Racial Experience 



the end of a hard day's work we drop in on 

 neighbor Snagsby — provided that Mrs. S. Is 

 away from home — or make our very best bow 

 to that gracious lady Miss Esther Summerson, or 

 sit awhile with Colonel Newcome, or keep 

 Twelfth Night with dear old Sir Toby, or wan- 

 der far afield with some more respected Shake- 

 spearean character. After a time the Irritations 

 of the day are forgotten. A feeling steals over 

 us, wx know not whence, why, or how, that life 

 is not half bad, and that It Is worth while to be 

 decent and even courteous. 



The men and women who have this strength 

 and carry this contagium may be rich or poor, 

 learned or unlearned. Intellectual or possessed 

 mainly of what we call common sense. They 

 are not limited to any walk of life. Great mate- 

 rial prosperity does not generally breed a great 

 crop of this kind of character. They have gen- 

 erally come out of much tribulation. You can- 

 not raise heroes in bandboxes, or make a Damas- 

 cus or a ^' true Jerusalem " blade without ham- 

 mering. If we will but search for them, we can 

 find them in all times and circumstances. If 

 we do not find them, the fault is in us. Where- 

 ever they occur, they are always leaders, though 



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