The Worthington advance. [volume] (Worthington, Minn.) 1874-1908, 1891-04-23

not to know what my pride, about
which I've talked so much, really con-
sisted of. But perhaps it isn't so odd
after all; there are so many shoddy
sorts of pride nowadays that the real,
honest kind is apt to be overlooked en-
ly."-Josephine Gates, in N. Y.
Ledger.
JUST THOUGHTS.
No Structure Of just Deeds Possible With
out Them.
Justice is usually thought to apply to
conduct, especially that which is shown
in the relations between man and man.
To be just in this sense is to give every
one his due, to discharge the obligations
which fall upon us, to preserve strict
integrity in all our dealings, and to be
not only honest, but honorable in every
transaction. But, while just conduct
rightly occupies a prominent place in
all moral and ethical life, and while we
cannot too strongly emphasize its les
sons of duty, there is another depart
ment of justice which receives less at
| tention than it deserves-i. g., just
thoughts. There is popular fallacy
that, while we can help what we do or
! omit doing, we cannot help what we
think. Yet thought lies at the founda-
ton of action, and no structure of just
deeds can ever be safely built unless
the substratum of just thought be
sound and firm. It is both a rare and
difficult thing to think justly; it is, in
deed, largely an intellectual virtue, to
be attained even in measure only by
careful culture and persistent effort,
and in its perfection never by imperfect
, beings. Nevertheless, every one who
desires it and endeavors to develop it
within himself can succeed to agreat
degree; and the habit of thinking just
ly, like every other habit, increases
| with every exercise. Perhaps nothing
so greatly tends to just thinking as the
practice of suspending the Judgment
until we have full means of testing it.
This is often an irksome task. A state
of uncertainty or suspense is so disa-
greeable to many persons that, to
avoid it, they will hastily make up
their minds on mooted points, imagining
that thus they have forever settled the
matter. Opinions thus formed have no
value and can carry no weight. Yet
having once pronounced them, people
feel bound to uphold and stand by them,
and they are very unwilling TO hear
them questioned or opposed. Much of
the useless controversy which wastes
the time and exhausts the energies of
thousands, without eliciting any truth,
| springs from no other source than this.
The fact is that, upon vast number Of
subjects, suspense of Judgment is the
| only mental condition which is at all
| likely to lead to truth. A more modest
| and correct estimate of our own powers
| would of itself suggest this course.
| Surely, unless we are well informed on
the subject, and fully able to analyze
the facts, to weigh the probable causes
and to put aside all prejudice and pre-
| possessions, we are not in condition
to pronounce with certainty upon any
question az issue; therefore we can
have no assurance that hasty conclu-
sions are either just or true.-Philadel.
phia Ledger
ANTIQUE CT .:IOsITIEs.
The Strange Relics of Two Old-Time
Churches.
There isca curious legend regarding
an altar in little church in the village
of st. Hilary, on the island of Anglesea.
The central panel of the oak support Of
this altar has been lost for many years
so long, in fact, that not even the
| Coolest inhabitant" can give the date
of it's disappearance. The opening is
hardly foot wide and the altar itself
is also very diminutive, not exceeding
sixteen inches in width. The belief is
that anyone who can get in under the
altar through this opening, turn
around and come out will thus gain a
twelve months lease of life. So many
persons having implicit faith in this
superstition have endeavored thus to
lengthen their days that the under
side of the altar has become highly pol
ished by the contact of their heads and
shoulders.
Another curiosity in the same church
is pair of peculiarly shaped tongs or
pinchers, on which are inscribed the
names of the churchwardens, together
with the dates at which they served.
These show that this article of furni-
| ture was in use upward of two hundred
years ago. 1t was employed to catch
dogs who inadvertently strayed into the
church during service, and as it is very
large and strongly-made was capable
of giving the unfortunate CANNES a Sc
we're pinch which they were not at all
likely to forget in hurry. 1t must
have been very edifying spectacle 70
see a pompous churchwarden capturing
a dog in this manner and conveying
him at arms length down the aisle un-
til he reached the door, where his dog
ship was unceremoniously tossed out
| to reflect on his audacity in thus dis
turbing the sanctity of the chaoel.- De-
| troit Free Press
SNAKE DOCTORS.
Holt entots Who Make u Business Of Cur
ing Snake Bites.
In some of the fine agricultural dis