St. Johnsbury Caledonian. [volume] (St. Johnsbury, Vt.) 1867-1919, 1878-12-06
Our Social Obligations.
BY MARGARET E. sANGsTER.

In the cool shadow of a New England
hill there Destles a little cottage, bare
within of all but necessary furniture.
and destitute without of any such ad-
juncts of the beautiful as vines and
flowers afford, yet nevertheless a very
inviting place. The door. the summer
long, is wide open, and on its sunny
threshold stands the old rush bottomed
easy chair of the goodman OF the house,
thin, sturdy, weather. beaten speci-
men Of a farmer, past his eighty-sixth
birthday, but active and CHEEKY still.
A little farther back on the painted
kitchen floor and beside the window is
the rocker of the wife, her knitting on
little stand beside it, and not far
away her large printed Bible and spec
tacles. She is plump. brown, IN
wrinkled, and at eighty does her own
work, and dries apples from beT own
tree for sale.
These old people are regarded highly
10y all their DeighbOrs. The guest from
the city is taken to call upon them.
The village lovers, sauntering toward
the river bank at sunset. like to stop a
moment and rest on their broad stone
doorstep, and take Il draught of water
from their crystal-clear well. The busy
matrOn, Overburdened with cares. finds
very pleasant a moment OF gossip now
and then with the dear old woman who
has lived through her troubles and en-
tered the evening land Of peace for
the gossip is always kindly, and the
dry and witty CRITICISMS are never ma
liciOus. The farmer, going to market.
n he r al
the probable value of the apple-crop
with the old man. who has a keen eve
to a bargain, and has never been known
to be cheated. The children OF all ages
60 with their little joys and sorrows to
these two. who somehow meet them on
a level, and appear like elder play
mates. There Is always room around
those chairs for the boys and girls.
Thinking of the helpful lives uncon-
sciously lived 10y this aged couple, |
have been led to some meditations on
the lives We usually lead. Apart from
our own immediate home circles. are
we trying to be as agreeable and as in
huential as we can among our friends
and neighbOrs What are Your worth
and mine in society? Do people seek
US when they are tried. sad. overtaken
by calamity, or tOrmented by tempta-
ton Are we living i'll earnest and to
some good purpose every day, doing in
our own allotted place all we can
toward Frightening the world, and fill
ing 1t with happy and thankful hearts
In our own town. our own street and
our OVID church we have certain Obliga-
tiOns which we should not desire to
shlrk- You do not enjoy making calls,
perhaps. 1t seems to you a waste Of
time, and there Is your sewing to do,
or your fruit to can; your new book to
read, or your sister from the West to
entertain your letters to write; half a
hundred things, in fact, crowding upon
yOu- with but six days to the working
week, and twenty-four hours apiece to
them. IF CALL you say, Il will 60
where l can do some good, or where,
from my going, some good may accrue
to me-"
Do not permit the ungenerous reflec-
ton. which the latter part OF that
thought implies, to have any weight
with you. The Saviour's words stand,
He that saveth his life shall lose it,
Even in so small matter as your going
forth for an afternoon call, if you de-
llberately choose to visit a lady from
whom you expect something in return.
some invitation, or recognition. or so
clal uplifting, and You go for this selfish
end only you will fail. You will find.
and that soon, that you have spent
your money for that which is not bread
and your labor for that which satisfetb
not.
What l am suggesting is, that we
ought not to undervalue our ordinary
and usual means OF cultivating acquain-
tance and friendship with the average
people whom we meet every day. We
are not wasting time, but using it well,
when we sit a halt-hOur with friend
IN her house or our own. We are not
culpable ii we send the sweet flowers
from our garden not merely to the
Flower Mission or the hospital. but to
some gentle lady, who needs their
bloom to be her comfort on weary
day. We ale not forgetful of duty if
we keep and cultivate fellowship with
hearts, brotherly, chivalric, sisterly and
cOngenial.
Likewise, as we grow a little older.
we shall do wisely to initiate the New
England pair with whom l began. and
hold fast to young friends and to chill
dren. 1t is worth while to make pleas
ant times for them when we can. and
to put ourselves, if need be, to some
Inconvenience, that they may have en-
loyment and Improvement. Every age
has beauty of its own, and the glory
OF the mature woman lies, not in her
cheeks, tinted like a sea-shell. nor in
her eyes beaming with light, so much
as in the spirituality and the winsome
hOpefulness which show that while she
walks with God, she blesses all who
surround Christian at Work.