The Londonderry sifter. (South Londonderry, Vt.) 1883-19??, 1892-03-11
JOYS That Fade NOT.

Quoting from Bishop Phillips Brooks
comment on ''the vast power to make
one another unhappy" that is possessed
by mortals, the Philadelphia Public Led.
gerproceeds to investigate whether there
are not some individual joys so indie.
pendent of others that we can make
them permanently ours, and no man,
woman or child will have power over us
to take them away from us. The Led
ger thinks there are such sources of hap
piness-plenty of them.
First of all is mentioned the Joy of
perfect work-"the hope of excellence. -"
For this kind of happiness we must have
work we love. We place before our
minds vision an ideal of excellence and
beauty in that work. No matter what
it is-it may be one of the mechanical
trades, it may be farm or a vegetable
garden, or it may be the loftiest dream
OF rapturous perfection that ever il
Illuminated the brain of poet, painter or
sculptor. Whatever it is if we keep be-
fore us the desire and the determination
to reach perfection in that work then we
cannot be all unhappy. We are artists,
loving our work, and no mortal can rob
us of this triumphant joy. Emerson
said, "a man is relieved and gay when
he has put his heart into his work and
done his best, but what he has said or
done otherwise shall give him no peace. :"
Another joy made little of in this life
Is the pure and exalted happiness of low
ing people, and helping them Just be-
cause you like to do SO, without looking
for any return price to be paid by them.
Some one has said that it is no true love
which exacts return. If it is true love.
1t desires only the happiness of the be.
loved. 1t matters not whether the one
beloved cares for the one whose affec-
tons are fixed on him; it matters not
whether they ever meet in this life-the
one who loves for the sake of loving and
OF wishing good to the object of his af-
fections is the only true lover. So they
say.
The Ledger mentions, too, the Joy of
sterling character. Your reputation is
what other people think of you. Your
character is what you know yourself to
be. Your character is bad indeed when
you know in your heart that you are dis
honest, or teller of falsehoods, or any
thing you would not be willing the
whole world should know you to be. Ii
you can look yourself in the face in the
glass and feel conscious that there is
not shade of deception or hatred or
envy or desire to injure or crow over
another, If you know as you look at
yourself that you would not wrong an.
other out of dollar to get on in the
world yourself, that you would saw no
word about a person that you would not
say to him, that you have not an opinion
on any subject that you would sneak
ingly hide from men because it is nm.
popular, then indeed you have in your
self a JOY that mankind cannot give OF
take away.
The Ledger says further:
Ihese are but a few of the many lows with
winch no one may meddle. There is a sense of
beauty, the delight in nature or art the love Of
learning or Literature, the joy of thought and
truth, the enthusiasm in a good cause, II is
well to receive with gratitude or endure with
tortitude all the good or the i'll which the
world may bring us, but it is also well to Law
up treasures OF JOY in the secret recesses of our
nsarts' with which no hand can NEEDLE and
which no circumstances an sween ayyau "o
Mr.. George E. Woodberry declares