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http://www.archive.org/details/cu31924031302825

'

THE

SECRET OF SUCCESS
OR

HOW TO GET ON

IN

THE WORLD

WITH SOME REMARKS UPON TRUE AND FALSE SUCCESS,

AND THE ART OF MAKING THE BEST USE OF LIFE

W. H.

DAVENPORT ADAMS

AUTHOR OF " ENGLISH PARTY LEADERS,"

" MEMORABLE BATTLES IN ENGLISH

'*

THE BIRD WORLD,"

HISTORY,''

ETC.

American Edition Edited by

P.

'The

talent of success is nothing

H.

G.

more than doing what you can do

H.

NEW YORK
P.

PUTNAM'S SONS
182 FIFTH

AVENUE

1880

IV.

well.

Longfellow.

2ff2^

Copyright by
G. P.

PUTNAM'S SONS
1879

"

PREFACE.

must
IT pages
to unfold.

none

be admitted
I

outset, that in the following

at the

have no exclusive, peculiar, or wonderful " Secret

be a royal road to knowledge,

If there

to success,

and

make no

a shorter or easier path than before existed.

The

takes up this book in the hope of learning some

Money-making, some
on,

may

find himself disappointed.

;

but

been known to the successful.

to

which

know

reader

who

new way

do indeed profess to

it is

of

set

a secret which has always

And

then, again, the "Suc-

seek to direct the reader's attention

of

fresh exposition of the gospel of Getting-

forth the Secret of Success

cess "

pretensions to have discovered

is

no

novel form of worldly prosperity, no extraordinary phase of

fortune,

but rather the acquisition of "a sound mind

in

sound body," the complete culture of the physical, moral and

intellectual faculties of the individual.

It is true that I

have

not neglected the ordinary meaning which the world gives to

" success," nor

do

wish to contend that competent means for

the wholesome enjoyment of

life is

proper object for a man's energies.

realize

for the

not a very reasonable arid

But

word a wider and higher

have endeavored to
significance,

and

to

PREFACE.

IV
deal with

body

This

is

the living, so far as

possible to man, a " perfect life."

is

the only " success " which secures happiness.

"success,"

materialistic

lator, the millionaire

"I

the

too frequently a deplorable failure.

is

confess," says Mr.

Hillard,

" that increasing years bring

rsucceed in

men who do

not succeed

Men who

words are commonly used."

as these

life,

the

do not

as the Croesuses of society succeed, are the

life,

:men who work for the good of their fellows, the

endow

The

"success" of the great specu-

with them an increasing respect for

in

and

as representing the development of mind, soul

it

men who

the world with the masterpieces of art and literature,

men who

in the happiness of others find their

own

happi-

whatever pursuit or calling he

iness.

It is well that the reader,

may

adopt, should do his best in

it

that

a matter of duty

is

.and honor which cannot be conscientiously neglected.

It

one

is

told of a certain merchant-prince of Boston, that,

occasion, he reprimanded for slovenly

who had

known him when

you what,

Billy Gray,"

Why,

nothing but a drummer

retorted the merchant

this "

drumming

eh

well "

in a

regiment

I
is

drum

welli "

refusing that reward

there

is

to

so

tell

I was,"

but didn't

my

doing one's duty as well as

when

it

comes.

thinking,

the true, the genuine success.

may be one's position

may accompany it, and

the reward that

And

Now,

done

whatever

"

was a drummer

life "

is

"

that " success in

in

" I

position.

can remember when you were

" so I

?didn't

well,

humble

exclaimed the man, "I shan't stand

:such words from you.

drum

in a very

on
work a mechanic

it

hold

can be

not for the sake of

yet not despising or

In this kind of success

a pure and permanent pleasure, wholly

unknown

to

PREFACE.

whom

those for

Success

synonymous with Mammon.

is

The

steadfast striving for this loftier success can never be without a

happy

As Dr. Donne

issue.

"

We

says

are but farmers of ourselves

yet may,

we can stock ourselves and thrive, uplay

Much, much good treasure for the great rent-day."

If

If virtue

be

The

edge.

its

own

living, the habit of

ing.

and
will

The

best recompense, so

high thinking, ever carries in

cultivation of such habits

a secret which

it is

is

itself

a bless-

the Secret of Success

within the reach of

lies

all

of us,

but use our opportunities and our means aright.

Hamilton said of Richelieu, that "

little

the love of knowl-

is

habit of diligent application, the habit of temperate

armies, and

reader be discouraged
plish great things with

this great

man commanded

armies did great things."'

little

his

if

them

if

means be small

we

if

Count

he

Let not the

may accom-

he once lay firm hold upon the

Secret of Success.

It

may be

objected to the present volume that

it

follows in

the track of worthy predecessors, such as the evergreen " Pur-

Knowledge under

Difficulties,"

by Mr. Craik, and the

admirable "Self-Help," by Mr. Smiles.

To some extent, no
On the other hand, it

suit of

doubt,

it

traverses the

same ground.

devotes a considerable space to illustrations from the depart-

ments of "business" and "commerce"

have hitherto,
overlooked

at

and

least
it

departments

for such purposes,

pursues more than one course of inquiry

which previous writers have scarcely glanced

obvious objection
it

repeats

tfuths

is,

which

been comparatively

that

it

at.

Another and

says nothing absolutely

which have become

the

new

tha'

commonplaces

of

PREFACE.

VI

But

moralists and the stock-in-trade of our social teachers.

much importance cannot be too frequently enforced.

Their repetition may impress minds which have not
been in^pressed before, and they may be accompanied with fresh
truths of so

examples or presented

to arrest the atten-

newer forms, so as

in

tion of the careless, or suggest to the thoughtful

reflection.

have done what

new

lines of

could in this direction.

availing myself of the best of the illustrations collected

number from addi-

predecessors, I have gathered a very large

tional sources

and accumulated

am

I to

the world

get on in

tolerably exhaustive

The keynote
great writer

or not

is

always the things that

better

all

in

its

results of

it.

in the

reply.

words of a

such work

and

to do,

to

always,

if

we

We

see or do,

we

restlessly

And

if

be his

do any
;

and ambitiously

again

"While

are to desire perfection,

are nevertheless not to set the

not

shattered majesty

not

to

he

if

thus peacefully

in

and

meaner thing

narrow accomplishment above the nobler thing

mighty progress

be

will

will

make him

but always,

hollow and despicable."

things that

strive for

have furnished a

he be a great man, they will be great things

done, good and right;

false,

How

but quietly and steadily,

God meant him

be a small man, small things

done,

is,

agonies nor heartrendings will

If

hope

may be found

work he must, whatever he

No

man

no man's business whether he has genius

and the natural and unforced

best.

I,

that, to the

so closely, "

and not altogether unsatisfactory

of that reply

"It

"

So

years.

question which concerns every young

?

pages the results of

in these

many

the reading and observation of

While

by my

in its

esteem smooth minuteness above

to prefer

mean

victory to honorivble

PREFACE.
defeat

more

VII

we may

not to lower the level of our aim, that

the

surely enjoy the complacency of success."

Though

have not thought

it

my

duty or

encroach upon the work of the teachers of

my

province to

religion.

have

not forgotten that the happiness of the Other Life depends

upon the way

in

understood.

have not forgotten that the

which Success-

in

this

life

achieved or

is

spiritual side of

our

complex humanity needs watchful and assidious cultivation as

much

as its intellectual or moral.

of opinion that irreligious

men

men

Sir

could never

principle of conviction or persuasion

sense of duty)

manage public

who employ them."

not

and that men

make good

desire that

it

may be

affairs to

(say rather

may be

it

a sense of

good

book

to

poets,

society.

readers in the sincere

them

that

it

that it may
may quicken

value as a period of preparation

may open up to them the path

They who still stand

surely profit

universally ap-

good members of

my young

of practical benefit to

life's

Success.

religious

indifferent to religious considerations can-

help to encourage, to stimulate, to warn

to

the advantage of those

fancy the rule

artists,

Finally, I offer this

them

make good stateswho from a

" for none are such," he says " save those

plied

George Mackenzie was

to a true, a real,

and a

lasting

at the point of departure

by the counsel of the

feeblest traveller

that

may

who has

performed a considerable portion of the journey, and been

taught by experience

its trials, difficulties

and dangers.

W. H. Davenport Adams.

CONTENTS.

Time and Its Uses

Aims in Life

23

55

Steady Purpose

The Three

P's

Punctuality,

Prudence, Perse-

verance

75

Business Habits

Business

Men and

loi

....

Business Notes

The Race and the Athlete

Self Help

Reasonable Service and True Success

191

251

2^7
.

343

"

KEY-NOTES.
" Nitorin adversum

is

the motto for a

man

like

Edmund Burke.

me."

" What men most covet, wealth, distinction, power,

Are baubles nothing worth they only serve
;

To

rouse us up, as children at the school

Are roused up to exertion our reward
Is in the race we run, not in the prize."
;

Rogers.

" Men must know

God and

that in this theatre of human life

the angels to be lookers-on."
Lord Bacon.

**

A sacred burden is

it

remaineth only to

the life ye bear

bear it solemnly
Stand up and walk beneath it steadfastly.
Fail not for sorrow, falter not for sin,
But onward, upward, till the goal ye win."
Frances

Look on

it,

lift it,

'
'

There

is

Anne Kemhle.

man that actually and earnestly works.

there perpetual despair."
Carlyle.

always hope in a

idleness alone

is

" Pitch thy behavior low, thy projects high,

So shalt thou humble and magnanimous

In

be.

Sink not in spirit who aimeth at the sky

Shoots higher much than he that means a
;

tree.

George Herbert.

" When

all is

holiday, there are no holidays."

" Seek not proud riches, but such as thou

distribute cheerfully, and leave contentedly

contempt of them."

Lord Bacon.

Charles

Lamb.

mayest get Justly, use soberly,

yet have no abstract or friarly

KEY

2
" On ne

NOTES.

vaut que ce qu'oii veut savoir."

La

Bruyire,

" What

shall I do to gain eternal life ?

Discharge aright
The simple dues with which each day is rife ?
Yea, with thy might.
Ere perfect scheme of action thou devise
Life will be fled,
While he who ever acts as conscience cries.
Shall live though dead."
'

Schiller,

" A high degree of moral principle is in itself a necessary qualification in

a post of trust and responsibility, and it is usually associated with a cultivated and improved state of the intellectual faculties." Sir Henry Taylor.

"

CHAPTER

r.

TIME AND ITS USES.

"

He

lost."

lives

long that lives

Thomas

virell

and time mis-spent

not lived, but

is

Fuller.

" Not on flowery beds, nor under shade

Of canopy reposing, heaven is won.

Dante.

" For

The

of all sad words of tongue or pen.

saddest are these, It might have
'

been

"

!
'

y.
"

G. Whittier.

How dull
To

it is to pause, to make an end.

rust unburnished, not to shine in use

As though to breathe were life. Life

Were all too little, and of one to me

piled on

life

Little remains but every hour is saved

From that eternal silence, something more,
bringer of new things."
:

Tennyson,

" Thrift of time will repay you in after-life with a usury of profit beyond
your most sanguine dreams while the waste of it will make you dwindle,
alike in intellectual and moral stature, beyond your darkest reckonings."
;

Right Hon. W. E. Gladstone,

CHAPTER

I.

TIME AND ITS USES.

THE commodity

of

man

which every

has the

generally speaking, wastes the most,

we consider how small

is

we cannot but wonder

expend

it.

Of

all

poets, the tritest

is

is

least,

and,

When

Time.

the portion allotted to each of us,

at

the carelessness with which

the trite themes touched

the shortness of

Life,

life.

men

by moralists and

we

are told,

is

a bubble, a shifting dream, a thing of nought, evanescent as a

morning
reed

young maid's promise,

mist, uncertain as a

and yet men proceed

to deal with

haustible as the widow's cruse of

stable as the foundations of

oil,

as

as

it

if

it

hills.

in this.

which goes on around

were inex-

were as sure and

the everlasting

something very curious and very pitiable

see the waste of time

if it

brittle as a

us,

There

When we

we cannot but

marvel whether the teaching of sages and, divines, and the

sons of centuries

whether
thing

it

of

men have even

is, how solemn

great a trust

it

experience,

is

les-

have been of any avail

yet learned to realize

a responsibility

puts into their hands.

it

how

precious a

brings with

Does

this

how

waste arise

from want of thought, or from want of a sense of duty

two causes are closely connected, and may

it,

The

very well exert a

"

TIME AND ITS

combined

influence.

USES.
to believe that the great

difficult

It is

majority of time wasters are inspired by feelings of recklessness and desperation

rapidly and as waywardly as possible the

committed

consume

are in a feverish hurry to

Their

to their charge.

as

precious treasure

folly is doubtless

due

to

an

unwillingness or an inability to reflect, and to the absence of

high purposes and lofty motives.

In most cases they have not

been taught how to value time or how to use

should do with that which

We

never learn.

their real wealth,

is

regions of art and science

flowery paths of literature

employ and economize

"

"

raw material

We

"

don't impress

Take care

of themselves."

" is

in the

how

to

upon

of the minutes,

astonishing

It is

allowed to run to waste in every

Precious quarters of an hour are thrown aside which

school.

grow accustomed

They

Time

them the

to

we guide them sedulously

their time.

will take care

we open up

might be turned to excellent account

ture.

our children

but we do not teach them

them the value of the minutes

how much

they

provide them with instruction in the "vari-

ous branches of a polite education

and the days

What

it.

is

to a thoughtless

find, too

frequently, the

squandered before and

and thus the young

and unprofitable expendi-

same waste

after meals, in the

at

home.

morning, in

the evening, up-stairs and down-stairs, in the bedroom, and

the dining-room, and the drawing-room

each day the burden

has been

left

undone

has been forgotten

time to-morrow

no other word
and

folly, for

in

so

"

and

at the

end of

" This should

have been done, and

that should have

been remembered and

is,

but never mind, we'll

Yes, to-morrow

We

make up

our language has to answer for so

many broken vows,

so

for lost

venture to say that

many

much

sin

blighted hopes,

TIME AND ITS

SO

many

worst of

day

neglected duties, so
it is,

USES.

many wrecked

"to-morrow" never comes.

and " yesterday."

The

yesterday

a tear on
said,

There

let it lie.
its

grave,

is

When

recall

once

is

it

nothing more to be done but to shed

and turn

Some

to the to-day.

waste a good deal of time

in grieving

people, be

it

over the time they

In other words, they spend the day in fretting over the

waste.

useless yesterday.

exclaim, " Perdidi diem

! "

in the

fail

that

when

course of a day he would

The lament was

remembered he did not wait

he did not

Emperor Titus

It is said of the

he had done no good deed

it

always "to-

we can never

can never take up and absorb into to-day.

dead,

For the

lives.

It is

until the

natural

morrow

to

to turn the " to-day " to better account

fessing his regret over the yesterday that

but be

make

it,

and

by pro-

had gone out so

We desire to advocate a constant recollection of the

inestimable value of " minutes," but not a vain yearning after
blankly.

those that can never be recovered.

Men become
make

great

and good

use of their time.*

possessor nothing

if

just as they

The most

understand how to

brilliant genius avails its

he do not seize his opportunities

opportunities never occur to the spendthrift.

may be

wastes
success.

the very hours that

Therefore

it

is

that,

volume, we seek to enforce on

at

and

The hours he

would have insured

his

the outset of the present

its

readers

the necessity of

economising time, of turning every minute to the best advantage.

That seems

* In his

to us the very

first

lesson to be learned

by

hours the American merchant, Gideon Lee, specially enjoined

upon his sons, speaking to them with all the authority of experience, to "fill
up the measure of time." " Be always employed profitably," he said, "in
doing good, in building up aim to promote the good of yourselves and of
No one can do much good without doing some harm, but you
society.
Be industrious, and be honest."
will do less harm by striving to do good.
last

TIME AND ITS USES.

a young

man who

God and

his neighbor.

talents or his

means

Italian, that "

many

its

Let him not trouble himself about his

he can

Time

to understand

Mann who

honestly desires to do his duty towards his

his estate,"

is

with the celebrated

at least say,

We

think

young men

suggests that most

(and,

we

Horace
fear, too

somewhere

" Lost, yesterday,

is

it

some such melan-

of riper years) might daily put forth

choly notice as the following

must be

his first care

and

proper cultivation.

between sunrise and sunset, two golden hours, each one worth
sixty

No

diamond minutes.

reward

gone forever."

Gone forever !

of the moralist.

Bitter jest

there be than that too

lost (in other

of the day,

words

Kamak

the sting

words, wasted) a " golden hour'" at the beginning

and

for the rest of the twenty-four

it ?

Why,

empire of the Pharaohs,

It

lies

is

it

like the

would be

easier

than to recover

it.

wisdom

not done

is

fruitlessly

of the Chal-

summer

.sun-

to rebuild the temple-palaces of

And hence

it

happens that people

are incessantly complaining of want of time.

how much good

is

gone irrevocably

deans, like the old man's youth, like last year's

shine.

for they are

offered,

What more deplorable sight can

common one of the unfortunate who has

endeavoring to overtake
like the

is

in these

It is

astonishing

idly attributed to this cause.

We

know persons who, according to their own account, would surpass John

would

Howard

visit

widow and
time.

in

philanthrophy

they had but the time

if

the sick, and relieve the poor, and comfort

the fatherless in their affliction,

if

the

they had but the

There are others who would become modern Maglia-

becchis by virtue of their erudition

would carve out

* As Lord Chesterfield said of the Duke ot Newcastle, " His Grace

an hour in the morning, and is looking for it all the rest of the day."

for
loses

METHOD MAKES

TIME.

themselves a way to fame or fortune, would benefit the world

by

their discoveries in science or art,

they had but the time.

if

Listen to their complaints, and you would believe that every

moment

charged with some imperative duty or necessary

is

occupation

that

want of

is

it

and not

time,

its

misuse, that

throws them so hopelessly out of the world's race.

The
xuns, "
It

truth

that

is,

would be wiser

thing in

Method makes Time.

The

old adage

place for everything, and everything in

its

time."

If

its

their

papers, no

good

result

careful apportionment of the hours

step towards a successful

place."

time for everything, and every-

we mix and muddle our hours

men mix and muddle

anticipated.

to say, "

employment of them.

is

as

some

can be
the

We

first

do not

ask the reader to enthral himself in an intolerable bondage.

Time must be

his servant,

and not he the

he should be guided by certain fixed

slave of time.

rules,

But

and allow of no

man will be found

another man accomplishes

causeless deviation from them. (^One

accomplish
a week,

much

to

in a

day

as

much

as

jinquiry will show that the difference

greater

power

intellect, or

of

has leisure

its

proper task.

successful

leisure for small talk, for idle pleasures, for trivial;

leisure that he never has

it

will before

regrets.

any time for work

element of expansion in leisure

limited,

He:

only the idler whoi

It is

amusements, for hopes and fears and

and

The

never talks of " leisure," because he never has any.

has for every hour*

in

due not so

greater quickness of

apprehension, as to better application of time.

man

is

to

He

has so

There

Leisure

is

much

such an

that, unless carefully repressed

long absorb a man's whole

the monster that Frankenstein created,

trol of its master.

How

it

life.

Like

soon defies the con-

in this

busy human

life

of


TIME AND ITS

lO

USES.

ours can any serious mind find space for

who has " an hour or

Unhappy

it ?

We may

two'' to spare.

is

he

be sure that he

has never learned the value of time, nor the necessity of econo.

mising

it.

The world owes much to the men who have made the best
of every minute. (Such men have been its leaders of thought,
its great discoverers, its poets, its essayists, its

They have known how

odd half-hours and spare

to utilize those

quarters which ordinary persons treat with so

tion.

They have never

Levying

toil

upon

it.

considera-

little

a minute to

suffered

As Cuvier

doers of good.

pass without

rolled in his carriage

place to place, he read and thought

from

and the sum of that read-

ing and thinking swelled his researches in " Comparative Anat-

While walking to and from the dusty

omy."

office,

where he

occupied a stool of a lawyer's clerk, Henry Kirke White ac1

quired a knowledge of Greek.

Dr.

Mason Good's

poem

;translation of the great metaphysical

composed during

German

memory
elling as

physician in the same

judge on

Homer.

poems were jotted down on

conveyed him from house
poet's admonition
"

way contrived
Sir

to

commit

Matthew Hale, while

to

trav-

Dr. Darwin's curious scientific

little bits

to house.

of paf)er as his carriage

These men acted on the

Think nought a

trifle, though it small appear;

Small sands the mountain, moments make the year.

And

When

was

prepared his thoughtful and well-

circuit,

" Contemplations."

weighed

of Lucretius

journeys to his numerous patients.

his daily

the " Iliad " of

excellent

those

trifles, life."

trifles

are minutes, wise

men pick them up. Hugh

made such good use of

Miller, while laboring as a stone-mason,

his, that

he learned to write a style of remarkable fluency and

'

NE VER BE UNEMPLO YED."

The Chancellor d'Aguesseau

vigor.

tament

Greek Tes-

translated the

an hour which his wife wasted before

in the quarters of

Elihu Burritt, the "learned blacksmith," improved to

dinner.

such good purpose the odds and ends of time that

disposal, as to gain a mastery of eighteen languages

two

to

his

and twenty-

Equally expert in the utilization of unconsidered

dialects.

moments was

the late Charles Kingsley, whose multifarious

knowledge was acquired by

his tact in seizing

on every oppor-

Robertson of Brighton was also a stern economist of

tunity,

time,

fell

and

vigilantly looked after those

most of us throw away without a pang

"spare mihutes " which

of remorse.

Franklin's

hours of study were stolen from the time that should have been
given to meals and sleep

we think

the practice,

and though we do not recommend

better of

it

than of the habit of stealing

the too_ long time for rneal and sleep from the hours that should

^"We

be devoted to work.

Arnaul
ply

"
;

"

is it

are

not time to rest

have we not

now
\
?

"

old," said rierre

old,
Pierre

" Rest

eternity
alty to rest in

all

principle of conduct of

all

the most thay could

They have

great thinkers

knowing that

They have

for eternity.

and

common

short flight."

"never be

triflingly
if

They

for time but

by unheeded.
of

opportunities, but

long-continued walk

"Never be unemployed,"

admirable maxim,

was not

remembered the language

anticipated or

situations.

doers.

as to get out of

suffered nothing to pass

" Do not wait for extraordinary

of

rest

re-

" "^This has been the

have methodised and economised their time, so

it

Nicole to

")was the grave

is

Goethe

make use

better than a

says John Wesley;

employed, never while away time," an

not too sternly enforced

into an oppressive law.

We

add

this caution,

if

not converted

because whole-

some recreation may sometimes be the best way

of

employing

TIME AND ITS USES.

12

"an odd quarter

economy

We

an hour."

of

of time, but

we

are

recommending the

are not unwilling that that

economy

We

should include a rational amount of mental refreshment.

are the enemies of leisure, but

be spent

in exactly the

same way, and

A man

expenditure of brain-power.
ing

may

but not unfrequently he

ing of

it.A

"Every kind

we do not want every hour

same

at exactly the

should be always learn-

learn most

of knowledge,"

it

when

least think-

has been justly said,

'comes into play some time or other; not only

is

to

systematic and methodised, but that which

that

which

fragmentary,

is

even the odds and ends, the merest rag or tag of information.
Single facts, anecdotes, expressions, recur to the mind, and,
the power of association, just in the right place.

we

these are laid in during what

that fund of matter
illustrations

He

study.

is

will

do best

that

in this line

one
is off

may

much

much by
in the

life.

rule as to

highway as

As Cowley puts

engraved on the bark of a young

and enlarge

as the tree

eyes intent

upon the cover

expansive force of

does.

the world his

Smeaton climbs

Watt

sits

tree,

to

by the

they are

it,

which grow
fireside,

of the tea-kettle uplifted

steam, and

impression which guide him

it

ride so

occupations of our childhood are frequently found to

like letters

upon

whose range has been the

study so

the road.'"

color and influence our later

to

of

All

used allusively in similitudes or

A man may

lose all this, just as

The

is

Many

think our idlest days.

collected in diversions from the path of hard

widest and freest.

know nothing

which

by

receives an

impulse and an

in his after pursuits, until

great gift of

with

by the

the steam-engine.

to the roof-ridge of his father's

he gives

The boy

barn to erect

the tiny wind-mill he has modelled, foreshadowing, as

OCCUPATIONS OF CHILDHOOD.
it

were, the boldness of invention which produced the Eddy-

stone lighthouse.

Conington, at the age of

may begin

Bible under his pillow, that he

Two

he wakes.

six, sleeps

to read

it

with his

soon as

as

years later he amuses himself by comparing

different editions of

When

Virgil.

he reaches thirteen he

exhausts his pocket-money in buying a copy of Sotheby's

Homer.
sial

The

whom

disputes with his nurse,

away by a
mother

Mozley displays the " controver-

late Professor

the nursery," and as the advocate of free-will,

in

spirit

he considers to have been led

At

sophistical curate.

have gone into Lucretius, a book

" I

opinions and deistical notions.

deistical

poet

many

but as

been refuted, you need be

my

thirteen he writes to his

head, especially as

meadows, gathering

no fear

in

class,

of

my

and

flowers.

little

society,

which he

when

calls the "

None

" Faery

He

them

the

into

be absurd."

to

into the lone

is

laying the

at school,

founds a

mus-

a gold ring, inscribed

Cowley in

enchanted pages of the

Queen," and derives the inspiration which makes him

in after years a poet.

panion drawing
leads

getting

of us liveth to himself."

his mother's parlor pores over

the

have long ago

Count Zinzendorf,

boy

is

odd

of

called

Order of the grain of

tard seed," and of which the badge

with* the words, "

full

is

and wanders

foundation of a great system of botany.

the founder of the Moravians,

he

them seem

of

their plants

short,

his opinions

of

many

Tournefort leaves his college

In

Opie, the Cornish

a butterfly,

him onward

artist,

watches' a com-

and thence receives the bias which

to a distinguished reputation.

In the parlor

wiijdow of the old mossy vicarage where Coleridge spent his

dreamy childhood

lay a

well-thumbed copy of that volume of

Oriental fancy, the " Arabian Nights."

And he

has told

us

TIME AND ITS

14

USES.

with what mingled desire and apprehension he was wont to

look at the precious book, until the morning sunshine had

touched and illuminated

carry

it

off in

it,

when, seizing

hastily,

it

he would

triumph to some leafy nook in the vicarage gar-

den, and plunge

enchantments.

delightedly into

It is

maze

its

of

recorded of Dr. Johnson

marvels and

that in his boy-

hood, believing that his brother had hidden some apples beneath

cobwebs

of an

shop, he clambered thither to

effect

among

a large folio which reposed

upper shelf

in his father's

a capture.

The

which proved
tion,

and

its

to

apples were not forthcoming, but the folio,

be the works of Petrarch, attracted his atten-

perusal

That the child

is

awoke

in him' his

father of the

He

occupations of Macaulay.
his

the dust and

mother wrote of him

"

dormant

literary tastes.

man was shown by

the early

was only eight years old when

He

gets

on wonderfully

in all

branches of his education, and the extent of his reading, and

of the
ing.

knowledge he has derived from

I will

To

give

you some idea of the

mention a few circumstances.

into his

head

it,

to write a

compendium

are truly astonishactivity of his

He

mind

took

it

of universal history about

a year ago, and he really contrived to give a tolerably con-

nected view of the leading events from the creation

present time, filling about a quire of paper.

He

told

to' the

me one

day that he had been writing a paper, which Henry Daly (a

friend of his father's) was to translate into Malabar, to per-

suade the people of Travancore to embrace the Christian

ligion.

On

reading

it,

found

it

to contain a very clear idea

of the leading facts and doctrines of that religion, with

strong arguments

for

its

adoption.

re-

He was

some

so fired with read-

ing Scott's 'Lay' and 'Marmion,' the former of which he got

SIR
entirely,

and the

latter

WILLIAM

JON'ES.

almost entirely, by heart, merely from

his delight in reading them, that he determined

poem

on writing a

which he called the 'Battle of Cheviot.'

in six cantos,

After he had finished about three of the cantos of about 120

which he did

lines each,
I

it.

make no doubt he would have

he was proceeding with

poem

heroic

among

'

finished his design, but, as

him

of writing an

Olaus the Great, or the Conquest of

manner

after the

in prophetic

he became tired of

the thought struck

it,

be called

to

Mona,' in which,

duce

in a couple of days,

song, the

of Virgil, he might intro-

future fortunes of

who aided

others, those of the hero

the family

in the fall of the

tyrant of Mysore, after having long suffered from his tyranny

and of another

of his race

who had

deliverance of the wretched Africans.

He

has composed

Macaulay

No man

exerted himself for the

He

has just begun

it.

know not how many hymns."

Such was

and such he was

manhood-

in his childhood,

in his

ever economised his time more wisely, or

more

dili-

gently sought every opportunity of adding to his accumulation

of knowledge.

In nearly every book on

this subject that

has

come under

our notice, the example of Sir William Jones, the famous Oriental scholar, has been

application
pages.

To

is

adduced

and

trite as

it is, its

such that we are disposed to revive

it

force of
in these

such good purpose did he use his minutes, so few

did he waste, that before he was twenty years of age he had

acquired a complete acquaintance with Greek and Latin,

ian,

Spanish and Portuguese, and had also

progress in Arabic and Persian.

made

Ital-

considerable

His successful economy of

time and his ceaseless pursuit of knowledge eventually ele-

vated him to a seat

in the

Supreme Court

of Indian judicature.

TIME AND ITS USES.

l6

His biographers have remarked with

hour the work appropriate

allotted to each

he was

in his

James

of

I's

for

days as follows

Sir

he

carefully

liow precise
great lawyer

Edward Coke, had portioned out

his

" Six hours in sleep, in law's grave study six,

Four spent in prayer, the rest on Nature

William adopted a distribution

commended

it,

The

methodical division of labor.

reign, Sir

how

interest

fix."

much more

earnestly to be

" Seven hours to law, to soothing slumbers seven,

Ten to the world allot, and all to Heaven.

The

reader will not be displeased with the wise and discrimin-

ating remarks which the career of the distinguished Orientalist

suggested to Lord Jeffrey

"From

the very

commencement," he

have taxed himself very highly

says,

and having

"he appears

to

youth

set

in early

before his eyes the standard of a noble and accomplished character- in

have

every department of excellence, he seems never to

lost sight of this object of emulation,

and never

to

remitted his exertions to elevate and conform himself, to

every particular.

from

affluence,

Though born

in a condition very

have
it

in

gemote

he soon determined to give himself the educa-

tion of a finished gentleman,

and not only

to cultivate all the

elegance and refinement implied in that appellation, but to

carry into the practice of an honorable profession

all

the lights

and ornaments of philosophy and learning, and, extending

his

ambition beyond the attainment of mere literary or professional

eminence, to qualify himself for the management of public
affairs,

and

ism, virtue

to look forward to the higher rewards of patriot-

and

political skill.

MONE Y."

" TIME IS
"

1/

The perseverance and exemplary industry,"

Jeffrey,

continues Lord

" with which he labored to carry out his magnificent

plan,

and the distinguished success attending the accomplish-

ment

of all that part of

mitted him

it

which the shortness of his

may be

inclined

reward.

The more we

by equal diligence

the

who have bequeathed

more shall we be persuaded

manent excellence can ever be

labor,

per-

all

who

and preparation, and

an

deserve

to

indeed,

learn,

those

of

life

to execute, afford an instructive lesson to

the

of

name

a great

'

equal

early history
to posterity,

no substantial or per-

that

attained without

much

pains,

fthat extraordinary talents are less

necessary to the most brilliant success than perseverance and

application."

"

Time

it

But

money," says the proverb.

is

know were

of the

same opinion, how careful they would be of

also happiness,

it is

some people we

If

and peace of mind, and the

ment of the Divine commission intrusted to us

good upon

in truth, the chief

make

it

so.

make

it

For, be

in the

eternal

in the

in the

condemnation
neighbor

naught.

is

Ah,

what

it

might

hour-glass

our

if all

He

be,

we do but know how

is

To you

much

as anxious to throw
it

know what

would be our

to

it

your

away

as

to the greatest advanit is,

what

signifies,

it

every grain in the

activity,

how

solicitous

labor, how profound our consciousness of duty

we should

to

we

hands of

in the

it is

how we should watch over

great

exactly what

is

foolish, a preparation for the

to cultivate

of us did but

How

It is,

hands of the wise, a preparation for

everlasting.

you (we hope) are anxious

tage.

if

wise, a blessing

hands of the

that

it is

earth,

remembered, time

hands of the

the foolish, a curse

life

it

fulfil-

at birth.

aspire to avail ourselves of each passing

How

moment

"

TIME AND ITS USES.

l8

How

keen would be our regret

if

conscience could speak to us

of days wasted and opportunities neglected

In commenting on the importance of

it

would be easy

for the benefit

career.

to lay

down

of the

a few practical and familiar rules

young adventurer

As, for instance

regard to time,

thrift in

in life's

chequered

One thing at a time.*

/TDo at once what ought to be done at once.
/ Never put off till to-monow what ought to be done to-day.
Never leave to another that which you can do yourself.
j
More haste, worse speed.
\
Stay a little that we may make an end the sooner.

But more

is

to

be learned from example than precept

the lives of great men, or of

men good and

great, will

and

prove of

higher and more lasting value to the student than the most precious fragments of proverbial philosophy.

Show me a man

who has attained to eminence or excellence, and you show me

a man who has economised his time. Show me a man who has
benefited the world by his wisdom, or
patriotism, or his neighborhood

by

his

country by his

his philanthropy,

and you

show me a man who has made the best of every minute.

business, the

men who have

have known the importance of method, the

appreciated the potentiality of time.

New

Orleans shipowner,

and regular

as a clock,

In

men who
men who have

attained success are the

Of Tours, the wealthy

said that " he was as methodical

it is

and that

his neighbours

were

in the

habit of judging of the time of day by his movements."

Of

William Gray, the Boston merchant, who owned at one time

upwards of
*So
to

sixty large ships,

we read

that for

the Rev. Robert Cecil said, " The. shortest

at once.

do only one thing

way

upwards of
to

fifty

do many things

is

REAL WORKERS.
years

he arose

at

19

dawn, and was ready for the work of the day

before others had roused from their slumbers.

These

are the

men who make prize of the world and all it has to give these
are the men who have coined minutes into' hours and hours into days.
These are the men who are always doing much in
order that they may be able to do a little more
;

CHAPTER
AIMS IN

II.

LIFE,

" Be what nature intended you for, and you will succeed be anything
else, and you will be ten thousand times worse than nothing,"
Sydney
;

Smith.
"
suit

The crowning fortune of a man is to be born with a bias to some purwhich finds him in employment and happiness." R. IV. Emerson.

" That

man

to business

is

and

but of the lower part of the world that

" Owen Felthom.

affairs.

is

not brought up

" It IS an uncontroverted truth that no man ever made an ill figure who
understood his own talents, nor good one who mistook them," Dean
Swift.
" I have never known an individual, least of all an individual of genius,
healthy or happy without a profession, i. e., some regular employment,
which does not depend on the will of the moment, and which can be carried
on so far mechanically that an average quantum only of health, spirits, and
S. T. Coleridge.
intellectual exertion are requisite to its faithful discharge. "

CHAPTER

II.

AIMS IN LIFE.

"TTTHAT
VV
shall

shall

man

we make

be?"

is

question

the

him

of

him

ians propose for

"

at

is

a young

that

necessarily proposes to himself,

and

"

What

the question his parents or guard-

that eventful epoch when, taking a

farewell look at the rose-garden of his youth, he prepares to

of the " wide

enter the wilderness

sense from any intended by

the only difficulty

{c'esf le

In

world."

Madame de

a different

Stael, the first step is

premier pas qui

It is

coute).

that can seldom be retraced with safety or advantage.

step that decides the future fate of
it

also decides his success or

course, of those

who

him who

failure.

takes

We

it,

are

a step
It is

and hence

speaking, of

are compelled to adopt some profession

or avocation as a means of livelihood, and not of the gilded

youth who are bred

in the lap of affluence,

necessity has no laws.

dren of fortune,
will fix

upon a

case a mistake

remedied.

On

it is

and for

career,

whom

stern

that even these favored chil-

they take a right view of

if

is

True

life

and sedulously follow

of less importapce,

it

and
;

but in their

and can more

the other hand, for the majority

its duties,

it

easily
is

be

indis-

pensable that they should labor by brain or hand, and, there-

AIMS IN

24
fore,

it is

them

a vital matter for

LIFE.
to choose the species of lator

Horace advises

best adapted to their talents and character.

'an author, in selecting a subject for his. muse, to

,

that

it

does not

attempt to bend the

ders a burden

fit

bow

measure

his

It is

mind and

is

certain.

a good lawyer runs to waste

a good chemist.

The
if

of

mastery, the

his

his

which

capabilities.

talent that will

make a

diverted into an attempt to

" born musician " will

a sorry dealer in stocks and shares.

spirit

to

tranquility of heart, that the calling

Otherwise his defeat

make him

his shoul-

not less essential to the

he chooses should be within the range of

man

on

of Ulysses, or to carry

only for an Ajax.

be careful

that he does not

young adventurer, and, we may add,

success of the

health of

beyond

lie

The high

make but

courage, the

genius for combinations, that would

secure success in the career of arms, can be turned to small

account behind a banker's counter.

try,

if

wisely directed

recompense

Patient, plodding indus-

and applied,

earn no

will

but will egregiously and painfully

take to do the work of genius.

be an unpardonable
huckster's cart

but

folly to
it is

All

men

unworthy

fail if it

agree that

it

under-

would

yoke the coursers of the sun to a

not less absurd or criminal to enter a

laborious roadster in a race against the victor of the Isthmian

Games.
capped "

A wise

if

father will take care that his son

not " handi-

is

we may borrow the phraseology of Newmarket

heavily in the struggle that

lies

before him.

To

too

avoid failure,

we must undertake nothing to which we are notoriously unequal, to which we feel ourselves to be unequal
though, of
;

course,

we must not mistake

the natural timidity of youth for

actual incapacity.

To do

that

which you know you can do, and which your

"

UP TO OUR MEANS.
heart

wishes

you

do, that

to

Walter Raleigh wrote

the secret of success.

but that

I climb,

I fear to fall

"
;

Queen's prompt and unanswerable retort

elicited his

Sii

"Fain would

and

is

25

"If thy heart

fail thee,

do not climb at

all."

In determining on your future profession, you must not allow

your judgment

to

be overborne by

You must

irrational fears.

not be deterred from climbing by anything else than a mature

conviction that

be certain

if

you rose beyond a certain height you would

your footing.

to lose

Timidity, however,

usual weakness of young men.

cause

it

Youth

does not see consequences

commoner

character than

limit of our powers

is

is

is

not the

generally bold, be-

and Phaetons are much

Dsedaluses.

To know

a piece of knowledge which

the

we

exact

gain too

frequently only after bitter experience.

Listen to Robert Browning
"

The common problem

yours, mine, every one's,

fair in life,
Provided it could be, but finding first
What may be then find how to make it fair.
Up to our means a very different thing !
Is not to fancy

what were

Hazlitt says that

if

a youth

who shows no

guages dances well, we should abandon

and hand him over

all

aptitude for lan-

thought of making

him a

scholar,

This

an exaggerated way of stating a sound principle.

much

is

precious effort

is

concord

of

sweet

young

ladies

sounds

mechanics have been spoiled by the

to educate

them

dancing-master.

How

constantly wasted in the vain attempt

to convert into musicians

" the

to the

''

who have no feeling for

How many admirable

efforts of

ambitious parents

into physicians, or clergymen, or lawyers

26

AIMS IN

LIFE.

lad whose earliest promise of quickness

box of

tle

given by the instinc-'

is

which he handles the implements of

tive dexterity with

his

lit-

despatched to college, where he makes a

tools, is

sorry figure at his classes, with difficulty drags through an ex-

amination, plods wearily and apathetically until he gets a certi-

and then enters active

ficate or a degree,

failure

upon him

the failure

is

often as great.

whom

uncongenial trade a boy

for a great lawyer

>as

'the

tailor

Isle

^-sights

Sir

after career

his

its

in early life to a

London

Another genius nearly spoiled

painter.

There was once a boy

sea,

whose mind was

romance and adventure.

worthy tradesman

was reported

was

celebrated

proved that the shears could never

the

of

insisted that he should

it

The

is

in

Wight whose whole soul was absorbed with the

.and sounds

dreams af

is

John Hawkwood, who fought so

proper weapon

was Jackson the

of

of

parent apprentices to some

was apprenticed

gallantly at Poitiers,

His

the atabitioQ

the possible Smeaton or Stephenson

leader of free lances.

tailor.

doom

nature has obviously designed

compelled to measure out yards of broadcloth.

have been

with the

When

patients, or a minister without hearers.

less,

life

lawyer without briefs, a doctor without

tailor,

workshop

The

that a

with

His parents, however,

and apprenticed him

in the village of Niton.

in the

off the island.

be a

filled

One

to a

day, however,

squadron of men-of-war

lad threw aside his needle, leaped

from

the shopboard, and mingled with the crowd that had assem-

bled to gaze upon the stately spectacle.

kindled immediately into fresh

rowed

life

off to the admiral's ship, offered

and was accepted.

who broke

the

boom

His old sympathies

he jumped into a boat,

himself as a volunteer,

That boy was afterwards Admiral Hobson,

of Vigo.

CHOICE OF VOCATION.
Has not English

art

had good reason

to

2/

be thankful that Sir

Joshua Reynolds' father did not succeed in conquering his

in-

What

ex-

born love of drawing and making him a physician

quisite portraits

of fair
quisite

women, happy
examples

" things of

And,

we should have

what delightful faces

men what exhow many

and expression

and

children,

coloring

of

lost

illustrious

beauty " and suggestions of refinement and grace

again, should

we not have had occasion for regret

if

Wil-

liam Blake, the most mystical of poet-painters, had buried

his genius

in the hosier's

apprenticed him

shop to which his father

Hogarth's father had so

at

first

little

perception of

the faculties and tasts of his son that he placed

him under a

Had

silversmith.

there
la

not his genius worked out

would have been no

" Rake's Progress,"

Mode," no "Idle Apprentice"

singularly

powerful pictorial

founded a " school " of

The

errors

his

committed

none,'

moralities

in the choice of
if

divides with our

landscape-painting, would have

brother was a

little

career

Marriage a

in fact,

by which

those

of

Hogarth

a vocation are some-

we could

might have been their consequences.

who

"

no

own.

times amusing, or would be so

Lorraine,

own

its

own Turner
made him

how

forget

The

serious

parents of Claude
the supremacy in

a pastry-cook

His

keener of insight, for he took him from the

pastry-cook's into his

own

kind of work there was

of his artistic faculty.

shop, a wood-carver's

at least

more room

his father for

the respectable but inglorious trade of a barber.

however, a design of a coat-of-arms

which

in this

development

for the

Turner was intended" by

and

the

One

day,

boy

had

scratched on a silver salver attracted the attention of a customer

whom

his father

was shaving, and he was so struck by

its

pro-

AIMS IN

28

recommended

mise, that he strongly

with his son's evident bias.

at the

LIFE.

