The evening herald. [volume] (Shenandoah, Pa.) 1891-1966, 1892-08-16
ooMMoN-sENsE in GOODNESS.


Even a Virtue May BE Carried to lex.
cess.
1t is not possible to be too good. But
it is possible to expend a disproportion-
rte amount of conscientious effort upon
trifles which do not require it,
There is a young lady, for instance,
In New England village who is at
once the good angel of people in
trouble, and the plague of her acquaint-
Rnces. Her patience and kindness are
truly beautiful, her charity is untiring,
but her minor virtues have grown so out
of all proportion that they have become
deformity upon her character.
She is very near-sighted, but she goes
along the streets with her eyes fixed up
on the sidewalk, ignoring people she
knows, because she considers it her
duty to pick up unsightly scraps of pa
per, and to push into the gutter broken
bits of brick and slippery strips of ban
ana or orange peel which might other
wise cause mischief to the unwary.
If she sees dog sitting upon door
step and looking unhappy she pities it
and unhesitatingly opens the door
frequently happens that the undesired
animal is elected, and the door slammed
as soon as she is passed.
She is so truthful that il she makes
even an extremely trivial and unimpor-
tant statement, and afterwards finds
that t. is not exactly correct, she cannot
rest until she has sought the person to
whom it was made, at no matter how
great waste of time and trouble, recti-
fed the error, and made elaborate and
tiresoIne explanations and apologies
Being absent-minded and forgetful,
she often gets confused as to what she
has or has not said or done, and takes
infinite trouble to rectify wrongs which
never occurred, and apologize for onis-
sions which she did not make.
One day when there was a circus in
town, this young lady was crossing the
street just as the procession was ap-
preaching. She did not see it coming,
and went along in her usual leisurely
manner, carefully kicking out of the
way some small stones that she saw
which might at future time lame some
possible horse.
The crowd on the sidewalks, occupied
by the show, did not notice her until
the gigantic elephant which headed the
procession was close upon her, when a
shout of warning went up. The young
lady lifted her head, and looked up in
surprise and fright.
The elephant, fortunately an amiable
beast, hesitated, extended its trunk un-
til it nearly touched her waist, appar-
emily with the intention Of lifting her
bodily out of the way, when man ran
out from the crowd, and brought her
safely to the sidewalk.
"And the queer thing is," said the
friend who saw and related the Incl
: dent, with a twinkle in her eye, THAI
if the man hddRt run out, and the ele
plant haunt picked her up, and she
really lad been crushed as everybody
thought she was going to be while She
stood there kicking stones, ! don't a
: all know whether she would have beer
a martyr in a righteous cause or al
awful warningw
Common-sense is needed in goodness
as in oserything else. People who ar
not intelligently amiable and benevo
lent are apt to bring ridicule, not onl.
upon themselves, but upon the virtue
which they represent Personally
they may be liked and respected evel
while they are laughed at, but their eS
A ample loses its attraction for others
and however noble or helpful thei
general intentions or their specia
. achievements, they, fail to commen
q them TO others.-Yo Youths Companion.