St. Johnsbury Caledonian. [volume] (St. Johnsbury, Vt.) 1867-1919, 1878-02-22

gong through the house from end TO
end porch of benevolence over the
wide front door. The family sitting
room will of course be love, and open
ing into it with broad doors a nursery
of obedience.
Above are great, still closets of pa
tience, of submission, of pity. More
snowy but not more useful, and close
at hand, are the blight Conservatives
of wit, the sunny fountains of humor.
There is no end to the grand and pleas
ant things which may be put into this
home of the soul whatsoever things
are true, whatsoever things are venera-
BILE, whatsoever things are pure, what
sOever things are lovely, whatsoever
things are of good report if there be
any virtue, if there be any praise, these
are its treasures.
And with all let enc take good care
not to close up the inner sanctuary of
reverence, or, for any lack of means,
leave off the observatory of faith. Build
as large and fine as we may we shall
need constant additions, and we may
have them for in this kind of building
| there is no end to the means, the sup
ply grows with our wants. Only let us
not waste, or be bold to try doubtful
experiments. 1t takes so little to make
a habit, and habit once made grows
so strong. Memories are so easily up
reared, and yet memories are eternal.
Strange what things we put into our
lives to remember: we build and
build,-a piazza with a graceful vine
draping it, open a window toward Il
charming landscape; put in convenient
| ~ nrNIN nd hnn 1NInn Infr
the dining room ;-Or-we dig hole in
the dampest cellar deep enough to un
settle the foundations; with great labor
we fit up closet for skeleton which
should not be kept under the roof for an
hour; we turn drain pipe from the
kitchen into the sleeping room and our
rest time is filled with the OdOr of un-
pleasant cares nay, we bring all sorts
of hideOus things into our best parl0rs.
upon our pleasure grounds and nail
them up to comfort us at all times.
Every man is the architect of his own
fortune, | have heard. That every man
is the architect of his own character is
more nearly true. There are grand
possibilities before each one of us there
are ample means within our reach, and
God waiting to see what we will do
with our lives.
Does it vex Him to see what poor
mean work of living we make-many
of us?
There is the savage in forest of
magnificent trees, the earth below his
feet waiting to bring forth things good
for food, the quarries of granite, of pure
white marble, cropping out in plain
sight above, below and all around the
most beautiful forms to tempt his artis-
tic skill and every centIivance of ma
ture to teach him how means may be
adapted to ends-making his home in a
forlOrn hut of skins, in a dismal cloud
of smoke.
There are men of civilization around
whom are placed the means of wisdom
and happiHess and holiness books thick
as the leaves of the forest wise and
willing helpers, schools, friends, home.
Little children with the airs of paradise
about them flowers bringing always
the Masters claim to be considered :
a world of good things of which one
may freely partake, yet one fills his
work days with digging and grumbling !;
his rest time with grumbling and to-
baccO.
There is the Indian dervish with a
body made in the image of God stand
ing with an arm outstretched and still,
till it becomes withered and incapable
of motion; or, he lies perhaps on bare
rock days and days till seeds grow
from little heap of soil placed on his
forehead.
There is the honest Yankee who treats
his mind the same way ; the dervish as
to the spirit who keeps certain faculties
of his mind so unused and still that
they come to be numb or dead men
who lie their whole length along the
earth, close, close to the things of sense,
heaping piles OF glittering dust upon
what. Verify seeds do sprout and grow
from these accumulatiOns that they lit
tie expected-that bring forth bitter
fruit.
The eastern dervish is held in high
esteem by his country folk, we read
the Yankee dervish is not generally
worshiped, but l think we have too
much respect for him as valuable
citizen.
Let us not teach our boys to emulate
his behaviour or his success. Let us
rather look for the great ones around
us-teach our young folk to distinguish
men from men.
| hold this to be no small part of our
educational work. False weights and
false measures are an abomination, how
much more so are false estimates of
character!
need not stop to emphasize this; l
suppose we are all striving-blindly it
may be, but still striving to reach our
ideal lit makes difference what this
ideal is.
1t is not quite kind or humane to
dissect our neighbors' characters for the
children's benefit, but we have a right
to the men in books.
at ia L saap-tha-h histories omen and
nelp our students to find in them tha
heroes and the conquerors who have
done better things than to take city.
1t used to be said that the history of
a nation was only a record of its wars
its heroes were invariably men of blood
But better thought seems to have
come into the mind of the world the
statesmen, the philanthropists. the mi
Vate citizens are considered
Things are getting changed some-
what Ill the clearer light of our civiliza-
tlon physical prOwess will not now
take the place of all the virtues; fight
ing for the sake of fighting is not in the
least honorable-and the old heroes are
getting displaced.
Thus Jack the giant killer is not so
character in our childrep,s
eyes as Robinson Crusee.
Richard /. was royal hero whose
brilliant exploits quite dazzled the world
ffor for time, but how like tinkling brass