The Beauty Of Cheerfulness.
A MERRY and cheerful countenance is one of the things which Jeremy Taylor said his enemies could not take away from him, and Professor Dewey remarks that there are some persons who spend their lives in this world, as they would spend them shut up in a dungeon. Everything is made gloomy and forbidding. They go complaining from day to day, that they have so little, and are constantly anxious lest what they have should escape out of their hands. They always look upon the dark side, and can never enjoy the good. That is not religion. Religion makes the heart cheerful, and when its large and benevolent principles are exercised, man will be happy in spite of himself. The industrious bee does not complain that there are so many poisonous flowers and thorny branches on his road, but buzzes on, selecting his honey where he can find it, and passing quietly by the place where it is not. There is enough in this world to complain about, and find fault with, if men have the disposition to do so. We often travel on a hard and uneven road; but with a cheerful spirit, and a heart to praise God for his mercies, we may walk therein with comfort, and come to the end of our journey with peace.