The Baltimore County union. [volume] (Towsontown, Md.) 1865-1909, 1881-08-06
THE SUNNY SIDE OF TOLL.

The annexed extract is from the in
tercsting address delivered by Col. A.
X. Mcclure before the Alumni Associa-
tion Of Lehigh University, Bethlehem,
at the recent commencement Of that in
stitution
"rake the sunny side Of toll. IL is
made the inheritance Of all, by law
that is universal and inexorable, and
that fearfully avenges its violation. II
is the command OF God, and, like all
His mandates, is wise and merciful.-
Do not grieve because others seem more
favored than yourself, for such appear,
ances are often terribly deceptive. With
all the varied cares and duties and
strange inequalities Of life, we are large
ly, il not wholly, moulded by our own
efforts, and sunshine or. shadows will
predominant as we may decide for our
selves. How often the child of toll en-
vies the lot of his fellow, born to fortune
and luxury; but it is a cruel mistake.
The scvcrcSt toll of life is to labor at
nothing and for nothing. II is the one
type of toll that has no compensation,
and il is the most tiresome and exhaust.
ing Of employments. OF all ordinary
lives that of the idle is the saddest. II
is ordained that labor and content shall
90 hand in hand, and in all the expert
ence OF recorded civilizations, there has
been no departure from toll without de.
cay and sorrow. There may be great
mingled with exacting or unrequited Ia
Dor, but peace and content are utter
strangers to the indolent. II isnot only
the law of individuals, but il is also the
law of nations. When nations have
reached the zenith Of grandeur in their
achievements luxury and its inevitable
idleness have dated their decline and
fall. Peoples advance only as they make
industry their chief attribute. Vice and
industry are implacable foes and can
have no fellowship, and when luxury
bcgets Incidence, Incidence begets vice,
and vice begets death. And what is
true of nations is equally true OF COM
munities, families, and individuals of
political, religious, and social circles.
No community was ever prosperous
where wealth accumulates and men de.
cay; no church ever advanced in vital
ity when incidence prevailed among its
worShiperS no social circle ever i'm
proved in morals. intelligence, or hap
pincss when labor was elected as want
ing in responsibility, and no individual
idler ever made himself useful or glad
dened home with the wealth Of con-
tent. Ii often seems hard to toll through
all the changing seasons without rest,
and the laborer is many times made
heavy y-hearted with the failure of his
hopes but all the grief Of cruel want
and slavish toll in our civilization that
fills SO large page in the history Of
mankind, is more than supplemented by
the grief of those who are envied in their
supposed luxury and repose. The grief
Of wasted vigor and health, OF sated ap-
petite, is the one grief that claims all
seasons as its own. Even the galley
slave enjoys the luxury Of rest, and his
coarse diet is made grateful by the hun
ger that labor quickens while the ban
quct of luxury pals upon the taste, and
sleep and rest flee from the miserable
idler. II was king. in the midst Of
all the plenty OF wealth and power. who
cried: go sleep. o gentle sleep, Ma
tare's soft muse, how have frightened
thee ?" Our great railway and bonanza
kings of to-day would value ut millions
tie Swcr; res, enjoyed by the laborer Of
your mountains, and what would they
no; give for the relish OF the hod-carrier
at his frugal meal And all the rich
promises OF life are to the sons and
daughters of toll. The shop and the
field are the cradles of men, while the
beds of idlcncss and luxury give only
mockeries OF men and women to dawdle
through aimless and useless lives, and
to leave behind them more helpless than
themselves. Turn to the men OF distinc-
tion in field or forum, in science, litera-
,ure or art. and only the toilers Of the
world are there. Fortune or family
may now and then grasp the honois
which belong to the more deserving, but
they turn TO ashes when thus gained and
end in humiliation il not disgrace
Whatever be your lot, know that il has
sunny side, unless you are shrouded
in the gloom OF idleness. For every
other cloud there is silver lining, and
toll is the one fountain from which wells
up the cour,less streams Of happiness.