Durango semi-weekly herald., 1904-03-21
THE STRENUOUS lice
VS.. PEASANT GRASSES

President Roosevelt has said: The
! only life is the life of strife" and has
written volume to prove IT, The
Presidents energy and activity are
proven and his honesty is generally
admitted. though the above statement
Is often questioned and fsysn ridl.
culed The best men may be mistak.
en-. and errors Of judgment frequently
occur There Is much to he said on
the other side of this question and
many successful lives have been quiet
and uneventful
Even Mr.. Roosevelts successful
career can not be laid altogether to
his strenuosity. The lives OF two
men. equally as forceful as himself.
were necessarily removed from his
path as by the unseen hand of destiny
ere IL was possible for him 10 achieve
the success which has been his. OF to
which he may yet attain.
There is In the old church hymnal
n mournful song along the Same line
OF thought. differing only from the
first quoted sentence In that II voices
fail over lack Of success ia achieve.
ment instead of sounding a note Of
triumph over victories gained 1t is
really the reverse side of the same
thought
Nothing but leaves? The spirit
grieyes
over a wasted life;
That reaps. from It's years OF strife,
Nothing but leaves"
The announcement OF this song Is,
to many of us perhaps, amusing. as II
seems trifle ridiculous to grove over
harvest of leaves. but as the verse
proceeds and you catch giimpses In
the congregation round about, of sad
dened faces, and eyes perchance dim
ned with tears. and realize that some
there be to whom the plant is very
real one, then the amusement ceases,
and certain sadness takes its place
No garnered sheaves.
Nothing but leaves"
Yon catch an insight into some
lonesome life. and realize that all the
years oi that life have been passed In
fruitless effort. and that the object 30
dearly coveted. SO earnestly striven
after, has never been secured. You
are taken out OF yourself. maybe. for
the time being. by your sympathy for
that lonesome one. and in your heart
and cheer, something after this fash
ion. may find their being;
Never you mind, lone one. about
your harvest of leaves. Green leaves
in summer time serve their purpose,
after all
The bird sings bravely and sweetly
all the morning. and. though he tolls
not nor serves any useful purpose, yet
is the world the better and the bright
er for his singing, And when the sun
mounts higher in the heavens, and the
heat Is too oppressive for the little
| songsters. he nutters his wings and
flies away to hide himself deep In the
forest shade. And the tree where he
finds his shelter, bears. listen listen
thou lone one, nothing but leaves"
Augustine Birrell in a little appre-
clntion of the life of crabbe, says:
TO soothe the sorrows of the sooth.
er of sorrows; to bring tears to the
eyes and smiles to the cheeks. of the
lords OF our human smiles and tears.
is no mean ministry; and 1t was Crab.
be's."
| This, his tribute to a lonely singer
of humble songs, whose life was not
strenuous.
| ! know another verse that like to
file away in my memory alongside OF
the Nothing but leaves" 1t breathes
the breath of spring and the perfume
of wild flowers. It also sings of n
crop that bears no fruit or serves no
useful purpose; but. so much there is
OF difference in the way the thing ia
said. that 1t fills the air with hope and
promise and makes one rejoice at the
| little success that has fallen to his
share
"a little tuft OF peasant grassesl
And darest show thyself beside
The rose no other rose surpasses?
The whole conseryatories' pride?
Wind sown from worldwide wilder
ness,
The weed OF life blooms near the
rose,
And only the good gardner knows
The share each in his love pos
sesses."
| have forgotten the name of tn,
author Of these verses. and am ever
glad that 1t Is SO. like to remember
1t as the seed OF the peasant grasses
"windsown from worldwide wilder
nesses." and to remember that some
where In the desert of the multitude
there beats the heart and lives tn,
mind that treasures the wild gras.
as dearly as the hot-house rose. Wha
is man to thought like this? Ant
don't know If the author be strenu
Gus or not. and I don't care.
To those to whom the plea fo
strenuosty has become tlresome, bu
who are unable to cope with the ques
ton in a way satisfactory, and VIII
can not find the fitting answer, let m,
furnish one from Emerson. that vii
unite the advocates OF strenuosity hi
and thigh. Perhaps. then. you ma,
be allowed 10 follow your own way II