The Lansing state Republican. [volume] (Lansing, Mich.) 1855-1874, 1865-03-01
Little Foxes.
iron. Mrs. Stc,oe's Chimney Corner" d..
the Aaantc MONTH";

am thinking, FOR one thing. " | replied
I OF preaching q course Of household ser
b mons from very odd text prefxed TO
discourse which l found al The bottom q
the pamphiet-barrel in the garret."
Don't say sermon, papa, it has sue
5 1 dreadful sound. and on winter evening
one wants something entertaining"
! Wen, treatise then, said l. .sOr dis
course or essay. or PREDICTION: I'm moi pa
tcular as 10 words"
II was one preached upon bv Won
mothers t-great-grandfather. the yer,
T saVory and much-reSpected Simeon Shuttle
worth, "on the occasion Of the melancbo
, ~ objections and divisions among the god
y ia the town OF West Dofield': and II run,
thus Take us The Foxes, the ltRe fores
NAT Spoit The rs'seS: for our r,HeS hare ten
der Grapes"
" II Is a curious text enough; but ! cant
imagine what you are going TO make OF
IT,"
Simply an essay on Little Foxes. said
j. by which mean those unsupported.
unmatched Insignificant little causes that
nlDOle away domestic happiness, and make
homes less than so noble an institution
should be. You may build beautiful con-
VenIent, attractive houses. you NAV hang
the wall with lovely pictures and stud them
with gems OF Art; and there NAV be living
there together persons bound bv blood and
affection IN one common interest. leading
u life con mon 10 themselves and apart from
others and these persons NAV each one Of
them he possessed of good and noble traits
there may be common basis Of affection.
oi generosity, OF good principle. OF religion
ana Yet, through the influence Of some of
these perYerse, nIbbling, Insignificant little
/ lOAes, half the clusters OF happiness on
these 50 promising vines NAV fail TO come
10 maturity. A little community of people.
al OF whom would he willing TO die for each
olher, may not be able 10 live happily to-
Setheri That Is, they may have far less hap
plhess than their circumstances their fine
ana excellent traits, entItle them 10 expect
Inc reason Tor this in genral is that home
Is a place not only of strong affections, but
oi entire unreserves; II is hle's undreSs re-
hearsal, lis back-rOOm, its dressing
from which We 60 forth 10 more careful and
guarded intercourse leaving behind Us
much DEBRIS Of cast-ofF and every day
clothing. Hence has arisen the common
prOverb, g No man is hero TO his ralet do
+ chdnioeI'; and the common warning. III
you wish to keep your friend, don't 20 and
live with him"
Which IL only another way OF saying, -
said my wife, that We are all human aud
imperfect; and the nearer you get to any
human being, the more defects you see
/ The Characters that can stand the test OF
daily intimacy are about as numerous as
/ lour-leaVed clovers ina meadow; in general
those who do not annoy you with positive
faults bore you with their insipidity. The
evenness and beauty Of q strong, well-de-
fined nature perfectly governed ana bal
anced, is about the last thing one is likely
10 meet with in ones researches into life -
But what have to say" replied |, " is
thls,-that, family-liie being a state of IN
/ reserve state In which there are few OF
those barriers and wells that keep peO-
pie IN the world from seeing each others
defects and mutually Earring and grating
upon each other, il is remarkable that il is
entered upon and maintained generally
with less reflection, less care and FORE
thought, than pertain 10 most kinds Of bus
mess which men and women set their hands
/ 10. a man does not undertake 10 run an
engine or manage piece OF machinery
Without some careful examination Of It's
/ parts and capabilities, and some inquiry
/ whether he have the necessary knowledge.
skill, and strength 10 make il do itself and
/ MN justice. A man does not try TO play
on the violin without seeing If his fingers
are long and flexible enough 10 bring ont
harmOnies and raise his performance above
the grade OF dismal scraping TO that Of di-
vine music. What should we think Of a
man who should set a whole orchestra Of
instruments upon playing together without
the least provision or fOrethOught as 10
their chording, and then howl and tear his
halr at the result. Ii is not the fault Of the
/ instruments that they crate harsh thunders
together; they may each be noble and OF
celestial temper, but united without regard
their natures, dire confusion is the result.
Still worse were it, if man were supposed
so stupid as TO expect Of each instrument q
role opposed TO its nature, if he asked Of
the Octave-illIte a bass solo, and condemned
the trombone because il could not do the
work Of the many voiced violin.
" Yet just so carelessly is the work Of
forming a family performed. A man and
woman come to gether from some affinity
some partial accord of their nature which
has inspired mutual affection. There j.
generally very little careful consideration
OF who and what they are-nO thought of
the reciprocal influence Of mutual traits. -
no previous chOrding and testing OF the
instruments which are 10 make lifelong
harmony or discOrd. and after a short pc
riOd OF engagement in which all their mu-
tual relations are made as opposite as poss-
/ lble to those which must follow marriage
these TWO furnish their house and begin lie
together. Ten 10 one, the domestic root
Is supposed at once the proper refuge for
relations and friends on both sides, who
also are introduced into the interior concert
without any special consideration Of what
Is likely TO be the operation Of character On
character, the play OF instrument with in
stTument; then follow children. each OF
whom IS separate entity, a separate viii,
= separate force in the family; and thus.
with the lesser forces OF servants and de-
pendents, a family is made up. And there
ls no wonder If all these chance-assOrted in
strnments, playing together, sometimes
make quite as much discord as harmony.
For II the husband and and wife chord, the
wife's sister or husbands mother NAV in-
trOduce discord; and then again, each
child OF marked character introduces an
other possibility Of confusion. The con-
servatiye forces Of human nature are so
strong and 20 various, that with all these
drawbacks the family state Il after all the
best and purest happiness that earth al
Ords. But then with cultivation and care.
It might be great deal happier. Very
iAlr pears have been raised by dropping q
seed into good soil and letting il alone Tor
years; but tner and choicer are raised by
the watchings. tendings, prunings Of the
gardener Wild grape-vines bore very fine
grapes, and an abundance OF them, before
our friend Dr.. Grant took up his abode AZ
Iona. and, studying the laws Of Nature,
eonJured up new species Of rarer fruit and
favor out OF the old. And so, if al the
little foxes that invest our domestic vines
and fgs-trees were once hunted out and
killed, We might have fairer clusters and
fruit al winter"
But. papa, said Jennie, d" to come 70
the foxes; let's know what they are"
well. as the text says, lutte foxes the
pet foxes Of good people, unsuspected little
animals, on the whole, often thought 70
be really creditable little beasts, that may
DO good, and al al events cannot do much
harm. And as have taken 70 the Puritan
ic order in ny discourse, l shall set them in
sevens, as Noah did his clean beasts in the
ark Now ny seven little foxes are these:
Fault-fnding. Intolerance, Reticence, Irri-
liability, Exactingness, Discourtesy, Self
VIII And here. turning TO ny sermon,
q. i what / hard n Sow a.. Ia rF