, 1593
Prospects, Distant, please us, 1594
Prosperity, Brings friends, 1595
Creates selfishness often, 1596
Hard work, the road to, 1597
How obtained, 1598
In ascending hill of, meet no friend, 1599
Makes friends, 1600
Makes friends and enemies, 1601
Not always proof of rectitude, 1602
Shows weak mind, how, 1603
Proselyte, We love a, 1604
Proverbs, Japanese, 1605
Punctuality, A characteristic of politeness, 1606
Begets confidence and respect, 1607
It is neither polite nor, 1607a
Lord Nelson's rule, 1608
Want of, dishonesty, 1609
Want of, mark of little minds, 1610
Purposes, If not hatched, they decay, 1611
Purse, Consumption of, 1612
Empty, calls for a sweet tongue, 1613
Not to oversee workmen, is to, 1614
Quakerwise, Instance of, 1615
Quarrel, Best time to, 1616
Leave open the door of reconciliation, 1617
To, with one person, 1618
Quarrels, Have nothing to do with, 1619
Question, Should be rational, 1620
Rain, Ideas of pessimist and optimist of, 1621
Rank, Quote not thy high birth, 1622
Reading, Attempt not too much, 1623
Reason, Makes a man a prince, etc., 1624
When a man has not a good, 1625
Reciprocity, Good rule of, 1626
Rule of, by Confucius, 1627
Recreation, Necessary to human nature, 1628
Regret, Folly to shiver over, 1629
Relaxation, Above, produces, 1630
Religion, Costs nothing, does nothing, 1631
Doubt not blessings of, 1632
Good, if good for all days, 1633
Is knowledge of what? 1634
It is rare to see a rich man, 1635
More in walk than talk, 1636
Presents difficulties to whom, 1637
True, when seen is admired, 1638
Repentance, When deferred, lost in judgment, 1639
Not to bewail, but to forsake sin, 1640
Reproof, A gentle, anecdote of Wesley, 1641
Reputation, Man known by his, 1642
Resignation, It is reported of a person, 1643
Rest, All seek it, 1644
A present need, 1645
Is sweet to those who, 1646
It yields a bountiful crop, 1647
The man who goes easiest, 1648
Too much creates rust, 1649
Resolution, Hasty, unsafe, 1650
Irresolute people, etc., 1651
Sleep over, etc., 1652
Rewards, Disinterested, seldom miss, 1653
One knows not for whom he gathers, 1654
Rich, Man is, who is content, 1655
Some miseries of the, 1656
The, poor, if saving for heirs, 1657
The, should be generous, 1658
Very rich men seldom or never, 1659
Who is truly, 1660
Riches, Hard to gather, easy to scatter, 1661
How to learn to use them, 1662
Influence of, 1663
Inseparable from care, 1664
Loss of, changes judgment of men, 1665
Not conducive to labor, 1666
Opposed to generosity and humility, 1667
Serve a wise man, 1668
Strange that the miser strives for, 1669
We see how much a man has, 1670
What are? 1671
Where to find them, 1672
Without frugality none, 1673
Right, When one can do as he pleases, 1674
Rising, Late, effect of, 1675
Road, To wish for anything that is, 1676
Robbery, What is not, 1677
Roof, One, and two winds, 1678
Root, Water and protect the, 1679
Rose, Worth an empire, when, 1680
Royalty, A feather in the cap, 1681
Rudeness, There cannot be a greater, 1682
Rumor, No, wholly dies, once, 1683
Sabbath, Blessing to the poor, 1684
Observance of, freshens the mind, 1685
Peculiarly the poor man's day, 1686
Well spent, prepares for better, 1687
Safety, Better a little in, 1688
Said, More can be, in one minute, 1689
Salt, Where a luxury, 1690
Sand, Name on that of the sea, 1691
School, Emulation in, 1692
His first,--Henry Kirke White, 1693
It has been remarked that, 1694
Scholars, Early trials of, 1695
Scotland, Climate of, etc., 1696
Sea, Love it? 1697
Sweet to look at from land, 1698
Thoughts at, 1699
See, Old people, best in the, 1700
Secret, A thing locked in memory, 1701
A, when safe, 1702
Not a, if known to three, 1703
To keep, shun the inquisitive, 1704
Secrets, Folly to expect others to keep, etc., 1705
Make dungeons of the heart, 1706
Where secrecy or, 1707
Self, Be always ready to yield, etc., 1708
Be what friends think you, 1709
Command, if you would be great, 1710
Conceit of, rebuked, 1711
Denial of, brings blessings, 1712
Denial of, teach it, 1713
Difficult to be selfish and honest, 1714
Do something to be admired in, 1715
Do you want to know? 1716
Don't lean on others, 1717
How we judge and are judged, 1718
"I," sometimes coat of arms, 1719
If warm, thinks others so, 1720
Not what you've given, 1721
In it our joys are found, 1722
Interest of, a compass, etc., 1723
Interest of, warps judgment, 1724
Interest of, world much ruled by, 1725
Least said of, is too much, 1726
Lover of, has no rival, 1727
Man only can disgrace himself, 1728
Modest men speak not of merits, of, 1729
More easy to be wise for others, than for, 1730
