Year: 1873

II you could apprehend even q small
part of the reverelt love have for the
one who gave me the stone, you could
then know something of the pain it was to
me to find. deep down in the center of its
fiery heart q glittering flaw. 1t had es-
capped my notice at first 1t showed only
in certain lights and at certain angles.
What is there to be in our holy friendship,
said, that this means? / did not one
whit falter in my fervent love for the ring.
and the love that came with it, and the
giver OF both-but there was always the
flaw, seen or unseen. carried that little
perplcXity about with me, l can hardly
tell how many days.


sometimes think that in this world the
nearest we can hope to get to the real
reasons, to the final unravelings, is to be
able to substitute some great, wide, calm,
inexplicable perplexity for some little
bothering one. And so my ring of trouble
has grown into crown of rejoicing. /
have new watchword in lite TO add to
my many old ones (you know do not
believe i'll narrowing ones self to q single
motto), phrase that now means SO much
to Inc that it seems as if the very saying
OF it should be sufficient-srhe flaw IN
the jewell" es
There-there it is again. Not till / had
written this on these yellow leaves did
find that l had brought my wisdom into
the world some centuries late. For what
is this flaw of mine but the old story of
the fly in the ointment.


Never mind. There are many sides to
the same truth If you can see far
enough even around lie you will find a
side with different face, perhaps truth
ful. shall ring few changes upon my
jewel, and let it drop back into my heart
| Nobody has fairly begun to live who is
not prepared to find some imperfection in
what he thinks is or ought to be perfect.
Among the little luxuries of this life,
suppose most persons will be willing to
include shelled almonds. To have the
kernel Of the nut given you without the
interfering and teeth-breaking hindrance
with which nature, for some doubtless
wise purpose, associates it's a phase OF
existence savoring of the oriental, and has
in it, to one born under western skies.
know not what of reckless prodigality.
The bitter peach-pit inserted by human
avarice IS the flaw in that jewel of the
Orient. raise my eyes again from these
yellow leaves and they fall upon a rose
bush, June red-and another provcrb con-





| thorn? All my friend, do you not see
that these haunting proverbs, that would
drive me from my work, are themselves
the flaw in the jewel?


| But do not merely mean that the ioy
of accomplishment is always followed BY
pang,-that the shadow of mortal sor.
row is over all the world but that we
must be prepared to find smutch of cir
cumstances upon the whitest robe; we
must steel our hearts to behold, it may be.
some grOtesque horror of nature mimick.
ing our noblest endeavOr; or frighten.
ing mOmentary estrangement in the look
of our nearest friend; of the stalking of
dead and hateful memory, when that ghost
had least need to concentrating the pure
air sick and sitting. We must be brave
to behold for little while lie in the face
Of truth; Satan where God is!


have pondered good deal on this Gu.
riOus experience we call humor-wonder-
ing just what it may be, and why the deep
est souls happen to be blest with the
knowledge of live most in its ecstatic glow.
This last wonder is not SO great to me-
At least seem to be sure that no soul can
60 deep among the solemnities without
having the capacity to take the rebonnd
into the highest absurdities. Laughter for
all men; the giggle for the great!


But since my discovery of the principle
of the flaw for shall call the star mine.
though some ancient found it too). have
begun to think that one of the offices OF
humor is to make the flaw endurable. The
sudden conjunctions of the petty with the
sublime, would shock too severely, were
it not for the sense of absurdity that comes
between, and we turn it off with laugh"


So think that heaven is "a land Of no
laughter" For all the flaws, know there
are some perfect moments in this life. But
they are only foretastes. There we shall
not say some perfect. There will be no
flies in the heavenly ointment; no thorns
with those roses; and while, as l look at
it now in the golden June sunlight, the
little flaw with its subtitle symbolism of
the very principle of eviD shines the
brightest spot in my jewel-in the heaven
ly jewel there will be no flaw, save the
secret name in the white stones heart