Evening public ledger. [volume] (Philadelphia [Pa.]) 1914-1942, 1914-11-12
MEETING SITUATIONS
Reflections Philosophy of Accepting Things They ComSunny
Courage Takes the Sting Out of the nevitable-Menal
Depression Paralyzes Helpful Endeavor.

ing her wonted task of making strap and
buckle meet How often we meet her counter
part! l recall now faithful retainer who
told me casually how she had taken her four
grandchildren into her small house when the
fifth came down with scarlet fever. Where
did you ever put them all?" exclaimed. 20,
that was easy enoughl I just tumbled them
all into my bed, threw an extra mattress
into the bathtub' and slept there myself till
the Board of Health let EN- go back!
"Twan't nothnl" she added turning
lightly aside my implied sympathy Lifted
be pretty easy if l never had nothin'
harder'n that to dol" At another time she
trudged out to help me make the house ship
shab on my return from a delightful sum-
mer vacation. was sitting the porch, too
dispirited by the muggy pail of close air
with which dear old Philadelphia is only too
prone to greet her returning citizens to ven-
ture inside. Searching vanly for a breeze
among the many fine old trees on the lawn
| discovered my Mrs. Wiggs coming along
with her dogged bog-trot, her face one vast
expansive grin.
TO my lapguid inquiry as to her summer
she said "Oh, l can't complain! My grand
children all got through the whoopn cough
Just fine, except the baby, who had it some
thin fierce! The doctor said only fresh air'd
save him, so we kept him out all night. His
mother wheeled the carriage till midnight,
then. after Id rested bit from my days
scrubbin', I rolled him till sun-up! 'Twan't
bad" she added hastily, as she noticed my
'commiserating expression. You see we've
got a big tree on our block, most as big as
thet one o yours-and I tell you the breezcs
we'd sometimes get was somethin' grand!"
Feeling oddly rebuked, 1 humbly set myself
to ba daNy'c taa1f and 6pSDito the humidity,
restored the house to its accustomed, shining,
homelike trim. As 1 oversaw the work, my
thoughts ran something like this: IF she
can so stimulate me to take life as 1t comes,
why shouldn't ] exert the same influence on
my environment" Emerson put it another
way when he said:
Nor knowest thou what argument
Thy life unto thy neighbors creed hath lent.
Since we can all count our Mrs. Wiggses
on our fingers, why shouldn't we be Wiggs
for others? OF course, do not mean that
we should supinely accept conditions that
might be improved sufferings that might
be alleviated, but that by accepting the inev-
table with sunny courage we may escape
being submerged in n welter of self-pity and
actually prove the rescue plank for some
sinking brother.
T7HE need of this grace of adaptability
i seems to be unusually pressing this win
ter when, because of the uncertainty of
the money market due to the European
war. the rich are cutting down their
forces of servants and remaining in the
country and the poor are facing the
winter with the possibility of losing their
jobs Much as our hearts are wrung by the
sufferings abroad and grevous as the winter
outlook is, now more than ever before we
,1,aI1 10 nNNff
pessimsm. While we cannot help the
appalling war conditions, we can, after CIV
ing what we can personally afford toward
amelioratlng individual suffering, do our
utmost toward overcoming that mental de-,
preston which paralyzes helpful endeavor.
We can also throw all our influence against
everything which could make for the pos
sibility of such conditions in our land. AS
our good friend in "Dombey and Som so
pertinently remarks: "The bearings of this
observation lays in the application on It,"