No harder battle than to conquer, 1731
None like self but, 1732
One knocks on sore place in, 1733
Or others, which best to know, 1734
Pleasing object to, one obliged, 1735
Praise of, ill bred, 1736
Present know, future not, 1737
Some persons considerate of, 1738
Some persons can neither stir hand nor, 1739
Those who agree with us, we think sensible, 1740
Those wise, who think with, 1741
Trouble not another with, etc., 1742
We cannot see ourselves, 1743
What others, and I, say of, 1744
Self-interest, Is but the survival, 1745
Selfishness, Continual mourning is, 1746
If out of world, what then? 1747
Self-praise, May be used but little, 1748
Sense, Common, rare to whom, 1749
He lacks, who, 1750
Sermon, In what frame to hear, 1751
Reason for not preaching one, from manuscript, 1752
Story of Welsh preacher, 1753
When effective, 1754
Sermons, Best, to ourselves by ourselves, 1755
Severe, Oh ponder well! 1756
Shadows, We are--we pursue, 1757
Shepherd, The good, and the lost sheep, 1758
Sickness, Every man's master is, 1759
Absence of, 1760
Sight, Out of, out of, 1761
Silence, A safeguard is, 1762
Best for whom, 1763
Consummate eloquence of sorrow, 1764
Keeping of, no cost is, 1765
Often an answer, 1766
Often persuades more than speech, 1767
Sure reward for, 1768
When it shows wisdom, 1769
Silver, Plated, sarcasm for pretence, 1770
Simplicity, Old, now rare, 1771
Sin, Committed twice, seems none, 1772
Of others, always before our eyes, 1773
Sincerity, Mislead not others, 1774
Singing, Happy use of, 1775
Sinks, He who stands stiff, 1776
Slander, How to cure habit of, 1777
He who, his neighbors, 1778
Slave, When one is, 1779
Slavery, Air of Britain opposed to, 1780
Not from God, 1781
Sleep, After dinner, etc., 1782
All equal, when asleep, 1783
Annihilater of time, 1784
Beloved from pole to pole, 1785
Characteristic of the sleeper is, 1786
Closes the windows of the eyes, 1787
Difference of, between poor and rich, 1788
Heaven trims our lamps while we sleep, 1789
Home to the homeless, etc., 1790
Induced by preacher, instance of, 1791
Judge between high and low, 1792
Omit not offer of, 1793
Patron of mankind, etc., 1794
Trust it not without prayer, 1795
Unsolved mystery, 1796
Smile, Always attractive, 1797
Brightened by a tear, 1798
Put one on your face, etc., 1799
Valuable and costs nothing, 1800
Smith, Adam, anecdote of, 1801
Smoke, Turned into gold, 1802
Society, Among unequals, no harmony, 1803
Built upon trust, one in another, 1804
No comfort to whom, 1805
One way to be agreeable in, 1806
Ready to worship success, 1807
Sir, your levellers wish to, 1808
True art of being agreeable in, 1809
Solitude, Longing for, etc., 1810
Something, Do, however small, 1811
Son, A, lines on 21st birthday, 1812
Advice to a, 1813
Best gift to, by parent, 1814
Conduct of, shames or praises his mother, 1815
His opinion of his father's ability, 1816
Love of home, a joy, etc., 1817
Son-in-law, What gained or lost by, 1818
Sorrow, Concealed, burns the heart, 1819
Employment, best antidote for, 1820
How many manage to enjoy it, 1821
Knits hearts as no gold can, 1822
Ransom for offense, 1823
Wake not sleeping, 1825
Sorrows, All are bearable if, 1826
Think of blessings and forget, 1827
Soul, Erring, leave to God, 1828
Judge thine, as it must be judged, 1829
Where is home of, 1830
Speech, Avoid evil, 1831
Gentle, and, 1832
Inaccurate, comes from loose thinking, 1833
Make not sharp, to lady, 1834
Too much, insipid and tedious, 1835
When becoming, to show boldness of, 1836
Spend, Less than thou, 1837
Spendthrift, Slave of others, 1838
Stanza, Story of a, 1839
Stars, Candles in heaven's air, 1840
Man little in presence of, 1841
The, govern men, but, 1842
Stomach, Empty, effect of, on wisdom, 1843
Storm, Most violent, soonest over, 1844
Stranger, Be gracious unto, 1845
Pity the miseries of, 1846
The passing, 1847
Success, Age contented with mediocrity, 1848
Dependent on zeal, 1849
How to succeed, 1850
Its worst use, 1851
Mediocrity succeeds best, 1852
Not always to most learned, 1853
Of men, not rich, 1854
Search for, and doubt not, 1855
Small, leads to great, 1856
Too dear when, 1857
Who sure of, never undertakes, etc., 1858
Sufficiency, No one has a, 1859
Who has, smiles at, etc., 1860
Summer-day, The, endures not ever, 1861
Sun, The glorious lamp of heaven, 1862
The, when it shines, etc., 1863
Sunday, Observe, bells of, as angel's music, 1864
Why made the Sabbath, 1865
Superiors, The ways of, are generally, 1866
Swimming, Easy when held up, 1867
Sympathy, A golden key, 1868
A good test of, 1869
