Ellsworth American. [volume] (Ellsworth, Me.) 1855-current, 1893-02-02

test Of life." 1t requires more strength to
be faithful in the ninety and nine common
place duties, when no one is looking on.
when there ia no special motive to stir the
soul to its best effort, than 1t does in the
lone duty which by its unusual Importance
or by its conspicuousness, arouses enthu-
siasm for its own doing.
1t is in the every day Of life that nearly
all the worlds best work is done. There
are men who are never heard of on the
street, whose names never appear in the
newspapers, who do no conspicuous things.
whose lives have no glittering peaks, tow
ering high; and yet the level plane of their
years is rich in its beauty and It's fruitful
not shine in society. who are the idols Of
no drawing rooms, who attract no throng
4of admirers about them by resistless'
Charms, but who, in their own quiet, shell
dfaithfulness, move in ways of lowly duty,
: and unselfsh serving with sweet patience
land quiet cheerfulness, and pour out their,
Iheart's pure love like fragrance on all
about them. Who will say that the un-I
4eventful and unpraised every day of these
slowly ones is not radiant in Heavens
ssight. though they
Leave no memorial but a world made
little better by their lives"
The m runtsin peaks lift their glitteringI
acrests into the clouds aud win attention,
and sdmiration but it is in the great val;
4leys and broad plains that the harvests'
grow and the fruits ripen on which the'
millions of earth feed their hunger. So it,
lis not from conspicuous deeds of life that
/ the blessings chiefly come. which make the
world better, sweeter, happier, but from
/ the countless lowly ministries of the ever,
ldsys-the little faithfulnesses that ill long
syesrs. 1t is comfort to reflect that it Is,
1.-THE common life of the every day that in
Goods sight Is the truest and best and that;
sdoes the most to bless the world.
We could lose out of the worlds life its
few great, brilliant deeds. and not be much
lthe poorer; but to lose the uncounted
}faithfulnesses of the millions of common
lives would leave this earth a cold and
,lreary place indeed in which to live Most
1of us can expect to do only plain and com
Imonplace things; only a few people cam
become famous. The rest of US ought to
find help and instruction from this cousd- /.
:eratiou OF the value Of little things, faith
fully performed. 2
Many of Us need the inspiration which.
comes from this revealing. The glamour
iof the conspicuous is apt to deceive u.s.
there is so much glorifyiHg that we come
TO think the common as of small impor-
'tance. There are people whose days are
Jail alike in their dull routine, and who feel {.
that their life Is scarcely worth living. II
|only they could do something startling. or ).
sublime or even sensational, to lift them
'out of the dreary commonplace of their,
every days. they would feel that they were
living nobly or worthily. If they could
realize that IL is by its moral value that
life's worth is measured, they would know {
that ordinarily there ia ten times more
true glory in long. unbroken years of sim !
ple faithfulness. without distinction or
conspicuousness at any point, than there is !.
liz any unusual brlliancy in an occasionals
day or hour.
who knows y
" hat earth needs from earth'- lowest creatures:
No life &
Can be pure IN it, purpose and strong In Its
strife. 4
I, nd all life not bc purcr and stronger thereby. Z
Honest love honest sorrow Z
Honest work for the day, honest hope for the
morrow E.
Are these worth nothing more than the hand they
make weary, +.
The heart they have saddened, the life they leave
drearys" K