Newspapers / The Orphans’ Friend (Oxford, … / Jan. 19, 1876, edition 1 / Page 1
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€ASE1 AK» BY EEV. WllJiUlI Oli-MISTON, 1). D, Recent events aniong us have not onl}' pointed inanv a moral, but have given patlios to many a tale of loss and privation, of per sonal sulfering and domestic dis tress. On the one hand, by a sinlden financial panic, not a few have competence or aflluenco into straitened ciiciunstances or com parative poverty, and many into real want. On the othei’, by the linn though tardy administration ot justice, some who had long- triumphed in a course of inquit^• and fraud, have been removed from palaces of plunder to public pirisons and penitentiaries ; the boasting financiers and ai-rogant millionaires of yesterday are the branded felons and doomed con victs of to-dav'. 'I’heso concurrent events con strain consideration, and force upon the mind the conviction that to build up a manl)^ chracter is a wiser and a nobler aim than to accumulate a massive fortune ; that a simple manhood crowned with all the virtues of a blameless inoralit}-, and adorned with the graces of a living- Christiauitv, is in itself a grander achievement, and a richer as well as a moie jiernianent p().s.session, than a ])alatial residence, a gm-geous equipage and lai-go investments in stocks. Such a character c.au neither be imperilled by panics nor dishonored by failures; they can only test its worth and en- haiice its value. Financial dis aster is a seai-ching test ami a severt'discipline of character. It bi-iiigs out the hueut strength and sterling- virtues of the soul, and gives full scope to the exercise of the Christian graces of the heart. Some minerals must besubmerged ill water ere the)- beeoino tt-aus- ])ai-eut, and exhibit the hrilliaucv of their hues. So the iiUriiisie worth and beauty of some charac ters are only' manifested when they arc t-iverwhelmed with fortune, lifliculties develop their eiierg-ii.'s and suHei-iug- saae- tilies their soul. Tims, wliile some, erushoil bv calamity, sink into discoiii-agemeut or cover themselves witli dishonor, mau\- a man on ’Change, and many a woman ill the home, have nobly stood the test, and are braver nieii and better women than before. 'J’hey have come forth from the trial purer ami more powerful for good, with lii-mer faitliiu God and larger charity for man. Such losses are gains ; and such gains cannot be lost. Cash, the pro duct of anxiety and toil, can be accumulated by few, and guaran teed to none; character, the fruit of experience is equally within the reach of all, and may be pre served in auv circumstances as a joyous possession and a mig-iitv poivor. At the end of the year wheu stock is taken, accounts setlted, and banks balanced, doubtless many find investments unsafe or greatly depreciated, and a sad deficit in tlie cash account; ami restricted means of doing- good. But how stands the account wiih i-elereiico to character, the nobler treasure and more momen tous investment f 0111-real gain or losses for the year can be as certained only when the question is answered. Ill properly estimating the re- I suits of any transaction or tiie re turns of an)' investment of time, been unexpectedly thrown from c^kirt, or means, we must, as rational and loyal beings, take into calculation its influence on our character. Has it nurtured in us a piirei-and larger manhood, fostered a wider and more genial cliarit)', and cherished a loftier and more practical piety ? Are we strongoi- to seri'e and brar-er to suffer ? A’re our synqiathies more tender, our devotions more constant and joyous if All business transactions, trif ling or extensive, affect our moral as well as our monetary interests. 1 liey should add to our goodness rallicr than to our gains ; and el evate 0111- character as well as in crease our credit. The principle of veracity and justice should never he lowered oi- accommo dated to corrupt customs, present policy or “tricks of trade.” For can they bo so perverted with impunit)'. Dishonesty, even when seemingly successfii’l, ivill ever be avenged by deadened sensibilities, a burdened con science and a feeling- of self-con demnation. Business in all its forms, in its regular processes of production and exchange!, or in Its periodical panics and frequent cOI^^-ulsions which alfect the in terests ol multitudes, and involve! ill utter reiiu the geieeel uauie and fortune of meui)-, by the excite ment and juixiefies i't ejroates, by the wiki expe-ctatious it awakens and the binor di.sappoiiitmeuts it leriugs, is the voice eef God in his provieleue;e summouiug us to the exercise ol every ueeble faculty, of truth auel love, of moehu-atiou and uuwoi-lelliuess. Heippy is he who calndy listens to the voice and Icarus the lesson well. To all in pursuit of wealth, the ex perience of the past says, let fear miugie with hope, and let pru- ileiiee restrain the eager desii-e of making haste to be rich. Among the vioessitudes of life, many must expect to record small gains, if not large and ruinous losses in money ; and some alas ! have mad.e sad shipwreck of manhood; and, bankrupt in character, seek in vohmtarv ex ile to escape the legal consequen ces of their misconduct, or in the solitude of a prison cell find time to beivail their ini.sguided and crimiiuil course; others find them selves richer in moral strength and in purified Christian charac ter, with better disciplined pow ers, and with larger resources, ready to enter upon the future, both to bo and to do more than iu the past. A os.