Blest is that person who can make the following lines part of his
philosophy:
’Tis easy enough to be pleasant
When life flows by like a song,
But the one worth while
Is the one who will smile
When everything goes dead wrong.
For the test of the heart is trouble,
And that always comes with years,
And the smile that is worth
All the praises of earth
Is the smile that smiles through tears.
(3298)
* * * * *
We must not always interpret our destiny by the aspect of the present.
If we contend patiently and bravely with current adversity, out of the
darkness prosperity may be brought to light.
A certain great company runs a copper-smelting plant. The sulfur
fumes generated in this plant were seriously injuring vegetation
in the surrounding country. The State brought suit to compel
the company to prevent this injury to vegetation, and won the
suit. The company was put to much trouble and expense, but in
its effort to find some method of preventing that injury to
its neighbors it discovered that the gases could be captured
and converted into sulfuric acid. Thus, out of what was not
only a waste product but an injurious product, this company has
discovered a new source of great profit. And all because it “got
into trouble.” The “afterward” of all the troubles that come to
us in life has never yet been dreamed of by the wisest seer.
(Text.)
(3299)