The Bossier banner. [volume] (Bellevue, Bossier Parish, La.) 1859-1952, 1890-07-24
BRIGHT VIEWS oE LEE.
They Beautify Our Surroundings and
Cheer Us in the Hour of Trouble.

They Beautify Our Surroundings and
Cheer Us In the Hour of Trouble.
1t is said of Browning that the reason
why he had so many admirers and
friends was because he never had the
blues. ''The world is not for despair"
he said. Joy is to be tasted; hope is to
be indulged; sorrow is to be met with
manliness; all things must work to-
gether for good"
Students of Browning affirm that al
though these sentiments are not to be
found in all his poems, there are many
persons who connect them so closely
with their idea of the poet that every
thing they find among his writings
which they do not comprehend they as
sumo to be some expression bearing on
this Wholesome view of life"
! Is it because persons are so rarely
found who hold this view Of life, or be-
cause Browning allowed it to form SO
great part of his personality, that it
| should be so associated with him? In
either case the lesson it teaches is the
same; the commentary on the rareness
of this wholesome view of life is as sad.
Ruin may stare you in the face.
''Not ruin at all,' asserts the man
with the wholesome view of life, "but
the darkest hour before morning!" and
though you are confident that he is mis-
taken and that further effort on your
part is useless, hope will assert itself,
and you make another struggle, and
pretty soon the morning breaks.
But suppose he did make a mistake
and it was ruin after all! Well, what
of it? You are no worse off for that last
struggle; indeed, you are better pleased
with yourself because you now feel
sure that you did what you could, and
you turn again to the man with the
wholesome view of life. That is, you
turn to him if you are wise, and hope
responds to his predictions, and you try
again. But perhaps you are not wise;
then you go to the one with the gloomy
view of life, who told you all along just
how it would be! You think, because
his predictions were fulfilled, that he
will be safe adviser, and you have yet
to learn that these people with the
gloomy view of life can make direful
predictions, but are at a loss when
asked, What would best do next?''
o, these people with the gloomy view
of life! How much of sunshine they do
keep out of the lives of othersl How
little they let shine on themselvesi
They predict failures and scandals and
domestic troubles, and by the gloom Of
their presence make all such things pos
sible. They watch for the earliest
symptoms, and make them public with
an ominous 81 told you So" They are
the gossips of the world. They weigh
down the spirit of young people with
talk of the miserable future which is in
store for them. They make sick people
worse by convincing them that they can
never get we'll They fling their per-
sonal SORROWS and troubles like great
black cloud between the happy spirit
and the sunshine. They look shocked
and grieved over burst of innocent
laughter, and put evil meanings to the
most harmless of speeches. They make
religion seem terrible thing to the
young who are requested to look to them
as shining examples of it's influence.
They rob life of more than half its
beauty and whatd they give in returnP
What shall be done with these people
with the gloomy view Of life? Who can
suggest method of attack which shall
be successful in infusing little sun
shine into their natures? Something
must be done, for there is danger OF
their becoming a majority.
They say life's duties and experiences
make them what they are; but their
statement is contradicted by the pres
ence of those whose experiences have
been more severe, whose duties are more
pressing aDd quite as distasteful, and
who have in abundance the patience and
courage and hopefulness and faith which
| form the wholesome view of life, and
which make life sweeter and better and
| brighter to all who know them.-Min-
, neapolis Housekeeper