Though with pictures hung and gilded;
Home is where affection calls,
Filled with shrines the heart hath builded!
Home! go watch the faithful dove,
Sailing 'neath the heaven above us;
Home is where there's one to love!
Home is where there's one to love us!
It needs something to endear it;
Home is where the heart can bloom,
Where there's some kind lip to cheer it!
903
Beware of those who are homeless by choice! You have no hold on a human being whose affections are without a tap-root!
904
And wanders through the streets.
905
GIVE GOOD MEASURE.
When I was a young man, there lived in our neighborhood one who was universally reported to be a very liberal man, and uncommonly upright in his dealings. When he had any of the produce of his farm to dispose of, he made it an invariable rule to give good measure, over good, rather more than could be required of him. One of his friends, observing him frequently doing so, questioned him why he did it, told him he gave too much, and said it would not be to his own advantage. Now mark the answer of this man. "God Almighty has permitted me but one journey through the world; and when gone I cannot return to rectify mistakes."
906
To be honest and faithful is to belong to the only aristocracy in the world—and the smallest.
907
COMMERCIAL HONESTY.
On one occasion the first Napoleon being informed that a certain army contractor had cheated the government by supplying the troops with very inferior and insufficient food, sent for him to inquire into the affair. "How is this?" said the Emperor: "I understand you have been violating your contract." "Sire," was the answer, "I must live." "No," replied the monarch, "I do not see the must. It is not necessary that you should live; but it is necessary that you should do right."
908
Too much assertion gives ground of suspicion; truth and honesty have no need of loud protestations.
909
REUBEN AND SANDY.
Can any one who was present ever forget the broken voice and streaming tears with which he (Dean Stanley) told the story of two little Scotch boys, Reuben and Sandy? The story was as follows: "On a cold winter day, a gentleman in Edinburgh had, out of pity, bought a box of matches from a poor, little, shivering boy, and, as he had no pence, had given him a shilling, of which the change was to be brought to his hotel. Hours passed by, and the boy did not return. Very late in the evening a mere child came to the hotel. 'Are you the gentleman that bought the matches frae Sandy?' 'Yes.' 'Well, then, here's fourpence out o' yer' shillin'; Sandy canna come. He's verra ill. A cart ran over him and knocked him doon, and he lost his bonnet and his matches and yer sevenpence, and baith his legs are broken, and the doctor says he'll dee; and that's a'.' And then, putting down the fourpence on the table, the poor child burst into great sobs. 'So I fed the little man,' said the narrator; 'and I went with him to see Sandy. The two little things were living almost alone; their father and mother were dead. Poor Sandy was lying on a bundle of shavings. He knew me as soon as I came in, and said, 'I got the change, sir, and was coming back, and then the cart knocked me down, and both my legs were broken; and oh, Reuby, little Reuby, I am sure I am dying, and who will take care of you when I am gone? What will ye do?' 'I took his hand, and said I would always take care of Reuby. He understood me, and had just strength enough to look up as if to thank me; the light went out of his blue eyes. In a moment,
Like a babe upon the breast,
Where the wicked cease from troubling
And the weary are at rest.'"
910
Honesty.—If he does really think that there is no distinction between virtue and vice, why sir, when he leaves our houses let us count our spoons.
911
But a man may do honor to his birthplace.
912
He, the Duke of Devonshire, was not a man of superior abilities, but was a man strictly faithful to his word. If, for instance, he had promised you an acorn, and none had grown that year in his woods, he would not have contented himself with that excuse: he would have sent to Denmark for it, so unconditional was he in keeping his word—so high as to the point of honor.
913
Honor is like the eye which cannot suffer the least injury without damage; it is a precious stone, the price of which is lessened by the least flaw.
914
JUDICIAL HONOR.
A poor man claimed a house which a rich man had seized. The former produced his deeds and instruments to prove his right, but the latter had provided a number of witnesses; and, to support their evidence the more effectually, he secretly presented the cadi with a bag containing five hundred ducats, which the cadi received. When it came to a hearing, the poor man told his story and produced his writings, but lacked witnesses. The other, provided with witnesses, laid his whole stress on them and on his adversary's defective law, who could produce none; he, therefore, urged the cadi to give sentence in his favor. After the most pressing solicitations, the judge calmly drew from beneath his sofa the bag of five hundred ducats, which the rich man had given him as a bribe, saying to him very gravely, "You have been much mistaken in the suit; for if the poor man could produce no witnesses in confirmation of his right, I, myself, can furnish him with at least five hundred." He threw him the bag with reproach and indignation and decreed the house to the poor plaintiff.