The

lover of art almost shudders

thought of what the world would have

continued a pastrycook, and Turner

of his father's patrons

The
sire of

the latter not to interfere

making him a

had Claude

Benvenuto

father of

lost

shaved the bristling chins

Cellini

flute-player,

was possessed with the de-

but the youth had a better

idea of the bent and quality of his powers, and sedulously culNicolas Poussin might have spent

tivated his love of art.

life

obscurely as a village schoolmaster, had not a country painter,

pleased with his juvenile

abilities

efforts,

sculptor, losing his father

hood, was forced

advised his parents to give his

Sir Francis Chantrey, the distinguished

free scope.

to drive

when he was

still

in his early

boy-

an ass laden with his mother's milk-

cans into the town of Sheffield to supply the customers with

milk.

His mother married a second time, and Chantrey not

agreeing with his step-father, was placed in a grocer's shop in

He

Sheffield.

and the

like

soon grew weary of small dealings in

and having conceived the idea of becoming a

him from

carver, implored his friends to release

to the grocer.

tea, sugar,

his

engagement

This was done, and he was bound apprentice to

a carver and gilder for seven years.

His new master was not

only a carver in wood, but a dealer in prints and models, which

Chantrey

set to

perseverance.

work

in his spare hours to

His success was signal

copy with unfailing

and growing conscious

of his capacity forbetter things, he bought his discharge from

his master,

and made

his

way to London.

ly studying the arts of painting

himself by working as a carver.

room over

a stable,

and

Here, while patient-

and modelling, he supported

His studio in London was a

his first great

achievement was a colos-

NOT TALENT.

LIKING
head of Satan, which,

sal

renown, he pointed out

marked, "was the

worked

at

it

first

in a garret

to

later

in

that

it

way

when he had won

life,

"That head," he

a friend.

came

that I did after I

to

and

me

light

cap

whichever

Flaxman, having seen the head, recommended

turned."

Chantrey for the execution of the busts of four admirals

tended for

William Etty

may

also

life

gingerbread baker and miller at York,

Young Etty had

a boy,

tiality for

drawing

his fanciful designs

His father was a

who

his

died while his son

already evinced a strong par-

walls, floors, tables,

;

was ensured.

be put forward as an example of

the right direction of natural endowments.

still

in-

This commission

Greenwich Naval Asylum.

-the

led to others,! and the sculptor's success in

was

as I

my

stuck that one in

might move along with me, and give

re-

London.

my head

with a paper cap on

could then afford only one candle,

2g

were covered with

all

nimble fingers using

But

chalk, and afterwards a charred stick.

first

lump of

his mother, igno-

rant and unsympathetic, apprenticed the would-be artist to a

printer.

The

quered.

All his scanty leisure was devoted to the practice of

genius within him, however, refused to be con-

drawing: and as soon as a cruel apprenticeship was

he announced

The

on an

his intention of entering

at

an end,

artist's career.

result fully justified his self-confidence, and, instead of a

tolerable printer,
It is necessary,

England gained a great

when dwelling on

reader against a serious delusion.

lih'ng for real talent.

He must

painter.

this subject, to

He must

guard the

not mistake mere

not think, because he

is

fond

of drawing caricatures or sketches, that therefore he can be-

come an
play a

Etty, a Turner, or a Claude

little

on the

violin, therefore

he

that because he
is

can

destined to develop

AIMS IN

30

Books upon " Self-Help " and " The

into another Paganini.

Pursuit of
in

many

LIFE.

Knowledge under

Difficulties," valuable as they are

have sometimes erred by not impressing

respects,

consideration on the minds of their readers.

boy

this

fired with

enthusiasm by the narrative of what genius has accomplished

most formidable obstacles, and enchanted by

in despite of the

glowing pictures of the fame and opulence that have rewarded

its

labors, thinks that

himself,

the

an equally radiant path

open before

lies

and that he may disregard the counsels and neglect

No

wishes of his nearest and dearest friends.

parents and guardians have often

made mistakes

but

doubt

far

more

numerous have been the mistakes of young men whom an imprudent ambition or a greed of gain hag led into paths they

were incompetent to tread successfully. \As a

best to accept and act

avocation

may be

upon the advice

It will

always

it

The
may appear

then be open to us to seize the

opportunity of choosing another career,

we have

it is

of our elders)

uncongenial, and after a while

plainly unsuitable.

without injury.

rule,

if

this

Instances there will always be, similar to those

already set before the reader, of a strong and masterful

talent asserting itself in the face of every discouragement,

seeking and finding

its

natural

and legitimate

us remember with humility that such talent

few,

first

can be done

outlet.

is

and

But

let

given to very

and with gratitude that Heaven estimates our life-work

not by

its

brilliancy but

matters not whether

battle, or only the

by

we be

its

honesty.

If

we do our duty,

it

the leaders in the fore-front, of the

rank and

file.

In fixing upon a pursuit,

let

us therefore be guided by nobler thoughts than those of ambition,

emulation or envy.

saying that the greatest

Let us bethink ourselves of the old

man

is

he who chooses right with the

CLERKS.
most unconquerable resolution

who

temptations within and without

weightiest burdens
fearless

who

God,

is

must

whose

We

unfaltering.

men

lie in

the

in truth, in

faith

cannot

be great

all

of letters, or successful mer-

The dishonor and

chants and wealthy manufacturers.

do not

sorest

bears

patiently

calmest in the storm, and most

is

sculptors, painters, musicians,

failure

withstands the

who

under frown and menace

virtue, in

31

the

the choice of a lowly trade, or even in the

unfortunate selection of the wrong vocation ./they

mighty

lie in

our

no

dis-

not doing the work before us with

all

grace to be a shoemaker

a shame for a shoemaker to

our

It is

make bad

The

but

it is

shoes.

infatuation which induces parents to convert their sons

into "clerks," in

always be their

which capacity a wearisome poverty must

lot

the delusion that sitting on a stool

adding up columns of figures

"pushing"

large

is

business or

and

more honorable work than

carrying on

respectable

trade, or than the higher forms of manual labor, must always

remain inexplicable.
the ordinary
believe in

life

its

We

have met with a very vivid sketch of

of a banker's clerk, and have every reason to

accuracy.

does not represent the position as

It

He

one of epicurean ease or divine independence.

He

says the writer, to a high stool.

is

patience and morals, in a suburban academy.

shoulders the office quill or " Gillott's

copies letters from morning

he

is

be remembered

to

weathers

and

impervious to

at twenty

rain,

pounds per annum.

till

is,

night, receiving

or

is

walks

no

He

He

is

salary

out

in

but
all

required to be, thoroughly

snow and sunshine.

He

At fourteen he

Commercial.''

Christmas.

at

born,

is

taught vulgar fractions,

At

last

he gets forty

five miles to business

and

five

;;

AIMS IN

32

He

miles home.

never

in,

day with a big chain round

He

his breast-pocket.

He

salary.

is

He

out without his umbrella.

stirs

never exceeds twenty minutes

all

LIFE.

He

runs about

'for

his dinner.

his

waist and a gouty bill

book

marries, and asks for an increase of

He

do without him."

told '"the house can

re-

views every day a large array of ledgers, and has to "write up

He

the customers' books before he leaves.

nine o'clock, and

falls

He

He

his fortune

fancies

home

at

asleep over the yesterday's paper, bor-

rowed from the public-house.

year.

reaches

"

is

reaches eighty pounds a

made

but small boots and

shoes and large school-bills stop him on the highroad to inde-

pendence, and bring him no nearer to Leviathan Rothschild.

He
He

tries to get

grows

morning
is

raised

old,

"evening employment," bdt his eyes

fail

his stool

is

amongst

him.

One

and learns that the firm never pensions.

found to be unoccupied, and a subscription

old companions, to pay the expenses of

his

his funeral.

We

have been greatly struck by the truth of some homely

remarks of an American

writer.

that "the three black graces,"

He

is

contesting the fallacy

Law, Physic and Divinity, must

be worshipped by the candidate for honor and respectability

and he observes that

done

''it

has spoiled

injustice to. the sledge

and the shears out of

corn and the potato

and the

their rights,
field."

It is

many
anvil,

a good carpenter,

cheated the goose

and committed fraud on the

a melancholy fact that thou-

sands have died of broken hearts in these professions

might have prospered

at the

that thousands, dispirited

farmer's healthful

who

plough or behind the counter

and hopeless,

and independent

wistfully gaze

calling, or

on the

pluck up cour-

age to try their fortune in the Colonies or the United States in

WISHES AND CAPABILITIES.

33

the very trade they regarded as "not respectable"

ing upon

life

necessities

when

enter-

while no inconsiderable numbers are reduced to

which humiliate them

own

in their

estimation, ren-

dering the most splendid worldly success a miserable compensation for the sense of degradation

which accompanies

it,

and

compelling them to derive from the miseries of their fellow-

men

the livelihood denied to their legitimate exertions.

in society,

we

are constantly meeting with

men who,

Hence,

conscious

of their unfitness for their vocation, and earning their living

by

doomed

to

weakness instead of by

their

" If

hopeless infirmity.

you

represent the various parts in

their strength, are

desire,'' says
life

by holes

Sydney Smith.

'*

to

in a table of differ-

ent shapes, some circular, some triangular, some square, some

and the persons acting these parts by

oblong,

similar shapes,

we

bits of

wood

of

shall generally find that the triangular per-

son has got into the square hole, the oblong into the triangular,
while the square person has squeezed himself into the round
hole."
Is
ties

Few

it

true that " our wishes are presentiments of our capabili-

"

To

our thinking, the

of us set

dreams which

any
all

maxim

rigid limit to

dangerously delusive.

is

our wishes.

In those day-

but the sober and self-contented permit

of our

which,
we
daily

desires,

and frequently they aim both

themselves

let

life

us own, assist us in bearing the burden

are fond of

giving full range to our

far

and

high.

That a

burning wish to become a great musician or a great painter

a proof of the possession of superior artistic genius
admit.

Young men

fresh from the study of

Tennyson

animated by a longing to gain the laureate wreath

sadly their capabilities

fall

is

we cannot

but

are

how

short of their ideal, still-born vol-

AIMS IN

34

umes
in

of unread

LIFE.

On

rhymes proclaim.

the other hand, success

any particular pursuit depends undoubtedly

degree upon the

spirit in

expect to succeed

if

which

his heart

it

is

be not

in his

unquestionably, that Mozart yearned to

cian,

and that but for

But

Figaro."

di

" capacity " necessarily

ripen into action,

ceed,

if

durance

great musi-

this

Don Giovanni

" or "

Le

by no means implies that the

accompanies the

''

wish."f If the wish

inspire a resolute determination to suc-

it

if

work.

become a

man can

It is true,

yearning and his passionate love o

this

music, he would never have written "

Nozze

no small

in

>No

embraced.

encourage perseverance and energy and calm en-

it

then,

indeed,

it

may work

out

its

own

fulfilment

at midnight in a remote
was a true foreshadowing of Handel the composer of " The

.Handel practising on his clavichord

.attic

Messiah " not because he wished

ibut because
uof the art

tcate

to

become a

great musician,

he gave himself up heart and soul to the study

So with the boy Bach, who copied

he loved.

intri-

pieces of music by moonlight because he was denied a

candle.

Here was the

resolution as well as the desire,

and the

fpatient labor as well as the natural genius.

Whatever our aims

in

life, let

us take care, at

they are not unworthy of honest men.

ourselves a low mark.
strive simply that

intent that

us set before

For instance, do not

let

us live and

we may

" get

on in the world," but to the

to the best account the talents with

us, that

Christians, each within

we may do our duty

his proper sphere.

desire to discourage an honorable ambition

;

but we pity those

overmaster them.

events, that

let

we may turn

seeks to rise

all

not

which God has endowed

and

Do

To work

who

for social

We

as

men

do not

every healthy soul

suffer that ambition to

advancement

is

nothing

"

THE ENDS WE WORK FOR.

wrong.
is

A man may

means

to

an end

work

profitably

money, since money

but wealth and social position are, after

the poorest imaginable ideals,

all,

for

35

and

will

aspirations of any generous nature.

hardly excite the

contemporary essayist

has some judicious observations on true ends of

objects for which

men should

fitting that

it is

live

life

and

on the

toil

on

the definite purpose that should inspire their studious youth

and animate the

consume our

efforts of their

Why

and thought the bright hours of

toil

life's

These are the questions we should put

We

repeat that

it

is

To what

have no sympathy with the

and sublime

ennobles

us,

sweet spring

to
?

our hearts in the

?

What

goal are our steps directed

man who

.'

control."

and not "the

It

disregards the higher

" Soul-strengthening
is

prize."

life.

appreciate the sublimity

fails to

patience, resolution, self-denial

tience

do we devote

a respectable position " in

"'

excellences of knowledge, and

of

do we

a vulgar and degrading ambition which

endeavors simply to secure

We

to

Why

For what end do we work

privacy of the closet.

motive stimulates us ?

"

maturer years.

nights and days in study

pa-

"the struggle" which

He who

" the prize " will probably fail in " the struggle

thinks only of
;

" for, wanting

the inspiration of a lofty and exalting impulse, his heart

may

well faint before the obstacles which Fortune accumulates in

Our admiration should and must be reand when we recognize that such

the aspirant's path.

served

for the heroic effort

an effort has been or

failure or success,

is

being made, we should not wait for

but bestow our hearty sympathy on the

courageous and honest worker.

It

has been said that "

young man's career

and

trifles

this

light as air "

may be

often decide a

true in the sense that a


36

AIAfS IN' LIFE.

spark
der.

may destroy a town if it alight upon a train of gunpowWhere the will and the sympathy, and the capacity

already exist, a very slight impetus will be sufficient to guide

them

But unless the career be

into the proper channel.

harmony with

the natural aptitude,

perous nor tranquil.

Dryden

tells

"What

will

it

prove neither pros-

us that

the child admired,

the man acquired

The youth endeavored, and

"
;

and the poet's saying embodies a true philosophy.

that

is

to

in

The

labor

must spring from an

ripen into a golden harvest

innate sense and be carried out by a spontaneous

"

will.

We

are not surprised," remarks a popular writer, " to hear from a

schoolfellow of the Chancellor Somers that he was a weakly

boy,

who always had

away

book

Hammond

biographer that
stealing

in his

companions

at the play of his

hand, and never looked up

to learn

from

his affectionate

Eton sought opportunities of

at

to say his prayers

to

read that Tournefort for-

sook his college class that he might search for plants in the
neighboring

fields

or that Smeaton, in petticoats,

was

dis-

covered on the top of his father's barn in the act of fixing the
.rtiodel of
'traits

a windmill which he had constructed.

of character are such as

vated lawyer

who

in the engineer

of these cases

life

was one varied

who enriched

who

we

built the

science

mined by accidental and external

became

in

devout praise

his discoveries

Eddystone lighthouse."

see that the calling,

which would have been the

upon Milton

strain of

by

early

to find in the culti-

tiirned the eyes of his age

the Christian whose

in the naturalist

we expect

These

and

In each

however seemingly detercauses,

was exactly that

result of deliberate choice.

a great seaman, not because

Nelson

when a boy he played

"

'^

CHILDHOOD SHOWS THE MAN."

37

with a miniature ship upon a village pond, but because he had

a natural disposition towards "a

his

boyhood Burns eagerly drank

on the ocean wave."

In

in the stories of witches

and

life

hobgoblins with which the old cronies of his father's fireside

But these did not make him a poet

regaled him.

they sim-

ply fed and fostered the poetic faculty which slumbered in his

George Law, the farmer's boy, chanced upon an old

breast.

volume containing the history of a farmer's son who went out

into the world

seek his fortune, and " after long years

to

But it was not this narrahome

tive which made Law a great steamship owner and merchant
prince, however it may have operated as an incentive to his
laden with wealth.

returned

exertions.

was the

\ It

firm,

manly

bined with the energy of a quick and lucid

In choosing a pursuit in

should consult what

that

we should

that

we

also

call

liable to

should be influenced

circumstances

is

intellect.

we

necessary, tKen, that

our " natural instinct," and

endeavor to ascertain the exact

But we are

our powers.

life, it

we may

com-

strain of his character,

be influenced

by

and

limit of
it is

well

certain external causes or

such as our home-training and the example of

These so mould and fashion the character that

our friends.

they cannot be otherwise than important factors in our calcuSornetimes they will educe or foster the natural in-

lations.

stinct

sometimes, perhaps, they will overrule and depress

However

this

may

be, their

power cannot be denied.

"

it.

The

childhood shows the man," says Milton, " as morning shows

the

And

day."

therefore

it

is

of

vital

importance that in

childhood we should be surrounded by everything

assist

in

elevating, purifying, strengthening

will cherish

that

everything

can
that

our good impulses and master our inclinations to

AIMS IN

38

evil everything that

LIFE.

and honest,

will cultivate all that is true

simple and generous in our nature.

The most

potent influence which humanity acknowledges

is

and the most potent influence in childhood

is

women,

that of

the mother's.

We

make

lessons

The

us.

learn from their dear lips are the les-

we

Therefore might George

sons which abide by us to the grave.

Herbert justly

dred schoolmasters."

We

Cromwell,

a Monica,

one good mother was worth a hun-

" that

say,

Walter Scott, how

what our mothers

are, to a great extent,

cannot have a

St.

Augustine without

George Washington, Napoleon,

Pitt,

did they not owe to their mothers

much

each case the maternal impression was

''

grew out of seed sown by the mother's hand.

been an

man,

"

if it

memory
little

hand

Father

had not been

of the time

who

art in

demands

cient to

'

"

to

its

whose

my
Our

as

ready for
;

of spirit

who, with the

to five daughters suffi-

honorable but more

was honesty, and

single pride

who preserved

extremest adverse turn

marry them into families

whose passion was love

'

of the glorious

assistance failed her

own hands, gave dowries

to take

knees to say,

her mildness and patience

wealthy than their own

states-

Mr. Foster describes the mother

when other

of fortune in

and energy equal

labor of her

my

"a woman possessed

of Oliver Cromwell as

the

should have

when my departed mother used

heaven

faculty of self-help

one

for

fruit

and that was the

recollection,

and cause me on

in hers,

John Randolph, the American

atheist," writes

In

The

all in all.

in the

gorgeous palace

at Whitehall the simple tastes that distinguished her in the old

brewery

at

Huntingdon

and whose only

splendor, was for the safety of her

eminence."

What wonder

care, amidst all her

own son

in his dangeirous

that the son of such a

mother be-

MOTHERS' INFLUENCE.
came

worthy

a great English

39

A life nurtured under such high

influences could hardly be other than heroic.

It

was

to the fostering care

that

Ary

Scheffer, the

Who

his intellect.

and wise guidance of

German

owed

artist,

mother

his

the development of

can forget the lessons of admirable counsel

she addressed to him

when he was pursuing his

studies at Paris

"

Work diligently be, above all, modest and humble and

when you find yourself excelling others, then compare what you
;

have done with Nature

mind, and you

will

itself,

or with the

ideal

'

of

'

your own

be secured, by the contrast which will be

apparent, against the effects of pride and presumption."

The

mother of the great Napoleon was a woman of remarkable energy of mind and force of character.

The

Lord Lytton

late

ascribed his literary successes to the early impulse given to his

by the

talents

From

his

taste of

Canning, the

imagination.

man, inherited

The

cultivated

accomplished mother.

his

mother the poet Burns derived much of

his intellectual qualifications

father's influence

his fervor of

and successful

brilliant wit

must not be wholly

from

set aside

his
;

states-

mother.

and

if

Wil-

liam Pitt was largely indebted to the energy and vigor of his

mother, he also owed not a

his

little

father, the great Earl of

Wilberforces, Sir Robert Peel,

but as the mother

as her love

is

is

The

Romillys,
are

the

all illustra-

and character on the

father's

nearer to the child than the father,

deeper and more unselfish, so

and more enduring.

greater

example and lessons of

Matthew Arnold,

tions of the inheritance of ability

side

to the

Chatham.

man's career

is

her influence

in life

is

more

frequently fixed by the mother's impulse than by the father's

and

it is

subtler

to be observed that the mother generally shows a

sympathy with the " natural

much

instinct " of her children,

AIMS IN

4
more

correctly estimates

LIFE.
capabilities

their

This truth was keenly

their tastes, than the father.

" I lost

eloquently expressed by Michelet.

years ago,

when

life.

my

caused her pain, and now

her grave
feel

And

deeply that

ideas

my

lie

" nevertheless,

through each stage

poverty, and was not per-

When young

cannot console her.

frequent-

know not

was then too poor to buy earth for

owe her a

yet I

am

and

thirty

the son of

large debt of gratitude.

Every

woman.

my

instant, in

my features and gestures, I

It is my mother's blood which

and language, not to speak of

my

find again

gives

in

brighter fortune.

even where her bones

me

she follows

felt

my mother

a child," he writes

me

She suffered with

mitted to share
ly

still

my memory,

ever living in
of

was

and understands

me

mother

in myself.

the sympathy

remembrance of
like spirit that

made me a
inheritance

cherish for ages past, and the tender

who

are

Benjamin West

painter
I

those

all

"
;

now no more."

said, "

me

in a

mother

The only

my father was the very scanty

one of an unattractive face and person,

world has ever attributed to

was

my

Irish orator, "

and Curran, the

could boast of from

from

kiss

It

like his

own

and

if

the

something more valuable than

face or person, or than earthly wealth,

it

was that another and a

dearer parent gave her child a portion from the treasure of her

mind."

So, too, Fowell

Buxton wrote

stantly feel, especially in action

effects of principles early

was never loth

before him by

to

his

to his

mother

and exertion for

implanted by you in

" I con-

others, the

my mind." Pope

acknowledge the beauty of the example

mother.

It

was Goethe's mother who

set
dis-

cerned and encouraged his literary tastes when his father was

bent on his following the law.

In the case of Macaulay, the

paternal and maternal influences seem to have been happily

COMPANIONSHIP.

" Nothing," says his biographer, " could be

combined.

judicious than

treatment that Mr.

the

adopted towards their boy, distinguished even

by

in his

childhood

They never handed

mental powers.

his extraordinary

more

and Mrs. Macaulay

his

productions about, or encouraged him to parade his powers of

conversation or memory.

which might
as

much

They abstained from any word

him a perception

foster in

or act

genius, with

care as a wise millionaire expends on keeping his son

ignorant of the fact that he

comrades. * *
in his

own

of his

One

is

destined to be richer than his

effect of this early discipline

freedom from vanity and susceptibility

showed

those

itself

qualities

which, coupled together in our modern psychological dialect

under the head of

self-consciousness,' are supposed to be the

'

besetting defects of the literary character.''

complished lawyer. Lord Langdale, in

Finally, the ac-

his consciousness of the

"

value of his mother's teaching, exclaimed,

put into one

scale,

and

my

mother into the

Were

the world

other, the

world

would kick the beam."

Our aims

in

life,

though they may be largely controlled by

the influences of home, will also be not a

Show

influences of companionship.

you show us the man himself.*

of the chivalrous

Sydney

swayed by the

need no other character

Lord Brooke than the epitaph he caused

be inscribed upon his tomb

Philip

We

little

us a man's friends, and

" for

" Here

the

lies

we know what manner

Sydney's friend would necessarily be.

of

friend of

man

Sir Philip

In the well-known song

how

of the Persian poet Sadi, the poet asks a clod of clay

has

come

to smell so fragrantly.

myself," replies the clay, "but

* Sainte Beuve says,

"Vis moi qui

"

to
Sir

The

sweetness

have been lying

in

is

it

not in

contact

tu admires, et je dirai qui tu es."

AIMS IN

42

LIFE.

with the rose."/ Those higher qualities in which our character

may

naturally be deficient

we must

by cultivating worthy friendships

fitted to

form a

loftier

the;

wrote with so

in this

ideal of

studying Byron's works, to note

colored by

and

and purer

learn, therefore, to

how

life.

shall

be

It is curious, in

largely his genius was

influence of his associates.

much sensibility, such

way we

supply

Thus, he never

tenderness, and so generous

a sympathy with nature^as when he was in constant com-

Who

munication with Shelley.

may
lam

shall

determine what Tennyson

not have owed to his friendship with Arthur

The

him

that

friends of

John Sterling were accustomed

none come into contact with

heart without being in

lifted

up

Henry Halto say of

mind and

his noble

some manner ennobled, without being

into a higher region of

aim and object.

It

was the

genius of Sir Joshua Reynolds that kindled the ambition of

Gomez became

Northcote.

Handel a musician by

a painter by watching Murillo

listening to

"If thou wouldst get a friend," says an old

him

first,

and be not hasty

friend for his

thy trouble.

heed
i

own

to

occasion,

writer,

will not

faithful friend

is

worth bearing

a strong defense, and

he that hath found such a one hath found a treasure.

is

is

abide in the day of

Separate thyself from thine enemies, and take

to thy friends.

\ful_friend

"prove

some man

credit him, for

and

Haydn.

in

mind, for your choice of a career in

your successful following of

it,

will

faith-

These cautions are well

the medicine of life."

life,

and

depend, in a greater degree

than you imagine, on the impulse you receive from your friends

an

impulse sufficiently powerful at times to^ounteract the

wise lessons and sacred example of the home.

friends,

and your

life will

be worthy,

Choose worthy

Let your exemplars be

THE IMPORTANCE OF FRIENDS.

such that to follow them will be an honor.

Herbert

Keep good company, and you

And George

number."
of

"

says,

wisdom

"

43

Or, as George
shall

be of the

Herbert's mother spoke similar words

As our bodies take

in

nourishment suitable to

the meat on which

we

in virtue or vice

by the example or conversation of good or

bad company."

home

training, but its defects

he were

Edmund

to put

all

learned from books,

and

all

as insensibly take

Fox was unfortunate

Charles James

his friendship with

if

do our souls

feed, so

He

Burke.

declared publicly that

the political information which he had

of

which he had gained from science,

which any knowledge of the world and

all

in his

were largely remedied through

had

its affairs

tought him, into one scale, and the improvement which he had
derived from Burke's instruction and conversation were placed
in the other,

he should be

the preference.

at a loss to decide to

What would

cus, or

Xenophon without Socrates

tration

from English

his friendship with

to give

Or, to borrow an

illus-

was not Cromwell the better

history,

Hampden ?

remarkable instance of the extent to which a man's

may be shaped and moulded by

friend

is

for

Did not Canning acknowledge

the value of his intimacy with William Pitt

which

Cicero have been without Atti-

life

the teaching or conduct of a

furnished by the biography of Paley, the moralist and

theologian.

When

a student at Christ's College, Cambridge,

he was equally well known for his clumsiness and his cleverness,

and

and

his fellow-students

their butt.

his time

came

at

Possessed of a strong, clear

on unprofitable pleasures and

end of two years

friend

made him

his progress

to his

was very

once their favorite

intellect,

he wasted

pursuits, so that at the

trivial.

One morning

bedside before the idler had risen, and ad-

AIMS IN

44

LIFE.

dressed him in grave and earnest tones

" Paley," he said,

have not been able to sleep for thinking about you.

been thinking what a

and can

pation,
afford

fool

you are

afford to

be

/ have

idle

the

means

''

have

of dissi-

you are poor, and cannot

/ could do nothing, probably, even were I to try

I have lain awake all night
of. doing anything.

it.

you are capable

thinking about your

folly,

warn you.

if

Indeed,

you

and

have now come solemnly to

persist in

your indolence, and go on

This

in this way, I must renounce your society altogether."

emphatic warning had such an

doned
'

carried

his idle

courses, resolved

that he aban-

upon a new plan of

life,

and

was due

to a friend's

candor^

has been remarked by Emerson, the American essayist,

that " the

pictures which

actions of

Pericles,

Hampden,

teach us

fill

the imagination in reading the

Xenophon,

how

Columbus,

needlessly

mean our

the depth of our living, should deck

national splendor, and act

man and

upon

it

Bayard,
life

Sidney,

w, that we,

by

with more than regal or

principles that should interest

nature in the length of our days." (jn other words,

our aims in

and

upon Paley

out with diligence and energy. (^His after career of

it

success, well deserved,

It

effect

life

if

we must choose high examples,

are to be high,

carefully select our friends, in order to ensure that they

shall subject us to

no degrading or unhealthy

example of a good and great man

only warns, but directs
into port.

teaches us

No sermon

is

influences.

like the lighthouse

it

The
not

not only indicates the rock, but guides

can be so eloquent as an heroic

life.

It

how poor and commonplace would be our own

if it

were never elevated by worthy deeds, never illuminated by

generous thoughts.
able to raise

reader

take care that your friends be

you up, not pull you down.

Take

care that they

"IN MEMORIAM."
are able to strengthen

you

to lofty deeds.

ley,

"

is

you

" It

is

and these

others,

which makes

astonishing," says the late Dr.

bad

and so on

circles that

it

no helpful friend

Tennyson,
truth

is

good

like

a stone thrown into a pond,

and these

ones,

bad friend

The

others,

make you

will

till

your-

electric spark of charac-

from link to

link.

"In Memoriam," has sketched with equal

in his

and beauty the extent of the power

for good, of the ele-

Apos-

vating and brightening inspiration, of a worthy friend.

trophising the lamented Arthur
"

Moz-

makes others good or others bad,

to others.

ter shoots all along the chain

Nothing that

makes.'

make wider

the last reaches the shore."

self

good purposes, and encourage

in

how much good goodness

alone, nor anything

45

Henry Hallam, he

Thy converse drew us with delight,

The men of rathe and riper years
The feeble soul, a haunt of fears,
Forgot his weakness in thy

says

sight.

" O'er thee the loyal hearted hung,

The proud was half disarmed of pride,

Nor cared the serpent at thy side

To
"

flicker with his

double tongue,

The stern were mild when thou wert

The flippant put himself to school

by,

And heard thee, and the brazen fool

Was softened, and he knew not why.
" While

I,

thy nearest, sat apart,

And felt thy triumph was as mine

And loved them more that they were
The

thine,

graceful tact, the Christian art.

" Nor mine the sweetness or the skill,

But mine the love that will not tire,
And, bom of love, the vague desire
That spurs an imitative will."
It is

not

difficult to

discover the " path in

follow with the greatest success.

The

life

" which

we can

" natural instinct " re-

46

An/S IN
many

veals itself in

ways, and the tastes of the boy foreshadow

the occupations of the man.

wood and

LIFE.

Ferguson's clock carved out of

supplied with the rudest

mechanism

laboratory in his garret at Penzance

made

machine,

tures in flour

with a

common

bottle

the

Claude Lorraine's pic-

and charcoal on the walls of the baker's shops

Canova's modelling of small images in clay

and

dications, clear

strong, of the future

the sympathy present, but the- talent

And

will.

so

;j

constructed

all

were

in-

man. fNot only was

not only the inclination,

when Charlotte Bronte

invented romances and

Chantrey's carving

of his schoolmaster's head in a bit of pine wood,

but the

boy Davy's

Faraday's tiny electric

in her childhood

plots, the

signs of the

future novelist's great genius might easily have been detected

by an obsei-vant

All honor to the Scotch dominie whose

eye.

sagacity recognized the fact

that

David Wilkie " was much

fonder of drawing than of reading, and could paint

ter than he could write

that

it

possesses "

Yet these

"

Is

it

much

bet-

not a good thing for the world

The Rent Day " and

"

The

Village Fiddlers "?

might never have had had a wrong direction been

it

given in his early years to Wilkie's talents.

It is often, per-

haps generally, the fault of others that the round

man

is

thrust

into the square hole, and in this uncongenial position compelled

weary years.

to fret through the

vidual,
fully
ist

what a misfortune for

wasted

that

if

We

What a burden for the indiwhen lives are thus piti-

society,

have been reminded by an American essay-

Mendelssohn's father had discouraged instead of

wisely fostering that

rare

musical

genius which,

when

its

possessor was only eight years old, detected in a concerto of

Bach's six of those "dread offences against the

music," consecutive

fifths,

grammar of
we should never have had that per-

CHOICE OF A CAREER.

47

feet tone-picture of Shakespeare's exquisite fancy, the

summer

Night's

Dream

"

No

and various

Elijah," nor the noble

nor the grand music of the

strains of the " Lieder

AVorte," nor the delicate interpretation of the

How much

"Antigone."

had Mendelssohn's

"Midohne

Greek dramatist's

poorer would the world have been

intellectual

powers been misdirected into a

wrong channel
American President, John Adams, that

It is related of the

when he was

a boy, his father, a shoemaker, essayed to teach

him the

honored of

craft

were placed

in his hands, with instructions to cut

with a triangular hole in

pattern,

One day some

St. Crispin.

(the

it

" uppers "

them out by a

hole having been

utihzed for suspending the pattern to a nail) which was given

The boy worked assiduously at the unwelcome task

but behold, when he had completed it, it was found that he had
to him.

imitated the pattern with irritating exactness, hole and

than a bad shoemaker

history shows, however, that he

prudent and successful statesman.

It is true that

made a

parents some-

times err on the side of partiality, and over-estimate the

ties of their sons,

prone to

and that youth

weary of

telling us so

as

itself,

this flattering exaggeration.

are never

His

all.

boy would never be other

father sagely concluded that the

It

that

is

we have
true

Liston,

for

abili-

hinted,

is

moralists

who convulsed

audiences by the richness of his drollery, was convinced that

he was bcmi to play "Macbeth

"
;

that David, the artist of

Re-

volutionary France, could never be persuaded that his proper

profession was not the diplomatic.

These delusions must be

accepted as warnings to exercise the greatest discretion in judging of the character, temperament, and faculties of the young

before we seek to determine them in the selection of a career,

48

AIMS IN

And

this discretion is all the

LIFE.

more needful because

that each of us has his suitable groove,

if

it is

he can but find

Lamentable wrecks of goodly barks would be avoided

were properly trimmed

worthy compass.

at the outset,

It is the

certain

and steered with a

it.

they

if

trust-

duty of the parent, the guardian,

the instructor, to study carefully the proclivities of those com-

mitted to their charge, to search for the latent force, and watch

and wait

for the indications of

nature.

The

elder Caxton,

while superintending his son's education, recalls

how he

has

read in a certain Greek writer of the foolish experimentalist

who, to save his bees a laborious

flight to fragrant

Hyraettus,

cut their wings, and then set before them the finest flowers and
fullest of

nectared sweets he could collect.

covered to his cost that the bees

Alas

made no honey

the illustration, Caxton determines that his

he soon

young

dis-

Applying

Pisistratus

be restricted to no narrow sphere limited by parental

shall

anxiety, but allowed to range over fresh

new

for his

own

It is generally

instinct"

is

woods and pastures

materials.

found that

in

men

of great genius the " natural

so strong as to defy all efforts to repress

their early years its spell

is

upon them,

invincible

and

its

In

irresisti-

ble as that of the enchanter in the " Orlando Furioso."

thoughts and dreams are occupied by

it.

Their

influence, which, like

the ghost of Miltiades in the case of the Athenian statesman, or

the spirit of Hamlet's father, will not let

pulse

cannot be

denied.

Shakespeare

thoughts until he composes " Hamlet

onward
its

until

them res#

The

im-

struggles

with

his

"

Beethoven is driven
he creates the " Sinfonia Eroica." Genius chooses
;

channel of expression with no desire for wealth, or fame, or

happiness

but because

it

cannot do otherwise, just as the

"A ROLLING STONE GATHERS NO MOSS."

nightingale sings because

heart

its

is

souls to

it

It

may be

fined "

" cribbed,
for a while

enslaved

by unpropitious circumstances
bonds, and ply

will burst its

when

time comes at last

the valleys, or be

"

it

Aims

way

to find an outlet in the

it

its

bound with

sieves or

it

band

the

for

it.

cabined, and con-

free,

open

it

The

air.

in the

furrow

"

when

and regards not the

city,

cry-

" when, refusing any longer to pour water into

weave ropes out of sand,

that

adapted

but sooner or later

it

designs a "

carves an "Apollo," or writes a " Divina

was

their

!-^Genius

no longer consent " to harrow

laughs at the multitude of the

ing of driver

in life

best

wings in the

will

and give up

art,

with unquestioning surrender.

has only one

The poet and

in its music.

the painter and the musician love their

49

Hogarth and Correggio,

to

name

Madonna,"

Commedia."

How

two masters of very

opposite genius, succeeded in attaining that high standard of

excellence which the world

was

their

father's

inspiration

frown

ture applause

now

Not

recognizes admiringly

a mother's approving smile,

What
nor a

not the help of teachers, nor the world's prema-

but the vivid, tingling dehght with which the

one seized upon a grotesque incident or character, the rapt

soul shining in the eyes of the other as he raised a saint to, or

drew an angel from, the

To

these remarks

skies.

upon the conditions which the young should

bear in mind when debating their "aims in

a couple

of warnings,

First,

selected your profession or

change
first

it.

"

we would

do not be

calling,

rolling stone gathers

life,"

say,

we may add
having once

in a hurry to

no moss.J*^ Because

it is

distasteful, do not hurriedly conclude tha! you are in the

wrong place^that your

not discovgred

its

" genius

" (heaven save the mark

appropriate sphere

!)

has

that you are not rightly

AIMS IN

50
appreciated, but that in
ly rise to

cannot

some other pursuit you would assured-

Be humble and be

fame and fortune.

of us

all

LIFE.

mount Pegasus, and

Our young men seem

best a safer steed.

and

eral unrest of the age,

shift

Sydney Smith, who,

le-Clay, in Yorkshire, felt that he

is

at

to share in the gen-

uneasily from one pursuit to

They would do

another, with the result of succeeding in none.

well to imitate

We

patient.

the modest hackney

as a parish priest at Foston-

was inappropriately

situated,

but cheerfully persevered in his resolve to do justice to his

" I

work.

myself to

am

it,

determined," he

which

said,

" to like

more manly than

is

it,

and reconcile

to feign myself

about

it,

and to send up complains by the post of being thrown away

and being

desolate,

and such

Our second caution

it.

If

it

is

no discredit

of the

work

it

calling,

do not despise

by the honesty and excellence with

duties.

As we have already

hinted,

in being a shoemaker, but there is in

mak-

men

speak

The

ing a bad shoe.

its

like trash."

whatever your

be humble, elevate

which you discharge

there

is,

scorn with which some young

which they have been called springs too often

to

from a wretched vanity.

Their great souls are humiliated by

being required to labor like their neighbors.

But

if

man

can-

not be a Guido, he can at least learn to mix colors thoroughly

and

it is

more praiseworthy

to " engross a

accuracy than to write bad verses. {Ix

dignifies the

nothing

is

man, but the

the world

affectation that

Of nothing

is

is

ence for such

ashamed

to

men

do
as

is

riot

"

with careful

the labor that

dignifies the labor.

jOi

more contemptuous than of the"^illy

the world

which seeks only

man who

deed

of

its

position in society or business.

more tender than

its

duty.

of the honest pride

It reserves its

deepest rever-

George Wilson, who could

say, "

The

'

TJIE

PATH OF DUTY IS THE WA Y TO

word DUTY seems

uppermost in

all

the poet saying,

me

to

my

"The

" He

word

the biggest

serious doings."

that

path of duty

walks

For the

right,

Love

self,

it,

is

It

the

in the

way

learns to

deaden

before his journey closes,

/He shall find stubborn thistle bursting
Into glossy purples, which out-redden
\AU voluptuous garden-roses."

of

world,^d

is

echoes and approves

only thirsting

and

GLORY.r\ 51

to glory "

CHAPTER

III.

A STEADY PURPOSE.
" Be not simply good

be good for something."

Thoreau,

" Rich are the diligent, who can command

Time, nature's stock, and, could his hour-glass fall,
Would, as for seed of stars, stoop for the sand,
And, by incessant labor, gather all."
Sir William Davenant,

"

We

are but farmers of ourselves yet may.

can stock ourselves, and thrive, uplay
Much, much good treasure for the great rent-day."

If

we

Dr. Donne.

"We

should guard against a talent which we cannot hope to practise in

Improve it as we may, we shall always, in the end, when the
perfection.
merit of the matter has become apparent to us, painfully lament the loss of
time and strength devoted to such botchery." Goethe.

"

Do what thou dost as if the earth were heaven,

And that thy last day were the judgment day
When all's done, nothing's done,"
;

Charles Kingsley.

" When I take the humor of a thing once, I

go through." Ben Jonson.,

am

like

your

tailor's

needle,

CHAPTER
A

THE

III.

STEADY PURPOSK.

severest censure that can be passed

that of the poet's

"

is

Everything by turns and nothing

long."

The words

tunities,

wasted powers, wasted

contain

upon a man

a'

sad revelation of wasted opporlife.

They have always seemed

to us to apply, with a painful degree of exactness, to the career

Few men have been more richly endowed

Few men have exhibited a greater plasticity of ingreater affluence of mental resources.
He was a fine

of

Lord Brougham.

by

nature.

tellect,

a clear thinker, a ready writer.

orator,

man who

sways immense audiences

It is

seldom that a

by the power of

eloquence attains also to a high position in the ranks of

ture.

Yet

this

Prougham

jlid

his

litera-

while, as a lawyer, he gained

the most splendid prize of his profession, the Lord Chancellorship of England, and, as a scientific investigator, merited

received the applause of scientific men.

indicate success
cessful.

Not the

All this

and, to a certain extent.

less,

having

nothing long

Brougham was

to

suc-

having been everything by turns and

given up to

which should have been reserved

the whole, a failure.

and

may seem

many
for

Not only did he

pursuits the powers

one or two
fail to

he was, on

make any perma-

(a steady purpose.

S6

mark on

nent

He

fore he died.
jects

his

own

He

fame.

frittered

away

but

his country,

of

the history or literature

he even outlived

was almost forgotten be-

on too many ob-

his genius

while every schoolboy knows, that to secure the greatest

possible

amount

upon a

single focus.

when we think

of solar energy,

of

you must concentrate the rays

Miss Martineau has happily

said,

that

Lord Brougham, the often-quoted apologue

of the Duchess of Orleans respecting her son, the Regent, in-

He

voluntarily occurs to the mind.

but a single malignant

adding the

rendered them

spirit

it

in his

intellectual gift,
all

unavailing by

And

waywardness.

fatal ingredient of

an anecdote which bears with

she relates

a mournful and significant ap-

Lord Brougham, she

plication.

was one on whom,

had lavished every

cradle, beneficent fairies

says,

was

at

his

chateau at

Cannes, when the daguerreotype process, the precursor of photography, was introduced there

and an accomplished neigh-

bor proposed to take a view of the chateau, with a group of

The

guests in the balcony.

perfect immobility.
still

He

explained the necessity of

artist

asked his Lordship and friends to keep

only for " five seconds

promised that he would not

"
;

and

stir.

