Norwich bulletin., 1911-02-11
THE MAN WHO TALKS

l Abraham Lincoln, whose life is the
 subject of review and praise on the l 18th of each passing February, was l the most outrageously revtled man on earth in the sos. and q large part of | our people held him in disesteem. l Here is sentiment of Lincoln's worth cherishing: "As I understand the spirit i of our institutions, it is designed to | promote the elevation of men. am 1 therefore hostile to anything that 1 tends to their debasement." No esti- i mate of his character has been made superior to this one by Phillips Brooks, who said: Tt is the great boon of i such a character as MT. Lincoln's that 1 they reunite what God has joined to- l gether and man has put asunder. In real goodness and the goodness of real greatness" There are no discordant sounds when his name is mentioned. for his true manhood has triumphed over prejudice and hate.
 lt is in accord with tho way we look at the approaching work of the day that we cast our minds; and as our minds are set so does the day and it's work result. It was Lucy Larcom who said: "The beauty of work de- bends upon the way in which we meet it-whether we arm ourselves each morning to attack 1t as an enemy that must be vanquished before night comes, or whether we open our eyes with the sunrise to welcome it as an approaching friend who will keep us delightful company all day, and who will make us feel at evening that the day was well worth it's fatigue" It is tLe way III which we regard work that makes it a burden or a delight. The true philosophy of life invites cheer and thrift, two companions In our daily walks. He who takes Gloom by the hand in the morning can always have hay and painful day. So long as we give the cast of each day at it's beginning. why not see that we greet it as a friend instead of as an enemy.
 It seems to me as if speaking well of the dead is not more than half as meritorious as speaking we'll Of the living. The complimentary things put into obituaries too often are n1fslead- ing If they are taken as a basis for getting true measure of the charac- ter of the deceased. While it may be true that none of us ever thoroughly know our best friend, if we just had the habit of saying quietly to those close to us, T appreciate your kindness. and your quiet dignity is ever pleasing to father. brother, wife, child or friend would feel. No. It would not do to say such things all the time. for they are the sweet things which mus; come out in moments of quietness and sim cerity. It is possible some might take them for counterfeit sentiments; and they would be warranted in so doing if your daily life was giving the lie to your sweet words. The harmony of life is check to reality being mistaken for false -pretence.
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 The man or woman who always have their way are likely to have mo- ments when they wish that some one had stopped them The way of the selfish has really proven too often a have gone their length they do not appear to be able to break-away from their own self-created miseries. It seems to have been a wise Providence that has compelled them to stay in the hole they have made for themselves until they can find the way out, which requires them to forget self and ren- der serviee to others. It seems a hard road to travel for them until the blessings of it awaken them to the greater joy of living. The person who does good work for love of praise or fame instead of for love of human ity, which is way of expressing love for God. is usually disappointed in this field because he is violating the laws which elevate the soul. Pride and a peacock's feather are no adorn- ment to a human soul in the sight of the Almighty who has made humility and love the greatest treasures the heart of man can be conscious of.
 1t does not cost us much to have an horizon, or to broaden it; and still believe there are a multitude of folks who do not have horizon because they do not know there is such a thing. and have no use for the word. The practical man has far narrower horizon than the dreamer who not only has memory's walls lined with the most entrancing views of earth, but now and then gets transcendant views of the Elysian fields. There are horizons and horizons; and it is not an unworthy object to strive as much as possible to widen our horizon so that we may see Italian skies or prai- rie levels while sitting at home in the easy chair It does one good to widen his horizon with knowledge, and then to stop long enough to dream of the wonders and beauties which express the power and presence of the great Oversoul. There are those who have extended their horizons so they take in the pearly gates of the New Jerusalem. Such horizons contribute immensely to their joy and their hope
 Do not think this is the aqe of greatest heroism because more heroes are being recognized and rewarded than ever before, for the hero is the product of every age and most diff cult to discover. Usually he is not conscious that he is one, and he is surprised when he is selected for spe- cial honors. Heroes have proven to be all through the ages most modest men. and the publicity which comes of re- cognition makes them quake more than the risk to life they may have taken to save another from misfortune or death. They do net rush to show themselves for if they did there would an1 unknown The world does not recognize the heroism of the woman who has to bring up the children of a druken husband or who is spending her life with and for a brute. 1t takes heroism to meet the circumstances of every day life under some conditions, and the world can never know how many are doing it.
 There is no good reason why any one should sit down with hardluck and make it subject of conversation ever after. Hard luck has been the presags of good luck in innumerabie cases. Hard luck never has a show with the no-surrender spirit. Hard luck and persistence cannot live to- gether any more than snow and sum- mer sunshine. What is g. setback but 8 notice that your hustiing is not of c5ad you must more earnestly apply all your energies. Hard luck becomes it only when he finds a Quftter; and 1t Is shameful to the race that he finds so nTany of them. Instead of making life one sweet song he makes it one wearying disappointment to those who give in to discouragement. To be up