Peninsula enterprise. [volume] (Accomac, Va.) 1881-1965, 1901-12-21

never could have imagined the sllences
about the house now that the little feet
are quiet and the infant voice has ceas-
ed it's prattle. What a sensation at
eventide with no one to put to bed!
What toys put away to be looked at on
anniversary days. How Christmas day
is shadowed and the world Is changed!
Get over it? You never can get over
II in this world. Perhaps 1t Is your
first sorrow. "Ye have not passed this
way before" God grant that you may
never pass this way again.
In the Wake of the Ark.
But follow the ark. and 1t will lead
you to rivers of consolation. You will
find that your child has gone into
heaven of children, land where chill
dren are In vast majority, a score OF
infant souls to one manly or womanly
soul. for the vast majority Of the race
die In infancy. 1t is the exception
when people live to grow up. Heaven
a great playground for children. Pal
aces for kings and queens? Oh. yes!
But what wide halls Of pleasure. what
gardens of delight, what raptures, such
as on earth with ball and kite and
hoop they never feltl Let them 90.
mother You can trust him In the
land Of music and flowers. The front
door of that eternal home was opened
by him who said, Suffer the little
children to come unto me and forbid
them not. for Of such Is the kingdom OF
heaven" What time the children
have up there! Can you not almost
hear their quick feet on the ivory
stairs? What rounds of gladness!
What laughter Of eternal glee! Follow
the ark, and it will lead you to the
crossing into the reunions Of the home
where you will never part.
AS our sorrows are new, our joys
are new and all our experiences are
new. Our life Is one long discovery OF
things that we did not know and could
not know. because we have not passed
this way before. We have found, for
instance, that gratitude is the rarest
of virtues. You used to suppose that
IL you do kindness 1t will be fully ap-
preciated and reciprocated. You have
found out by experience, as you could
have found out In no other way. that
gratitude is apt to be only another ak
to grind. While there is a possibility
that you may return still more service
you are thanked, but when you can re-
turn no more advantage you are drop
ped. Here is man whom you have
helped In political elevation. When
the time comes for the compliment to
be returned, you are not only refused
help. but you receive positive opposi-
ton. You have found out that you
should do the right thing not with re-
spect to reward or gratitude, but be-
cause 1t is the right thing to do. Many
are miserable because they are all the
way looking for gratitude which they
cannot find. You might as well go
down Pennsylvania avenue, Washing
ton. or Broadway. New York. or Ire
mont street, Boston. your eyes scruti
ming the 'pavenHeills LOOKING Tor tur
duoIses and emeralds and rubies. Per
haps you might find them. but there Is
not much probability that in fifty years
you would find one Of them.
Surprising Discoveries.
No one has come to midlfe who has
not been stung Of ingratitude. On the
battlefield of Alma In 1854 a wounded
Russian was crying In anguish of thirst
for water. Captain EddingtOn Of the
English army ran to him and gave him
drink. As the captain was running by
TO ioin his regiment the wounded SOL
dier shot him. Almost all languages
have proverbs setting forth this per-
yersity. English proverb. Bring up a
raven. and 1t will pick out your eyes"
Arabic proverb. Eat the present and
break the dish" Italian proyerb, "The
ass. after having drunk. gives kick
to the bucket" An old proverb says.
"If God were to be so complacent as
to carry us on his back to Rome, we
would not thank him for his pains If
he did not also set us down In an easy
chair" You will never be happy in this
world II you do not do all the good you
can and look for no responsive graft
tude. All the damage did man who
Is my enemy was to take him from a
position where he received $700 a year
salary into a position where he has
ever since received $4,000 year. BE
never forgave me, but has pursued me
with a pen yitrlollc ever since. The
worst enemy you ever had Is the man
you introduced and favored and help
ed. But be not disturbed or even irri-
tated. You are no better than your
Lord. II the world had had any thank
full appreciation of his coming it would
have filed that Bethlehem caravansary
with flowers, which bloom there clear
on into the December month. and Her.
cd. instead Of attempting bis death
would have sent a chariot to fetch the
infant to the palace. and the oyer and
terminer OF Pilates courtroom would
have pronounced him not guilty, and
instead Of cross and a crown OF
thorns It would have been a corona
tion. with all the mighty ones Of the
earth kneeling at the foot OF his throne
Another discovery that surprises Us
because We mad not passed this way
before is the fact that II two be IL
quarrel or In war with each other the
one who is the most wrong is the hard
est and the slowest to make up. Wht
wrote them | know not, but l cut these
two lines out and pasted them In r-J
scrapbook twenty years age, for th'
words are 50 striklngly true:
Forgiveness to the injured does belong,
But they ne'er pardon who have done the wrong
We talk about the great discoveries
of the age, the electric power, th'
steam power, the telescope and micro
scoplc power, but do not say anything
about the discoveries we all make yea
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