American citizen. [volume] (Canton, Miss.) 1864-1890, 1875-01-02
What Made the Difference!


from Fraserburg alone.
What Made the Difference!
JOHN BRIGHT mot the English states
man, but in his way quite as great man)
had an experience of successive misfOr-
tunes. The "panic" came, and several
of his debtors failed. This so far en-
barrassed him that he was obliged to
curtail household expenses, and to dis
pense with several personal luXuries to
which he had been accustomed. In mid
winter his eldest son, who had been one
year taking care of himself, came back
to his fathers house as a dependent, his
arms having been dreadfully broken in
the machinery of a gun-factory. His
wheat was winter killed his best horse
died; trusted servant ran away, taking
a silver presentation pitcher that had or
namented the best parlor. Finally he
had severe attack of sickness that
ruined his superintendent of affairs for
fully three months. All this within one
year.
A singular case, you say; but it was
not. His neighbor, James Gloom, had
precisely the same hard lot. Nobody
would have suspected it to hear the men
talk. So entirely different were the views
that they took of the same experience
that it would be hard to contend that
these two men were the creatures of cir
cumstance. Certain circumstances made
the one patient, contented and prudent;
the same circumstances made the
other fretful and reckless. This may
be illustrated by copying brief extract
from a letter of each:
BRIGHT's ACCOUNT.
1t pas pinching times last winter, but
We got along comfortably, notwithstand-
| ing. 1t did us no hurt to be more eco
nomical than we had been for several
| years. ! think the children were grow
| ing up to feel that money grew on bush
| es, and that there would never be an end
| of it. When Brown failed the girls had
to give up having new party dresses, and
the boys spent less freely on pleasures
| that took them away from home. And
it was decided benefit that we all spent
more of our evenings together. And it
| did wife and myself good to be obliged
to make some little sacrifices in order to
give as much as usual to the poor, who
really needed more than usual. Our an
nual journey was more than made up to
us by the knowledge that the money
that we should have spent on it
| kept Widow Plum's children at school,
and added some necessary comforts to
her dreary life. l think this sympathy
for others helped us somehow when dear
| John came home a lifelong cripple. For
if we had been too selfish to give up any
thing for others we might have grumbled
about him; and that would have made
him very unhappy, for he is proud-spir-
tied boy. Dear John! he has been a
blessing to US with all his patient and
loving ways. When the wheat was win
tea-killed and came in to complain of
it to wife how his bright face made me
ashamed before had time to speak! He
ruined for life and yet SO cheerful; how
could / groan over one seasons mishap!
And it was not altogether loss that
Billy died that spring. We had really
little use for him on the farm, and he was
too spirited for the wOmen-folks to drive
safely. | could not have sold him honest
IN for safe family horse, and he was
good for nothing to draw. l find that
we can hire all the pleasure-driving we
want more cheaply than to keep an extra
horse that we don't use half the time.
Well, the past year has not been what
we commonly call prosperous, but we
have really been greatly blessed. Truly,
| God is good to us beyond our deserts.
| GLOOM'S ACCOUNT.
Dreadful hard times last year!
| First Brown failed and cheated me out
of that large debt. Why couldn't he
i have saved me at any rate? l even had
to borrow money to make Christmas pres
ents with! Celia's and Mary's new
gowns cost a pile. And Harry's club ex-
penses were never higher. It's hard
case when a parent has to deny his own
children anything, or to appear poor to
ones neighbors. l had to tell the girls
that they could not have new fur cloaks
| this year, and shut down on Jims allow
ance for spreads" at college. l was
never so pressed for ready money in my
life. Why, wife and l could not have
taken our usual journey unless we had
cut off some of our donations. One does
not like to do that, you know, but it was
Just as we'll that dropped Widow Plum,
for her children are old enough to be of
some help, and ought to learn to practice
self-denial. i'm SUI e we rich folks have
to bear enough. Sans coming home
was another calamity. 1t never rains
but it pours. Why the fellow didn't
have sense enough to keep out of the
grip of that wheel is past all reckoning.
He was always IA reckless boy. and here
he is now, thrown back on me for life. 1t
makes the house unpleasant to have a
cripple round all the time. The other
children don't like to stay with him, and
he complains and adds to my other
troubles. The wheat was killed, too, to
cap all. / suppose that's what some call
dispensation of Providence. 1t looks
more like the devils work to me. Wife
| Sa1Q L was cross as q pear LOT d mOuln
afterward. But when Jack died /
thought it was no use trying to be soft
spoken-our best horse, and would
have fetched $500 in any market.
Neighbor Jones was bargaining with
me for six, which l refused, hoping
to get fifty more when the Great
ure was first taken sick l don't know
what we shall do if this stringency holds
on. ! can't cut down our charities any
more; they are pretty much clean gone
now, and one must do something to be
respectable. And we cant live any
cheaper. It's tough world at beat, but
| don't sec why God should single out me
TO bear ailliction.--Ths Worhiaq Church