,,quit ,,your ,,worrying6    ,,by       
,,george ,,wharton ,,james    ,,author  
,,of    ,living the ,radiant ,life1     
,what the ,white ,race may learn from   
the ,indian1 ,the story of ,scraggles1  
,california1 ,romantic and  ,beautiful1 
,our ,american ,wonderlands1 etc4 etc4  
,,pasadena1 ,,calif4      #aiaf         
,,to ,,those    who are standing on the 
banks of worry before the ocean of      
,god's love  ,i cry aloud    ,,come ,,on
 ,,in--,,the ,,water',s ,,fine6         
,,contents    ,,foreword        ,i      
,,the ,,curse ,,of ,,worry     ,,ii     
,,ours ,,is ,,the ,,age ,,of ,,worry    
,,iii  ,,nervous ,,prostration ,,and    
,,worry     ,,iv  ,,holy ,,writ1 ,,the  
,,sages ,,and ,,worry      ,v  ,,the    
,,needlessness ,,and ,,uselessness ,,of 
,,worry     ,,vi  ,,the ,,selfishness   
,,of ,,worry    ,,vii  ,,causes ,,of    
,,worry   ,,viii  ,,protean ,,forms ,,of
 ,,worry     ,,ix  ,,health ,,worries   
,x  ,,the ,,worries ,,of ,,parents      
,,xi  ,,marital ,,worries    ,,xii      

,,the ,,worry ,,of ,,the ,,squirrel     
,,cage   ,,xiii  ,,religious ,,worries  
,,and ,,worriers    ,,xiv  ,,ambition   
,,and ,,worry     ,,xv  ,,envy ,,and    
,,worry    ,,xvi  ,,discontent ,,and    
,,worry   ,,xvii  ,,cowardice ,,and     
,,worry  ,,xviii  ,,worry ,,about       
,,manners ,,and ,,speech    ,,xix  ,,the
 ,,worries ,,of ,,jealousy     ,,xx     
,,the ,,worries ,,of ,,suspicion        
,,xxi  ,,the ,,worries ,,of ,,impatience
   ,,xxii  ,,the ,,worries ,,of         
,,anticipation  ,,xxiii  ,,how ,,our    
,,worry ,,affects ,,others   ,,xxiv     
,,worry ,,versus ,,indifference    ,,xxv
  ,,worries ,,and ,,hobbies             
,,just ,,be ,,glad    ,,by ,,james      
,,whitcomb ,,riley        ,o heart of   
mine1 we shouldn't worry so1    ,what we
 have missed of calm we couldn't have1  
you know6      ,what we've met of stormy
 pain1    ,and of sorrow's driving rain1
    ,we can better meet again1          
,if it blow4      ,we have erred in that
 dark hour1 we have known1    ,when the 

tear fell with the shower1 all alone4   
,were not shine and shower blent    ,as 
the gracious ,master meant8    ,let us  
temper our content          ,with ,his  
own4      ,for we know not every morrow 
,can be sad2    ,so forgetting all the  
sorrow          ,we have had1    ,let us
 fold away our fears1    ,and put by our
 foolish tears1    ,and through all the 
coming years1          ,just be glad4   
,,foreword      ,between twenty and     
thirty years ago1 ,i became involved in 
a series of  occurrences and conditions 
of so painful and distressing a         
character  that for over six months ,i  
was unable to sleep more than one or two
  hours out of the twenty-four4 ,in     
common parlance ,i was worrying  myself 
to death1 when1 mercifully1 a total     
collapse of mind and body  came4 ,my    
physicians used the polite euphemism of 
cerebral congestion  to describe my     
state which1 in reality1 was one of     
temporary insanity1  and it seemed      
almost hopeless that ,i should ever     

recover my health  and poise4 ,for      
several months ,i hovered between life  
and death1 and my  brain between reason 
and unreason4    ,in due time1 however1 
both health and mental poise came back  
in  reasonable measure1 and ,i asked    
myself what would be the result if ,i   
returned to the condition of worry that 
culminated in the disaster4  ,this      
question and my endeavors at its        
solution led to the gaining of a  degree
 of philosophy which materially changed 
my attitude toward life4  ,though some  
of the chief causes of my past worry    
were removed there  were still enough   
adverse and untoward circumstances      
surrounding me  to give me cause for    
worry1 if ,i allowed myself to yield to 
it1 so ,i  concluded that my mind must  
positively and absolutely be prohibited 
from dwelling upon those things that    
seemed justification for worry4  ,and ,i
 determined to set before me the ideal  
of a life without worry4    ,how was it 
to be brought about8    ,at every fresh 

attack of the harassing demon ,i rebuked
 myself with the  stern command1 ,quit  
your ,worrying4 ,little by little ,i    
succeeded  in obeying my own orders4 ,a 
measurable degree of serenity has since 
blessed my life4 ,it has been no freer  
than other men's lives from the         
ordinary--and a few                     
extraordinary--causes of worry1 but ,i  
have learned  the lesson4 ,i have ,quit 
,worrying4 ,to help others to attain the
 same  desirable and happy condition has
 been my aim in these pages4    ,it was 
with set purpose that ,i chose this     
title4 ,i might have selected  ,don't   
,worry4 ,but ,i knew that would fail to 
convey my principal  thought to the     
casual observer of the title4 ,people   
will worry1 they  do worry4 ,what they  
want to know and need to learn is how to
  quit worrying4 ,this ,i have attempted
 herein to show1 with the full          
knowledge1 however1 that no one person's
 recipe can infallibly be used  by any  
other person--so that1 in reality1 all  

,i have tried to do is  to set forth the
 means ,i have followed to teach myself 
the delightful  lesson of serenity1 of  
freedom from worry1 and thereby to      
suggest  to receptive minds a way by    
which they may possibly attain the same 
desirable end4    ,it was the learned   
and wise ,dr4 ,johnson who wrote3       
,he may be justly numbered amongst the  
benefactors of mankind1      who        
contracts the great rules of life into  
short sentences1      that may easily be
 impressed on the memory1 and taught by 
frequent recollection to recur          
habitually to the mind4    ,i have no   
desire to claim as original the title   
used for these  observations1 but ,i do 
covet the joy of knowing that ,i have so
  impressed it upon the memory of       
thousands that by its constant          
recurrence it will aid in banishing the 
monster1 worry4    ,it is almost        
unavoidable that1 in a practical        
treatise of this nature1  there should  
be some repetition1 both in description 

of worries and  the remedies suggested4 
,to the critical reader1 however1 let me
 say3  ,do not worry about this1 for ,i 
am far more concerned to get my thought 
into the heads and hearts of my readers 
than ,i am to be esteemed a  great      
writer4 ,let me help but one troubled   
soul to quit worrying and ,i  will      
forego all the honors of the ages that  
might have come to me had  ,i been an   
essayist of power4 ,and ,i have repeated
 purposely1 for ,i  know that some      
thoughts have to knock again and again1 
ere they are  admitted to the places    
where they are the most needed4    ,i   
have written strongly2 perhaps some will
 think too strongly4 ,these1  however1  
must remember that ,i have written      
advisedly4 ,i have been  considering the
 subject for half or three parts of a   
life-time4 ,i  have studied men and     
women2 carefully watched their lives2   
talked with  them1 and seen the lines   
worry has engraved on their faces4 ,i   
have  seen and felt the misery caused by

 their unnecessary worries4 ,i have  sat
 by the bedsides of people made chronic 
invalids by worry1 and ,i  have stood in
 the cells of maniacs driven insane by  
worry4 ,hence ,i  hate it in all its    
forms1 and have expressed myself only as
 the facts  have justified4    ,wherein 
,i have sought to show how one might    
,quit his ,worrying1 these  pages       
presuppose an earnest desire1 a sincere 
purpose1 on the part  of the reader to  
attain that desirable end4 ,there is no 
universal  medicine which one can drink 
in six doses and thus be cured of his   
disease4 ,i do not offer my book as a   
mental cure-all1 or nostrum that1  if   
swallowed whole1 will cure in five days 
or ten4 ,as ,i have tried  to show1 ,i  
conceive worry to be unnatural and      
totally unnecessary1  because of its    
practical denial of what ought to be1   
and ,i believe may  be1 the fundamental 
basis of a man's life1 viz41 his        
perfect1 abiding  assurance in the      
fatherly love of ,god4 ,as little ,pippa

 sang3      ,god's in his heaven1       
,all's right with the world4    ,the    
only way1 therefore1 to lose our sense  
of worry is to get back to  naturalness1
 to ,god1 and learn the peace1 joy1     
happiness1 serenity1  that come with    
practical trust in ,him4 ,with some     
people this change  may come instantly2 
with others1 more slowly4 ,personally ,i
 have had  to learn slowly1 line upon   
line1 precept upon precept1 here a      
little1  there a little4 ,and ,i would  
caution my readers not to expect too    
much all at once4 ,but ,i am fully      
convinced that as faith1 trust1 and     
naturalness grow1 worry will cease1 will
 slough off1 like the dead  skin of the 
serpent1 and leave those once bound by  
it free from its  malign influence4 ,who
 cannot see and feel that such a        
consummation is  devoutly to be wished1 
worth working and earnestly striving    
for8    ,if ,i help a few ,i shall be   
more than repaid1 if many1 my heart will
  rejoice4    ,signed3 ,george ,wharton 

,james    ,pasadena1 ,calif4 ,february1 
#aiaf4          ,,quit ,,your           
,,worrying6          ,,chapter ,i       
,,the ,,curse ,,of ,,worry      ,of how 
many persons can it truthfully be said  
they never worry1 they  are perfectly   
happy1 contented1 serene8 ,it would be  
interesting if  each of my readers were 
to recall his acquaintances and friends1
 think  over their condition in this    
regard1 and then report to me the       
result4  ,what a budget of worried      
persons ,i should have to catalogue1 and
 alas1  ,i am afraid1 how few of the    
serene would there be named4 ,when ,john
  ,burroughs wrote his immortal poem1   
,waiting1 he struck a deeper note  than 
he dreamed of1 and the reason it made so
 tremendous an impression  upon the     
,english-speaking world was that it was 
a new note to them4 ,it  opened up a    
vision they had not before contemplated4
 ,let me quote it  here in full3        
,serene ,i fold my hands and wait1      
,nor care for wind1 or tide or sea2     

,i rave no more 'gainst time or fate1   
,for lo6 my own shall come to me4       
,i stay my haste1 ,i make delays1       
,for what avails this eager pace8    ,i 
stand amid the eternal ways1    ,and    
what is mine shall know my face4        
,asleep1 awake1 by night or day1    ,the
 friends ,i seek are seeking me1    ,no 
wind can drive my bark astray1    ,nor  
change the tide of destiny4      ,what  
matter if ,i stand alone8    ,i wait    
with joy the coming years2    ,my heart 
shall reap where it has sown1    ,and   
garner up its fruit of tears4      ,the 
waters know their own and draw    ,the  
brook that springs in yonder height1    
,so flows the good with equal law       
,unto the soul of pure delight4         
,the stars come nightly to the sky2     
,the tidal wave unto the sea2    ,nor   
time1 nor space1 nor deep1 nor high     
,can keep my own away from me4    ,i    
have been wonderfully struck by the fact
 that in studying the  ,upanishads1 and 
other sacred books of the ,east1 there  

is practically  no reference to the kind
 of worry that is the bane and curse of 
our  ,occidental world4 ,in conversation
 with the learned men of the ,orient  ,i
 find this same delightful fact4 ,indeed
 they have no word in their  languages  
to express our idea of fretful worry4   
,worry is a purely  ,western product1   
the outgrowth of our materialism1 our   
eager striving  after place and         
position1 power and wealth1 our         
determination to be  housed1 clothed1   
and jeweled as well as our neighbors1   
and a little  better if possible2 in    
fact1 it comes from our failure to know 
that  life is spiritual not material2   
that all these outward things are the   
mere passing show1 the tinsel1 the      
gawds1 the tissue-paper1 the blue  and  
red lights of the theater1 the painted  
scenery1 the mock heroes  and heroines  
of the stage1 rather than the real      
settings of the real  life of real men  
and women4 ,what does the inventor1 who 
knows that his  invention will help his 

fellows1 care about the newest dance1 or
 the  latest style in ties1 gloves or   
shoes2 what does the woman whose heart  
and brain are completely engaged in     
relieving suffering care if she is  not 
familiar with the latest novel1 or the  
latest fashions in flounced             
pantalettes8 ,life is real1 life is     
earnest1 and this does not mean  unduly 
solemn and somber1 but that it deals    
with the real things  rather than the   
paper-flower shows of the stage and the 
imaginary  things of so-called society4 
,it is the fashion of our active1       
aggressive1 material1 ,occidental       
civilization to sneer and scoff at the  
quiet1 passive1 and less  material      
civilization of the ,orient4 ,we        
despise--that is1 the  unthinking       
majority do--the studious1 contemplative
 ,oriental4 ,we  believe in being up and
 doing4 ,but in this one particular of  
worry  we have much to learn from the   
,oriental4 ,if happiness and a large    
content be a laudable aim of life how   

far are we--the occidental              
world--succeeding in attaining it8 ,few 
there be who are content1 and1  as ,i   
have already suggested few there be who 
are free from worry4 ,on  the other hand
 while active happiness may be somewhat 
scarce in  ,india1 a large content is   
not uncommon1 and worry1 as we          
,westerners  understand it1 is almost   
unknown4 ,hence we need to find the     
happy mean  between the material        
activity of our own civilization1 and   
the mental  passivity of that of the    
,orientals4 ,therein will be found the  
calm  serenity of an active mind1 the   
reasonable acceptance of things as  they
 are because we know they are good1 the 
restfulness that comes  from the        
assurance that all things work together 
for ,good to them  that love ,god4      
,that worry is a curse no intelligent   
observer of life will deny4 ,it  has    
hindered millions from progressing1 and 
never benefited a soul4 ,it  occupies   
the mind with that which is injurious   

and thus keeps out  the things that     
might benefit and bless4 ,it is an      
active and real  manifestation of the   
fable of the man who placed the frozen  
asp in his  bosom4 ,as he warmed it back
 to life the reptile turned and fatally 
bit  his benefactor4 ,worry is as a     
dangerous1 injurious book1 the reading  
of which not only takes up the time that
 might have been spent in  reading a    
good1 instructive1 and helpful book1    
but1 at the same time1  poisons the mind
 of the reader1 corrupts his soul with  
evil images1  and sets his feet on the  
pathway to destruction4    ,why is it   
that creatures endowed with reason      
distress themselves and  everyone around
 them by worrying8 ,it might seem       
reasonable for the  wild creatures of   
the wood--animals without reason--to    
worry as to how  they should secure     
their food1 and live safely with wilder 
animals  and men seeking their blood and
 hunting them2 but that men and women1  
endued with the power of thought1       

capable of seeing the why and  wherefore
 of things1 should worry1 is one of the 
strange and peculiar  evidences that our
 so-called civilization is not all that 
it ought to  be4 ,the wild ,indian of   
the desert1 forest1 or canyon seldom1 if
 ever1  worries4 ,he is too great a     
natural philosopher to be engaged in so 
foolish and unnecessary a business4 ,he 
has a better practical system  of life  
than has his white and civilized 767    
brother who worries1 for  he says3      
,change what can be changed2 bear the   
unchangeable without  a murmur4 ,with   
this philosophy he braves the wind and  
the rain1 the  sand1 and the storm1 the 
extremes of heat and cold1 the plethora 
of a  good harvest or the famine of a   
drought4 ,if he complains it is within  
himself2 and if he whines and whimpers  
no one ever hears him4 ,his  face may   
become a little more stern under the    
higher pressure2 he may  tighten his    
waist belt a hole or two to stifle the  
complaints of his  empty stomach1 but   

his voice loses no note of its          
cheeriness and his  smile none of its   
sweet serenity4    ,why should the rude 
and brutal 767 savage be thus1 while the
 cultured1  educated1 refined man and   
woman of civilization worry wrinkles    
into  their faces1 gray hairs upon their
 heads1 querelousness into their  voices
 and bitterness into their hearts8      
,when we use the word worry what do we  
mean8 ,the word comes from the  old     
,saxon1 and was in imitation of the     
sound caused by the choking or          
strangling of an animal when seized by  
the throat by another animal4  ,we still
 refer to the worrying of sheep by      
dogs--the seizing by the  throat with   
the teeth2 killing or badly injuring by 
repeated biting1  shaking1 tearing1 etc4
 ,from this original meaning the word   
has  enlarged until now it means to     
tease1 to trouble1 to harass with       
importunity or with care or anxiety4 ,in
 other words it is undue  care1 needless
 anxiety1 unnecessary brooding1 fretting

 thought4    ,what a wonderful picture  
the original source of the word suggests
 of  the latter-day meaning4 ,worry     
takes our manhood1 womanhood1 our high  
ambitions1 our laudable endeavors1 our  
daily lives1 by the throat1  and        
strangles1 chokes1 bites1 tears1 shakes 
them1 hanging on like a  wolf1 a weasel1
 or a bull-dog1 sucking out our         
life-blood1 draining  our energies1 our 
hopes1 our aims1 our noble desires1 and 
leaving us  torn1 empty1 shaken1        
useless1 bloodless1 hopeless1 and       
despairing4 ,it  is the nightmare of    
life that rides us to discomfort1       
wretchedness1  despair1 and to that     
death-in-life that is no life at all4   
,it is the  vampire that sucks out the  
good of us and leaves us like the rind  
of  a squeezed-out orange2 it is the    
cooking-process that extracts and       
wastes all the nutritious juices of the 
meat and leaves nothing but  the useless
 and tasteless fibre4    ,worry is a    
worse thief than the burglar or         

highwayman4 ,it goes beyond  the        
train-wrecker or the vile wretch who    
used to lure sailing vessels  upon a    
treacherous shore1 in its relentless    
heartlessness4 ,once it  begins to      
control it never releases its hold      
unless its victim wakes  up to the sure 
ruin that awaits him and frees himself  
from its bondage  by making a great1    
continuous1 and successful fight4    ,it
 steals the joy of married life1 of     
fatherhood and motherhood2 it  destroys 
social life1 club life1 business life1  
and religious life4  ,it robs a man of  
friendships and makes his days long1    
gloomy periods1  instead of             
rapidly-passing epochs of joy and       
happiness4 ,it throws  around its victim
 a chilling atmosphere as does the      
iceberg1 or  the snow bank2 it exhales  
the mists and fogs of wretchedness and  
misunderstanding2 it chills family      
happiness1 checks friendly  intercourse1
 and renders the business occupations of
 life curses  instead of blessings4     

,worry manifests itself in a variety of 
ways4 ,it is protean in its             
versatility4 ,it can be physical or     
mental4 ,the hypochondriac conceives    
that everything is going to the         
demnition bow-wows4 ,nothing can        
reassure him4 ,he sees in every article 
of diet a hidden fiend of  dyspepsia2 in
 every drink a demon of torture4 ,every 
man he meets is a  scoundrel1 and every 
woman a leech4 ,children are growing    
worse  daily1 and society is rotten4    
,the ,church is organized for the mere  
fattening of a raft of preachers and    
parsons who preach what they  don't     
believe and never try to practice4      
,lawyers and judges are all  dishonest  
swindlers caring nothing for honor and  
justice and seeking  only their fees2   
physicians and surgeons are pitiless    
wretches who  scare their patients in   
order to extort money from them2 men in 
office  are waiting1 lurking1 hunting   
for chances to graft1 eager to steal    
from their constituents at every        

opportunity4 ,he expects every thing1   
every animal1 every man1 every woman to 
get the best of him--and1 as a  rule1 he
 is not disappointed4 ,for we can nearly
 always be accommodated  in life and get
 that for which we look4    ,we are told
 that all these imaginary ills come from
 physical causes4  ,the hypochondrium is
 supposed to be affected1 and as it is  
located  under the short ribs1 the      
hypochondriac continuously suffers from 
that awful sinking at the pit of the    
stomach that makes him feel  as if the  
bottom had dropped out of life itself4  
,he can neither eat1  digest his food1  
walk1 sit1 rest1 work1 take pleasure1   
exercise1 or  sleep4 ,his body is the   
victim of innumerable ills4 ,his tongue1
 his  lips1 his mouth are dry and       
parched1 his throat full of slime and   
phlegm1 his stomach painful1 his bowels 
full of gas1 and he regards  himself as 
cursed of ,god--a walking receptacle of 
woe4 ,to physician1  wife1 husband1     
children1 employer1 employee1 pastor1   

and friend alike  the hypochondriac is a
 pest1 a nuisance1 a chill and almost a 
curse1  and1 poor creature1 these facts 
do not take away or lessen our  sympathy
 for him1 for1 though most of his ills  
are imaginary1 he  suffers more than do 
those who come in contact with him4     
,then there is the neurasthenic--the    
mentally collapsed whose collapse       
invariably comes from too great tension 
or worry4 ,i know several  housewives   
who became neurasthenic by too great    
anxiety to keep their  houses spotless4 
,not a speck of dust must be anywhere4  
,the slightest  appearance of           
inattention or carelessness in this     
matter was a great  source of worry1 and
 they worried lest the maid fail to do  
her duty4    ,i know another housewife  
who is so dainty and refined that1      
though her  husband's income is strained
 almost to the breaking point1 she must 
have everything in the house so dainty  
and fragile that no ordinary  servant   
can be trusted to care for the          

furniture1 wash the dishes1  polish the 
floors1 etc41 and the result is she is  
almost a confirmed  neurasthenic        
because1 in the first place1 she worries
 over her  dainty things1 and1 secondly1
 exhausts herself in caring for these   
unnecessarily fragile household         
equipments4    ,every neurasthenic is a 
confirmed worrier4 ,he ever sits on the 
stool  of repentance1 clothing himself  
in sackcloth and ashes for what he  has 
done or not done4 ,he cries aloud--by   
his acts--every five minutes  or so3 ,we
 have done those things which we ought  
not to have done and  have left undone  
those things which we ought to have     
done1 and there  is no health in us4    
,everything past is regretted1          
everything present  is in doubt1 and    
nothing but anxieties and uncertainties 
meet  the future4 ,if he holds a        
position of responsibility he asks his  
subordinates or associates to perform   
certain services and then  worries      
himself to death1 watching to see that  

they do it right1  or afraid lest they  
forget to do it at all4 ,he wakes up    
from a sound  sleep in dread lest he    
forgot to lock the door1 turn out the   
electric  light in the hall1 or put out 
the gas4 ,he becomes the victim of      
uncertainty and indecision4 ,he fears   
lest he decide wrongly1 he  worries that
 he hasn't yet decided1 and yet having  
thoroughly argued a  matter out and come
 to a reasonable conclusion1 allows his 
worries to  unsettle him and is forever 
questioning his decision and going back 
to  revise and rerevise it4 ,whatever he
 does or doesn't do he regrets and      
wishes he had done the converse4        
,husbands are worried about their wives2
 wives about their husbands2  parents   
about their children2 children about    
their parents4 ,farmers  are worried    
over their crops2 speculators over their
 gamblings2  investors over their       
investments4 ,teachers are worried over 
their  pupils1 and pupils over their    
lessons1 their grades1 and their        

promotions4 ,statesmen 767 are worried  
over their constituents1 and the  latter
 are generally worried by their         
representatives4 ,people who have       
schemes to further--legitimate or       
otherwise--are worried when they  are   
retarded1 and competitors are worried if
 they are not4 ,pastors are  worried    
over their congregations1--occasionally 
about their salaries1  very often about 
their large families1 and now and again 
about their  fitness for their holy     
office1--and there are few congregations
 that1  at one time or another1 are not 
worried by1 as well as about1  their    
pastors4 ,the miner is worried when he  
sees his ledge petering  out1 or finds  
the ore failing to assay its usual      
value4 ,the editor  is worried lest his 
reporters fail to bring in the news1 and
 often  worried when it is brought in to
 know whether it is accurate or  not4   
,the chemist worries over his           
experiments1 and the inventor that      
certain things needful will persist in  

eluding him4 ,the man who has  to rent a
 house1 worries when rent day           
approaches2 and many who own  houses    
worry at the same time4 ,some owners1   
indeed1 worry because  there is no rent 
day1 they have no tenants1 their houses 
are idle4  ,others worry because their  
tenants are not to their liking1 are    
destructive1 careless1 or neglect the   
flowers and the lawn1 or allow  the     
children to batter the furniture1 walk  
in hob nails over the  hardwood floors1 
or scratch the paint off the walls4 ,men
 in high  position worry lest their     
superiors are not as fully appreciative 
of their efforts as they should be1 and 
they in turn worry their  subordinates  
lest they forget that they are          
subordinate4    ,mistresses worry about 
their maids1 and maids about their      
mistresses4  ,some of the former worry  
because they have to go into their      
kitchens1 others because they are not   
allowed to go4 ,some mistresses         
deliberately worry their servants1 and  

others are worried because  their       
servants insist upon doing the worrying4
 ,many a wife is worried  because of her
 husband's typewriter1 and many a       
typewriter is worried  because her      
employer has a wife4 ,some typewriters  
are worried because  they are not made  
into wives1 and many a one who is a wife
 wishes she  were free again to become a
 typewriter4    ,thousands of           
girls--many of them who ought yet to be 
wearing  short dresses and playing with 
dolls--worry because they have no       
sweethearts1 and equal thousands worry  
because they do have them4  ,many a lad 
worries because he has no lassie1 and   
many a one worries  because he has4     
,yesterday ,i rode on a street car and  
saw a bit of  by-play that fully        
illustrated this4 ,on these particular  
cars there  is a seat for two alongside 
the front by the motorman4 ,on this car1
  chatting merrily with the handler of  
the lever1 sat a black-eyed1            
pretty-faced ,latin type of brunette4   

,that he was happy was evidenced  by his
 good-natured laugh and the huge smile  
that covered his face  from ear to ear  
as he responded to her sallies4 ,just   
then a young  ,italian came on the car1 
directly to the front1 and seemed       
nettled to  see the young lady talking  
so freely with the motorman4 ,he saluted
 her  with a frown upon his face1 but   
evidently with familiarity4 ,the change 
in the girl's demeanor was              
instantaneous4 ,evidently she did not   
wish  to offend the newcomer1 nor did   
she wish to break with the motorman4    
,all were ill at ease1 distraught1      
vexed1 worried4 ,she tried to bring  the
 newcomer into the conversation1 which  
he refused4 ,the motorman  eyed him with
 hostility now and again1 as he dared to
 neglect his  duty1 but smiled uneasily 
in the face of the girl when she        
addressed  him with an attempt at       
freedom4    ,bye and bye the youth took 
the empty seat by the side of the girl1 
and endeavored to draw her into         

conversation to the exclusion of the    
motorman4 ,she responded1 twisting her  
body and face towards him1  so that her 
sweet and ingratiating smiles could not 
be seen by the  motorman4 ,then1 she    
reversed the process and gave a few     
fleeting  smiles to the grim-looking    
motorman4 ,it was as clear a case of    
,how happy could ,i be with either1     
,were t'other dear charmer away1    as  
one could well see4    ,just then the   
car came to a transfer point4 ,the girl 
had a transfer  and left1 smiling       
sweetly1 but separately1 in turn1 to the
 motorman  and her young ,italian       
friend4 ,the latter watched her go4     
,then a new  look came over his face1   
which ,i wondered at4 ,it was soon      
explained4  ,the transfer point was also
 a division point for this car4 ,the    
motorman and conductor were changed1 and
 the moment the new crew came1  our     
motorman jumped from his own car1 ran to
 the one the brunette had  taken1 and   
swung himself on1 as it crossed at right

 angles over  the track we were to take4
 ,rising to his feet the youth watched  
the  passing car1 with keenest interest 
until it was out of sight1 clearly      
revealing the jealousy1 worry1 and      
unrest he felt4    ,in another chapter  
,i have dealt more fully with the       
subject of  the worries of jealousy4    
,they are demons of unrest and distress1
  destroying the very vitals with their 
incessant gnawing4    ,too great        
emphasis cannot be placed upon the      
physical ills that come  from worry4    
,the body unconsciously reflects our    
mental states4 ,a  fretful and worrying 
mother should never be allowed to suckle
 her  child1 for she directly injures it
 by the poison secreted in her milk  by 
the disturbances caused in her body by  
the worry of her mind4  ,among the many 
wonderfully good things said in his     
lifetime ,henry ,ward  ,beecher never   
said a wiser and truer thing than that  
it is not the  revolution which destroys
 the machinery1 but the friction4 ,worry

 is  the friction that shatters the     
machine4 ,work1 to the healthy body and 
serene mind1 is a joy1 a blessing1 a    
health-giving exercise1 but to  the     
worried is a burden1 a curse and a      
destroyer4    ,go where you will1 when  
you will1 how you will1 and you will    
find most  people worrying to a greater 
or lesser extent4 ,indeed so full has   
our  ,western world become of worry that
 a harsh and complaining note is far    
more prevalent than we are willing to   
believe1 which is expressed in  a rude  
motto to be found hung on many an       
office1 bedroom1 library1  study1 and   
laboratory wall which reads3      ,life 
is one ,damn    ,thing after ,another   
,note3 this is outlined in a block4     
,those gifted with a sense of humor     
laugh at the motto2 the very  serious   
frown at it and reprobate its apparent  
profanity1 those who  see no humor in   
anything regard it with gloom1 the      
careless with  assumed indifference1 but
 in the minds of all1 more or less      

latent or  subconscious1 there is a     
recognition that there is an awful lot  
of  truth in it4    ,hence it will be   
seen that worry is by no means confined 
to the poor4  ,the well-to-do1 the      
prosperous1 and the rich1 indeed1 have  
far more to  worry about than the poor1 
and for one victim who suffers keenly   
from  worry among the poor1 ten can be  
found among the rich who are its  abject
 victims4    ,it is worry that paints   
the lines of care on foreheads and      
cheeks that  should be smooth and       
beautiful2 worry bows the shoulders1    
brings out  scowls and frowns where     
smiles and sweet greetings should exist4
 ,worry  is the twister1 the dwarfer1   
the poisoner1 the murderer of joy1 of   
peace1 of work1 of happiness2 the       
strangler1 the burglar of life2 the     
phantom1 the vampire1 the ghost that    
scares1 terrifies1 fills with  dread4   
,yet he is a liar and a scoundrel1 a    
villain and a coward1 who  will turn and
 flee if fearlessly and courageously met

 and defied4  ,instead of pampering and 
petting him1 humoring and conciliating  
him1  meet him on his own ground4 ,defy 
him to do his worst4 ,flaunt him1  laugh
 at his threats1 sneer and scoff at his 
pretensions1 bid him do  his worst4     
,better be dead than under the dominion 
of such a tyrant4  ,and1 my word for it1
 as soon as you take that attitude1 he  
will flee  from you1 nay1 he will       
disappear as the mists fade away in the 
heat of  the noonday sum4    ,worry1    
however1 is not only an effect4 ,it is  
also a cause4 ,worry  causes worry4 ,it 
breeds more rapidly than do flies4 ,the 
more one  worries the more he learns to 
worry4 ,begin to worry over one thing   
and soon you are worrying about twenty4 
,and the infernal curse is not  content 
with breeding worries of its own kind4  
,it is as if it were a  parent gifted   
with the power of breeding a score1 a   
hundred different  kinds of progeny at  
one birth1 each more hideous1 repulsive1
 and  fearful than the other4 ,there is 

no palliation1 temporization1 or        
parleying possible with such a monster4 
,death is the only way to be  released  
from him1 and it is your death or his4  
,his death is a duty  ,god requires at  
your hands4 ,why1 then1 waste time8     
,start now and kill  the foul fiend as  
quickly as you can4          ,,chapter  
,,ii    ,,ours ,,is ,,the ,,age ,,of    
,,worry      ,how insulting6 ,what a    
ridiculous statement6 ,how ignorant of  
our  achievements6 ,i can well imagine  
some of my readers saying when they  see
 this chapter heading4 ,this1 an age of 
worry6 ,why this is the age  of         
progress1 of advancement1 of uplift1 of 
the onward march of a great  and        
wonderful civilization4    ,is it8      
,certainly it is6 ,see what we have done
 in electricity1 look at the  telephone1
 telegraph1 wireless and now the        
wireless telephone4 ,see  our           
advancement in mechanics1--the          
automobile1 the new locomotives1        
vessels1 etc4 ,see our conquest of the  

air--dirigibles1 aeroplanes1            
hydroplanes and the like4    ,yes6 ,i   
see1 and what of it8 ,we have done1 our 
advancement1  our conquest1 etc41 etc4  
,yes6 ,i see we have not lessened our   
arrogance1 our empty-headed pride1 our  
boasting4 ,we--,why we8    ,what have   
you and ,i had to do with the new       
inventions in electricity  or mechanics 
or the conquest of the air8    ,not one 
single1 solitary thing6 ,the progress of
 the world has  been made through the   
efforts of a few solitary1 exceptional1 
rare  individuals1 not by the combined  
efforts of us all4 ,you and ,i are  as  
common1 unprogressive1 uninventive1     
indifferent mediocrities as  we--the    
common people--always were4 ,we have not
 contributed one iota  to all this      
progress1 and ,i often question whether 
mud2 of it comes  to us more fraught    
with good than evil4 ,we claim the      
results without  engaging in the work4  
,we use the 'phone and worry because    
,central  doesn't get us our connections

 immediately1 when we haven't the       
faintest conception of how the          
connection is gained1 or why we are     
delayed4 ,we ride on the fast train1 but
 chafe and worry ourselves and          
everybody about us to a frazzle because 
we are stopped on a siding by  a        
semaphore of a block station which we   
never have observed1 and would  not     
understand if we did4 ,we reap but have 
not sowed1 gather but have  not strewed1
 and that is ever injurious and never   
beneficial4 ,our  conceit is flattered  
and enlarged1 our importance magnified1 
our  dignity--,god save the mark6--made 
more impressive1 and as a result1  we   
are more the target for the             
inconsequential worries of life4 ,we    
worry if we are not flattered1 if our   
importance is not recognized  even by   
strangers1 and our dignity not          
honored--in other words we  worry that  
we are not kow-towed to1 deferred to1   
respectfully  greeted on every hand and 
made to feel that civilization1 progress

  and advancement are materially        
furthered and enhanced by our mere      
existence4    ,every individual with    
such an outlook on life is a prolific   
distributer of worry germs2 he1 she1 is 
a pest and a nuisance1  more disturbing 
to the real peace of the community than 
a victim  of smallpox1 and one who      
should be isolated in a pest-house4     
,but1  unfortunately1 our myopic vision 
sees only the wealth1 the luxury1 the   
spending capacity of such an individual1
 and that ends it--we bow down  and     
worship before the golden calf4    ,if  
,i had the time in these pages to       
discuss the history of worry1 ,i am     
assured ,i could show clearly to the    
student of history that worry is  always
 the product of prosperity2 that while a
 nation is hard at work  at its making1 
and every citizen is engaged in arduous 
labor of one  kind or another for the   
upbuilding of his own or the national   
power1  worry is scarcely known4 ,the   
builders of our ,american civilization  

were too busy conquering the wilderness 
of ,new ,england1 the prairies  of the  
,middle ,west1 the savannahs and lush   
growths of the ,south1 the  arid deserts
 of the ,west to have much time for     
worry4 ,such men and  women were gifted 
with energy1 the power of initiative and
 executive  ability1 they were forceful1
 daring1 courageous and active1 and in  
their very working had neither time nor 
thought for worry4    ,but just as soon 
as a reasonable amount of success       
attended their  efforts1 and they had   
amassed wealth their children began and 
continued to worry4 ,not occupied with  
work that demands our unceasing  energy1
 we find ourselves occupied with        
trifles1 worrying over our  health1 our 
investments1 our luxuries1 our lap-dogs 
and our frivolous  occupations4 ,imagine
 the old-time pioneers of the forest1   
plain1  prairie and desert worrying     
about sitting in a draught1 or taking   
cold  if they got wet1 or wondering     
whether they could eat what would be set

  before them at the next meal4 ,they   
were out in the open1 compelled to  take
 whatever weather came to them1 rain or 
shine1 hot or cold1 sleet  or snow1 and 
ready when the sunset hour came1 to eat 
with relish and  appetite sauce1 the    
rude and plain victuals placed upon the 
table4    ,compare the lives of that    
class of men with the later generation  
of  capitalists4 ,i know one who used to
 live at ,sherry's in ,new ,york4  ,his 
apartments were as luxurious as those of
 a monarch2 he was  not happy1 however1 
for worry rode him from morning to      
night4 ,he  absolutely spent an hour or 
more each day consulting the menu1 or   
discussing with the steward what he     
could have to place upon his menu1  and 
died long before his time1 cursed with  
his wealth1 its resultant  idleness and 
the trifling worries that always come to
 such men4 ,had he  been reduced to     
poverty1 compelled to go out and work on
 a farm1 eat  oatmeal mush or starve for
 breakfast1 bacon and greens for dinner1

