Evening times-Republican. [volume] (Marshalltown, Iowa) 1890-1923, 1899-08-17
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/ THE ROSARY OF a RAMBLER. !

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.i-s-ssss-ss-s-ss-s-s
/ It 10 the province of the church to do
good. That it does much good, there
are none to deny, but some of it's meth
DDS seem rather strange. A minister of
this city expressed in his sermon Sun
day what laymen have often thought
when he said he felt it his duty to
speak OF the good to be found instead
from the pulpit we hear more Of the
evil which we should shun than the
good, which we should seek. II is a
we'll known fact that many of childs
gravest misdeeds he would never have
thought to have dpne had it not been
for warnings in that direction. Why
does the pulpit SO often forget that we
OF the pews are little more than chill
dren in things spiritual?
go
A crowd Of young people were talking
the other evening Of plumbers made
through misunderstanding and one
young lady told an amusing story. 1t
seems that on Sunday not long before
she had attended church in the morn
ing and in the afternoon had gone driy-
ing with young gentleman. Now it
CHANGED that the minister who preached
that morning was not favorite of the
young lady's and she had been greatly
bored. The drive, however, had been
greatly enjoyed. In the evening she met
lady friend who asked her If she had
been to church, and then asked what
he" said. The young lady, thinking of
the sermon, answered.: "Oh, Just a lot
OF soft twaddle, SO silly that didn't
pay much attention." You may Judge
OF her surprise when the young man
who had taken her driving became very
frigid in his manner to her and she
learned that he was offended because
she had said he was soft" And from
such misunderstanding oftentimes a
friendship is broken.
You have sometimes been in a busy
station and. watched the hurrylng
crowd, each one going whittier his duty
or pleasure called him, and you, UNI
known and unknowing, have wondered
where they all were to go, and what
L
felt as never before the immensely of
human life. Yet at the same time has
come the consciousness of the littleness
of the Individual, for who would miss
lone, from the hurrying multitude? None
or that multitude, perhaps, would care
or even know, but somewhere in the
great, wide world there would surely be
one who would do both. Only a type,
| pf 4 ha \,
ing through life. Well Tor us all that,
knows and cares.
When one sees how little thing n
takes to make child happy, it seems
inexpressibly sad that every child does
not have that little thing. For a child's
system of relative value is strange
4 thing. You or might think the beau
tiful doll daintily dressed, which cost a
good weeks wages, a toy to delight any
child. but 1t is safe to believe that the
| little mother cares far more for the ole
rag doll which nothing. seemingly, car
hurt and which she has scolded ant
petted and dressed and slept with, lon.
before the French beauty ever cam,
into the home. Kingsley was true 4
nature when he made his little girl sa,
Iof her dilapidated doll, For. for OLE
sake's sake, she is still dear, the pretti
est doll in the world" Give the boy s
hammer and board and hat full OF
nails, and would he change them for al
the expensive toys in the stores? Wha
4 II his fingers are bruised and bleeding
he hammers and whistles away and i,
happy. Sometimes. but the times ar,
very rare, we find man or woman
who. with the dolls and boards of child
hood. did not lose the faculty of gainins
pleasure from trifles and when we hay,
/ found such an one we can but call hin
| blessed.
The woods and the river have baer
thickly settled the past few weeks viii
campers. and right jolly times the,
have had. Centuries OF civilization ant
luxury loving have not altogether takel
away from us the longing for nature
and SO 1t is that when summer with il
ienticing beauties come, we seek again ;
life away from conventionality and re
| Straint. We become again like the an
4 Client men and women whose home
We're tents and whose feet roamed hith
lier and thither through forests and b,
rivers We breathe in the inspiratio,
OF the scene and it helps us through
many months that follow. Many thing
are understood so much better after a,
4 outing in the woods. Yet the centurie
of civilization and luxury loving hav
had their effect and however much W.
4 may enjoy hard beds and dirt in on
food and mosquitoes and bugs galore
4 when the tents have been folded up an,
we are back home again, how good AM
clean it all seems!
Longfellow in his poem, '"The Meet
Ing" telling Of reunion of old friends
asks, Does the meeting give US pleas
ure, or does 1t give US pain?" II is ,
lquestion hard to answer, as those ca,
testify who were at the old settlers pic
mic. Pleasure for the meeting and PAL,
for the meetings that can not be. an,
the smiles and the tears at the gam
time give expression to the faces. We
these occasions are blessed ones. fo
we would not forget the dead who wer
with us in other days as happy, and i,
remembering them we would not alto
gether cloud the joy of the living. 1t i
4 well-for 1T is human nature-that-
We speak of a Merry Christmas.
And many Happy New Year.
Yet each in his heart is thinking
or the one who is not here"