,,the ,,true ,,citizen1 ,,how ,,to ,,become ,,one ,,by ,w4 ,f4 ,,markwick1 ,d4 ,d4 ,,and ,w4 ,a4 ,,smith1 ,a4 ,b4 ,,preface4 ,this book1 intended as a supplementary reader for pupils in the seventh and eighth grades of school1 has been prepared with a view to meeting a real need of the times4 ,while there are a large number of text-books1 and several readers1 dealing with citizenship from the political point of view1 the higher aspects of citizenship--the moral and ethical--have been seriously overlooked4 ,the authors of this work have searched in vain for something which would serve as an aid to the joint development of the natural faculties and the moral instincts1 so as to produce a well-rounded manhood1 upon which a higher type of citizenship might be built4 ,the development of character appears1 to us1 to be of far greater importance1 in the preparation of the youth for the discharge of the duties of public life1 than is mere political instruction2 for only by introducing loftier ethical standards can the grade and quality of our citizenship be raised4 ,it is universally conceded that ethics and civics should go hand in hand2 and yet pupils pass through our schools by the thousand1 without having their attention definitely called to this important subject2 and only an honest desire to aid in improving this state of affairs1 has led to the preparation of these pages4 ,the plan of the book is simple in the extreme4 ,it consists of thirty-nine chapters1--one for each week of the school year2--to eachof which has been prefixed five memory gems2 one for each school day4 ,especial care has been taken to use only such language as will be perfectly intelligible to the pupils for whom it is intended4 ,the largest possible use has been made of anecdote and incident1 so as to quicken the interest and hold the attention to the end4 ,these anecdotes have been selected from every available quarter1 and no claim of originality is made concerning them or their use4 ,into each of those chapters which have to do directly with the development of the natural faculties1 or the moral powers1 a special illustration has been introduced2 this being clearly marked off by the insertion of its title in bold-faced type4 ,to these special illustrations a brief bibliography has been added1 in order that a fuller study of the character presented may be readily pursued where deemed desirable4 ,it is hoped that these special illustrations will not only serve to increase the general interest2 but that1 by thus bringing the pupil into direct contact with these greater minds1 ambitions and aspirations may be aroused which shall prove helpful in the later life4 ,a careful presentation of each separate theme by the teacher1 will not only increase the interest in the work of the schoolroom2 but1 by developing a higher type of citizenship1 will be a real service to our nation4 ,,the ,,authors4 ,,contents4 ,i4 ,,the ,,child4 ,i4 ,,the ,,education ,,of ,,the ,,natural ,,faculties ,,ii4 ,,observation ,,iii4 ,,obedience ,,iv4 ,,candor ,v4 ,,affection ,,vi4 ,,cheerfulness ,,vii4 ,,love ,,of ,,the ,,beautiful ,,viii4 ,,love ,,of ,,knowledge ,,ii4 ,,the ,,youth4 ,,ix4 ,,the ,,first ,,transition ,,period ,x4 ,,industry ,,xi4 ,,ambition ,,xii4 ,,concentration ,,xiii4 ,,self-,,control ,,xiv4 ,,perseverance ,,xv4 ,,promptness ,,xvi4 ,,honesty ,,xvii4 ,,courtesy ,,xviii4 ,,self-,,denial ,,xix4 ,,self-,,respect ,,xx4 ,,conscientiousness ,,xxi4 ,,enthusiasm ,,xxii4 ,,courage ,,xxiii4 ,,self-,,help ,,xxiv4 ,,humility ,,xxv4 ,,faithfulness ,,iii4 ,,the ,,man4 ,,xxvi4 ,,the ,,second ,,transition ,,period ,,xxvii4 ,,order ,,xxviii4 ,,reverence ,,xxix4 ,,sentiment ,,xxx4 ,,duty ,,xxxi4 ,,temperance ,,xxxii4 ,,patriotism ,,xxxiii4 ,,independence ,,xxxiv4 ,,the ,,ideal ,,man ,,iv4 ,,the ,,citizen4 ,,xxxv4 ,,what ,,constitutes ,,good ,,citizenship8 ,,xxxvi4 ,,the ,,citizen ,,and ,,the ,,home ,,xxxvii4 ,,the ,,citizen ,,and ,,the ,,community ,,xxxviii4 ,,the ,,citizen ,,and ,,the ,,nation ,,xxxix4 ,,the ,,ideal ,,citizen ,i4 ,,education ,,of ,,the ,,natural ,,faculties4 ,,memory ,,gems4 ,every man stamps his value on himself4--,schiller ,no capital earns such interest as personal culture4--,president ,eliot ,the end and aim of all education is the development of character4 --,francis ,w4 ,parker ,one of the best effects of thorough intellectual training is a knowledge of our own capacities4--,alexander ,bain ,education is a growth toward intellectual and moral perfection4 --,nicholas ,murray ,butler ,education begins in the home1 is continued through the public school and college1 and finds inviting and ever-widening opportunities and possibilities throughout the entire course of life4 ,the mere acquisition of knowledge1 or the simple development of the intellect alone1 may be of little value4 ,many who have received such imperfect or one-sided education1 have proved to be but ciphers in the world2 while1 again1 intellectual giants have sometimes been found to be but intellectual demons4 ,indeed1 some of the worst characters in history have been men of scholarly ability and of rare academic attainments4 ,the true education embraces the symmetrical development of mind1 body and heart4 ,an old and wise writer has said1 ,cultivate the physical exclusively1 and you have an athlete or a savage2 the moral only1 and you have an enthusiast or a maniac2 the intellectual only1 and you have a diseased oddity1--it may be a monster4 ,it is only by wisely training all of them together that the complete man may be found4 ,to cultivate anything--be it a plant1 an animal1 or a mind--is to make it grow4 ,nothing admits of culture but that which has a principle of life capable of being expanded4 ,he1 therefore1 who does what he can to unfold all his powers and capacities1 especially his nobler ones1 so as to become a well-proportioned1 vigorous1 excellent1 happy being1 practices self-culture1 and secures a true education4 ,it is a commonplace remark that a man's faculties are strengthened by use1 and weakened by disuse4 ,to change the form of statement1 they grow when they are fed and nourished1 and decay when they are not fed and nourished4 ,moreover1 every faculty demands appropriate food4 ,what nourishes one will not always nourish another4 ,accordingly1 one part of man's nature may grow while another withers2 and one part may be fed and strengthened at the expense of another4 ,in ,hawthorne's beautiful allegory1 the ,great ,stone ,face1 you remember how the man ,ernest1 by daily and admiring contemplation of the face1 its dignity1 its serenity1 its benevolence1 came1 all unconsciously to himself1 to possess the same qualities1 and to be transformed by them1 until at last he stood revealed to his neighbors as the long promised one1 who should be like the ,great ,stone ,face4 ,so in every human life1 the unrealized self is the unseen but all-powerful force that brings into subjection the will1 guides the conduct1 and determines the character4 ,the early life of ,washington is singularly transparent as to the creation and influence of the ideal4 ,we see how one quality after another was added1 until the character became complete4 ,manly strength1 athletic power and skill1 appear first2 then1 courtesy and refined manners2 then1 careful and exact business habits2 then1 military qualities2 then1 devotion to public service4 ,steadily1 but rapidly1 the transforming work went on1 until the man was complete2 the ideal was realized4 ,henceforth1 the character1 the man1 appears under all the forms of occupation and office4 ,legislator1 commander1 president2 the man is in them all1 though he is none of them4 ,half the blunders of humanity come from not knowing one's self4 ,if we overrate our abilities1 we attempt more than we can accomplish2 if we underrate our abilities we fail to accomplish much that we attempt4 ,in both cases the life loses just so much from its sum of power4 ,he who might wield the golden scepter of the pen1 never gets beyond the plow2 or perhaps he who ought to be a shoemaker attempts the artistic career of an ,apelles4 ,when a life-work presents itself we ought to be able from our self-knowledge to say1 ,i am1 or am not1 fitted to be useful in that sphere4 ,sydney ,smith represents the various parts in life by holes of different shapes upon a table--some circular1 some triangular1 some square1 some oblong--and the persons acting these parts1 by bits of wood of similar shapes1 and he says1 we generally find that the triangular person has gotten into the square hole1 the oblong into the triangular1 and a square fellow has squeezed into the round hole4 ,a fundamental need is to find out the elements of power within us1 and how they can be trained to good service and yoked to the chariot of influence4 ,we need to know exactly for what work or sphere we are best fitted1 so that when opportunities for service open before us1 we may invest our mental capital with success and profit4 ,self-knowledge must not be confused with self-conceit2 for it implies no immodesty or egotism4 ,even if the faithful study of one's self reveals a high order of natural gifts1 it is not needful to imitate the son of the ,emerald ,isle who always lifted his hat and made an obsequious bow when he spoke of himself or mentioned his own name4 ,george ,eliot hits off pompous self-conceit happily when she likens its possessor to a cock that thinks the sun rises in the morning to hear him crow4 ,margaret ,fuller wrote3 ,i now know all the people in ,america worth knowing1 and ,i have found no intellect comparable with my own4 ,even if she did not overrate herself1 such self-estimate implied no little boldness in expression4 ,we also read in ,greek history1 how1 when the commanders of the allied fleets gave in1 by request1 a list of the names of those who had shown the highest valor and skill at the battle of ,salamis1 each put his own name first1 graciously according to ,themistocles1 the real hero of the day1 the second rank4 ,not a few come to know themselves only through failures and disappointments4 ,strangers to their own defects--perhaps also to their own powers--they see how they might have succeeded only when success is finally forfeited4 ,their eyes open too late4 ,a ,southern orator tells of a little colored lad who very much wished to have a kitten from a newborn litter1 and whose mistress promised that1 as soon as they wer old enough1 he should take one4 ,too impatient to wait1 he slyly carried one off to his hut4 ,its eyes were not open1 and1 in disgust1 he drowned it4 ,but1 subsequently finding the kitten lying in the pail dead1 but with open eyes1 he exclaimed1 ,umph6 ,when you's alive1 you's blind4 ,now you's dead1 you see6 ,it will be a real calamity to us if our eyes only open when it is too late to make our life of any use4 ,all true life-power has a basis of high moral integrity4 ,far higher in the scale than any life of impulse1 passion1 or even opinion1 is the life regulated by principle4 ,the end of life is something more than pleasure4 ,man is not a piece of vitalized sponge1 to absorb all into himself4 ,the essentials of happiness are something to love1 something to hope for1 something to do--affection1 aspiration1 action4 ,we must also educate our dispositions4 ,some one has said3 ,disposition is a lens through which men and things are seen4 ,a fiery temper1 like a red glass1 gives to all objects a lurid glare2 a melancholic temper1 like a blue lens1 imparts its own hue2 through the green spectacles of jealousy every one else becomes an object of distrust and dislike2 and he who looks through the black glass of malice1 finds others wearing the aspect of his own malevolence4 ,only the cheerful and charitable soul sees through a clear and colorless medium1 whose transparency shows the world as it is4 ,disposition has also its concave and convex lenses1 which magnify some things and minify others4 ,the self-satisfied man sees every one's faults in giant proportions2 and every one's virtues1 but his own1 dwarfed into insignificance4 ,to the fretful man others seem fretful2 to the envious man1 envious2 and so with the well-disposed1 gentle1 and generous2 sunshine prevails over shadows4 ,the world is different to different observers1 largely because they have different media through which they look at it4 ,cheerful tempers manufacture solace and joy out of very unpromising material4 ,they are the magic alchemists who extract sweet essences out of bitter herbs1 like the old colored woman in the smoky hut1 who was glad of anything to make a smoke with1 and1 though she had but two teeth1 thanked ,god they were opposite each other6 ,goodness outranks even uprightness1 because the good man aims to do good to others4 ,uprightness is the beauty of integrity2 goodness is the loveliness of benevolence4 ,the good man visits the hut of misery1 the hovel of poverty1 leaving in a gentle and delicate way1 a few comforts for the table or wardrobe1 dainties for the fevered palate of the sick1 or such other helps as the case may call for1 as far as his means and circumstances will allow4 ,a true education should cover all these points1 and many others also2 but it must never be allowed to destroy the pupil's individuality4 ,it must teach that a person can be himself1 and study all the models he pleases4 ,webster studied the orations of ,cicero so thoroughly that he could repeat most of them by heart2 but they did not destroy or compromise his individuality1 because he did not try to be ,cicero4 ,it has been said that ,michael ,angelo1 who was the most original of ancient or modern artists1 was more familiar with the model statues and paintings of the world than any other man4 ,he studied the excellences of all the great works of art1 not to copy or imitate them1 but to develop his powers4 ,as the food he consumed became bone and muscle by assimilation2 so1 by mental assimilation1 the knowledge he acquired by art-models entered into the very composition of his mind4 ,the more thoroughly a man's nature is developed under the influences of a good education1 the more justly does he claim the liberty of thought and action1 and a suitable field whereon to think and act4 ,the materials of useful and honorable life--of life aiming at great and noble ends--are within him4 ,he feels it1 he knows it to be so2 and a denial uttered by ten thousand voices would not check the ardor of his pursuit1 or induce him to surrender one atom of his claim4 ,his claim involves a right4 ,he is as conscious of it as of his existence4 ,his mind has acquired the power of observing1 reasoning1 reflecting1 judging1 and acting2 and he feels that1 like a pendulum1 the action of his mind is capable of giving activity1 force1 and value1 to a large body of well-compacted machinery1 of which he is a part4 ,it is the mind that acts as the universal pendulum2 and if its liberty of action be circumscribed1 and its vibrations consequently fall short of the mark1 then its power will be crippled1 and the life1 as a whole will be imperfect and incomplete4 ,,ii4 ,,observation4 ,,memory ,,gems4 ,we get out of ,nature what we carry to her4--,katherine ,hagar ,fools learn nothing from wise men1 but wise men learn much from fools4 --,lavater ,the non-observant man goes through the forest and sees no firewood4 --,russian ,proverb ,some men will learn more in a country stage-ride than others in a tour of ,europe4--,dr4 ,johnson ,the world is full of thoughts1 and you will find them strewed everywhere in your path4--,elihu ,burritt ,all conscious life begins in observation4 ,we say of a baby1 ,see how he notices6 ,by this statement we really call attention to the fact that the child is beginning to be interested in things separate from and outside of himself4 ,up to this time he has seen but not observed1 for to observe is to see with attention2 to notice with care2 to see with the mind as well as with the eye4 ,there are many persons who see almost everything but observe almost nothing4 ,they are forever fluttering over the surface of things1 but put forth no real effort to secure and preserve the ideas they ought to gather from the scenes through which they pass4 ,every boy and girl in the land1 possessing a good pair of eyes1 has the means for acquiring a vast store of knowledge4 ,as the child1 long before he can talk1 obtains a pretty good idea of the little world that lies within his vision2 so may all bright1 active boys and girls obtain1 by correct habits of observation1 a knowledge that will the better fit them for the active duties of manhood and womanhood4 ,the active1 observing eye is the sign of intelligence2 while the vacant1 listless stare of indifference betokens an empty brain4 ,the eyes are placed in an elevated position that they may better observe all that comes within their range4 ,these highways to the soul should always stand wide open1 ready to carry inward all such impressions as will add to our knowledge4 ,no object the eye ever beholds1 no sound1 however slight1 caught by the ear1 or anything once passing the turnstile of any of the senses1 is ever again let go4 ,the eye is a perpetual camera1 imprinting upon the sensitive mental plates1 and packing away in the brain for future use1 every face1 every plant and flower1 every scene upon the street1 in fact1 everything which comes within its range4 ,it should1 therefore1 be easy to discern that since mere seeing may create false impressions in the mind1 and that only by careful observation can we gather for future use such impressions as are thoroughly reliable1 we cannot well overestimate the importance of its cultivation4 ,it is beyond question that childhood and early youth are the most favorable periods for the cultivation of this faculty4 ,not only is the mind then more free from care1 and1 therefore1 more at leisure to observe1 but it is also more easy to interest one's self in the common things1 which1 while they lie nearest to us1 make up by far the greater portion of our lives4 ,experience also proves that a person is not a good observer at the age of twenty1 in ninety-nine cases out of a hundred he will never become one4 ,the student1 says ,hugh ,miller1 should learn to make a right use of his eyes2 the commonest things are worth looking at2 even the stones and weeds1 and the most familiar animals4 ,then in early manhood he is prepared to study men and things in a way to make success easy and sure4 ,houdin1 the magician1 spent a month in cultivating the observing powers of his son4 ,together they walked rapidly past the window of a large toy store4 ,then each would write down the things that he had seen4 ,the boy soon became so expert that one glance at a show window would enable him to write down the names of forty different objects4 ,the boy could easily outdo his father4 ,the power of observation in the ,american ,indian would put many an educated white man to shame4 ,returning home1 an ,indian discovered that his venison1 which had been hanging up to dry1 had been stolen4 ,after careful observation he started to track the thief through the woods4 ,meeting a man on the route1 he asked him if he had seen a little1 old1 white man1 with a short gun1 and with a small bob-tailed dog4 ,the man told him he had met such a man1 but was surprised to find that the ,indian had not even seen the one he described4 ,he asked the ,indian how he could give such a minute description of a man whom he had never seen4 ,i knew the thief was a little man1 said the ,indian1 because he rolled up a stone to stand on in order to reach the venison2 ,i knew he was an old man by his short steps2 ,i knew he was a white man by his turning out his toes in walking1 which an ,indian never does2 ,i knew he had a short gun by the mark it left on the tree where he had stood it up2 ,i knew the dog was small by his tracks and short steps1 and that he had a bob-tail by the mark it left in the dust where he sat4 ,the poet ,longfellow has also dwelt upon the power of observation in the early training of ,hiawatha4 ,you will perhaps recall the lines3 ,then the little ,hiawatha ,learned of every bird its language1 ,learned their names and all their secrets1 ,how they built their nests in summer1 ,where they hid themselves in winter1 ,talked with them whene'er he met them1 ,called them ',hiawatha's ,chickens4' ,the most noted men of every land and age have acquired their fame by carrying into effect ideas suggested by or obtained from observation4 ,the head of a large commercial firm was once asked why he employed such an ignorant man for a buyer4 ,he replied3 ,it is true that our buyer cannot spell correctly2 but when anything comes within the range of his eyes1 he sees all that there is to be seen4 ,he buys over a million dollars' worth a year for us1 and ,i cannot recall any instance when he failed to notice a defect in any line of goods or any feature that would be likely to render them unsalable4 ,this man's highly developed power of observation was certainly of great value4 ,careful observers become accurate thinkers4 ,these are the men that are needed everywhere and by everybody4 ,by observation the scholar gets more out of his books1 the traveler more enjoyment from the beauties of nature1 and the young person who is quick to read human character avoids companions that would be likely to lead him into the ways of vice and folly1 and perhaps cause his life to become a total wreck4 ,,john ,,james ,,audubon4 ,in #ahbh a wonderful book1 ,the ,birds of ,america1 by ,john ,james ,audubon1 was issued4 ,it is a good illustration of what has been accomplished by beginning in one's youth to use the powers of observation4 ,audubon loved and studied birds4 ,even in his infancy1 lying under the orange trees on his father's plantation in ,louisiana1 he listened to the mocking bird's song1 watching and observing every motion as it flitted from bough to bough4 ,when he was older he began to sketch every bird that he saw1 and soon showed so much talent that he was taken to ,france to be educated4 ,he entered cheerfully and earnestly upon his studies1 and more than a year was devoted to mathematics2 but whenever it was possible he rambled about the country1 using his eyes and fingers1 collecting more specimens1 and sketching with such assiduity that when he left ,france1 only seventeen years old1 he had finished two hundred drawings of ,french birds4 ,at this period he tells us that it was not the desire of fame which prompted to this devotion2 it was simply the enjoyment of nature4 ,a story is told of his lying on his back in the woods with some moss for his pillow1 and looking through a telescopic microscope day after day to watch a pair of little birds while they made their nest4 ,their peculiar grey plumage harmonized with the color of the bark of the tree1 so that it was impossible to see the birds except by the most careful observation4 ,after three weeks of such patient labor1 he felt that he had been amply rewarded for the toil and sacrifice by the results he had obtained4 ,his power of observation gave him great happiness1 from the time he rambled as a boy in the country in search of treasures of natural history1 till1 in his old age1 he rose with the sun and went straightway to the woods near his home1 enjoying still the beauties and wonders of ,nature4 ,his strength of purpose and unwearied energy1 combined with his pure enthusiasm1 made him successful in his work as a naturalist2 but it was all dependent on the habit formed in his boyhood1--this habit of close and careful observation2 and he not only had this habit of using his eyes1 but he looked at and studied things worth seeing1 worth remembering4 ,this brief sketch of ,audubon's boyhood shows the predominant traits of his character1--his power of observation1 the training of the eye and hand1 that made him in manhood the most distinguished of ,american ornithologists1 with so much scientific ardor and perseverance that no expedition seemed dangerous1 or solitude inaccessible1 when he was engaged in his favorite study4 ,he has left behind him1 as the result of his labors1 his great book on ,the ,birds of ,america1 in ten volumes2 and illustrated with four hundred and forty-eight colored plates of over one thousand species of birds1 all drawn by his own hand1 and each bird being represented in its natural size2 also a ,biography of ,american ,birds1 in five large volumes1 in which he describes their habits and customs4 ,he was associated with ,dr4 ,bachman of ,philadelphia1 in the preparation of a work on ,the ,quadrupeds of ,america1 in six large volumes1 the drawings for which were made by his two sons2 and1 later on1 published his ,biography of ,american ,quadrupeds1 a work similar to the ,biography of the ,birds4 ,he died at what is known as ,audubon ,park1 on the ,hudson1 now within the limits of ,new ,york city1 in #ahea1 at the age of seventy4 ,footnote3 ,for fuller information concerning ,audubon1 consult ,life and ,adventures of ,john ,j4 ,audubon1 by ,robert ,buchanan 7,new ,york1 #ahfi72 ,griswold's ,prose ,writers of ,america 7,philadelphia1 #ahdg72 ,mrs4 ,horace ,st4 ,john's ,audubon the ,naturalist 7,new ,york1 #ahef72 ,rev4 ,c4 ,c4 ,adams's ,journal of the ,life and ,labors of ,j4 ,j4 ,audubon 7,boston1 #ahfj71 and ,audubon and his ,journals1 by ,m4 ,r4 ,audubon 7,new ,york1 #ahig74 ,,iii4 ,,obedience4 ,,memory ,,gems4 ,love makes obedience easy4--,t4 ,watson ,the education of the will is the object of our existence4--,emerson ,to learn obeying is the fundamental art of governing4--,carlyle ,true obedience neither procrastinates nor questions4--,francis ,quarles ,if thou wouldst be obeyed as a father1 be obedient as a son4 --,william ,penn ,by obedience is meant submission to authority1 and to proper restraint and control4 ,it is the doing of that which we are told to do2 and the refraining from that which is forbidden4 ,at its very best it may be defined as the habit of yielding willingly to command or restraint4 ,as observation forms the first step in the culture of the mind1 so obedience forms the first step in the building of the character4 ,it is as important to the life as is the foundation to the house4 ,thomas ,carlyle has well said that ,obedience is our universal duty and destiny1 wherein whosoever will not bend must break4 ,it is impossible to escape from it altogether1 and it is therefore wise to learn to obey as early in life as possible4 ,it does not take very long for a child to learn that it cannot do everything that it would like to do4 ,the wishes of others must be regarded4 ,these wishes spring from a knowledge of what is best4 ,children1 with their limited experiences1 cannot always foresee the consequences of their doings4 ,for their own good they must not be allowed to do anything that would result in harm to themselves or to others4 ,some one must oversee and direct them until they can act intelligently4 ,obedience is one of the principal laws of the family4 ,the harmony and peace of the entire household depend upon it4 ,true obedience does not argue nor dispute2 neither does it delay nor murmur4 ,it goes directly to work to fulfil the commands laid upon us1 or to refrain from doing that which is forbidden4 ,sir1 said the ,duke of ,wellington to an officer of engineers1 who urged the impossibility of executing his orders1 ,i did not ask your opinion4 ,i gave you my orders1 and ,i expect them to be obeyed4 ,a story is told of a great captain1 who1 after a battle1 was talking over the events of the day with his officers4 ,he asked them who had done the best that day4 ,some spoke of one man who had fought very bravely1 and some of another4 ,no1 said he1 you are all mistaken4 ,the best man in the field to-day was a soldier1 who was just lifting his arm to strike an enemy1 but when he heard the trumpet sound a retreat1 checked himself1 and dropped his arm without striking a blow4 ,that perfect and ready obedience to the will of his general1 is the noblest thing that has been done to-day4 ,the instant obedience of the child is as beautiful and as important as that of the soldier4 ,the unhesitating obedience which springs from a loving confidence is beautifully illustrated in the following incident3 ,a switchman in ,prussia was stationed at the junction of two lines of railroad4 ,his hand was on the lever for a train that was approaching4 ,the engine was within a few seconds of reaching his signal box when1 on turning his head1 the switchman saw his little boy playing on the line of rails over which the train was to pass4 ,lie down6 he shouted to the child2 but1 he himself1 remained at his post4 ,the train passed safely on its way4 ,the father rushed forward1 expecting to take up a corpse2 but what was his joy on finding that the boy had obeyed his order so promptly that the whole train had passed over him without injury4 ,the next day the king sent for the man and attached to his breast the medal for civil courage4 ,a cheerful obedience is one of the strongest proofs of love4 ,love is to obedience like wings to the bird1 or sails to the ship4 ,it is the agency that carries it forward to success4 ,when love cools1 obedience slackens2 and nothing is worthy of the name of love that leads to disobedience4 ,we remember the anecdote of a ,roman commander1 who forbade an engagement with the enemy1 and the first transgressor was his own son4 ,he accepted the challenge of the leader of the other host1 slew and disrobed him1 and then in triumph carried the spoils to his father's tent4 ,but the ,roman father refused to recognize the instinct which prompted this1 as deserving the name of love4 ,many of the restraints laid upon us result from the love of those in authority4 ,if we were permitted to pursue our own inclinations1 our health might be destroyed1 our minds run to waste1 and we should be apt to grow up slothful and selfish2 a trouble to others and burdensome to ourselves4 ,it is far easier to obey our parents and friends when we recall that we have experienced their goodness long enough to know that they wish to make us happy1 even when their commands seem most severe4 ,let us1 therefore1 show our appreciation of their goodness by doing cheerfully what they require4 ,the will is supported1 strengthened1 and perfected by obedience4 ,there are many who suppose that real strength of will is secured by giving it free play4 ,but we really weaken it in that way4 ,obedience to a reasonable law is a source of moral strength and power4 ,obedience is not weakness bowing to strength1 but is rather submission to an authority whose claims are already admitted4 ,if a man is royal when he rules over nature1 and yet more royal when he rules his brother man1 is he not most royal when he so rules himself as to do the right even when it is distasteful8 ,a man who had declared his aversion for what he called the dry facts of political economy1 was found one day knitting his brows over a book on that subject4 ,when a friend expressed surprise1 the man replied3 ,i am playing the schoolmaster with myself4 ,i am reading this because ,i dislike it4 ,difficulties are often really helpful4 ,they enlarge our experience and incite us to do our best4 ,the head of ,hercules1 says ,ruskin1 was always represented as covered with a lion's skin1 with the claws joining under the chin1 to show that when we had conquered our misfortunes they became a help to us4 ,one of the greatest hindrances to obedience is a false pride4 ,the thought of living under the will and direction of another is exceedingly unpleasant1 and where such a pride bears rule in the heart1 a cheerful obedience is almost an impossibility4 ,we often fail to obey simply because we are unwilling to acknowledge ourselves in the wrong4 ,obedience is also hindered by ignorance4 ,one of our commonest errors is that which teaches that authority is always pleasant1 and submission always painful4 ,the actual experiences of life prove that the place of command is usually a position of great anxiety1 while the place of obedience is generally one of ease and freedom from care4 ,indolence also opposes obedience4 ,in our selfish love of ease we allow duties to go undone until the habit of disobedience becomes almost unnoticeable2 but when we find ourselves compelled to resist it1 we then discover that to break away from its power is one of the hardest tasks we can be called upon to perform4 ,,the ,,charge ,,of ,,the ,,light ,,brigade4 ,a very striking example of prompt and unquestioning obedience is furnished us in that famous ,charge of the ,light ,brigade at ,balaclava1 during the ,crimean ,war1 of which you have all doubtless heard4 ,a series of engagements between the ,russians on the one side1 and the ,english and their allies on the other side1 took place near this little town1 on ,october #be1 #ahed4 ,the ,russians were for a time victorious1 and at last threatened the ,english port of ,balaclava itself4 ,the attack was diverted by a brilliant charge of the ,heavy ,brigade1 led by ,general ,scarlett4 ,then1 through a misunderstanding of the orders of ,lord ,raglan1 the commander-in-chief1 ,lord ,cardigan was directed to charge the ,russian artillery at the northern extremity of the ,balaclava valley with the ,light ,brigade1 then under his command4 ,lord ,cardigan was an exceedingly unpopular officer1 and greatly disliked by all his men1 ,but no sooner was the order given than1 with a battery in front of them1 and one on either side1 the ,light ,brigade hewed its way past these deadly engines of war and routed the enemy's cavalry4 ,of the six hundred and seventy horsemen who made the charge1 only one hundred and ninety-eight returned4 ,as an act of war it was madness4 ,in the opinion of the most competent judges there was no good end to be gained by it4 ,but as an act of soldierly obedience it was sublime4 ,the deed has been immortalized by the poet ,tennyson in the following verses3 ,i4 ,half a league1 half a league1 ,half a league onward1 ,all in the valley of ,death ,rode the six hundred4 ,forward1 the ,light ,brigade6 ,charge for the guns6 he said3 ,into the valley of ,death ,rode the six hundred4 ,,ii4 ,forward1 the ,light ,brigade6 ,was there a man dismay'd8 ,not tho' the soldier knew ,some one had blunder'd3 ,theirs not to make reply1 ,theirs not to reason why1 ,theirs but to do and die3 ,into the valley of ,death ,rode the six hundred4 ,,iii4 ,cannon to right of them1 ,cannon to left of them1 ,cannon in front of them ,volley'd and thunder'd2 ,storm'd at with shot and shell ,boldly they rode and well1 ,into the jaws of ,death1 ,into the mouth of ,hell ,rode the six hundred4 ,,iv4 ,flash'd all their sabers bare1 ,flash'd as they turn'd in air ,sabring the gunners there1 ,charging an army1 while ,all the world wonder'd3 ,plunged in the battery-smoke1 ,right thro' the line they broke2 ,cossack and ,russian ,reel'd from the saber-stroke ,shattered and sunder'd4 ,then they rode back1 but not ,not the six hundred4 ,v4 ,cannon to right of them1 ,cannon to left of them1 ,cannon behind them ,volley'd and thunder'd2 ,storm'd at with shot and shell1 ,while horse and hero fell1 ,they that had fought so well ,came thro' the jaws of ,death ,back from the mouth of ,hell1 ,all that was left of them1 ,left of six hundred4 ,,vi4 ,when can their glory fade8 ,o the wild charge they made6 ,all the world wonder'd4 ,honor the charge they made6 ,honor the ,light ,brigade1 ,noble six hundred6 ,footnote3 ,for the story of the ,crimean ,war1 consult ,encyclopedia ,britannica1 ,vol4 ,,viii41 p4 #cff2 also ,vol4 ,,xvii41 pp4 #bbh and #dhf4 ,,iv4 ,,candor4 ,,memory ,,gems4 ,truth lies at the bottom of the well4--,old ,proverb ,candor looks with equal fairness at both sides of a subject4 --,noah ,webster ,daylight and truth meet us with clear dawn4--,milton ,perfect openness is the only principle on which a free people can be governed4--,c4 ,b4 ,yonge ,there is no fear for any child who is frank with his father and mother4--,buskin ,candor and frankness are so closely akin to each other that we may properly study them together4 ,each of these words has an interesting origin4 ,candor comes from a ,latin word meaning to be white2 while frankness is derived from the name of the ,franks1 who were a powerful ,german tribe honorably distinguished for their love of freedom and their scorn of a lie4 ,a candid man is one who is disposed to think and judge according to truth and justice1 and without partiality or prejudice2 while the one word frank is used to express anything that is generous1 straightforward and free4 ,candor is a virtue which is everywhere commended1 though not quite so prevalent in the world as might be expected4 ,there are doctors who never tell a patient they can make nothing of his case1 or that it is one which requires the attention of a specialist4 ,there are lawyers who never assure a client that it is hopeless for him to expect to gain his suit4 ,and so1 in all trades and professions1 candor is as rare as it is good4 ,the lack of a simple and straightforward statement of such facts as are in our possession1 often leads to serious misunderstanding and sometimes to serious loss4 ,frankness is a combination of truthfulness and courage4 ,its usefulness depends largely on its association with other qualities and circumstances2 but to be frank is simply to dare to be truthful4 ,there are many men who would scorn to tell a lie1 who are destitute of frankness because they hesitate to face the consequences of perfect openness of speech or conduct4 ,an ,irishman1 who had neglected to thatch his cottage1 was one day asked by a gentleman with whom he was conversing1 ,did it rain yesterday8 ,instead of making a direct and candid reply1 he sought to hide his fault1 which he supposed had been discovered2 and the conversation proceeded as follows4 ,did it rain yesterday8 asked his friend4 ,is it yesterday you mean8 was the reply4 ,yes1 yesterday4 ,please your honor1 ,i wasn't at the bog at all yesterday1--wasn't ,i after setting my potatoes8 ,my good friend1 ,i don't know what you mean about the bog2 ,i only asked you whether it rained yesterday8 ,please your honor1 ,i couldn't get a car and horse any way1 to draw home my little straw1 or ,i'd have the house thatched long ago4 ,cannot you give me a plain answer to this plain question--,did it rain yesterday8 ,oh sure1 ,i wouldn't go to tell your honor a lie about the matter4 ,sorrah much it rained yesterday after twelve o'clock1 barring a few showers4 ,of course there will be no difficulty in seeing that such a conversation could not be entirely satisfactory to either party4 ,the virtue we are now recommending is in daily and hourly demand1 and of high and priceless value4 ,but here also we must beware of counterfeits4 ,a smooth outward manner1 a countenance clothed with perpetual smiles1 and an address distinguished by gentleness and insinuation1 may be assumed for selfish ends4 ,a truly candid man is neither carried away by ungenerous suspicion1 nor by a weak acceptance of the views of others2 and the whole constitution of his mind must be entirely changed before he can become capable of deceit4 ,frankness has often been counterfeited by mere bluster4 ,a couple of striking examples of this fact are brought into view in the recently published ,life and ,letters of ,charles ,darwin1 in which1 speaking of his childhood1 ,mr4 ,darwin says3 ,one little event has fixed itself very firmly in my mind1 and ,i hope it has done so from my conscience having been afterward sorely troubled by it4 ,it is curious as showing that apparently ,i was interested at this early age in the variability of plants6 ,i told another little boy that ,i could produce variously colored primroses by watering them with certain colored fluids1 which was of course a monstrous fable1 and has never been tried by me4 ,i may here also confess that as a little boy ,i was much given to inventing deliberate falsehoods1 and this was always done for the sake of causing excitement4 ,for instance1 ,i once gathered much valuable fruit from my father's trees and hid it in the shrubbery1 and then ran in breathless haste to spread the news that ,i had discovered a hoard of stolen fruit4 ,mr4 ,darwin also relates the following incident1 as illustrating the lack of truthfulness and candor on the part of another3 ,i must have been a very simple fellow when ,i first went to school4 ,a boy of the name of ,garnett took me into a cake shop one day1 and bought some cakes for which he did not pay1 as the shopman trusted him4 ,when we came out ,i asked him why he did not pay for them1 and he instantly answered1 ',why1 do you not know that my uncle left a great sum of money to the town on condition that every tradesman should give whatever was wanted without payment to any one who wore his old hat and moved it in a particular manner8' ,he then showed me how to move the hat1 and said1 ',now1 if you would like to go yourself into that cake shop1 ,i will lend you my hat1 and you can get whatever you like if you move the hat on your head properly4' ,i gladly accepted the generous offer1 and went in and asked for some cakes1 moved the old hat1 and was walking out of the shop1 when the shopman made a rush at me2 so ,i dropped the cakes and ran for dear life1 and was astonished by being greeted with shouts of laughter by my false friend ,garnett4 ,the same truth is illustrated in the case of an affected young lady who1 on being asked1 in a large company1 if she had read ,shakespeare1 assumed a look of astonishment and replied3 ,read ,shakespeare6 ,of course ,i have6 ,i read that when it first came out6 ,frankness and candor will always win respect and friendship1 and will always retain them2 and the consciousness of having such a treasure1 and of being worthy of it1 is more than wealth and honors4 ,a man quickly finds when he is unworthy of public respect or private friendship2 and the leaden weight he carries ever in his heart1 cannot be lightened by any success or any gratification he may secure4 ,but the man of upright character1 and proper self-respect1 will never meet with such trials as can deprive him of that higher happiness which rests in his own breast4 ,true candor is manly and leads directly to the development of nobility both of principle and conduct4 ,the late ,hon4 ,william ,p4 ,fessenden once made a remark which was understood as an insult to ,mr4 ,seward4 ,when informed of it1 and seeing such a meaning could be given to his words1 he instantly went to ,mr4 ,seward1 and said1 ,mr4 ,seward1 ,i have insulted you3 ,i am sorry for it4 ,i did not mean it4 ,this apology1 so prompt1 frank1 and perfect1 so delighted ,mr4 ,seward1 that1 grasping him by the hand1 he exclaimed1 ,god bless you1 ,fessenden6 ,i wish you would insult me again6 ,such an exhibition of real manliness as this may well be cited as worthy of the imitation of the youth of the land4 ,,dean ,,stanley4 ,in ,tom ,brown's ,schooldays1 that charming book1 so dear to all wide-awake boys1 there is a scene in which little ,arthur is introduced in the act of kneeling beside his bed1 on his first night at school1 for the purpose of saying his prayers according to the custom he had always observed at his home4 ,we are not so much concerned with the fact that he was ridiculed and persecuted by the older boys1 as with the further factthat this boy ,arthur is said to bear a remarkable resemblance to ,arthur ,penrhyn ,stanley1 whose name is everywhere known as the late ,dean of ,westminster ,abbey1 the most famous church in ,england1 if not of the world at large4 ,arthur ,stanley was one of the first boys to go to ,rugby after the great ,dr4 ,arnold took charge of the school1 and an early illustration of his candor and open-mindedness is shown in his immediate and public appreciation of the splendid qualities of his master1 at a time when ,dr4 ,arnold was so generally abused1 and even branded as an infidel4 ,dr4 ,arnold was indeed a noble teacher1 and the very man to develop the best faculties in young ,arthur ,stanley2 for one of the doctor's own strongest traits was this same open-mindedness4 ,the frankness and candor1 the directness and fearlessness with which ,stanley ever gave expression to his views2 the purity and whiteness of his mind1 and the sweetness and tenderness of his disposition1--all these had a part in the building of his fame4 ,but it was chiefly in his power to free himself from prejudice and to look fairly at all sides of the complex questions with which both he and the church to which he belonged were so frequently brought face to face1 that gave him his great popular influence1 and made him so great a champion of religious liberty4 ,truth1 simplicity and innocence are three jewels which many men barter for worldly honor and success2 but ,stanley held to these as with a grip of steel2 and1 through their influence1 he succeeded where a score of the great men of his day had already failed4 ,to tell of all that candor and frankness have done for humanity would be to trace the beginnings of the overthrow of almost every wrong4 ,other qualities are of course essential to all noble reformers--courage and faith and enthusiasm2 but open-mindedness1 which grows out of candor and frankness1 is the one pioneer that recognizes the opportunity of the hour and is willing to walk in the new light4 ,candor is the sign of a noble mind4 ,it is the pride of the true man1 the charm of the noble woman1 the defeat and mockery of the hypocrite1 and the rarest virtue of society4 ,footnote3 ,an admirable sketch of the career of ,dean ,stanley will be found in ,johnson's ,universal ,cyclopedia1 ,vol4 ,,vii41 p4 #fig4 ,see also ,life of ,dean ,stanley1 by ,r4 ,e4 ,prothero 7,london and ,new ,york1 #ahid74 ,v4 ,,affection4 ,,memory ,,gems4 ,gratitude is the music of the heart4--,robert ,south4 ,the best way of recognizing a benefit is never to forget it4 --,j4 ,j4 ,barthelmey ,the affection and the reason are both necessary factors in morality4 --,fowler ,true love burns hottest when the weather is coldest4--,swinnock ,the mind has a thousand eyes1 ,and the heart but one2 ,yet the light of a whole life dies ,when love is done4--,f4 ,w4 ,bourdillon ,one of the most powerful forces in the building of character is affection2 and one of the most common forms of its manifestation is gratitude4 ,the exercise of affection makes us tender and loving toward all living persons and creatures about us2 while the exercise of gratitude usually results in making them tender and loving toward us4 ,every boy and girl should endeavor to cultivate this spirit of affectionate consideration for the feelings of others1 and should be careful not to speak any word1 or do any act1 or even give any look which can cause unnecessary pain4 ,and yet there are many young people1 who have never been taught better1 who take exceeding pleasure in causing annoyance and even suffering to all with whom they have to do4 ,this is done with the simple idea of having a little fun2 but it is one of the worst habits we can possibly form1 and should be carefully avoided by all who would command the respect and esteem which every young person should desire to possess4 ,perhaps you have heard the story of the youth who1 while walking out with his tutor1 saw a pair of shoes that a poor laborer had left under a hedge while he was busied with his work4 ,what fun it would be1 exclaimed the young man1 to hide these shoes1 and then to conceal ourselves behind the hedge1 and see the man's surprise and excitement when he cannot find them4 ,i will tell you what would be better sport1 said the tutor2 put a piece of money into one of the shoes1 and then hide and watch his surprise when he finds it4 ,this the young man did2 and the joy and wonder of the poor laborer when he found the money in his shoe was as good fun as he wanted4 ,we all know what the feeling of gratitude is4 ,we have said ,thank you1 a great many times2 and have often felt really grateful in our hearts for gifts and favors received4 ,but we are too apt to forget that we have any one to thank for the most important benefits of our lives4 ,when we stop to think1 we see that all we have done or can do for ourselves is very little indeed in comparison with what has been done for us4 ,how much we owe to our parents6 ,what other creature in the world is so helpless as the human infant8 ,leave a little baby to take care of itself1 and how long do you suppose it would live8 ,how many of us would be alive to-day1 if in our earliest years we had not been provided for and watched over with tender care8 ,but the outward benefits for which children have to thank their parents are of less value than the lessons of truth and goodness which are never so well taught as by the lips of a faithful and devoted father and mother4 ,to these lessons the greatest and best men generally look back with the deepest gratitude4 ,a child's affection for his parents ought to