Lordship vehemently

his

Alas

he moved too soon,

and the consequence was, where Lord Brougham should have

been, a blur
"

There

in this.

by

is

so stands the daguerreotype view to this hour.

something," remarks Miss Martineau, " very typical

In the picture of our century, as taken from the

history, this very

man

but now, owing to his want of steadfastness, there

ever a blur where

Brougham should have been."

concentration of aim, of steadiness of purpose,

are nothing but blurs

life

should have been a central figure

will

be for

For want

how many

of

lives

'

STEADFA S T APPLICA TION.

\"

5J

that the design is wise and just

ascertained, pursue it resolutely.
Do not for one repulse forego the purpose
That you resolved to effect."

See

first

That
I

Not

V^

for

one

"

the law of a well-spent

is

fiddles

Twelve hours a day

Now

Giardini

became a

great violinist

because he practised twelve hours a day, and only on the

His motto was Strafford's

"Thorough

men in earnest.
Thomas Fowell Buxton,

it

for twen-

of us think to play our

by inspiration

and the secret of an

life

Ah me how many

ty years together.''

Keep

repulses.

when asked how long

Said Giardini,

to learn the violin, "

''

that " steadfast application to

Remember

honorable success.

would take

and not for repeated

repiitse, no,

aim

^\
^

true to your object.

a fixed

'

" and we

violin.

know

of

no

better motto for

Sir

in a letter to his daughter, re-

cords some interesting particulars of the

"We

Ham

dined yesterday at

Rothschilds, and very amusing

He was

adventures.

'There was
I dealt in

he

not,"

House," he

said,

'room enough

One

to himself

did us a favor

he sold us goods.

day.

to

said to

show me

my

cheap, and
"

'

am

Somehow

his patterns.

On

the

laid out all

made a good

hope,' said

money and
I

all

came

'
,

in that city.

there,

who

offended him,

This was on Tues-

go to England."

Thursday

my

I started.

got to England, the cheaper goods were.

got to Manchester,

and

he was quite the great man. and

father, " I will

speak nothing but German.

nearer

for us

great trader

had the market

if

"to meet the

says,

told us his life

the third son of the banker at Frankfort.

English goods

and he refused

He

was.

it

Rothschild.

elder

could

The

As soon

as

money, things were so

'

profit

that your children are not too fond of

business, to the exclusion of

sure you would not wish that

more important

things.

A STEADY PURPOSE.

58
"

'

am

J would

sure I

would wish

wish that.

that,' said

'
;

am

sure

wish them to give mind, and soul, and

and body, and everything

Iheart,

Rothschild

to business

that

is

way

the

to

be happy.' 'Stick to one business, young man,' said Rothschild,

addressing

Edward

T. F. Buxton's son)

(Sir

may be

brewery, and you

'

stick to

your

But be

the great brewer of London.

a brewer, and a banker, and a merchant, and a manufacturer,

and you

The

will

"

soon be in the Gazette.'

advice

sound, though given in a sordid

is

It is

spirit.

not possible to insist too strongly upon the necessity of defini-

To

tiveness of aim, steadiness of purpose, unity of object.

cel in

one pursuit

much

persistence

is

surely better than to fail in many.

required

is

which we have chosen

financial authority,

The

story

Street, for

is

told

some

in

in life, as

Mr. Lawson,

following up the

As

vocation

was shown by the eminent

in the first stage of his career.

One

by himself.

ex-

day, on visiting

trivial business, he,

Lombard

acting under a vague but

potent influence, ventured boldly into the ofPce of one of the

largest banking-houses in that celebrated locality.

" I looked

about me," he says, " but nobody appeared to take any notice.
I

saw young men standing behind long counters, weighing gold

and

silver in scales.

tellers

changers.

At

want a clerk

last I

He

'

wanted a clerk

'

at

am

living with

said to one of them,

answered sharply,

I replied,

recently left school, I

I

stood there for some time watching the

and inwardly admiring the magnificence of the money-

my

am

"

Whether the

teller

Nobody

told

who cannot

know

'

Who

desirous of getting

mother,

home, and what to do

'

'

Pray,
told

me

so,

sir,

do you

you that we
but having

some employment.

afford to keep

me

idle

not.'

was struck with the novelty jof the ap-

'

MR. LAWSON.
plication, or the reason I

discover.
I

Suffice

it

adduced

59

making

for

it,

never could

about ten minutes,

to say that, after waiting

was requested to walk into the partner's room.

"

On my

entering this sanctum sanctorum, I perceived three

One was

persons sitting at a table.

a venerable and amiable-

looking old gentlemen, the head of the firm

One

younger.
putting

my

friends for

my

support

if

'

Having

my

boy,

nothing

be

like to

can anyhow get

my

what

I replied

least,

'

at

sort of a

these

hand

thoughtful enough to

he continued
'

A very good

his

one,'

my master used to say and at the

my school copy-boolij, which I had been
put in my pocket, I displayed it before
;

'Ah,' he said, 'that

is

very good writing

any one to be security for you

out the least hesitation,

my

points,
I wrote,

so

same time pulling out

them.

how

and how long have you been from school

him upon

satisfied

queries, asking

'

Yes,

sir.'

'

but can you

and with-

I said at once,

'

This reply was made with-

having at that time the remotest idea what the security

meant, as applied in the sense in which he used

the

and,

do not

very praiseworthy determination,' he said; 'and

old are you,

out

done

living.'

"'A

get

had

teller

gave the same answer, adding,

beholden to

own

question the

the

daunted,

the others were

of the latter, the junior partner, addressed me,

name

of a gentleman, who,

was required.

I also gave

I said,

it.

gave him

would no doubt do what

him the name

of the steward of

Christ's Hospital.
" Inquiries

were made of these gentlemen, which proving

satisfactory, I received

on the following Wednesday a

the gentleman at the banking-house

my

first

entering,

and who on

this

whom

visit

from

had accosted on

occasion said he was very

A STEADY PURPOSE.

6o
happy

be the bearer of the intelligence that

to

had been

appointed to a clerkship in the banking-house of Barclay,

Tritton,

my

of

Bevan

office

&

and that

Co.,

was

to

commence

on the following morning.

Your

added, 'will.be seventy pounds per annum.'

the duties

he

salary,'

This was indeed

a most agreeable and joyful piece of information, and such as

I

had no reason

ance

at

to expect.

I accordingly

made my

appear-

the office on the following morning, which but a

week

before I had entered a wandering stranger."

It

must be admitted that Mr. Lawson by

his directness of

aim, his boldness and his energy, had deserved his

The example, however,

tune.

value

"

deed, you
is

Know
may

for-

one which can hardly be

is

The moral

imitated with success.

good

of the story

your own mind, and adhere to

is

its

chief

Then,

it."

in-

not win a complete victory, for Circumstance'

always a formidable adversary, but you will avoid absolute

defeat.

seizes

In great battles the issue rests with the general

who

most clearly the best point of attack, and directs

his

efforts thither with the greatest tenacity.

"A

man," says Emerson, with equal truth and beauty, "is

like a bit of

in

Labrador

your hand

spar,

which has no

you come

until

to

shows deep and beautiful colors."

That

the prudent soul, which has learned to

anxious to expose to the

light,

lustre as

/it

may be

man

James Watt,

it

Richard Arkwright,

is

it

itself, is

always

asserted as an in-

become

great, that

has succeeded, in proportion as he has

confined his powers to one particular channel. )If

of

it

the angle which

is

know

disputable fact that every great fflan has

every successful

you turn

a particular angle, then

we think

as the inventor of the stettm- engine;

it is

of

as the inventor of the spinning-jenny.

UNIVERSALITY.
Jenner

6l

identified with the introduction ot vaccination

is

Sir

Humphrey Davy's name we associate with the safety-lamp.

Each is known by his own trade-mark. It is true that Leonardo
da Vinci was poet and musician
sonnets

known

are

over a wide area

but his

"

is
The Last
By spreading our powers

" that preserves his fame.

Supper

we

as well as painter

only to the few, and

it

we cannot do otherwise than weaken them

secure breadth, but

we

lose depth.

Universality has been

the ignis fatuus which has deluded to ruin

many

a promising

In attempting to gain a knowledge of half a hundred

mind.

subjects,

it

has mastered none.

smatterer.

versatile

Joshua Reynolds has

Sir

left

man

is

usually a

on record the em-

phatic aphorism that a painter ought to sew up his

mouth

he

cannot both excel in his art and shine as a conversationalist.

Charles Dickens said, " Whatever I have tried to do in
I have tried with

voted myself

ever

to, I

heart to do well.

self,

it

and never

was, I

now

find to have

that he attained

better,

we

poet.

work

served that his

will

not

Never

my

my

work, what-

It is

He

and

in-

truly,

wrote some admirable essays,

of considerable merit.
to fiction,

now argue

The

Take, for

said,

as a novelist, a dramatist, and, in a

faculties

Whether,

if

he

he might not have

it

must be ob-

to a single

department,

but at least

eminence was confined

that of literature.

life,

been golden rules."

Lord Lytton.

had addressed himself wholly

done

my

have de-

are sometimes given of successful ver-

eminence

minor degree, as a
historical

could not throw

are found, on inquiry, to be deceptive.

stance, that of the late

and an

to affect depreciation of

The examples which

satility

What

have devoted myself to completely.

one hand to anything on which

to put

whole

my

all

he cultivated so assidiously

'

A STEADY PURPOSE.

63
were the

literary faculties.

nothing.

To

have succeeded also as a

like

As a

politician

he accomplished

furnish a fair illustration of versatility

scientific inquirer or

an

he should
In

artist.

manner, Michael Angelo was a great sculptor and a great

painter

but sculpture and painting are only two branches of

the

art, 9,nd

same

master of
that he

logic, ethics,

was

It is said of

astronomy and natural philosophy

also profoundly versed in music, geometry,

and could

and

be covered by an active

easily

mains true that

to

and

a philosopher,

men have

intellect
is

but

known only

Still,

we do not deny

distinguished themselves

scope of their attainments.

Bacon seems

field,

re-

it

as

an

to

that a

by the

skill,

vast

have claimed

supremacy over the whole domain of human knowledge.

vator Rosa touched the lute with

and

and the

no other capacities has he

that in

acquired an enduring renown.

few remarkable

Roman

us the great

to

Cicero that he was a

Science in Cicero's days was a very limited

fine arts.

orator

man

powers may enable a

intellectual

excel in both or either.

Sal-

and shot with dexterous

ease the arrowy shafts of satire, while transferring to the canvas

so

much

of the poetry of landscape.

ful imagination

tory, and' of hell,

was steeped

his age, while in the political

conspicuous
the rule

part.

for

like the

j-"The

to the lips in all the learning of

drama

of his time he played a

These exceptions, however, do but prove

how many

proach within the

We

Dante, to whose power-

were open alike the gates of paradise, of purga-

of us are there

circle illuminated

who can pretend

by the higher genius

to ap?

trumpet-note of Fowell Buxton's manly words

longer I live the more

difference between men,

am

certain that the great

between the feeble and the powerful,

tne great and the insigniii^nt,

is

energy

invincible determina-

CONCENTRA TION.
Hon

a purpose once

and then death or victory

fixed,

quality will do anything that can be

no

man

two-legged creature a

of the age

to

nothing

bear upon
is

it."

will

and

make a

(Observe that the

Desultoriness

it^\

is

the vice

thoroughly done, because everybody

We

attempts to do everything.
schools, the curriculum of

of study as

without

worid

in this

That

;]

be fixed, the aim concentrated, and then the

to

is

man brought

whole

done

no circumstances, no opportunities,

talents,

purpose

63

see this evil rampant in our

which includes as many branches

would occupy an average

lifetime in only a cursory

survey, instead of being spread out before astonished children

Greek and Latin, French and German, multifarious " English,"

Ancient and Modern History, Physical Science, Mathematics,

Astronomy, Botany, Drawing,

etc., etc.

The wonder

is,

one poor head can carry such a burden of knowledge

such would be the wonder,

rather,

if

it

" scholar" gets

merest inkling of

all

these languages

and

among

so

many

that, patient,

inquiry

impossible

is

wide a space that

The

beneath.
of our

it

subjects

and the gold

is

leaf

is

extended over so
to hide the wire

The ambition

no longer

is

to dive deeply, but to

true knowledge, a protest

the one great want of the present

ing in aaother form what

01

j,.i

i.n;)ortant truth

/I

and, in the

Concentration of

timeA

we already urged

may

he raised against the

present system of untellectual diffuseness.

is

skim the

Scholarship will soon become a thing

of the past, unless a reaction happily take place

aim

exhaustive

dying out.

widest possible surface.

interest of

His time

sciences.

becomes almost too thin

race of students

young men

Or

no more than the

the

divided

how

were not obvious to

every observer that

is

We

are repeat-

but the repetition

well be forgiven us.

For even our

A STEADY PURPOSE.

64

newspapers foster the growing

such a number and variety of

readers
like

continuous matured thought

mind

litres

it

consumes

The
tion of

its

Anything

themes.

The

rendered impossible.

and exhausts

energies

is

an atmosphere of dissipation which rapidly

in

successful

what

is

their

to

from topic to topic and takes hold of none

flutters

hence

by presenting

evil

man

of business

meant by

its
is

freshness.

always a striking

He,

steadiness of purpose.

events, appreciates the force of the old adage, "

He

trades and master of none."

knows

illustra-

at all

Jack of

all

that his position was

won, and can be maintained, only by " concentration of aim

by the gathering up of

all his

;"

powers into one special channel.

Merchant, or banker, or stockholder, engineer or shipbuilder,

coalmaster or ironfounder, he
the

employment of

is

content with a single

his resources.

William Astor, the American millionaire,

able.

It is said that

if

anything were

left

may

and superabundant energy

crown with success

his trade in furs,

it

here be profit-

undone by

of steady purpose

the compass of mortal shrewdness.

field for

glance at the career of

to

must have

He made

man

this

extend and
lain

beyond

himself thor-

oughly acquainted with the nature of the trade, " interviewing"

the agents, and gaining a

methods and

profits.

comprehensive knowledge of

His enterprising

spirit carried

him

its

into

projects which would have daunted most men.

At

the close of the

War

of Independence,

England

still

held

possession of Oswego, Detroit, Niagara, and other important

posts.

As

these were the entrepots of the western

and north-

ern provinces, the fur trade laijgiiished after their detention and

during their capture.

The

or drafted into the armies

traders
;

had been

either driven

away

the trappers had shared the politi-

ASTO/i'S ENTERPRISE.
cal

65

enthusiasm of the time, and ranged themselves on one side

and the Indians obtained larger quantities of

and " fire-water " in return for their mercenary rifles and

or the other
calico

tomahawks than they could have done had they employed them
against only beavers
tion

and

United

States,

After a protracted negotia-

squirrels.

and vast diplomatic

effort, these

posts were ceded to the

and Canada was opened

Soon

to the fur trade.

afterwards the English settlers withdrew from the west side of

and the great fur trade of the West

St. Clair,

fell chiefly

into

hands of American merchants.

It

free

was clear to the sagacity of Astor that the posts thus made

would soon be frequented by Indians eager

to dispose of

the accumulated produce of several years' hunting,

the time

had come when he might hope

tune by developing his trade.

He

and that

to realize a large for-

set to

work, therefore, to

establish agencies, over

which he exercised a careful personal

supervision, while

fixing his headquarters at

still

His adventure proved entirely successful

he derived large

The
forts

profits

from

New

eligible site

had planted

their block

along the rivers of northern

and north-western parts of the North American mainland

it

seemed certain

that, unless

this

Company.

and

bold measures were adopted, they

would speedily secure a monopoly of the

was for

York.

a few years

this source.

British fur companies, however,

on almost every

and

in

entire fur trade.

It

purpose Astor founded in 1803 the American Fur

The hardy adventurers whom he

enlisted in his

project boldly pushed their outposts far into the hitherto virgin
prairie,

and erected

their

banks of unexplored
white man,

who knew

rude log-huts and palisades on the

rivers.

of

Tribes

who had never

him only by legend and

seen the

tradition, or

A STEADY PURPOSE.

66.

through the wonderful

visitor

from another

round the bivouac -fire by some

tales told

tribe,

now grew acquainted with

him, and

laid at his feet their wealth of beaver, otter, sable,and buffalo skins,
in return for supplies of muskets,

No

started, than Mr. Astor,

still

He

IRocky Mountains to the Ocean.

Government the establishment of a

(Can

the shores of the Pacific and on the

'westidf the

iturous leader, planted at the

first

tthe

post, which,

name

mouth

and proved

Columbia River,

in order

organizing a trade

project found favor

and

of a hardy and adven-

of the river

Columbia the

be the germ of the future

to

a series of operations on a scale

exceeding aught which had previously been attempted by

Washington

The whole

Irving,

is

been

story,

replete with the

The scheme sprang from

it

line of small forts along

command

Then began

.individual enterprise.

,by

extending from the

from the originator of the scheme, received

of Astoria,

State of Oregon.
;far

The

Rocky Mountains.

i&io sixty men, under the

-in

fairly

proposed to the Ameri-

facilities for

deprive the British of their

-..to

Company been

preserving his oneness of aim, cast

eyes towards the region

far-seeing

ihis

powder, and "fire-water,"

sooner had the American Fur

which has been told

most romantic

a bold and capacious

faithfully carried out

by Mr. Astor's

no doubt, have been crowned with success.

managed, and

failed.

it

mind

details.

and had

associates, would,

But

it

was mis-

During the war between English and

the United States a British

armed sloop captured

Astoria,

the British fur traders took possession of the rich field

Mr. Astor had begun to

discourage this

man

cultivate.

of fixed intent.

and

which

Nothing, however, could

He

continued his opera-

tions in other quarters with untiring energy, until he amassed a

princely fortune.

FARADA Y THE CHEMIST.

The

late

Mr. Brassey insisted upon the course we are recom-

mending with
says of

him

as

much

execution of a contract, he was very

work according
"

perience of the workers.

work and the earth-work

to a bricklayer,

His biographer

sincerity as ourselves.

that, in the

careful to apportion the

work

6/

to

He

to the abilities

never liked to

He would

one man.

and the earth-work

acquainted with that branch.

'I

have

the brick-

let

man

to a

often,' says

and ex-

the brick-

let

specially

one of his

employes, 'heard him mention, as a principle of action, Each

one

to his

It

that

was

own

"

speciality.'

wise concentration of purpose on a single object

this

made Faraday

When

a great chemist.

an apprentice in a

bookbinder's shop, he devoted his scanty leisure to the acquisition of

the

knowledge

for

which

his

In the

soul thirsted.

hours after work, he learned the beginnings of his philosophy

from the books given

to

him

helped him materially, the

which he gained
cet's

"

''

to bind.

There were two that

Encyclopedia Britannica," from

and Mrs. Mar-

his first notions of electricity,

Conversations in Chemistry," which afforded him an

introduction to that science of wonders.! In time he obtained

his master's permission to attend a series of
at a

Mr. Tatum's

scientific lectures

and afterwards, through the kindness of a

gentleman who had noticed and admired

remarkable

his

in-

dustry and intelligence, he was present at the last four public

lectures of Sir

Humphrey Davy.

the gallery, just over the clock,

Professor's

explanation

of

"

The eager

student sat in

and took copious notes of the

radiant

matter, chlorine,

simple

inflammables and metals, while he watched the experiments

that were performed.

Afterwards he wrote the lectures

out in a quarto volume that

is

still

preserved

first,

fairly

the theo-

A STEADY PURPOSE.

68
retical portions,

an index."

then the experiments with drawings, and finally

Sending these notes to

Sir

Humphrey Davy,

with

a letter explaining his intense attachment to scientific research,

he was offered the post of assistant

Royal Institution

London.

of

weekly wage of twenty-five

room
but

in

in

shillings

Thenceforward

the house.

the laboratory of the

Gladly he accepted

it,

with

and the advantage

his career

was assured

must be remembered that the renown which gilded

it

was won by Faraday's unwavering pursuit of a

An amusing

Scottish

An

of additional illustration.

competency

may

story

its

of a

it

single end.

here be introduced by way

elderly couple having acquired a

shop in Aberdeen, retired from business,

in a small

leaving their only son as successor in the shop, with a stock

free

John

from every incumbrance.

failed.

Then

Mrs. A. to Mrs. K., "

said

your Johnnie did sae

a few years, however,

After

wonder hoo

same shop you did sae weel

in the

ill

in?"
Mrs. K. replied, " Hoot, womin,

it's

nae wonder at

a'."

" And hoo, then, did happen

"
Mrs. K.
ye hoo
happen'd.
Ye maun ken, when
"

Mrs. A.

it

I'll tll

Tam

an'

me began

we took

better

it

to

an' mornin, and kail

denner

began

our denner

tea tull our

an' afore

doin'

merchandeese, we took parritch nicht

tull

mendit, and sometimes

we were

we

we gae

sae weel.

to merchaiideese,

and, at

do not begin

coft

up,

first,

when

the times grew

Ah, weel

a lam.'s leg for

we sometimes

they aye

a Sunday's

coft a chuckie

Noo, ye maun ken, when Johnnie

he began

at

breakfast.

striving to carry out the purpose

yourself,

the

at the

chuckie."

which you have

wrong end.

be content with the day of

little

Moral
set

In

before

Imitate Faraday,
things.

No
man
of

ONE OBJECT-NOT ONE

amount

small

one idea because we recommend them

It

is

to

be

be men
of one

no man has ever attained

certain that

or reputation, or, what

to

to

men

But we do not desire our readers

of one idea.

aim.

69

been expended upon the

ridicule has

of

IDEA.

is

to affluence

more important, has ever been able

accomplish anything, for the good of himself and his fellows,

he

unless

by some master-purpose.

dominated

been

has

man of one idea, was a man with a single

object
and we know how gloriously he accomplished it,
The same may be said of Cavour, of Leyden, of John Wesley,
Luther,

if

not a

of all the world's great statesmen

There was

and reformers.

much shrewdness in the remark made upon Canning, that he

or, as his early patron, William Pitt,
had too many talents
;

put

it,

that he

on straight
well as
abilities

goal

might have achieved anything had he but gone

to

Yet, wit as he was, and satirist as

the mark.

and

orator

they were

politician
all

the acquisition

goals certainly, but

that

one not

may

for

ay,

and died

lecting everything else

to

were his

Not the grandest of

be attained without a complete

Even

the sake of political

his life

a greater direct-

who

supremacy.

lived

That

and so we see him " neg-

careless of friends, careless of expendi-

with an income of ten thousand a year and no

family, he died hopelessly in debt

from

as

he traced in the career of Pitt,

was the aim, the purpose of

ture, so that,

versatile

of political power.

concentration of energy and genius.

ness of purpose

is,

directed by his ambition towards one

his breast

tearing

up by the roots

a love most deep and tender because

counter to his ambition

totally

indifferent

to

it

ran

posthumous

fame, so that he did not take the pains to transmit to posterity

a single one of his speeches

utterly iiisensible to the claims

A STEADY PURPOSE.

of literature, art and belles-lettres

for the

living

and working

terribly

one sole purpose of wielding the governing power of

the nation."

The
worthy

" one
life

aim
the

"

we take

"one idea" a delusion

not too soon be disabused.

upon the object whicn

talent

secure, implies

be the secret of a useful and

to

of

which the mind can-

concentration of energy and

it is

most important for us

no absolute disregard

every other.

of.

to

^Because

a traveller presses forward resolutely to the desired haven, and

refuses to

wander from the

that he shall have

direct road,

it

by no means follows

no eyes for the blossoms that shine by the

wayside, no ears for the music of the brook that ripples through

An

the bracken.

ennobles
that

is,

life is

indifference to everything that brightens oj

very apt to militate against success

of the highest

success,

and purest kind.^ Because Faraday made

chemistry his great pursuit, he diq not neglect

every other

Because John Stuart Mill gave himself up

branch of science.

economy and metaphysical

chiefly to political

inquiry, he did

not deny himself the sweet pleasures of botany and music.

Gladstone
man./"

is

The

a fine

Homeric scholar

exclusive cultivation

necessarily dwarf

and wither

all

Mr.

as well as practical states-

of

a single

the resf^

"

faculty

Has

would

not every pro-

fession," says an acute writer, "

its

more

warp those that devote them-

or less cripple, mutilate, or

selves to

it

peculiar tendencies,

that

too exclusively, paralyzing this or that mental or

moral faculty, and preventing them from attaining to a complete, healthful,

er,

in

many

living needle

and whole-souled manhood

cases,
?

the laborer a spade that eats

Is not the

but an animated shuttle

weav-

the seamstress a

and

sleeps

Does

not the clergyman too often get a white neck cloth ideal of the

MENTAL
world, with

some

ness, stiffness,

DISSIPATION.

twists of dyspepsia in

and lack of

race

men, women, and ministers

come a mere bundle
Dominie

too often

learning

Is

is

much

his shy-

occasion

divided into three classes,

Does not the lawyer often be-

of precedents, a walking digest of- real-

and decisions

estate rules

and do not

practicality give too

human

for the jest that the

it ?

in

law or chancery

Sampsons, -mere

Are not scholars

bloated encyclopaedias of

not the time rapidly drawing near when, to find

a perfect man, we must take a brain from one, a heart from

another, senses from a third,

Fowell Buxton

and a stomach from a fourth

Sugden, the great lawyer, afterwards Lord

had

asked him the secret of his

answer was

" I resolved,

make everything
to

Many

of

my

week, but
fresh as

To

when beginning

had

my

much

on the day

it

to

The

read law, to

own, and never to go

in a

end of twelve months

He

Leonards.

entirely accomplished the

competitors read as

at the

away from

till

St.

wonderful success.

acquired perfectly

a second thing

which he had with

relates a conversation

my

was acquired, while

day as

first.

read in a

knowledge was as
theirs

had glided

their recollection."

adapt the appropriate remarks of another writer, we

point out that the secret of the failure

is

mental dissipation

may
;

the

expenditure of our moral and intellectual energies on a distracting multipHcity o objects, instead of confining

one leading pursuit. (

To do

a thing perfectly,

it

is

that an exclusiveness of attention should be bestowed

as

if,

for the time, all other objects,

superfluous.

" Just as the general

if

them

to

essential

upon

it,

not worthless, were at least

who

scatters his soldiers all

about the country ensures defeatj so does he whose attention

is

for ever diffused through such

innumerable channels that

it

A STEADY PURPOSE.

72

can never gather in force on any one point,

in short, resembles a burning-glass,

as they are concentrated,

light is

conveyed

world of science,

.a

They

whose rays are intense only

literature, or business,

when

its

former illumines the

only

when

it is

directed

Or, to take another illustration, what

more powerless than the

nightly

human mind,

the glass burns only

to the focal point, so the

to a solitary object.

in the sky

j As

frhe

are as impotent as the dewdrops that

upon the earth

sea,

fall

but conceijitrated and condensed in

steam-boiler, they are able to cut through solid rock, to

mountains into the

is

scattered clouds of steam as they rise

and to bring the Antipodes

move

to

our

doors."

To sum up
steadfastly

Having

and with

Jurned aside neither

all

fixed

upon your aim

in

life,

pursue

it

your might, allowing yourself to be

to the right

nor the

left.

CHAPTER

IV.

THB THREE FSPUNCTUALITY, PRUDENCE AND.

PERSEVERA NCE,
" Let us go

and resolutely dare,

of brow, to toil our little day."

forth,

With sweat

Lord Houghton.

" To succeed, one must sometimes be very bold, and sometimes very
prudent. " Napoleon.

" Be firm

one constant element of luck

Is genuine, solid, old Teutonic pluck.

Stick to your aim the mongrel's hold will slip.
But only crowbars loose the bulldog's grip ;
Small though he looks, the jaw that never yields
Drags down the bellowing monarch of the fields."
:

Olivet

"

Time and

Wendell Holmes,

patience change the mulberry leaf to satin. "

Eastern Pro-

verb.

Let eveiy man be occupied, and occupied in the highest employment

which his nature is capable, and die with the consciousness that he has
done his best." Sydney Smith,
'

'

of

" Virtue

is ever sowing of her seeds

In the trenches for the soldier in the wakeful study
For the scholar in the furrows of the sea
For men of that profession
of all which
Arise and spring up honor."
;

Webster.

7^

THE THREE

would often save the

efforts of years

In " business " especially, that

is,

P' S.

from ultimate calamity.

commercial and trading

in

transactions, caution, prudence, sagacity,

all

get rich suddenly

the citadel

of

Napoleon once

said, " I

cannot carry

P's," as

have referred

is

in

by a

coup-de-main.

man

at a single

blow."

for-

apt to vanish quite as suddenly.

we propose

precious to the young

it

have no idea of a merchant's acquiring

won

tune thus suddenly

We

true,

is

it

but the majority do not and cannot storm

fortune,

fortune as a general wins a battle

"The Three

and deliberation, are

Some men,

described as necessary to success.

to call

them, should always be

of business.

a preceding chapter to the far-famed

American merchant, Mr. Astor

Always an early

riser,

he

left

business at two o'clock in the afternoon, having worked steadily

He

for several hours.

haste.

shalled

was never at

His resources and

and

in order.

An

his

though seldom

rest,

in

mental forces were always mar-

enthusiastic admirer of this

of the counting-house declared that Mr. Astor could

Napoleon

command

an army of half-a-million men. (His unfailing industry was

impeded by no

false pride.

and was never ashamed of

the

master's

toil

must be on the work or

himself with the best of his

ciple of

own hands,

He knew

that

it

will

be

ill

done.

needed sorting and beating, he would undertake the

men

and

readiness for manual labor were as great

millions as

with his

workman's garb.^

example must encourage, support, and direct

that the master's eye

If his furs

He would work
his

when

struggling for the

Benjamin

Franklin's "

first

his willingness

and

when he was worth

step upward.

No

dis-

Poor Richard" was ever more

convinced of the value of punctuality, prudence, and perseverance.

PRESERVERANCE.

We

take two more

New York

American examples

Saul

Alley, the

merchant, was bound, when in his early boyhood, to

During

a coachmaker.
ing

"JJ

his apprenticeship his father died, leav-

him wholly dependent on

own

his

exertions

so that the

very clothes he wore he was obliged to earn by laboring extra

hours after the regular time for leaving

tion of his colossal fortune

was

and sunshine on Long

score of miles of

and

The founda-

journeyman mechanic.

as a

New York

Cornelius Lawrence, another opulent

originally a farmer's boy,

work.

by the exercise of prudence

laid

and perseverance while engaged

off

trader,

was

many a weary day in rain

Few were the lads within a

toiled

Island.

him who could

mow

a wider swath or turn a

straighter furrow.

The

following brief plain narrative was told by a

had succeeded

in life

" While yet a youth, I entered a store one day,

a clerk were not wanted.

answer,
that

but

'

No

'
!

was dressed too

and asked

if

rough tone, was the

in a

being too busy to bother with

they did not want a

if

all

man who

me when
;

I reflected

clerk they might want a laborer,

fine for that.

went

to

my

lodgings,

put on a rough garb, and the next day went into the same
store

" No,

and demanded

is

not

'

my

they did not want a porter, and again,

was the response

sir,'

almost,

if

laborer

object

when

Sir, I will

work

exclaimed, in despair,
at

any wages.

Wages

want

be use-

must have employ, and

to

ful in business.'

"

end

These
I

last

remarks attracted their attention

was hired

at a very

together.

as a laborer in

and

in the

the basement and sub-cellar

low pay, scarcely enough to keep body and soul

THE THREE

78

"In

the basement and sub-cellar

tion of the counting-house

my

for

employers,

in

P'S.

soon attracted the atten-

and chief

little

clerk.

anybody about commit petty

strance

and

If

was wanted

loaded

carried

be
I

off at

morning,

at three in the
'

and

In short,

from the

maxim

We

working days

remember

man may

of

many

and

rose, until

for

desii'e

their

for himself

reward has been

own childhood

" Patience

all difficulties."

of us will have confirmed

and perseverance
There

is

more

it.

Whether these

truth

and the anecdote,

therefore,

qualities

by the great

delphia banker, Girard,* on one notable occasion,

;

di

a favorite

adage than in most such adages, and the experience

are always so severely tested as they were

doubted

any lux-

humanity the stock theme

that in our

with our dominie was,

sooner or later overcome

of

I rose,

to

in a great city."

earliest

in the old

boats, or

meant

as I

money enough

of the house, with

That industry and patience meet with

moralists.

morning

soon became

ury or any position a mercantile

and family

remon-

never growled, but

for the

indispensable to my employers, and

became head

if

see everything right.'

I will

daybreak packages

them myself.

without remon-

exposure

real

my

did not

did not ask for any two hours' leave.

told everybody to go home,

I

out.

it

larcenies

and

threats of exposure,

strance would not do.

saved enough

things usually wasted, to pay

wages ten times over, and they soon found

let

seems worth

Phila-

may be

relating.

Early one morning, while Mr. Girard was walking round the
square
ity,

now adorned by

the splendid memorials of his liberal

one John Smith, who had worked on the buildings in the

* Girard was a Frenchman by birth.

He was born in
Tlie Girard College perpetuates his memory.

1831.

1750, died in

"

MS. GIRARD.
humble capacity of a

by

attention

laborer,

and had attracted Mr. Girard's

following dialogue then took place

"Yes,

sir

work ha

I shall give

The

for assistance.

You want

a long time since I've

it's

" Very well.

yondare

him

his activity, applied to

" Assistance

79

work ?"

to

had anything

you some.

You

to do."

dem

see

stone

" Yes, sir."

"

Very well

you

shall

fetch

and put them

in this place,

you see ?"

:

Yes, sir."

"

And when you

done, come to

me

at

my

bank."

With patient perseverance Smith performed

completed

about one o'clock.

it

He

his

task,

and

then repaired to Mr.

Girard to report progress, and at the same time asked him for
further employment.
" Ah, ha, oui

dem

You want more work

go place

You

take him back."

" Yes,

you

Understandez

sir."

Without a murmur Smith applied himself

it

Very well

stone where you got him.

shall

to his task,

was a very Sissyphus-like one, and having finished

though

it

about

on Mr, Girard to receive payment.

you all finish ? "

sunset, waited

" Ah,

" Yes,

ha

sir.'

" Very well

"

One

"Dat

how much money shall

you

"
?

dollar, sir,"
is

honest.

You

take no advantage.

dollar."

" Can

I give

do anything

else for

you

"

Dare

is

your

80
" Oui.

Come

here

THE THREE

P' S.

when you

up to-morrow.

get

You

shall

have more work.''

Smith next morning was punctual to his appointment

not a

dem

was content

he received the same order.

persevered

day

all

at

However, he

him without asking

his

for

superfluous work.

he called on Mr. Girard in the evening, and informed

that he

had replaced the stones as they were, the eccentric

cordially.

Ah, Monsieur Smit, you

own

but

" take

nor was his surprise diminished when

banker saluted him most

"

must

told that he

to execute the order given

a reason, and

him

"

stone back again

for a fourth time

When

when

astonished was he

little

and do

business,

You

interfere.

it

shall

be

my man

you mind your

you ask no questions

got one vife

you do not

"
?

" Yes, sir."

" Ah, dat

"Yes,

sir

"Five?
Smit

you

is
;

Von

bad.

vife

dat

is

like to

good;

work

shall

you

shall

never want

The

chicks

little

like five.

five little

chicks.
little

mind your own

five

like you,

you mind your business.

pieces of paper for your five

;

Any de

bad.

Monsieur

Now,

There, take these

chicks

business,

you

shall

and your

work

little

do
five

for

chicks

more."

grateful feelings of Mr. Smith

overcame him, so that

he could not speak, and he retired in eloquent silence.

patient and persevering industry, and by single-minded
tion to the

"
?

five living."

something for your

them

is

work he had

in hand, he

By
atten-

became, however, in a few

years one of the wealthiest and most respected merchants in

Philadelphia.

Genius has been happily defined as

"

an immense capacity

ACTORS.
for

taking trouble," and

achievements are owing to

its

its

' passionate patience " rather than to its faculty of imagination

No

or insight.

great musician or painter has accomplished his

masterpieces by a "sudden inspiration."

"Ecstatic bursts,"

and '"divine impulses," and "flashes of thought," are known

What is the cultivation to which

men like Mendelssohn and Beethoven,

only to feeble sentimentalists.

true genius, the genius of

Michael Angelo and Turner, Gibson and Canova, willingly

submits

" It needs unwearied labor at what to another

would seem the drudgery

of the art

gery only because the light of genius

What

that genius dispenses with labor.

more than

all others,

them the value of such patient

What

student;
the

audiences,
'

so

Macready was a

was Garrick

so

and

"does
;

not,
'

with

them

aids

marvellous

may

to leap at

slow degrees
ever

ship

.?

?
'

true

power

"Acting,"
electrified

like

Dogberry's reading and writing,

all

the high qualities which go to the

justly be, called),

once

is

and industrious

formation of a great exponent of the book of

I,

is

to persist

and the painter

patient

was Mrs. Siddons.

Kean, whose

elder

come by nature

stage

to in-

because their genius shows

labor,

true of the musician

is

of the actor,

said

suppose
is

but the greatest geniuses in every art invariably labor

at their art far

also

to

genius does

a power to persevere in the labor that

spire the soul with

in it."

man

be drud-

to

always present in every

is

Nothing can be a greater mistake than

trifling act.

needed

what ceases

to fame.

it is

life (for

so the

impossible, totally impossible,,

'What wound did ever heal but by

says our immortal author

and what man, say

became an actor without a long and sedulous apprenticeI

know

that

many men

think to step from behind a

counter or jump from the high stool of an

office to the

boards.

THE THREE

82

and take the town by storm

in

Richard

'

O, the born idiots

easy as lying.'

P'S.

or

'

'

Othello,'

me

they remind

is

'

as

of the

halfpenny candles stuck in the windows on illumination nights

they flicker and flutter their brief minute, and go out un.

heeded."
"

tthis

Where

ifor in

:&

there

a will there

is

Like most proverbs,

a way.''

is

oft-repeated one needs to be taken with large qualification,

human

affairs there

general rule,

it

may

can be no absolute certainty

but, as

and acted upon.

safely be accepted

So

long as body and mind preserve their soundness, the " way

found by the resolute "will."

will .be

Only the weak,

"

the

(Cowardly, or the idle, seek to excuse themselves by prating of

that cannot be overcome, or obstacles that cannot

difficulfeies

.be removad.

The

engineer,

when he cannot

carry his railway

across or .;around a mountain, tunnels through

Ibilities

.bilities

!to

me

;self

" tcried

'"

Lord Chatham

" Impossible

.'

"

" I trample

his. mission

upon impossi-

exclaimed Mirabeau,

of ifhat blockhead of a word."

and

" Impossi-

it.

man's

If a

"

be real and earnest, he cannot

a certain measure of success.

If

he do not

gain

When we

back upon the history of humanity, we see nothing

men

him-

fail to

satisfy the world,

ihe will at least satisfy the voice of conscience.

record of what has been achieved by

Talk not

faith in

of strong

look

else

but a

-will.

The

present elevation of the race, the refined civilization of Christ-

endom,

is

due

that has opened

to their unflinching courage.

up the way

to their fellows.

Their

will

of purpose, their fixity of aim, their heroic perseverance

are

all

world

inheritors of
is

hands of

no longer
its

what these high

clay," says

workers, and

qualities

have won.

Emerson, "but rather iron

men have

got to

it is

Their enthusiasm

hammer

we

"

The

in the

out a place

SEBASTIAN GOMEZ.
by steady and rugged blows."

for themselves

persistent effort of those

made

83

who have come

But

it

the

is

before us that has

the world thus plastic.

Let us turn to some examples.

Quintin Matsys, the painter

of Antwerp, failed in his worship of art until his master told

that he should not wfed his

There was " the way

great picture.

him

daughter until he had produced a

"'

he soon showed that he had "the

to the prize
will."

he coveted

Early and

late

he

and produced within six months

famous masterpiece of " The Misers.'' We have read of an

toiled at his breathing canvass,

the

who was observed one day

English carpenter

to

be planing the

magistrate's bench, then under repair, with singular carefulness.

He

was asked the reason for

cause," he said, " I wish to

I

come

to sit

upon

it

this

make

it

when

easy against the time

The author

myself."

" Be-

unusual application.

of " Pickwick "

and

"Nicholas Nickleby" was accustomed to ascribe his splendid

to his habits

literary success

of

industry and

perseverance.

Let us bethink ourselves also of Sebastian Gomez, a celebrated

Spanish painter.

He

was a mulatto, and a slave of that

more famous master, Murillo, on whose pupils he waited

Heaven had endowed him with

attendant.
art

did the gay young Spaniards

and

little

by

jests

selves

at his

as

still

an

a fervent love of

who amused them-

dark complexion and ungainly features

suspect the elevation of soul that animated his misshapen body.

He received
gestion

no lessons

from none did he obtain a kindly sug-

or a precious hint

but with an intelligent eye he

watched the operations of the students, and carefully did he

examine the progress of

courage
night

to

to

their daily labors.

imitate what he

his

secret,

happy

had
toil

At length he found

seen, devoting the hours

of

and, as he grew bolder and

THE THREE

84

P'S.

to correct the errors of outline

more confident, venturing even

and coloring which he discovered

in the

rude essays of Murillo's

Great was the surprise of the latter when they returned

pupils.

to their studio in the morning, to find that here

added and there

a leg

carefully adjusted

an arm had been

that inharmonious proportions had been

that woolly skies, harsh

and discordant, had

and mean-

been toned and softened down into radiant heavens

ingless patches of ultramarine converted into

superstition of time, they ascribed

With the credulous

lakes.

these improvements to the nocturnal labors of

power

and Gomez,

whom

to avert

by declaring

their folly

the

that

it

some supernatural

suspicion, strengthened

them

in

must be the Zomba, a

spirit

of

West Indian negroes were mortally

finely painted

sweet woodland

afraid.

But a

head of the Blessed Virgin having attracted

Murillo's attention, the great master disinclined to believe that

Zombas would paint Madonnas,

and discovered,

to his

his nights of

it

He summoned him

tion of his mulatto page.

and when the poor

instituted a close investigation,

no small wonder, that

slave confessed

was the producto

his studio

on his knees the secret of

he raised him up with words of encouragement

toil,

promised him his

liberty,

and adopted him as

known, rose

his pupil

cessor.

Gomez,

painter,

and executed many highly-finished

as is well

to

and suc-

a high position as a
pictures, distin-

guished by their truthfulness and depth of expression, by their

warmth and mellowness

figures as "Murillo's

In the history of art he

of coloring.

Mulatto."

He

survived his illustrious

master only a few years, dying about 1689 or 1690.

The heroism

of perseverance

was surely exhibited by Euler

when, prevented by blindness from committing his calculations

to paper,

he accustomed himself

to

work them out mentally,

BERNARD PELISSY.
and retained the
is

memory.

result in his

the example of Mr.