  and cold pork and potatoes or starve  
for supper1 he would be alive and  happy
 to-day4    ,take the fussy1 nervous1   
irritable1 worrying men and women of    
life1  who poke their noses into other  
people's affairs1 retail all the        
scandal1 and hand on all the slander and
 gossip of empty and1  therefore1 evil  
minds4 ,they are invariably well to do  
and without any  work or                
responsibilities4 ,they go gadding about
 restless and feverish  because of the  
empty vacuity of their lives1 a prey to 
worry because  they have nothing else to
 do4 ,if ,i were to put down and        
faithfully  report the conversations ,i 
have with such people2 the fool worries 
they are really distressed with2 the    
labor1 time and energy they spend  on   
following chimeras1 will o' the wisps1  
mirages that beckon to them  and promise
 a little mental occupation1--and over  
which they cannot  help but worry1 one  
could scarcely believe it4    ,as ,dr4  
,walton forcefully says in his admirable

 booklet3        ,the present1 then1 is 
the age1 and our contemporaries are the 
people1 that bring into prominence the  
little worries1 that      cause the     
tempest in the teapot1 that bring about 
the worship      of the intangible1 and 
the magnification of the unessential4   
,if we had lived in another epoch we    
might have dreamt of the      eternal   
happiness of saving our neck1 but in    
this one we fret      because our collar
 does not fit it1 and because the button
      that holds the collar has rolled  
under the bureau4,a    ,footnote ,a3    
,calm ,yourself4 ,by ,george ,lincoln   
,walton1 ,m4,d41  ,houghton1 ,mifflin   
,co41 ,boston1 ,mass4    ,i am not so   
foolish as to imagine for one moment    
that ,i can correct  the worrying       
tendency of the age1 but ,i do want to  
be free from worry  myself1 to show     
others that it is unnecessary and       
needless1 and also1  that it is possible
 to live a life free from its           
demoralizing and  altogether injurious  

influences4          ,,chapter ,,iii    
,,nervous ,,prostration ,,and ,,worry4  
,nervous prostration is generally       
understood to mean weakness of the      
nerves4 ,it invariably comes to those   
who have extra strong nerves1  but who  
do not know how to use them properly1 as
 well as those whose  nervous system is 
naturally weak and easily disorganized4 
,nervous  prostration is a disease of   
overwork1 mainly mental overwork1 and in
  ninety-nine cases out of a hundred1   
comes from worry4 ,worry is  the most   
senseless and insane form of mental     
work4 ,it is as if a  bicycle-rider were
 so riding against time that1 the moment
 after he  got off his machine to sit   
down to a meal he sprang up again1 and  
while eating were to work his arms and  
legs as if he were riding4  ,it is the  
slave-driver that stands over the slave 
and compels him to  continue his work1  
even though he is so exhausted that     
hands1 arms and  legs cease to obey1 and
 he falls asleep at his task4    ,the   

folly1 as well as the pain and distress 
of this cruel  slave-driving is that we 
hold the whip over ourselves1 have      
trained  ourselves to do it1 and have   
done it so long that now we seem unable 
to stop4 ,in another chapter there is   
fully described 7in ,dorothy            
,canfield's vivid words7 the            
squirrel-cage whirligig of modern       
society  life4 ,modern business life is 
not much better4 ,men compel themselves 
to the endless task of amassing money   
without knowing why they amass  it4     
,they make money1 that they may enlarge 
their factories1 to make  more ploughs1 
to get more money1 to enlarge their     
factories1 to make  more ploughs1 to get
 more money1 to enlarge more factories1 
to make  more ploughs1 and so on1 ad    
infinitum4 ,where is the sense of it4   
,such conduct has well been termed      
money-madness4 ,it is an obsession1 a   
disease1 a form of hypnotism1 a mental  
malady4    ,the tendency of the age is  
to drive4 ,we drive our own children to 

school2 there they are driven for hours 
by one study after another2  even when  
they come home they bring lessons with  
them--the lovers of  study and          
over-conscientious because they want to 
do them1 and the  laggards because they 
must1 if they are to keep up with their 
classes4  ,if the parents of such       
children are not careful1 they 7the     
children7  soon learn to worry2 they are
 behind-hand with their lessons2 they   
didn't get the highest mark yesterday2  
the class is going ahead of  them1 etc41
 etc41 until mental collapse comes4     
,for worrying is the worst kind of      
mental overwork4 ,as ,dr4 ,edward       
,livingston ,hunt1 of ,columbia         
,university1 ,new ,york1 said in a paper
  read by him early in #aiab1 before the
 ,public ,health ,education  ,committee 
of the ,medical ,society of the ,county 
of ,new ,york3        ,there is a form  
of overwork1 exceedingly common and     
exceedingly disastrous--one which       
equally accompanies great               

intellectual labors and minor tasks4 ,i 
allude to worry4 ,when      we medical  
men speak of the workings of the brain  
we make      use of a term both         
expressive and characteristic4 ,it is to
      cerebrate4 ,to cerebrate means to 
think1 to reason1 and to      reach     
conclusions2 it means to concentrate and
 to work hard4      ,to think1 then1 is 
to cerebrate4 ,to worry is to cerebrate 
intensely4        ,worry is overwork of 
the most disastrous kind2 it means to   
drive the mental machinery at an        
unreasonable and dangerous      rate4   
,worry gives the brain no rest1 but     
rather keeps the      delicate cells in 
constant and continuous action4 ,work is
      wear2 worry is tear4 ,overwork1   
mental strain1 and worry lead      to a 
diminution of nerve force and to a      
prostration of the      vital forces and
 causes a degeneracy of the blood       
vessels of      the brain4              
,exhaustion1 another name for fatigue1  
may show itself either      in the form 

of physical collapse1 so that the       
patient lacks      resistance1 and1     
becoming anemic and run down1 falls a   
prey      to any and every little       
ailment1 or in the form of mental       
collapse4 ,an exhausted brain then gives
 way to depression1 to      fears1 and  
to anxiety4        ,the vast majority of
 nervous breakdowns are avoidable2 they 
are the result of our own excesses and  
of the disregard we      show toward the
 ordinary laws of health and hygiene2   
they are      the results of the        
tremendous demands which are made upon  
us      by modern life2 they are the    
result of the strenuous life4    ,from  
this analysis1 made by an expert1 it is 
evident that worry and  nervous         
prostration are but two points on the   
same circle4 ,nervous  prostration      
causes worry1 and worry causes nervous  
prostration4 ,those  who overwork their 
bodies and minds--who drive themselves  
either with  the cares of business1 the 
amassing of wealth1 yielding to the     

demands  of society1 the cravings of    
ambition1 or the pursuit of pleasure1   
are  alike certain to suffer the results
 of mental overwork4    ,and here let me
 interject what to me has become a      
fundamental  principle upon which       
invariably ,i rely4 ,it will be recalled
 what ,i  have said elsewhere of selfish
 and unselfish occupations4 ,it is  the 
selfish occupations that produce        
nerve-exhaustion4 ,those that  are      
unselfish seldom result in the          
disturbance of the harmony or           
equilibrium of our nature--whether we   
regard it as physical1 mental1  or      
spiritual4 ,this may seem to be a       
trancendental statement--perhaps  it is4
 ,but ,i am confidently assured of its  
essential truth4 ,that man  or woman who
 is truly engaged in an unselfish       
work--a work that is for  the good of   
others--has a right to look for1 to     
expect and to receive  from the great   
,all ,source of strength1 power and     
serenity all that  is needed to keep the

 body1 mind and soul in harmony1        
consequently in  perfect health and free
 from worry4    ,hence the apparent     
paradox that1 if you would care for     
yourself you  must disregard yourself in
 your loving care for others4    ,one   
great reason why worry produces nervous 
prostration is that it  induces         
insomnia4    ,worry and sleeplessness   
are twin sisters4 ,as one has well said3
  ,refreshing sleep and vexing thoughts 
are deadly foes4 ,health and  happiness 
often disappear from those who fail to  
sleep1 for sleep1  indeed1 is tired     
,nature's sweet restorer1 as ,young in  
his ,night  ,thoughts termed it4        
,shakspere never wrote anything truer   
when he  said3      ,sleep that knits up
 the ravell'd sleave of care1    ,the   
death of each day's life1 sore labor's  
bath1    ,balm of hurt minds1 great     
,nature's second course1    ,chief      
nourisher of life's feast4    ,or1 where
 he spoke of it as      ,sleep that     
sometimes shuts up sorrow's eye1        

,steals me awhile from mine own company4
    ,even the ,bible makes sleep one of 
the special blessings of ,god1 for we   
are told that ,he giveth ,his beloved   
sleep4 ,the sacred book contains  many  
references to sleeplessness and its     
causes4    ,undoubtedly most potent     
among these causes is worry4 ,the       
worrier  retires to his bed at the usual
 hour1 but his brain is busy--it is     
working overtime4 ,what is it doing8 ,is
 it thinking over things  that are to be
 done1 and planning for the future8 ,if 
so1 there is a  legitimate excuse1 for  
as soon as the plan is laid1 rest will  
come1  and he will sleep4 ,is he        
thinking over the mistakes of the past  
and  sensibly and wisely taking counsel 
from them8 ,if so1 he will speedily     
come to a decision1 and then sleep will 
bring grateful oblivion4 ,is  he        
thinking joyful thoughts8 ,these will   
bring a natural feeling of  harmony with
 all things1 and that is conducive to   
speedy sleep8 ,is  he thinking of how he

 may help others8 ,that is equally      
soothing to  nerves1 brain and body1 and
 brings the refreshment of              
forgetfulness4    ,but no6 the worrier  
has another method4 ,he thinks the same 
thoughts  over and over again1 without  
the slightest attempt to get anywhere4  
,he  has thrashed them out before1 so   
often that he can tell exactly what     
each thought will lead to4 ,his ideas go
 around in a circle like  the horse tied
 to the wheel4 ,he is on a treadmill    
ever ascending1  tramping1 up1 up1 up   
and up1 and still up1 but the wheel     
falls  down each time as far as he steps
 up1 and after hours and hours of       
unceasing1 wracking1 distressful mental 
labor1 he has done absolutely  nothing1 
has not progressed one inch1 is still in
 the clutch of the  same vicious        
treadmill4 ,brain weary1 nerve weary1 is
 there any wonder  that he rolls and    
tosses1 throws over his pillow1 kicks   
off the  clothes1 groans1 almost cries  
aloud in his agony of longing for rest4 

,poor victim of worry and sleeplessness1
 how ,i long to help you get  rid of    
your evil habit and save others from    
falling into it4 ,for both  worry and   
sleeplessness are habits1 easily gained1
 and once gained  very hard to get rid  
of1 yet both unnecessary1 needless1 and 
foolish4  ,the worry that produces      
sleeplessness is merciless2 so merciless
 and  relentless that no fierce torture 
of a ,black-hander can be described     
that is worse in its long continuing and
 evil results4 ,lives are  wrecked1     
brains shattered1 happiness destroyed by
 this monstrous evil1  and many a man   
and woman fastens it upon himself1      
herself1  through indulging in anxious  
thought1 or by yielding to that equal   
devil-dragon of self-pity4    ,david the
 psalmist graphically tells of his own  
case3      ,i am weary with my groaning2
    ,every night make ,i my bed to swim2
    ,i water my couch with my tears1    
,mine eye wasteth away because of grief4
 ,ps4 ,,vi4 #f3g4    ,at another time he

 cries      ,my ,god1 my ,god1 why hast 
thou forsaken me8    ,why art thou so   
far from helping me1 and from the words 
of my groaning8    ,oh my ,god1 ,i cry  
in the day time1 but thou answereth not2
    ,and in the night season1 ,i am not 
silent4 ,ps4 ,,xxii4 #a3b4    ,yet ,god 
heard him not until his groaning and    
self-pity were cast  aside1 until he    
rested in ,god1 trusted in ,him4 ,then  
came rest1 as he  graphically expresses 
it3      ,i laid me down and slept2     
,i awaked2 for ,jehovah sustaineth me4  
,ps4 ,,iii4 #e4      ,in peace will ,i  
both lay me down and sleep3    ,for     
thou1 ,jehovah1 alone maketh me dwell in
 safety4 ,ps4 ,,iv4 #h4      ,i will    
bless ,jehovah1 who hath given me       
counsel2    ,yea1 my heart instructeth  
me in the night seasons4 ,ps4 ,,xvi4 #g4
    ,see the result of this confidence  
in ,god4      ,i have set ,jehovah      
always before me3    ,because he is at  
my right hand1 ,i shall not be moved4   
,therefore my heart is glad1 and my     

glory rejoiceth3    ,my flesh also shall
 dwell in safety4 ,ps4 ,,xvi4 #h3i4     
,and where the heart is glad1 and one   
rejoiceth in the sense of peace  and    
safety1 sweet sleep lays its soothing   
hand upon the work-worn  brain and body1
 tired with the labors of the day1 and  
brings rest1  repose1 recuperation4     
,,chapter ,,iv    ,,holy ,,writ1 ,,the  
,,sages1 ,,and ,,worry      ,our        
civilization is called a ,christian     
civilization4 ,we are the  ,christian   
nations4 ,yet1 as ,i have shown in      
,chapters ,i and ,,ii1  ours is the     
worrying civilization4 ,that worry is   
dishonoring to our  civilization1 and   
especially to our professions as        
,christians is  self-evident4 ,let us   
then look briefly in the book we call   
our ,holy  ,bible1 our ,guide of ,life1 
our ,director to ,salvation1 and see    
what the  sacred writers have to say    
upon this subject4 ,if they commend it1 
we  may assume that it will be safe to  
worry4 ,if they rebuke or reprobate  it 

we may be equally assured that we have  
no right to indulge in it4    ,st4 ,paul
 seemed to have a very clear idea of    
worry when he said3        ,be          
careful--full of care--for nothing1 but 
in everything by      prayer and        
supplication1 with thanksgiving1 make   
your requests      known unto ,god4     
,philippians #d3f4    ,how inclusive    
this is--full of care1 anxiety1         
fretfulness1 worry about  nothing1 but  
in everything presenting your case to   
,god4 ,and then  comes the promise3     
,and the peace of ,god which passeth all
 understanding shall      keep your     
hearts and minds in ,christ ,jesus4     
,phil4 ,,iv4 #g4    ,how clear1         
definite1 full and satisfactory4 ,what  
room for worry  is there in a heart full
 of the peace of ,god1 which passeth all
  understanding8 ,and oh1 how much to be
 desired is such an experience4         
,browning1 in his ,abt ,vogler1 sings   
practically the same sweet song  where  
he says3      ,sorrow is hard to bear1  

and doubt is slow to clear1    ,each    
sufferer says his says1 his scheme of   
the weal and woe3    ,but ,god has a few
 of us whom ,he whispers in the ear2    
,the rest may reason and welcome2 'tis  
we musicians know4    ,if ,god whispers 
in the ear of the sufferer1 the doubter1
 the  distressed1 the worried1 the peace
 must come2 and if peace come1 it       
matters not what others' reasoning may  
bring to them1 the knowledge  that ,god 
has whispered is enough2 it brings      
satisfaction1 content1  serenity1 peace4
 ,the opposite of worry is rest1 faith1 
trust1 peace4  ,how full the ,bible is  
of promises of rest to those who know   
and love  ,god and his ways of          
right-doing4 ,mendlessohn took the      
incitement of  the psalmist 7,psalm     
#cg3g71 ,rest in the ,lord1 and wait    
patiently for  him1 and made of it one  
of the tenderest1 sweetest songs of all 
time4  ,full of yearning over the       
worried1 the distressed1 the music      
itself  seems to brood in sympathetic   

and soothing power1 as a mother croons  
to her fretful child3 ,why fret1 why    
worry1--,no1 no6 rest1 rest my  little  
one1 in the love of the all-,father1 and
 many a weary1 fretful1  worried heart  
has found rest and peace while listening
 to this sweet  and beautiful song4     
,there is still another passage in holy 
writ that the perpetual worrier  should 
read and ponder4 ,it is the prophet     
,isaiah's assurance that ,god  says to  
,his children3 ,as one whom his mother  
comforteth1 so will ,i  comfort you4    
,who has not seen a fretful1 sick child 
taken up by a loving mother1  yield to  
her soothing influence in a few minutes 
and drop off into  restful1 healthful1  
restoring sleep4 ,what a wonderful and  
forceful  figure of speech1 illustrative
 of a never-ceasing fact that the       
,spirit  of all good1 the supreme ,force
 of ,love and ,power in the universe is 
looking1 watching1 without slumber or   
sleep1 untiring1 unfailing1 ever  ready 
to give soothing comfort as does the    

mother1 to those who fret  and worry4   
,then1 when cause for worry seems to be 
ever present1 why not call upon  this   
,loving ,maternal ,soothing ,power8 ,why
 not rest in ,his arms1 and  thus find  
peace1 poise and serenity8    ,how much 
worry comes from fear as to the future4 
,men become hoarders1  savers1 misers1  
or work themselves beyond healthful     
endurance1 or shut  out the daily joys  
of existence in their business          
absorption1 because  they dread poverty 
in their old age4 ,wise provision       
becomes a  driving monster1 worrying    
them into a restless1 fretful energy    
that  must be accumulating all the time4
    ,two thousand years ago this trait  
of human nature was so strongly         
manifested that ,christ felt called upon
 to restrain and rebuke it4  ,what a    
wonderful sermon ,he preached4 ,it is   
worth while repeating it  here1 and wise
 would that man1 that woman be1 who is  
worried about  to-morrow1 were he1 she1 
to read it daily4 ,i give it in the     

revised  version3        ,i say unto    
you1 ,be not anxious for your life1 what
 ye shall      eat1 or what ye shall    
drink2 nor yet for your body1 what ye   
shall put on4 ,is not the life more than
 the food1 and the body      than the   
raiment8 ,behold the birds of the       
heaven1 that they      sow not1 neither 
do they reap1 nor gather into barns2 and
 your      ,heavenly ,father feedeth    
them4 ,are not ye of much more value    
than they8 ,and which of you by being   
anxious can add one cubit      unto his 
stature8 ,and why are ye anxious        
concerning raiment8      ,consider the  
lilies of the field1 how they grow2 they
 toil      not1 neither do they spin2   
yet ,i say unto you1 that even          
,solomon in all his glory was not       
arrayed like one of these4      ,but if 
,god doth so clothe the grass of the    
field1 which to-day      is1 and        
to-morrow is cast into the oven1 shall  
he not much      more clothe you1 ,o ye 
of little faith8 ,be not therefore      

anxious1 saying1 ,what shall we eat8 or1
 ,what shall we drink8      or1         
,wherewithal shall we be clothed8 ,for  
after all these      things do the      
,gentiles seek2 for your heavenly       
,father knoweth      that ye have need  
of all these things4 ,but seek ye first 
his      kingdom1 and his righteousness2
 and all these things shall be          
added unto you4 ,be not therefore       
anxious for the morrow3 for      the    
morrow will be anxious for itself4      
,sufficient unto the day      is the    
evil thereof4 ,matthew1 #f3be-cd4       
,here is the wisest philosophy4 ,anxiety
 is suicide1 peace is life2  worry      
destroys1 serenity upbuilds4 ,as you    
want to live1 to grow1  possess your    
souls in peace and serenity4 ,work1 aye1
 work mightily1  powerfully1 daily1 but 
work for the joy of it1 not because     
worry  drives you to it4 ,work          
persistently1 consistently and worthily1
  because no man can live--or ought to  
live--without it1 but do not let  work  

be your slave driver1 your relentless   
master1 urging you on to  drudgery1     
bondage to your counter1 ledger or      
factory1 until you drop  exhausted and  
lifeless4 ,work for the real joy of it1 
and then1 filled  with the blessed trust
 in ,god the all-,father expressed as   
above by  ,christ1 throw your cares to  
the winds1 bid your worries depart1 and 
accept what comes with serenity1 peace  
and thankfulness4    ,many proverbs have
 been written about worry1 which it may 
be well  to recall4 ,certainly it can do
 no harm to those who worry to see how  
their mental habit has been regarded1   
and is still regarded1 by the           
concentrated wisdom of the ages4    ,an 
old proverb says3 ,it is not work1 but  
worry1 that kills4 ,how true  this is4  
,congenial work is a health-bringer1 a  
necessity for a normal  life1 a joy2 it 
keeps the body in order1 promotes       
digestion1 induces  the sleep of perfect
 restoration and is one of man's        
greatest  blessings4 ,but worry brings  

dis-ease 7want of ease71 discomfort1    
wretchedness1 promotes evil secretions  
which upset the normal workings  of the 
body1 and is a constant banisher and    
disturber of sleep4    ,still another   
proverb says3 ,worry killed the cat4    
,many people read  this and fail to see 
its profound significance4 ,it must be  
remembered  that in the good old days1  
when this proverb was most rife1 the    
superstitious held that a cat had nine  
lives4 ,now1 surely1 the deep  meaning  
of the proverb is made apparent4 ,though
 the cat were possessed  of nine lives1 
worry would surely kill them all--either
 one by one1  by its horrid and         
determined persistence2 or all at once1 
by the  concentrated virulence of its   
power4    ,there are many proverbs to   
the effect that ,when worry comes in1   
wit flies out1 and these are all true4  
,worry unsettles the mind1  unbalances  
the judgment1 induces fever of the      
intellect1 which  renders calm1 cool    
weighing of matters impossible4 ,no man 

of great  achievements ever worried     
during his period of greatness4 ,had he 
done  so his greatness could never have 
been achieved4 ,imagine a general       
trying to solve the vexing problems of a
 great combat which is going  against   
him1 with his mind beset by numberless  
worries4 ,he must  concentrate all his  
energies upon the one thing4 ,if worry  
occupies  his attention1 wit1 sense1    
judgment1 discretion1 wisdom are crowded
  out1 have no place4    ,all the       
pictures given to us of ,grant show him 
the most imperturbable  at the most     
trying times4 ,when the fortunes of war 
seemed most against  him he was the most
 cheerful1 the least disturbed4 ,he had 
learned the  danger of worry1 and       
compelled it to flee from him1 that calm
 judgment  and clear-headed decisions   
might be his4    ,if1 therefore1 these  
great ones of earth found it essential  
to their  well-being to banish worry1   
how much more is it necessary that we of
  the ordinary mass of mankind1 of the  

commoner herd1 apply ourselves to  the  
gaining of the same kind of wisdom4     
,an old countrywoman once said in my    
hearing3 ,worry1 and you hug a  hornet's
 nest4 ,how suggestive both of the      
stinging that was sure to  come and the 
folly1 the absurdity1 the cruelty to    
oneself of the act4    ,the great       
,scotch philosopher1 ,blair1 said3      
,worry 7or anxiety7 is the  poison of   
human life1 and how true it is4 ,how    
biting1 how corroding1  how destructive 
to life some poisons are1 working       
speedily1 suddenly1  awfully4 ,others   
there are that have a cumulative effect1
 until life  itself cannot bear the     
strain1 and it goes out4 ,recently ,i   
was at a  home where a son was so       
worried over conditions that he felt    
ought not  to exist between his parents1
 that he totally collapsed1 mentally1   
and for a time was in danger of losing  
his reason4 ,the folly of his  attitude 
is apparent to everyone but himself1    
though he now seeks in  the absorbing   

occupation of teaching1 to free himself 
from the poison  of worry that was      
speedily destroying his reason4         
,henry ,labouchere1 the sage who for so 
many years has edited the ,london       
,truth1 once wrote a couplet1 that is as
 true as anything he ever  wrote3       
,they who live in a worry1    ,invite   
death in a hurry4    ,i want to be ready
 for death when it comes1 but as yet ,i 
am not  extending an invitation to the  
gentleman with the scythe4 ,are you1 my 
worrying reader1 anxious to be mowed    
down before your time8 ,quit your       
worrying1 and don't urge the ,master    
,reaper to harvest you in until ,he  is 
sure you are ready4    ,another sage    
once said3 ,to worry about to-morrow is 
to be unhappy  to-day1 and the same     
thought is put into3 ,never howl till   
you are  hit1 and the popular proverb   
attributed erroneously to ,lincoln for  
it  was long in use before ,lincoln's   
time3 ,do not cross the stream until    
you get to it4 ,christ put the same     

thought into his ,sermon on the  ,mount1
 when ,he said3 ,sufficient unto the day
 is the evil thereof4  ,how utterly     
foolish and wrong it is to spoil to-day 
by fretting and  worrying over the      
possible evils of to-morrow4 ,many a man
 in business  has ruined himself by     
allowing worries about to-morrow to     
prevent him  from doing the needful work
 of to-day4 ,the rancher who sits down  
and  worries because he fears it will   
not rain to-morrow1 or it will rain1    
fails to do the work of to-day ready for
 whatever the morrow may bring  forth4  
,the wise ,roman1 ,seneca1 expressed the
 same thing in other words  when he     
wrote3 ,he grieves more than is         
necessary who grieves before  it is     
necessary1 and our own ,lowell had a    
similar thought in mind  which he       
expressed as follows3 ,the misfortunes  
hardest to bear are  those which never  
come4 ,even the ,chinese saw the folly  
of worrying  over events that have not  
yet transpired1 for they have a saying3 

,to  what purpose should a person throw 
himself into the water before the  boat 
is cast away 7wrecked74    ,all these   
proverbs1 therefore1 show that the      
wisdom of the ages  is against worrying 
over things that have not yet           
transpired4 ,let  to-morrow take care of
 itself4 ,live to-day4 ,as ,cardinal    
,newman's  wonderful hymn expresses it3 
,i do not ask to see the distant scene1 
,one step enough for me4                
,furthermore1 the evil we dread for     
to-morrow may never come4 ,every  man's 
experience demonstrates this4 ,the bill 
for which he has not  money in the bank 
is met by the unexpected payment of an  
account  overdue1 or not yet due4 ,hence
 if fears come of the morrow1 if we are 
tempted to worry about a grief that     
seems to be approaching1 let us         
resolutely cast the temptation aside1   
and by a full occupation of  mind and   
body in the work of the now1 engage     
ourselves beyond the  possibility of    
hearing the voice of the tempter4       

,when one considers the words that are  
regarded as synonymous with  worry1 or  
that are related to it1 he sees what    
cruelties lurk in the  facts behind the 
words4 ,to grieve1 fret1 pine1 mourn1   
bleed1 chafe1  yearn1 droop1 sink1 give 
way to despair1 all belong to the       
category of  worry4    ,phrases like to 
sit on thorns1 to be on pins and        
needles1 to  drain the cup of misery to 
the dregs1 show with graphic power the  
folly and curse of worry4 ,why should   
one sit on thorns1 or on pins  and      
needles8 ,if one does so accidentally he
 arises in a hurry1 yet  in worrying1   
one seems deliberately1 with intent1 to 
sit down upon  prickles in order to     
compel himself to discomfort1 distress1 
and pain4  ,is there any wisdom1 when   
one has the cup of misery at his lips1  
in  deliberately keeping it there1 and  
persistently drinking it to the  very   
dregs8 ,one unconsciously feels like    
shouting to the drinker3  ,put it down1 
you fool6 and if the harsh command be   

not instantly  obeyed1 rushing up and   
dashing it out of the drinker's hand4   
,take a few more words and look at them1
 and see how closely they are  related  
to worry1--to be displeased1 fretted1   
annoyed1 incommoded1  discomposed1      
troubled1 disquieted1 crossed1 teased1  
fretted1 irked1  vexed1 grieved1        
afflicted1 distressed1 plagued1         
bothered1 pestered1  bored1 harassed1   
perplexed1 haunted4 ,these things worry 
does to those  who yield themselves to  
its noxious power4    ,worry            
deliberately pains1 wounds1 hurts1      
pinches1 tweaks1 grates upon1  galls1   
chafes1 gnaws1 pricks1 lancinates1      
lacerates1 pierces1 cuts1  gravels1     
corrodes1 mortifies1 shocks1 horrifies1 
twinges and gripes  its victims4    ,it 
smites1 beats1 punishes1 wrings1        
harrows1 torments1 tortures1  racks1    
scarifies1 crucifies1 convulses1        
agonizes1 irritates1 provokes1  stings1 
nettles1 maltreats1 bites1 snaps at1    
assails1 badgers1  harries1 persecutes1 

those who give it shelter4    ,is it not
 apparent1 then1 that the only course   
open for a sensible man  or woman is to 
,,quit ,,worrying4          ,,chapter ,v
    ,,the ,,needlessness ,,and          
,,uselessness ,,of ,,worry      ,of all 
the mental occupations fallen into1     
invented1 or discovered by  man1 the    
most needless1 futile1 and useless of   
all is the occupation  of worry4 ,we    
have heard it said often1 when one was  
speaking of  another's work1 or         
something he had done3 ,he ought to be  
in a better  business4 ,so1 in every    
case1 can it be said of the worrier3    
,he's  in a bad business2 a business    
that ought not to exist1 one without a  
single redeeming feature4 ,if for no    
other reason the fact implied by  the   
title of this chapter ought to be       
sufficient to condemn it4 ,worry  is    
needless1 useless1 futile1 of none      
effect4 ,why push a heavy rock up  a    
mountain side merely to have it roll    
down again8 ,yet one might find  good in

 the physical development that came from
 this needless uphill  work4 ,and he    
might laugh1 and sing1 and be cheery    
while he was doing  it4 ,but in the case
 of the worrier he not only pushes the  
rock up the  hill1 but he is beset with 
the dread that1 every moment1 it is     
going  to roll back and kill him1 and he
 thinks of nothing but the fear1 and    
the strain1 and the distress4    ,when  
one calmly considers1 it is almost too  
ridiculous to write  seriously about the
 needlessness and uselessness of worry2 
its  futility is so self-evident to an  
intelligent mind4 ,yet1 because so  many
 otherwise intelligent and good people  
are cursed by it1 it seems  necessary to
 show its utter uselessness4 ,these say3
 ,i would stop  worrying if ,i could2   
but ,i can't help it2 ,i worry in spite 
of myself6    ,don't you believe it6    
,you doubtless think your statement is  
true1 but  it is nothing of the kind4   
,worry could find no place in your mind 
if it was full to overflowing with      

something really useful and  beneficial4
 ,it is a proof either that your mind   
bosses you1--in other  words1 that you  
cannot direct it to think upon something
 worth while1  that it is absolutely    
untrained1 undisciplined1               
uncontrolled1--or that  it is so empty1 
it takes to worry as a refuge against   
its own vacuity4  ,the fact of worry    
implies either that the worrier has no  
control over  his mind1 or has an empty 
mind4    ,now no intelligent person     
will1 for one moment1 confess to such   
weakness of mind that he has no control 
over it4 ,an unoccupied  mind can always
 be occupied if one so wills4 ,no human 
being is so  constituted that nothing   
appeals to him or interests him1 so     
every mind can be awakened and filled   
with contemplation of good              
things--things that will help1 benefit  
and bless1 if he so desires4    ,in the 
,foreword ,i have referred to my own    
experience4 ,many who knew  some of the 
facts and saw the change that came over 

my life1 have  asked me how ,i succeeded
 in eliminating worry4 ,i refused to    
allow my  mind to dwell upon harassing  
topics or events in my life4 ,if ,i     
awoke  during the night1 ,i turned on   
the light and picked up a book and      
forced my thought into another channel4 
,if the objectionable thoughts  obtruded
 during the day ,i did one of many      
things1 as1 for instance1  turned to my 
work with a frenzy of absorption2 picked
 up my hat  and went for a walk2 called 
upon friends2 went to a concert2 or a   
vaudeville show2 took in a lecture2     
stood and watched the crowds2  visited  
the railway stations--anything1         
everything1 but dwell upon the  subjects
 that were tabooed4    ,here was a      
simple and practical remedy1 and ,i     
found it worked well4  ,but ,i can now  
see that there was a much better way4   
,where good is  substituted for evil one
 has the perfect way1 and the ,apostle  
,paul  revealed himself a wise man of   
practical affairs1 when he urged his    

readers to think on the things that are 
lovely1 pure1 just1 and of  good report4
 ,in my case ,i merely sought to prevent
 mental vacuity  so that the seven      
devils of worry could not rush into1 and
 take  possession of1 my empty mind2 but
 ,i was indifferent1 somewhat1 to the   
kind of thought or mental occupation    
that was to keep out the thoughts  of   
worry4 ,a ,nick ,carter detective story 
was as good as a ,browning  poem1 and   
sometimes better2 a cheap and absurd    
show than an uplifting  lecture or      
concert4 ,how much better it would have 
been could ,i have  had my mind so      
thoroughly under control--and this      
control can surely  be gained by any and
 every man1 woman1 and child that       
lives1--that1  when worrying thoughts   
obtruded1 ,i could have said immediately
 and  with authoritative power3 ,i will 
to think on this thing1 or that1  or the
 other4 ,the result would have been an  
immediate and perfect  cessation of the 
worry that disturbed1 fretted1 and      

destroyed1 for the  mind would have     
become engaged with something that was  
beneficial and  helpful4 ,and remember  
this3 ,god is good1 and it is ,his      
pleasure to  help those who are seeking 
to help themselves4 ,or to put it in a  
way  that even our agnostic friends can 
receive1 ,nature is on the side of  the 
man or woman who is seeking to live     
naturally1 that is1 rightly4  ,hence1   
substitute good thoughts for the        
worrying thoughts and the  latter will  
fade away as do the mist and fog before 
the morning sun4    ,here1 then1 ,i had 
clearly demonstrated for myself the     
needlessness of  worry3 ,i could prevent
 it if ,i would4 ,and my readers cannot 
too soon  gain this positive assurance4 
,they can1 if they will4 ,it is simply  
a question of wanting to be free        
earnestly enough to work for freedom4   
,is freedom from worry worth while2 is  
it worth struggling for8 ,to me1  it is 
one of the great blessings of life that 
worry is largely1 if not  entirely1     

eliminated4 ,i would not go back to the 
old worrying days for  all the wealth of
 ,morgan1 ,rockefeller1 and ,carnegie   
combined4    ,as for the uselessness of 
worry2 who is there1 that has studied   
the  action of worry1 that ever found   
any of the problems it was concerned    
over improved by all the hours of worry 
devoted to it4 ,worry never  solved a   
problem yet2 worry muddies the water    
still further instead of  clearing it2  
worry adds to the tangle instead of     
releasing it2 worry  beclouds the mind1 
prevents sane judgment1 confuses the    
reason1 and  leads one to decisions that
 never ought to be made1 and so to an   
uncertainty1 as vexatious and irritating
 as is the original problem  to be      
solved4 ,if the worry pointed a way out 
of the difficulty ,i  would extol worry 
and regard it as a bitter draught of    
medicine1 to be  swallowed in a hurry1  
but producing a beneficial result4 ,but 
it never  does anything to help2 it     
invariably hinders2 it sets one chasing 

shadows1 produces ignes fatui before the
 eyes1 and ultimately leads  one into   
the bog4    ,elsewhere ,i have referred 
to the ,indians' attitude of mind4 ,if a
  matter can be changed1 change it2 if  
not grin and bear it without  complaint4
 ,here is practical wisdom4 ,but to     
worry over a thing that  can be changed1
 instead of changing it1 is the height  
of folly1 and if  a matter cannot be    
changed why worry over it8 ,how utterly 
useless is  the worry4 ,then1 too1 worry
 is the parent of nagging4 ,nagging is  
worry put into words1--the verbal       
expression of worry about or towards    
individuals4 ,the mother wishes her son 
would do differently4 ,can the  boy's   
actions be changed8 ,then go to work to 
change them--not to worry  over them4   
,if they cannot be changed1 why nag him1
 why irritate him1  why make a bad      
matter worse8 ,nagging1 like worry1     
never once did one  iota of good2 it has
 caused infinite harm1 as it sets up an 
irritation  between those whose love    

might overcome the difficulty if it were
 let  alone4 ,nagging is the constant   
irritation of a wound1 the rubbing of  a
 sore1 the salting an abraded place1 the
 giving a hungry man a tract1  religious
 advice or a bible1 when all he craves  
is food4    ,ah1 mother6 many a boy has 
run away from home because your worry   
led  you to nag him2 many a girl to-day 
is on the streets because father  or    
mother nagged her2 many a husband has   
gone on a tear because he  could not    
face his wife's worry put into words1   
even though no one  would attempt to    
deny that boy1 girl and husband alike   
were wrong  in every particular1 and the
 nagger in the right1 save in the one   
thing of worry and its consequent       
nagging4    ,in watching the lives of   
men and women ,i have been astonished1  
again  and again1 that the fruitlessness
 of their worry did not demonstrate  its
 uselessness to them4 ,no good ever     
comes from it4 ,everybody who has  any  
perception sees this1 agrees to it1     

confesses it4 ,then why still  persist  
in it8 ,yet they do1 and at the same    
time expect to be regarded  as          
intelligent1 sane1 normal human beings1 
many of whom claim1 as  members of      
churches1 peculiar and close kinship    
with ,god1 forgetful of  the fact that  
every moment spent in worry is          
dishonoring to ,god4    ,how much       
needless anxiety1 care1 and absolute    
torture some women  suffer in an insane 
desire to keep their homes spotlessly   
clean4 ,the  house must be without a    
speck of dirt anywhere2 the kitchen must
 be as  spotless as the parlor2 the sink
 must be so immaculate that you could   
eat from it1 if necessary2 the children 
must always be in their best  bibs and  
tuckers and appear as ,little ,lord     
,fauntleroys2 and no one1  at any time1 
or any circumstance1 must ever appear to
 be dirty1  except the scavenger who    
comes to remove the accumulated debris  
of the  kitchen1 and the man who        
occasionally assists the gardener4      

