Year: 1875

ness will find himself regarded as the enemy
of the human race, especially by tho shop
keepers. Upon any one Of these merry days,
in any stately street or mean alley OF this
great city, there is self-denial enough practiced
to refute regiment of ROchefoucaulds.
There is nobody 30 rich as not to feel the
pinch of giving at all, and often those who
are rated the richest feel it the most smartly;
while, il we could have an inventory
of the real and personal estate of the
Good Samaritan, we should probably find him
to have been no CrGsus, since he journeyed
humbly on donkey. If we could have accu-
rately stated the sum total of all the money
spent during the holidays for gifts, and then
ascertain how much of this expenditure was
really ill-afforded and involved personal sac
rifice, we should have encouraging data for
better opinion of human nature.


We arc constantly bestOwng upon ourselves
food and raiment, articles OF personal adorh-
ment or comfort, this or that which gratines
or possibly procaims our good taste; but 1t Is
stimulating to think how much most men ana
women actually bestow upon others. we DO
not reckon the free hand with which
parents endOw their children, nor the lavish
ness of lovers; but he who has genius for
giving showers his largess upon those whom
he does not know upon the poor into whose
gladdeped faces he will never look, and upon
tbe suffering whose relief he can only imagine
He takes pauperism upon trust; he accepts
what the directors of this or that society say
to him; he receives thanks from those VINO
are succored by his bounty nor is he particu-
lary desirous uf having his name printed IN
the list of benefactOrs. So mOiety OF the
worlds giving is with no blare OF trumpets.
The modest and retiring shuttle off their bounty
in a corner and in a shame faced way, with
"There take it and don't say word about
it. | begn There is a benev0lence which
makes bigger noise, but its sum total after
all is smaller.


This is what man gives to himself-the
pleasure of giving, the consciousness that some
body is helped the certainty that a fit want
has been fifty supplied, and life made hap
pier. He saws to himself, "We will not have the
/" fine book, the costly picture, the gem which
we wanted; but the money shall go to the
"Society for Providing Destitute Children
with Ham Sandwiches and Wooden Horses"
And a brave business he will do thus before A. ID.
1876 starts upon his twelve months travel
the old will be made younger, children
roster, lean and lank anatomies warmer and
plumper, the sick more hopeful, the dark
places brighter. 'Tis very sweet and genial
and invigorating, this conspiracy between
man and his own better nature. 1t gloriies
the tradesman's windows it makes loOped
raggedness whole; it kindes coal fires and sets
something to cooking over them it fills homes
full of happy laughter and freshens up the
world bravely rendering 1t quite raree-show
to those who were beginning to think it no
better and brighter than an old junk-shop.


Why should not man just now make himself
a present of good resolution or twOf All
morality and all philosophy recognize our
duplex nature, aud We take cOgnizance OF 1t
in our daily parlance. We say, 81 have prom
"ised myself" The sage in the play admon-
ishes his son to be true to himself ii he
"would not be false to any man." Nobody can
get away from consciousness. Sometimes it
would save BRAIN sick man from madness if
he could do so. We put consciousness
to the best account when we so order our
lives that it cannot reprOach u.s. when we fill
it with the good gifts of unrebuking memo
ries, so that it shall repay us an hundred fold
We all wish ourselves Happy New Year, but
it is only honorable action and self-dena
which can secure true felicity to these beings
which we call ourselves We must be chary
and wary in our dealings with our personality,
and make friends and keep friends with our
own souls. There may be plenty and pros
perity and apparent triumph without this, but
no real happiness, 10 wise life, no pare and
entire success