Henry Fawcett,

8$

Not

note-worthy

less

the politician and political

economist, who, instead of allowing his blindness to prove an

incumberance to him, has succeeded

in spite of

it

very considerable amount of political influence.

gaining a

in

This inflexible

industry and this power of will have been the characteristic

most men who have

traits of

Without their

risen to eminence.

impulse and influence could Hannibal have led his army across
the Alps, and, almost unsupported by Carthage, have planted

Rome ? Was

his standard within sight of the walls of

it

not

inspiration of these qualities that carried Julius Caesar through

his

campaigns in Gaul and raised him to the throne of an imdictator

perial

"

Quicquid

vult,

boys
"

at

The

Rugby may be

difference

said of

valde vult

What

watchword of true greatness.

men on

"

The energy which

and overcomes

French

is

potter.

adorn a

the

the stage of the world,

manifests

an unflinching perseverance, in a patient diligence,

Everybody

is

between one and another consists not so much

in talent as in energy."

that binds

that

Dr. Arnold said of the

all

itself

in

the spell

the powers of nature.

familiar with the

He

is

name

of Bernard Palissy, the

has long been used to point a moral and

Recently Mr. Longfellow has introduced him

tale.

effectively into his "

"

Who

Keramos

is it

"

in the suburbs here,

This Potter, working with such cheer,

This madman, as the people say.
Who breaks his tables and his chairs
To feed his furnace fires, nor cares
Who goes unfed if they are fed,
Nor who may live if they are dead ?

Palissy

within thy breast

Burned the hot fever of unrest

Thine was the prophet's vision, thine
;

THE THREE

86

P'S.

The exultation, the divine

Insanity of noble minds,
That never falters nor abates.
That labors and endures and
Till all that

Or what

His Story

will

it

it

foresees

waits,

it finds.

cannot find creates."

always be told as long as an example

of the success which ultimately attends continuous

effort

wanted

is

and patient

and, as such, the narrative of his struggles during the

years he expended on the art of enamelling pottery ware will

How

possess a perpetual interest.

his chairs, his tables,

how he

spent

all

and the

endured

and

rooms

rafters of his

he could accumulate on what to his wife

well as to his neighbors

seemed a visionary object

how he

from his side

six children successively torn

as

how he

household sorrows

in silence the sharpest of

mourned over

he fed his furnace-fire with

joists

how

he bore without answer or anger the injurious reproaches and

railings of a shrewish wife

furnace, until his hose

shrunken

legs

how

how he sweated

all

'

men

ridiculed or

siasm they could not understand

streets with

bowed head and

pale

condemned

how he

seamed

thirsted, and,

stole

face,

one sympathised with him in his heroic

hungered and

the devouring

at

" a world too wide slipped from

life

through the

showing that no

work

all,

how he

what was harder, much harder,

endure, saw his children hungering and thirsting too

in spite of

his

the enthu-

to

and how,

he persevered, and strove and hoped, rising up,

by " new wine," or

after every failure, like a giant refreshed

Antaeus after touching his mother-earth

and how he suc-

ceeded in rediscovering the great secret of enamelled ware,

which for centuries had been

In

lost.

all

this

the elements of a vivid and animated romance.

one to be read and pondered, and

its

moral

is

lie,

no doubt,

The

tale is

one to be laid

to

PRACTICE MAKES PERFECT.

heart.

It

in

is

Palissy's

Palissy's devotion to

is

cessant practice which

is

all this

that in this
faculty, or

whatever

do

to

we may

call that

really well,

To

see
it

how

art,

or
to

or

be so worked into us as to

to

do a thing

is

almost mechanically,

not enough.

all

that

needed

is

demand

attention, because, indeed,

do them

break our

fall

for the

which are so hard always

would require

until in all trivial matters

whenever our foot

to at-

to true success,
it

right thing as unconsciously, as instantaneously, as

to

framed

so

is

skill,

implies that the needful science or

until the little trifles

effort not to

hands

And

which enables us

or

and which are so absolutely necessary

to,

cease to

It is in-

game.

at a

skillful

have penetrated us through and through, until we do

skill shall

an

else

of really doing

instinctively,

tend

a thorough scholar.

Apparently because our nature

do what we wish

The power

man

makes a man

way only can any knowledge,

be completely ours.

purpose

down in the world's lists.

own tasks," says Bishop W.

flings

the loving labor at his

Temple, " which makes a

why

with Palissy's perseverance,

spirit,

one great aim, that the young should take

up the gauntlet which Fortune

" It

8/

slips

we do

the

we put our

under us as we

walk."

The
of

lives of great

work done

lawyers provide us with numerous examples

in this spirit, of obstacles

surmounted, sufferings

bravely endured, and industry triumphant.

fession prizes are never

won

and the energy of patience.

Chitty,

In the legal pro-

except by strenuous application

The eminent

when consulted by an anxious

special pleader, Mr.

father respecting his

son's prospects at the bar, significantly asked, "

eat sawdust without butter ?"

Can your son

Lord Campbell, who rose

to the

woolsack, earned a scanty living by reporting for the press

THE THREE

88

P'S.

When

during the earlier years of his legal career.

on

circuit,"

he walked from county town to county town because he could

not afford to pay coach fares.

was a

Lord Ellenborough

great

When,

of pertinacious endeavor.

illustration

brilliant

The

after prolonged application to his studies,

he

felt

a sensation of

weariness stealing over him, he would write on a piece of paper,

in large characters, the

before his aching eyes.

words "Read or starve

!"

and

set

them

Lords Thurlow and Kenyon underwent

the severest privations while waiting for success, and were in

the habif of dining together at a small eating-house near Chan-

cery Lane, at the cost of sevenpence-halfpenny per head

When

Wilberforce asked Lord Eldon

of his could best

make

Chancellor replied, "

must make up

their

their

way

friends

at the bar; the venerable ex-

have no rule

minds

how two young

to give

them, but that they

to live like a hermit

and work

like

horse."
It is

to

almost needless to say that in other professions the road

success

is

famous surgeon,

Sir Astley Cooper,

was glad as a student

cupy a room on the third story of a house

at six shillings

The

equally strewn with thorns and thistles.

and sixpence a week.

Dr.

in

to oc-

an obscure

Adam

street,

Clark, at one

time held in repute as a Biblical commentator, was the son of

a poor Irish schoolmaster.

When

at the

age of twenty, he

sought employment in England as a preacher, his small stock

was soon reduced

to three-halfpence.

to

a solitary sixpence, and this declined

Yet with so

insignificant

sum

in

his

pocket, he could calmly say to John Wesley, " I wish to do and

be what God pleases," and went

many years he was

restricted

"to

at

once to his work.

For

the humblest and most arduous

occupations, but never failed to act upon Wesley's advice, that

SAMUEL DREW.
"he should

mind

cultivate his

89

so far as his circumstances

and not forget anything he had ever learned."

allow,

would

Having

acquired some knowledge of Oriental tongues, he began to wish

earnestly for a Polyglot Bible

but as his whole income was

only three pounds per quarter, with his food, he could not af-

Unexpectedly he received a bank-

ford to purchase books.

note for ten-pounds from a friend, and exclaiming, " Here

London

the Polyglot," wrote to

for the exact

The

sum

is

which he obtained

at his disposal.

early trials of

The son

for a copy,

Samuel Drew were even of a harsher kind.

of a Cornish day-laborer, he

was educated

at a

penny-

a-week school until he attained the mature age of eight years,

when he was

sent out to get his living as " a huddle-boy " at a

At ten he was

earning three-halfpence a day.

tin-mine,

ap-

prenticed to a shoemaker, and endured such cruel treatment

he frequently contemplated running away and turning

that

When

pirate.

about seventeen, he acted on his intention so far

as to leave his master's

house and make towards the coast

but

a night in a hayfield cooled his ardor, and he returned to his

His father procured him employment

last.

journeyman shoemaker

at St. Austell as a

and a narrow escape from

death

having sobered his mind, he began to attend the- preaching of

Thereafter he entered upon a

the Wesleyan Methodists.

way

of

With wonderful resolution he undertook

life.

himself, though he

had almost forgotten how

But he was nowise -daunted

possible to patience

" the

more

ance, the

Every

I felt

more

leisure

my

and

write.

he believed that everything was

"

and courage.
ignorance

invincible

to read

new

to educate

The more

and the more

became

my

I read,"
I felt

he says,

my

ignor-

energy to surmount

moment was now employed

in reading

it.

one thing

THE THREE

90
Having

or another.

my

little,

method was

usual

by manual

to support myself

time for reading was but

tage,

P'S.

meat, and at every repast

and

overcome

to

book before me while

to place a

pocket

shillings only in his

own

account, with a

but he had by this time gained

so high a character, that a friendly neighbor offered

we may

loan, which was excepted, and,

started,"

we

anything,'

Often he went

to

bed

to

it

the midst of

in

him a small
"

add, repaid.

are told, " with a determination to

and he held

at

read five or six pages."

After awhile he began business on his

few

my

labor,

this disadvan-

'

He

owe no man

many

privations.

supperless to avoid rising in debt.

His

ambition was to achieve independence by industry and economy,

and

he gradually succeeded.

in this

In the midst of incessant

labor, he sedulously strove to improve his mind, studying as-

He

tronomy, history, and metaphysics.

the latter study chiefly because
sult

it

than either of the others.

path,'

he

said,

'

was induced

to pursue

required fewer books to conIt

appeared to be a thorny

'but I determined, nevertheless, to enter, and

accordingly began to tread

So he continued to work

it.'"

his business and to labor at the cultivation of his mind.

study was the kitchen, and his desk the bellows.

vered and he

toiled,

and

at length

" Essay on the Immateriality

Soul," and sprang into repute.

he was able
society, I

a state

to say,

and Immortality of the

Towards

my

my

Human

the close of his career

Raised from one of the lowest stations of

respectability

high regard for

His
perse-

he produced his once famous

have endeavored through

of

smiled on

'

He

at

life to

moral character.

exertions

bring

by honest industry,

my

family into

frugality,

and a

Divine providence has

andcrowned my wishes with

success."

Perseverance not for himself but for his country, was the key-

FREDERICK PERTHES.
note of the

won

but having

affluence,

he devoted

his

way

and

His master treated him with cruel

breakfast was a halfpenny roll

means

to the regen-

He

a few details.

at

his

young

and he lay

strength,

by

a child of twelve,

who proved

day long she

sat,

his master's

to

ill

Upon

him quite a ministering

among

;'

little attic.

by

angel.

the invalid's

and attending

and the poor

noble kindness, read through several of

obscurity of that

he

to his

other old books, lay a transla-

History of Italy

'

for

for nine weeks, wholly

knitting-needle in hand,

the floor,

tion of Muratori's

to eight

second daughter, Frederika,

bedside, talking with him, consoling him,

wants.

His allowance

rigor.

from one o'clock

Excessive labor and privation broke

allowed nothing.

neglected, except

All

his

Let us glance

daily-

comparative

his apprenticeship to the book-trade at Leipzig in 1787.

began

down

publisher and

to a position of

his energies

eration of his country.

was

German

In his youth he had fought a hard battle for his

patriot.

bread

of Frederick Perthes, the

life

its

girl,

with a

heavy quartos

In a romance

this idyll

in the

would end

in a

love-match between the youth and the maiden, but in real

life

it

had a very

somebody

different termination.

and Perthes continued

else,

studied the masterpieces of

German

to give expression to his thoughts.

in

1793, he

enough

removed

on

With the
his

customers, and,

Frederika married

work and

literature,

wait.

He

and attempted

His apprenticeship expiring

Hamburg, where he was fortunate

an introduction into the most refined and cul-

to obtain

tivated society.
in business

to

to

own

assistance of a few friends, he started

account, and soon included

we may add,

the celebrated author of the "

his

friends, Matthias

among

his

Claudius,

Wandsbecker Bote,"* Jacobi the

* " The Wansbeck Messenger," a series of

dius wrote during his residence at Wansbeck.

poems and

essays which Clau-

7'HE

92

THREE

philosopher, and the celebrated

P'S.

Count

The

Stollberg.

influence

of these men, and especially of Claudius, created in the

mind

of Perthes a profound love of truth

and beauty, and a

philanthropy which showed

a vigorous effort to purify

itself in

the book-trade and literature of Germany.

" that the book-trade can be

way

of merely

professors,

making money,

I find booksellers

blers

many

who
is

just as I see

among

making common

as a

priests,

and

their services, think

But a shudder comes over

me when

cause with a crew of scrib-

hire out their wits for stabling

and provender.

Ger-

flooded with their miserable publications, and will be

delivered from the plague only

more

" I know," he said,

managed mechanically, and

and generals some who, in giving

only of their daily bread.

practical

when

the booksellers shall care

honor than for gold."

for

After the battle at Jena, and the humiliation of Prussia by

the

Emperor Napoleon,

object.

the energies of Perthes found a

His absorbing hope and thought came

erance of

Germany from French

tyranny.

to

be the

new

deliv-

The occupation

of

Hamburg by a French army almost ruined his trade, but his

now was for his country and not for himself. He saw
Her
that Germany had fallen mainly through her own vices.

anxiety

people had been deficient in religious principle, in independence

His

of character, in regard for the national honor.

efforts

directed, therefore, to a revivification of the national

founded

the " National

Museum," a

were

life.

He

periodical in the pages of

which the best German writers spoke out heartily and bravely
to their

countrymen, and he persevered with

it

in defiance of

grievous obstacles, until compelled to stop by want of funds.

When Hamburg

was freed from the long misery of a French

occupation, Perthes, with

all

his old industry, set to

work

to

THURLOW WEED.
Such was

restore his business.

93

his activity, that in a very brief

period he paid his creditors, and resumed his efforts for the

improvement both of German

letters

To

and the book-trade.

infuse a higher spirit into the political literature of the country

was one of

his cherished designs, for

fulfilled,"

he regarded

it

as a neces-

my

" If

Germany.

hopes be
he wrote, " we shall see the North and the South, as

sary prelude to the uniiication of

two halves of

all

Germany, standing

as a

mighty bulwark against

every attack from without, while our internal divisions will be

merged

in

stitutional

an amicable contest for the best development of con-

freedom and order, of attachment and

and of such

princes,

intellectual culture as

God and advance

glory of

fidelity to

may

the best interests of man."

the death of his wife in 1821, he

removed

lication chiefly of

such

as those of

and Tholuck.
on the

works of an

historical

and

for

pub-

religious character

Schleiermacher, Neander, Risk, Ullmann,

well-spent

life

was closed by a peaceful death

author cites

a passage from the autobiog-

raphy of the well-known journalist and

:

to the

8th of May, 1843.

An American
Weed

After

where he

to Gotha,

founded a new establishment, and applied himself

our

set forth the

Thurlow

politician,

" Many a farmer's son has found the best opportunities

mental improvement in his intervals of leisure while tending

'sap bush.'
night you

sap

Such, at any rate, was

had only

to

fill

'

by the

in

At

experience.

having been gathered and the wood cut

During the day we would always lay

pine

my own

the kettles and keep up the

'

the

fires,

before dark.'

a good stock of

'

fat

light of which, blazing bright before the sugar-

house, in the posture the serpent was

a penalty for tempting our great

condemned

first

to

assume as

grandmother,

passed

THE THREE

94

many and many a

this

way

to

I"S.

delightful night in reading.

remember

in

have read a history of the French Revolution, and

to

have obtained from

of

its

a better and

it

more enduring knowledge

events and horrors, and of the actors in that great national

tragedy, than I have received from all subsequent reading.

remember
book

also

how happy

was

in

of a Mr. Keyes, after a two-mile

shoeless,

my

Well has

feet

swaddled

in

been said that

it

tramp through the snow,

remnants of a rag-carpet."
it

is

difficult

to exaggerate the

other words,
can accomplish, when impelled

wonders which perseverence and patience

" intense

and persistent labor

by the strong
tory training
after

all,

being able to borrow the

"

in

And the enormous toil and long preparawhich men voluntary undergo for the sake of what,
will.

are comparatively

mean and

trivial objects,

must often

reproach the supine and indolent engaged in lighter pursuits.

"

You

will see

from a

one man

toiling for years to

fiddle-string, or to bring

down

draw sweet

a pigeon

strains

on the wing

another tasking his inventive powers, and torturing verbs and

substantives like a Spanish inquisitor, to

become a punster

third devoting half his life to acquiring the art of balancing

himself on a rope, or of standing on his head on the top of a

pole

a fourth spending time enough in getting a mastery of

chess to go through the entire circle of the sciences and learn

half-a-dozen languages.

Along with patience and perseverance, we have classed

essential to success in

punctuality.

A man

in truth, he cannot
It

is

life,

who keeps

keep

as

whatever be our aim, the virtue of

his

painful to reflect on

his time will

word unless he

how many

keep his word

does keep his time.

unfulfilled

unrealized ambitions has been, and every day

is

hopes and

being written.

PUNCTUALITY.
the melancholy epigraph, "

Too

dates from a lost five minutes

late

He

fast

man

Many

a wasted career

The

vice of unpunctuality

begins by being too late for break-

he ends by being too

it is

95

an engagement not duly kept,

a promise not faithfully observed.

grows upon the victim.

"

In a business

for fortune.

late

no defect more surely undermines

certain that

The world
They are a

dence and breeds suspicion.

expend on men behind time.

and therefore they are

set aside.

confi-

has no sympathy to
trouble

and a danger,

Half the value of Blucher's

help at Waterloo was due to the fact that he

came

in time.

which lubricates the wheels of commerce.

Punctuality

is

A man who

neglects to keep his appointment wastes not only

his

the

own time but

oil

that of other persons,

something which he can never repay.

steal trash

but

you take

if

my

If

time,

and thus robs them of

you take

my purse, you
me of that

you deprive

precious but limited capital which can never be renewed.

this

conscientiousness

and,

may be added,

it

Can he

Mr. Blank can wait."

serious mischief

which

fulfil

and wait your

leisure

"the rear

not

if

them

is

and proba-

his

head

under orders," writes Sir Walter Scott,

of ten thrown into confusion because the front

steadily

and without interruption.

thing with business.

instantly, steadily,

mulate behind,

till

the

he keeps his appointment with you

may bring down upon

a regiment

is

move

may have made, and

his non-fulfilment of

them

bly he cannot

How do you know that ? Do

you know what appointments he

When

a superabundance of

" Oh, I shall be only fifteen minutes behind time

selfishness.

"

In

way, as in other ways, unpunctuality betrays a want of

If

that

which

is

first

It

in

is

do

the same

hand be not

and regularly despatched, other things accuaffairs

begin to press

all

at once,

and no

THE THREE P'S.

96

human

Be

brain can stand the confusion."

everything in time

importance to

men who have much

For that matter,

importance to every man, even so far as his

The unpunctual man

for the post

meet

to

comes

his bill until a

his counting-house until

his

day

after

poses

all

for

what

due

it is

is

is

cold

too late
forgets

does not arrive

at

by not keep-

Thus he promotes

rouses ill-temper, injures his

sets

is

loses his truest friend

ing his engagement with him.

and

of

own comfort

it

he has fretted his clerks and wearied

customers by his delay

friendship,

the soup

peris

misses his train

when

dinner

to

many

do, or have

to

sons depending on their movements.

concerned.

and do

in time,

few maxims can be adduced of greater

credit,

indolence,

an inestimable

forfeits

everybody and everything

at cross-pur-

For the sake of indulging

his favorite

folly of procrastination.

men have never failed to appreciate the value of

have been " misers of minutes " as solicitous for those

Successful

time

Napoleon studied

of others as for their own.

carefully as he studied the
insisted

upon

success in

life

was owing to

..

is

the politeness of kings

special

It

"

his lieutenants

" Punctuality," said Louis

;

allows

as

and

his

having been always a quarter

" and,

no doubt,

pliment to a friend to lose no time in

ment with him.

watch

war

Nelson once declared that

his

of an hour before his time.

"

on the part of

that punctuality

which he exhibited himself.

his

of " the scene of

map

him

to

it is

fulfilling

your engage-

suppose that you

worth on his time and company.

When

XIV,

a fine com-

set

Washington's

secretary would have excused himself on the score that his

watch was wrong, the great American remarked, " Then you

must get another watch, or

another secretary."

The

rulers

PUNCTUALITY, PRUDENCE, PERSEVERANCE.

97

of the world allow of no delay in the execution of their orders

they

know how much depends upon

that a

few minutes make

defeat.

It is

all

and

the difference between victory

and

on record that Colonel Rahl, the Hessian com-

mander, who in the American Revolution

liberty at

punctuality,

strict

honor and

lost

Trenton, threw away the battle through this cause.

Absorbed

in a

game

of cards, he neglected to read a letter

which had reached him informing him of Washington's intention to cross the Delaware.

Thus he missed

of baffling the schemes of the

American commander, and of

securing, perhaps, a different result to the

One American anecdote

recalls

tuality that

On

clock.

men

War of Independence.

another.

John Quincey Adams, who belonged

race of Republican statesmen,

to the

sition

it

celebrated

older and better

for his punc-

took their time from him as from an electric

one occasion,

oyer the

The

was so remarkable

in the

House

of Representatives at

Washington, of which he was a member,

call

his opportunity

House and begin proceedings

it

was proposed

was objected that Mr. Adams was not

in his

Inquiry proved that the clock was three minutes too fast
before the three minutes had elapsed, Mr.

to

but to this proposeat.

;

and

Adams walked

in

and took his place with his customary exactness.

Punctuality, Prudence, Perseverance, or the three P's,

we

hereby recommend to the assiduous attention of our readers.

CHAPTER

V.

BUS/N^SSS HABITS.
" Depend upon
some talent in it."

it,

a lucky guess

is

never merely luck

there

is

always

Miss Austen, in " Emma."

"There

is nothing more desirable than good sense and justness of mind

other qualities of mind are of limited use but exactness of judgment is
of general utility in every part, and in all employments of life."
Arnauld,
;

all

" Port-Royal Logic."

" What should a man

desire to leave ?
flawless work, a noble life,

Some music harmonized from strife,

Some finished thing, ere the slack hands at eve
Drop, should be his to leave.

" Or, in life's homeliest meanest spot.

With temperate step from year to year

To move

within his

little

sphere.

Leaving a pure name to be known, or

This is a true man's lot."

F.

"No man
inferior."

not,

T. Palgrave, " Lyrical Poems."

can end with being superior who will not begin with being
Sydney Smith.

CHAPTER

V.

BUSINESS HABITS.
fighting the battle of
we must take care,
we would
IN escape
without a wound as wide as a church-door,
life,

if

to pre-

our

serve

The

self-control.

the chances to his enemy,

by

the watch to profit

control implies

as

to

an enemy who

of temper,

and the power

It

will.

The

is

warrior

command
to

gives

always on

who

loses

it

Self-

of feeling, cool-

restrain the imagination

means such thorough mastery over

self

Robert Ainsworth, the lexicographer, possessed, who, when

his wife, in a

of passion, committed his voluminous

fit

the flames, calmly turned to his desk

labors.

similar misfortune befell

similarly conquered.
script of the first

friend to

volume of

floor,

and a servant, regarding

paper, utilized
tion of a

book

it

is

from memory

in

Thomas

whom

it

Carlyle,

left

fires.

to
his

and was

he had lent the manu-

it

The

bundle of waste,

original composi-:

in

most cases a labor of love

is

a cruelly

unwelcome

French

lying on the parlor

as a valueless

kindling her

MS.

and recommenced

his great prose epic, the "

Revolution," for perusal, carelessly

it

that

loses

possible auxiliaries on his side.

command

ness of judgment,

and curb the

and

his mistakes.

not, has the best of all

who

warrior

task.

but to rewrite
Carlyle, how-,

102

BUS/MESS HABITS.
word

ever, without uttering a

dressed himself to

book

in the

form

ad-

courageously, and at last completed the

it

in

of complaint or reproach,

which

now

delights the understanding

It is

always in time, but never

it

reader.

Self-control avoids haste.

before

patience
it.

time

its

and

may be

in this respect

its

fame and fortune through

them before the

less plotters,

banners

fruit

who

But

their hurried efforts to snatch

Their ambition

It waits

And

if

man who
lies

like thought-

shame

as abortive as a Perkin

until the

train is laid before

match

the

it

not burn, or the

will

Salkeld and

Home

before the

There can scarcely be named any

has not failed the

the

is

moves with deliberation though

ignite, it tries again, like

cashmere gate of Delhi.

shame

Some men have

They have acted

ripe.

self-control

kindles the match.

great

on unremittingly,

only to discover that the people are not pre-

flying,

with promptitude.

powder

was

toils

opportunity.

rush into the streets with swords drawn and

pared to join them.

Warbeck's.

allied to patience,' or

considered, perhaps, as a constituent part of

Not, however, the patience which

but the patience which bides

lost

it is

first

In such defeat no

time.

consists in one's not retrieving

it.

Lord

Beaconsfield made, as everybody knows, a signal failure in his

House

maiden speech

in the

cowed by the

derisive laughter

Commons.

of

But he was not

which greeted him.

With

astonishing self-control, and no less astonishing self-knowledge,

he exclaimed,

" I

have succeeded
the time will

have begun several times many things, and

in

them

at

come when you

temper, the mastery over

almost sublime.

The

last.

will

self,

late

I shall

hear me."

down now but

The command of

sit

which these words displayed,

Lord

Lyttoji

made many

is

failures.

"

SELF-CONTROL.
novel was a failure

His

first

first

poem.

so was his

But he would not yield

IO3
first

and resumed

subdued

his mortification,

eventual

distinction of a foremost place

novelists,

and

to contribute to the

We

popular dramas.

finds a powerful auxiliary

Self-control
struggle

is

trary gales
will

like

is

in self-control, at all events,

fail

to bring with

we meet them

if

only the craven

Difficulties

obstacles can be

most

and agent.

who

con-

it

but these

bravely and calmly,

Sorrow never withstands us long

It is

its

armor which helps us most when the

never do us hurt

pursuer.

among our foremost

stage two of

and storms of thunder and lightning

unflinchingly.

He

earn the

his pen, to

modern

Life cannot

sharpest.

and hopefully.

so was his

should be disposed to define genius as

the capacity of surviving failure

it

play

to disappointment.

if

we eye

it

hears the feet oi the

can be conquered only by decision

removed only by arduous

These

effort.

test

our manhood, and at the same time confirm our self-control.

" In the reproof of chance
Lies the true proof of men. The sea being smooth,
How many shallow bauble boats dare sail
Upon her patient breast, making their way
With those of nobler bulk
But let the ruffian Boreas once enrage
The gentle Thetis, and, anon, behold
The strong-ribb'd bark through liquid mountains cut,
Bounding between the two moist elements.
Like Perseus' horse where's then the saucy boat
Whose weak, untirabered sides even now
Co-rivalled greatness
!

Shakespeare.

One important

business quaGty is the clearness of judgment

which discerns and

seizes the

depends largely on what

opportunities promptly
luck,

be sure that he

happy moment

fools call "

utilized.
is

good luck

When

Success in
;

" that

he complains of

life

is,

on

his

ill

involuntarily bearing witness to his

BUSINESS HABITS.

104

carelessness of mind, his habits of indolence, apathy

difference.

manca

good fortune

to Wellington's

you that

tell

but military

We

have no confidence

their

us, a

tells

own

in

movement

We

will

it

at the flood,

that

it

men

rests with

it

so be wafted

human

rarely conquers a strong man.

affairs
It is

who

the profligate, the thoughtless,

idle,

and

be, as our great poet

but

on

men

to for-

not discuss here the exact weight which attaches

circumstance as a factor in

to

of the

talk of

throw upon chance the

to

There may

errors.

tide in the affairs of

themselves to take
tune.

critics will

young men who

good luck and bad luck, and seek

burden of

in-

was due to the vigilance which detected, and

it

the ready resource which profited by, a false

enemy.

and

French writer attributes the victory of Sala-

but we believe

only the weak, the

are beaten

by

it

and

throwing themselves before the wheels of the Juggernaut, expect

In one of Richard Cumberland's

us to pity them as victims.

comedies, a character

grounds that

I despair.

vain.

There

to starve at last.

faculty of

made

is

have offered

it.

Why,

can't live

" It

say,

is

by

to serve

is

my

set

he can't

am

country

live

mine

qff

to turn butcher, I believe,

eating."

This

last

of the compass.

and

Then

if

my

if

I set

man
up

as

If I

conscience, they'd leave

quip reminds us of the humorous ex-

aggeration of Graves in Lord Lytton's play of " Money,"

he declares that

have engaged to betray

by anything.
on

but in

to,

a bookseller, and people immediately leave off reading.

were

likely

have bellowed for freedom

have talked treason, writ treason

that,

not upon slight

not a point to which the art and

man can turn that I have not

am beat through every quarter

have blustered for prerogative

I

to

have tried each walk, and

he had been bred a

hatter, children

when
would

TAINE'S "MORAL TEMPERATURE."

have come into the world without heads

But such successive

failures as the dramatist's creation records

the mistakes

wrong

and

calling

in self-control.

that to every

follies of

the individual

from want of assiduous

It

may

man

is

can spring only from

from the choice of a

effort.;

from deficiency

be accepted as an incontrovertible

man, sooner or

the successful

10$

later,

comes

his opportunity

he who knows how

to turn

it

fact,

and

to advan-

tage.

The

French

brilliant

litterateur,

M. Taine, remarks,

that

Nature, being a sower of corn, and constantly putting her hand

in the

same

sack, distributes

turn about the

But not

all

soil

and

regularly

handf uls dropped from her hand

of the

over space germinate.

sary,

over the

same proportionate quantity and quality of

wanting, the talents prove abortive.

is

if

neces-

such be

Consequently, as the tem-

perature changes, so will the species of talent change

turn in an opposite direction, talent follows

we may conceive moral temperature

among

seed.

as she strides

certain moral temperature

adds M. Taine, to develop certain talents

in

making a

as

if

it

so that, in general,

selection

different species of talent, allowing only this or that

species to develop itself to the

more or

complete exclusion

less

of others.

This

is

very philosophical, but very vague.

It is difficult to

understand what M. Taine means by "moral temperature;"

we

but, at all events,

object to the theory of selection which he

seems to put forward.

men meet

in this

deserve.

No

that cases

may at

rule

oppressed virtue

Our contention

is,

that the

mass of

world with exactly the amount of success they

is

without

its

exceptions

rare intervals occur of

;

and we

will

allow

unrewarded genius and

that the records of biography preserve the


io6

BUSINESS HABITS.

names
filled

some

of

(to use Shelley's phrase)

renown."

Still

we adhere

" inheritors of unful-

to our general proposition.

In

Gray's well-known lines

"

mute

Sortie

inglorious Milton here may lie.

guiltless of his country's blood,"

Some Cromwell

from the injustice done

.apart

and transparent

-see a gross

Does the

fallacy.

would develop

politician who, favored

'Cromwell

Where

by

"

reader,

however

of neglected ability

know of any peasant rhymester who,

:circumstances,

any

village

good luck," would ripen

into a

a Milton

into

are these dormant

of

geniuses, these great

ipeople refer their successes to virtue and ability, but

We

Ibe untrue.

know, however, that the history of

It

may

"good luck

to his

life

We

allow a Pliny to formulate the Pagan sentiment, "

.fate."

more propitious

in

imen repressed and silenced by despotic circumstances

may

we

the great Puritan leader,

know of such instances

'wide his experience,

'Does he

to

it

Some
is

proves

all

to

it

very well have been that Alexander trusted

and that

;"

Sulla, as

Plutarch

tells

us, en-

^joyed to such an extent the smiles of circumstance as to receive

tthe

surname of "Fortunate;" but both Alexander and Sulla

were

men

of genius, courage,

shall not yield

and decision of character.

We

even though against us be brought the dictum

of Cicero, who,

commenting upon the

Maximus, Marcellus,

Scipio,

and

of

Fabius

Marius, says, " It

was not

victories

only their courage but their fortune which induced the people
to intrust

be

little

them with the command of

doubt but

their armies.

that, besides their abilities, there

tain /or/w^^ appointed to attend them, to

and renown, and

important

was a

cer-

conduct them to honor

to unrivalled success in the

affairs."

There can

management

of

There speaks Cicero the augur and not

"GOOD LUCK."

107

In his sager moments he would have

Cicero the philosopher.

acknowledged that the good fortune of the heroes he names

was won by consummate prudence and extraordinary intellectual
power.

It is true that

assert that

so sagacious a

mind

"outward accidents conduce much

he would have admitted, we suspect, that

genius to

The

command and make

difference between. the wise

When we

see

Mohammed

by a spider's web

is

it

Bacon could
but

the privilege of

use of these " outward accidents."

man and

the former seizes his opportunities,

as

to fortune ;"

flying

when we

the fool

and the

from

them.

latter misses

his enemies,

that

this,

is

and saved

Whig Ministry was

think that a

hurled from power in England by the spilling of some water

on a lady's gown

when we

of thought and conduct

find a Franklin ascribing his turn

Cotton Mather's " Essays to do

Good

" falling into his

and Jeremy Bentham attributing similar

phrase,

"The

greatest

copy of

to the accident of a tattered

effects to

hands

a similar

good of the greatest number," which

caught his eye at the end of a pamphlet

when we

see a

Bruce

passing through a series of perils greater than any which the

most daring romance writer or melodramatist ever imagined for

his hero,

and then perishing from a

stairs after

dinner

fall in

handing a lady down-

or a Speke accidently shooting himself in

crossing an English hedge, after escaping innumerable dangers

in his

journey to the remote and undiscovered fountains of the

Nile

when we

choked by a

find that

pip,

one

man may suck

run a thorn into his hand and

of medical skill

an orange and be

and another swallow a penknife and

die, in spite of the

and another revive

completely through

his

body

we

live

utmost

one

efforts

after a shaft of a gig has

run

cannot help believing with

Solomon, who, doubtless, had himself witnessed

many such grim

BUSINESS HABITS.

Io8
antitheses of

and death, that time and chance happen

life

men, and that circumstances are not wholly without

fluence on

human

"

destiny.

We talk of

Sydney Smith, " but how variously

Theie are those who come forth

arrested

and every beam

is

their in-

as a journey," says

to

where every gale

is

There are others who

against driving misery, and

life,

through stormy sorrows, and over sharp

afflictions

walk with
*

bare feet and naked breast, jaded, mangled, and chilled."

The preceding paragraph we have adapted from a

little

and shod, and mantled,

terraces,

tempered.

walk on the alpine paths of

all

that journey performed

is

girt,

walk on velvet lawns and marble

life

to

clever

book by Professor Mathews, which has obtained some

popularity in the United States.

false premises

It

seems to us

and erroneous inferences.

Let us examine

The

statements and illustrations one by one.

Mohammed

upon an apocryphal

rests

to bristle with
its

reference to

story that, to conceal

himself from his pursuers, he took refuge in a cave, over the

mouth

of

which a spider immediately wove

enemy came

up, they

its

web.

When

saw the web, and concluded that

it

the

would

not have been there had the cave been recently occupied.

Now

this

story,

true,

if

proves

only tha*

Mohammed

had

chosen his asylum with great prudence, and that his pursuers
allowed themselves to be foiled by a hasty and superficial

And we

generalization.

man may
by

his

Whig
trifle

benefit

own

by the mistakes of

precautions.

Ministry,

have never intended to deny that a

his

enemies as

much

as

Passing on to the fable about the

we need do no more than observe

that

no such

could have overthrown a Ministry which was not already

tottering to

its fall

torical warranty.

but, in truth, the anecdote

is

without

his-

Franklin's " turn of thought and conduct in

FALSE PREMISES.
life"

would have been what

Mather's " Essays ;"

and

it

was had he never met with Cotton

to

is

it

IO9

be noted that hundreds have

read those exceedingly tedious dissertations without becoming

Franklins
of our

The

instance may, indeed, be claimed in support

own argument,

for

it

proves that Franklin had the will

In the same way

and the talent to benefit by what he read.

we may dispose

of

Jeremy Bentham

power and a significance which

the phrase

had not

it

had

for the

it

indicated.

examples of Bruce and Speke, the

man choked by

who swallowed

a penknife with

an orange pip, and the other

impunity,

him a

for others, because

he was already inclined to act upon the policy

As

for

it

seems enough

remark that Professor Mathews

to

would hardly have adduced them had he not confounded

"accident" with

"fortune."

It

careful inquiry into each case

possible

is

enough

want of prudence had much to do with the different

but we fully acknowledge that the accident of
dent of a strong or
strength, or the

frail

will,

results

constitution, the accident of failing

carelessness of one's fellow men, cannot be

man

of this mortal life."

is

exempt from

man

to his position in society

is

and

be what he chooses to be

have no

" the

his

own

star ;"

that,

according

he can
and that " good luck" and " ill
his natural qualifications,

real existence.

We

call

the American

fessor into court as a witness against himself.

lating fallacious illustrations to bolster

Pro-

After accumu-

up the "luck or fortune"

hypothesis, he confesses that, " in nine times out of ten"

we make bold

In

changes and chances

This admission does not invalidate our

main contention that "

luck''

the acci-

overruled by the loftiest genius or the keenest sagacity.

other words, no

that

would show that prudence or

to add, in the tenth also

"

it is

and

a mere bugbear

B USINESS HABITS.

1 1

of the idle, the languid,

and

and the self-indulgent."

men about good and

preach to young

to

encourage them to

up," and not to their

men may seem

to

own

"

Micawber, to

trust, like

fails

other.

Of

who

it

may have been

agony on

started

has been justly

was not more fortunate than the

foot-sore, with drops of

pain,

say that

But the one succeeds

the two pilgrims

The man who sank by

more wary.

we

fails,

.because they do not really adopt the same

their journey each with peas in their shoes,

said that the one

Two

strong arms and ready brains.

means toward the same end.

on

to

is

adopt the same means to attain the same

more fortunate than the

is

and the other

luck

ill

something turning

end, and because one succeeds and the other

the one

Precisely so

other, only

the way, toil-worn and

his forehead, groaning with

The

the better walker of the two.

not always to the swift, nor the battle to the strong.

race
It

is

is

by

the right application of your swiftness or your strength to the

particular object in view that

" It

is

we must do

the right thing, but

right time,

the

'

you make your way

to success

not enough," continues Professor Mathews, "

if

we would achieve

circumstances

'

in the right way,

it

great triumphs in

life.

many complain

of which so

and

to

do

at the

Again,

should be

regarded as the very tools with which we are to work, the

stepping-stones
tide in the

are to

voyage of

culates upon,

The

comes.

we

life

mount

which the

and generally
true

way

by.

to

They
skilled

are the wind and

mariner always

cal-

either takes advantage of or over-

conquer circumstances

greater circumstance to yourself."

We

is

to

be a

think these pertinent

observations fully justify us in bringing forward the essayist

himself as a witness in support of our side of the question.

There

is

great truth in the pithy

remark of Wendell

Phillips,


COMMON
that
it

common

sense plays the

hands

has in its

not complain that

game

of

and makes use of

life

"

Common

account of good luck or

*

among them.

It

sense

bows

all

does
the

to the inevitable,

does not ask an impossible chess-

It

it.

the truly great

" *

with such cards as

does not waste time in protesting that

board, but takes the one before

true genius,

1 1

antagonist has a better hand, or

its

its side.

SENSE.

" honors " or " trumps "

there are no

" luck " on

it

"

ill

and plays the game."

it,

man

is

The

be who, without taking

luck

Breaks his birth's invidious bar,

And grasps the skirts of happy chance,

And breasts the blows of circumstance.
And grapples with his evil star.

Here

an anecdote which seems

is

to us capable of being

usefully applied.

One

day, in the winter of 1815, after the conclusion of the

great Peace,
office.

The

Mr. A., a

New York

merchant, proceeded to his

number, were already

clerks, four in

and each met his employer with a

he, " this is

good news

now

ive

seldom used the singular number

smile.

at their posts,

" Well, boys," said

must be up and doing."

/,

but spoke

to his clerks

He
and

of them as being part and parcel with himself, associating his

interests with theirs.

continued

"
;

"

We

shall

but we can do as

have our hands

much

as

full

now," he

anybody."

Mr. A. was owner and part-owner of several ships, which,

during the war, had been hauled ashore, three miles up the
river,

^nd dismantled.

solid ice, averaging

They were now

enclosed in a bay of

over the whole distance from one inch to

three inches in thickness

while such was the coldness of the

weather that, when broken up, the pieces would unite and congeal again in an hour or two.

This proved no discouragement

B USINESS HABITS.

112

He knew

that

before the ice yielded for the season,

and

to our energetic

be a month

New York

merchant.

it

would

that thus

the merchants in other towns where the harbors were open,

would have time

to

be

His

markets before him.

in the foreign

decision therefore was instantly taken.

"

Reuben," he continued, addressing one of

and

collect as

Charles,

many

do you

sailmaker,

and

Mr.

find
tell

them

the rigger,

"go

his clerks,

laborers as possible to go

up the

and Mr.

river.
,

the

want to see them immediately.

John, engage half-a-dozen truckmen for to-day and to-morrow.

Stephen, do you hunt up as
can,

and hire them

to

sallied forth to provide

breaking.

many

work

gravers and caulkers as you

for

Mr. A. himself

Before twelve o'clock that day, upwards of

hundred men were three miles up the

and cutting away

ice,

roofing over the ships

caulkers' mallets

was

was torn

to

off,

up on the

in large squares,

open up the channel.'

and the

like to the rattling of

of rigging were passed

an

river, clearing the ships

which they sawed out

and then thrust under the main mass

The

And

me."

necessary implements for ice-

the

clatter of the

a hail-storm, loads

ice, riggers

went

to

and

fro

with belt and knife, sailmakers busily plied their needles, and
the whole presented an unusual scene of
well-diverted labor.

moved some distance down the channel

had reached the wharf, namely,
their rigging

and spars were

and everything ready

stir

and

activity

Before night the ships were

for

in

and
and

and by the time they

some eight or ten

aloft, their

them

afloat,

days,

upper timbers caulked,

to go to sea.

Mr. A. was thus enabled to compete on equal terms with the

merchants of other seaports.

No

gains rewarded his enterprise,

doubt,

many

when

large

and rapid

of his neighbors spoke

"

WITH BRAINS,

depreciatingly of his " good luck

judge whether they were not

proved the
well

" but

So was Bonaparte

we

leave the reader to

the natural

rather

and perseverance.

policy of energy

opportunity.

II3

SlJi."

at the siege of

Toulon, which

So was Crom-

stage in his wonderful career.

first

of a

result

Mr. A. was equal to the

when, with his " Ironsides," he turned the tide of fight at

Naseby Field.

So was George Stephenson when he ran

his

When Archimedes
my lever I

will

locomotive successfully at Rainhill.

claimed, " Give

move

me

the world," he

tunity.

a resting-place, and with

meant

For opportunity

is

that all

he wanted was the oppor-

the fulcrum with which the lever of

moves the most formidable

genius or industry

ex-

obstacles out of

the adventurer's path.