,these people forget that all dirt and  
dust is not of greater value  than      
spotless cleanliness4 ,let us look      
calmly at the problem for a few         
minutes4 ,here is a housewife who cannot
 afford help to keep her house  as      
spotless as her instincts and her       
training desire4 ,it is simply          
impossible for her1 personally1 to go   
over the house daily with rag1  duster  
and dustpan4 ,if she attempts it1 as she
 does sometimes--she  overworks1 and a  
breakdown is the result4 ,what1 then1 is
 the sensible1  the reasonable1 the only
 thing she should do8 ,sit down and     
worry  over her untidy house2 lament    
that the stairs have not been swept     
since day before yesterday2 that the    
parlor was not dusted this  morning2 the
 music-room looks simply awful1 and cry 
that if ,mrs4  ,brown were to come in   
and see my wretchedly untidy house1 ,i'm
 sure ,i  should die of shame6 ,would   
this help matters8 ,would one speck of  
dirt  be removed as the result of the   

worry1 the wailing1 and the tears8 ,not 
a speck4 ,every particle would remain   
just as before4    ,yet other things    
would not be as they were before4 ,no   
woman could feel  as ,i have suggested  
this worriting creature felt1 without   
gendering  irritation in husband1       
children and friends4 ,is any house that
 was  ever built worth the alienation of
 dear ones8 ,what is the dust1 dirt1    
disorder1 of a really untidy house--,i  
am supposing an extraordinary           
case--compared with the irritation      
caused by a worrying housewife8         
,furthermore3 such a woman is almost    
sure to break down her own health  and  
become an irritable neurasthenic or     
hypochondriac1 and thus add to  the     
burdens of those she loves4    ,there   
are women who1 instead of following this
 course1 make themselves  wretched--and 
everyone else around them--by the worry 
of contrasting  their lot with that of  
some one more fortunately situated than 
they4  ,she has a husband who earns more

 money than does hers2 such an one  has 
a larger allowance and can afford more  
help--the worry1 however1  is the same1 
little matter what form it takes1 and   
worry is the  destructive thing4        
,what1 then1 shall a woman do1 who has  
to face the fact that she cannot        
gratify her desire to keep her house    
immaculate1 either because she  has not 
the strength to do it1 or the money to  
hire it done4 ,the old  proverb will    
help her3 ,what can't be cured must be  
endured4 ,there  is wonderful help in   
the calm1 full1 direct recognition of   
unpleasant  facts4 ,look them squarely  
in the face4 ,don't dodge them1 don't   
deny  them4 ,know them1 understand them1
 then defy them to destroy your         
happiness4 ,if you can't dust your house
 daily1 dust it thrice a week1  or      
twice1 or once1 and determine that you  
will be happy in spite of  the dust4    
,the real comfort of the house need not 
thereby be impaired1  as there is a vast
 difference between your scrupulous     

cleanliness and  careless untidiness4   
,things may be in order even though the 
floor has  a little extra dust on1 or   
the furniture has not been dusted for   
four  days4    ,but1 you say1 ,i am far 
less disturbed by the over work than ,i 
am by  the discomfort that comes from   
the dust4 ,then all ,i can say is that  
you are wrongly balanced1 according to  
my notion of things4 ,your  health      
should be of far more value to you than 
your ideas of house  tidiness1 but you  
have reversed the importance of the two4
 ,teach  yourself the relative value of 
things4 ,a hundred dollar bill is of    
greater value than one for five dollars1
 and the life of your baby  more        
important than the value of the hundred 
dollar bill4 ,put first  things first1  
and secondly1 and tertiary1 and         
quarternary things  in their relative   
positions4 ,your health and self-poise  
should come  first1 the comfort and     
happiness of husband and family next1   
the more  or less spotlessness and      

tidiness of the house afterwards4 ,then1
 if  you cannot have your house as tidy 
as you wish1 resolutely resolve  that   
you will not be disturbed4 ,you will    
control your own life and not  allow a  
dusty room--be it never so dusty--to    
destroy your comfort and  peace of mind1
 and that of your loved ones4    ,when a
 woman of this worrying type has        
children she soon learns that  she must 
choose between the health and happiness 
of her children  and the gratification  
of her own passionate desire for        
spotless  cleanliness4 ,this            
gratification1 if permanently indulged  
in1 soon  becomes a disease1 for surely 
only a diseased mind can value the      
spotlessness of a house more than the   
health1 comfort1 and happiness  of      
children4 ,yet many women do--more's the
 pity4 ,such poor creatures  should     
learn that there is a dirtiness that is 
far worse than dirt in  a house--a      
dirtiness1 a muddiness of mind1 a       
cluttering of thought1 a  making of the 

mind a harboring place for wrong        
thoughts4 ,not wrong in  the sense of   
immoral or wicked1 as these words are   
generally used1 but  wrong in this      
sense1 viz41 that reason shows the      
folly1 the inutility1  the              
impracticability of attempting to bring 
up sane1 healthy1 happy1  normal        
children in a household controlled by   
the idea that spotless  cleanliness is  
the matter of prime importance to be    
observed4 ,the  discomfort of children1 
husband1 mother herself are nothing as  
compared with keeping the house in      
perfect order4 ,any woman so  obsessed  
should be sent for a short time to an   
insane asylum1 for she  certainly has so
 reversed the proper order of values as 
to be so far  insane4 ,she has cluttered
 up her mind with a wrong idea1 an idea 
which dirties1 muddies1 soils her mind  
far worse than dust soils her  house4   
,reader1 keep your mind free from such  
dirt--for dirt is but matter in  the    
wrong place4 ,far better have dust1     

dirt1 in your house1 dirt on  your      
child's hands1 face1 and clothes1 than  
on your own mind to give  you worry1    
discomfort and disease4                 
,,chapter ,,vi ,,the ,,selfishness ,,of 
,,worry      ,if worry merely affected  
the one who worries it might be easier1 
in many cases1 to view worry with       
equanimity and calmness4 ,but1          
unfortunately1 in the disagreeable      
features of life1 far more than the     
agreeable1 the aphorism of the apostolic
 writer1 ,no man liveth unto  himself1  
seems to be more than ordinarily true4  
,it is one proof of  the selfishness of 
the worrier--whether consciously or     
unconsciously  ,i do not say--that he   
never keeps his worry to himself4 ,he   
must always  out with it4 ,the nervous  
mother worrying about her baby shows it 
even to the unconscious child at her    
breast4 ,when the child is older  she   
still shows it1 until the little one    
knows as well as it knows  when the sun 
is shining that mother is worrying      

again4 ,the worrying  wife does not keep
 her worry to herself2 she pours it out 
to1 or upon1  her husband4 ,the worrying
 husband is just the same4 ,if it is the
 wife  that causes him to worry--or to  
think so--he pours out his worry  in    
turbulent words1 thus adding fuel to a  
fire already too hot for  comfort4      
,it is one of the chief characteristics 
of worry that it is seldom  confined to 
the breast of its victim4 ,it loses its 
power1 too often1  when shut up4 ,it    
must find expression in looks1 in tone  
of voice1 in  sulkiness1 in dumps1 in   
nagging or in a voicing of its woes4    
,it is in this voicing of itself that   
worry demonstrates its inherent         
selfishness4 ,if father1 mother1 wife1  
friends1 neighbors1 anybody  can give   
help1 pleasure1 joy1 instruction1       
profit1 their voices are  always heard  
with delight4 ,if they have reasonable  
cautions to give  to those they love1   
who seem to them to be thoughtless1     
regardless of  danger which they see or 

fear1 or even foolhardy1 let them speak 
out  bravely1 courageously1 lovingly1   
and they will generally be listened  to4
 ,but to have them voice their fretful1 
painful1 distressing worries  no one is 
benefitted1 and both speaker and the one
 spoken to are  positively harmed4 ,for 
an unnecessary fear voiced is           
strengthened2 it  is made more real4 ,if
 one did not feel it before1 it is now  
planted in  his mind to his serious     
detriment1 and once there1 it begins to 
breed  as disease germs are said to     
breed1 by millions1 and one moment of   
worry weds another moment1 and the next 
moment a family of worries  is born that
 surround1 hamper and bewilder4 ,is this
 kindly1 is it  helpful1 is it loving1  
is it unselfish8    ,the questions      
answer themselves4 ,the planting of     
worry in the mind of  another is        
heartless1 cruel1 unkind and selfish4   
,another question naturally arises3 ,if 
this course of action is  selfish1 and  
the worrier really desires to be        

unselfish1 how can he  control his      
worry1 at least so as not to communicate
 it to another8  ,the answer also is    
clear4    ,let him put a guard upon his 
lips1 a watch upon his actions4 ,let him
  say to himself3 ,though ,i do not1 for
 my own sake1 care to control the       
needless worries of my life1 ,i must    
not1 ,i dare not curse other lives  with
 them4 ,hence ,i must at least keep them
 to myself--,i must not voice  them1 ,i 
must not display them in face1 eyes or  
tone4    ,then there is the mother who  
worries over her child's clothing4 ,she 
is never ceasing in her cautions4 ,it is
 don't1 don't1 don't1 from  morning to  
night1 and whether this seems nagging to
 her or not1  there would be a unanimous
 vote on the subject were the child     
consulted as to his feelings4 ,of course
 the boy1 the girl1 must be  taught to  
take care of his1 her1 clothes1 but this
 is never done by  nagging4 ,a far      
better plan would be to fit a punishment
 which really  belongs to the evil or   

careless habit of the child4 ,for       
instance1 if  a boy will persist in     
throwing his hat anywhere1 instead of   
hanging  it up1 let the parent give him 
one caution1 not in a threatening  or   
angry way1 but in just as matter of fact
 a fashion as if she were  telling him  
of some news3 ,john1 the next time you  
fail to hang your  hat in its proper    
place ,i shall lock it up for three     
days6    ,then1 if ,john fails1 take the
 hat and lock it up1 and let it  stay   
locked-up1 though the heavens fall4 ,the
 same with a child's  playthings1 tennis
 racquets1 base-balls1 bats1 etc4 ,as a 
rule one  application of the rule cures4
 ,this is immeasurably more sensible    
than  nagging1 for it produces the      
required result almost instantly1 and   
there is little irritation to either    
person concerned1 while nagging  is     
never effective1 and irritates both all 
the time4    ,other parents worry       
considerably over their children getting
 in the  dirt4    ,in an article which  

recently appeared in ,good ,housekeeping
 ,dr4 ,woods  ,hutchinson says some     
sensible things on ,children as         
,cabbages4 ,he  starts out by saying3   
,it is well to remember that not all    
dirt is  dirty4 ,while some kinds of    
dirt are exceedingly dangerous1 others  
are  absolutely necessary to life4      
,if your children get into the dirty and
 dangerous dirt1 spend your  energies in
 getting them into the other kind of    
dirt1 rather than in  nagging4 ,fall    
into the habit of doing the wise1 the   
rational1 the  sane thing1 because it   
produces results1 rather than the       
foolish1  irrational1 insane thing which
 never produces a result save anger1    
irritation1 and oftentimes1 alienation4 
,in a little book written by ,j4,j4     
,bell1 entitled ,wee ,mac,gregor1 there 
is a worrying mother4 ,fortunately she  
is sweet-spirited with it all1  or it   
would have been unbearable4    ,she and 
her husband ,john1 and the baby1 wee    
,jeannie1 with ,macgregor  were going   

out to dinner at ,aunt ,purdie's1 who   
was rale genteel an'  awfu' easy        
offendit4 ,the anxious mother was       
counselling her young son  regarding his
 behavior at the table of that excellent
 lady3        ',an' mind1 ,macgreegor1  
ye're no' to be askin' fur jeely till   
ye've ett twa bits o' breed-an'-butter4 
,it's no' mainners2 an'      yer ,aunt  
,purdie's rale partecclar4 ,an' yer no' 
to dicht yer      mooth wi' yer         
cuff--mind that4 ,ye're to tak' yer     
hanky an'      let on ye're jist gi'ein'
 yer nib a bit wipe4 ,an' ye're no' to  
scale yer tea nor sup the sugar if ony's
 left in yer cup when      ye're dune   
drinkin'4 ,an' if ye drap yer piece on  
the floor      ye're no' to gang efter  
it2 ye're jist to let on ye've ett it4  
,an' ye're no'--        ',deed1         
,lizzie1' interposed her husband1 'ye're
 the yin to      think aboot things4'   
',weel1 ,john1 if ,i dinna tell         
,macgreegor hoo to behave hissel'1      
he'll affront me1' etc41 etc41 etc4     

,who has not thus seen the anxious      
mother8 ,and who ever saw her  worrying 
and anxiety do much if any good8 ,train 
your child by all  means in your own    
home1 but let up when you are going out1
 for your  worry worries him1 makes him 
self-conscious1 brings about the very   
disasters you wish to avoid1 and at the 
same time destroys his1  your1 and      
everyone's else1 pleasure who observes1 
feels1 or hears the  expressions of     
worry4          ,,chapter ,,vii         
,,causes ,,of ,,worry      ,worry is as 
multiform and as diverse as are the     
people who worry4  ,indeed worriers are 
the most ingenious persons in the world4
 ,when  every possible source of worry  
seems to be removed1 they proceed       
immediately to invent some new cause    
which an ordinary healthful mind  could 
never have conceived4    ,the causes of 
worry are innumerable4 ,they represent  
the sum total  of the errors1 faults1   
missteps1 unholy aims1 ambitions1       
foibles1  weaknesses and crimes of men4 

,every error1 mistake1 weakness1 crime1 
etc41 is a source of worry--a cause of  
worry4 ,worry is connected only  with   
the weak1 the human1 the evil side of   
human nature4 ,it has no  place whatever
 in association with goodness1 purity1  
holiness1 faith1  courage and trust in  
,god4 ,when good men and women worry1 in
 so far as  they worry they are not     
good4 ,their worry is a sign of         
weakness1 of  lack of trust in ,god1 of 
unbelief1 of unfaithfulness4 ,the man   
who  knows ,god and his relationship to 
man2 who knows his own spiritual  nature
 and his relationship to ,god never     
worries4 ,there is no  possible place in
 such a man's life for worry4    ,hence 
it will be seen that ,i believe worry to
 be evil1 and nothing but  evil1 and1   
therefore1 without one reclaiming or    
redeeming feature1 for  it can be       
productive of nothing but evil4    ,if  
you really desire to know the sources of
 your worry study each  worry as it     
comes up4 ,analyse it1 dissect it1 weigh

 it1 examine it  from every standpoint1 
judge it by the one test that everything
 in  life must1 and ought to submit to1 
viz43 its usefulness4 ,what use  is it  
to you8 ,how necessary to your          
existence8 ,how helpful is it in        
solving the problems that confront you2 
how far does it aid you in  their       
solution1 wherein does it remove the    
obstacles before your  pathway4 ,find   
out how much it strengthens1            
invigorates1 inspires you4  ,ask        
yourself how much it encourages1        
enheartens1 emboldens you4 ,put  down on
 paper every slightest item of good1 or 
help1 or inspiration  it is to you1 and 
on the other hand1 the harm1 the        
discouragement1 the  evil1 the fears it 
brings to you1 and then strike a        
balance4    ,i can tell you beforehand  
that after ten years' study--if so long 
were  necessary--you will fail to find  
one good thing in favor of worry1  and  
that every item you will enumerate will 
be against it4 ,hence1 why  worry8 ,quit

 it6    ,worry1 like all evils1 feeds on
 itself1 and grows greater by its own   
exercise4 ,did it decline when          
exercised1 diminish when allowed a free 
course1 one might let it alone1 even    
encourage it1 in order that it  might   
the sooner be dead4 ,but1 unfortunately1
 it works the other  way4 ,the more one 
worries the more he continues to worry4 
,the more  he yields to it the greater  
becomes its power4 ,it is a species of  
hypnotism3 once allow it to control1    
each new exercise diminishes the        
victim's power of resistance4    ,never 
was monster more cruel1 more relentless1
 more certain to hang on  to the bitter 
end than worry4 ,he shows no mercy1 has 
not the slightest  spark of relenting or
 yielding4 ,and his power is all the    
greater  because it is so subtle4 ,he   
wants you to be careful--taking good    
care1 however1 not to let you know that 
he means to make you full of  care4 ,he 
pleads love as the cause for his        
existence4 ,he would have  you love your

 child1 hence worry about him4 ,he thus 
trades on your  affection to blind you  
to your child's best interests by       
worrying  about him4 ,for when worry    
besets you1 is harassing you on every   
hand1  how can you possibly devote your 
wisdom1 your highest intelligence to    
safeguarding the welfare of the one you 
love4    ,never was a slave in the      
,south1 though in the hands of a        
,legree1  more to be pitied than the    
slave of worry4 ,he dogs every footstep1
 is  vigilant every moment4 ,he never   
sleeps1 never tires1 never relaxes1     
never releases his hold so long as it is
 possible for him to retain  it4 ,when  
you seek to awaken people to the terror1
 the danger1 the  hourly harm their     
slavery to worry is bringing to them1   
they are so  completely in worry's power
 that they weakly respond3 ,but ,i can't
  help it4 ,and they verily believe they
 can't2 that their bondage is  a natural
 thing2 a state ordained from the       
foundation of the world1  altogether    

ignoring the frightful reflection such a
 belief is upon the  goodness of ,god   
and his fatherly care for his children4 
,natural6 ,it is  the most unnatural    
thing in existence4 ,do the birds worry8
 ,the beasts  of the field8 ,the clouds8
 ,the winds8 ,the sun1 moon1 stars1 and 
comets8  ,the trees8 ,the flowers8 ,the 
rain-drops8 ,how ,bryant rebukes the    
worrier  in his wonderful poem ,to a    
,water ,fowl1 and ,celia ,thaxter in her
  ,sandpiper4 ,the former sings of the  
fowl winging its solitary way  where    
rocking billows rise and sink on the    
chafed ocean-side1 yet  though lone     
wandering it is not lost4 ,and from its 
protection he  deduces the lesson3      
,he who1 from zone to zone1    ,guides  
through the boundless sky thy certain   
flight1    ,in the long way that ,i must
 tread alone        ,will lead my steps 
aright4    ,and so ,celia ,thaxter sang 
of the sandpiper3      ,he has no       
thought of any wrong1    ,he scans me   
with a fearless eye4    ,and her faith  

expressed itself in a later verse3      
,i do not fear for thee1 though wroth   
,the tempest rushes through the sky3    
,for are we not ,god's children both1   
,thou1 little sandpiper1 and ,i8        
,there is no worry in ,nature4 ,it is   
man alone that worries4 ,nature goes  on
 her appointed way each day unperturbed1
 unvexed1 care-free1 doing  her allotted
 tasks and resting absolutely in the    
almighty sustaining  power behind her4  
,should man do any less8 ,should        
man--the reasoning  creature1 with      
intelligence to see1 weigh1 judge1      
appreciate1--alone  be uncertain of the 
fatherly goodness of ,god2 alone be     
unable to  discern the wisdom and love  
behind all things8 ,worry1 therefore1 is
 an  evidence that we do not trust the  
all-fatherliness of ,god4    ,it is also
 the direct product of vanity1 pride and
 self-conceit4 ,if  these three         
qualities of evil in the human heart    
could be removed a  vast aggregate      
amount of worry would die instantly4 ,no

 one can study  his fellow creatures and
 not soon learn that an immense amount  
of  worry is caused by these three      
evils4    ,we are worried lest our      
claims to attention are not fully       
recognized1  less our worth be not      
observed1 our proper station accorded to
 us4 ,how  we press our paltry little   
claims upon others1 how we glorify our  
own  insignificant deeds2 how large loom
 up our small and puny acts4 ,the  whole
 universe centers in us2 our ego is a   
most important thing2  our work of the  
highest value and significance2 our     
worth most  inestimable4    ,the fact of
 the matter is most men and women are   
inestimable1 their  deeds of value1     
their lives of importance4 ,our         
particular circle needs  us1 as we need 
those who compose it1 we are all        
important1 but few1  indeed1 are there1 
whose power1 influence and importance   
reach far4  ,most of the men and women  
of the world are ordinary4 ,a man may be
  a king in ,wall street1 and yet       

influence but few outside of his own    
immediate sphere4 ,most probably he is  
unknown to the great mass of  mankind4  
,adventitious circumstances bring some  
men and women more  prominently before  
the world than others1 but even such    
fame as this  is transient1 evanescent1 
and of little importance4 ,the devoted  
love  of our own small circle2 the      
reliable friendship of the few2 the     
blind adoration of the pet dog are worth
 more than all the fame1 the  eclat1 the
 renown of the multitude4 ,and where we 
have such love1  friendship1 and blind  
adoration1 let us rest content therein1 
and  smile at the floods of temporary   
and evanescent emotion which sweep  over
 the mob1 but do not have us for their  
object4 ,i have just read  a letter     
which perfectly illustrates how our     
vanity1 our pride1 and  personal        
importance bring much worry to us4 ,the 
writer--practically  a stranger coming  
from a far-away state--evidently        
expected to be  received with a cordial 

welcome and open arms1 by one who       
scarcely  knew him1 given an important  
place in a lengthy program where men  of
 national reputation were to speak1 and 
generally be treated with  deference and
 respect4 ,unfortunately his name was   
not placed in  full on the              
program1--curtly initialed he called    
it--and owing to  its length the        
chairman caused me to spoil my remarks  
by asking me to  shorten them1 and a    
hotel clerk outrageously insulted him   
when he  asked for information4 ,then1  
to make ill matters worse--piling ,ossa4
  upon ,pelion--he was asked to speak at
 a certain club1 with others4  ,one of  
the newspapers1 in reporting the event1 
commented upon what the  others said and
 did but ignore him4 ,this he thought   
might have been  merely an oversight1   
but when1 the next day1 he saw another  
report  wherein he was not mentioned he 
was certain it was a deliberate         
intention to ignore him4 ,he then asks  
that the person to whom he  writes try  

to find out who is responsible for this 
affront1 and tell  him--in order that he
 may worry some more1 ,i suppose1 over  
trying to  get back at him4    ,poor1   
poor fellow1 how he is to be pitied for 
being so sensitive1 so  sure that people
 regard him enough to want to affront   
him4    ,here is a perfect illustration 
of the worries caused by vanity2  five  
complaints in one letter1 of            
indignities1 or affronts1 that an       
ordinary1 robust red-blooded man would  
have passed by without notice4  ,if ,i  
were to worry over the times ,i have    
been ignored and neglected  ,i should   
worry every day4 ,i am fairly well known
 to many hundreds of  thousands of      
people who read my books1 my magazine   
articles1 and hear  my lectures1 yet ,i 
often go to cities and there are no     
brass bands1  no committee1 flowers1 or 
banquet to welcome me4 ,no6 indeed1 the 
indignity is thrust upon me of having to
 walk to the hotel1 carry  my own grip1 
and register1 the same as any other     

ordinary1 common1  everyday man6 ,why   
should not my blood boil when ,i think  
of it8 ,then1  too1 when ,i recall how  
often my addresses are ignored in the   
local  press1 ought not ,i to be aroused
 to fierce ire8 ,when a hotel clerk     
fails to recognize my national          
importance and gives me a flippant      
answer when ,i ask for information      
should ,i not deem it time that the     
,secretary of ,state interfere and write
 a ,state paper upon the matter8    ,oh 
vanity1 conceit1 pride1 how many        
sleepless hours of worry and fret  you  
bring to your victims1 and the pitiable1
 the lamentable thing  about it all is  
that they congratulate themselves upon  
being filled  with laudable pride1      
recognizing their own importance1 and   
knowing that honorable ambition is      
beneficial4 ,nothing that causes        
unnecessary heart-aches and worry is    
worth while1 and of all the  prolific   
causes of these woes commend me to the  
vanity1 the conceit1  the pride of small

 minds and petty natures4    ,false     
pride leads its victim to want to make a
 false impression4 ,he  puts on a false 
appearance4 ,he wishes to appear wiser1 
better1 in  easier circumstances1 richer
 than he is4 ,he wears a false front4   
,he is  unnatural4 ,he dare not--having 
decided to make the appearance1 and win 
the impression of falseness--be natural4
 ,hence he is self-conscious  all the   
time lest he make a slip1 contradict    
himself1 lose the result  he is seeking 
to attain4 ,he is to be compared to an  
actor whose part  requires him to wear a
 wig1 a false moustache1 a false chin4  
,in the  hurry of preparation these     
shams are not adjusted properly and the 
actor rushes on the stage fearful every 
moment lest his wig is  awry1 his       
moustache fall off1 or the chin slip    
aside and make him  ridiculous4 ,he dare
 not stop to make sure1 to fix them if  
they are  wrong1 as that would reveal   
their falsity immediately4 ,he can only 
play on1 sweating blood the while4      

,in the case of the actor one can laugh 
at the temporary fear and  worry1 but   
what a truly pitiable object is the man1
 the woman1 whose  whole life is one    
dread worry lest his1 her1 false        
appearance be  discovered4 ,and while   
pride and vanity are not the only       
sources of  these attempts to make false
 impressions upon others they are a most
  prolific source4 ,in another chapter  
,i have treated more fully of this      
phase of the subject4    ,wastefulness1 
extravagance1 is a prolific source of   
worry4 ,spend  to-day1 starve to-morrow4
 ,throw your money to the birds to-day2 
to-morrow the crow1 jay1 and vulture    
will laugh and mock at you4 ,feast      
to-day2 next week you may starve4       
,riches take to themselves wings  and   
fly away4 ,no one is absolutely safe1   
and while many thousands  go through    
life indifferent about their            
expenditures1 wasteful and  extravagant 
and do not seem to be brought to time   
therefor1 it must  not be forgotten that

 tens of thousands start out to do the  
same thing  and fail4 ,what is the      
result8 ,worry over the folly of the    
attempt2  worry as to where the         
necessary things for the future are     
coming from6    ,while ,i would not have
 the well-to-do feel that they must be  
niggardly  ,i would earnestly warn them 
against extravagance1 against the       
acquiring of expensive habits of        
wastefulness that later on may be       
chains of a cruel bondage4 ,why forge   
fetters upon oneself8 ,far better  be   
free now and thus cultivate freedom for 
whatever future may come4  ,for as sure 
as sure can be wilful waste and reckless
 extravagance now  will sometime or     
other produce worry4    ,one great1     
deep1 awful source of worry is our      
failure to accept the  inevitable4      
,something happens1--we wilfully shut   
our eyes to the fact  that this         
something has changed forever the       
current of our lives1  and if the new   
current seems evil1 if it brings        

discomfort1  separation1 change of      
circumstance1 etc41 we worry1 and worry1
 and  continue to worry4 ,this is       
lamentably foolish1 utterly absurd and  
altogether reprehensible4 ,let us       
resolutely face the facts1 accept  them1
 and then reshape our lives1 bravely and
 valiantly1 to suit the  new conditions4
    ,for instance a friend of mine spent
 twenty years in the employ of a  great 
corporation4 ,as a reward of faithful   
service he was finally put  in a        
responsible position as the head of a   
department4 ,a few months  ago he was   
sent ,east on a special mission         
connected with his work4  ,just before  
his return the corporation elected a new
 president1  who shook up the whole     
concern1 changed around several         
officials1  dismissed others1 and in the
 case of my friend1 supplanted him by a 
new man imported from the ,east1        
offering him a subordinate position1    
but1 at the same salary he had before   
been receiving4    ,how should this man 

have treated this settled fixed fact in 
his  life8 ,he had two great broad      
pathways open to him4 ,in one he would  
deliberately recognize and accept the   
changed condition1 acquiese in  it and  
live accordingly4 ,it is not pleasant to
 be supplanted1 but if  another man is  
appointed to do the work you have been  
doing1 and your  superiors think he can 
do it better than you have been doing   
it1 then  manfully face the facts and   
accord him the most sincere and hearty  
support4 ,it may be hard1 but our       
training and discipline1--which means   
our improvement and advancement--come1  
not from doing the easy and  pleasant   
things1 but from striving1 cheerfully   
and pleasantly to do  the arduous and   
disagreeable ones4 ,the other way open  
for my friend  was to resent the change1
 accept it with anger1 let his vanity be
  wounded1 and begin to worry over it4  
,what would have been the probable      
result8 ,the moment he began to worry   
his efficiency would have  decreased1   

and he would thus have prepared himself 
for another blow  from his employers1   
another change less to his advantage1   
and with a  possible reduction in       
salary4 ,his employers1 too1 would have 
pointed  to his decreased               
efficiency--the only thing they         
consider--as  justification for their   
act4    ,i would not say that if a man1 
in such a case as ,i have described1    
deems that he has been treated unjustly1
 should not protest1 but1 when  he has  
protested1 and a decision has been      
rendered against him let him  accept the
 judgment with serenity1 refuse to worry
 over it1 and go to  work with loyalty  
and faithfulness1 or else seek new      
employment4    ,even1 on the other hand1
 were he to have been discharged1 there 
could  have come no good from yielding  
to worry4 ,accept the inevitable1 do    
not argue or fret about it1 put worry   
aside1 go to work to find a new         
position1 and make what seemed to be an 
evil the stepping-stone to  something   

better4    ,mrs4 ,jessie ,benton        
,fremont1 the wife of the gallant       
pathfinder1  ,general ,fremont1 was     
afflicted with deafness in the later    
years of her  life4 ,she1--the petted   
and flattered1 the caressed and spoiled 
child  of fortune1 the honored and      
respected woman of power and superior   
ability--deaf1 and unable to participate
 in the conversation going  on around   
her4 ,many a woman under these          
conditions1 would have become           
irritable1 irascible1 and a reviler of  
,fate4 ,to any woman it would  have been
 a great deprivation1 but to one        
mentally endowed as ,mrs4  ,fremont1 it 
was especially severe4 ,yet did she     
worry about it8 ,no6  bravely1          
cheerfully1 boldly1 she accepted the    
inevitable1 and  in effect defied the   
deafness that had come to her to destroy
 her  happiness1 embitter her life1 take
 away the serenity of her mind and  the 
equipoise of her soul4 ,if there had to 
be a battle to gain this  high plane of 

acceptance1 she fought it out in secret1
 for her friends  and the world never   
heard a word of a murmur from her4 ,i   
had the joy  of a talk with her about   
it1 for it was a joy to have her make   
light  of her affliction1 in the great  
number of good things wherein ,god  had 
blessed her4 ,laughingly she said3 ,even
 in deafness ,i find many               
compensations4 ,one is never bored by   
conversation that is neither            
intelligent1 instructive or interesting4
 ,i can go to sleep under the  most     
persistent flood of boredom1 and like   
the proverbial water on a  duck's back  
it never bothers me4 ,again1 ,i never   
hear the unpleasant  things said about  
either my friends or my enemies1 and    
what a blessing  that is4 ,i am also    
spared hearing about many of the evils1 
the  disagreeable1 the unpleasant and   
horrible things of life that ,i cannot  
change1 help1 or alleviate1 and ,i am   
thankful for my ignorance4  ,then1      
again1 when people say things that ,i   

can and do hear--in my  trumpet--that ,i
 don't think anyone should ever say1 ,i 
can rebuke them  by making them think   
that ,i heard them say the very opposite
 of what  they did say1 and ,i smile    
upon them 'and am a villain still4'     
,charles ,f4 ,lummis1 the well-known    
litterateur and organizer of the        
,south-,west ,museum1 of ,los ,angeles1 
after using his eyes and brain more     
liberally than most men do in a lifetime
 thrice1 or four times as long  as his1 
was unfortunately struck blind4 ,did he 
worry over it1 and  fret himself into a 
worse condition8 ,no6 not for a moment4 
,cheerfully  he accepted the inevitable1
 got someone to read and write for him1 
to  guide him through the streets1 and  
went ahead with his work just as  if    
nothing had happened1 looking forward to
 the time when his eyesight  would be   
restored to him and hopefully and       
intelligently worked to  that end4 ,in a
 year or so he and his friends were made
 happy by that  coming to pass1 but even

 had it not been so1 ,i am assured ,dr4 
,lummis  would have faced the inevitable
 without a whimper1 a cry1 or a word of 
worry or complaint4    ,those who yield 
to worry over small physical ills should
 read his  inspiring ,my ,friend        
,will1,a a personal record of his       
sucessful  struggle against two severe  
and prostrating attacks of paralysis4   
,one  perusal will show them the folly  
and futility of worry2 a second will    
shame them because they have so little  
self-control as to spend their  time1   
strength1 and energy in worry2 and a    
third perusal will lead  them to drive  
every fragment of worry out of the      
hidden recesses  of their minds and set 
them upon a better way--a way of        
serenity1  equipoise1 and healthful1    
strenuous1 yet joyous and radiant       
living4    ,footnote ,a3,my ,friend     
,will1 by ,c4,f4 ,lummis1 ,a4,c4        
,mc,clurg ,co41  ,chicago4    ,recently 
,i had a conversation with the former   
superintendent of a poor  farm1 which   

bears upon this subject in a practical  
way4 ,in relating  some of his          
experiences he told of a rough-neck--a  
term implying  an ignorant man of rude1 
turbulent1 quarrelsome disposition--who 
had threatened to kill the foreman of   
the farm4 ,owing to their               
irreconcilable differences the rough    
inmate decided to leave and so  informed
 the superintendent1 thus practically   
dismissing himself from  the            
institution4 ,a year later he returned  
and asked to be re-admitted4  ,after a  
survey of the whole situation the       
superintendent decided that  it was not 
wise to re-admit him1 and that he would 
better secure  a situation for him      
outside4 ,he offered to do so and the   
man left  apparently satisfied4 ,three  
days later he reappeared1 entered the   
office with a loaded and cocked revolver
 held behind his back1 and  abruptly    
announced3 ,i've come to blow out your  
brains4 ,before he  could shoot the     
superintendent was upon him and a fierce

 struggle  ensued for the possession of 
the weapon4 ,the superintendent at last 
took it away1 secured help and          
handcuffed the would-be murderer4       
,realizing that his act was the result  
of at least partial insanity1  the      
was-to-be victim did not press the      
charge of murderous assault but         
allowed--indeed urged that he be sent to
 the insane asylum where he  now is4    
,now this is the point ,i wish to make4 
,it is perfectly within the  bounds of  
possibility that this man will some day 
be regarded as  safely sane4 ,yet it is 
well known by the awful experiences of  
many  such cases that it is both        
possible and probable that during the   
months or years of his incarceration he 
will continue to harbor1 even  to feed  
and foster the bitter feeling1 the      
hatred1 perhaps1 that  led him to       
attempt the murder of the               
superintendent1 and that on his  release
 he will again attempt to carry out his 
nefarious and awful  design4    ,what1  

then1 should be the mental attitude of  
the superintendent and  his family8     
,ought they not to be worried8 ,i got   
the answer for my  readers from this    
man1 and it is so perfectly in accord   
with my own  principles that ,i find    
great pleasure in recording it4 ,said   
he3        ,don't think for one moment  
that ,i minimize the possible           
danger4 ,the asylum physician who was   
familiar with the whole                 
circumstances warned me not to rest in  
fancied security4 ,i      have notified 
the proper officials that the man who   
attempted      to murder me is not to be
 released either as cured or on         
parole without giving me sufficient     
notice4 ,i do not wish that      he     
should be kept in the asylum a single   
day longer than is      fully necessary1
 but before ,i allow him to be released 
,i must      be thoroughly satisfied    
that he has no murderous designs on     
me1 and that he is truly and            
satisfactorily repentant for      the   

attack he made when1 ostensibly1 he was 
mentally      irresponsible4 ,i shall   
require that he be put on record      as
 fully understanding and appreciating   
his own personal      responsibility for
 my safety--so that should he still hold
 any      wrongful designs1 and         
afterwards succeed in carrying them     
out1 he or his attorneys will be        
debarred from again pleading            
insanity or mental incompetency4        
,hence while ,i fully realize the       
possibility of danger ,i do not         
have a moment's worry about it4 ,i have 
done and shall do all ,i      can1      
satisfactorily1 to protect myself1      
without any feeling of      harshness or
 desire to injure the poor fellow1 and  
there ,i let      the matter rest to    
take care of itself4    ,this is        
practical wisdom4 ,this is sane         
philosophy4 ,not ignoring the  danger1  
pooh-pooing it1 scoffing at it and      
refusing to recognize  it1 but calmly1  
sanely1 with a kindly heart looking at  