-’ not even shells of lioiises such as we have in our Ainericau cities ! The buildings are verv substan tially put up,—•most of them of limestone. Stop there ; It is the limestone that makes I’arls a city of shells. For nummulitic limestone, the kind used in Pai’is, is composed entirely of the shells of luollusks. These mollusks lived, of course, many myriads, if not millions of years ago, and were not individ ually visible then, even if there had been men on the earth to be hold them. They were denizens of the sea,' and were so minute that they could oidy have been seen througii a microscope. Most of them be longed to the genus of animalcules called Cerithium. One luuulred and thirtj'-seven speci(-sof Cerithia are found in tlie Paris basin,— that is, the low land surrounding the French capital. The species that are now living, inhabit the sea near the mouths of rivers, where the waters are brackish, so the conclusion is that the Paris basin once had salty water iu it. Kot only Pai’is, but the Pyra mids and the Sphinx, in Egypt, are composed of innumerable lit tle houses, which, when tlioir oc cupants died, became massed into stone at tlie bottom of the sea. This limestone is called inulitic, from tlie Iratiu word ntimmus, a coin, because the fos sils of which it i.s composed bear some resemblance to coins, being round and flat. They are also, in size and shape, exactl)- like lentils, a plant of -which the seed is used for food in Eg)’pt. Quan tities of the immmulitos lie in he; ips at the foot of the p)-ramids, and iu tlie time of Strabo it was actually believed that those -were petrified lentils, the refuse of the food of tlie Israelites whou thev were engaged in building those gigantic inoimmeiits. — Youth'a Companion-. instrument with such an air of soll-assuranco that Hav’dii began to tldiik himself duped. Kuu- iiiug along the simple passages, he came to tliat part which his to;icher had pronounced impossi ble til be played, Mozart, it must be remarked, was fa vored, or at least endowed, with an extremely long nose. Reacli- iug tlkidiiliciiltpassago, ho stretch ed both hands to the extreme long ends of the piano, and leaning forward, bobbed his nose ag-ainst the middle key, which uobodv could phi)'. Ilaydu burst into an immoderate lit of laughter; acknowledging lie was heated, he declared that Nature had endow ed -Mozart with a capacity of mu sic which he had never before discovered. VALUi; Oi-' SSAiUP. T!1E UISE MJF A NOSE. A city made of shells, do you mean f Yes, and not a small city, but a groat capital of Eu rope, no other, in fact, than Pa ris, ill the eyes of Frenchmen, the results -which are to be deplored and deprecated, because they i centre of the universe, imply painful changes in social j But I have been in Paris, and enjoj’meiits auel home comforts, j I-did not see any shells there,— The following good story is told of Mozart at the time when he was a pupil of Haydn: Haydn had challenged Mozart to com plete a piece of mu.sic which he could not play at fii’st sight. Mo zart accepted the bauter, and champagne supper was to bo the forfeit. Everything being arran- ed between the two composers, took his pen and a sheet of pa])ei’, and in five minutes dashed off a piece ot music, and much to the surprise of HajMn, handed it to him, saying : ‘There is a piece of music which you can’t play, and 1 can ; you are to give the first trial.’ Haydn Biuiled con temptuously at the visionary pre sumption of his pupil, and plac ing the notes before him, struck the keys of the instrument. Sur prised at its simplicity, he dashed away till he reached tlie middle of the piece when, stopping all at once he exclaimed : ‘IIow’s this, Mozart 1 how’s this 1 Here my liands are stretched out to both ends of the piano, yet here is a middle key to be touched. No body can play sucli music,—not oven the composer himself.’ Mo zart smiled at the half-excited in dignation and pei-jilexity of the great master; and, taking the seat he had quitted, struck the It must be rememliered that sleep repairs not the vital func tions only, but simultaneously those functions which wo distinct ively describe as inental attri- bute.5, and of wliicli the brain is, to our limited comprelionsion, the organic instrument. The intel lectual part ot our nature, tiikiiig the plirase in its largest sense, is exhausted by its continued exer cise, in like manner as the bodily organs, and requires the intermit- mim- tent periods of repose and repair. It other proof were needed of the groat function wliich sleep fulfills m the economy of life, it may at once bo found iu the effects which follow the jirivation of this repair. A single sleepless night tolls its tale, oven to the most careless obsorvor. A long scries of such nights resulting, as often haji- pens, from an over-taxed and anxious brain, may oftoiMvarrant serious a])prohoiision, as an index of mischiot already existing, (li the cause of evil at hand. In stances of this kind, -ive believe, are familiar to the exjierieiice of every physician. But here, as in so many other cases, the evil of deficiency has its counterpart in the evil of excess. Bleep pro tracted beyond the need of re pair, and encroaching habitually upon the hours of waking action, impairs more or less the functions of the brain, and with them all the vital powers... This observa tion is as old as tlie days of Hip pocrates and Articus, who sever- all)- and strongly comment upon it. The sleep of infancy, how ever, and that of old age, do not come under this category of ex cess. These are natural condi tions appertaining to the respec tive periods of life, and to Lo dealt with as such. In illness, moreover, all ordinary rule and measure of sleep must he put aside. Distinguishing it from coma, there are very few oases in which it is not an unequivocal good, and oven in the coinato.se state the brain, we believe, gains more from repose than from aiiv artificial attempts to rouse it into action.—Edinhurg Review. that a little exertion might sweep away into a fniioral pall, the strong spirit is shorn of its might, and son ow becomes our master. When trouble flows upon you dark and heavy, toil not with the waves, and wrestle not with the torrent; rather seek, by occupa tion, to divert tlie dark waters that threaten to overwhelm you with a thousand clianiiels, which tile duties of life alwaj’s present. Before you dream of it, those waters will fertilize tlie jireseut and give birth to fresh flowers, that will become pure and liolv in the sunshine which penetrates" to the path of duty iu spite of e-very obstacle. Grief, after all, is but a selfisli feeling, and most sellisli is the man who yields him self to tiie indulgence of any pas sion which brings no joy to his felloiviiien.-—Ex. Better Tlittit Bold. OeeKpation. What a glorious thing it is for the human heart! Those who work Lard seldom yield to fan cied or real sorrow. AVhen grief sits down, folds its hands, and mournfully feeds u])ou its own tears, weaving tlm dim shadows AYe often hear little boys tell ing of tiie wonders they will do when they grow to be men. They are looking and longing for the time when tiiey shall be large enough to carry a cane and wear a tall hat; and not one of them will say that ho expects to bo a poor man, but every one intends to be rich. Now, money is very good in its place ; but let me tell you, my little boys, what is a great deal bettor than money, ami what you may bo qariiiiig all the time you are waiting to be a tradesman or a merchaut. The Bible says that “a good name is rather to be clio- seu than great riches, and loving favor rather than silver and gold.” ‘A good name’ does not moan a name for being tlie richest man iu the town, or for owning the largest house. A good name is a name for doing good deeds ; a name for wearing a pleasant face and carrj'irig a clieerful heart; for always doing right, no matter where you may be. Fi’ishteuingr Clilidi-cn. Nothing can be worse for a child than to bo frightened. The effect of the scare it is slow to re cover from ; it remains sometimes until maturity, as is shown by many instances of inordid sen- sitivness and excessive nervous ness. Not mifrequently fear is employed as a means of discipline. Cliildren are controlled by beino-- made to believe that something terrible will happen to them, and are punished by being shut up, jn, dark rooms, or by being pyf jn, jilaces they stand in dread of. Children, as far as possible, should, b(3 traiii-id not to know the sensa of fear "ivliich above, everytliing else, is to be avoided in tlieir edu cation, both (JiU’ly and leRe.—Ex. 1- BOOKED Tree.—Have, you noticed that tree in the cor ner of the yard ? When very young it was bent down to the. earth and imbedded there. It. then shot up again, but it is now deformed, The sun may shine, the dew and the rain may fall, but the tree will never be straight. So bad habits once fixed are harej things to root out.
The Orphans’ Friend (Oxford, N.C.)
Standardized title groups preceding, succeeding, and alternate titles together.
Jan. 19, 1876, edition 1
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