A great deal of very good writing has been done by invalids, but it is
not likely that anybody ever produced a line worth remembering while
suffering with a plain cold.
* * *
We were saying to our friend Dr. Empedocles that we kept our enthusiasms
green by never taking anything very seriously. "That's interesting,"
said he: "I, too, have kept my enthusiasm fresh, and I have always taken
everything seriously." The two notions seemed irreconcilable, but we
presently agreed that by having a great number and variety of
enthusiasms one is not likely to ride any of them to death. We all know
persons who wear out an enthusiasm by taking it as solemnly as they
would a religious rite.
* * *
We were sure that the headline, "Mint at Chicago Greatly Needed, Houston
Says," would inspire more than one reader to remark that the mint is the
least important part of the combination.
* * *
We are reminded of the experience of a friend who has a summer place in
Connecticut. At church the pastor announced a fund for some war charity,
and asked for contributions. Our friend sent in fifty dollars, and a few
days later inquired of the pastor how much money had been raised,
"Fifty-five dollars and seventy-five cents," was the answer. The pastor
had contributed five dollars.
* * *