We
"

pass on to another wise business maxim, and that

Never find

fault with

takable sign of a

your

bad workman.

thing that lies close at hand.

an old

of electricity with

To do

tools."

so

is

Talent adapts to

bottle.

its

use any-

Faraday masters the arcana

Sir

Humphrey Davy

eluci-

dates the laws of chemistry with rude instruments of his

preparation.
the

It is

only the artistic fop,

own

the literary " finic,"

commercial amateur, who can do nothing without apparatus

and appliances on the most splendid

scale.

Ferguson calcu-

lated the distances of the stars with a handful

threaded on a string.

bad

is,

the unmis-

tools,

but

wields them.

men braved
their tiny

all

Good

of glass beads

tools, of course, are better

than

depends on the dexterity of the hand that

It is

a noteworthy fact that the Elizabethan sea-

the terrors of the Arctic Sea as successfully in

caravels,

ill

found, and badly manned, as the Vic-

torian explorers in the best vessels that

experienced crews, and

all

can be put

afloat,

with

the auxiliaries that science can fur-

BUSINESS HABITS.

14

Many an amateur

nish.

now-a-days has a studio, and

and pigments, and brushes very much

Correggio or a Titian could command
with them

"

painter, "

famous

to the

With

but what does he do

" Pray, Mr. Opie," said a dapper

brains, sir,"

young student

what do you mix your colors with

was the

the root of the matter

easel,

superior to any that a

to

are useless without

the finest tools

That went

significant reply.

"
?

brains.

James Watt's

first

model of the condensing steam-engine was

aiLade out of an anatomist's old

iLindsay, the shipowner, gathered

tthe

Scotch

(tea-tray,
r

all his

was an adept

cat's

tail.

Thomas Edward,
cheap

in the construction of

which contained a few watch-glasses, a blow-pipe, a

lens,

and a prism.

composition of

light

Gifiord solved his

Sir Isaac

With a sheet of

and experimented on the origin of

first

lused as tablets.

a pan of

paste-

Newton discovered

the

colors.

mathematical problems by means of

.small scraps of leather which he beat

-with

first

Dr. Wollaston's laboratory consisted of an old

small balance, and a dozen test-papers.

..board,

The

education from an old

Encyclopaedia Britannica."

naturalist,

:-a|)pliances.

syringe.

West were extracted from the

Ibrushes of Benjamin

edi*tion of the "

and rusty

smooth enough

to

be

Dr. Black found out the secret of latent heat

And

water and a couple of thermometers.

George Stephenson mastered the rules of arithmetic with a

bit

of chalk on the grimy sides of the coal-wagons.

We
in life

have spoken of self-control as essential to a man's success

;

we must not omit

says Bacon,
strength

"

to insist

seem neither

to

upon

self-reliance.

"

Men,"

understand their riches nor

their

of the former they believe greater things than they

should, of the latter

much

less.

Self-reliance

and

self-control

SELF-RELIANCE.
will

man

teach a

and carefully

to

The wealthy

is

is

man who

Such a man

is

it

A man

out alone.

when he

" I have

of the stuff,

need more

if

he

of self-conceit,

fall

we admit,

free,

and

Rome, and Rome

he was always

in action, resolute in will.

designed his

own

Cellini.

he wandered from town to

to Naples,

the same

He made

works, but

hammering and

to

Mantua, and

and Naples back

to

rich in expediency, ready

his

own

tools

he not only

executed them with his

carving, modelling

and

own

Hence

casting.

we observe so strongly impressed a stamp of individuon all that came from his hands. Not less self-reliant was

that

the late illustrious

French statesman, Thiers.

to others that he could do himself, and over

He

left

all

that he in-

nothing

trusted to others he exercised the sharpest supervision.

was

verge

to the

independent, courageous and

a bird of passage, from Florence

Florence

ality

and can walk

was the distinctive quality of Benvenuto

to

it is

it is

when

not into the thraldom of waiting for the

Mantua

hands,

at Cressy,

never so happy as

Said Jean Paul, the glorious

Self-reliance, pushed,

Wherever he went

like

move

unable, to

as

a host in himself

assured.

town

made

is

resource

much out of myself as could be made

and no man should require more." No man will

help of others.

He was

is

suffices to himself,

without crutches or a guide.

one

to his trust."

fertile of

trusts to others fears, or

totus in se j as

eat his

always ready when he

Like Edward the Black Prince

better to fight

and

he who trusts only to his own energy,

abilities.

unsupported.

is

cistern,

labor truly to get his living,

wanted, always prompt, and calm, and

while the

he

and

to learn

expend the good things committed

man

prudence and

own

to drink out of his

own sweet bread, and

1 1

his courage,

such his composure,

that, civilian as

Such
he was,

B USIN'S SS HABITS.

1 1

he would have undertaken the

field if

he had thought

it

to

command

Scheffer, " nothing bears fruit except

To

body.

mine

strive,

is fulfilled

and

strive

still

such

army

of an

in the

Ary

" In life," said

be his duty.

by labor of mind and

is life

and

in this respect

for I dare to say, with just pride, that nothing

my

soul,

and a noble

aim, one can do what one wills, morally speaking."

And when

ha,s

it

ever shaken

done,

is

when

the victory

the reflection that the honor

To

wait until

With a strong

courage.

achieved, what joy one feels in

is

is

not to be shared with another

some good Samaritan passes

part of any

to stand,

is

manly mind.

tends to weaken the

it

The

and paralyze the judgment.

with circumstance has, on the contrary, a bracing and

ening

It

puts us, so to speak, into training

wrestling of two athletes.

yan says of temptations,

the

All difiiculties
like

come

the lion which

subdued, we find a comb of honey in them.

forth the highest qualities of a man.

" Ability

like the
'

to us, as

Bun;

at

There can be no
which

calls

Hence Pythagoras

said,

It is peril

it

"

He who

has

only with poverty and hard

be found stronger and more expert than he who could

will

home from

waggons, or even

We

is

met Samson

and necessity dwell near each other."

battled," says Carlyle, " were

stay at

it

encounter they roar and gnash their teeth, but once

first

victory where there has been no battle.

toil,

struggle

strength-

the pure mountain air on an enfeebled

effect, like that of

frame.

not the

The habit of depending upon others

should be vigorously resisted, since

intellectual faculties

by,

with arms folded, sighing for a " helping hand,"

have'

the battle, concealed

rest

among

the provision

unwatchfully 'abiding by the

need of an occasional

failure to

quicken our

sharpen our insight, and confirm our discretion.

stuff.'"

vigilance,

THE BILL OF DIFFICULTY.

To grow
Goodness
There

by

strong

itself

more joy

is

the fold after

bramble, with

suffering

nothing

is

that the
of

duty

wounded

sides

that

it

men"

and bleeding

who have never

is

feet,

to

than over the

quitted the green pastures.

developed and character tested by

sway of experience.

up the Hill of

It is

Difficulty

The path
men

brave heart climbs to happiness or sorrow.

is

life.

by temptation.

heaven over the sheep that returns

in

Genius, in like manner,

the rude

seems the mystery of

unless pfoved

has strayed afar, returns torn with briar and

it

ninety and nine

11/

not only steep but thorny

should be

Shelley

so.

tells

and

is

it

us that

well for

"most wretched

meaning thereby the world's great singers

Are cradled into poetry by wrong
learn in suffering what they teach in song. ''
'

'

They

and we know that the crushed flower gives forth the rarest
fragrance.

It is

not always true that sorrow loosens the fount

of poetic inspiration
of genius

seem

or trouble.

It

public sorrows

to

but in

the highest powers

have been evoked by disappointment, pain

was not

and

many instances

until his heart

was overcharged with

private grievances, until he

dregs of the cup of bitterness, that Dante

derful Christian epic.

It

had drunk the

composed

won-

his

was while the shadow of coming death

brooded over him that Mozart wrote his immortal " Requiem."

Everybody knows the anguish of passion which Tasso poured out

in his "

Gerusalemme Liberata."

the "Lycidas" of Milton, the

moriam"

A profound

of Tennyson. Let us not lose heart, then,

difficulties,

when

or sharply tried, or oppressed with failure

things are designed to stimulate us to higher

and

sorrow inspired

"Adonais" of Shelley, the "In

to teach us the great

and

Mem-

beset

by

for these

and purer

effort,

glorious lesson of self-reliance.

B USINESS HABITS.

1 1

This

is

a lesson which, now-a-days,

To

schools.

us

down

tion that they lay

not taught in the

is

seems the vice of modern systems of educa-

it

too

" royal roads to knowledge."

many

Those impediments which formerly compelled the student

now most

think and labor for himself are

and he

glides so smoothly along the well-beaten

he pauses not

to

highway

The

heed the flowers on either hand.

thorough and complete scholars

that

race of

Our young men

dying out.

is

to

carefully removed,

are equipped to such an extent with manuals that explain everything,

and guides that go everywhere, that they

for thought.

Why

passage wh.en

it is

find

no occasion

spend an hour in grappling with an obscure

cleared

up

beautifully in an obliging " note "

Why

endeavor to comprehend the significance of an

crisis

when

it is

descending of

when

so

school,

find

it

many

carefully brought out for

critics

why

In a word,

you by the most con-

take any trouble at

are willing to relieve you of

and turn our attention

historical

it ?

When we

to the literature of the day,

equally complacent and easy-going.

It

all

leave

we

does not ask or

expect us to do anything for ourselves, and we quickly become

to this new "Castle of Indolence."
As no demand
made upon our mental energy, we soon learn to believe that

accustomed
is

the slightest exertion

the road
native in

on

his

is,

insist

beyond our

is

that

it

shall

strength, and,

be made smoother.

some parts of the world

up the Alpine peaks of knowledge

us, asleep or

the book over which

As

as

the

carries the pupil

as the priest in Siberia puts

and grinds out prayers, so we expect

our preacher to do our praying for us

whisks

"

carries the traveller in a chair

back over the mountains, so the teacher

his devotions into a mill,

smooth

as the steam-whistle

awake, to the city or capital, so we expect

we doze or snore

to

bear us to the metropo-


BENJAMIN

We

of science."

lis

DISRAELI.

II9

go to a popular lecturer for our chemistry,

to a

popular preacher for our religion, to a popular newspaper

for

our

And when some

politics.

stern moralist arises,

and

speaks earnestly of the dignity and honorableness of work,

yawn and murmur, "Yes,

peared before our indolent and luxurious selfishness.

mania

the secret of the

for

Even

its

theatres,

Society wishes to save

wants money, but does not want to work for

It

pleasures
it

This

it

is

making money by speculative com-

panies and stockjobbing ingenuities.

self trouble.

we

Self-reliance has disap-

in others."

takes with languid ease.

must not be asked

to think.

If

it

itit.

goes to the
ever crying

It is for

with Tennyson's " Lotus Eaters "

" Hateful

the dark-blue sky,

is

Vaulted o'er the dark-blue sea.

Death is the end of life ah, why
Should life all labor be ?
;

us alone.
Time driveth onward fast,
And in a little while our lips are dumb.
Let us alone. What is it that will last ?
All things are taken from us, and become
Portions and parcels of the dreadful Past.
Let us alone. What pleasure can we have
To war with evil ? Is there any peace
In ever climbing up the climbing wave ?
All things have rest, and ripen towards the grave
In silence ripen, fall, and cease,
Give us long rest or death, dark death, or dreamful ease."

Let

The splendid success

ducts us

we

to

which

sometimes con-

Benjamin

Disraeli, Earl of

see in the career of

Beaconsfield, the attorney's clerk,

Prime Minister of England.

variously ascribed to his
plasticity, his

self-reliance

We

who has

risen to the post of

have heard

power of epigram,

unscrupulousness

his

achievements

his audacity, his

but, for ourselves,

we

find their

foundation in his frank and fearless reliance on himself.

Such

was the motive which animated the American orator and senator,
J.

C. Calhoun.

When

at

Yale College, on being ridiculed for

120

BUSINESS HABITS.
he replied, " Why,

his passionate devotion to his studies,

am

forced to

make

self creditable

my

the most of

when

if

may

And when this saying was

Do you doubt it ? I assure
my ability to reach the national

were not convinced of

'"

capital as a representative within the next three years, I

He

leave college this very day."

Goethe's famous advice, "

move
will

Be

the world."

man

until the architect

same

and what you

makes them something

The block

ruins.

obstacle in the pathway of the

in the

We

pathway of the

same

the

one ware-

Thus

else.

it is

that

same circumstances, one man rears a

stately edifice, while his brother, vacillating

amid

From

plastic power.

bricks and mortar are bricks and mortar

family, in the

lives forever

will, that

George Henry

strength," remarks

builds j)alaces, another hovels

houses, another villas

in the

Our

would

spirit of

thy standing-place, and

Make good

measured by our

is

materials one

spoke in the true

true to yourself,
"

you accomplish.

Lewes, "

my-

acquit

in Congress.''

greeted with a laugh, he added,

you,

time that

sir, I

and incompetent,

of granite

which was an

weak becomes a stepping-stone

resolute."

should be encouraged

to cultivate the habit of

indepen-

dent thought and independent action by the consideration that

each one of us has his appointed mission and place in the

v/orld,
is

and

his

work

to

do for himself and

his fellow-men.

the centre of a circle, large or small, of

primary influence

and

is

He
the

that circle

must accordingly react on

circle, arid that

again on yet another, and

another and wider

which he

so on through a succession of circles

just as

we

see that the

dropping of a stone in the water creates a series of waves

which expand

far

away

discovery has shown

into the distance.

how

the very words

we

recent scientific

utter

may be

pre-


RESPONSIBILITY.

121

served in articulate sounds for the hearing of future genera-

But our

tions.

mitted in a

our conduct, our character, are trans-

acts,

more

still

The thought

living form.

should " bid us pause

"

which should

is

one which

by

incite us to attain

our strenuous effort to a lofty standard of living and thinking.

We

cannot divest ourselves of our responsibility to our fellow-

True

men.

that but few of us can spell-bind the

is

it

cannot
lieus

all

We

of us control the destinies of nations like the Riche-

and the

Pitts.

We

cannot

all

domains

of us enlarge the

We

Newton, a Cuvier, a Faraday.

of science like a

of us create those things of beauty which

ity

world

a Shakespeare, a Milton, a Wordsworth, a Bacon.

like

fill

cannot

the heart of

all

human-

with a perpetual joy, like a Raffaelle, a Titian, a Mozart, a

But we can

Mendelssohn.

sum

of

human

than we found

all

happiness, to
it.

of us

make

do something

to swell the

the world better

In our trade or profession we can

and purer
set

an ex-

ample of honorable dealing and straightforwardness, punctuality,

truthfulness

short of assiduous
failure, that

"

and independence.

Thomas Fowell Buxton,

he

is

No man,"

said the late Sir

" ought to be convinced by anything

and long-continued
not meant to do

labors, issuing in absolute

much

for the

Such absolute

and the good of mankind."

honor of

God

failure, then, will

never be, so long as we rely upon ourselves, and are alive to

our duties and our obligations.

story

from "real life"

narrative of the

wealthy Western

own

words.

On

It

is

always the must effectual

be adduced of a great

tration that can

early struggles
florist

seems

and

truth.

The

illus-

following

towards independence of a

horticulturist

to us replete with

is

told almost in his

genuine interest

the west corner of Nassau and Liberty Streets,

New

122

BUSINESS HABITS.

York, lived a venerable old gentleman, one Isaac

Van Hook,

In course of time, a firm of cabinet-

for a period of fifty years.

makers, carrying on a respectable business, and having in their

employment ten or twelve journeymen and apprentices, took a

mad

resolution, gave

up

business, sold their stock, hired the

Van Hook,

corner-house over the head of poor Mr.

and

turned him

and entered upon the gro-

his tobacco pipes out of doors,

cery business.

" Theirs being a corner, I lost (says Mr. Thor-

burn) most of

my

customers, insomuch that I was obliged to

mode

look around for some other

This, you

may be

in the sequel,

prepared the way

it

more agreeable and

"

About

show a

this

my

family.

for introducing

me

but,

into a

profitable business.

time the ladies in

taste for flowers,

pots in the grocery stores

my

of supporting

sure, I considered a great misfortune

and

it

New York

were beginning to

was customary

to see flower-

these articles also formed part of

stock.

"In the

fall

of the year,

when

the plants wanted shifting,

preparatory to their being placed in the parlor,

was often

asked for pots of a handsomer quality or better make.

As

already stated, I was looking round for some other means to

my

family.

All at once

and paint some of

my common

support

paint, thinking

common

the

and were

same way.
selling to

would better

in front of
sold.

month

into

my mind

to take

suit the taste of the ladies

they soon drew atten-

I painted six pair

I

than

painted two pair, and

my window

Being thus encouraged,

good advantage.

day, in the

came

brickbat-colored ones.

exposed them
tion,

it

it

flower-pots with green varnish

they soon went the

continued painting and

This was in the

fall

of 1802.

of April following, I observed a

One

man, for

MR. THORBURIsrS VENTURE.

the

first

I23

time, selling flower plants in the Fish Market,

As

then stood at the foot of Maiden Lane.

and rubbing

along, I took a leaf,

thumb, asked him what was the name of

geranium.

This, as far as

carelessly passed

my finger and
He answered, a

between

it

it.

can recollect, was the

which

first

time

ever heard that the flower in question was a geranium, as before this, I
I

had no

looked a few minutes

and that

smell,

it

nor paid any attention to plants.

taste for,

thought

at the plant,

would look well

my

green flower-pots to stand on

if

it

removed

had a pleasant
into

my

one of

counter and thus draw atten-

tion.

" Observe, I did not purchase this plant with the intention of
selling

it

and

let

was

in

plant

draw attention

again, but merely to

how

the people see

well the pots looked

The day

pot.

nearly over, judging the

following

and

began

them,

way

and so

in those

Accordingly,

boats.

man would

show me how

something might be done in

continued to go

at the close of the

me

The man,

his tongue, that

if

at

any customers wished

this

market, and
finding

me

them home, and

to carry

to shift the plants out of his pots

into the green-pots,

he lived

purchased two plants, and having sold

to think that

river, as

days there was neither steam nor horse-

a useful customer, would assist

we wrought

the plant

cheaper rather than

sell

always bargained for the unsold plants.

by

when

went when the market was

have the trouble of carrying them over the

Brooklyn

green pots,

Next day some one fancied and purchased both

them.

and

my

to

it.

and put them

I

soon found,

he was a Scotchman, and being countrymen,

into one another's

from having one plant,

being a novelty, began

hands \more

had

in a short time I
to

draw attention

Scotico],
fifty.

and

thus,

The

thing

people carrying their

BUSINESS HABITS.

124

country friends to see the curiosities of the city would step in

my

to see

In some of these

plants.

the stranger would

visits

express a wish to have some of these plants, but, having so far

Then

to go, could not carry them.

seed of such plants

then, again, others

me

sell

thinking that,

them

New

if

could get seeds,

but here lay the

for cabbage,

would be able

As no one

difficulty.

at length

to

sold seed in

York, none of the farmers or gardeners sowed more than

what they wanted for

from

whom

own

and stay

at

if

would take

to the person

in the Fish Market.

home and

raise plants

to fifteen dollars,

in the

his plants

his seeds,

bargain was immediately struck

amounting

no market for

my situation

raising seeds, with the intention of selling

them next spring along with

added, that

use, there being

had always bought the plants

was now

said he

their

In this dilemma I told

an overplus.

He

would ask

had no .

if I

These frequent inquiries

turnip, or radish seed, etc.

set

they would ask

market

but

he would quit the market,

and seeds

for

me

to sell.

purchased his stock of seeds,

and thus commenced a business,

on the 17th of September, 1805, that became the most extensive

establishment of the kind in the Western world."

The

self-reliance, the

rare mental qualities here displayed

might, in a wider sphere, have raised this

A
the

narrative of a higher kind

life

of

Thomas

Thomas

at

to eminence.

November, 1805, was the son of a

Buerton, in Cheshire.

age he was sent to school

at Chester,

prenticed to a land-surveyor and agent

capacity he was

man

presented to us in the story of

Brassey.

Brassey, born in

gentleman farmer

is

first

employed

Shrewsbury and Holyhead road

and

At twelve years
at sixteen

named Lawton.

in surveying the line

;

and

his quickness

of

was apIn

this

of the

and indus-

THOMA S BRA SSE Y.

try

were so conspicuous, that

ticeship Mr.

him
at

at the

25

conclusion of his appren-

at the

Lawton received him

as his

jiartner,

and placed

head of a branch business which he had established

Much

Birkenhead.

of the

young partner's attention was here

devoted to the manufacture of bricks

of crate to faciliate,

and unloading.

and he invented a kind

and thereby cheapen, the labor of loading

In 1832 he married

the death of Mr. Lawton,

became

owner of the Birkenhead

estate.

and soon afterwards, on

sole agent for

Mr. Pine, the

Having made the acquain-

tance of the celebrated George Stephenson, he so impressed

the latter with a conviction of his admirable business qualities
that he persuaded

him

Junction Railway.

to tender for the

This he did

high, he lost the contract.

again,

Nothing discouraged, he tendered

and for the Penkridge Viaduct between Stafford and

Wolverhampton was
taking with great
tions of those

He

successful.

spirit

to give himself

and much thoroughness, giving indica-

much more

special abilities

ways.

His wife urged him

at

dis-

once

up wholly to railway work, her sound judgment

convincing her that,

at that

carried through his under-

powers of organisation which he afterwards

played in so remarkable a degree.

find a

work on the Grand

but his estimate being too

by

if

he

left

Birkenhead, he would be able to

important sphere for the exercise of his

enlisting in the small

band

of

men who had

time taken in hand the construction of the British

rail-

Acting upon her prudent advice, he thereupon became

a contractor for public works on the most colossal scale.

enterprise spurned the insular limits of Great Britain.

His

With

ready boldness and self-reliance he undertook a number of most

important engagements abroad
Austria, in Australia. Canada,

in France, Italy,

and even

in India.

Denmark,
large in-

B USINESS HABITS.

26

dustrial

army executed

his bidding,

and won peaceful triumphs

in almost every land.

Between

his operatives

and goodwill existed

and himself the most cordial feelings

and

his

conduct was so

considerate, that he fully merited the affection

which he was regarded,

and

liberal, just,

and esteem with

certain share of the profits

was

he could to

fur-

always allotted to his agents, while he did

ther the extension of the " butty

which a certain piece of work was

gang
let

all

" system,

by means of

out to ten or fifteen men,

the profits being equally divided, with a small extra profit to

the head

man

His sub-contractors he treated with

in charge.

the greatest generosity and confidence, and they were always

They

content to accept engagements on the terms he offered.

knew they could

trust to him, of his

mistake or remedy an injustice.

.own volition, to correct a

If the original contract

proved

too hard a bargain for the sub-contractor, Mr. Brassey would

always increase the price or

other way.

Again,

engineers of the
best

mode

way

of settling

among

if

make up

company

for

whom

he was working as to the

of proceeding with the work, he

it.

some

the deficiency in

a dispute arose between his agents and the

He would

the contending parties

had an admirable

appear, perhaps unexpectedly,

;

would not back up

own

his

agents, or enter into vexatious contention with the engineers of

the company, but would, in the presence of them

" gangers " into council,

and ask them what was

all,

take the

their opinion

was generally found that the gangers had a

very clear opinion, and a very judicious one, of the way in

on the matter.

It

which the work should proceed, and,

parties felt that the opinion of these

ual execution of the

work

rested,

at

any

rate, the

men, with

whom

disputing
the

was an opinion which

manit

was

THOMA S BRA SSE Y.

very desirable to defer to and to conciliate.

This

mode

27

of

reference and unrefined arbitration was eminently characteristic

of this great employer of labor.

One

gains a vivid idea of Mr. Brassey's admirable business

qualities, of his vigor, administrative capacity,

in himself,

Here

takings he successfully carried out.

them

and confidence

from a consideration of the numerous great under-

The Grand

Trunk Railway

Victoria tubular bridge

Caledonian Railway

is

over the broad

St.

the Nantes and Caen,

a partial

list

of

of Canada, including the

Lawrence

the

Maremma and

Leghorn, Jutland, Warsaw and Terrespol, Kronprinz, Rudolf-

and Suezama and Jassy

stadt,

railways.

The

Central Argen-

the Delhi, and the Indian Chord Line, are

tine,

down under

railways laid

his superintendence.

among the
Then there

were considerable contracts on the Scottish Central, Great

Northern, Lancashire and Carlisle, North Staffordshire, Buckinghamshire, North Devon, East Suffolk, Leicester and Hitchin,

South Tilbury and Southend, Bury

bridge,

from France

Rugby.

to

"

Having

have known him come direct

left

he would have been engaged in the

day

he would then come down

twelve o'clock, and

works by

it

was

six o'clock the

Edmunds and Cam-

His energy was almost boundless.

and Severn Valley.

Mr. Harrison says of him

St.

his

Havre the night

office in

London

before,

the whole

Rugby by the mail train at

common practice to be on the
to

next morning.

He

would frequently

walk from Rugby to Nuneaton, a distance of sixteen miles.

Having arrived

at

Nuneaton

in the afternoon,

he would pro-

ceed the same night by road to Tamworth, and the next morning he would be out on the road so soon that he had the reputation

among

his staff of being the

first

.man on the works.


BUSINESS HABITS.

128

He

used

to

ptoceed over the works from Tamworth to Stafford,

walking the greater part of the distance

and he would

fre-

quently proceed that same evening to Lancaster, in order to

inspect the works in progress under the contract which he
for the execution of the railway
It

was said of him by one who

from

rightly estimated the strength

of his determination and his profound self-reliance

had been a parson, he would have been a bishop

fighter,

won

he would have

had

Lancaster to Carlisle."

"

he

If

a prize-

And

the champion's belt."

Sir

Arthur Helps thus commemorates the singleness of purpose,

marked

the concentration of aim which

ruling passion of his

life

was

to execute great

man

celebrated

in so doing

tuality,

and completeness

for this

was a great point with him

ment

to all those persons

who had

in his great enterprises, not

bler class of laborers

It

whom

" The

to

become a

for faithfulness, punc-

in the execution of his

works which he

mankind

believed to be of the highest utility to

celebrated

his career

work

to continue to give

also

employ-

already embarked with

by any means

forgetting the

him

hum-

he engaged in his service."

was characteristic of Mr. Brassey that he always found

He was never in a hurry and never beHe wasted not a moment he never left a letter
unanswered. When he visited Scotland in the shooting season,

time for everything.

hindhand.

a bag containing writing appliances and a pile of letters that

required acknowledgment always accompanied the luncheonbasket.

He

would enjoy a brisk short walk on the moor, and

then, in the shelter of a shepherd's hut or screened

dyke, would

sit

down and

ness and intelligence.

comprehension.

Idleness was a thing utterly

In his

by a stone

write his letters with his usual clear-

own words

"

It

beyond

his

requires a special

MR. CRIGG.
education to be

of a gentleman"

up

to

It

man who

business pursuits the greater part of his

has been engaged in

life to retire

he soon discovers that he has made a mistake.

so,

retire

but

if

for

would be

so, it

which

live the

he would add, "one must have been brought

impossible for a

is

To

particular calling or occupation.

life

it.

or to employ the twenty-four hours in a

idle,

way without any

129

he does

if

I shall

not

some good reason

should be obliged to do

There

should bring up stock,

to a farm.

should cause to be weighed every day, ascertaining,

at

the same time, their daily cost as against the increasing weight.

then

I should

know when

to sell,

and

start again

with a fresh

lot."

Mr. Brassey died, worn out with work,

only sixty-five years of age, but,
really
ful

been a long one,

as

it

in

1870.

counted by deeds, his

He

was

life

had

had unquestionably been both use-

and honorable.

Crossing the Atlantic,

who

in

some

was a no
dustry

respects

less striking

we meet

with a representative man,

maybe compared

to

Thomas

Brassey, and

example of what may be achieved by

when supported by

self-reliance.

We

in-

allude to Mr.

Grigg of Philadelphia, the founder of a well-known American

Beginning the world as an orphan boy, he

publishing firm.

died in possession of a fortune, though he had abundantly shown

that he
it

knew how

prudently.

to

It is

his success, that

spend money wisely as well as

to acquire

put forward as one strong explanation of

he enjoyed a singular power of inspiring (what

always proved a legitimate) conviction of his sincerity, honor,

and

ability.

He himself

was accustomed

to say of the

thorough

business man, in words originally applied to a statesman, that

" he should

have

in

an eminent degree the self-sustaining power

BUSINESS HABITS.

130
of intellect.

He

must possess energy and

enterprise, with per-

To

severance and great mental determination.

dence, which after

all

the highest of earthly qualities,

is

mystical something, which

The

we may

add, professional

^ing time or

money

And

gences.

here

They were

They were warned

that

to

As

lives.

to the unprofi-

money, Mr. Grigg sagely remarks, that

young could be induced

entered on the paths of

life,

if

soon as they

to begin saving as

the

be

against wast-

just these small bits

it is

of self-indulgence which wreck young

com-

pleasures and indul-

in small but useless

we may note

table expenditure of

are indicated in the

life,

advice which Mr. Grigg gave to young men.

(industrious and economical.

is

but cannot be described."

is felt

special qualifications necessary to success in trade,

imerce, and,

'the

inspire confi-

way would ever become

easier

for them, and, without debarring themselves from the usual

necessaries or comforts, they

would not

fail

to

attain a

com-

"Our people," says an American writer, "are cerpetency.

Etainly among the most improvident and extravagant on the face of
the earth."

-verdict

Mr. Gladstone has recently pronounced the same

on the people of England.

-merchant of the old school,

who

" It

enough

is

economy, prudence, and discretion he had

his

own

back

in

astonishment to look

test of respectability

makes man happy

honest industry.

[in a certain degree].

the class that was noble

and have preserved

when

to this

laborious and industrious.

day

'

the

Adam

all

bear on

successful

at the reckless

waste and extravagance of the age and people.

is

make

to bring to

business (they are, in fact, the basis of

enterprise), start

to

looks back and thinks what

The

highest

Well-directed industry

The

really noble class,

delved and Eve span,'

their patent untarnished, is the

Until

men have

learned industry,

SELF-RELIANCE.
economy, and

self-control, they

cannot be safely intrusted with

wealth."

Certainly this

seems

to

is

an age of

recklessly lavish as the capitalist,

luxuries which

The

alike.

and the

artisan

is

as

collier indulges in

Whether there is a

gance in the English character we

it is

profuse expenditure

would formerly have been considered proper

only for the most affluent.

but

unthrift.

be the curse of every class

will not

strain of extrava-

undertake to argue

noticeable that the sympathies of the people always go

out towards the free-handed, towards the prodigality of George

IV., rather than the soberness of
thrift

George

much

borough's thriftiness has robbed him of

and Macaulay even exaggerates

sures

towards the spend-

III.,

Sheridan rather than the economical Wordsworth.

as a

it

the virtue of

mean and
economy

it

is

of his popularity,

into avarice,

No

despicable vice.

Marl-

and

doubt

bitterly cenin

England

but lightly esteemed.

To industry and economy, said Mr. Grigg, add self-reliance.

Do not take too much advice. The man of business should
keep at the helm and steer his own bark. In early life every
man should be thought to think and act for himself, to rely on
his

own

capacity, and, like

to fight for his

to his

he

own

will

own hand.

Hal

o'

the

Unless a

Wynd

man

is

in Scott's novel,

accustomed

to trust

resources, his talents will never be fully developed

never gain that quickness of perception, that prompti-

tude of decision, that readiness of action, which are essential to

the successful conduct of affairs.

tomed

Had

not Nelson been accus-

to confide in himself, the victory off

would have been shorn of half

its

Cape

St.

Vincent

glory.

'We have already enlarged upon the importance of punctuality.

Mr. Grigg called

it

" the

mother of confidence."

He did

BUSINESS HABITS.

132
not think

it

enough

for a

merchant

to fulfill his engagements,

but what he undertook to do he must do at the exact

well as in the

chants

and,

way

indeed, of all

great, that their

more

men engaged

never stronger than in

is

But a persistent

merso

is

its

weakest

link,

fulfillment of obligations

not of the greatest importance, because

engagements promptly

evidence that our

most satisfactory

our means

and everything

A man's business should be in

is

enables others to meet

also the

is

it

it

affairs are well ordered,

available, our force in battle array,

action."

in business

frequently broken through the weakness of others

than their own.

their

titne as

of

engagements, like a chain, which, according to

the law of mechanics,

are

The interdependence

prescribed.

"

all

easy

ready for

as excellent " trim " as

a Queen's ship.
It

was very good advice of Mr. Grigg that men should attend

to the minutiae of business, to small things as well as great, to

An

details as well as outlines.

sidered trivialities

is

indifference to

often considered a

mark

are asked to admire pictures in which the lights

" dashed in " with

and perspective

We

"a bold hand," and

We

and shades are

the laws of proportion

plainly disregarded because not understood.

are told that this

and boldness

what are con-

of genius.

an evidence of wealth of imagination

is

We

of execution.

Titian or Raffaelle work.

the wild exuberance of

reply, that in

no such way did

Then, again, we are invited

poems

like

Walt Whitman's

to praise

poems

without grace of form, exactness of expression, or harmony of

diction.
spises,

we

The

free

independent genius of the modern singer de-

are told, the rules

and conventionalities that fettered

a Milton or a Wordsworth.

But for our

and Wordsworth, with

sum

their

part,

we

prefer Milton

of artistic completeness

and

SELFISHNESS.
their

happy attention

everything in

sure that there

So

to details.

look upon capital,

if

he

start

with

simply as the tool with which he

for industry.

It is

employments

it,

is

may

or as he

make

to

should

acquire

it,

to work, not as a substitute

frequently the case that diligence in minor

the most successful introduction to great enter-

is

Napoleon was a studious sub-lieutenant of

prises.

33

like to see

A young man

a place for everything.

is

we

in business,

and we recommend the master

place,

its

artillery

before he burst on the world as the victor of the Bridge of

Lodi.

Not only

Again, beware of selfishness.

meanest of vices, but

spring are

all

it is

so hateful

the end of acquisition

It interferes

it

acquired.

it is

directed

benefit those for

it

Good and

The

On

whom

make

sure to

says, "

As Jeremy Bentham

may not

is

it

the
off-

The

egotist

is

the other hand,

his

effort

own

happi-

of beneficence

was intended, but when wisely

must benefit the person from

friendly conduct

its

difficult to acquire,

cripples the powers of intellect.

he who has thought for others

and

It dulls the affections

a torment to himself, a nuisance to others.

ness.

in itself

it

both with the means and

makes money more

and not worth having when

of the heart

is

the parent of so many,

may meet

whom

it

emanates.

with an unworthy and

ungrateful return, but the absence of gratitude on the part of

the receiver cannot destroy the self-approbation which recom-

penses the giver, and

we may

kindliness around us at so
inevitably fall
in the

expense.

Some

on good ground, and grow up

minds of

ness in the

scatter the seeds of courtesy

little

others,

and

all

bosom whence they

of

them

spring.

virtues always, twice blest sometimes."

will

them

and
will

into benevolence

bear

Once

of

fruit of

happi-

blest are all the

BUSINESS HABITS.

134

Mr. Grigg's next head of counsel was "Accustom yourself

Mental

to think vigorously."

well invested

if

a good return

justed and rightly applied

taking,

and continuous thought

Again,

mote

desired

and

watch

it

however

re-

can have, any bearing upon

of business should be continually

Macaulay

as

end accurate, pains-

of everything,

for information, as greedy for

in gathering

be rightly ad-

absolutely necessary.

in appearance, that has, or

The man

must

to this

is

we must take advantage

success.

must be

capital, like pecuniary,

is

on the

knowledge and as

alert

he should seize every idea that

can possibly throw light upon his path

he should be an

tentive reader of

books of a practical character,

careful student of

all useful,

inspiring

and elevating

at-

as well as a
literature.

" Lastly, never forget a favor," said Mr. Grigg, " for ingratitude
is

the basest trait of man's heart."

maxim, but
it

is

its

forgotten.

It

who

may seem

copybook

may be more

convincing to some people

Men

soon grow chary of helping

that ingratitude does not pay.

a person

This

truth cannot be disputed, though too frequently

receives every favor as a matter of right,

and

shows himself utterly insensible to the kindness of the individual conferring

it.

The world has

a very just and a very

natural antipathy to the ungrateful.

Such are the axioms

of business morality

which Mr. Grigg

They may be commended

founded on a long experience.

to

the reader for digestion and assimilation.

We now
length

resume our subject.

various

of

indispensable to
life-battle

qualities

all

who

We

have spoken

at

some

and habits which seemed

to us

desire to take a worthy part in the

but we have said nothing upon

perhaps, the one quality which

is

tact.

Yet

this

is,

necessary to the successful


TALEN'T AiVD TACT.
action of

We

other good qualities.

all

opportunities wasted by

men

have seen many

of estimable character

than ordinary talent for want of

We

tact.

fine

and more

have seen possible

friends offended, influential patrons lost, through

We

35

want of

tact.

have seen a career of energy and perseverance spoiled by

want of

AVe have seen tact win

tact.

places while talent

tact

knows how

the

in

essayist, " talent is

anonymous
weight

lagged

power

momentum.

is

do

to

makes him respected.

Tact makes friends

Talent
talent

to the foremost

" Talent," says

tact is skill.

is

wealth

man
;

respectable

tact

makes enemies.

is

an

Talent

Talent knows what to do

Talent makes a

it.

way

its

rear.

is

tact

tact

ready money."

Tact knows the

when

seasons

" To take
Occasion by the hand."

We

Talent too often misses them.

easily define
it

is.

It

is

largely into

readiness,

ta<;t,

that

we can

know

don't

that

something more than manner, yet manner enters

It

it.

is

a combination of quickness, firmness,

good temper and

facility.

It

something which

is

never offends, never excites jealousy, never provokes

never treads upon other people's
fly,"

says a moralist

you must play

what
acter

it

"

toes.

Every

" but even the right

fly is

is

practical talent

fish

is

it

rivalry,

has

its

not enough

And

nicely at the right spot."

Tact

tact does.

that

is

just

force of char-

united to dexterity of action, and softened by ease of

manner.
ence.

we can

say in a few words exactly what

Or perhaps we may

It detects a want,

sees an opening

and

call it insight

at

and immediately

guided by experi-

once supplies a remedy.

profits

by

it.

"

For

all

It

the

practical purposes of life," says the essayist already quoted,

" tact carries

it

against talent ten to one.

Talent has

many

BUSINESS HABITS.

136

compliment from the bench, but

neys and

Talent makes the world wonder that

triumphantly.

no

faster

And

the secret

false steps

ing

tact excites astonishment that

its

is,

that

it

attor-

takes

it

eye on the weathercock,

To

every wind that blows."

is

times

all

it

gets

on so

gets

it

has no weight to carry

no time

loses

it

from

tact touches fees

Talent speaks learnedly and logically, tact

clients.

on

fast.

makes no

it

and by keep-

able to take advantage of

paraphrase some lines of

Em-

erson's
" Tact clinches the bargain
;
Tact wins in the fight,
Gets the vote in the Senate
Spite of Gladstone or Bright."

What genius could do we know from the career of Lord

Brougham what tact could accomplish, from the career of
;

We

Lord Lyndhurst.
is

the higher

do not for one moment deny that genius

and nobler

gift

but tact must not be despised,

often needed to render the

for

it is

for

mankind

lates the

The

at large.

work of genius available

genius of the astronomer calcu-

motions of the heavenly bodies

the tact of the pilot

carries the richly laden argosy safely into

genius

is

a rare endowment, while tact

that

product of cultivation
self-control.

ness of

We

life tact

are not at

is,

all

What

the coursers of the sun

from market safely

if

is

harbor.

some

Besides,
extent, the

of observation, reflection

and

sure that in the ordinary busi-

the use of being able to harness

you cannot drive your cart home

Practical talent does so

the working of the wheels of

life,

rance will presume to depreciate

The acme

to

has not done more than genius for the well-

being of humanity.

"

is,

of

all

faculties,"

much

to ease

that only ungrateful igno-

it.

says a writer, "

is

common

TACT.
and common sense

sense,"
that

it is

the

acme

137

We
We

tact.

is

of all faculties.

the golden thread which should string

will not say,

them

wealth and honor are the sole objects a

we

will

not argue here

these are

thought.
is

man

it

is

Whether

should live

for,

won more often by men of action than by men of

" The secret of all success lies in being alive to what
in

together.

but we agree with the assertion that

going on around one

ditions

however,

prefer to say that

wants of the time

to hear or

in adjusting one's

being sympathetic and receptive

;

self to one's
;

in saying to one's fellows

what they need

to

con-

knowing the

in

what they want

moment

hear at the right

in

being the sum, the concretion, the result of the influences of

the present time.
it

must be done

It is

at the right

Great said of Joseph

wanted

to take the

The world

is full

not enough to do the right Xkixugper se j

II,

time and place.

Emperor

of

Frederick the

Germany,

that he always

second step before he had taken the

of such unpractical people,

who

fail

first.

because

they refuse to recognize the thousand conditions which fence a

man

in,

and are impatient

to

over the intermediate ground.

the unsuccessful

Names

man

reach the goal without passing

not so often talent which

It is

lacks as tact."

of individuals

who would have done

for themselves

and

to their ability

crowd upon our memory.

for their fellows

had

We

smith and of William Cobbett, of

Dean

and cannot repress a

of us, in his

knows one or two

full of

sigh.

Each

instances.

examples of what

tact

On

much

so

their tact

better

been equal

think of Gold-

Swift and of

own

Haydon,

little circle,

the other hand, history

can accomplish

of a

is

Walpole

peacefully establishing a dynasty, of a Talleyrand winning

diplomatic triumphs against great odds, of a Leopold of Bel-

BUSINESS HABITS.

138

gium consolidating a kingdom

through

all

The

tact.

virtues

of the late Prince Consort never earned a generous recognition

from the public during

tact

whereas

was the

it

because he was deficient in

his lifetime
tact

XIV

Louis

of

glamour of popularity over the vices of his

The

of his government.

Roman Church

that threw a

and the

life

social success of the agents

errors
of the

has been largely owing to that tact which our

blunter and less refined Anglicanism shrinks from cultivating.

Yet
of

value in ecclesiastical

its

life,

Of

affairs, ?s in

was proved by the career of the

tact

may

the transactions

all

late

Bishop Wilberforce.

with justice be said, what a popular journalist

has said of worldly wisdom (which, by the way,

more
it

selfish

and much meaner than

something

is

that at one extreme

tact),

runs up into the art of governing, at the other descends to

that of merely pleasing.

" It

is

as indispensable to the Pre-

mier in Parliament as to the Foreign-Office clerk in the salons."

And

here

we may note

that

Lord Palmerston,

showed himself a perfect master

between aims the

loftiest

of

it.

and most

legitimate sphere for the exercise of

man may be

wisdom

in all the

said

to

minor

possess

it

"

in his later years,

Between these poles

trivial

is

the proper and

knowledge of the world.

when he

relations of social

exhibits practical

As

life.

a guest, as

a host, as a national creditor, as an income-tax payer, as a

way

rail-

passenger, as the vendor or purchaser of a horse, he has

functions and duties to perform.

