Here will come in, for many people, the bitter restrictions of poverty.
There are so many men and women to whom it would seem simply a taunt to
advise them to spend, now and then, a dollar for a pleasure. That the poor
must go cold and hungry has never seemed to me the hardest feature in
their lot; there are worse deprivations than that of food or raiment, and
this very thing is one of them. This is a point for charitable people to
remember, even more than they do.
We appreciate this when we give some plum-pudding and turkey at Christmas,
instead of all coal and flannel. But, any day in the year, a picture on
the wall might perhaps be as comforting as a blanket on the bed; and, at
any rate, would be good for twelve months, while the blanket would help
but six. I have seen an Irish mother, in a mud hovel, turn red with
delight at a rattle for her baby, when I am quite sure she would have been
indifferently grateful for a pair of socks.
Food and physicians and money are and always will be on the earth. But a
"merry heart" is a "continual feast," and "doeth good like-a medicine;"
and "loving favor" is "chosen," "rather than gold and silver.
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