Montgomery County sentinel. [volume] (Rockville, Md.) 1855-1974, 1861-06-21
THE SUNNI SIDE.
BY ANNA CORA RIrcuIu.

There could be no shadow where there
be no light, no eclipse were there no lu-
minary TO be obscursd, no dark side to
things spiritual and natural were there
no bright; and the former implies and
testifes to the existence of the latter.
'Lct the night be ne er so dark
The moon is surely soiae,chere in the sky !"
To discover that moon beneath its
thickest shroud, to have perfect faith in
the reality of this sunny side to all Gre
alton, to seek it out with unAagging
hope, to draw it from the gloomiest abyss,
until it rise radiant as Truth from the
depth of her tabled well-oh that is
one of the most ioy-imparting, peace
producing, wealthcoining of all life's
secrets.
Doubtless, DR. johnson meant to con
vcy very impressive counsel when he
said that the habit of lookirg on the best
side of every event was far better than
thousand pounds a year" but we think
he made a very low estimate of the value
Of that blessed faculty which lines all
the clouds with silver.
Wealth cannot be computed by our
actual possessions, but by the exorbi-
lance or moderation of our desires; nor
happiness gagged by the enioyments
within our grasp, but by those after which
we aspire. Sunny temperaments sni-
lingly deem whatever they receive sufli-
cient, and neither their afflucnce nor
their felicity have no regard to pound or
pence, weights and measures. To them
Poverty wears the graceful robes of
Content, and would look no fairer in the
diudem Of Luxury. TO them the stream
of Sorrow is like that fountain of An
letus, which rose sailed from the earth,
but Swectened in its course, for their
grief can have no lasting taste of bitter
ness. There is a clear, blue armament
in their souls where the star of Hope al
ways shines, piercing the most noisome
vapors that ascend from a pestlcntial
world beneath
Alas how few is the number of these
bright and frightening nature How
countless are the hosts of those who re-
solutely turn their eyes from the golden
light cleaning through the darkness of
lifo's picture; who, with irrational per
vcrsity, augment all its shadows who,
when calamities threaten, experience all
their anguish in anticipation--who, when
sorrows really arrive, magnify their sum !;
and who, even when gricfs arc removed,
cling to their sombrc remembrance, and
torture themselves with cvoking phAn-
toms of departed woe
Sometimes this morbid tendency Of the
mind to take trouble on interest" to
multiply its actual amount, and conjure
up its vanished ghosts, is inherent and
hereditary.
Then it gives birth TO a demon difficult,
indeed to exercise, for his feet are plan
ted among the deepest fbres of the heart,
and his murky form rises in giant
strength, and possesses the soul as law
ful home. Religion, reason, and philos-
ophy must unite in powerful triad, and
wage fierce war against the fend before
he can be cast out, and lifc's sunny side
can be revealed to the spirit he has en-
shaved.
Sometimes this dependency of char
acier ia the offspring Of sheer ingrat-
rtude, and disregard of, or disbelief in,
the perpetual guidance Of an overriding
Providence. Then is the daily punish
mcnt it entails no heavier than its sin,
and the sunny side shall never be dis
closed to those unthankful hearts until
they are cleanscd and ilumined.
Sometimes this mental gloom springs
from purely physical causes. D'Israeli
takes a very prosaic, but common sense,
and useful view Of the subject, when he
says, "our domestic happiness often dc J.
ponds upon tho state Of our hillary or
digestive organs, aud the little distur-
Dances of conjugal life may be moro eff
eaeiously cured by the physician than
the morolisi." Happily the bilious mists
that veil the sunshine from the eyes Of
this dismal class Of beings may be dis.
PEELED by few strokes Of the cabalistic
pen. and the sufferer find an open sesame
to the sunny region conveyed in med
zeal prescription.
Oh, if we only believed that on the
stormiest sea, in the dreariest night. the
mysterious 6ugcr of Divine Providence
is always pointing to some faint, far of,
beacon fame, which will grow larger the
more steadily VIC gaze, and become
brighter and brighter aud brighter as
faith takes her scat at the helm and
guides our bark nearer and nearer, uutil
VIC behold luminous harbor of consola
ton rising out Of the chaotic gloom. from
how much hopeless anguish We should
be shielded If we could only be con
WINGED that the saddcst event has It's
sunny fide,. how many hours cropping in
dcspairing darkness we should escape
If We would only resolutcly use our eyes
TO search for that sunuy side. how many
Al .