Vernon County censor. [volume] (Viroqua, Wis.) 1865-1955, 1902-01-15

doing" Go down the street tomorrow
and thank somebody. There are hun
dreds of people who never get thanked
at all. Plenty Of severe criticism, plenty
of fault finding, plenty of misinterpreta-
| ton, plenty Of depreciation. but as TO
gratitude-that is a market in which the
supply does not equal the demand.
In the cultivation of this habit of
Christian courtesy let us abstain from
| joining in the work of defamation. The
more faults man has OF his own the
more willing is he to ascrlbe faults 10
others.
Speak Well of One Another.
What a curse OF cyncs and pessimists
| atfliets our time, afflicts all time! There
are those who praise no one until he s
dead. Now that he is clear under ground
and heavy stone is on top of him there
/ is no possibility of his ever coming UP
again as a rival. Some of the epitaphs
on tombstones are so fulSome that on res
direction day a man rising may. if he
reads the epitaph, for the moment think
he got into the wrong grave Speak well
one of another, and if you ind yourself
in circles disposed to Islander and abuse
be for the time as dumb as the sphinx
which, though only a few yards away
! from the oyershadowing pyramid Of
| Egypt has not with its lips of stone
spoken one word in thousands of years.
There are two sides to every mans
character-a good side and an evil side
| The good see only the good and the evil
only the evil, and the probability is that
"A medium opinion is the right opinion
| Most of the people whom | know are
doing about as well as they can under the
circumstances. When l see people who
are worse than l am, I conclude that if
| had the same bad influences around me
all my life that they have had / would
probably have been worse than they now
are. The work of reform is the most inn
portant work. but many of the reformers,
dwelling on one evil. see nothing but evil,
and they get so used to anathema they
forget the usefulness once in awhile of a
benedietion. They get so accustomed to
exeoriating public men that they do noe
realize that never since John Hancock in
boldest chirography signed the Declara-
ton of independence, ever since Colum-
bus picked up the floating land flowers
that showed him he was coming near
some new country, have there been so
many noble and splendid and Christian
men in high places in this country as
/ uo8s Iou Npuih ~ liAb luc l. AtsiuthA
cabinet or the United States Senate or
the House of Representatives and find
plenty of men capable of holding an old
fashioned Methodist prayer meeting,
plenty Of Senators and Representatives
and cabinet officers TO start the tune and
kneel with the penitents at the altar. In
all these places there are men who could,
without looking at the book. recite the
sublime words, as did Gladstone during
vacation at Hawarden, Il believe in God,
the Father Almighty, Maker of heaven
and earth, and in Jesus Christ" and from
the Senate and House of Representatives
and the presidential cabinet and from the
surrounding offices and committee rooms,
if they could hear, would come many
voices responding. amen and amen."
"If You Please"
Christian courtesy | especially com
mend to those who have subordinates.
Almost every person has some one under
him. How do you treat that clerk, that
servant, that assistant. that employe?
DO you accost him in brusque terms and
roughly command him to do that which
you might kindly ask him to do? Tie
last words that the Duke Of Wellingt n
uttered were, If you please" That ccn-
aueror in what was in some respects the
greatest battle ever fought in his last
hours asked. by his servant il he you'd
take some tea, replied, IF you please"
his last words an expression * courtesy.
Beautiful characteristic IL aaS class. The
day laborers in Sweden. passing each
other, take off tkeir hats in reverence.
There is no excuse for booTishness in any
circle. As complete a gentleman as ever
lived was the man who was endorsed on
the road to Damascus and beheaded on
the road to Ostia-Paul, the apostle.
What mighty means of usefulness is
courtesy! The lack of il brings to many
a dead failure, while before those who
possess it in large quantity all the doors
of opportunity are open. You can tell
that urbanity does not come from study
of books of etiquette, although such books
have their use, but from mind fu!l of
thoughtfulness for Others and a heart in
sympathy with the conditions of others.
If those conditions be prosperous. glad
ness for the success, or il the conditions
be depressing, a sorrow for the unfavora-
BILE circumstances. All, this world needs
lighting up! To those Of us who are
prosperous it is no credit that we are
in state Of good cheer. but in the lives
of ninety-nine ont of hundred there is
pathetic side, a taking off, a deficit, an
anxiety, trouble. BY genial look. by
a kind word, by a helpful action, we may
lift a little of the burden and partly
clear the way for the stumbling foot. Oh.
what glorious art it is TO say the right
word in the right way at the right time.
| How reprehensiDle the behavior Of
those who pride themselve- on the oppo-
site quality and have 4 genius for saying
disagreeable thing, using sarcasm and
retort not for lawful purposes. but TO
sting and humliate and hurt. Didn't
] take him DOWN. Didn't / make him
i. irce!' Didn't | give it to him. That
is the spirit Of the devil. while the oppo-
site IS the spirit of Christ
Make Others Happy.
| Alexander the Great won the love Of
his soldiers on foot by calling them fell
low footmen. Rehoboam lost the tsn
tribes through his discourtesy. Mere
thoughtfulness for others--let us all cul-
tivate it, That spirit was well iIlust-4t-
ed when the Birkenhead was wrect ed
on the rocks and all knew she must 90
down. Many soldiers were Oh board. The
| drum sounded. anC be soldiers fell into
line The women aud children were got
off in the boats Then the commander OK
the snip said, Let all those who can
swim strike out for the boats Nc
said Captain Wight Of the Ninety-hrst
HigblaDders: IF you do that, you viii
sink tho heats in which the women aud