THE SUMMER RAIN.
When parched and dewless is the ground, And wither'd herb and flower, New life is spread the earth around, As falls the summer shower. Each drooping flower new strength receives, And brightly blooms again, As gently falls upon its leaves The cool refreshing rain. Then, when the clouds has pass'd away, How radiant all appears, The rain drops glitter on each spray, Like childhood's laughing tears!
EXPERIENCE OF A MECHANIC.
"Two young men, both of them mechanics, were married about the same time, and entered life with apparently equal prospectsexcept that one was rather given to extravagance and fashion, while the other was more prudent and frugal. The wife of the latter, however, being of a different turn from her husband, became uneasy because the former, without any superior advantages, made more show than they did, and had many more fine things. She told her husband that his income must be as much as the other's, and that she knew they were able to appear as well as their neighbor. "I want to do as other folks do," was her all conquering argument. Her husband yielded again and again to her entreaties, although professing that he was not able .
"At length his more showy neighbor failed! And seeing their fine things sold under the hammer of the auctioneer, his wife, who was far from being destitute of good feelings, began to mistrust whether by imitating them, and "doing as other folks do" they might not meet with a similar fate. She anxiously inquired of her husband how his affairs stood. He told her that his expenses had exceeded his income, but he hoped to THE SAILOR BOY'S LAMENT.
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get through and pay what he owed.
"Before long, however, he was sued for debt. Then his wife was in panics! She knew that his misfortune was chargeable to her folly; although he never reproached her, nor cast any unkind reflections. Disturbed with contending emotions she tried to plan some way to get along in this terrible difficulty! But finding all her endeavors fruitless, she said to her husband, with unfeigned distress, "What shall we do? What can we do?"
"Do?" he calmly replied, "we must do as other folks do have our fine things sold under the hammer!"
"This was enough for her. She had seen the beginning and ending of this common folly, and she was satisfied. From that time he had no trouble to persuade her to be frugal and prudent. They were both agreed in pursuing the same course. And it is almost useless to say, that their prosperity was in proportion to their wisdom and prudence."
WOMAN.
BY FRANCIS W. THOMAS, Author of `Clinton Bradshaw,' Etc.
How beautiful is woman's life, When first her suppliant woos and kneels, And she with young and warm hopes rife, Believes he deeply feels. Then day is gladness, and the night Looks on her with its starry eyes, As though it gave her all their might Over men's destinies. Wrapt watchers of the skicy gleam, Then men are like astronomers Who gaze and gladden at the beam Of that bright eye of hers. And if a frown obscure its light,
'Tis like a cloud to star−struck men, Through the long watches of the night, Oh! for that beam again! How heart−struck that astrologer, A gazer on the starry zone, When first he looked in vain for her, The lovely Pleiad gone. But men watch not the stars always And though the Pleiad may be lost, Yet still there are a thousand rays From the surrounding host. And woman, long before the grave Closes above her dreamless rest, May be man's empress and his slave, And his discarded jest. Still may that Pleiad shine afar, But pleasure−led o,er summer seas, Who dwells upon a single star Amid the Pleiades. Man courts the constellations bright, That beam upon his bounding bark, Nor thinks upon the left lone light, 'Till all above is dark. Then when he knows nor land nor main, And darkly is his frail bark tossed, He counts the separate stars in vain And mourns the Pleiad lost.
THE SOFT ANSWER.
BY T. S. ARTHUR.
"I'll give him law to his heart's content, the scoundrel!" said Mr. Singleton, walking backwards and forwards, in a state of angry excitement.
"Don't call harsh names, Mr. Singleton," said Lawyer Trueman, looking up from the mass of papers before him, and smiling, in a quiet, benevolent way, that was peculiar to him.
"Every man should be known by his true name. Williams is a scoundrel, and so he ought to be called!"
responded the client, with increasing warmth.
"Did you ever do a reasonable thing in your life, when you were angry?" asked Mr. Trueman whose age and respectability gave him the license to speak thus freely to his young friend, for whom he was endeavoring to arrange some business difficulty with a former partner.
"I can't say that I ever did, Mr. Trueman. But now, I have good reason for being angry; and the language I use in reference to Williams is but the expression of a sober and rational conviction," replied Singleton, a WOMAN.
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little more calmly.
"Did you not pronounce him a scoundrel before you received his reply to your last letter," asked Mr.
Trueman.
"No, I did not. But that letter confirmed my previously formed impression of his character."
