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SMILING HIS WAY

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Pacific Press Publishing Company · Oakland, California · Jun 8, 1904

FromSigns of the Times, Vol. 30, No. 23.

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SMILING HIS WAY.

By Emma A. Lente

[Emma A. Lente, in Christian Advocate.]
The time had been long and weary since Stanley Miller had received his accident.
For many weeks it seemed that he could hardly stir, or, if he did, that he must remain a cripple; but at last there was hope, indeed, almost a certainty, that sometime he might be well.
O, what pathetic patience children have under suffering that would daunt men! And Stanley had scarcely murmured; only, as his head cleared, and his eyes brightened, the blank brick wall of the next house, which was all he could see from his bedroom window, became very tiresome.
At last his mother, so tender in love and sympathy, moved his bed into her little parlor, and placed it by a window.
O, how good the street looked to the boy! His heart seemed to fill and glow with love for every person, and even the horses and dogs, that passed his window.
“But, mama,” he said after a time, “the people can see me, too, and they turn and look, and look so sorry for me. I don’t want to make folks feel bad, mama!”
“My dear, they can’t help feeling sorry for a boy who has to be shut in from all the bright summer weather; but if they see that you look cheerful and smiling, that will make them glad again. You have been so good and patient all along, dearie, that it has made the trouble easier for us all.”
And so the passer-by who looked in the window of the little house on Dean Street saw the smiling face of a child who lay bolstered up on his pillows; and soon many of them gave him an answering smile and nod.
“I'm getting to know the folks,” said Stanley, after a while.
The Millers had only moved on that street a few months before, and had made but few acquaintances.
“I know just what time the regular ones go by, mama. It's fun to watch for 'em, an' they most always smile at me.”
At last, when the days grew warm enough for the sash to be raised, one and another would stop outside for a word or so, and gifts of fruit and flowers and picture papers were passed inside.
The children came and talked to the invalid, and lent him their toys and books; and the hurdy-gurdy men played their most rollicking tunes for his pleasure.
The new Pacific Press Building at Mountain View, from a snap shot taken by the editor May 25, 1904. The front and east walls are shown. It will be seen that the brick work on the building is nearly completed. The trees to the right are in the rear of the building, just beyond the railway.
The new Pacific Press Building at Mountain View, from a snap shot taken by the editor May 25, 1904. The front and east walls are shown. It will be seen that the brick work on the building is nearly completed. The trees to the right are in the rear of the building, just beyond the railway.
Stanley never dreamed that his smiling face was a real help to others; but one morning a carpenter said to a comrade: “I used to go grumbling to my work on account of being a little lame with rheumatiz, but since I've seen him a-layin' there so cheerful, I've been ashamed of myself, and am thankful that I'm able to walk, an' do my day's work. The little chap's been a real blessin' to me!”
When at last the bed was taken away, and the boy could sit on the steps or go a little way up and down the street, he found that he had smiled his way into hundreds of loving hearts.