The Washington herald., 1915-07-01
A Happy Man.
~ JOHN u. BARRY.

He saw the great dome of the sky, with di
| aphanous clouds majestically sailing across the
blue. He the sun pouring gold into the air
and on the roofs and into the windows of a multi
tude of homes. He saw waving trees and flower:
and a wide sweep of moving water And he saw
/ people with happy faces, eagerly talking.
He said to himself, Life is good" and he
looked up and he had a wonderful feeling of SYM
pathy that made him related to the people and the
moving water and the gold in the atmosphere, to
the flowers the trees and to the great dome of the
sky.
He threw back his head and his shoulders and
he felt life coursng through him.
Soon there came day when there sun,
when the air thick with rain, when the flowers
were vanished and the trees were bare.
And the man laughed. He liked the rain He
would go out and let it beat upon him, with his
head bent and his shoulders pressing eagerly for
ward.
There was another day when the sun shone and
the flowers bloomed and the trees moved and the
water danced without making the man laugh.
In his heart there was gloom. And the gloom
darkened his vision.
He said to himself: "The world is still the
same world. The only change is in myself. So l
must control myself. If l don't shall go blind.
shall be unable to the wonderful things about
me- the things that have made me laugh"
So he would force himself to smile. Some one
would smile back He would feel better.
The more he smiled the more people smiled
back and the brighter the world grew.
Presently he forgot about the gloom. When
he looked for it he was elated to find that it was
gone.
There were many days like the day when gloom
threatened.
Gloom finally became discouraged and never
came back.
People used to say: isn't he remarkable?
Nothing ever seems to bother him."
Sometimes they wondered what would happen
when the big trials came. They didn't understand
that every day of his life he praeticing to meet
the big trials. a
The first came to the man in the guise of
great disappointment. He had expected to do
something wonderful 1t would bring him honor
and reward. And he could share it all with those
he loved.
But just when he thought it was his it eluded
him. And he saw that it would never return.
The world grew black for a moment-but only
for moment.
When it was over the man assured himself that
the world was still beautiful. He gazed out of the
window and through haze he saw the sun shin
ing. He lifted his head and threw back his shout
ders, according to his habit of years. He drew
long breath.
He could not laugh But he did succeed in
smiling
81 must do better the next time this kind of
thing happens" he said, and he went down stairs
to comfort and distract those he knew would be
grieving for him.
And there he found such increase in the treas
ure of love that he forgot all about that other
treasure
A worse trial was on the way to the man. One
that part of his very being, the blossom of
his life, the hope of the future was suddenly
swept out of the world.
He felt as if all the forces of life had turned
against him. He trembled in an anguish of grief
and fear.
But the practice of years helped him.. He must
not think of himself now. There was some one
else far more important whose grief must be
greater. So he tried to forget about himself.
Once more he realized the beauty in the divine
mystery of loss. He had not less life now, but
more. He felt closer relation with life, the life
about him and the life in his own heart
Suffering was making his love finer and deeper
Often people used to wonder. They knew that
the man had not won any of the things the world
considered the prizes of life. He had suffered dis
appointment and bereavement. And yet he met
life smilingly, gaily.
When the man grew older he still looked |
young; There was youth in his smile and in his
eyes and in his response to the demands of the |
day.
Italys fhsst ResinesE
The most imposing regiment in the Italian |
army is the Coraxzieri, or Royal BodyGuard |
which for smartness and physique of man and |
horse is the most magnificent corps of the Kind in
Europe. No trooper in the Corazxieri is less !
than six feet or two while many are far taller.
and their wonderful feats Of horsemanship are