ishness,
impervious alike to gaunt poverty and hollow-eyed sorrow. From the crown
of their heads to the soles of their feet is their world, they can
neither see nor hear beyond it. The good qualities of their neighbors
are seen through the large end of a telescope, appearing very small and
a long way off, while their own are magnified until they at last look
upon themselves as being the personification of all that is good and
holy, and it is very amusing to study such a one, to watch her manner of
addressing others. From the lofty pedestal of her own conceit, she
allows some poor mortal to approach her shrine, but her manner says, "so
far shalt thou come and no farther." Of what is she afraid? Has she fear
of contamination? Is her goodness and purity of such a perishable nature
that she fears pollution? Do not fear. If you possess innate goodness
and womanly qualities you can pass through dangers unharmed, you can
walk in the midst of sin and it will not touch you, you can take the
hand of vice and it will leave no stain. From the height of your own
purity do not look with scorn upon some less fortunate mortal, do not
turn away in disgust, but examine closely, and underlying the outer
crust of wickedness and sin, you will be astonished at the amount of
good you can find, even in the most depraved. The human heart is a
strange compound, made up of love and hate, of joy and sorrow, hope and
despair, and who is able to read it? Who is able to understand the
sorrows, struggles and temptations of others, and who is competent to
take upon himself the task of judging?

Every beat of the heart gives us a glimpse, either of heaven inspired
love, or hell-born hate, of the sun-lit river of joy, or the gloom of
sorrow, the golden gleam of hope or the stagnant pool of despair. Is it
not strange that in all the workings of nature there is complete
harmony; the whispering trees, the murmuring winds, the lowing herds,
all speak a language of their own, while man is the only animal which
makes war with his kind? The love of riches, the desire of gain, the
pride of ambition takes possession of his mind to the exclusion of all
else. In battle, soldiers walk over the dead bodies of friends and foes
alike, unmoved, the only thought, the only desire is to win; the groans
of the dying are drowned in the exultant shouts of the living as they
find themselves victorious. In the battle of life there are many who, in
their desire to win at all haz