The Newberry herald and news. (Newberry, S.C.) 1884-1903, 1889-08-08
Big and Little Charities.
Richmond Times.


times as u very fine cloak for very lit
tie meannesses. "My mite' is what
the skinfiint calls all bis infnitesmal
donations; and under that name he
expects to escape discredit and do a
good deal Of very cheap charity. BY
such misuse the magnanimity Of the
first nameless saint who gave her all to
God has lost somewhat of its glory and
blessed influence. So, too, great chari-
ties and public benefactions have been
deprived of their splendor by the self
ish ambition and vulgar display of the
benefactors. Left hand and right have
co-operated in publishing gifts; and
whole bands of music have broke
forth, and cannons doomed to announce
the gift Of a church.
A great old grabber has photographed
for show the check that carried his
gift, and given his name and face to
hand down avarice and ugliness to
posterity. Old age comes on, desire
fails, the stale, flat and Improbable set
in and death orders to loosen the grip,
and the old wretch proposes to "hold
his own" by giving mis- ill-gotten gains
to an institution that shall bear his
name and be monumental lie.
All this sounds harsh; is bitter to di-
gest; but is not this land full Of its il
lustrations, in the way ofasylums, hos
pitals, colleges, universities, and even
memorial churches and windows, in
tended to impose on posterity as saints
men who in their lifetime were
shame and a reproach.
Fortunately for the world, these
great things pass as benefactions, as
examples of liberality, as offerings to
virtue and the general good. And for
tunately the meanness, the hardness
and depravity of the wretched accu-
mutation passes into oblivion, drop
like discordant notes, and only the
good survives. So the Almighty has
ordained. ''To the sinner He giveth
travail, to gather and to heap up, that
he may give to him that is good before
God"
Little charities and big charities may
easily pass into fashion, and lose all
the life and character that makes them
refreshing, honorable or ssgood. Ac-
cording to the Apostle, men may, in
their lifetime, give ali their goods to a
hospital or preach like Chrysostom,
and yet be as soulless as hogs. Nay,
even a veritable poor widow may give
her all to the church, when true affec-
ton would spend it at home, or give
the hospital time stolen from her chill
dren, and be no better than a heathen.
The world makes great mistakes in
its estimates and measures. And it
makes woeful mistakes il its ideas Of
the uses and possibilities of wealth.
The surplus mama that the greedy
Israelites gathered turned to worms
and testified against the possessor.
Money will hold to the end the charac-
ter of its getting. And the greedy,
heartless knave will find that millions
will fail to give him purity of thought,
gentlenees of manners, liberality of the
soul, or kindness of heart Old habits
of seltishness rule him like devils. 1t is
a pity that the world so fastens charity
and goodness to gifts or splendid acts.
A mans life consists not in the abun-
dance that he possesses. And the
heaviest and the commonest suaerings
of life are beyond the reach Of meterial
aid. "Not as the world giveth / you,"
were the words of the kindest of men,
and the earliest aims giving was the
order, "Stand upright on tiny feet"
Manly words.
The source of all true charity is q
warm heart and bountiful and kindly
soul. The possessor of these knows nc
distinction of big or little charities. A
word il season, timely and hearty, may
save life-nay, soul. To such one
Times changes and the various acci-
dents and conditions of life are like the
blasts and breezes that dittuse and scat
ter fragrance and good seeds; that dash
from the full bosom cheering, encour.
aging, ,enlivening influences, in thou
sand forms, pleasant, familiar, and nat
ural. To live is to bless. The possessor
is as "a covert from the tempest, hid
ing place from the wind, as rivers OF
water in dry place, and the shadow
of a great rock in weary land" The
dust may return to the dust as twas,
but the spirit surely returns to the God
that gave it.