Herald of the times. [volume] (Newport, R.I.) 1830-1846, 1845-10-23
MOralizing on Clouds.

We marked a few days since for pub
LEGATION, a lilile anrcdole, which struck
Us as worthy Of Remembrance. We
have mislaid the paper, and forgotten
The names, but il was something like the
following
A lady went To some benevolent gen
tlcman 10 solicit an important favor Tor u
little child The favor was promptly
granted. will go home" said the
lady, sand when the child gets large
enough, | will teach him to thank you
for yonr kindness.
am bu, the cloud, said The Doctor,
"rhat gives the shower let him thank
M. Being above the clouds that gives
the means"
That 10 the story, with the omission oi
names, and the probable loss OF u good
deal Of grace in the narrative. But II
struck US that the good doctor had been
euaop ntly 'ieicitous in his choice OF Illus
traitor. The good gifts that kind heart
ed man b-siow, come down upon the re-
cipients with freshness and beneticence,
like The oulpourngs Of the summer cloud
upon the parched earth.
We Look upward, and bless the we'll
stored magazine whence descend the
me ans Of delight, and the cause OF our
gratitude. There is a power, however,
beyond, ,ha, gathers into the grnlnarie'
er the skies, the harvest Of moisture thai
the earth sends up, and in His own time,
"comprlls" the clouds, that they give
back their treasures. We mark not this,
mark not the mighty "hand" that work. S
these wonders, but as we gaze upwards,
the vehicle OF the blessings dims our
sight, and shorteDs our survey, and we
thank the cloud, because we see II and
forget the power whose intercepted light
makes gorgeous the upper surface OF the
storm chariot, and whose absence, or
whose presence unappareht, gives dark
ness, like the the shadow OF death, to
that pilIary cloud whence descend the
blessing.
But the good man, the man Of liberia
heart and open hand, is indeed like the
cloud that sends down the former and
the latter rain, that gives here and there
the shower which invigorates, sand nour-
ishes. lie feels the warmth above him
and owns the influence by the transmits,
sion of his supplied store.
He goes and gives out Of his means,
TO cheer the desolate and the ianished
and returns to see the fruits Of his bene
fits to others as the clouds after the rain
Bountiful, rich, and abundantly useful
is the man Of open hand, who like tn,
summer cloud, comes suddenly, ant
gives when most needed comes in the
warmth Of day, comes without chill
comes without token of preparation, and
gives down the means Of good, without Q
foresoundng Of words, and without the
evidence OF inability 10 retain blessings
in The gift and in the manner, going forth
with no evidence Of exhaustion, passing
onward as If to continue the blessing to
thousands, living and helping to live.
The clouds that gather with the east
wind, that come thickening up the sky
that darkcn for days before they rain,
aud seem To have their contents shaken
out by the violence Of the gale, and the
rhhls whlrh u imparts-clouds that chill
all beneath them ad make the herbsge
look winlerhke, rs it takes almost re
lictanily aud thanklessly the descending
storm cl"uds that ure wasted by the
mo,siure they exnde--they, took, like
the giving man, like the man who ha:
treasured np the savings of a hard life
aud when the, can no longer be retained
for himself, when they muSt cease 10 be
his, then With sghs.ai the separation q
soul and hoi,, that 10 money and himself
with the sound ol trumpeis, 10 make 9
yniue oi nrr"sSny, he pours down upor
others, without n single warming smll,
n, true b-nrvolrrce, all that he has, anC
all thu, hr rs. lie sees no benefit spring
from his last sacrifice, aud there ~ M
espressiou 81 gratitude for the course
wh,cb he has gwen to that which h'
could noi rciaIn.
When the SIMMER cloud that has pour
cd oui ITO b"unlieS upon The graisiu
.nrth passes on, ihs pI.asdre ~"'." +" ~"