Clasp of hands, oft reveals, 1870
Heavenly, greater than gold, 1871
The human heart sighs for, 1872
These two complain, but no one, 1873
System, A saver of time, 1874
Tact, Shown in addressing at proper time, 1875
Talent, World ready to receive, 1876
Is something, but tact, is, 1877
Talk, All, shows no respect, 1878
Spendthrift of the tongue, 1879
They always, who think not, 1880
Talker, Great, sometimes right, 1881
The, sows, the listener, 1882
Talking, Name some, who talk too much, 1883
A man of sense talks little, 1884
Tardiness, Rebuke of, by Washington, 1885
Taste, Cost, takes away, 1886
Teaching, Learning twice, 1887
Tear, Nothing dies sooner than, 1888
Tears, God counts a woman's, 1889
Language strangled by, 1890
Silent effusions of sincere feelings, 1891
Sometimes have the, 1892
The diamonds of the eye, 1893
Tide working upward to the eye, 1894
Temper, Govern, or it will govern you, 1895
Good, is like a, 1896
If you have a good, 1897
When one can afford to keep, or lose it, 1898
Temptations, All come to the idle, 1899
Toil is a foil, 1900
Theatre, Opinion of, by some actors, 1901
Theory, Worth less, than practice, 1902
Things, All, that begin, end, 1903
Little do, and big will come, 1904
Little, do not despise, 1905
Small, despise not, 1906
Thought, Rules the world, 1907
The most important, 1908
Thoughts, First, not always the best, 1909
In matters of conscience, etc., which best, 1910
Without evil, God's best gift, 1911
Thumb, It is said the, is stronger, 1912
Thunder, Reason for liking to hear it, 1913
Tickling, There is scarcely anyone, 1914
Time, A great master, 1915
Forgotten in conversation, 1916
Happy, passes quickly, 1917
Honor, while passing, 1918
How noiseless falls, 1919
Hour lost in the morning, etc., 1920
Passes, like the, 1921
Spare moments, gold dust of, 1922
Unveils truth, 1923
Title, A peculiar way of acquiring, 1924
Tobacco, What animals use, 1925
To-day, Live, love and labor in, 1926
To-morrow, Prepare for, 1927
Whose is it? 1928
Told, What cannot be, 1929
Tongue, Better hold, than, 1930
But one, though two eyes, 1931
Control it, 1932
Creates great mischief, 1933
Instrument of good or ill, 1934
Let mildness attend your, 1935
More necessary to guard than, etc., 1936
Sin not with, life-long lesson, 1937
The, cuts like steel, 1938
Tool that grows keener by use, 1939
Tourist, Some too busy traveling, to see, 1940
Trade, A good, seldom needs aid, 1941
A useful, like gold, 1942
Conscience, etc., made wares of, 1943
Who has, may travel, 1944
Travel, Foreign, influence of, 1945
How to make delightful, 1946
Johnson's advice about, 1947
Treasures, Hid in sand, instance of, 1948
Tree, The beach's petition, 1949
Like a, am I sheltering others? 1950
Trials, The greater, the more glory to overcome, 1951
Trouble, A satire upon, 1952
Help those in,--instance, 1953
Troubles, Relieved by time, 1954
To tell, lightens, 1955
Trust, Perfect, instance of, 1956
Truth, Accustom children to speak it, 1957
Always necessary, a lie, never, 1958
Contrasted with falsehood, 1959
Contrasted with vice, 1960
Dignity of, lost, how, 1961
Evil of not believing, 1962
Instance of existence of, 1963
I cannot tell how the, 1964
Like the sun, etc., 1965
Love of, man's perfection, 1966
Often comes unsought, 1967
One, not made by many probabilities, 1968
Reward of, instance of, 1969
Say things that are true, rather than new, 1970
Seize upon it, wherever found, 1971
Suffer for, rather than gain by falsehood, 1972
Touching instance of, at sea, 1973
Who speaks it not, a traitor to it, 1974
Truthfulness, Reward of, 1975
Twilight, Nature hath appointed, 1976
Unexpected, The, often happens, 1977
Unfinished, The, is, 1978
Unfortunate, The, act as chill air on some, 1979
The, speak gently to, instance, 1980
Who serves the, serves God, 1981
Unknown, The, often magnified, 1982
Unreasonable, Things, never durable, 1983
Unwritten, That alone belongs to thee, 1984
Vicissitudes, But yesterday, the word of Caesar, 1985
Village, I had rather be the, 1986
Virtue, Act of, performed, conceal it, 1987
If there's a, 1988
Virtues, In competition with interest, 1989
Should characterize nobility, 1990
Voice, Mightier than strings, etc., 1991
Tone of, in speaking, 1992
Wages, Of palace and sweatshop, 1993
Wants, Search not for them, 1994
Source of, 1995
Who cannot provide for others, 1996
Washington, George, story of cherry tree, 1997
Waste, Brings want, 1998
Dollars played with in youth, etc., 1999
What, Greek proverb, 2000
Water-cure, About three-fourths of the weight, 2001
Wealth, A change it works, 2002
Contrasted with competency, 2003
