The Hickman courier., 1878-06-14
Eook on tne nrirht side.

AH LAEAC hl4t "a US " no QNs1 illL t}illG~
times need this bit OF advice Things
are contrary. The people around us are
not entirely congenial Oar worldly
affairs are not adjusted to our satistsc-
tiOp. The children are fretful. Our
fayorite book has been borrowed, and the
borrower is uotoriousiy careless person,
50 that We know that il will come home
despoiled Of its freshness. The plan of
life on which VS. have built seems very
much like j failure We are in some
anxiety about some loved one, whose
chamber o. sickness may perhaps become
the chamber Of death. Some other loved
one misunderstsBds Us, or opposes us
with carrice and temper when we are in
almost childish want Of sympathy and
support. Perhaps our hsrdly-earned
money, the Accumulsti0ns OF faithful toll
and frugal savings for years are gone, like
. puff of smoke, or q breath LOOK on
the bright side! How can we? We are
reSdy TO say thst the heaven il hung
with gloom, the earth obscUred. the
onward path hidden from our view. We
are in the condition Of travellers IN
mountain land, on whom, midway in
their journey, has descended cold,
binding snd impenetrsble veil OF fog \
step either way may be perilOus, for il
may Be over q precipice. It becomes TO
our thought almost Al impeItinence.
this sweet voice which bids us be Of
good courage, and count up the meTcies,
instead of mourning over the disasters.
Yet, there Is, if we but care TO look
for it, always bright, serene aspect
somewhere, always an element Of cheer
and always the hope Of better days %
come. 1t IS very seldom, indeed, that
things are Sd utterly forlOrn that they
may not be worse. Ia our reasonable
moods we recognize this, and however
great our trouble, We can acknowledge
that it might be greater. This is true,
particularly with regard to cslamities
and Affections. such as visit - and con-
stitute events IN lie These, Il Is true 70
say, are frequently encountered and
borne with rare herOism by those whose
fortitude fails them when small worries
and cares annoy and distress Tt is amid
the trihing, fsetful pin~pricks Of yexa-
tion and daily enhancement that
we are mortified by finding that
the souls armOr Is not Of proof
Then we are resolved to see
no bright side, and We are angry at those
who try 10 present it to our view
Quite apart from material burdens and
soTrows, there is another region of life in
which at times there seems to be no
brightness possible. "In the mid-silence
of the voiceless night" have you ever
lain awake, questioning your own soul,
while the tick of the clock and the echo
ing football of some belated passer on the
street alone broke the stiffness An Z
the mystery, the vague, the terror,
which have blackened on you and shut
you in, as the tide impTisons loiteTeT in
some cave on the ocean shore How
the thought of a swift coming eternity
has made you feel your own nothingDess,
your heIpiessness, and with what awe
you have contemplated the hour when
but few failing pulse beats should be
between you and the vast unknown.
Speculation, separated from faith, sets
you adrifi, a mere chip upon a torrent,
and you have taken up the cry oi
one of old, "LoId, what Is man,
that Thou art mindful OF him
or the son of man. that Thou Wis
itest him ?" with a chill dismsy creeping
over yeu, lest you should slip away from
the ever present care Of God.
Some of the purest, noblest natures
suffer from this benumbing paralysis oil
doubt, now and then. It is humiliating
to reflect, too, that the tOrtures which
visit this intellectual and mental part are
often part of the penalty which ar
abused physical constitution exacts. The
nerves are overwrOugbt, the brain hs,
been unduly stimulated, or the stomach
has been i'll treated, and then the body
makes its reprisals on its spiritual tenant
But, come from what source soever i
may, there is mute agony OF soul, which
1 o,.A,,~o - IL, :,
| a cOnsolation indeed TO remember the
Master, and His hard and bitter confic
beneath the olives OF Gethsemane. A.
such hours, like sheeted ghosts, the error
and defeats of the past revisit you, arc
/ life grows unutterably saG.
Is there a bright side here? Som,
poet has said that the mark of rank il
nature is capacity for pain, and t.
these nights OF sorrow there are CORE
spending days of joy. But the rea
bright side is found only when, out o
the whirl of struggling emotions, the
I spirit casts itself upon the sympathy o
/ Jesus. So strong, so true, so tender il
! the love of our Lord, that even as we
! cry, Save or we perish" there comes
swift as our need, the answer, "Lo, am
With you always"
No subtler habit of evil is there in the
( world than that Of self pity. The victim
of this form of sel6shness is always sur.
veying the dark side of things. If we
choose we can cultivate in ourselves and
in our children the sunny nature, as well
as that which is ever bemoaning itself
and comparing its lot with that OF
Others. il would be well for each of us.
every day, when the trials press, to say,
"But after all, how much pleasure there
is here, how much delight there is
yonder, and what a garden of glory is
this beautiful world. Let me, at least,
try to be as happy as I can. - Christian
Intelligencer.