The Austin weekly statesman. (Austin, Tex.) 1883-1898, 1892-03-10

most intelligent of all the anllnalS
that have ever been given over TO our
service. When 1 see one abused
must confess that my blood boils, and
would willingly see his driver under
60 like punishment. And that is the
reason that every day look with sor'
row upon fine, well-groomed horses
drawing handsome carriages, ana
perhaps driven by tender, we'll
gloved hands, yet those unhappy
horses are suffering fortunes such as
would kill man OF make maniac OF
him in a few hours. Of course every
body knows that allude to overhead
check rein, and of course everybody
uses it in driving; butnobody pretends
that it is natural for the horse to
carry his head in that position for
hours at a time. If mans head
were strapped back so that his face
were turned skyward, he would suffer
the most uncomfortable agony in
a few moments but it would really
be a good idea to strap them
all back for little while, just to give
them little consideration for the un-
fortunate horses which are treated
the same way, We need an anti
checkrein crusade, and good way to
begin is to begin. Take off the over
head check, and let the horse hold his
head as he will. The result may not
be so dashing and spirited, but it will
be far more humane.
#*x
There is one class of people who al
ways mean well, undoubtedly, but
who harrow up your soul as your bit
terest enemy could not possibly do,
and who have skill to thrust weapon
into your wounds and turn it and
twist it until you would go mad if you
did not know they were trying to
comfort you. They are the people
who have hoard of commonplace
sayings always ready for any
emergency, and who seldom
pass through life without finding
many emergencies which the trite
sayings will fit. They come to you in
your widest grief for some loved one
that has gone out of your life, and
when you could endure nothing more
than the sympathetic pressure Of
friendly hand, perhaps, they tell you
that it is "the Lords WILL" and that
"the Lord gave and the Lord taketh
away and that your cherished dead
is "better off" You may believe it
all, but if anything would make you
reject every truth like this, it would
be having these worn out utterances
droned into your ears at such a time.
And yet, they mean it for comfort,
these people, and go away satisfied
that they have done their best. One
of them stands over the open coffin of
SOME man who has had his sorrows,
his gloomy days, his many disap-
his weaknesses too, per-
haps, but who has poured sunshine
into many life. has sustained many
a soul, and marked his way, all along
the journey, by deeds of kindness
which the world will never know
But the commonplace person
looks down upon the face of the
sleeper, and shaking his head mourn
fully says, in sorrowful tones: Poor
fellow! He was his own worst enemy.n
Oh, they mean well, these common
place people; but what a pity they
cannot be colOniZed on some island,
where their trite inanities could be
used only upon one another? Many
people who mean well, and who un-
dOubtedly go to heaven when they
die, are not agreeable, and we'll
people who are disagreeable
are more disagreeable than anybody
else.
w
One of the group had just suggested
hat one great cause CT the constant
in the world was that people
talked too mnch; when a thoughtful,
'weet-spirited old gentleman re-
marked: "No, it is not that, think.
The real trouble is, it seems to me,
that people so seldom say what they
really mean. OF course L don't be-
Iieve that when we dislike people we
should proclaim their faults and our
dislike to the world. Silence
IS better than speech in such
cases. But in regard to other
things, we are not careful enough in
our selection Of language. We allow
our hearers to get wrong idea of
what we have been telling. We are
not candid or straightforward. We
mean one thing and say another, and
our nearer repeats our speech, but he
also says what he doesn't mean. That
is what sets communities by the ears,
and makes social earthquakes
w
We were passing along the side
walk under the window, when an old
lady leaned out and showed us a rug
she had just finished. 1t was beau
5iful rug, soft as velvet, and it had
lark and somber groundwork, so
like life, but there were sprays of
lowers upon it, and that was like life
too, which leaves no road wholly hare
Of beauty and perfume. And when
we came to ask about the material
that had gone into this beautiful crea-
lion, behold, it was made OF rags!-
mere odds and ends of worn
out garments, some of them.
scraps of cloth which most people
wodld have passed by unnoticed. 1t |
was pleasant to look from the rug to
he placid, wrinkled face above it.
with its framework of soft, snowy
lair! What infinite patience Law
pack of that multitude of stiches And
h. foa oh