The mirror. (Stillwater, Minn.) 1894-1925, 1897-12-16
RMs. S1.O0 per year. in advanc.
Six Months so cents.

and the sooner he turns back to steady
duty as the chief aim of life the hap
pier he will be. x
The man may be said to be getting
into wrong ways who, either in his
own acts, or through the company he
keeps, is living below the higher levels
of his own character. When you see a
man getting on "the down grade" in
this way, how can you give him
warning and helping hand? If he has
good sense, he will know that he is not
doing himself justice; but, none the
less, he may be averse to hearing
the truth from any one but himself.
The men who would be best able to
put a friend on his mettle are usually
the men who would be most sensitive
in undertaking duty of the kind.
The dull pushing, good man without
taste will scatter his warnings right
and left, and as often as not does
harm. 1t requires singularly sensitive
nature to draw the good out of men
who are getting into wrong ways, and
to give them the heart to cease from
whatever is injuring them and make
fresh start along the lines of their
better selves. There is no need for
encouragement; for, be it remembered,
almost every man, at some time in his
career, goes certain distance along
ways which, farther pursued, would
lead towards disaster.
In this connection perhaps one may
be allowed to say, without seeming to
trench upon the preachers ground,
that there is shamefacedness in men,
in all attempts to keep up the spiritual
side of character, which contrasts sig
nifcantly with the ease with which
they fall into talk and ways that can
do no good and almost certainly must
do harm. We do not mean that when
men meet together promiscuously they
should lay bare their inmOst thoughts
and most sacred experiences, or lead
conversation round to religion or the
great problems of the world.
Our characters are like our gardens;
they need the constant wedding out of
perhaps unexpected growths. They
are like our rooms and desks, which
must from time to time be resOlutely
made tidy, or confusion follows.
There may be people in the world who
can keep along the even road of per-
fection, or what is practically perfect
but they are very few in number, most
of us getting little wrong before we
know that we are wrong. We are
brought up sharply by the knowledge
that we have been acting more fool
ishly than might reasonably have been
expected of people with as much sense
as we prided ourselves on possessing.
What should be our attitude towards
ourselves when self-audit has con-
vinced us that we might have been
wiser, more circumspect-tha we
might, in short, have been different
with manifest advantage to ourselves?
The common sense view is to be differ
ent at once, to clear off the gathering
weeds, to make fresh start, with
watchful eye upon the weaknesses
which perhaps have been becoming
pleasant to us. And to our friends we
owe the difficult and delicate duty of a
warning. if they should be slipping,
almost unawares, into habits that will
be dangerous by-and-by.
Do you know some good fellow who
is beginning to be talked about, to be
looked askance at, who is losing caste
just little because he is offending
public opinion in this or that direction,
who is consorting with people whom
he bad better avoid, who is becoming
slack in business, or too fond of pleas
ure, who is known now and again to
give away to indulgences which under
mine the respect felt for him by his
neighbOrs; then, hard as it may be to
do it, it is your duty as a good friend
and citizen to find some method of
bringing him face to face with the
facts in such manner as will not fur
ther destroy his self-respect; and so
save yourself from a completely of
non interference if he should continue
in his course and evoke the sad and
terrible verdict-"Gone wrongr'-Phil-
oIo1phio Cofnr1ov Evo Dock