Golden roof breaks rest, 2004
Much on earth, little in heaven, 2005
Poor man's, what, 2006
Wealthy, Many a lout is, 2007
Weeping, Some satisfaction to grief, 2008
Welcome, Do not say, but show it, 2009
Warm, best cheer, 2010
Who comes seldom, is, 2011
You are, as flowers in May, 2012
Well, Dig a, before you are, 2013
Whittier, Humorous lines by, 2014
Wicked, Who sows thorns, should wear shoes, 2015
Wife, Advice to one, 2016
A stubborn, is a, 2017
Advice to,--Shakespeare, 2018
Finds all joy in good husband, 2019
Fortitude of, etc., 2020
Fortune in, and with, 2021
Good, acts according to husband's estate, 2022
Good one, a blessing; bad one, a curse, 2023
Have no friend more intimate, 2024
Her happiest knowledge, etc., 2025
Instance of grief of one, 2026
Key of the house, 2027
Man's best or worst fortune, 2028
May lift or lower husband, 2029
When a man has secured a, 2030
Will, A ready, makes light feet, 2031
Prompt, makes nimble legs, 2032
Where there is a, 2033
Wills, What you leave at death, 2034
Wind, Among the trees, 2035
God tempers to shorn lamb, 2036
Winter, Finds out what, 2037
Wisdom, Safer to learn than to instruct in, 2038
To know how to grow old, 2039
Youth, not era of, 2040
Wish, He who pursues, 2041
Wishes, No avail without service, 2042
Wishing, Worst of all employments, 2043
Wit, Not found in beating the brain, 2044
Witness, Eye, outweighs others, 2045
Woe, None greater than, etc., 2046
Woes, By telling our, 2047
Woman, Fashionable, loves whom, 2048
Her heart's question, 2049
Her noblest station, 2050
Kindness in, not their, 2051
Love her, for what she tries to be, 2052
Manners, her ornament, 2053
Should refuse a lover, how, 2054
Soft voice, excellent in, 2055
Well dressed, when, 2056
When beautiful, but without principles, what, 2057
Who can stem her will, 2058
With only outward advantages, etc., 2059
Women, Happiest, have no history, 2060
Learn to manage them, 2061
Pretty, without religion, etc., 2062
What we love, admire and shun in, 2063
Woods, Take to, if worn, etc., 2064
Word, Angry, darkens the day, 2065
No, He hath spoken, 2066
Random, may soothe or wound, 2067
Spoken, not to be recalled, 2068
Unspoken, does no harm, 2069
Want of, effect sometimes, 2070
Words, Angry, ruin many, 2071
An able man shows his spirit, 2072
Are but wind, but, 2073
Charming in friend's vocabulary, 2074
Fair, gladden many hearts, 2075
Man of few, a good listener, 2076
Hard, break hearts, 2077
If good wanted, speak not ill, 2078
Kind, music of the world, 2079
Kind, oases in life's desert, 2080
On wings of thought they go to heaven, 2082
Pictures of our thoughts, 2083
Rashly spoken, forgive, 2084
Some, cut like steel, 2085
Think before using, 2086
Thy, have darted hope, 2087
When cannot be recalled, 2088
Without acts, flowers without perfume, 2089
Written, contrasted with spoken, 2090
Written remain, avoid ill, 2091
Work, A good beginning is half the, 2092
Art little? Do thy little well, 2093
Hard to wait for, 2094
Honest, be not ashamed of, 2095
If you do not in summer, starve in winter, 2096
Man known by his, 2097
One's, is the, 2098
Often tired in, but never of, 2099
Over-work is really worry or anxiety, 2100
Shows man his abilities, 2101
Take pleasure in your, 2102
World, Tent and life a dream, 2103
Knowledge of, where acquired, 2104
Not made for us, a happy thought, 2105
Quarrel with, is with self, 2106
My theology is reduced to this, 2107
The, cares most for riches, 2108
To enjoy, be deaf, dumb and blind to follies of, 2109
Worship, Public, necessary to religion, 2110
Wrath, Soft answer turneth away, 2111
Wretched, Call not that man, who, 2112
Wrinkles, A good life, 2113
Writ, What is, is, 2114
Writing, Nationality of handwriting, 2115
Remains, speech passes away, 2116
Wrong, Avoidance of, helps the power to do right, 2117
Remedy for, is to forget, 2118
Report of, pains, 2119
Yankee, Derivation of the word, 2120
Yawn, Why does one, make another? 2121
Yesterday, Were bright, then may die to-day, 2122
Thy, is past, thy to-day, 2123
Young, The, speak gently to, 2124
Youth, Beauty and possibilities of, 2125
Easy, makes hard old age, 2126
I approve of a, 2127
Judges in haste, 2128
Proper bride for, 2129
Riches for illusions, 2130
What it is, 2131
What youngsters think nowadays, 2132
Work in, brings repose to age, 2133
Zeal, Excessive, better than none, 2134
TRANSCRIBER'S NOTES
Quotations 1824 and 2081 are missing in the original.
The following corrections have been made to the text:
Page 1: IN ALPHABETICAL[original has ALBHABETICAL] ORDER
Page 15 (#55): Do you seek Alcides'[original has Alcide's]
equal?
