Nevada County picayune., 1888-11-21
Three Kinds of Recompense.

ptoplt tD tN|ttt anu to lCJOitt ili the recompense of their labor. what ever it may be. and no less so that they should be proportionally disap
 pointed when, for any reason, they do not receive it. Yet there are many very limited views of what this recompense consists in and how it is to he obtained. The most obyi- ous idea of it is that of money paid and received for labor. This. how ever, though the most popular con ception of recompense, does not by any means exhaust it's meaning. There is another kind less generally thought of or sought for but equally real: 1t lies in the actual accom- plishment of what is sundertaken-thc excellence of the work itself There is some labor that can only thus be paid. The wife and mother who de- votes her energies to making hap py home for her family and securing the best welfare of her children can only be recompensed by the actual success of these endeavors. The philanthropist who devotes himself to the advancement of reform of the community in some given direction finds his rcquital in the achievement of his efforts. Genius. when unal- loved with personal ambition only pants to express itself worthily, whether by the brush or the chisel, the pen or the voice. In most peo- pie. however. the desire for this rec ompense is a secondary one, and it's pleasures are not fully known. They aim at enough superiorit, in their work to insure its acceptance and re- quital. and with that they rest sats- fled. True, as society advances and demands a greater degree of perfec- tion, their aim must rise but their endeavers will never equal the ef- forts of those who. aside from all re- ward, desire and labor to have their work of the best possible quality.
 Nor do the former, however richly they may be requited in money or in fame. ever taste the pure delight that is the continual rccompcnse of the latter. There are, indeed, few things which contribute so largely alike to the happiness and success of each in- divldual, and to the welfare of the community, as for men and women to pursue excellence in their work for its own sake, and find in that excel lence pleasure which recompenses them for all their toll.
 There is still another kind of rec ompense which Is seldom thought of, yet which has special value of its own. It is the actual improvement and development that takes place within every one who performs earn est, honest work. The laborer be- comes tirmer in muscle, the mechanic more skillful with his tools, the clerk more rapid and accurate in his calcu- lations, the physician more able and experienced, the artist more effect i've in his delineation, the teacher wiser in her methods of instruction, the statesman better able to serve his country, exactly in proportion to their intelligence and energetic ef- forts. There is always pleasure in accumulated power, but few pause to consider that it Is only through vigorous exertion. In one respect, this sort of recompense is unique, for it may come not only with sue cess. but with much that is called failure. A man may find his hopes disappointing him one by one; he loses a position he supposed to be secure, or his business does not succeed; perhaps his work, too, ap- pears intellectual, and his efforts seem lost. Yet even in all this crush ing diversity, although he has failed m all he has tried to do, he may have succeeded in doing something else of which he had not thought, but which may be more important and enduring than that which he at tempted to accomplish If he has really y tried hard and honestly he has gained wisdom and power and eXpe- rience and caution, which will stand him ingood stead in future cxcrtlons. This is consolation seldom offered in times of trouble. yet it is q real one. There is no such thing as ut- ter failure to him who has done his best Were this truth more often emphasized there would he more courage and energy infused inio sad and desponding hearts, The com nansotion may Saam shaIo,yy and