The mirror. (Stillwater, Minn.) 1894-1925, 1914-07-09
THE TRUE FRIENDSHIP
The Test of any Real Friendship
is What it Does for You,
and What you do
for Others


What is the meaning of friend
ship? We often hear some one say
he or she is my friend" But do
half of them understand the true
meaning of friendship?
Friendship, to be valuable, must
be utter, just as gold must be pure
to be really gold. If your friend or
my friend is but moderately our
friend, and not altogether our friend,
if he commits himself to you guard
eddy and stands for you only part of
the time; if he can listen unprotest-
ingly when others speak slightingly
of you, his friendship is of no avail.
You might as well toss it into the
waste basket and begin all over
with some one else.
[ am of the opinion that friend
ship is the basis of true marriage
the man and woman must be able to
get together in serenity of Datural
comradship without continuous rasp
and jar. They must possess toward
each other the plain and elemental
qualities of confidence, loyalty and
tenderness; they must hold the same
views concerning life; each must de-
sire nothing so much as the welfare
of the other; neither can have aught
which is not at the disposal of the
other. Love there must be indeed,
but not love alone. for love is of fl
cry essence and often fails to result
in happiness either for the lover or
the loved. Many husbands and
wives not without love, fail of ami
ty and dwell in hell because they
are not first of all friends. Friend
ship is the warp and the wool of the
human oneness; love is the dye and
pattern which makes the fabric
splendid.
Courteous and Helpful
Back of every human work is an
idea, and back of the idea is man,
and back of a man is mans friend.
If we ever expect to ascertain any
thing IN this great world. we must
first of all learn to be friendly. My
definition for friendship is to be
kind, courteous and helpful to 9TH
ers. Some of us think only of our
selves.
The test of any friendship is what
it does for us, if it Gains us in rest
i've hours and in turbid ones sends
our feet fastening along the path of
progress; if our aim is high because
of it and our life and thoughts are
refined by it's influence; if we dare
not be unkind and live basely be-
cause of our friend, that friend is
the ambassador of God to our soul.
Look often and long into his eyes
and merge your heart and hope with
his in fearless abandon. How many
boom" fellow when be is flush"
but leave him by the wayside when
he is broke? How many can be
relied upon to step up when all the
world looks blue, and raise new
hopes with few friendly words.
There is not one of us but has
found at the last moment, when a
good word would have been a great
help, that the one to whom we
looked up to was not worthy to be
called friend.
Yet somewhere, if she is still liv-
ing. is a mother whose heart is ever
open to her son. Her friendship is
the strongest, and she will bravely
face the future with him if she is
sure of his friendship and love.
Years ago she soothed him in his
sorrows. She is ready to do so now.
Why can be not leave those onetime
friends and go to her? Let us de-
eide now, for our happiness and
success are in the balance. A moth |
er's friendship is never broken.
Let me say in closing, that one
true and all-the- way friend is worth
all, and one is enough. So let us be |