Page 17 (#64): _Phaedrus[original has Phoedrus]._
Page 20 (#81): "'[single quote missing in original]This horse
is not my brother!'[original has double quote]
Page 23 (#86): ensconce[original has escone] thy legs
Page 59 (#227): he overcomes all things."[quotation mark
missing in original]
Page 85 (#335): When musing on companions gone[original has
gon]
Page 87 (#348): Conceit may[original has many] puff a man up
Page 90 (#376): _Quarles[original has Quarle]._
Page 91 (#386): _Epictetus._[original has _Epictatus._]
Page 93 (#401): _Antisthenes._[original has _Antishenes._]
Page 107 (#478): God, is alas!--forgotten[original has
forgotton]
Page 114 (#518): _Rochefoucauld[original has Rochefaucauld]._
Page 116 (#524): common among Englishmen towards
strangers.[original has extraneous quotation mark]
Page 116 (#525): Rochefoucauld[original has Rochefaucauld]
said, "The truest mark
Page 129 (#596): of consequence enough to be
flattered."[quotation mark missing in original]
Page 142 (#680): _Claude Mermet._[period missing in original]
Page 147 (#715): value of it is seldom known[original has
knows] until it is lost
Page 153 (#751): _By Winthrop M. Praed[original has Pread]._
Page 154 (#753): addition and subtraction[original has
substraction]
Page 155 (#757): to the foliage of a boundless
forest."[quotation mark missing in original]
Page 155 (#758): _I Cor.[original has colon] 2, 9v._
Page 164 (#797): When the tree is felled, its[original has
it's] shadows disappear.
Page 166 (#805): described as to his favorite dish.[original
has extraneous double quote]
Page 167 (#807a): _From Memoir[original has Memior] of Dr.
Guthrie._
Page 170 (#821): way to stop the mouth.[period missing in
original]
Page 170 (#822): addressing the Deity[original has Diety]
Page 181 (#871): Conspicuous[original has Conspicious] as the
brightness
Page 192 (#909): He knew me as soon as I came in, and
said,[original has extraneous single quote]
Page 192 (#912): would have sent to Denmark for it,
so[original has So] unconditional
Page 199 (#951): to the person who uses it.[period missing in
original]
Page 205 (#986): From Littell's[original has Littel's] Living
Age.
Page 215 (#1036): charms were crowned by the sun[original has
sum], which had fully emerged from the horizon
Page 236 (#1139): He hath a use for thee![original has
extraneous quotation mark]
Page 243 (#1178): getting rather more than thy
share."[quotation mark missing in original]
Page 264 (#1288): a man may be as happy, as with any one
woman[original has women] in particular
Page 274 (#1330): earnest about it, I said--'[original has
double quote]He is certainly
Page 274 (#1330): for aught I know to the contrary.'[single
quote missing in original]"
Page 306 (#1483): try to make lawyers, doctors,[comma missing
in original] preachers
Page 313 (#1516): The thirsty earth soaks[original has soakes]
up the rain
Page 323 (#1562): [quotation mark missing in original]"Where
did you leave God?"
Page 328 (#1592): could not have gone on without it.[original
has extraneous double quote]
Page 339 (#1656): eighteen centuries of
Christianity."[quotation mark missing in original]
Page 341 (#1666): I said, "No, never!" "[original has single
quote]Why not?"
Page 344 (#1683): Hesiod[original has Hesoid], a Greek, 850 B.
C.
Page 350 (#1711): when you go out.[period missing in original]
Page 353 (#1732): From the address of a grateful[original has
greatful] Hindoo
Page 360 (#1775): and every disposition to scandal."[quotation
mark missing in original]
Page 361 (#1780): Slaves cannot breathe in Britain[original
has Britian]
Page 373 (#1841): Will show the myriads[original has myraids]
more
Page 386 (#1924): "You are wrong there, too.[original has
comma]"
Page 393 (#1957): _In Boswell's Life of Johnson_, he
says:--[original has extraneous double quote]Next morning
Page 404 (#1997): "Come to my arms,[comma missing in
original]" said his father
Page 407 (#2014): Her every want to meet."[quotation mark
missing in original]
Page 407 (#2014): "Why, sakes alive," cried he.[period missing
in original]
Page 423 (#2056): one could not remember what she had
on."[quotation mark missing in original]
Page 425 (#2071): _Theognis, a Greek._[original has comma
instead of period]
Page 432 (#2115): wrote exactly in the Scotch
style."[quotation mark missing in original]
Page 460: under Life, "I did," and "I didn't,"[quotation mark
missing in original] 1133
Page 468: Philanthropy[original has Philanthrophy], Its
satisfaction, 1507
Page 475: under Soul, Where is home of,[original has comma
followed by a question mark] 1830
End of Project Gutenberg's Life and Literature, by J. Purver Richardson
*** END OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK LIFE AND LITERATURE ***
***** This file should be named 30373-8.txt or 30373-8.zip *****
This and all associated files of various formats will be found in:
https://www.gutenberg.org/3/0/3/7/30373/
Produced by Barbara Tozier, Bill Tozier, Lisa Reigel, and
the Online Distributed Proofreading Team at
https://www.pgdp.net
Updated editions will replace the previous one--the old editions
will be renamed.
