Wessington Springs herald. (Wessington Springs, Aurora County, Dakota [S.D.]) 1883-1891, 1883-11-17
GRUMBL1NG.

GhUMbLlNUs
It is just as much a mans duty to be
as happy IS his circumstances
allow, as it is to be virtuous and hon
est. To make the best of whatever
comes into your life is to plane the
plank with the grain the proper way, as
every master workman knows; but many
foolish folk insist on planning against the
grain, and then declare that luck is al
ways against them. If a man is less
happy, by even SO much vs. a %scruple's
weight, than his circumstances warrant,
it indicates either weakness of mind or
a want of faith, or Temperament which
needs the discipline of severe correc-
ton.
First, a weak-minded man mistakes
the meaning Of experiences, and is prone
to declare that everything is going
wrong, when in point of fact only one
thing out of a score of things is playing
the part ofthe crooked stick in the bum
die. The nineteen sticks which lie close
together because they are straight, he
takes no thought of; but the one crook
ed stick occupies all his attention, and
he can think of nothing else. For my
self, it has been the policy of my life
not to allow one-twentieth of my ex-
periences to dominate the other nine
teen-twentieths and to spoil my enjoy
ment of them. The difference between
one man and another is that one man
finds something to make him happy,
while the other is generally successful
in his search for something to make
him miserable. I have known people
who always seemed to have a bit
of Heaven about them, in spite of
adverse surroundings. and 1 have
known people who seemed to exude
a sulphurous odor, though their circum-
stances were reasonably suspicious.
Second: Want of faith in the general
fitness of things is like the sudden taste
of lemon, which sets the teeth on edge
and makes one cringe. If you believe
that affairs are all in a tangle, that the
Lord has put you into the midst of the
wrong environment, you will probably
have a perfectbedlam of a life. You are
not in a condition to enjoy anything,
but in just the frame of mind to grumble
at the sunshine because it did not come
sooner, and at the shower because it
came SO late. There are good folk in
the world who don't know what they
want, and who are always wishing they
had the other thing, no matter what
that other thing may be. They are not
like bees, who somehow manage to suck
honey out of a thistle without getting
stung, but rather like spiders, who de-
liberately weave q web to catch every
passing evil withal. I do not intend by
this comparison to wrong the poor
spider, who simply does his duty when
he makes q feast of moth or fly, but
simply to say that a man can find better
business than fly or moth-hunting. The
truth is, life is hardly worth the having
if we must needs fill the corridors of time
with long reverberating growls. Until
we can get something Of happiness out
of every passing hour, we are still in the
nurse's arms and suffering from infant
lie disorders. I have infinite respect for
the venerable saint who said: "I have
all my life been striving for a contented
mind, and now / propose to sit down
contented without it."
All things disturb a man who is de-
termined to be disturbed. Nothing
seems straight when the soul is crooked.
If there is vinegar in the mouth, not
sugar itself tastes sweet. Whatever
weather we have d%ispleases him. though
we have a variety from which to choose
that ought to satisfy any one who could
be happy either in Greenland or the
tropics. He never saw such a summer
as this! conveniently forgetting that the
last twenty summers have been just
like this is, and that he has uttered the
same criticism with each recurring sea-
son as far back as the tormented mem
DRY of his friends can go. He speaks
as though the thermometer had a per-
sonal grudge against him, and in a tone
which implies that if the manufacture
of weather were only left to him he
would show the Lord what could be
done. So he would, doubtless; and
that may be the reason why the Lord
prefers to make it Himself.
OF course I do not intend to affirm
that it is possible to live in a state OF
continual bliss. Not even a pure and
undefiled religion can produce such a
magical result. A man must sometimes
set his teeth together with desperate de.
termination, and sometimes must he
wipe the tears of swift flowing sorrow
from his eyes. Nay, I think there
are moments when peevishness of the
most exasperating kind is a privilege, g
necessity, and rs proper an expression
of feeling as laughter is of Joy. When
one has the toothache, for example, it
is utterly out of the question to smile
benignly, or to feel like holding ones
hands in benediction over a naughty
world. There is a time to be q%uerulous,
but it ought not to be allowed to be-
come chronic When the tooth RACES
solitude should be sedulously sought
and indulged. in until the pain let's &c
its hold. The lips had better be shut
than parted; for if parted explosives
and candid expressions Of opinion more
remarkable for strength than beauty
are apt to issue thence. And, again,
one can not imagine himself in Heaven
when he is enduring the pangs unutter'
able of dyspepsia; nor is it his duty tc
attempt such folly. At such a time nc
one should look for politeness OF
courtesy. Men are mortal and dys.
pepsia is diabolical. Mortality and
dyspepsia, however mixed, do not re.
suit in happiness. 1t is a volcanic ex'
perience, and analogy teaches US that
when the internal arrangements of the
earth are interferod with dust and