LIFE AND LETTERS OF JOSEPH HARDY NEESIMA

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260 TO EUROPE AND AMERICA AGAIN. word goes out from our mouth it is like water spilled on a parched soil; there is no possibility of taking it ba~k again. What is said, is said. It becomes a fact of our lives for which we must in the future give an account. But above all let us not harbor evil thoughts, for evil thoughts are the mainspring of evil and vain talking. "Poor creatures ! we plan much and can do very little. Our plans are often defeated by something. "Recrdve others patiently. If one would be a hero, let him be patient. If any brother do not behave as he ought, wait for some occasion to drop a kind word, so as not to offend him. Never send away a brother in Christ when he comes. 'The sacred beast does not trample upon even a blade of grass,' ~which means that no man, however stupid, no enemy, however bit~ ter, is despised by the divine mind. Cause no man to fail. Bear the evils of others for God's sake, for He bears ours patiently. He does not correct us fu~ riously, at once, but takes many occasions to heal us and many years to sanctify us. Let us by no means neglect our duty to others. Look at the ocean, -how beautiful it is! Yet it must receive many filthy things from the shores. It receives and purifies. We shall be happy men if we can be like it. Be minute for ourselves in everything, but when we come to deal with others, let us be careful not to offend them by a close calculation. "Roughness and Politeness. A rough manner with a kind heart is far better than a petty artificial polite~ ness with no least meaning. Japan is one of the po~ litest nations in the world, but, alas! the heart is not in it. Artificial politeness is a national habit. This is not the result of a true sincerity. Politeness ought

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