Saint Mary's beacon. [volume] (Leonard Town, Md.) 1867-1983, 1870-02-03

PossrBIllrrRs.-Iti Il not % mach Via
=. :: what may Be. that gives gr..dsu
70 being. !.
1.y fhis - myself. sisai.g hero b.
ny g.ouaR Rrsas.' Ny vscscat !. ser]
eircumecribed. Pour square walls shs
e IN. It's doing = aaegat. Its dream
mg e only nomsntary plsssantness.- -
tltss in tlse quistals u ny room I -
bsk . poiss Of :inairidsslity. HIT ou
yonder u some to-morrov ] an multi.
Piled force cooperating. and What VI
lmay accouPsish eoojointly. Who can tell
|e4Into my to-morrovs shall carry 81
| the sssumulAsi0ns OF IN che yesterdays,
wkerevish y lacrosse my power. -Whas-
= e 81 -, e
their accumulasions be tor good o. bad,
they Will Be mine. They viii brosleu
the possible. They will widen my field
Of thought and doing.
For good or bad. The actua.it,cs o,
to-day must be Cor the one or the other
And all actuali'ies have more or less bear
ing upon possibilities. I fancy-and i,
is not all fancy-that possibilities are
greatly Influenced by ac,us'i,iss. Ny
friend Captain Salover follows the sea
continually-that is an actual fact. The
possibility that he may be drowned is al
most infinitely greater than it woull be
were he not a sea-faring man. Another
actual fact is tha: my good friend Artax-
erxes inSulges often in his wine and cham
pagne. In this case tho possibility Of an
early and sad death by dissipation is im-
measurably beyond that Of a man who be-
lieves in and practices total abstinence
from all intoxicating drinks.
There are possibilities in life that it
seems to me ousht to frighten some pco-
pie. Possibilities Of wreck aud ruin ir-
reparablc. Possibilities that they are
aiding in every way to become probabili-
ties. Possibilities that are positively
sickcnins. Yet these people never ap-
pear to see them.
But it may be well that in half our a.
ture We are generally blind. Most espc-
cia.ly well that We are blind to tho p,ssi-
BILE. A little foresec;ny though. would
save US much. l take it if Artaxerxes,
young, sober, honored, influential. sought
and hopeful, could see himself Artaxer-
xes old. drunken. despised, starving.
shunnel. despairing, he would change his
course Of life.
There arc certain.ics for all. But between
the certainty Of to-day and the certainty
If tomorrow are possibilities of wondrous
breadth. They embrace all greatness ::
reach up to tho tou.ting Of all goodness
They havc their lessons now dimly seen
as they arc, by some. not seen at all. As
shey ate. By many. or III, = possibilities
for evil. tbs ress1a = -ss.raS ae.hose
for good, it is development. The better
things Of all humanity are shut in and
hampered. They push themselves out
only as by force Of will. They are pale,
sickly plants that want the pure air and
the sunshine, In the unbounded fields
Of possibility they may blossom into beau.
ty such as mortal seldom secs. Strength.
cncd by the bal,n7 airs there blowing,
they may bear such fruit as mankind mos;
needs, full Of sweet healthfulncss, and
akin to the apples Of Paradise.
The FIRE in my gate burns on. L..
certainty is ashes. It's possibility mean.
while is all manner Of gladly dancing
fumes. and ou,re.ching warmth thai
shall touch many who are a-co'd. Jus,
50 my own physical certainty is the dust
Of the ashes. But my possibility lying
between is gladncss aad good cheer. ant
warmth and enc 'uragement that may
through few, touch the hearts Of man,
and, finally, the world. Shall the FIR,
refuse to burn because in the end onl,
ashes will come Of the burning? An,
shall | any the more refuse all gloriou
possibilities, and shut myself away from
them forever. for the certainty Of dus
that awaits me
Verify no, If the dust were the end. -
Verify no. more emphssically still, vheI
beyond the dust lies the most glorioa
possibility Of all Il!