make him tender toward them when age or disease has made them irritable or complaining4 ,a love that only accepts1 and never gives1 is not worthy of the name4 ,sometimes we hear of old men and women who are left to die alone1 whose children have deserted them1 and who have no friends in the world4 ,these cases seem pitiful enough1 and it breaks our hearts to think of them4 ,but usually the men and women who are left desolate in their old age are those who have been unloving in their youth4 ,a man that hath friends must show himself friendly1 and an aged man or woman who has made friends through life1 and been full of love and affection toward others1 is tolerably sure to be tenderly cared for in later years4 ,but true affection is never eager for returns4 ,we love because we must love2 never because we expect to be loved in return4 ,we do for others because we wish to make them happy2 and not because we wish them to do for us4 ,kindness and generosity have their place in the playground4 ,there may be thoughtfulness for one who is weaker than the rest1 or who is a newcomer1 or who1 for any reason1 is neglected by others4 ,there is an opportunity to stand up for those who are ill-used4 ,there is a generous sympathy for those who1 in any way1 are having a hard time4 ,in all these ways boys and girls1 when they are at play1 show pretty well what they are going to be in later life4 ,when ,napoleon was at a military school1 the boys were one day playing at war4 ,one set of them held a fort which the others were trying to capture4 ,the boy1 ,napoleon1 led the attacking party4 ,in the midst of the fight there was a flourish of trumpets1 and a party of officers entered1 who had come to inspect the school4 ,the boys that held the fort forgot their play1 and stood staring at the entering group4 ,napoleon did not lose his head for a moment4 ,he kept his party up to their work4 ,he took advantage of the interruption1 and when the besieged recovered their wits1 their fort was captured4 ,he was already the ,napoleon who in the real battles of later years knew how to turn so many seemingly adverse circumstances to good account4 ,we always think of ,sir ,walter ,scott as a very affectionate man2 but once when he was a boy he saw a dog coming toward him and carelessly threw a stone at him4 ,the stone broke the dog's leg4 ,the poor creature had strength to crawl up to him and lick his feet4 ,this incident1 he afterward said1 had given him the bitterest remorse4 ,he never forgot it4 ,from that moment he resolved never to be unkind to any animal4 ,we know that he kept that resolution1 for he wrote many of his novels with his faithful dogs ,maida1 ,nimrod1 and ,bran near him4 ,when ,maida died he had a sculptured monument of her set up before his door4 ,we all know boys who throw stones at animals from pure thoughtlessness and love of fun4 ,but no boy with a really affectionate nature can bear to make an animal or a human being suffer pain4 ,a boy who begins by being cruel to animals usually ends by being cruel to women and children4 ,a girl who habitually forgets to feed her kitten or her canary birds1 will be apt to forget her child later in life4 ,half a century ago there lived in the state of ,massachusetts a very remarkable man named ,thoreau4 ,this man became so deeply interested in the animal world that he built a little hut for himself near ,walden pond1 and he there lived in the closest sympathy with the birds and animals for more than two years4 ,it is said that even the snakes loved him1 and would wind round his legs2 and on taking a squirrel from a tree the little creature would hide its head in his waistcoat4 ,the fish in the river knew him and would let him lift them out of the water1 and the little wood-mice came and nibbled at the cheese he held in his hand4 ,it was ,thoreau's love for the little wild creatures which drew them to him1 for animals are as responsive to love as are human beings4 ,john ,howard gave his life to the work of improving the condition of prisons all over the world1 and finally he died alone in ,russia of jail fever4 ,he was followed in his labors by ,elizabeth ,fry in ,england1 and by ,dorothea ,dix in ,america4 ,these noble philanthropists were filled with unselfish love toward suffering humanity4 ,they devoted their lives to the neglected and forsaken1 including the whole world in their generous hearts2 and their names and deeds will never be forgotten4 ,there are two principal ways in which our kindly feelings may be made known3 ,first1 in our words4 ,it is pleasant to those who do us favors to know that we appreciate their kindness1 and we should never fail to tell them so4 ,this is often all the return that they expect or ask2 besides1 it is good for us4 ,we strengthen our feelings by giving them suitable expression4 ,loveless at last is the home in which no word of love is ever heard4 ,the grateful feeling to which one gives utterance kindles the same feeling in the hearts of those who hear4 ,second1 in our deeds4 ,if we are really grateful we are not satisfied with simply saying1 ,thank you1 to those who have been kind to us1 even when we know this is all they expect4 ,we wish to render them some service in return4 ,in the case of our parents1 as long as they are with us1 we can best do this by doing cheerfully what they ask us to do1 by thoughtfully anticipating their wishes1 and by trying to be as pure and good as we know they want us to be4 ,,abraham ,,lincoln4 ,abraham ,lincoln was a poor boy4 ,his early life was full of hardships2 but many a kind friend helped him in his struggle against poverty4 ,among these friends of his early youth was one1 ,jack ,armstrong1 of ,new ,salem1 ,illinois1 whose kind1 good-hearted wife performed for ,lincoln many a motherly act of kindness4 ,she made his clothes and got him something to eat while he rocked the baby4 ,years passed by4 ,lincoln became a successful lawyer4 ,soon after he had entered upon the practice of his profession at ,springfield1 his old friend1 ,jack ,armstrong died4 ,the baby whom ,lincoln had rocked grew into a stout but dissolute young man4 ,he was arrested1 charged with the crime of murder4 ,aunt ,hannah1 as ,lincoln used to call her1 was heartbroken with sorrow for her poor1 misguided boy4 ,in her grief she appealed to the noble1 good ,abe1 who had rocked her son when he was a baby4 ,the appeal brought tears to the eyes of ,lincoln4 ,his generous heart was touched4 ,he resolved to discharge the debt of gratitude which neither his great success in life nor the intervening years had erased from his memory4 ,he pledged his services without charge4 ,aunt ,hannah believed that her boy was innocent and that others wished to fasten the crime upon him because of his bad reputation4 ,the circumstances of the case were as follows3 ,while ,armstrong was in the company of several fast young men1 they became intoxicated4 ,a free fight ensued in which a young fellow named ,metzgar was killed4 ,after hearing the facts1 ,lincoln was convinced that the young man was not guilty1 and resolved to do his best to save him from the gallows4 ,lincoln secured a postponement of the trial and spent much time in tracing the evidence4 ,he labored as hard to pay his old debt of gratitude as he would have done if he had been offered a five thousand dollar fee4 ,the day for the trial came4 ,lincoln threw his whole soul into the effort to defend the life of his client4 ,he succeeded in proving his innocence beyond the shadow of a doubt4 ,the closing of his plea was a marvel of eloquence4 ,he depicted the loneliness and sorrow of the widowed mother1 whose husband had once welcomed to his humble home a strange and penniless boy4 ,that boy now stands before you pleading for the life of his benefactor's son4 ,when the jury brought in the verdict1 not guilty1 a shout of joy went up from the crowded court room4 ,the aged mother pressed forward through the throng and1 with tears streaming from her eyes1 attempted to express to ,lincoln her gratitude for his noble effort4 ,some months afterward ,lincoln called to see her at her home4 ,she urged him to take pay for his services4 ,why1 ,aunt ,hannah1 he exclaimed1 ,i shan't take a cent of yours2 never6 ,anything ,i can do for you1 ,i will do willingly1 and without any charge4 ,true gratitude never forgets4 ,no one can possess too much gratitude any more than he can have too much honesty or truthfulness4 ,it was a pearl of great price in ,lincoln's heart4 ,he was truer and nobler for it2 and it did much to endear him to the ,american people1 by whom he is still remembered as one of the most large-hearted and liberal-minded men our country has produced4 ,footnote3 ,see also biographies of ,lincoln1 by ,holland 7#ahfe72 ,arnold 7#ahfh72 ,lamon 7#ahgb72 ,nicolay and ,hay 7#ahij72 ,schurz 7#ahib72 and ,herndon 7#ahib1 revised edition74 ,,vi4 ,,cheerfulness4 ,,memory ,,gems4 ,cheerfulness is the best promoter of health4--,addison ,give us1 oh give us1 the man who sings at his work4--,carlyle ,age without cheerfulness is like a ,lapland winter without the sun4 --,colton ,an ounce of cheerfulness is worth a pound of sadness4--,fuller ,the habit of looking at the bright side of things is better than an income of a thousand a year4--,hume4 ,we all love the company of cheerful people1 but we do not think1 as much as we ought to1 of the nature of cheerfulness itself4 ,because we find that some people are naturally cheerful1 we are apt to forget that cheerfulness is a habit which can be cultivated by all4 ,whether we do or do not possess a cheerful disposition1 depends very largely upon our own efforts2 for if we will endeavor1 while still in our early years1 to form the habit of looking on the bright side of things1 and then persist in this course as we grow older1 we shall certainly attain to that habitual cheerfulness which makes the lives of those we admire so sunny and so pleasing4 ,even the smallest matters may aid us in forming this habit4 ,perhaps you have heard of the little girl who noticed1 while eating her dinner1 that the golden rays of the sun fell upon her spoon4 ,she put the spoon to her mouth1 and then exclaimed1 ,o mother6 ,i have swallowed a whole spoonful of sunshine4 ,some children even take a cheerful view of their punishments1 as seen in the following incident4 ,little ,charley had been very naughty1 and was imprisoned for an hour in the kitchen wood-box4 ,he speedily began amusing himself with chips and splinters1 and was playing quite busily and happily1 when a neighbor entered the house by way of the kitchen4 ',charley1' he cried1 'what are you doing there8' ',nothing1' said ,charley1 'nothing2 but mamma's just been having one of her bad spells4' ,cheerfulness consists in that happy frame of mind which is best described as the shutting out of all that pertains to the morbid1 the gloomy1 the fretful1 and the discontented4 ,the perfection of cheerfulness is displayed in general good temper united to much kindliness of heart4 ,it arises partly from personal goodness1 and partly from belief in the goodness of others4 ,its face is ever directed toward happiness4 ,it sees the glory in the grass1 the sunshine on the flower4 ,it encourages happy thoughts1 and lives in an atmosphere of peace4 ,it costs nothing1 and yet is invaluable2 for it blesses its possessor1 and affords a large measure of enjoyment to others4 ,cheerfulness bears the same friendly regard to the mind as to the body4 ,it banishes all anxious care and discontent1 soothes and composes the passions1 and keeps the soul in a perpetual calm4 ,try for a single day to keep yourself in an easy and cheerful frame of mind2 and then compare the day with one which has been marred by discontent1 and you will find your heart open to every good motive1 and your life so greatly strengthened1 that you will wonder at your own improvement1 and will feel that you are more than repaid for the effort4 ,goethe once said1 ,give me the man who bears a heavy load lightly1 and looks on a grave matter with a blithe and cheerful eye4 ,and ,carlyle has pointed out that ,one is scarcely sensible of fatigue whilst he marches to music4 ,the very stars are said to make harmony as they revolve in their spheres4 ,wondrous is the strength of cheerfulness2 altogether past calculation its power of endurance4 ,efforts1 to be permanently useful1 must be uniformly joyous--a spirit all sunshine1 graceful from very gladness1 beautiful because bright4 ,this spirit of cheerfulness should be encouraged in our youth if we would wish to have the benefit of it in our old age4 ,persons who are always innocently cheerful and good-humored are very useful in the world2 they maintain peace and happiness1 and spread a thankful temper among all who live around them4 ,a little word in kindness spoken ,a motion or a tear1 ,has often healed a heart that's broken1 ,and made a friend sincere4 ,cheerfulness does not depend upon the measure of our possessions4 ,there is a ,persian story to the effect that the great king1 being out of spirits1 consulted his astrologers1 and was told that happiness could be found by wearing the shirt of a perfectly happy man4 ,the court1 and the homes of all the prosperous classes were searched in vain2 no such man could be found4 ,at last a common laborer was found to fulfill the conditions2 he was absolutely happy2 but1 alas6 the remedy was as far off as ever1 for the man had no shirt4 ,the same truth may be illustrated by a reference to the life and character of the ,roman emperor1 ,nero4 ,few persons ever had greater means and opportunities for self-gratification4 ,from the senator to the slave1 everybody in the empire crouched in servile subjection before his throne4 ,enormous revenues from the provinces were poured into his coffers1 and no one dared criticise his manner of spending them4 ,he was absolute monarch1 holding the destinies of millions at his will4 ,he came to the throne at seventeen2 and during the fifteen years of his reign he exhausted every known means of passionate indulgence4 ,he left nothing untried or untouched that could stimulate the palate1 or arouse his passions1 or administer in any way to his pleasure4 ,after the great fire in ,rome1 he built his golden palace1 and said1 ,now at last ,i am lodged like a man2 but alas6 his search for happiness was in vain4 ,during his later years he never knew a really cheerful day2 and1 at last1 he was forced to flee before his outraged people1 and took refuge in a miserable hut1 trembling like a base coward1 where1 at his own request1 a slave did him the favor to end his miserable life4 ,in one of his famous essays1 ,addison says1 ,i have always preferred cheerfulness to mirth4 ,the latter ,i consider as an act1 the former as a habit of the mind4 ,mirth is like a flash of lightning that breaks through a gloom of clouds1 and glitters for a moment2 cheerfulness keeps up a kind of daylight in the mind1 and fills it with a steady and perpetual serenity4 ,cheerfulness and good spirits depend in a great degree upon bodily causes2 but much may be done for the promotion of this frame of mind4 ,persons subject to low spirits should make the room in which they live as cheerful as possible2 hanging up pictures or prints1 and filling the odd nooks and corners with beautiful ornaments4 ,a bay window looking upon pleasant objects1 and1 above all1 a large fire whenever the weather will permit1 are favorable to good spirits1 and the tables near should be strewed with books and pamphlets4 ,to this1 says ,sydney ,smith1 must be added as much eating and drinking as is consistent with health2 and some manual employment for men--as gardening1 a carpenter's shop1 or a turning-lathe4 ,women have always manual employment enough1 and it is a great source of cheerfulness4 ,for children1 fresh air1 occupation1 and outdoor sports are great helps in overcoming depression and gloom4 ,,sydney ,,smith4 ,there are a few noble natures whose very presence carries sunshine with them wherever they go2 a sunshine which means pity for the poor1 sympathy for the suffering1 help for the unfortunate1 and kindness toward all4 ,it is the sunshine1 and not the cloud1 that colors the flower4 ,there is more virtue in one sunbeam than in a whole hemisphere of cloud and gloom4 ,a man of this stamp is found in ,sydney ,smith1 an ,english clergyman and writer of great distinction1 who was born in #agga1 and died in #ahde4 ,his was a sunny temperament4 ,noted for his wit1 he was equally famous for his kindness4 ,he hated injustice2 he praised virtue2 he pierced humbugs2 he laughed away trouble2 he preached and lived the gospel of ,christian cheerfulness4 ,smith helped to found the ,edinburgh ,review1 and he advocated putting on the title-page this truthful1 too truthful1 sentence3 ,we cultivate literature on a little oatmeal4 ,poor but happy1 this jest is characteristic of the man4 ,his name became known3 his society was sought4 ,macaulay and he were called the great talkers4 ,he moved to ,london1 and gave lectures on moral philosophy that drew crowds1 so that the carriages of fashion blocked the streets4 ,he was the charm of every circle4 ,his pen was always on the side of progress and good fellowship4 ,at every turn in life he made light of vexations1 and never allowed himself or those with him to indulge in morbid ideas1 imaginative forebodings1 or resentment4 ,this is what he wrote to his daughter3 ,i am not situated as ,i should choose2 but ,i am resolved to like it1 and to reconcile myself to it2 which is more manly than to feign myself above it and send up complaints of being thrown away4 ,one of his favorite expressions was1 ,let us glorify the room2 which meant1 throw up the shades and let in the sunshine4 ,the following anecdote will help to show his bright and sparkling disposition3 ,at dinner with a large party of famous men and women1 a ,french scientist annoyed all the rest by loudly arguing for atheism1 and proclaimed his belief that there is no ,god4 ,very good soup this1 struck in ,sydney ,smith4 ,yes1 monsieur1 it is excellent1 replied the atheist4 ,pray1 sir1 continued ,smith1 do you believe in a cook8 ,the ounce of wit was worth a pound of argument4 ,he is one of the very few men whose names have been handed down to us by reason of the possession of this gift1 and his career should be more fully studied4 ,footnote3 ,see ,wit and ,wisdom of ,sydney ,smith1 by ,duyckinck 7#ahef72 ,memoirs of ,sydney ,smith by his daughter1 ,lady ,holland 7#ahee72 ,life and ,times of ,sydney ,smith1 by ,stuart ,j4 ,reid 7,london1 #ahdd74 ,,vii4 ,,the ,,love ,,of ,,the ,,beautiful4 ,,memory ,,gems4 ,the beautiful can never die4--,kingsley ,a thing of beauty is a joy forever4--,keats ,the love of beauty is an essential part of all healthy human nature4 --,ruskin ,the sense of beauty is its own excuse for being4--,dr4 ,hedge ,if eyes were made for seeing1 ,then beauty is its own excuse for being4--,emerson ,one of the principal objects of the large amount of nature study that1 within recent years1 has been pursued in our public schools1 is to develop in the pupils the love of the beautiful4 ,the beautiful in nature and art is that which gives pleasure to the senses4 ,the question might be asked1 ,why do some forms and colors please1 and others displease8 ,yankee fashion1 it might be answered by the question1 ,why do we like sugar and dislike wormwood8 ,it is also a fact that cultivated minds derive more pleasure from nature and art than uncultivated minds4 ,this fact is aptly illustrated by the following remark of a little girl in one of the lower grades of our public schools4 ,shortly after she had taken up the study of plants and minerals she came to her teacher and said1 ,oh6 we have a lovely time now when we go up to the reservoir to play4 ,before we studied about plants and stones1 we used to go up there and sit down and look around2 but now we find so many beautiful things to look at4 ,we know the plants and stones2 and what pleasure it does give us to find a new specimen6 ,this child's love of the beautiful was being intelligently developed4 ,natural beauty is an all-pervading presence4 ,it unfolds into the numberless flowers of spring4 ,it waves in the branches of the trees and the green blades of grass4 ,it haunts the depths of the earth and the sea1 and gleams from the hues of the shell and the precious stone4 ,and not only these minute objects1 but the ocean1 the mountains1 the clouds1 the heavens1 the stars1 the rising and setting sun--all overflow with beauty4 ,the universe is its temple2 and those men who are alive to it cannot lift their eyes without feeling themselves encompassed with it on every side4 ,this beauty is so precious1 the enjoyments it gives are so refined and pure1 so congenial to our tenderest and noblest feelings1 and so akin to worship1 that it is painful to think of the multitude of persons living in the midst of it and yet remaining almost as blind to it as if they were tenants of a dungeon4 ,all persons should seek to become sufficiently acquainted with the beautiful in nature to secure to themselves the rich fund of happiness which it is so well able to give4 ,there is not a worm we tread upon1 nor a rare leaf that dances merrily as it falls before the autumn winds1 but has superior claims upon our study and admiration4 ,the child who plucks a rose to pieces1 or crushes the fragile form of a fluttering insect1 destroys a work which the highest art could not create1 nor man's best skilled hand construct4 ,one of the first forms in which man's idea of the beautiful shaped itself was in architecture4 ,extremely crude at first1 this love for beautiful buildings has been highly developed among civilized nations4 ,ruskin says1 ,all good architecture is the expression of national life and character1 and is produced by a permanent and eager desire or taste for beauty4 ,a taste for pictures1 merely1 is not in itself a moral quality2 but the taste for good pictures is4 ,a beautiful painting by one of the great artists1 a ,grecian statue1 or a rare coin1 or magnificent building1 is a good and perfect thing2 for it gives constant delight to the beholder4 ,the absence of the love of nature is not an assured ground of condemnation4 ,its presence is an invariable sign of goodness of heart1 though by no means an evidence of moral practice4 ,in proportion to the degree in which it is felt1 will probably be the degree in which nobleness and beauty of character will be attained4 ,one of our great artists has said1 that good taste is essentially a moral quality4 ,to his mind1 the first1 last1 and closest trial question to any living creature is1 ,what do you like8 ,tell me what you like1 and ,i will tell you what you are4 ,let us examine this argument4 ,suppose you go out into the street and ask the first person you meet what he likes8 ,you happen to accost a man in rags with an unsteady step1 who1 straightening himself up in a half uncertain way1 answers1 ,a pipe and a quart of beer4 ,you can take a pretty good measure of his character from that answer1 can you not8 ,but here comes a little girl1 with golden hair and soft1 blue eyes4 ,what do you like1 my little girl8 ,my canary1 and to run among the flowers1 is her answer4 ,and you1 little boy1 with dirty hands and low forehead1 ,what do you like8 ,a chance to hit the sparrows with a stone4 ,when we have secured so much knowledge of their tastes1 we really know the character of these persons so well that we do not need to ask any further questions about them4 ,the man who likes what you like must belong to the same class with you4 ,you may give him a different form of work to do1 but as long as he likes the things that you like1 and dislikes that which you dislike1 he will not be content while employed in an inferior position4 ,hearing a young lady highly praised for her beauty1 ,gotthold asked1 ,what kind of beauty do you mean8 ,merely that of the body1 or that also of the mind8 ,i see well that you have been looking no further than the sign which ,nature displays outside the house1 but have never asked for the host who dwells within4 ,beauty is an excellent gift of ,god1 but many a pretty girl is like the flower called 'the imperial crown1' which is admired for its showy appearance1 and despised for its unpleasant odor4 ,were her mind as free from pride1 selfishness1 luxury1 and levity1 as her countenance is from spots and wrinkles1 and could she govern her inward inclinations as she does her external carriage1 she would have none to match her4 ,the power to appreciate beauty does not merely increase our sources of happiness1--it enlarges our moral nature too4 ,beauty calms our restlessness and dispels our cares4 ,go into the fields or the woods1 spend a summer day by the sea or the mountains1 and all your little perplexities and anxieties vanish4 ,listen to sweet music1 and your foolish fears and petty jealousies pass away4 ,the beauty of the world helps us to seek and find the beauty of goodness4 ,the love of the beautiful is an unfailing source of happiness4 ,in his brief life1 ,regnault1 the great painter1 had more genuine enjoyment than a score of men of duller perceptions4 ,he had cultivated his sense of color and proportion until nothing beautiful escaped his eye4 ,if we are to enjoy the beauty about us1 there is need of similar preparation4 ,what we get out of communion with the beauty of nature or art1 depends largely on what we bring to that communion4 ,we must make ourselves sensitive to beauty1 or else the charms of form and color and graceful motion and sweet music will be unheeded or unappreciated4 ,it is also true1 as ,lowell said3 ,thou seest no beauty save thou make it first2 ,man1 woman1 nature1 each is but a glass ,in which man sees the image of himself4 ,,alfred ,,tennyson4 ,alfred ,tennyson1 ,england's greatest modern poet1 was a devoted lover of the beautiful from the very beginning of his career4 ,the earliest verses he composed1 which were written upon his slate when but a child of seven or eight years of age1 had for their subject1 ,the ,flowers in the ,garden4 ,as a dreamy boy1 he loved to throw himself upon the grass and listen to the bird voices in the adjoining thicket1 or to the lowing of the cattle as they stood knee-deep in the glittering waters of the river shallows which lay about his home4 ,how close an observer he became1 even as a lad1 is clearly shown in these lines1 written as he lay under a tree1 listening to the music of the birds3 ,the creeping mosses and clambering weeds1 ,and the willow branches hoar and dank1 ,and the wavy swell of the soughing reeds1 ,and the wave-worn horns of the echoing bank1 ,and the silvery marish flowers that throng ,the desolate creeks and pools among1 ,were flooded over with eddying song4 ,he became so thoroughly acquainted with the various orders of vegetation with which his native land is clothed1 and which mark the progress of the growth and development of plant and flower1 that there is scarcely a false note in his music from first to last4 ,his pictures of animal life are drawn in vivid master strokes1 and are as notable for their correctness as for their grace4 ,while we cannot speak of him as an astronomer1 yet no one can read his verses without admitting that he was a close observer of the starry heavens4 ,we could not rightly give him an equal place with ,shelley as a painter of cloud-scenery1 yet we know how he loved to lie on his back on the ,down of ,farringford and watch for hours the swiftly-moving and rapidly-changing panorama of the midday heavens4 ,it was his chiefest joy to dream away his peaceful days among the trees and brooks and flowers4 ,he sometimes spent weeks at a time in the open air wandering for miles in meditative silence along the banks of some sparkling stream1 or over the sand and shingle that form the dividing line between the land and sea4 ,his pictures are photographic in their fidelity1 and yet1 in them all1 the outbursting life and movement of nature is carefully preserved4 ,they cover the widest possible field2 dealing with the cloud and sunshine1 the storm wind and the zephyr1 the roaring of the ocean surge and the murmuring of the running brook1 the crashing of the thunder peal and the whisper of the pine-trees4 ,the fields and the hedgerows1 the flowers and the grasses1 the darkness and the dawn2 all are exhibited under every possible shade of variation4 ,his studies of the beautiful are as broad and true to life as any that have ever been written4 ,so sensitive was his soul to these outward impressions of beauty that even those acquired in childhood never entirely passed out of his mind4 ,footnote3 ,on ,tennyson1 see ,dixon's ,tennyson ,primer 7,new ,york1 #ahif72 ,van ,dyke's ,poetry of ,tennyson 7,new ,york1 #ahid72 ,tainsh's ,a ,study of ,tennyson 7,new ,york1 #ahic71 and ,tennyson's ,poems4 ,,viii4 ,,the ,,loye ,,of ,,knowledge4 ,,memory ,,gems4 ,knowledge is the eye of the soul4--,t4 ,watson ,common sense is knowledge of common things4--,m4 ,c4 ,peters ,it is noble to seek truth1 and it is beautiful to find it4 --,sydney ,smith ,it has cost many a man life or fortune for not knowing what he thought he was sure of4--,j4 ,staples ,white ,the desire of knowledge1 like the thirst of riches1 increases ever with the acquisition of it4--,sterne ,it has been well said that ,nothing is so costly as ignorance4 ,you sow the wrong seed1 you plant the wrong field1 you build with the wrong timber1 you buy the wrong ticket1 you take the wrong train1 you settle in the wrong locality1 or you take the wrong medicine--and no money can make good your mistake4 ,the knowledge attained by any man appears to be a poor thing to boast of1 since there is no condition or situation in which he may be placed without feeling or perceiving that there is something or other which he knows little or nothing about4 ,a man can scarcely open his eyes or turn his head without being able to convince himself of this truth4 ,and yet1 without a fair working knowledge of the ordinary affairs of life1 every man is1 in some respects1 as helpless as a child4 ,indeed there is no kind of knowledge which1 in the hands of the diligent and skillful1 may not be turned to good account4 ,honey exudes from all flowers1 the bitter not excepted1 but the bee knows how to extract it1 and1 by this knowledge1 succeeds in providing for all its needs4 ,learning is like a river4 ,at its first rising the river is small and easily viewed1 but as it flows onward it increases in breadth and depth1 being fed by a thousand smaller streams flowing into it on either side1 until at length it pours its mighty torrent into the ocean4 ,so learning1 which seems so small to us at the beginning1 is ever increasing in its range and scope1 until even the greatest minds are unable to comprehend it as a whole4 ,sir ,isaac ,newton felt this when1 after his sublime discoveries in science had been accomplished1 he said1 ,i do not know what ,i may appear to the world2 but to myself ,i seem only like a boy playing upon the seashore1 and diverting myself by now and then finding a choice pebble1 or a prettier shell than ordinary2 while the great ocean of truth lies all undiscovered before me4 ,strabo was entitled to be called a profound geographer eighteen hundred years ago1 but a geographer who had never heard of ,america would now be laughed at by boys and girls of ten years of age4 ,what would now be thought of the greatest chemist or geologist of #aggf8 ,the truth is that1 in every science1 mankind is constantly advancing4 ,every generation has its front and its rear rank2 but the rear rank of the later generation stands upon the ground which was occupied by the front rank of its predecessor4 ,it is important that our knowledge should be as full and complete as we can make it4 ,partial knowledge nearly always leads us into error4 ,a traveler1 as he passed through a large and thick wood1 saw a part of a huge oak which appeared misshapen1 and almost seemed to spoil the scenery4 ,if1 said he1 ,i was the owner of this forest1 ,i would cut down that tree4 ,but when he had ascended the hill1 and taken a full view of the forest1 this same tree appeared the most beautiful part of the landscape4 ,how erroneously1 said he1 ,i have judged while ,i saw only a part6 ,the full view1 the harmony and proportion of things1 are all necessary to clear up our judgment4 ,walter ,a4 ,wood1 whose keen business ability made him a wealthy man1 and sent him to congress as a representative from the great state of ,new ,york1 is reported to have said1 ,i would give fifty thousand dollars for a college education4 ,when he came to measure his ability with that of men who had had greater opportunities in an educational line1 he realized his loss4 ,chauncey ,m4 ,depew is also reported as having said1 ,i never saw a self-made man in my life who did not firmly believe that he had been handicapped1 no matter how great his success1 by deficiency in education1 and who was not determined to give his children the advantages of which he felt1 not only in business1 but in intercourse with his fellow-men1 so great a need4 ,there is a difference between knowledge and wisdom and understanding2 but without the first the rest cannot be gained1 any more than you can have a harvest of wheat without seed and skill of cultivation4 ,understanding is the right use of facts2 facts make knowledge2 knowledge is the root of wisdom4 ,many men know a great deal1 but are not wise or capable2 many others know less1 but are able to use what they have learned4 ,wisdom is the ripe fruit of knowledge2 knowledge is the beginning of character4 ,the love of knowledge has been characteristic of most great men4 ,they not only loved knowledge but they were willing to work hard to attain it4 ,as examples of this3 ,gibbon was in his study every morning1 winter and summer1 at six o'clock4 ,milton is said to have stuck to the study of his books with the regularity of a paid bookkeeper4 ,raphael1 the great artist1 lived only to the age of thirty-seven1 yet so diligent was his pursuit of knowledge1 that he carried his art to such a degree of perfection that it became the model for his successors4 ,when a man like one of these wins success1 people say he is a genius4 ,but the real reason for success1 was1 as you may see1 that the love of knowledge led to the effort to obtain it4 ,useful knowledge is the knowledge of what is of benefit to ourselves and to others2 and that is the most important which is the most useful4 ,it is the belief of those who have spent their lives in the search for it1 that knowledge is better than riches1 and that its possession brings more comfort to the owner4 ,to be acquainted with the great deeds enacted in past ages2 to find out how some nations have grown powerful while others have fallen2 or to learn something about the great mysteries of nature1 brings with it to the diligent searcher many hours of pleasure4 ,also the experience of man teaches that the exercise of the mind brings great satisfaction4 ,even in seemingly little things the same holds true4 ,there is a fountain in ,london that is opened by a concealed spring4 ,one day the ,bishop of ,london wanted to drink1 but no one could tell him how to open it4 ,at last a little dirty bootblack stepped up and touched the spring and the water gushed out4 ,he knew more than the bishop about that one thing1 and so was able to render the great man a real service4 ,the power of intellectual knowledge1 without the power of moral principle1 can only tend to evil4 ,it has been said that education would empty our jails2 but the greatest criminals1 whether of scientific poisoning1 or of fraud and forgery1 are well educated4 ,it has been asserted lately that there is a race between scientific detection and prevention1 on the one hand1 and scientific roguery on the other4 ,character is the criterion of knowledge4 ,not what a man has1 but what he is1 is the question1 after all4 ,the quality of soul is more than the quantity of information4 ,personal1 spiritual substance is the final result4 ,have that1 and your intellectual furnishings and attainments will turn naturally to the loftiest uses4 ,add obedience to knowledge1 and your education will be worth all that it has cost4 ,,alexander ,,von ,,humboldt4 ,we may further illustrate this topic by a brief glance at the life of ,alexander ,von ,humboldt4 ,his brother1 ,wilhelm1 acquired a distinguished name2 but the greater renown fell to the younger1 who was born at ,berlin1 ,germany1 ,september #ad1 #agfi1--;his full name being ,friedrich ,heinrich ,alexander ,von ,humboldt4 ,in circumstances of life1 his lot was easy2 his father had the means to educate him well4 ,no very striking outward event occurred in his youth4 ,tutors prepared him for college2 his own aim was not at once seized4 ,until ,i reached the age of sixteen1 he says1 ,i showed little inclination for scientific pursuits4 ,i was of a restless disposition1 and wished to be a soldier4 ,but another current was flowing in his mind4 ,from my earliest youth ,i had an intense desire to travel in those distant lands which have been but rarely visited by ,europeans4 ,and again he says3 ,the study of maps and the perusal of books of travel exercised a secret fascination over me4 ,these early tastes blended at last with a serious purpose1 and became the incentive to scientific labor1 or to undertakings of vast import4 ,to show that ,humboldt was not a mere fact-gatherer1 we select one incident out of many in his early life4 ,when about twenty-one years of age1 he made an extended journey with ,george ,forster over the continent4 ,forster wrote the following after they had visited the cathedral at ,cologne4 ,after describing the glories of the structure he adds3 ,my attention was arrested by a yet more engrossing object3 before me stood a man of lively imagination and refined taste1 riveted with admiration to the spot4 ,oh1 it was glorious to see1 in his rapt contemplation1 the grandeur of the temple repeated as it were by reflection6 ,in this scene we behold the actual process of knowledge being changed into true learning and ideas2 it was always so with ,humboldt in his long and varied career4 ,humboldt studied hard1 held official positions1 and matured4 ,his mother died in #agif4 ,to her this son owed much1 for the father had died when ,alexander was only ten years old1 and she watched his education with fidelity4 ,she saw the bent of the little apothecary1--as ,alexander was called because of his passion for collecting and labeling shells1 plants1 and insects1--and guided it4 ,her death set ,humboldt free to go afar in travels4 ,in ,june1 #agii1 he started on a five years' absence1 in which time he climbed ,teneriffe and the ,cordilleras1 explored the ,orinoco1 visited the ,united ,states1 and gathered a mass of knowledge which afterward won him lasting fame4 ,often he was in peril1 often baffled1 often put to dreary discomforts by savage tribes2 but through all ran his unconquerable purpose4 ,in his scientific work he often took great risks in order to ascertain facts1 as all earnest investigators do4 ,in testing a new lamp for miners1 he crept into a crosscut of the mine1 lamp in hand1 and continued there so long and persistently that two men rushed in and drew him out by the feet1 the gases having overcome him4 ,we have not space to give details of his splendid career4 ,humboldt shone with greater light from year to year4 ,honors were lavished upon him4 ,his works aided science1 his life was a constant inspiration4 ,he lived to be ninety years old1 dying in #ahei1--possessing to the last1 a strong memory1 and a tireless love of research4 ,footnote3 ,on ,humboldt1 consult ,haym's ,biography of ,humboldt 7,london1 #ahef72 ,bruhn's ,biography of ,humboldt 7,leipsic1 #ahgb1 translated by the ,misses ,lassell72 ,klenke's ,alexander ,von ,humboldt 7#ahei72 ,humboldt's ,correspondence with ,goethe 7,london1 #ahgf74 ,,ix4 ,,the ,,first ,,transition ,,period4 ,,memory ,,gems4 ,the child is father of the man4--,wordsworth ,whatever is worth doing at all1 is worth doing well4--,chesterfield ,no one can cheat you out of ultimate success but yourself4--,emerson ,a man cannot live a broad life if he runs only in one groove4 --,j4 ,staples ,white ',tis education forms the common mind1 ,just as the twig is bent the tree's inclined4--,pope ,as the child grows into the youth the utmost care should be exercised1 both by himself and by his friends1 to prevent the dwarfing of his prospects by evil influences arising either from within or from without himself4 ,the youthful period of man's life is by far the most important4 ,no subsequent training can entirely obliterate the results of early impressions4 ,they may be greatly modified2 the character may be changed2 but some1 and indeed many1 of the impressions of youth will cling to the mind forever4 ,it is in this period that the mind forms the ideas which will govern the will throughout the whole career4 ,then is the twig bent to the direction in which the tree will grow4 ,the faintest whisperings of counsel are eagerly caught1 and the slightest direction instantaneously followed4 ,then is the seed sown which will bring forth fruit in harvest time4 ,bishop ,vincent1 writing about boyhood1 says1 ,if ,i were a boy8 ,ah1 if ,i only were6 ,the very thought of it sets my imagination afire4 ,that 'if' is a key to dreamland4 ,first ,i would want a thorough discipline1 early begun and never relaxed1 on the great truth of will force as the secret of character4 ,i would want my teacher to put the weight of responsibility upon me2 to make me think that ,i must furnish the materials and do the work of building my own character2 to make me think that ,i am not a stick1 or a stone1 or a lump of putty1 but a person4 ,that what ,i am in the long run1 is what ,i am to make myself4 ,boys and girls should early form a taste for good reading4 ,in the choice of books1 as in the choice of friends1 there is but one rule1--choose the best4 ,a witty gentleman1 having received an invitation from a wealthy but not very refined lady1 on arriving was ushered into her library1 where she was seated surrounded by richly-bound books4 ,you see1 ,mr4 ,x41 she said1 ,i never need to be lonely1 for here ,i sit surrounded by my best friends4 ,without replying1 the gentleman approached a shelf and took down a volume which he perceived to be uncut1 and smilingly observed1 ,i am happy to find1 madam1 that unlike the majority of people1 you do not cut your friends4 ,macaulay says1 ,i would rather be a poor man in a garret with plenty of good books to read1 than a king who did not love reading4 ,a boy ten years of age was seen to enter ,westminster ,abbey shortly before evening prayers4 ,going straight up the main aisle he stopped at the tomb of ,charles ,dickens4 ,then1 looking to see that he was not observed1 he kneeled before the tombstone1 and tenderly placed upon it a bunch of violets4 ,the little fellow hovered affectionately round the spot for a few moments and went away with a happy1 contented smile upon his face4 ,curiosity led a gentleman present to examine the child's offering1 and this is what he found written in half-formed letters on an envelope attached to the violets3-- ,for it is good to be children sometimes1 and never better than at ,christmas1 when its mighty ,founder was a child himself4--,christmas ,carol4 ,the young person that loves books as this little fellow did1 will have friends that will unconsciously transform him into a great1 noble-hearted man4 ,it is the thoughts of the boy that shape the future man4 ,garfleld1 when asked as a boy1 what he was going to do when he grew up1 would answer1 ,first of all ,i am going to try to be a man4 ,if ,i become that ,i shall be fit for anything4 ,to make the most of one's youth is to qualify one's self to become a real man4 ,some men1 it is true1 have been seemingly created by circumstances1 and have figured prominently in the world's history4 ,but1 as a general rule1 the child makes the man2 and the foundation of all greatness and usefulness is laid by the impressions of youth4 ,alexander the ,great would not have been the conqueror of the world had his father not been ,philip of ,macedon4 ,hannibal would not have been the scourge of the ,romans if ,hamilcar had not sworn him to eternal vengeance against his enemies4 ,napoleon ,bonaparte would not have deluged ,europe with blood1 if he had not been inspired by the genius of war from the pages of ,homer4 ,and in our own days1 those men whose early impressions were the most favorable have been the most successful1 both in their own lives1 and in their influence upon the world at large4 ,but it will not be enough to keep children during the season of youth from the reach of improper associates and influences4 ,the seed of right principles must be diligently sown in their minds4 ,lessons of purity and conscientiousness must be written deep on the tables of the heart4 ,parental restraint is outward and visible1 but the guiding principles of life are inward and invisible4 ,the day will come when the youth must quit the parental roof1 and perhaps entirely bid adieu to the influences of home4 ,if he be then destitute of right principles1 if his mind be like a ship without a rudder1 he will stand in imminent danger of being swept away by the waves of corruption4 ,care should be taken to keep good company or none4 ,no sensible person will willingly keep bad horses or bad dogs4 ,should he be less particular in selecting his companions8 ,and yet1 at this very point1 some of life's most cruel blunders are made4 ,a story is told of two parrots which lived near to each other4 ,the one was accustomed to sing songs1 while the other was addicted to swearing4 ,the owner of the latter obtained permission for it to associate with the former1 in the hope that its bad habits would be corrected2 but the opposite result followed1 for both learned to swear alike4 ,this aptly illustrates the usual effect of bad company1 and no young man1 however strong he may imagine himself to be1 can afford to be careless in this matter4 ,in the forming of your friendships1 be less anxious about social standing1 and more particular about character4 ,remember that ,president ,garfield used to say that he never passed a ragged boy in the street without feeling that one day he might owe him a salute1 ,no one knows what possibilities of goodness and greatness are buttoned up under a boy's coat4 ,on the tomb of ,schubert1 the great musician1 is written1 ,he gave much1 but promised more2 and it is this immeasurable wealth of promise that makes the lives of our boys and girls so full of beauty and of power4 ,x4 ,,industry4 ,,memory ,,gems4 ,genius is nothing but labor and diligence4--,hogarth4 ,know something of everything and everything of something4 --,lord ,brougham ,the difference between one boy and another lies not so much in talent as in energy4--,dr4 ,arnold ,work wields the weapons of power1 wins the palm of success1 and wears the crown of victory4--,a4 ,t4 ,pierson4 ,a lazy man is of no more use than a dead man1 and he takes up more room4--,o4 ,s4 ,harden4 ,by industry we mean activity that is regular and devoted to the carrying out of some purpose4 ,more definitely1 it is activity that is designed to be useful to ourselves or to others4 ,it is thus a regulated activity by which our welfare1 or that of others1 may be furthered4 ,we are apt to think1 or at least to feel1 that the necessity of working regularly is a hardship4 ,because we get tired with our work and look forward with eagerness to the time of rest1 we form the opinion that the pleasantest life would be one which should be all rest4 ,industry might well be urged as a duty4 ,but we would rather now speak of it chiefly as an aid in accomplishing other duties4 ,few things are more helpful toward right living than industry1 and few more conducive to wrong living than idleness4 ,no doubt there are on this subject opposing opinions4 ,some believe1 whether they openly confess it or not1 that the glory of the highest success is not within the reach of every honest toiler2 that it is1 like other legacies1 the good fortune to which some are heirs1 but which others are denied--the inheritance only of those whom nature has well endowed4 ,these are the advocates of genius4 ,the reader of ,ivanhoe--that finest romance of ,sir ,walter ,scott--pronounces its author a genius4 ,the fact is1 that book is a conspicuous illustration of industry--patient1 persevering toil4 ,it has been pointed out that1 for years ,scott had made himself familiar with the era of chivalry2 plodded over1 in imagination1 the weary march of the ,crusaders2 studied the characteristics and contradictions of the ,jewish character2 searched carefully into the records of the times in which the scenes of his story were laid2 and even examined diligently