The Baltimore County union. [volume] (Towsontown, Md.) 1865-1909, 1905-01-14
RAMBLING THOUGHTS.

through the medium of printers ink,
have made wide circle Of friends
and acquaintance. I have, from
time to time, received responsive
messages from every State in the
Union, and they are mostly in accord
with some thought or word of mine,
and many Of them contain beautiful
| sentiments of kindness and love.
They come from both men and
women but the Head Of the Sidneys
doesn't seem to mind in the least these
masculine etfusions Of appreciation,
so long as they hail from remote
places. He doesn't lie awake at
night trying to invent means to fight
man at long range.
These sympathetic letters have been
a great pleasure and help to me, and
have taught me to know, better than
Of yore, how human kindness sends
one on his road rejoicing, and in
spires the tired worker to renewed ex-
ertion and to higher appreciation of
human nature.
l have thought sometimes, as the
years rolled by, that have said all I
have to say and had better stop; but
the kind interest of my unknown
friends, as expressed in their letters,
treasures me, and I take up the pen
again.
Who is there so fiat as not to relish
an honest word of praise-the word
fitly spoken that "is like apples Of
gold in pictures of silver?" Who so
ungrateful as not to value highly the
kind hand that has helped him in his
need, and made his load lighter to
carry? Kindness is a lever that
moves the world. Even villains
know this and ply their trade Of ex-
tortion by flattering words and pacific
manners, sometimes even protesting
the religion of Jesus Christ for the
purpose Of defrauding men. 1t is
hard to tell the true from the false
the man who comes to you in sleeps
| clothing from the one who is guided
by unselfsh love for his fellow man.
True, we shall know them by their
fruits, but we have need sometimes
to know them ere their crop of evil
has been gathered and exhibited to
the world. Everybody is ready to
cry down, the sinner when his guilt
has become known, but not all are
ready to help remove the stumbling
blocks from weak brothers. way,
and make it easy for him to do right,
and hard to do wrong. Nothing 1n-
usual to see men of good standing in
the community going along in busi-
ness with those whom they know in
their hearts are not to be trusted,
seeing them deceiving others with
false pretences, and retaining them
in positions they are unworthy to fill
without the moral courage to chide
or correct them in their wicked ways,
or to give word of friendly warning
to some prospective victim of their
wiles. Ladies of spotless regulations
swing back their hospitable doors
and take into their parlors the man
of well known tarnished character,
not worthy to be accorded place in
the social circle among innocent and
unsuspecting girls; while many
| true man of honest worth is denied
such privilege, because, perchance,
he has not fattering tongue, rich
father, or graceful carriage in the
dance.
Little children, before they are old
enough to be influenced by their
elders, have no social distinctions.
They are in the state that we must
all humble ourselves to get into ere
we are fit for the kingdom of heaven.
They will play with the raggedest
and poorest child they know if he
will only ''play fair
Cheating is one of the things chill
dren cannot abide, and they will not
hesitate to tell a playmate he is
cheating if he does do it. The be-
havior of the child is not polished,
but it is true. He is diamond in
the rough if the sharp corner can be
smoothed down and leave the gem
intact, what a miracle has been
wrought-what lustrous character
shines forth to adorn wicked world !
Too many value the external more
than the inward part. The diamond
on the finger of a silly girl is of more
value in her eyes than the wisdom
and understanding that is above price.
She is more ambitious to dress In
purple and fine linen than to extend
sister1y kindness and helpfulness to
others. She will sleep in the morning
while the family is at breakfast, and
play the piano while her mother does
| the washing. BY and by some man
will marry her, and when his eyes are
opened d-matrimony is great eye
opener-and he begins to look for
those substantial qualities that make
home life enjoyable, and doesn't find
them, he'll wish he hadn't.
| Somehow things are not comforta-
Bile, he can't keep any cash in his
pocket, his dinner is poor he IS
something like the man down in Old
Kentucky who went to church with
the Governor, and when his friends
asked him about the service, he said,
"I don't know nothing about it, boys,
except l riz and fell with 'em every
time"
| So a man rises or falls with his
wife; he does not know much about
how it is done, but he knows he is
working hard and has nothing to
show for it. Many good-inten-
toned man has been made poor and
despondent and unfit for business be-
cause of having married a vain, foolish
woman. He thought he knew all
about women before he married, and
could tell the ''true blue" every time
without an effort; but, when too late,
he discovered there was more to learn
l., thof line than had heen dreamed