that his Satanic majesty always stood at his door to prevent him from going out, suddenly one morning, early in June, took it into his head that the devil was gone, whereupon he got out of bed, and, with nothing on but his shirt walked down to the quay (nearly a quarter of a mile) and jumped over. Having been a good swimmer in his early days, he struck out, and altho a boat put off from a vessel, he swam ashore.—Public Opinion.
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Diet—See Meals, Simplicity in. DIET AND ENDURANCE The Roman soldiers who built such wonderful roads and carried a weight of armor and luggage that would crush the average farm-hand, lived on coarse brown bread and sour wine. They were temperate in their diet, and regular and constant in exercise. The Spanish peasant works every day and dances half the night, yet eats only his black bread, onion, and watermelon. The Smyrna porter eats only a little fruit and some olives, yet he walks off with his load of a hundred pounds. The coolie, fed on rice, is more active and can endure more than the negro fed on fat meat. The heavy work of the world is not done by men who eat the greatest quantity. Moderation in diet seems to be the prerequisite of endurance.—Public Opinion.
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Differences of Opinion—See Opinions.
DIFFICULTIES, DISPERSING
An old man once said: "I have had a long life full of troubles; most of them never happened." So most of the giants in the way, if we do not fear them, turn out as in this dream related by the Rev. S. Benson Phillips:
When I first heard the call to the ministry
I was about twelve years old. From that
time until I was twenty-four years old, it
was a question in my mind as to whether I
was equal to the responsibilities and requirements
of this holy calling. It was one
night, after I had been thinking of these
things, that I had the following dream: I
thought that I was camping by the roadside,
and had retired for the night. A great giant
stood by my bedside. He offered to do me
no harm, but simply stood by my bed. I
begged him to go away. This he would not
do until I arose and prepared to battle with
him. Seeing my intention, he began to walk
slowly away. I followed him. To my delight,
he became smaller and smaller until
he was nothing but a little boy, and unable
to do me any harm.
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DIFFICULTIES, OVERCOMING
The difficulties encountered by the Prussians
on their march from Havre, by St.
Lambert, to the field of Waterloo would
have put the endurance of any troops to the
test. The roads were ankle-deep from the
heavy rains, and the defiles of St. Lambert
turned into a regular swamp, almost impassable
for men and horses; still worse for
the guns and tumbrels of ammunition. These
were very numerous and far from being
well horsed, sinking at intervals up to the
axle-trees. The horses' floundering caused a
stoppage, and the most robust soldiers in endeavoring
to extricate the guns and ammunition
wagons would drop down, overcome
by the fatigue of their exertions, and declare
"they could not get on." "But we must get
on," replied their veteran commander, who
seemed to multiply himself, and might be
seen at different points along the line of
march, exciting his men to exertion by words
of encouragement. "I have promised Wellington
to be up," said Blücher, "and up we
must get. Surely you will not make me forfeit
my word. Exert yourselves a little
more, and victory is certain."—Edward
Cotton, "A Voice from Waterloo."
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See Illiteracy.
DIFFICULTIES, SOCIAL
The only way to get De Quincey to a dinner-party
was to send an able-bodied man to
find him and bring him by force. Occasionally
he revenged himself by making a stay
of several weeks, so that the difficulty of
getting him into a friend's house was forgotten
in the more appalling difficulty of
how to get him out again.—W. J. Dawson,
"The Makers of English Prose."
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Difficulty Aiding Achievement—See Adversity Helping Genius.
Dilemma—See Simple-mindedness.
Dimensions—See Upward Look.
Diminishing Numbers—See Seasickness.
DIMINUTIVES
Some years ago, when the bedding was not
supposed to be as fat as it ought to be, and
the pillows were accused of being constructed
