The Farmville herald. [volume] (Farmville, Va.) 1890-1934, 1900-05-11
THE LARGER RELATIONSHIP.
A SuggesEon or Two Suggested by
the Universal sympathy That
Grows Out of suffering.

There is passage in THE Mil on the
Floss" which will bear meditation.
"Maggie's heart" writes Eliot. went
out toward this woman whom she had
never liked, and she kissed her silently.
1t was the first sign within tie poor
child of that new sense which is the gift
of sorroW-that susceptibility 10 the
bare phases of humanity which raises
them into a bond of living fellowship.
as TO haggard men among the icebcrgs
the mere presence of an ordinary COM
rade stirs the deep fountain of affec-
ton"
Behind all personal relationships
which men establish with one another,
there is the common bond of the uni
versal human relationship; this larger
fellowship inclosing all lesser fellow
ships, as the nation includes all shades
of citizenship. All men and women of
any sensitiveness put the highest value
on personal relationships. and count
their friends among the foremost gifts
oflifeaud their friendships among their
invaluable possessions; but there are a
great many who never recognize in any
practical way the larger fellowship of
humanity; who treat friendship as if
it were a luxury TO be priced and guard
ed like a precious vase or rare book.
and not a large free. noble opportunity
for drawing out the best from another
and giving the best in return.
Our friendships are often selfish,
without our being conscious of the fact
We look to friendship as a fountain
from which only sweet waters ouehtto
flow; as a tie which ought TO bring us
ONLY cheer. comfort and pleasure. But
friendship has obligations and duties,
and is TO be sought, not only among
those who are by nature akin to US,
and who. therefore. fall in with every
mood and respond 10 every emotion,
but among those who in many ways
may be personally distasteful. Most
men and women are thrown 10 a consid-
erable degree with those to whom they
are not personally drawn; whose per-
sonalitv. manners, temper, or quality
of mind repels rather than attracts;
and when intimacy with such persons is
forced upon us by circumstances, we
rebel against it as an intrusion upon
domain over which we have abb
solute sovereignty. Such persons
are often put to us in the place OF
friends. and in positions in which 1t is
practically impossible not to accept
them as friends. Our instinct tells us
that we have a right to avoid intima-
cies with all who are not thoroughly
congenial. but the conditions of life
often contravene the instincts and
place us i'm intimacies without our Will.
Under these circumstances it is pos
sible to take one of two attitudes; an
attitude of unwilling acceptance. or an
attitude of open-minded endeayor to
get the best out of an association which
we did not seek; TO attempt TO substi
tute for the personal tie the universe.
tie, and to treat our forced companion
ship as a chance TO learn something
more of our common humanity. If
one has the clearness of sight and the
courtesy of soul to accept an enforced
relationship in this spirit, 1t is
surprising how much he can
give and how much he can
get out of that relationship. Out
of such companionships, unsought and
reluctantly accepted, have sometimes
come the sweetest Of friendships, and
in all such companionships there are
the richest possibilities of mutual help
fulness and therefore of common
growth. We cannot afford TO be self
ish in the selection of our friends; if
we are. we diminish our own capacity
and contract our own resources Tor I
spiritual growth. The strong nature /
can afford 10 give where il does not look /
for a return; TO develop an interest /
where il does not instinctively feel /
one; 10 foster regard and admiration /.
where these things do not come OF /
themselves 1t owes. as a matter of fact, /
quite as much TO the larger relationship /.
which is forced upon men by the mere /
fact Of race-fellowship as it owes tt /
those carefully sought and piously /
guarded relationships between man /
and man which count for so much in /
the joys and sorrows of life.-N. y. /
Outlook.
"After suffering from piles for fifteen |
years was cured by using two boxes /
IF DaXVift,s Witch Hazel SalVe - /