Gold Hill daily news. [volume] (Gold Hill, N.T. [Nev.]) 1863-1882, 1869-12-31
a SERMON ron THE SEASON.

who giveth to the poor lendeth to the
Lord; and a good many make this In
vestment consciously, not bearing In
mind that it will be vitiated in the
Higher Court by a too careful investi-
cation of the security on the part Of
the lender. But the spirit Of charity
is we'll abroad, and the poor are pretty
sure to be remembered in the holidays.
Not too well, however. 1t probably
would do no harm to remind the cheer
ful, well-to-do people, that they will
miss half the delight Of the season If
they give only to those who can give
again, and if they confine their ben
efactions to the narrow circle OF home.
But, it is still true that 1t is not the
poor alone who need gifts, and 1t is not
the rich alone who need to give them.
There is no one living whose day Is not
made brighter by q kindly remem-
brance, and his whole year will get a
sort of illumination from some simple
s:present." And the beauty Of this
practice is that the most generous per-
son enjoys most at this season. To re-
ceive a gift is pleasant, but to give one
"a. some present inconvenience-is a
delight that lasts long. We receive q
gift, and eat it up or wear it out, or
lay it in state out Of sight: but it is
never lost to the one who gave it
nothing can destroy it or waste it. He
has made the only permanent invest
ment possible in this world. But CIV
ing, in any way, isa charming pastime,
and all the better when it Is done UNI
ostentatiously, and without any such
flourish of presentation and speech
making and publicity as puts the
recipient under not only eternal, but
texcpse the ..word) internal obligation.
It is a practice that grows by exercise.
We suppose there is no need Of eau
tionirg people not to give beyond their
means. We are running a good deal
into rich extravagant gifts, and Great
ing a kind of hunger for costly pres
ents. That is unfortunate. There are
people who reckon their wedding pres
ents by their money value. We ought
to guard against any increase of this
sordid spirit. A gift ought not to have
any faint in it. Extravaganza will
spoil the sweetest interchange OF
friendly membranes. BY increas-
ing yearly the costliness of our gifts,
| the season will by and by become a
burden to us, and all the spontaneous,
delightful spirit will pass out of it.
This is, however, only by the way.
| We need all to cultivate the minor
| charities, we have no doubt, to keep
alive that feeling in the heart which
does more than anything else to soften
the asperlties Of life. We do not need
10 give only to the needy, because this
giving in the holidays is an expression
not Of charity but Of human love. We
know a great many people who do not
deserve anything, 1--WE are not about to
print their names, Is the "metropol-
itan journals might, but we do not
know any Il who will not be better
for receiving some token Of affection,
or who will not be better for giving it.
| We have a notion that he who gives to
the rich, in this spirit, and with no eye
| to the last will and testament, also
lendeth to the Lord. After all, this
| does not seem to be much of a "ser-
mon except that it has two appli-
cations, one to the giver and one to the
receiver.