The Bolivar bulletin. [volume] (Bolivar, Hardeman County, Tenn.) 1865-1888, 1878-08-08

Happiness Is in taste and not in things;
and it is by having what we love that
we are happy, not by having what OF, eTs
find agreeable.
The most common error Of men and
women is that of looking for happiness
somewhere outside OF usuful work. 1t
has never yet been found when thus
sought, and never will be while the
world stands; and the sooner the truth
is learned the better for everyone. If
you doubt the proposition, 60 around
among your friends snd acquaintance
and select those who have the most en-
joyment through lie. Are they the
idlers and pleasUre-seekers or the earnest
workers? We know what your answer
will be. Of the miserable human beings
it has been our fortune or misfortune to
know, those were the most wretched who
had retired from useful employment in
order to enjoy themselves.
Garry the radiance of your soul in
your face. Let the world have the ben
eft of it. Let your Cheerful lness be felt
for good wherever you are, and let your
smiles be created like sunbeams con the
just as we'll as on the unjust" Such a
disposition yields q rich reward, for its
happy effects come home to you and
brighten your thoughtful moments.
Cheerfulncss makes the mind clear, gives
tone to your thoughts, adds grace to the
countenance. Jubert says: When yau
give, give with joy, smiling" Smiles
are little things and cheap articles to he
traught with so many blessings both to
the giver and receiver; pleasant little
ripples to watch as we stand on the Shore
of life. They are the higher and better
81 70 m
the soul. Let the children have the
benefit of them-those little ones who
need the sunshine of the heart to edu-
cate them, and would find sympathy for
their buOyant nature in the cheerful
loving faces of those who need them.
Let them not be kept from the mid
dle.aged, who need the encourage
ment they bring. Give your smiles
also to the aged. They come to them
like the quiet rain of summer, making
fresh and verdant the long, weary path
of life. They look for them from you,
who are rejoicing in the fulness of your
life.
Every one desires to be happy. The
condition of Heaven Is the ambition of
earth What the angels have men long
to acquire. Religion as a source OF hap
pines5 comes to men, therefore, with a
great natural advantage in its favor. for
men crave from instinct the very expe-
rience it is calculated TO bestOw. But
how is it in point of fact? Why, the
fact is, il is not made to seem in the popu-
lar mind as the source of happiness.
Men naturally look to its examples
to apprehend it in that way. On
the other hand, the impression made
upon them is often precisely the re-
verse. They are thus repealed from,
instead of being attracted to it; and re-
ligion mutt approach them ever after
at great disadvantage. Now, it can
not be too often repeated, and emphasized
by the testimony and Iife.Of Christians,
that religion does make a person happy.
The moods and tempers it fosters are
those of happiness. It Hghtens ones
burdens, consoles him in sorrow, bIesses
him with a great hope, and fills him with
peace. The practice of religion never
tails one. You may learn trade, hop
ing thereby to get wealth, and you may
fail; you may study, hoping thereby to
become famous, and you may never see
the fame you desire you may aspi.e to
the hOnors of the forum, and the applause
OF the populace may be withheld, but no
one ever studied the principles of holiness
and acted up to his knowledge, and
failed of bis reward. He who does bust
ness for God can never be bankrupt All
else may fail US, but the pleasures OF
Christian hope and the consolation OF
Christian faith can never be taken from
us. The virtuOus man can lose nothing,
for his virtues are his reward Golden
Rule.