Norwich bulletin., 1910-08-06
SUNDAY MORNING TALK
THE INSIDE OF A MAN.

A rather unpleasant incident has set me pondering on what men are on the inside. An old friend failed to receive letter from me duly mailed relat- ready conferred and concerning which was not able fully to accede to his desires. The letter miscarrying, his sensitiveness on the main question led him to send me a very brusque, per- emptory note in which my old-time friend revealed a phase of his nature entirely new to me. He had some pro- vocation, I admit, and by this time we have patched matters up beautifully. But what surprised and for the mo- nent distressed me was the outcrop- ping of a trait which I had never thought he possessed.
 Every now and then our acquaint- ances startle us by such disclosures of themselves The fact that they do this adds to the zest of human inter course. Not infrequently some capac- ity with which we had not credited them comes to light, some hidden love Illness of the spirit. which makes us profoundly grateful and stirs ad- n1iration. But, alas, quite as often we are saddened by tfle revealings of in- patience, frritability, vanity, envy or selfshness.
 This happens often enough to make us less and less inclined we grow older to estimate men by their ap- pearance.
 Here comes a man down the street. He wears broadcloth and a silk hat. Behind him walks a man in overalls. Here comes a woman richly dressed and behind her plainly-clad woman. Over wonder are massed together a number of persons, handsome and homely But what do these distinc- tions tell concerning the inside life? Precious little. The only way to find out what man is on the inside is to live with him long enough to get at his real spirit. saThe folks who eat with us are the ones who know what we are at the center of our lives And yet they do not know us absolutely That can be affirmed only of God and measured of ourselves
 Therefore our estimates of others should always be tenderly made, al- ways subject to revision, always made with the remem brance that we know others only in part.
 Still more important is it to give such attention to our inside life as will enable it to bear the closest scrutiny and that will also foster a legitimate sense of satisfaction with what we are Depend upon it. the chief joy in life arises from within and not from with out. What folly to brink long hours before the glass and scant the time given to storing the mind with useful IHOugntSi whom 0O you i've WlIl1 most closely, your relatives, your friends or yourself? I want to appear well before men. but I want to be what seem to be- want an inside life that shall be sufficient in itself and not dependent upon outside attrac- tions.
 Within are the large and rewarding and inspiring thoughts. Within are the great royalties to others. The wounded French grenadier, submitting to the surgeons knife, could honest " say, "Cut a little deeper and you will find the emperor" Within are the fountains of feeling that refresh us when life becomes a dry and weary thing. Within is tine souls response to God and the capacity for fellowship with him
 Over and again Jesus mphasized the l inside of mans life, the color of the skin the amount Of adornmeuts the 1 s poken word. the general bearing ev- erything purely superficial. eounted for 1 naught in corhparison with the real | seit within. If that Is true and pure 1 and aspiring, if tine inner chamber | houses noble thoughts and sweet af- | fections and generous impulses. then you are living the richest, happiest | kind of life. no matter what your ex- ternal surroundings are
 THE PARSoN.