The Washington herald., 1914-10-05

themselves more
AT the theater one notices a similar situation.
Study the faces of the people in the orchestra and
then study the faces leaning from the first
row of the gallery Which of the faces express the
greater pleasure2 Nearly always those that look
down from the gallery And yet the seats are not
nearly so comfortable as those in the orchestra and
the air up there is bad
Meanwhile there are other people in the theater
that ought to be closely observed, the most highly
favored of all sitting in the boxes. As rule they
show no enthusiasm whatever. Often, instead of
paying attention to actors the stage they talk to
one another, not always in low tones.
Think of any two children in the same family that
YOU happen to know. In their veins runs the same
blood They are surrounded by the same influences.
But are they alike? Invariably you will find diff
ferences between them, sometimes astonishing as
to make it seem impossible that they should be in
any way related. One is likely to be happier than
the other What is the reason? 1t surely can't come
from the outside.
Find in your acquaintance the most spoiled per-
son you know either girl or boy, woman or man. Is
this spoiled person likely to be happy?
The most wretched woman l have known
is great beauty. As a child she was beautiful.
Naturally she was aware of the fact The world did
its best to make her self-conscious. As she grew
older she began to realize the power of her beauty.
She used it to make exactions OF course she was
disappointed But she found the habit of exacting
so firmly established that it became part of her.
Now in middle life she has nothing but her beauty,
which, in a few years, she is doomed to lose. 1t has
won for her some Of the prizes that people con-
slider great, including a rich husband and distin-
guished position. But even these prizes could not
meet her exactions Long ago her husband wearied
of her and, though the two still live together, they
are known to be unhappy And as for position, the
woman cares for it only it gratihes her purely
selfish desires.
Instead OF being blessing. possession may be a
source of misery. Because gain what the world
believes to be a good thing, what may in itself
he good thing it does not follow that it will be
a good thing to us
People may be heard rejoicing over mis-
fortunes in their lives. They make remarks like
That was the best thing that happened to me"
They mean that the misfortune led them to good for
tune or taught them wisdom.
| once heard woman say Of well-known writer
man she had known for years: The trouble
with him is that he has had failure tragedy
in his life" When l asked her what she meant, she
said: "He regards success easy and natural thing
So he has no sympathy for those who unsuc-
cessful and have to struggle and suffer Failure
would give him sympathy and tragedy would give
him new understanding"
And yet we all know people who have suffered
and who are limited in sympathy. The suffering,
instead of doing them good. has done them harm. 1t
has made them hard or selfish cruel There
are even those who. through suffering, develop
longing to infct suffering others.
The truth is it seems to me, that what happens
to us is of comparatively little importance What
is important is the way we react. If react wisely
from any experience we shall gain. If we react un-
wisely we shall lose And the greatest tests may
come not from i'll fortune, but from good fortune.