The Abbeville press and banner. [volume] (Abbeville, S.C.) 1869-1924, 1891-09-30

divine neip. 1nisIies Sio" "i'iouo N0'
ture. Rocky mountain sage grass grows
without culture. Mullen stalks grow
without culture But that great rel rose
in the conservatory, its leaves packed on
leaves, deep dyed as though it had been
obliged to fight for its beauty and it were
still reeking with the carnage Of the battle,
that rose needed to be cultured, and through
long years its floral ancestors were cultured:
God implant kindness in all our souls, and
then give us grace to watch it, to enrich 1t,
to develop it!
The king of Prussia had presented to him
by the empress of Russia the root OF a rare
flower, and it was put in the royal gardens
on an island, and the heal gardener, herr
Fintelmann, was told to watch It, And one
day it put forth its glory. Three days OF
every week the people were admitted to
these gardens, and young man, probably
not realizing what a wrong thing he
was doing, plucking this flower and
put it in his buttonhole, and the gar
dener arrested him as he was crossing at the
ferry. and asked the king to throw open no
replied: ''Shall l deny the thousands or
good people of my country the privilege or
seeing this garden because one visitor mas
done wrong? No, let them come and see the
beautiful grounds"
And when the gardener wished to give the
king the name Of the offender who had taken
the royal flower, he said, mo, my memory
Is very tenacious and do not want to have
in my mind the name Of the offender, lest IL
should hinder me granting him favor some
other time Now, 1 want you to Know low
blessed be God, the King of
mercy and grace that by a divine gift and
lot by purloining we may pluck this royal
flower and not wear it on the outside OF our
nature, but wearit on our soul and wear 1t
forever, its radiance and aroma not more
wonderful for time than wonderful Tor eter-
nifty.
Still further, must speak Of kindness of
word. When you meet anyone 90 you say
pleasant thing or an unpleasant? DO you
tell him of agreeable things you have heard
about him, or the disagreeable? When ne
leaves you does he feel better or does he feel
worse. Oh, the power Of the tongue for the
production Of happiness or misery! One
would think from the way the tongue Is
Gagged in we might take the hint that it has
a dangerous power. First, it is
chained to the pack Of the mouth by
strong muscles. Then it is surrounded oy
the teeth OF the lower jaw, 50 many ivory
bars, and then BY the teeth Of the upper
jaw, more ivory bars. Then outside Of all
are the two lips with the power OF compress
sion and arrest and yet notwithstanding
these four imprisonlnents or limitations, how
many take no hint In regard to the danger
GUS power OF the tongue, and the results and
lacsration, specification and damnation.
There are those if they know good thing
about You and a bad thing, win mention the
bad thing and act as though they had never
heard the good thing. Now there are two
sides to almost everyone's character, and we
have the choice of overhauling the virtue or
the vice. We can greet Paul and the ships
crew as they come up the beach Of Malta with
the words: What a sorry looking set you arel
How little OF navigation you must know
to run on these rocks! Didn't you know
better than to put out On the Mediterranean
this 8intry month? It was not much Of
ship anyhow, or it would not have gone to
pieces SO soon as that. We'll, what do you
want? We have hard enough work to make
a living for ourselves, without having thrust
on us two hundred and ssventy-six raga
mullins"
Not so, ssid the Maltese I think they
said: "Come in! Sit down by the fire and
warm yourselves Glad that you all got
OFF with your lives. Make yourselves at
home. You are welcome to all we have
until some ship comes in sight and you re-
sumo your voyage. Here, let me put
bandage on your forehead, for that is an
ugly cash you got from the floating tim
bers and here is man with broken arm.
We will have doctor come to attend to this
fracture" And though for three months
the kindness went on, we have but little
more than this brief record, "The barbarous
people showed us no little kindness"
OH say the cordial thing! Say the useful
thing! Say the hospitable thing! Say the
helpful thing! Say the Christlike thingl
Say the kind think! I admit that this Is
easisr for some temperaments than for 9th
ers. Some are born pessimists. and some
are born optimisss, and that demonstrates
itself all through everything. 1t is
a cloudy morning. You meet pessinist
and you say, "What weather to-dav%' He
answers, Its going to storm" and um.
brella under arm and waterproof over
coat show that he is honest in that utter
ance. On tho same block, minute after,
you meet an optmist, and you say, "What
weather to-lay?' "Good weather, this is
only fog and will soon scatter" The
absence Of umbrella and absence Of water
proof overcodt show it is an honest utter
ance.
On your way at noon to luncheon you
meet an optimistic merchant and you say,
What do you think of the commercial
prospects," and he says: "Glorious. Great
crops must bring great business. We are
going to have such an autumn and winter
Of prosperity as we have never seen." Cn
your way back to your store you meet
pessimistic merchant. What do you think
of the commercial prospects, you ask. And
he answers: We'll, I don't know. SO
much grain will surteit tde country. Farm
ers have more bushels but less prices and
the grain gamblers will get their fist in.
There is the Mckinley bill, and the hay
crop is short in some places. and in the
southern part of Wisconsin they had hail
storm, and our business is as dull as it ever
was" You will find the same difference i'll
judgment Of character A man Of good
evil deed. At the first story the pessimist
and that's enough. Down with him"
The optimist will say: II don't believe a
word Of it. don't think a man that has
been as useful and seemingly honest for
twenty years could have got of the track
like that. There are two sides to this story.
and will wait to hear the other side before
condemn him." My hearer. if you are by
nature pessimist. make a special effort by
the grace Of God to extirpate the dolorous
and the ny percritical from your disposition.
Believe nothing against anybody until the
wrong is established by at least two wit
nesses of integrity. And if guilt be proved.
find out the extenuating circumstances If
there are any.
And then commit to memory 50 that you
can quote for yourself aud quote for others
that exquisite thirteenth chapter Of First
Corinthians about charity that suffers
long and is kind, and hopeth all things and
endurerh all things. By pen, by voice, in
public and in private, says all the good about
people you can think Of and if there be
nothing good, then tighten the chain Of
muscle on the back end Of your tongue, and
keep the ivory bars OF teeth on the lower jaw
and the ivory bars of teeth on the upper jaw