Norwich bulletin., 1911-10-21
SUNDAY MORNING TALK
THE WINGS OF A DOVE.

The young lady sang very sweetly. It was an old song that many of us had heard before and it reiterated The sentiment, "Oh fer the wings of a dove. I would fly away and be at rest
 Would the young lady have accept ed the wings of a dove. think you gentle reader, if they had been pre- sented Co her? Would any of us ac- cept them and do we really want to fly away anywhere else? To put it plainly, would we be any more con- tented If we could luit our regular spheres of life and work for good and all and take something else, some where else It IS on these vital considerations that I have a word to say.
 There is a good deal of discontent in the world. Multitudes of people are at war with their environment They think they could be happier in this occupation or in that. They fit from place to place, from Europe to America, from Maine to California, trying to find a spot in which they can be happy. What would the railways and the steamship lines do without the restless travellers who yearn for the next, and for Palm Beach at the first sugg estion of cold weather :? You have seen the discontented faces of these nomadS.
 One faIIacy of such restless endeavor lies in the fact that no real Garden of Eden exists on this earth. You will not come upon Utopia no matter where you go. The dove may fly north, south, east or west, or straight up into the blue, but he is not out of the range of cold winds or drench- ing rains or burning sun. And I fancy that if we n1ortals travel to lands end we shall not find the loca- .ion that has no drawbacks. It is remarkable how, right through life, the moenlit lake must be viewed to the buzz of mosquitoes
 I would hate to risk the experiment of changing places with any other worker. This occupation or that may seem full of attraction but I am pretty sure that no one job represents unalloyed delight There is apt to be some sort of fly in the most savory ointment Phillips Brooks, looking out of his study window, saw a laborer passing and remarked to a friend, .I suppose that fellow thinks I have a very easy time in here. but I confess I envy him his freedom from care"
 You have noticed that sort of ball ance is almost always apparent in the lives of men as regards their bless ings. Not all kinds of roses grow i'll anyone's front yard
 Moreover personality remains the same in any place or work. Men may be shifted geographically or vocation ally without any temperamental alter ation. "Who cross the sea change cline, not mind" If I growl about the fogs of London, I shall scarcely be happier amid the smells of Naples. And he who suceurnbs to the disagree able features of one profession is quite apt to be equally repelled in another.
 No one need be completely satisfied with his lot. No one should cease con- stant effort toward betterment There l IS no counsel to moral stagnation But the wise man will avoid restless discontent. It is great deal worthfeI to conquer the obstacles of the situa- l ton in which life places one than to sigh for sweet release. Pray then fof | a victorious life rather than for an easy one Longfellow is right: We have not wings, we cannot soar; But we have feet to scale and climb I By slow degrees, by more and more, l The cloudy summits, of our time. THE PARSON.