St. Landry democrat., 1889-11-02

tame as you are, we would never carry
single sait -
Ten years have passed away since that
remark was made | bless God it was ad-
dressed to me. 1t put fire into my bone S
which hope will burn as long as l live.
God preached stirring sermon to me that
day by the mouth of that Inidel law. er.-
Peter Stayker.
John Ploughman's Talk About Faults.
He who boasts of being perfect is per-
feet in folly. l have been a good deal up
and down in the world, and | never did
see perfect horse or perfect man, and |
never shall till two Sundays come together.
You cannot get white -four out of coal
sack, nor perfection out of human nature
he who looks for it had better look for
sugar in the sea. The old saying is,
"Lifeless, faultless." Of dead men we
should say nothing but good but as for
the living, they are all tarred more or less
with the black brush. and half an eye can
see it. Every head has soft place in it,
and every heart has it's black drop. Every
rose has its prickles, and every day its
night. Even the sun shows spots, and
the skies are darkened with clouds No.
body is SO wise but he has folly enough to
L
could not see the FOOLS cap, have never
theless heard the bells jingle. As there is
no sunshine without shadows, so is all
human good mixed up with more or less
evil; even poor law guardians have their
wholly of a heavenly nature. The best
wine has it's lees. All mems faults are
not written on their foreheads, and it's
quite as well that they are not, or hats
would need very wide brims yet as sure
as eggs are eggs, faults of some kind nestle
in every mans bosom. There's no telling
when mans sins may show themselves,
for hares pop out of he ditch just when
you are not looking for them. A horse
that is weak in the legs may not stumble
for mile or two, but it is in him, and the
rider had better hold him up well. The
tabby cat is not tapping milk just now,
but let the dairy door open and we will
see if she is not as bad thief as the kit
ten. There's fire in the flint, cool as it
looks; wait till the steel gets knock at
it, and you will see. Everybody can read
the riddle, but it is not everyb body that will
remember to keep his gunpowder out of
the way of the candle.
If we would always recollect that we
live among men who are imperfect, we
should not be in such fever when we
find out our friends failings; what's rotten
will rend, and cracked pots will leak.
Blessed is he who expects nothing of poor
flesh and blood, for he shall never be dis
appointed. The best of men are men at
the best, and the best wax will melt.
1t is good horse that never stumbles,
And good wife that never grumbles.
But surely such horses and wives are only
found in the FOOLS paradise, where dump
lings grow on trees. In this wicked world
the straightest timber has knots in it, and
the cleanest field of wheat has its share of
weeds. The most careful driver one day
upsets the cart, the cleverest cook spills a
little broth, and as know to my sorrow, a
very decent ploughman will now and then
break the plough, and often make a
crooked furrow 1t is foolish to turn off a
tried friend because of failing or two,
for you may get rid of one-eyed nag and
buy blind one. Being all of us full of
faults, we ought to keep two bears, and
learn to bear and forbear with one another.
Since we all live in glass houses, we
should none of US throw stones Every
body laughs when the saucepan says to
the kettle, "How black you are!' Other
mems imperfections show our imperfec-
tons, for one sheep is much like another
and if there's an apple in my neighbours
eye, there is no doubt one in mine. We
ought to use our neighbors as looking
glasses to see our own faults in, and mend
in ourselves what we see in them.
have no patience with those who poke
their noses into every mans house to smell
out his faults, and put on magnifying
glasses to discover their neighbors' flaws
such folk had better look at home; they
might see the devil where they little ex-
pected. What we wish to see we shall see
or think we see. Faults are always thick
where love is thin. A white COW is all
black if your eye chooses to make it so.
If we sniff long enough at rose water we
shall find out that it has bad smell. y
would be far more pleasant business, at
least for other people, if fault-hunters
would turn their dogs to hunt out the good
points in other folks the game would pay
better, and nobody would stand with
pitchfork to keep the huntsman off his
farm. As for our own faults, it would
take large slate to hold the account of
them, but, thank God, we know where to
take them and how to get the better of
them. With all our faults God loves us
still if we are trusting in his Son, there
fore let us not be downhearted, but hope
to live and learn, and do some good ser
vice before we die. Though the cart
cresks, it will go home with its load, and
the old horse, broken kneed as he is, will
do sight of work yet. There's no use in
living down and doing nothing, because we
cannot do everything as we should like.
Faults or no faults, ploughing must be
done, and imperfect people must do it.
too or there will be no harvest next year;
bad ploughman as John may be, the angels
won't do his work for him, and so he is off
to do it himself. 20. Il. apMgeon.