The enterprise. [volume] (Wellington, Ohio) 188?-1899, 1891-09-16


vated until It fills ali the nature withIa
perfume richer and more pungent than
mignonette, and, sasif you put q tuft OF
that aromatic beauty behind the clock
on the mantel, or In some corner where
nobody can sceit, you fndpeople walk
ing about, your room looking this way
and that, and you ask them: "What
are you looking for?p and they answer;
Where Is that fiowcr?7 So II one has
In his soul this infinite sweetness Of dis
position, its perfume viii whelm every
thing -- ft
But are .you waiting and hoping for
some one to be bankrupted or exposed, or
discomfted, or In some way overthrown,
then kindness has not taken possession
of your nature. You are wrecked on q
Malta where there are no oranges. You
are entertaining guest SO unlike kind
ness that Kindness will not come and
dwell under the same roof. The most
exhausting and unhealthy and ruinous
feeling on earth is a revengeful spirit
or retaliating spirit as know by expe-
rience, for | have tried It for five Or ten
minutes at time. When some mean
thing has been done me or said about
Inc, have felt ~ will pay him in his
own coin. / will show him up The
ingratel The traitorl The liar! The
villainl" But FIVE or ten minutes OF the
feeling has been so unnerving and ex-
hausting have abandoned 1t, and can
not understand how people can go
about torturing themselves five or ten
or twenty years, trying to get even
with somebody. The only way you
will ever triumph over your enemies is
by forgiving them and wishing them all
good and no evil As malevolence Is
the most uneasy and proftless and dan
gerous feeling, kindness is the most
healthful and delightful. And this is
not an abstraction. As have tried a
little of the retaliatory feeling, SO l
have tried little of the forgiving. l
do not want to leave this world until
have taken vengeance upon every
man that did me wrong, by doing
him kindness. In most Of such
cases I have already succeeded, but
there are a few malignants whom
am yet pursuing and shall not be con-
tent until have In some way helped
them or benefited them or blessed them.
Let us pray for this spirit of kindness
/ II will settle thousand questions II
will change the phase Of everything. II
will mellow through and through our
entire nature. IL will Transform life
time. 1t is not feeling gotten up for
occasions, but perennial That Is the
reason l like petunias better than morn
ing-glories. They look very much alike
and II should put in your hand pc
tunia and morning-glory you could
J., hardly tell which Is the petunia and
which the morning-glory; but the morn
ing-glory blooms only few hours and
then shuts up for the day, while the
petunia is in as widespread glow at IL
o'clock at noon and o'clock In the
evening as at sunrise. And this grace
Of kindness is not spasmodic, is not In
termittent, Is not for little while, bui
Il irradiates the whole nature, all
through and clear on TO the sunset Of
our earthly existence. Kindnessl ] an
resolved 70 get IT. Are yon resolved Il
get Il? 1does not come by hap-hazard
but through culture under the divine
1 help. Thistles grow without culture
Rocky Mountain sage grass grows with
out culture. But tLat:great red rose In
the conservatory, its leaves packed on
leaves, deep-dyed as though II had beer
obliged TO fight for It's beauty and 4
were still reelxing with the carnage o.
the battle, that rose needed TO be cul
tured, and through long years It's fora
ancestors were cultured. oh, Godl i'm
plant kindness in all our souls, and ther
give us grace 10 watch II, to enrich 1t
to develop III
The king Of Pussia had presented Il
him by the empress Of Russia the roo
of rare flower. and II was put In thu
royal gardens on an island, and th'
head gardener, Herr Fintelmann, wa
told TO watch II. And one day IL pu
forth It's glory. Three days Of ever,
week the people were admitted 10 thes'
gardens, and young man, probabl,
not realizing what wrong thing HI
was doing, pluclsed this flower and pu
II IN his buttonhole, and the gardene
arrested him as he was crossing at tn,
ferry, and asked the king TO throw opei
no more his gardens TO the public. Tn
king replied: "Shall deny to tn
thousands Of good people Of my countr.
the privilege Of seeing this garden be
cause one visitor has done wrong? Nc
let them come and see the beautiful
: grounds" And when the gardene
wished 10 give the king the name Of th
offender who had taken the roya
flower, he said; "No, my memory
very tenacious and do not want ;
have IN my mind the name Of the often
der, lest II should hinder me grantin,
him favor some other time.r Now,
want you 70 know that Kindness is
! royal flower and blessed be God, th
King OF mercy and grace, that by d
vine gift and not by purloining, we ma.
! pluck this royal flower and not wear
ON the outside OF our nature but wea
II In our soul and wear II forever, II
: radiance and aroma not more wonder
full for time than wonderful for etei
: nifty.
Still further, must speak Of kind
ness of word: When you meet anyon
do you say pleasant thing or an ur
pleasant? Do you tell him Of agreeabl
: things you have heard about him, o
the disagreeable? When he leaves yor
does he feel better ordoes he feel worse