into the strange process whereby the ,norman-,french and the ,anglo-,saxon elements were wrought into a common tongue4 ,labor is indeed the price set upon everything which is valuable4 ,nothing can be accomplished without it4 ,the greatest of men have risen to distinction by unwearied industry and patient application4 ,they may have had inborn genius2 their natures may have been quick and active2 but they could not avoid the necessity of persevering labor4 ,labor is the great schoolmaster of the race4 ,it is the grand drill in life's army1 without which we are confused and powerless when called into action4 ,what a teacher industry is6 ,it teaches patience1 perseverance1 forbearance1 and application4 ,it teaches method and system1 by compelling us to crowd the most possible into every day and hour4 ,industry is a perpetual call upon the judgment and the power of quick decision2 it makes ready and practical men4 ,industry is essential for that usefulness by which each man may fill his place in the world4 ,the lazy1 like the wicked1 may be made useful4 ,the ,spartans used to send a drunken slave through the city that the sight of his folly and degradation might disgust young men with intemperance4 ,he was made useful2 he did not make himself useful4 ,from this it will be seen that the necessity of labor is something at which we should rather rejoice than complain1 and that habits of industry are the great helpers to virtue1 happiness1 and usefulness4 ,industry is now as important to the woman as to the man4 ,some years ago1 in an art store in ,boston1 a group of girls stood together gazing intently upon a famous piece of statuary4 ,the silence was broken by the remark1 ,just to think that a woman did it4 ,it makes me proud1 said another4 ,the famous statue was that of ,zenobia1 the product of ,harriet ,hosmer1 whose love of knowledge and devotion to art1 gave the world a masterpiece4 ,work is difficult in proportion as the end to be attained is high and noble4 ,the highest price is placed upon the greatest worth4 ,if a man would reach the highest success he must pay the price4 ,he must be self-made1 or never made4 ,our greatest men have not been men of luck and broadcloth1 nor of legacy and laziness1 but men accustomed to hardship2 not afraid of threadbare clothes and honest poverty2 men who fought their way to their own loaf4 ,sir ,joshua ,reynolds had the passion for work of the true artist4 ,until he laid aside his pencil from illness1 at the age of sixty-six1 he was constantly in his painting-room from ten till four1 daily1 laboring as he himself said1 as hard as a mechanic working for his bread4 ,laziness is said to be one of the greatest dangers that besets the youth of this country4 ,some young men shirk everything that requires effort or labor4 ,few people entertain the idea that they are of no use in the world2 or that they are ruining themselves by their laziness4 ,yet lazy persons lose the power of enjoyment4 ,their lives are all holiday1 and they have no interval of leisure for relaxation4 ,the lie-a-beds have never done anything in the world4 ,events sweep past and leave them slumbering and helpless4 ,industry is one of the best antidotes to crime4 ,as the old proverb has it1 ,an idle brain is the devil's workshop1 for by doing nothing we learn to do ill4 ,the man who does not work1 and thinks himself above it1 is to be pitied as well as condemned4 ,nothing can be worse than active ignorance and indulged luxury4 ,self-indulgence saps the foundation of morals1 destroys the vigor of manhood1 and breeds evils that nothing but death can blot out4 ,no one is very anxious about a young man while he is busy in useful work4 ,but where does he eat his lunch at noon8 ,where does he go when he leaves his boarding-house at night8 ,what does he do after supper8 ,where does he spend his ,sundays and holidays8 ,the way he uses his spare moments reveals his character4 ,the great majority of youth who go to the bad are ruined after supper4 ,most of those who climb upward to honor and fame devote their evenings to study or work1 or to the society of the wise and good4 ,the right use of these leisure hours1 we would cordially recommend to every youth4 ,each evening is a crisis in the career of a young man4 ,rome was a mighty nation while industry led her people1 but when her great conquest of wealth and slaves placed her citizens above the necessity of labor1 that moment her glory began to fade2 vice and corruption induced by idleness1 doomed the proud city to an ignominious overthrow4 ,there can be no doubt that industry has been the backbone of the ,english character4 ,by it her people have made their island respected all over the habitable globe4 ,by industry our own land has come to be recognized as the workshop of the world4 ,it is a rule in the imperial family of ,germany that every young man shall learn a trade1 going through a regular apprenticeship till he is able to do good journeywork4 ,this is required because1 in the event of unforeseen changes1 it is deemed necessary to a manly independence that the heir apparent1 or a prince of the blood1 should be conscious of ability of making his own way in the world4 ,this is an honorable custom1 worthy of universal imitation4 ,the ,jews also wisely held the maxim that every youth1 whatever his position in life1 should learn some trade4 ,franklin says1 ,he that hath a trade hath an estate4 ,work1 however looked down upon by people who cannot perform it1 is an honorable thing2 it may not be very profitable1 but honorable it always is1 and there is nothing to be ashamed of about it4 ,the man who has reason to be ashamed is the one who does nothing1 or is always on the lookout for an easy berth with good pay and no work4 ,let the young man whose conceit greatly exceeds his brains1 be ashamed of his cane and kid gloves2 but never let a man who works be ashamed of his hard hands4 ,there is an old proverb which says1 ,mere gentility sent to market1 won't buy a peck of oats4 ,a keen but well deserved rebuke was once administered to a ,southern student at ,andover who had bought some wood1 and who then went to ,professor ,stuart to learn whom he could get to saw it4 ,i am out of a job of that kind1 said ,mr4 ,stuart2 ,i will saw it myself4 ,it is to be hoped that the young man learned the lesson which his teacher thus sought to impress upon his mind4 ,,cornelius ,,vanderbilt4 ,what is the secret of success in business8 asked a friend of ,cornelius ,vanderbilt4 ,secret6 there is no secret about it1 replied the commodore2 all you have to do is to attend to your business and go ahead4 ,if you would adopt ,vanderbilt's method1 know your business1 attend to it1 and keep down expenses until your fortune is safe from business perils4 ,note the following incidents in his career3 ,in the year #ahjf1 when about twelve years of age1 ,cornelius was sent by his father1 who was removing the cargo from a vessel stranded near ,sandy ,hook1 with three wagons1 six horses1 and three men1 to carry the cargo across a sandbar to the lighters4 ,when the work was finished1 he started1 with but a few dollars in his pocket1 to travel a long distance home over the ,jersey sands1 and at length reached ,south ,amboy4 ,he was anxious to get his teams ferried over to ,staten ,island1 and as the money at his disposal was not sufficient for the purpose1 he went to an innkeeper1 explained the situation and said1 ,if you will put us across1 ,i'll leave with you one of my horses in pawn1 and if ,i don't send you back six dollars within forty-eight hours you may keep the horse4 ,i'll do it1 said the innkeeper1 as he looked into the bright honest eyes of the boy4 ,the horse was soon redeemed4 ,in the spring of #ahaj1 he applied to his mother for a loan of one hundred dollars with which to buy a boat1 having imbibed a strong liking for the sea4 ,her answer was1 ,my son1 on the twenty-seventh of this month you will be sixteen years old4 ,if1 by that time1 you will plow1 harrow1 and plant with corn the eight acre lot1 ,i will advance you the money4 ,the field was rough and stony1 but the work was done in time1 and well done4 ,from this small beginning ,cornelius ,vanderbilt laid the foundation of a colossal fortune4 ,he would often work all night2 and1 as he was never absent from his post by day1 he soon had the best business in ,new ,york harbor4 ,in #ahac1 when it was expected that ,new ,york would be attacked by ,british ships1 all the boatmen1 except ,cornelius1 put in bids to convey provisions to the military posts around ,new ,york1 naming extremely low rates1 as the contractor would be exempted from military duty4 ,why don't you send in a bid8 asked his father4 ,of what use8 replied young ,vanderbilt2 they are offering to do the work at half price4 ,it can't be done at such rates4 ,well1 said his father1 it can do no harm to try for it4 ,so1 to please his father1 but with no hope of success1 ,cornelius made an offer fair to both sides1 but did not go to hear the award4 ,when his companions had all returned with long faces1 he went to the commissary's office and asked if the contract had been given4 ,oh1 yes1 was the reply2 that business is settled4 ,cornelius ,vanderbilt is the man4 ,what8 he asked1 seeing that the youth was apparently thunderstruck1 is it you8 ,my name is ,cornelius ,vanderbilt1 said the boatman4 ,well1 said the commissary1 don't you know why we have given the contract to you8 ,why1 it is because we want this business done1 and we know you'll do it4 ,here we see how character begets confidence1 and how character rests upon industry as the house rests upon its foundation4 ,footnote3 ,consult ,appleton's ,cyclopedia of ,american ,biography1 ,vol4 ,,vii41 pp4 #bdj1 #bda2 ,crofut's ,the ,vanderbilts and the ,story of their ,fortune 7#ahhf72 also article in ,munsey's ,magazine1 ,vol4 ,,vi41 p4 #cd4 ,,xi4 ,,ambition4 ,,memory ,,gems4 ,hope without an object cannot live4--,coleridge ,have an aim in life1 or your energies will all be wasted4 --,m4 ,c4 ,peters ,every one should take the helm of his own life1 and steer instead of drifting4--,c4 ,c4 ,everett ,ambition is to life just what steam is to the locomotive4 --,j4 ,c4 ,jaynes ,no toil1 no hardships can restrain ambitious men inur'd to pain4--,horace ,ambition is one of the great forces of human life4 ,we may describe it as a strong1 fixed desire in the heart to get honor1 or to attain the best things4 ,it is a kind of hunger or thirst for success that makes men dare danger and trial to satisfy it4 ,a man is of little use in the world unless he have ambition to set him in motion4 ,small talent with great ambition often does far more than genius without it4 ,the severest censure that can be passed upon a man is that of the poet1 ,everything by turns and nothing long4 ,the words contain a sad revelation of wasted opportunities1 wasted powers1 wasted life4 ,these words apply1 with a painful degree of exactness1 to the career of ,lord ,brougham4 ,few men have been more richly endowed by nature4 ,few men have exhibited a greater plasticity of intellect1 a greater affluence of mental resources4 ,he was a fine orator1 a clear thinker1 a ready writer4 ,it is seldom that a man who sways immense audiences by the power of his eloquence attains also to a high position in the ranks of literature4 ,yet ,brougham did this2 while1 as a lawyer1 he gained the most splendid prize of his profession1 the ,lord ,chancellorship of ,england2 and as a scientific investigator1 merited and received the applause of scientific men4 ,all this may seem to indicate success2 and1 to a certain extent1 ,brougham was successful4 ,nevertheless1 having been everything by turns and nothing long--having given up to many pursuits the powers which should have been reserved for one or two--he was on the whole1 a failure4 ,not only did he fail to make any permanent mark on the history or literature of his country1 but he even outlived his own fame4 ,he was almost forgotten before he died4 ,he frittered away his genius on too many objects4 ,it has long been a question of debate whether circumstances make men1 or men control circumstances4 ,there are those who believe that men are governed by their environments2 that their surroundings determine their lives4 ,the other school of philosophers boldly assert the opposite view4 ,men may control their surroundings4 ,they are not the sport of the winds of circumstance4 ,carlyle1 who is a member of this school1 does not hesitate1 in one of his essays1 to say that there have been great crises in the world's history when great men were needed1 but they did not appear4 ,this much is certain1 we have many instances in which people have risen above their surroundings4 ,warren ,hastings's case is one in point4 ,macaulay tells the story with his accustomed brilliancy and attractiveness4 ,when ,hastings was a mere child1 the ancestral estate1 through some mismanagement1 passed out of the hands of the family4 ,warren would often go--for the family remained in the neighborhood--and gaze through the bars upon what had once been his home4 ,he registered a mental vow to regain that estate4 ,that became the ambition of his life2 the one great purpose to which he devoted all his energies4 ,many years passed2 ,hastings went to other climes2 but there was ever with him the determination to get that estate2 and he succeeded4 ,after all1 would it not appear that the true theory is that of a golden mean between these two extremes8 ,circumstances sometimes control men or1 at any rate1 some kind of men2 men1 especially men of strong will power sometimes control their environments4 ,circumstances give men an opportunity to display their powers4 ,the fuller study of this subject clearly shows the need of some principles of morality that are not dependent upon any chance companionship1 and that may belong to the man himself1 and not merely to his surroundings4 ,an ambition to get on in the world1 the steady struggle to get up1 to reach higher1 is a constant source of education in foresight1 in prudence1 in economy1 in industry and courage2 in fact is the great developer of many of the strongest and noblest qualities of character4 ,the men at the summit fought their way up from the bottom4 ,john ,jacob ,astor sold apples on the streets of ,new ,york2 ,a4 ,t4 ,stewart swept out his own store2 ,cornelius ,vanderbilt laid the foundation of his vast fortune with a hundred dollars given him by his mother2 ,lincoln was a rail splitter2 ,grant was a tanner2 and ,garfield was a towboy on a canal4 ,by hard work and unconquerable perseverance you can rise above the low places of poverty4 ,true1 you may never shine in the galaxy of the great ones of this earth1 but you may fill your lives and homes with blessings1 and make the world wiser and better for your having lived in it4 ,cash cannot take the place of character4 ,it is far better to be a man1 than merely to be a millionaire4 ,a man who heard ,lincoln speak in ,norwich1 ,connecticut1 some time before he was nominated for the presidency1 was greatly impressed by the closely-knit logic of the speech4 ,meeting him next day on a train1 he asked him how he acquired his wonderful logical powers and such acuteness in analysis4 ,lincoln replied3 ,it was my terrible discouragement which did that for me4 ,when ,i was a young man ,i went into an office to study law4 ,i saw that a lawyer's business is largely to prove things4 ,i said to myself1 ',lincoln1 when is a thing proved8' ,that was a poser4 ,what constitutes proof8 ,not evidence2 that was not the point4 ,there may be evidence enough1 but wherein consists the proof8 ,i groaned over the question1 and finally said to myself1 ',ah6 ,lincoln1 you can't tell4' ,then ,i thought1 ',what use is it for me to be in a law office if ,i can't tell when a thing is proved8' ,so ,i gave it up and went back home4 ,soon after ,i returned to the old log cabin1 ,i fell in with a copy of ,euclid4 ,i had not the slightest notion what ,euclid was1 and ,i thought ,i would find out4 ,i therefore began1 at the beginning1 and before spring ,i had gone through that old ,euclid's geometry1 and could demonstrate every proposition like a book4 ,then in the spring1 when ,i had got through with it1 ,i said to myself one day1 ',ah1 do you know now when a thing is proved8' ,and ,i answered1 ',yes1 sir1 ,i do4' ',then you may go back to the law shop2' and ,i went4 ,we may be rightly ambitious in various ways4 ,it is right to be ambitious for fame and honor4 ,the love of praise is not bad in itself1 but it is a very dangerous motive4 ,why8 ,because in order to be popular1 one may be tempted to be insincere4 ,never let the world's applause drown the voice of conscience4 ,it is right to be ambitious to excel in whatever you do4 ,slighted work and half-done tasks are sins4 ,i am as good as they are2 ,i do my work as well as they2 are cowardly maxims4 ,not what others have done1 but perfection1 is the only true aim1 whether it be in the ball-field or in the graver tasks of life4 ,many people think that ambition is an evil weed1 and ought to be pulled up by the roots4 ,shakespeare makes ,wolsey say1-- ,i charge thee1 fling away ambition ,by that sin fell the angels4 ,but the great cardinal had abused ambition1 and had changed it into a vice4 ,ambition is a noble quality in itself1 but like any other virtue it may be carried to excess1 and thus become an evil4 ,like fire or water1 it must be controlled to be safe and useful4 ,napoleon1 while commanding armies1 could not command his own ambition2 and so he was caged up like a wild beast at ,st4 ,helena4 ,a millionaire may be so ambitious for gain as purposely to wreck the fortunes of others4 ,a politician may sell his manhood to gratify his desire for office4 ,boys and girls may become so ambitious to win their games1 or to get the prizes at school1 that they are willing to cheat1 or take some mean advantage2 and then ambition becomes to them not a blessing but a curse4 ,we ought now and then to stop and test our ambition1 just as the engineer tries the steam in the boiler2 if we do not1 it may in some unexpected moment wreck our lives4 ,there are two ways of finding out whether our ambition is too strong for safety4 ,first1 if we discover that ambition is hurting our own character1 there is danger4 ,second1 if we find ambition blinding us to the rights of others1 it is time to stop4 ,these are the two tests2 and so long as your ambition is harming neither your own life nor the lives of others1 it is good and wholesome1 and will add value and brightness to your life4 ,,general ,,havelock4 ,henry ,havelock1 commonly known as ,the ,hero of ,lucknow1 was born in ,england1 #agie1 just about the time when ,napoleon was beginning his brilliant career1 and all ,europe was a battlefield4 ,as a boy he was rather serious and thoughtful1 so that his school fellows used to call him ,old ,phlos1 a nickname for ,old ,philosopher4 ,and yet he loved boyish sports1 and never was behind any of his companions in courage and daring4 ,he was not the first scholar in his class1 but he was a great reader and took intense delight in stories of war and descriptions of battles4 ,napoleon was his hero1 and he watched all his movements with breathless interest2 and soon began to dream of being a soldier1 too4 ,thus was born in the boy's heart that ambition which afterward lifted the man into honor and fame4 ,at the age of sixteen ,havelock began to study law1 but he soon tired of it1 and three years later obtained an appointment in the army4 ,he now gave himself1 with all the love and enthusiasm of his nature1 to his chosen profession4 ,he was to be a soldier2 and he decided that he would be a thorough one1 and would understand the art of war completely4 ,he studied very hard1 and it is said that it was his habit to draw with a stick upon the ground the plan of some historic battlefield1 then1 in imagination fight the battle over again1 so that he might clearly see what made the one side lose and the other win4 ,after eight years of service in ,england1 he was ordered to go to ,india4 ,there he became a soldier in earnest4 ,it would take too long to tell of the battles he was in1 and of the terrible campaigns through which he served4 ,it is enough to say that he always followed where duty led1 and always seemed to know just what to do amid the confusion of the battlefield4 ,it was the dream of his life to become a general1 but he was doomed1 year after year1 to stand still and see untried1 beardless men promoted above his head4 ,this certainly was hard to bear1 but he never lost heart1 never sulked1 never neglected any opportunity to serve his government4 ,his ambition was to do his best2 and this he did1 whether the world saw and applauded or not4 ,until he reached the age of sixty-two1 he was scarcely known outside of ,india2 but then came the occasion that made him famous4 ,all ,india was in mutiny4 ,the native soldiers1 mad with power1 were murdering the ,english in every city4 ,far up in the interior1 at ,lucknow1 was a garrison of ,english soldiers1 women1 and children1 hemmed in by thousands of these bloodthirsty ,sepoys4 ,to surrender meant a horrible death4 ,to hold the fort meant starvation at last1 unless rescue should speedily come4 ,although1 when the news reached him1 he was hundreds of miles away1 ,havelock undertook to save that little garrison4 ,it seemed an impossible task1 and yet with a few hundred brave soldiers1 in a country swarming with the enemy1 through swamps1 over swollen rivers1 he fought his way to the gates at ,lucknow4 ,and then1 beneath a hailstorm of bullets from every house-top1 he marched up the narrow street1 and never paused until he stood within the fortress walls1 and heard the shout of welcome from the lips of the starving men and women4 ,it was a wonderful march1 and put him among the great soldiers of history2 but it was the direct result of that powerful ambition which had influenced his entire career4 ,the world rang with applause of his heroism2 but praise came too late2 for while the queen was making him a baronet1 and ,parliament was voting him a princely pension1 he was dying of a fever within the very city he had so bravely stormed4 ,but his life-work was fully completed1 and his name shines brightly among those of the great military heroes of his native land4 ,footnote3 ,see ,marshman's ,life of ,havelock 7#ahfj72 ,headley's ,life of ,havelock 7#ahfd72 ,brock's ,life of ,general ,sir ,henry ,havelock 7#ahed72 ,molesworth's ,history of ,england1 ,vol4 ,,iii41 ,chap1 ii41 and ,mitchell's ,history of ,india 7,london1 #ahie74 ,,xii4 ,,concentration4 ,,memory ,,gems4 ,success grows out of struggles to overcome difficulties4--,smiles ,he who follows two hares is sure to catch neither4--,franklin ,the important thing in life is to have a great aim and the determination to attain it4--,goethe ,a healthy definite purpose is a remedy for a thousand ills4 --,o4 ,s4 ,marden ,the evidence of superior genius is the power of intellectual concentration4--,b4 ,r4 ,hayden ,concentration begins with the habit of attention4 ,the highest success in learning depends on the power of the learner to command and hold his own attention1--on his ability to concentrate his thought on the subject before him4 ,by the words habit of attention1 we do not mean here the outward1 respectful attitude of a docile pupil who listens when his teacher speaks1 but something much rarer1 much more important1 and far more difficult of attainment4 ,we mean that power of the mind by which a person is able to give an intelligent account of what is said1 whether in conversation1 in lecture1 or in sermon2 which enables him to grasp at one reading the important points of a problem or a paragraph2 and which makes it possible for a student or a reader to so concentrate his attention on what he is doing as to be entirely oblivious1 so long as it does not concern him1 of what is going on around him4 ,this is the age of concentration or specialization of energy4 ,the problem of the day is to get ten-horse power out of an engine that shall occupy the space of a one-horse power engine1 and no more4 ,just so society demands a ten-man power out of one individual4 ,it crowns the man who knows one thing supremely1 and can do it better than anybody else1 even if it be only the art of raising turnips4 ,if he raises the best turnips by reason of concentrating all his energy to that end1 he is a benefactor to the race1 and is recognized as such4 ,the giants of the race have been men of concentration1 who have struck all their blows in one place until they have accomplished their purpose4 ,the successful men of today are men of one overmastering idea1 one unwavering aim1 men of single and intense purpose4 ,scatteration is the curse of ,american business life4 ,too many are like ,douglas ,jerrold's friend1 who could converse in twenty-four languages1 but had no ideas to express in any one of them4 ,the weakest living creature1 says ,carlyle1 by concentrating his powers on a single object1 can accomplish something2 whereas the strongest1 by dispersing his over many1 may fail to accomplish anything4 ,the drop1 by continually falling1 bores its passage through the hardest rock4 ,the hasty torrent rushes over it with hideous uproar and leaves no trace behind4 ,it is interesting to read how1 with an immense procession passing up ,broadway1 the streets lined with people1 and the bands playing their loudest1 ,horace ,greeley would sit upon the steps of the ,astor ,house1 use the top of his hat for a desk1 and write an editorial for the ,new ,york ,tribune which would be quoted all over the country2 and there are many incidents in his career which go to show that his wonderful power of concentration was one of the great secrets of his success4 ,men who have the right kind of material in them will assert their personality1 and rise in spite of a thousand adverse circumstances4 ,you cannot keep them down4 ,every obstacle seems only to add their ability to get on4 ,the youth ,opie earned his bread by sawing wood1 but he reached a professorship in the ,royal ,academy4 ,when but ten years old he showed the material he was made of by a beautiful drawing on a shingle4 ,antonio ,canova was a son of a day laborer2 ,thorwaldsen's parents were poor2 but1 like hundreds of others1 these men did with their might what their hands found to do1 and ennobled their work4 ,they rose by being greater than their calling4 ,it is fashionable to ridicule the man of one idea2 but the men who have changed the face of the world have been men of a single aim4 ,no man can make his mark on this age of specialities who is not a man of one idea1 one supreme aim1 one master passion4 ,the man who would make himself felt on this bustling planet1 must play all his guns on one point4 ,a wavering aim1 a faltering purpose1 will have no place in the twentieth century4 ,mental shiftlessness is the cause of many a failure4 ,the world is full of unsuccessful men who spend their lives letting empty buckets down into empty wells4 ,as opposed to men of the latter class1 what a sublime picture of determination and patience was that of ,charles ,goodyear1 of ,new ,haven1 buried in poverty and struggling with hardships for eleven long years1 to make ,india rubber of practical use6 ,see him in prison for debt2 pawning his clothes and his wife's jewelry to get a little money to buy food for his children1 who were obliged to gather sticks in the field for fire4 ,observe the sublime courage and devotion to his idea1 when he had no money to bury a dead child1 and when his other five were near starvation2 when his neighbors were harshly criticising him for his neglect of his family1 and calling him insane4 ,but1 behold his vulcanized rubber2 the result of that heroic struggle1 applied to thousands of uses by over sixty thousand employees4 ,a ,german knight undertook to make an immense ,aeolian harp by stretching wires from tower to tower of his castle4 ,when he finished the harp it was silent2 but when the breezes began to blow he heard faint strains like the murmuring of distant music4 ,at last a tempest arose and swept with fury over his castle1 and then rich and grand music came from the wires4 ,ordinary experiences do not seem to touch some lives1 to bring out their higher manhood2 but when patience and firmness bring forth their fruit it is always of the very finest quality4 ,it is good to know that great people have done great things through concentration2 but it is better still to know that concentration belongs to the everyday life of the everyday boy and girl4 ,only they must not be selfish about it4 ,understand the work in hand before it is begun4 ,don't think of anything else while doing it2 and don't dream when learning a lesson4 ,do one thing at a time and do it quickly and thoroughly4 ,i go at what ,i am about1 said ,charles ,kingsley1 as if there was nothing else in the world for the time being4 ,that's the secret of the success of all hard-working men4 ,s4 ,t4 ,coleridge possessed marvelous powers of mind1 but he had no definite purpose2 he lived in an atmosphere of mental dissipation1 which consumed his energy and exhausted his stamina1 and his life was in many respects a miserable failure4 ,he lived in dreams and died in reverie4 ,he was continually forming plans and resolutions1 but to the day of his death they remained resolutions and plans4 ,he was always just going to do something1 but never did it4 ,coleridge is dead1 wrote ,charles ,lamb to a friend1 and is said to have left behind him above forty thousand treatises on metaphysics and divinity--not one of them complete6 ,commodore ,mac,donough1 on ,lake ,champlain1 concentrated the fire of all his vessels upon the big ship of ,downie1 regardless of the fact that the other ,british ships were all hurling cannon balls at his little fleet4 ,the guns of the big ship were silenced1 and then the others were taken care of easily4 ,by exercising this art of concentration in a higher degree than did his brother generals1 ,grant was able to bring the ,civil ,war to a speedy termination4 ,this trait was strongly marked in the character of ,washington4 ,the same is true in regard to ,general ,armstrong and the ,hampton ,institute4 ,that stands as a living monument to his power of concentration4 ,he had a great purpose3 the education of the ,negro and ,indian races2 and from the close of the ,civil ,war to the day of his death he labored steadily at that one undertaking1 and now the whole country is proud of the outcome of his toil4 ,people who have concentration never make excuses4 ,they get more done than others1 and have a better time doing it4 ,excuses are signs of shiftlessness4 ,they do not answer in play any better than in lessons or business4 ,who ever heard of excuses in football-playing8 ,when we go into all our duties with the same earnestness and devotion1 we shall find ourselves rapidly rising into one of those foremost places which most of us so greatly desire4 ,,david ,,livingstone4 ,few men in this century have followed a single purpose through their entire lives with greater devotion than the famous missionary and explorer1 ,david ,livingstone4 ,he was born in ,scotland1 ,march #ai1 #ahac1 of poor parents4 ,he loved books as a boy1 studied hard to know about rocks and plants1 worked in a cotton mill and earned money to go to a medical school4 ,he was honest1 helped his mother1 and read all the books he could4 ,my reading in the factory1 he said1 was carried on by placing the book on a portion of the spinning-jenny1 so that ,i could catch sentence after sentence as ,i passed at my work4 ,i thus kept up a pretty constant study1 undisturbed by the roar of machinery4 ,very early ,livingstone began to think about being a missionary4 ,he read about travels in ,africa1 about the work of ,henry ,martyn1 and about the ,moravian missions4 ,he heard about ,china and the need of medical missionaries there2 and he says that from this time my efforts were constantly devoted toward this object without any fluctuation4 ,livingstone wanted to go to ,china2 but he met ,dr4 ,moffat1 who was then home from ,africa1 and was persuaded to change his plans4 ,early in #ahda he reached ,algoa ,bay1 at the south end of ,africa4 ,then he went to ,dr4 ,moffat's mission station at ,kuruman2 but here he found the missionaries did not work well together1 that there were more men than work1 so he pushed on into regions where no one had been before4 ,i really am ambitious1 he wrote1 to preach beyond other men's lines4 ,i am determined to go on1 and do all ,i can1 while able1 for the poor1 degraded people in the ,north4 ,this feeling sent him into the great wilderness to find what opportunities it afforded4 ,in #aheb he started on his first great journey1 made more discoveries1 and crossed ,africa from east to west1 and then back again to the east coast4 ,it was hard work2 many were the difficulties2 and his life was often in peril4 ,yet he saw ,africa as no one before had seen it2 and when he returned to ,england in #aheg he found himself famous1 honored on every hand1 and everybody ready to help on his great and noble work4 ,in #ahei he returned to ,africa with men and money to explore further1 and to see what could be done for the good of the country4 ,he explored the ,zambezi river1 on the east coast2 and became familiar with that side of ,africa1--its people1 rivers1 lakes1 and mountains4 ,he returned home in #ahfd1 but went back the next year to seek out the source of the ,nile4 ,in #ahfe he started on his longest and last journey1 going this time to the northwest4 ,this was the hardest and most perilous of all his journeys2 for he was often sick1 his men were not faithful1 the country was in a state of war1 his money gave out2 and he was in a very bad condition when ,henry ,m4 ,stanley found him in #ahga4 ,stanley furnished him with money and men1 and he started again for the great interior region to discover the source of the ,nile1 and then to return home and die4 ,he was now sixty years old1 his health had given way1 but he persisted in the effort to finish his work4 ,he grew weaker from month to month1 but would not turn back4 ,finally1 on ,may #a1 #ahgc1 his men found him on his knees in his tent1 dead2 but the results of his patient and persevering efforts will never die4 ,footnote3 ,consult ,livingstone's ,last ,journals 7#ahgd72 ,blaikie's ,life of ,livingstone2 and ,stanley's ,how ,i found ,livingstone 7#ahgc74 ,,xiii4 ,,self-,,control4 ,,memory ,,gems4 ,self-mastery is the essence of heroism4--,emerson ,he who reigns within himself is more than a king4--,milton ,i have only one counsel for you--,be master6--,napoleon ,self-control is essential to happiness and usefulness4--,e4 ,a4 ,horton ,he is a fool who cannot be angry2 but he is a wise man who will not4--,old ,proverb ,some one has said ,self-control is only courage under another form2 but we think it is far more than that4 ,it is the master of all the virtues1 courage included4 ,if it is not so1 how can it so control them as to develop a pure and noble character8 ,the self-control which we commend has its root in true self-respect4 ,the wayward1 drifting youth or man cannot respect himself4 ,he knows that there is no decision of character in drifting with the current1 no enterprise1 spirit1 or determination4 ,he must look the world squarely in the face1 and say1 ,i am a man1 or he cannot respect himself2 and he must stem the current and row up stream to command his destiny4 ,self-control is at the root of all the virtues4 ,let a man yield to his impulses and passions1 and from that moment he gives up his moral freedom4 ,teach self-denial and make its practice pleasurable1 says ,walter ,scott1 and you create for the world a destiny more sublime than ever issued from the brain of the wildest dreamer4 ,this may seem to be a very strong statement1 but it is fully sustained by the experience of great men like ,dr4 ,cuyler1 who said1 not long ago1 ,i have been watching the careers of young men by the thousand in this busy city of ,new ,york for over thirty years1 and ,i find that the chief difference between the successful and the unsuccessful lies in the single element of 'staying-power4' ,think of a man just starting out in life to conquer the world being at the mercy of his own appetites and passions6 ,he cannot stand up and look the world in the face when he is the slave of what should be his own servants4 ,he cannot lead who is led4 ,there is nothing which gives certainty and direction to the life of a man who is not his own master4 ,if he has mastered all but one appetite1 passion1 or weakness1 he isstill a slave2 it is the weakest point that measures the strength of character4 ,it was the self-discipline of a man who had never looked upon war until he was forty1 that enabled ,oliver ,cromwell to create an army which never fought without victory1 yet which retired into the ranks of industry as soon as the government was established1 each soldier being distinguished from his neighbors only by his superior diligence1 sobriety1 and regularity in the pursuits of peace4 ,many of the greatest characters in history illustrate this trait4 ,take1 as a single instance1 the case of the ,duke of ,wellington1 whose career was marked by a persistent watchfulness over his irritable and explosive nature4 ,how well he conquered himself1 let the story of his deeds tell4 ,the field of his great victory1 which was ,napoleon's overthrow1 could not have been won but for this power of subduing himself4 ,in ordinary life the application is the same4 ,he who would lead must first command himself4 ,the time of test is when everybody is excited or angry or dismayed2 then the well-balanced mind comes to the front4 ,to say1 ,no in the face of glowing temptation is a part of this power4 ,a very striking illustration is recorded in the life of ,horace ,greeley4 ,offended by a pungent article1 a gentleman called at the ,tribune office and inquired for the editor4 ,he was shown into a little seven-by-nine sanctum1 where ,greeley sat1 with his head close down to his paper1 scribbling away at a rapid rate4 ,the angry man began by asking if this was ,mr4 ,greeley4 ,yes1 sir2 what do you want8 said the editor1 quickly1 without once looking up from his paper4 ,the irate visitor then began using his tongue1 with no deference to the rules of propriety1 good breeding1 or reason4 ,meantime ,mr4 ,greeley continued to write4 ,page after page was dashed off in the most impetuous style1 with no change of features1 and without paying the slightest attention to the visitor4 ,finally1 after about twenty minutes of the most impassioned scolding ever poured out in an editor's office1 the angry man became disgusted1 and abruptly turned to walk out of the room4 ,then1 for the first time1 ,mr4 ,greeley looked up1 rose from his chair1 and slapping the gentleman familiarly on his shoulder1 in a pleasant tone of voice said3 ,don't go1 friend2 sit down1 sit down1 and free your mind2 it will do you good1 you will feel better for it4 ,besides1 it helps me to think what ,i am to write about4 ,don't go4 ,there is a very special demand for the cultivation of this trait and the kindred grace of patience at the present time4 ,can't wait is characteristic of the century1 and is written on everything2 on commerce1 on schools1 on societies1 on churches4 ,can't wait for high school seminary or college4 ,the boy can't wait to become a youth1 nor the youth a man4 ,young men rush into business with no great reserve of education or drill2 of course they do poor1 feverish work1 and break down in middle life1 and may die of old age at forty1 if not before4 ,everybody is in a hurry2 and to be able1 amid this universal rush1 to hold one's self in check1 and to stick to a single object until it is fully accomplished1 will carry us a long way toward success4 ,endurance is a much better test of character than any one act of heroism1 however noble4 ,it was many years of drudgery1 and reading a thousand volumes1 that enabled ,george ,eliot to get fifty thousand dollars for ,daniel ,deronda4 ,edison in describing his repeated efforts to make the phonograph reproduce a sibilant sound1 says1 ,from eighteen to twenty hours a day for the last seven months ,i have worked on this single word 'specia4' ,i said into the phonograph 'specia1 specia1 specia2' but the instrument responded 'pecia1 pecia1 pecia4' ,it was enough to drive one mad4 ,but ,i held firm1 and ,i have succeeded4 ,years of patient apprenticeship make a man a good mechanic4 ,it takes longer to form the artisan4 ,the trained intellect requires a longer period still4 ,henry ,ward ,beecher sent a half-dozen articles to the publishers of a religious paper to pay for his subscription1 but they were respectfully declined4 ,one of the leading magazines ridiculed ,tennyson's first poems1 and consigned the young poet to oblivion4 ,only one of ,ralph ,waldo ,emerson's books had a remunerative sale4 ,washington ,irving was nearly seventy years old before the income from his books paid the expenses of his household4 ,who does not see that if these men had lost their grip upon themselves1 the world would have been deprived of many of its rarest literary treasures8 ,a great many rules have been given for securing and increasing this trait4 ,a large number rest on mere policy1 and are good only for the surface2 they do not go to the center4 ,others are too radical1 and tear up the roots1 leaving one without energy or ambition4 ,the aim should be to keep the native force unabated1 but to give it wiser guidance4 ,a fair amount of self-examination is good4 ,self-knowledge is a preface to self-control4 ,the wise commander knows the weak and strong points of his fort4 ,too much self-inspection leads to morbidness2 too little1 conducts to careless1 hasty action4 ,the average ,american does not know himself well enough2 he proceeds with a boastful confidence1 and is always in the right1 so he thinks4 ,if we are conscious of a failing we naturally strive against it4 ,there are two chief aims which1 if held in view1 will surely strengthen our self-control2 one is attention to conscience1 the other is a spirit of good-will4 ,the lawless nature1 not intending to live according to right1 is always breaking over proper restraints1--is suspicious and quarrelsome4 ,and he who has not the disposition to love his fellow-men1 grows more and more petulant1 disagreeable1 and unfair4 ,you must also learn to guard your weak point4 ,for example3 ,have you a hot1 passionate temper8 ,if so1 a moment's outbreak1 like a rat-hole in a dam1 may flood all the work of years4 ,one angry word sometimes raises a storm that time itself cannot allay4 ,a single angry word has lost many a friend4 ,the man who would succeed in any great undertaking must hold all his faculties under perfect control2 they must be disciplined and drilled1 until they quickly and cheerfully obey the will4 ,,george ,,washington4 ,for the special illustration of this lesson we select a couple of incidents from the life of ,george ,washington4 ,washington had great power of wrath1 inheriting the high1 hasty temper of his mother4 ,tobias ,lear1 his intimate friend and private secretary1 says that in the winter of #agia1 an officer brought a letter telling of ,general ,st4 ,clair's disastrous defeat by the ,indians4 ,it must be delivered to the ,president himself4 ,he left his family and guests at table1 glanced over the contents1 and1 when he rejoined them1 seemed as calm as usual4 ,but afterward1 when he and ,lear were alone1 walked the room1 silent a while1 and then he broke out in great agitation1 ,it is all over4 ,st4 ,clair is defeated1 routed2 the officers nearly all killed1 the men by wholesale2 the disaster complete2 too shocking to think of1 and a surprise into the bargain6 ,he walked about1 much agitated1 and his wrath became terrible4 ,yes6 he burst forth1 here on this very spot1 ,i took leave of him4 ,i wished him success and honor4 ',you have your instructions1' ,i said1 'from the ,secretary of ,war4 ,i had myself a strict eye to them1 and will add but one word1 ,,beware ,,of ,a ,,surprise6 ,you know how the ,indians fight6' ,he went off with this1 as my last solemn warning1 thrown into his ears2 and yet1 to suffer that army to be cut to pieces1 hacked1 butchered1 tomahawked1 by a surprise1--the very thing ,i guarded him against6 ,o ,god6 ,o ,god6 he is worse than a murderer6 ,how can he answer for it to his country8 ,the blood of the slain is upon him2 the curse of widows and orphans2 the curse of ,heaven6 ,his emotions were awful4 ,after a while he cooled a little1 and sat down1 and said3 ,this must not go beyond this room4 ,general ,st4 ,clair shall have justice4 ,i looked through the despatches1 saw the whole disaster1 but not all the particulars4 ,i will receive him without displeasure2 ,i will hear him without prejudice4 ,he shall have full justice6 ,the second incident is told as follows3 ,in #agge1 at ,cambridge1 the army was destitute of powder4 ,washington sent ,colonel ,glover to ,marblehead for a supply of that article1 which was said to be there4 ,at night the colonel returned1 found ,washington in front of his headquarters1 pacing up and down4 ,glover saluted4 ,the general1 without returning his salute1 asked1 roughly3 ,have you got the powder8 ,no1 sir4 ,washington broke out at first with terrible severity of speech1 and then said3 ,why did you come back1 sir1 without it8 ,sir1 there is not a kernel of powder in ,marblehead4 ,washington walked up and down a minute or two1 in great agitation1 and then said3 ,colonel ,glover1 here is my hand1 if you will take it and forgive me4 ,the greatness of our danger made me forget what is due to you and to myself4 ,such victories as these show self-control at its very best2 and they ought to make us all see its value and importance4 ,footnote3 ,see ,seeley's ,story of ,washington 7#ahic71 and the excellent article in ,appleton's ,cyclopedia of ,american ,biography1 ,vol4 ,,vi41 pp4 #cgf-chb4 ,,xiv4 ,,pekseverance4 ,,memory ,,gems4 ,every noble work is at first impossible4--,carlyle ,victory belongs to the most persevering4--,napoleon ,our greatest glory is1 not in never falling1 but in rising every time we fall4--,goldsmith ,success in most things depends on knowing how long it takes to succeed4 --,montesquieu ,perseverance is failing nineteen times and succeeding the twentieth4 --,dr ,j4 ,anderson ,perseverance depends on three things1--purpose1 will1 enthusiasm4 ,he who has a purpose is always concentrating his forces4 ,by the will1 constantly educated1 the hope and plan are prevented from evaporating into dreams1 and a little gain is all the time being added4 ,enthusiasm keeps the interest up1 and makes the obstacles seem small4 ,young people often call perseverance plodding1 and look with impatience on careful1 steady efforts of any kind4 ,it is plodding in a certain sense1 but by it the mountain is scaled2 whereas the impetuous nature soon tires1 or is injured1 and the climb is over1 half-finished4 ,the founders of ,new ,england did not believe in chances4 ,they did believe in work4 ,the young man who thinks to get on by mere smartness and by idling1 meets failure at last4 ,but there is a higher outlook4 ,life is in a sense a battle2 certainly there is an unending struggle within ourselves to make the better part rule the worse4 ,perseverance is the master impulse of the firmest souls1 and holds the key to those treasure-houses of knowledge from which the world has drawn its wealth both of wisdom and of moral worth4 ,great men never wait for opportunities2 they make them4 ,nor do they wait for facilities or favoring circumstances2 they seize upon whatever is at hand1 work out their problem1 and master the situation4 ,a young man determined and willing1 will find a way or make one4 ,great men have found no royal road to their triumph4 ,it is always the old route1 by way of industry and perseverance4 ,bunyan wrote his ,pilgrim's ,progress on the untwisted papers used to cork the bottles of milk brought for his meals4 ,gifford wrote his first copy of a mathematical work1 when a cobbler's apprentice1 on small scraps of leather2 and ,rittenhouse1 the astronomer1 first calculated eclipses on his plow handle4 ,circumstances1 says ,milton1 have rarely favored famous men4 ,they have fought their way to triumph through all sorts of opposing obstacles4 ,the greatest thing a man can do in this world is to make the most possible out of the stuff that has been given to him4 ,this is success1 and there is no other4 ,paris was in the hands of a mob2 the authorities were panic-stricken1 for they did not dare to trust their underlings4 ,in came a man who said1 ,i know a young officer who has the courage and ability to quell this mob4 ,send for him2 send for him1 said they4 ,napoleon was sent for1 came1 subjugated the mob1 subjugated the authorities1 ruled ,france1 then conquered ,europe4 ,one of the first lessons of life is to learn how to get victory out of defeat4 ,it takes courage and stamina1 when mortified and embarrassed by humiliating disaster1 to seek in the wreck or ruins the elements of future conquest4 ,yet this measures the difference between those who succeed and those who fail4 ,you cannot measure a man by his failures4 ,you must know what use he makes of them4 ,always watch with great interest a young man's first failure4 ,it is the index of his life1 the measure of his success-power4 ,the mere fact of his failure has interest2 but how did he take his defeat8 ,what did he do next8 ,was he discouraged8 ,did he slink out of sight8 ,did he conclude that he had made a mistake in his calling1 and dabble in something else8 ,or was he up and at it again with a determination that knows no defeat8 ,there is something grand and inspiring in a young man who fails squarely after doing his level best1 and then enters the contest again and again with undaunted courage and redoubled energy4 ,have no fears for the youth who is not disheartened at failure4 ,raleigh failed1 but he left a name ever to be linked with brave effort and noble character4 ,kossuth did not succeed1 but his lofty career1 his burning words1 and his ideal fidelity will move men for good as long as time shall last4 ,o',connell did not win his cause1 but he did achieve enduring fame as an orator1 patriot1 and apostle of liberty4 ,president ,lincoln was asked1 ,how does ,grant impress you as a leading general8 ,the greatest thing about him is his persistency of purpose1 he replied4 ,he is not easily excited1 and he has the grip of a bulldog4 ,when he once gets his teeth in nothing can shake him off4 ,chauncey ,jerome's education was limited to three months in the district school each year until he was ten1 when his father took him into his blacksmith shop at ,plymouth1 ,connecticut1 to make nails4 ,money was a scarce article with young ,chauncey4 ,his father died when he was eleven1 and his mother was forced to send him out to earn a living on a farm4 ,at fourteen he was apprenticed for seven years to a carpenter1 who gave him only board and clothes4 ,one day he heard people talking of ,eli ,terry1 of ,plymouth1 who had undertaken to make two hundred clocks in one lot4 ,he'll never live long enough to finish them1 said one4 ,if he should1 said another1 he could not possibly sell so many4 ,the very idea is ridiculous4 ,chauncey pondered long over this rumor1 for it had long been his dream to become a great clock-maker4 ,he tried his hand at the first opportunity1 and soon learned to make a wooden clock4 ,when he got an order to make twelve at twelve dollars apiece he thought his fortune was made4 ,one night he happened to think that a cheap clock could be made of brass as well as of wood1 and would not shrink1 swell1 or warp appreciably in any climate4 ,he acted on the idea1 and became the first great manufacturer of brass clocks4 ,he made millions at the rate of six hundred a day1 exporting them to all parts of the globe4 ,a constant struggle1 a ceaseless battle to bring success from hard surroundings1 is the price of all great achievements4 ,the man who has not fought his way upward1 and does not bear the scar of desperate conflict1 does not know the highest meaning of success4 ,columbus was dismissed as a fool from court after court1 but he pushed his suit against an unbelieving and ridiculing world4 ,rebuffed by kings1 scorned by queens1 he did not swerve a hair's breadth from the overmastering purpose which dominated his soul4 ,the words ,new ,world were graven upon his heart2 and reputation1 ease1 pleasure1 position1 life itself1 if need be1 must be sacrificed4 ,neither threats1 ridicule1 storms1 leaky vessels1 nor mutiny of sailors1 could shake his mighty purpose4 ,lucky for the boy who can say1 ,in the bright lexicon of youth there is no such word as fail4 ,we do not care for the men who change with every wind6 ,give us men like mountains1 who change the winds4 ,you cannot at one dash rise into eminence4 ,you must hammer it out by steady and rugged blows4 ,a man can get what he wants if he pays the price--persistent1 plodding perseverance4 ,never doubt the result2 victory will be yours4 ,there may be ways to fortune shorter than the old1 dusty highway2 but the staunch men in the community all go on this road4 ,if you want to do anything1 don't stand back waiting for a better chance to arise1 but rush in and seize it2 and then cling to it with all the power you possess until you have made it serve the purpose for which you desired it1 or yield the good which you believe it to contain4 ,the lack of perseverance is the cause of many a failure4 ,we do not stand by our plans faithfully4 ,fashion1 or criticism1 or temporary weariness1 or fickleness of taste1 leads us off2 and we have to begin our work all over4 ,look at the history of every noted invention2 read the lives of musicians who were born with genius1 but wrought out triumph by perseverance2 and you will find abundant proof that without perseverance nothing valuable can be accomplished4 ,,george ,,stephenson4 ,george ,stephenson's struggle for the adoption of his locomotive is another noteworthy case in point4 ,people said he is crazy2 his roaring steam engine will set the houses on fire with its sparks2 the smoke will pollute the air2 the carriage makers and coachmen will starve for want of work4 ,so intense was the opposition1 that for three whole days the matter was debated in the ,house of ,commons2 and on that occasion a government inspector said that if a locomotive ever went ten miles an hour1 he would undertake to eat a stewed engine for breakfast4 ,what can be more palpably absurd and ridiculous than the prospect held out of locomotives traveling twice as fast as horses8 asked a writer in the ,english ,quarterly ,review for ,march1 #ahbe4 ,we trust that ,parliament will1 in all the railways it may grant1 limit the speed to eight or nine miles an hour1 which we entirely agree1 with ,mr4 ,sylvester1 is as great as can be ventured upon4 ,this article referred to ,stephenson's proposition to use his newly invented locomotive instead of horses on the ,liverpool and ,manchester ,railway1 then in process of construction4 ,the company referred the matter to two leading ,english engineers1 who reported that steam would be desirable only when used in stationary engines one and a half miles apart1 drawing the cars by means of ropes and pulleys4 ,but ,stephenson persuaded them to test his idea by offering a prize of about twenty-five hundred dollars for the best locomotive produced at a trial to take place ,october #f1 #ahbi4 ,on the eventful day1 long waited for1 thousands of spectators assembled to watch the competition of four engines1 the ,novelty1 the ,rocket1 the ,perseverance1 and the ,sanspareil4 ,the ,perseverance could make but six miles an hour1 and so was ruled out1 as the conditions called for at least ten4 ,the ,sanspareil made an average of fourteen miles an hour1 but as it burst a water-pipe it lost its chance4 ,the ,novelty did splendidly1 but also burst a pipe1 and was crowded out1 leaving the ,rocket to carry off the honors with an average speed of fifteen miles an hour1 the highest rate attained being twenty-nine4 ,this was ,stephenson's locomotive1 and so fully vindicated his theory that the idea of stationary engines on a railroad was completely exploded4 ,he had picked up the fixed engines which the genius of ,watt had devised1 and set them on wheels to draw men and merchandise1 against the most direful predictions of the foremost engineers of his day4 ,footnote3 ,see ,smiles' ,life of ,george ,stephenson 7new ed41 #ahgd72 ,jeaffreson and ,pole's ,life of ,robert ,stephenson 7#ahfd71 and article in ,johnson's ,cyclopedia1 ,vol4 ,,vii41 p4 #gdj4 ,,xv4 ,,promptness4 ,,memory ,,gems4 ,one to-day is worth two to-morrows4--,franklin ,whilst we are considering when we are to begin1 it is often too late to act4--,quintilian ,by the street of by and by one arrives at the house of never4--,cervantes ,when a fool makes up his mind1 the market has gone by4--,spanish ,proverb ,the individual who is habitually tardy in meeting an appointment1 will never be respected or successful in life4--,w4 ,fisk ,promptness and punctuality are among the greatest blessings and comforts of life4 ,for lack of these qualities1 some of the greatest men have failed4 ,most men have abundant opportunities for promoting and securing their own happiness4 ,time should be made the most of4 ,stray moments1 saved and improved1 may yield many brilliant results4 ,it is astonishing how much can be done by using up the odds and ends of time in leisure hours4 ,we must be prompt to catch the minutes as they fly1 and make them yield the treasures they contain1 or they will be lost to us forever4 ,in youth the hours are golden1 in mature years they are silvern1 in old age they are leaden4 ,the man who at twenty knows nothing1 at thirty does nothing1 at forty has nothing4 ,yet the ,italian proverb adds1 ,he who knows nothing is confident in everything4 ,in the most ordinary affairs of life we must take heed of the value of time1 keep watch over it1 and be punctual to others as well as to ourselves2 for without punctuality1 men are kept in a perpetual state of worry1 trouble1 and annoyance4 ,webster was never late at a recitation in school or college4 ,in court1 in congress1 in society1 he was equally punctual4 ,so1 amid the cares and distractions of a singularly busy life1 ,horace ,greeley managed to be on time for every appointment4 ,many a trenchant paragraph for the ,tribune was written while the editor was waiting for men of leisure1 tardy at some meeting4 ,john ,quincy ,adams was never known to be behind time4 ,the ,speaker of the ,house of ,representatives knew when to call the ,house to order by seeing ,mr4 ,adams coming to his seat4 ,on one occasion a member said that it was time to begin4 ,no1 said another1 ,mr4 ,adams is not in his seat4 ,it was found that the clock was three minutes fast1 and prompt to the minute1 ,mr4 ,adams arrived4 ,begin with promptness in little things4 ,be punctual at breakfast1 even if you are sleepy4 ,be punctual at school1 even if you have errands to do4 ,whatever you may have to do1 think out the quickest way of doing it1 and do it at once4 ,by and by the habit becomes a quality of mind and action4 ,don't loiter about anything2 it takes too much time4 ,we must be careful to remember that promptness is more than punctuality1 which is an outward habit1 and a very necessary one1 if people live together4 ,it is important also for one's own sake1 even if he should be a ,robinson ,crusoe without a man ,friday4 ,promptness has to do with thought4 ,it begins in learning how to think and reason4 ,behind it lies concentration1 which first of all has made one thoroughly understand a subject4 ,then comes the second point1--what to do instantly in any given case2 and the trained judgment ends in instant1 wise action4 ,when a boy saves another who has fallen through the ice1 he unconsciously thought out long ago what to do when the moment came for him to act4 ,when a girl throws a rug over the dress of her sister1 which has caught fire1 she knew long before what to do4 ,this knowing what to do1 and doing it1 is called presence of mind1 that is1 having common sense all ready for use4 ,promptness takes the drudgery out of an occupation4 ,putting off1 usually means leaving off2 and going to do becomes going undone4 ,doing a deed is like sowing a seed2 if not done at just the right time it will be forever out of season4 ,the summer of eternity will not be long enough to bring to maturity the fruit of a delayed action4 ,even in the old1 slow days of stage-coaches1 when it took a month of dangerous travel to accomplish the distance we can now cover in a few hours1 unnecessary delay was a crime4 ,one of the greatest gains civilization has made1 is in the measuring and utilizing of time4 ,we can do as much in an hour to-day as men could in twenty hours a hundred years ago2 and if it was a hanging affair then to lose a few minutes1 what should the penalty now be for a like offense8 ,one of the best things about school and college life is that the bell which strikes the hour for rising1 for recitations1 or for lectures1 teaches habits of promptness4 ,every man should have a watch which is a good timekeeper2 one that is nearly right encourages bad habits1 and is an expensive investment at any price4 ,wear threadbare clothes1 if you must1 but never carry an inaccurate watch4 ,some people are always a little too late1 or a little too early1 in everything they attempt4 ,john ,b4 ,gough used to say ,they have three hands apiece1--a right hand1 a left hand1 and a little behindhand4 ,as boys1 they were late at school1 and unpunctual in their home duties4 ,that was the way the habit was acquired2 and now1 when a responsibility claims them1 they think that if they had only gone yesterday they would have obtained the situation1 or they can probably get one to-morrow4 ,delays often have dangerous endings4 ,colonel ,rahl1 the ,hessian commander at ,trenton1 was playing cards when a messenger brought a letter stating that ,washington was crossing the ,delaware4 ,he put the letter in his pocket without reading it1 until the game was finished4 ,he rallied his men only to die just before his troops were taken prisoners4 ,only a few minutes' delay1 but it resulted in the loss of honor1 liberty1 and life4 ,indecision becomes a disease1 and procrastination is its forerunner4 ,there is only one known remedy for the victims of indecision1 and that is promptness4 ,otherwise the disease is fatal to all success or achievement4 ,he who hesitates is lost4 ,general ,putnam was plowing1 with his son ,daniel1 in eastern ,connecticut1 when the news of the battle of ,lexington reached him4 ,he loitered not1 said ,daniel1 but left me1 the driver of his team1 to unyoke it in the furrow2 and1 not many days after1 to follow him to camp4 ,the man who would forge to the front in this competitive age must be a man of prompt and determined decision4 ,like ,cortes1 he must burn his ships behind him1 and make retreat forever impossible4 ,when he draws his sword he must throw the scabbard away1 lest in a moment of discouragement and irresolution he be tempted to sheath it4 ,he must nail his colors to the mast1 as ,nelson did in battle1 determined to sink with his ship if he cannot conquer4 ,prompt decision and sublime audacity have carried many a successful man over perilous crises where deliberation would have been ruin4 ,henry ,,iv1 king of ,france1 was another leader of remarkable promptness4 ,his people said of him that he wore out very little broadcloth1 but a great deal of boot-leather1 for he was always going from one place to another4 ,in speaking of the ,duc de ,mayenne1 ,henry called him a great captain1 but added1 ,i always have five hours the start of him4 ,getting ahead of time is as good a rule for boys and girls as for generals4 ,in our own country we have had generals who were especially noted for their dispatch4 ,you know the story of ,sheridan's ,ride in the ,shenandoah ,valley4 ,his men1 thoroughly beaten for the moment1 were fleeing before the ,southerners1 when he suddenly appeared1 promptly decided to head them right about1 and1 by the inspiration of his single presence1 turned defeat into victory4 ,sailors must be even more prompt than soldiers1 for in danger at sea not an instant can be lost4 ,not only must a sailor be prompt in action against storm1 but he must be prompt with his sails in squally weather2 he must be prompt with his helm when approaching land4 ,among the heroes of the sea1 ,lord ,nelson is conspicuous for his prompt and courageous deeds4 ,he had many faults2 but ,england felt safe while he watched over her maritime affairs2 for he was always beforehand1 and never allowed himself to be surprised by misfortune4 ,it is so in the voyage of life4 ,incidents often occur which demand instantaneous action on our part2 and these are the events which usually issue in failure or success4 ,prompt movement1 at the right moment1 is more valuable than rubies2 and its lack often leads to utter ruin4 ,,napoleon ,,bonaparte4 ,napoleon changed the art of war quite as much by his promptness as by the concentration of his men in large masses4 ,by his exceeding rapidity of movement he was long able to protect ,france against the combined powers of ,europe4 ,he was always quick to seize the advantages of an emergency4 ,though he can never be considered as the type of a noble man1 he was an extraordinarily great man4 ,boys who like to read of battles1 and trace the maneuvers of a campaign1 will find that his military renown was largely due to his promptness4 ,decision of purpose and rapidity of action enabled him to astonish the world with his marvelous successes4 ,he appeared to be everywhere at once4 ,what he could accomplish in a day1 surprised all who knew him4 ,he seemed to electrify everybody about him4 ,his invincible energy thrilled the whole army4 ,he could rouse to immediate and enthusiastic action the dullest troops1 and inspire with courage the most stupid men4 ,he would sit up all night1 if necessary1 after riding thirty or forty leagues1 to attend to correspondence1 dispatches and details4 ,what a lesson his career affords to the shiftless and half-hearted6 ,there have been many times when a prompt decision1 a rapid movement1 an energetic action1 have changed the very face of history2 and1 on the other hand1 there have been many instances where the indecisions of generals1 or the procrastination of subordinates1 has cost thousands of precious lives1 and the loss of millions of dollars worth of property4 ,napoleon once invited his marshals to dine with him2 but1 as they did not arrive at the moment appointed1 he began to eat without them4 ,they came in just as he was rising from the table4 ,gentlemen1 said he1 it is now past dinner1 and we will immediately proceed to business4 ,he laid great stress upon that supreme moment1 that nick of time1 which occurs in every battle2 to take advantage of which means victory1 and to lose in hesitation means disaster4 ,he said that he beat the ,austrians because they did not know the value of five minutes2 and it has been said that1 among the trifles that conspired to defeat him at ,waterloo1 the loss of a few minutes by himself and ,grouchy on that fatal morning1 was the most significant4 ,blucher was on time1 and ,grouchy was late4 ,that may seem a small matter1 but it was enough to bring ,napoleon's career to a close1 and to send him to ,st4 ,helena4 ,footnote3 ,on ,napoleon1 see ,seeley's ,short ,history of ,napoleon ,i42 ,ropes's ,the ,first ,napoleon1 and articles in the current encyclopedias4 ,,xvi4 ,,honesty4 ,,memory ,,gems4 ,truth needs no color1 beauty no pencil4--,shakespeare ,an honest man's the noblest work of ,god4--,pope ,the basis of high thinking is perfect honesty4--,strong ,nature has written a letter of credit on some men's faces which is honored whenever presented4--,thackeray ,if there were no honesty1 it would be invented as a means of getting wealth4--,mirabeau ,there are certain virtues and vices which very largely determine the happiness or the misery of every human life4 ,prominent among these virtues are those of truth and honesty2 and to these are opposed the vices of lying and cheating4 ,society is like a building1 which stands firm when its foundations are strong and all its timbers are sound4 ,the man who cannot be trusted is to society what a faulty foundation or a bit of rotten timber is to a house4 ,it is always mean for a man or boy to go back1 as we say1 on a friend4 ,it is still worse1 if possible1 to go back on one's self4 ,a brave man or boy will manfully take the consequences of his acts1 and if they are bad1 will resolve to do better another time4 ,the worst sort of deceit is that by which one lets another bear the blame1 or in any way suffer1 for what one has one's self done4 ,such meanness happens sometimes1 but it is almost too bad to be spoken of4 ,there are certain kinds of cheating that the law cannot or does not touch4 ,the man who practices this kind of dishonesty is even worse than if he were doing that which the law punishes4 ,he uses the law1 which was meant to protect society1 as a cover from which he can attack society4 ,lying is a form of dishonesty1 and a very bad form of it4 ,what would become of the world if we could not trust each other's word8 ,a lie is always told for one of two ends2 either to get some advantage to which one has no real claim1 in which case it is merely a form of cheating2 or to defend one's self from the bad consequences of something that one has done1 in which case it is cowardly4 ,the ,romans arranged the seats in their two temples to ,virtue and ,honor1 so that no one could enter the second without passing through the first4 ,such is the order of advance1--,virtue1 ,toil1 ,honor4 ,the solid and useful virtue of honesty is highly practicable4 ,nothing is profitable that is dishonest1 is a truthful maxim4 ,virtue alone is invincible4 ,i would give ten thousand dollars for your reputation for uprightness1 said a sharper to an upright tradesman1 for ,i could make a hundred thousand dollars with it4 ,honesty succeeds1 dishonesty fails4 ,the honesty and integrity of ,a4 ,t4 ,stewart won for him a great reputation1 and the young schoolmaster who began life in ,new ,york on less than a dollar a day1 amassed nearly forty million dollars1 and there was not a smirched dollar in all those millions4 ,we do not count ourselves among those who believe that every man has his price1 and that an honest man has a lock of hair growing in the palm of his right hand4 ,no6 ,there are in the world of business many more honest men than rogues1 and for one trust betrayed there are thousands sacredly kept4 ,as a mere matter of selfishness1 honesty is the best policy4 ,but he who is honest for policy's sake is already a moral bankrupt4 ,men of policy are honest when they think honesty will pay the better2 but when policy will pay better they give honesty the slip4 ,honesty and policy have nothing in common4 ,when policy is in1 honesty is out4 ,it is more honorable for some men to fail than for others to succeed4 ,part with anything rather than your integrity and conscious rectitude4 ,capital is not what a man has1 but what a man is4 ,character is capital4 ,for example3 ,a man wishes to succeed in business4 ,his studies and his practical training have fitted him to do this4 ,he seeks out all the methods by which he may reach success4 ,he shrinks from no labor of mind1 or1 if need be1 of body1 for this end4 ,in all this he is right4 ,we admire skill1 industry1 and pluck4 ,there is1 however1 one kind of means that he may not use4 ,he may not stoop to fraud of any kind4 ,he may desire and seek wealth2 he must desire and seek honor and honesty4 ,these are among the ends that morality insists upon1 and that should not be sacrificed to anything else4 ,what contempt we have for a man who robs another1 who picks his pocket1 or knocks him down in some lonely place and strips him of whatever articles of value he may have4 ,but the man who cheats is a thief1 just as truly as the pickpocket and the highwayman4 ,there is nothing that improves a boy's character so much as putting him on his honor--trusting to his honor4 ,we have little hope for the boy who is dead to the feeling of honor4 ,the boy who needs to be continually looked after is on the road to ruin4 ,if treating your boy as a gentleman does not make him a gentleman1 nothing else will4 ,there are many incidents in ,abraham ,lincoln's career which illustrate this virtue2 and from these we select the following3 ,while tending store1 ,lincoln once sold to a woman goods to the amount of two dollars1 six and a quarter cents4 ,he discovered later that a mistake had been made1 and that the store owed the customer the six and a quarter cents4 ,after he had closed the store that night1 he walked several miles in the darkness to return the amount4 ,at another time a woman bought a pound of tea4 ,lincoln discovered the next morning that a smaller weight was on the scales4 ,he at once weighed out the remainder1 and walked some distance before breakfast to return it4 ,he was once a postmaster in ,new ,salem2 but the office was finally discontinued4 ,several years after1 the agent called at his law office1 and presented a claim of about seventeen dollars in the settlement of the ,new ,salem affairs4 ,mr4 ,lincoln took out a little trunk1 and produced the exact sum1 wrapped in a linen rag4 ,it had lain there untouched through years of the greatest hardship and self-denial4 ,he said1 ,i never use any one's money but my own4 ,honor lies in doing well whatever we find to do2 and the world estimates a man's abilities in accordance with his success in whatever business or profession he may engage4 ,the true gentleman is known by his strict sense of honor2 by his sympathy1 his gentleness1 his forbearance1 and his generosity4 ,he is essentially a man of truth1 speaking and doing rightly1 not merely in the sight of men1 but in his secret and private behavior4 ,truthfulness is moral transparency4 ,hence the gentleman promises nothing that he has not the means of performing4 ,the ,duke of ,wellington proudly declared that truth was the characteristic of an ,english officer1 that when he was bound by a parole he would not break his word2 for the gentleman scorns to lie1 in word or deed2 and is ready to brave all consequences rather than debase himself by falsehood4 ,when any one complains1 as ,diogenes did1 that he has to hunt the streets with candles at noonday to find an honest man1 we are apt to think that his nearest neighbor would have quite as much difficulty in making such a discovery4 ,if you think there is not a true man living1 you had better1 for appearance's sake1 not say so until you are dead yourself4 ,a few years since1 a manly boy about nine years old stepped up to a gentleman in the ,grand ,central ,depot1 ,new ,york1 and asked1 ,shine1 sir8 ,yes ,i want my shoes blacked1 said the gentleman4 ,then ,i would be glad to shine them1 sir1 said the boy4 ,have ,i time to catch the ,hudson ,river train8 ,no time to lose1 sir2 but ,i can give you a good job before it pulls out4 ,shall ,i8 ,yes1 my boy2 but don't let me be left4 ,in two seconds the bootblack was on his knees and hard at work4 ,the train is going1 sir1 said the boy1 as he gave the last touch4 ,the gentleman gave the boy a half dollar1 and started for the train4 ,the boy counted out the change and ran after the gentleman1 but was too late1 for the train was gone4 ,two years later the same gentleman1 coming to ,new ,york1 met the bootblack1 but had forgotten him4 ,the boy remembered the gentleman1 and asked him1 ,didn't ,i shine your shoes once in the ,grand ,central ,depot8 ,some boy did1 said the man4 ,i am the boy1 and here is your change1 sir4 ,the gentleman was so pleased with the lad's honesty1 that he went with him to see his mother1 and offered to adopt him1 as he needed such a boy4 ,the mother consented1 and the honest bootblack had after that a good home4 ,he was given a good education1 and1 when a man1 became a partner in the gentleman's large business4 ,,george ,,peabody4 ,at eleven years of age ,george ,peabody had to go out into the world to earn his living4 ,his promptness and honesty won for him the esteem of his employer4 ,at the age of fifteen he was left fatherless1 without a dollar in the world4 ,an uncle in ,georgetown1 ,d4 ,c41 hearing that the boy needed work1 sent for him and gave him employment4 ,his genial manner and respectful bearing gained him many friends4 ,he never wounded the feelings of the buyer of goods1 never seemed impatient1 and was strictly honest in all his dealings4 ,his energy1 perseverance1 and honesty made him a partner in the business when only nineteen years of age4 ,at the age of thirty-five he became the head of a large and wealthy business1 which his own industry had helped to build4 ,he had bent his life to one purpose1 to make his business a success4 ,having visited ,london several times in matters of trade1 he determined to make that city his place of residence4 ,in #ahcg1 there came a great business panic in the ,united ,states4 ,many banks suspended specie payments4 ,many mercantile houses went to the wall1 and thousands more were in great distress4 ,faith in the credit of the ,united ,states was almost lost4 ,probably not one half dozen men in ,europe would have been listened to for a moment in the ,bank of ,england upon the subject of ,american securities1 but ,george ,peabody was one of them4 ,he became a wealthy man1 honored at home and abroad4 ,he loved his fellow-men and set himself the task of relieving their wants4 ,he gave ten thousand dollars to help fit out the second expedition for the relief of ,sir ,john ,franklin4 ,the same year1 his native town of ,danvers1 ,massachusetts1 celebrated its centennial4 ,the rich ,london banker was of course invited4 ,he was too busy to be present but sent a letter4 ,the seal was broken at dinner1 and this was the toast it contained3 ,education--a debt due from present to future generations4 ,in the same envelope was a check for twenty thousand dollars for a town library and institute4 ,at another banquet given in his honor at ,danvers1 years afterward1 he gave two hundred and fifty thousand dollars to the same institute4 ,edward ,everett1 and others1 made eloquent addresses1 and then the kind-faced1 great-hearted man responded4 ,there is not a youth within the sound of my voice whose early opportunities and advantages are not very much better than were mine4 ,i have achieved nothing that is impossible to the most humble boy among you4 ,steadfast and undeviating truth1 fearless and straight forward integrity1 and an honor ever unsullied by an unworthy word or action1 make their possessor greater than worldly success4 ,footnote3 ,see the life of ,george ,peabody1 by ,phebe ,a4 ,hanaford 7,boston1 #ahhb71 and numerous articles in the cyclopedias and magazines4 ,,xvii4 ,,courtesy4 ,,memory ,,gems4 ,conduct is three fourths of life4--,matthew ,arnold ,there is no policy like politeness4--,magoon ,life is not so short but there is time enough for courtesy4--,emerson ,men1 like bullets1 go farthest when they are smoothest4--,richter ,nothing can constitute good breeding that has not good-nature for its foundation4--,bulwer ,true courtesy consists in that gentle refinement and grace of manner displayed toward others1 which springs not so much from polite culture as from a genuine goodness of heart4 ,it is the honor due to man as man1 and especially to woman4 ,it is a grace which is too often unrecognized and undervalued2 but1 when of the true order1 it is a jewel of great price4 ,it is to be found in all lands1 and in every grade or order of society1 as shown by the following examples3 ,a ,chinaman was rudely pushed into the mud by an ,american4 ,he picked himself up very calmly1 shook off some of the mud1 bowed very politely1 and said in a mild1 reproving tone of voice1 ,you ,christian2 me heathen2 alle samee1 good-bye4 ,courtesy1 as a ,christian duty1 has been sorely neglected by ,americans4 ,if a civil word or two will make a man happy1 said a ,french king1 he must be wretched indeed who will not give them to him4 ,the first ,duke of ,marlborough wrote ,english badly and spelled it worse1 yet he swayed the destinies of empires4 ,the charm of his manner was irresistible and influenced all ,europe4 ,his fascinating smile and winning speech disarmed the fiercest hatred1 and made friends of the bitterest enemies4 ,a habit of courtesy is like a delicate wrapping1 preventing one personality from rubbing and chafing against another4 ,it is perhaps most of all proper from the young toward those who are older than themselves4 ,there is too little of this in our day4 ,boys and girls speak to their elders1 perhaps even to their parents1 with rude familiarity1 such as would be hardly proper among playmates4 ,one should also show courtesy to his companions4 ,boys1 even in their play1 should be courteous to one another4 ,one who is always pushing for the best1 without regard to others1 shows his ill breeding4 ,a thank you and a please on proper occasions1 are not out of place even among the closest companions4 ,perhaps in the family1 courtesy is more important than anywhere else4 ,there people are thrown more closely together2 and1 thus1 nowhere do they need more the protection of courtesy4 ,from all this1 it appears that courtesy is simply an expression of thoughtfulness for others2 and that rudeness and boorishness1 though sometimes they spring from ignorance1 are more often the expression of selfishness1 which forgets the feelings and the tastes of others4 ,when ,edward ,everett took a professor's chair at ,harvard1 after five years of study in ,europe1 he was almost worshiped by the students4 ,his manner seemed touched by that exquisite grace seldom found except in women of rare culture4 ,his great popularity lay in a courteous and magnetic atmosphere which every one felt1 but no one could fully describe1 and which never left him throughout his long and useful life4 ,courtesy1 then1 may be defined as good manners4 ,at present we use the word manners1 simply to express the outward relations of life4 ,we speak of good manners or bad manners1 meaning by the words that a person conforms more or less perfectly to what are called the usages of good society4 ,thus a man may have good morals and bad manners1 or he may have good manners and bad morals1 or both his manners and his morals may be either good or bad4 ,etiquette originally meant the ticket or tag tied to a bag to indicate its contents4 ,if a bag had this ticket it was not examined4 ,from this the word passed to cards upon which were printed certain rules to be observed by guests4 ,these rules were the ticket or the etiquette4 ,to be the ticket1 or1 as it was sometimes expressed1 to act or talk by the card1 became the thing with the better classes4 ,a fine manner more than compensates for all the defects of nature4 ,the most fascinating person is always the one of most winning manners1 not the one of greatest physical beauty4 ,the ,greeks thought beauty was a proof of the peculiar favor of the gods1 and considered that beauty only worth adorning and transmitting which was unmarred by outward manifestations of hard and haughty feeling4 ,according to their ideal1 beauty must be the expression of attractive qualities within--such as cheerfulness1 benignity1 contentment1 and love4 ,on a certain occasion1 ,queen ,victoria sent for ,thomas ,carlyle1 who was a ,scotch peasant1 offering him the title of nobleman1 which he declined1 feeling that he had always been a nobleman in his own right4 ,he understood so little of the manners at court that1 when presented to the queen1 after speaking to her a few minutes1 being tired1 he said1 ,let us sit down1 madam1 and talk it over2 whereat the courtiers were ready to faint4 ,but the queen was equal to the occasion and gave a gesture that seated all her attendants in a moment4 ,courtesy is not1 however1 always found in high places4 ,even royal courts furnish many examples of bad manners4 ,at an entertainment given by the ,prince of ,wales1 to which1 of course1 only the very cream of society was admitted1 there was such pushing and struggling to see the ,princess1 who was then but recently married1 that1 as she passed through the reception rooms1 a bust of the princess ,eoyal was thrown from its pedestal and damaged1 and the pedestal upset2 and the ladies1 in their eagerness to see the princess1 actually stood upon it4 ,courtesy does not necessarily conflict with sincerity4 ,it is a great mistake to suppose that righteousness is bound up with bluntness and criticism4 ,perfect courtesy and perfect honesty are often combined in the same person4 ,we can be amiable without being weak4 ,we are able to criticise errors and wrongs by holding up what is right and true1 which is the most forcible way2 and still1 through it all1 our gentleness and courtesy may remain unstained4 ,where this course is departed from1 we are very apt to fall into trouble4 ,a ,new ,york lady had just taken her seat in a car on a train bound for ,philadelphia1 when a somewhat stout man sitting just ahead of her lighted a cigar4 ,she coughed and moved uneasily2 but the hints had no effect1 so she said tartly3 ,you probably are a foreigner1 and do not know that there is a smoking-car attached to the train4 ,smoking is not permitted here4 ,the man made no reply1 but threw his cigar out of the window4 ,what was her astonishment when the conductor told her1 a moment after1 that she had entered the private car of ,general ,grant4 ,she withdrew in confusion1 but the same line courtesy which led him to give up his cigar1 was shown again as he spared her the mortification of even a questioning glance1 still less of a look of amusement1 although she watched his dumb1 immovable figure with apprehension until she reached the door4 ,let us not be so busy as to forget the gracious acts and delicate courtesies of everyday life4 ,as ,dr4 ,bartol says3 ,these friendly good-mornings1 these ownings of mutual ties1 take on1 in their mass1 a character of the sublime4 ,the young owe respect to their elders4 ,there is a great deal of affection shown in our day1 but the expression of reverence is not so common4 ,good manners are not simply 'a fortune' to a young person2 they are more4 ,they constitute the proof of a noble character4 ,,ralph ,,waldo ,,emerson4 ,in selecting ,ralph ,waldo ,emerson as our special example1 we are sure of an admirable illustration4 ,he was born in ,boston1 ,massachusetts1 on the #beth of ,may1 #ahjc1 the second of five sons4 ,his father was the ,rev4 ,william ,emerson1 minister of the ,first ,church1 in ,boston4 ,one of his schoolmates says that as a youth1 it was impossible that there should be any feeling about him but of regard and affection4 ,his course and graduation at ,harvard ,college are remembered by his friends as marked chiefly by amiability1 meditation1 and faultless conduct4 ,he taught school a short time and made all the boys love him2 holding perfect control beneath courteous manners4 ,later on ,emerson entered the ministry and became pastor of a church in ,boston4 ,he was greatly beloved by all who knew him4 ,the cause of this universal affection was not solely in the books he produced1 but in the wonderful courtesy of his character1 as it faced toward life in every relation4 ,his son1 ,edward ,w4 ,emerson1 says3 ,my father's honor for humanity1 and respect for humble people and for labor1 were strong characteristics4 ,to servants1 he was kindly and delicately considerate2 always fearful lest their feelings might be wounded4 ,he built his own fires1 going to the woodpile in the yard in all weather for armfuls of wood as occasion required4 ,he then adds1 ,nothing could be better than his manner to children and young people2 affectionate1 and with a marked respect for their personality4 ,never patronizing1 always appreciative1 he touched everybody with courtesy1 and was1 as ,matthew ,arnold said1 ,the friend of those who live in the spirit of high1 generous standards4 ,we see in his example what deep1 real courtesy is4 ,courtesy1 to him1 was sincerity1 and fairness1 and good-will1 all round4 ,he welcomed shy merit1 encouraged clumsyyouth1 and smiled on good intentions1 however poorly expressed4 ,he did all this day after day at the cost of time and patience and strength4 ,as a scholar1 he might have secluded himself and simply written great books2 but the power he is1 and is to be1 could not have been obtained that way4 ,footnote3 ,see ,ralph ,waldo ,emerson1 by ,o4 ,w4 ,holmes 7,boston1 #ahhd72 ,emerson at ,home and ,abroad1 by ,h4 ,d4 ,conway2 and ,f4 ,b4 ,sanborn's ,homes and ,haunts of ,emerson4 ,,xviii4 ,,self-,,denial4 ,,memory ,,gems4 ,self-denial is the essence of heroism4--,emerson ,true self-denial involves personal sacrifice for the good of others4 --,dr4 ,momerie ,to give up interest for duty is the alphabet of morals4--,james ,hinton ,a man of self-denial has the true ring which distinguishes the genuine from the counterfeit4--,prof4 ,seeley ,the worst education which teaches self-denial is better than the best which teaches everything else1 and not that4--,john ,sterling ,it is a mistake to imagine that self-sacrifice and self-denial are precisely the same4 ,many persons seem to think that because self-sacrifice is a noble thing1 everything in which self is given up must be noble4 ,self may sometimes be sacrificed when it ought to be maintained2 and sometimes we sacrifice our interest to save ourselves a little trouble1 or to get rid of some petty annoyance4 ,we say1 ,well1 ,i have a right to do this1 but1 let it go2 and then we fancy that we have performed a noble deed1 whereas1 we have really been serving our own selfishness and love of ease4 ,true self-denial is the result of a calm and deliberate attachment to the highest good1 and consists in the giving up of everything which stands in the way of its attainment1 no matter what it may cost us either in suffering or loss4 ,in our earliest years we must train ourselves to forego little things for the sake of others4 ,if we do so1 we shall find it much easier to bear the heavier disappointments of maturer years4 ,it will greatly help us if we try to practice at least one distinct act of self-denial every day2 and we must not forget that these acts must be both voluntary and cheerful if they are to be of real benefit either to ourselves or to others4 ,the burdens which boyhood and girlhood must bear in acquiring an education1 learning a trade1 resisting temptations1 and building spotless characters1 demand the constant exercise of self-denial4 ,many people1 young and old1 know what duty is1 but fail to do it for the want of decision4 ,they know very well what labors and self-denials are necessary to obtain an education1 master a trade1 or attain to excellence in any pursuit2 but their ignoble indecision1 which is a sort of mental and moral debility1 disqualifies them for the undertaking4 ,the will1 which is the central force of character1 must be trained to habits of decision2 otherwise1 it will neither be able to resist evil1 nor to follow good4 ,our subject brings to mind many heroes of all kinds1 to whose lives we would gladly refer1 if our space permitted4 ,they are found in all stations of life4 ,there have been railway engineers1 who1 when they saw that a collision could not be avoided1 have stood at their place to lighten1 if possible1 the shock1 and have been killed2 sea captains1 who have remained at their posts till all others had left1 and have gone down with their ships2 physicians and nurses1 and sisters of charity1 who have not shrunk from pestilence in order to save life1 or to comfort the dying4 ,there was ,father ,damien1 a ,catholic priest1 who so pitied the lepers that were confined to an island1 deprived alike of the comforts of this world and of the consolations of religion1 that he went and lived with them4 ,he knew that when he once joined them he would probably take their disease1 and1 in any case1 could never leave them4 ,but he went1 shared their lot1 lived and died among them2 seeking to do them good4 ,historic illustrations of self-denial1 still fresh in the memories of many citizens1 are to the point here4 ,general ,grant had been for several months in front of ,petersburg1 apparently accomplishing nothing1 while ,general ,sherman had captured ,atlanta1 and completed his grand march to the sea4 ,then arose a strong cry to promote ,sherman to ,grant's position as lieutenant-general4 ,hearing of it1 ,sherman wrote to ,grant3 ,i have written to ,john ,sherman his brother to stop it4 ,i would rather have you in command than any one else4 ,i should emphatically decline any commission calculated to bring us into rivalry4 ,general ,grant replied3 ,no one would be more pleased with your advancement than ,i2 and if you should be placed in my position1 and ,i put subordinate1 it would not change our relations in the least4 ,i would make the same exertions to support you1 that you have done to support me2 and ,i would do all in my power to make our cause win4 ,two great souls striving to be equally magnanimous6 ,could anything be more beautiful or noble in public life1 where jealousy1 and selfishness and double-dealing appear to rule the hour8 ,one or two other illustrations must suffice us4 ,the captain of a ship was absent from it one day1 being on board another vessel4 ,while he was gone1 a storm arose1 which in a short time made an entire wreck of his own ship1 to which it had not been possible for him to return4 ,he had left on board two little boys1 the one four years old and the other six1 under the care of a young colored servant4 ,the people struggled to get out of the sinking ship into a large boat2 and the poor servant took the captain's two little children1 tied them in a sack1 and put them into the boat1 which was by this time quite full4 ,he was stepping into it himself1 but was told by the officer that there was no room forhim1-- that either he or the children must perish1 for the weight of all would sink the boat4 ,the heroic servant did not hesitate a moment4 ,very well1 said he2 give my love to my master1 and tell him ,i beg pardon for all my faults2 and then he went to the bottom1 never to rise again till the sea shall give up its dead4 ,the power and influence of self-denial are well set forth in the following incident3 ,at a time of great scarcity in ,germany1 a certain rich man invited twenty poor children to his house1 and said to them1 ,in this basket there is a loaf of bread for each of you2 take it1 and come again every day at this hour until the coming of better times4 ,the children seized upon the basket1 wrangled and fought for the bread1 as each wished to get the best and largest loaf2 and at last they went away without even thanking him4 ,frances alone1 a poor but neatly dressed child1 stood modestly at a distance1 took the smallest loaf that was left in the basket1 thanked the gentleman1 and went home in a quiet and orderly manner4 ,on the following day the children were just as ill-behaved2 and poor ,frances this time received a loaf which was scarcely half the size of the rest2 but when she came home1 and her mother began to cut the bread1 there fell out of it a number of bright new silver coins4 ,her mother was perplexed and said1 ,take back the money this instant2 for it has no doubt1 got into the bread through some mistake4 ,frances carried it back4 ,but the benevolent man said1 ,no1 no6 it was no mistake4 ,i had the money baked in the smallest loaf in order to reward you1 my dear child4 ,remember that the person who is contented with the smallest loaf1 rather than quarrel for the largest one1 will find blessings still more valuable than money baked in bread4 ,all these incidents reveal the value of this trait in real life2 and also serve to show how it is regarded by others than ourselves4 ,it will more than repay us for its cultivation1 both by the increase of our own happiness1 and in the large amount of enjoyment it will put into the lives of those about us4 ,,charles ,,lamb4 ,charles ,lamb was a writer of charming essays1 full of wit and fancy4 ,he seemed to the world as far as possible from a hero2 yet his life washeroic in an unusual degree4 ,he was the son of a clerk in the ,london ,law ,courts1 and the youngest child in a family of three4 ,he had a brother1 ,john1 who was twelve years1 and a sister ,mary1 ten years older than himself4 ,at the age of seventeen he became a clerk in the ,accountant's ,office of the ,east ,india ,company4 ,there was a kind of insanity in the family1 and in ,september1 #agif1 ,charles ,lamb came home from his office-work to find that his sister had wounded her father in the forehead and had stabbed her mother to the heart4 ,the inquest on the mother1 held next day1 was closed with a verdict of insanity1 and ,mary ,lamb was placed in a lunatic asylum4 ,john ,lamb1 the elder brother1 offered no aid to the family4 ,charles loved his sister1 and cared for her with a beautiful devotion4 ,the combined earnings of ,charles and his father were less than two hundred pounds a year1 but ,charles so arranged matters that sixty pounds a year was devoted to her support4 ,others of the family1 especially her brother ,john1 opposed ,mary's discharge from the asylum2 but ,charles obtained her release by solemnly promising that he would take care of her4 ,although