The Abbeville press and banner. [volume] (Abbeville, S.C.) 1869-1924, 1890-08-27
The Secret of Happiness.

; Few people realize how much OF
their happiness, such as it is, is de-
pendent upon their work, upon the
fact that they are kept busy and not
left to feed upon themselves. Happi-
ness comes most to people who seek
her least, and think least about her.
It is not an object to be sought; it is
state to be induced. 1t must follow
and not lead. 1t must Overtake you,
and not you overtake it. How i'm
portant is health to happiness, yet the
best promoter of health is something
to do.
Blessed is the man who has some
congenial work, some occupation in
which he can put his heart, and
which affords complete outlet to
all the forces there are in him.
A man does not want much time to
think about himself. Too much
thought of the past and its shadows
overwhelms too much thought of
the present dissipates too much
thought of the future unsettles. /
find that if horse stands too much
in the stable, with too little work, he
gets the crib-bite. Too little work
makes kind of q wind-suckes of a
man.
I recently had letter from a friend
who, from having rented his farm for
a number of years, had to much leis.
ure. In this letter he writes how well
and happy he has been during the
season-he had enjoyed eXistence-the
gods had smiled upon him and he had
found life worth living. Then he told
me. not by way of explanation, but as
matter of news, that his head man
had been disabled two months before
and the care of the farm had dcvolved
upon himself; more, that he was rem
ovating place he had recently bought
re-modeling the house, shaping the
grounds, etc. Then I knew why he
had been so unusually well and hap
DIV. He had had something to do into
which he could throw himself, and it
had set all the currents Of his being
going again.
About the same time I had letter
from another farmer friend who told
me how busy he was, SO many things
pressing that there was need of his
going two or more directions at once,
not to get rich, bnt to make both ends
meet. And yet he was so happy !!
Therefore he was 81 happy, say ~
Troubles and trials, he says, are few
and soon over with, while the pleas
ures are past all enumeration. "There
is so much to be enjoyed one never
gets to the end of it."
This man was too busy to be unhap-
py, he had no time for ennua or the
blues. You see he did not over-in-
dulge in the luxury of leisure. He
was compelled to take it sparingly,
hence it always tasted good to him.
The fruit of the tree Of life of which
we must eat very sparingly is leisure.
Too much of it, and it turns to gall OIL
our tongue. A little too much of
those things which we think will
make us happy, and we are cloyed,
and miserable, indeed. The boy
would like to dine entirely upon pie
or sweetmeats, and we all need the
lesson that the dessert of life is to be
taken sparingly. Because money IS
good, do nor therefore, think that
riches are an unmiXed blessing be-
cause leisure is sweet to you, do not
therefore, imagine you would be hap
py with nothing to do. My cores
pondent was too busy and too poor to
be cloyed or stated, too much the vic
tim of circumstances to be self-accus-
ing and repining. He had no choice
but to 60 on and make the most OF
things.
I overheard an old man and a young
man talking at the station. The
Young man was telling Of an uncle of
his who had sold his farm and retired
into the village. He had enjoyed 60
ing to the village, and SO now he
thought he would take his fill of it.
But it soon cloyed upon him. He had
nothing to do. Every night he would
say with sigh of relief, "Well, an
other day is through" )" and each morn
ing wondered how he could endure
the day.
In every village up and down the
older parts of the country there are
several such men; every day is a bur-
den to them because they have moth
ing to do. They drift aimlessly up
and down the street; they loiter in
the post-office or lounge in the grocery
store, or hotel bar-room,-no comfort
to themselves and no use to the world.
With what longing they must look
upon the farmers that drive in to get a
horse shod or to do a little trading and
then drive briskly away! How the
vision of the farm, the cattle, the
sheep, the barn, the growing crops,
the early morning, the sowing, the
planting, the harvesting, ect., must
haunt them. Nothing to do! When
they were driven and oppressed with
work they rad thought, what pleas
ure to be free from all this, to be at
liberty to ge and come as one liked,
with no cows to milk or chores to do
Now they probably have not u hen or
a dog to comfort them. These men 90
not live out more than half their lat
ter days. Nature has no use for them
and they soon drop away whereas
their neighbors who stick to the farm
and keep the currents going, reach a
much more advanced period of life.
John Burroughs, in the CHdutdu-
p,ld7a.
Uncle Reuben Jones did not live
happily with his wife. He told his
minister he could not tell why it was,
for he gave his wife great many COM
pliments. The minister went round
TO dinner, and in the course of the
meal Uncle Reuben took occasion to
say to his wife:
"Jane, my dear, you are the best
cook in the country. 0 how l wish
you were as good a laundress ~