Norwich bulletin., 1913-12-06


 guard of virtue.
 If the New Thoughters of this age 1 are correct our poor relations do not ! consist wholly of kin by blood who | have become incapable of meeting the daily demand of life upon them The ! poorest relations we can have are ! those which attract to us conditions We do not want. We must not think i the world is against us; but that 1t 1 is for us, and pushing most of the ! good things our way Positive thought 1 in favor of our own prosperity is not | only inspiring but magnetic. If you 1 find yourself in big city with an | empty wallet 1t doesn't do to get par I alyzed with anxiety and fear but one 1 must maintain the feeling of opulence | which leaves no doubt of ability i to improve the situation. They tell 1 us to look at an empty purse Just as i if there were a thousand dollars in l it; and it must be a masteTly feat to | be able to get so much in your eye 1 when there IS not a penny there; but 1 then, lessons in psychology always ] look mOonshiny to the inexperienced All must admit, however. it is not ' what we don't see that balks us; but ! how we really feel
 1t may never have dawned upon 1 you that lies affect the health of the
 people, and not infrequently are the ! cause of disease, distress and death The three qualities which keep lies l from taking material form and pois- 0ning the people are truth, sincerity 1 and integrity; and when these are out | of the hearts of business men poison | is in their wares. To make this clear we will call your attention to the fact 1 that there is no truth in adulterated 1 food or initiative articles of any kind; i and no truth in feeding the body with unbalanced ratiOns or in excessive feastiug, for these all tend to injure 1 the body while scripture declares the i truth gfVeth life and maketh all men free. It is time we all had our eyes open to the material forms falsities l in this life may take on. It may be I thought to be going too far to en- l dOrse the affirmation of the eX- l tremists that the minister who fails ] to preach these truths and who fails 1 to teach them is emitting the per- formance of plain duty"
 We do not fully value the winter ! birds who come down from the north and do a greater work in the destruc- i ton of insects than the birds that sing. These feathered little esqu1-
 maux of the woods know more of l egg hunting and grub hunting than i the sOngSterS of warm weather. The i little brown creeper, circling tree ! like a squirrel. destroys the eggs and l young of thousands of insects as do 1 1 WoOd-peCkers are the expert grub i hunters who knew where to look for 1 provisions in cold storage long before 1 the idea of refrigerated meats dawn 1 ed upon man; and the sparroWs and l juncos and goIdfnches gathering seed i of noXiOus plants and the shrikes and l owls hunting for live game to meet i their taste for fresh meat, thus i diminishing to some extent the pfOwl- i CTS who become nufSanceS to man. i And these hardy little creatures know l how to fast as well as how to feast, i and sometimes, when the snow is 1 deep and the ice remains for too long j a period they starve to death unless /! food is provided for them. Remem- 1 Der the winter birds in bad weather.
 # any one should ask you to define history perhaps no better answer | could be found than this; Its his- 1 story" It Is because it Is his-story that it is col0red by sympathy and
 warped by prejudice so that it Is of ten unreliable. How history has inn
 pressed some great minds is shown by the opinions of it they have left. ! Metternich, as the results of his study. concluded men who make his- tory have no time to write it." Na7 poleon who was masterly maker Of history left this question to future i generations! What is history but fable agreed upon?' And Sir Richard
 
 recognized as misrepresentation de- clared All history is lie." What is history when it comes to the fisherman or the men who essay to tell what they or their friends have done? You know, We'll that is what made Dumas say: Truth is very liable to | be left-handed in history and Croiy ] to affirm "AIl history is but a TO- nance, unless il is studied as an ex-
 ample" It is only by sitting con
 ficting his -storys' that the truth
 may be got at
 We have just passed the festival ] set apart in recognition of Gods gifts | to man, and all are supposed to have 1 at least had a feeling of thankfulness 1 for what Stevenson calls" unmerited l benefits and mercies." The trouble 1 with a perfunctory expression Of l thankfulness is that it Is not normal l for this emotional feeling to come at 1 command. It is absolutely dependent | upon recognized kindness to which 1t 1 is quickly responsive. The blessings 1 of Heaven are continuous; and the i dependence of man for every breath l is upon divine law which never fails 1 the soul: and those who are conscious l of this have abiding with them the I spirit of thankfulness, which though i constant, need give no outward sign. | There are those who claim to be 1 habitually thankful they are alive, l anu OIHCiS tIdI lIlS ID 1O WOIoO, 1 but true thankfulness wells up from 1 the spirit of love in the child to the l Father of All as naturally as the per | fume of the rose responds to the 1 dew We cannot be thankful as we l shoulder arms, for it is the action of | the heart which regulates this divine 1 emotion.
 Plato says "thinEing is the talking 1 of the soul with itself" Whether ws 1 agree with him or not in this defini- 1 ton we are aware that the challenges 1 of the mind to the soul are usually 1 the most effective. We are all more l or less guilty of not asking ourselves 1 answering ourselves as we would a l sincere friend seeking our opinion, when we do indulge .i in interpretive l inquiry. No one can enRoble himself more than by honoring his honest 1 convictions; yet, how We let all kinds 1 of sordid influences suppress the 1 spirit On things of importance we are i all more or less coWardly at heart, ] and more or less alarmed lest some one 1 else should find it out, than we be of the l consequences of it upon ourselves and 1 our progeny We are sly when it 1 would be better if we were wise. The 1 soul who sits down and talks to l itself in all seriousness, and then acts 1 upon the result of the conference is l pursuing sane method for personal l improvement. Those who go into the 1 silence and remain passive, claim l they grow in grace by listening to the | promptings of the spirit. We need to l oftener take counsel of ourselves, in | stead of laughing at those who do
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