he was engaged to be married to a woman whom he tenderly loved1 he gave up all for ,mary's sake1 and literally filled her life with his love4 ,first he placed her in a lodging at ,hackney1 and spent all his ,sundays and holidays with her4 ,then they lived together2 he watching the moods that foreshadowed a mad fit1 and taking her when needful1 a willing patient1 to the ,hoxton asylum till the fit was over4 ,it was a sad sight to see the brother and sister walking across the fields to the hospital together1 when she felt that the trouble was coming on2 but through the long period of forty years his love never once failed1 and his devotion increased to the very end4 ,his whole life developed into one of singular kindness and self-sacrifice4 ,he is known to have worn a coat six months longer than he otherwise would have done1 in order that he might spare a little money to help some one less fortunate than himself4 ,one of his many friends1 speaking of him said1 ,of all the men of genius ,i ever knew1 the one most intensely and universally to be loved was ,charles ,lamb4 ,footnote3 ,see ,hazlitt's ,mary and ,charles ,lamb 7#ahgd72 ,biography of ,charles ,lamb1 ,t4 ,n4 ,talfourd 7#ahdj72 and ,final ,memoirs1 ,t4 ,n4 ,talfourd 7#ahdh74 ,,xix4 ,,self-,,respect4 ,,memory ,,gems4 ,above all things reverence yourself4--,pythagoras ,no one can disgrace us but ourselves4--,j4 ,g4 ,holland ,self-distrust is the cause of most of our failures4--,bovee ,self-reverence1 self-knowledge1 self-control1 these three alone lead life to sovereign power4--,tennyson ,to thine own self be true2 and it will follow1 as night the day1 thou canst not then be false to any man4--,shakespeare ,there is around every man or woman1 every boy or girl1 a certain atmosphere that keeps him or her separate and distinct from all other persons4 ,we realize the truth of this statement very early in life2 and unless we can learn to respect and rely upon our own distinctive self-hood1 our lives will never reach their largest possibilities4 ,there is1 however1 a real difference between self-reliance and self-respect1 though each partakes of the nature of the other4 ,self-respect is the root of which self-reliance is the growth in various acts or plans4 ,it is the general tone and spirit running through our view of life1 of our nature1 of our friends1 of our privileges1 of our personal gifts4 ,it is the basis on which we build self-reliant conduct and self-reliant convictions4 ,it is generally the man who thinks well of himself who comes to be thought well of4 ,but it is also true that when a man becomes perfectly satisfied with himself and his worldly surroundings1 he has reached the first stage of decline4 ,self-confidence1 backed by good common sense1 is one of the most important of human attributes4 ,but we must be careful not to exaggerate ourselves1 or rate ourselves too highly4 ,there are dangers attending every virtue4 ,pushed to excess1 even conscience1 justice1 and earnestness1 may become injurious4 ,self-respect must be guarded by common sense1 love of humanity1 and the spirit of reverence4 ,but nothing can make good an absence of this quality4 ,even the ,chinese say1 ,it never pays to respect a man who does not respect himself4 ,if the world sees that you do not honor yourself1 it has a right to reject you as an impostor2 because you claim to be worthy of the good opinion of others when you have not your own4 ,self-respect is based upon the same principles as respect for others4 ,the scales of justice hang in every heart1 and even the murderer respects the judge who condemns him2 for the still small voice within says1 ,that is right4 ,self-respect is a great aid to pure living4 ,so long as a youth has true self-respect1 vice has little attraction for him4 ,it is when this sterling virtue is sacrificed1 and the thoughtless or reckless one ceases to care what is thought of him1 that vice claims its victim4 ,he who cares not whether men think well or ill of him1 does not possess self-respect2 and so he is easily lured into evil1 becoming more and more indifferent to the good-will of others1 and more thoughtless and abandoned in his daily life4 ,with the loss of self-respect1 he is likely to lose all that makes manhood true and noble4 ,the key to ,john ,bunyan's career is found in the self-respect which began to govern his thoughts and acts in maturing youth1 and which afterward enabled him to meet persecution victoriously and to develop his peculiar talent4 ,if lie had been turned back by the scorn and contempt heaped upon him on account of his low condition1 or if he had listened to critics who laughed at his simple1 direct style in ,pilgrim's ,progress2 or if he had lost courage because he belonged to a despised religious sect2 we should never have had his inspiring example4 ,the main business of life is not to do something great1 but to become great in ourselves4 ,any action has its finest and most enduring fruit in character4 ,men of character are the conscience of the society to which they belong4 ,they1 rather than the police1 guarantee the execution of the laws4 ,their influence is the bulwark of good government4 ,character gravitates upward1 while mere genius1 without character1 gravitates downward4 ,how often we see1 in school or college1 young men1 who are apparently dull and even stupid1 rise gradually and surely above others who are without character1 merely because the former have an upward tendency in their lives1 a reaching-up principle1 which gradually but surely unfolds and elevates them to positions of honor and trust4 ,there is something which everybody admires in an aspiring soul1 one whose tendency is upward and onward1 in spite of hindrances and in defiance of obstacles4 ,as illustrating the mighty results of character based upon a self-respecting love of honor1 we may relate that when ,general ,lee was in conversation with one of his officers in regard to a movement of his army1 a plain farmer's boy overheard the general's remark that he had decided to march upon ,gettysburg instead of ,harrisburg4 ,the boy telegraphed this fact to ,governor ,curtin4 ,a special engine was sent for the boy4 ,i would give my right hand1 said the governor1 to know if this boy tells the truth4 ,a corporal replied1 ,governor1 ,i know that boy2 it is impossible for him to lie2 there is not a drop of false blood in his veins4 ,in fifteen minutes the ,union troops were marching to ,gettysburg1 where they gained a glorious victory4 ,true self-respect challenges the admiration of others4 ,no man has reason to claim the regard of his fellows unless he first respects himself1 for this latter act is the outcome of the only elements of character that can command the sincere esteem of men4 ,a mean man1 a dishonest man1 a niggardly man1 a lazy man1 or a conceited man1 does not respect himself4 ,unless he is living under the power of some strong delusion1 he knows that he is not worthy of regard4 ,a young man was invited by a friend to attend an entertainment which he thought was objectionable4 ,i am not entirely clear that it is wrong1 he said1 and when ,i am in doubt1 ,i think the safer course is to decline4 ,perhaps you are right1 answered the friend2 but ,i think that people will respect you as much as ever if you go4 ,possibly2 but ,i want to respect myself1 replied the young man4 ,i should lose my self-respect by performing a doubtful act4 ,my aim should be higher than that4 ,samuel ,smiles expresses the truth well in this extract from ,character3 ,it is the great lesson of biography to teach what man can be and can do at his best4 ,it may thus give each man renewed strength and confidence4 ,the humblest1 in sight of even the greatest1 may admire and hope and take courage4 ,these great brothers of ours in blood and lineage1 who live a universal life1 still speak to us from their graves1 and beckon us on in the paths which they have trod4 ,one of the last things said by ,sir ,walter ,scott1 as he lay dying1 was this3 ,i have been1 perhaps1 the most voluminous author of my day1 and it is a comfort to me to think that ,i have tried to unsettle no man's faith1 to corrupt no man's principles1 and that ,i have written nothing which1 on my deathbed1 ,i would wish blotted out4 ,to have lived such a life as he lived is more than to have reigned over a kingdom4 ,,sir ,,walter ,,scott4 ,we are glad to call special attention to ,scott1 because of his heroic struggle to maintain his good name4 ,he was born in ,edinburgh1 ,august #ae1 #agga4 ,he was the son of ,walter ,scott1 an attorney at law2 and ,anne ,rutherford1 daughter of ,dr4 ,john ,rutherford1 professor of medicine in the ,university of ,edinburgh1 and a lineal descendant from the ancient chieftain ,walter ,scott1 traditionally known as ,auld ,walt of ,harden4 ,as a schoolboy ,walter was very popular4 ,he made himself respected for his courage and general ability to take care of himself4 ,he was not considered a very bright scholar1 although1 even then1 he gave evidence of his special delight in history1 poetry1 fairy tales1 and fables4 ,in #aghc he entered the university4 ,he made little progress in the ancient languages1 but was more successful in other studies4 ,his time1 however1 was industriously employed in storing his mind with that great wealth of knowledge which afterward made him famous as a writer4 ,scott was educated for a lawyer1 but all his natural tastes were in the direction of literature4 ,the greater part of his early life was an unconscious preparation for writing4 ,he had been writing prose romances for several years with considerable success1 when in ,january1 #ahje1 he published ,the ,lay of the ,last ,minstrel4 ,it at once became extremely popular4 ,it sold more widely than any poem had ever sold before4 ,this led him to decide that literature was to be the main business of his life4 ,marmion1 which appeared in #ahjh1 and ,the ,lady of the ,lake1 in #ahaj1 placed ,scott among the greatest living poets4 ,he touched then the highest point of happiness and prosperity4 ,soon after this he entered into a business partnership with a publishing house1 which resulted in his financial ruin4 ,the failure left him partner to a debt of over one hundred thousand pounds4 ,at the age of fifty-five1 when all the freshness of youth was gone1 he set himself the task of paying this enormous claim and winning back his ancestral estates4 ,he went to work with a dogged determination to pay off his debt of honor4 ,the heaviest blow was to his pride2 yet pride alone never enabled any man to struggle so vigorously to meet the obligations he had incurred4 ,it was rather that high feeling of self-respect which nerved his power to meet and try to overcome his great misfortune4 ,his estates were conveyed to trustees for the benefit of his creditors1 until such time as he could free them4 ,between ,january1 #ahbf1 and ,january1 #ahbh1 he earned forty thousand pounds by unremitting toil4 ,then his health broke down2 yet he still struggled on with enfeebled constitution1 but with an unbroken will1 to discharge1 if possible1 his obligations1 and leave to the world a respected name4 ,footnote3 ,see ,lockhart's ,life of ,sir ,walter ,scott 7,houghton1 ,mifflin ,co472 ,hutton's ,sir ,walter ,scott2 and articles in encyclopedias4 ,,xx4 ,,conscientiousness4 ,,memory ,,gems4 ,conscientiousness is the underlying granite of life4--,sir ,walter ,raleigh ,when love of praise takes the place of praiseworthiness1 the defect is fatal4--,s4 ,baring-,gould ,when a man is dead to the sense of right1 he is lost forever4 --,james ,mc,crie ,insincerity alienates love and rots away authority4--,bulwer ,the value of conscientiousness is principally seen in the benefits of civilization4--,charles ,kingsley ,conscientiousness is a scrupulous regard to the decisions of conscience4 ,when we say a duty was performed religiously1 it is the same as a duty done conscientiously4 ,conscience does not teach us what is right2 we learn that from experience1 and in many other ways4 ,it simply tells us to do the best we know1 and reproaches us when we do otherwise4 ,some one has well said3 ,we can train ourselves to be conscientious1 to be responsive to conscience1 to obey it2 but conscience itself cannot be educated4 ,it is like the sun4 ,we may so arrange our house as to receive the largest amount of sunlight2 but the sun itself cannot be changed either for our advantage or disadvantage4 ,as a house with ample windows is illuminated within by the rays of the sun1 so is a well-trained life filled with the light of conscience4 ,we may therefore define conscientiousness as the inborn desire to do that which is right and just4 ,conscientiousness1 which is1 as we have just seen1 another name for justice1 is a trait to be cultivated among young people in their sports1 in family life1 and in school4 ,a boy is unjust who refuses to play fair2 a girl is unjust who deprives a friend of anything properly hers4 ,young people may be unjust in their words1 in their thoughts1 or in their actions2 and the greatest watchfulness is needed to prevent us from failing in this important matter4 ,one's sense of justice may be increased by thoughtfulness as to his duty to himself1 as well as to others2 and by demanding very rigid observance of every law of conduct which commends itself as needful to ideal character4 ,there is only one real failure possible in life1 said ,canon ,farrar1 and that is1 not to be true to the best one knows4 ,i can remember when you blackened my father's shoes1 said one member of the ,british ,house of ,commons to another in the heat of debate4 ,true enough1 was the prompt reply1 but did ,i not blacken them well8 ,the sense of right-doing was sufficient to turn an intended insult into a well-merited compliment1 and to increase for him the esteem of his fellow-members4 ,whatever is right to do1 said an eminent writer1 should be done with our best care1 strength1 and faithfulness of purpose4 ,leonardo da ,vinci would walk across ,milan to change a single tint or the slightest detail in his famous picture of ,the ,last ,supper4 ,rufus ,choate would plead before a shoemaker justice of the peace1 in a petty case1 with all the fervor and careful attention to detail with which he addressed the ,united ,states ,supreme ,court4 ,no1 ,i can't do it1 it is impossible1 said ,webster1 when pressed to speak on a question soon to come up1 toward the close of a ,congressional session4 ,i am so pressed with other duties that ,i haven't time to prepare myself to speak upon that theme4 ,ah1 but ,mr4 ,webster1 you always speak well upon any subject4 ,you never fail4 ,but that's the very reason1 said the orator1 because ,i never allow myself to speak upon any subject without first making that subject thoroughly my own4 ,i haven't time to do that in this instance4 ,hence ,i must refuse4 ,among the list of our great reformers1 ,william ,lloyd ,garrison must always hold a very prominent place4 ,the work he did was that of unselfish devotion to an overmastering sense of justice4 ,he labored for those in bonds1 as bound with them4 ,faithful1 as but few others were faithful1 he worked in season and out of season for human freedom4 ,after great effort1 ,mr4 ,garrison succeeded in establishing an antislavery society1 and he was made its agent to lecture for the cause4 ,he was sent to ,england to solicit funds for starting a manual-labor school for the colored youth4 ,but the whole tone of society was against him4 ,he was at the mercy of that prejudice which1 at so many points1 was ready to adopt mob violence4 ,the discussion of slavery was taken up in educational institutions where1 as in general society1 but very few were found who believed in universal freedom4 ,but still he never swerved from what he believed to be right4 ,justice was his plea2 justice was his battle cry2 and it came to be said of him that ,he was conscience incarnated4 ,a beautiful illustration of justice1 and fairness of treatment1 occurred at the opening of the great battle of ,manila ,bay1 on ,may #a1 #ahih4 ,when the order was given to strip for action1 one of the powder boys tore his coat off hurriedly1 and it fell from his hands and went over the rail1 down into the bay4 ,a few moments before1 he had been gazing on his mother's photograph1 and just before he took his coat off he had kissed the picture and put it in his inside pocket4 ,when the coat fell overboard he turned to the captain and asked permission to jump over and get it4 ,naturally the request was refused4 ,the boy then went to the other side of the ship and climbed down the ladder4 ,he swam around to the place where the coat had dropped and succeeded in getting it4 ,when he came back he was put in irons for disobedience4 ,after the battle he was tried by a court-martial for disobedience1 and found guilty4 ,commodore ,dewey became interested in the case1 for he could not understand why the boy had risked his life and disobeyed orders for a coat4 ,the lad had never told his motives4 ,but when the commodore talked to him in a kindly way1 and asked him why he had done such a strange thing for an old coat1 he burst into tears and told the commodore that his mother's picture was in the coat4 ,dewey's eyes filled with tears as he listened to the story4 ,then he picked up the boy and embraced him4 ,he ordered the little fellow to be instantly released and pardoned4 ,a boy who loves his mother enough to risk his life for her picture1 cannot be kept in irons on this fleet1 he said4 ,examples by the score crowd in upon our minds as we think more deeply into this subject1 but space permits of only one more before passing to our special illustration3 ,when troubled with deafness1 the ,duke of ,wellington consulted a celebrated physician1 who put strong caustic into his ear1 causing an inflammation which threatened his life4 ,the doctor apologized1 expressed great regrets1 and said that the blunder would ruin him4 ,no1 said ,wellington1 ,i will never mention it4 ,but will you allow me to attend you1 so that the people will not withdraw their confidence8 ,no1 said the ,iron ,duke1 that would be lying4 ,enough has perhaps been said to show that conscientiousness and justice are not simply beautiful traits of character2 but that they are absolutely necessary to the fullest advancement of the individual and of the race4 ,we proceed to enforce this truth still more strongly1 however1 by a closing reference to the career of one of our greatest statesmen4 ,,charles ,,sumner4 ,in using ,mr4 ,sumner as our special illustration of conscientiousness1 it is not because we lack other examples4 ,on the contrary1 they are all about us2 and doubtless we could all mention excellent cases in our own homes1 and among our own acquaintances1 where conscientiousness has been vividly illustrated4 ,he was the eldest of nine children1 and was born in ,boston1 on the sixth day of ,january1 #ahaa4 ,his father was a lawyer1 and sheriff of ,suffolk ,county1 and was descended from the early colonists of ,new ,england4 ,even in childhood and youth ,charles ,sumner evinced the quiet1 thoughtful1 and serious temperament which was characteristic of the ,puritans4 ,as a boy he took little interest in games and frolics4 ,he read much1 and was reserved and awkward4 ,society to him1 in early life1 possessed no attractions2 and while he was always studious and patient he never displayed any marked talent4 ,his progress in life was almost entirely due to his conscientious1 persistent1 untiring application to the acquisition of knowledge and the development of all his powers4 ,he was in the highest sense a cultivated man4 ,his mind became1 through conscientious and laborious study1 a great storehouse1 filled with the richest materials and the power to use them4 ,but he did not seek these treasures of learning and power for the simple end of glorifying himself4 ,his one great object in life was to benefit mankind4 ,he said in an address1 delivered just after he had begun the practice of law1 speaking of conscience and charity3 ,they must become a part of us and of our existence1 as present1 in season and out of season1 in all the amenities of life1 in those daily offices of conduct and manner which add so much to its charm1 as also in those grander duties whose performance evinces an ennobling self-sacrifice4 ,it was his own determined and unfaltering devotion to this lofty ideal1 that led directly to the success of his great public career4 ,charles ,sumner was first elected to the ,senate in #ahea4 ,throughout his brilliant life his lofty character never forsook him2 and if we will carefully examine the measures which he advocated1 voted for1 or opposed1 from time to time1 the discovery will be made that his conscience was his inevitable guide4 ,while he dearly loved peace1 he was always in the midst of warfare4 ,he constantly incurred the censure which arises from advocating unpopular measures4 ,childlike in his personal friendships1 he often spoke about himself as he would speak of others1--revealing what others would have concealed4 ,frank1 sincere1 and pledged from youth to principles1 rather than to persons1 he was obliged to struggle against great obstacles4 ,to him the slave was a human being with a soul1 entitled to every right and privilege accorded to any ,american citizen4 ,he devoted his energies to the cause of freedom down to the very last1 and died in ,washington1 on ,march #aa1 #ahgd1 exclaiming1 ,don't let my ,civil ,rights ,bill fail6 ,footnote3 ,see ,memoir and ,letters of ,charles ,sumner1 by ,edward ,l4 ,pierce1 7,boston1 #ahgg71 and many articles in the magazines1 especially noting the sketch in ,appleton's ,cyclopedia of ,american ,biography1 ,vol4 ,v41 page #gdd4 ,,xxi4 ,,enthusiasm4 ,,memoby ,,gems4 ,nothing is so contagious as enthusiasm4--,bulwer ,enthusiasm is the fundamental quality of strong souls4--,carlyle ,the only conclusive evidence of a man's sincerity is that he gives himself for a principle4--,phillips ,brooks ,enthusiasm is the romance of the boy that becomes the heroism of the man4--,a4 ,bronson ,alcott ,every great and commanding movement in the annals of the world is the triumph of some enthusiasm4--,emerson ,in the course of every life there are sure to be obstacles and difficulties to be met4 ,prudence hesitates and examines them2 intelligence usually suggests some ingenious way of getting around them2 patience and perseverance deliberately go to work to dig under them2 but enthusiasm is the quality that boldly faces and leaps lightly over them4 ,by the power of enthusiasm the most extraordinary undertakings1 that seemed impossible of accomplishment1 have been successfully carried out4 ,enthusiasm makes weak men strong1 and timid women courageous4 ,almost all the great works of art have been produced when the artist was intoxicated with a passion for beauty and form1 which would not let him rest until his thought was expressed in marble or on canvas4 ,a recent writer has said3 ,enthusiasm is life lit up and shining4 ,it is the passion of the spirit pushing forward toward some noble activity4 ,it is one of the most powerful forces that go to the making of a noble and heroic character4 ,in the ,gallery of ,fine ,arts1 in ,paris1 is a beautiful statue conceived by a sculptor who was so poor that he lived and worked in a small garret4 ,when his clay model was nearly done1 a heavy frost fell upon the city4 ,he knew that if the water in the interstices of the clay should freeze1 the beautiful lines would be distorted4 ,so he wrapped his bedclothes around the clay image to preserve it from destruction4 ,in the morning he was found dead2 but his idea was saved1 and other hands gave it enduring form in marble4 ,another instance of rare consecration to a great enterprise is found in the work of the late ,francis ,parkman4 ,while a student at ,harvard1 he determined to write the history of the ,french and ,english in ,north ,america4 ,with a steadiness and devotion seldom equaled1 he gave his life1 his fortune1 his all1 to this one great object4 ,although he had ruined his health while among the ,dakota ,indians1 collecting material for his history1 and could not use his eyes more than five minutes at a time for fifty years1 he did not swerve a hair's breadth from the high purpose formed in his youth1 until he gave to the world the best history upon this subject ever written4 ,what a power there is in an enthusiastic adherence to an ideal6 ,what are hardships1 ridicule1 persecution1 toil1 or sickness1 to a soul throbbing with an overmastering purpose8 ,gladstone says that what is really wanted1 is to light up the spirit that is within a boy4 ,in some sense1 and in some degree1 there is in every boy the material for doing good work in the world2 not only in those who are brilliant and quick1 but even in those who are stolid and dull4 ,a real enthusiasm makes men happy1 keeps them fresh1 hopeful1 joyous4 ,life never stagnates with them4 ,they always keep sweet1 anticipate a good time coming1 and help to make it come4 ,enthusiasm has been well called the lever of the world2 for it sets in motion1 if it does not control1 the grandest revolutions6 ,its influence is immense4 ,history bears frequent record of its contagiousness1 showing how vast multitudes have been roused into emotion by the enthusiasm of one man2 as was the case when the crowd of knights1 and squires1 and men-at-arms1 and quiet peasants1 entered1 at the bidding of ,st4 ,bernard1 upon the great ,crusade4 ,the simple1 innocent ,maid of ,orleans1--with her sacred sword1 her consecrated banner1 and her belief in her great mission1--sent a thrill of enthusiasm through the whole ,french army such as neither king nor statesman could produce4 ,her zeal carried everything before it4 ,enthusiasm makes men strong4 ,it wakes them up1 brings out their latent powers1 keeps up incessant action1 impels to tasks requiring strength1 and then carries them to completion4 ,many are born to be giants1 yet1 from lack of enthusiasm1 few grow above common men4 ,they need to be set on fire by some eager impulse1 inspired by some grand resolve1 and they would then quickly rise head and shoulders above their fellows4 ,enthusiasm is the element of success in everything4 ,it is the light that leads1 and the strength that lifts men on and up in the great struggles of scientific pursuits and of professional labors4 ,it robs endurance of difficulty1 and makes a pleasure of duty4 ,enthusiasm gives to man a power that is irresistible4 ,it is that secret and harmonious spirit which hovers over the production of genius1 throwing the reader of a book1 or the spectator of a statue1 into the presence of those with whom these works have originated4 ,a great work always leaves us in a state of lofty contemplation1 if we are in sympathy with it4 ,the most irresistible charm of youth is its bubbling enthusiasm4 ,the youth who comes fully under its control sees no darkness ahead4 ,he forgets that there is such a thing as failure in the world1 and believes that mankind has been waiting all these centuries for him to come and be the liberator of truth and energy and beauty4 ,the boy ,bach copied whole books of musical studies by moonlight1 for want of a candle churlishly denied4 ,nor was he disheartened when these copies were taken from him4 ,the boy painter ,west1 began his work in a garret1 and cut hairs from the tail of the family cat for bristles to make his brushes4 ,gerster1 an unknown ,hungarian singer1 made fame and fortune sure the first night she appeared in opera4 ,her enthusiasm almost mesmerized her auditors4 ,in less than a week she had become popular and independent4 ,her soul was smitten with a passion for growth1 and all the powers of heart and mind were devoted to self-improvement4 ,enthusiasm is purified and ennobled by self-denial4 ,as the traveler1 who would ascend a lofty mountain summit1 to enjoy the sunset there1 leaves the quiet of the lowly vale1 and climbs the difficult path1 so the true enthusiast1 in his aspiration after the highest good1 allows himself to be stopped by no wish for wealth and pleasure1 and every step he takes forward is connected with self-denial1 but is a step nearer to success4 ,,thomas ,a4 ,,edison4 ,if one were to ask what individual best typifies the industrial progress of this nation1 it would be easy to answer1 ,thomas ,alva ,edison4 ,looking at him as a newspaper boy1 at the age of fifteen1 one would hardly have been led to predict that this young fellow would be responsible for the industrial transformation of this continent4 ,at that early age he had already begun to dabble in chemistry1 and had fitted up a small traveling laboratory4 ,one day1 as he was performing an experiment1 the train rounded a curve and the bottles of chemicals were dashed to the floor4 ,there followed a series of unearthly odors and unnatural complications4 ,the conductor1 who had suffered long and patiently1 now ejected the youthful enthusiast2 and1 it is said1 accompanied the expulsion with a resounding box upon the ear4 ,this did not dampen ,edison's ardor1 in the least4 ,he passed through one dramatic situation after another1 mastering each and all2 but his advancement was due to patient1 persevering work4 ,not long ago a reporter asked him if he had regular hours for work4 ,oh6 he answered1 ,i do not work hard now4 ,i come to the laboratory about eight o'clock every day1 and go home to tea at six2 and then ,i study and work on some problem until eleven1 which is my hour for bed4 ,when it was suggested that fourteen or fifteen hours' work per day could scarcely be called loafing1 he replied1 ,well1 for fifteen years ,i have worked on an average twenty hours a day4 ,nothing but a rare devotion to an interesting subject could keep any man so diligently employed4 ,so enthusiastically did he pursue his researches1 that1 when he had once started to solve a difficult problem1 he has been known to work at it for sixty consecutive hours4 ,in describing his ,boston experiences1 ,edison relates that he bought ,faraday's works on electricity1 and beginning to read them at three o'clock in the morning1 continued until his room-mate arose1 when they started on their long walk for breakfast4 ,breakfast1 however1 was of small account in ,edison's mind compared with his love for ,faraday2 and he suddenly remarked to his friend1 ,adams1 ,i have so much to do1 and life is so short1 that ,i must hustle2 and with that he started off on a dead run for the boarding-house4 ,edison has shown that he cares nothing for money1 and has no particular enthusiasm for fame4 ,what makes you work so hard8 asked a friend4 ,i like it1 he answered1 after a moment's puzzled expression2 and then repeated several times1 ,i like it4 ,i do not know any other reason4 ,you know how some people like to collect stamps4 ,anything ,i have begun is always on my mind1 and ,i am not easy while away from it until it is finished4 ,electrical science is still in its infancy1 but the enthusiasm of ,edison has done much for its advancement4 ,the subject indeed is a fascinating one1 and ,edison's devotion to it1 and the discoveries and practical applications he has made in his researches1 have placed him in the front rank of ,america's greatest inventors4 ,footnote3 ,see ,review of ,reviews1 ,vol4 ,,xviii41 and articles in encyclopedias4 ,,xxii4 ,,courage4 ,,memory ,,gems4 ,the best hearts are always the bravest4--,sterne ,in noble souls1 valor does not wait for years4--,corneille ,courage is always greatest when blended with meekness4--,earl ,stanhope ,a brave man hazards life1 but not his conscience4--,schiller ,a great deal of talent is lost in the world for want of a little courage4--,sydney ,smith ,the definition of courage given by ,webster is1 that quality of mind which enables men to encounter danger and difficulties with firmness or without fear or depression of spirits4 ,we would rather say that courage does not consist in feeling no fear1 but in conquering fear4 ,our meaning will perhaps be best made clear by the following illustrations3 ,two ,french officers at ,waterloo were advancing to charge a greatly superior force4 ,one1 observing that the other showed signs of fear1 said ,sir1 ,i believe you are frightened4 ,yes1 ,i am1 was the reply2 and if you were half as much frightened1 you would run away4 ,that's a brave man1 said ,wellington1 when he saw a soldier turn pale as he marched against a battery2 he knows his danger1 and faces it4 ,genuine courage is based on something more than animal strength2 and this holds true always4 ,cowardly hearts are often encased in giant frames4 ,slender women often display astounding bravery4 ,the courageous man is a real helper in the work of the world's advancement4 ,his influence is magnetic4 ,he creates an epidemic of nobleness4 ,men follow him1 even to the death4 ,our enemies are before us1 exclaimed the ,spartans at ,thermopylae4 ,and we are before them1 was the cool reply of ,leonidas4 ,deliver your arms1 came the message from ,xerxes4 ,come and take them1 was the answer ,leonidas sent back4 ,a ,persian soldier said3 ,you will not be able to see the sun for flying javelins and arrows4 ,then we will fight in the shade1 replied a ,lacedaemonian4 ,what wonder that a handful of such men checked the march of the greatest host that ever trod the earth4 ,don't be like ,uriah ,heep1 begging everybody's pardon for taking the liberty of being in the world4 ,there is nothing attractive in timidity1 nothing lovable in fear4 ,both are deformities1 and are repulsive4 ,manly courage is dignified and graceful4 ,the spirit of courage will transform the whole temper of your life4 ,the wise and active conquer difficulties by daring to attempt them4 ,the lazy and the foolish shiver and sicken at the sight of trial and hazard1 and create the very impossibility they fear4 ,abraham ,lincoln's boyhood was one long struggle with poverty1 with little education1 and no influential friends4 ,when at last he had begun the practice of law1 it required no little daring to cast his fortune with the weaker side in politics1 and thus imperil what small reputation he had gained4 ,only the most sublime moral courage could have sustained him as ,president to hold his ground against hostile criticism and a long train of disaster1 to issue the ,emancipation ,proclamation1 to support ,grant and ,stanton against the clamor of the politicians and the press1 and1 through it all1 to do what he believed to be right4 ,did you ever read the fable of the magician and the mouse8 ,it is worth reading in this connection3 ,a mouse that dwelt near the abode of a great magician1 was kept in such constant fear of a cat1 that the magician1 taking pity on it1 turned it into a cat itself4 ,immediately it began to suffer from its fear of a dog1 so the magician turned it into a dog4 ,then it began to suffer from fear of a tiger4 ,the magician therefore turned it into a tiger4 ,then it began to suffer from fear of hunters1 and the magician said in disgust3 ,be a mouse again4 ,as you have only the heart of a mouse1 it is impossible to help you by giving you the body of a nobler animal4 ,the moral of the story you can gather for yourselves4 ,we have already said that many women have displayed courage of a very high order4 ,here is a case in point3 ,charles ,v4 of ,spain passed through ,thuringia in #aedg1 on his return to ,swabia after the battle of ,muehlburg4 ,he wrote to ,catherine1 ,countess ,dowager of ,schwartzburg1 promising that her subjects should not be molested in their persons or property if they would supply the ,spanish soldiers with provisions at a reasonable price4 ,on approaching her residence1 ,general ,alva and ,prince ,henry of ,brunswick1 with his sons1 invited themselves1 by a messenger sent forward1 to breakfast with the ,countess1 who had no choice but to ratify so delicate a request from the commander of an army4 ,just as the guests were seated at a generous repast1 the ,countess was called from the hall and told that the ,spaniards were using violence and driving away the cattle of the peasants4 ,quietly arming all her retinue1 she bolted and barred all the gates and doors of the castle1 and returned to the banquet to complain of the breach of faith4 ,general ,alva told her that such was the custom of war1 adding that such trifling disorders were not to be heeded4 ,that we shall presently see1 said ,catherine2 my poor subjects must have their own again1 or1 as ,god lives1 prince's blood for oxen's blood6 ,the doors were opened1 and armed men took the place of the waiters behind the chairs of the guests4 ,henry changed color2 then1 as the best way out of a bad scrape1 laughed loudly1 and ended by praising the splendid acting of his hostess1 and promising that ,alva should order the cattle restored at once4 ,not until a courier returned1 saying that the order had been obeyed1 and all damages settled satisfactorily1 did the armed waiters leave4 ,the ,countess then thanked her guests for the honor they had done her castle1 and they retired with protestations of their distinguished consideration4 ,there is a form of moral courage which bears most directly upon ourselves4 ,it is seen in the career of ,william ,h4 ,seward1 who was given a thousand dollars by his father to go to college with1 and told that this was all he was to have4 ,the son returned home at the end of his freshman year with extravagant habits and no money4 ,his father refused to give him more1 and told him he could not stay at home4 ,when the youth found the props all taken out from under him1 and that he must now sink or swim1 he left home moneyless1 returned to college1 graduated at the head of his class1 studied law1 was elected governor of ,new ,york1 and became ,lincoln's great ,secretary of ,state during the ,civil ,war4 ,genuine courage is neither rash1 vain1 nor selfish4 ,it sometimes leadsus to appear cowardly2 and cowardice sometimes puts on the guise of boldness4 ,we need to know the individual and the circumstances to judge correctly as to whether courage is of the true order4 ,we should all discourage the tendency to exalt brute force and mere muscle to high admiration2 and enforce the power of mind1 ideas1 and lofty ambition4 ,the noblest phase of courage and heroism is in the submission of this might to the laws of right and helpfulness4 ,,richard ,,pearson ,,hobson4 ,there is no better modern illustration of courage than that thrilling exploit of ,lieutenant ,hobson in taking the ,merrimac into the harbor of ,santiago4 ,while the ,spanish fleet1 under ,admiral ,cervera1 lay blockaded in ,santiago ,bay1 the idea was conceived of making the blockade doubly safe by sinking the coal-ship ,merrimac across the narrow channel4 ,to carry out this plan cool-headed1 heroic men were needed1 who would be willing to take their lives in their hands1 for the good of their country's cause4 ,to accomplish the object1 the vessel must be taken into a harbor full of mines1 under the fire of three shore batteries1 supported by a powerful ,spanish fleet and two regiments of soldiers4 ,the honor of carrying out this bold scheme was given to young ,hobson1 by whom the plan had been mainly outlined4 ,he was a young man from ,alabama1 twenty-seven years of age1 a graduate of the ,naval ,academy in the class of #ahhi1 being the youngest member1 and standing at the head of his class4 ,he had already shown himself to be a gentleman1 a student1 and an adept in practical affairs4 ,now he was to prove that he was a hero4 ,here came to him1 in the ordinary course of duty1 the opportunity for which he had prepared himself2 and the courage with which he carried it out made for him a name which will always be remembered in the annals of naval warfare4 ,out of the hundreds who volunteered to assist him in this perilous undertaking1 six men were selected4 ,at an early hour in the morning the gallant crew set out4 ,every vessel in the ,american fleet was on the alert3 every man's nerves were at the highest tension over the success of the project and the fate of ,hobson and his comrades4 ,thousands of anxious eyes peered through the darkness as they watched the old collier disappear into the harbor4 ,suddenly the scene changed4 ,sheets of fire flashed from ,morro ,castle and the other batteries along the shore4 ,it seemed impossible for human life to exist in that deadly and concentrated fire4 ,in the downpour of shot and shell the ,merrimac's rudder was blown away and her stern anchor cut loose4 ,the electric batteries were damaged to such an extent that only part of the torpedoes could be exploded4 ,the result was that instead of sinking where intended1 the vessel drifted with the tide past the narrow neck4 ,the ,merrimac sank but did not completely block up the channel4 ,the enemy's fire was so incessant and sweeping that it was impossible for the crew to reach the life-raft which they had in tow2 so ,hobson and his men lay flat on deck and waited for the ship to sink4 ,it was a terrible waiting while every great gun and ,mauser rifle was pouring its deadly fire upon the ship4 ,at last the end came4 ,the ship sank beneath the waves1 and1 through the whirlpool of rushing water1 the men rose to the surface and climbed upon their raft4 ,clinging to this1 with their faces only out of water they waited for daylight1 and then gave themselves up as prisoners to the ,spaniards4 ,in the afternoon1 ,admiral ,cervera sent an officer1 under a flag of truce1 to ,admiral ,sampson1 telling him of their safety1 and adding3 ,daring like theirs makes the bitterest enemies proud that their fellow-men can be so brave4 ,footnote3 ,see ,review of ,reviews1 ,vol4 ,,xviii41 and ,draper's ,the ,rescue of ,cuba and other war stories recently published4 ,,xxiii4 ,,self-,,help4 ,,memory ,,gems4 ,our remedies oft in ourselves do lie1 which we ascribe to ,heaven4 --,shakespeare ,be sure1 my son1 and remember that the best men always make themselves4 --,patrick ,henry4 ,god gives every bird its food1 but he does not throw it into the nest4 --,j4 ,g4 ,holland ,every person has two educations1 one which he receives from others1 and one1 more important1 which he gives himself4--,gibbon ,in battle or business1 whatever the game1 ,in law1 or in love it is ever the same3 ,in the struggle for power1 or the scramble for pelf1 ,let this be your motto1 ,rely on yourself4--,j4 ,g4 ,saxe ,history and biography unite in teaching that circumstances have rarely favored great men4 ,they have fought their way to triumph over the road of difficulty and through all sorts of opposition4 ,boys of lowly origin have made many of the greatest discoveries1 are presidents of our banks1 of our colleges1 of our universities4 ,our poor boys and girls have written many of our greatest books1 and have filled the highest places as teachers and journalists4 ,ask almost any great man in our large cities where he was born1 and he will tell you it was on a farm or in a small country village4 ,nearly all the great capitalists of the city came from the country4 ,frederick ,douglass1 ,america's most representative colored man1 was born a slave1 reared in bondage1 liberated by his own exertions1 educated and advanced by sheer pluck and perseverance1 to distinguished positions in the service of his country1 and to a high place in the respect and esteem of the whole world4 ,chauncey ,jerome1 the inventor of machine-made clocks1 started with twoothers on a tour through ,new ,jersey1 they to sell the clocks1 and he to make cases for them4 ,on his way to ,new ,york he went through ,new ,haven1 ,connecticut1 in a lumber wagon1 eating bread and cheese4 ,he afterward lived in a fine mansion in that city1 and stood very high among its people4 ,men who have been bolstered up all their lives are seldom good for anything in a crisis4 ,when misfortune comes1 they look around for somebody to lean upon4 ,if the prop is not there down they go4 ,once down1 they are helpless as capsized turtles4 ,many a boy has succeeded beyond all his expectations simply because all props were knocked out from under him and he was obliged to stand upon his own feet4 ,poverty is uncomfortable1 as ,i can testify1 said ,james ,a4 ,garfield2 but nine times out of ten the best thing that can happen to a young man is to be tossed overboard and compelled to sink or swim for himself4 ,in all my acquaintance ,i have never known a man to be drowned who was worth the saving4 ,what is put into the first of life is put into the whole of life4 ,the great ,london preacher1 ,mr4 ,spurgeon1 once said ,out of a church of twenty-seven hundred members1 ,i have never had to exclude a single one who was received while a child2 and in other respects it is equally true that our earliest impressions and habits most powerfully influence our later life4 ,washington1 at thirteen1 copied into his commonplace book one hundred and ten maxims of civility and good behavior1 and was most careful in the formation of all his habits4 ,franklin1 too1 devised a plan of self-improvement and character-building4 ,no doubt the noble characters of these two men1 almost superhuman in their excellence1 are the natural result of their early care and earnest striving toward perfection4 ,but the opposite truth needs to be quite as fully considered4 ,many men of genius have written worse scrawls than ,i do1 said a boy at ,eugby1 when his teacher remonstrated with him for his bad penmanship2 it is not worth while to worry about so trivial a fault4 ,ten years later1 when he had become an officer in the ,crimea1 his illegible copy of an order caused the loss of many brave men4 ,the insidious growth of the power of habit is well illustrated by the old fable which says that one of the ,fates spun filaments so fine that they were invisible1 and then became a victim of her own cunning2 for she was bound to the spot by these very threads4 ,there is also a story of a ,grecian flute-player who charged double fees for pupils who had been taught by inferior masters1 on the ground that it was much harder to undo bad habits than to form good ones4 ,conduct1 says ,matthew ,arnold1 is three fourths of life2 but conduct has its source in character4 ,right conduct in life is to be secured by the formation of right character in youth4 ,the prime element in character1 as related to conduct1 is the power of self-directions and hence the supreme aim of school discipline is to prepare the young to be self-governing men and women4 ,an easy and luxurious existence does not train men to effort or encounter with difficulty2 nor does it awaken that consciousness of power which is so necessary for energetic and effective action in life4 ,indeed1 so far from poverty being a misfortune1 it may1 by vigorous self-help1 be converted into a blessing4 ,a young man stood listlessly watching some anglers on a bridge4 ,he was poor and dejected4 ,at length1 approaching a basket filled with fish1 he sighed1 ,if now ,i had these ,i would be happy4 ,i could sell them and buy food and lodging4 ,i will give you just as many and just as good1 said the owner1 who chanced to overhear his words1 if you will do me a trifling favor4 ,and what is that8 asked the other4 ,only to tend this line till ,i come back2 ,i wish to go on a short errand4 ,the proposal was gladly accepted4 ,the old man was gone so long that the young man began to get impatient4 ,meanwhile the fish snapped greedily at the hook1 and he lost all his depression in the excitement of pulling them in4 ,when the owner returned he had caught a large number4 ,counting out from them as many as were in the basket1 and presenting them to the youth1 the old fisherman said1 ,i fulfill my promise from the fish you have caught1 to teach you whenever you see others earning what you need1 to waste no time in foolish wishing1 but cast a line for yourself4 ,after a stained-glass window had been constructed for a great ,european cathedral1 an artist picked up the discarded fragments and made one of the most exquisite windows in ,europe for another cathedral4 ,so one boy will pick up a splendid education out of the odds and ends of time which others carelessly throw away1 or he will gain a fortune by saving what others waste4 ,there is an ,english fable that is worthy of special attention4 ,the story is as follows3 ,some larks had a nest in a field of grain4 ,one evening the old larks coming home found the young ones in great terror4 ,we must leave our nest at once1 they cried4 ,then they related how they had heard the farmer say that he must get his neighbors to come the next day and help him reap his field4 ,oh6 cried the old birds1 if that is all1 we may rest quietly in our nest4 ,the next evening the young birds were found again in a state of terror4 ,the farmer1 it seems1 was very angry because his neighbors had not come1 and had said that he should get his relatives to come the next day and help him4 ,the old birds took