915
What greater ornament is there to a son than a father's glory; or what to a father than a son's honorable conduct?
916
When he that did the act is commentator.
917
By Hook or Crook.—This saying is probably derived from a forest custom. Persons entitled to fuel wood in the king's forest were only authorized to take it of the dead wood or branches of trees in the forest, "with a cart, a hook, and a crook."
918
Has peace and transport to my soul restor'd.
919
In all things it is better to hope than to despair.
920
The steps of hope!
921
He that lives upon hopes will die fasting.
922
Hoping is the finest sort of courage and you can never have enough of it.
923
Who loses friends, loses more;
Who loses hope, loses all: for he that wants hope is the poorest man alive.
924
Were it no for hope the heart wad break.
925
Our hopes often end in—hopes.
926
The setting of a great hope is like the setting of the sun. The brightness of our life is gone.
927
Hope is sometimes a delusion; no hand can grasp a wave or a shadow.
928
There's hope.
929
Hope.—"Hast thou hope?" they asked of John Knox, when he lay a-dying. He spoke nothing, but "raised his finger and pointed upward," and so died.
930
HOSPITALITY.
You will give joy to me, and I will do
All that is in my power to honor you.
931
All our sweetest hours fly fastest.
932
HOME.
933
CHILDREN IN THE HOUSE.
And fair the tranquil reaches of the sea,
And flowery earth in May, and bounding waters;
And so right many fair things I might praise;
Yet nothing is so radiant and so fair
As for souls childless, with desire sore-smitten,
To see the light of babes about the house.
934
Cost more than new, before they're ended.
935
Though we should be grateful for good homes, there is no house like God's out-of-doors.
936
Boswell: "I happened to start a question, whether, when a man knows that some of his intimate friends are invited to the house of another friend with whom they are all equally intimate, he may join them without an invitation." Johnson: "No, sir, he is not to go when he is not invited. They may be invited on purpose to abuse him"—smiling.
937
Houses are built to live in more than to look on; therefore let use be preferred before uniformity, except where both may be had.
938
It's an unhappy household where all the smiles are dispensed in society and all the frowns at home.
939
He has no religion who has no humanity.
940
Our humanity were a poor thing, but for the Divinity that stirs within us.
941
With the humble there is perpetual peace.
942
When you see an ear of corn holding itself very high (or a human head) you may be sure there is nothing in it. The full ear is the lowliest; the full head the most humble.
943
Humility is the root, mother, nurse, foundation, and bond of all virtue.
944
Hunger is the mother of impatience and anger.
945
They must hunger in frost who spring-time have lost.
946
The full stomach cannot comprehend the hungry one.
947
Wait is a hard word to the hungry.
948
HUSBAND—EXCELLENCIES OF A.
True—as the helm, the bark's protecting guide;
Firm—as the shaft that props the towering dome;
Sweet—as to shipwreck'd seaman land and home;
Lovely—as child, a parent's sole delight;
Radiant—as morn, that breaks a stormy night;
Grateful—as streams, that, in some deep recess,
With rills unhoped the panting traveler bless,
Is he that links with mine his chain of life,
Names himself lord, and deigns to call me wife.
949
Between husband and wife there should be no question as to material interests. All things should be in common between them without any distinction or means of distinguishing.
950
WHAT A SONG DID.
A Scottish youth learned, with a pious mother, to sing the old psalms that were then as household words to them in the kirk (church) and by the fireside. When he had grown up he wandered away from his native country, was taken captive by the Turks, and made a slave in one of the Barbary States. But he never forgot the songs of Zion, although he sang them in a strange land and to heathen ears.
One night he was solacing himself in this manner when the attention of some sailors on board of a British man-of-war was directed to the familiar tune of "Old Hundred" as it came floating over the moonlit waves.
At once they surmised the truth that one of their countrymen was languishing away his life as a captive. Quickly arming themselves, they manned a boat and lost no time in effecting his release. What joy to him after eighteen long years passed in slavery! Is it strange that he ever afterwards cherished the glorious tune of "Old Hundred?"
I
951
The I is worthy of aversion when it is principally confined to the person who uses it.
952
Naught! But the effluence of Thy light divine
Pervading worlds, hath reached my bosom too.
Yes, in my spirit doth Thy spirit shine,
As shines the sunbeam in a drop of dew.
Naught! But I live, and on Hope's pinions fly
Eager toward Thy presence; for in Thee,
I live, and breathe, and dwell, aspiring high,
Even to the throne of Thy divinity.