possible  contingencies1 preparing for  
them1 and then serenely trusting to the 
spiritual forces of life to control     
events to a wise and satisfactory       
issue4    ,can you suggest anything     
better8 ,is not such a course           
immeasurably  better than to allow      
himself to worry1 and fret and fear all 
the time8  ,practical precaution1 taken 
without enmity--note these italicized   
words--trustful serenity1 faithful      
performance of present duty  unhampered 
by fears and worries--this is the       
rational1 normal1  philosophic1 sane    
course to follow4    ,another great     
source of worry is our failure to       
distinguish  essentials from            
non-essentials4 ,what are the essentials
 for life8 ,for  a man1 honesty1 truth1 
earnestness1 strength1 health1 ability  
to work1  and work to do4 ,he may or may
 not be handsome2 he may or may not have
  wealth1 position1 fame1 education2 but
 to be a man among men1 these  other    
things he must have4 ,for a             

woman1--health1 love1 work1 and such    
virtues as both men and women need4 ,she
 might enjoy friends1 but they  are not 
essential as health or work2 she would  
be a strange woman  if she did not prize
 beauty1 but devoted love is worth far  
more than  beauty or all the conquests  
it brings4 ,what is the essential for  a
 chair8--its capacity to be used to sit 
upon with comfort4 ,a  house8--that it  
is adapted to the making of a home4 ,you
 don't buy a  printing-press to curl    
your hair with but to print1 and in     
accordance  with its printing power is  
it judged4 ,a boat's usefulness is      
determined by its worthiness in the     
water1 to carry safely1 rapidly1        
largely as is demanded of it4    ,this  
is the judgement sanity demands of      
everything4 ,what is  essential--,what  
not8 ,is it essential to be a society   
leader1 to  belong to every club1 to    
hold office1 to give as many dinners as 
one's  neighbors1 to have a bigger      
house1 furniture with brighter polish1  

bigger carvings and more ugly designs   
than anyone else in town1  to have our  
names in the papers oftener than others1
 to have more  servants1 a newer style  
automobile1 put on more show1 pomp1     
ceremony  and circumstance than our     
friends8    ,by no means6 ,oh for men   
and women who have the discerning       
power--the  sight for the essential     
things1 the determination to have them  
and  let non-essentials go4 ,they are   
the wise ones1 the happy ones1 the      
free-from-worry ones4    ,later ,i shall
 refer extensively to ,mrs4 ,canfield's 
book ,the ,squirrel  ,cage4 ,she has    
many wise utterances on this phase of   
the worry  question4 ,for instance1 in  
referring to the mad race for wealth and
  position that keeps a man away from   
home so many hours of the day  that his 
wife and child scarce know him she      
introduces the following  dialogue3     
,one of them whose house isn't far from 
mine1 told me that he      hadn't seen  
his children1 except asleep1 for three  

weeks4        ',but something ought to  
be done about it6' ,the girl's          
deep-lying instinct for instant         
reparation rose up hotly4        ',are  
they so much worse off than most        
,american business men8'      queried   
,rankin4 ',do any of them feel they can 
take the time      to see much more than
 the outside of their children2 and     
isn't      seeing them asleep about     
as--'        ,lydia cut him short       
quickly4 ',you're always blaming them   
for      that1' she cried4 ',you ought  
to pity them4 ,they can't help it4      
,it's better for the children to have   
bread and butter1 isn't      it--'      
,rankin shook his head4 ',i can't be    
fooled with that sort of                
talk--,i've lived with too many kinds of
 people4 ,at least half      the time it
 is not a question of bread and butter4 
,it's a      question of giving the     
children bread and butter and sugar     
rather than bread and butter and father4
 ,of course1 ,i'm a      fanatic on the 

subject4 ,i'd rather leave off even the 
butter      than the father--let alone  
the sugar4'        ,later on ,lydia     
herself lost her father and after his   
death      her own wail was3 ',i never  
lived with my father4 ,he was always    
away in the morning before ,i was up4 ,i
 was away1 or busy1 in      the evening 
when he was there4 ,on ,sundays he never
 went to      church as mother and ,i   
did--,i suppose now because he had some 
other religion of his own4 ,but if he   
had ,i never knew what it      was--or  
anything else that was in his mind or   
heart4 ,it never      occurred to me    
that ,i could4 ,he tried to love me--,i 
remember      so many times now--and    
that makes me cry6--how he tried      to
 love me6 ,he was so glad to see me when
 ,i got home from      ,europe--but he  
never knew anything that happened to me4
 ,i      told you once before that when 
,i had pneumonia and nearly died        
mother kept it from him because he was  
on a big case4 ,it was      all like    

that--always4 ,he never knew4'          
,dr4 ,melton broke in1 his voice        
uncertain1 his face horrified3          
',lydia1 ,i cannot let you go on6 you   
are unfair--you shock me4      ,you are 
morbid6 ,i knew your father intimately4 
,he loved you      beyond expression4   
,he would have done anything for you4   
,but      his profession is an exacting 
one4 ,put yourself in his place a       
little4 ,it is all or nothing in the    
law--as in business4'        ,but ,lydia
 replied3 ',when you bring children     
,into the world1      you expect to have
 them cost you some money1 don't you8   
,you      know you mustn't let them die 
of starvation4 ,why oughtn't you      to
 expect to have them cost you thought1  
and some sharing of      your life with 
them1 and some time--real time1 not just
 scraps      that you can't use for     
business8'        ,she made the same    
appeal once to her husband in regard to 
their own lives4 ,she wanted to see and 
know more of him1 his      business1 his

 inner life1 and this was her cry3      
',paul1 ,i'm      sure there's something
 the matter with the way we live--,i    
don't like it6 ,i don't see that it     
helps us a bit--or anyone               
else--you're just killing yourself to   
make money that goes      to get things 
we don't need nearly as much as we need 
more      of each other6 ,we're not     
getting a bit nearer to each            
other--actually further away1 for we're 
both getting different      from what we
 were without the other's knowing how6  
,and we're      not getting nicer--and  
what's the use of living if we don't do 
that8 ,we're just getting more and more 
set on scrambling ahead      of other   
people4 ,and we're not even having a    
good time out      of it6 ,and here is  
,ariadne--and another one coming--and   
we've      nothing to give them but just
 this--this--this--        ,paul laughed
 a little impatiently1 irritated and    
uneasy1 as      he always was at any    
attempt to examine too closely the      

foundations of existing ideas4 ',why1   
,lydia1 what's the matter      with you8
 ,you sound as though you'd been reading
 some fool      socialist literature or 
something4'        ,you know ,i don't   
read anything1 ,paul4 ,i never hear     
about      anything but novels4 ,i never
 have time for anything else1 and       
very likely ,i couldn't understand it if
 ,i read it1 not having      any        
education4 ,that's one thing ,i want you
 to help me with4      ,all ,i want is a
 chance for us to live together a little
 more1      to have a few more thoughts 
in common1 and oh6 to be trying to      
be making something better out of       
ourselves for our children's      sake4 
,i can't see that we're learning to be  
anything but--you1      to be an        
efficient machine for making money1 ,i  
to think of how      to entertain as    
though we had more money than we really 
have4      ,i don't seem really to know 
you or live with you any more      than 
if we were two guests stopping at the   

same hotel4 ,if      socialists are     
trying to fix things better1 why        
shouldn't we      have time--both of    
us--to read their books2 and you could  
help      me know what they mean8'      
,paul laughed again1 a scornful1 hateful
 laugh1 which brought      the color up 
to ,lydia's pale face like a blow4 ',i  
gather1      then1 ,lydia1 that what    
you're asking me to do is to neglect my 
business in order to read socialistic   
literature with you8'        ,his wife's
 rare resentment rose4 ,she spoke with  
dignity3 ',i      begged you to be      
serious1 ,paul1 and to try to understand
 what      ,i mean1 although ,i'm so    
fumbling1 and say it so badly4 ,as for  
its being impossible to change things1  
,i've heard you say a      great many   
times that there are no conditions that 
can't be      changed if people would   
really try--'        ',good heavens6 ,i 
said that of business conditions6'      
shouted      ,paul1 outraged at being so
 misquoted4        ',well1 if it's true 

of them--,no2 ,i feel that things are   
the      way they are because we don't  
really care enough to have them         
some other way4 ,if you really cared as 
much about sharing a      part of your  
life with me--really sharing--as you do 
about      getting the ,washburn        
contract--'        ,her indignant and   
angry tone1 so entirely unusual1 moved  
,paul1      more than her words1 to     
shocked protest4 ,he looked deeply      
wounded1 and his accent was that of a   
man righteously      aggrieved4 ',lydia1
 ,i lay most of this absurd outbreak to 
your      nervous condition1 and so ,i  
can't blame you for it4 ,but ,i         
can't help pointing out to you that it  
is entirely uncalled      for4 ,there   
are few women who have a husband as     
absolutely      devoted as yours4 ,you  
grumble about my not sharing my life    
with you--why1 ,i give it to you        
entire6' ,his astonished      bitterness
 grew as he voiced it4 ',what am ,i     
working so hard      for if not to      

provide for you and our child--our      
children6      ,good ,heavens6 ,what    
more can ,i do for you than to keep my  
nose on the grindstone every minute4    
,there are limits to even      a        
husband's time and endurance and        
capacity for work4'    ,hence it will be
 seen that ,i would have one ,quit      
,worrying about the  non-essentials of  
life1 and this is best done by giving   
full heed to  the essentials and letting
 the others go4 ,naturally1 if one      
wilfully  and purposefully determines to
 follow non-essentials1 he may as well  
recognize the fact soon as late that he 
has deliberately chosen  a course that  
cannot fail to produce its own many and 
irritating  worries4    ,another serious
 cause of worry is bashfulness4 ,one who
 is bashful  finds in his intercourse   
with his fellows many worries4 ,his     
hands and  feet are too large1 he       
blushes at a word1 he doesn't know what 
to say  or how1 he is confused if       
attention is directed his way1 his      

thoughts  fly to the ends of the earth  
the moment he is addressed1 and if he is
  expected to say anything1 his worries 
increase so that his pain and  distress 
are manifest to all4 ,to such an one ,i 
would say3 ,assert your  manhood1 your  
womanhood4 ,brace up4 ,face the music4  
,remember these  facts4 ,you are dealing
 with men and women1 youths and maidens1
 of the  same flesh and blood1 mentality
 as yourself4 ,you average up with  the 
rest of them4 ,why should you be afraid8
 ,call upon your reasoning  power4      
,assert the dignity of your own         
existence4 ,you are here by the  will of
 ,god as much as they4 ,there is a      
purpose in your creation as  much as in 
theirs4 ,you have a right to be seen and
 heard as well as  have they4 ,your life
 may be charged with importance to      
mankind far  more than theirs4 ,anyhow  
for what it is1 large or small1 you are 
going  to use it to the full1 and you do
 not propose to be laughed out of it1   
sneered out of it1 either by the        

endeavors of others or by your own      
fears of others4 ,then1 when you have   
once fully reasoned the thing  out1 do  
not hesitate to plunge into the fullest 
possible association  with your fellows4
 ,brave them1 defy them 7in your own    
heart71  resolutely face them1 and my   
word and assurance for it1 they will    
lose  their terror1 and you will lose   
your bashfulness with a speed that  will
 astonish you4    ,closely allied to    
bashfulness as a cause of many worries  
is hyper-  or super-sensitiveness4 ,and 
yet it is an entirely different mental  
attitude4 ,hyper-sensitiveness may cause
 bashfulness1 but there are  many       
thousands of hyper-sensitives who have  
not a spark of bashfulness  in their    
condition4 ,they are full of vanity or  
self-conceit4 ,elsewhere  ,i have       
referred to one of these4 ,or they are  
hyper-sensitive in regard  to their     
health4 ,they mustn't do this1 or that1 
or the other1 they  must be careful not 
to sit near a window1 allow a door to be

 open1  or go into an unwarmed room4    
,their feet must never be wet1 or their 
clothing1 and as for sleeping in a cold 
room1 or getting up before the  fire is 
lighted1 they could not live through    
such awful hardships4    ,i have no     
desire to excoriate or make fun of those
 who really suffer  from chronic        
invalidism1 yet ,i am fully assured that
 much of the  hyper-sensitiveness of the
 neurasthenic and hypochondriac could be
  removed by a little rude1 rough and   
tumble contact with life4 ,it  would do 
most of these people no harm to follow  
the advice given  by ,abernethy1 the    
great ,english physician1 to a pampered1
 overfed  hyper-sensitive3 ,live on six 
pence a day and earn it4 ,i have found  
few hyper-sensitives among the poor4    
,poverty is a fine cure for most  cases1
 though there are those who cling to    
their pride of birth of  education1 or  
,god knows what of insane belief in     
their superiority  over ordinary        
mortals1 and make that the occasion1 or 

cause1 of the  innumerable and fretting 
worries of hyper-sensitiveness4         
,another serious cause of worry1 in this
 busy1 bustling1 rapid age1  is the need
 we feel for hurry4 ,we are caught in   
the mad rush and  its influence leads us
 to feel that we1 too1 must rush4 ,there
 is no  earthly reason for our hurry1   
and yet we cannot seem to help it4      
,hurry means worry4 ,rush spells fret4  
,haste makes waste4 ,you live in  the   
country and are a commuter4 ,you must be
 in the city on the stroke  of nine4 ,to
 do this1 you must catch the #h3jg4 ,you
 have your breakfast  to get and it     
takes six minutes to walk to the        
station4 ,no one can do  it comfortably 
in less4 ,yet every morning1 ever since 
you took this  country cottage1 you have
 had to rush through your breakfast1 and
 rush  to the depot in order to catch   
the train4 ,thus starting the day on the
  rush1 you have continued on the       
stretch all day1 and get back home  at  
night tired out1 fretted and worried    

almost to death4 ,even when  you sit    
down to breakfast1 you begin to worry if
 wifie doesn't have  everything ready4  
,you know you'll be late4 ,you feel it1 
and if the  toast and coffee are not on 
the table the moment you sit down1 your 
querelous complaints strike the morning 
air4    ,now what's the use8    ,why    
don't you get up ten1 fifteen1 or twenty
 minutes earlier1 and thus  give        
yourself time to eat comfortably1 and   
thus get over the worry of  your rush8  
,set the alarm clock for #g3jj1 or      
#f3de1 or even #f3cj4 ,far  better get  
up half an hour too early1 than worry   
yourself1 your wife1  and the whole     
household by your insane hurry4 ,your   
worry is wholly  unnecessary and shows a
 fearful lack of simple intelligence4   
,annie ,laurie1 who writes many sage    
counsels in the ,san ,francisco         
,examiner1 had an excellent article on  
this subject in the issue of  ,december 
#ca1 #aiae4 ,she wrote3    ,here is     
something that ,i saw out my window--it 

has given me the big  thought for my    
biggest ,new ,year's resolution4 ,the   
man at the corner  house ran down the   
steps in a terrible hurry4 ,he saw the  
car coming  up the hill and whistled to 
it from the porch1 but the man who was  
running the car did not hear the        
whistle4 ,anyway1 he didn't stop the    
car1 and the man on the steps looked as 
if he'd like to catch the  conductor of 
that car and do something distinctly    
unfriendly to  him1 and do it right then
 and there4 ,he jammed his hat down over
 his  forehead and started walking very 
fast4    ,what's your hurry8 said the   
man he was passing on the corner4       
,what's your hurry1 ,joe8 and the man on
 the corner held out his hand4    ,well1
 ,i'll be--1 said ,joe1 and he held out 
his hand1 too1 if it  isn't--    ,and it
 was1 and they both laughed and shook   
hands and clapped each  other on the    
back and shook hands again4    ,what's  
your hurry8 said the man on the corner  
again4    ,i dun-no1 said the man who   

was so cross because he'd lost his car4 
,nothing much1 ,i guess1 and he laughed 
and the other man laughed and  they     
shook hands again4 ,and the last ,i saw 
of them they had started  down the      
street right ,in the opposite direction 
from which the man in  the hurry had    
started to go1 and they weren't in a    
hurry at all4    ,do you know what ,i   
wished right then and there8 ,i wished  
that every  time ,i get into the        
senseless habit of rushing everywhere   
and tearing  through everything as if it
 was my last day on earth and there     
wasn't a minute left to lose1 somebody  
would stop me on the corner of  whatever
 street of circumstance ,i may be       
starting to cross and say to  me in     
friendly fashion3    ,what's the hurry8 
,what is the hurry1 after all8 ,where   
are we all going8 ,what for8    ,what   
difference does it make whether ,i read 
my paper at #h o'clock in  the morning  
or at half-past #i8    ,will the world  
stop swinging in its orbit if ,i don't  

meet just so  many people a day1 write  
so many letters1 hear so many lectures1 
skim  through so many books8 ,of course 
if ,i'm earning my living ,i must work  
for it and work not only honestly but   
hard4 ,but it seems to me that  most of 
the terrific hurrying we do hasn't much 
to do with really  essential work after 
all4 ,it's a kind of habit we get into1 
a sort of  madness1 like the thing that 
overtakes the crowd at a ferry landing  
or  the entrance to a train4 ,i've seen 
men1 and women1 too1 fairly fight  to   
get onto a particular car when the next 
car would have done just  exactly as    
well4    ,where are they going in such a
 hurry8 ,to save a life8 ,to mend a     
broken  heart8 ,to help to heal a       
wounded spirit8 ,or are they just       
rushing  because the rest do it8        
,what do they get out of life--these    
people who are always in a rush8        
,look6 ,the laurel tree in my           
,california garden is full of bursting  
buds6 ,the rains are beginning and the  

trees will soon be flecked with  a      
silver veil of blossoms4 ,i hadn't      
noticed it before4 ,i've been too  busy4
    ,what's your hurry8 ,come1 friend of
 my heart1 ,i'll say that to you  to-day
 and say it in deep and friendly        
earnest4        ,what's your hurry8     
,come1 let's go for a walk together and 
see      if we can find out4 ,let us    
keep finding out through all the        
new year4    ,there are many other      
causes of worry1 some of them so        
insidious1 so  powerful1 as to call for 
treatment in special chapters4          
,,chapter ,,viii    ,,protean ,,forms   
,,of ,,worry      ,in a preceding       
chapter1 ,i have shown that worry is a  
product of our  modern civilization1 and
 that it belongs only to the ,occidental
 world4  ,it is a modern disease1       
prevalent only among the so-called      
civilized  peoples4 ,there is no doubt  
that in many respects we are what we    
call  ourselves--the most highly        
civilized people in the world4 ,but do  

we  not pay too high a price for much of
 our civilization8 ,if it is such  that 
it fails to enable us to conserve our   
health1 our powers of  enjoyment1 our   
spontaneity1 our mental vigor1 our      
spirituality1 and  the exuberant        
radiance of our life--bodily1 mental1   
spiritual--,i feel  that we need to     
examine it carefully and find out       
wherein lies its  inadequacy or its     
insufficiency4    ,while our            
civilization has reached some very      
elevated points1 and some  men have made
 wonderful advancement in varied fields1
 it cannot be  denied that the mass of  
men and women are still groping along in
  the darkness of mental mediocrity1 and
 on the mud-flats of the  commonplace4  
,ten thousand men and women can now read
 where ten alone  read a few centuries  
ago4 ,but what are the ten thousand     
reading8 ,that  which will elevate1     
improve1 benefit8 ,see the piles of     
sensational  yellow novels1 magazines1  
and newspapers that deluge us day by    

day1  week by week1 month by month1 for 
the answer4 ,true1 there are many who   
desire the better forms of literature1  
and for these we give thanks2  they are 
of the salt that saves our civilization4
    ,i do not wish to seem1 even1 to be 
cynical or pessimistic1 but when  ,i    
look at some of the mental pabulum that 
our newspapers supply1  ,i cannot but   
feel that we are making vast efforts to 
maintain the  commonplace and dignify   
the trivial4    ,for instance3 ,look at 
the large place the ,beauty ,department 
of a  newspaper occupies in the thoughts
 of thousands of women and girls4       
,instead of seeking to know what they   
should do to keep their bodies  and     
minds healthful and vigorous1 they are  
deeply concerned over  their physical   
appearance4 ,they write and ask         
questions that show how  worried they   
are about their skin--freckles1 pimples1
 discolorations1  patches1 etc4--their  
complexion1 their hair1 its color1      
glossiness1  quantity1 how it should be 

dressed1 and a thousand and one things  
that  clearly reveal the improper       
emphasis placed upon them4 ,i do not    
wish  to ignore the basic facts behind  
these anxious questionings4 ,it is      
right and proper that women 7and men    
also7 should give due attention  to     
their physical appearance4 ,but when it 
becomes a mere matter of  the outward   
show of cosmetics1 powders1 rouges1     
washes1 pencils1 and  things that affect
 the outside only1 then the emphasis is 
in the wrong  place1 and we are worrying
 about the wrong thing4 ,our appearance 
is  mainly the result of our physical   
and mental condition4 ,if the body  is  
healthy1 the skin and hair will need no 
especial attention1 and1  indeed1 every 
wise person knows that the application  
of many of  the cosmetics1 etc41        
commonly used1 is injurious1 if not     
positively  dangerous4    ,then1 too1   
observation shows that too many women   
and girls go beyond  reasonable         
attention to these matters and begin to 

worry over them4  ,once become slaves to
 worry1 and every hour of the day some  
new  irritant will arise4 ,some new dope
 is advertised2 some new fashion        
devised2 some new frivolity developed4  
,vanity and worry now begin  to vie with
 each other as to which shall annoy and 
vex1 sting and  irritate their victim   
the more4 ,each is a nightmare of a     
different  breed1 but no sooner does one
 bound from the saddle1 before the other
  puts in an appearance and compels its 
victim to a performance4 ,only  a       
thorough awakening can shake such       
nightmares off1 and comparatively  few  
have any desire to be awakened4 ,i have 
watched such victims and  they arouse in
 me both laughter and sadness4 ,one is  
sure her hair  is not the proper color  
to match her complexion and eyes4 ,it   
must  be dyed4 ,then follows the worries
 as to what dye she shall use1 and      
methods of application4 ,invariably the 
results produce worry1 for they  are    
never satisfactory1 and now she is      

worried while dressing1 while  eating1  
and when she goes out into the street1  
lest people notice that  her hair is    
improperly dyed4 ,every stranger that   
looks at her adds to  the worry1 for it 
confirms her previous fears that she    
does not look  all right4 ,if she tries 
another hair of the dog that has already
  bitten her and allows the hair        
specialist to guide her again1 she goes 
through more worries of similar fashion4
 ,she must treat her hair in a  certain 
way to conform to prevailing styles--and
 so she worries hourly  over a matter   
that1 at the outside1 should occupy her 
attention for a  few minutes of each    
day4    ,there are men who are equally  
worried over their appearance4 ,their   
hair is not growing properly1 or their  
ears are not the proper shape1  or their
 ears are too large1 or their hands are 
too rough1 or their  complexion doesn't 
match the ties they like to wear1 or    
some equally  foolish and nonsensical   
thing4 ,some wish to be taller1 others  

not so  tall2 quite an army seeks to be 
thinner and another of equal numbers    
desires to be stouter2 some wish they   
were blondes1 and others that  they were
 brunettes4 ,the result is that         
drug-stores1 beauty-parlors1  and       
complexion specialists for men and women
 are kept busy all their  time1 robbing 
poor1 hard-working creatures of their   
earnings because  of insane worries that
 they are not appearing as well as they 
ought to  do4    ,clothing is a         
perpetual source of worry to thousands4 
,they must keep  up with the styles1 the
 latest fashions1 for to be out of      
fashion1  a back number1 gives them a   
conniption fit4 ,an out-of-date hat1  or
 shirt-waist1 jacket1 coat1 skirt1 or   
shoe humiliates and distresses  them    
more than would a violation of the moral
 law--provided it were  undetected4     
,to these1 my worrying friends1 ,i      
continually put the question3 ,is it    
worth while8 ,is the game worth the     
shot8 ,what do you gain for all  your   

worry8 ,rest and peace of mind8 ,alas1  
no6 ,if the worry and effort            
accomplished anything1 ,i would be the  
last to deprecate it1 but  observation  
and experience have taught me that the  
more you yield  to these demons of      
vanity and worry1 the more relentlessly 
they harry  you4 ,they veritably are    
demons that seize you by the throat and 
hang  on like grim death until they     
suffocate and strangle you4    ,do you  
propose1 therefore1 any longer to       
submit8 ,are you wilfully and  knowingly
 going to allow yourself to remain      
within their grasp8  ,you have a remedy 
in your own hands4 ,kill your foolish   
vanity by  determining to accept        
yourself as you are4 ,all the efforts in
 the  world will not make any changes   
worth while4 ,fix upon the habits of    
dress1 etc41 that good sense tells you  
are reasonable and in accord  with your 
age1 your position and your purse1 and  
then follow them  regardless of the     
fashion or the prevailing style4 ,you   

know as well as  ,i that1 unless you are
 a near-millionaire1 you cannot possibly
 keep  up with the many and various     
changes demanded by current fashion4    
,then  why worry yourself by trying8    
,why spend your small income upon the   
unattainable1 or upon that which1 even  
if you could attain it1 you  would find 
unsatisfying and incomplete8    ,in your
 case1 worry is certainly the result of 
mental inoccupancy4  ,this is sometimes 
called empty headedness1 and while the  
term seems  somewhat harsh and rough1 it
 is pretty near the truth4 ,if you spent
  one-tenth the amount of energy seeking
 to put something into your  head that  
you spend worrying as to what you shall 
put on your head1  and how to fix it up1
 your life would soon be far more       
different than  you can now conceive4   
,carelessness and laziness are both     
great causes of worry4 ,the careless    
man1 the lazy man are each indifferent  
as to how their work is  done2 such men 
seldom do well that which they          

undertake4 ,everything  carelessly or   
lazily done is incomplete1 inadequate1  
incompetent1 and1  therefore1 a source  
of distress1 discontent1 and worry4 ,a  
careless or  lazy plumber causes much   
worry1 for1 even though his victims may 
have  learned the lesson ,i am          
endeavoring to inculcate throughout     
these  pages1 it is a self-evident      
proposition that they will not allow his
  indifferent work to stand without     
correction4 ,therefore1 the telephone   
bell calls continually1 he or his men   
must go out and do the work  again1 and 
when pay-day comes1 he fails to receive 
the check good work  would surely have  
made forthcoming to him4    ,the        
schoolboy1 schoolgirl1 has to learn this
 lesson1 and the sooner  the better4    
,the teacher never nags the careful and 
earnest student2  only the lazy and     
careless are worried by extra lessons1  
extra  recitals1 impositions1 and the   
like4    ,all through life carelessness 
and laziness bring worry1 and he is  a  

wise person who1 as early as he         
discovers these vices in himself1  seeks
 to correct or1 better still1 eliminate 
them4    ,another form of worry is that 
wherein the worrier is sure that no  one
 is to be relied upon to do his duty4   
,dickens1 in his immortal  ,pickwick    
,papers1 gives a forceful example of    
this type4 ,mr4 ,magnus  has just       
introduced himself to ,pickwick1 and    
they find they are both  going to       
,norwich on the same stage4             
',now1 gen'lm'n1' said the hostler1     
',coach is ready1 if you      please4'  
',is all my luggage in8' inquired       
,magnus4        ',all right1 ,sir4'     
',is the red bag in8'        ',all      
right1 ,sir4'        ',and the striped  
bag8'        ',fore boot1 ,sir4'        
',and the brown-paper parcel8'          
',under the seat1 ,sir4'        ',and   
the leathern hat-box8'        ',they're 
all in1 ,sir4'        ',now will you get
 up8' said ,mr4 ,pickwick4              
',excuse me1' replied ,magnus1 standing 

on the wheel4 ',excuse      me1 ,mr4    
,pickwick1 ,i cannot consent to get up  
in this state of      uncertainty4 ,i am
 quite satisfied from that man's manner1
 that      that leather hat-box is not  
in4'        ,the solemn protestations of
 the hostler being unavailing1 the      
leather hat-box was obliged to be raked 
up from the lowest      depth of the    
boot1 to satisfy him that it had been   
safely      packed2 and after he had    
been assured on this head1 he felt a    
solemn presentiment1 first1 that the red
 bag was mislaid1 and      next1 that   
the striped bag had been stolen1 and    
then that the      brown-paper parcel   
had become untied4 ,at length when he   
had      received ocular demonstration  
of the groundless nature of each        
and every one of these suspicions1 he   
consented to climb up      to the roof  
of the coach1 observing that now he had 
taken      everything off his mind he   
felt quite comfortable and happy4       
,but this was only a temporary feeling1 

for as they journeyed along1  every     
break in the conversation was filled up 
by ,mr4 ,magnus's loudly  expressed     
anxiety respecting the safety and       
well-being of the two  bags1 the leather
 hat-box1 and the brown-paper parcel4   
,of course1 this is an exaggerated      
picture1 yet it properly suggests  and  
illustrates this particular1 senseless  
form of worry1 with which  we are all   
more or less familiar4 ,in business1    
such a worrier is a  constant source of 
irritation to all with whom he comes in 
contact1  either as inferior or         
superior4 ,to his inferiors1 his        
worrying is  a bedeviling influence that
 irritates and helps produce the very   
incapacity for attention to detail that 
is required2 and to superiors1  it is a 
sure sign of incompetency4 ,experience  
demonstrates that such  an one is       
incapable of properly directing any     
great enterprise4 ,men  must be trusted 
if you would bring out their capacities4
 ,their work  should be specifically    

laid out before them2 that is1 that     
which is  required of them2 not1        
necessarily1 in minute detail1 but the  
general  results that are to be         
achieved4 ,then give them their freedom 
to work  the problems out in their own  
way4 ,give them responsibility1 trust   
them1 and then leave them alone4 ,quit  
your worrying about them4 ,give  them a 
fair chance1 expect1 demand results1 and
 if they fail1 fire  them and get those 
who are more competent4 ,mistrust and   
worry in the  employer lead to          
uncertainty and worry in the employee   
and these soon  spell out failure4      
,in subsequent chapters1 various worries
 are discussed1 with their  causes and  
cures4 ,one thing ,i cannot too strongly
 and too often  emphasize1 and that is1 
that the more one studies the worries   
referred  to1 he is compelled to see the
 great truth of the proverb1 ,more of   
our worries come from within than from  
without4 ,in other words1 we  make more 
of our worries1 by worrying1 than are   

made for us by the  cares of life4 ,this
 fact in itself should lead us to be    
suspicious of  every worry that besets  
us4          ,,chapter ,,ix    ,,health 
,,worries      ,there is an army1 whose 
numbers are legion1 who worry about     
their  health and that of the members of
 their family4 ,what with the doctors   
scaring the life out of them with the   
germ theory1 seeking to obtain          
legislation to vaccinate them1 examine  
their children nude in school1  take out
 their tonsils1 appendices1 and other   
internal organs1 inject  serums into    
them for this1 that1 and the other1 and 
requiring them to  observe a score and  
one maxims which they do not understand1
 there  is no wonder they are worried4  
,then when one considers the army of    
physicians who feel it to be their duty 
to write of sickness for the  benefit of
 the people1 who give detailed symptoms 
of every disease  known2 and of the     
larger army of quacks who deliberately  
live and  fatten themselves upon the    

worries they can create in the minds of 
the ignorant1 the vicious and the       
diseased2 of the patent-medicine        
manufacturers1 who spend millions of    
dollars annually in scaring  people into
 the use of their nostrums--none of     
which are worth the  cost of the paper  
with which they are wrapped up--is there
 any wonder  that people1 who are not   
trained to think1 should be worried4    
,worries  meet them on every hand1 at   
every corner4 ,do they feel an ache or  
a pain8 ,according to such a doctor1 or 
such a patent-medicine  advertisement1  
that is a dangerous symptom which must  
be checked at  once or the most fearful 
results will ensue4    ,then there are  
the naturopaths1 physicultopaths1       
gymnastopaths1  hygienists1 raw food    
advocates1 and a thousand and one other 
notionists1 who give advice as to what1 
when1 and how you shall  eat4 ,horace   
,fletcher insists that food be chewed   
until it is liquid2  another authority  
says1 ,bosh6 to this and asks you to    

look at the  dog who bolts his meat and 
is still healthy1 vigorous and strong4  
,the  raw food advocate assures you that
 the only good food is uncooked1 and    
that you take out this1 that1 and the   
other by cooking1 all of which  are     
essential to the welfare of the body4   
,between these natural  authorities and 
the medical authorities1 there is a     
great deal of  warfare going on all the 
time1 and the layman knows not wherein  
true  safety lies4 ,is it any wonder    
that he is worried4    ,many members of 
the medical profession and the          
drug-stores have  themselves to thank   
for this state of perpetual worriment   
and mental  unrest4 ,they inculcated1   
nurtured1 and fostered a colossal       
ignorance  in regard to the needs of the
 body1 and a tremendous dread and blind 
fear of everything that seems the       
slightest degree removed from the       
everyday normal4 ,they have persistently
 taught those who rely upon  them that  
the only safe and wise procedure is to  

rush immediately to  a physician upon   
the first sign of anything even slightly
 out of the  ordinary4 ,then1 with wise 
looks1 mysterious words1 strange        
symbols1  and loathsome decoctions1 they
 have sent their victims home to imagine
  that some marvelous wonder work will  
follow the swallowing of their          
abominable mixtures instead of frankly  
and honestly telling their  consultants 
that their fever was caused by          
overeating1 by too late  hours1 by      
dancing in an ill-ventilated room1 by   
too great application  to business1 by  
too many cocktails1 or too much tobacco 
smoking4    ,the results are many and   
disastrous4 ,people become confirmed    
worriers about their health4 ,on the    
slightest suspicion of an  ache or a    
pain1 they rush to the doctor or the    
drug-store for a  prescription1 a dose1 
a powder1 a potion1 or a pill4 ,the     
telephone is  kept in constant operation
 about trivialities1 and every month a  
bill  of greater or lesser extent has to

 be paid4    ,while ,i do not wish to   
deprecate the calling in of a physician 
in any  serious case1 by those who deem 
it advisable1 ,i do condemn as absurd1  
unnecessary1 and foolish in the highest 
degree1 this perpetual worry  about     
trivial symptoms of health4 ,every      
truthful physician will  frankly tell   
you--if you ask him--that worrying is   
often the worst  part of the trouble2 in
 other words1 that if you never did a   
thing  in these cases that distress you1
 but would quit your worrying1 the      
discomfort would generally disappear of 
its own accord4    ,one result of this  
kind of worry is that it genders a      
nervousness  that unnecessarily calls up
 to the mind pictures of a large variety
  of possible dangers4 ,who has not met 
with this nervous species of  worrier8  
,the train enters a tunnel3 ,what an    
awful place for a wreck6 ,or it is      
climbing a mountain grade with a deep   
precipice on one side3 ,my1 if  we were 
to swing off this grade6 ,i have heard  

scores of people1 who1  on riding up the
 ,great ,cable ,incline of the ,mount   
,lowe ,railway1 have  exclaimed3 ,what  
would become of us if this cable were to
 break8 and  they were apparently people
 of reason and intelligence4 ,the fact  
is1  the cable is so strong and heavy   
that with two cars crowded to the       
utmost1 their united weight is          
insufficient to stretch the cable       
tight1 let alone putting any strain upon
 it sufficient to break it4  ,and most  
nervous worries are as baseless as this4
    ,yet1 says some apologist for       
worries1 accidents do happen4 ,look  at 
the ,eastland in ,chicago1 and the loss 
of the ,titanic4 ,railways  have wrecks1
 collisions1 and accidents4 ,horses do  
run away4 ,dogs do  bite4 ,people do    
become sick6    ,granted without debate 
or discussion4 ,but if everybody on     
board the  wrecked vessels had worried  
for six months beforehand1 would their  
worries have prevented the wrecks8 ,mind
 you1 ,i say worry1 not proper          

precaution4 ,the shipping authorities1  
all railway officials and  employees1   
etc41 should be as alert as possible to 
guard against all  accidents4 ,but this 
can be done without one moment's worry  
on the part  of a solitary human being1 
and care is as different from worry as  
gold  is from dross1 coal from ashes4   
,by all means1 take due precautions2    
study to avoid the possibility of       
accidents1 but do not give worry a      
place in your mind for a moment4    ,a  
twin brother to this health-worrier is  
the nervous type1 who is  sure that     
every dog loose on the streets is going 
to bite2 every horse  driven behind is  
surely going to run away2 every         
chauffeur is  either reckless1 drunk1 or
 sure to run into a telegraph pole1 have
  a collision with another car1 overturn
 his car at the corner1 or run  down the
 crossing pedestrian2 every loitering   
person is a tramp1 who  is a burglar in 
disguise2 every stranger is an enemy1 or
 at least must  be regarded with        

