The Baltimore County union. [volume] (Towsontown, Md.) 1865-1909, 1865-05-13
9MistellalIte(olls.
THE CHIMNEY-CORNER.
ABOUT LITTLE FOXES.

| As before stated, little foxes are the little
pet sins of us educated good Christians, wht
hope that we have got above and far ou
of sight of stealing, lying, and those othe
gross evils against which we pray every
Sunday, when the Ten Commandments arr
read They are not generally considered Q
dignity enough to be fired at from the pul
pit they seem to US too trifing to be re
membered in church they are like the rec
spiders on plants,-too small for the per
ception Of the naked eye, and only to bt
known by the shriyelling and dropping o
leaf after leaf that ought to be green and
Aourishing. riivJ
l have another little fox in my eye, who
is most active and most mischevous in de-
spelling the vines of domestic happiness
i'm fact, who has been guilty of destroying
more grapes than any body knows of. His
name I find it difficult to give with exact
ness. In my enumeration | called him Self
VIII; another name for him perhaps 6
better one-might be Persistence.
Like many others, this fault is the overac
ton of most necessary and praiseworthy
quality Thepower of firmness is given tc
man as the very granite foundation of life
Without it, there would be nothing accom-
plished; all human plans would be unstable
as water on an inclined plane. In every
well-constituted nature there must be Q
power of tenacity, a gift Of perseverance ol
will and that man might not be without 9
foundation for so needful property, the
Creator has laid it in an animal faculty
which he possesses in common with the
brutes.
The animal power Of irmness is brute
force, matter of brain and spinal cord
differing in different animals. The force by
which bulldog holds on to an antagonist,
the persistence with which mule will plant
his four feet aHd set himself against blows
and menaces, are good examples of the pure
animal phase ORA property which exists in
human beings, and forms the foundation fol
that heroic endurahce, for that persever
ance, which carries on all the great and no.
BILE enterprises of life. ..,r-,.e5 o..~.3
The domestic fault we speak Of is the
wild, uncultured growth of this faculty, the
instructive action of frmness uncontrolled
by reason or conscience,--in common par
lance, the being set IN ones acdy."a 1t is
the animal instinct of being "set in ones
way" which we mean by self-will or persis
tence and in domestic life it does the more
mischief from its working as an instinct un
watched by reason and unchallenged by
conscience.
In that pretty new cottage which you sec
on yonder knoll are pair of yonng people
just in the midst of that happy hustle which
attends the formation of a first home II
prosperous circumstances, and with all the
means of making it charming and agreea
BILE. Carpenters, upholsterers, and artltl
GERS await their will and there remains fol
them only the pleasant task OF arranging
and determining where all their pretty ant
agreeable things shall be placed, Our Hero
and Leander are decidedly nice people, who
have been through all the proper stages o
being in love with each other for the re
quisite and suitable time They have writ
ten each other letter every day for two
years, beginning with "My dearest" anc
ending with ".Your own" etc.; they have
sent each other flowers and rings and locks
of hair they have worn each others pic
lures on their hearts; they have spent hour.
and hours talking over all subjects under
the sun, and are convinced that never was
there such sympathy of souls, such unani
nifty of opinion, such just, reasonable
perfect foundation for mutual esteem.
Now It'll quite true that people may have
a perfect agreement and sympathy In thel
higher intellectual nature,-may like the
same books, puote the same poetry, agree
in the same principles, be united in The
same religion, land nevertheless, when they
come together in the simplest affair of ev
ery-day business, may fud themselves jar
| ring and impinging upon each other, q
every step, simply because there are to eacl
person, in respect of daily personal habits
and personal likes and dislikes, n Thousand
| little individualities with which reason hal
nothing to do, which are not subjects fo
the use OF logic, and to which they neve
think OF applying the power Of religion
which can only be set down rs tho positive
ultimate facts Of existence with two people
Suppose blne-jay courts and wins an'
weds q Baltimore oriolo. During courtsbil
there may have been delightfully."- eympa
thetic conversation on tho charm Of bOlnl
| free birds, the felicity OF soaring in tho blu,
summer air. Mr.. jay may havc bocn 81
| humility and oil octasy In comparing tn
discordant scrocch Of bis own note with w.
warbling tenderness OF Miss Orlolo. But
once united, tho two commenced bushes
relations. Ilo Is firmly convinced that
hole In hollow tree Is the only REASONABLY
nest for bird she Is positive that sh
I should die there In month Of damp an
! rheumatism. She never heard Of going =
housekeeping In anything but nice littl
pendulous bag swinging down from unde
the branches Of breezy elmj he is sur
4 he should have water on the brain befor
summer was over, from constant vertigo
in such swaying, unsteady quarters
wonld be sea.s sick blue-iav on land, and b