Smith's luck has been better than his mother's, and the careful ashes of her hearth have preserved the vestal fire. A glowing brand is given him in his warming-pan, and he returns in triumph home. The alternative would have been to strike flint against steel, not to say against knuckles, till a reluctant spark fell on tinder equally reluctant, till this was fanned by careful breath till it would light a match which would light a candle. The journey to Mrs. Smith's was, on the whole, light in comparison. Does one trivial invention save twenty minutes a day in each household, ten minutes to a man, ten minutes to a woman? That is a saving for this nation of more than twice the amount of work which Cheops put upon his pyramid, and so much addition to the real resources of the world is made by that one invention.—Edward Everett Hale.
(1751)
See Precaution.
Lad with Ready Answer—See Early Religion.
Lamb, The, Slain—See Christ the Lamb.
LANGUAGE, FORMATION OF
For three centuries after the battle of
Hastings French was the language of the
upper classes, of courts and schools and
literature; yet so tenaciously did the common
people cling to their own strong speech
that in the end English absorbed almost the
whole body of French words and became
the language of the land. It was the welding
of Saxon and French into one speech
that produced the wealth of our modern
English.—William J. Long, "English Literature."
(1752)
Large-heartedness—See Friend, The Orphan's.
Larger, The, Extinguishing the Smaller—See
Sunlight and Starlight.
LAST RESORT OF A WOMAN
"I am not Mrs. Nation; I have no hatchet;
I am not crazy."
These words came from the lips of a Lewis woman, as she met her husband face to face in a hotel barroom the other evening, says the Lewis Pilot. They were directed to the bartender and the loungers, as the former handed the woman's husband a glass of whisky.
She continued: "That man has not done a day's work this winter, and I am worn out trying to support him and the rest of the family. I want to know if something can not be done to keep him from destroying his own life and starving his family?"
The woman was thin and pale. Her lips quivered as she spoke. Her frail body could hardly stand the strain of the unfamiliar environment. As she finished the little girl by her side burst into tears, the bartender took back the whisky, the abashed husband stood with bowed head, one by one the loungers left the room. Presently the bartender, gazing at the poor woman, solemnly vowed that the man should not drink at his bar again.
It was a pathetic scene; it was the last resort of a desperate woman. As she left the hotel with her husband and the little girl there was a lesson too painful for any pen to picture.
(1753)
Last Words—See Death Compelling Sincerity.
LATENT POSSIBILITIES
Beauty of character may be evolved out of the most unpromising material which only seems fit to be flung forth and burned. If a child cries we should try to make it laugh; if we meet melancholy folk, we should seek to cheer them; if they have to live in contact with evil tempers, we must endeavor to sweeten them.
At certain seasons of the year some great
conservatories are full of ugly plants, with
terrible spines sticking out of great, fat, succulent,
selfish-looking leaves. These plants
are cacti. They wear only a frightful and
repellent aspect. Yet they are favorites of
the horticulturist. He waters them and nurtures
them. And suddenly the whole place
is ablaze with their unspeakable loveliness.
They have burst into glorious efflorescence,
and spectators come to look on them with
joy and wonder. Many of them bloom, especially
in the night.
(1754)
See Possibilities, Latent.
LATIN AMERICA AND THE GOSPEL
There are inhabitants of three hundred
towns in the Philippine Islands to-day who
are stretching out their hands to America
for Christian missionaries, and there is not
a single person to go. Do they need us? I
reply by telling you an incident. I sent a
man named Nicholas Zamora, one of our
preachers, out about four or five miles from
the city. The man has a good voice; it is
like a bell, and you can hear it four or five
