Daily Kennebec journal. [microfilm reel] (Augusta, Me.) 1870-1975, 1904-05-25
Silent Heroes Of Life.

|
During the weeks which have passed
since Mr.. Carnegie's establishment of
his hero fund instances have come TO
light here and there Throughout the
country, of persons deserving pbrtions
of the interest on the $5,0OO.00O which
he has set aside to reward heshe npeh
of peace rather than war. Doubtless
as the years roll by there will be an
ample number of claimants for the
revenue derived from this magnificent
gift. But it is prepOsterOuS to suppose
| that all of those who ought to be re-
warded will receive their just dues.
And underneath all the specific in
stances of heroic action must be at all
times the substratum of a vast deal of
heroism which never gets into the pub
lie prints.
| Is the heroiSm of the battlefield any
nober than that Of the sickroom, not
alone of the persons condemned to long
and apparently unending years of in
validism, but of those who minister
unto them? 1 am thinking now not of
paid nurses and attendants, but OF rel
atives and friends who spend consid-
cradle time night and day in caring for
/
confirmed invalid carries a heavy bur-
den. Hard as it is to be deprived of
her company and cooperation in the
joys and the work of life, it is still
harder to see your dearest one wasting
| with disease, the victim of unstrung
nerves or of unsound organs. Many 4
man goes to his business in the morn
ing heavy hearted and returns at night
| i'm deem ANXIETY Iaco11Sa i'll health IN
come TO be a permanent guest under
his roof. Yet l have known men who
have borne even this trial with seren-
ity courage. and trust in an all-wise,
| overriding Providence.
| What about the small army of per-
sons who give up cherished plans and
strong ambitions for a home of their |
| own irf order to take care of infirm
| parents or other relatives who need
not only physical assistance but cheer
want to be read to, talked to. amused, |
diverted; who want some one else to be |
to them sunshine or even life itself. |
We all know daughters who thus |
stand loyalty by aging mothers. sons, |
and younger brothers, who cheerfully |
take up cross OF this sort Their I'M !
| praise as that of a man who risks his |
life to carry another person from a |
burning building.
Another group of unpublished hero
isms comprises those sacrifices made
in order to give advantages to chill
dren or to brothers and sisters / know
more than one successful business man
whose mental poverty and sociaiS1isa-j
pllltles are due to the fact thatshA be-
gan IN MS early days to make his own I.
ilv1nS, and before he was twenty to II
take care of his younger brothers and Il
SISTERS. He went into the factory or
the warehouse that they might go to
collese. He scrimped that they might Il
nave money for tuition and books. He
saw them growing in brain power.
while his crowded days left him no op-
portunity to look within the covers of
DOCK. He is now past middle life
Yet he would not do differently were
ne TO i've his life over again. He
KNOWS the greatest of all joys, that of
pouring himself into the life of anoth-
err No one speaks of him as a hero.
but he has been just that all these
years.
There is something heroic. too. about
the man who retrieves his fortunes af
ter having met with some great re-
verses. 1t is easy to begin at the bot
tom of the hill when one is Young but
when one has reached the time of life
OF MIR. Mckinley when he suffered fl
nancial disaster it takes brave heart
TO start all over again. Yet men all
over this land are doing this thing
every day. They refuse to be disap-
pointed and discouraged. They will
risk another venture. and whether they
WIN out or not the mere fact that they
are ready to try with all their might
entities them to place among the I'M
brevetted. unadorncd heroes of the
race.
Don't in your search for heroes. look
exclusively at the ranks of policemen.
nremen, nurses, life savers. MANY
among them will in due time come in
for share of Mr.. Carnegie's benef-
cence. But open your eyes to the I'M
recorded heroisms of daily life about
you, and If you want to be a hero your
sell, do not wait in the hope of seeing
q runaway horse come tearing down
the street with a child in the carriage
but begin today and meet your respon-
sib1llt1es and bear your burdens like 2.
nero. Then you will not prove want
ing wnen some great test arises
Pittsburg Dispatch.