the news easily1 and said there was nothing to fear yet4 ,the next evening the young birds were quite cheerful4 ,have you heard nothing to-day8 asked the old ones4 ,nothing important1 answered the young4 ,it is only that the farmer was angry because his relatives also failed him1 and he said to his sons1 ',since neither our neighbors nor our relations will help us1 we must take hold to-morrow and do it ourselves6' ,the old birds were excited this time4 ,they said1 ,we must leave our nest to-night4 ,when a man decides to do a thing for himself1 and to do it at once1 you may be pretty sure that it will be done4 ,if you have anything to do1 do it yourself2 for that is both the surest and the safest way to permanent success4 ,,stephen ,,girad4 ,we present by way of special illustration1 a few incidents from thecareer of ,stephen ,girard4 ,a sloop was seen one morning off the mouth of ,delaware ,bay1 floating the flag of ,france and a signal of distress4 ,girard1 then quite a young man1 was captain of this sloop1 and was on his way to a ,canadian port with freight from ,new ,orleans4 ,an ,american skipper1 seeing his distress1 went to his aid1 but told him the ,american war had broken out1 and that the ,british cruisers were all along the ,american coast1 and would seize his vessel4 ,he told him his only chance was to make a push for ,philadelphia4 ,girard did not know the way1 and was short of money4 ,the skipper loaned him five dollars to get the service of a pilot who demanded his money in advance2 and his sloop passed into the ,delaware just in time to avoid capture by a ,british war vessel4 ,he sold the sloop and cargo in ,philadelphia1 and began business on the capital4 ,being a foreigner1 unable to speak ,english1 with a repulsive face1 and blind in one eye1 it was hard for him to get a start4 ,but he was not the man to give up4 ,there seemed to be nothing he would not do for money4 ,he bought and sold anything1 from groceries to old junk4 ,everything he touched prospered4 ,in #aghj1 he resumed the ,new ,orleans and ,san ,domingo trade1 in which he had been engaged at the breaking out of the ,war of the ,revolution1 and in one year cleared nearly fifty thousand dollars4 ,everybody1 especially his jealous brother merchants1 attributed his great success to his luck4 ,while1 undoubtedly1 he was fortunate in happening to be at the right place at the right time1 yet he was precision1 method1 accuracy1 energy itself4 ,he left nothing to chance4 ,his plans and schemes were worked out with mathematical care4 ,his letters1 written to his captains in foreign ports1 laying out their routes and giving detailed instruction from which they were never allowed to deviate under any circumstances1 are models of foresight and systematic planning4 ,girard never lost a ship2 and many times1 what brought financial ruin to many others1 as the ,war of #ahab1 only increased his wealth4 ,what seemed luck with him was only good judgment and promptness in seizing opportunities1 and the greatest care and zeal in personal attention to all the details of his business and the management of his own affairs4 ,footnote3 ,see ,simpson's ,life of ,stephen ,girard 7,phila4 #ahcb71 and ,h4 ,w4 ,arey's ,girard ,college and its ,founder 7#ahfj74 ,,xxiv4 ,,humility4 ,,memory ,,gems4 ,humility is the true cure for many a needless heartache4--,a4 ,montague ,it is easy to look down on others2 to look down on ourselves is the difficulty4--,lord ,peterborough ,humility is a divine veil which covers our good deeds1 and hides them from our eyes4--,st4 ,john ,climacas ,humility is the root1 mother1 nurse1 foundation1 and bond of all virtue4--,chrysostom ,modest humility is beauty's crown2 for the beautiful is a hidden thing1 and shrinks from its own power4--,schiller ,we pass now from the strong and active virtue of self-help1 to the gentle and passive virtue of humility4 ,in doing so1 we quickly discover that it requires a sound moral judgment to strike the right balance between humility and self-reliance1 and between meekness and self-respect4 ,the true man is both meek and self-reliant1 humble and yet by no means incapable of self-assertion4 ,the really strong man is the most thoroughly gentle of men1 and the genuinely self-confident man is the one who is most truly humble in his regard for the rights and interests of others4 ,we have great need of this particular grace1 and we ought to study its relation to our life in general2 for we should often have reason to be ashamed of our most brilliant actions if the world could see the motives from which they spring4 ,humility has been well defined as a simple and lowly estimation of one's self4 ,when practically thought of1 it is mostly looked upon in a negative light1 and considered as the absence of1 or opposite to1 pride4 ,the general line of human thinking rather tends in the opposite direction2 but experience teaches that if we wish to be great1 we shall do well to begin by being little4 ,if we desire to construct a strong and noble character1 we must not forget that the greatest lives have always rested on foundations of humility4 ,the higher your structure is to be1 the deeper must be its foundation4 ,humility does not consist in a disposition falsely to underrate ourselves1 but in being willing to waive our rights1 and descend to a lower place than is our due2 in being ready to admit our liability to error1 and in freely owning our faults when conscious of having been wrong2 and1 in short1 in not being over-careful of our own dignity4 ,this virtue is the friend of intellect instead of its enemy1 because humility is both a moral instinct which seeks truth1 and a moral instrument for attaining truth4 ,it leads us to base our knowledge on truth2 it also leads us truthfully to recognize the real measure of our capacity4 ,all really great men have been humble men in spirit and temper4 ,such was ,lincoln2 such was ,washington4 ,izaac ,walton relates how ,george ,herbert helped a poor man whose horse had fallen under his load1 laying off his coat for that purpose1 aiding him to unload1 and then again to load his cart4 ,when his friends rebuked ,herbert for this service he said that the thought of what he had done would prove music to him at midnight1 for he felt bound1 so far as was in his power1 to practice that for which he prayed4 ,an instance often cited1 but always beautiful1 is that of ,sir ,philip ,sidney when mortally wounded at ,zutphen as described by an old writer3 ,being thirsty with an excess of bleeding1 he called for drink1 which was presently brought him2 but as he was putting the bottle to his mouth1 he saw a poor soldier carried along1 casting up his eyes at the bottle2 which ,sir ,philip perceiving1 took it from his lips before he drank1 and delivered it to the poor man with these words3 ',thy necessity is yet greater than mine4' ,it mattered nothing to ,sir ,philip that he was an officer and therefore of higher standing than the poor private4 ,he humbled himself and did a kindly action1 and his noble deed will never be forgotten4 ,humility is not lack of courage2 it is not the poverty of spirit which shrinks from encounter4 ,so far from destroying moral force1 it protects and strengthens it2 it sternly represses the little vanities through which strength of character evaporates and is lost4 ,it is a noble trait in peasant or in prince1 in the cottage of the workman or in the mansion of the millionaire4 ,trajan1 the ,roman emperor1 has set us an example of condescension and affability4 ,he was equal1 indeed1 to the greatest generals of antiquity2 but the sounding titles bestowed upon him by his admirers did not elate him4 ,all the oldest soldiers he knew by name4 ,he conversed with them with the greatest familiarity1 and never retired to his tent before he had visited the camps4 ,he refused the statues which the flattery of friends wished to erect to him1 and he ridiculed the follies of an enlightened nation that could pay adoration to cold inanimate pieces of marble4 ,his public entry into ,rome gained him the hearts of the people2 for he appeared on foot1 and showed himself an enemy to parade and ostentatious equipage4 ,his wish to listen to the just complaints of his subjects1 caused his royal abode to be called the public palace2 and his people learned to love him as greatly as they admired him4 ,true humility is not cowardly1 cringing1 or abjectly weak4 ,it is strength putting itself by the side of weakness through sympathy1 and not weakness abasing itself in the presence of that which it pretends is greater than itself4 ,the humble man is the man who feels his own imperfection1 and therefore does not condemn another4 ,the truly humble say very little about their humility1 except in rare moments of emotion1 but live and labor in quietness for the promotion of the public good4 ,sincerity and lowliness of spirit have been often commended1 as when the ,pythian ,apollo rebuked the pompous sacrifice offered at his shrine by a rich ,magnesian1 and said that he preferred the simple cake and frankincense of a pious ,achaean which was offered in humbleness of heart4 ,do not allow yourselves to be deceived by false appearances1 but lay to heart the story of the farmer who went with his son into a wheatfield to see if it was ready for the harvest4 ,see1 father1 exclaimed the boy1 how straight these stems hold up their heads6 ,they must be the best ones4 ,these that hang their heads down cannot be good for much4 ,the farmer plucked a stalk of each kind1 and said1 ,see here1 foolish child6 ,this stalk that stood so straight is light-headed1 and almost good for nothing2 while this that hung its head so modestly is full of the most beautiful grain4 ,humility is like the violet which grows low1 and covers itself with its own leaves1 and yet of all flowers1 yields the most delicious and fragrant smell4 ,this virtue is not to be confounded with mean-spiritedness1 or that abject state of feeling which permits a man to surrender the rights of his character to any one who chooses to infringe upon them4 ,while it thinks little of personal considerations1 it thinks the more of character and principle4 ,it is really a powerful aid to progress4 ,when we realize how little we know1 we shall earnestly strive to know more2 when we feel how imperfect is our character1 we shall make earnest efforts after improvement4 ,,phillips ,,brooks4 ,phillips ,brooks may certainly be ranked among the greatest men of the present generation4 ,he was physically and mentally strong2 possessed of a great personality that compelled him to self-assertion2 and was self-reliant in a degree attained by but few men of his time4 ,he followed his own convictions1 in the face of much opposition1 bravely and unflinchingly4 ,but with all his greatness and self-confidence1 he was gentle1 tolerant1 sympathetic1 and thoroughly appreciative of the rights of others4 ,he made himself felt everywhere2 yet he never indulged in controversy1 and never struck back when criticised4 ,he used his strength for the good of the weak2 he asserted himself in a meek and humble spirit4 ,the story of his caring for the children of a poor woman1 in the slums of ,boston while she went out for needed recreation1 shows that in the greatness of his manhood he could stoop to the lowliest tasks2 while his unbounded love for children1 kept him bright and young down to the very close of his honored career4 ,to understand this side of his character1 we recommend you to read his ,letters to ,children1 of which the following1 written to his niece1 is an excellent example3 ,,venice1 ,august #ac1 #ahhb4 ,,dear ,,gertie3--,when the little children in ,venice want to take a bath1 they just go down to the front steps of the house and jump off and swim about in the street4 ,yesterday ,i saw a nurse standing on the front steps1 holding one end of a string1 and the other end was tied to a little fellow who was swimming up the street4 ,when he went too far1 the nurse pulled in the string1 and got her baby home again4 ,then ,i met another youngster1 swimming in the street1 whose mother had tied him to a post by the side of the door1 so that when he tried to swim away to see another boy who was tied to another door-post up the street1 he couldn't1 and they had to sing out to one another over the water4 ,is not this a queer city8 ,you are always in danger of running over some of the people and drowning them1 for you go about in a boat instead of a carriage1 and use an oar instead of a horse4 ,but it is ever so pretty1 and the people1 especially the children1 are very bright and gay and handsome4 ,when you are sitting in your room at night1 you hear some music under your window1 and look out1 and there is a boat with a man with a fiddle1 and a woman with a voice1 and they are serenading you4 ,to be sure1 they want some money when they are done1 for everybody begs here2 but they do it very prettily and are full of fun4 ,tell ,susie ,i did not see the queen this time4 ,she was out of town4 ,but ever so many noblemen and princes have sent to know how ,toody was1 and how she looked1 and ,i have sent them all her love4 ,there must be lots of pleasant things to do at ,andover1 and ,i think you must have had a beautiful summer there4 ,pretty soon now you will go back to ,boston4 ,do go into my house when you get there and see if the doll and her baby are well and happy1 but do not carry them off2 and make the music-box play a tune1 and remember your affectionate uncle1 ,,phillips4 ,footnote3 ,no really good life of ,phillips ,brooks has yet been published2 but consult his ,letters of ,travel1 and the numerous articles in the best magazines4 ,,xxv4 ,,faithfulness4 ,,memory ,,gems4 ,faithfulness is the soul of goodness4--,j4 ,s4 ,white ,that which we love most in men and women is faithfulness4--,s4 ,brooke ,it is the fidelity in the daily drill which turns the raw recruit into the accomplished soldier4--,w4 ,m4 ,punshon ,the secret of success in life is for a man to be faithful to all his duties and obligations4--,disraeli ,the truest test of civilization is not the census1 nor the size of cities1 nor the crops2 but the kind of men the country turns out4--,emerson ,faithfulness is just as possible to boys and girls as to men and women4 ,to be faithful is to be true to our own convictions1--never acting without or against them1--and true to our professions1--never breaking promises1 or swerving from engagements4 ,exactly what we mean will readily be seen in the following incident3 ,when ,blucher was hastening over bad roads to help ,wellington at ,waterloo1 his troops faltered4 ,it can't be done1 said they4 ,it must be done1 was his reply4 ,i have promised to be there--promised1 do you hear8 ,you wouldn't have me break my word6 ,it was done1 as we all know2 and the result of his faithfulness was a great victory for ,wellington1 and the complete overthrow of ,napoleon4 ,faithfulness in the daily routine of school work has laid the foundation of many a noble character4 ,there is no one thing which will sooner wreck a young man1 and utterly ruin his future prospects1 than the reputation of being lazy and shiftless4 ,mr4 ,ruskin1 speaking of the importance of faithfulness among the young people of ,england1 said1 ,could ,i give the youth of this country but one word of advice it would be this3 ,let no moment pass until you have extracted from it every possibility4 ,watch every grain in the hourglass4 ,sir ,walter ,scott1 writing to his son at school1 says3 ,i cannot too much impress upon your mind that faithfulness is a condition imposed on us in every station of life2 there is nothing worth having that can be had without it4 ,as for knowledge1 it can no more be planted in the human mind without labor than a field of wheat can be produced without the previous use of the plow4 ,if we neglect our spring1 our summer will be useless and contemptible1 our harvest will be chaff1 and the winter of our old age unrespected and desolate4 ,it will be seen1 therefore1 that all young persons should endeavor to make each day stand for something4 ,neither heaven nor earth has any place for the drone2 he is a libel on his species4 ,no glamour of wealth or social prestige can hide his essential ugliness4 ,it is better to carry a hod1 or wield a shovel1 in an honest endeavor to be of some use to humanity1 than to be nursed in luxury and be a parasite4 ,the emptiness and misery sometimes found in idle high life is illustrated by the following letter1 written by a ,french countess to the absent count3 ,,dear ,,husband3--,not knowing what else to do ,i will write to you4 ,not knowing what to say1 ,i will now close4 ,wearily yours1 ,,countess ,,de ,r4 ,of course we must admit that there is variety in the distribution of human talents2 and yet no one of us is incompletely furnished4 ,each one has to be faithful only according to the measure of his trust1 and is not expected to make disproportionate gains4 ,some men are especially fortunate both in opportunities and in resources1 while to others1 chances of advancement come but seldom2 but the man of few opportunities may be just as faithful as the man who has many4 ,if you would be accounted faithful1 you must do little things as if they were great1 and great things as if they were little and easy4 ,that is the true road to success2 and your place or station in life has very little to do with it4 ,calais is a pleasant seaport town of ,france1 situated on the ,straits of ,dover4 ,large numbers of travelers from ,england to ,france1 and from ,france to ,england1 pass through this beautiful town4 ,near the center of it is a lighthouse1 one hundred and eighteen feet high1 on which is placed a revolving light that can be seen by vessels twenty miles out at sea4 ,at one time some gentlemen were visiting the tower upon which the light is placed1 when the watchman who has charge of the burners commenced praising their brilliancy4 ,one of the gentlemen then said to him1 ,what if one of the lights should chance to go out8 ,impossible6 replied the watchman1 with amazement at the bare thought of such neglect of duty4 ,sir1 said he1 pointing to the ocean1 yonder1 where nothing can be seen1 there are ships going to every part of the world4 ,if to-night one of my burners were out1 within six months would come a letter--from ,india1 perhaps from the islands of the ,pacific ,ocean1 perhaps from some place ,i never heard of--saying that on such a night1 at such an hour1 the light of ,calais burned dim2 the watchman neglected his post1 and vessels were in danger4 ,ah1 sir1 sometimes on dark nights1 in the stormy weather1 ,i look out at sea1 and ,i feel as if the eyes of the whole world were looking at my light6 ,my light go out6 ,calais's burners grow dim6 ,no1 never6 ,exactly the opposite of this is seen in the incident which follows3 ,a few years ago1 the keeper of a life-saving station on the ,atlantic coast found that his supply of powder had given out4 ,the nearest village was two or three miles distant1 and the weather was inclement4 ,he concluded that it was not worth while to go so far for such a trifle4 ,that night a vessel was wrecked within sight of the station4 ,a line could have been given to the crew if he had been able to use the mortar2 but he had no powder4 ,he saw the drowning men perish one by one1 knowing that he alone was to blame4 ,a few days afterward he was justly dismissed from the service4 ,faithfulness must especially take into account the feelings and expectations we have raised in other minds4 ,in this matter we cannot be too careful4 ,it is said of ,lord ,chatham that he once promised his son that he should be present at the pulling down of a garden wall4 ,the wall was1 however1 taken down during his absence1 through forgetfulness2 but1 feeling the importance of his word being held sacred1 ,lord ,chatham ordered the workman to rebuild it1 that his son might witness its destruction according to his father's promise4 ,loyalty is also a form of faithfulness4 ,it is patriotism in practice4 ,only the patriotic citizen is loyal to his country4 ,the absence of this sentiment1 in times of national peril1 exposes one to indecision and cowardice1 if not to treason4 ,hence its great value and beauty4 ,it is indispensable to good citizenship2 indeed there is no true manhood and womanhood without it4 ,it is involved in the ,american idea of republican institutions4 ,it is loyalty alone which makes it possible for our country to continue on its course from year to year4 ,this form of faithfulness is just now commanding attention throughout our land4 ,the national flag is flung to the breeze over our schoolhouses1 that ,american youth may not forget their allegiance to the government it represents4 ,the stars and stripes floating over the temples of knowledge1 wherein our youth are being trained for usefulness and honor1 is worth far more to us than we realize2 and we should always be ready to hail it with joyous songs and cheers4 ,,cyrus ,w4 ,,field4 ,one of the greatest enterprises of modern times1 was the laying of the first ,atlantic cable4 ,cyrus ,w4 ,field became impressed with the feasibility of this project4 ,he induced capitalists to put their money into it2 and then plunged into the work with all the force of his being4 ,the faithfulness with which he performed his task gained for him the united praise of two continents4 ,by hard work he secured aid for his company from the ,british government2 but in ,congress he encountered such bitter opposition from a powerful lobby that his measure had a majority of only one in the senate4 ,the cable was loaded upon the ,agamemnon1 the flagship of the ,british fleet at ,sebastopol1 and upon the ,niagara1 a magnificent new frigate of the ,united ,states navy2 but1 when five miles of cable had been paid out1 it caught in the machinery and parted4 ,on the second trial1 when two hundred miles at sea1 the electric current was suddenly lost1 and men paced the decks nervously and sadly1 as if in the presence of death4 ,just as ,mr4 ,field was about to give the order to cut the cable1 the current returned as quickly and mysteriously as it had disappeared4 ,the following night1 when the ship was moving but four miles an hour and the cable running out at the rate of six miles1 the brakes were applied too suddenly just as the steamer gave a heavy lurch1 and the cable broke and sank to the bottom of the sea4 ,directors were disheartened1 the public skeptical1 capitalists were shy1 and1 but for the faith of ,mr4 ,field1 who worked day and night1 almost without food or sleep1 the whole project would have been abandoned4 ,a third attempt also resulted in failure1 but not discouraged by all these difficulties1 ,mr4 ,field went to work with a will1 organized a new company1 and made a new cable far superior to anything before used2 and1 on ,july #ac1 #ahff1 was begun the trial which ended with the following message sent to ,new ,york3 ,,heart',s ,,content1 ,july #bg4 ,we arrived here at nine o'clock this morning4 ,all well4 ,thank ,god6 the cable is laid and is in perfect working order4 ,,cyrus ,w4 ,,field4 ,such1 in brief1 is the story of the faithful performance of a seemingly impossible task4 ,it was a long1 hard struggle1 covering nearly thirteen years of anxious watching and ceaseless toil4 ,but the name and fame of ,cyrus ,w4 ,field will long be cherished and remembered by a grateful people4 ,footnote3 ,see ,appleton's ,cyclopedia of ,american ,biography1 ,vol4 ,,ii41 pp4 #ddh1 #ddi1 and ,johnson's ,universal ,cyclopedia1 ,vol4 ,,iii41 p4 #cea4 ,,xxvi4 ,,the ,,second ,,teansition ,,period4 ,,memory ,,gems4 ,it is the pushing fellows who get well to the front4--,william ,black ,the tricky1 underhanded individual pays higher for all he gets4 --,w4 ,m4 ,thackeray ,a man ought to be something more than the son of his father4 --,j4 ,staples ,white ,honor and shame from no condition rise2 ,act well your part1 there all the honor lies4--,pope ,the darkest hour in the life of any young man is when he sits down to study how to get money without honestly earning it4--,horace ,greeley ,if we have seen that the first transition period in life is that which marks the passing of the child into the youth1 then we may safely speak of the second transition period as that which marks the passing of the youth into the man4 ,usually there is involved in this change the leaving of the parental home2 the selecting of a business or profession2 and1 sometimes1 the establishment of a new home1 and the assuming of the cares of family life4 ,it is1 therefore1 of importance that we should guard all the several interests of this period with more than ordinary care1 and especially that we should acquaint ourselves with those facts and principles which have successfully guided others through a similar experience4 ,first of all we must make a careful study of our possibilities4 ,young men are constantly worrying lest they be failures and nonentities4 ,every man will count for all he is worth4 ,there is as steady and constant a ratio between what a man is1 and what he can accomplish1 as there is between what a ton of dynamite is1 and what it can accomplish4 ,there is as much a science of success as there is a science of mathematics4 ,a great deal depends on the matter of laying in supplies1 accumulating primary stuff4 ,a man is never too young to have that fact put before him1 and never too old to have it rehearsed4 ,he will understand and appreciate the truth of it before he gets through life2 and it is a great pity for him not to have1 at least1 a little appreciation of it near the beginning1 so as to frame his initial years in accordance with it4 ,let1 therefore1 nothing escape your observation--deem nothing below your notice4 ,dive into all depths1 and explore all hidden recesses that will render you a master of every department of any business or profession you may engage in4 ,the man who can render himself generally useful has always a better chance of getting on in the world4 ,whatever you thoroughly acquire will be a source of satisfaction and profit to you throughout your future life4 ,it will save you many an anxious hour by day1 and many a restless one by night4 ,remember that the whole is made up of parts1 and that the parts must be well understood before you can master the whole4 ,you will never be able to manage your business successfully without a thorough knowledge of it in all its details4 ,resolve1 therefore1 at the very commencement of your career1 to acquire such knowledge4 ,young people sometimes say1 ,i shall never get an opportunity of showing what is in me1 for every business is now so crowded4 ,shakespeare has answered this when he said1 ,there is a tide in the affairs of men1 which taken at the flood1 leads on to fortune4 ,as a matter of fact opportunities come to all1 but all are not ready for them when they come4 ,successful men are those who prepare themselves for all emergencies1 and take advantage of the occasion when the favorable time comes4 ,a good many young men excuse themselves from ever becoming anything1 or doing anything1 by the fact that they always live where it is low tide4 ,perhaps that is because it is always low tide where they live4 ,at any rate1 the more we learn of the history of the men who have succeeded1 the more apparent it becomes that if they were born in low water1 they patched up their tattered circumstances1 and beat out to sea on a tide of their own making4 ,if you would be a success in the business world1 then you must master everything that you lay your hands upon4 ,bear in mind that this is your own interest1 as well as your duty toward your employer4 ,think nothing below your attention2 do not be afraid of drudgery4 ,investigate all1 comprehend all1 grasp all1 and master all4 ,business1 like an ingenious piece of machinery1 is made up of many complicated parts4 ,analyze it1 therefore1 thoroughly search all its parts1 and know for yourself how they are put together4 ,you may cherish the hope that you will one day be an employer yourself4 ,it would be very desirable if we could repose unlimited confidence in the words and acts of our fellow-men2 but1 unfortunately1 the condition of the world is not as yet sufficiently advanced to enable us to do so4 ,where you will find one that you can trust1 you will find many that need watching4 ,if you should be unacquainted with some of your business details1 you must trust to others1 and may in consequence be deceived4 ,a few months of careful attention to it at the commencement of your career will secure you against deception throughout the whole of your life as an employer4 ,then you must also be careful to remember that dividends in life are not paid until the investment of personal effort has been made4 ,sowing still antedates reaping2 and the amount sowed determines pretty closely the size of the harvest4 ,whether it be young men or wheat fields the interest can be depended upon to keep up with the capital1 and empty barns in ,october are the logical consequence of empty furrows in spring4 ,the young man may as well understand that there are no gratuities in this life1 and that success is never reached across lots4 ,success means1 all the way through to the finish1 a victory over difficulties2 and if the young aspirant lacks the grit to face and down the difficulty that happens to confront him at the start1 there is little reason to expect that his valor will show to any better advantage in his encounter with enemies that get in his way later4 ,young men are apt to imitate each other4 ,let your conduct be such as to bear imitation2 otherwise you will lead those who are younger than you to form injurious habits1 and be the means of leading them away from the path of duty4 ,it is an obligation you owe your seniors4 ,in the discharge of their duties they will have to depend upon you to a certain extent2 and if your part is not properly performed1 the whole system must unavoidably suffer derangement4 ,if the mind is temperate in feeling1 deliberate in choosing1 and robust in its willing1 character becomes set and enduring4 ,if1 on the contrary1 feeling is volatile1 choice fickle1 and the will flabby1 one quality after another awakens momentary admiration and impulse2 ideals succeed each other as the vanishing visions of a dream2 life is passed in a state of perpetual inward contradiction2 and failure1 both for yourselves and for your imitators1 is almost sure to follow4 ,no young man can remain long in this unsettled or transition state2 but he must become something4 ,you will therefore do well to be careful how you tread this probationary ground2 for it is really the one great opportunity of your lives so far as concerns the formation of your general characters4 ,use it thoughtfully and well1 and your manhood will be stronger1 richer1 and more helpful1 all through your later years4 ,,xxvii4 ,,order4 ,,memory ,,gems4 ,accuracy is the twin brother of honesty4--,c4 ,simmons ,without method1 little can be done to any good purpose4--,macaulay ,a place for everything1 and everything in its place4--,old ,proverb ,order is the law of all intelligible existence4--,blackie ,order is the sanity of the mind1 the health of the body1 the peace of the city1 and the security of the state4--,southey ,the two words order and method are so closely akin to each other that it is quite difficult to separate them1 even in the mind4 ,order is heaven's first law1 it is said2 also1 ,method consists in the right choice of means to an end4 ,here a distinction is made2 but the two words taken together1 cover the line of thought we now wish to follow4 ,children nowadays do not learn to read as they once did4 ,they go to kindergartens2 but order is the rule even in such play-schools1 and it is the one great reason why they succeed4 ,all schools and colleges depend upon order for successful work4 ,he who every morning plans the transactions of the day1 says ,victor ,hugo1 and follows out that plan1 carries a thread that will guide him through the labyrinth of the most busy life4 ,the orderly arrangement of his time is like a ray of light which darts itself through all his occupations4 ,but where no plan is laid1 where the disposal of time is surrendered merely to the chance of incidents1 all things lie huddled together in one chaos1 which admits of neither distribution nor review4 ,there is no talent like method2 and no accomplishment that man can possess1 like perseverance4 ,these two powers will usually overcome every obstacle2 and there is no position which a young man may not hope to secure1 when1 guided by these principles1 he sets out upon the great highway of life4 ,in after years1 the manners and habits of the man are not so readily adapted to any prescribed course to which they have been unaccustomed4 ,but in youth habits of system1 method1 and industry1 are as easily formed as others2 and the benefits and enjoyments which result from them1 are more than the wealth and honors which they always secure4 ,never study on speculation1 says ,waters2 all such study is vain4 ,form a plan1 have an object2 then work for it1 learn all you can about it1 and you will be sure to succeed4 ,what ,i mean by studying on speculation1 is that aimless learning of things because they may be useful at some time2 which is like the conduct of the woman who bought at auction a brass door-plate with the name ,thompson on it1 thinking it might some day be of service4 ,orderly boys and girls are fair scholars1 firm friends1 and good planners2 they make few mistakes1 and succeed pretty well in all they do4 ,order does not make a genius2 but a genius without order is exasperating when he is a man1 and is only pardoned for his want of order when he is a boy because he is expected to do better each day4 ,begin with orderly habits2 next day try order in thought2 and then will follow naturally order in principles4 ,you would be the greatest man of your age1 ,grattan1 said ,curran1 if you would buy a few yards of red tape and tie up your bills and papers4 ,curran realized that methodical people are accurate as a rule1 and successful4 ,the celebrated ,nathaniel ,emmons1 whose learning made him famous through all ,new ,england1 claimed that he could not work at all1 unless order reigned about him4 ,for more than fifty years the same chairs stood in the same places in his study2 his hat hung on the same hook2 the shovel stood on the north side of the open fireplace1 and the tongs on the south side2 and all his books and papers were so arranged that he claimed to be able to find any information he needed in three or four minutes4 ,the demand for perfection in the make-up of ,wendell ,phillips was wonderful4 ,every word must express the exact shade of his thought2 every phrase must be of due length and cadence2 every sentence must be perfectly balanced before it left his lips4 ,exact precision characterized his style4 ,he was easily the first legal orator ,america has produced4 ,the rhythmical fullness and poise of his periods are remarkable4 ,a4 ,t4 ,stewart was extremely systematic and precise in all his transactions4 ,method ruled in every department of his store1 and for every delinquency a penalty was rigidly enforced4 ,his eye was upon his business in all its various branches2 he mastered every detail and worked hard4 ,it has also been repeatedly asserted that ,noah ,webster never could have prepared his dictionary in thirty-six years1 unless the most exacting method had come to the rescue4 ,he himself claimed that his orderly methods saved him ten or twenty years1 and a vast amount of anxiety and trouble4 ,good habits are the first steps in order for children1--punctuality1 neatness1 a place for everything4 ,yet1 do not let habits master you1 so that you never can do anything except in a fixed manner at a fixed time1 and cannot give up your way of doing for the sake of something greater4 ,it is true1 however1 that there is a wonderful force in mere regularity4 ,a writer by the name of ,bergh tells of a man beginning business1 who opened and shut his store at the same hour every day for weeks1 without selling two cents' worth of goods1 yet whose application attracted attention and paved the way to fortune4 ,sir ,walter ,scott has also said that ,when a regiment is under march1 the rear is often thrown into confusion because the front does not move steadily and without interruption4 ,it is the same thing with business4 ,if that which is first in hand be not instantly1 steadily1 and regularly dispatched1 other things accumulate behind1 till affairs begin to press all at once1 and no human brain can stand the confusion4 ,the great enemy of order is laziness4 ,it is too much trouble to do a thing when it ought to be done1 instead of doing it when you want to do it4 ,young people should learn to think1 talk1 read in an orderly manner4 ,the country1 the state1 the town1 the home1 depend upon order4 ,supposing each person did what he wished1 without regard to the welfare of others1--that meals1 parties1 lessons1 came at any time2 that caucuses and elections happened when any one desired them2 that prisons and hospitals took people or not1 just as superintendents felt2 that everybody was a self-constituted policeman1 yet no one wanted to be looked after himself2--what a hard time all people would have6 ,a very important point still remains to be noticed4 ,it is this3 ,our principles ought to be strong enough to govern our habits4 ,habits may make us disagreeable and fussy2 principles make us broad1 far-seeing1 sympathetic1 and independent4 ,success in life depends upon having the principle of order4 ,always do the important thing first2 for that is what order means4 ,some boys and girls are orderly about their rooms1 but disorderly in their ways of doing things1--always in a hurry1 and always puzzled what to do next4 ,orderly people make plans1 allow a margin of time for carrying them out1 so that they shall not overlap one duty with another2 and then1 if there is any time left1 they fill it with some extra employment or enjoyment1 which they have kept in the background all ready for use4 ,,john ,,wesley4 ,if ,john ,wesley had not been such an orderly boy1 he never could have been the founder of ,methodism4 ,he was born at ,epworth1 ,england1 in #agjc1 and had nineteen brothers and sisters1 though only ten of them lived long enough to be educated4 ,his brother ,charles was his intimate companion4 ,when students at ,oxford1 they and two other friends formed a small society1 which was called the ,holy ,club by those who laughed at it4 ,they had sets of questions1 labeled in order for their examination4 ,from the exact regularity of their lives and their methods of study1 they came to be called ,methodists1 in allusion to some ancient physicians who were so termed4 ,the name was so quaint that it became immediately popular4 ,they visited the poor and sick1 and had regular lists of inquiries and rules for general use4 ,all the orderly habits of his youth guided him even when he became a man2 and the amount of work he accomplished is almost beyond belief4 ,in the last three years of his life1 although sick nearly all the time1 he preached as many times as ever until a week before his death1 in #agia4 ,always anxious never to lose a moment1 and to be methodical in all his habits1 he read as he traveled on horseback for forty years4 ,he delivered forty thousand sermons1 and wrote many books and essays1 and gave away in charity one hundred and fifty thousand dollars1 which was a great sum in those days4 ,the secret of ,john ,wesley's success began in his love of order1 and culminated in the wonderful1 orderly discipline of the immense ,methodist denomination4 ,at his death there were nearly eighty thousand members1 whose leaders1 great and little1 had definite duties to perform4 ,yet1 in his love for order1 he never lost sight of individual poor and sick people1 but remembered to serve each one4 ,footnote3 ,see ,lives of ,wesley1 by ,tyerman 7#ahgf72 ,riss 7#ahge72 ,isaac ,taylor's ,wesley and ,methodism 7#ahfh72 and ,wesley's ,journals1 in seven volumes4 ,,xxviii4 ,,reverence4 ,,memory ,,gems4 ,reverence is the crown of moral manhood4--,c4 ,kingsley ,no man of sound nature ever makes a mock of reverence4--,t4 ,t4 ,munger ,true reverence is homage tempered by love4--,w4 ,b4 ,pope ,in the full glow of the light of our times1 only the pure are really revered4--,wilberforce ,reverence is alike indispensable to the happiness of individuals1 of families1 and of nations4--,smiles ,reverence is a word by itself4 ,it has no synonyms1 nor does any other word in the language exactly fill its place4 ,it is not respect2 it is not regard2 it is not fear2 it is not honor4 ,perhaps awe comes nearest to it2 and yet reverence is more than awe4 ,it is awe softened and refined by gentleness and love4 ,reverence is a condition of thought and feeling which does not paralyze action1 but kindles it2 does not deaden sensibility1 but quickens it4 ,even when used in a religious sense1 reverence does not stand for religion itself1 but as a means or aid to religious thought and life4 ,the presence or absence of a reverent spirit is of real importance2 for it adds to1 or takes away from1 our enjoyment of the world in which we live4 ,one person finds happiness everywhere and in every occasion2 carrying his own holiday with him4 ,another always appears to be returning from a funeral4 ,one sees beauty and harmony wherever he looks1 while another is blind to beauty2 the lenses of his eyes seem to be made of smoked glass1 draping the whole world in mourning4 ,while one man sees only gravel1 fodder1 and firewood1 as he looks into a richly-wooded park2 another is ravished with its beauty4 ,one sees in a matchless rose nothing but an ordinary flower2 another penetrates its purpose1 and reads in the beauty of its blended colors and its wonderful fragrance the very thoughts of ,god4 ,only the truly reverent soul can catch the higher music of sentient being1 with its joys and hopes2 its wealth of earnest1 aspiring1 struggling souls2 tolerant1 serious1 yet sunny2 and read those larger possibilities which lie hidden in the great deeps of the most ordinary human life4 ,while it is true that only the reverent can fully appreciate nature2 it is even more true in regard to human nature4 ,to the reverent mind an old man or woman is an object of tender regard2 while by the irreverent1 the aged are frequently treated with ingratitude1 and sometimes even with contempt4 ,one of the lessons most frequently and most strongly impressed upon the ,lacedaemonian youth1 was to entertain great reverence and respect for old men1 and to give them proof of it on all occasions1 by saluting them2 by making way for them1 and giving them place in the streets2 by rising up to show them honor in all companies and public assemblies2 but1 above all1 by receiving their advice1 and even their reproofs1 with docility and submission4 ,on one occasion1 when there was a great play at the principal theater in ,athens1 the seats set apart for strangers were filled with ,spartan boys2 and other seats1 not far distant1 were filled with ,athenian youth4 ,the theater was crowded1 when an old man1 infirm1 and leaning on a staff1 entered4 ,there was no seat for him4 ,the ,athenian youth called to the old man to come to them1 and with great difficulty he picked his way to their benches2 but not a boy rose and offered him a seat4 ,seeing this1 the ,spartan boys beckoned to the old man to come to them1 and1 as he approached their benches1 every ,spartan boy rose1 and1 with uncovered head1 stood until the old man was seated1 and then all quietly resumed their seats4 ,seeing this1 the ,athenians broke out in loud applause4 ,the old man rose1 and1 in a voice that filled the theater1 said1 ,the ,athenians know what is right3 the ,spartans do it4 ,the great ,german thinker1 ,goethe1 claimed that three kinds of reverence should be taught to youth1--for superiors1 for equals1 and forinferiors4 ,this was an advance over the old ideas2 but1 in a republic like ours1 reverence is not up and down2 it is not measured by class distinctions1--it is a spirit1 to be related in sympathetic ways with all human beings as such2 and especially with all whose lives are such as to command our respect and esteem4 ,reverence can be cultivated1 and needs to be cultivated in our times4 ,there is too much mere smartness abroad4 ,in society and in the world we find a flippant1 cynical tone2 no doubt much of this is reaction from old-time gloom and severity4 ,but without a reasonable reverence we cannot have good manners1 or loyal citizens1 or possessors of really beautiful characters4 ,reverence is developed by looking for the good in others2 by avoiding fault-finding2 by associating with high-minded acquaintances2 by reading worthy literature2 by using language unstained by vulgarity2 by striving to enter more and more into the spirit of the noblest lives that come under our notice4 ,reverence1 then1 is not fear2 but wonder1 solemnity1 and veneration4 ,it is to cherish a habit of looking upward1 and seeing what is noble and good in all things4 ,its blessings are many4 ,by it we can win a masterly judgment to determine the fitness of behavior and habits2 it will keep us from thoughtless words and deeds2 it will make us respectful to old age and appreciative of the past2 and1 in many other ways1 it will prove itself of real value to all who cultivate and cherish it4 ,,henry ,,wadsworth ,,longfellow4 ,we select1 as our special example1 ,henry ,wadsworth ,longfellow1 the best known of our ,american poets4 ,the great poet1 whoever he may be1 is always reverential4 ,his stanzas are crowned with a sacred seriousness4 ,he gives to life a grand1 true1 harmonic interpretation4 ,longfellow was born on the #bgth of ,february1 #ahjg1 at ,portland1 ,maine4 ,in his earlier years he displayed the same gentle1 amiable spirit which filled his after-life with sunshine and goodness4 ,he proved himself to be possessed of a very bright mind even as a boy1 and entered ,bowdoin ,college when only fourteen years of age4 ,he afterwards served this same institution as professor of modern languages1 and in #ahce was called to fill a similar position in ,harvard ,university4 ,he visited ,europe1 twice at least1 for purposes of study2 and1 on his return from his second trip1 began that illustrious career of instruction and authorship which has been the source of so much honorable pride on the part of his countrymen4 ,longfellow selected a historic home in ,cambridge2 it was the house occupied by ,washington when he took command of the ,united ,states ,army in #aggf1--;a spacious structure1 full of welcoming windows1 and situated in the midst of old elms4 ,here he lived till his death2 and now the stretch of land1 from the estate to the river ,charles1 has been bought and adorned as a memorial4 ,the writings of ,longfellow are household possessions1 fully as much in ,england as in ,america1 and we need not enumerate them4 ,they are famous not so much for originality1 as for their calm1 spiritual1 purifying messages4 ,they are full of good-will1 aspiration1 trust1 and real loftiness of tone4 ,indeed1 ,longfellow loved to make clear his discipleship to him whose ministry was love1 whose flock was all humanity1 whose kingdom was peace and righteousness4 ,so deep was the impression made by ,mr4 ,longfellow's beauty of character1 that it equaled his literary fame4 ,he always responded to callers1 and they came by hundreds2 he never refused his autograph2 children loved him2 his charities were manifold2 young authors received his encouragement4 ,modest as to his own writings1 he strove to praise the good in others4 ,every one who met him perceived the source of all this rare grace and fascinating nobility of soul to be a sense of the glory and divineness of all life4 ,his soul stood in a reverential attitude toward existence1 and a marvelous light shone through him and his poetry as the result4 ,down to the last his pen was active4 ,he died on the #bdth of ,march1 #ahhb4 ,degrees and honors had been freely bestowed on him2 but the highest tributes came from his admirers on both sides of the ,atlantic2 and his reverential spirit still lives in hundreds of those who read his beautiful verses4 ,footnote3 ,see ,life of ,longfellow1 and ,final ,memorials both by his brother2 ,samuel ,longfellow1 and articles in all the best magazines4 ,,xxix4 ,,sentiment4 ,,memory ,,gems4 ,sentiment is nothing but thought blended with feeling4--,j4 ,f4 ,clarke ,sentiment takes part in the shaping of all destinies4--,r4 ,southey ,a little child is the sweetest and purest thing in the world4 --,j4 ,s4 ,white ,sentiment is the life and soul of poetry and art4--,j4 ,flaxman ,sentiment is emotion precipitated in pretty crystals by the fancy4 --,j4 ,r4 ,lowell ,it is quite difficult to