The way

in

which these are

discharged makes the difference between the social simpleton

and the worldling.

grief in
will

The former

will

one or the other of them.

be perpetually coming to
If

he

is

entertaining,

table."

It

was surely just such an one who,

he

man

at his

at the

opera,

abuse the grandmother of the most influential


'

TACT.

139

observed to Lord North, " What an exceedingly ugly

seated in yonder

is

wife

"

"

box

my

is

"

"Yes," was the

"

sister

"

woman

reply, "that

Oh," stammered the confused simpleton,

the lady next to her."

that

is

" I

my

mean

Ay," rejoined the imperturbable peer,

To

continue

" If

he dines out, he

will

ask for fish twice, in spite of the waning proportions of the

cod and the indignant glances of the lady of the house.

As

contributor to the revenue, he will be always in arrears, and

incurring the terrors of Somerset House.

he

tion,

will disturb the

At a railway

equanimity of the porters by a

stafussi-

ness arising from a vague but awful regard of steam-power.

In

deahngs with horse-flesh he

all

rule of

As

est.
is

buying

in the dearest

will

write with
;

selling in the cheap-

a letter-writer, he shows characteristic naivetk.

To

a curious infelicity in his style.

tion

be guided by the sirnple

market and

to

undue

familiarity, or

an

There

a subordinate he will

air of ridiculous

an equal with a smack of arrogance.

assump-

The oddest

rays of comfort will gleam across his letters of condolence,

while his congratulations will partake of a somewhat funereal

In addressing members of those world-wide fami-

character.
lies,

in

he

will

not be particular as to the 'y

'

in

Smyth, or the 'p

Thompson."

And

this is to

be observed of

tact, that it is as

valuable in

small things as in great, in private as in public spheres.

large employer of labor, the

manager of a
tact

is

railway, the chief of a great mercantile concern

essential

less useful, in the

In society

its

In a

head of a public department, the

but

scarcely less valuable, certainly not

it is

master of a school or the father of a family-

preciousness

is

always and everywhere

felt.

Tact

and, of course, the two always go together

and good-humor

BUSINESS HABITS.

14
are the pillars

sum up our
foot in

it ;

would become a burden

talent

and yet there

former

may

is

coronation

it

"

It

was want of

but the latter

tact

which led

But

it

to

florins as the

in-

purchase-

and half-a-dozen pocket-handkerchiefs,

himself in a pair of scarlet breeches

attire

upon

called

was want of practical talent which

send three hundred

to

of a few shirts

and Goldsmith

when he

The

when conversing with one of our Hanoverian

not George II ? " Oh, how I long to see a

duced Beethoven

money

a difference between the two.

exist without the former.

was

our social

were identical with practical

if it

a person to say,
kings

this art in

never be found without the latter

will

tact, to

the art of not putting one's

efforts at definition, is

have spoken of tact as

For

social fabric.

and were there no professors of

circles, life

We

which support the

his bishop to state his intention of taking

holy orders.

The world

tical

has often wondered at the curious want of prac-

talent, tact,

bited

by men

alities

common

sense (call

it

of fine intellectual gifts.

what you

will), exhi-

How many

wise mor-

have been expended upon the apparent anomaly of the

genius which scales the heights of

human knowledge, and

renders them practicable to meatier minds, being utterly unable

to

manage the

Strange

is

simplest business transactions with correctness

they exclaim, that a Dryden,

it,

who could

write

vigorous poetry and eloquent prose, should be unable to keep

out of debt
"

that

The Wealth

household.

There

is

Adam

Smith,

who

of Nations," should

But a

little

discoursed profoundly on

fail in

the

management

of his

reflection dissipates the astonishment.

no neccessary connection between deep thinking and

the practical talents that most readily discharge the duties of

COLERIDGE.
daily

life.

philosopher, with eyes fixed on the stars, will

often stumble in the pool at his feet, or

went in

There
vision,

much

is

limited,

if

and more direct

than a

man

wonder how

man whose

truth in the observaltion that a

is

" the calf

"*

augur-hole

at the

I4I

clear, is

both more confident in himself

in dealing with circumstances

and with

others,'

with a wider horizon of thought, whose many-

sided capacity discerns several courses and recognizes numer-

ous objections.

We

that of Coleridge or

ceptions

and

are frequently meeting with cases like

De

Quincey, whose subtle intellectual per-

rare imaginative powers are comparatively nulli-

* We must explain this allusion in a note.

The owner of a tanyard near
a certain town in Virginia, resolved to erect a stand or store in one of the
main streets for the sale of leather, the purchase of raw hides, and similar
operations.
After his building was completed, he began to consider what
manner of sign it would be best to put up for the purpose of drawing the
public attention to this new establishment
and for days and weeks the
subject puzzled him mightily.
Several devices were, one after the other,
adopted, and on further consideration rejected.
At last he hit upon a
happy idea.
He bored an augur- hole through a door-post, and stuck a
calf's tail into it, with the bushy end projecting.
After a while a gravebrowed individual with spectacles on nose might be seen standing near
the door gazing intently on the sign.
And there he continued to stand,
absorbed, contemplative, silent, gazing and gazing until the hide-dealer's
curiosity was greatly excited in turn.
Stepping out, he addressed the indi;

vidual.

" Good morning," said he.

Morning " said the other, still intently regarding the
You want to buy leather ? " inquired the storekeeper,
'

'

sign.

'

'

"No."

"Do you

want

to sell hides ?

"

"No."
'
'

Perhaps you are a fanner

"
?

"No."
'
'

A merchant,

maybe ? "

"No."
'
'

Are you a doctor

"No."
" What

"
?

are you then

" I'm a philosopher.

"

have been standing here for an hour, trying to

"
could ascertain how that calf got through that augur-hole
Many are the philosophers in this world who waste their time and energies in speculations of equal vanity, and are as easily deluded
see

if I

BUSINESS HABITS.

142
fied

by a want

Coleridge's

^beautiful,

the idea, but

will often

of energy,

for instance,

life,

self-command, practical

was

but incomplete and dreamy.

it

accomplishes what genius

Alexander draws

ius," says Malthus,

when they should

his

talent.

Kubla-Khan

"

Strength of

it.

forced to leave undone.

is

to

loosen the Gordian

sword and cuts

"waste time

"

Genius conceives

practical talent that realizes

is

Thoughtful brains puzzle themselves

knot

own

like his

"

it.

Men

of gen-

meditating and comparing,

in

and with power."

act instantaneously

They

put microscopes to their eyes, and cannot drink for fear of the
animalcules.
is

Surrey

is

In short, they theorize too much.

An

better than a harvest contemplated.

loaf

acre in

better than a principality in Utopia.

baked

Kent or

Genius, to be

practically useful, says the author of

"Lacon," must be en-

dowed not only with wings whereby

fly,

on to stand.

to

doubt, modifications of mental power

by no means

implies the other, any

is,

Such men

art

in per-

of reefing a

skill.

as the

Browns, the Cunards, the Armitages,

everything to their possession of this rare quality.

ance with

all

secret of success.

details, a vigilant

for dealing with

sail,

of course, in business the special desider-

the Bairds, the Burnses, the Barings, the Gurneys, have

them has been the

no

but one on that account

though they are both instances of physical

Practical talent

ability are,

more than dexterity

forming a juggler's feats involves the

atum.

but with legs where-

Both practical and speculative

eye for

owed

Tact with

thorough acquaint-

difficulties,

a ready

skill

may be traced in
the men who have

them, these characteristics

our famous " merchant adventurers,"

made and maintained

the

of A. T. Stewart, the

American

commerce

of England.

It

was said

millionaire, that so exact

was

STABILITY.
his

comprehension of

all

143

the departments of his

immense

busi-

employes sometimes imagined he must have an

ness, that his

invisible telegraph

Like a

girdling the entire establishment.

spider in his web, he was keenly alive to the minutest incident

that occurred within

ensured the regular working of

too, practical talent

ton.
it

It

was

He

precincts.

its

presence was everywhere

his

felt,

and

was seldom

seen, yet

practical

his

talent

that vast organization.

all

So,

was the peculiar endowment of Welling-

visible in all his

movements

in the Peninsula

and

proved to be the foundation on which was securely raised

the fabric of his renown.

From any summary

ever

rapid,

course,

it

from

is

impossible to omit decision.

with just confidence in himself and a lofty

independence of external influences, who

sees

thinks clearly, will necessarily decide promptly.

wretched characters the

mind

"

is

It follows, of

from the presence of the

as light

self-reliance

The man

sun.

business qualities and habits, how-

of

man

the most wretched.

"

who can never

reproach and laughter of others,

clearly

and

And of
make up

his

torment to himself, he

who

is

all

the

frequently suffer in no

small degree from his hesitation, decay and fickleness.

There

can scarcely be any more fatal censure passed upon a

man

than that implied in the Patriarch's apostrophe to his son

of well-doing must be

denied to the waverer.

on two nations by the

recorded the

evils inflicted

James

England and VI.

I.

of

of

Scotland

The very promise

" Unstable as water, thou shalt not excel."

History has
instability of

and many of us

have read with appreciation the anecdote of the criticism so

aptly passed

upon him by

his chaplain,

preach before the king, read as his

text,

who, when ordered to

with emphatic

signifi-


BUSINESS HABITS.

144
cance, "

yames

i.

and

6ih

He
'

wind and

of the sea driven with the

the self-conscious

he

at

is

me

monarch

already

"

that wavereth
tossed,' "

is

provoking from

the exclamation, " Saul o'

That

" dauntless

of which Shakespeare speaks

is,

lowHest individual as in kings.

wa\e

like a

my

body,

temper of the mind

"

however, as precious in the

Wordsworth recognises

part and parcel of the character of his

as

it

Happy Warrior

" Who, with a natural instinct to discern

What knowledge can perform, is diligent to learn
Abides by this resolve, and stops not there,
But makes his moral being his prime care.
,
Who, if he be called upon to face
which
Heaven
has
joined
awful
moment
to
Some
Great issues, good or bad for human kind,
Is happy as a lover and attired
With sudden brightness, like a man inspired
And through the heat of conflict keeps the law
In calmness made, and sees what he foresaw
.

Or

if

an unexpected

Come when
It

is,

it

call succeed.

will, is

equal to the need."

primary qualification for a successful warrior

irideed, a

that he should be able to

come

to instant decision

perils or great opportunities arise

good thing
to "

if

we know how

keep our wits about

action instantly

come

us.'

and for

(in the world's

Men

all

when

of us

it

great
is

homely language)

with this habit of decisive

to the front in

We

sudden emergencies.

have seen a crowd collected by an accident, and every one

staring

helplessly, chattering

confusedly,

unable to

sufferer or

remedy a mishap, when suddenly a person

demeanor

forces his

way through

the press,

of

it.

How

relief is

all

moment

what can or should be done, and unhesitatingly proceeds

What a

calm

comprehends

the bearings of the situation at a glance, decides in a

assist

to

do

afforded by the appearance of such a one

instantaneously everybody acknowledges and yields to

DECISION.
the
ship

master-spirit

It

is

the

men
such

It is
spirits

of

as there

is

the

men who, when

retreat

a city

of

them
is

ashore.
rally

lost,

broken

the

army.

besieged, stimulate the^

is

fellow-citizens, devise

comfiture of the enemy,

carry

who, when the battle

and cover

their

comfort the passengers,

the boats, and

of this stamp

fugitives

stamp who, when a

of this

wrecked, inspire the crew,

is

prevent disorder, lower

It is

men

145

measures for the

dis-

and maintain the defence so long

hope of a prosperous

issue.

was men of

It

this

stamp who, when surprised by the sudden outbreak of the

Indian Mutiny, saved India for England, by calmly meeting

danger wherever

it

arose, never flinching, never off their guard,

never at a loss for expedients, never paralysed by fear or hesitation.

Such men, happily, England has always bred

numbers, or her history would have been written

ious
It

in great

in less glor-

and enduring characters.

may not

be denied, perhaps, that decision

a physical quality

is

though a moral power

that,

to

some extent

in itself,

it

is

closely connected with physical peculiarities of temperament.

But so much might be said perhaps of

tues.

The mind cannot

ences of the body.

will, as it

all

or of most of our vir-

release itself entirely

fit

of indigestion

from the

may shake

influ-

the firmest

shook Napoleon's before the battle of Borodino, and

prevented him from marshalling and moving his forces with his

customary decisiveness.

John Foster, in
on " Decision of Character," goes so far
could trace the histories of
of will

all

his

well-known essay

as to say that,

if

we

the persons remarkable for strength

and force of purpose, we should

find that the majority

were gifted with great constitutional firmness.

If

such were

BUSINESS HABITS.

146

we should ihink

the case,

it

useless to insist

" decision of character " in these pages.

though often inherited or innate,

,tion

and

lassitude,

that a

it is

upon the value

But we believe

of

that,

product of cultiva-

also a

man, constitutionally subject to feebleness or

may, by

watching himself, by carefully

diligently

guarding against every sign of hesitation or uncertainty, and

vdevout submission to the will of God, prevail over the weakness
of the flesh.
.this

quality,"

as the

man

has been said that every

It

and we believe

be as susceptible of cultivation

to

it

germ of any other quality

has "the germ of

that

it is

as easy to cultivate

a habit of decision as a habit of industry, and as easy to keep a

break

.resolution as to

it.

We

much

are

burden from our own shoulders

too prone to shift the

to those of nature

to comfort

,ourselvs with the consolatory idea that the irresolution which

springs from indolence and want of thought

temperament."

peculiarities of

but dangerous unction

?to

a just decision of character

.training

man

to us

lay that flattering

to decide

life,

by which alone

man."

seems the habit of decision of character,

It

can do no more harm for a

wrongly than never to decide

be invariably erroneous.
necessarily implies

reasoning, there
It
is

up

part of that moral and mental

is

at

He

all.

hopelessly crazed in intellect and awry in morals

deed,

self

are quite prepared to risk the chance of an occasional

premature act or judgment.

sions.

to " physical

due

educate one's

to " the stature of the perfect

So important

we

To

which constitutes the chief work of

one can attain

that

Let no

to his soul.

is

if

man

must be

his decisions

But as decision of character almost

accuracy of perception and clearness of

is little

fear that

it

will ever lead to

ill

conclu-

must not be confounded with obstinacy, which,

in-

the vice of a feeble rather than of a strong character.

NECESSITY OF PROMPT DECISION.

The man
promptly
it

know when to yield, and will yield

man adheres to his standpoint whether

of decision will
;

the obstinate

be right or wrong.

Obstinacy

the natural refuge of the

is

It is the legitimate offspring

timid.

I47

True firmness

will

be as swift

to

and indecision.

of doubt

concede as strong

to persist in

the interests of truth and justice.

In his quaintly humorous way, Sydney Smith formulated

much sound advice when he

this

world that

said, "

In order to do anything in

worth doing, we must not stand shivering on

is

and the danger, but jump

the bank, thinking of the cold

scramble through as well as we can.

petually calculating

and adjusting nice chances

well before the Flood,

when

man

upon an intended publication

and then
wards

man

but at present a

and

his particular friends,

five

years of age

first

till

did

it

all

very

hundred and

fifty years,

seven centuries after-

doubts, and waits, and hesitates,

and

his brother,

could consult his friends

for a

live to see its success for six or

and consults

and

in

not do to be per-

It will

his uncle,

and

his first cousins,

one day he finds that he

that he has

much

lost so

is

sixty-

time in consulting

cousins and particular friends, that he has no time left to

follow their advice."

young man

will

often be saved from

grave misfortunes by the power of thinking and acting decisively;

of "putting his

foot

down," when a

false

prelude to the facilis descensus Averni.

king of

Macedon

step might be the

It is told

of

a certain

that in the thick of the fight he retired to a

neighboring city on the excuse of sacrificing to Hercules.

His

adversary, Emilius, likewise implored the help of the gods, but

at the

same time plunged

the laurels of victory.

into the fray,

When,

sword

at Areola,

in hand,

and won

Napoleon saw the

of battle ebbing, he decided on a dashing stroke

tide

summoned

B USINESS HABl TS.

148

five-and-twenty troopers to his side, gave each a trumpet, and

executed a sudden onset that scattered the enemy like chaff.

The

career of Napoleon, by the way, furnishes

markable

illustrations of

numerous

re-

what may be achieved by decision of

In his famous campaign in Italy he had despatched

character.

men

a force of 10,000

conquest of Lombardy

Mantua and complete

to capture

the

but a clever strategic movement of the

Austrian army, 60,000 strong, placed him in a position of great

The Austrians advanced along both

danger.

Lago

shores of the

di Garda, with the view of cutting off his retreat to Milan.

Napoleon

at

once decided on posting himself

as to interpose

lake, so

By

a rapid concentration, he

overwhelm the division (20,000 strong) which had

to

turned the lake, and then turn rapidly and

who had

defiled

his troops

fall

upon the 40,000

lake,

it

was necessary

his lieutenants,

from Mantua,

longer tenable.

This involved a considerable

as so extensive a line

Mantua had been besieged during two months

battering-train

had been transported before

it,

all

he would lose the

almost assured prey.

objects he

more important, and

a resolution simple
and the great man.

was no

sacrifice,

for

the fortress was

it

vigorous

to

be

re-

efforts,

an

Napoleon, however, was not given to

Of two important
seize the

fruits of his

to

a considerable

on the point of surrendering, and by allowing

and

to call in

from Legagno, and

Serrurier, another,

tect

to oc-

from the Lower Adige and the Lower Mincio,

withdraw Augureau, one of

victualled,

But

between the lake and the Adige.

cupy the extremity of the

hesitate.

end of the

between the two divisions, when they

should seek to effect a junction.

hoped

at the

in itself,

Not

in

had the sagacity

to de-

sacrifice the other to

it

but exhibiting the great captain

war merely, but

in politics

and

all

NAPOLEON.
the affairs of

life, if

compass both, they

rare

149

men encounter two

and decisive vigor which prompts

the sacrifice.

Had

Mantua, his

once the choice and

at

he persisted in guarding the whole course

line

would have been pierced

concentrated upon Mantua to cover

quired to cope with 70,000

and 10,000

men

the rear.

in

cumulated his forces

with

it,

at

once

while

if

with 60,000

ac-

and

whereupon the Austrian

his front the formidable

re-

in the

Lago

di Garda,

Striking

first at

corps of 20,000 under Quasdanovitch, he drove back

;

he had

Abandoning Mantua, he

the point of the

at

he would have been

the success he had anticipated.

all

guard

to

Mincio, from the extremity of the Lago di Garda to

of the

front,

and seek

objects,

Bonaparte possessed that

will fail in each.

the

van-

its

general, surprised to find in

columns of the French, was induced

to

halt until

he could gain information of the other Austrian corps

under

commander, Marshal Wurmser.

his

Detecting what was

passing in Quasdanovitch's mind, Napoleon contented himself

with having checked his advance, and turned to meet Wurmser.

But Wurmser with half

his corps

had marched on

with an extended

line,

pushed forward

to

it

a crushing blow, and compelled

pursuit completed

ginning of
baffled,

its

discomfiture

hostilities, the

were

falling

back

and

its

centre,

aimed

rapid

to retreat.

in a

week from the be-

Austrian commanders, dispirited and

in confusion to the Tyrol,

10,000 men, and abandoned the

brilliant

it

latter,

surround the French.

Napoleon, however, perceived the weakness of

at

to relieve

The

Mantua, leaving 20,000 behind under Bayulitsch.

Lombard Kingdom

arms of the young French general.

to

lost

the

In this remark-

able campaign, Napoleon's decision of character

evident than his military genius.

having

was not

less

As Wellington afterwards

BUSINESS HABITS.

150
said of him, there

dangerous

was no general

make

to

He

a mistake.

mediately profited by

whose presence

in

saw

it

was so

it

immediately, and im-

it.

human

Dr. Chalmers used to say that, in the dynamics of

affairs,

two

qualities

were essential

greatness

to

power and

possess both, another power

One man might

promptitude.

without promptitude, a third promptitude without power.

alluding to this utterance. Dr. John

must

all feel its

plies

to

common

sense,

a general in the

Brown remarks

and can readily see how

ap-

the same, he adds,

It is

with an operating surgeon at

and may be

times,

any time

at

He

with the practitioner of the art of healing.

ready for every emergency

it

a pilot in the storm, to a

field, to

sportsman, to a fencer, to a debater.

all

In

we

that

must be

he must have power and prompti-

tude.

"It

is

quires

and

on

is

it

a curious condition," says Dr. Brown, "that this re-

it is

full

a moment

cock

the very nick of time.

mind

This

it

is

and

mind

at his finger-ends

itself in this

will

It is of course, so to

at the

advanced

endeavor to keep

it.

that
to

the out-

speak, only

made

thus needed and

is

whole mind were for ever

and having

lying nearest the outer world,

a portion of the mind that

soon lose

all

through the bodily organs, through the

posts must be always awake.

If the

may be lost There

what we mean by presence of

lost,

by a man having such a subject

part of the
act on

with your pistol under your pillow,

like sleeping

available.

post,

it

would

Your men

of

promptitude without genius or power, including knowledge and

will,

present the

wedge the wrong way.

Thus, your extremely

prompt people are often doing' the wrong

always worse than nothing.

We

thing,

which

must have

is

just

almost

enough


EXAMPLES.
of the right

knowledge and no more

of using this

aneousness of
to do,

Dr.

I 5 I

we must have

the habit

we must have self-reliance, and the consentthe entire mind

and whatsoever our hands find

we must do it with our might."

Brown supplies two or three striking

presence of mind which

is

instances of that

a necessary part of or a corollary to

decision of character.

lady was seated on her lawn, her children around her,

when a mad dog made

What did

she do

Reader, what would you have done

head

in her thick stuff

up, held

ling

it

was

hurt.

Of

it

Shut

She went straight to the dog, received

your eyes and think.

his

appearance, pursued by peasants.

his

gown between her

knees, and muff-

there stoutly until assistance came.

course,

when

all

were saved, the heroic

No one
woman

fainted.

" I once

saw a great surgeon," says Dr. Brown, "

tling a particular

He

a general settles his order of battle.

at the

began

his work,

and

second cut altered the entire conduct of the operation.

No one

not in the secret could have told this

not a moment's

pause, not a quiver of the face, not a look of doubt.

the

after set-

procedure as to a life-and-death operation, as

same master-power

" Mrs.

is

arms which makes the difference

in

between Sir John Moore and

Yet another instance

This

Sir

John Cope."

Major Robertson, a woman of

slight

make, great

beauty, and remarkable energy, courage and sense, on going

up

to

her bedroom at night

but a servant

girl in

foot projecting

there

being no one in the house

saw a portion

the ground-floor

from under the bed.

but shut the door as usual,

set

of a man's

She gave no cry of alarm,

down her

candle,

and began

as

B USINESS HABITS.

152
if

when she

to undress,

tone and gesture,

said aloud to herself, with an impatient

forgotten that key again, I declare

I've

'

;'

and leaving the candle burning and the door open, she went
downstairs, got the watchman, and secured the proprietor of

the foot, which had not

or

moved an

How many women

inch.

men could have done, or rather have borne, all this ? "
When Sir Colin Campbell was asked how long it would

him

to prepare for his

command

voyage to India,

army engaged

the British

on

his

appointment to

in the suppression of the

Indian mutiny, he answered, " Twenty-four hours."

Ledyard, the African

be ready
This

is

traveller, to the inquiry

to start for 'Africa, replied, "

was suddenly confronted by a

Glancing

the startled animal turned

tail

Co.,

tiger.

and gave

and took

to flight.

we meet

with

the career of George Moore, the

in

London merchant-prince.

&

his arms,

romantic sphere of incident,

at a less

an example of decision

firm of Fisher

when he would

Livingstone, in one

Without a moment's hesitation he threw up

a loud shout

So, too

To-morrow morning."

the promptitude of true decision.

of his African excursions,

take

In early

life

he "travelled" for the

and by

lace-dealers,

readiness soon formed a large connection.

and

his bonhomie

So signal was

his

success in pushing his employers' business, that in the " com-

mercial rooms" of the inns which he frequented he was re-

A young

garded as a kind of hero.

" traveller,"

who had

just

entered the Northern circuit, arrived at the Star Hotel, Manchester, while about a dozen " travellers" were assisting George

Moore
are

to

pack up

who's George

Watling Street

"
?

"

his goods.

making such a

fuss about

"

What

Let

me

"

Who

is

that

" Oh,

it's

young

fellow they

George "
!

"

And

Don't you know the Napoleon of

introduce you

"

He

deserved

this

EARL
flattering appellation.

OF. CHATHAM.

On

one occasion he visited Manchester,

and, after unpacking his goods, called upon his

From him he

S3

first

customer.

learned that the agent of a rival house had

reached the town on the previous day, and intended to remain

"

day or two more.

for a

my

wasting

Then," said Moore, "

my

time here with

of

it's

no use

competitor before me."

Re-

turning to his hotel, he called some of his friends to help him

in

repacking his stock, drove

next

day,-

off to Liverpool,

opponent's

ness there.

In Dublin he

He had now,"

He

before

it.

was up

in the

the day,

set to

to use his

and he resolved

himself,"

toiled

morning

packed up

his

to Ireland, to revive their busi" in right

work

good earnest."

words, " a great confidence in

own
make

name

Fisher's

to

and moiled from morn

early, called

upon

his

till

was sound

all

He

set off

by the

For successive

weeks the only sleep he secured was on the outside

it

carry

night.

customers during

goods in the evening, and

night-coach for the next town upon his route.

but at least

his

arrival.

His employers next sent him

''

began business

and secured the greater part of the orders before

of a coach,

sleep.

In the political world we find a remarkable example of

decision of character in the

formed

his

Earl of

great

plans with promptitude

energy.

Such was

that he

communicated something of

subordinates.

his vigor

Chatham.

He

he executed them with

and such

his intellectual stress,

his

own

nature to his

Colonel Barrd said of him that no one ever

spent five minutes with him in his closet without leaving

braver than he entered

plish.

tosh,

it.

A- striking contrast

whom

the late

Lord

With him,
is

to design

was

to

it

accom-

presented by Sir James Mackin-

Balling, in his brilliant " Historical

BUSINESS HABITS.

154

A man

Promise."

accomplished

He

His

life

is

make up

his

lift

"

The Man

the

mind

bend the bow even

to

'

hammer,

or, if

he did

so,

he wavered

home and

effect,

college he

When

studying

but

failing to secure a large practice,

Politics then attracted his

and he won a sudden reputation by

Gallicee," written in reply to

French Revolution.

Edmund

Leaving

his " Vindicise

Burke's denunciation of

the

legal

profession,

created quite a furore by his lectures on Public

and

against the

life

his defence of

of Napoleon.

the Recordership of

Boipbay.

M.

Peltier,

Then, returning
it

was time

This career did not

at

he

Lin-

accused of plotting

to
to

office of

England,

do some-

made

several

satisfy him,

and he

thing decided," he entered Parliament, where he

successful speeches.

Law

For a while he held the

to the conclusion that "

and coming

last,

compelled

necessity

to establish himself, first at Salisbury

in disgust to Brussels.

coln's Inn,

At

elocution at a debating club.

made an effort
at Weymouth

he withdrew

the

its

in the

Edinburgh, he gave up two-thirds of his time to

at

and next

attention,

At

better than a coup manque.

having passed his examinations, when

him, he

to

on the head, but he could never persuade

alternated between politics and philosophy.

poetry at

he

a sad record of unfulfilled

very act of striking, and hence the blow failed of

became nothing
medicine

of

lofty aspirations,

No man knew better how

fixed his arrow.

hit the right nail

himself to

and

was always meditating action and never begin-

could not

when he had

designated

of great abilities

little.

He

projects.

ning.

appropriately

has

Characters,"

accepted at the same time a professorship at Haileybury College, " alike

public

life,

unable to commit himself to the great stream of

or to avoid lingering on

its

shores."

He

projected

SIR

JAMES MACKINTOSH.

work and a system of

a grand historical

55

" Morals." neither of

which ever became more than an outline

and, finally,

when

the shadows of old age were already darkening over his wan-

dering path, he set to work with some degree of industry, and

produced two or three minor compositions, which,

actually

if

not unworthy of a place in English literature, are by no means

such as might have been expected from his unquestionable

Thus genius and

powers.

copious, but wasted itself

wide shallows because not confined

in

"

scholarship were neutralized by

The stream was

want of decision.

No man,"

through a long

life

any

to

definite channel.

Bailing, " doing so

Lord

says

ever went

little,

continually creating the belief

would ultimately do so much."

he

that

His career was one long com-

mentary on John Foster's emphatic words

''

A man

decision can never be said to belong to himself

without

since,

if

he

dared to assert that he did, the puny force of some cause,

about as powerful you would have supposed as a spider,

make a

seizure of the

and contemptuously exhibit the

by which he was
standing and
of

him

to

will.

may

unhappy boaster the very next moment,

futility of the

determinations

have proved the independence of

He

and one thing

after another vindicates

him, by arresting him while he

trying to go on

is

his under-

make

belongs to whatever can

its

captive
right to

as twigs

and

chips floating near the edge of a river are intercepted by every

weed, and whirled in every

a design, he

dred

may

diversities

will let him.

duct, he

may

little

eddy.

pledge himself to accomplish

of feeling which

may come

His character precluding

sit

Having concluded on

all

to take

if

the hun-

foresight of his con-

and wonder what form and

and actions are destined

it,

within the work

to-morrow

direction his views

;

as a farmer has

B USINESS HABITS.

S6

often to acknowledge that next day's proceedings are often at

the disposal of

We

its

winds and clouds."

agree with an essayist already quoted, that

it is

the want

of this promptness and decision of character, of this capacity

of sticking like a burr to a particular object, of this readiness
to grapple with an

emergency

pitiable failures in

as

it

arises,

which causes so many

Wise men there are

life.

as well as fools

who never succeed, because they cannot decide upon anything.

They see so many courses that they cannot pitch upon one
or their timid vision conjures up so many obstacles, or their
vagrant fancy makes excursions in so many different directions,
;

that they can never get a step in advance.

lect

is

so fluid

and

moulds and grooves, or

their

understanding

uncertain kind which affords a

Either their intel-

run to waste in a thousand

plastic as to

man

is

just light

of that dilatory,

enough

character "

is

to

them an enigma

meaning of which they

pithily said that they

sham

" decision," a

Of such men

utterly miss.

it

word the
has been

have no backbone, nothing more than a

vertebral column,

incapable of rigidity.

to see the

" Force of

dangers before him, but not the way out of them.

made

of india-rubber,

Voltaire said of

La Harpe

and absolutely
that

he was an

oven which was always heating up, but never cooked anything.

Those

upon

feeble, irresolute creatures

" I would," are like inexpert

who

let

" I dare not " wait

oarsmen who beat about and

splash the water, but never move their boat ahead.

always balancing probabilities.

fice

They

These are the men who

are

sacri-

themselves on the shrine of proverbial philosophy, and

seek an excuse for their vacillations in such bugbear maxims as

"A bird
true

if

in the

hand

is

worth two

in the

bush," which

is

not

the " two in the bush " can be easily transferred to the

"SO RESOLUTE OF WILL."

hand.
in

We

recommend

to

them the

poet's beautiful apologue,

which he speaks of the two chief moments

and symbolizes the occasions that

ous soul

157

in the diver's

befall every brave,

life,

adventur

" One, when a beggar, he prepares to plunge

One, when a prince, he rises with his pearl."
;

Unless we

make

the plunge with swift decisive stroke, the

pearl will never be ours.

Thou

*'

wert a daily lesson

Of courage, hope, and faith

We wondered at thee living,

We

envy thee thy death.

" Thou wert so meek and reverent,

So resolute of will,
So bold to bear the uttermost.
And yet so calm and still."

These

lines

memory

were written by George Wilson, of Edinburgh, in

of his friend. Dr.

Reid

but

has been well said that

it

own

they apply with peculiar force to his

which we proceed

to sketch very briefly, because

us a remarkable illustration of what

is

who knows

in earnest,

his

George Wilson was born

at the

career

High School, he

plied himself with

all

in

Edinburgh

when

acts

in i8i8.

his intellectual ardor.

in his seventeenth year

will

it.

Educated
and ap-

the energy of his nature to the study of

had already showed

and the body

upon

fifteen years old,

medicine, and more particularly of chemistry.

constitution

seems to

it

may be done by a man who

own mind, and

left it

a career

itself,

Weakness

of

but had no effect upon

" I don't think I shall live long,'' he said

"
;

my mind

soon follow

one, he was determined to

cram

will,

must work

If his life

it."

into

read and wrote and thought "while

it

it

itself out,

were to be a short

work enough, and ho

was yet day."


B USINESS HA BITS.

158

After some practice in the laboratory of Dr. Graham, he took

the degree of M.D., and

became a

lecturer

on chemistry, the

freshness of his style and the originality of his

drawing round him

a large circle of

method

speedily

In one of his

pupils.

vacations he went on a long twenty-four mile walk in

the

Perthshire Highlands, but meeting with an injury to his foot,

returned to Edinburgh seriously

ill.

An

abscess formed, and

the result was a disease in the ankle7Joint, requiring partial am-

putation of the foot.

Physical pain, however, could not stay

his energetic course.

With wonderful courage he continued

his public lectures

and

dictating them when

He

his private studies.

was next

he could not write

afflicted

with rheuma-

tism and inflammation of the eye, which were treated by the

and

administration of colchicum, cupping,

blistering.

Tor-

tured and pained both day and night, he could obtain snatches

His condition

of sleep only through the influence of morphia.

was rendered more serious by symptoms of pulmonary

but he

home from

these,

my

nail put into

public,

disease,

Returning

continued to give his weekly lectures.

still

he would exclaim, " Well, there's another

coffin

" but he

had pledged himself

and nothing could induce him

to shrink

to the

from what he

conceived to be a duty.

workwork

Work
blisters,

he persevered

His body victimised by setons and

in his daily labors.

was approaching the end, and

be surprised

any morning

if

This was said

in

to a

He knew

that he

dear friend he wrote, " Don't

at breakfast

you hear

am

gone."

no mood of morbid sentimentalism, for never

was there

a blither,

hopeful.

He

happier

spirit,

nor one more confident and

did not groan or complain, even

when

the weak-

ness caused by loss of blood from the lungs compelled a brief

GEORGE WILSON
interval of rest

but, after a few weeks'

change of

and bravely exclaiming,

to his work, bhthely

Though

rising in the well again."

"

air,

"

his lectures as usual.

The water

How nobly, how sweetly, how cheerily,"

his bright, active, ardent,

unsparing soul lorded

frail

but willing body, making

it

this

triumph of

who

do, those

to

it

spirit

it

over his

do more than seemed

possible,

were, by sheer force of will ordering

than was in

is

" he bore all those long baffling years

John Brown,

it

returned

suffering from an extensive

how

and, as

59

and a harassing cough, he went on with

disease of the lungs

says Dr.

lived with

it

to live longer

him and witnessed

over matter will not soon forget.

It

was

a lesson to every one of what true goodness of nature, elevated

and cheered by the highest and happiest of

make

man

One

endure, achieve, and enjoy."

day, after delivering his usual lecture, he

home, and

motives, can

all

down

lain

aroused by a

fit

to

enjoy a brief repose,

of coughing,

had returned

when he was

and the rupture of a blood-vessel,

causing the loss of a considerable quantity of blood.

aware of the significance of

for a

moment

to

this fatal

despondency or languor

regularly at the family meals

Though

symptom, he yielded not

;

made

his

appearance

and on the very next day,

lect-

ured twice in public, though the exertion ipduced a second

attack of hjemorrhage.

he

rallied

pointed

(in

and on

severe illness followed.

1835) to the Professorship of

Curatorship of the Industrial Museum.

creation,

and

its

Once more

his convalescence being assured,

was ap-

Technology and the

The

first

was a new

duties were undefined, almost undefinable

but Wilson threw himself into the work with intense ardor, collected specimens of models, elaborated details, and lectured

"without ceasing."

His force of character maintained a con-

l6o

BUSINESS HABITS.

stant struggle with disease,

and maintained

it

another

until

attack of htemorrhage, this time from the stomach as well as

the lungs, forced him to relax a

forty days," he wrote,

geographically from

'

Araby the

from Iceland the accursed.

but by an

icicle in

"

little.

" a dreadful

Lent, the wind has blown

Blest,'

my

give

and burned

the lungs, and have shivered

Now

grew pale with coughing.

but thermometrically

have been made prisoner .of war,

alternately for a large portion of the last

till

For a month, or some

month, and spat blood

am better, and to-morrow

concluding lecture (on Technology), thankful that

have contrived, notwithstanding

all

my

on with

troubles, to carry

out missing a lecture to the last day of the Faculty of Arts."

But

his physical strength

To

was rapidly declining.

write a

constant weariness beset him.

He

contrived, nevertheless, so far to prevail over the

body

as to

write his very valuable book, "

of

letter

became an

effort.

The Five Gateways

Knowl-

edge," which has been justly characterized as " a prose

or

hymn

of the finest utterance and fancy

the white

science diffracted through the crystalline prism of his

colored glories of the

spectrum

truth

poem

light of

mind

into

dressed

in

the

iridescent hues of the rainbow, and not the less but

all

the

the

more

Days rendered gloomy by

true."

pain,

and nights rend-

ered weary by want of sleep, could not subdue this unconquerable spirit, with
his lectures,

its firm,

decisive, intrepid will.

and began with much

Edward Forb^."

His

vital

He

resumed

zest his " Life of Professor

powers were giving way

to repeated

attacks of bleeding from the lungs, but he could not be per-

suaded

to lay aside his armor.

" seems to
in all

my

me

the biggest

serious doings."

word

"The word duty" he

in the world,

and

is

wrote,

uppermost

At

MINDFUL OF DEATH."

iGl"

one day (the i8th of November, 1859), he returned

last,

from his lecture-room with a sharp pain in his side, so that he

The

could scarcely crawl upstairs to his bedroom.

on examining him, declared that

of

He

pleuro-pneumonia.

and

ble a disease,

physicians,

proceeded from an attack

was too shattered

an

after

it

to resist so terri-

days, passed

illness of five

away

peacefully into his eternal rest.

We

have cited him here as a shining example of the high

and noble success that crowns the

man whose

the

But

moral firmness.

"To George

and

it

life
is

this

His handiwork

When
in

the great lesson of his

is

bed

larly

the

is

life

truth.

is

all

such

the heavens

are

forever showing forth

day unto day, every day,

forever uttering

is

showing knowledge concerning

he considered these heavens as he lay awake,

pain, they,

The moon, walking

his

of decision,

Wilson." says Dr. John Brown, " to

speech, and night unto night

Him.

man

be well for the reader to recollect

will

forever telling His glory, the firmament

weary and

of the

happily supplemented by

an example of an even more important

that he affords

men

power

intellectual

were to him the work of His

in brightness,

were

stars

of

Him

and lying

He

ordained.

happy and happy-making man.

No

fingers.

in white glory

on

was a singu-

one since his boy-

hood could have suffered more from pain and languor, and the
misery of an unable body.

was gay,

full

Yet he was not only cheerful, he

of all sorts of fun

genuine funand

his jokes

and queer turns of -thought and word were often worthy

Cowper
his

or Charles

Lamb.

of

Being, from his state of health and

knowledge of medicine, necessarily 'mindful of

death,'

having the possibility of his dying any day or any hour always
before him, and that

'

undiscovered country

'

lying full in his


62

BUSINESS HABITS.

'

view, he must, taking as he did the right notion of the nature

had a peculiar

of things, have

in the

intensity of pleasure

everyday beauties of the world

The common sun, the air, the skies,
To him were opening Paradise.' "

'

'We have spoken hitherto of business

to

And

speak of business habits.

might

qualities

this section of

we have now
our book we"

were we so inclined, with prudent maxims

easily open,

and sage commonplaces bearing upon the power of

As,

from

instance,

-Tor

held,

For of a froward

will

was a

came custom, and custom not

which

truths, as

chain), a hard

taigne

it

little

resisted

eyes."

tion suggested

slyly

and unperceived,

But we

shall

drive

she then

it,

by a modern

power

so

much

as to

Some

writer.

to

of our readers

operate

common

upon cold

printing-press,

steel finger

may
iron.

exerts

it

while' each pressure of the

one can break earthenware or mould clay.

hard

lift

illustra-

expels large cubes out of the solid bar with as

its

slips in the feet

be content with a forcible

the tranquil ease of a

facility as

it

Or from Mon-

and established

the courage nor the

a force equal to a thousand tons

"ram"

called

and tyrannical countenance, against which

have seen a machine intended

all

but having by this gentle and humble begin-

furious

we have no more

B/

necessity.

a violent and treacherous schoolmistress.

little,

ning, with 'the aid of time, fixed

up our

became

lust served be-

were, joined together (whence

is

and

of her authority

unmasks a

and bound me.

made, and a

lust

enemy

the

will

for me,

bondage held me enthralled."

" Habit

She, by

With

"My

Augustine:

St.

and thence had made a chain

hab:';.

much

It will

through iron two inches thick with-

out the slightest jar or failure in the regularity of

its

action

HABITS.

What
It

the secret of this

is

"prodig'ous and constant power?"

accumulated force of the balance-wheel, which,

in the

lies

163

performing one hundred and thirty revolutions in a minute,

momentum upon

bears with crushing

the steel punch,

and must

break the whole machine into fragments or drive through

either

every obstacle.

Such

is

the

power

of habit.

It

accumulates in

time a moral force as resistless as the pressure of the balance-

And by no means

wheel.

all

for evil.

Frequently

a much-needed support on which the mind can

when oppressed by any sudden

of pressure in every man's

life,

for the help thus afforded

"

afSiction.

fall

he

is

when he would

utterly fail but

but, fortunately, at the crisis,

is it,

therefore, that

new

formation of good habits

may become,

habits

we have

as

we should

trials."

and then

How

all-im-

vigilantly attend to the

which, in the hour of

said, a

by

by long and

carried over the dead-point,

able to rally his strength for

is

portant

back safely

There are times

the force of principles that have gathered energy

persevering habit, he

supplies

it

buttress

trial,

and not a snare

Such, for instance, as a habit of punctuality, a habit of temperanoe, a habit of attention

words, and, before

are habits

which

To

the

man

These

along the pathway of

life,

many

of business, for instance,

valuable must be the habit of close and careful observa-

tion, the habit of

engagements

order and method, the habit of remembering

This

the slaves of habit

shall

of weighing our

a habit of prayer

a deep gulf, and staying our feet on

a dangerous precipice.

how

all,

will largely help us

many

bridging over

to detail, a habit

and above

all

become our

The biography

is

not suggesting that we should become

on the contrary, we are desirous that habit

slave.

of great

men

is

a record of greatness achieved

164

BUSINESS HABITS.

'

by the

cultivation of

good

The

habits.

patient thought

made Newton

of gravitation.

The

habit of exact and

the discoverer of the principle

habit of close attention to the physical

features of a country enabled Wellington to win at Waterloo.

