oulders. Under the palsy of regret, energy for new duties becomes
enfeebled. Some are embittered by regret, fretful under the apparently
hard ordainments of Providence, carrying within their mind sour
thoughts of God and of those who are more fortunate, so that the world
grows dark to them, loses its beauty and loveliness, and life ends in
welcome death. Others simply grieve, striving to be patient and
submissive, but knowing not what balm to apply to their wounds or where
to find consolation. Few things are sadder than the spectacle of such
cherishers of bitter memories; and yet how they nurse their regret and
attach an almost sacred dignity to their sorrows, and refuse to
undertake the duties and privileges which are before them, as though
fettered by the past.

On the other hand, it is only fair to remark that human nature shows
marvelous elasticity and capacity to forget. The really wonderful thing
is that men and women are so well able to forget the trials and sorrows
through which they pass. When we think how heavy these are in nearly
every life--how bitter the partings are as we journey along the
pathway, how much disappointment and loss there are in the experiences
of even the more fortunate--the marvel is that there are so many happy
faces and that the sorrows of humanity are so soon forgotten in the
enjoyment of other things.

As the vegetation soon springs up on the battlefield, as ruined houses
are transformed into fertile hillocks, and the plain where man and
horse rolled in awful carnage becomes ere long the harvest field of the
farmer, so the pains and griefs of human life are buried under the new
labors and pleasures which beckon to themselves the human mind. Thank
God it is so. He has made us thus elastic and self-governing that we
may not be cast down. Otherwise history would stop, and earth become a
graveyard; and the fact that this is part of our natural constitution
indicates that it is wise and right to turn from even the keenest trial
and the most sacred grief to the summons which the Father brings to us
to further work. For it is impossible to suppose that these evil events
are sent to us for their own sake. That would be an outrageous
impugnment of the goodness and mercy of God, especially when he has
distinctly declared that he does not willingly afflict or grieve the
child of man. They are meant to discipline our souls--to show us truth
more clearly, to open to our minds the realities of life