Year: 1874

which will sweep forests and houses
and villages to destruction. The ia
Vorlte maxim of the economist is
substantially this-take care of the
little things, and the large ones will
take care of themselves-and this
we may claim as wise and perti-
nent maxim in the broadest applica-
ton to life and character. It sbould
be remembered too, that these little
annoyances make and maintain that
friction which is necessary to the
polish and finish of character; we
may not hope to escape them, then,
but must rather learn how to bear
them. Sandstone, and all coarse
grained stones men hammer into the
ruder forms which serve the com
mOner purposes; but in the granite
and the marble, after the hammer
has done its rough work then their
fine texture invites the appliance of
finer tools, and the most careful and
continuous friction, which will bring
out the hidden beauties of these no
BILE stones, and endow them with a
lustre that shall flash and glitter in
the sunlight with enduring glory.
So in the texture of all human ma
lures there is a fneness of fibpe
which invites the finer discipline
not merely the hammer stroke and
chisel cut-but the grit and subtitle
friction which will bring out and
display the grain of the soul, and in
duce that gloss and lustre which
will reflect all beauty and image all
glory. 1 say in all human natures
there is this toughness of texture
which invites the finer and higher
discipline; but l do not mean to ig-
more the difference in men, some be-
ing stronger and more susceptible of
finish than others; l onl y mean to
claim thst all human natures are of
noble material, and have rich posi-
bilities as being divine in constitu-
tion and condition of their lives.
Let us then convince ourselves as
Thoroughly as we can that the little
consequences which are so provoking
and which do so tend to make us
fretful, are not exceptional things,
but VitGL-things which we must ex-
pect. And if we can settle this mat
ter with ourselves we shall gain half
the battle and shall come to think,
not of the instruments which chafe
us, but rather of the n1GSter-hdnd
that is welding those instruments
with subtlest manipulation, and with
kindest and most confident purpose.
If the marble could and should COM
plain of the sculptor's chisels, fine
and sharp that are fretting and tor
turing it with such continuous at
tacks, you would say to it !: think
not of the chisel, but of the glorious
purpose of the artist, with which he
is bending over you, to honor you
with his thought, his genius, his life,
and to make you share his glory.
So, my friend, if God has quarried
your soul out of the depths and dark
ness of selfshness and sin, you had
better submit yourself to the carry
ing out of his full purpose; let Him
do His blessed work in His own
blessed way.


But 1t is so easy and so natural to
fret. Natural ?-yes, but easy Pit
is anything but that; it is the hard
est, most wearing, killing thing in
the world! FfetfuEuess as a distur-
Der of the peace and Of hapzoineSs; 1T
is a Generalization Of poa0er; and at
is a declenSjoaa Of faith. Let me
speak for a few moments to these
three points, before advancing TO
other considerations. Concerning
the first of these points very little
need be said. We all know but too
well that fretfulness is always a dis
turbance of peace and happiness. In
the home it makes the atmosphere
heavy and dark, and shuts out the
sunshine; in the business sphere, it
hinders and mars everything. 1t
matters very little about achGt you
whether it be about the SER
wants, the children, or the clerks;
about temporalities, or about spiritu-
Glities; the result is the same; yOar
oao,e soad is dark and troubled, and
your clouded countenance only rep
resents your clouded heart as it
shadows and chills all about you.
You become the SeTvGnt Of yOaSr ser
vants tie Uictina (paot the parent of
your children, and the subordinate of
yoatr clerks; and so you are in bond
age-galling bondage in every rela-
ton of your life. Fretfulness blinds
the eyes alike to the beauties of ma
ture and of grace; it dulls the ear to
the manifold music with which to
the quickened sense, the air is al
ways tremulous; it hardens the
heart to the blessed tuition and the
afiuent consultations alike of human
and of Divine ministries. The ten
dency always is to settle into
chronic condition, in which peevish-
ness, and discomfort, and envy, and
jealousy, and fear will make happi-
ness impossible. One has need to
watch most carefully against the
first symptoms of fretfulness; for
they develope in such rapid and
subtitle way. 1t is better to force a
smile than to tolerate frown. How
many homes are ruined, not by quar-
rels and contentious, but by mere
fretfulness. Machlnists say there is
less wear and friction in the bearings,
when axis and socket are of differ
ent metals, as of brass and iron; GER
tainly this is true in morals, if not
in mechanics. If there are different
natures or opposite natures in the
home, there is less wear and worry
than where both are alike-both are
brass, or both are iron. But even
under most favorable conditions
much lubricating patience there
mnst he in the fitting and adjusting
of characters in the deeper instincts
Of life whether domestic, social or
otherwise! And without this pa
t;ance there can be no peace.


The second point is that fretful-
ness is the decentralization of power.
The heart must be calm if the hand