suspicion4 ,such worriers always seem to
 prefer to  look on the dark side of the
 unknown rather than on the bright side4
  ,think no evil6 is good philosophy to 
apply to everything1 as well as  genuine
 religion--when put into practice4 ,the 
world is in the control  of the ,powers 
of ,good1 and these seek our good1 not  
our disaster4 ,have  faith in the       
goodness of the powers that be1 and work
 and live to help  make your faith true4
 ,the man who sees evil where none      
exists1 will do  more to call it into   
existence than he imagines1 and equally 
true1 or  even more so1 is the converse1
 that he who sees good where none seems 
to exist1 will call it forth1 bring it  
to the surface4    ,the teacher1 who    
imagines that all children are mean and 
are merely  waiting for a chance to     
exercise that meanness1 will soon       
justify his  suspicions and the children
 will become what he imagines them to   
be4  ,yet such a teacher often little   
realizes that it has been his own       

wicked fears and worries that helped--to
 put it mildly--the evil  assert itself4
          ,,chapter ,x    ,,the         
,,worries ,,of ,,parents      ,a        
worrying parent is at once an           
exasperating and a pathetic figure4     
,she--for it is generally the mother--is
 so undeniably influenced by  her love  
that one can sympathize with her        
anxiety1 yet the confidant  of her      
child1 or the unconcerned observer is   
exasperated as he clearly  sees the evil
 she is creating by her foolish1        
unnecessary worries4    ,the worries of 
parents are protean1 as are all other   
worries1 and  those herein named must be
 taken merely as suggestions as to      
scores of  others that might be         
catalogued and described in detail4     
,many mothers worry foolishly because   
their children do not obey1 are  not    
always thoughtful and considerate1 and  
act with wisdom1 forgetful  that life is
 the school for learning4 ,if any       
worrying is to be done1  let the parent 

worry over her own folly in not learning
 how to teach1  or train1 her child4    
,line upon line1 precept upon precept1  
here a  little1 there a little1 is the  
natural procedure with children4 ,it  is
 unreasonable to expect old heads upon  
young shoulders4 ,worry1  therefore1    
that children have not learned before   
they are taught is  as senseless as it  
is demoralizing4 ,get down to something 
practical4 ,i  know a mother of a large 
family of boys and girls4 ,they are as  
diverse  in character and disposition as
 one might ever find4 ,she is one of the
  wise1 sensible1 practical mothers1 who
 acts instead of worrying4 ,for         
instance1 she believes thoroughly in    
allowing the children to choose  their  
own clothing4 ,it develops judgment1    
taste1 practicability4 ,one  of the     
girls was vain1 and always wanted to    
purchase shoes too small  for her1 in   
order that she might have pretty feet4  
,each time she  brought home small      
shoes1 her mother sent her back with    

admonitions to  secure a larger pair4   
,after this had continued for several   
times1 she  decided upon another plan4  
,when the too small shoes were brought  
home1 she compelled the girl to wear    
them1 though they pinched and  hurt1    
until they were worn out1 and1 as she   
said in telling me the  story1 that     
ended that4    ,one of her sons was     
required to get up every morning and    
light the  fire4 ,very often he was lazy
 and late so that the fire was not      
lighted  when mother was ready to       
prepare breakfast4 ,one night he brought
 home  a companion to spend a day or    
two4 ,the lads frolicked together so    
that  they overslept4 ,when mother got  
up in the morning1 there was no fire4   
,she immediately walked to the foot of  
the stairs and yelled1 ,fire6  ,fire6   
,fire6 at the top of her voice4 ,in a   
few moments1 both lads1  tousled1       
half-dressed1 and well-scared1 rushed   
downstairs1 exclaiming3  ,where's the   
fire8 ,where's the fire8 ,i want it in  

the stove1 was  the mother's answer--and
 that was the end of that4    ,the      
oldest girl became insistent that she be
 allowed to sit up nights  after the    
others had gone to bed4 ,she would study
 for awhile and then  put her head on   
her arms and go to sleep4 ,one night her
 mother waited  until she was asleep1   
went off to bed1 and left her4 ,at three
 o'clock  in the morning she came       
downstairs1 lighted lamp in hand1 and   
alarm  clock set to go off4 ,as soon as 
the alarm-bell began to ring1 the  girl 
awoke1 startled to see her mother       
standing there with the lighted  lamp1  
herself cold and stiff with the         
discomfort of her position4 ,and  that  
was the end of that1 said the mother4   
,here was common-sense1 practical1      
hard-headed training instead of  worry4 
,bend your sense1 your intellect1 your  
time1 your energy1 to  seeking how to   
train your children1 instead of doing   
the senseless1  foolish1 inane1 and     
utterly useless thing of worrying about 

them4    ,imagine being the child of an 
anxious parent1 who sees sickness in    
every unusual move or mood of her boy or
 girl4 ,a little clearing of  the       
throat--,i'm sure he's going to have    
croup or diphtheria4 ,the  girl         
unconsciously puts her hand to her      
brow--,what's the matter with  your     
head1 dearie2 got a headache8 ,a lad    
feels a trifle uncomfortable  in his    
clean shirt and wiggles about--,i'm sure
 ,tom's coming down with  fever1 he's so
 restless and he looks so flushed6      
,god forbid that ,i should ever appear  
to caricature the wise care of a        
devoted mother4 ,that is not what ,i aim
 to do4 ,i seek1 with intenseness  of   
purpose1 to show the folly1 the         
absurdity of the anxieties1 the         
worries1 the unnecessary and            
unreasonable cares of many mothers4 ,for
  the moment ,fear takes possession of  
them1 some kind of nagging is sure  to  
begin for the child4 ,oh1 ,tom1 you     
mustn't do this1 or1 ,maggie1  my       

darling1 you must be careful of that1   
and the child is not only  nagged1 but  
is thus placed under bondage to the     
mother's unnecessary  alarm4 ,no young  
life can suffer this bondage without    
injury4 ,it  destroys freedom and       
spontaneity1 takes away that dash and   
vigor1 that  vim and daring that        
essentially belong to youth1 and should 
be the  unhampered heritage of every    
child4 ,i'd far rather have a boy and   
girl of mine get sick once in a         
while--though that is by no means       
necessary--than have them subjected to  
the constant fear that  they might be   
sick4 ,and when boys and girls wake up  
to the full  consciousness that their   
parents' worries are foolish1           
unnecessary1  and self-created1 the     
mental and moral influence upon them is 
far more  pernicious than many even of  
our wisest observers have perceived4    
,there never was a boy or girl who was  
worried over1 who was not  annoyed1     
fretted1 injured1 and cursed by it1     

instead of being  benefited4 ,the       
benefit received from the love of the   
parent was in  spite of the worry1 and  
not because of it4 ,worry is a          
hindrance1 a  deterrent1 a restraint2 it
 is always putting a curbing hand upon  
the  natural exuberance and enthusiasm  
of youth4 ,it says1 ,don't1 don't1  with
 such fierce persistence1 that it kills 
initiative1 destroys  endeavor1 murders 
naturalness1 and drives its victims to  
deception1  fraud1 and secrecy to gain  
what they feel to be natural1 reasonable
  and desirable ends4    ,i verily      
believe that the parent who forever is  
saying ,don't to  her children1 is as   
dangerous as a submarine and as cruel as
 an  asphyxiating bomb4 ,life is for    
expression1 not repression4  ,repression
 is always a proof that a proper avenue 
for expression has  not yet been found4 
,quit your don't-ing1 and teach your    
child to  do right4 ,children absolutely
 are taught to dread1 then dislike1 and 
finally to hate their parents when they 

are refused the opportunity of          
doing--of expressing themselves4        
,rather seek to find ways in which they 
may be active4 ,give them  opportunities
 for pleasure1 for employment1 for      
occupation4 ,and  remember this1 there  
is as much distance and difference      
between  tolerating1 allowing1          
permitting your children to do things1  
and  encouraging1 fostering in them the 
desire to do them1 as there is  distance
 between the poles4 ,don't be a dampener
 to your children1 a  discourager1 a    
don'ter1 a sign the moment you appear   
that they must  quit something1 that    
they must repress their enthusiasm1     
their fun1  their exuberant             
frolicsomeness1 but let them feel your  
sympathy with  them1 your comradeship1  
your good cheer1 that ,father1 ,mother1 
is  a jolly good fellow1 and my life for
 it1 you will doubtless save  yourself  
and them much worry in after years4     
,hans ,christian ,andersen's story of   
,the ,ugly ,duckling is one of the  best

 illustrations of the uselessness and   
needlessness of much of the  worry of   
parents with which ,i am familiar4 ,how 
the poor mother duck  worried because   
one of her brood was so large and ugly4 
,at first she  was willing to accept it1
 but when everybody else jeered at it1  
pushed  it aside1 bit at it1 pecked it  
on the head1 and generally abused it1   
and the turkey-cock bore down upon it   
like a ship in full sail1 and  gobbled  
at it1 and its brothers and sisters     
hunted it1 grew more and  more angry    
with it1 and wished the cat would get it
 and swallow it up1  she herself wished 
it far and far away4 ,and as the worries
 grew around  the poor duckling1 it ran 
away4 ,it didn't know enough to have    
faith  in itself and its own future4    
,the result was the worries of others   
affected it to the extent of urging it  
to flee4 ,for the time being  this      
enlarged its worries1 until at length1  
falling in with a band of  swans1 it    
felt a strange thrill of fellowship with

 them in spite of  their grand and      
beautiful appearance1 and1 soaring into 
the air after  them1 it alighted into   
the water1 and seeing its own           
reflection1 was  filled with amazement  
and wonder to find itself no longer an  
ugly  duckling but--a swan4    ,many a  
mother1 father1 family generally1 have  
worried over their ugly  duckling until 
they have driven him1 her1 out into the 
world1 only to  find out later that     
their duckling was a swan4 ,and while it
 was good  for the swan to find out its 
own nature1 the points ,i wish to make  
are that there was no need for all the  
worry--it was the sign of  ignorance1 of
 a want of perception--and further1 the 
swan would have  developed in its home  
nest just as surely as it did out in the
 world1  and would have been saved all  
the pain and distress its cruel family  
visited upon it4    ,there is still     
another story1 which may as well be     
introduced here1 as  it applies to the  
unnecessary worry of parents about their

 young4 ,in  this case1 it was a hen    
that sat on a nest of eggs4 ,when the   
chickens  were hatched1 they all pleased
 the mother hen but one1 and he rushed  
to the nearest pond1 and1 in spite of   
her fret1 fuss1 fume1 and worry1        
insisted upon plunging in4 ,in vain the 
hen screamed out that he  would drown1  
her unnatural child was resolved to     
venture1 and to the  amazement of all1  
he floated perfectly1 for he was a duck 
instead of a  chicken1 and his egg was  
placed under the old hen by mistake4    
,mother1 father1 don't worry about your 
child4 ,it may be he is a swan2  he may 
be a duck1 instead of the creature you  
anticipated4 ,control  your fretfulness 
and your worry for it cannot possibly   
change things4  ,wait and watch         
developments and a few days may reveal  
enough to you  to show you how totally  
unnecessary all your worries would have 
been4  ,teach yourself to know that     
worry is evil thought directed either   
upon our own bodies or minds1 or those  

of others4 ,note1 ,i say evil  thought4 
,it is not good thought4 ,good thought  
so directed would be  helpful1 useful1  
beneficial4 ,this is injurious1 harmful1
 baneful4 ,evil  thought1 worry1 directs
 to the person1 or to that part of the  
body  considered1 an injurious and      
baneful influence that produces pain1   
inharmony1 unhappiness4 ,it is as if one
 were to divert a stream of  corroding  
acid upon a sensitive wound1 and do it  
because we wished to  heal the wound4   
,worry never once healed a wound1 or    
cured an ill4 ,it  always aggravates1   
irritates1 and1 furthermore1 helps      
superinduce the  evil the worrier is    
afraid of4 ,the fact that you worry     
about these  things to which ,i have    
referred1 that you yield your thoughts  
to them1  and1 in your worry1 give undue
 contemplation to them1 induces the     
conditions you wish to avoid or avert4  
,hence1 if you wish your child  to be   
well and strong1 brave and courageous1  
it is the height of  cruelty for you to 

worry over his health1 his play1 or his 
exercise4  ,better by far leave him     
alone than bring upon him the evils you 
dread4  ,who has not observed1 again and
 again1 the evil that has come from     
worrying mothers who were constantly    
cautioning or forbidding their  children
 to do that which every natural and     
normal child longs to  do8 ,quit your   
worrying4 ,leave your child alone4      
,better by far let  him break a rib1 or 
bruise his nose1 than all the time to   
live in the  bondage of your fears4     
,elsewhere ,i have referred to the fact 
that we often bring upon our  loved ones
 the perils we fear4 ,there is a close  
connection between  our mental states   
and the objects with which we are       
surrounded4  ,or1 mayhap1 it would be   
more correct to say that it is our      
mental  condition that shapes the       
actions of those around us in relation  
to  the things by which they are        
surrounded4 ,let me illustrate with an  
incident which happened in my own       

observation4 ,a small boy and girl  had 
a nervous1 ever worrying mother4 ,she   
was assured that her boy  was bound to  
come to physical ill1 for he was so     
courageous1 so  adventuresome1 so       
daring4 ,to her he was the duck instead 
of the  chicken she thought she was     
hatching out4 ,one day he climbed to the
  roof of the barn4 ,his sister followed
 him4 ,the two were slowly1 and  in     
perfect security1 inching along on the  
comb of the roof1 when the  mother      
happened to catch sight of them4 ,with a
 scream of half terror  and half anger1 
she shouted to them to come down at     
once6 ,up to  that moment1 ,i had       
watched both children with comfort1     
pleasure1 and  assurance of their       
perfect safety4 ,their manifest delight 
in their  elevated position1 the pride  
of the girl in her pet brother's        
courage1  and his scarcely concealed    
surprise and pleasure that she should   
dare  to follow him1 were interesting in
 the extreme4 ,but the moment that      

foolish mother's scream rent the air1   
everything changed instanter4  ,both    
children became nervous1 the boy started
 down the roof1 where he  could drop    
upon a lower roof to safety4 ,his little
 sister1 however1  started down too     
soon4 ,her mother's fears unnerved her  
and she slid1  and falling some         
twenty-five feet or so1 broke her arm4  
,then--and here was the cruel fatuity of
 the whole proceeding--the  mother began
 to wail and exclaim to the effect that 
it was just what  she expected4 ,may ,i 
be pardoned for calling her a worrying  
fool4 ,she  could not see that it was   
her very expectation1 and giving voice  
to  it1 in her hourly worryings and in  
that command that they come down1  that 
caused the accident4 ,she1 herself1     
alone was to blame2 her  unnecessary    
worry was the cause of her daughter's   
broken arm4    ,christ's constant       
incitement to his disciples was ,be not 
afraid6  ,he was fully aware of the fact
 that ,job declared3 ,the thing which ,i

  greatly feared is come upon me4       
,hence1 worrying mother1 curb your      
worry1 kill it1 drive it out1 for  your 
child's sake4 ,you claim it is for your 
child's good that  you worry4 ,you are  
wrong4 ,it is because you are too       
thoughtless1  faithless1 and trustless  
that you worry1 and1 if you will pardon 
me1  too selfish4 ,if1 instead of giving
 vent to that fear1 worry1  dread1 you  
exercised your reason and faith a little
 more1 and then  self-denial1 and       
refused to give vocal expression to your
 worry1 you  could then claim           
unselfishness in the interest of your   
child4 ,but to  put your fears and      
worries1 your dreads and anxieties1     
around a young  child1 destroying his   
exuberance and joy1 surrounding him with
 the  mental and spiritual fogs that    
beset your own life is neither wise1    
kind1 nor unselfish4    ,another serious
 worry that besets many parents is that 
pertaining  to the courtship or         
engagement of their children4 ,here     

again let me  caution my readers not to 
construe my admonitions into            
indifference  to this important epoch in
 their child's life4 ,i would have them 
lovingly1 wisely1 sagely advise4 ,but   
there is a vast difference  between     
this1 and the uneasy1 fretful1 nagging  
worries that beset so  many parents and 
which often lead to serious friction4   
,remember that  it is your child1 not   
you1 who has to be suited with a life   
partner4  ,the girl who may call forth  
his warmest affection may be the last   
person in the world you would have      
chosen1 yet you are not the one to  be  
concerned4    ,in the ,january1 #aiaf1  
,ladies' ,home ,journal there is an     
excellent  editorial bearing upon this  
subject1 as follows3        ,a mother   
got to worrying about the girl to whom  
her son had      become engaged4 ,she   
was a nice girl1 but the mother felt    
that perhaps she was not of a type to   
stimulate the son      sufficiently in  
his career4 ,the mother wisely said     

nothing1      however1 until two        
important facts dawned upon her3        
,first1 that possibly her boy was of the
 order which did      not need          
stimulation4 ,as she reflected upon his 
nature1      his temperament1 she       
arrived at the conclusion that what he  
required in a life partner might be     
someone who would prove a      poultice 
rather than a mustard plaster or a fly  
blister4        ,this was her first     
discovery4        ,the second was not   
precisely like unto it1 but was even    
more      important--that the son1 and  
not the mother1 was marrying the        
girl4 ,the question as to whether or not
 the girl would suit      the mother as 
a permanent companion was a minor       
consideration      about which she need 
not vex her soul4 ,the point he had     
settled for himself was that here1 by   
,god's grace1 was the      one maid for 
him2 and since that had been determined 
the      wise course was for the mother 
not to waste time and energy            

bemusing 7worrying7 herself over the    
situation1 especially as      the girl  
offered no fundamental objections4      
,thus the mother1 of herself1 learned a 
lesson that many      another mother    
might profitably learn4    ,how         
wonderfully in his ,saul does ,robert   
,browning set forth the  opposite course
 to that of the worrier4 ,here1 the     
active principle  of love and trust are 
called upon so that it uplifts and      
blesses its  object4 ,david is          
represented as filled with a great love 
for ,saul1  which would bring happiness 
to him4 ,he strives in every way to make
  ,saul happy1 yet the king remains sad1
 depressed1 and unhappy4 ,at  last      
,david's heart and his reason grasp the 
one great fact of ,god's  transcending  
love1 and the poem ends with a burst of 
rapture4 ,his  discovery is that1 if his
 heart is so full of love to ,saul1 that
 in  his yearning for his good1 he would
 give him everything1 what must  ,god's 
love for him be8 ,of his own love he    

cries3      ,could ,i help thee1 my     
father1 inventing a bliss1    ,i would  
add1 to that life of the past1 both the 
future and    this2      ,i would give  
thee new life altogether1 as good1 ages 
hence1    ,at this moment1--had love but
 the warrant love's heart to            
dispense4    ,then1 when ,god's         
magnificent love bursts upon him he     
sings in joy3      --,what1 my soul8 see
 thus far and no farther8 ,when doors   
great and small      ,nine-and-ninety   
flew ope at our touch1 should the       
hundredth appall8    ,how utterly       
absurd1 on the face of it1 is such a    
supposition4 ,god  having given so much 
will surely continue to give4 ,his love 
so far  proven so great1 it will never  
cease4    ,o6 doubting heart of man1 of 
woman1 of father1 of mother1 grieving   
over the mental and spiritual lapses of 
a loved one1 grasp this  glorious       
fact--,god's love far transcends thine  
own4 ,what thou wouldst  do for thy     
loved one is a minute fraction of what  

,he can do1 will do1  is doing4 ,rest in
 ,his love4 ,he will not fail thee nor  
forsake thee2  and in ,his hands all    
whom thou lovest are safe4              
,,chapter ,,xi    ,,marital ,,worries   
,i now approach a difficult part of my  
subject1 yet ,i do it without           
trepidation1 fear1 or worry as to       
results4 ,there are1 to my mind1 a  few 
fundamental principles to be considered 
and observed1 and each  married couple  
must learn to fight the battle out for  
themselves4    ,undoubtedly1 to most    
married people1 the ideal relationship  
is where  each is so perfectly in accord
 with the other--they think alike1      
agree1 are as one mentally--that there  
are no irritations1 no  differences of  
opinion1 no serious questions to        
discuss4    ,others have a different    
ideal4 ,they do not object to           
differences1  serious1 even1 and wide4  
,they are so thorough believers in the  
sanctity of the individuality of each   
person--that every individual  must live

 his own life1 and thus learn his own   
lessons1 that what they  ask is a love  
large enough1 big enough1 sympathetic   
enough1 to embrace  all differences1 and
 in confidence that the working out     
process will  be as sure for one as the 
other1 to rest1 content and serene in   
each  other's love in spite of the      
things that otherwise would divide them4
    ,this mental attitude1 however1     
requires a large faith in ,god1 a       
wonderful belief in the good that is in 
each person1 and a forbearing  wisdom   
that few possess4 ,nevertheless1 it is  
well worth striving  for1 and its       
possession is more desirable than many  
riches4 ,and how  different the outlook 
upon life from that of the marital      
worrier4  ,when a couple begin to live  
together1 they have within themselves   
the possibilities of heaven or of hell4 
,the balance between the two1  however1 
is very slight4 ,there is only a foot1  
or less1 in difference1  between the    
,west and the ,east on the              

,transcontinental ,divide4 ,i have      
stood with one foot in a rivulet the    
waters of which reached the  ,pacific1  
and the other in one which reached the  
,atlantic4 ,the marital  divide is even 
finer than that4 ,it is all in the habit
 of mind4 ,if one  determines that he1  
she1 will guide1 boss1 direct1 control  
the other1  one of two or three things  
is sure to occur4    ,i4 ,the one mind  
will control the other1 and an          
individual will live  some one else's   
life instead of its own4 ,this is the   
popular ,american  notion of the life of
 the ,english wife4 ,she has been       
trained during  the centuries to        
recognize her husband as lord and       
master1 and she  unquestionably and     
unhesitatingly obeys his every dictate4 
,without at  all regarding this popular 
conception as an accurate one1          
nationally1  it will serve the purpose  
of illustration4    ,,ii4 ,the second   
alternative is one of sullen submission4
 ,if one hates  to row1 to be nagged1   

he1 she1 submits1 but with a bad grace1 
consumed constantly with an inward      
rebellion1 which destroys love1  leads  
to cowardly subterfuges1 deceptions1 and
 separations4    ,,iii4 ,the third      
outcome is open rebellion1 and the      
results of this are  too well known to  
need elucidation--for whatever they may 
be1 they  are disastrous to the peace1  
happiness1 and content of the family    
relationship4    ,yet to show how hard  
it is to classify actual cases in any   
formal way1  let me here introduce what 
,i wrote long ago about a couple whom ,i
  have visited many times4 ,it is a     
husband and wife who are both           
geniuses--far above the ordinary in     
several lines4 ,they have  money--made  
by their own work--the wife's as well as
 the husband's1  for she is an architect
 and builder of fine homes4 ,while they 
have  great affection one for another1  
there is a constant undertone of  worry 
in their lives4 ,each is too critical of
 the other4 ,they worry  about trifles4 

,each is losing daily the sweetness of  
sympathetic and  joyous comradeship     
because they do not see eye to eye in   
all things4  ,where a mutual criticism  
of one's work is agreed upon1 and is    
mutually  acceptable and unirritating1  
there is no objection to it4 ,rather    
should it be a source of congratulation 
that each is so desirous of  improving  
that criticism is welcomed4 ,but1 in    
many cases1 it is a  positive and       
injurious irritant4 ,one meets with     
criticism1 neither  kind nor gentle1 out
 in the world4 ,in the home1 both man   
and woman  need tenderness1 sympathy1   
comradeship--and if there be weaknesses 
or failures that are openly or frankly  
confessed1 there should be  the added   
grace and virtue of compassion without  
any air of pitying  condescension or    
superiority4 ,by all means help each    
other to mend1 to  improve1 to reach    
after higher1 noble things1 but don't do
 it by  the way of personal criticism1  
advice1 remonstrance1 fault-finding1    

worrying4 ,if you do1 you'll do far more
 harm than good in ninety-nine  cases   
out of every hundred4 ,every human being
 instinctively1 in such  position1      
consciously or unconsciously1 places    
himself in the attitude  of saying3 ,i  
am what ,i am6 ,now recognize that1 and 
leave me alone6  ,my life is mine to    
learn its lessons in my own way1 just   
the same as  yours is to learn your     
lessons in your way4 ,this worrying     
about1 and  of each other has proven    
destructive of much domestic happiness1 
and  has wrecked many a marital barque1 
that started out with sails set1  fair  
wind1 and excellent prospects4    ,don't
 worry about each other--help each other
 by the loving sympathy  that soothes   
and comforts4 ,example is worth a       
million times more than  precept and    
criticism1 no matter how lovingly and   
wisely applied1  and few men and women  
are wise enough to criticise and advise 
perpetually1 without giving the         
recipient the feeling that he is  being 

nagged4    ,granted that1 from the      
critic's standpoint1 every word said may
 be  true1 wise1 and just4 ,this does   
not1 by any means1 make it wise to  say 
it4 ,the mental and spiritual condition 
of the recipient must be  considered as 
of far more importance than the         
condition of the giver  of the wise     
exhortations4 ,the latter is all right1 
he doesn't need  such admonitions2 the  
other does4 ,the important question1    
therefore1  should be3 ,is he ready to  
receive them8 ,if not1 if the time is   
unpropitious1 the mental condition      
inauspicious1 better do1 say1  nothing1 
than make matters worse4 ,but1          
unfortunately1 it generally  happens    
that at such times the critic is far    
more concerned at  unbosoming himself of
 his just and wise admonitions than he  
is as to  whether the time is ripe1 the 
conditions the best possible1 for the   
word to be spoken4 ,the sacred writer   
has something very wise and             
illuminating to say upon this subject4  

,solomon says3 ,a word spoken in  due   
season1 how good is it6 ,note1 however1 
that it must be spoken in  due season1  
to be good4 ,the same word spoken out of
 season may be1  and often is1          
exceedingly bad4 ,again he says3 ,a word
 fitly spoken  is like apples of gold in
 pictures of silver4 ,but it must be    
fitly  spoken to be worthy to rank with 
apples of gold4          ,,chapter ,,xii
    ,,the ,,worry ,,of ,,the ,,squirrel 
,,cage      ,reference has already been 
made to ,the ,squirrel ,cage1 by        
,dorothy  ,canfield4 ,better than any   
book ,i have read for a long time1 it   
reveals  the causes of much of the worry
 that curses our modern so-called       
civilized life4 ,these causes are       
complex and various4 ,they include      
vanity1 undue attention to what our     
neighbors think of us1 a false          
appreciation of the values of things1   
and they may all be summed  up into what
 ,i propose to call--with due           
acknowledgement to ,mrs4  ,canfield--the

 ,worry of the ,squirrel ,cage4    ,i   
will let the author express her own     
meaning of this latter term4 ,if  the   
story leading up seems to be long please
 seek to read it in the  light of this  
expression3,a    ,footnote ,a3          
,reprinted from ,the ,squirrel-,cage by 
,dorothy ,canfield  7#a4ce net72        
published by ,henry ,holt and ,company1 
,new ,york ,city4        ,when ,mr4 and 
,mrs4 ,emery1 directly after their      
wedding in a      small ,central ,new   
,york village1 had gone ,west to ,ohio1 
they had spent their tiny capital in    
building a small      story-and-a-half  
cottage1 ornamented with the jig-saw    
work and      fancy turning popular in  
#ahgb1 and this had been the nucleus    
of their present rambling1 picturesque1 
many-roomed home4      ,every step in   
the long series of changes which had led
 from      its first state to its last  
had a profound and gratifying           
significance for the ,emerys and its    
final condition1      prosperous1       

modern1 sophisticated1 with the right   
kind of      wood work in every room    
that showed1 with the latest1 most      
unobtrusively artistic effects in       
decoration1 represented      their      
culminating well-earned position in the 
inner circle of      the best society of
 ,endbury4        ,moreover1 they felt  
that just as the house had been attained
      with effort1 self-denial1 and     
careful calculations1 yet still         
without incurring debt1 so their social 
position had been      secured by       
unremitting diligence and care1 but with
 no loss of      self-respect or even of
 dignity4 ,they were honestly proud of  
both their house and of their list of   
acquaintances and saw      no reason to 
regard them as less worthy achievements 
of an      industrious life than their  
four creditable grown-up children       
or ,judge ,emery's honorable reputation 
at the bar4        ,the two older       
children1 ,george and ,marietta1 could  
remember      those early struggling    

days with as fresh an emotion as        
that of their parents4 ,indeed1         
,marietta1 now a competent1             
sharp-eyed matron of thirty-two1 could  
not see the most      innocuous colored 
lithograph without an uncontrollable    
wave      of bitterness1 so present to  
her mind was the period when they       
painfully groped their way out of       
chromos4        ,the particular ,mrs4   
,hollister who1 at the time the ,emerys 
began to pierce the upper crust1 was the
 leader of ,endbury      society1 had   
discarded chromos as much as five years 
before4      ,mrs4 ,emery and ,marietta1
 newly admitted to the honor of her     
acquaintance1 wondered to themselves at 
the cold monotony of      her black and 
white engravings4 ,the artlessness of   
this wonder      struck shame to their  
hearts when they chanced to learn that  
the lady had repaid it with a           
worldly-wise amusement at their      own
 highly-colored waterfalls and          
snow-capped mountain-peaks4             

,marietta could recall as piercingly as 
if it were yesterday1      in how       
crestfallen a chagrin she and her mother
 had gazed at      their parlor after   
this incident1 their disillusioned eyes 
open for the first time to the futility 
of its claim to      sophistication4 ,as
 for the incident that had led to the   
permanent retiring from their table of  
the monumental      salt-and-pepper     
'caster' which had been one of their    
most prized wedding presents1 the       
,emerys refused to allow      themselves
 to remember it1 so intolerably did it  
spell      humiliation4    ,in these    
quotations the reader has the key to the
 situation--worry to  become as good as 
one's neighbors1 if not better4 ,this is
 the worry  of the squirrel cage4       
,lydia is ,mrs4 ,emery's baby girl1 her 
pet1 her passionate delight4  ,she has  
been away to a fine school4 ,she knows  
nothing of the ancient  struggles to    
attain position and a high place in     
society4 ,those  struggles were         

practically over before she appeared on 
the scene4    ,on the occasion of her   
final home-coming her mother makes great
  preparations to please her1 yet the   
worry and the anxiety1 are  revealed in 
her conversation with her older         
daughter3        ',oh1 ,marietta1 how do
 you suppose the house will seem      to
 ,lydia after she has seen so much8 ,i  
hope she won't be      disappointed4    
,i've done so much to it this last year1
 perhaps      she won't like it4 ,and   
oh1 ,i was so tired because we weren't  
able to get the new sideboard put up in 
the dining-room      yesterday6'        
',really1 ,mother1 you must draw the    
line about ,lydia4 ,she's      only     
human4 ,i guess if the house is good    
enough for you and      father it is    
good enough for her4'        ',that's   
just it1 ,marietta--that's just what    
came over me6      ,is what's good      
enough for us good enough for ,lydia8   
,won't      anything1 even the best1 in 
,endbury be a come-down for her8'       

,the attainments of ,mrs4 ,emery both as
 to wealth and social position1         
however1 were not reached by her        
daughter ,marietta and her husband1  but
 in the determination to make it appear 
as if they were1 ,marietta  thus exposes
 her own life of worry in a talk with   
her father3        ',keeping up a       
two-maid and a man establishment on a   
one-maid      income1 and mostly not    
being able to hire the one maid4 ,there 
aren't any girls to be had lately4 ,it  
means that ,i have to      be the other 
maid and the man all of the time1 and   
all three1      part of the time4' ,she 
was starting down the step1 but paused  
as though she could not resist the      
relief that came from      expression4  
',and the cost of living--the           
necessities are bad      enough1 but the
 other things--the things you have to   
have not      to be out of everything6  
,i lie awake nights4 ,i think of it     
in church4 ,i can't think of anything   
else but the way      the expenses mount

 up4 ,everybody getting so reckless and 
extravagant and ,i won't go in debt6    
,i'll come to it1 though4               
,everybody else does4 ,we're the only   
people that haven't      oriental rugs  
now4 ,why1 the ,gilberts--and everybody 
knows how      much they still owe ,dr4 
,melton for ,ellen's appendicitis1      
and their grocer told ,ralph they owe   
him several hundred      dollars--well1 
they have just got an oriental rug that 
they      paid a hundred and sixty      
dollars for4 ,mrs4 ,gilbert said they   
'just had to have it1 and you can always
 have what you have      to have4' ,it  
makes me sick6 ,our parlor looks so     
common6 ,and      the last dinner party 
we gave cost--'    ,another phase of the
 squirrel cage worry is expressed in    
this terse  paragraph3        ',father  
keeps talking about getting one of those
      player-pianos1 but ,mother says   
they are so new you can't tell      what
 they are going to be4 ,she says they   
may get to be too      common4'    ,bye 

and bye it comes ,lydia's turn to decide
 what place she and her new  husband are
 to take in ,endbury society1 and here  
is what one frank1  sensible man says   
about it3        ',it may be all right  
for ,marietta ,mortimer to kill herself 
body and soul by inches to keep what    
bores her to death to      have--a      
social position in ,endbury's           
two-for-a-cent society1      but1 for   
the ,lord's sake1 why do they make such 
a howling      and yelling just at the  
tree when ,lydia's got the tragically   
important question to decide as to      
whether that's what she      wants8     
,it's like expecting her to do a problem
 in calculus in      the midst of an    
earthquake4'    ,and the following      
chapter is a graphic presentation as to 
how ,lydia  made her choice in perfect  
freedom--oh1 the frightful sarcasm of   
the  phrase--during the excitement of   
the wedding preparations and under  the 
pressure of expensive gifts and the     
ideas of over enthusiastic  society     

friends4    ,lydia now began her own    
squirrel-cage existence1 even her       
husband  urges her into extravagance in 
spite of her protest by saying1         
,nothing's too good for you4 ,and       
besides1 it's an asset4 ,the mortgage   
won't be so very large4 ,and if we're in
 it1 we'll just have to live up  to it4 
,it'll be a stimulus4    ,one of the    
sane characters of the book is dear1    
lovable1 gruff ,mr4  ,melton1 who is    
,lydia's godfather1 and her final       
awakening is largely  due to him4 ,one  
day he finds ,lydia's mother upstairs   
sick-a-bed1 and  thus breaks forth to   
his godchild3        ',about your       
mother--,i know without going upstairs  
that she is      floored with one or    
another manifestation of the great      
disease      of social-ambitionitis4    
,but calm yourself4 ,it's not so bad    
as it seems when you've got the right   
doctor1 ,i've practiced      for thirty 
years among ,endbury ladies4 ,they can't
 spring      anything new on me4 ,i've  

taken your mother through doily fever   
induced by the change from tablecloths  
to bare tops1 through      portiere     
inflammation1 through afternoon tea     
distemper1      through art-nouveau     
prostration and mission furniture palsy1
      not to speak of a horrible attack 
of acute insanity over the              
necessity of having her maids wear caps4
 ,i think you can trust      me1        
whatever dodge the old malady is working
 on her4'    ,and later in speaking of  
,lydia's sister he affirms3             
',your sister ,marietta is not a very   
happy woman4 ,she has too      many of  
your father's brains for the life she's 
been shunted      into4 ,she might be   
damming up a big river with a finely    
constructed concrete dam1 and what she  
is giving all her      strength to is   
trying to hold back a muddy little      
trickle with      her bare hands4 ,the  
achievement of her life is to give on   
a two-thousand-a-year income the        
appearance of having five      thousand 

like your father4 ,she does it2 she's a 
remarkably      forceful woman1 but it  
frets her4 ,she ought to be in better   
business1 and she knows it1 though she  
won't admit it4'    ,oh1 the pity of it1
 the woe of it1 the horror of it1 for it
 is one of  the curses of our present   
day society and is one of the causes of 
many a man's and woman's physical and   
mental ruin4 ,in the words of our       
author elsewhere3        ,they are      
killing themselves to get what they     
really don't want      and don't need1  
and are starving for things they could  
easily      have by just putting out    
their hands4    ,where life's struggle  
is reduced to this kind of thing1 there 
is  little compensation1 hence we are   
not surprised to read that3             
,judge ,emery was in the state in which 
of late the end of the      day's work  
found him--overwhelmingly fatigued4 ,he 
had not an      ounce of superfluous    
energy to answer his wife's tocsin1     
while      she was almost crying with   

nervous exhaustion4 ,that ,lydia's      
course ran smooth through a thousand    
complications was not      accomplished 
without an incalculable expenditure of  
nervous      force on her mother's part4
 ,dr4 ,melton had several times of      
late predicted that he would have his   
old patient back under      his care    
again4 ,judge ,emery1 remembering this  
prophecy1 was      now moved by his     
wife's pale agitation to a              
heart-sickening      mixture or         
apprehension for her and of recollection
 of his own      extreme discomfort     
whenever she was sick4    ,yet in spite 
of this intense tension1 she was unable 
to stop--felt  she must go on1 until    
finally1 a breakdown intervened and she 
was  compelled to lay by4    ,on another
 page a friend tells of his great-aunt's
 experience3        ',she told me that  
all through her childhood her family was
      saving and pulling together to    
build a fine big house4 ,they           
worked along for years until1 when she  

was a young lady1 they      finally     
accomplished it2 built a big three-story
 house that      was the admiration of  
the countryside4 ,then they moved in4   
,and      it took the womenfolks every  
minute of their time1 and more      to  
keep it clean and in order2 it cost as  
much to keep it up1      heated1        
furnished1 repaired1 painted and        
everything the way a      fine house    
should be1 as their entire living used  
to cost4 ,the      fine big grounds they
 had laid out to go with the mansion    
took      so much time to--'    ,finally
 ,lydia herself becomes awakened1       
startled as she sees what  everybody is 
trying to make her life become and she  
bursts out to her  sister3        ',i'm 
just frightened of--everything--what    
everybody expects me      to do1 and to 
go on doing all my life1 and never have 
any      time but to just hurry faster  
and faster1 so there'll be      more    
things to hurry about1 and never talk   
about anything but      things6' ,she   

began to tremble and look white1 and    
stopped      with a desperate effort to 
control herself1 though she      burst  
out at the sight of ,mrs4 ,mortimer's   
face of despairing      bewilderment4   
',oh1 don't tell me you don't see at all
 what      ,i mean4 ,i can't say it6    
,but you must understand4 ,can't we     
somehow all stop--now6 ,and start over  
again6 ,you get muslin      curtains and
 not mend your lace ones1 and ,mother   
stop fussing      about whom to invite  
to that party--that's going to cost more
      than he can afford1 ,father       
says--it makes me sick to be            
costing him so much4 ,and not fuss about
 having clothes just      so--and ,paul 
have our house built little and plain1  
so it      won't be so much work to take
 care of it and keep it clean4      ,i  
would so much rather look after it      
myself than to have      him kill       
himself making money so ,i can hire     
maids that you      can't--you say      
yourself you can't--and never having any

 time      to see him4 ,perhaps if we   
did1 other people might1 and we'd       
all have more time to like things that  
make us nicer to like4    ,and when her 
sister tried to comfort her she         
continued3        ',you do see what ,i  
mean6 ,you see how dreadful it is to    
look      forward to just that--being so
 desperately troubled over      things  
that don't really matter--and--and      
perhaps having      children1 and       
bringing them to the same thing--when   
there must      be so many things that  
do matter6'    ,then1 to show how       
perfectly her sister understood1 the    
author makes  that wise and perceptive  
woman exclaim3        ',mercy6 ,dr4     
,melton's right6 ,she's perfectly wild  
with nerves6      ,we must get her      
married as soon as ever we can6'        
,lydia gives a reception4 ,here is part 
of the description3        ,standing as 
they were1 tightly pressed in between a 
number of      different groups1 their  
ears were assaulted by a disjointed     

mass of stentorian conversation that    
gave a singular illusion      as if it  
all came from one inconceivably voluble 
source1      the individuality of the   
voices being lost in the screaming      
enunciation which1 as ,mrs4 ,sandworth  
had pointed out1 was a      prerequisite
 of self-expression under the           
circumstances4        ,they heard3 ',for
 over a month and the sleeves were too  
see      you again at ,mrs4 ,elliott's  
,i'm pouring there from four ,i've      
got to dismiss one with plum-colored    
bows all along five      dollars a week 
and the washing out and still           
impossible6 ,i      was there myself all
 the time and they neither of           
thirty-five      cents a pound for the  
most ordinary ferns and red carnations  
was all they had1 and we thought it     
rather skimpy under the      brought up 
in one big braid and caught down with at
 ,peterson's      they were pink and    
white with--' 444 ',oh1 no1 ,madeleine6 
that      was at the ,burlingame's4'    

