The Toledo chronicle. [volume] (Toledo, Tama County, Iowa) 1873-1924, 1877-08-02
/" Hide That Scar"

Though the day Of my destiny's over,
And the star OF my fac hath declined,
Thy soft heart refused to di cover
The faults which SO many could find.
Though thy soul with my grief was acquainted
IT shrnnk not TO share it with me, s
And the love which my spirit hafh painted
II never hath found but In thee
The story is related that at one time a
famous artist was requested to paint
portrait of Alexander the Great, and that
when the monarch made the request, he
said, 81 have never had satisfactory
picture, and If you succeed in getting
one it will not only increase your renown
but you shall receive fortune beside"
The artist looked at the monarch with
admiration; as the wonderful conqueror
before whose armies so mahy mighty men,
had fallen, and thought how glad he
would be to bring out in the picture some
of his most prominent traits of character.
But his eye rested now and then on that
scar which was such a blemish to the
otherwise fine face of the warrior, and he
said to himself:
"If can only hide that scar, Alcxan-
der will be pleased, the picture will be
success, and my fame and fortune as
suredl'
He conceived the idea of having Alex
ander sit, his arm resting upon a table
covered with drawings of battle fields,
and with a thoughtful expression OF
countenance while his head dropped
upon his hand In this position he
hoped the scar upon his face would be
entirely concealed. The plan was exc
cuted, the portrait painted and it proved
not only satisfactory to Alexander: but
was the delight and admiration OF all.
The secret of Me.sartist'ss, success was
in the fact that hescould hide. that scar,
and he was as happy in hiding it, as the
monarch In finding it so beautifully con-
cealed. !.
Did it ever occur to you, my readers,
that so far as this one talent Is concerned
we may all be model artists; not iIrpRint~
ing pictures of our friends upon canvass
in oil, but in word-painting as we portray
them to others and hidetbeir scarsg Are
not all of us more liable to magnify the
scars and make them far more noticeable
than they would otherwise be, rather than
to hide them!
We do not find many perfect people,
for there are scars and blemishes in the
characters of nearly all with whom we
come in contact, but if we desired as
earnestly, and tried as assiduously, to ex-
tol thefr virtues and portray their good
qualities as some strive to remind them
and others of their faults and follies,
what wonderful change there would be
in the cllit-chat and gossips in thousands
of families! Indeed, some of us would
have to be introduced again, think, for
we should hardly recognize many ac~
quaintances, did mot their countenances
express, and their language evince, their
severe, sarcastic, fault finding natures
think with. pleasure of one friend who,
although. "a highl cultured, scholar, a
man of rqnderflil abilities, and who. has
the. .pat test sense of what is proper, and
elegant, and refined, and who mingles
with the noblest of the land, and yet one
whom l., have never known, through
long years of intimate acquaintance,
to make disparaging remarks of any
one. More than this, when such
remarks have been made in his
presence, he has taken the opportunity
TO speak Immediately Of, and dwell upon,
some good or lovely point in the character
of the person discussed. This hiding the
faults and sidiosyncracies of our friends is
a rare and most beautiful trait Of ,charac-
ter. May the children learn it in their
early days, by the example as well as the
precept of their parents Chicago Stand