Ellsworth American. [volume] (Ellsworth, Me.) 1855-current, 1905-07-19

Il
Wherever there is honored poverty there
should be generous benevolence.
To pity distress ia but human;
TO relieve it Is God-like.
When Jesus was upon earth He said
that every benefaction which was bestowed
upon one of the least of the brethren in a
loving spirit was acceptable unto Him.
lnasmnch is a word which is full OF sig
nificance to all charity workers. 'sAll the
beautiful sentiments in the world win
| weigh less than single lovely action"
Many OF the fraternal organizations might
teach us who are members OF the church
lessons in charity. A short time ago |
re ,eived in my mail by mistake postal
sent by one member of fraternal organ
ization to another, asking him to call and
assist sick brother. How often does our
| fellowship prompt us TO do this? Yet the
bible says "Do good unto all men, espee-
| tally unto them who are OF the household
of faith. No gift OF mems or might will
ever fail to be thrice blest. Let the larg-
est end of your generosity be beneath the
surface II it chances SO to be; let the num-
Der OF your benefactions be secret if you
will, but, whether secret or public, crowd
your life with endless benefaction and
countless mereies.
Edwin Markham has a beautiful poem
eati.led ''Inasmuch" He pictures a
Waterman, Ivan by name, on Moscow's
castled height guarding the citadel. The
driving snow was heaping itself against
tbs wall when haif-bare baggar man
tottered past. The Waterman ran and
threw his own coat around the half frozen
bcggar, but that very night died himself
from exposure:
i'ut wasting In that Better Land that lies
BE oed the r aeh"s OF these cooplng skies,
H. bold the lord came Out 10 greet him home,
Weaving the coat he Nav. ut Moscow dome
seafing the heavy, hairy e,at he gave
| iiy h"scow's tY~or before he left the gave.
| Amt where, dear Lori. found you this ruat OF
| mine,
\ thing unfit for glory such IS Tliue?"
Then the Lori answered with a l"US of Hight:
THIS coat. my son. you gave 10 Me la-, night :
| But there is another way to again offer
| the sacrament of service than by giving
| food to eat and rainment to put on. 1t is
| suggested by the last half of the text,
"And every one So ( 1 to his brother, be OF
good courage" There are men and women
in this world who need an encouraging
word more than they need bread. Man
| does not need bread alone. There are
| men on our streets who have been I'M
fortunate in their lives. They are pes
simistic and discouraged and aistrust all
the world. There are others who are in
some vocation which does not measure
up to their ambition, and they need to
have some one tap them on the shoulder
a I'd say. 'Be OF good courage" There
are a good many men who become dis
eouraged before they become drunkards
There are others who lose their hope be-
fore they lose their good name. There
are many who need to be met at the door
Of the factory at the close OF the days
work and led beyond the saloon to the
doors OF their homes that they may be
saved TO themselves and to their families
They need words OF strength. They
need to be inoeulated with courage and
the power to resist evil.
Very few OF US realize how much help
there is toa handshaks when given in a
brotherly way. One of Wellington's Off
GERS when commanded to go on some pei
ilous duty, fingered a moment as il afraid,
and then said: "Let me have one clasp OF
your all-conquering hand before go, and
7 Il "a l.
needy ones of earth ask not for our money
but for our sympathy, and our sympathy
we ought to give. "Some one ought to dc
il, but why should I?'' should be turned
into the saerificial statement, i"Some one
ought to do it, so why not I?' Frederick
Douglass appreciated the uplift which
Lincoln always gave him when they met,
for Douglass said she is the only man
who does not remind me that / am a
| negro" To say to weak brother with
all the meaning in your soul, ''Be.of good
cheer, " will often make him a moral giaI
and suffer him TO rise above.his difficulties
and his shortcomings. There are very few
persons who do notlineed words. of en-
couragement, who do not need to have
someone say to them, ''Be OF good courage"
Nc one has ever been able.to speak this
word with such3pathos Jas Jesus, and no
hearts have ever Deen lifted into the pres
ence of their best selves as those to whom
He spoke. When'theiwoman was brought
to Him, taken in her sin,iit was 'go,.sin no
more" When others would condemn the
woman who stole,her way into the house
of Simon the leper to snoint Jesus feet, He
said: "She hath done what she could"
When Mary and Martha were mourning
the loss of brother, it was, "Thy brother
shall rise again" When the thief on the
cross threw himself upon Jesus compass
sion the Master said, "to-day thou shalt
be next me in Paradise"