Creating the works from public domain print editions means that no
one owns a United States copyright in these works, so the Foundation
(and you!) can copy and distribute it in the United States without
permission and without paying copyright royalties. Special rules,
set forth in the General Terms of Use part of this license, apply to
copying and distributing Project Gutenberg-tm electronic works to
protect the PROJECT GUTENBERG-tm concept and trademark. Project
Gutenberg is a registered trademark, and may not be used if you
charge for the eBooks, unless you receive specific permission. If you
do not charge anything for copies of this eBook, complying with the
rules is very easy. You may use this eBook for nearly any purpose
such as creation of derivative works, reports, performances and
research. They may be modified and printed and given away--you may do
practically ANYTHING with public domain eBooks. Redistribution is
subject to the trademark license, especially commercial
redistribution.
*** START: FULL LICENSE ***
THE FULL PROJECT GUTENBERG LICENSE
PLEASE READ THIS BEFORE YOU DISTRIBUTE OR USE THIS WORK
To protect the Project Gutenberg-tm mission of promoting the free
distribution of electronic works, by using or distributing this work
(or any other work associated in any way with the phrase "Project
Gutenberg"), you agree to comply with all the terms of the Full Project
Gutenberg-tm License (available with this file or online at
https://gutenberg.org/license).
Section 1. General Terms of Use and Redistributing Project Gutenberg-tm
electronic works
1.A. By reading or using any part of this Project Gutenberg-tm
electronic work, you indicate that you have read, understand, agree to
and accept all the terms of this license and intellectual property
(trademark/copyright) agreement. If you do not agree to abide by all
the terms of this agreement, you must cease using and return or destroy
all copies of Project Gutenberg-tm electronic works in your possession.
If you paid a fee for obtaining a copy of or access to a Project
Gutenberg-tm electronic work and you do not agree to be bound by the
terms of this agreement, you may obtain a refund from the person or
entity to whom you paid the fee as set forth in paragraph 1.E.8.
1.B. "Project Gutenberg" is a registered trademark. It may only be
used on or associated in any way with an electronic work by people who
agree to be bound by the terms of this agreement. There are a few
things that you can do with most Project Gutenberg-tm electronic works
even without complying with the full terms of this agreement. See
paragraph 1.C below. There are a lot of things you can do with Project
Gutenberg-tm electronic works if you follow the terms of this agreement
and help preserve free future access to Project Gutenberg-tm electronic
works. See paragraph 1.E below.
1.C. The Project Gutenberg Literary Archive Foundation ("the Foundation"
or PGLAF), owns a compilation copyright in the collection of Project
Gutenberg-tm electronic works. Nearly all the individual works in the
collection are in the public domain in the United States. If an
individual work is in the public domain in the United States and you are
located in the United States, we do not claim a right to prevent you from
copying, distributing, performing, displaying or creating derivative
works based on the work as long as all references to Project Gutenberg
are removed. Of course, we hope that you will support the Project
Gutenberg-tm mission of promoting free access to electronic works by
freely sharing Project Gutenberg-tm works in compliance with the terms of
this agreement for keeping the Project Gutenberg-tm name associated with
the work. You can easily comply with the terms of this agreement by
keeping this work in the same format with its attached full Project
Gutenberg-tm License when you share it without charge with others.
1.D. The copyright laws of the place where you are located also govern
what you can do with this work. Copyright laws in most countries are in
a constant state of change. If you are outside the United States, check
the laws of your country in addition to the terms of this agreement
before downloading, copying, displaying, performing, distributing or
creating derivative works based on this work or any other Project
Gutenberg-tm work. The Foundation makes no representations concerning
the copyright status of any work in any country outside the United
States.
1.E. Unless you have removed all references to Project Gutenberg:
1.E.1. The following sentence, with active links to, or other immediate
access to, the full Project Gutenberg-tm License must appear prominently
whenever any copy of a Project Gutenberg-tm work (any work on which the
phrase "Project Gutenberg" appears, or with which the phrase "Project
Gutenberg" is associated) is accessed, displayed, performed, viewed,
copied or distributed:
This eBook is for the use of anyone anywhere at no cost and with
almost no restrictions whatsoever. You may copy it, give it away or
re-use it under the terms of the Project Gutenberg License included
with this eBook or online at www.gutenberg.org
1.E.2. If an individual Project Gutenberg-tm electronic work is derived
from the public domain (does not contain a notice indicating that it is
posted with permission of the copyright holder), the work can be copied
and distributed to anyone in the United States without paying any fees
or charges. If you are redistributing or providing access to a work
with the phrase "Project Gutenberg" associated with or appearing on the
work, you must comply either with the requirements of paragraphs 1.E.1
through 1.E.7 or obtain permission for the use of the work and the
Project Gutenberg-tm trademark as set forth in paragraphs 1.E.8 or
1.E.9.
1.E.3. If an individual Project Gutenberg-tm electronic work is posted
with the permission of the copyright holder, your use and distribution
must comply with both paragraphs 1.E.1 through 1.E.7 and any additional
terms imposed by the copyright holder. Additional terms will be linked
to the Project Gutenberg-tm License for all works posted with the
permission of the copyright holder found at the beginning of this work.
1.E.4. Do not unlink or detach or remove the full Project Gutenberg-tm
License terms from this work, or any files containing a part of this
work or any other work associated with Project Gutenberg-tm.
