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The Home Circle

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International Tract and Missionary Society · Oakland, California · Aug 21, 1884

FromSigns of the Times, Vol. 10, No. 32.

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The Home Circle.

BE NOT THE FIRST.

OH! be not the first to discover A blot on the name of a friend, A flaw in the heart of a lover, Whose faith may prove true to the end.
We none of us know one another, And oft into error may fall; Then let us speak well of our brother, Or speak not about him at all.
A smile or a sigh may awaken Suspicion most false and undue; And then our belief may be shaken In hearts that are honest and true.
How often the light smile of gladness Is worn by the friends that we meet To cover a soul full of sadness, Too proud to acknowledge defeat.
How often the sigh of dejection Is heaved from the hypocrite's breast, To parody truth and affection, Or cause our suspicion to rest.
How often the friends we hold dearest Their noblest emotions conceal; And bosoms the purest, sincerest, Have secrets they cannot reveal.
Leave base minds to harbor suspicion, And small ones to trace our defects. Let ours be a noble ambition, For base is the mind that suspects.
We none of us know one another, And oft into error we fall; Then let us speak well of our brother, Or speak not about him at all.