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could give, and from whom there was nothing he could

take away."*

Few, happily, have cause for anxiety as regards the real necessaries of life, for bread, water, meat, fruit, or But they are troubled about delicacies

house-room.

and superfluities, carriages and horses, gold and precious stones, for luxuries and appearances, making themselves anxious and miserable lest they should be deprived of things which they would perhaps be even happier and better without.

Thrift, no doubt, is very wise. It is well to lay up for old age and for those who come after us, but it is even more important to lay up stores of peaceful thoughts and pleasant memories. Joy and peace

generally go together.

"Who are thy playmates, boy?"

"My favourite is Joy,

Who brings with him his sister, Peace, to stay

The livelong day.

I love them both; but he

Is most to me."

"And where thy playmates now,

O man of sober brow?"

* Seneca.

"Alas! dear Joy, the merriest, is dead.

But I have wed

Peace; and our babe, a boy

New-born, is Joy."*

Never let "melancholy mark you for her own:"** Nothing encroaches more. Fight against it vigorously. One great remedy is to take short views. It is no use trying to run away from difficulties, they are sure to overtake you. Face them boldly and they will often

vanish.

CHAPTER VI.

ADVERSITY.

LIFE is so complex, so full of changes, and affected by so many external influences, that we cannot expect to avoid vicissitudes and misfortunes.

There is no flock, however watched and tended,

But one dead lamb is there!

There is no fireside, howsoe'er defended,

But has one vacant chair.***

The troubles of life may be divided into those

which are real and those which only appear to be so. ** Sydney Smith

*The Playmates, by John R. Tabb.

*** Longfellow.

The latter may be again classed into those which are (1) Warnings; (2) Trials; (3) Imaginary, or at any rate trifling; (4) Self-made; (5) Punishments; or (6) Blessings in disguise.

WARNINGS.

Pain is generally either a punishment or a warning. Were it not for pain we should all die young. Long before we grew up our flesh would be torn, gnawed away, burnt, or destroyed in one of the numerous dangers to which flesh is subject. In endless ways

pain compels care and forces us to remedial measures. In business, small losses teach prudence.

TRIALS AND OPPORTUNITIES.

Other troubles are trials or opportunities.

Dif

ficulties, which are misfortunes to the foolish, are often

opportunities to the wise:

Sweet are the uses of adversity,

Which, like the toad, ugly and venomous,

Wears yet a precious jewel in his head;

And this our life exempt from public haunt

Finds tongues in trees, books in the running brooks,

Sermons in stones and good in everything.*

Wealth and power are great temptations. Pos* Shakespeare.

sibly some of the worst Roman emperors might have been useful citizens, and would not have led such wretched and abominable lives, or ended in such miserable deaths, if they had not been cursed with unlimited wealth and absolute power. "L'adversité," says a French proverb, "fait l'homme, et le bonheur les monstres."*

One of the uses of adversity is as a test of friendship. A French proverb says that "c'est le prospérité qui donne les amis, mais c'est l'adversité qui les éprouve." ** Adversity often draws friends together; it brings out the good points of those who have good points to bring out; it shows us who are really our friends and who are not. In national affairs misfortunes often brace and unite a people.

The darker the night the brighter the stars. Clouds lighten up the sky; the fogs and smoke of cities darken the day, and make life gloomy to those who have not learnt to make it bright for themselves; but they make glorious sunsets for those who have eyes to see.

When Satan wished to destroy Job we are told that

* "Adversity makes men, and prosperity makes monsters." ** "Prosperity gives us friends, but adversity tests them."

he robbed him of his children and his wealth. Job had many sons and daughters, seven thousand sheep, three thousand camels, five hundred yoke of oxen, five hundred she-asses, and a very great household. Of all these Satan deprived him. But Job resisted. He "rent his mantle, and shaved his head, and fell down and worshipped, and said, "Naked came I out of my mother's womb, and naked shall I return thither: the Lord gave, and the Lord hath taken away; blessed be the name of the Lord. In all this Job sinned not, nor charged God foolishly." Eventually he was restored to prosperity, he became richer than ever, and it seems to be implied that he resisted this temptation also, though that is not expressly so stated, and we generally find that riches are more dangerous than poverty.

This is not a world in which anyone should be easily discouraged. Huxley was one of our most brilliant as well as most suggestive lecturers. Yet he has told us that at first he suffered from almost every fault that a speaker could have. After his first Royal Institution lecture he received an anonymous letter recommending him never to try again, as, whatever else he might be fit for, it was certainly not for giving lectures. It is

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