1.E.5. Do not copy, display, perform, distribute or redistribute this
electronic work, or any part of this electronic work, without
prominently displaying the sentence set forth in paragraph 1.E.1 with
active links or immediate access to the full terms of the Project
Gutenberg-tm License.
1.E.6. You may convert to and distribute this work in any binary,
compressed, marked up, nonproprietary or proprietary form, including any
word processing or hypertext form. However, if you provide access to or
distribute copies of a Project Gutenberg-tm work in a format other than
"Plain Vanilla ASCII" or other format used in the official version
posted on the official Project Gutenberg-tm web site (www.gutenberg.org),
you must, at no additional cost, fee or expense to the user, provide a
copy, a means of exporting a copy, or a means of obtaining a copy upon
request, of the work in its original "Plain Vanilla ASCII" or other
form. Any alternate format must include the full Project Gutenberg-tm
License as specified in paragraph 1.E.1.
1.E.7. Do not charge a fee for access to, viewing, displaying,
performing, copying or distributing any Project Gutenberg-tm works
unless you comply with paragraph 1.E.8 or 1.E.9.
1.E.8. You may charge a reasonable fee for copies of or providing
access to or distributing Project Gutenberg-tm electronic works provided
that
- You pay a royalty fee of 20% of the gross profits you derive from
the use of Project Gutenberg-tm works calculated using the method
you already use to calculate your applicable taxes. The fee is
owed to the owner of the Project Gutenberg-tm trademark, but he
has agreed to donate royalties under this paragraph to the
Project Gutenberg Literary Archive Foundation. Royalty payments
must be paid within 60 days following each date on which you
prepare (or are legally required to prepare) your periodic tax
returns. Royalty payments should be clearly marked as such and
sent to the Project Gutenberg Literary Archive Foundation at the
address specified in Section 4, "Information about donations to
the Project Gutenberg Literary Archive Foundation."
- You provide a full refund of any money paid by a user who notifies
you in writing (or by e-mail) within 30 days of receipt that s/he
does not agree to the terms of the full Project Gutenberg-tm
License. You must require such a user to return or
destroy all copies of the works possessed in a physical medium
and discontinue all use of and all access to other copies of
Project Gutenberg-tm works.
- You provide, in accordance with paragraph 1.F.3, a full refund of any
money paid for a work or a replacement copy, if a defect in the
electronic work is discovered and reported to you within 90 days
of receipt of the work.
- You comply with all other terms of this agreement for free
distribution of Project Gutenberg-tm works.
1.E.9. If you wish to charge a fee or distribute a Project Gutenberg-tm
electronic work or group of works on different terms than are set
forth in this agreement, you must obtain permission in writing from
both the Project Gutenberg Literary Archive Foundation and Michael
Hart, the owner of the Project Gutenberg-tm trademark. Contact the
Foundation as set forth in Section 3 below.
1.F.
1.F.1. Project Gutenberg volunteers and employees expend considerable
effort to identify, do copyright research on, transcribe and proofread
public domain works in creating the Project Gutenberg-tm
collection. Despite these efforts, Project Gutenberg-tm electronic
works, and the medium on which they may be stored, may contain
"Defects," such as, but not limited to, incomplete, inaccurate or
corrupt data, transcription errors, a copyright or other intellectual
property infringement, a defective or damaged disk or other medium, a
computer virus, or computer codes that damage or cannot be read by
your equipment.
1.F.2. LIMITED WARRANTY, DISCLAIMER OF DAMAGES - Except for the "Right
of Replacement or Refund" described in paragraph 1.F.3, the Project
Gutenberg Literary Archive Foundation, the owner of the Project
Gutenberg-tm trademark, and any other party distributing a Project
Gutenberg-tm electronic work under this agreement, disclaim all
liability to you for damages, costs and expenses, including legal
fees. YOU AGREE THAT YOU HAVE NO REMEDIES FOR NEGLIGENCE, STRICT
LIABILITY, BREACH OF WARRANTY OR BREACH OF CONTRACT EXCEPT THOSE
PROVIDED IN PARAGRAPH F3. YOU AGREE THAT THE FOUNDATION, THE
TRADEMARK OWNER, AND ANY DISTRIBUTOR UNDER THIS AGREEMENT WILL NOT BE
LIABLE TO YOU FOR ACTUAL, DIRECT, INDIRECT, CONSEQUENTIAL, PUNITIVE OR
INCIDENTAL DAMAGES EVEN IF YOU GIVE NOTICE OF THE POSSIBILITY OF SUCH
DAMAGE.
1.F.3. LIMITED RIGHT OF REPLACEMENT OR REFUND - If you discover a
defect in this electronic work within 90 days of receiving it, you can
receive a refund of the money (if any) you paid for it by sending a
written explanation to the person you received the work from. If you
received the work on a physical medium, you must return the medium with
your written explanation. The person or entity that provided you with
the defective work may elect to provide a replacement copy in lieu of a
refund. If you received the work electronically, the person or entity
providing it to you may choose to give you a second opportunity to
receive the work electronically in lieu of a refund. If the second copy
is also defective, you may demand a refund in writing without further
opportunities to fix the problem.
