The problem of occupation is the vital one for the deaf. What can we do to earn a living when our hearing fails? There is without question a prejudice against the deaf which it is hard to overcome. We who live in the silence cannot quite understand why people seem to fear us, and are evidently uncomfortable when we come near. We are as harmless as anyone, and we are capable of giving good service, but we realize only too well that society in general seems to class us among the undesirables. I know of one woman who is struggling to support and educate two children. She is an admirable cook, good housekeeper, clean, quick and efficient, yet no one wants to employ her because she is deaf. One would think that her condition would be something of an advantage in a household where there are family secrets to be kept. But, no matter how capable this woman may be, most people seem afraid to employ her. The fact is that the condition of deafness is a distinct advantage in many cases—for example, the faithful deaf helper will not be liable to change frequently. He will stay by his employer, yet most deaf people come face to face with prejudice which society shows them. I know of a clergyman who filled his pulpit acceptably until deafness drove him from it. One might think without bitterness that a man of God with a trouble of this sort might in his daily life come closer to what his people need, but his congregation would not have it so, and he was retired. For some years the old man lived in the town, sawing and splitting wood for a living. The woodpile he built was a sermon on neatness and honest labor, and he went happily on through life. Someone asked him how he could be cheerful at such labor, and his answer was: “I put joy in my job.” There are deaf men in all walks of life. Some are highly successful as teachers, editors, salesmen, watchmen and other lines where one would suppose that perfect hearing is more than a necessity. In general a deaf man must take the work that comes to him. He cannot always choose, but he can usually dignify any job, and excel at it if he will keep his courage and put his mind to it. He should remember that spirit of the old minister who, when retired from his pulpit, took up the saw and axe, and was cheerful because he put joy in the job.