Marshall County Republican. (Plymouth, Ind.) 1856-1878, 1878-06-06
ALMIGHTY DOLLAR.
"IF IT WERE ONLY So"
BY ALICE CARY KLINGER.

At certain public dinner Methodist
minister was called upon to give toast
The evening was SO far advanced that ey-
cry person present, and also all the friends
of those present, had already been toasted
1t thus happened that the minister was in
considerable perplexi.y as 10 the question
what being, or class of beings, should
form the subject of his toast But some
happy link of association recalled TO his
mind certain words with which he had a
professional familiarity, and which set
forth subject of the most comprehensive
character. Arising, he said, that without
troubling the assembled company W ith
any preliminary remarks, he begged to
propose the health of "All people that on
earth do dwell"
I Thought of that minister and his toast
when began writing this essay. For, al
though the subject was suggested to me
by various things of little concern to man
kind in general, soon found it as COM
prehensive as the subject of that toast
There are so many things that are not so,
which, if they only were so, might help
us greatly on our journey through life
Experience is a dear teacher, and we are
often told to profit by the experience of
others. We find many of the maxims fur
nished us by the experience of others as
guide, will not stand the test. They are
all fallacies, and we should refuse to ac-
cept as light to guide our steps that
which can but prove snare. Among the
many fallacies with which our lives are
burdened, the first l wish to protest
against tonight, is that common delusion
that childhood is the happiest time i'm
our lives" Many people, as they look
back upon the sorrows Of their own child
hood, or as they look round upon the sor.
rows of existing childhood, imagine these
trials very light, their causes nothing
The way people look at this matter re-
minds me Of the story of the tall Mr..
Smith and the short Mr.. Brown. The
latter was but three and -a-half feet high
Smith and Brown traversing various path
at length came 10 a river four feet deep Ii
was necessary To GLOSS, and wading was
suggested. This was nothing for Smith,
but a rather serious matter for Brown. as
the water would be six inches above his
head. The river was shallow for one, but
deep for the other. Ii is so with children
of a larger growth" The sorrows of their
childhood seem light, because those trials
would not affect them now. "Very bitter
grief may be in very little heart" THE
sports of childhood satisfy the child,'
says Goldsmith; so the sorrows of child
hood overwhelm the child. We all SYM
pathize with Patrick Tyther, though we
smile as we read an incident of his early
life. When five years old, he had his old
er brothers gun, and accidently broke the
spring of its lock. What anguish the lit
tie boy must have endured before printing
in large letters the following epistle to
send his brother:
ooh, jamie, think no more of guns for the main
spring of that Is broken, and my heart is broken
Looking back over our past lives most
of us can remember a child crushed and
overwhelmed by some trouble which it
thought never could be overcome. But in
the retrospect of our early years we are
more apt to see the time when the sun
shone brighter, the flowers sweeter, the
snowy days OF winter more cheerful, than
we ever find them now. We know 1t is all
delusion-like the man travelling over
the burning desert who sees sparkling wa
tiers, shady trees. yet knows there is moth
ing but arid sand.
Closely connected with the memory of
childhood's days is the old adage, Hand