Delaware inquirer. (Wilmington, Del.) 1859-18??, 1860-02-18

upon the surface of the matter, has not been,
trust, without its uses.
1 HAPPINESS.
| Happiness is more evenly apportioned to man
kind than they are aware, and when we look at
those around US, we will be willing TO exclaim
| with celebrated author, that ''In the secret
| history of our enemies, we find in each mans
life, sorrow and suffering enough to disarm all
| hostility" This world would be too much like
| the Eden from which our first parents were ex-
| pelled ifperfect happiness or faith were found
here. The flaming sword of the angel still
warns us that the gates of Paradise are closed
against us in this life.
| Look upon childhood's innocent brow, its
| smiling play with toys. Behold beings too
young to realize evil, sin and death. Hear the
| ripplng laugh, as il falls unchecked upon your
| enr, and you may think for a moment, to be a
| child is TO be perfectly happy but mark how
soon some slight annoyance changes thelaugh-
| ter into tears, and We have seen the face of
childhood miniature the stormy passion of age.
Look upon manhood, with all its brilliant as
pirations--the future lying grand andbeautifu
in the distance, but tie anticipations and
dreams die as stern Reality unfolds from the
desired treasures, the folds of graceful drapery
in which they were enyeloped, and lol gilt
tering meets our gaze.
Look upon old age. Surely the grey-headed
veteran has passed through all the storms and
tempests of life; shall more furrows be added
to the already deeply lined brow? More tears
gush from those sunkcn eyes? Is he not now,
| at least, at peace? No, the rude shock is his
\ as well as ours-the sadness of the past-the
blight of the present--the shadows Of the ln-
ture his. "Every heart knoweth its own Bit
| terness."
How wcompassionately should we judge others
| in thought and word, knowing, from our own
experience, that their lives, as well as ours,
| have clouds as well as sunshine. Sometimes,
when looking over number of people, have
you not felt so moved for the moment, with
| tenderness for them all as to quite forget your
prejudices, Sights, &c? Oh, that such were
| always our state of mind /; theaw would be as
careful Of our nrighbor's feelings as our own
of our enemies as our friends-of the Young as
we'll as the old.
But wander from my present subject-hap-
pincss, though perfect happiness ought not to be
expected, and certainly will not be realized in
this world still we are not strangers to rare
tastes of happiness,
"When the soul, in its fullness of love,
Would waver if hidden to choose between this
And the Paradise promised above"
And let me say that friendship, mean in
its real significance, is one of the sweetest rills
| which flows from happiness. Friendship, a
| word often degraded to unholy and contempti-
BILE purposes, but yet rising in all its beauty in
the hearts of many who have felt its rare yet
precious reality But must finish, or shall
have no room for these beautiful lines of Miss
| Cook, which know will make amends for the
faults of my rambling composition.
ave murmur and droop should sorrow
4 cloud stay,
And note all the shades of our lot;
But the rich rays of sunshine that brighten
our way,
Are basked in, enjoyed, and forgot.
| Should Fate do its worst, ssand my spirit, op-
| pressed
Der its own shatter'd happiness pine
Let me witness the joy in another's glad
breast,
And some pleasure must kindle in mine,n
|
THE HuMASIzlNG INFLUENCE OF CLEANLINESS
"A neat, clean, fresh-aired sweet cheerful