those who do not have these disadvantages frequently fail to
"come out."

"It was not the victories but the defeats of my life which have
strengthened me," said the aged Sidenham Poyntz.

Almost from the dawn of history, oppression has been the lot of the
Hebrews, yet they have given the world its noblest songs, its wisest
proverbs, its sweetest music. With them persecution seems to bring
prosperity. They thrive where others would starve. They hold the
purse-strings of many nations. To them hardship has been "like spring
mornings, frosty but kindly, the cold of which will kill the vermin,
but will let the plant live."

In one of the battles of the Crimea a cannon-ball struck inside the
fort, crashing through a beautiful garden. But from the ugly chasm
there burst forth a spring of water which ever afterward flowed a
living fountain. From the ugly gashes which misfortunes and sorrows
make in our hearts, perennial fountains of rich experience and new joys
often spring.

Don't lament and grieve over lost wealth. The Creator may see
something grand and mighty which even He cannot bring out as long as
your wealth stands in the way. You must throw away the crutches of
riches and stand upon your own feet, and develop the long unused
muscles of manhood. God may see a rough diamond in you which only the
hard hits of poverty can polish.

God knows where the richest melodies of our lives are, and what drill
and what discipline are necessary to bring them out. The frost, the
snows, the tempests, the lightnings, are the rough teachers that bring
the tiny acorn to the sturdy oak. Fierce winters are as necessary to
it as long summers. It is its half-century's struggle with the
elements for existence, wrestling with the storm, fighting for its life
from the moment that it leaves the acorn until it goes into the ship,
that gives it value. Without this struggle it would have been
character-less, stamina-less, nerve-less, and its grain would have
never been susceptible of high polish. The most beautiful as well as
the strongest woods are found not in tropical climates, but in the
severe climates, where they have to fight the frosts and the winter's
cold.

Many a man has never found himself until he has lost his all.
Adversity stripped him only to discover him. Obstacles, hardships are
the chisel and mallet which shape the strong life into beauty. The
rough ledge on the hillside complains of the drill, of the blast