"But I cannot find in that letter any evidence proving your late partner to be a dishonest man. He will not agree to your proposed mode of settlement, because he does not see it to be the most proper way."
"He won't agree to it, because it is an honest and equitable method of settlement, that is all! He wants to over−reach me, and is determined to do so if he can!" responded Mr. Singleton, still excited.
"There you are decidely wrong," said the lawyer. "You have both allowed yourselves to become angry, and are both unreasonable, and, if I must speak plainly, I think you the most unreasonable, in the present case.
Two angry men can never settle any business properly. You have very unnecessarily increased the difficulties in the way of a speedy settlement, by writing Mr. Williams an angry letter which he has responded to in a like unhappy temper. Now, if I am to settle this business for you, I must write all letters that pass to Mr. Williams in future."
"But how can you properly express my views and feelings?"
"That I do not wish to do, if your views and feelings are to remain as they now are, for any thing like adjustment of the difficulties under such circumstances, I should consider hopeless," replied Mr. Trueman.
"Well, let me answer this letter, and after that, I promise that you shall have your own way."
"No, I shall consent to no such thing. It is the reply to that letter which is to modify the negotiation for a settlement in such a way as to bring success or failure; and I have no idea of allowing you, in the present state of your mind, to write such a one as will most assuredly defeat an amicable arrangement."
Singleton paused for some time, before making a reply. He had been forming in his mind a most cutting and bitter rejoinder to the letter just alluded to, and he was very desirous that Mr. Williams should have the benefit of knowing that he thought him a "tricky and deliberate scoundrel," with other opinions of a similar character. He found it, therefore, impossible to make up his mind to let the unimpassioned Mr. Trueman write this most important epistle.
"Indeed I must write this letter, Mr. Trueman," he said," "There are some things that I want to say to him, that I know you won't write. You don't seem to consider the position in which he has placed me by that letter, nor what is obligatory upon me as a man of honor. I never allow any man to reflect upon me, directly of indirectly, without a prompt response."
"There is, in the Bible," said Mr. Trueman, "a passage that is peculiarly applicable in the present case. It is this A soft answer turneth away wrath, but grievous words stir up anger. I have found this precept, in a life that has numbered more than double your years, to be one that may be safely and honorably adopted, in all cases. You blame Mr. Williams for writing you an angry letter, and are indignant at certain expressions contained therein. Now, is it any more right for you to write an angry letter, with cutting epithets, than it is for him?"
"But, Mr. Trueman"
br />
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Mr. and Mrs. Woodbridge
"I do assure you, my young friend," said the lawyer interrupting him, "that I am acting in this case for your benefit, and not for my own; and, as your legal adviser, you must submit to my judgment, or I cannot consent to go on."
"If I will promise not to use any harsh language, will you not consent to let me write the letter?" urged the client.
"You and I, in the present state of your mind, could not possibly come at the same conclusion in reference to what is harsh and what is mild," said Mr. Trueman, "therefore I cannot consent that you shall write one word of the proposed reply. I must write it."
"Well, I suppose, then I shall have to submit. When will it be ready?
"Come this afternoon, and I will give you the draft, which you can copy and sign."
In the afternoon Mr. Singleton came and received the letter prepared by Mr. Trueman. It ran thus, after the date and formal address.
"I regret that my proposition did not meet your approval. The mode of settlement which I suggested was the result of a careful consideration of our mutual interests. Be kind enough to suggest to Mr. Trueman, my lawyer, any plan which you think will lead to an amicable adjustment of our business. You may rely upon my consent to it, if it meets his approbation."
"Is it possible, Mr. Trueman, that you expect me to sign such a cringing letter as that?" said Mr. Singleton, throwing it down, and walking backwards and forwards with great irritation of manner.
"Well, what is your objection to it," replied Mr. Trueman, mildly, for he was prepared for just such an exhibition of feelings.
"Objection! How can you ask such a question? Am I to go on my knees to him and beg him to do me justice.
No! I'll sacrifice every cent I've got in the world first, the scoundrel!"
"You wish to have your business settled, do you not?" asked Mr. Trueman, looking him steadily in the face.
"Of course I do! Honorably settled!"
"Well, let me hear what you mean by an honorable settlement?"
"Why I mean"
The young man hesitated a moment, and Mr. Trueman said,
"You mean a settlement in which your interest shall be equally considered with that of Mr. Williams."
"Yes, certainly. And that"
"And that," continued Mr. Trueman, "Mr. Williams, in the settlement, shall consider and treat you as a gentleman."
