The Prince George's enquirer and southern Maryland advertiser. (Upper Marlborough, Md.) 1882-1925, 1899-01-27
PRIDE.

Among the evil emotions of the
heart, pride stands out strongest per-
haps as a ruler of weak heads. Pope
calls pride ''the failing vice of
fools; where it exists in great degree
there must he shallow mind i'm the
background. Dat of the heart pro-
cecd evil thoughts; it is from within
that pride which goeth before destuc-
tion springs
1t is not of the honest pride that alb
hors unworthy actions that is ambitious
for good character, noble acts, and res
pect for self that / write; but of the
naughty pride, that in any way but
my way" that apes humility, or puts
on lofty airs and shows contempt for
others wants and wishes.
''Oh why should the spirit mortal be proud?
| Like swift 1eetlng meteor, q fast flying cloud,
flash of lightning, break Of the wave,
Man passes from life to his rest in the grave"
The above lines are opening of a
poem written by William Knox, of
Scotland, in 1920, and was favorte
of Abraham Lincoln. His great, but
humble mind, always OH the side of
humanity and righteousness, could
fully appreciate the depth ofsentiment
in the beauty of the lines. Lincoln
passed his early boyhood in a western
cabin; poor, isolated, nothing to call
the attractions Of home that we clamor
for nowadays to keep boys on the
farm. His mother died, and he came
under the care of a step-mother while
quite young; she proved to be wise
Moman, 4 careful disciplnarian, and
he showed the gratitude he felt for her
kindness to him by presenting her with
some land and Il home with the first
money he earned He worked hard,
lived plainly, did his duty to those
who employed him; pride and haught-
mess were foreign to his nature he
had no concern lest he might get into
a social set" beneath him, but told
the best stories and jokes at the village
store, gave the stronest arguments at
the country debating school, and grew
| in Of In Of ind nd
came to be chief of the nation; cen
ter around which the whole country
rallied, Il man respected by all and
loved by most burdens increased, du-
ties multiplied, his great soul was al
most crushed with the weight of res
possibility resting on him in those cru
cial days of the Civil War. But he
carried them bravcly through to the
end not to live in luxury, to he idol
lied b y the people he had served, to
enjoy the reward we would think he
richly deserved, but to be stricken by
the hand of madman, and his distin-
guished talents, his noble manhood
''hidden and lost in the depths of the
grave
Why should the spirit of mortal be
proud? What is there to be proud of
in this life!
Those who have lived many years,
and been observant of things about
them, know that all things are transi-
itory. They have seen the high and
mighty come to low estates, and 90
down sorrowing to their final rest.
Whom the Lord loveth he chasten-
eth; there are none to escape. We
are to be tried in the furnace. Let us
graft it in our hearts that the day of
Christening must come,-that fine
clothes, great estates, gentle manners,
pious thoughts, good deeds, generous
acts, and worthy purposes cannot pre-
vent We are to be tested and our
virtue proven ere it can pass in the
court above or here below. Let this
become rooted in the mind. and it will
drive out pride as speedily as the de-
wills were cast from the man into
herd of swine and swallowed up in the
sea.
In my recollection can count
score or more of families that | envied
in my Young years, and wished l
could have good times they seemed to
be having. Wished that could ride
in fine carriages, live in fine houses, go
to fashionable schools and amusements,
dress in elegance, and have everything
as | wanted it as they had. They
seemel so far above me in all things
but time, the leveler, has shown the
folly of such envy. Let people enjoy
all the good things they may, there is
yet a portion in store for them that is
not enjoyable-a skeleton in the closet
that is striving oget the mastery over
content Where are all those envia-
ble families now? Many have return,
ed to dust, some leaving behind child
ren who have come to he the heads of
families that no one envies. Some
are poor, some are rich in worldly
goods, but in nothing else; some are
hrokca in heath and spirits, some 90