The

habit of methodical labor resulted in Laplace's vast contri-

And

butions to astronomical science.

Kane

so the tale runs on.

Dr.

writes that, during his winter residence in the frozen lands

of the grim Polar world, he kept

up the

of

spirits

men,

his

roused their energies, and preserved even their physical health,

by

"Nothing," he remarks,

rigidly enforcing the old habits.

" depresses

and demoralises so much

proved and habitual forms of

should go on as
distribution

it

and

as a surrender of the ap-

I resolved that everything

life.

The arrangement

had done.

of hours, the

duty, the religious exercises, the

details of

ceremonials of the table, the

fires,

the lights, the watch, the

labors of the observatory, and the notation of the tides and the

sky

nothing

make up

To

should be intermitted that had contributed to

the day."

the lawyer, the

must be admitted

man

To

labor, temper, energy.

it

it

against
things,

what

be humility, which

is

And

the falsehoods

and they are

if it

all

will

of

more

is

is

" I

anything,

so valuable as an in'cident of

accuracy can be taught.

the world are as dust in the balance

to the young,

it

loss of time,

do ten things imperfectly

says Sir Arthur Helps, " that there

education as accuracy.
lies told to

prevents

do one thing accurately

profitable in the long-run than to

except

of business,

that the habit of accuracy proves invaluable.

Consider what serious mistakes

do not know,"

man

of science, the

inaccuracy.

prevading.

Direct

when weighed

These are the

scarcely care what

is

fatal

taught

but implant in them the habit of accu-

ACCUIiACY.

How

racy.

rare a thing

it is

165

How

seldom do we repeat ex-

actly

even the terms of a message that has been intrusted to

us

If

acted
details

we

to deceive

to ourselves

we

accuracy.

fail in

We

our own consciences.

will

have

We

Accuracy

almost as scarce as accuracy in relation

is

every lawyer, every physician,

is

endeavor

that black

it

was not wholly black, or white entirely white.

recollection

or

unconsciously do we exaggerate or modify the

Even

some occurrence we have witnessed

describe

how

in,

in

and

knows how scarce a commodity

the latter."

We

George Washington as a

are not accustomed to think of

business man, and yet he was not less successful in that capacity

Even

than eminent as an administrator.

at the early

age

of thirteen he studied the forms and observances of business

with great ardor.

hand,

bills

He

copied out

exchange, notes of

bills of

of sale, receipts, and similar

documents

all

being

remarkable for the accu-racy and elegance with which they were
executed.

His manuscripts then, as in

utmost neatness and uniformity

and

the columns
stained,

and

tables of

in

exact

Tim

and was recorded

in

his rules, at this early age,

of business be short

vity, regularly

estate

were of the

all

unblotted, un-

His business papers, ledgers,

Linkinwater.

Every

fact

had

its

a clear and legible handwriting

neither interlineation, blot, nor blemish

From 1759

life,

which no one wrote but himself, would have

dehghted the heart of

place,

later

the diagrams always beautiful,

figures

admirable order.

in

and day-books,

was

was

visible.

Orte of

" Let your discourse with men

and comprehensive."

to 1764

Washington was

exporting to

on the Potomac.

London

in full mercantile acti-

the produce of his large

The shipments were made

in his

own

BUSINESS HABITS.

66

name, and

to his correspondents in

which place

his tobacco

cles exported

Bristol

he was accustomed

and Liverpool,

In return for the

was consigned.

to

arti-

import from London twice

to

a year the goods which he required for his

own

use

and

it

is

recorded, as an example of the exactness with which he con-

ducted his commercial transactions as an importer, that he

in-

sending him, in addition to a general

sisted

upon

bill of

the whole, the original vouchers of the shop-keepers or

his attendant

mechanics from

whom

purchases had been made.

In these

matters his habit of punctiliousness was such, that he recorded,

with his
long

own hand,

lists

of

in

orders,

books prepared for the purpose,

the

all

and copies of the multifarious receipts

from the different parties who had supplied the goods.

way he maintained a complete

supervision

of

the

In

this

business,

ascertained the prices, detected the slightest attempt at imposi-

and the most

tion,

trivial

instance of

Readers of Mr. Jared Spark's

life

carlessness or neglect.

of the

American

patriot will

be aware that he afterwards carried these business habits into

his

management of

proved

The

of

public affairs, and that they frequently

much advantage

to his country.

habit of minding one's

own

business has been strongly

impressed on the attention of " beginners " by the veterans of

the

Stephen Girard

used

The

commercial world.

to say, "

to

late

Philadelphia millionaire,

whom reference has already been

my long commercial experience,

During

noticed that no advantage

results

from

and

this safe habit

to gratify

have

telling one's business to

others, except to create jealousy or competition

fortimate,

made,
I

when we

our enemies when otherwise."

are

From

he was never known to deviate.

In an American work we read that the Honorable Peter

C.

THALES.
who

Brooks, of Boston,

amassed

would recommend
success,

" Let

replied,

similar inquiry,

on being asked what

young man

him mind

said,

is

it

States,

to

one of the largest fortunes ever

left

United

in the

167

rule

he

as best adapted to ensure

his

own

To

business,"

New

Mr. Robert Lenox, of

York,

reputed to have been one of the most distinguished merchants

ever

known

The one

beforehand with his business."

answer,

man

remarked, seems to include the other, as no

hand with

his

"

Great Western City, replied,

in the

own

business

if

Let him be
has been

it

can be before-

he involve himself

in

that of

a jealous goddess, and frowns upon those

others.

Business

is

votaries

who do

not devote themselves almost exclusively to

her shrine.

few anecdotes loosely strung together

will

enlighten the

reader as to certain business habits better than pages of com-

We

ment.

take one from quaint old Montaigne relating to

Thales the philosopher

against the pains

order to
that he

become

Thereupon Thales,

show the contrary

muster of
profit,

was answered by one

rich,

he

all

set a traffic

on

much

together.

lives,

which

with

company
it

could

had a mind

occasion

made a

in the service of

one year brought him

all their

but

it is

to

same way, namely, by

and applying them

in

in

in that trade

could

industry, have raked

Now-a-days fortunes are not made with

such wonderful rapidity

in the

foot,

this

employ them

most experienced

so great riches that the

made

in the

for the jest's sake,

and having upon

his wits, wholly to

hardly in their whole

so

in discourse

upon themselves

inflict

resembled the fox which found fault with what

not obtain.
to

Thales once inveighing

and anxieties men

to the object in

be observed that they are

" mustering all one's wits "

hand.

BUSINESS HABITS.

68

Let not the reader marvel that a philosopher

There

engaged in business.

no wall of

is

business and literature, or business and

The

science.

qualities

human

industry.

prosperity

mean

but in truth

or degrading.

It is

and picturesque

and the exciting episodes

great merchants
in

fiction.

much

of

not deficient even in the elements

many

self

departments of

not necessarily demoralizing or

the careers of

pages of popular

com-

in trade or

in other

to this source traces so

it is

of the romantic

immeasurably surpass

or business and

vulgar prejudice exists against business,

unworthy of a nation which

its

Thales

between

partition

art,

which secure success

merce are those which secure success

like

those

interest

in

and successful traders

Undoubtedly,

which embellish the

if

man

devote him-

wholly and exclusively to money-making he will become

a sorry creature

but nothing in the abstract character of busi-

ness requires him to forfeit the refined and elevating influences

of the higher culture.

As a matter

of fact, letters

and

art

and

the sciences, as well as politics, have been advantageously cultivated by

banker

men

of business.

Samuel Rogers, the

so was Ricardo, the political economist

author of our standard History of Greece

rapher of Leo X. and Lorenzo de Medici

author of
ion."

some admirable

Sir

antiquary,

John Lubbock,
is

" Essays
so well

was a

Grote, the

Roscoe, the biog;

and Bailey, the

on the Formation of Opin-

known

for his research as

an

the head of an eminent banking firm.

as poet

and dramatist, employed

of " Barry Cornwall,"

was a lawyer, and held a

Bryan Waller Procter, who,

the

poet,
;

pseudonym

Commissionership in Lunacy.
witty authors of "

Horace and James Smith, the

The Rejected Addresses," and many

humorous compositions, were

solicitors.

other

So was Sharon Tur-

BUSINESS AND LITERATURE.

ner, the

and so was Mr. Broderip, the

historian,

Henry Taylor,

Sir

dramatists

Sir

so

many

lively

Sir

poet-

Anthony

pen the public

Matthew Arnold,

Arthur Helps, the author of " Friends

and other wise and genial books,

in Council,"

and some of them

are,

still

John Stuart Mill was

service.

and

hours of healthy enjoyment

poet, essayist, critic

been,

facile

naturalist.

modern

the most thoughtful of our

John Kaye, the Indian historian

TroUope, the novelist, to whose

owe

IOQ

at

engaged

all

in

these have

public

the

one time principal examiner

East India House, where, as everybody knows, Charles

in the

Lamb, the immortal

was a

most thoroughly

the

Peacock,

" Elia,"

So was Thomas

clerk.

original

of humoristic

nove-

lists.

John Bright

a Rochdale manufacturer, and the

is

Robert Peel was a cotton-spinner.

the Admiralty, Mr.
great
of

W. H.

The

first

Sir

present First Lord of

Smith, was at one time the head of a

Samuel Richardson, over the woes

newspaper agency.

whose "Clarissa" so many generations have shed sympa-

thetic tears,

was a bookseller

De Foe was

a brick and

draper.

Sir

tile

and so was Benjamin Franklin.

maker, and Izaak Walton a linen-

John Herschel held with

credit

the

office

of

Master of the Mint.

"If facts were required,"' says Coleridge,
sibility of
full

''

combining weighty performances

to prove the posin literature

with

and independent employment, the works of Cicero and

Xenophon among

the ancients, of Sir

Thomas More, Bacon,

Baxter, or (to refer at once to later and contemporary instances)

Darwin and Roscoe, are

at

once decisive of the question."

Foreign names of the highest celebrity

What was

Galileo

A physician.

may

also

What was Dante

be quoted.
?

chem-

B USINESS HABITS.

70

ist,

Villani, the Florentine his-

and afterwards a diplomatist.

Medicine claims Goldoni, the Italian

was a merchant.

torian,

novelist, Rabelais, the creator of " Pantagruel,"

the

German

and

Schiller,

poet.

But we have digressed from our main theme, and now return
I

and

to our anecdotical illustrations of business habits

["It's
" not

what thee'U spend,

what

thee'll

maxim

make, which

will

" Take

care of the pennies, and the pounds

John Jacob Astor used

will take care of themselveS."

man who,wishes

that a

dollars, has

Not

tune.

decide whether thee's to

Franklin puts into old Richard's mouth a

be rich or not."
similar

my

qualities.

son," said a sage old Quaker,

to

won. half the

be

rich,

battle,

to say-

and has saved two thousand

and

is

on the highway

to for-

that Astor regarded " two thousand " as a very con-

But he knew that in making and saving so

siderable sum.

much, a man acquired habits

of thoughtful thrift

keep him constantly advancing

in

which would

Those customary

wealth.

small expenses, that outlay for "petty cash," usually designated

" only a trifle," amount, in the aggregate, like the sands of the

seashore, to a formidable figure.

" Great Expectations,"

meets the exigences of the

says an
year,

American

and that

lars, so

writer,

"

case.
is

"

Ten

thirty-six

man who
him who does

by no means

cents a day even,"

dollars

the interest on a capital of

is

that the

richer than

Pip's expedient, in Dickens'

of " leaving a margin,"

.six

and a half a
hundred dol-

saves ten cents a day only,

not, as

if

he owned a

life

is

so

much

estate in a

property worth six hundred dollars.

The

industrious and persevering habits of Gideon

truly remarkable

he usually devoted

the twenty-four hours.

An

to

Lee were

work sixteen out of

anecdote, told by himself,

may be

THE SABBATH.
quoted in

illustration of

171

two prominent features of his character,

man

which'should also be those of every

of business

He

gent application and his steady purpose.

own

bargain with himself," to use his

every day labor a certain

number

had

language', that

"

his dili-

made

he would

of hours, and that nothing

but sickness or inability should induce him to violate his com" It

pact.

was known," he continued, "

the neighborhood,
to

my

shop and compelled

them.

my

I lost

me

sun found

That

pended

all

at

me

to leave

work, redeeming the

men

business,

burden of pecuniary

such,

pecially
like

it

it

''

on Saturday afternoon, as

was

all

immense

an

with

distin-

Obliged to work from

if

I felt

on Saturday,

must have

rest.

It

es-

was

Everything looked dark and

in the

bright sunshine.
it

no hired day-laborer would

nothing could be saved.

But had

Zachary

as

should have been a dead

through the whole week,

going into a dense fog.

through.

instance,

loaded

financier,

mind, and kept the Sabbath

day

for

not been for the Sabbath.

if

Saviour's

its

responsibilities during the severe financial

to night, to a degree that

gloomy, as

of

George Moore.

1836, was heard to say,

to,

morning

been the lifelong conviction of many noble-

of

guished capitalist and

submit

and go with

lost time."

commemoration

Macaulay, Brassey, Stephenson,

morning

in

day out of the seven, and that the day which

resurrection, has

man had

my work

night's rest in consequence, for the

the Christian world keeps in

crisis of

my young friends

business, all care, all worldly thought should be sus-

for one

minded

to

and on some convivial occasion they came

'

dismissed

good old way.'

could see through, and

not been for the Sabbath,

should have been in the grave."

from my
On Mon-

all

got

have no doubt


BUSINESS HABITS.

172

The

observance
" I

was

this question of

command

in

and a port

of a vessel," writes a certain captain in

" engaged in trading between

of the Brazilian port

under the direction of stevedores.

in

number

to

make an

to load vessels

These stevedores were few

equitable division of their services, the vessels were

to take their turns in the order in

reported as ready to receive cargo.

round for a particular vessel

transferred to the

to experience

turn

some

came

to

If,

which they were

when

was not ready, her

load, she

bottom of the

list.

It

closed,

and forbade any work being done on board

The stevedore and

ing,

Monday came.

made

until

it

con-

ordered the hatches to be

till

Monday

more work on board.

application to the commission-

was informed that

and must wait

lot

his gang, muttering curses, left

the vessel, threatening to do no

my

The work commenced and

to load.

Saturday night, when

merchant, and

was

of the effects Of this custom.

till

"

came

the time

tinued

morning.

on

and, in times of great hurry of business, in order

accustomed

My

was

This labor was performed by gangs of negroes

the Sabbath.

"

in Brazil.

The custom

name was

SabbatK

the mercantile service,

"

upon

following narrative bears

had

came round

lost

my

again,

turn in load-

and that the

stevedore and his gang had gone on board another vessel.

"

To

feeling
all

aggravate

my

disappointment,

around.

The merchant was

found that a

society.

cretly doing

hostile
in

by

studiously polite and respectful

as before, but no longer familiar.

my

had sprung up against me, and was participated

Masters of vessels avoided

Evil-disposed persons busied themselves in se-

me

injuries,

such as cutting

my

rigging in the

SUNDAY ON THE
And

night-time, and the like.

came round

turn

The

again,

we were

to load,

loss of

thus things went on until our

do our own work

time occasioned by

loss or not the result will

Whether

was actually a

was now Saturday night again, the loading of the ship

came a fresh and

fair

wind

was hoisted, as an invitation for

Monday morning

With the Sabbath

sea.

but instead of

on board, and observe the day

"

it

on the Sab-

show.

was completed, and we were ready for

flag

our own way.

in

the refusal to load

bath amounted to several weeks.

" It

1/3

when, there being no other vessel readyto

left

SEA.

all

sailing, the

Bethel

the shipmates to

come

good old way.

in the

we were under sail for the lower

distant.
On our way we passed two brigs

harbor, several miles

early

aground, with lighters alongside discharging their cargo, in

order to lighten them and get them

harbor,

we

They

off.

on the Sabbath, and here they were.

On

left

the harbor

reaching the lower

found, to our surprise, lying at anchor, upwards of

Among them

forty sail of shipping waiting for a wind.

all the vessels that

had cleared

for the last

were

month or more,

in-

cluding every vessel that had obtained an advantage over us

in respect to loading.

"

We

came

had now

to obtain a pilot

and before

fair,

means matters easy

vessels

many

and

and

feeble,

it

had spent

itself.

be accomplished.

here,

too,

and the bar

when

the wind

These were by no
Pilots

were few and

the principle of rotation was

at the

fair,

were short-

entrance of the harbor was

too dangerous to pass without a pilot.

pilot,

who had been

visit to

the interior, returned to the seaboard and

his duties

on the very day when we reached the outer

on a long
resumed

to sea

The winds meanwhile, when

rigidly enforced.

lived

to

and get

BUSINESS HABITS.

174
harbor,

to pilot us to

and presenting himself on board, offered

sea.

"

Tuesday morning found us with a

way

board, and under

among

over the bar, and

The

States.

We

at daylight.

the

getting out of cargo,

matters of no

delay in getting

its

exposure and

Our own

interest.

little

sale,

on board, received unusual attention

it

in the

other vessels

came out very

The

differently, with

cases of twenty, thirty, and even

fifty

at

our

cargoes of the

a loss in some

This was

per cent.

by hurrying the hides on board

in part

were

to the

when stowed away^

same good condition.

and came out

instance

United

owing

cargo,

hands, and was in perfect shipping order

occasioned

in the

arrive

to

first

wind, a pilot on

fair

were the second vessel

in the first

without their being thoroughly dried, in order to

greater despatch,

and

in part to the

unusual detention of the

From

vessels at the port of loading.

these two causes com-

bined, and the activity of the vermin that took possession of

the hides, and riddled

them through and through,

several of

these voyages turned out disastrous failures."

To sum up
of

it

is

engine,

all,

what

regularity
is

business

is

itself

This, like the

the principle (as Professor

reader remember

all

the

work

to

upon a steam-

Mathews remarks) which

preserves the uninterrupted motion of

force equally over

but habit, for the soul

fly-wheel

life,

and

be performed.

that business habits, that all

distributes the

Only

good

let

the

habits, are

not to be formed in a day, nor by a few vague resolutions.

Not by
tions

accident, not

by

fits

starts,

not by sudden alterna-

from paroxysms of activity to sleepy intervals of apathy,

are they to be attained, but

And

and

specially

is

it

by continuous and vigorous

effort.

needful that they should be formed in

COURTESY.
make

youth, for then they

letters cut in the

the least

bark of a

1/5

demand upon

Their possessor

of

of circum-

ills

enabled to bear easily the burden

is

prepared for every accident, every mutation of for-

life, is

On

tune.

Once

they expand with age.

tree,

attained, they constitute a security against the

stance.

Like

us.

become

the other hand, evil habits, once acquired,

the thralls and bonds which fatally shackle the limbs of their
victim,

and render

himself from

his tardy exertions

ineffectual

the waters which

he

rescue

to

be closing over

to

feels

him.

Among

those habits, the cultivation of which seems as indis-

pensable to the happiness of

Courtesy

breeding.

the virtues, for

it

as to success,

not of love

if

ties,

not to engage

it

class

among

it

It is

think

may be

it

a passive benevo-

and demeanor not proceeding

Do

the active exercise of benevolence.

for

We

their affections.

lence, a kindliness of spirit

it,

that of gentle

is

we

a desire not to shock their susceptibili-

defined as the negative side of charity.

of

if

involves a feeling of consideration for our

fellows,
if

life

not too highly rated

is

not

let

subdues the friction of the wheels of

to

us speak lightly
life

it

renders

our social intercouse brighter, sweeter and more refined; and

it

promotes the growth of a

intelligence.

Not only

are

spirit of

we not

mutual sympathy and

the worse, but

we

are

much

the better, for carrying the habit of courtesy even into our

domestic relations
of husband

of cultivating

parents towards children

love,

good manners on the part

towards wife, of brother towards

;

not, of course, as

but as a pleasant accompaniment to

Caxtons," the attractive young Marquis

attention the

young wife of

Sir

it.

sister,

or

of

a substitute for

When,

flatters

in "

The

with profuse

Sidney Beaudesert, the

latter

BtJSINBSS HABITS.

176
his

baffles

and turns the

design,

tables

upon him, by the

superior grace of his manners and the more exquisite polish

highest genius, like the highest rank,

The

of his breeding.

always attentively courteous

is

only the conceit of imma-

is

it

ture talent or the pretension of vulgar affluence that descends

to a disregard of social forms

paribus, the

man

of politeness

and conventionaHties.
is

altogether a

Cceteris

more agreeable

neighbor and a more desirable acquaintance than the

talent, or

ciate

man

even the

intellect

" in the rough," or excessive

everybody acknowledges the charm of

part,

if

fine

sensibility,

manners.

it

rather be

bowed

out than kicked out.

which some arrogant

For our

We

desire that our

God might

had no forgiveness

in

respected.

almost as

much

There was some

truth, in

Hawthorne's

forgive sins, but that awkwardness

heaven or

earth.

gentle, tender courtesy are so precious

that in speaking of

is

should respect the feelings of others

own may be

exaggeration, but there was also

remark, that

would

That mental candor on

egotists pride themselves

We

offensive as a vice.

Fine manners and a

and so

fruitful of good,

them anybody may be forgiven

if

he should

chance to employ the language of unstinted eulogium.

The Romans were

Latin word

brought with

it

to

is

not courteous, nor the Greeks chivalrous.

For the connection between manners and morals

the

In

which courtesy reduced prac-,

has been known only since the foundation of Christianity.

truth courtesy or chivalry

tice

but

uttered in a bland and suave tone, and

accompanied by a word or two of graceful apology.

we

of

any request of ours must be met with a negative, we

should prefer to have

as

man

Everybody cannot appre-

of feeling.

mos

indicates,

is

as close as

and Christian morality has

Christian chivalry.

THE QUAKER'S METHOD.

The

essence of courtesy
" Never

to

is

embodied

in

1-77

Wordsworth's

lines

blend our pleasure or our pride

to the meanest thing that feels."

With sorrow

Not physical sorrow

only, but mental irritability

caused by a sharp

bility as is often

a contemptuous expression.
in this respect

as

which

own

irrita-

an unkind reproach, or

more

err

such

cost, for willing labor,

infinitely

is

such

Employers of labor too often

solely to their

courtesy procures,

jest,

profitable than that

given grudgingly in closely calculated return for the

is

" Sir,"

fixed wage.

more right

to say

to another

him who enunciated

neglected by

has no

no

more

than to knock him down."

not the less valuable because

is

man

an uncivil thing than to act one

rude thing

right to say a

The axiom

exclaimed Dr. Johnson, " a

And

it.

it

it

was so often

may be

clinched

by an anecdote for which Mr. H. W. Beecher stands sponsor.

movement

In the early days of the Abolition

States

two men went out preaching

brave and calm

the Quaker

one, a sage old Quaker,

to the

lectured, the audience were all attention,

young man's

receptions, the

young man "interviewed

the platform.

"Friend," he

said,

" the

But'when

and

so,

will not

you

do

what we

so

say,

and

so,

you

how

is

it

and

" thee says,

I say,

My

'

it

to ascer-

that while

If

" I

you do so
if

you

It is

not

friends,

shall not be punished.' "

but how we say

it

and

are on the

get nothing but abuse ?"

Quaker

shall be punished,'

Quaker

"you and

same mission, we preach the same things

you are received so cordially,

his

Surprised by their different

off

will tell thee," replied the

and

turn, a tumult invariably ensued,

he was pelted

tain the reason.

When

the other, a very fervid young man.

arguments met with very general concurrence.

came

United

in the

not the opinion, but the man-

BUSINESS HABITS.

178
ner in which

conveyed.

it is

Marlborough that

to

It

was said of the great Duke of

be denied a favor by him was more pleas-

ing than to receive one from any other person

won

of his diplomatic triumphs were

bring effectively into use.

it

and not a few

by the fascination

This was a talent which Talleyrand could also

of his address.

many

entirely

It

of the grave faults of

to perfection.

redeemed

in the eyes of the

George IV.

According

to

quisite courtesy did not desert

Charles

II.

world

possessed

the well-known story, his ex-

him on

his deathbed,

when he

apologised to his courtiers for being " so unconsciously long a

time in dying."

who,

This reminds us of the Earl of Chesterfield,

in his last hours,

when a

friend was

announced

to see

him, rebuked a careless servant with the words, "Give Mr.

Dayrolles a chair."

No
ment

doubt,

all this

of breeding,

courtesy, this grace of manner, this refine-

may be

No

purely superficial.

doubt

it

frequently conceals, or attempts to conceal, the vices of a bad

heart and a corrupt nature.

roughness or bluntness

But

it

by no means follows

an index of

is

fine

manly

that

As

qualities.

often as not your supposed " rough diamonds " turn out very

poor stones indeed.

take for a delightful

The

coarse candor or rudeness which you

symptom

of unsophisticated honesty

Now, though

seldom assumed for purposes of deception.

mannered man may be a

villian, it is (Jifificult to

Christian as other than a gentleman.

His

is

not

a well-

conceive of a

religion will surely

teach him those graces of speech and temper which constitute

the truest courtesy.

Faraday.

Take an example

in the great physicist

His nature was impetuous and

fervid,

but the

self-

discipline imposed upon him by his religious convictions " con-

verted his

fire

into a central

glow and motive power of

life.

MANNERS MAKE THE MAN.

instead of permitting

What

to waste itself

it

in

1/9
passion."

useless

lessons of the highest politeness, are taught in the epistles

of St. Paul

upon them

Who

could be other than a gentleman

That " manners make the man "

in business

if

he acted

proved by the

is

successful career of the late Herbert Ingram, the founder of

the " Illustrated

vendor

at

began

life

On

his

paper very

him from being disappointed was

anxiety to prevent

walked ten miles

of daily news.

one occasion, having among his

who wanted

customers a gentleman

On

to supply

him with

his

early, his

so great

wonted budget

another occasion, he rose at two in the

morning, and travelled

the

all

way

to

London

to procure

copies of a newspaper which could not reach

post, in order to supply his customers.

delphia, the inventor of

the

him

by

cigar-shaped sub-marine vessel

Russian Government as an engineer

his introduction

to his civility to a

The gentlemen had been

couple of strangers.

some

in time

Mr. Winans of Phila-

which attracted attention some years ago, owed

to the

newspaper

as a

Nottingham, and soon secured a large connection by

his readiness to oblige.

that he

He

London News."

wander unattended and uninstructed through the

allowed to

largest estab-

lishments of Philadelphia, but on their visiting Mr. Winans', a

third or fourth-rate factory, they
attention,

agreeable and instructive.

month, an invitation
cepted

it,

and

Many more

in a

Young

to

The

desire to render their visit

result was, within

establish himself in Russia.

a twelve-

He

ac-

few years accumulated a large fortune.

besides Ingram and Winans have found civility

the road to fortune.

ents, "

were received with the readiest

and with the most evident

A physician

once said sagely to his stud-

gentlemen, have two pockets

made

a large one

BUSINESS HABITS.

l8o

and a small one

to hold the insults,

goods salesman in a
for patience
It

of

was said

and politeness
to

as to

to hold the fees."

London house had gained such

draw an

dry-

a reputation

infinity of prtronage.

be impossible to provoke him into any symptom

annoyance and

expression.

incivility of

lady of rank,

hearing of this marvel of good manners, determined to subject

him

to a severe test

but failing to disturb him by a long series

of petty vexations, was so delighted by

his

equanimity that she

provided him with the capital necessary to

start in business for

It is said of the late

himself.

Island, that he

was so obliging as

night solely to supply a

The

wanted.

Mr. Baker of Providence, Rhode

little girl

reopen his " store " one

to

with the skein of thread she

incident was noised abroad, and brought

large influx of customers.

He

died a millionaire,

and left a

illustration to posterity of the fact that politeness

The

orator

manner.

It

makes pounds!

cannot afford to dispense with the charm of

was the explanation of much of the

of Pope,

owed

as

to the force of his logic.

much

effect

of

" silver-tongued

Lord Mansfield, the

Chatham's eloquence.

Murray "

him a

striking

to the grace of his delivery as

Chesterfield informs us that the

Duke

of Argyll, though an inconsequent reasoner, was a singularly

impressive speaker.
matter, but by his
like

He

manner

influenced his audience, not by his

of delivering

"but when

others," say Chesterfied,

coolly considered what he

had

of those

argument weak, and

was well versed

was captivated

went home, and

it,

those orna-

often found the

manner

was convinced of the power

adventitious concurring

ignorance of mankind to call

" I

said, stripped of all

ments with which he had dressed

flimsy, the

it.

circumstances which

trifling."

in the art of politeness,

Chesterfield

it

is

himself

and thoroughly under-

THE ADVANTAGE OF PLEASING.

Stood the effect of manner.
the

House

Describing his introduction into

of Lords of a bill to secure the adoption of the

Gregorian Calendar in England, he says

" I

was

astronomical calculations, to both of which

However,

stranger.

also

knew something

believe that they

which they did

not.

For

to

do better than speak to the purpose, and

I

my words, to the harmony

my elocution, to my action.
;

and many

them, when,
Macclesfield,

who

is

them

said that I

them-

them

as astronomy,

to

so I resolved to

please instead of

and roundness of

to the choice

my

periods, to

This succeeded, and ever

they thought I informed because

of

it

could just as

was particularly attentive

of

of

and

part, I

and they would have understood me as well

succeed

an utter

of the matter,

knew something

my own

soon have talked Celtic or Sclavonian

informing them. ...

am

was absolutely necessary to make the

it

of Lords think that I

make them

selves,

to bring in

which was necessarily composed of law jargon and

this bill,

House

l8l

will

pleased them

had made the whole very clear to

God knows, I had not even attempted it. Lord

who had the greatest share in framing the bill, and

one of the greatest mathematicians and astronomers in

Europe, spoke afterwards with

infinite

clearness that so intricate a matter

knowledge, and

would admit of

all

the

but as his

words, his periods, and his utterance were not nearly so good
as mine, the preference

was most unanimously, though most

unjustly, given to me."

Charles James Fox's urbanity, spring-

ing from a kindly heart and generous disposition,

followers his friends
Pitt,

could

of his
ter,

and devoted adherents.

command

His

votes, but nothing more.

demeanor repelled

made

his

William

The

frigidity

and though so powerful

he had scarcely a friend.

all

rival,

as a Minis-

business'habits.

82

"A

beautiful form
tures

Emerson, "is better than a

beautiful behavior," says

gives a higher pleasure than statues or pic-

it

In a Mirabeau

sible of its influence.

ugliness

in

We

the finest of the finest arts."

it is

Topham

Beauclerk

are

all

of us sen-

induces us to forget his

it

soothes the rough moralist

it

Dr. Johnson into the gentlest condonation of his errors of con-

duct

and

Fenelon

in a

We

virtue.

at ease,

adds an additional attraction

it

find in the social circle that

and promotes a general

to one another.

commandment,

It is the

"

Thou

of flowers,

which

light,

it

lends a brightness and

persistently,

like

" It pushes

its

daffodil

spring,

the tiniest

and thrusts

raises the cold

Like the fragrance

things.

even when not seen.

felt

it is

be of use

thy neighbor as thyself."

shalt love

the most commonplace

and

silently

puts everybody

cordiality, a desire to

everyday application of the Divine

Like the subtle influence of

freshness to

it

to his genius

it

in

way

aside by the simple persist-

ence of growing."
Courtesy

will assist

us to prevent our just appreciation of

ourselves from assuming the proportions of an offensive egotism.

Nothing

is

so despicable as conceit

Dean

self-depreciation.

are accused for not

as few

know

and necessary
are

knowing

own

their

that

their

strength.

we should form

and what we can

do,

nothing so injudicious as

Swift has told us that although

and

pect to be accepted by others.

own weakness,
But

a due estimate of what

that estimate

For man

peter seems to us as bad in policy as

principle

umniator.

but assuredly he

We

is

is

to
it

we may

we

rightly ex-

be his own trumis

objectionable in

not required to be his

do not believe that

business anything

yet perhaps

equally desirable

is

it

men

own

cal-

in professional life or in

gained by charlatanism or loudness of

self-

FALSE HUMILITY.
assertion.

On

83

hand too conspicuous a humility

the other

is

apt to be understood by the world as originating in a conscious"

ness of inferiority.
says Milton, "

The pious and

may be thought

just

knowing

the radical moisture and foun-

tain-head from whence every laudable

We

issues forth."

our work

well

proclaiming
to

it

We

know, or we ought

are very

work-a-day

to

know, when

and though a modest mind

ill

shrink from

will

mind

we do

will

not allow

it

done.

much

inclined to say with a sensible moralist,

that pretty as lowliness

and pleasant

and worthy enterprise

to

to all the world, a truthful

be spoken of as

of ourselves,"

and unobstrusive worth are

in theory,

read about in moral essays, they are hardly

"

qualities.

He who

relies

upon them, who

is

always crouching in a corner, and cannot ask for his due, or

who

goes about, as Robert Hall said,

apology for the

world

who never

'

so with the forlorn

time,
tiful

or, if

in

the

he does, does

hope with which Snug the joiner begs the

anything, or cannot say

;

with an air of perpetual

puts himself forward,

audience to take him for a lion

tinacity

'

unpardonable presumption of being

it

who cannot

say that he wants

with sufficient loudness and per-

who cannot make

though he knows

it to be

himself prominent at the right

the right time

may be a beau-

object of creation, very lovable, and very

much

to

be ad-

mired, but must expect to be not only outstripped, but knocked,,

crushed, and trampled under foot, in the rush and roar of this

nineteenth century."
Lastly, in connection with this all-important subject of busi-

we may say a few words on

Some people think and speak as

ness habits and business qualities,

the avoidance of imitation.
if

to

be original

in

aim or method were the peculiar faculty of

BUSINESS HABITS.

84

genius,

and are content

worn deep and wide by thousands

man who makes

every

No man, who
what other men

with a certain degree of novelty.

it

,has anything at all in him, will say exactly

.have said.

he take up an old theme, he

If

some new illustration if

vwiU endow it with a certain

freshness of expression

a picture of the sunrise, he will put into

own have

jeyes jTsmt his

down

by

it

It

men

may

if

he paint

something which no
is

the resource of

the honest, industrious worker will never

lay

fail to

not lead as far or ascend as

of greater powers, but

it

will

be

his

ttradk.

"What

genius?" says Dr. John Brown, "and what

.i-s

.-sense,? "
.is

it

Imitation

noticed.

a, path for himself.

.high as .the paths of

NOwn

will enforce

he carve the statue of a Venus, he

idleness

But

of stumbling feet.

himself master of a subiect will treat

.and apply

which has been

to jolt along in the rut

.He proceeds to answer his own questions.

is

" Genius

a peculiar native aptitude or tendency to any one calling or

;pursuit over all others.

.ing, for

harp

or

manner

mission

may be

it

have a genius for govern-

or for using the greatest number of

killing,

in the;best possible
fiddle, or his

A man may
;

may be

man may have

men and

a genius for the

for the tight-rope or the Jew's

a natural turn for seeking, and finding, and

teaching truth, and for doing the greatest possible good to

mankind
and

or

finding,

chief.

a turn, equally natural, for seeking,

and teaching a

was

It

may be

it

lie,

and doing the maximum of mis-

as natural, as inevitable, for Wilkie to develop

himself into a painter, and such a painter as

have been,
an oak, a
is

as

it

is

specific

for

an acorn when planted

But

Quercus robur.

not enough, even for a painter

genius,

we know him

to

grow up

into

and nothing

else,

to

he must likewise have sense j

ORIGINALITY.
and what

sense

is

8$

Sense drives, or ought to drive, the coach

sense regulates, combines, restrains,

even the genius

commands

all

the rest

and sense implies exactness and soundness,

power and promptitude of mind."

This great faculty of sense involves the capability of perceiving the best

way

in

which to apply one's

ensure

talents, so as to

a certain originality of aim and method.

It

brings a clear and

ready intelligence to bear upon the commonest details.

It

avoids red tape in politics, and denounces dulness in professional

It thinks, speaks, acts,

life.

inality,

and judges

within a certain obvious limit,

of intelligence.
tion of one's

In truth,

it is

is

And what

honorable

man

will

is

the vice of

modern

society.

one

to the object

not prefer to de-

pend on himself rather than trade upon another's wits

itativeness

man

nothing more than the applica-

knowledge and one's experience

has at heart.

Orig-

for itself.

possible to every

new

Im-

invention

brought before the public, and commands success.

is

score of

abominable imitations are immediately introduced by the unscrupulous, who, in copying the original closely enough to deceive the public,

and yet not so exactly

legal rights, exercise

channel, could not

literary

world

an ingenuity

fail to

that,

upon

as to infringe

employed

in

an original

secure reputation and profit.

In the

this trick of imitation is objectionably rife.

" It has been justly observed that " flashes of

writer are struck out

by the rapid pen, and

man's own mind

more

is

mind

"

in a

that one flash of a

profitable to himself,

and

will pro-

cure him a more favorable reception from the public, than any

amount of
flash

sen's

reprint of second-hand coruscations.

may be

elicited

Of course,

by contact with another mind.

Mercury was suggested by the

the

Thorwald-

sight of a lad sitting in a

"

86

BUSINESS HABITS.

graceful

Tennyson's " In Memoriam

of repose.

attitude

might never have been written but for Milton's " Lycidas."

when Edmund Kean was praised

Hazlitt records that

action as Richard III., in his final

victorious

Richmond, when,

for his

unavailing struggle with

after his

sword has been wrested

out, " as if his will

from him, he stood with his hand stretched

could not be disarmed, and the very phantoms of his despair

had a withering
the idea
Oliver.

flower," he

upon seeing the

acknowledged

he had conceived

that

last effort of Painter in his fight with

This, however,

not imitation, not the impudent

is

plagiarism of the servile copyist.

In adopting and acting upon

a suggesting, or in catching up an

illustration,

is

often seen at

most

No

its best.

an original mind

doubt, as has been remarked, the

original writer, like the bee, will derive his capital stock

of ideas, his funded store, from a variety of sources

bee, though

it

plunders

''nectared sweets,"

is

careful that

special blossom, so will the

that his

master.

work

shall

He will

man

its

honey

through the alembic of his

from every nook and corner

own

brain,

it

and

bined before being presented to the public

seize

and

have something of his own to

transmitting through a

He may

any

mind ensure

not speak too directly of any particular

collect his material

would

but as the

shall not tell of

of independent

of the wide domain of literature, but

A writer who

the bowers of the field of their

all

will
its

in

all

be

filtered

elements recom^

an enduring form,

retain the ear of the public

say, while at times repeating

new medium

must

and

the thoughts of others.

adapt and borrow, but what he adapts and borrows he

must invest with a certain degree of novelty.

be peculiar and proper
style, to write

to himself.

To assume

His

style

must

another man's

Johnsonese, Carlylese, or Ruskinese,

is

as foolish

IMITATION.
and unprofitable as

187

about in another man's clothes.

to strut

Ideas become the property of everybody.

The thoughts

of

Plato and Cicero are part of the heritage of well cultivated

minds

but

style is,

or should be, a man's

" Let the writer, then,

who

fame, follow Pat's advice to a

bad

hind his nose and speak in his

of popular approbation

is

to

self.

pants for notoriety or coverts true

orator,

own

come

natural voice.

out from be-

The heaven

be taken only by storm.

Emerson

has startled the world by his Emersonisms, and not by echoes

of Carlyle, as

his

many

name on

the scroll of

Edgar A. Poe

Raven

'

imagine, for he

Edgar A. Poe, with

original.

to the

American authors simply by being

Cooper has won a great name

'

tomb of the

first

'

The

though

of faults as the firmament with

scalds

Capulets,' because they have tried to

Who

and

new

be

can forget how, when Sir Walter

kindled the torch of his genius

poesy, working out

of

as a novelist,

while thousands of romances of equal ability have gone

unlike themselves.
Scott

Carlyle only in being

personal faults, eternised

but who reads the legion parodies of

his writings are stuck as full

stars,

is like

all his

at the fires of feudal

scenes of interest from the warblings

troubadours and minnesingers, his thrilling

cadences were imitated by a whole forest of mocking-birds,

who made

the heavens vocal with the glories of mosstrooper

and marauder, baron bold and gay ladye, hound

hawk

in

servitors, slashed ' sleeves

*
the

in leash

and

hand, bastion huge and gray chapele, henchmen and

and Spanish boots, 'guns, trumpets,

We may note here, that open and avowed parodies do not come under
head of dishonest imitations or servile copies. They may be, and often

are, original in the truest sense

as, for instance,

by James and Horace Smith, and the very

Calverley.

"

The Rejected Addresses "

felicitous

efforts of

Mr. C.

S.

BUSINESS HABITS.

188

blunderbusses, drums, and thunder

'

No

Wizard of the North gracefully resigned

his

sooner had

wand

the

to a mightier

Prospero, whose star of popularity had shot with a burst to the

south, then, presto

down went Rhoderick Dhu and Wat

.'

Buccleuch before Hassan and Selim

of

the paeans to Rosabelle

were exchanged for the praises of Medora, the plaid and the
bonnet for the white turban and the baggy trousers

and over

the whole realm of song arose the Oriental dynasty under the

Ten thousand puny

prime viziership of Byron.

called the
'

moon

'

Tambourgis,' and

haters of pork
cloth

Phingair,'

daggers

women Houris
'

'

'

attaghans,'

became

rhymesters

drummers

lovers of gin and

discarded their neckcloths and put on sack-

strove perseveringly in turn-down collars to look Con-

rad-like

and misanthropic

and raved

swore by the beard of the Prophet,

in Spenserian stanzas

mourned over

their

'

about their

dark imaginings

'

'

burning brows

'

dreamed by night

or
of

gazelle-eyed beauties, by day of Giaours, jereedmen, and janizaries

and, whether baker's, butcher's, or barber's apprentices

became the

oracles of impassioned wretchedness,

they could raise

by

money enough

the hour imitations of

highway.

Where

adventured

Mazeppa

are they

all

at

now ?

and

when

on hacks hired

a hand-gallop along the

Alas

the whole

swarm

of romances in six cantos with historical notes, alike with the

ten thousand echoes of Byron, have long since gone to the land
of forgetfulness

the term,

owe

trunkmaker,"

it

or, if

they live in an

accommodated sense

to the tender mercies of the

of

pastrycook and the

CHAPTER
BUSINESS

VI.

MEN AND BUSINESS NOTES.

" Let your first efforts be, not for wealth, but independence. Whatever
be your talents, whatever your prospects, never be tempted to speculate
away, on the chance of a palace, that which you need as a provision against
Zord Lytton.
the workhouse, "

"Whoever has sixpence

commands cooks

sixpence
to

mount guard over him,

" That

man

to business

"

It is in

out his

and

is

is

sovereign over

all

men

to the extent of that

to feed him, philosophers to teach him,

to the extent of that sixpence."
Carlyle.

kings

is

not brought up

who

will not stretch

but of the lower part of the world that

Owen Feltham,

affairs."

vain to put wealth within the reach of him

to take."
Dr. Johnson.

hand

" You will be invincible

that

it is

in

if you engage in no strife where you are not sure

your power to conquer." Epictetus, " Encheiridion."

