The Importance of Trifles
A SINGLE grain of sand recently caused the death of two men and the destruction of a considerable amount of property near Patterson, N. J. On the side of a hill in Passaic county are erected the extensive powder-mills of Messrs. Laflin & Rand. This dangerous manufacture is surrounded by precautions of all kinds for minimizing the risks necessarily run by the operatives. There is, however, one danger against which the proprietors cannot provide a preventive, and that is the accidental introduction of minute grains of sand among the combustibles. One of these little rough particles found its way into the granulating department, and during the progress of the work it produced friction, which caused the ignition of the powder and an explosion in which the walls of the mill were overturned and two workmen killed. This deplorable calamity was brought about by a cause many people would call trivial; but there is no department in life where it is safe to underestimate the importance of trifles. Especially ought the Christian to take care that he never, by a harsh word or inconsistent act, however insignificant it may appear to him, cause those who watch him to lose their reverence for the holy name he bears.—Christian Herald.