1.F.4. Except for the limited right of replacement or refund set forth
in paragraph 1.F.3, this work is provided to you 'AS-IS' WITH NO OTHER
WARRANTIES OF ANY KIND, EXPRESS OR IMPLIED, INCLUDING BUT NOT LIMITED TO
WARRANTIES OF MERCHANTIBILITY OR FITNESS FOR ANY PURPOSE.
1.F.5. Some states do not allow disclaimers of certain implied
warranties or the exclusion or limitation of certain types of damages.
If any disclaimer or limitation set forth in this agreement violates the
law of the state applicable to this agreement, the agreement shall be
interpreted to make the maximum disclaimer or limitation permitted by
the applicable state law. The invalidity or unenforceability of any
provision of this agreement shall not void the remaining provisions.
1.F.6. INDEMNITY - You agree to indemnify and hold the Foundation, the
trademark owner, any agent or employee of the Foundation, anyone
providing copies of Project Gutenberg-tm electronic works in accordance
with this agreement, and any volunteers associated with the production,
promotion and distribution of Project Gutenberg-tm electronic works,
harmless from all liability, costs and expenses, including legal fees,
that arise directly or indirectly from any of the following which you do
or cause to occur: (a) distribution of this or any Project Gutenberg-tm
work, (b) alteration, modification, or additions or deletions to any
Project Gutenberg-tm work, and (c) any Defect you cause.
Section 2. Information about the Mission of Project Gutenberg-tm
Project Gutenberg-tm is synonymous with the free distribution of
electronic works in formats readable by the widest variety of computers
including obsolete, old, middle-aged and new computers. It exists
because of the efforts of hundreds of volunteers and donations from
people in all walks of life.
Volunteers and financial support to provide volunteers with the
assistance they need are critical to reaching Project Gutenberg-tm's
goals and ensuring that the Project Gutenberg-tm collection will
remain freely available for generations to come. In 2001, the Project
Gutenberg Literary Archive Foundation was created to provide a secure
and permanent future for Project Gutenberg-tm and future generations.
To learn more about the Project Gutenberg Literary Archive Foundation
and how your efforts and donations can help, see Sections 3 and 4
and the Foundation web page at https://www.pglaf.org.
Section 3. Information about the Project Gutenberg Literary Archive
Foundation
The Project Gutenberg Literary Archive Foundation is a non profit
501(c)(3) educational corporation organized under the laws of the
state of Mississippi and granted tax exempt status by the Internal
Revenue Service. The Foundation's EIN or federal tax identification
number is 64-6221541. Its 501(c)(3) letter is posted at
https://pglaf.org/fundraising. Contributions to the Project Gutenberg
Literary Archive Foundation are tax deductible to the full extent
permitted by U.S. federal laws and your state's laws.
The Foundation's principal office is located at 4557 Melan Dr. S.
Fairbanks, AK, 99712., but its volunteers and employees are scattered
throughout numerous locations. Its business office is located at
809 North 1500 West, Salt Lake City, UT 84116, (801) 596-1887, email
[email protected]. Email contact links and up to date contact
information can be found at the Foundation's web site and official
page at https://pglaf.org
For additional contact information:
Dr. Gregory B. Newby
Chief Executive and Director
[email protected]
Section 4. Information about Donations to the Project Gutenberg
Literary Archive Foundation
Project Gutenberg-tm depends upon and cannot survive without wide
spread public support and donations to carry out its mission of
increasing the number of public domain and licensed works that can be
freely distributed in machine readable form accessible by the widest
array of equipment including outdated equipment. Many small donations
($1 to $5,000) are particularly important to maintaining tax exempt
status with the IRS.
The Foundation is committed to complying with the laws regulating
charities and charitable donations in all 50 states of the United
States. Compliance requirements are not uniform and it takes a
considerable effort, much paperwork and many fees to meet and keep up
with these requirements. We do not solicit donations in locations
where we have not received written confirmation of compliance. To
SEND DONATIONS or determine the status of compliance for any
particular state visit https://pglaf.org
While we cannot and do not solicit contributions from states where we
have not met the solicitation requirements, we know of no prohibition
against accepting unsolicited donations from donors in such states who
approach us with offers to donate.
International donations are gratefully accepted, but we cannot make
any statements concerning tax treatment of donations received from
outside the United States. U.S. laws alone swamp our small staff.
Please check the Project Gutenberg Web pages for current donation
methods and addresses. Donations are accepted in a number of other
ways including including checks, online payments and credit card
donations. To donate, please visit: https://pglaf.org/donate
Section 5. General Information About Project Gutenberg-tm electronic
works.
Professor Michael S. Hart was the originator of the Project Gutenberg-tm
concept of a library of electronic works that could be freely shared
with anyone. For thirty years, he produced and distributed Project
Gutenberg-tm eBooks with only a loose network of volunteer support.
Project Gutenberg-tm eBooks are often created from several printed
editions, all of which are confirmed as Public Domain in the U.S.
unless a copyright notice is included. Thus, we do not necessarily
keep eBooks in compliance with any particular paper edition.
Most people start at our Web site which has the main PG search facility:
https://www.gutenberg.org
This Web site includes information about Project Gutenberg-tm,
including how to make donations to the Project Gutenberg Literary
Archive Foundation, how to help produce our new eBooks, and how to
subscribe to our email newsletter to hear about new eBooks.
