Page:The Clergyman's Wife.djvu/318

This page has been proofread, but needs to be validated.
316
Congeniality.

the heart are suddenly repressed, and eloquence itself becomes as tongue-tied as Cordelia. Frosty flakes creep through the shuddering veins, melted icicles drop upon the scintillations of wit, until not a spark flies up. And if this state of torpid wretchedness be prolonged, it reproduces the inquisitional torture of the iron cell that slowly but obviously contracted about a captive, until his very identity was crushed out.

Therefore is it that all hearts here below are longing for and seeking a joy-giving, peace-conferring sympathy. Some never find it through a long life, and grow skeptical of its existence; some hastily snatch at every spurious semblance, and soon sorrowfully discover that they have grasped at shadows; while the happier few receive all their conscious strength from the sweet certainty that they are journeying onward and upward en rapport with kindred spirits.

But, for this soul-refreshing congeniality to exist between individuals, similitude of character is not essential. Mental dissimilarity is often a more potent agent in its creation. A mind of great magnitude will stoop to look for sympathetic throbs in some lower, poorer nature. A weak or timid heart, that needs support, finds congeniality in contact with a strong, vigor-imparting intellect. A restless, nervous temperament delights in all peaceful and tranquillizing associations. A doubting spirit often attaches itself to one full of earnest faith.

This article is issued from Wikisource. The text is available under Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike 4.0 unless otherwise noted. Additional terms may apply for the media files.