Staunton spectator. [volume] (Staunton, Va.) 1849-1896, 1891-09-16
from the Lynchburg News.]
HOPE DARE

ENJOlNs 0OG ATTENUATION oc Tn0"'nNA
BLESSINGS, AND HOPEFUL VIEWS OF THE
FUTURE.
sits most the tail end of the summer
now, Miss Hope, and it's bin tryin' sum-
mer, too, to some of u.s." said Jeremiah
Doleful. drawing his cotton bandana over
his moist forehead and setting down the
basket from which he had taken out our
weekly supply of butter.
"Oh, no, Mr.. Doleful," replied, sit
has been very charming summer, think;
a great deal of cool, pleasant weather, and
such an abundance OF fruit"
"Waal, yaas, but it wouldn't surprise
me if we have hard winter ahead, and no
fruit a'tall next year. My orchards purity
full now, but some of the apples mitely
specked, and drappin' to the ground fo'
time to guther 'em."
Sand there is no way you can use
these9"
"Waal, yaas, the best of 'em's good fur
cider, and the others we feed to the hogs
giEerally."
'sThen I should think, really, it was
quite fortunate to have them fall; it saves
the trouble of climbing the tree"
MIR. Doleful chuckled little at this sug-
gestion, adding SIT amt always handy for
q ole man like me to climb tree, and
hired hands nowadays is nifty scase and
cost more n they're with great site."
$50 the falling of your apples would
seem, after all, to be blessing in disguise;
how are your grain-crops, Mr.. Doleful?"
entity good 30 fur, Miss Hope, but I'm
mitely afraid the price amt going to be so
good after all; crops is nifty plentiful this
year, but that always puts the price down,
you know"
"Another blessing, not in disguise-the
poor will be able to buy bread cheaper"
"Waal, yaas, but down my way there's
goin' to be heap o. sickness this fall; the
ole canal looks like it never will fill up nur
dry up, neither, and fever's bound to come,
in my tumble opinion
s'Did you have much last year,"
"Waal, no, and that's the very reason l
think it'll come this year; ther' haint been
no typhoid thar now for goin' on three
years." And 80 our rural visitor con.
tinued his gloomy STRAIN veritRble type
of large class of croakers who never look
at anything present or future except
through smoked glasses and fail to see any
bright side in any direction, until after it
has passed by. Such people dsrken the
sunshine of to-day with morbid anticipa-
tions of clouds tomorrow, and so lose
present opportunities of happiness by
gloomy forebodings of future ills. stake
no thought for tomorrow" has no signifi-
canoe for them except he.absurd interpre-
tation, never intended, of sitting with
folded hands and waiting for the ravens to
feed them as they did Elisha of old. Such
want of appreciation of the blessings we
have, is not only unjust to ourselves in al.
"they take their flight" but it is migrate
mi to ho of oil nj fro
Our duty is plainly, to ''sow'' diligently,
and leave results to the Lord of the harvest,
who promises that in due season, that is in
His own time, we "shall reap if we faint
not" 1t is wisdom to lay hold of present
good, and not wait for any future i'll, to
bring out by useless contrast its lost value.
jeremiah Doleful was an honest, hard
working farmer, who not only managed to
"keep ahead" as the phrase goes but had
respectable bank account. Yet he was
never happy or even satisfied. The fear
of something that might never occur kept
him from reasonable enjoyment of any
good fortune that did come to him. If he
was in good health, he always feared he
might be taken down sick"; if he was
sick, he was '1ikely to de-" and wished
he could only feel ''as strong and well as
he used to fsel.'' If his crops failed, it was
just his luck; If his barns overlooked Nth
plenty, he was afraid prices would be low
and he 'shouldn't wonder if he didn't
make nuthin' at all another year." And so
the blessing of full crop was always over
balanced by tho dread Of an empty one,
and the joys of life poisoned by shadow
ing sense of coming evil.
There are great many Jeremiah Dole
fuls in the world, and many Of us bear close
resemblance in not getting out of life all
that life offers.
We look into the face of Providence
while the very clouds over our heads drop
down fairness, and disturb ourselves with |
the reproachful enquiry: Will it be so |
another Year, Like foolish children we are |
not content to play under blue sky to- |
day, but we must whine and fret over the |
possibility of a rainy day Tomorrow. Few |
estimate the actual cost of such folly. 1t |
not only units us for present enjoyment, |
but our best faculties are worn and i'll used |
with constant beating against prison bars |
which we ourselves have forged. Does the |
bird, soaring on wings of joy through blue
ether, vex himself with apprehension of |
being some day caught and confined in
cage? Does the butterfly, sporting in the
bright sunshine, disturb himself with
vague fear of being some day impannelled
in close case to swell the collection of a
natural scientist? Neither should we in
any other than lawful and prescribed
sense stake thought of the morrow The
same Hand that upholds the universe and
keeps the stars in their appointed places is
round about US also. "Suficient unto the
day is the evil thereof"