,mrs4 ,sandworth took a running jump    
into the din and sank from her brother's
 sight1 vociferating3      ',the        
,petersons had them of old gold1 don't  
you remember1 with      little--'       
,the doctor1 worming his way desperately
 through the masses of      femininity1 
and resisting all attempts to engage him
 in the      local fray1 emerged at     
length into the darkened hall where     
the air was1 as he told himself in a    
frenzied flight of      imagination1    
less like a combination of a menagerie  
and a      perfume shop4 ,here1 in a    
quiet corner1 sat ,lydia's father       
alone4 ,he held in one hand a large     
platter piled high with      wafer-like 
sandwiches1 which he was consuming at a 
,gargantuan      rate1 and as he ate1 he
 smiled to himself4        ',well1 ,mr4 
,ogre1' said the doctor1 sitting down   
beside him      with a gasp of relief2  
'let a wave-worn mariner into your den1 
will you8'        ,provided with an     
auditor1 ,judge ,emery's smile broke    

into an      open laugh4 ,he waved the  
platter toward the uproar in the next   
rooms3 ',a boiler factory ain't in it   
with woman1 lovely woman1      is it8'  
he put it to his friend4                
',gracious powers6 ,there's nothing to  
laugh at in that      exhibition6' the  
doctor reproved him1 with an acrimonious
      savagery4 ',i don't know which    
makes me sicker2 to stay in      there  
and listen to them1 or come out here and
 find you      thinking they're funny6' 
,they are funny6' insisted the ,judge   
tranquilly4 ',i stood by      the door  
and listened to the scraps of talk ,i   
could catch1      till ,i thought ,i    
should have a fit4 ,i never heard       
anything      funnier on the stage4'    
',looky here1 ,nat1' the doctor stared  
up at him angrily1      'they're not    
monkeys in a zoo1 to be looked at only  
on      holidays and then laughed at6   
,they're the other half of a      whole 
that we're half of1 and don't you forget
 it6 ,why in the      world should you  

think it funny for them to do this      
tomfool      trick all winter and have  
nervous prostration all summer to       
pay for it8 ,you'd lock up a man as a   
dangerous lunatic if      he spent his  
life so4 ,what they're like1 and what   
they do with      their time and        
strength concerns us enough sight more  
than      what the tariff is1 let me    
tell you4'        ',i admit that what   
your wife is like concerns you a whole  
lot6' ,the ,judge laughed good-naturedly
 in the face of the      little old     
bachelor4 ',don't commence jumping on   
the ,american      woman so6 ,i won't   
stand it6 ,she's the noblest of her     
sex6'        ',do you know why ,i am    
bald8' said ,dr4 ,melton1 running his   
hand      over his shining dome4        
',if ,i did1 ,i wouldn't admit it1' the 
,judge put up a cautious      guard1    
'because ,i foresee that whatever ,i say
 will be used as      evidence against  
me4'        ',i've torn out all my hair 
in desperation at hearing such men      

as you claim to admire and respect and  
wish to advance the      ,american      
woman4 ,you don't give enough thought to
 her--real      thought--from one year's
 end to another to know whether you     
think she has an immortal soul or not6' 
,later ,lydia's husband insists that    
they give a dinner4        ,it was to be
 a large dinner--large1 that is1 for    
,endbury--of      twenty covers1 and    
,lydia had never prepared a table for   
so many guests4 ,the number of objects  
necessary for the      conventional     
setting of a dinner table appalled her4 
,she was      so tired1 and her         
attention was so fixed on the           
complicated      processes going on     
uncertainly in the kitchen1 that her    
brain      reeled over the vast quantity
 of knives and forks and plates      and
 glasses needed to convey food to twenty
 mouths on a festal      occasion4 ,they
 persistently eluded her attempts to    
marshal      them into order4 ,she      
discovered that she had put forks for   

the      soup--that in some inexplicable
 way at the plate destined for      an  
important guest there was a large       
kitchen spoon of iron1 a      wild sort 
of whimsical humor rose in her from the 
ferment of      utter fatigue and       
anxiety4 ,when ,paul came in1 looking   
very      grave1 she told him with a    
wavering laugh1 ',if ,i tried as hard   
for ten minutes to go to ,heaven as     
,i've tried all day to have      this   
dinner right1 ,i'd certainly have a     
front seat in the      angel choir4 ,if 
anybody here to-night is not satisfied1 
it'll      be because he's harder to    
please than ,st4 ,peter himself4'       
,during the evening3        ,lydia      
seemed to herself to be in an endless   
bad dream4 ,the      exhausting efforts 
of the day had reduced her to a sort    
of coma of fatigue through which she    
felt but dully the      successive stabs
 of the ill-served unsuccessful dinner4 
,at      times1 the table1 the guests1  
the room itself1 wavered before         

her1 and she clutched at her chair to   
keep her balance4 ,she      did not know
 that she was laughing and talking gaily
 and      eating nothing4 ,she was only 
conscious of an intense longing      for
 the end of things1 and darkness and    
quiet4    ,when it was all over and her 
husband was compelled to recognize that 
it had been a failure1 his mental       
attitude is thus expressed3        ,he  
had determined to preserve at all costs 
the appearance      of the indulgent1   
non-critical1 over-patient husband that 
he      intensely felt himself to be4   
,no force1 he thought grimly1           
shutting his jaws hard1 should drag from
 him a word of      his real sentiments4
 ,fanned by the wind of this virtuous   
resolution1 his sentiments grew hotter  
and hotter as he walked      about1     
locking doors and windows1 and reviewing
 bitterly the      events of the        
evening4 ,if he was to restrain himself 
from      saying1 he would at least     
allow himself the privilege of          

feeling all that was possible to a man  
deeply injured4    ,and that night      
,lydia felt for the first time the      
quickening to life  of her child4 ,and  
during all that day1 until then1 she had
 forgotten  that she was to know        
motherhood4 ,can words more forcefully  
depict the  worry of the squirrel-cage  
than this--that an unnecessary dinner1  
given in unnecessary style1 at          
unnecessary expense1 to visitors to     
whom it was unnecessary should have     
driven from her thought1 and  doubtless 
seriously injured1 the new life that she
 was so soon to give  to the world8     
,oh1 men and women of divine descent and
 divine heritage1 quit your             
squirrel-cage stage of existence4 ,is   
life to be one mere whirling  around of 
the cage of useless toil or pleasure1 of
 mere imagining that  you are doing     
something8 ,work with an object4 ,know  
your object1 that  it is worthy the     
highest endeavor of a human being1 and  
then pursue it  with a divine enthusiasm

 that no obstacle can daunt1 an ardor   
that no  weariness can quench4 ,then it 
is you will begin to live4 ,there is no 
life in worry4 ,worry is a waste of     
life4 ,if you are a worrier1 that  is a 
proof you 7in so far as you worry7 do   
not appreciate the value of  your own   
life1 for a worthy object1 a divine     
enthusiasm1 a noble ardor  are in       
themselves the best possible preventives
 against worry4 ,they  dignify life     
above worry4 ,worry is undignified1     
petty1 paltry4 ,where  you know you have
 something to do worth doing1 you are   
conscious of  the ,divine ,benediction1 
and who can worry when the smile of ,god
 rests  upon him8 ,this is a truism     
almost to triteness1 and yet how few    
fully  realize it4 ,it is the unworthy  
potterers with life1 the dabblers in    
life-stuff1 those who blind themselves  
to their high estate1 those who  are    
unsure of their footing who worry4 ,the 
true aristocrat is never  worried about 
his position2 the orator convinced of   

the truth of his  message worries not as
 to how it will be received2 the        
machinist sure  of his plans hesitates  
not in the construction of his          
machinery2  the architect assured of his
 accuracy pushes on his builders without
  hesitancy or question1 fear1 or alarm2
 the engineer knowing his engine  and   
his destination has no heart quiver as  
he handles the lever4 ,it is  the       
doubter1 the unsure1 the aimless1 the   
dabbler1 the frivolous1  the dilettante1
 the uncertain that worry4 ,how nobly   
,browning set this  forth in his        
,epilogue3          ,what had ,i on     
earth to do    ,with the slothful1 with 
the mawkish1 the unmanly8    ,like the  
aimless1 helpless1 hopeless1 did ,i     
drivel      --,being--,who8    ,one who 
never turned his back but marched breast
 forward1      ,never doubted clouds    
would break1    ,never dreamed1 though  
right were worsted1 wrong would triumph1
    ,held we fall to rise1 are baffled  
to fight better1      ,sleep to wake4   

,no1 at noonday in the bustle of man's  
worktime      ,greet the unseen with a  
cheer6    ,bid him forward1 breast and  
back as either should be1    ',strive   
and thrive6' cry ',speed1--fight on1    
fare ever      ,there as here6'    ,and 
this is not mere poetry4 ,or rather it  
is because it is mere  poetry that it is
 real life4 ,browning had nearly seventy
 years of  it4 ,he knew4 ,where there   
are those to whom ,god has whispered in 
the  ear1 there is no uncertainty1 no   
worry4 ,the musician who knows his      
instrument1 knows his music1 knows his  
key1 and knows his time to play  never  
hesitates1 never falters1 never worries4
 ,with tone clear1 pure1  strong1 and   
certain1 he sends forth his melodies or 
harmonies into  the air4 ,cannot you1 in
 your daily life1 be a true and sure    
musician8  ,cannot you be               
certain--absolutely1 definitely         
certain--of your right  to play the tune
 of life in the way you have it marked  
out before you1  and then go ahead and  

play6 ,play1 in ,god's name1 as ,god's  
and man's  music-maker4                 
,,chapter ,,xiii    ,,religious         
,,worries ,,and ,,worriers              
,misunderstandings1 misconceptions1 and 
ignorance in regard to what  really is  
religion have caused countless millions 
to mourn--and worry2  indeed1 far more  
to worry than to mourn4 ,religion should
 be a joyous  thing1 the bringing of the
 son and daughter into close            
relationship  with the ,father4         
,instead1 for centuries1 it has been a  
battle for  creeds1 for mental assent to
 certain doctrines1 rather than a growth
  in brotherhood and loving             
relationship1 and those who could not   
see  eye to eye with one another deemed 
it to be their duty to fight and  worry 
each other--even to their death4        
,this is not the place for any          
theological discussion2 nor is it my    
intent to present the claims of any     
church or creed4 ,each reader must  do  
that for himself1 and the less he       

worries over it1 the better ,i  think it
 will be for him4 ,i have read and      
reread ,cardinal ,newman's  wonderful   
,pro ,apologia--his statement as to why 
and how he entered  the bosom of the    
,roman ,catholic ,church1 and it has    
thrilled me with  its pathos and        
evidence of deep spiritual endeavor4    
,charles ,warren  ,stoddard's ,troubled 
,heart and ,how ,it ,found ,rest is     
another similar  story1 though written  
by an entirely different type of man4   
,each  of these books revealed the inner
 thought and life of men who were       
worried about religion1 and by worry ,i 
mean anxious to the point of            
abnormality1 disturbed1 distressed      
unnecessarily4 ,yet ,i would not be     
misunderstood4 ,far be it from me1 in   
this age of gross materialism and       
worship of physical power and wealth1 to
 decry in the least a proper  degree of 
solicitude for one's personal salvation4
 ,the religious life  of the            
individual--the real1 deep1 personal1   

hidden1 unseen1 inner  life of a human  
soul--is a wonderfully delicate thing1  
to be touched  by another only with the 
profoundest love and deepest wisdom4    
,hence ,i  have little to say about     
one's own inner struggles1 except to    
affirm  and reaffirm that wisdom1       
sanity1 and religion itself are all     
against worrying about it4 ,study       
religion1 consider it1 accept it1       
follow it1 earnestly1 seriously1 and    
constantly1 but do it in a  rational    
manner1 seeking the essentials1         
accepting them and then  resting in them
 to the full and utter exclusion of all 
worry4    ,but there is another class of
 religious worriers1 viz41 those  who   
worry themselves about your salvation4  
,again ,i would not be  misunderstood1  
nor thought to decry a certain degree of
 solicitude  about the spiritual welfare
 of those we love1 but here again the   
caution and warning against worry more  
than ever holds good4 ,most of  these   
worriers have found comfort1 joy1 and   

peace in a certain line of  thought1    
which has commended itself to them as   
,truth--the one1  full1 complete1       
indivisible ,truth1 and it seems most   
natural for human  nature to be eager   
that others should possess it4 ,this is 
the secret  of the zeal of the street   
,salvationist1 whose flaming ardor is   
bent  on reaching those who seldom1 if  
ever1 go to church4 ,the burden of his  
cry is that you must flee from the wrath
 to come--hell--by accepting  the       
vicarious atonement made by the blood of
 ,jesus4 ,in season and  out of season1 
he urges that you come under the blood4 
,his face is  tense1 his brow wrinkled1 
his eyes strained1 his voice raucous1   
his  whole demeanor full of worry over  
the salvation of others4    ,another    
friend is a ,seventh ,day ,adventist1   
who is full of zeal for the  declaration
 of the ,third ,angel's ,message1 for he
 believes that  only by heeding it1     
keeping sacred the hours from sunset on 
,friday  to ,saturday sunset1 in        

accordance with his reading of the      
fourth  commandment1 and also believing 
in the speedy second coming of ,christ1 
can one's soul's salvation be attained4 
,the ,baptist is assured that his mode  
of baptism--complete  immersion--is the 
only one that satisfies the demands of  
heaven1 and  the more rigorous members  
of the sect refuse communion with those 
who have not obeyed1 as they see the    
command4 ,the members of the  ,christian
 ,church--as the disciples of ,alexander
 ,campbell term  themselves--while they 
assent that they are tied to no creed   
except  the ,new ,testament1 demand     
immersion as a prerequisite to          
membership in  their body4 ,the         
,methodist1 ,congregationalist1         
,presbyterian1 ,nazarene1  and many     
others1 are evangelical in their belief1
 as is a large  portion of the ,church  
of ,england1 and its ,american offshoot1
 both of  which are known as the        
,episcopal ,church4 ,another portion1   
however1 of  this church is known as    

ritualistic1 and the two branches in    
,england  recently became so involved in
 a heated discussion as to the propriety
  of certain of their bishops partaking 
in official deliberations with          
ministers of the other1 but outside1    
evangelistic churches1 that for a  time 
it seemed as if the whole ,episcopal    
,church would be disrupted by  the      
fierceness and anger gendered in the    
differences of opinion4    ,to my own   
mind1 all this worry was much ado about 
nothing4 ,each man's  brain and         
conscience must guide him in matters of 
this kind1 and the  worry1 fret1 stew1  
evolved out of the matter1 seem to me a 
proof that  real religion had little to 
do with it4    ,recently one good       
brother came to me with tears in his    
voice1 if not  in his eyes1 worried     
seriously as to my own religious belief 
because ,i  had asserted in a public    
address that ,i believed the earnest    
prayer  of a good ,indian woman reached 
the ear of ,god as surely as did my own 

prayers1 or those of any man1 woman1    
minister1 or priest living4 ,to  him the
 only effective prayers were evangelical
 prayers--whatever  that may mean--and  
he was deeply distressed and fearfully  
worried  because ,i could not see eye to
 eye with him in this matter4 ,and a    
dear1 good woman1 who heard a subsequent
 discussion of the subject1  was so     
worried over my attitude that she felt  
impelled to assure me  when ,i left that
 she would pray for me4    ,i have      
friends who are zealous ,roman          
,catholics1 and a number of them  are   
praying that ,i may soon enter the folds
 of ,mother ,church1 and  yet my        
,unitarian and ,universalist friends    
wonder why ,i retain my  membership in  
any orthodox church4 ,on the other hand1
 my ,new ,thought  friends declare that 
,i belong to them by the spirit of the  
messages ,i  have given to the world4   
,then1 too1 my ,theosophist friends--and
 ,i have  many--present to me1 with a   
force ,i do not attempt to controvert1  

the  doctrine of the ,universal         
,brotherhood of ,mankind1 and urge upon 
me acceptance of the comforting and     
helpful doctrine1 to them1 of           
,reincarnation4    ,not long prior to   
this writing a good earnest man         
buttonholed me  and held me tight for   
over an hour1 while he outlined his own 
slight  divergencies from the teachings 
of the ,methodist ,church1 to which he  
belongs1 and his interpretation of the  
symbolism of ,scripture1 none  of which 
had the slightest interest to me4 ,in   
our conversation1 he  expressed himself 
as quite willing--please note the       
condescension--to  allow me the         
privilege of supposing the ,catholic was
 honest and  sincere in his faith and   
belief1 but he really could not for one 
moment allow the same to the ,christian 
,scientist1 who1 from his  standpoint1  
denied the atonement and the ,divinity  
of ,christ4 ,i suppose  if he ever picks
 up this booklet and reads what ,i am   
now going  to write1 he will regard me  

as a reprobate and lost beyond the      
possibility of salvation4 ,nevertheless1
 ,i wish to put on record that  ,i      
regard his attitude as one of           
intolerance1 bigotry1 fanaticism1 and   
impudence--sheer1 unadulterated         
impertinence4 ,who made him the judge   
of the thoughts and acts of other men's 
inner lives8 ,who gave to him  the      
wisdom and power of discernment to know 
that he was right and  these others     
wrong8 ,poor1 arrogant fool4 ,his       
worries were not the  result of genuine 
affection and deep human sympathy1 the  
irrepressible  and uncontrollable       
desires and longings of his heart to    
bring  others into the full light of    
,god's love1 but of his overweening     
self-confidence in his own wisdom and   
judgment4 ,and ,i say this in no        
personal condemnation of him1 for ,i    
have now even forgotten who it  was1 but
 in condemnation of the spirit in which 
he and all his ilk  ever act4    ,hence1
 my dear reader1 if you are of his      

class1 ,i say to you  earnestly3 ,don't 
worry about other people's salvation4   
,it may be they  are nearer saved than  
you are4 ,no man can' be worried into   
accepting  anything1 even though you may
 deem it the only ,truth4 ,i have known 
men whom others regarded as agnostics   
who had given more study to the         
question of personal religion than any  
ten of their critics4 ,i can  recall    
three--all of whom were men of wonderful
 mentality and great  earnestness of    
purpose4 ,john ,burroughs's first essays
 were written  for his own soul's       
welfare--the results of his             
long-continued mental  struggles for    
light upon the subject4 ,major ,j4,w4   
,powell1 the organizer  and director for
 many years of the ,united ,states      
,geological ,survey and  ,bureau of     
,american ,ethnology1 was brought up by 
a father and mother  whose intense      
longing was that their son should be a  
,methodist  preacher4 ,the growing youth
 wished to please his parents1 but was  

also compelled to satisfy his own       
conscience4 ,the more he studied the    
creeds and doctrines of ,methodism1 the 
less he felt he could accept  them1 and 
much to the regret of his parents1 he   
refused to enter the  ministry4 ,yet1 in
 relating the story to me1 he asserted  
that his whole  life had been one long  
agony of earnest study to find the      
highest  truth4 ,taking me into his     
library1 where there were several       
extended  shelves filled from end to end
 with the ponderous tomes of the two    
great government bureaus that he        
controlled1 he said3 ,most people       
regard this as my life-work1 and        
outwardly it is4 ,yet ,i say to you in  
all sincerity that the real1 inner1     
secret force working through all  this1 
has been that ,i might satisfy my own   
soul on the subject of  religion4 ,then1
 picking up two small volumes1 he said3 
,in these two  books ,i have recorded   
the results of my years of agonizing    
struggle4  ,i don't suppose ten men have

 ever read them through1 or1 perhaps1   
ever will1 but these are the real story 
of the chief work of my inner  life4    
,i am one of the few men who have read  
both these books with scrupulous  care1 
and yet were it not for what my friend  
told me of their profound  significance 
to him1 ,i should scarcely have been    
interested enough in  their contents to 
read them through4 ,at the same time1 ,i
 know that  the men who1 from the       
standpoint of their professionally      
religious  complacency would have       
condemned ,major ,powell1 never spent   
one-thousandth part the time1 nor felt  
one ten-thousandth the real  solicitude 
that he did about seeking the way1 the  
truth1 and the  life4    ,another friend
 in ,chicago was ,dr4 ,m4,h4            
,lackersteen1 openly denounced  as an   
agnostic1 and even as an infidel1 by    
some zealous sectaries4  ,yet ,dr4      
,lackersteen had personally translated  
the whole of the ,greek  ,testament1 and
 several other sacred books of the      

,hebrews and ,hindoos1  in his intense  
desire to satisfy the demands of his own
 soul for  the ,truth4 ,he was the soul 
of honor1 the very personification of   
sincerity1 and as much above some of his
 critics--whom ,i well knew--in  these  
virtues1 as they were above the scum of 
the slums4    ,the longer ,i live and   
study men the more ,i am compelled to   
believe  that religion is a personal    
matter between oneself and ,god and is  
more  of the spirit than most people    
have yet conceived4 ,it is well known   
to those who have read my books and     
heard my lectures on the ,old           
,franciscan ,missions of ,california1   
that ,i revere the memory of ,padres    
,junipero ,serra1 ,palou1 ,crespi1      
,catala1 ,peyri1 and others of the      
founders of these missions4 ,i have     
equal veneration for the goodness  of   
many ,catholic priests1 nuns1 and laymen
 of to-day4 ,yet ,i am not  a ,catholic1
 though zealous sectaries of            
,protestantism--even of the  church to  

which ,i am supposed to                 
belong--sometimes fiercely assail  me   
for my open commendation of these men of
 that faith4 ,they are  worried lest ,i 
lean too closely towards ,catholicism1  
and ultimately  become one of that fold4
 ,others1 who hear my good words in     
favor of  what appeals to me as noble   
and uplifting in the lives of those of  
other faiths of which they do not       
approve1 worry over and condemn my      
breadth of belief4 ,indeed1 ,i have many
 friends who give themselves  an immense
 lot of altogether unnecessary worry    
about this matter4 ,they  have labelled 
themselves according to some            
denominational tag1 and  accept some    
form of belief that1 to them1 seems     
incontrovertible and  satisfactory4     
,many of them are praying for me1 and   
each that ,i may see  the ,,truth from  
his standpoint4 ,for their prayers ,i am
 grateful4 ,i  cannot afford to lose the
 spirit of love behind and in every one 
of  them4 ,but for the worry about me in

 their minds1 ,i have neither  respect1 
regard1 toleration1 nor sympathy4 ,i    
don't want it1 can do  without it1 and  
,i resent its being there4 ,to each and 
all of them ,i  say firmly3 ,quit ,your 
,worrying about my religion1 or want of 
it4  ,i am in the hands of the same     
loving ,god that you are4 ,i have the   
promise of ,god's ,guiding ,spirit as   
much as you have4 ,i have listened      
respectfully and with an earnest and    
sincere desire to see and know  the     
,truth1 to all you have said1 and now ,i
 want to be left alone4 ,i  have come to
 exclaim with ,browning in ,rabbi ,ben  
,ezra3        ,now1 who shall arbitrate8
      ,ten men love what ,i hate1       
,shun what ,i follow1 slight what ,i    
receive2      ,ten1 who in ears and eyes
      ,match me4 ,we all surmise1       
,they this thing1 and ,i that3 whom     
shall my soul believe8    ,for myself ,i
 have concluded that no one shall choose
 my religion for  me1 and all the       
worrying in the world shall not change  

my attitude4    ,and it is to the       
worrying of my friends that they owe    
this state of  mind4 ,for this reason1  
,i found myself one day counting up the 
number  of people of different beliefs  
who had solemnly promised to pray for   
me4 ,there were ,methodists1            
,campbellites1 ,baptists1 ,roman        
,catholics1  ,episcopalians1 ,seventh   
,day ,adventists1 ,presbyterians1       
,nazarenes1  ,holy ,rollers1 and others4
 ,then the query arose3 ,whose prayers  
will be  answered on my behalf8 ,each is
 sure that his are the ones that can  be
 effective2 yet their prayers differ2   
they are1 to some degree1  antagonistic1
 and insofar as they petition that ,i   
become one of their  particular fold1   
they nullify each other1 as it is       
utterly impossible  that ,i accept the  
specific form of faith of each4 ,the    
consequent  result in my own mind is    
that as ,i cannot possibly become what  
all  these good people desire ,i should 
be1 as their desires and prayers for  me

 controvert each other1 ,i must         
respectfully decline to be bound by  any
 one of them4 ,i must and will do my own
 choosing4 ,hence all the  worry on my  
behalf is energy1 strength1 and effort  
wasted4    ,let me repeat1 then1 to the 
worrier about the salvation of others3  
,you  are in a poor business4 ,quit     
,your ,worrying4 ,hands off6 ,this is   
none  of your concern4 ,believe as      
little or as much and what you will for 
your own soul's salvation1 but do not   
put forth your conceptions as  the only 
conceptions possible of ,divine ,truth  
before another soul  who may have an    
immeasurably larger vision than you     
have4 ,oh1  the pitiableness of man's   
colossal conceit1 the arrogance of his  
ignorance4 ,as if the ,god of the       
,universe were so small that one        
paltry1 finite man could contain in his 
pint measure of a mind all the  ocean of
 ,his power1 knowledge1 and love4 ,let  
your small and wretched  worries go4    
,have a little larger faith in the ,love

 of the ,infinite  ,one4 ,tenderly love 
and trust those whose welfare you seek1 
and trust  ,god at the same time1 but   
don't worry when you see the dear ones  
walking in a path you have not chosen   
for them4 ,remember your own  ignorance1
 your own frailties1 your own errors1   
your own mistakes1 and  then frankly and
 honestly1 fearlessly and directly ask  
yourself  the question if you dare to   
take upon your own ignorant self the    
responsibility of seeking to control and
 guide another living soul as  to his   
eternal life4    ,brother1 ,sister1 the 
job is too big for you4 ,it takes ,god  
to do that1  and you are not yet even a 
perfect human being4 ,hence1 while ,i   
long  for all spiritual good for my sons
 and daughters1 and for my friends1  and
 ,i pray for them1 it is in a large way1
 without any interjection of  my own    
decisions and conclusions as to what    
will be good for them4  ,i have no fears
 as ,i leave them thus in ,god's hand1  
and regard every  worry as sinful on my 

part1 and injurious to them4 ,i have no 
desire  that they should accept my      
particular brand of faith or belief4    
,while  ,i believe absolutely in that   
which ,i accept for the guidance of my  
own  life1 ,i would not fetter their    
souls with my belief if ,i could4 ,they 
are in wiser1 better1 larger1 more      
loving ,hands than mine4 ,and if  ,i    
would not thus fetter my children and   
friends1 ,i dare not seek to  fetter    
others4 ,my business is to live my own  
religion to the utmost4  ,if ,i must    
worry1 ,i will worry about that1 though1
 as ,i think my  readers are well aware 
by now1 ,i do not believe in any kind of
 worry  on any subject whatever4        
,hence1 let me again affirm in          
concluding this chapter1 ,i regard worry
  about the religion of others as       
unwarrantable on account of our own     
ignorances as to their peculiar needs1  
as well as of ,god's methods of         
supplying those needs4 ,it is also a    
useless expenditure of strength1        

energy1 and affection1 for1 if ,god     
leads1 your worry cannot possibly       
affect the one so led4 ,it is also      
generally an irritant to the one        
worried over4 ,even though he may not   
formulate it into words he feels  that  
it is an interference with his own inner
 life1 a nagging that  he resents1 and1 
therefore1 it does him far more harm    
than good2  and1 finally1 it is an      
altogether indefensible attempt to      
saddle  upon another soul your own faith
 or belief1 which may be altogether     
unsuitable or inadequate to the needs of
 that soul4    ,there is still one other
 form of worry connected with the       
subject  of religion4 ,many a good man  
and woman worries over the apparent     
well-being and success of those whom he1
 she1 accounts wicked6 ,they  are seen  
to flourish as a green bay tree1 or as a
 well-watered garden1  and this seems to
 be unfair1 unjust1 and unwise on the   
part of the  powers that govern the     
universe4 ,if good is desirable1 people 

ought  to be encouraged to it by        
material success--so reason these       
officially  good wiseacres1 who         
subconsciously wish to dictate to ,god  
how ,he  should run ,his world4    ,how 
often we hear the question3 ,why is it  
the wicked prosper so8 or  ,he's such a 
bad man and yet everything he does      
prospers4 ,holy ,writ  is very clear on 
this subject4 ,the sacred writer        
evidently was well  posted on the       
tendency of human nature to worry and   
concern itself  about the affairs of    
others1 hence his injunction3      ,fret
 not thyself because of evil doers4     
,in other words1 it's none of your      
business4 ,and ,i am inclined to        
believe that a careful study of the     
,bible would reveal to every  busybody  
who worries over the affairs of others  
that he himself has  enough to do to    
attend to himself1 and that his worry   
anyhow is a  ridiculous1 absurd1 and    
senseless piece of supererogation1 and  
rather  a proof of human conceit and    

vanity than of true concern for the     
spiritual good of others4               
,,chapter ,,xiv    ,,ambition ,,and     
,,worry      ,some forms of ambition are
 sure and certain developers and feeders
 of  worry and fretful distress1 and    
should be guarded against with jealous  
care4 ,we hear a great deal from our    
physicians of the germs of disease  that
 seize upon us and infect our whole     
being1 but not all the disease  germs   
that ever infected a race are so        
demoralizing to one's peace and  joy as 
are the germs of such deadly mental     
diseases as those of envy1  malice1     
covetousness1 ambition1 and the like4   
,ambition1 like wine1 is  a mocker4 ,it 
is a vain deluder of men4 ,it takes an  
elevated position  and beckons to you to
 rise1 that you may be seen and         
flattered of men4  ,it does not say3    
,gain strength and power1 wisdom and    
virtue1 so that  men will place you upon
 the pedestal of their veneration1      
respect1  and love1 but it bids you     

seize the spotlight and hold it1 and no 
sooner are you there than it begins to  
pester you1 as with a hundred  thousand 
hornets1 flying around and stinging you1
 with doubts and  questionings as to    
whether your fellows see you in this    
elevated  place1 whether they really    
discern your worth1 your beauty1 your   
shining qualities2 and1 furthermore1 it 
quickens your hearing1 and  bids you    
strain to listen to what they say about 
you1 and as you do  so1 you are pricked1
 stabbed1 wounded by their slighting and
 jeering  remarks1 their scornful       
comments upon your impertinent and      
impudent  arrogance at daring to take   
such a place1 and their open denial of  
your possession of any of the qualities 
which would entitle you to so  honored a
 position in the eyes of men4    ,then1 
too1 it must be recalled that1 when     
fired with the desires of  this mocker1 
ambition1 one is inclined1 in his       
selfish absorption1 to  be ruthless in  
his dealings with others4 ,it is so easy

 to trample upon  others when a siren is
 beckoning you to climb higher1 and your
 ears  are eagerly listening to her     
seductive phrases4 ,with her song in    
your ears1 you cannot hear the wails of 
anguish of others1 upon whose  rights   
and life you trample1 the manly rebukes 
of those you wound1  or the stern       
remonstrances of those who bid you heed 
your course4  ,ambition blinds and      
deafens1 and1 alas1 calluses the heart1 
kills  comradeship1 drives away         
friendship in its eager selfishness1 and
 in  so doing1 lets in a flood of       
worries that ever beset its victims4    
,they  may not always be in evidence    
while there is the momentary triumph of 
climbing1 but they are there waiting1   
ready to teeter the pedestal1  whisper  
of its unsure and unstable condition1   
call attention to those  who are digging
 around its foundations1 and to the     
fliers in the air1  who threaten to hurl
 down bombs and completely destroy it4  
,phaeton begged that his father1        

