The Universalist. [volume] (Chicago [Ill.]) 1884-1897, 1897-04-03

child when it was born was provided
with two pairs. One was of rose
colored glass. and the other of very
dark blue-so dark as to be almost
black. Everybody had his choice, as
he grew up, which pair he would
wear. When one wore the blue
glasses everything assumed the dark
hue of the glass. Even the grass and
trees and flowers had dull, gloomy
tint, and the faces of everybody one
met wore somber expression. They
also revealed all the disagreeable
features of any scene, while the pleas
ant side was invisible. For instance,
if one entered sick room, one saw
the pale and wasted countenance of
the poor sufferer, the rows of ugly
medicine bottles, the night-lamp, the
tired, careworn expression of the anx-
ious wife or mother"
"But what else" interrupted
Rachel, "could one see?"
"With the rose-colored glasses one
saw the evidences of loving care
which surrounded the invalid, the
beautiful flowers, the gifts of fruit
and books, the letters from kind
friends. He saw the look of love and
tenderness upon the watchers face.
In the home of poverty, where the
dark glasses gave only glimpses of
want and care and dread, the bright
ones showed the tender bond of fam
ily love which united it's members all
the more closely because of their
privations. They showed the daily
sacrifices each made for the other,
the pleasure which any unexpected
bit of good luck brought to their re-
stricted lives, and the patience and
cheerfulness with which trials were
met"
"But tell me about the children"
said Rachel. "Did any of them wear
blue glasses"
ayes, indeed,I am sorry to say,
very many of them did, and they
found their school and play time full
of trials, while the children who chose
the pink glasses. we're as merry and
happy as the day is long. Some days
they deliberately chose the dark ones
though they knew all about the diff
erence between the two kinds. Hav-
ing free choice every day, you would
suppose that few would have worn
any but those of rose-colored tint"
"But why did theys" asked Rachel.
"That l cannot answer" replied
her Aunt, "any more than can tell
you why people nowadays do the
same thing"
what do you means' asked
Rachel. surprised.
81 mean that each one of us has a
choice to look at the bright side of
life, or the dark side, and many
choose the latter. If we look for
pleasant things we shall be sure to
find them, and ON the other hand, we
can always see just as many disa-
greeable things as we look for"
Rachel looked grave. 81 suppose
you think wore blue glasses today"
she said slowly.
"Let us try it and set" replied her
Aunt, smiling. "First, in regard to
the school bag. / think the pink
glasses would have shown you that
you were fortunate little girl to
have kind papa to give you dol
lar. Many children have no fathers,
aud many father could not afford,
or would not be willing, to give his
daughter dollar to buy bag. AS
for the dress, with the bright glasses,
you would have seen that it was a
piece of good luck that you had a
new one to wear. So many children
never have new dresses. They al
ways have to wear old ones somebody
has outgrown or thrown aside, and l
don't doubt there were more girls in
your class who would have been hap
ply to have dress like yours than
there were those who were dressed
more than you. Is not that so?"
Rachel reluctantly admitted that her
Aunt was right and then added:
"But about the spelling class
there was surely no bright side to
that, Auntie?"
eyes, indeed, very bright side,
think" replied Aunt Marion. "Of
course you were sorry to fail, but
Clara Ames has never been at the
head of her class before, and her faith
er promised her if she ever should be,
he would give her bicycle. She told
me this only last week, but she said
she had never spoken of it to the
girls, for it was so doubtful if she
ever got to the head"
ooh, then, l am glad" exclaimed
Rachel amilinO oCha 10 a GOOD o,;rI