define sentiment4 ,this has been done1 however1 by the use of the following figures4 ,we may think of it as color1 without which nothing in nature or art is complete4 ,a colorless character is as unsatisfactory as a colorless landscape4 ,we may also think of it as cement2 for it serves to bind together the ordinary facts and incidents of life4 ,just as the bricks and stones of a building are useless until held in the places designed for them under some governing plan1 so we may say that a selfish and gross character is not bound together by noble sentiments4 ,or we may say1 again1 that sentiment is the wing-power of man1 whereby he has ability to fly away from the commonplace and unworthy4 ,by it the ordinary citizen becomes a glowing patriot2 the drudging youth turns into the devoted statesman2 and life is made better in a thousand ways4 ,in one of our memory gems we find it asserted that sentiment is the life and soul of poetry and art4 ,perhaps this statement may help us here4 ,pure poetry is the perfection of prose1 or prose idealized4 ,it is a dream drawn from the infinite1 and portrayed to mortal sense4 ,it takes a great mind1 a great genius to weave into a gossamer web1 complete and perfect in every part1 a story1 a tale1 an idea1 which alike charms the mind1 enthralls the sense1 and enchains the spirit4 ,poetry is the perfection of language4 ,it is not a mere mechanical contrivance of words1 but a glorious picture in which the outward execution is lost in a glory of expression4 ,the poet ,holmes was brimful of sentiment4 ,listen to him as he talks about the flowers4 ,do you ever wonder why poets talk so much about flowers8 ,did you ever hear of a poet who did not talk about them8 ,don't you think a poem1 which1 for the sake of being original1 should leave them out1 would be like those verses where the letter 'a' or 'e' or some other is omitted8 ,no1--they will bloom over and over again in poems as in the summer fields1 to the end of time1 always old and always new4 ,are you tired of my trivial personalities1--those splashes and streaks of sentiment1 sometimes perhaps of sentimentality1 which you may see when ,i show you my heart's corolla as if it were a tulip8 ,pray1 do not give yourself the trouble to fancy me an idiot1 whose conceit it is to treat himself as an exceptional being4 ,it is because you are just like me that ,i talk and know that you listen4 ,we are all splashed and streaked with sentiments1--not with precisely the same tints1 or in exactly the same patterns1 but by the same hand and from the same palette4 ,to say1 as some do1 that there is no place for sentiment in life1 would be almost equal to saying that life is devoid of joy4 ,but who says there are no joys in life8 ,take1 for example a good pure natural laugh4 ,we hear it bubbling1 gushing1 pealing out1 every now and then1 from some glad child of nature2 and we say1 there is joy in life4 ,the gloom of ages has been lightened with laughter and song4 ,there is much to awaken deep and real sentiment in us as we gaze on the tree-tops1 the mountains and hillsides1 the gurgling waters and sweeping billows2 on sunlight1 shadow1 and storm4 ,behind the forest-leaf we suddenly discover a songster1 the gleam of an oriole's breast in a bed of mantling green4 ,nature always rejoices4 ,she has been singing and laughing all down the ages4 ,she does her part grandly for the happiness of man2 and as we come into closer touch with her1 sentiment arises as naturally in our hearts1 as does the water in her bubbling springs4 ,we may find a place for sentiment in all life's changeful affairs4 ,even the stern realities of war do not entirely eradicate from the heart that feeling for suffering humanity1 which is the highest expression of sentiment4 ,there were but few who were so thoughtless as not to be stirred with the feeling which possessed the heart of ,captain ,phillips1 and the crew of the battleship ,texas1 when1 as they stood on the deck1 with uncovered heads and reverent souls1 on the afternoon of the engagement before ,santiago1 the knightly old sailor said3 ,i want to make public acknowledgment here that ,i believe in ,god4 ,i want all you officers and men to lift your hats1 and from your hearts offer silent thanks to the ,almighty for the victory he has given us4 ,but it was not the mere victory over a foe that caused this general and thoughtful lifting of heart2 it was exultation at the triumph of justice and the progress of freedom4 ,the presence or absence of sentiment in our lives is largely accounted for by the fact that we usually find what we are looking for4 ,the geologist sees design and order in the very stones with which the streets are paved4 ,the botanist reads volumes in the flowers and grasses which most men tread thoughtlessly beneath their feet4 ,the astronomer gazes with rapt soul into the starry heavens1 while his fellows seldom glance upward4 ,if we seek for the beautiful and the pure1 it will be quickly revealed to us2 and the sentiment of loving gratitude will arise within us as the result4 ,nature takes on our moods2 she laughs with those who laugh1 and weeps with those who weep4 ,if we rejoice and are glad1 the very birds sing more sweetly2 the woods and streams murmur our song4 ,but if we are sad and sorrowful1 a sudden gloom falls upon nature's face2 the sun shines1 but not in our hearts2 the birds sing1 but not to us4 ,the beauty of nature's music is lost to us1 and everything seems dull and gray4 ,the lack of sentiment narrows and belittles us2 and1 for that reason1 we cannot afford to be without it4 ,we must always strive to keep in mind how important sentiment is to a happy and useful career1 whatever position in life we may happen to occupy4 ,noble sentiments are the richest possession we can have4 ,they cheer us when we are despondent1 they sing to us when we are lonesome1 and they help to keep us young4 ,they are like brilliant poets and divine musicians2 by whom the true1 the good1 and the beautiful are kept constantly before our minds4 ,it is this trait of character which has to do greatly with worship1 reverence1 and aspiration4 ,morality needs to be touched by sentiment or emotion4 ,sentiment leads us to love sacred spots1 to create commemorative days1 and to sing songs of gratitude together4 ,it makes life of far greater worth to us in every way4 ,we must also glance at what is known as public sentiment4 ,public sentiment is not voluntary or self-creative4 ,it is generally a thing of slow growth1 springing from a gradual accumulation and development of evidences1 impressions1 and circumstances4 ,it is a matter of education1 impressed upon the masses by the most intelligent or the most influential forces of a community2 and as it is often merely the adoption by the masses of the opinions of a class1 clique1 or ring1 it is as likely to be wrong as right1 since it frequently serves to popularize evils1 the existence and the continuance of which1 minister only to the benefit of a few4 ,but public sentiment1 is after all1 quite largely a personal matter4 ,we all help in making it2 and we should therefore be exceedingly careful as to the sentiments we personally cherish2 for these are a very real part of the sentiments of the community as a whole4 ,,beethoven4 ,perhaps we should be safe in saying that the kingdom of music is especially the realm of sentiment4 ,music raises us to a loftier plane of thought and feeling4 ,it has been beautifully said that ,the composer's world is the world of emotion2 full of delicate elations and depressions1 which like the hum of minute insects hardly arrest the uncultivated ear4 ,we select as our special illustration ,ludwig van ,beethoven1 who was born at ,bonn1 ,prussia1 in the year #aggj4 ,his father was a musician1 and suffered from two great foes1--a violent temper1 and a habit of drink4 ,the family being poor1 young ,ludwig was made to submit to a severe training on the violin from the time he was four years old1 in order to obtain money4 ,by the time he reached the age of nine1 he had advanced so far in music that his father could not teach him anything more1 and he was passed over to others for further education4 ,when he was fifteen years old he was appointed assistant to the court organist2 and1 in a description of the various musicians attached to the court1 he is described as of good capacity1 young1 of good1 quiet behavior1 and poor4 ,at the court he was an object of admiration1 and his popularity was constantly on the increase4 ,absorbed in meditation1 he forgot ordinary affairs4 ,one illustration is as good as a dozen4 ,he loved the sound of flowing water1 and frequently would let it run over his hands until1 lost in some musical suggestion from the murmur1 he would allow the water to pour over the floor of his apartment until it soaked down and astonished the dwellers below4 ,he was very democratic1 and desired that all men should enjoy freedom and equal rights before the law4 ,when asked once1 in court1 to produce the proof of his nobility1 he pointed to his head and heart1 saying1 ,my nobility is here1 and here4 ,his high-strung nervous system would account for many of his peculiarities4 ,by those who did not understand him he was called a growling old bear4 ,on the other hand1 those who appreciated his genius called him a cloud-compeller of the world of music4 ,he is in music what ,milton is in poetry1--lofty1 majestic1 stately4 ,beethoven died on ,march #bf1 #ahbg1 during a terrible thunderstorm4 ,his funeral was attended by all the musicians of ,vienna4 ,the crowd of people was so enormous that soldiers had to be called in to make a way for the procession2 and it took an hour and a half to pass the little distance from the house to the church4 ,sentiment in music leaves one in an uplifted and wholesome state of mind4 ,sentimentality in music may give a momentary pleasure1 but it is really hostile to strength of character2 and this truth applies1 with equal force1 to every other feature of our lives4 ,footnote3 ,see ,thayer's ,biography of ,beethoven 7#ahgi72 ,schindler's ,beethoven2 and ,grove's ,dictionary of ,music and ,musicians4 ,magazine articles on ,beethoven are also numerous4 ,,xxx4 ,,duty4 ,,memory ,,gems4 ,the path of duty is the way to glory4--,tennyson ,a sense of duty pursues us ever and everywhere4--,webster ,the consciousness of duty performed gives us music at midnight4 --,george ,herbert ,i slept and dreamed that life was ,beauty4 ,i woke and found that life was ,duty4--,e4 ,s4 ,hooper ,let us have faith that right makes might2 and in that faith let us dare to do our duty as we understand it4--,a4 ,lincoln ,samuel ,smiles1 who has written a most excellent book upon this subject1 says1 ,duty is the end and aim of the highest life2 and it alone is true4 ,it is certain that of all the watchwords of life1 duty is the highest and best4 ,he who sincerely adopts it lives a true life2 he is really the successful man4 ,it pertains to all parts and relations of life4 ,there is no moment1 place1 or condition where its claims are not imperative4 ,obedience to the commands of duty1 and the ruling desire to be useful1 are cardinal elements of success4 ,it is at the trumpet call which duty sounds1 that all the nobler attributes of manhood spring into life2 and duty is something that must be done without regard to discomfort1 sacrifice1 or death4 ,it must be done in secret1 as well as in public2 and according to the measure of our faithfulness in this respect1 will be the real measure of our manhood4 ,history and biography are fairly crowded with examples of the faithful performance of duty1 and the glorious results which have followed2 such as ,nelson at ,trafalgar1 ,luther at the ,diet of ,worms1 ,general ,grant in the ,civil ,war2 and scores of other instances of note4 ,but equally valuable are the cases of ordinary life4 ,the engineer on the locomotive2 the pilot at the helm of the storm-tossed vessel2 the mother in her daily routine of work2 the merchant upholding laws of trade in honor2 the schoolboy plodding through studies in a manly thoroughness2 the reformer of slums letting her little candle of service shine in the dark2--all these and similar instances are full of guidance and inspiration4 ,there are two aspects of duty2 namely1 cheerful duty and drudging duty4 ,one says1 ,i want to do something2 the other says1 ,i must4 ,our ,new ,england forefathers were followers of duty1 but they found very little joy in it1 as we understand that word4 ,we should endeavor to improve upon their methods1 but we shall find it difficult to improve upon their faithfulness4 ,the life of ,sir ,walter ,scott affords an interesting illustration of strict obedience to the line of duty4 ,his whole life seems to have been governed by that sense of obligation which caused him1 when a young man1 to enter a profession which he heartily disliked1 out of affection for his father2 and1 later in life1 to set himself to paying off the debt incurred by the publishing house of which he was a silent partner4 ,his sense of duty was expressed in his declaration that1 ,if he lived and retained his health1 no man should lose a penny by him4 ,just what is meant by faithfulness to duty may be clearly seen in the following incident4 ,during the famous dark day of #aghj1 in ,connecticut1 candles were lighted in many houses1 and domestic fowls went to their roosts4 ,the people thought the day of judgment had come4 ,the legislature was then in session in ,hartford4 ,the house of representatives adjourned4 ,in the council1 which corresponds to the modern senate1 an adjournment was also proposed4 ,colonel ,davenport objected1 saying1 ,the day of judgment is either approaching1 or it is not4 ,if it is not1 there is no cause for adjourning2 if it is1 ,i choose to be found doing my duty4 ,i wish1 therefore1 that candles may be brought4 ,upon the world's great battlefields1 this matter of faithfulness to duty has always been deemed of the first importance4 ,previous to the battle of ,lutzen1 in which eighty thousand ,austrians were defeated by an army of thirty-six thousand ,prussians1 commanded by ,frederick the ,great1 this monarch ordered all his officers to attend him1 and thus addressed them3 ,to-morrow ,i intend giving the enemy battle2 and1 as it will decide who are to be the future masters of ,silesia1 ,i expect every one of you1 in the strictest manner1 to do his duty4 ,if any one of you is a coward1 let him step forward before he makes others as cowardly as himself1--let him step forward1 ,i say1 and he shall immediately receive his discharge without ceremony or reproach4 ,i see there is none among you who does not possess true heroism1 and will not display it in defense of his king1 of his country1 and of himself4 ,i shall be in the front and in the rear2 shall fly from wing to wing2 no company will escape my notice2 and whoever ,i then find doing his duty1 upon him will ,i heap honor and favor4 ,another great military commander was the ,duke of ,wellington4 ,he once said to a friend3 ,there is little or nothing in this life worth living for2 but we can all of us go straight forward and do our duty4 ,whether serving at home in his family1 or serving his country on the field1 his sense of duty was the one high and noble purpose that inspired him4 ,he did not ask1 ,will this course win fame8 ,will this battle add to my earthly glory8 ,but always1 ,what is my duty8 ,he did what duty commanded1 and followed where it led4 ,it was his firm adherence to what he thought was right1 that brought down upon him the violence of a mob in the streets of ,london1 assaulting his person and attacking his house1 even while his wife lay dead therein4 ,but the memory of few men is now more greatly honored2 and his example is worthy of careful study and close imitation4 ,the foregoing facts show1 far better than argument1 both the nature and place of duty in the work of life4 ,we see it in practical operation1 always timely1 honorable1 and attractive4 ,it cannot be discounted or even smirched4 ,it stands out in bold relief1 supported by a clear conscience and strong will4 ,it demands recognition1 and it always secures it4 ,more than sixteen hundred years after an eruption of ,vesuvius had buried ,pompeii in ashes1 explorers laid bare the ruins of the ill-fated city4 ,there the unfortunate inhabitants were found just where they were overtaken by death4 ,some were discovered in lofty attics and some in deep cellars1 whither they had fled before the approaching desolation4 ,others were found in the streets1 through which they were fleeing in wild despair when the tide of volcanic gases and the storm of falling ashes overwhelmed them4 ,but the ,roman sentinel was standing at his post1 his skeleton-hand still grasping the hilt of his sword1 his attitude that of a faithful officer4 ,he was placed there on duty1 and death met him at his post4 ,no man has a right to say he can do nothing for the benefit of mankind4 ,we forget that men are less benefited by ambitious projects1 than by the sober fulfillment of each man's proper duties4 ,by doing the proper duty1 in the proper time and place1 a man may make the entire world his debtor1 and may accomplish far more of good than in any other way4 ,,lord ,,nelson4 ,horatio ,nelson was born at ,norfolk1 ,england1 ,september #bi1 #ageh4 ,he reached his manhood at a time when the nations of ,europe were engaged in deadly strife4 ,a love of adventure and a daring spirit1 which developed during his earliest years1 inclined him to follow the sea4 ,from his first entrance into this calling1 genius and opportunity worked together to make him the leading factor in ,great ,britain's prominence as a naval power4 ,for several centuries1 previous to the time of ,nelson1 ,great ,britain had been rapidly advancing her commerce4 ,in the protection of this commerce many a naval hero won renown2 but the tide of influence and of power found in ,nelson its perfect fulfillment4 ,he was a man of extraordinary genius4 ,he saw clearly2 acted vigorously4 ,he felt that it was his business and his duty to watch over ,england's interests upon the sea2 and both men and women felt perfectly safe while ,nelson had command4 ,the pure flame of patriotism burned brightly in his heroic soul4 ,he believed1 with ,lord ,sandon1 that nothing could be nobler than a first-rate ,english sailor2 and he acted in strict accord with this belief4 ,he attained one victory after another1 until the battle of the ,nile1 one of his most brilliant successes1 made the navy of ,england a terror even to its bravest enemies4 ,the superiority of the ,english fleet was mainly due to his genius2 and the dread his name inspired was one of the principal causes1 that1 a few years later1 kept ,napoleon from carrying out his threatened invasion of ,england4 ,his high sense of duty1 and what he expected of those under his command1 is well illustrated by his signal to the ,english fleet1 when they were about to engage the ,french in the great naval battle at ,trafalgar4 ,when all were ready for the attack1 ,nelson said1 ,i will now amuse the fleet with a signal4 ,turning to the signal officer he exclaimed1 ,send this message1--',england expects every man to do his duty4' ,when the signal was comprehended by the men1 cheer after cheer rang out upon the air1 and under its inspiration they won a glorious and a decisive victory4 ,this message was characteristic of ,nelson4 ,upon his entering into this engagement1 which proved to be his last1 he is said to have remarked1 ,i thank ,god for this great opportunity of doing my duty4 ,while in the thick of the engagement1 ,nelson was struck down by a cannon ball1 and lived but a few hours afterward2 but long enough to hear the ,english shouts of triumph4 ,he had left to the world a type of single-minded self-devotion1 that can never perish4 ,footnote3 ,see ,life of ,nelson1 by ,southey 7#ahbh72 ,letters and ,dispatches of ,lord ,nelson1 by ,n4 ,h4 ,nicols 7#ahfj72 ,lady ,hamilton and ,lord ,nelson1 by ,j4 ,c4 ,jeaffreson2 and ,mahan's ,life of ,nelson1 recently published4 ,,xxxi4 ,,temperance4 ,,memory ,,gems4 ,rum will brutalize the manliest man in ,christendom4-,j4 ,b4 ,gough ,rum excites all that is bad1 vicious1 and criminal in man4-,j4 ,s4 ,white ,there may be some wit in a barrel of beer1 but there is more in leaving it alone4-,c4 ,garrett ,sobriety is the bridle of the passions of desire1 and temperance is the bit and curb of that bridle2 a restraint put into a man's mouth2 a moderate use of meat and drink4-,jeremy ,taylor ,temperance is corporeal piety2 it is the preservation of divine order in the body4-,theodore ,parker ,temperance may1 in its narrower sense1 be defined as the observance of a rational medium with respect to the pleasures of eating and drinking4 ,but it has also a larger meaning4 ,the temperate man desires to hold all his pleasures within the limits of what is honorable1 and with a proper reference to the amount of his own pecuniary means4 ,to pursue them more is excess2 to pursue them less is defect4 ,there is1 however1 in estimating excess and defect1 a certain tacit reference to the average dispositions of men1 and the law of usage or custom of the times4 ,the word temperance has1 we repeat1 become narrowed and specialized4 ,we mean by it1 not exactly temperance1 but abstinence4 ,the word does not convey the full force of its older meaning4 ,that signifies1 the right handling of one's self1--that kind of self-control by which a man's nature has a chance to act normally2 and this aspect of our subject must not be overlooked1 for it is of great importance4 ,instead of being the secondary thing which some think it to be1 temperance is really a much higher virtue than patience or fortitude4 ,it is the guardian of reason1 the bulwark of religion1 the sister of prudence1 and the sweetener of life4 ,be temperate2 and time will carry you forward on its purest current till it lands you on the continent of a yet purer eternity1 as the swelling river rolls its limpid stream into the bosom of the unfathomable deep4 ,but even in the more general meaning now given to the word1 temperance is worthy of our most careful study4 ,consider what it is to gain the mastery over a single passion6 ,and think1 also1 what it is for the mind to be ruled by an appetite6 ,look at ,s4 ,t4 ,coleridge--a poet who might have sung for all time1 a philosopher capable of teaching and molding generations1 skulking away from the eye of friends and of servants to drink his bottle of laudanum1 and then bewailing his weakness and sin with an agony1 the bare recital of which1 makes our hearts bleed with pity4 ,our task is not only to subdue a serpent1 to tame a lion1--there is a whole menagerie of evil passions to be kept in subjection1 and when the drink habit prevails1 we shall soon become too weak for such a task4 ,temperance is an action2 it is the tempering of our words and actions to our circumstances4 ,sobriety is a state in which one is exempt from every stimulus to deviate from the right course4 ,as a man who is intoxicated with wine1 runs into excesses1 and loses that power of guiding himself which he has when he is sober or free from all intoxication1 so is he who is intoxicated with any passion1 led into irregularities which a man in his right senses will not be guilty of4 ,sobriety is1 therefore1 the state of being in one's right or sober senses2 and sobriety is1 with regard to temperance1 as a cause to its effect4 ,the evils resulting from intemperance are so numerous and so destructive of human happiness and life1 as to command universal attention4 ,not only does intemperance greatly increase pauperism and crime1 but it often leads to sad calamities which might otherwise be quite largely avoided4 ,an old ,english sea-captain relates the following fact1 of which he was an eyewitness3--,a collier brig was stranded on the ,yorkshire coast1 and ,i had occasion to assist in the distressing service of rescuing a part of the crew by drawing them up a vertical cliff1 two or three hundred feet in altitude1 by means of a very small rope1 the only material at hand4 ,the first two men who caught hold of the rope were hauled safely up to the top2 but the next1 after being drawn to a considerable height1 slipped his hold and fell2 and with the fourth and last who venturedupon this only chance of life1 the rope gave way1 and he also was plunged into the foaming breakers beneath4 ,immediately afterward1 the vessel broke up1 and the remainder of the ill-fated crew perished before our eyes4 ,what now was the cause of this heart-rending event8 ,was it stress of weather1 or a contrary wind1 or unavoidable accident8 ,no such thing6 ,it was the entire want of moral conduct in the crew4 ,every sailor1 to a man1 was in a state of intoxication6 ,the helm was intrusted to a boy ignorant of the coast4 ,he ran the vessel upon the rocks at ,whitby2 and one half of the miserable1 dissipated crew were plunged into eternity almost without a knowledge of what was taking place4 ,there are still a few people who openly ridicule both total abstinence and its advocates1 and some1 who are wicked enough to endeavor to misrepresent those who labor in this cause4 ,these persons do not always succeed1 however1 as the following incident will show3 ,horace ,greeley was once met at a railway depot by a red-faced individual1 who shook him warmly by the hand4 ,i don't recognize you1 said ,mr4 ,greeley4 ,why1 yes1 you must remember how we drank brandy and water together at a certain place4 ,this amused the bystanders1 who knew ,mr4 ,greeley's strong temperance principles4 ,oh1 ,i see1 replied ,mr4 ,greeley1 you drank the brandy1 and ,i drank the water4 ,it will be found that abstinence from intoxicants is by far the best rule of living4 ,there is a large amount of genuine wisdom in the words of a middle-aged ,german who1 some years ago1 spoke as follows1 at a temperance meeting3 ,i shall tell you how it vas4 ,i put my hand on my head2 there was von big pain4 ,then ,i put my hand on my pody2 and there vas another big pain4 ,there was very much pains in all my pody4 ,then ,i put my hand in my pocket2 and there vas noting4 ,now there is no more pain in my head4 ,the pains in my pody are all gone away4 ,i put mine hand in my pocket1 and there ish twenty tollars4 ,so ,i shall shtay mit de temperance4 ,,father ,,mathew4 ,theobald ,mathew was an ,irish priest4 ,he was born in #agij1 in a great house in ,tipperary1 where his father was the agent of a rich lord4 ,the delight of his childhood was in giving little feasts and entertainments to his friends4 ,as long as he lived he was fond of this pleasure4 ,indeed1 when1 at the very last1 his physician had forbidden him to receive company1 he was found by his brother giving a dinner to a party of poor boys4 ,at twenty-three years of age he was ordained1 and was known from that time as ,father ,mathew4 ,after a short time in ,kilkenny1 he went to ,cork1 which was his home for the rest of his life4 ,he was not thought much of as a scholar1 nor at first as a preacher2 but he had a warm heart and every one liked him4 ,thus he passed quietly along until he was forty-seven years old2 and it did not seem as if the world would ever hear of ,father ,mathew4 ,there was a little band of ,quakers in ,cork1 who had started a total abstinence1 or teetotal society4 ,they interested ,father ,mathew in their work1 and1 in #ahch1 he signed the temperance pledge and enrolled himself as a member4 ,very soon every one in ,cork had heard of what ,father ,mathew had done4 ,he began at once to preach that men ought not to be drunkards1 and that they ought not to use what would make drunkards4 ,the people of ,cork had always thought what ,father ,mathew did was right2 and they thought so now4 ,in three months twenty-five thousand persons had taken the pledge4 ,the story of the new movement spread quickly over ,ireland1 and ,father ,mathew was wanted everywhere4 ,wherever he went the people crowded to hear him4 ,there were many pathetic scenes at his meetings2 for women came dragging their drunken husbands with them1 and almost forcing them to take the pledge4 ,men knelt in great companies and repeated the words of the pledge together4 ,in ,limerick the crowds were so dense that it was impossible to enroll all the names4 ,more than a hundred thousand were thought to have taken the pledge in four days4 ,as a result of his work the saloons were closed in many villages and towns2 and1 within five years1 half the people in ,ireland had taken the pledge4 ,the quantity of liquor used fell off more than half1 and there was a similar decrease in all kinds of crime4 ,then came the terrible years of the ,irish famine4 ,by the failure of the potato crop1 hundreds of thousands died of starvation or of fever4 ,multitudes had to leave their homes to get government work2 and hunger and despair brought a new temptation to drink4 ,father ,mathew's heart was well-nigh broken with seeing the misery of his countrymen4 ,the food was taken from his own table to feed the hungry4 ,every room in his house would sometimes be filled with poor people clamoring for bread2 and1 largely as a result of this terrible strain1 he was stricken with paralysis4 ,as soon as ,father ,mathew had partly recovered from his illness he longed to do something for his people across the sea4 ,in the year #ahdi he sailed for ,new ,york4 ,the mayor of that city made him an address of welcome2 and at ,washington he was honored by being admitted to the floor of both houses of ,congress4 ,in spite of his broken health1 he visited twenty-five states1 spoke in over three hundred towns and cities1 and gave the pledge to five hundred thousand people4 ,he returned home thoroughly exhausted1 and soon had another stroke of paralysis4 ,but loving friends cared for him2 people still came for his blessing1 or to take the pledge in his presence4 ,he died in #ahef1 and all the people of ,cork followed him to his burial4 ,it is said that seven million people took the pledge of total abstinence at ,father ,mathew's hands2 and it is thought that hundreds of thousands never broke it4 ,there is now a new feeling about temperance in the ,english-speaking world4 ,drunkenness is now looked upon as a disgrace2 total abstinence is becoming the habit of increasing numbers of people from year to year2 and in the production of this changed feeling1 this simple-hearted1 earnest ,irish priest did more than any other man4 ,footnote3 ,see ,father ,mathew1 his ,life and ,times1 by ,f4 ,j4 ,mathew 7,cassell ,co41 #ahhj71 and ,biography of ,father ,mathew1 by ,j4 ,f4 ,maguire1 ,m4 ,p4 7,london1 #ahfc74 ,,xxxii4 ,,patriotism4 ,,memory ,,gems4 ,the noblest motive is the public good4--,virgil ,the one best omen is to fight for fatherland4--,homer ,patriotism is a principle fraught with high impulses and noble thoughts4--,smiles ,the revolutionist has seldom any other object but to sacrifice his country to himself4--,alison ,it is impossible that a man who is false to his friends should be true to his country4--,bishop ,berkeley ,patriotism is defined by ,noah ,webster as the passion which aims to serve one's country4 ,as it is natural to love our home1 it is natural to love our country also4 ,as the poorest homes are sometimes most tenderly loved1 so the poorest and barest country is sometimes held in most affection4 ,there is1 perhaps1 not a country in the world the inhabitants of which have not1 at some time or other1 been willing to suffer and die for it4 ,but as we think of our land1 we quickly perceive that no body of young people ever had a more valuable inheritance than that which we have received2 and we are under the greatest obligations to protect and preserve this land1 and transmit it1 full of the grandest achievements and most glorious recollections1 to posterity4 ,this affection is natural1 because the town and the nation in which one has lived1 is1 like the home1 bound up with all the experiences of one's life4 ,the games of childhood1 the affection of parents1 the love of friends1 all the joys1 the sorrows1 the activities of life1 are bound up in the thought of one's native land4 ,it is not merely natural to be patriotic1 but it is also reasonable and right4 ,nearly all that makes life pleasant and desirable1 comes to us through the town or the nation to which we belong4 ,think how many thousands in our country have toiled for us6 ,they have made roads1 and they have built churches and schoolhouses4 ,they have established malls and post offices4 ,they have cultivated farms to provide for our needs1 and have built ships that cross the ocean to bring to us the good things which we could not produce at home4 ,they have provided protection against wrongdoers2 so that if we sleep in peace1 and work and study and play in safety1 we are indebted for all this to the town and nation4 ,when the bells are ringing1 and the cannons are firing1 on the ,fourth of ,july1 we must not think merely of the noise and fun4 ,we must remember those who on that day agreed that they would risk their lives and everything that was dear to them1 that their country might be free4 ,we must also think of those who in times of peril have given themselves for their nation's good2 of those who found the land a wilderness1 and suffered pain and privation while they made the beginning of a nation4 ,we must think of those who1 ever since that time1 when ever the liberty or the unity of the nation has been in peril1 have sprung to its defense4 ,at the end of the war of the revolution1 ,washington was at the head of a mighty army1 and was the object of the enthusiastic love of the whole people4 ,he might easily have made himself a king or an emperor4 ,it was a marvel to the civilized world when he quietly laid down all his power4 ,he suffered himself to be twice chosen president2 and then he became simply a private citizen4 ,this seems to us now the most natural thing in the world2 but really it was something very rare1 and gave him a fame such as few heroes of the world enjoy4 ,there have been heroes in peace as well as in war1 men who have conquered the wilderness1 who have upheld justice1 and have helped on whatever was good and noble4 ,and there are also many persons among us who are unworthy to live in our country1 because they are not willing to suffer the least inconvenience on its account4 ,then there are many men who are even so unpatriotic as to sell their votes4 ,think of all the cost of money and of noble lives at which our liberty has been won4 ,think how1 in many parts of the world1 men are looking with longing at the liberty which we enjoy2 yet there are those to whom this hard-won freedom means so little that they do not strive to further the country's interests in any way4 ,we must never forget1 as we think or speak of patriotism1 that such private virtues as honesty and industry1 are its best helps4 ,whatever tends to make men wiser and better is a service to the nation4 ,the country will one day be in the hands of those who are now boys and girls2 and to you1 we say1 serve it1 guard it1 and do all that you can to promote its good4 ,there is a fine field for the exercise of patriotism in trying to improve the condition of affairs in the towns and cities in which we live4 ,we find ourselves in the midst of a conflict between the criminal classes on the one hand1 and the people on the other1--a conflict as stern as was ever endured upon the battlefield1 amid the glitter of cold steel and the rattle of musketry4 ,the man or woman of the school committee1 working conscientiously that the boys and girls shall have the best education to fit them for future life1 is a patriot4 ,the teacher who patiently works on with that great end in view1 is the same4 ,if greed or bigotry claims from town1 city1 or country1 that which will debase her people1 every boy and girl1 every man and woman1 should instantly frown it down4 ,this is true patriotism1 and the influence of every person is needed for the right4 ,every good man in politics wields a power for good4 ,every good man not in politics is to blame for political corruption1 because by neglecting his plain duty he adds to the strength of the enemy4 ,let it be known that1 with you1 principle amounts to something2 that character counts2 that questionable party service cannot count upon your suffrage4 ,,john ,,adams4 ,but little has been written of the child-life of ,john ,adams1 the second president of the ,united ,states2 a man of unflinching honesty1 and a patriot of the noblest order4 ,the ,adamses were an honest1 faithful people4 ,they were not rich1 neither were they poor2 but being thrifty and economical1 they lived with comfort4 ,stern integrity was the predominant quality of the farmer's home into which ,john ,adams was born in #agce4 ,it must be remembered1 throughout his life it was the sturdy qualities of his ancestors that made him the statesman and patriot whom we know4 ,the boy did not show much fondness for books4 ,he preferred life out of doors among the birds and the squirrels1 roaming the woods1--living just the life a wide-awake boy on a farm would lead nowadays4 ,his father gave him the opportunity of a liberal education1 and he entered ,harvard ,college when he was sixteen years old4 ,it is curious to note that the students were all enrolled according to social position1 and ,john ,adams was the fourteenth in his class4 ,in college he was noted for integrity and energy as well as for ability1--those qualities which the sturdy line of farmers had handed down to their children4 ,the year he graduated1 then twenty years of age1 he became teacher of the grammar school in ,worcester1 ,massachusetts4 ,there he earned the money to aid him in studying his profession1 and the training was excellent for the young man4 ,he decided that he would be a lawyer1 and he wrote3 ,but ,i set out with firm resolutions1 never to commit any meanness or injustice in the practice of law4 ,there were stirring times in the colonies when ,john ,adams was thirty years old4 ,the ,british government imposed taxes and searched for goods which had evaded their officers4 ,the matter was brought before the ,superior ,court4 ,james ,otis argued the cause of the merchants2 and ,john ,adams listened intently to all this great man said4 ,he afterwards wrote3 ,otis was a flame of fire4444 ,american independence was then and there born4 ,every man appeared to be ready to get away and to take up arms4 ,then the ,stamp ,act was issued4 ,john ,adams's whole soul was fired with indignation at the injustice4 ,he drew up a set of resolutions1 remonstrating against it4 ,these were adopted1 not only by the citizens of ,braintree1 but by those of more than forty other towns in ,massachusetts2 and the landing of the ,stamp ,act paper was prevented4 ,courts were closed1 and the excitement was intense4 ,john ,adams boldly said that the ,stamp ,act was an assumption of arbitrary power1 violating both the ,english constitution and the charter of the province4 ,in connection with what is known as ,the ,boston ,tea ,party1 came the closing of ,boston's ports1 because the tea had been thrown overboard1 and the city would not submit to the tax4 ,a ,congress was convened in ,philadelphia1 and ,john ,adams was one of the five delegates sent from ,boston4 ,he knew the grave responsibility of the time4 ,with intense feeling he exclaimed3 ,god grant us wisdom and fortitude6 ,should this country submit1 what infamy and ruin6 ,death in any form is less terrible6 ,jefferson and ,adams were appointed to draw up the ,declaration of ,independence4 ,mr4 ,adams insisted that ,jefferson should prepare it1 and he with forty-four others signed it4 ,mr4 ,jefferson wrote3 ,the great pillar of support to the ,declaration of ,independence1 and its ablest advocate and champion on the floor of the ,house1 was ,john ,adams4 ,he was our ,colossus4 ,in various ways1 ,john ,adams served his country with unswerving loyalty4 ,when ,washington was chosen president1 ,adams was chosen vice-president for both terms1 and was then elected president4 ,to the very last he was always ready to give his word--strong1 convincing1 powerful as of old--in the defense of the right1 even if he had to stand entirely alone4 ,and the story of his manly independence will always add to the dignity of the early history of our nation4 ,footnote3 ,see ,life and ,works of ,john ,adams1 by ,c4 ,f4 ,adams 7#aj vols472 ,life of ,john ,adams1 by ,j4 ,t4 ,morse2 and article in ,appleton's ,cyclopedia of ,american ,biography1 ,vol4 ,i41 pp4 #ae-bc4 ,,xxxiii4 ,,independence4 ,,memory ,,gems4 ,keep out of the crowd1 if you have to get above it4--,m4 ,c ,peters ,the freedom of the mind is the highest form of independence4--,g4 ,b4 ,fisk ,a country cannot subsist without liberty1 nor liberty without virtue4 --,rousseau ,the spirit of independence is not merely a jealousy of our own particular rights1 but a respect for the rights of others4 --,s4 ,baring-,gould ,the love of independence is not only instinctive in man1 but its possession is essential to his moral development4--,george ,eliot ,a great many persons carry in their minds a very mistaken idea as to what constitutes a truly noble life4 ,to live is not merely to exist2 it is to live unbiased and uninfluenced by low and belittling human influences4 ,it is to give breadth and expansion to the soul2 first through a clear discrimination between right and wrong2 and then in living up to the right4 ,full manhood1 the full realization and fruition of all that is best and greatest in man1 depends upon freedom of thought and independence of action4 ,some countries have given especial attention to the cultivation of this trait4 ,for example3 ,it has been pointed out that among the bestproducts of ,scotland has been her love of independence4 ,a ruggedness of spirit has marked her children4 ,strength stamps her heroes4 ,the gentle ,burns was as strong as ,knox1--not in character1 but in the assertion of ',a man's a man for a' that2' and a great many of ,scotland's noblest sons have been brought into public notice through the manifestation of their strong personality4 ,vast numbers of men and women ruin their lives by failing to assert themselves4 ,they sink into the grave with scarcely a trace to indicate that they ever lived4 ,they live and they die4 ,cradle and grave are brought close together2 there is nothing between them4 ,there have been hundreds who could have rivaled the patriotism of a ,washington1 or the humanity of a ,howard1 or the eloquence of a ,demosthenes1 and who have left behind them no one memorial of their existence1 because of lack of lofty courage1 sublime moral heroism1 and the assertion of their individuality4 ,the world's greatest things have been accomplished by individuals4 ,vast social reformations have originated in individual souls4 ,truths that now sway the world were first proclaimed by individual lips4 ,great thoughts that are now the axioms of humanity sprang from the center of individual hearts4 ,do not suffer others to shape your lives for you2 but do all you can to shape them for yourselves4 ,sydney ,smith insisted upon this quality of manhood and womanhood as indispensable4 ,he said3 ,there is one circumstance ,i would preach up morning1 noon1 and night1 to young persons for the management of their understanding3 ,whatever you are by nature1 keep to it2 never desert your own line of talent4 ,be what ,nature intended you for1 and you will succeed2 be anything else1 and you will be ten thousand times worse than nothing4 ,it is a good thing for a boy to wait upon himself as much as possible4 ,the more he has to depend upon his own exertions1 the more manly a fellow will he become4 ,self-dependence will call out his energies1 and bring into exercise his talents4 ,it is not in the hothouse1 but on the rugged ,alpine cliffs1 where the storms beat most violently1 that the toughest plants grow4 ,so it is with man4 ,the wisest charity is to help a boy to help himself4 ,let him never hear any language but this3 ,you have your own way to make1 and it depends on your own exertion whether you succeed or fail4 ,sherman once wrote to ,general ,grant1 ,you are now ,washington's legitimate successor1 and occupy a position of almost dangerous elevation2 but if you continue1 as heretofore1 to be yourself1-- simple1 honest1 and unpretending1--you will enjoy through life the respect and love of friends1 and the homage of millions of human beings4 ,of course we must guard against the error of carrying our sense of independence too far4 ,wordsworth hit the truth when he said3 ,these two things1 contradictory as they may seem1 must go together1--manly dependence and manly independence1--manly reliance and manly self-reliance4 ,still1 after all is said1 we do need more healthy independence4 ,looking out upon society1 we see how slavish men and women are to fashion and frivolity4 ,society life is largely a surface life1 spoiled by fear of gossip4 ,young people need to take clearer views of this matter1 and to stand by their own convictions at any cost4 ,the question to be settled by most of us is1 ,shall ,i steer or drift8 ,our advice is1 by all means have a lofty purpose before you1 and then remain loyal to it4 ,some boys think independence consists in doing whatever they please4 ,they think it is smart to be tough4 ,a story told by ,admiral ,farragut about his early boyhood1 aptly illustrates this phase of young ,america's independence4 ,he says3 ,when ,i was a boy1 ten years of age1 ,i was with my father on board of a man-of-war4 ,i had some qualities that ,i thought made a man of me4 ,i could swear like an old salt2 could drink as stiff a glass of grog as if ,i had doubled ,cape ,horn2 and could smoke like a locomotive4 ,i was great at cards2 and fond of gaming in any shape4 ,at the close of dinner one day my father turned everybody out of the cabin1 locked the door1 and said to me3 ',david1 what do you mean to be8' ',i mean to follow the sea4' ',follow the sea6 yes1 to be a poor1 miserable1 drunken sailor before the mast2 be kicked and cuffed about the world2 and die in some fever hospital in a foreign clime4' ',no1' said ,i1 ',i'll tread the quarter-deck1 and command as you do4' ',no1 ,david2 no boy ever trod the quarter-deck with such principles as you have4 ,you'll have to change your whole course of life if you ever become a man4' ,my father left me and went on deck4 ,i was stunned by the rebuke1 and overwhelmed with mortification4 ',a poor1 miserable1 drunken sailor before the mast6' ,that's my fate1 is it6 ,i'll change my life1 and change it at once6 ,i will never utter another oath2 ,i will never drink another drop of intoxicating liquor2 ,i will never gamble6 ,i have kept these three vows to this very hour4 ,that was the turning point in my destiny4 ,a great many men begin to lose their individuality of conviction the moment they begin life's business4 ,many a young man has sacrificed his individuality on the altar that a profligate companion has built for him4 ,many a young man who knew right1 has allowed some empty-headed street-corner loafer to lower his own high moral tone lest he should seem singular in the little world of society surrounding him4 ,and many a lad whose life promised well at the beginning1 has gone to the bad1 or lost his chance in life1 because he never learned to say ,no6 ,in the ,revolutionary ,war1 after the surrender of ,general ,lincoln1 at ,charleston1 the whole of ,south ,carolina was overrun by the ,british army4 ,among those captured by the redcoats was a small boy1 thirteen years of age4 ,he was carried as a prisoner of war to ,camden4 ,while there1 a ,british officer1 in a very imperious tone1 ordered the boy to clean his boots1 which were covered with mud4 ,here1 boy6 ,you young rebel1 what are you doing there8 ,take these boots and clean them2 and be quick about it1 too6 ,the boy looked up at him and said3 ,sir1 ,i won't do it4 ,i am a prisoner of war1 and expect proper treatment from you1 sir4 ,this boy was ,andrew ,jackson1 who afterward became president of the ,united ,states4 ,boys with such a spirit make noble men4 ,exaggerated individuality makes a man impracticable4 ,but the danger of our times is to copy after others1 and thus destroy our force and effectiveness4 ,live1 then1 like an individual4 ,take life like a man--as though the world had waited for your coming4 ,don't take your cue from the weak1 the prejudiced1 the trimmers1 the cowards2--but rather from the illustrious ones of earth4 ,dare to take the side that seems wrong to others1 if it seems right to you2 and you will attain to an order of life the most noble and complete4 ,,thomas ,,jefferson4 ,for the last one hundred years1 one of the first historical facts taught the youth of ,american birth1 is that ,thomas ,jefferson wrote our famous ,declaration of ,independence4 ,his