I am, O God, and surely Thou must be!
953
Ideas are like beards; men do not have them until they grow up.
954
A young man idle, an old man needy.
955
Labor is the divine law of our existence; repose is desertion and suicide.
956
Man of leisure never has time to do anything.
957
To-morrow, and the next more dilatory.
958
If any man wish to escape idleness let him fall in love.
959
Better lose your labor than your time in idleness.
960
Idleness must thank itself if it go barefoot.
961
In idle dalliance; I would plant rich seeds,
To blossom in my manhood and bear fruit
When I am old.
962
Never remain ignorant for the want of asking questions.
963
Ignorance is often a voluntary misfortune.
964
Than fly to others that we know not of.
965
Man's ills are in the main of his own seeking.
966
Those who imitate us we like much better than those who endeavor to equal us. Imitation is a sign of esteem, competition of envy.
967
LONGING AFTER IMMORTALITY.
Else whence this pleasing hope, this fond desire,
This longing after immortality?
Or whence this secret dread, and inward horror,
Of falling into naught? Why shrinks the soul
Back on herself, and startles at destruction?
'Tis the Divinity that stirs within us;
'Tis Heaven itself that points out an hereafter,
And intimates eternity to man.
The stars shall fade away, the sun himself
Grow dim with age, and nature sink in years,
But thou shalt flourish in immortal youth,
Unhurt amidst the war of elements,
The wreck of matter, and the crush of worlds.
968
Impertinence.—That man is guilty of impertinence who considers not the circumstances of time, or engrosses the conversation, or makes himself the subject of his discourse, or pays no regard to the company he is in.
969
Airs of importance are often the credentials of insignificance.
970
LIVING WITHIN OUR INCOME.
Live within your income. Always have something saved at the end of the year. Let your imports be more than your exports, and you'll never go far wrong.
971
All men are not susceptible to improvement.
972
It is better to have nothing to do than to be doing nothing.
973
Men of all ages have the same inclinations, over which reason exercises no control. Thus, wherever men are found, there are the same follies.
974
What madness to carry all one's income on one's back.
975
Our incomes are like our shoes; if too small, they gall and pinch us; but if too large, they cause us to stumble and to trip.
976
Fickleness.—Was ever feather so lightly blown to and fro, as this Mr. —— ——?
977
Mankind is made up of inconsistencies.
978
BEGIN IT.
To-morrow, and the next more dilatory;
True indecision brings its own delays.
And days are lost, lamenting over days.
Are you in earnest? Seize the very minute;
What you can do, or think you can, begin it;
Boldness has genius, power, and magic in it.
Only begin it and the mind grows heated;
Begin it, and the work will be completed.—
979
Which changes with the breath of ev'ry whisper,
Just as the sky and weather with the winds:
With the winds, as they blow east or west,
To make his temper pleasant or unpleasant.
980
INDEPENDENCE—CHECKED.
If any man can do without the world, it is certain the world can do quite as well without him.
981
Living to-day on tomorrow's salary is a sure sign of financial indigestion.
982
Seek not every quality in one individual.
983
That is the best gown that goes most up and down the house.
984
THE INEVITABLE.
With steps triumphant and a heart of cheer;
Who fights the daily battle without fear;
Sees his hopes fail, yet keeps unfaltering trust
That God is God, that somehow, true and just,
His plans work out for mortals; not a tear
Is shed when fortune, which the world holds dear,
Falls from his grasp; better with love a crust
Than living in dishonor; envies not,
Nor loses faith in man; but does his best,
Nor murmurs at his humble lot;
But with a smile and words of hope, give zest
To every toiler. He alone is great
Who by a life heroic conquers fate.
985
The smiles of infants are said to be the first-fruits of human reason.
986
THE NEW-COMER.
The child is born, by many a pang endeared;
And now the mother's ear has caught his cry;
O! grant the cherub to her asking eye!
He comes, she clasps him, to her bosom pressed,
He drinks the balm of life, and drops to rest.
She, by her smile, how soon the stranger knows;
How soon by his the glad discovery shows!
As to her lips she lifts the lovely boy,
What answering looks of sympathy and joy!
He walks—he speaks—in many a broken word,
His wants, his wishes, and his griefs are heard;
And ever, ever to her lap he flies,
Where rosy sleep comes on with sweet surprise,
Locked in her arms, his arms across her flung,
That name most dear forever on his tongue.
