Democratic Northwest. [volume] (Napoleon, Ohio) 1869-1894, 1891-09-24

JHiIi- lay the kim thing. admit thai
this is easier for some temperamenIs than
for Others. Some are born pessimists, and
some are born optimists. and that demon
strates itselfa through everything It Is
cloudy morning. You meet Pesslmist
and you say, "N hat weather todayP de
answers, Its going to storm" and UNI
brella under arm and waterproof over
coat show that he is honest In that utter
ance. On the same block, minute after,
you meet an optimist, ana you say, What
weather today Good weather; this Is
only fog and will soon scatter" The
absence Of umbrella and absence of water
proof overcoat show it is an honest utter
ance.
On your way at noon TO luncheon you
meet an optimistic merchant aud you say,
"What do you think of the commercial
prospectsi" and he says: Glorious. Great
crops must bring great business. We are
going to have such an autumn and winter
of prosperity rs we have never seen" On
your way back to your store you meet
pessimistic merchant. "What do you think
of the commercial prospects, you ask.
And he answers: "Well, | don't know. So
much grain will surfeit the 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 a
hailstorm, and our business - rs dull as 1t
ever was" You will Iind the same differ.
ence in Judgment of character A man OF
good reputation is assaied and charged
;t l. A. ha E,-pt he
pessimist will believe in guilt "The papers
said so. and that's enough Down with
himP
oPTIMIsT AND PEssIMIsT.
The optimist will say; II don't believe d
word of it. don't think that a man that
has been as useful and seemingly honest
for twenty years could have got off the
track like that. There are two sides to this
story, and will wait to hear the other
side before | condemn him." My hearer,
II you are by nature pessimist, make
special effort by the grace of God to extir'
pate the dolorous and the hypercritical
from your disposition. Believe nothing
against anybody until the wrong is estab
lished by at least two witnesses of integ
rity. And if guilt be proved, find out the
extenuating circumstances II there are
any.
And then commit to memory so that you
can quote for yourself and quote for Others
that exquisite thirteenth chapter of First
Corinthians about charity that suffers
long and is kind, and hopeth all things
and endureth all things. By pen, by voice,
In public and in private, say 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
tightly closed and your tongue shut up.
What place Brooklyn would be to live
in, and all the other cities and neighboT.
hoods to live in. if charity dominated
What If all the young and old gossipers
were deadI The Lord hasten their funerals
What if tittle-tattle and whispering were
out of fashionl What If in ciphering out
the value of other peoples character, in
our moral arithmetic, we stuck to addition
instead of subtractionl Kindnessi Let us
morning, noon and night pray for it until
we get 1t. When you can speak good
word for some one speak it. If you car
conscientiously give letter of commenda
tion, give it. Watch for opportunities fo1
doing good fifty years after you are dead.
All my life has been affected by the let
ter of introduction that the Rev. DR.. Var
Vranken, of New Brunswick Theological
seminary, wrote for me, boy under him
when l was seeking q settlement in which
to preach the Gospel. The letter gave mi
my first pulpit. DR.. Van Vranken ha
been dead more than thirty years, yet
feel the touch of that magnificent old pro
| fessor Strange sensation was it when
received kind message from Rev. Thoma
Guard, of Baltimore, the great Methods
orator, six weeks after his death. By wa.
of the eternal worldi Oh, no, by way o
this world. | did not meet the friend t.
whom he gave the message until nearl.
two months after Thomas Guard had as
cended. So you can start word abou
some one that will be on its travels ant
vigorous long after the funeral psalm ha
been sung at your obsequies. Kindness
Why, If fifty men all aglow with it shoul'
walk through the lost world. methink
they would almost abolish perdition.
TOUCHING ANECDoTE OF ABRAHAM LINCOLN
Furthermore, there is kindness of action
That is what Joseph showed to his out
rageous brothers. That is what Davit
showed to Mephibosheth for his fathe
Jonathan's sake. That is what Onesiphol
us showed to Paul in the Roman peniten
tiary. That is what William Cowpe
recognized when he said he would no
trust man who would with his foot need
lessly crush worm. That is what ou
assassinated President Lincoln demon
| gtrated when his private secretary foun
him in the Capitol grounds trying to get
bird back to the nest from which it ha
i fallen, and which quality the illustriou
4 man exhibited years before, when havin
4 with some lawyers in the carriage on th
way to court passed on the road swim
! fast in the mire, after awhile cried to hi
horses, "Hol' and said to the gentlemen
81 must go back and help that hog out c
the mire" And he did go back and pu
on solid ground that most uninterestin
quadruped.
That was the spirit that was manifesto
by my departed friend, Honorable Alexal
der f. Stephens. of Georgia land lovelie
man never exchanged earth for heaven
when at Washington. A senator's vii
: who told my wife of the circumstance
: said to him, "Mr. Stephens, come and 81
} my dead canary bird" And he answered
'No, could not look at the poor thin
, without crying" That is the spirit ths
? Grant showed when at the surrender {
: Appomattox he said to General Lee, "A
] many of your soldiers are farmers and wi
: need the horses and mules to raise the crol
' to keep their families from suffering ne1
r winter, let each Confederate who can clail
/ horse or mule take 1t along with him.
e That is the spirit which, last night, te