The Tupelo journal., 1904-07-22
THE PARTY.
Reasons Why Everyone Should Be-
long to It and How They
Can Do So.

The young people of Burma have a
pastime which affords great pleasure
to crowds of people at certain seasons
of the year. A number of young men,
who call themselves the "Storm par
ty," take hold of a long rope, the other
end of which is seized by a similar
team of athletes who are termed the
Sunshine party" Each of the o.
posing parties tries Justify to draw the
other over a line, in the manner OF j
'tIg-of-war." The struggle for victory
is fierce and prolonged. If the one
party triumphs it is considered certain
that the prevailing weather during the
mex month or two will be stormy, II
the other wins fair weather is thought
assured for some time to come.
There is always a sunshine party in
the world, writes c. A. S. Dwight, in
Young People, without formal Organl-
zation indeed, but made up of all those
who believe in God and so in the worth
of human life, who have a religious
faith and so a human sympathy, who
do. not shut their eyes to the sin and
sorrow that is in the world while yet
rejoicing in the belief thai Christian
ity can Danish the sin and heal the
sorrow, who are not simply cheerful
pessimists," patiently resigned, bur
also convinced optimists, positively
hopeful. who believe that sunshine IS
but God shining down upon the world
cd whN do oil thnU aon RI transmit
and scatter those g%laddening rays to
darkened hearts and murky corners Of
the earth.
1t is good to be a s%unshiner in this
sense-to do ones best to make men
more godly and more glad. to wipe
away here and there a tear, and t.
coax ON this or that face a happy
smile, to tighten ofttimes another's
burden and to share now and then
another's bliss, weeping with them
that weep and rejoicing with them
that do rejoice. Happiness, after all.
is largely contagious. Others rejoice
in our joy or are depressed by our
weak faith or Respondent moods
Every soul is a kind of human Their
mometer, registering the social tenn
perature-whether warm and genial or
cold and congealing-that prevails
about it. We cannot help this sensi-
t~iveness, but we can by our kind words
or kinder actions do much toward
making it easier for the now depressed
spiritual temperatures OF other spirits
tn rise to a warmer. glow.
Everyone can take a. pull at the sun
shine rope. There Isl nobody SO weak
but that his laying hand upon it will
increase the strain in the direction OF
the bright weather goal. The croak-
ers, the storm producers, the BAD
weather makers, are abroad in the
land in great numbers. hut a deter
mined and continued effort on the part
of all sunshiners will draw them over
the line into a saner state of mind and
a brighter way of looking ait things.
God means life to be full of happiness,
or at any rate of hat deep joy, that
spiritual peace, which is better than
any happiness. Believe in God, be-
lieve in humanity, believe in yourself,
take counsel of the divine promises
and not of your fears, be much in
communion with the Master, and your
life will be like a glowing beacon in
whose light men will be more than
willing to rejoice, and your mission as
q sunshine scatterer will be blessed to
multitudes of hearts.