Pomeroy weekly telegraph. [volume] (Pomeroy, Meigs County, Ohio) 1860-1866, 1860-03-06

a, R@-aaH 'to na.ses~5 9f, .-a-45 ......,.
asa .: s.s1 @ ..u .lt;-- -tss.......
ling to take that back, and good many
other things that / have said, whether
they retract anything or not.'' FL a.
sa"But what triumph it will be to
them. We shall virtually acknowledge
to the world that the fault lay with us
and [ can imagine the patronizing airs
that Smith will assume toward us. Bah!
[ won't do it; it's little too humilia-
tiug!ns And Mr.. Jones arose, and stood
with his back to the FIRE, and looked
around him with dignifed air.. :
sltI don't look upon it in that light,
now said Mrs ones. 81 confess did,
until of late; but it seems to me now, al
though I must do my duty, and then ]
shall feel happy again. It's of nc. use,
lthisasryings to- lay all blame upon them.
We are all to. blame In the first place
it was foolish quarrel about few
pounds of tea and sugar. You thought
he ought to have saved some of his best
articles for you, because you had spoken
for them before their arrival; and be-
cause he did not, we felt hurt, and
charged him with showing partiality
toward his wealthier customers; and
when he denied the charge, you gave
him to understand that you did not be-
lieve him; that you did not forget what
you had said some time before; and you
know that must have been provoking. y
sWell, but lidn't 1 know? Didnt
Shaw tell me that he heard Smith say
that he wished he had more of that su-
gar, for that l ought to have some of it.;
hut that he always filled out Major
Knights orders, and that was what took
the last!' --ssa -,.s.s,.v- z7s--
eyes, I know we have had one thing
here and another thing there, and people
have not been at all backward in encour-
aging US in our course toward Mr. Smith
Sometimes | wish we had never listened
to a single thing told us about him. IL
is hard to believe that he has slandered
us, as we have heard; and it is hard to
feel that we cannot place confidence in
those who told us. No doubt it has
been the same with one side that it was
with the other. They have said hard
things about US. We have done the
same by them until the foolish little
quarrel has grown into serious diff
Guilty, and the first cause is almost for
gotten in the throng of bitter words, cold
looks and CALLING acts of unkindness
which have followed. I'll tell you what
I think In the first place, Mr.: Smith
fr1ra fNrAr
to resent it; but I wish, now we, never
had. But what's done cant be undone
You told him what you thought-not
however, till you had told several others,
and heard things to aggrayate the case.
Then, you know, you did not keep your
temper very well. Mr. Smith got angry,
too, and made some very unkind remarks.
We felt injured, and cherished foolish
pride in letting people see that we could
show proper resentment when abused-
Then other people stepped in-not to
make peace, but to widen the breach
and we set down everything that came to
us as true, often magnifying some slight
remark into a hideous lnuendo. And
so, you see, we are to blame---very much
so. We are all erring creatures; not one
of us but has faults, and it seems to, me
that we ought to consider our own frail-
ties when we feel inclined to censure
others-and not pick up every bone Of
contention that comes in our way, but
just pass it by, and think no more about
it. -
Yes--yes-you are right, = answered
the husband, ''but the plague of it is, if
Smith and go to talking matters over,
we shall just take a circle, and eomeright
round to the starting point, and neither
of us will own that we were wrong in the
first place I know just how it will be-
1t is of no use to talk it over; it will
just be raking up of all the troubles
from first to last, and such affairs are just
like coal fire-the more you stir it the
hotter it grows - -
'sLet the fire alone, though, and it will
away, and die out of Itself
So, with this trouble; let ]itEgo. Say to
them, let by cones be by-gones, and just
drop the matter entirely, and begin
where we left off, forgetting that any
thing of an unpleasant nature has hap
pened. Come, now, what do you think
of it?'' a |
Mrs. Jones adjusted her collar, and
her hair with. her hands, as if |
preparing for start. Mr. Jones sat
down, laid his left foots over his right |
knee and leisurely picked the lint from
his trowsers, gathering it in little
pinches, and carefully dropping it be-
tween the a9dirons, for they sat before
cheerful wood fire. He was in some
thing Of a quandary. Pride and con-
science were struggling for the mastery
in his heart; at last he said: "Blame me
if i want to have it go all over the viii
lage that acted the penitent, and Smith !
the magnanimous judge, who listened to
my humble suit, and granted merciful
pardon. --.,...'-....,... -'.
"Now, John" said the wife, 'which is
really the most magnanimous, to ac-
fault or forgive one?'' 1t
seems to me to be the most easy, natural
thing in the world, to forgive an erring
friend when he takes the place of pen
itent But [ know that the proud heart
struggles long and painfully with itself
when it feelAthe justice and the neces-
sity of acknowledging fault; and when
it has achieved this victory, it seems to
me that it has won higher honors than
when it has obeyed its natural impulses,
and runs over with forgiveness and ten
der compassion towardsa penitent. We
ought not to allow dread of the SCOTS
of village gossips to deter us from our
duty. Let us do what will please God
and every truly good person. Let us
set our own hearts at rest, and feel that