The mirror. (Stillwater, Minn.) 1894-1925, 1898-04-07
OUR WEEKLY GOSSIP.

will not StOOp until he has hit his
head 1t may have been the author
of this pithy proverb who, after hit
ting his head several times, gave utter
ance to another pointed sentence that
strikes home with as much force today
as when it was written more than a
century ago: "Fools do at last what
the wise do at first" There appears to
be psychic connection between the
two proverbs that leads one to believe
that the author was very hard headed
or decidedly absent minded, and hav
ing at last succeeded in bending his
mind to existing conditions, vented
his joy by exclaiming "Fools do at last
what the wise do at first"
FIX
Wonderful opportunities are given
us in this age to profit by the expert
ences of every preceding generation.
The best brains of the world are busy
daily collating and arranging for us
literary feasts such as king could not
procure two hundred years ago. 1t is
possible to get more and better reading
matter today for one dollar than could
be purchased for twenty dollars less
than a century ago. But, as hawks
are ever found ready to rend the song
sters of the forest, so we have our lit.
erary hawks thriving on the carrion of
adversely and who furnish enough
vileness for one dollar to keep con-
tractors rich building additions to
jails, penitentiaries, almshouses and
lunatic asylums. Reducing the mat
ter to cold facts we find that the pub
fishers of carbon literature are suffi-
GENTLY strong to invalidate the efforts
of those whose writings would lift the
world to a plane where moral equality
would place true manhood and wom-
anhOod on a basis of which the al
mighty dollar would not be the dom
mating unit of value.
*.*
| have recently read hard-luck
story that is different from the Ordi-
nary tale of that nature in that it came
out all right for the 'hard luckist.' 1t
was originally told by Henry Ward
Beecher. A Pennsylvania man who
was noted for his good luck bought a
| farm and struck oil in abundance.
Another man bought land adjoining
in the hope of also becoming wealthy
by the oil route. He put men to boring
and they struck everything but the
coveted oil. Having spent his availa
BILE cash and not having money to pay
his men he gave up in despair and
begged his prosperous neighbor to buy
| the farm from him. The latter pro.
tested that he did not need it, but
finally gave check for the amount his
neighbOr had invested in the farm.
The man went off in a merry mood
thankful to have recovered so much
of his money from the barren land.
The good Samaritan who repurchased
the land gave the laborers orders to
keep on boring. In four days they
struck rich flow of OIL When this
news reached the former owner he
complained bitterly of his hard luck
and going to the man who had be-
friended him he begged the privilege
of buying back the farm though he
could give no plausible reason why 1t
should now be resold to him. But the
fact is that he did receive back the
farm for the amount he paid for it.
He was fortunate in having met man
who ''loved his neighbor as himself"
1t is said of Mr.. Beecher in telling the
above story that at it's conclusion he
said: "Now, all in this congregation
who would have done the same thing,
RISE" But all remained seated. The
same question might be put to the Or
binary assemblage of men today with
out causing much perturbation to the
seats.