The Goodland republic. [volume] (Goodland, Kan.) 1891-1907, 1905-06-02
HIGHER TESTS OF MANHOOD.


are signs Of vaIOr true;
Peace hath higher tests Of manhood
than battle ever knew"
For every ounce Of evil in this sorry
old world there are several pounds
Of good For every act Of meanness
there are several deeds Of love.
In this day when the world hears
so much to the discredit Of men, 1t
will do it no harm 10 be reminded
that ''the evil that men do lives after
them; the good is oft inferred with
their bones" It viii do men and
women no harm to have their at
tention distracted from the dark pic
lures Of cruelty, Of passion and Of
mans inhumanity to man to the
brighter view where sacrifices are
made where burdens are borne, where
mighty obstacles are overcome
many instances by fraiI men and deli
cate wOmen-and all done in the
name Of that love that ''passeth all
understanding"
Charles Reade described the ex-
periences Of the thoughtful observer
when he said Not a day passes over
the earth but men and women Of no
note do great deeds, speak great
words and suffer noble sOrrOws- OF
these obscure heroes, philosophers
and martyrs, the greater part will new
er be known till that hour when
many that were great shall be small
and the small great"
One need not go beyond the bOrd-
ers OF his own town to find those who
Of
way and unknown even to many Of
their neighboTs, meet the higher tests
Of manhood. Pointing out that he
roes in history seem to US poetic be-
cause they are there one writer has
reminded US that IF we should tell
the simple truth Of some Of our neigh
bOrs it would sound like poetry
Regular patrons Of a certain street
car line in a western city frequently
observed a mother, grown premature
" gray BY her burdens, carry on and
of the cars, to and from a doctors
Office, a girl, in the neighbOrhOOd Of
eighteen years Of age, who had been
stricken with paralysis. For years
this mother hoped against hope and
trying first one experiment and then
another was, after years Of painstak-
ing devotion, finally rewarded by her
daughters restoration to health
Those who remembered how that good
mother carried in her arms the
daughter, then grown to woman
hood, even as she had carried her
when a babe, must have felt their
hearts beat a little faster when they
were permitted to see that mother
and daughter walking side by side,
the one restored to health and the
other happier and prouder because Of
the sorrows she had endured and the
sacrifices she had made.
A man in a clerical position met
with terrible accident. A large fam
lily was dependent upon him for sup
port A fellow employee who was
himself dependent upon wages and
who had passed his sixty-fifth year,
Joined with other employees Of the Of
fee in an agreement to do the work
Of their fellow in order that those de-
pendent upon him might obtain his
salary. Every night in that office
some men were engaged in working
overtime and several nights during the
week this aged man was contributing
his portion in this labor Of love. He
overwOrked himself and brought on
an apoplectic stroke. For several
weeks he fingered between life and
death, but to the qualification of all
who have the honor OF his acquaint-
ance, he is now well on his way to
health. Who viii say that on the
roll Of heroes the name Of this man
does not occupy a conspicuous place?
A young physician was called to at
tend a woman who was at that time
perhaps nineteen years Of age. Al
though the disease with which this
girl was stricken had been prOnounc-
ed incurabIe by other and older doc
tors, the young physician devoted
himself to the case. So attentive was
he to his patient that he secured one
Of the rooms in her mothers house
as his Office that he might be convent
emily situated to respond, day or
night, 10 calls from the invalid On
pleasant days he carried the delicate
woman to his phaeton for a drive.
Before the second year had passed he
knew that his fair patient loved him
He kept his own love for another
locked within his big heart For
fourteen years the patient fingered
and finally passed away. Within a
year the doctor had married the
woman OF his choice, who, evidently
understanding the heroism Of the
man, had never married. although it
was currently reported she had many
opportunities Intimate friends Of
those concerned in this romance know
the facts as related The doctor and
his wife are stI living and they keep
refreshed the memory OF the poor in
valid as well as the grass and flowers
about her grave.
There are everywhere girls OF ten
der years engaged in laborious tasks
and using their al too small income
Tor the purpose in some cases Of lift
ing mortgages, in others OF providing
bread for the family. There are boys
pushed before their time to the line
Of manhoOd's duties. who have taken
the places OF fathers dead, have be
come protectors for their brothersand
sisters ana providers for their widow
ed mothers. There are parents strug-
Cling to conceal, and finally to cure,
the Haywsrdness OF a son or daught-
er. There are wives bearing IN sfI-
arra tia Grief that 1,r,sl,7r4fs9 zJ,,-,.