bold1 free1 independent nature1 admirably fitted him for the writing of this remarkable document4 ,to him was given the task of embodying1 in written language1 the sentiments and the principles for which1 at that moment1 a liberty-loving people were battling with their lives4 ,he succeeded1 because he wrote the ,declaration while his heart burned with that same patriotic fire which ,patrick ,henry so eloquently expressed when he said3 ,i care not what others may do1 but as for me1 give me liberty or give me death4 ,in all nations men have sacrificed everything they held dear for religious and political freedom4 ,their names are justly written in the book of fame2 but in the front rank of them all1 we place the brave signers of the ,declaration of ,independence1 with ,jefferson in the lead4 ,the acceptance and the signing of this document by the members of the ,continental ,congress was a dramatic scene1 seldom1 if ever1 surpassed in the annals of history4 ,as ,john ,hancock placed his great familiar signature upon it1 he jestingly remarked1 that ,john ,bull could read that without spectacles2 and then1 becoming more serious1 he began to impress upon his comrades the necessity of all hanging together in this matter4 ,yes1 indeed1 interrupted ,franklin1 we must all hang together1 or assuredly we shall all hang separately4 ,the ,declaration of ,independence placed the ,american colonies squarely upon the issue of political freedom4 ,its composition was a master-stroke which will continue as a lasting memorial to the head and heart of its author4 ,footnote3 ,see ,thomas ,jefferson1 by ,j4 ,t4 ,morse1 ,jr4 7in ,american ,statesmen ,series71 and ,domestic ,life of ,thomas ,jefferson1 by ,sarah ,n4 ,randolph1 his great-granddaughter4 ,,xxxiv4 ,,the ,,ideal ,,man4 ,,memory ,,gems4 ,from the lowest depth there is a path to the highest height4--,carlyle4 ,a man seldom loses the respect of others until he has lost his own4 --,f4 ,w4 ,robertson ,there are certain things we feel to be beautiful and good1 and we must hunger after them4--,george ,eliot ,the man who thinks himself inferior to his fellows1 deserves to be1 and generally is4--,william ,black ,it is characteristic of small men to avoid emergencies2 of great men to meet them4--,charles ,kingsley ,every man has characteristics which make him a distinct personality2 a different individual from every other individual4 ,it is an interesting fact that a man cannot change his nature1 though he may conceal it2 while no art or application will teach him to know himself1 as he really is1 or as others see him4 ,if the idea of humanity carry with it the corresponding idea of a physical1 intellectual1 and moral nature--if it be this trinity of being which constitutes the man1--then let us think of the first or the second elements as we may1 it is the third which completes our conception4 ,let us praise the mechanism of the body to the utmost2 let it be granted that the height and force of our intellect bespeaks a glorious intelligence2 still our distinctive excellence and preeminence lies in moral and spiritual perfection4 ,there are those who think and speak as if manhood consisted in birth or titles1 or in extent of power and authority4 ,they are satisfied if they can only reckon among their ancestors some of the great and illustrious1 or if noble blood but flow in their veins4 ,but if they have no other glory than that of their ancestors2 if all their greatness lies in a name2 if their titles are their only virtues2 if it be necessary to call up past ages to find something worthy of our homage1--then their birth rather disparages and dishonors them4 ,that these creatures lay claim to the name and the attributes of man1 is a desecration4 ,man is a noble being4 ,there may be rank1 and title1 and ancestry1 and deeds of renown1 where there is no intellectual power4 ,nor would we unduly exalt reason4 ,there may be mental greatness in no common degree1 and yet be a total absence of those higher moral elements which bring our manhood more clearly into view4 ,it is the combination of intellectual power and moral excellence which goes to make the perfect man4 ,the world wants a man who is educated all over2 whose nerves are brought to their acutest sensibility2 whose brain is cultured1 keen1 and penetrating2 whose hands are deft2 whose eyes are alert1 sensitive1 microscopic2 whose heart is tender1 broad1 magnanimous1 true4 ,indeed1 the only man who can satisfy the demands of an age like this1 is the man who has been rounded into perfectness by being cultured along all the lines we have indicated in the foregoing pages4 ,this education must commence with the very first opening of the infant mind4 ,our lessons will multiply and be of a still higher character with the progress of our years4 ,truth may succeed truth1 according to the mental power and capacity2 nor must our instruction cease till the probationary state shall close4 ,our education can finish only with the termination of life4 ,every one is conscious of a most peculiar feeling when he looks at anything whose formation or development is imperfect4 ,let him take up an imperfectly-formed crystal1 or an imperfectly-developed flower1 and he can scarcely describe his feelings4 ,the same holds true as to the organization and structure of the human body4 ,who ever contemplates stunted growth1 or any kind of visible deformity1 with complacency and satisfaction8 ,and why should we not look for full mental development1 and for the most perfect moral maturity8 ,if what is imperfect constitutes the exception in the physical world1 why should it be otherwise in the world of mind and of morals8 ,is it a thing to be preferred1 to be stunted1 and little1 and dwarfish1 in our intellectual and moral stature8 ,or do we prefer a state of childhood to that of a perfect man8 ,if the mind is the measure of the man1 and if uprightness constitutes the noblest aspect of life1 then our advancement in knowledge and in righteousness should appear unto all men4 ,there is a god in the meanest man2 there is a philanthropist in the stingiest miser2 there is a hero in the biggest coward1--which an emergency great enough will call out4 ,the blighting greed of gain1 the chilling usages and cold laws of trade1 encase many a noble heart in crusts of selfishness2 but great emergencies break open the prison doors1 and the whole heart pours itself forth in deeds of charity and mercy4 ,the poor and unfortunate are our opportunity1 our character-builders1 the great schoolmasters of our moral and ,christian growth4 ,every kind and noble deed performed for others1 is transmuted into food which nourishes the motive promoting its performance1 and strengthens the muscles of habit4 ,gladstone1 in the midst of pressing duties1 found time to visit a poor sick boy whom he had seen sweeping the street crossings4 ,he endeared himself to the heart of the ,english people by this action more than by almost any other single event of his life2 and this incident is more talked about to-day than almost any of his so-called greater deeds4 ,not what men do1 but what their lives promise and prophesy1 gives hope to the race4 ,to keep us from discouragement1 ,nature now and then sends us a ,washington1 a ,lincoln1 a ,kossuth1 a ,gladstone1 towering above his fellows1 to show us she has not lost her ideal4 ,we call a man like ,shakespeare a genius1 not because he makes new discoveries1 but because he shows us to ourselves1--shows us the great reserve in us1 which1 like the oil-fields1 awaited a discoverer1--and because he says that which we had thought or felt1 but could not express4 ,genius merely holds the glass up to nature4 ,we can never see in the world what we do not first have in ourselves4 ,every man1 says ,theodore ,parker1 has at times in his mind the ideal of what he should be1 but is not4 ,in all men that seek to improve1 it is better than the actual character4 ,no one is so satisfied with himself that he never wishes to be wiser1 better1 and more perfect4 ,the ideal is the continual image that is cast upon the brain2 and these images are as various as the stars2 and1 like them1 differ one from another in magnitude4 ,it is the quality of the aspiration that determines the true success or failure of a life4 ,a man may aspire to be the best billiard-player1 the best coachman1 the best wardroom politician1 the best gambler1 or the most cunning cheat4 ,he may rise to be eminent in his calling2 but1 compared with other men1 his greatest height will be below the level of the failure of him who chooses an honest profession4 ,no jugglery of thought1 no gorgeousness of trappings1 can make the low high1 the dishonest honest1 the vile pure4 ,as is a man's ideal or aspiration1 so shall his life be4 ,but when all this has been said1 it still remains true that much of the difference between man and man arises from the variety of occupations and practices1--a certain special training which develops thought and intelligence in special directions4 ,all men meet1 however1 on the common level of common sense4 ,a man's thought is indicated by his talk1 by verbal expression4 ,mental action and expression is affected by the senses1 passions1 and appetites4 ,whatever great thing in life a man does1 he never would have done in that precise way except for the peculiar training and experience which developed him2 and no single incident in his life1 however trifling1 may be excepted in the work of rounding him out to the exact character he becomes4 ,the poet is really calling for what we regard as the ideal man1 when he says3 ,god give us men4 ,a time like this demands ,strong minds1 great hearts1 true faith and ready hands3 ,men whom the lust of office does not kill2 ,men whom the spoils of office cannot buy2 ,men who possess opinions and a will2 ,men who have honor--men who will not lie2 ,men who can stand before a demagogue ,and scorn his treacherous flatteries without winking2 ,tall men1 sun-crowned1 who live above the fog ,in public duty1 and in private thinking4 ,,xxxv4 ,,what ,,constitutes ,,good ,,citizenship4 ,,memory ,,gems4 ,a great nation is made only by worthy citizens4--,charles ,dudley ,warner ,nothing is politically right that is morally wrong4--,o',connor ,the noblest principle in education is to teach how best to live for one's country4--,g4 ,t4 ,balch ,the good citizen will never consent that his voice and vote shall sanction a public wrong4--,a4 ,m4 ,gow ,let our object be1 our country1 our whole country1 and nothing but our country4--,d4 ,webster ,an old ,english picture represents a king1 with the motto beneath1 ,i govern all2 a bishop1 with this sentence1 ,i pray for all2 a soldier1 with the inscription1 ,i fight for all2 and a farmer1 who reluctantly draws forth his purse1 and exclaims with rueful countenance1 ,i pay for all4 ,the ,american citizen combines in himself the functions of these four4 ,he is king1 prophet1 warrior1 and laborer4 ,he governs1 prays1 and fights for himself1 and pays all expenses4 ,it is neither desirable nor possible1 however1 for men to be wholly independent of one another4 ,their very nature reveals the fact that they are intended to be associated in the bonds of mutual intercourse and affection2 and such forms of associated life we see all about us1 in the life of the family1 the community1 and the nation4 ,for a body of human beings to attempt to live together without regard for each other's interests1 would be certain to lead to confusion1 if not to disaster4 ,there would be no security for life or property2 no recognized standard of values2 no ready and certain means of communication2 nor any of the higher conveniences which mark the life of our own land and age4 ,that which is needed to insure these necessary benefits1 is some common understanding1 or some such generally accepted agreement1 as finds expression in those forms of government which have1 for these very reasons1 become common to all civilized lands4 ,it is in this idea of associated life that citizenship finds its real beginning4 ,but between the formulation of the idea1 and such citizenship as we now enjoy1 there have been long centuries of slow growth and steady development4 ,each of these succeeding centuries has marked a decided improvement in the condition of mankind2 and the outlook for the future of the race is more hopeful at the present than in any period of the past4 ,men like to praise old times4 ,they are fond of telling about the good old days1 when there was simplicity1 and a rude but rugged virtue1 and men were gay and happy4 ,but if you were to take these men up1 and carry them back there1 and let them sleep where men slept then1 and let them eat what men ate then1 and let them do what men had to do then1 and take from them what men did not have then1--you would hear the most piteous whining and complaining that ever afflicted your ears4 ,do not be misled by such of our empty-headed reformers as would tell you that the workman's lot is harder at the present than in the far-away centuries of the past2 for their statements cannot be verified1 but are untruthful and pernicious in the highest degree4 ,the sober1 industrious1 self-respecting artisan of to-day has the privilege of entrance to many places and families which were closed against the merchants and manufacturers of one hundred years ago2 and he stands possessed of opportunities such as were not possible even to the men of the last generation4 ,citizenship stands inseparably connected with the family4 ,the family is practically a little state in itself1 embodying on a smaller scale1 all those vital and fundamental principles which make up the larger life of the nation4 ,it is in the family that we first come under government4 ,our earliest lessons in obedience are those which arise from the authority of our parents and guardians4 ,it is in the home that we discover that we cannot do altogether as we please1 but that others1 as well as ourselves1 must be regarded4 ,and it will not be difficult to discern that1 in the various phases of home life1 we have represented almost all the forms of government which have become embodied in the various kinds of national administration now prevailing in the various parts of the earth4 ,in a well-ordered home1 the authority would be such that every one could have the largest freedom of action consistent with the general good4 ,when the freedom of any one made itself a cause of annoyance to the rest1 it would have to be curtailed4 ,as fast as the children grew to deserve more liberty1 it would be given them2 but always on condition that they prove themselves worthy to be entrusted with this larger life4 ,but with this increase of freedom and privilege1 comes the increase of responsibility4 ,every member of the family who is old enough to appreciate its privileges1 is old enough to share its burdens4 ,some specific duties should be assigned to each1 however simple these may be2 and for the performance of these duties1 each should be held to be personally responsible4 ,precisely this is needed in the larger sphere of the state2 and when this can be attained and maintained1 the good of the state will be both effectually and permanently assured4 ,a true lover of his country will have1 as his ruling idea1 that the state is for the people1 and that ,america has been made to make and sustain happy ,americans4 ,no nation is in a satisfactory condition when large portions of its population are discontented and miserable4 ,the comfortable classes will generally take care of themselves2 but they need to know that their own prosperity is bound up with the condition of the uncomfortable classes4 ,and even if it were not so1 it would be their duty to advocate such social reforms as would tend to raise men intellectually1 morally1 and circumstantially4 ,the carrying into effect of all this opens up a vast realm of service for the public good2 and the proper performance of this service1 in all its several branches1 constitutes good citizenship4 ,speaking in general terms1 we may say that a citizen of a country is one born in that country4 ,if you were born in the ,united ,states1 then you are a citizen of the ,united ,states4 ,this one simple fact endows you with all the privileges of our great nation1 and1 at the same time1 lays upon you a measure of responsibility for the nation's welfare4 ,in addition to those who are trained for ,american citizenship in ,american homes1 we have among us a large body of men who are citizens by adoption4 ,millions of people have emigrated to ,america2 and to these it has become the country of their own free choice4 ,we are sorry to observe1 in certain quarters1 a growing disposition to regard all immigrants as a bad lot2 for while we concede that many of those who come here1 might certainly be much better than they are1 we would yet remind you that these citizens by adoption have repeatedly proved their loyalty to our national institutions1 and their willingness to die in following our national flag4 ,every good citizen will give attention to public affairs4 ,he will not only vote for good men and good measures1 but he will use his personal influence to have others do the same4 ,ours is a government of the people1 and is neither better nor worse than the people make it4 ,we should study the needs of our country1 and keep ourselves well informed on all the current questions of the day1 and then1 by an honest and intelligent exercise of the privileges which the nation grants us1 prove ourselves citizens of the very highest type4 ,,xxxvi4 ,,the ,,citizen ,,and ,,the ,,home4 ,,memory ,,gems4 ,the hand that rocks the cradle rules the world4--,anon ,the fireside is the seminary of the nation4--,goodrich ,early home associations have a potent influence upon the life of the ,state4--,child ,nothing proves more ruinous to the ,state than the defective education of the women4--,aristotle4 ,the sorest spot in our municipal and national condition1 is the decadence of the home idea4--,g4 ,h4 ,parkhurst ,the fact that children are so long in growing up1 and pass so many years together under the care of their father and mother1 is most important in the history of the race4 ,during this long period of growth in the home they become fitted1 as they could not in any other way1 to take their places in the larger world of men and women4 ,if children remained with their parents as short a time as the young of animals do1 it is probable that men would never have risen above the state of barbarism4 ,the home has been the great civilizer of the world4 ,the home is more than the family dwelling2 it is the seat of the family life2 and the family life stands to the life of the nation in the same relation as the index to the volume1 or the expression of the countenance to the feeling of the heart4 ,our ,saxon race has been distinguished from its historic beginnings for its love of personal liberty1 and is the only race that has ever been able perfectly to realize this blessing in its highest and noblest form4 ,if the word home could be squeezed into the language of the savage1 it could have no such meaning for him as it possesses for us4 ,the hut of the savage is simply a place to eat in and sleep in4 ,he selects no spot on which to plant1 and build1 and educate4 ,he claims to occupy so much territory as will furnish him with subsistence1 but his home1 if he really has one1 is in the forest1 like the game he hunts4 ,it is a fact beyond dispute1 that all migratory people are low down in the scale of civilized life4 ,the homes of any people are the very beginnings of its progress1 the very centers of its law and order1 and of its social and political prosperity4 ,they are the central points around which the crystallizing and solidifying processes of national life and growth can alone be carried forward4 ,we do not give sufficient prominence to this fact1 in our estimate of the forces which build up our national life4 ,we recognize art and science1 agriculture and industry1 politics and morality2 but do we realize1 as we should1 that1 beneath all these1 as the great foundation rock upon which they all must rest1 lies the home4 ,or1 to change the figure1 the homes of our people are the springs out of which flow our national life and character4 ,they are the schools in which our people are trained for citizenship2 for when a young man leaves the paternal roof1 his grade and quality as a citizen is1 as a rule1 fully determined4 ,the training of a good citizen must begin at the cradle1 and be continued through the plastic period of boyhood and carried forward by his parents1 until the youth crosses his native threshold to act his part and assume his responsibilities in the broader field of his own independent life4 ,the home life of ,new ,england has been the most potent force1 in the building of this great nation4 ,the homes of our ,puritan ancestors were really the birthplaces of these ,united ,states4 ,what then was the character of these homes8 ,they were simple and even rude1 as considered externally--and especially when contrasted with the homes of the ,new ,englanders of to-day4 ,but within1 there was love and loyalty1 reverence and faith4 ,in the early homes of ,new ,england there were so many strong fibers running from heart to heart1 and knitting all together1--and so many solid virtues woven into the daily life1--that their influence has done much to make our nation what it is4 ,a young man trained in such a home1 will usually become an example of sobriety1 industry1 honesty1 and fidelity to principle4 ,he will be felt to be part of the solid framework which girds society and helps to keep it healthy1--a kind of human bank1 on which the community may draw to sustain its best interests1 and to promote its noblest forms of life4 ,the home is the birthplace of true patriotism2 and a true patriotism is one of the first and most important characteristics in the upbuilding of any nation4 ,it is not the wild plebeian instinct that goes for our country right or wrong1 which forms the real element of our strength4 ,love of country1 to be a real help and safeguard1 must be a sentiment great enough to be moral in its range and quality4 ,neither the power of numbers1 nor mere oaths of allegiance1 will suffice4 ,patriotism always falls back upon the home life and the home interests for its inspiration and its power4 ,whatever crosses the threshold to desolate the hearth1 touches to the quick one of the strongest sentiments of our nature4 ,the old ,latin battle cry1 ,for our altars and our firesides1 is still the most potent word which can be given to our soldiers1 as they advance upon the foe2 and the man who will not go forward1 even to the death1 for these1 is rightly counted as little better than a slave4 ,if you want a man upon whom you can rely in the hour of the nation's peril1 select the man who loves his home2 for in proportion as he loves his home1 will he love his country which has protected it4 ,we therefore repeat that the homes of the people are the secret of our country's greatness4 ,acres do not make a nation great4 ,wealth cannot purchase grandeur and renown4 ,resources1 however great and wonderful1 cannot crown us with national honor and celebrity4 ,the strength and prowess of any land lies in the character of its citizens2 and their character depends largely upon the character of their homes4 ,,xxxvii4 ,,the ,,citizen ,,and ,,the ,,community4 ,,memory ,,gems4 ,municipal government should be entirely divorced from party politics4 --,c4 ,h4 ,parkhurst ,too many of our citizens fail to realize that local government is a worthy study4--,john ,fiske ,every citizen should be ready to do his full part in the service of the community in which he lives4--,e4 ,o4 ,mann ,each separate township needs men who will inspire respect and command confidence4--,w4 ,a4 ,mowry ,let the man who1 without good excuse1 fails to vote1 be deprived of the right to vote4--,w4 ,h4 ,h4 ,miller ,whenever men live in a community1 they are placed under certain mutual obligations4 ,unless these obligations are carefully regarded the community life will be sure to prove a failure4 ,man is selfish as well as social4 ,the weak must1 therefore1 be protected from the strong2 and in this important work there are common interests which require united action4 ,this united action may be for the common defense of the community1 or for the general welfare of all4 ,the unit of government is generally the town1 or as it is called in many parts of our country1 the township4 ,a town includes the people who are permanent residents within a certain limited and prescribed territory1 usually occupying but a few square miles4 ,the government of a town1 or township1 is in the hands of the people permanently residing within the limits of that township4 ,these people combine together for the protection and mutual good of all4 ,this is the fundamental principle of government4 ,to carry on this government and make the necessary provisions for the mutual good of the inhabitants of the town1 taxation is resorted to4 ,the people1 therefore1 come in contact with the government first of all at this point4 ,taxes are levied by a majority vote of the citizens assembled in town meeting1 such meetings being usually held once a year1 in order that the moneys necessary to be raised1 and the business to be done for the welfare of the people1 may receive regular and careful attention4 ,where the population is dense and houses are placed close together1 so that within a small area there is a large body of inhabitants1 thegovernment is generally under the form of a city4 ,our republican government1 which1 after making all due allowances1 seems to work remarkably well in rural districts1 in the state1 and in the nation1 has certainly been far less successful as applied to cities4 ,accordingly our cities have come to furnish topics for reflection to which writers and orators fond of boasting the unapproachable excellence of ,american institutions do not like to allude4 ,fifty years ago we were accustomed to speak of civil government in the ,united ,states as if it had dropped from heaven1 or had been specially created by some kind of miracle upon ,american soil2 and we were apt to think that in mere republican forms there was some kind of mystic virtue which made them a cure for all political evils4 ,our later experience with cities has rudely disturbed this too confident frame of mind4 ,it has furnished facts which do not seem to fit our theory1 so that now1 our writers and speakers are inclined to regard our misgoverned cities with contempt4 ,it will best serve our purpose here1 to outline the relation of the citizen to the township rather than to the city1 because its management is less complex and1 in most cases1 is more complete and perfect4 ,money is ordinarily raised by taxation for the following purposes1 namely3 the support of the public schools2 making and repairing highways2 the care of the poor2 maintaining the fire department2 paying the salaries of the town officers2 paying for the detection and punishment of offenders against the law2 maintaining burial grounds2 planting shade trees2 providing for disabled soldiers and sailors and their families2 and1 in general1 for all other necessary expenses4 ,to carry on the work of a town1 several officers are usually appointed4 ,a town clerk keeps accurate records of all business transacted2 records all births1 marriages and deaths2 makes the necessary returns to the county and the state1 and serves as the agent of the town in its relation to the country at large4 ,officers usually known as selectmen or supervisors1 attend to the general business of the town4 ,the town treasurer receives and pays out all moneys raised for the carrying on of the town's affairs4 ,a school committee1 or board of education1 is also needed to superintend all matters relating to our public schools4 ,a surveyor of highways must be provided1 in order that the streets and highways belonging to the town may be kept in proper condition2 and an assessor and collector of taxes1 to attend to the raising of supplies4 ,a board of overseers of the poor is also needed1 their duties being to provide for the support of paupers and the relief of the needy poor4 ,we do not profess to have fully covered the ground in this brief statement2 but only to show that life1 even in the smallest communities1 must necessarily make heavy drafts upon the time and attention of a large number of individual citizens4 ,but we desire to emphasize the fact1 that each of these several offices furnishes opportunity for the employment either of a competent or an incompetent official1 according to the care with which the selection is made4 ,it therefore becomes the duty of every citizen to give personal attention to such matters1 for if these places are filled by corrupt or even careless men1 the interests of the community will be seriously imperiled1 while if they are filled by honest and patriotic men1 the success of the town and its affairs is practically assured4 ,our one supreme object should be to raise the tone of our citizenship4 ,the town or city will not become permanently better except as we who live in it become better4 ,there are large sections in all our towns that yield to the guidance of corrupt and designing men for the reason that they are unreached by influences of a finer and more generous kind4 ,plans must be formulated by which we can come into touch with these lower quarters1 and raise them quickly and surely to a higher level4 ,we all need to become better acquainted with the machinery of our local governments and with certain principles and statutes by which the motion of that machinery requires to be regulated4 ,we cannot properly regulate the doings of our public servants except as we are familiar with the laws to which they are subject4 ,this question of obedience to law1 can only be efficiently controlled by the continued watchfulness of the law-abiding portion of the community2 and the situation in this respect is far more grave than most people imagine4 ,a recent writer speaking of the lack of a proper enforcement of the law says3 ,i was in a considerable ,western city1 with a population of seventy thousand1 some years ago1 when the leading newspaper of the place1 commenting on one of the train robberies that had been frequent in the state1 observed that so long as the brigands had confined themselves to robbing the railway companies and the express companies of property for whose loss the companies must answer1 no one had greatly cared1 seeing that these companies themselves robbed the public2 but now that private citizens seemed in danger of losing their personal baggage and money1 the prosperity of the city might be compromised1 and something ought to be done1--a sentiment delivered with all gravity1 as the rest of the article showed4 ,this makes plausible the story of the ,texas judge who is said to have allowed murderers to escape on points of law1 till he found the value of real estate declining2 then he carefully saw to it that the next few offenders were hanged4 ,we must not take too narrow a view of public life4 ,all civilized governments consider themselves bound to perform other duties of an entirely different character from those which pertain to peace and justice4 ,when our fathers framed the constitution of the ,united ,states1 they gave in the preamble to that instrument an admirable definition of the province of government4 ,this preamble reads as follows3 ,we1 the people of the ,united ,states1 in order to form a more perfect union1 establish justice1 insure domestic tranquillity1 provide for the common defense1 promote the general welfare1 and secure the blessings of liberty to ourselves and our posterity1 do ordain and establish this constitution for the ,united ,states of ,america4 ,the motto of every good citizen should be1 the best means to promote the greatest good to the greatest number4 ,the ends to be sought are the most healthy development1 the highest and largest happiness to the whole people2 for only in this manner can we accomplish our full duty4 ,,xxxviii4 ,,the ,,citizen ,,and ,,the ,,nation4 ,,memory ,,gems4 ,love your country and obey its laws4--,noah ,porter ,the sum of individual character makes national character4--,e4 ,c4 ,mann ,the true defense of a nation lies in the moral qualities of its people4--,edwin ,c4 ,mason ,everything learned should be flavored with a genuine love of country4--,e4 ,edwards ,noble ideas of citizenship and its duties strengthen the will of all patriots4--,merrill ,e4 ,gates ,we are accustomed to say that our ,american government is a government of the people1 by the people1 for the people4 ,it is largely in this1 its broad1 comprehensive1 and democratic character1 that we so often venture to hold it up to view as a model which might be copied by the surrounding nations to their very great advantage4 ,and certainly no thinking person will deny that we have much to be justly proud of in this respect2 for our nation has neither parallel nor equal upon the face of the green earth4 ,but in a land like this1 where the government is formed by its citizens1 it can only be maintained by its citizens4 ,offices thus created must be filled1 and the ship of state must be manned1 and manned with a careful1 honest1 and patriotic crew1 or it will be in danger of total wreck4 ,in our times of peril we have been quick to see and to acknowledge this2 and1 more than once or twice1 the nation has been saved by the prompt and patriotic action of the people4 ,but it is not so easy a matter to keep our patriotism up to its noblest and its best when there is an absence of unusual or exciting causes to call it into play4 ,we must therefore glance briefly at both these aspects of the case4 ,it is a requirement of long standing that1 in case of war1 every able-bodied citizen must go forth as a soldier1 if the government shall so demand4 ,he must1 if really needful1 help to save the state1 even at the risk1 or at the positive loss1 of his own life4 ,such calls have been made by our government2 and the manner in which our people have responded has been the glory of our nation and the wonder of the world4 ,the citizen must share the risks of his country1 as well as its benefits4 ,he must be willing to give protection to the rights and interests of his fellows1 or he cannot rightly expect protection for his own4 ,in this we are all so far agreed as to render anything like an argument entirely unnecessary2 and we do not hesitate to brand all who fail us1 under such circumstances1 as unpatriotic and unworthy of the sympathy and esteem to which faithful citizenship entitles men4 ,now look at the other aspect of the case4 ,the public service is not only for times of war and tumult1 but also for times of prosperity and peace2 and the claims of the nation are no more to be slighted or shirked in the latter case than in the former4 ,the ship of state must be manned1 we say1 and the public offices necessary to prosperity and progress must be filled4 ,many of these suffer unless filled by able and patriotic men2 and the interests1 for the preservation and forwarding of which these offices have been created1 cannot be properly served4 ,the crying need of to-day is for men of public spirit2 for men who will seek the highest welfare of their fellow-citizens in general2 men of broad and generous views2 men who look out upon life with an absence of that littleness and near-sightedness which cannot distinguish between public good and private interest4 ,those men who will take no position in the service of their country1 unless it is accompanied with a monetary compensation1 are after all1 very closely akin to the men who waited until bounties were offered before they would take service in connection with the ,civil ,war2 while1 on the other hand1 the men who are truly public-spirited1 take pleasure in serving the public and are liberal beyond the requirement of the law4 ,it has been well said that ,a public office is a sacred trust4 ,whoever engages in any duties of a public nature1 is under the most solemn obligation to do those duties honestly and well4 ,there are some public officials who1 because they aid in the making of the laws1 appear to think themselves higher than the law1 and therefore at liberty to obey or to neglect its requirements1 according as their personal inclinations shall direct4 ,but this is not so2 and it should be made clear to all such persons that they are in error4 ,the legislator is but a citizen1 after all2 and1 as a citizen1 he stands in precisely the same relation to the law as does his brother of the rank and file4 ,of all men1 he should be obedient1 and should labor to surround the law with every possible safeguard2 for it is among the most precious and sacred of our earthly possessions4 ,it is the charter of all true freedom4 ,it is a power before whose awful majesty every man must bow1 irrespective of outward position or personal influence4 ,it must be reverenced1 honored1 and obeyed by all4 ,now the facts show that there is a strange ignorance1 or else a strange lack of conscience1 in this matter1 and that this is so wide-spread as to be almost universal4 ,it seems to be a common opinion that there is no particular harm in cheating the government4 ,if a politician secures a high government position1 or a business man is fortunate enough to secure a large government contract1 it seems to be expected that he will secure from these sources larger profits than would be possible anywhere else4 ,in other words1 it seems to be expected that the government will pay more for any service than can be obtained from an individual or from a private corporation1 and that men will charge prices1 and use deception and fraud when they work for the country1 which if practiced upon private parties1 would send them to prison and brand them with lifelong disgrace4 ,respecting that purification and elevation of the ballot-box1 for which so many of our thoughtful citizens are now pleading with more than usual earnestness1 our own thought is that it can best be accomplished by the establishment and strict enforcement of an educational qualification for voters1 and by a residence in the ,united ,states of at least ten years1 before the voting privilege shall be bestowed4 ,no man should be allowed to vote until he can read and write4 ,no man should be allowed to put his hand upon the management of our public affairs until he can read and understand our ,constitution in the language in which it is written4 ,one of the most ominous signs of the times is1 that good men stand aloof from politics4 ,they do this either because they do not fully appreciate the importance of their influence1 or from the false conviction that their votes will do no good1 or1 in many other instances1 because they consider their private business to be of more importance than the matters of the state4 ,but1 in point of fact1 the uplifting of the moral tone of our country is a service of the most importance2 and1 even if we consider ourselves alone1 it is still true that we cannot afford to pass it lightly by4 ,as citizens of the ,united ,states we stand possessed of a most wondrous heritage2 and what the civil authorities require of us1 within their own proper sphere1 should be considered in the light of a binding duty4 ,as ,professor ,dole has pointed out1 ,we have seen magnificent cities rising on the borders of the streams1 and pleasant villages dotting the hills2 a flourishing commerce whitens the ripples of the lakes2 the laugh of happy children comes up to us from the cornfields2 and as the glow of the evening sun tinges the distant plains1 a radiant and kindling vision floats upon its beams1 of myriads of men escaped from the tyrannies of the ,old ,world and gathered here in worshiping circles to pour out their grateful hearts to ,god for a redeemed and teeming earth4 ,surely all that is worth preserving4 ,surely we will not allow so rich a heritage to run waste4 ,surely we will support a nation whose past is bright with glorious achievements1 and whose future glows with the light of a promise so radiantly beautiful4 ,we need only remind you1 therefore1 that the truest and most useful citizens of our country are those who invigorate and elevate their nation by doing their duty truthfully and manfully2 who live honest1 sober1 and upright lives1 making the best of the opportunities for improvement that our land affords2 who cherish the memory and example of the fathers of our country1 and strive to make and keep it just what they intended it to be4 ,,xxxix4 ,,the ,,ideal ,,citizen4 ,,memory ,,gems4 ,voters are the uncrowned kings who rule the nation4--,morgan ,a second-rate man can never make a first-rate citizen4--,j4 ,s4 ,white ,every good man in politics wields a power for good4--,m4 ,c4 ,peters ,if you want a clean city1 vote to place the government in clean hands4--,dr4 ,mc ,glynn ,the ideal citizen is the man who believes that all men are brothers1 and that the nation is merely an extension of his family4--,habberton ,we may now proceed to bring our studies to a close4 ,all that has been said1 from the beginning1 has been gradually but surely focusing itself upon a single point2 for the development of all these several faculties and powers leads directly to the forming of a well-rounded and fully-developed manhood4 ,a fully-developed manhood is the highest possible human achievement1 and includes within itself all that can be desired2 and for this higher manhood we now make our final and most urgent plea4 ,the real man is discovered in the sum total of his ideas2 for it is in these that his life takes shape and character1 it is in these that his true self comes into view4 ,the real power of the true man lies in his being able to turn his thoughts inward upon himself2 to so gauge and measure his own powers as to put them to the best uses2 and to stand aloof from those positions and practices for which he finds himself to be unfitted4 ,the simple application of this rule to the practical affairs of to-day1 would diminish the number of our machine politicians by about four fifths4 ,we are loaded down1 almost to the breaking point1 with politicians who do not understand politics1 and who advocate measures which are not for the public good1 because the public good is not the end for which they strive4 ,but the fault is in the men themselves1 rather than in our political system4 ,they must first be made manly1 before they can be made truly useful4 ,they must first learn to govern themselves1 before they can successfully carry forward the work of governing the nation4 ,they must be taught that bluster is not argument1 and that to go through the motions of political service does not in the least aid in the promotion of the public welfare4 ,a single service rendered from the heart is often of more value than a whole life of noisy and showy pretense2 but again we say that such service is almost always the result of a thoughtful and considerate manliness4 ,all this applies with equal force to the private citizen4 ,a sturdy but quiet independence2 a genuine love of righteousness and truth2 a life of uprightness and integrity1 of honesty and fair dealing2 an absence of cringing and paltering1 and of that miserable and contemptible fawning upon the rich1 and that silly and despicable worship of those in place and power1 which is too frequently to be observed2--all these things1 and others1 must receive care and attention before the ideal stage of manhood can be reached4 ,the manly man is a thinking being4 ,by this we do not mean to say that he imagines that he is running the universe1 and that no one but himself is acquainted with the secrets of its mechanism2 but that he has a right to weigh all questions in the scales of his own reason1 and to draw his own conclusions from the facts presented to his mind4 ,if he be truly a man1 he will hold to that which he feels to be true against all opposition1 but will1 with equal readiness1 yield in all points where he discovers himself to be in the wrong4 ,instead of going through life in political leading-strings1 bending to the will of one man1 and gulping down the opinions of another1 he will stand upon his own feet1 put his own vertebral column to its legitimate use of sustaining his body1 and his own mind to its legitimate use of directing the issues of his life4 ,the ideal citizen will also be a gentleman4 ,by this term1 we do not mean the milk-and-water1 kid-gloved creature1 who so often attempts to pass muster in this connection4 ,all that we have asked for in the man1 we insist on in the gentleman4 ,sturdy independence1 vigorous thought1 mental and moral uprightness1 and a backbone as strong as a bar of steel1--but all tempered with a gentleness of disposition and a courtesy of manner which brings every natural faculty and power beneath its sway1 and yet leaves principle and righteousness entirely undisturbed4 ,the real gentleman is1 above all else1 courteous and considerate4 ,he is master of himself1 and that at all points1--in his carriage1 his temper1 his aims1 and his desires4 ,calm1 quiet1 and temperate1 he will not allow himself to be hasty in judgment1 or exorbitant in ambition2 nor will he suffer himself to be overbearing or grasping1 arrogant or oppressive4 ,the ideal citizen will also be1 in the better sense of the word1 a politician4 ,be careful to note here that we say1 a politician in the better sense4 ,we would have you distinguish1 with the utmost clearness1 between a politician and a partisan4 ,the true politician1 looking ever to the highest interests of the state1 is a public benefactor2 while it very frequently happens that the mere political partisan is a public nuisance1 if not a public disgrace4 ,the man who sinks his country's interests in his own1 and the man who sacrifices his personal advantages for the sake of his country's good1 stand at the very opposite poles of human society4 ,the man who swears by party watchwords1 and moves amid the burning animosities of party strife1 is centering his life in interests which may vanish like an evening cloud4 ,not in the loud clamors of partisan struggle1 are we to find the secret highways which lead to national prosperity and progress1 but in that quiet1 thoughtful1 careful study of the interests and events in which the national life is taking shape and color1 and in the application to these of the great principles of righteousness and common sense4 ,this is about equal to saying that the ideal citizen will be a patriot4 ,we have so mixed in our minds the two distinct ideas of patriotism and heroism1 that we have need to pause for a moment1 that we may disentangle ourselves from the meshes of this net of misconception1 before we venture to proceed4 ,if we call for an illustration of patriotism1 you point us to some ,horatius or ,leonidas of the olden times2 or to some ,william ,tell1 or ,ulysses ,grant1 of these more modern days4 ,we do not say that these men were not patriots1 and patriots of a high order too4 ,but their circumstances were exceptional1 and under these exceptional circumstances their patriotism made them heroes4 ,but if you will enter into a careful study of the matter1 you will find that it is the heroism1 quite as much as the patriotism of their lives1 which takes so strong a hold upon your hearts4 ,we therefore desire to place by the side of our beloved ,grant1 the man who1 in the midst of a bitter struggle for bread1 can barely manage by the closest possible economy to keep his family from want and shame1 but who still sacrifices an hour's wages that he may go to the polls and vote the expression of his will1 and thus support the measures which he honestly believes to be for the public good2 and we desire to say that1 on the ground of a true patriotism1 we consider that the one is fully the equal of the other1 and that there is a sense in which the man of smaller opportunities is the greater hero of the two4 ,there may be a thousand definitions of heroism1 but the patriot is simply a man who places his country's interests before his own4 ,he is a patriot who fills well his station in life whether public or private1 who loves peace and promotes order1 who labors to uphold the good and to put down the bad4 ,he is a patriot who uses all his advantages of friendship1 acquaintance1 business connection1 social position and the like1 in such a manner as to make these helps and not hindrances to his country's progress4 ,he is a patriot who seeks to aid in all movements that look to the instruction1 elevation1 and permanent betterment of his fellow-citizens1 and to put down all such movements or institutions as tend to demoralize and degrade them4 ,such is the patriotism we plead for2 and such patriotism and ideal citizenship are1 in our minds1 just one and the same thing4