The mirror. (Stillwater, Minn.) 1894-1925, 1902-12-25

REFLECTIONS.


that they should expose their brightest
sides to our view. We are ever ready
to ask much, and give little. This is
the day, above all other days, on which
we should try to be equitable.
But what's the use preaching? Let
us act. Brothers and sisters, have 1
at any time been ill-tempered or fret
full? Forgive me. Have stepped on
your pet corns and made you vince !?
Forgive me. Have l misjudged your
actions or misinterpreted your motives?
Forgive me. Have / pricked your
bubble of vanity or wounded your
love OF appreciation 1 am wretch,
but forgive me. Have | at any time
been disrespectful toward you in word
or demeanor? From the depth of my
heart [ beg your forgiveness. Have
YOU at any time disturbed me, or
worried me, or tried to bring trouble
upon me? You are forgiven. Have
you judged me without cause, or con-
demned me without hearing? You
are forgiven. Have you exulted in my
humiliation? | forgive you. And
whatsoever else you may have done,
or tried to do, to injure me, forgive
you freely, even as l hope to be for
given.
Christmas comes but once year.
and some old misanthropes have the
nerve to tell us that's once too often.
Brothers and sisters, are you wise?
Then shun the creature who envies
others their healthful mirth. There
are things" in this world whnresaaable
human beings, yet are not human.
They tind their only pleasure in making
others miserable There is not even
one drop of the milk Of human kind
ness in them. The merry laugh of
children sends cold shivers up and
down their backs. They sneer at every
thing that resembles good feeling;
good-naturedness is poison to them.
Incapable of generous actions, they
force themselves to believe all others
incapable of generous actions likewise.
They dread the Merry Christmas time;
they fear the good will and brotherly
love manifested on this day will stim-
ulate all that is good and NOBLE in man:
they tremble at the possibility of
hatred and strife disappearing from
our midst forever. Be ye not like unto
them! And if there is even so much
as a vestige of the spirit of misanthropy
in your heart, drive it out, tear it out,
squeeze it out, get rid of it in some
way. Qf you belong to the gentler
sex it is better to let some nice young
man do the squeezing; it'll be more
effective than any effort of your own
can possibly be.)
The most miserable of men is he who
has lost faith in mankind. Not only
is he miserable, but he is color-blind,
short-sighted, squint-eyed. knock
kneed, lopsided, cross-grained, spiritu-
ally obfuscated, mentally vitiated, and
whole lot of other things. He is in
bad fix. He is up against it which
ever way he turns. Poor mani His
perceptive faculties are out of gear;
his reasoning faculties are rusty he
fails to see the vast amount of good
there is in mankind even if you hold
pure nuggets of goodness right under
his nose-beg your pardon, before his
eyes mean; for defy any one to see
what is immediately under his nose
unless he looks into looking glass.
Oh, you doubling Thomas, Open
your eyes and look straight for min
ute-lf you can. What do you see?
There sanity little woman working
hard to make pleasant the declining
days of her aged parents. Physically
weak, her spirit is indomitable. Nher-
ever she goes she carries sunshine
with her. A dutiful daughter, a firm
and true friend,-can you deny her
many good qualities? Here mother,
immolating herself on the altar of
maternal love. Her children are her
jewels: for them she lives, and tolls,
and prays, and if necessary dies!
That mansion is the home of man of
independent means, who lies awake O.