The prison mirror. [volume] (Stillwater, Minn.) 1887-1894, 1890-02-06

"
horse cooled the spirit of the chase. turned
our elevated imagination into cruel. trouble
giving present and made us run in search
of mother to be sOOthed by her comforting
words and caressed by her gentle, loving
hand. With the same feeling do we to day
smile at our unbOunded joy and delight
when between the leaves of the hateful
grammar or speller we found the bright
dime OF. twenty-ti cent piece. The sight
of the sparkling coin Overcame our repug-
nance for the book. told of somebody's love
and sympathy. and inspired us with more
courage and desire to master the lesson,
and, at the end of an hour, we arose tri-
umphantly and with all air of victory. hav-
ing conquered, and accomplished the task.
How we'll do we remember when the evil
spirit within us had got the upper hand and
led us to commit some naughty action. as.
for instance. stealing into the mysterious
pantry, purloining the contents of sundry
Jars and tumblers labeled 'jam." The
discovery of such action brought punish
,4nent and shame. and how wildly do we
not remember running into some obscure
corner to hide our very selves, tormented
with a burning shame and feeling oh! how
wretched! How dark did not our little
world seem to us, how cloudy the horizon,
how wicked our action! How our little
heart throbbed with bitterness. shame and
remOrse! How our limbs trembled beneath
us and how spasnodic the twicEing of our
lips! We were angry with. and heaped
proaches on ourselves. in word, we were
nothing but little heap Of wretched, un-
happy humanity.
Was there then no hope. no shining star
to guide us. no bright sunbeam to dispel
our misery and warm our chilled heart?
There is common saying that the dark
est hour is just before dawn" and as our
wretchedneSs reached its height. when the
unbearable had come we thought of
mother. She was not then associated in
our mind as instrumental in our punish
ment. but as being that had the power
and the will to change our bitterness into
happiness. Long we battled with our in
dignatiOn to seek her presence; the shame
of our wicked deed made us feel so de-
graded. low and base; but the remembrance
of her kindness in times of past troubles
prevailed, and we crept timidly from our
hiding place to seek her forgiveness. We
started and trembled at every sound, fear
ing lest we should meet some other men,
Der of the family to be cOntemptuOusly and
scOrnfully glanced at. and very timidly
and Shrinkingly we entered mothers room
on our humble mission. All! how encOur-
aging her dear presence. how welcome her
smile as we stammered out our SupplicatiOn
for forgiveness; how soothing her kiss and
discerning her assurance that our wicked
ness was forgotten and forgiven! There
was life in that loving embrace. balm for
our affection in that tenderly uttered word
''Darlingw Everything in our surround
ings seemed instantly brighter and more de.
liGous than before, and looking confidently
up INTO her dear. furrOwed face. smiling
through our tears, she appeared to us as an
angel in human form, noble, holy and
divine.
1t is not enough to dwell upon the Incl
dents of childhood at times and then dismiss
them from our mind and turn our thoughts
on other matters. Our memory has mis-.
sion; it has purpose, far different than to
merely forget our present and for few mo-
ments live in the golden age forever left be-
hind. When we arrive at mature years we
should compare the present with the past.
exercise strict and impartial self eXamina-
tiOn. and ascertain which of the two ma
lures within us has got the upper hand or
the strongest power to lead us and control
our actions. If the good and better spirit
has more influence over us. it is WELL If,
on the other hand, we find that the evil
spirit is the master. we must exercise our
will power to conquer it, Ii we have the
will. it must and shall be overcome. Little
by little. bv perseverance and faith it will
be mastered. less and less its influence will
be felt. more and more the better spirit will
gain and higher it will ascend. lifting us by
degrees out of the mire of sin and iniquity;
it will ennOble and purify our nsEalre. as the
fiery furnace refines the gold and cleans it
from all impurities. We must accustOm
ourselves to denials and hardships. must
toll and strive bravely onward to the end.
nd hox, Ioh in
faith there will be something more subStan
tial to be seen from our efforts than bare,
withered leaves. F. o. l..