,phoebus ,apollo1 allow him to drive    
the flaming chariot of day through the  
heavens1 and1 in spite of all  warnings 
and cautions1 insisted upon his power   
and ability4 ,though  instructed and    
informed as to the great dangers he     
evoked1 he seized  the reins with       
delight1 stood up in the chariot1 and   
urged on the  snorting steeds to furious
 speed4 ,soon conscious of a lighter    
load  than usual1 the steeds dashed on1 
tossing the chariot as a ship at  sea1  
and rushed headlong from the traveled   
road of the middle zone4  ,the ,great   
and ,little ,bear were scorched1 and the
 ,serpent that coils  around the ,north 
,pole was warmed to life4 ,now filled   
with fear and  dread1 ,phaeton lost     
self-control1 and looked repentant to   
the goal  which he could never reach4   
,the unrestrained steeds dashed hither  
and  thither among the stars1 and       
reaching the ,earth1 set fire to trees1 
cities1 harvests1 mountains4 ,the air   
became hot and lurid4 ,the rivers1      

springs1 and snowbanks were dried up4   
,the ,earth then cried out in her  agony
 to ,jupiter for relief1 and he launched
 a thunderbolt at the now  cowed and    
broken-hearted driver1 which not only   
struck him from the  seat he had        
dishonored1 but also out of existence4  
,the old mythologists were no fools4    
,they saw the worries1 the dangers1  the
 sure end of ambition4 ,they wrote their
 cautions and warnings  against it in   
this graphic story4 ,why will men and   
women1 for the sake  of an uncertain and
 unsure goal1 tempt the ,fates1 and1 at 
the same  time1 surely bring upon       
themselves a thousand unnecessary       
worries  that sting1 nag1 taunt1 fret1  
and distress8 ,far better seek a goal of
  certainty1 a harbor of sureness1 in   
the doing of kindly deeds1 noble        
actions1 unselfish devotion to the      
uplift of others4 ,in this mad rush  of 
ambitious selfishness1 such a life aim  
may seem chimerical1 yet  it is the only
 aim that will reach1 attain1 endure4   

,for all earthly  fame1 ambitious       
attainment1 honor1 glory is evanescent  
and temporary4  ,like the wealth of the 
miser1 it must be left behind4 ,there is
 no  pocket in any shroud yet devised   
which will convey wealth across the     
,river of ,death1 and no man's honors   
and fame but that fade in the  clear    
light of the ,spirit that shines in the 
land beyond4    ,then1 ambitious friend1
 quit your worrying1 readjust your aim1 
trim  your lamp for another and better  
guest1 live for the uplift of others1   
seek to give help and strength to the   
needy1 bring sunshine to the  darkened1 
give of your abundance of spirit and    
exuberance to those who  have little or 
none1 and thus will you lay up treasure 
within your own  soul which will convert
 hell into heaven1 and give you joy     
forever4    ,so long as men and women   
believe that happiness lies in          
outdistancing1  surpassing their fellows
 in exterior or material things1 they   
cannot  help but be subjects to worry4  

,to determine to gain a larger fortune  
than that possessed by another man is a 
sure invitation to worry  to enter into 
possession of one's soul4 ,who has not  
seen the vain  struggles1 the distress1 
the worry of unsatisfied ambitions that 
would  have amounted to nothing had they
 been gratified8 ,in ,women's ,clubs--as
  well as men's--many a heart-ache is   
caused because some other woman  gains  
an office1 is elected to a position1 is 
appointed on a committee  you had       
coveted4    ,the remedy for this kind of
 worry is to change the aim of life4    
,instead of making position1 fame1 the  
attainment of fortune1 office1 a  fine  
house1 an automobile1 the object of     
existence1 make the doing  of something 
worthy a noble manhood or womanhood the 
object of your  ambition4 ,strive to    
make yourself worthy to be the best     
president  your club has ever had2      
endeavor to be the finest equipped1     
mentally1  for the work that is to be   
done1 whether you are chosen to do it or

  not1 and keep on1 and on1 and still   
on1 finding your joy in the work1  in   
the benefit it is to yourself1 in the   
power it is storing up within  you4     
,then1 as sure as the sun shines1 the   
time will come when you will be  chosen 
to do the needed work4 ,your own will   
come to you4 ,nothing can  hinder it4   
,it will flow as certainly into your    
hands as the waters of  the river flow  
into the sea4          ,,chapter ,,xv   
,,envy ,,and ,,worry      ,envy is a    
prolific source of worry4 ,once allow   
this demon of unrest  to fasten itself  
in one's vitals1 and worry claims every 
waking  hour4 ,envy is that peculiar    
demon of discontent that cannot see  the
 abilities1 attainments1 achievements1  
or possessions of another  without      
malicious determination to belittle1    
deride1 make light of1 or  absolutely   
deny their existence1 while all the time
 covetously craving  them for itself4   
,andrew ,tooke pictures ,envy as a vile 
female3      ,a deadly paleness in her  

cheek was seen2    ,her meager skeleton 
scarce cased with skin2    ,her looks   
awry2 an everlasting scowl    ,sits on  
her brow2 her teeth deform'd and foul2  
,her breast had gall more than her      
breast could hold2    ,beneath her      
tongue coats of poison roll'd2    ,no   
smile e'er smooth'd her furrow'd brow   
but those    ,which rose from laughing  
at another's woes2    ,her eyes were    
strangers to the sweets of sleep1       
,devouring spite for ever waking keep2  
,she sees bless'd men with vast success 
crown'd1    ,their joys distract her1   
and their glories wound2    ,she kills  
abroad1 herself's consum'd at home1     
,and her own crimes are her perpetual   
martyrdom4    ,ever watching1 with      
bloodshot eyes1 the good things of      
others1 she  hates them for their       
possessions1 longs to possess them      
herself1  lets her covetousness gnaw    
hourly at her very vitals1 and yet1 in  
conversation with others1 slays with    
slander1 vile innuendo1 and  falsehood1 

the reputation of those whose virtues   
she covets4    ,as ,robert ,pollock     
wrote of one full of envy3      ,it was 
his earnest work and daily toil    ,with
 lying tongue1 to make the noble seem   
,mean as himself4             99        
99       99       99       99           
,whene'er he heard1    ,as oft he did1  
of joy and happiness1    ,and great     
prosperity1 and rising worth1    ',twas 
like a wave of wormwood o'er his soul   
,rolling its bitterness4    ,aye6 and he
 drank in great draughts of this bitter 
flood1 holding it  in his mouth1 tasting
 its foul and biting qualities until his
 whole  being seemed saturated with it1 
hating it1 dreading it1 suffering  every
 moment while doing it1 yet enduring it1
 because of his envy at  the good of    
others4    ,few there are1 who1 at some 
time or other in their lives1 do not    
have  a taste1 at least1 of the stinging
 bite of envy4 ,girls are envious of    
each other's good looks1 clothes1       
possessions1 houses1 friends2 boys  of  

the strength1 skill1 ability1 popularity
 of others2 women of other  women1 men  
of other men1 just as when they were    
boys and girls4    ,one of the strongest
 words the great ,socrates ever wrote   
was against  envy4 ,he said3            
,envy is the daughter of pride1 the     
author of murder and      revenge1 the  
beginner of secret sedition1 the        
perpetual      tormentor of virtue4     
,envy is the filthy slime of the soul2 a
      venom1 a poison1 a quicksilver1   
which consumeth the flesh1 and          
drieth up the marrow of the bones4      
,and history clearly shows that the wise
 philosopher stated facts4  ,caligula   
slew his brother because he possessed a 
beauty that led him  to be more esteemed
 and favored than he4 ,dionysius1 the   
tyrant1 was  vindictive and cruel to    
,philoxenius1 the musician1 because he  
could  sing2 and with ,plato1 the       
philosopher1 because he could dispute1  
better than himself4 ,even the great    
,cambyses slew his brother1  ,smerdis1  

because he was a stronger and better    
bowman than himself or  any of his      
party4 ,it was envy that led the        
courtiers of ,spain to crave  and seek  
the destruction of ,columbus1 and envy  
that set a score of  enemies at the     
heels of ,cortes1 the conqueror of      
,peru4    ,it is a fearful and          
vindictive devil1 is this devil of envy1
 and he  who yields to it1 who once     
allows it admittance to the citadel of  
his  heart1 will soon learn that every  
subsequent waking and even sleeping     
moment is one of worry and distress4    
,,chapter ,,xvi    ,,discontent ,,and   
,,worry      ,closely allied to envy is 
discontent4 ,these are blood relations1 
and  both are prolific sources of worry4
 ,and lest there are those who  think   
because ,i have revealed1 in the        
preceding chapter1 the demon of         
worry--envy--as one that attacks the    
minds of the great and mighty1 it  does 
not enter the hearts of everyday people1
 let me quote1 entire1 an  article and a

 poem recently written by ,ella ,wheeler
 ,wilcox in ,the ,los  ,angeles         
,examiner4 ,the discontent referred to  
clearly comes from envy4  ,some one has 
blond tresses1 while she has black4     
,this arouses her  envy4 ,she is envious
 because another's eyes are blue1 while 
hers  are brown2 another is tall1 while 
she is small2 etc41 etc4 ,there is      
nothing1 indeed1 that she cannot weep   
and worry over3      ,there is a certain
 girl ,i know1 a pretty little elf1     
,who spends almost her entire thoughts  
in pity for herself4      ,her glossy   
tresses1 raven black1 cause her to weep 
a pond--    ,she is so sorry for herself
 because they are not blond4      ,her  
eyes1 when dry1 are very bright and very
 brown1 'tis true1    ,but they are     
almost always wet1 because they are not 
blue4      ,she is of medium height1 and
 when she sees one quite tall    ,she   
weeps all day in keenest pain because   
she is so small4      ,but if she meets 
some tiny girl whom she considers fair1 

,then that she is so big herself she    
sobs in great despair4      ,when out   
upon a promenade her tears she cannot   
hide1    ,to think she is obliged to    
walk while other folks can ride4        
,but if she drives1 why then she        
weeps--it is so hard to be    ,perched  
stiffly in a carriage seat while other  
girls run free4      ,she used to cry   
herself quite sick to think she had to  
go    ,month after month to dreary      
schools2 that was her constant woe4     
,but on her graduating day1 my1 how her 
tears did run6    ,it seemed so         
sorrowful to know that her school life  
was done4      ,one day she wept because
 she saw a funeral train go by--    ,it 
was so sad that she must live while     
other folks could die4      ,and really 
all her friends will soon join with her 
in those tears    ,unless she takes a   
brighter view of life ere many years4   
,the conceited girl or woman is tiresome
 and unpleasant as a companion1  but the
 morbidly discontented woman is far     

worse4 ,perhaps you have met  her1 with 
her eternal complaint of the injustice  
of ,fate toward her4    ,she feels that 
she is born for better things than have 
befallen her2  her family does not      
understand her2 her friends misjudge    
her2 the  public slights her4    ,if she
 is married she finds herself superior  
to her husband and to her  associates4  
,she is eternally longing for what she  
has not1 and when  she gets it is       
dissatisfied4    ,the sorrowful side of 
life alone appeals to her4    ,this she 
believes is due to her artistic nature4 
,the injustice of  fortune and the      
unkindness of society are topics dear to
 her heart4  ,she finds her only rapture
 in misery4    ,if she is religiously   
inclined she looks toward ,heaven with  
more grim  satisfaction in the thought  
that it will strip fame1 favor and      
fortune  from the unworthy than because 
it will give her the benefits she feels 
she deserves4    ,she does not dream    
that she is losing years of ,heaven here

 upon earth  by her own mental attitude4
    ,,we ,,build ,,our ,,heavens        
,,thought ,,by ,,thought4    ,if you are
 dwelling upon the dark phases of your  
destiny and upon the  ungracious acts of
 ,fate1 you are shaping more of the same
 experience  for yourself here and in   
realms beyond4    ,you are making       
happiness impossible for yourself upon  
any plane4 ,in  your own self lies      
,destiny4    ,i have known a woman to   
keep her entire family despondent for   
years by  her continual assertions that 
she was out of her sphere1 misunderstood
  and unappreciated4    ,the minds of   
sensitive children accepted these       
statements and grieved  over ,poor      
,mother's sad life until their own youth
 was embittered4  ,the morbid mother    
seized upon the sympathies of her       
children like a  leech and sapped their 
young lives of joy4    ,the husband grew
 discouraged and indifferent under the  
continual  strain1 and what might have  
been a happy home was a desolate one1   

and  its memory is a nightmare to the   
children to-day4        ,understand     
yourself and your ,divine possibilities 
and you will      cease to think you are
 misunderstood4        ,it is not       
possible to misunderstand a beautiful1  
sunny day4      ,all nature rejoices in 
its loveliness4        ,give love1      
cheerfulness1 kindness and good-will to 
all      humanity1 and you need not     
worry about being misunderstood4        
,give the best you have to each object1 
purpose and individual1      and you    
will eventually receive the best from   
humanity4          ,,chapter ,,xvii     
,,cowardice ,,and ,,worry               
,cowardice is a much more prolific      
source of worry than most people        
imagine4 ,there are many varieties of   
cowardice1 all tracing their  ancestry  
back to fear4 ,fear truly makes cowards 
of us all4 ,there are  the physical     
cowards1 the social cowards1 the        
business cowards1 the                   
hang-on-to-your-job cowards1 the        

political cowards1 the moral cowards1   
the religious cowards1 and fifty-seven1 
nay1 a hundred and one other  varieties4
 ,each and all of these have their own  
attendant demons of  worry4 ,every      
barking dog becomes a lion ready to tear
 one to pieces1  and no bridge is strong
 enough to allow us to pass over in     
safety4 ,no  cloud has a silver lining1 
and every rain-storm is sure to work    
injury to the crops rather than bring   
the needful moisture for their          
vivification4    ,what a piteous sight  
to see a man who dares not express his  
honest  opinions1 who must crawl instead
 of walk upright1 in the presence of    
his employer1 lest he lose his job4 ,how
 his cowardice worries him1  meets him  
at every turn1 torments him1 lest some  
incautious word be  repeated1 lest he   
say or do the wrong thing4 ,and so long 
as there  are cowards to employ1 bully  
employers will exist4 ,nay1 the         
cowardice  seems to call out bullying   
qualities4 ,just as a cur will follow   

you  with barkings and threatening      
growls if you run from him1 and yet turn
  tail and run when you boldly face him1
 so with most men1 with society1  with  
the world--flee from them1 show your    
fear of them1 and they will  harry you1 
but boldly face them1 they gentle down  
immediately1 fawn  upon you1 lie down1  
or1 to use an expressive slang phrase1  
come and  eat out of your hand4    ,how 
politicians straddle the fence1 refrain 
from expressing their  opinions1 deal in
 glittering generalities1 because of    
their cowardly  fears4 ,how they turn   
their sails to catch every breath of    
popular  favor4 ,how cautious1 politic1 
wary1 they are1 and how fears worry and 
besiege them1 whenever they accidentally
 or incidentally say something  that can
 be interpreted as a positive           
conviction4 ,and yet men really  love a 
brave man in political life2 one who has
 definite convictions  and fearlessly   
states them2 who has no worries as to   
results but dares  to say and do those  

things only of which his conscience     
approves4 ,no  matter how one may regard
 ,roosevelt1 cowardice is one thing none
 will  accuse him of4 ,he says his say1 
does his will1 expresses himself with   
freedom upon any and all subjects1 let  
results be as they may4 ,such  a man is 
free from the petty worries that beset  
most politicians4  ,he knows nothing of 
their existence4 ,they cannot breathe in
 the free  atmosphere that is essential 
to his life2 like the cowardly cur1 they
  run away at his approach4    ,oh1     
cowards all1 of every kind and degree1  
quit ye like men1 be strong  and of good
 courage1 dare and do1 dare and say1    
dare and be1 take a  manly stand1 fling 
out your banner boldly to the breeze1   
cry out as  did ,patrick ,henry3 ,give  
me liberty1 or give me death1 or as that
  other patriot did3 ,sink or swim1     
survive or perish1 ,i give my hand  and 
my heart to this vote4 ,do the things   
you are afraid of2 dare the  men who    
make cowards of you2 say the things you 

fear to say2 and be  the things you know
 you ought to be1 and it will surprise  
you how the  petty devils of worry will 
slink away from you4 ,you will walk in  
new  life1 in new strength1 in new joy1 
in new freedom4 ,for he who lives a     
life free from worries of this nature1  
has a spontaneity1 a freedom1  an       
exuberance1 an enthusiasm1 a boldness1  
that not only are winsome in            
themselves1 make friends1 open the doors
 of opportunity1 attract the  moving    
elements of life1 but that give to their
 possessor an entirely  new outlook1 a  
wider survey1 a more comprehensive      
grasp4 ,life itself  becomes bigger1    
grander1 more majestic1 more worth      
while1 the whole  horizon expands1 and  
from being a creature of petty affairs1 
dabbling  in a small way in the stuff of
 which events are made1 he becomes a    
potent factor1 a man1 a creator1 a god1 
though in the germ4          ,,chapter  
,,xviii    ,,worry ,,about ,,manners    
,,and ,,speech      ,many people are    

desperately worried about their manners4
 ,one has  but to read the letters      
written to the ,answers to              
,correspondents  departments of the     
newspapers to see how much worry this   
subject of  manners causes4 ,this       
springs1 undoubtedly1 from a variety of 
causes4  ,people brought up in the      
country1 removing to the city1 find the 
conditions of life very different from  
those to which they have been           
accustomed1 and they are uncertain as to
 what city people regard  as the right  
and proper things to do4 ,where one1    
perforce1 must act1  uncertainty is     
always irritating or worrying1 and1     
because of this  uncertainty1 many      
people worry even before the time comes 
to act4 ,now1  if their worry would take
 a practical and useful turn--or1       
perhaps1 ,i  had better state it in     
another way1 viz41 that if they would   
spend  the same time in deciding what   
their course of action should be--there 
would be an end put to the worry4    ,we

 have all seen such people4 ,they are   
worried lest their clothes are  not all 
right for the occasion1 lest their tie  
is of the wrong shade1  their shoes of  
the correct style1 and a thousand and   
one things that  they seem to conjure up
 for the especial purpose of worrying   
over  them4 ,who has not seen the       
nervousness1 the worried expression on  
the  face1 the real misery of such      
people1 caused by trifles that are so   
insignificant as not to be worth        
one-tenth the bother wasted on them4    
,the learning of a few fundamental      
principles will help out  wonderfully4  
,the chief end of good manners is to oil
 the wheels  of social converse4 ,hence1
 the first and most important principle 
to  learn is a due and proper           
consideration for the rights1 opinions1 
and  comfort of others4 ,in other words1
 don't think of yourself so much as  of 
the other fellow4 ,let your question be1
 not3 ,how can ,i secure  my own        
pleasure and comfort8 but ,how can ,i   

best secure his8 ,it is a  self-evident 
proposition that you cannot make him    
feel comfortable and  happy if you are  
uncomfortable and unhappy4 ,hence1 the  
first thing to  do is to quit worrying  
and be comfortable4 ,this desired state 
of mind  will come as soon as you have  
courageously made up your mind as to    
what standard of manners you intend to  
follow4 ,the world is made up  to-day1  
largely1 of two classes3 those who have 
money1 and those who  don't4 ,of the    
former class1 a certain few set         
themselves up as the  arbiters of good  
manners2 they decide what shall be      
called good  form1 and what is not      
allowable4 ,if you belong to that class1
 the  best thing you can do is to learn 
to play the game their way4 ,study      
their rules of calling cards1 and learn 
whether you leave one1 two1  three1 or  
six when you are calling upon a man1 or 
a woman1 or both1 or  their oldest      
unmarried daughter1 or the rest of the  
family4 ,this is  a regular game like   

golf1 or polo4 ,you have to know the    
course1 the  tools to use1 and the      
method of going from one goal to        
another4 ,now1 ,i  never knew any       
ordinarily intelligent man or woman who 
couldn't learn  the names of the tools  
used in golf1 the numbers of the holes1 
and the  rules of the game4 ,how you    
play the game is another matter4 ,and so
  is it in good society4 ,you can learn 
the rules as easily as the next  one1   
and then it is up to you as to how you  
play it4 ,you'll have  to study the     
fashions in clothes2 the fashions in    
handkerchiefs1 and  how to flirt with   
them2 when to drink tea1 and where2 how 
to lose  money gracefully at bridge2 how
 to gabble incessantly and not know     
what you are talking about2 how to      
listen intelligently and not have  the  
remotest idea what your vis-a-vis is    
saying to you2 you'll have  to join     
'steen clubs1 and read ten new novels a 
day2 go to every new  play2 know all    
about the latest movies2 know all the   

latest ideas  of social uplift1 study   
art1 the spiritual essence of color1 the
  futurists1 and the cubists4 ,of       
course1 you'll study the peerage of     
,england and know all about rank and    
precedence--and1 indeed1 you'll  have   
your hands and mind so full of things   
that will make such a hash  of life that
 it will take ten specialists to        
straighten you out and  help you to die 
forty years before your time4 ,hence1 if
 that is the  life you intend to live1  
throw this book into the fire4 ,it will 
be  wasting your time to read it4    ,if
 you don't belong to the class of the   
extra rich1 but are all the  time       
wishing that you did2 that you had their
 money1 could live as  they live1 and1  
as far as you can1 you imitate1 copy1   
and follow  them1 then1 again1 ,i       
recommend that you give this book to the
 nearest  newsboy and let him sell it   
and get some good out of it4 ,you are   
not  yet ready for it1 or else you have 
gone so far beyond me in life1 that  you

 are out of my reach4    ,if1 on the    
other hand1 you belong to the class of  
workers1 those who  have to earn their  
living and wish to spend their lives    
intelligently  and usefully1 you can    
well afford to disregard--after you have
 learned  to apply the few basic        
principles of social converse--the      
whims1 the  caprices1 the artificial    
code set up by the so-called arbiters of
  fashion1 manners1 and good form1 which
 are not formulated for  the promotion  
of intelligent intercourse between real 
manhood and  womanhood1 but for the     
preservation and strengthening of the   
barriers  of wealth and caste4          
,connected with this phase of the       
subject is a consideration of those  who
 are worried lest in word or action1    
they fail in gentility4 ,they  are      
afraid to do anything lest it should not
 be regarded as genteel4  ,when they    
shake hands1 it must be done not so much
 with hearty1  friendly spontaneity1 but
 with gentility1 and you wonder what    

that  faint touch of fingers1 reached   
high in air1 means4 ,they would be      
mortified beyond measure if they failed 
to observe any of the little            
gentilities of life1 while the larger   
consideration of their visitor's        
disregard of the matter1 would entirely 
escape them4 ,to such people1  social   
intercourse is a perpetual worry and    
bugbear4 ,they are on the  watch every  
moment1 and if a visitor fails to say1  
,pardon me1 at the  proper place1 or    
stands with his back to his hostess for 
a moment1 or  does any other of the     
things that natural men and women often 
do1 they  are shocked4    ,then it would
 be amusing1 were it not pathetic1 to   
see how particular  they are about their
 speech--what they say1 and how they say
 it4  ,as ,dr4 ,palmer has tersely said3
 ,we are terrorized by custom1 and      
inclined to adjust what we would say to 
what others have said before1  and he   
might have added3 ,it must be said in   
the same manner4    ,i cannot help      

asking why men and women should be      
terrorized by  custom--the method       
followed or prescribed by other men and 
women4 ,why  be so afraid of others2 why
 so anxious to kow-tow to the standards 
of others8 ,who are they8 ,what are     
they1 that they should demand the       
reverent following of the world8 ,have  
you anything to say8 ,have you  a right 
to say it8 ,is it wise to say it8 ,then1
 in the name of ,god1 of  manhood1 of   
common sense1 say it1 directly1         
positively1 assertively1  as is your    
right1 remembering the assurance of the 
,declaration of  ,independence that all 
men are created equal4 ,don't worry     
about  whether you are saying it in the 
genteel fashion of some one else's      
standard4 ,make your own standard4 ,even
 the standards of the grammar  books and
 dictionaries are not equal to that of a
 man who has  something to say and says 
it forcefully1 truthfully1 pointedly1   
directly4 ,dr4 ,palmer has a few words  
to say on this phase of the  subject1   

which are well worthy serious           
consideration3 ,the cure for  the first 
of these troubles is to keep our eyes on
 our object1 instead  of on our listener
 or ourselves2 and for the second1 to   
learn to rate  the expressiveness of    
language more highly than its compeers4 
,the opposite of this1 the disposition  
to set correctness above                
expressiveness1 produces that peculiarly
 vulgar diction1 known as  school-ma'am 
,english1 in which for the sake of a    
dull accord with  usage1 all the        
picturesque1 imaginative1 and forceful  
employment of  words is sacrificed4     
,there you have it6 ,if you have        
something to say that really means      
something1 think of that1 rather than of
 the way of saying it1 your  hearer1 or 
yourself4 ,thus you will lose your      
self-consciousness1 your  dread1 your   
fear1 your worry4 ,if your thought is   
worth anything1  you can afford to laugh
 at some small violation of grammar1 or 
the  knocking over of some finical      

standard or other4 ,not that ,i would be
  thought to advocate either            
carelessness1 laziness1 or indifference 
in  speech4 ,quite the contrary1 as all 
who have heard me speak well know4  ,but
 ,i fully believe that thought is of    
greater importance than form  of        
expression4 ,and1 as for grammar1 ,i    
believe with ,thomas ,jefferson1  that  
whenever1 by small grammatical          
negligences1 the energy of your  ideas  
can be condensed or a word be made to   
stand for a sentence1 ,i  hold          
grammatical rigor in contempt4    ,i was
 present once when ,thomas ,carlyle and 
a technical grammarian  were talking    
over some violation of correct          
speech--according to the  latter's      
standard--when ,carlyle suddenly burst  
forth in effect1 in his  rich ,scotch   
burr3 ,why1 mon1 ,i'd have ye ken that  
,i'm one of the men  that make the      
language for little puppies like ye to  
paw over with  your little1 fiddling1   
twiddling grammars6    ,by all means1   

know all the grammar you can4 ,read the 
best of poets and  prose authors to see 
how they have mastered the language1 but
 don't  allow your life to become a     
burden to you and others because of your
  worry lest you slip a grammatical cog 
here and there1 when you know  you have 
something worth saying4 ,and if you     
haven't anything worth  saying1 please1 
please1 keep your mouth shut1 no matter 
what the  genteel books prescribe1 for  
nothing can justify the talk of an      
empty-headed fool who will insist upon  
talking when he and his  listeners know 
he has nothing whatever to say4 ,so1 if 
you must worry1  let it be about        
something worth while--getting hold of  
ideas1 the  strength of your thought1   
the power of your emotion1 the          
irresistible  sweep of your enthusiasm1 
the forcefulness of your indignation    
about  wrong4 ,these are things it is   
worth while to set your mind upon1 and  
when you have decided what you ought to 
say1 and are absorbed with  the power of

 its thought1 the need the world has for
 it1 you will care  little about the    
exact form of your words4 ,like the     
flood of a mighty  stream1 they will    
pour forth1 carrying conviction with    
them1 and to  convince your hearer of   
some powerful truth is an object worthy 
the  highest endeavor of a godlike man  
or woman--surely a far different  object
 than worrying as to whether the words  
or method of expression  meet some      
absurd standard of what is conceived to 
be gentility4    ,congressman ,hobson1  
of ,merrimac fame1 and ,ex-,president   
,roosevelt are  both wonderful          
illustrations of the point ,i am        
endeavoring to impress  upon my readers4
 ,i heard ,hobson when1 in              
,philadelphia1 at a public  dinner given
 in his honor1 he made his first speech 
after his return  from ,cuba4 ,it was   
evident that he had been1 and was1 much 
worried  about what he should say1 and  
the result was everybody else was       
worried as he tried to say it4 ,his     

address was a pitiable failure1  mainly 
because he had little or nothing to say1
 and yet tried to make  a speech4 ,later
 he entered ,congress1 began to feel    
intensely upon the  subjects of national
 defense and prohibition of the         
alcoholic liquor  traffic4 ,a year or so
 ago ,i heard him speak on the latter of
 these  subjects4 ,here1 now1 was an    
entirely different man4 ,he was possesed
  with a great idea4 ,he was no longer  
trying to find something to say1  but in
 a powerful1 earnest1 and enthusiastic  
way1 he poured forth  facts1 figures1   
argument1 and illustration1 that could  
not fail to  convince an open mind1 and 
profoundly impress even the prejudiced4 
,it was the same with ,roosevelt4 ,when 
he first began to speak in  public1 it  
was hard work4 ,he wrote his addresses  
beforehand1 and then  read them4        
,perhaps he does now1 for aught ,i know 
to the contrary1 but  ,i do know that   
now that he is full of the subjects of  
national honor  in dealing with such    

cases as ,mexico1 ,belgium1 and         
,armenia1 and our  preparedness to      
sacrifice life itself rather than honor1
 his words  pour forth in a perfect     
,niagara of strong1 robust1 manly       
argument1  protest1 and remonstrance1   
which gives one food for deep thought no
  matter how much he may differ4        
,there are those who worry about the    
gentility of others4 ,i remember  when  
,charles ,wagner1 the author of ,the    
,simple ,life1 was in this  country4 ,we
 were dining at the home of a friend and
 one of these  super-sensitive1 finical 
sticklers for gentility was present4    
,wagner  was speaking in his big1 these 
super-sensitive1 finical sticklers for  
gentility simple1 primitive way of a man
 brought up as a peasant1  and more     
concerned about what he was thinking    
than whether his table  manners         
conformed to the latest standard4 ,there
 was some gravy on his  plate4 ,he      
wanted it4 ,he took a piece of bread and
 used it as a sop1  and then1 impaling  

the gravy-soaked bread on his fork1 he  
conveyed it  to his mouth with gusto and
 relish4 ,my genteel friend commented   
upon  it afterwards as disgusting1 and  
lost all interest in the man and  his   
work as a consequence4    ,to my mind1  
the criticism was that of a fool4       
,john ,muir1 the eminent poet-naturalist
 of the ,mountains of  ,california1 had 
a habit at the table of crumming his    
bread--that  is1 toying with it1 until  
it crumbled to pieces in his hand4 ,he  
would1 at the same time1 be sending out 
a steady stream of the most             
entertaining1 interesting1 fascinating1 
and instructive lore about  birds and   
beasts1 trees and flowers1 glaciers and 
rocks1 that one  ever listened to4 ,in  
his mental occupancy1 he knew not       
whether he was  eating his soup with a  
fork or an ice-cream spoon--and cares   
less4  ,neither did any one else with   
brains and an awakened mind that soared 
above mere conventional manners4 ,and   
yet ,i once had an ,eastern woman  of   

great wealth1 7recently acquired71 and  
of great pretensions to  social manners1
 at whose table ,muir had eaten1 inform 
me that she  regarded him as a rude     
boor1 because1 forsooth1 he was         
unmindful  of these trivial and         
unimportant conventions when engaged in 
conversation4    ,now1 neither ,wagner  
nor ,muir would justify any advocacy on 
my part of  neglect of true             
consideration1 courtesy1 or good        
manners4 ,but where  is the lack of     
breeding in sopping up gravy with a     
piece of bread or  crumming1 or eating  
soup with a spoon of one shape or       
another8 ,these  are purely arbitrary   
rules1 laid down by people who have more
 time  than sense1 money than brains1   
and who1 as ,i have elsewhere remarked1 
are far more anxious to preserve the    
barand unimportant conventions  when    
engaged in conive realization of the    
biblical idea of the  brotherhood of    
man4          ,,chapter ,,xix    ,,the  
,,worries ,,of ,,jealousy      ,a       

prolific source of worry is jealousy2   
not only the jealousy that  exists      
between men and women1 but that exists  
between women and women1  and between   
men and men4 ,there are a thousand forms
 that this hideous  monster of evil     
assumes1 and when they have been        
catalogued and  classified1 another     
thousand will be found awaiting1 around 
the  corner1 of entirely different      
categories4 ,but all alike they have    
one definite origin1 one source1 one    
cause4 ,and that cause1 ,i am           
convinced1 is selfishness4 ,we wish to  
own1 to dominate1 to control1           
absolutely1 entirely1 for our own       
pleasure1 and satisfaction1 that of     
which we are jealous4 ,in ,chapter ,one 
,i tell the incident of the young  man  
on the street car whose jealous worry   
was so manifest when he  saw his girl   
smiling upon another man4 ,i suppose    
most men and women  feel1 or have felt1 
at some time or other1 this sex         
jealousy4 ,that  woman belongs to me1   

her smiles are mine1 her pleasant words 
should fall on my ear alone2 ,i am her  
lover1 she1 the mistress of  my heart2  
and that should content her4    ,every  
writer of the human heart has expatiated
 upon this great source  of             
worry--jealousy4 ,shakspere refers to it
 again and again4 ,the whole  play of   
,othello rests upon the ,moor's jealousy
 of his fair1 sweet1  and loyally       
faithful ,desdemona4 ,how the fiendish  
,iago plays upon  ,othello's jealous    
heart until one sees that3              
,trifles1 light as air1    ,are to the  
jealous confirmations strong    ,as     
proofs of holy writ4    ,iago bitterly  
resents a slight he feels ,othello has  
put upon him4 ,with  his large1         
generous1 unsuspicious nature1 ,othello 
never dreams of such  a thing2 he trusts
 ,iago as his intimate friend1 and thus 
gives the  crafty fiend the oportunity  
he desires to              put the ,moor
    ,into a jealousy so strong    ,that 
judgment cannot cure 444    ,make the   

,moor thank me1 love me1 reward me1     
,for making him egregiously an ass      
,and practicing upon his peace and quiet
    ,even to madness4    ,othello gives 
his wife1 ,desdemona1 a rare            
handkerchief4 ,iago urges his  own wife1
 who is ,desdemona's maid1 to pilfer    
this and bring it to him4  ,when he gets
 it1 he leaves it in ,cassio's room4    
,cassio was an intimate  friend of      
,othello's1 one1 indeed1 who had gone   
with him when he went  to woo           
,desdemona1 and who1 by ,iago's         
machinations1 had been suspended  from  
his office of ,othello's chief          
lieutenant4 ,to provoke ,othello's      
jealousy ,iago now urges ,desdemona to  
plead ,cassio's cause with her  husband1
 and at the came time eggs on ,othello  
to watch ,cassio3      ,look to your    
wife2 observe her well with ,cassio2    
,wear your eye thus1 not jealous nor    
secure4    ,i would not have your free  
and noble nature    ,out of self-bounty 
be abus'd2 look to 't4    ,thus he works

