Norwich bulletin., 1915-03-27
A CUSTOM OF THE GREEKS

I her health had their reasonable effect and she became really i'll. But hers was a good constitution;
 rest and care restored her strength. But not until she had made every pre- l paration for her exit from this vale of tears, even to selecting those child | hood friends whom she desired as bearers. the village clergyman, who had married her parents as well as herself, the singers and hymns for her funeral, etc.
 Time passed, as it has habit of | mother died. To the surprise of her | self and her friends, the widow bore | the strain without collapsing. She even proved that she had strength to settle the large estate which her par 1 ents left and to continue the charities which were the solace of her good mother.
 More years fled. In the course of time she received the tidings from her wifehood home that the famous spec | ialist had shocked the community by dying suddenly from apopleXy. He had always been good liver, as the New England saying goes, and had spoken at a big banquet of the pro- fession the very night before his death. We'll, well! But life is uncertain! Time, which like tide, waits for no
 man, or woman, kapt going right on, steadily and uninterruptedly; but it S-~NN~~GO condition of the widow. Suitors, attracted by her personality and her wealth, sought to turn her
 mind from grief to more sentimental things; but she gently bade them be-
 gone, alleging the excuse of her weak
 heart and her frail health. Possibly because of her careful liv- ing and fear of all excitement and overdoing, the widow is still calmly Tr~ nci1 1i1oo- at I1n nf laf@ bidding fair so to do for long years. One by one those most intimately interested in her long-ago illness have dropped by the wayside;-first the singers she had chosen. and three of
 the six bearers. The moral Is obvious! Telling bad news is the stock. in | trade of many narrow minded beings who never forget the past. They have such an engaging way of putting down the pride of a friend by observing sweetly,
 Flow much you grow to favor your
 Gran'ther Hobbs, Mary! Wasn't he
 character? I've heard my Grand
 mother Billings tell how he was before the court once. for sheep stealing, and
 what stir it made in the town! etc. etc"
 Such people never forget-that is, tEey always remember the disagree
 
 even the best regulated faniliesi Much of this disagreeable trait, which would certainly not commend itself to the ancient Greeks, has it's vies of humanity
 Of mortal fickleness we are remind ed during this season, as Palm Sunday draws near and the story is re-told of the throngs who hastened out to meet
 the Saviour, strewing his path with palms.
 How avid we all are to greet any
 new conner, prophet, hero. discoverer,
 acclaiming him. strewing green palms in his path,
 And then, after we have unearthed all interesting facts about him, slated our curiosity concerning his career, his achievements, his birthplace and his youth, how he climbed to greatness or goodness, when We have quoted his words, grown familiar with his fea- lures, of a sudden our ardor will cool. We will yawn wearily, when he is
 mentioned; unconsciously. for it is hu- man, nature. we will take on the atti- tude of the person who voted against
 Aristides, because he had grown tired of hearing him called 'tThe Just" We begin to experience a sort of ir- ritation at hearing even the mention of the hero's name. Today we strew the path with palms; in a week we will 1 join the mob which clamors for sacri- 1 fee, for death, for vengeance; and 1 like those on the outskirts of the mob of whom the Apostle tells, though we
 may not always know why we clamor, we join our voices with those of the crowd asking for something we know not what!
 1t is sad, but it has been the trait of the ages! Too often it has its origin | in our. sense of our own smallness and unimportance, the envy which, after pride was the first sin to cause crime, beginning when, in Eden's garden the small population could not endure having even the Almighty know It all, but pined to share His knowledge with | Him, and following when Cain found unbearable the success and prosperity I of his brother Abel: Truly, if the ancient custom of the Greeks prevailed in this our age, they would find themselves kept over-busy; 1 and few of us would escape their pen aHzingi The moral being, of course, 1 that if we cannot tell hopeful, helpful, happy things bring sunshine not dark ness, conquer our small jealousies and envies, this Palm Sunday season should teach us, at least the healing virtue of silence, of knowledge of our l failings, of charity toward all and l malice toward none!" THE DICTAGRAPH.