The mirror. (Stillwater, Minn.) 1894-1925, 1896-12-24

Generous impulses are only va
nieties of good intentions, and. like
the latter, are of value only when
acted upon. Great numbers Of
people who do nothing for their
fellow men have at times generous
impulses, but control them. Moved
by-some story of distress or in
spired by the good work done by
.alpublic institution, they resolve
ito devote a part of their means to
the relief of the distressed or the
promotion of charity. They feel
better for the impulse and not in
frequently gain in their own estl-
nation because they have been
moved to do good. But they delay
action until their ardor has cooled
off and then they begin to seek ex-
.cuses for not carrying out their
generous intentions. Sometimes
they will 90 SO far as to Withdraw
a subscription or break a promise
rather than carry out a generous
impulse. It is, of course desirable
to keep all impulses under the con-
troll of reason.
Figuratively speaking, they
come from the heart. or are the
product of emotions, and are,
therefore, not as safe guides as
reason provides, and yet the best
men allow their impulses some
play. They are generally right,
i'm direction at least, and need only
to be kept in check by prudence.
The cupidity Of men is often ex-
hibited by their repentance of
generous deeds. One curious IN
stance was exhibited in little
town where the chief landowner
set aside what was at the time a
useless block of ground, for pub
lie square. 1T had required no
great sacrifice on his part to be-
come a public benefactor, and he
enioved the distinction it gave
him. But he; (quite innocently)
neglected the little formality OF
transferring the title of the prop
erty to the borough. He had said
it was to be public park and that
seemed sufficient In the course
of few years, however, land be-
gan to appreciate in value about
the park and the value of the pub
lie ground became SO great that he
could not resist the temptation to
sell it. and thus the park disap-
peared, and with it his generous
impulse.
Scores of men volunteer to do
some public work without pay, and
after the first flush of generous
impulse has passed away begin to
think how they can make their
labor turn to their personal ac-
count The commonest form of
this strangling of generous i'm
pulse is where directors Of charity
begin by doing work for it without
charge, then charge for supplies
and labor at cost, then add a profit
and end by virtually robbing the
charity through extortion. Very
few who end in this way start with
any intention to do wrong. Their
first inspiration is Il generous I'M
pulse of which they repent. A
we'll governed man does not re-
press his generous impulses. nol
does he allow himself to be car
ried away by them. He gives them
due consideration. and when he
finds that he can follow them he
does so with no thought of turn
ing back. 1t is not proper, per
haps, to examine in specific cases
the motives that inspire generous
deeds. but it may be observed in
general that they are sometimes
dictated by vanity or the desire
for notoriety.
They may not for that reason be
any less beneficial to the subjects
OF such generosity, and, therefore
it would be unwise to condemn
one who is moved to help Others
by motives that are deemed un
worthy, but each man can moulC
his own character so that the gen
erous impulses he may have may
not have selfish inspiration. TX
do so he must mingle with his fel
low men and cultivate his sympa
thies so that his heart will be
quickly responsive to cries of dis
tress or appeals for help. That il
the only way to buy happiness
with money. It can not be bough
like grosser things, with money
alone: but in great abundance will
money that is given away from
pure and generous motives, guided
by sound sense and reason. Hen