As with soft accents round her neck he clings,
And cheek to cheek her lulling song she sings,
How blest to feel the beating of his heart,
Breathe his sweet breath, and kiss for kiss impart,
Watch o'er his slumbers, like the brooding dove,
And if she can, exhaust a mother's love!
987
NO ONE SHOULD BE BLAMED FOR HIS INFIRMITIES.
A hound, who in the days of his youth and strength had never yielded to any beast of the forest, encountered in his old age a boar in the chase. He seized him boldly by the ear, but could not retain his hold because of the decay of his teeth, so that the boar escaped. His master, quickly coming up, fiercely abused the dog. The hound looked up and said: "It was not my fault, master; my spirit was as good as ever, but I could not help mine infirmities. I rather deserve to be praised for what I have been, than to be blamed for what I am."
988
PERSONAL INFLUENCE.
"On a cold winter evening," said Dr. T. L. Cuyler recently, "I made my first call on a rich merchant in New York. As I left the door and the piercing gale swept in, I said:
"What an awful night for the poor?
"He said come back for a moment; and in a very few minutes brought me a roll of bank bills, and said:
"Please hand these for me to the poorest people you know.
"After a few days I wrote him the grateful thanks of the poor whom his bounty had relieved, and added:
"How is it that a man so kind to his fellow creatures has always been so unkind to his Saviour as to refuse him his heart?
"That sentence touched him to the core.
"He sent for me to come and talk to him, and speedily gave himself to Christ. He has been a most useful Christian ever since. But he told me I was the first person who had talked to him about his soul in twenty years. One hour of work did more for that man than the pulpit effort of a life-time."
989
HIS MOTHER'S INFLUENCE.
It is reported that a young man being examined preparatory to joining the church was asked—"Under whose preaching?" The prompt reply—"I was converted under my mother's practising." Did any preacher ever utter so powerful a sermon as the young man embodied in those few words?
990
It is a common thing for men to hate the authors of their preferment, as the witnesses of their mean original.
991
At the first entrance into thy estate keep a low sail; thou mayest rise with honor; thou canst not decline without shame; he that begins as his father ended, will be apt to end as his father began.
992
Stooped down serene, and wrote them on the dust;
Trod under foot, the sport of every wind,
Swept from the earth, and blotted from His mind;
There, secret in the grave, He bade them lie,
And grieved they could not escape the Almighty's eye.
993
One is keen to suspect a quarter from which one has once received a hurt. "A burnt child dreads the fire."
994
The noblest remedy for injuries is oblivion.
995
Be bravely revenged;
Slight it, and the work is begun;
Forgive it, and 'tis finished.
He is below himself who is not above an injury.
996
A man hurts himself by injuring me: what, then shall I therefore hurt myself by injuring him?
997
Ink—Described:—The colored slave that waits upon thought; a drop may make a million think.
998
The innocent are gay.
999
There is no real courage in innocence.
1000
What narrow innocence it is for one to be good only according to the law.
1001
A thousand times by treacherous foes,
Than once accuse the innocent
Or let suspicion mar repose.
1002
It is only the vulgar who are always fancying themselves insulted. If a man treads on another's toe in good society, do you think it is taken as an insult?
1003
I once met a man who had forgiven an injury. I hope some day to meet the man who has forgiven an insult.
1004
POLITICAL INTEGRITY.
The borough of Hull, in the reign of Charles II, chose Andrew Marvell, a young gentleman of little or no fortune, and maintained him in London for the service of the public. With a view to bribe him, his old school-fellow, the Lord Treasurer Danby, went to him in his garret. At parting, the Lord Treasurer slipped into his hands an order upon the treasury for £1000, and then went into his chariot. Marvell looking at the paper, called after the treasurer—"My lord, I request another moment." They went up again to the garret, and the servant boy was called—"What had I for dinner yesterday?" "Don't you remember, sir, you had the little shoulder of mutton that you ordered me to bring from a woman in the market?" "Very right. What have I for dinner today?" "Don't you know, sir, that you made me lay up the blade-bone to broil?" "'Tis so; very right. Go away." "My lord, do you hear that? Andrew Marvell's dinner is provided; there's your piece of paper, I want it not. I knew the sort of kindness you intended. I live here to serve my constituents. The ministry may seek men for their purpose; I am not one."
1005
Integrity is to be preferred to eloquence.
1006
The integrity of men is to be measured by their conduct, not by their professions.
1007
One of dull intellect cannot come in, nor go away, nor sit, nor rise, nor stand, like a man of sense.
1008
God has placed no limits to the exercise of the intellect he has given us, on this side of the grave.