The age-herald. [volume] (Birmingham, Ala.) 1897-1902, 1898-12-04
THE MURMUR
OF THE WORLD

In the S1lOkt lndt WTcdlHGS ilsCll HUN
the briar-root pipe into thousand allurlng
! scenes above the desk of the slave of the
graphite pencil there be forms that breathe
laughter and daughters twin sister, My
Lady Nicotine is with me through the 81
lent, but wondrously voiceful, hours, long
after the great clock in the tower has
doomed midnight to an christening multi
tude resting in that semblance of death
we call sleep.
How calm it is outside the window panes,
with the fading moon ascending upward
to take the downward course, pursued by
the brighter light which creates what men
call day. when the moon has paled-so like
human glory pales in this world! Every
| star Is out The sky is black-blue. Be-
| yond the deepest deep of that sky there is
ever yet deeper deep. World world
swings in it's own circle in that space to
| which there are no confines. Even hope
tires weary in it's flight. Even faith pauses
| in the presence of the vastness. The stars
may sing together but their music may
not reach ears attuned to the grossness of
| this planet, which we claim to be the cho-
sen of God.
with us If we will but comprehend 1t and
accept Under the vault of blue fear van
ishes, and hope stands by us whispering
words of promise that are echoed in the
infinite. The stars go down, to rise upon
some fairer shore, and as the dark-purple
horizon receives them, we know thatcher
hearts are gladdened in other lands The
evening star here, to which madens sigh
and youth appeals, is the evening star TO
other madens and other youth in the far
away Somebody waits for somebody all
the globe around, and joy chases sorrow
upon the wings of the morning, which dies
not, but merely passes by to come again
in it's radiance.
Clouds may darken the light of the morn
ing and the softer light of the stars when
morning has gone upon it's encircling way;
but the clouds soon pass into nothingness,
soon disappear in the great bin where are
placed soon or late the ashes of all things
not pleasing to life in it's better form.
So also with human life. We have but
to look ahead and we see the light, or
realize that it is there for US. The minute
guns at sea when the storm RACES and the
waves pile mountain upon mountain, are
answered by the flashlights from the shore
where safety finds abiding place. The night
must pass, the day dawn. Joy shall chase
sorrow from the earth, charity bid malice
and hate and envy go take their rightful
places amongst the legions of the damned
Sorrow, care, anxiety, unrest may beset
Lo we appeal to time and hope, and these
things vanish into the cavernous deeps Of
that power which creates human unhap-
piness.
"Take little lemon in the bottom Of the
glass;" and let the jolly old world roll on
its way. The man you think i'll of is better
than he seems to you to be; the woman you
dislike, fair friend, is as fair as angel,
as compared to what you assume her TO
be- Consider the better side of every life
you know, rather than the dark. There are
sermons in stones, books in running
brooks, and good in everything" Don't
growl and snap and snarl, and be ugly.
No good can come of bitterness and bcker-
ing, scandal or Islander. Look all men and
women in the face-front the whole world
and proclaim by your silent actions of gen.
tleness that you are man or woman Rude
ness never yet accomplished any good;
boorishness is the trademark of the i'll
bred. Incivility for yer marks tfs cad.
The bright ribbon of the Order of the Soul
is the badge OF true nobility. That were
worth more than coronet. were richer than
Norman blood. Kindness, gentleness, char
ity: regard for the rights and comforts OF
others! These cover the multitudnous sins
of man. Nothing is as bad as it seems TO
be. Appearances are often at fault and
have damned many a soul to the BLACKLIST
darkness
In the smoke from the pipe the pictures
shape themselves, and none is altogether
unhappy. In this smoke chat forms radi-
ant canopy above him who seeks to give
voice to the gentler side of the worlds
murmur there is nothing that is not beauti-
full to him, whatever his little world may
assume Outside there may be unpleasant
scenes, but in the tobacco smoke there is
none. Care may rap at the door, but its
rapping is heard not. Unrest may mount
guard at the foot of the stair, but 1t may
stay there and shiver in the cold and catch
its death If it like Only a fool would be
in hurry to face the drawn sword of such
a guard. So care and unrest may take
their time in waiting for the victim, who,
meantime, at any rate, prefers his pipe
and his friends. 1t does not signify that
the friends are not around him in material
form; but he is with them in the softer
spirit, and they suffer him to do the talk
ing. Richer privilege or higher pleasure no
man need ask of the gods who give good
things to such men and women as are not
wholly undeserving.
There are so many bright and joy-inspir-
ing things in the world. that care seems to
be, after all, little more than a disordered
dream One has many pleasant facts to
remember, so many hopes that spring like
flowers of life along the pathway to the
rivers brim. I know two little boys who
went to the circus the other night and the
fact that they had seen their first circus
gave me some five days of happiness. for
I love them above most other objects that
discern in life's landscape, and know them
better, perhaps, than they shall ever come
to know themselves
1.-THE boys are full of the coming circus"
writes one whose life is a prayer and
blessing "Don't you wish you were here
to enjoy that first circus with them? Last
night I began C!s prayers: Now I Law
me down to Sleep Instead of repeating It
after me- he shouted tAll ahoa ri for +1,o