 ,othello up to a rage1 and yet all the 
time pretends to  be holding him back3  
,i do see you're mov'd2    ,i pray you  
not to strain my speech    ,to grosser  
issues nor to larger reach    ,than to  
suspicion4    ,iago leaves the          
handkerchief in ,cassio's room1 at the  
same time  saying3      ,the ,moor      
already changes with my poison2         
,dangerous conceits are in their natures
 poisons1    ,which at the first are    
scarce found to distaste1    ,but with a
 little act upon the blood1    ,burn    
like the mines of sulphur4    ,and as he
 sees the tortures the jealous worries  
of the ,moor have  already produced in  
him1 he exultingly yet stealthily       
rejoices3              ,not poppy1 nor  
mandragora1    ,nor all the drowsy      
syrups of the world1    ,shall ever     
medicine thee to that sweet sleep       
,which thou hadst yesterday4    ,well   
might ,othello exclaim that he is ,set  
on the rack4 ,each new  suspicion is a  
fresh pull of the lever1 a tightening of

 the strain  to breaking point1 and soon
 his jealousy turns to the fierce and   
murderous anger ,iago hoped it would3   
,like to the ,pontic sea1    ,whose icy 
current and compulsive course    ,ne'er 
feels retiring ebb1 but keeps due on    
,to the ,propontic and the ,hellespont1 
,even so my bloody thoughts1 with       
violent pace1    ,shall ne'er look back1
 ne'er ebb to humble love1    ,till that
 a capable and wide revenge    ,swallow 
them up4    ,thus was he urged on1      
worried by his jealousy1 until1 in his  
bloody  rage1 he slew his faithful wife4
 ,poor ,desdemona1 we weep her fate1 yet
  at the same time we should deeply     
lament that ,othello was so beguiled    
and seduced by his jealousy to so       
horrible a deed4 ,and few men or  women 
there are1 unless their souls are       
purified by the wisdom of ,god1  that   
are not liable to jealous influences4   
,our human nature is weak  and full of  
subtle treacheries1 that1 like ,iago1   
seduce us to our own  undoing4 ,he who  

yields for one moment to the worries of 
jealousy  is already on the downward    
path that leads to misery1 woe and deep 
undoing1 ,iago is made to declare the   
philosophy of this fact1 when1 in  the  
early portion of the play he says to    
,roderigo3        ',tis in ourselves we 
are thus or thus4 ,our bodies are our   
gardens1 to the which our wills are     
gardeners2 so that if      we will plant
 nettles or sow lettuce1 set hyssop and 
weed up      thyme1 supply it with one  
gender of herbs or distract it with     
many1 either to have it sterile with    
idleness or manured with      industry1 
why1 the power and corrigible authority 
of this lies      in our wills4         
,therein1 surely1 is great truth4 ,we   
can plant or weed up1 in the  garden of 
our minds1 whatever we will2 we can have
 it sterile  with idleness1 or fertilize
 it with industry1 and it must ever be  
remembered that the more fertile the    
soil the more evil weeds will  grow     
apace if we water and tend them4 ,our   

jealous worries are the  poisonous weeds
 of life's garden and should be rooted  
out instanter1  and kept out1 until not 
a sign of them can again be found4      
,solomon sang that jealousy is as cruel 
as the grave2 the coals  thereof are    
coals of fire1 which hath a most        
vehement flame4    ,what a graphic      
picture of worry--a fire of vehement    
flame1 burning1  scorching1 destroying  
peace1 happiness1 content1 joy and      
reducing them  to ashes4    ,in my      
travel and observation ,i have found a  
vast amount of jealous  worry in        
institutions of one kind and            
another--such as the ,indian  ,service1 
in reform schools1 in humane societies1 
in hospitals1 among  the nurses1 etc4   
,it seems to be one of the misfortunes  
of weak human  nature when men and women
 associate themselves together to do    
some  work which ought to call out all  
the nobleness1 the magnanimity1 the     
godlike qualities of their souls1 they  
become maggoty with jealous             

worries--worry that they are not        
accorded the honor that is their  due2  
worry that their work is not properly   
appreciated2 worry lest  someone else   
becomes a favorite of the               
,superintendent1 etc41 etc41  etc41 ad  
libitum4 ,worries of this nature in     
every case1 are a proof  of small1 or   
undeveloped1 natures4 ,no truly great   
man or woman can  be jealous4 ,jealousy 
implies that you are not sure of your   
own worth1  ability1 power4 ,you find   
someone else is being appreciated1 you  
covet that appreciation for yourself1   
whether you deserve it or not4  ,in     
other words you yield to accursed       
selfishness1 utterly forgetful of  the  
apostolic injunction3 ,in honor         
preferring one another4    ,and the same
 jealousies are found among men and     
women in every walk of  life1 in trade1 
in the office1 among professors in      
schools1 colleges1  universities2 in the
 learned professions1 among lawyers1    
physicians  and even among the ministers

 of the gospel1 and judges upon the     
bench4    ,oh6 shame6 shame6 upon the   
littleness1 the meanness1 the paltriness
  of such jealousies2 of the worries    
that come from them4 ,how any human     
being is to be pitied whose mortal mind 
is corroded with the biting  acid of    
jealous worry4 ,when ,i see those who   
are full of worry because  yielding to  
this demon of jealousy ,i am almost     
inclined to believe  in the old-time    
,presbyterian doctrine of total         
depravity4 ,whenever1  where-ever1 you  
find yourself feeling jealous1 take     
yourself by the  throat 7figuratively71 
and strangle the feeling1 then go and   
frankly  congratulate the person of whom
 you are jealous upon some good you can 
truthfully say you see in him2 spread   
his praises abroad2 seek to do  him     
honor4 ,thus by active work against your
 own paltry emotion you  will soon      
overcome it and be free from its damning
 and damnable  worries4    ,akin to the 
worries of jealousy are the worries of  

hate4 ,how much  worry hate causes the  
hater1 he alone can tell4 ,he spends    
hours in  conjuring up more reasons for 
his hate than he would care to write    
down4 ,every success of the hated is    
another stimulant to worry1 and  each   
step forward is a sting full of pain and
 bitterness4    ,he who hates walks     
along the path of worry1 and so long as 
he hates he  must worry4 ,hence1 there  
is but one practical way of escape from 
the  worries of hatred1 viz41 by ceasing
 to hate1 by overcoming evil with  good4
          ,,chapter ,,xx    ,,the       
,,worries ,,of ,,suspicion      ,he who 
has a suspicious mind is ever the prey  
of worry4 ,such an one is  to be pitied 
for he is tossed hither and yon1 to and 
fro1 at the whim  of every breath of    
suspicion he breathes4 ,he has no real  
peace of  mind1 no content1 no unalloyed
 joy1 for even in his hours of pleasure1
  of recreation1 of expected jollity he 
is worrying lest someone is  trying to  
get ahead of him1 his vis-a-vis is      

jollying him1 his  partner at golf is   
trying to steal a march on him1 he is   
not being  properly served at the       
picnic1 etc4    ,these suspicious-minded
 people are sure that every man is a    
scoundrel  at heart--more or less--and  
needs to be watched2 no man or woman is 
to  be trusted2 every grocer will sand  
his sugar1 chicory his coffee1 sell     
butterine for butter1 and cold-storage  
eggs for fresh if he gets a  chance4 ,to
 accept the word of a stranger is       
absurd1 as it is also  to believe in the
 disinterestedness of a politician1     
reformer1  office-holder1 a corporation1
 or a rich man4 ,but to believe evil1   
to expect to be swindled1 or prepare to 
be deceived is the height  of           
perspicacity and wisdom4 ,how           
wonderfully ,shakspere in ,othello      
portrays the wretchedness of the        
suspicious man4 ,one reason why ,iago   
so hated the ,moor was that he suspected
 him3                   the thoughts    
whereof    ,doth like a poisonous       

mineral gnaw my inwards1    ,and nothing
 can or shall content my soul    ,till  
,i am even'd with him4    ,how graphic  
the simile1 gnaw my inwards2 it is the  
perpetual symbol  of worry2 the         
poisonous mineral ever biting away the  
lining of the  stomach2 just as mice and
 rats gnaw at the backs of the most     
precious  books and destroy them2 aye1  
as they gnaw during the night-time and  
drive sleep away from the weary1 so does
 suspicion gnaw with its sharp  worrying
 teeth to the destruction of peace1     
happiness and joy4    ,then1 when ,iago 
has poisoned ,othello's mind with       
suspicions about his  wife1 how the     
,moor is worried1 gnawed by them3       
,by heaven1 he echoes me1    ,as if     
there were some monster in his thought  
,too hideous to be shown--7,to ,iago7   
,thou dost mean something4    ,i heard  
thee say even now1 thou lik'dst not     
that1    ,when ,cassio left my wife2    
what didst not like8    ,and when ,i    
told thee he was of my counsel    ,in my

 whole course of wooing1 thou criedst   
',indeed6'    ,and didst contract and   
purse thy brow together1    ,as if thou 
then hadst shut up in thy brain    ,some
 horrible conceit4 ,if thou dost love   
me1    ,show me thy thought4    ,and    
then we know1 how1 with crafty1 devilish
 cunning1 ,iago plays upon  these       
suspicions1 fans their spark into       
flames4 ,he pretends to be  doing it    
purely on ,othello's account and accuses
 himself that3                 it is my 
nature's plague    ,to spy into abuses1 
and yet my jealousy    ,shapes faults   
that are not3    and then cries out3    
,o beware1 my lord1 of jealousy6    ,it 
is the green-eyed monster which doth    
mock    ,the meat it feeds on4 ,that    
cuckold lives in bliss    ,who certain  
of his fate1 loves not his wronger2     
,but1 ,o1 what damned minutes tells he  
o'er    ,who dotes1 yet doubts1         
suspects1 yet strongly loves6    ,there1
 indeed1 the woe of the suspicious is   
shown4 ,his minutes are  really damned2 

peace flies his heart1 rest from his    
couch1 sanity  from his throne1 and1    
yielding himself1 he becomes filled with
  murderous anger and imperils his      
salvation here and hereafter4           
,,chapter ,,xxi    ,,the ,,worries ,,of 
,,impatience      ,how many of our      
worries come from impatience8 ,we do not
 want to wait  until the fruition of our
 endeavors comes naturally1 until the   
time is  ripe1 until we are ready for   
that which we desire4 ,we wish to       
overrule conditions which are beyond our
 power2 we fail to accept  the          
inevitable with a good grace2 we refuse 
to believe in our  circumscriptions1 our
 limitations1 and in our arrogance and  
pride  express our anger1 our           
indignation1 our impatience4    ,i have 
seen people whose auto has broken down1 
worried fearfully  because they would   
not arrive somewhere as they planned1   
and in their  impatient fretfulness they
 annoyed1 angered1 and upset all around 
them1 without1 in one single degree1    

improving their own condition  or       
hastening the repair of the disaster4   
,what folly2 what more than  childish   
foolishness4    ,a child may be excused 
for its impatience and petulance for it 
has not  yet learned the inevitable     
facts of life--such as that breaks must 
be  repaired1 tires must be made so that
 they will not leak1 and that the       
gasoline tank cannot be empty if the    
machine is to run4 ,but a man1 a  woman1
 is supposed to have learned these      
incontrovertible facts1 and  should1 at 
the same time1 have learned acquiesence 
in them4    ,a train is delayed2 one has
 an important engagement2 worry seems   
inevitable and excusable4 ,but is it8   
,where is the use8 ,will it replace  the
 destroyed bridge1 renew the washed out 
track1 repair the broken  engine8 ,how  
much better to submit to the inevitable 
with graceful  acceptance of the fact1  
than to fret1 stew1 worry1 and at the   
same  time1 irritate everyone around    
you4    ,how serenely ,nature rebukes   

the impatience of the fretful worrier4  
,a  man plants corn1 wheat1 barley1     
potatoes--or trees1 that take five1     
seven years to come to bearing1 such as 
the orange1 olive1 walnut1  date1 etc4  
,let him fret ever so much1 worry all he
 likes1 chafe and  fret every hour2 let 
him go and dig up his seeds or plants to
 urge  their upgrowing2 let him even    
swear in his impatient worry and        
threaten to smash all his machinery1    
discharge his men1 and turn  his stock  
loose2 ,nature goes on her way1 quietly1
 unmoved1 serenely1  unhurried1         
undisturbed by the folly of the one     
creature of earth who  is so senseless  
as to worry--viz41 man4    ,many a man's
 hair has turned gray1 and many a       
woman's brow and  cheeks have become    
furrowed because of fretful1 impatient  
worry over  something that could not be 
changed1 or hastened1 or improved4      
,my conception of life is that manhood1 
womanhood1 should rise superior  to any 
and all conditions and circumstances4   

,whatever happens1 ,spirit  should be   
supreme1 superior1 in control4 ,and     
until we learn that  lesson1 life1 so   
far1 has failed4 ,inasmuch as we do     
learn it1 life has  become a success4   
,,chapter ,,xxii    ,,the ,,worries ,,of
 ,,anticipation      ,he crosses every  
bridge before he comes to it1 is a      
graphic and  proverbial rendering of a  
description of the man who worries in   
anticipation4 ,something1 sure1 is going
 to happen4 ,he is always  fearful1 not 
of what is1 but of what is going to be4 
,for twenty years  he has managed to    
live and pay his rent1 but at the       
beginning of each  month he begins      
afresh to worry where next month's rent 
is going  to come from4 ,he's collected 
his bills fairly well for a business    
life-time1 but if a debtor fails to send
 in his check on the very day  he begins
 to worry and fear lest he fail to      
receive it4 ,his wife has  given him    
four children1 but at the coming of the 
fifth he is sure  something             

extraordinarily painful and adverse is  
going to happen4    ,he sees--possibly1 
here1 ,i should say1 she sees--their son
 climbing  a tree4 ,she is sure he will 
fall and break a leg1 an arm1 or his    
neck4  ,her boy mustn't ride the horse  
lest he fall and injure himself2 if he  
goes to swim he is surely in danger of  
being drowned1 and she could  never     
allow him or his sister to row in a boat
 lest it be overturned4  ,the child must
 be watched momentarily1 lest it fall   
out of the window1  search out a sharp  
knife1 swallow poison1 or do some       
irreparable  damage to the bric-a-brac4 
,here let me relate an incident the     
truth of which is vouched for1 and      
which clearly illustrates the difference
 between the attitude of worry  and that
 of trust4 ,one day1 when ,flattich1 a  
pious minister of the  ,wurtemberg1 was 
seated in his armchair1 one of his      
foster children  fell out of a          
second-story window1 right before him1  
to the pavement  below4 ,he calmly      

ordered his daughter to go and bring up 
the child4  ,on doing so it was found   
the little one had sustained no injury4 
,a neighbor1 however1 aroused by the    
noise1 came in and reproached  ,flattich
 for his carelessness and inattention4  
,while she was thus  remonstrating1 her 
own child1 which she had brought with   
her1 fell  from the bench upon which she
 had seated it1 and broke its arm4 ,do  
you see1 good woman1 said the minister1 
if you imagine yourself to  be the sole 
guardian of your child1 then you must   
constantly carry it  in your arms4 ,i   
commend my children to ,god2 and even   
though they then  fall1 they are safer  
than were ,i to devote my whole time and
 attention  to them4    ,those who      
anticipate evils for their children too 
often seem to bring  down upon their    
loved ones the very evils they are      
afraid of4 ,and one  of the greatest    
lessons of life1 and one that brings    
immeasurable  and uncountable joys when 
learned1 is1 that ,nature--the great    

,father-,mother of us all--is kindly    
disposed to us4 ,we need not be so      
alarmed1 so fearful1 so anticipatory of 
evil at her hands4    ,charles ,warren  
,stoddard used to tell of the great     
dread ,mark ,twain was  wont to feel1   
during the exhaustion and reaction he   
felt at the close  of each of his       
lectures1 lest he should become         
incapable of further  writing and       
lecturing and therefore become dependent
 upon his friends  and die a pauper4    
,how wonderfully he conquered this demon
 of perpetual  worry all those who know 
his life are aware2 how that1 when his  
publisher failed he took upon himself a 
heavy financial burden1 for  which he   
was in no way responsible1 went on a    
lecture tour around the  world and paid 
every cent of it1 and finally died with 
his finances in  a most prosperous      
condition4    ,the anticipatory worries 
of others are just as senseless1 foolish
 and  absurd as were those of ,mark     
,twain1 and it is possible for every man

  to overcome them1 even as did he4     
,the cloud we anticipate seldom1 if     
ever1 comes1 and then1 generally1  in a 
different direction from where we sought
 it4 ,time spent on  looking for the    
cloud1 and figuring how much of injury  
it will do  us had better be utilized in
 garnering the hay crop1 bringing in the
  lambs1 or hauling warm fodder and     
bedding for them4    ,there is another  
side1 however1 to this worrying         
anticipation of  troubles4 ,the ancient 
philosophers recognized it4 ,lucan      
wrote3 ,the  very fear of approaching   
evil has driven many into peril4        
,there are those who believe that the   
very concentration of thought  upon a   
possible evil will bring to pass the    
peculiar arrangement of  circumstances  
that makes the evil4 ,of this belief ,i 
am not competent  to speak1 but ,i am   
fully assured that it is far from       
helpful to be  contemplating the        
possibility of evil4 ,in my own life ,i 
have found  that worrying over evils in 

anticipation has not prevented their    
coming1 and1 on the other hand1 that    
where ,i have boldly faced the          
situation1 without fear and its         
attendant worries1 the evil has fled4   
,hence1 whether worries in hand1 or     
worries to come1 worries real or        
worries imaginary1 the wise1 sane and   
practical course is to kill them  all   
and thus ,quit ,your ,worrying4         
,,chapter ,,xxiii    ,,how ,,our ,,worry
 ,,affects ,,others      ,if worry      
affected merely ourselves it would be   
bad enough1 but we  could tolerate it   
more than we do4 ,for it is one of the  
infernal  characteristics of worry that 
our manifestation of it invariably      
affects others as injuriously as it     
affects ourselves4    ,an employer who  
worries his employees never gets the    
good work out  of them as does the one  
who has sense enough to keep them happy1
  good-natured and contented4 ,i was    
lecturing once for a large  corporation4
 ,i had two colleagues1 who spelled me  

every hour4 ,for  much of the time we   
had no place to rest1 work or play      
between our  lectures4 ,our engagement  
lasted the better part of a year1 and   
the  result was that1 during that period
 where our reasonable needs were        
unprovided for1 we all failed to give as
 good work as we were capable  of4 ,we  
were unnecessarily worried by inadequate
 provision and our  employers suffered4 
,henry ,ford1 and men of his type have  
learned this  lesson4 ,men respond      
rapidly to those who do not worry them4 
,governor  ,hunt and ,warden ,sims1 of  
,arizona1 have learned the same fact in 
dealing with prisoners of the ,state    
,penitentiary4 ,the less the men  are   
worried by unnecessarily harsh          
treatment1 absurd and cruel             
restrictions1 curtailment of natural    
rights1 the better they act1 the  easier
 they are liable to reform and make     
good4    ,dr4 ,musgrove to his ,nervous 
,breakdowns1 tells a story of two       
commanders which well illustrates this  

point3        ,in a certain war two     
companies of men had to march an equal  
distance in order to meet at a          
particular spot4 ,the one      arrived  
in perfect order1 and with few signs of 
exhaustion1      although the march had 
been an arduous one4 ,the other company 
reached the place utterly done up and   
disorganised4 ,it was all      a        
question of leadership2 the captain of  
the first company      had known his way
 and kept his men in good order1 while  
the      captain of the second company  
had never been sure of himself1      and
 had harassed his subordinates with a   
constant succession      of orders and  
counter-orders1 until they had hardly   
known      whether they were on their   
heads or their heels4 ,that was why     
they arrived completely demoralised4    
,in war1 as in peace1 it is not work    
that kills so much as worry4  ,a general
 may make his soldiers work to the point
 of exhaustion as  ,napoleon often did1 
yet have their almost adoring worship4  

,but the  general who worries his men   
gets neither their good will nor good   
work4    ,a worrying mother can keep a  
whole house in a turmoil1 from father   
down to the latest baby4 ,the growing   
boys and girls soon learn to  dread the 
name of home1 and would rather be in    
school1 in the  backyard playing1 in the
 attic1 at the neighbors1 or in the     
streets1  anywhere1 than within the     
sound of their mother's worrying voice1 
or frowning countenance4 ,a worrying    
husband can drive his wife  distracted1 
and vice versa4 ,i was dining not long  
ago with a couple  that1 from outward   
appearance1 had everything that heart   
could desire  to make them happy4 ,they 
were young1 healthy1 had a good income1 
were  both engaged in work they liked1  
yet the husband worried the  wife       
constantly about trifles4 ,if she wished
 to set the table in a  particular way  
he worried because she didn't do it some
 other way2 if  she drove one of their  
autos he worried because she didn't take

 the  other2 and when she wore a        
spring-day flowery kind of a hat he     
worried  her because his mother never   
wore any other than a black hat4 ,the   
poor woman was distracted by the        
absolute absurdities1 frivolities and   
inconsequentialities of his worries1 yet
 he didn't seem to have sense  to see   
what he was doing4 ,so ,i gave him a    
plain practical talk--as ,i  had been   
drawn into a discussion of the matter   
without any volition on  my part--and   
urged him to quit irritating his wife so
 foolishly and so  unnecessarily4       
,some teachers worry their pupils until 
the latter fail to do the work  they are
 competent to do2 and the want of       
success of many an ambitious  teacher   
can often be attributed to his1 her1    
worrying disposition4  ,remember1       
therefore1 that when you worry you are  
making others unhappy  as well as       
yourself1 you are putting a damper1 a   
blight1 upon other  lives as well as    
your own1 you are destroying the        

efficiency of other  workers as well as 
your own1 you are robbing others of the 
joy of life  which ,god intended them   
freely to possess4 ,so that for the sake
 of  others1 as well as your own1 it    
becomes an imperative duty that you     
,,quit ,,your ,,worrying4               
,,chapter ,,xxiv    ,,worry ,,versus    
,,indifference      ,the aim and object 
of all striving in life should be to    
grow more  human1 more humane1 less     
selfish1 more helpful to our fellows4   
,any  system of life that fails to meet 
this universal need is predestined  to  
failure4 ,when1 therefore1 ,i urge upon 
my readers that they quit  their        
worrying about their husbands or wives1 
sons and daughters1  neighbors and      
friends1 the wicked and the good1 ,i do 
not mean that  they are to harden their 
hearts and become indifferent to their  
welfare4 ,god forbid6 ,no student of the
 human heart1 of human life1 and  of the
 ,bible can long ignore the need of a   
caution upon these lines4  ,the sacred  

writer knew what he was talking about   
when he spoke of the  human heart as    
deceitful and desperately wicked4 ,it is
 deceitful or it  would never blind     
people as it does to the inutility1 the 
futility of  much of their goodness4 ,a 
goodness that is wrapped up in a napkin1
 and  lies unused for the benefit of    
others1 rots and becomes a putrid mass  
of corruption4 ,it can only remain good 
by being unselfishly used for  the good 
of others1 and to prove that the human  
heart is desperately  wicked one needs  
only to look at the suffering endured by
 mankind  unnecessarily--suffering that 
organized society ought to prevent and  
render impossible4    ,the parable of   
the lost sheep was written to give us   
this needful  lesson4 ,the shepherd1    
when he found one of his sheep gone1 did
 not sit  down and wring his hands in   
foolish and useless worry as to what    
would  happen to the sheep1 the dangers 
that would beset it1 the thorns1  the   
precipices1 the wolves4 ,nor did he     

count over the times he had  cautioned  
the sheep not to get away from its      
fellows4 ,granted that  it was          
conceited1 self-willed1 refused to      
listen to counsel1  disobedient--the    
main fact in the mind of the shepherd   
was that it was  lost1 unprotected1 in  
danger1 afraid1 cold1 hungry1 longing   
for the  sheepfold1 the companionship of
 its fellows and the guardianship of    
the shepherd4 ,hence1 he went out       
eagerly and sympathetically1 and        
searched until he found it and brought  
it back to shelter4    ,this1 then1     
should be the spirit of those who have  
needed my  caution and advice to quit   
their worrying about their loved ones   
and  others--,do not worry1 but do not1 
under any consideration1 become         
hard-hearted1 careless1 or indifferent4 
,better by far preserve your  interest  
and the human tenderness that leads you 
to the useless and  needless expenditure
 of energy and sympathy in worry than   
that you  should let your loved ones    

suffer without any care1 thought1 or    
endeavor on their behalf4 ,but do not   
let it be a sympathy that leads  to     
worry4 ,let it be helpful1 stimulating1 
directive1 energizing in the  good4     
,overcome evil with good4 ,resist evil  
and it will flee from you4  ,so long as 
those you love are absorbed in the      
things that in the past  have led you to
 worry over them1 be tender and         
sympathetic with them1  surround them   
with your holy and helpful love4        
,jesus was tender and compassionate with
 all who were sick or diseased  in body 
or mind4 ,he was never angry with any1  
save the proud and  self-righteous      
,pharisees4 ,he tenderly forgave the    
adulterous woman1  justified the        
publican and never lectured or rebuked  
those who came to  have their bodily and
 mental infirmities removed by him4 ,let
 us then  be tender with the erring and 
the sinful1 rather than censorious1  and
 full of rebuke4 ,is it not the better  
way to point out the  right--overcome   

the evil with the good1 and thus bind   
our erring  loved ones more firmly to   
ourselves4 ,surely our own errors1      
failures1  weaknesses and sins ought to 
have taught us this lesson4    ,in the  
bedroom of a friend where ,i recently   
slept1 was a card on  which was         
illuminated these words1 which bear     
particularly upon this  subject3        
,the life that has not known and        
accepted sorrow is strangely      crude 
and untaught2 it can neither help nor   
teach1 for it has      never learned4   
,the life that has spurned the lesson of
 sorrow1      or failed to read it      
aright1 is cold and hard4 ,but the life 
that has been disciplined by sorrow is  
courageous and full of      holy and    
gentle love4    ,and it is this holy1   
gentle1 and courageous love that we need
 to  exercise every day towards those   
who require it1 rather than the  worry  
that frets still more1 irritates1 and   
widens the gulf already  existent4 ,so1 
reader1 don't worry1 but help1          

sympathetically and  lovingly1 and above
 all1 don't become indifferent1         
hard-hearted and  selfish4              
,,chapter ,,xxv    ,,worries ,,and      
,,hobbies      ,though these words are  
much alike in sound they have no        
sympathy  one with another4 ,put them in
 active operation and they rush at each 
other's throats far worse than ,allies  
and ,germans are now fighting4  ,they   
strive for a death grip1 and as soon as 
one gets hold he hangs on  to the       
end--if he can4 ,yet1 as in all         
conflicts1 the right is sure to  win in 
an equal combat1 the right of the hobby 
is absolutely certain  to win over the  
wrong of the worry4    ,webster defines 
a hobby as3 ,a subject or plan which one
 is constantly  setting off1 or a       
favorite and ever recurring theme of    
discourse1  thought1 or effort1 but the 
editor of ,the ,century ,dictionary has 
a better definition1 more in accord with
 modern thought1 viz41 ,that  which a   
person persistently pursues or dwells   

upon with zeal or  delight1 as if riding
 a horse4    ,are you cursed by the     
demon of worry8 ,has he got a death grip
 on your  throat8 ,do you want to be    
freed from his throttling assaults8 ,if 
so1 get a hobby1 the more mentally      
occupying the better1 and ride it       
earnestly1 sincerely1 furiously4 ,let it
 be what it will1 it will  far more than
 pay in the end1 when you find yourself 
free from the  nightmare of worry that  
has so relentlessly ridden you for so   
long4  ,collect bugs1 old china1 ,indian
 baskets1 ,indian blankets1 pipes1      
domestic implements1 war paraphanalia1  
photographs1 butterflies2 make  an      
herbarium of the flowers of your ,state2
 collect postage stamps1 old  books1    
first editions2 go in for               
extra-illustrating books2 pick up and   
classify all the stray phrases you      
hear--do anything that will occupy  your
 mind to the exclusion of worry4    ,and
 let me here add a thought--the more    
unselfish you can make your  hobby the  

better it will be for you4 ,perhaps ,i  
can put it even in a  better way yet3   
,the less your hobby is entered into    
with the purely  personal purpose of    
pleasing yourself1 and the more actively
 you can  make it beneficial1 helpful1  
joy-giving to others1 the more potent   
for good it will be in aiding you to get
 rid of your worries4 ,he who  blesses  
another is thrice blessed1 for he not   
only blesses himself by  the act1 but   
brings upon himself the blessing of the 
recipient and of  ,almighty ,god1 with  
the oft-added blessing of those who     
learn of  the good deed and breathe a   
prayer of commendation for him4 ,in ,san
  ,francisco there is a newspaper man   
who writes in a quaint1 peculiar1       
simple1 yet subtle fashion1 who signs   
himself ,k4,c4,b4 ,during the           
,panama-,pacific ,exposition one of his 
hobbies was to plan to take there  all  
the poor youngsters of the streets1 the 
newsboys1 the little ones  in hospitals1
 the incurables1 the down-and-outers of 

the work-house  and poor-farm1 and      
finally1 the almost forgotten old men   
and women of  the almshouses4    ,i saw 
strong men weep with deep emotion at the
 procession of  automobiles conveying   
the happy though generally silent       
throngs on  one of these occasions1 and 
,k4,c4,b4 must have felt the showers of 
blessings that were sent in his         
direction from those who saw and        
appreciated his beautiful helpfulness4  
,there is nothing to hinder any man1    
woman1 youth or maiden from doing       
exactly the same kind of thing1 with the
 same spirit1 and bringing  a few hours 
of happiness to the needy1 thus driving 
worry out of the  mind1 putting it hors 
de combat1 so that it need never again  
rise  from the field4    ,every blind   
asylum1 children's hospital1 slum1 old  
lady's home1 old  man's home1 almshouse1
 poor-farm1 work-house1 insane asylum1  
prison1  and a thousand other centers   
where the poor1 needy1 sick and         
afflicted  gather1 has its lonely hearts

 that long for cherishing1 aching brows 
that need to be soothed1 pain to be     
alleviated2 and there is no  panacea so 
potent in removing the worries of our   
own life as to engage  earnestly in     
removing the positive and active ills of
 others4    ,people occasionally ask me 
if ,i have any hobby that has helped me 
ward  off the attacks of worry4 ,i do   
not believe ,i have ever answered this  
question as fully as ,i might have done1
 so ,i will attempt to do so  now4 ,one 
of my first hobbies was food reform and 
hygienic living4 ,when  ,i was little   
more than twelve years of age ,i became 
a vegetarian  and for nine years lived  
the life pretty rigorously4 ,i have     
always  believed that simpler1 plainer  
living than most of us indulge in1 more 
open air life1 sleeping1 working1 living
 out of doors1 more active1  physical   
exercise of a useful character1 would be
 beneficial4 ,then ,i  became a student 
of memory culture4 ,professor ,william  
,stokes of  the ,royal ,polytechnic     

,institution became my friend1 and for  
years  ,i studied his system of         
,mnemonics1 or as it was generally      
termed  ,artificial ,memory4 ,then ,i   
taught it for a number of years1 and    
evolved from it certain fundamental     
principles upon which ,i have  largely  
based the cultivation of my own memory  
and mentality1 and for  which ,i can    
never be sufficiently thankful4 ,then ,i
 desired to be a  public speaker4 ,i    
became a hobbyist on pronunciation1     
enunciation1  purity of voice1 phrasing 
and getting the thought of my own mind  
in  the best and quickest possible way  
into the minds of others4 ,for years  ,i
 kept a small book in which ,i jotted   
down every word1 its derivation  and    
full meaning with which ,i was not      
familiar4 ,i studied clear  enunciation 
by the hour2 indeed as ,i walked through
 the streets ,i  recited to myself1     
aloud1 so that ,i could hear my own     
enunciation1  such poems as ,southey's  
,cataract of ,lodore1 where almost every

 word  terminates in ing4 ,for ,i had   
heard many great ,english and ,american 
speakers whose failure to pronounce this
 terminal ing in such  words as coming1 
going1 etc41 used to distress me        
considerably4 ,other  exercises were the
 catches1 such as ,peter ,piper picks a 
peck of  pickled peppers1 or ,selina    
,seamstich stitches seven seams slowly1 
surely1 serenely and slovenly1 or       
,around a rugged rock a ragged  rascal  
ran a rural race4 ,then1 too1 ,professor
 ,stokes had composed a  wonderful yarn 
about the memory1 entitled ,my ,m-made  
memory medley1  mentioning memory's most
 marvelous manifestations4 ,this took up
 as  much as three or four pages of this
 book1 every word beginning with m4  ,it
 was a marvelous exercise for lingual   
development4 ,he also had  ,the         
,far-,famed ,fairy ,tale of ,fenella1   
and these were constantly  and          
continuously recited1 with scrupulous   
care as to enunciation4 ,my  father was 
an old-time conductor of choral and     

oratorio societies1 and  was the leader 
of a large choir4 ,i had a good alto    
voice and under his  wise dicipline it  
was cultivated1 and ,i was a            
certificated reader of  music at sight  
before ,i was ten years old4 ,then ,i   
taught myself  to play the organ1 and   
before ,i was twenty ,i was the organist
 and  choir-master of one of the largest
 ,congregational churches of my  native 
town1 having often helped my father in  
the past years to drill  and conduct    
oratorios such as ,the ,messiah1        
,elijah1 ,the ,creation1  etc4 ,when ,i 
began to speak in public the only       
special instruction ,i  had for the     
cultivation of the voice was a few words
 from my father to  this effect3 ,stand 
before the looking-glass and insist that
 your face  appear pleasant and         
agreeable4 ,speak the sentence you wish 
to hear4  ,listen to your own voice1 you
 can tell as well as anyone else whether
  its sound is nasal1 harsh1 raucous1   
disagreeable1 affected1 or in  any way  

displeasing or unnatural4 ,insist upon a
 pure1 clear1 natural1  pleasing tone1  
and that's all there is to it4 ,when you
 appear before  an audience speak to the
 persons at the further end of the hall 
and  if they can hear you don't worry   
about anyone else4 ,later1 when ,i had  
become fairly launched as a public      
speaker1 he came to visit me1 and  when 
,i appeared on my platform that night ,i
 found scattered around on  the floor1  
where none could see them but myself1   
several placards upon  which he had     
printed in easily-read capitals3 ,don't 
shout--keep cool4  ,avoid ranting4 ,make
 each point clear4 ,don't ramble1 etc4  
,when ,i was about fourteen ,i took up  
phonography1 or stenography as  it is   
now known4 ,this was an aid in reporting
 speeches1 making notes1  etc41 but one 
of its greatest helps was in the matter 
of analysing the  sounds of words thus  
aiding me in their clear enunciation4   
,at this time ,i was also a ,sunday     
school teacher1 and at sixteen years  of

 age1 a local preacher in the ,methodist
 church4 ,this led to my  becoming an   
active minister of that denomination    
after ,i came to the  ,united ,states1  
and for seven years ,i was as active as 
,i knew how to  be in the discharge of  
this work4 ,in my desire to make my     
preaching  effective and helpful ,i     
studied unweariedly and took up         
astronomy1  buying a three inch         
telescope1 and soon became elected to   
,fellowship  in the ,royal ,astronomical
 ,society of ,england4 ,then ,i took up 
microscopy1 buying the fine microscope  
from ,dr4 ,dallinger1 ,president  of the
 ,royal ,microscopical ,society1 with   
which he had done his great  work on    
bacilli--and which1 by-the-way1 was     
later stolen from me--and  ,i was       
speedily elected a ,fellow of that      
distinguished ,society4 ,a  little later
 ,joseph ,le ,conte1 the beloved        
geologist of the ,california  ,state    
,university1 took me under his wing1 and
 set me to work solving  problems in    

geology1 and ,i was elected1 in due     
time1 a ,fellow of the  ,geological     
,society of ,england1 a society honored 
by the counsels of  such men as         
,tyndall1 ,murchison1 ,lyell1 and all   
the great geologists of  the ,english   
speaking world4    ,just before ,i left 
the ministry1 in #ahhi1 ,i took up1 with
 a great deal  of zeal1 the study of the
 poet ,browning4 ,i had already yielded 
to the  charm of ,ruskin--whom ,i       
personally knew--and ,carlyle1 but      
,browning  opened up a new world of     
elevated thought to me1 in which ,i am  
still  a happy dweller4 ,in seeking a   
new vocation ,i naturally gravitated    
towards several lines of thought and    
study1 all of which have  influenced    
materially my later life1 and all of    
which ,i pursued with  the devotion     
accorded only to hobbies4 ,these were   
,i3 ,a deeper study  of ,nature1 in her 
larger and manifestations1 as the ,grand
 ,canyon of  ,arizona1 the ,petrified   
,forest1 the ,yosemite ,valley1 the ,big

 ,trees1 the  ,high ,sierras1 7with     
their snow-clad summits1 glaciers1      
lakes1 canyons1  forests1 flora and     
fauna71 the ,colorado and ,mohave       
,deserts1 the  ,colorado ,river1 the    
,painted ,desert1 and the many regions  
upon which ,i  have written books4 ,,ii3
 ,the social conditions of the submerged
 tenth1  which led to my writing of a   
book on ,the ,dark ,places of ,chicago  
which was the stimulating cause of      
,w4,t4 ,stead's soul-stirring book ,if  
,christ ,came to ,chicago4 ,here was and
 is the secret of my interest in  all   
problems dealing with social unrest1 the
 treatment of the poor  and sinful1     
etc41 for ,i was ,chaplain for two years
 of two homes for  unfortunate women and
 girls4 ,,iii4 ,a deeper study of the   
,indians1 in  whom ,i had always been   
interested1 and which has led to my     
several  books on the ,indians          
themselves1 their ,basketry1 ,blanketry1
 etc4 ,,iv4 ,a  more detailed study of  
the literature of ,california and the   

,west1 and  also1 ,v4 ,a more           
comprehensive study of the development  
of ,california  and other western       
states1 in order that ,i might lecture  
more  acceptably upon these facinating  
themes4    ,here1 then1 are some of the 
hobbies that have made1 and are making1 
my  life what it is4 ,i leave it to my  
readers to determine which has  been the
 better--to spend my hours1 days1 weeks1
 months and years in  getting my        
livelihood and worrying1 or in providing
 for my family  and myself1 and spending
 all the spare time ,i had upon these   
many and  varied hobbies1 some of which 
have developed into my life-work4 ,and  
,i sincerely hope ,i shall be absolved  
from any charge of either               
self-glorification or egotism in this   
recital of personal experiences4  ,at   
the time ,i was passing through them ,i 
had no idea of their great  value4 ,they
 were the things to which something     
within me bade me flee  to find refuge  
from the worries that were destroying   

me1 and it is  because of their         
triumphant success that ,i now recount  
them1 in the  fervent desire that they  
may bring hope to despondent souls1 give
  courage to those who are now wavering1
 uncertain and pessimistic1 and  thus   
rid them of the demons of fret and      
worry4    ,now that ,i have come to my  
final words where all my final          
admonitions  should be placed1 ,i find  
,i have little left to say1 ,i have said
 it  all1 reader1 in the chapters you   
have read 7or skipped47 ,indeed ,i have 
not so much cared to preach to you      
myself1 as to encourage1 incite  you to 
do your own preaching4 ,this is1 by far1
 the most effective1  permanent and     
lasting4 ,improvement can come only from
 within4 ,a seed  of desire may be sown 
by an outsider1 but it must grow in the 
soil of  your soul1 be harbored1        
sheltered1 cared for1 and finally       
beloved by  your own very self1 before  
it will flower into new life for you4   
,that you may possess this new life--a  

life of work1 of achievement1 of        
usefulness to others--is my earnest     
desire1 and this can come only to  its  
fullest fruition in those who have      
learned to ,,quit ,,worrying4