The mirror. (Stillwater, Minn.) 1894-1925, 1896-06-25

and the ten dumb centuries continued
voiceless, and the ten other listening
centuries (fOr there will be ten of them,
and more) would have no Divina Com
media to hear.
It was in the Madrid Jail that Ger
vantes wrote Don Quixote. He was so
poor that he could not even get paper
during the last of his writing, and had
to write on scraps of leather. A rich
Spaniard was asked to help him, but
the rich man replied: "Heaven forbid
that his necessities should be relieved;
it is his poverty that makes the world
rich. A constant struggle, a ceaseless
battle to bring success from inhospi-
table surroundings, is the price of all
great achievements" "She sings WE'LL"
said a great musician of a promising
but passionless cantatrice, "but she
wants something, and in that some
thing, everything. If 1 were single
would court her, would marry her; 1
would maltreat her; l would break her
the greatest singer in Europe" 'He
has the stuff in him to make good
musician" said Beethoven of Rossini,
eff he had only been we'll flogged when
boy; but he is spoiled by the ease
with which he composes." We do our
best while fighting desperately to at
tain what the heart cOyets.
Kossuth called himself "a tempest
tossed soul, whose eyes have been
sharpened by affliction.' Benjamin
Franklin ran away, and George Law
was turned out of doors. Thrown up
on their own resources, they early ac-
quired the energy and skill to over
come difficulties. AS soon as young
eagles can fly the old birds tumble
them out and tear the down and feath-
ers from their nest. The rude and
rough experience of the eaglet fits him
to become the bold king of birds, fierce
and expert in pursuing his prey. Boys
who are bound out, crowded out,
kicked out, usually turn out" while
those who do not have these disad-
vantages frequently fail to "come out"
"It was not the victories but the de-
feats of my life which have strength
ened me-" said the aged Sidenham
PoyntZ. Almost from the dawn of
history oppression has been the lot of
the Hebrews, yet they have given the
world its noblest songs, its wisest
proverbs, its sweetest music. With
them persecution seems to bring pros
perity.
In one of the battles of the Crimea
a cannon-ball struck inside the fort,
crashing through beautiful garden;
but from the ugly chasm there burst
forth spring of water which ever
afterward flowed living fountain.
From the ugly gashes which misfor-
tunes and sorrow make in our hearts,
perennial fountains of rich experience
and new joys often spring. Don't Ia
ment and grieve over lost wealth. The
Creator may see something grand and
mighty which even He cannot bring
out as long as your wealth stands in
the way. You must throw away the
crutches of riches and stand upon your
own feet, and develop the long unused
muscles of manhood. God may see a
rough diamond in you which only the
hard hits of poverty can polish. God
knows where the richest melodies of
our lives are, and what drill and what
discipline are necessary to bring them
out. The frost, the SHOWS, the light
nings, are the rough teachers that
bring the tiny acorn to the sturdy oak.
Fierce winters are as necessary to it as
long summers. 1t is the half-century's
struggle with the elements for exist
ence, wrestling with the storm, fighting
for its life from the moment that it
leaves the acorn until it goes into the
ship, that give it value. Without this
struggle it would have been character
less, staminaless, nerveless, and it's grain
. would not have been susceptible of
high polish. The most beautiful as
we'll as the strongest woods are found
!, not in tropical climates, but in the Sc
we're climates, where they have to fight