happiness follows close upon kind words, and is their legitimate result: But, independently of this, kind words make us happy in ourselves. They soothe our own irritation, they charm our cares away, they draw us nearer to God, they raise the temperature of our love. They produce in us a sense of quiet restfulness like that which accompanies the consciousness of forgiven sin. They shed abroad the peace of God within our hearts.
✷
There is always one bright thought in our minds when all the rest is dark. There is one thought out of which a moderately cheerful man can always make some satisfactory sunshine, if not a sufficiency of it. It is the thought of the bright populous heaven. There is a joy there at least, if there is a joy nowhere else. There is true service of God there, however poor and interested the love of Him may be on earth. Multitudes are abounding in the golden light there, even if they that rejoice on earth be few. At this hour it is all going on so near us that we can not be hopelessly unhappy with so much happiness so near. Yet its nearness makes us wistful. Then let us think that there are multitudes in heaven to-day who are there because of kind actions; many are there for doing them, many for having had them done to them.
✷
We must say something about kind suffering. Kind suffering is, in fact, a form of kind action. With the Christian, kind suffering must be almost wholly supernatural. There is a harmonious fusion of suffering and gentleness effected by grace, which is one of the most attractive features of holiness. What is more
