The Washington herald., 1914-12-28

I saw young fellow bending
forward. Presently he went
~ out and a entered and
took his seat About five
minutes later the young fellow
returned and said to the man:
81 beg your pardon for dis
turbing you, but I dropped my glasses here and
the optican wants me to show him the pieces.
The man moved to another seat and the young
fellow proceeded to search on the floor. Then,
verv quietly, a third man rose and, lighting a
match began to search. Together the two gather
ed the pieces. The young fellow went out and
the man sat down, if nothing had happened. and
vent on writing. His absorption gave me chance
TO look him over He seemed commonplace enough,
carefully dressed, with an expression in his face
of mildncss that might might not have indicated
lack of force II ! had seen him in a crowd |
should not have noticed him. But now ! knew
that he did not belong to crowd, that he was
not commonplace. He one OF the unusual
people In public place. without selt-conscious-
ness, without speaking word, he had easily and
efficiently done a stranger an act OF kindness.
People like that man are in the world.
They are the free people The rest OF us in that
room would doubtless have been willing TO help
if we had been called on; but didn't think. II
we had thought some OF US would have hesItatcd
through the operating OF the fear that so often
controls US in an attitude toward strangers If a
woman had been there she might have offered to
help; but she might also have made fuss and
she might have betrayed that she knew she was
doing something kind.
The charm OF the little act lay in its being,
so far as one could sec, absolutely unconscious
OF itself. The man behaved as he might have
done if he had been at home among his friends.
1t to pretty illustration OF public behavior
which, in this country of ours, is not conspicuous
for its good manners or, what is more important,
for the human spirit that reveals itself in the best
of all manners, those ready little considerations
that are nothing in themselves that nothing
that only help.
People who are conscious OF their manners,
who pride themselves on their good breeding, are
often incapable OF doing acts OF simple kindness.
The instant they make the effort consciousness
gets in the way, showing off asking for credit,
celebrating, complicating, creating embarrassment
or annoyance or BOTH perhaps converting the kind
ness into unkndness. 1t is if they kept saying,
each OF them, See how good am" Behind their
performing there may be kindly spirit. But there
are other qualities, too that have nothing to do
with kindness, that really its foes.
Many OF the deeds that we regard as good
deeds are vtiated in this way. This circumstance
may explain why, as often happens, they don't
turn out as well think they should. The
instant we arc consciously kind we start contra
dctorv forces working. There's no knowing how
far they may go or how much mischief they may
do The truth that turks beneath everything we
do seems here to be that ii is important for US to
be controlled by absolutely pure motives. But we
- b,rD he
animating spirit is poisoned with self-satisfacton
and the desire to secure applause.
The conscious doers Of kindness probably
the most surprised people in the world In the
first place, they are almost certain to feel that
they don't get due credit that they are misunder-
stood. They are surely misunderstood by them
selves By others they not likely to be misunder-
stood, particularly by those they do good to. II,
for example, the virtuous patronlzers of the poor
could only know how, in many instances, the poor
felt toward them, they would at first be indignant
and resentfu. Then they would wonder how they
had escaped with their lives.
In this matter, however, it is we'll not to be
too severe. We are all guilty. We give ourselves
altogether too much credit, ii not for this act of
kindness, then for that other act. / suspect that
even the man who helped to pick up the pieces
of glass has the weakness in some direction But
perhaps l do him injustice. If he is free from
the weakness, he is ready for heaven. On the
other hand, he may find his heaven here. For the
kindly unconscious people have way of turning
life into about as close realization of heaven
is possible to human beings. They are not con-
tnually thinking about themselves and complain
ing. Their freedom enables them to engage in
those personal and disinterested enterprises that
make their days shine with generous and cheerful
service With their fellow-beings they have
contacts that bring them con-
slant refreshment of spirit. They are the real dis
coverers, greater than all the Columbuses that ever
sailed on the sea of adventure and their discoveries
reach beyond this world and light up the realms
of mystery.