All life is short in itself. But we do not complain that the
night is short if we are looking for the dawn, nor that the
winter is short if we are eager for the spring. A short life is
long enough to take the right direction, and direction is the
main fact about our life. For our children we ask: How are they
coming out?--FRANKLIN NOBLE, “Sermon in Illustration.”
(771)
* * * * *
“I’d have you know, sir,” said the Congressman from one of the
tall-grass districts, “that I am walking in the footsteps of
George Washington.”
“I see you are,” rejoined the wise guy, “but for some reason
unknown to me, you are headed the wrong way.” (Text.)--Chicago
_News_.
(772)
* * * * *
The following verses from an unidentified source carry their own lesson:
One ship drives east and another drives west,
While the selfsame breezes blow;
It’s the set of the sails and not the gales
That bids them where to go.
Like the winds of the seas are the ways of the fates,
As we voyage along through life;
It’s the set of the soul that decides the goal,
And not the storm or strife.
(773)
See DESTINY; FACING RIGHT; TENDENCY.