The Jasper weekly courier. [volume] (Jasper, Ind.) 1858-1922, 1880-07-09

the brayest struggles and the sincerest
prayer. Natural disposition may help
a man TO be eaSy-going and Indifferent.
but IL can never help him 70 be really
noble Of soul. That strength Of char
and which some foolishly assign TO luck.
or circumstance. or inherited Iisposi-
tion. il the mere outward showing Of
inward victory. that has come by the
exertion Of human strength. aided BY
the acknowledgements Divine assist
ance upon which every strong soul must
rely. He who goes through the world
more purely and nobly than other men
does 50 because he wills TO do so. and
asks God 10 strengthen his constant ef-
fort How much mud and mirc."
says Hawthorne. =. how many pools Of
unclean water. how many slippery foot
steps. and perchance heavy tumbles.
might be avoided il we could tread but
six inches above the crust OF this world
Physically we cannot do this. our bodies
cannot; but IL seems 10 me that our
hearts and minds may keep themselves
above moral mud-puddles and other dis
comforts Of the souls pathway" Those
mud puddles do not escape the contain
nation which befouls the feet Of others
by reason Of any special permission 10
walk on different plane. but because
they have resolufely determined that il
is better 70 hold themselves beyond and
above the filth and the quicksands of
life. no matter how constant be the eff
fort and how hard the struggle.
When we note the life of serene and
trustful Christian man or woman. the
poorest Of All the occupations in which
we may engage is TO hunt for some
merely external ezcusc for that life, in
the line Of natural disposition. or Of
fayoring circumstance, or Of accidental
characteristic The proper thing for
us 70 do Is 10 search. with all diligence.
for the true and inner source Of the ex-
cellence Of such a life-for the hidden
spring Of its purity and truth. and the
ways and means by which il is made
strong and beautiful OF one thing we
may be sure. that everv life that really
deserves the names of manly and Chris
tian has not earned them by any acci-
dent or series Of accidents, but only by
the exercise Of all that is best in il. and
by amending contests with foes without
and within. Whatever safeguards may
be thrown around innocence and purity
Of soul. whatever may be the varying
circumstances Of different lives. we
ought never 70 forget that sin can steal
into the heart immured and guarded as
by convent walls; and that, on the 9th
er hand. the strength of resolnte pur-
pose can defend the spirit which i com
PEELED to pass through blood and fire
just Is we cannot make ourselves
great poets by initiating Shakespeare
collar or Dante's hood. so we cannot
increase our strength Of soul BY noting.
however carefully. the outward de-
meanor Of this true man, or the forms
Of speech used by that noble woman
Their example viii be worse than use
less to us so long as we search for out
ward and accidental marks Of the no
bility which makes their lives notable
We can only profit bv their excellence
when. having discovered that they are
just such men and women as we are
we begin to put into our own lives the
unquenchable spirit and the undying
effort by which theirs have been up
built. $. Times