THINGS THOUGHTFUL.

Star (Christchurch), Issue 19800, 18 November 1919, Page 10

THINGS THOUGHTFUL.

.Do you lore peace? Then love justice, tor that is what peace is made of. There may be a home iu the forest or in the wilderness; and there may be a family, with all its blessings, though half its members bo in foreign lands, or in another world. It is the gentlo memories, the mutual thought, the deto bless, the sympathies that meet when duties are apart, the fervour of the parents’ prayers, the persuasion of filial love, the sister’s pride, and the brother’s, benediction, tbit constitute the true.elements of domestic life and sanctify the dwellings of our birth,— Ma-rtmoau, The day's work will end with the day,' whether its tasks have been to our liking or not. Wo cannot shorten nr lengthen the day. but wo can make it count for much or little. We often fail to recognise it. hut the fact remains that to-day is trying to lire up to the highest standard ot yesterday s thought and determination. OPEN THE DOOR. Open the door, let in the air: The winds arc sweet and the flowers . are fair. Joy is abroad in the world to-day. If our door is open, it may come this way. Open the door I 3[wn tho door, let in the sun; e hath a smile for every one. He hath made of the rain-drops gold and gems, Ho may change our tears to diadems. Open the door! I They will blossom and glow with a grace divine And their fruit will he sweeter than that of the vine— Open the door! Open the door of the soul, let in Strong pure thoughts which will conquer sin, Open the door of the heart, let in Sympathy sweet for stranger and kin. It Trill make tho lialls of the hcart*so fair That angels may enter unaware— Open the door! HOMES. Homes are primarily to he lived in. When their furnishing is so iiue that they hinder the comfort and avocations of the household, they hare outgrown their duo proportions; w© all, at least all onlookers, recognise that. But when the body, the human habitation of the soul, demands such an outlay ot time and money for its pleasure and adornment that the spirit within is neglected, what then? There are three parts in truth : First, the inquiry, which. ,is the wooing of it ; secondly, the knowledge of it, which is the presence of it; and, thirdly, tho hehet. which is the enjoyment of it. Bac-V. HOME, SWEET HOME. Sweet is tho smile of home; the mutual look Where hearts are of each other sure; Sweet all the joys that crowd tho household nook. The haunt of all affections pure. —Keblo. THE WORLD'S WORK. The work of the world ” is a phrase that sounds as if it might mean what great missionaries, social workers, wonderful scientists and discoverers are rloing. It docs; but it also means what you are doing, if you are busy with anything honest and useful, with anything that keeps a home,comfortable, trams little children, or limps anyone anywhere to be better or happier. Anything that needs doing is part of the | great world's work. PERSONAL FAILURE. We often lead ourselves into fresh trouble by imagining that a resolution i&'.the solution of a personal failure. Tho glotv ot moral purpose that follows a resolution to do right, may be highly satisfying, but unless sustained from the source of power, it fades like the dwindling glow of a pocket searchlight when tho battery is giving out. 'The great thing one has to wish for, as time goes on, is vigour as long as one lives, and death as soon as vigour flags.—T. H. Huxley. TO HOPE. When by tny solitary hearth 1 sit, And hateful thoughts enwrap my soul in gloom; When no fair dreams before my “mind's eye” flit, And the bare heath of life presents no bloom; Sweet Hope, ethereal balm upon, me shea, And wave thy silver pinions o’er my head. Whene'er the late of those I hold most • dear Tells to my fearful breast a tale of sorrow, O bright-eyed Hope, my morbid fancycheer ; Lot me awhile thy sweetest comforts borrow; They Heaven-born radiance around me shed, And wave thy silver pinions o'er my bond 1 And as, in sparkling majesty, a star Gilds tho bright summit ot some gloomy cloud: Brightening tho half-vcil’d face of Heaven afar, So when dark thoughts my boding spirit shroud, Sweet Hope, celestial influence around mo shed, Waving thy silver, pinions o’er xny head. —Keats, ' RELIGION. Religion is oneness with God: the harmony of man’s nature with God’s nature; the attuning of all the notes in man with > the perfect music in heaven. Religion is tho oneness of man s manifold nature with God’s manifold nature, and ho who is religious knows God with all his heart, with all his mind, with all. his understanding, and with all liis soul.—Canon Barnett. THINK OF OTHERS. Our talking much about ourselves shows how little w© are thinking about others. If w'o are as much interested in others as we ought to be, others would seem to us to tie talking of a stranger when they speak to us of ourselves. To talk about ourselves semps shallow and inane to Us when wo see how- much meaning there is in the word “ others.” DEMOCRACY, A sta.t<# ol society in which there shall be at last no law : -proteoted powerholding class on tho one sido, and no excluded and disinherited masses on Hie other—a stag© in which, for a long period to come, legislation will aim n't securing to all the members of the community tho right to be admitted to the rivalry of dfo, as far as possible, dn a rooting of ©quality of opportunity. -“Benjamin Kidd.