The news & observer. [volume] (Raleigh, N.C.) 1894-current, 1902-02-23
Sunday Sermon.

Rejoice evermore; in everything give.
thanks.-I. Thessalonians, v, 1918.
have an artist friend who q few days
ago fell into that sleep which we call
death. He Is my friend still, though we
are separated, | in one world and ne In
another, for he was steadfast In his af-
fections and could not easily change. He
went TO the opera in the afternoon, for
he was sensitive to music, and on his
return home, during q sweet slumber, his
soul wandered away from the body and,
seeing so much that was beautiful on the
ether side OF the river. forgot TO return.
He had one characteristic which / adj
:nired beyond overwhelmingly, he
was an apostle Of good cheer in art He
delighted in an orchard of apple blossoms
and painted them with such cunning skill
that you could almost catch their fra
GRANGE and almost feel the spring breeze
fan your cheek. He never looked on
the dark side Of nature, would not use his
coiors on tempest. and SO one loves TO
look AT his pictures, for they are uplift-
ing, and there is a smile in every one of
them.
1t seems to me TO he duty TO always
lock on and to look for the bright side
of things. as my artist did Life is
different matter TO him who looks ont
from the shadow in his heart from what
it ought 10 be- 1t is easy 10 exaggerate
an evil o. misfortune, and the imagi-
nation can brood over q sorrow no bigger
than q dime until il covers the whole
earth. To magnify our JOY and 10 mini
mize our SORROWS is one of the secrets Of
human happiness. If you place a penny
Gu the eye you can see nothing but black
ness, but If you hold it at arms length
ii grows so small in the general bright
Less that 1t almost vanishes. To cherish
q grief or disappointment and brood over
it. as | have known men and women to
do, is 10 give 1t proportions 70 which It
has no rightful claim. II grows by your
encouragement until it Is the only thing
in sight, and like = despot rules YOU
with an iron will. II may he only
dwarf. but you make It q giant In doing
his YOU not only take q false view of
life, but you render yourself incapable
of making a strenuous effort. tying your
own hands with an imaginary cord
The facts are all opposed to the chron-
ic faultfinder. Nature has her rough and
terrible moods. but on the whole she is
beneicent. The general trend is to pro-
dGce happiness. and IN most cases tho
misery from which we suffer Is caused BY
some wilful or ignorant infraction OF law.
There are moro bright than gloomy days
in the year, more smiles than tears in
every ones life. We take the good as a
matter of course and straightway forget
1t; we lingeT over the painful moments
and cherish their memory. sturdy eS-
fort to make good use of a hard expert
ences would rub away its cutting edges.
, but we nivouac In pleasant things and
keep permanent home in the unpleas-
ant.
This habit Of mind cannot be called re-
lisious, not by any stretch of the imagi-
ration. 1t is much nearer to atheism
for il cngenGcr$ the sort of emotion.
close 70 desperation ard despair. which
belongs TO pure pnbelief Religion, in
deed, is the science of good cheer. That
is its mission in the world. II is not an
unpalateble dose OF medicine to make you
Gle comfortably. hut glorious hore that
will make you Live comfortably. II tells
YOU how to get out OF sorrow all the
compensation ii contains. how 70 bear "A
burden with equable temper and how 10
die with the consciousness that when at
last you fail asleep some one viii wake
you to higher and better life.
If your religion fails. to 90 that for YOU
it is certainly adulteratede You must
, throw the old thoughts aside and find
better ones to guide you through the maze
OF coming years You cannot always be
hilarious, for sometimes you must weep,
but you can always be calm and trustful.
and # you are both of these you will be
as cheerful as the circumstances admit.
Good thoughts. high thoughts, bring hope.
and hope is sunshine.
GEORGE IL. HEPWORTH