The Chimneycorner Author:Harriet Beecher Stowe Purchase of this book includes free trial access to www.million-books.com where you can read more than a million books for free. This is an OCR edition with typos. Excerpt from book: III. A FAMILY-TALK ON RECONSTRUCTION. OUR Chimney-Corner, of which we have spoken somewhat, has, besides the wonted domestic circle, its KaUtues who have a... more » frequent seat there. Among these, none is more welcome than Theophilus Thoro. Friend Theophilus was born on the shady side of Nature, and endowed by his patron saint with every grace and gift which can make a human creature worthy and available, except the gift of seeing the bright side of things. His bead-roll of Christian virtues includes all the graces of. the spirit except hope ; and so, if one wants to know exactly the flaw, the defect, the doubtful side, and to take into account all the untoward possibilities of any person, place, or thing, he had best apply to friend Theophilus. He can tell you just where and how the best-laid scheme is. likely'to fail, just the screw that will fall loose in the smoothest-working machinery,just the flaw in the most perfect character, just the defect in the best-written book, just the variety of thorn that must accompany each particular species of rose. Yet Theophilus is without guile or malice. His want of faith in human nature is not bitter and censorious, but melting and pitiful. "We are all poor trash, miserable dogs together," he seems to say, as he looks out on the world and its ways. There is not much to be expected of or for any of us ; but let us love one another, and be patient. Accordingly, Theophilus is one of the most incessant workers for human good, and perseveringly busy in every scheme of benevolent enterprise, in all which he labors with melancholy steadiness without hope. In religion he has the soul of a martyr, — nothing would suit him better than, to be burned alive for his faith; but his belief in the success of Christianity is about on a par with that...« less