"Certainly I do. But that is more than he has done!"
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Mr. and Mrs. Woodbridge
"Well, never mind. Let what is past go for as much as it worth. The principal point of action is in the present."
"But I'll never send that mean, cringing letter, though."
"You mistake its whole tenor, I do assure you, Mr. Singleton. You have allowed your angry feelings to blind you. You, certainly, carefully considered, before you adopted it, the proposed basis of a settlement, did you not."
"Of course I did."
"So the letter which I have prepared for you, states. Now as an honest and honorable man, you are, I am sure, willing to grant to him the same privilege which you asked for yourself, viz, that of proposing a plan of settlement. Your pro position does not seem to please him: now it is but fair that he should be invited to state how he wishes the settlement to be made. And in giving such an invitation, a gentleman should use gentlemanly language."
"But, he don't deserve to be treated like a gentleman. In fact, he has no claim to the title," the young man.
"If he has none, as you say, you profess to be a gentleman, and all gentlemen should prove by their actions and their words that they are gentle men."
"I can't say that I am convinced by what you say, but, as you seem so bent on having it your own way, why, here, let me copy the thing and sign it," said the young man, suddenly changing his manner.
"There now!" he added, passing across the table the brief letter he had copied, "I suppose he'll think me a low spirited fellow, after he gets that. But he's mistaken. After it's all over, I'll take good care to tell him, that it didn't contain my sentiments!
Mr. Trueman smiled, as he took the letter, and went on to fold and direct it.
"Come to−morrow afternoon, and I think we'll have things in a pretty fair way," he said, looking up with his usual pleasant smile, as he finished the direction of the letter.
"Good afternoon, Mr. Singleton," he said, as that gentleman entered his office on the succeeding day.
"Good afternoon," responded the young man. "Well, have you heard from that milk and water letter of yours?
I can't call it mine."
"Yes, here is the answer. Take a seat, and I will read it to you," said the old gentleman.
"Well, let's hear it."
"Dear GeorgeI have your kind, reasonable, and gentlemanly note of yesterday, in reply to my harsh, unreasonable, and ungentlemanly one of the day before. We have both been playing the fool; but you are ahead of me in becoming sane. I have examined, since I got your proposition for a settlement, and it meet my views precisely. My foolish anger kept me from seeing it before. Let our mutual friend, Mr. Trueman, arrange the matter, according to the plan mentioned, and I shall most heartily acquiesce. Yours, &c."
"He never wrote that letter in the world!" exclaimed Singleton, starting to his feet."
"You know his writing, I presume," said Mr. Trueman, handing him the letter.
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Mr. and Mrs. Woodbridge
"It's Thomas Williams' own hand, as I live!" ejaculated Singleton, on glancing at the letter. "My old friend, Thomas Williams, the best natured fellow in the world!" he continued, his feelings undergoing a sudden and entire revolution. "What a fool I have been!"
"And what a fool I have been!" said Thomas Williams, advancing from an adjoining room, at the same time extending his hand towards Singleton.
"God bless you, my old friend!" exclaimed Singleton, grasping his hand. "Why what has been the matter with us both?"
"My young friends," said old Mr. Trueman, one of the kindest hearted men in the world, rising and advancing towards them. "I have known you long, and have always esteemed you both. This pleasant meeting and reconciliation, you perceive, is of my arrangement. Now let me give you a precept that will both make friends, and keep friends. It has been my motto through life; and I don't know that I have an enemy in the world. It is
" A soft answer turneth away wrath, but grievous words stir up anger."
WOMAN.
55
Document Outline
Table of Contents
Mr. and Mrs. Woodbridge Harriet Beecher Stowe
PREFACE.
MR. AND MRS. WOODBRIDGE.
PART I.
PART II.
PART III.
PART IV. TO A WITHERED ROSE.
A SISTER'S LOVE.
MY SISTER'S CHILD.
TO ONE BELOVED.
MARK MERIDEN.
THE COSSACK'S CHARGE.
TRANSLATIONS FROM THE GERMAN OF RICHTER, (JEAN PAUL.)
ON THE DEATH OF A CHILD.
THE PORTRAIT OF TWO SISTERS.
THE MOTHER'S OFFERING.
GENTILITY.
THE SAILOR BOY'S LAMENT.
THE SUMMER RAIN.
EXPERIENCE OF A MECHANIC.
WOMAN.
THE SOFT ANSWER.
Harriet Beecher Stowe, Mr. And Mrs. Woodbridge
(Series: # )
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