"

the mind be bent, still plotting where,

when, and how, the business may be done.

Still let

And

'

George

Jierbert.

CHAPTER
BUSINESS

MEN AND

VI.

BUSINESS NOTES.

the preceding chapter we have indicated the qualities and

IN and
habits which would seem to be indispensable to the

man

We

of business.

have shown that he must be diligent

exceedingly, gifted with an indomitable perseverance, patient,

self-reliant,

is

courteous

punctual,

According

method.

to

the

better than precept,"

and

interest

of the reader,

already given,

we add

if,

old
it

and

original

in

adage, however, "

may be

and

aim

Example

for the advantage

to those instances

and

and

illustrations

a variety of biographical reminiscences

or anecdotes, occasionally pausing to

draw from them an ap-

propriate moral.

Daniel Defoe, when discoursing upon mercantile morality in

the

England of Queen Anne's

reign,

trade stratagems, the false light which

notices,

some

among

other

retail dealers in-

troduced into their shops for the purpose of giving a delusive

appearance to their wares.

" shop rhetoric"

men were wont

and

to

severely

upon the

which trades-

pour out upon their customers, and quotes

their defence of the

principle

He comments

" the flow of falsehoods"

bad habit

as

based on the " we must live"

they could not keep up their trade without lying.

USIJVESS MEN.

192

Add

says, the fact that there

he

to which,

was scarce a shop-

keeper who had not a bag of spurious or debased coins which

he imposed upon unwary customers whenever he had the

The

opportunity.

has been rendered almost

practice

latter

impossible by stringent legislation and an improved coinage

but " shop rhetoric"

but wonder on

is

whom

still
it

now

imposes.

superficial view of

army

things would lead one to conclude that the great

and

ness men, dealers wholesale

shopkeepers

retail,

them what you

call

common, though we cannot

too

will

of busi-

merchants, traders,

were

engaged in a

noble rivalry to supply the public with the finest commodities

The

at the lowest possible prices.

tea

and coffee offered

the breakfast table are invariably " of the best quality

ales or wines which, in spite of

Sir Wilfrid

;"

Lawson and

for

the
the

at dinner, are of " a celebrated

Good Templars, you consume

brewage" or the " finest vintage."
are

fresh from

The

flavor."

the

beef

is

of "

bly " tender," the bread

you go
like

to

your

tailor,

was never before

Your

of " the finest wheat flour."

in the

The newspaper you read has

somest

in

as

;"

the

book you order

this season."

of purchasing a horse, you find that

all

If

is

you think

the animals offered for

" first-rate," " invaluable," the hand-

town," "perfectly quiet to drive or ride,"

for their action,"

If

market, and never will be again,

fit."

"the best that has been produced

announced

in

he recommends a cloth of which the

" the largest circulation in the world

are

and vegetables

prime quality," the mutton incredi-

made

and promises you a perfect

sale

fruit

garden or orchard, and " unequalled

and " sold for no

fault."

which purchasers are desired puzzle you

all are " exceedingly valuable," "

most

The

"famed

properties for

greatly,

inasmuch as

eligible," " delightfully

TRADESMEIST'S DEVICES.
situated," " admirably adapted,"

In truth, the wonder

venience.

fitted

how

is

up with every contheir

owners or occu-

pants could ever be induced to dispose of them

It

cannot

illness rendering a " change of air neces-

be on account of any
sary,'' for

93

a glance at the advertisement columns of a daily or

weekly paper convinces you that for every disease under the
sun science has discovered a cure.
it

If

must be because they are weary of

people consent to die,

life,

or in ignorance of

the " infallible remedies'' placed at their disposal.

We

believe that sobriety of taste and the highest morality

be found as profitable

will

and we

fail to

in trade as in

any other

calling

understand why " business " should be supposed

to justify a relaxation or forgetfulnes of the laws of religion.

The merchant-princes
up,

of England, the

and who maintain the

prosperity,

men who have

have never resorted to such paltry devices, nor

forgotten that for them, as for the soldier, the

man

built

commercial

stately edifice of her

of letters, the path of glory

artist,

or the

the path of honor and

is

duty.
It is painful to

years found fewer

be told that

mercial morality has

ciety

is

this

high standard has of late

and fewer admirers, and that

become almost a legend

com-

of the past.

So-

and anon by revelations which seem

startled ever

show that the trader laughs

at

genuity to evade the law.

A popular

terly

British

honesty and exercises

satirist

has drawn a

humorous comparison between the roguery

to

all his in-

of British

bit-

and

Chinese traders, which the acts of our Legislature have proved

to be

no exaggeration.

" According to a well-known writer,

buys and

sells sugar,

'

a grocer

and plums, and spices

is

for gain.'

man who

BUSINESS MEN.

194
"

Happy," says the

hand upon

his

text, say,

'

his

am

"

satirist,

the

man

For

!
'

shop-doors the designation of

who buy and

upon

sugar,

sell

the undoctored clove

is

'

men who set over their

how many are there
only who turn the penny

of the

Grocer,'

and sugar

spices in their purity

" Great

who can lay

the English grocer

is

commercial heart, and, making answer to the

vend nought but the true ware

the villainy of the Chinese

but

written in

it is

certain books of the prying chemist that the roguery of the

bent,
doth

may

upon the means of

social respec-

Briton

it

tability

outblush the pale face of the Mongolian trick-

be,

sters.

"
his

The Chinaman

glazes his tea with Prussian blue

Congo, and adds a perfume to his Twankey

pig-tailed

and, in his limited sympathies

fails to

>edge in any British maiden, of any fabulous age

woman and
''!barian

the

British

the creed of
" It

is

The China teaman

a sister.

''Chinaman's religion
lis

is

grocer

is

The

the Briton's creed

his

faded tea-leaves with

but shall not one's eyes flash

lightened British tea-dealer

who

the mortal glow of plumbago

in the

a benighted bar-

be made, to drop a tear over the

Chinamnn who dusts

;

acknowl-

love.

possible, if the effort

chromate of lead

is

man

soever, a

an effulgent Christian.

the gust of revenge

common

'ignorance of the

he paints

but he, the

does not recognize in a Britisher a

heathen,

.;and a brother,

fire at

the en-

to the withered leaf imparts

Nevertheless, there are grocers

commercial form of men, who

treat the

stomachs of

their customers as their customers treat their stoves

namely,

they bestow upon their internals the questionable polish of

blacklead, innocently swallowed in cups of liquid worse and

AD UL TERA 2'ION.

I9S

How many

blacker than the Lacedemonian black broth.

an

innocent tea-loving spinster, proud of the jetty loveliness of her

would vent a spasm of horror did she know that the

fireplace,

polish of her

fragrant

blacklead
lead

of

And

own

stove

and smoking

and the bloom

own black

of her

lead that, in due sufificiency,

the English grocer, intent

akin to coffin

is

upon

deceit, outvies,

say the chemists, the teamen of the Flowery Kingdom.

is

not a toss-up between the two

China beats by a
"
is

Of

tail,

England

word

coffee (a

still

fails

found

hardly necessary to speak

in

and

if

It

at eventide,'

may be

there be, though

some

of the dictionaries)

more

ture than

either

it

the acres of chicory, wherein

may

'

walk forth to

have a language and a lesson of their own.

added, however, that perhaps there

touching, a

There

not to win by a head.

the pious grocer as well as his customers

muse

tea,

were of one and the same

at her lips,

instructive,

man

or

is

not a more

and withal a more pathetic

woman

pic-

complacently employed in

drinking what the drinker, in more than primitive innocence,

believes

pound

to

be coffee

grocer's

Thus wrote Douglas

lative
tices

coffee,

one

at

per

shilling

"
!

Jerrold

some years

ago.

Recent

legis-

measures against adulteration assure us that the prac-

which he condemned have by no means been abandoned.

But

legislation

cial

morality,

cannot enforce the true principles of commereither in the shop,

or the banker's counting-

house, or " on 'Change,'' or in our shipowner's parlors, though

it

may

prevent their more open and glaring violations.

we have

to

a business

do
life,

is

to inspire

with a profound sense of duty

habits of well-doing

What

our young men, when entering upon

and right-thinking

to train

to convince

them

them

to

that

BUSINESS MEN.

196

the ethics of Christianity ought to govern them in

dealings

and

to cultivate in their hearts that

all

their

spirit of piety,

benevolence, purity, and rectitude which distinguishes the true

gentleman.

The
est

history of business

is

bright with examples of the keen-

commercial energy and enterprise, combined with the

cerest

and most unaffected

the demoralising or hardening effect attributed to

cilious novelists,

who seldom

representations of
prejudice.

A man

he can do

his

sin-

Trade has not necessarily

piety.

it

by super-

introduce into their works any

" business

men

" undisfigured

cannot serve both

by

foolish

God and Mammon,

but

best as a tradesman or a merchant without

neglecting his duty as a follower of the Divine Master.

Take

the example of Williarft Cotton, the engineer, one of

the principal partners of the firm of

Huddart

&

Co.,

and one

of the earliest promotors of the application of steam to navigation.

He

rose so rapidly in public estimation, that in 1821

he was elected a director of the Bank of England, a post

which he held

months before

for forty-five years,

his death in

and gave up only a few

Many

1866.

reforms and modifi-

cations in that famous establishment sprang from his strong

sagacity, his

knowledge of the true principles of finance, and

his accurate insight into the character and capacity of those

who worked under

or with him.

From 1843

as governor of the

Bank,

time when the Bank charter

at the

was being framed by the

found

late

in William Cotton a clear

Sir

to

1845 he acted

Robert Peel.

and honest

The

latter

adviser, deliberate

but firm in judgment, with no personal interest to serve, and

unsparing in his labor.

In order that this great measure might

be carried to a successful

issue, the

governor of the Bank was

WILLIAM COTTON.

I97

constantly in attendance under the gallery of the

Commons

(not being himself a

member

House

of

House), in

of the

order that Sir Robert Peel might be able to consult him on any

doubtful point.
senger would

Often, too, in the middle of the night, a mes-

come

Walwood asking

to

for further information.

His fellow-directors of the Bank conferred on

Mr. Cotton the unprecedented honor of a third election as

governor, in order that he might carry to

work which had been begun under

this

his

its

conclusion the

auspices.

itself in full

The

power.

necessity of weighing

much

coinage of the kingdom,

was

It

the gold

all

which had become

of

at

mind showed

period also that the mechanical bent of his

light

through use, led him to consider the possibility of doing this

The

by an automatic weighing-machine.

ent self-acting weighing-machine, far

rapidity,

it is still

at

work

at the

local establishments, just as

the governor of the Bank.

tion of 1851,

and of

it

our day declared that

mechanical ingenuity,
to think

" It

Bank,

was

it

Mint, and in

at the

designed by

at first

was exhibited

Exhibi-

at the

one of the profoundest reasoners of

it

seemed

that the

to

him the perfection of

machine

itself

seemed almost

during the pause which ensued between the reception

of the sovereign into the scale

and

its

delivery into

has been appropriately

named

'

The

Governor.'

This was one and a notable aspect of his

was

that other aspect in

Christian philanthropist untiring in

and churches, and schools,

all

appro-

its

The machine

priate place, either as a light or full weight coin.

brighter

only in

but in accuracy, the steadiest and most practiced

hand, and

many

was the pres-

result

exceeding, not

"
life.

But

which he was seen

all

good works.

far

as the

Hospitals,

were indebted to his splendid

B USINESS MEN.

198

and well-directed

To

liberality.

he gave of his time, his

the great charitable societies

and

talents,

From

his substance.

the

outset of his career he devoted a tenth of his profits to pious

and benevolent objects

to think that his "

Such men

as these throw a pure

ways of commerce, and

it is

as his gains increased he rejoiced

and

" also increased.

commission fund

and beautiful

possible to preserve an upright bearing,

eyes fixed upon the crown of

who began

His

and perseverance, and

on a

solid basis,

For

civic affairs.

and

to

the

them

keep our

William Brown, of

business in the great Lancashire seaport

activity

he

felt

and shrewdness,

his readiness of resource,

soon raised him to an influential position

his fortunes

upon

noble type of the English

in the late Sir

in 1810, at the age of twenty-six.

his patience

life.

merchant may be put forward

Liverpool,

light

testify to the fact that in treading

and having erected

himself free to take part in

his labors in reforming the administration of

the docks he received the thanks of his fellow-citizens in 1833.

He

had previously been elected a director of the Bank

of

Liverpool, and he assisted in establishing a celebrated line of

steam-packets to ply between Liverpool and the United States.

In 1836 he purchased the Brandon

^80,000, and
to the

amount

it

was estimated

estate,

that, in the

near Coventry, for

same

extensive connection with American traders, to

quently

made

large advances, involved

connected with the great

and

it

was feared that

withstand the shock.

failure of the

his house,

"

Had

themselves.

The

him

it is

whom

in the

it

he

His
fre-

anxieties

American banks

wealthy as

he and

than the strength of giants,"

extricated

year, business

of ^^10,000,000 passed through his hands.

in 1837,

was, could never

his partners possessed less

said, " they

British

could not have

Government

saw,

and

WILLIAM BROWN.
looked with apprehension as

From

establishment.
single

it

I99

saw,, the struggle of this gigantic

Inverness to Penzance there was not a

town but would have

In Sheffield, and Bir-

felt its fall.

mingham, and the towns surrounding them,

Leeds, and
of

all

Manchester,

the great factory communities, a large

number

merchants and employers, and, as a matter of course, every

man and woman employed, were more

Caring

fate of this establishment.

much

for the public, William

the

Bank

or less involved in the

little

for himself, but very

Brown took

the bold step of visit-

had an interview with the chairman

ing London, where he

'

in

of England,

and

after stating his position

resources, obtained the promise of a loan of

than ;^2, 000,000.

In the end he found

no

it

less

and

of
his

an amount

necessary to draw

only half this sum, which with interest he repaid within six

months, receiving a complimentary

letter

from the authorities

had never had a more

to the effect that they

satisfactory tran-

saction with any house.''

After energetically espousing

movements

in favor of a

penny

postage, early closing, temperance, and healthful recreation for

the

working

trade,

classes,

he became an active supporter of free

and a member of the Anti-Corn-Law League.

Mean-

time his prosperity as a merchant and a banker continued on

the increase.

" If

any of you know

" what a bale of cotton

is,

"

said

Richard Cobden,

you are only one remove from a near

acquaintance with Mr. Brown,

who

has in his hands one-sixth

part of the trade between this country and the United States.

There

is

hardly a wind that blows or a tide that flows in the

Mersey that does not bring a ship freighted with cotton or some
other costly commodity for Mr. Brown's house
lorry in the streets but

what

is

and not a

destined to carry cloth or other

BUSINESS MEN.

200

commodities, consigned to the care of Mr. Brown, to be shipped

to America, China, or other parts of the world."

In 1846, at the age of sixty-two, Mr. Brown was elected M.P.

South Lancashire, and he

for

in

sat

Parliament for thirteen

Though by no means an effective debater, his speeches

commanded attention by the amount of information which they

years.

On

conveyed.

Lord Palmerston's quarrel with

the occasion of

the United States Government, who had somewhat hastily

dis-

missed the British Minister at Washington, Mr. Brown acted

as a mediator

racter

crowned

to prevent

and

his

commercial influence and upright cha-

his efforts with success.

two great nations, akin

was a noble work

It

and language, from

in race

drawing the sword upon each other for a diplomatic punctilio.

It

was a work worthy of a British merchant and a Christian

philanthropist.

And

which places a man

We
that

cannot, nor

we

He may

the

cost of

is

it

should, dwell

Brown.
last

surely

we should not

in a position to

despise the calling

do such a work.

necessary for the proof of our

upon

be said

to

thesis,

the generous actions of William

all

have consummated them by his

foundation of the Free Library of Liverpool, at a

Three years

some ^45,000.

was born

to his " success in life"

Sheriff of Lancashire

and

his

by

later,

his

promotion

public testimony

appointment as High
to a baronetcy.

died on the 3d of March, 1864, at the age of seventy-nine.

The name

of

the

Messrs.

Chambers has been rendered

familiar to English-speaking people all over the world

well-known

" Journal "

and

He
-

the

scarcely

less

by the

well-known

"Encyclopaedia," not to speak of other publications which

have ministered largely to the moral and intellectual cultivation of the masses.

The high

reputation of the firm

is

due, in

ROBERT CHAMBERS.
no small degree,

He

was born

201

to the literary labors of Dr.

at Peebles,

Robert Chambers.

on the banks of the Tweed, on the

loth of July, 1802, two years later than his brother William,

with

whom

he was afterwards so closely associated

They were

lishing business.

in the

pub-

James Chambers, a

the sons of

muslin weaver, whose reverses of fortune compelled him to

remove

to

Edinburgh while

They had

boyhood.

modicum

his sons

were

already received,

and

of education at the burgh school,

and one

of their old nurse

At Edinburgh

Tam

in their early

still

however

a certain

at the

hands

Flack, a Peebles " character."

was continued and completed

their education

at the

High School.

but

served young Robert Chambers well, when, at the age

it

was neither very wide nor very deep,

It

of sixteen, having saved

up a sum of about

opened a bookshop or book-stall

forty shillings, he

Leith

in

Of the

Street.

struggles of his early years he supplies an interesting sketch

Hugh

in a letter to

Miller, the geologist.

" Notwithstanding your wonderful success as a writer," he

says, " I think

my

literary

tendency must have been a deeper

and more absorbing peculiarity than yours, seeing that

to Latin

and

broke down

to
in

your

classical course,

passion for rough sport and

and had

enterprise

being again a passion for which

This, however, has resulted in

in

your hardy
cliff,

some

of books,

took

fully as great

your case.

never had one particle.

making you what

field

Still, I

observations

by

my

never was

-an

immense

think I could present against

firth

and

fell,

striking analogies in the finding out

making

reading, that

as for

inclined to be, a close observer of external nature

advantage

books both keenly and exclusively, while you

and cave and

and devouring

way, for instance, through a whole chest-

BUSINESS MEN.

202
of the

ful

'

Encyclopaedia Britannica,' which

lumber

garret.

ness of

feet,

me

mainly a

conditions,

must

had much

fireside student.

As

to

in

an unfortunate tender-

also say that

scarcely yet got over,

found

do

to

making

in

domestic connections and

mine being of the middle

were superior to

classes,

After that,

my

father being

yours for the

first

unfortunate in

business, we were reduced to poverty, and came

down

twelve years.

even humbler things than you experienced.

to

passed

through some years of the direst hardship, not the least

being a state of feeling quite unnatural in youth

stern

evil

and

burning defiance of a social world in which we were harshly

and coldly treated by former

respects from ourselves.
I think
it is

friends, differing only in external

In your

life

there

is

one

Some

the brief period at Inverness.

there bring

my own

all

where

crisis

your experiences must have been somewhat

mine

like

of your expressions

early feelings again to

life.

disparity

between the internal consciousness of power and accomplishments and the external ostensible aspect led

same wrong methods of

There, of course,

the

retrospect

still

my

amount

myself, no friend
life,

came

which

* *

Till I

to me.

screen

it

has impressed
is

but

from the
is

the very

for the unfortu-

proved that

Uncles, cousins,

could help

etc., in

good

not one offered, nor seemed inclined to give,

the smallest assistance.

spirit in

it

of brotherly assistance there

nate in this world.

positions in

fact

have

youth to

bitter, painful

might read a lesson

it

too distressing.

The one grand

mortal eye.
small

is

to the very

warm sympathy.

in

sometimes thought of describing

the world as something in which

me

myself forward as in you.

setting

meet you

in

The consequent

at sixteen I set

defying, self-relying

out as a booksellei:, with only

ROBERT CHAMBERS.
my own

small collection of books as a stock

than two pounds,

pendent of

now

believe

led

but

has not been

aid

all

it

my spirit

sensible that

itself in

203

to

not worth more

being quickly inde-

am

a gain, for I

all

of self-reliance too often manifested

an unsocial, unamiable

light,

may have made me

honest poverty

my

while

my

recollections of

too eager to attain and

secure worldly prosperity."

Robert Chambers made his

as editor of

first

venture

ill

the literary world

small weekly journal, the Kaleidoscope, which

he himself published, and his brother William printed, the

latter for this

purpose having acquired without assistance the

art of printing,

clumsy wooden

and

purchased an old font of type and a

The

press.

large letters were wanted, William

and carved them with

his

and when

font was imperfect,

Chambers

sat

up

at night

As

penknife out of a piece of wood.

might have been expected, the Kaleidoscope had but a brief

career.

Nothing daunted, Robert again entered the

making use

of his

knowledge of the Tweed country

field,

to compile

a volume of " Illustrations of the Author of Waverley

ably written sketches of the supposed originals from

whom

" agree-

Walter Scott had drawn his more famous characters.

book attracted considerable

attention,

author in his diary as " a clever

much haste."
when he was still

Sir

The

and Scott mentions the

young

fellow,

who

spoils

him-

himself by too

In 1823,

and published

only twenty years of age, he wrote

his "Traditions of

Edinburgh."

found that he had now securely planted

of fortune.

Its

literary

its

young author

his feet

on the ladder

merit met with immediate recognition, and

Prosperity did not abate his industry.

His

dili-

gent pen, always lively and accurate, produced in rapid succes-

BUSINESS MEN.

204
sion a
acter,

number of works of an antiquarian and historical charamong which may be mentioned his " History of the

Scottish Rebellion,"

and

his " Biographical Dictionary of

Em-

inent Scotsmen."

The

great reputation of the two brothers as publishers dates

from 1832, when (on the 6th of February) they issued the

number

first

of their Edinburgh yournal, which undoubtedly struck

a hitherto unexplored vein of periodical

was remarkable.

It

literature.

Its

success

immediately obtained a circulation of

five

thousand copies a week, which increased in 1845, when the octavo form was adopted, to nine thousand copies.
brothers,

now on

The two

the highroad to competency, entered into

formal partnership, and thenceforth enjoyed an equal measure

of well-deserved prosperity

both of them trained by hard ex-

perience to habits of business and punctuality, both of them

strictly

prudent and conscientious in

all

their dealings,

and

both of them practised, according to their different aims and

tendencies, in literary labor.

writer has essayed to account for the colossal prosperity

of the Rothschilds,
is

and

must be admitted

it

that,

whether he

correct in his reference to that famous firm or not, he states

a couple of considerations well worth the attention of business

men.

He who

does not delay for casualties, and has the

sagacity to perceive that in

all

great affairs success depends

not only on the choice and use of the most favorable moment,

but especially on the pursuit of an acknowledged fundamental

maxim, has seized upon the two principles never neglected,

is said,

by the Rothschilds

it

the two principles to which, com-

bined with a wary conduct of business, and a quick perception

of advantageous opportunities, they owe, in the main, their

present wealth and renown.

THE ROTHSCHILDS.
was the

It

to carry

on

first

of these principles that led the five brothers

their affairs in

a perpetual and uninterrupted com-

This was the golden rule enunciated by their

munication.

After his death, every proposition, be

father's

dying

what

might, was the

it

lips.

object of their

Every important undertaking was the

and

all

20$

common

result of

shared equally in the profit as in the

several years their

capitals of Europe,

it

deliberations.

combined

effort,

Though

loss.

for

customary residences, being in the great

were very remote, the harmony of

this

singularly family council was never interrupted, while they de-

rived from this circumstance a peculiar advantage in being al-

ways well acquainted with the condition of

Each

metropolis.

assist in initiating

of

in every

affairs

them was thus enabled on

and mapping out the operations

his part to

to

be under-

taken by the firm.

The second
lost sight

is,

principle of which the Rothschilds have never

not to seek in any transaction an excessive profit

to assign certain limits

magnitude of
lies

their

though, of course, proportion

every enterprise and,
in

means

within the power of

to

human prudence,

to the

so far as

to place themselves

above the reach of accidents.

The most eminent

Nathan Meyer

of the five brothers was, undoubtedly,

Rothschild,

who

possessed in perfection the

qualities indispensable to a prosperous

man

of business, but

lacked some of those which are not less indispensable to the

worthy employment of
with

him was an end

acquisition

God's precious

gift of

rather than a means,

completely absorbed him.

and

life.

Money

his delight in

He had

no time or

" or
thought to spare for the cultivation of " the humanities

the exercise of a wise charity.

All his energies were directed

'

206

BusiNsss men:

to the successful

conduct of operations for adding to his ever" I

increasing store.

one occasion, "

money and
I

am

hope," said Fowell Buxton to him on

hope that your children are not too fond of

business, to the exclusion of

sure you would not wish that."

" I

wish that," answered Rothschild.

and
is

soul,

and heart and body

way

the

and a

to

be happy.

got

it, it

" I

It requires

am

make

a great fortune

requires ten times as

much

the only objects for which a

child's eyes,

man

and

wit to keep

should

Yet the sword of Damocles hung suspended over

a hair.

"

financier, at

happy

"

he exclaimed.

are going to dine,

'

If

On

What

you have a

you do not send

happy

"

happy

letter

me ;^5oo

You must

to the

"

Happy

when

just as

one of his magnificent banquets.

live.

head by

his

constant shadow overspread his path.

be a very happy man," said a thoughtless guest

Me

That

to business.

a great deal of boldness

Accordingly, to make and keep a fortune, were, in Roths-

it."

ing,

things.

sure I should

wish them to give mind

everything,

great deal of caution to

when you have

more important

great
!

me
you

placed in your hands say-

I will

blow your brains out

"
!

one occasion, when he was

sitting in his private

couple of strangers were announced

moustaches and dark long beards,

common

than now.

From

banker was

in

the

moment

less

foreigners,

room, a

with thick

forty years ago

of their entrance the timorous

a state of panic.

He

misinterpreted the excited

movements with which they searched

their

pockets

and,

before the expected pistols could be produced, had flung a

great ledger in the direction of their heads,

posse of clerks

by

his shouts of "

were immediately pinioned

Murder

and summoned a
"

The

strangers

but, explanations following, they

ROTHSCHILD AT WATERLOO.

20/

proved to be wealthy bankers from the Continent, who,

nervousness

at finding

Napoleon of

finance,

in their

themselves in the presence of the great

had experienced some

difficulty in find-

ing their letters of introduction.

good story of a

personage.
of credit

inner

different kind

German

which he called

room

is

told of this eccentric

prince on a visit to

He

to deliver.

London had

letters

was shown into the

of the celebrated counting-house in St. Swithin's

Lane, where Rothschild sat with a pile of papers before him.

The name being announced, Rothschild nodded,

a chair, and then proceeded with his work.

ence the prince,

awed by

his

who expected

that the

him

offered

For such

indiffer-

banker would be over-

He remained

rank and dignity, was not prepared.

standing, and, after a minute or two's pause, exclaimed, "

you not hear,

he repeated

who

sir,

all his

am

titles.

am

Did
and

,"

the Prince of

" Very well," answered Rothschild,

" take two chairs."

He

gave a striking proof of

unscrupulousness, in the

energy,

his

way he availed himself

keenness,

and

of his knowl-

During the

edge of Napoleon's defeat

at

battle of the i8th June, he

was posted near the chateau of

Waterloo.

Hougoumont, watching the progress

did Wellington himself.
straining eyes as
fate of

it

fro,

At sunset he saw

kingdoms.

Wellington and the Allies.

mounted a horse

of the fight as closely as

All day long he

eddied to and

that

hurried homeward.

great

followe'tl

involving in

its

that the victory

it

with

issues the

was with

Without a moment's delay he

had been kept

At regular

in readiness for

stages

on

his

him and

road relays of

horses and carriages were in waiting to help him onward.

Riding or driving through

all

the

summer

night,

he reached

208

BUSINESS MEN.

Ostend

men

stormy that the boat-

at daybreak, to find the sea so

At

refused to venture forth.

last

he prevailed upon a

fisherman by a bribe of ;^8o to put to sea, and reached Dover

At Dover, and

in safety.

the intermediate stages on the

at

road to London, relays were posted, and he was in London

before midnight.

Next morning, the 20th of June, he was one of the

first

to

In gloomy whispers he told those

enter the Stock Exchange.

who, as usual, pressed round him to hear the news, that Blucher and his Prussians had been routed by Napoleon before

Wellington had had time to come up, that by himself he could

not possibly succeed, and

and her

Allies

was

that, therefore, the

As he had

lost.

Everybody was anxious

rapidly.

cause of England

intended, the funds

to sell

fell

and Rothschild and

who offered them scrip for

unknown agents were secretly at

his accredited agents laughed at all

But scores of

purchase.

work

all

that

day and the next.

Before the Stock Exchange

when Nathan

closed on the afternoon of the 21st,

strong boxes were

earlier
i

Rothschild's

paper, he announced, an hour or two

than the arrival of the news through other channels,

the real issue of the battle

jthey

full of

had not reached

for

Rapidly the funds rose to a level

months

and

RothschHd cleared a million pounds by

it

his

is

estimated that

combined energy

and unscrupulousness.
In several respects we should point to Rothschild's conduct
as

an example of what

transactions

is

to avoid.

The

story of his

another illustration of his character.

mercury

The mer-

cury used in Europe comes almost entirely from Idria in

or

Almaden

career of

in Spain.

many

The Almaden

centuries,

had

Illyria

mines, after a profitable

fallen for

some years

into disuse

JOHN JACOB ASTOR.

before 1831,
loan,

when Rothschild, having contracted

proposed that he should be allowed

To

certain time at a nominal rental.

ful assent

renewed

209
for a Spanish

hold them for a

to

this proposition a cheer-

was given, and the mines soon gave evidence of

activity.

In a similar manner the financier obtained

possession of the mines of Idria, and having thus acquired a

monopoly of the supply of mercury, doubled

Almost Rothschild's
Astor, the

rival in

wealth and fortune, John Jacob

American merchant, was scarcely

financial daring

and commercial

of the four sons of a peasant,

price.

its

his inferior

He was

talent.

and passed

boyhood

his

in

the youngest

healthy occupations and simple pleasures of a rural

in the

From

life.

a child he was accustomed to rise early, and to devote a portion

of his

morning hours

to reading the Bible

and Prayer-Book

practice which he observed throughout his long career.

His

brothers seem to have shared his bold and energetic disposition,

for

two of them preceded him across the

Rhine

limits of the

and the Black Forest, one establishing himself as a musical

instrument maker in London,

United

At the age of
from

sixteen,

his brother in

and thence

seaport,

new

to join

in

the

but

to satisfy his

it

him

Dutch smack

all

and.

to

England.

In^

the sterling qualities of his

did not open a

exuberant

invitation

in his business

he trudged on foot to a Dutch,

sailed in a

position he displayed

manly character
enough

settling

John Jacob accepted an

London

saying farewell to his parents,

his

and the other

States.

activity.

field of enterprise widb-

At the age of twenty

he sailed for Baltimore, carrying with him a few hundred dollars'

worth of musical instruments

to dispose of

on commission.

This was in 1783, a few months after Great Britain had recog-

BUSINESS MEN.

2IO

The vessel on reaching ChesaTo the surprise of

nized American independence.

peake Bay was caught in a

terrible storm.

his fellow passengers, Aster

appeared upon deck, attired

best

suit.

:save

my

To

the inquiries addressed to him, he replied,

life, it

be in

shall

my

best clothes

if I

perish,

in his
""

it

If I

mat-

ters not what becomes of them."

During the voyage he had made the acquaintance of a shrewd

and communicative

and acting upon

furrier,

his musical instruments in

exchanged

which he immediately returned

of thena

.at

a considerable

to

profit,

his suggestions, he

New York

London.

for furs, with

Having disposed

he prepared to recross the

In Lon-

Atlantic, .and apply himself entirely to the fur trade.

don he studied the Continental

fur markets,

familiar with every variety of the article.

United

States,

thenceforth

he

set

became

up

his residence

and made himself

On returning to the
at New York, which

the headquarters of his operations.

possible that consignments from his brother assisted

.his first

wrestlings with fortune, but his energy was chiefly de-

voted to the fur .trade.

visited

It is

him during

In pursuing his business he occasionally

London, and, more frequently, Montreal and the distant

When

trading ports in Canada.

the treaty negotiated by Mr.

Jay in 1794 removed the obstructions that had previously

stricted the export of furs,

of the

new order

\yith the trappers

soon able

to

so exact

and traders of the West and North

in his

own

ships,

embraced markets
was

re-

advantage

of things through his extensive acquaintance

foreign produce for sale in

it

to take

and was

reap a double profit by sending his furs to Europe

and the East

until

he was prepared

his

New
in

and bringing back cargoes

York.

of

His business extended

every quarter of the globe

yet

knowledge of these markets, and so wide the

JOHN JA COB ASTOR.

21

grasp of his strong clear intellect, that he was able to direct and
control the action of his super-cargoes and captains

by the most

minute instructions.

covered the

seas,

At

this time,

he rose as early as in his years of

his business until 2 p. m.

men

when

that in sorting

of them.

He

his ships

effort,

and attended

was fond of showing

and beating

furs he

was equal

his

to

work-

to the best

This thorough knowledge of one's work, even to the

smallest details,

is

man

of the highest value to the

of business.

At the beginning of the present century, Astor was worth

250,000 dollars as the result of only sixteen years of business

He

life.

trade,

then began to meditate colossal schemes, not only of

but of colonisation, designing not only to supply with

furs all the

markets of the world, but also to open up the Western

wilderness to the influences of civilization.

He

was possessed

with the true enthusiasm of business, and brought to his work

as

much

regions.

earnestness as an explorer to the discovery of

He

new

did not confine, he could not confine, his activity

For instance, he began

to the fur trade.

make investments

in real estate in

New

at

an early date

York, and

progress of the city some portions of his property,

centrupled on his hands.

Many

to

in the swift
it

was

said,

public and private buildings

of a superior character were erected

His fortune,

by Astor.

the largest ever accumulated in the United States at the time

of his death, was estimated at 20,000,000 dollars (;^4,ooo,ooo),

an amount which surely should

satisfy the aspirations of the

most passionate votaries of the goddess Pecunia

It

has been

said of him that, during the half century of his laborious career,

he hardly made a mistake or a

his

own judgment.

office

false step

through any failure of

" Until his fifty-fifth year, he

before seven o'clock.

He

was

at his

was a great horseman, and in

212

B USINESS MEN.

the constant habit of riding out for pleasure and exercise.

In

the strength of his general grasp of a great subject, he did not

allow himself to be too
details.

much

disturbed by the consideration of

His mind worked so

actively, that

he soon got through

the business of a day, and he would leave his office earlier than

many

business

petty

trials,

'Keep cool

men who

did

less.

Troubled and annoyed by

he was calm and self-possessed under great ones.

keep

civil,'

was the constant and familiar admoni-

When

tion from his lips.

the great

trials

came, his

spirit rose

with the emergency, and he was equal to the hour."

This

splendidly successful merchant died in March, 1848, at the age

By

of eighty-four.
to

found a

he bequeathed a sum of ;^8o,ooo

free public library in the city of

The men
=

his will

of

money who know how

to

New

make

are scarcely less the world's benefactors than

philanthropists.

practice to give

York.

a right use of

celebrated American millionaire

away considerable sums both

it

statesmen and

its

made

for public

it

and

private purposes, exercising always a wise discrimination and

carefully avoiding parade.
this

It

appeared from his books that

in

known

at

way he annually expended

the time only to

his death

"Him who

seeth in secret."

Not long before

he observed to one of his sons, that " of

of disposing of money, giving

We

a very large amount,

it

the ways

all

away was the most satisfactory."

have read of a Boston merchant, who,

in

manner,

like

recognized that he was intended by Providence to act as

almoner, and whose wealth was
munificence.

Yet

it

known by

was not always from what

is strictly

nated " affluence " that his benevolence proceeded,

as

its

the splendor of his

desig-

inasmuch

he had voluntarily pledged himself never to become excep-

tionally rich.

After his death the following document was found

MERCHANT PRINCES.
handwriting

in his

worth more than

I will give

table

and

" By the

fifty

thousand

grace of God, I will never be

By

dollars.

the grace of God,

my business to chariam ever worth twenty thousand

my net profits and if I am ever

one-fourth of the net profits of

If I

religious uses.

dollars, I will give

one half of

worth thirty thousand,

after fifty thousand.
ful steward,

and

set

I will give three-fourths

and the whole

me God, or give to a more faithme aside." To this covenant he adhered

So help

with the most scrupulous

his

21

At one

fidelity.

property had increased beyond

fifty

time, finding that

thousand

once devoted the surplus, seven thousand

five

dollars,

he

at

hundred, to found

a professorship in a theological college, to which he also gave,

on various occasions during his brief

He

likewise befriended with a liberal

men, assisting them

who were

to

hand numerous young

business,

start in

statesman,

and

relieving

many,

unfortunate.

Of Gladstone, the Liverpool merchant,

keen,

twice that amount.

life,

it is

said that he

energetic,

was

industrious,

father of the eminent

" every inch a merchant-prince

and persevering

and

cautious

prudent, yet withal liberal and generous, without being lavish

or needlessly profuse."

by him

He

to

absorb

all

The

race for wealth was not suffered

his faculties or

estimated justly the real value of

engage his whole time.

money

He

did not

aim and object, though he did not pretend to

it

his only

it

a philosophic contempt.

make

feel for

Pleasure must necessarily occupy a very small place in the

life

of a

man

of business.

He may

find time for charity

the performance of his religious duties, and,

cultivation of the domestic affections
slave of labor,

and bound,

let

and

but otherwise, he

Ixion-like, to a

for

us hope, for the

is

the

wheel which se^ms

 USIA'ESS MEN.

214
to

Among

be for ever revolving.

brings with

the

many

that of guarding against

it is

and such

its

cares which wealth

dissipation.

It is

now-a-days the rush of com-

easy to lose a fortune

petition, so furious

the struggle, so desperate the race, that

is

is

is

it

only by constant thought and vigilance a great merchant can

maintain the position originally

He

steady application.
current

won by

like a

is

assiduous diligence and

man rowing

against a strong

may

so long as he plies his oars lustily he

he pause only for a moment he

advance,

carried backward.

The

but

if

toil

undergone by the head of a large commercial establishment,

or a great employer of labor,

undertake

it

who does not

is

is

so severe that

feel himself to

absolute self-sacrifice and the most continuous

is

as purely mental

no one should

be capable of the most

effort.

And

it

hard brain-work, as that of the mathe-

toil,

matician poring over his abstruse problems and intricate calcu-

Nor

lations.

that he gives

and

that

is

always

it

employment

He knows

as a rule,

We

he

is

number

of hands,

his operations

their families in the sufferings of pov-

that the capital has

its

responsibilities, and,

conscientiously anxious to discharge them fully.

the life-work of the

it

mitting labor of a

The

to a considerable

have been much impressed by the perusal of a sketch of

and reproduce

Street,

The merchant knows

toil.

any sudden suspension or contraction of

would involve them and

erty

selfish

New York

merchant-prince, William Astor,

here as affording a vivid picture of the unre-

man

of business.

locahty of his financial operations

New

is, or was. Prince

York, a street described as " of but a third-rate

character," with houses of

way may be seen

" a

common

stamp."

a small brick office, neatly

story, with gable to the street,

Near Broadbuilt,

of one

and doors and windows closed,

WILLIAM A S TOR.
" security."

whole appearance being that of

its

door a

little affiche

21

reads as follows

Close to the

" Entrance next door.

This "next door" proves to be a

Office hours from 9 to 3."

plain three-story dwelling of red brick, which, from

its

unpre-

tentious but substantial character, might be mistaken for the

On

residence of some respectable, old-fashioned family.

quiry, however,

American

of

we

learn that

in-

the headquarters of the prince

it is

capitalists.

Entering at the street door, we find ourselves in a small

vestibule, the floor of

which

covered with " checkered

is

and opening a door on the

cloth,"

left,

we pass

into

countmg-

lighted front room, without any other furniture than a

house desk and a few chairs.

At

this

oil-

a well-

desk stands an account-

ant working at a set of books, and enjoying apparently " an

He

easy berth."

will

answer

ordinary inquiries, will refuse

all

begging applications, and attend to

all

usual scope of business

but

if

he points to a door opening into an

This apartment proves

ished.

few books

to

lie

office in the rear.

be of moderate

upon

matters within the

all

you have any special errand,

the table,

size

and simply furn-

and opening one of

them, which appears to be frequently consulted,

contains

maps

we

find that

of plots of city property, carefully executed,

it

and

indicating the bounderies of a vast estate.

Seated at the table

man

with large and unat-

may

generally be seen " a stout-built

tractive

features,

plainly dressed,

upon the whole an ordinary

and has a somewhat careworn

to be fifty or sixty years of ,age."

selves belong to the rank

of

awe

represents
daily

and

file

in addressing a capitalist,

some 25,000,000

feel

is

and especially a

is, if

capitalist

dollars (;^5!0))i

income has been estimated

He

and appears

that
we oursociety a certain amount

We
of

face.

look,

at 6,000 dollars.

^"'^^

who

whose

B USINESS MEN.

The

care of Mr. Astor's estate, the largest in America,

says our authority (and

we can

The houses belonging

to

well believe

him number

it),

several hundreds,

and

^to

per

range from the comparatively modest tenetnent at

annum

is,

" a vast burden."

"

to magnificent warehouses rented at ,(>oo.

To

relieve

himself from the more vexatious features of his business, he has

committed

and makes returns of a

clerks, collects rents

recital of

such a

an agent, who, with

his real estate collections to

As

which would be wearisome.

man must

rent-roll the very

a matter of course,

supply a small army of painters, carpenters,

and other mechanics,

as Mr. Astor pays
fires is in itself

his

in order to

keep up suitable repairs

no insurance, the work of rebuilding

a large item.

and
after

large part of Mr. Astor's prop-

erty consists of vacant lots, which are in continual

demand, and

which he generally prefers

much employed with

to hold rather than sell

architects

has several blocks in course of erection.

burden, and were

it

Who

is

This

will

business treads a " primrose path " in

Who

not, in the strictest sense of the term, a "

ing was the late John

sketch of his
interest

The

in

life,

a very heavy

is

say that the

life ?

strange mixture of business shrewdness

who was born

is

not for the help derived from his family

would doubtless crush him."

he

hence he

and master-builders, and always

McDonogh,

the

New

man

working man

and

of

will say that

"?

religious feel-

Orleans millionaire,

1779 and died in 1850.

The

from an American source,

is

following

not without

only particulars

known

of his early life

he was a clerk in a mercantile store

Maryland, where he was noted for

in

seem

an inland town of

many

and

for

an

to suspect that

he

his eccentricities,

excess of imaginative fervor, which led

to be, that

JOHN McDOMOGH,
He

was not entirely of sound mind.

21/

displayed, nevertheless,

an energy and an intelligence which secured him the

New

despatched to
of credit

agent,

Orleans by a Baltimore firm with a letter

and considerable resources.

in business

and

his exertions,

and

and

his

own

his

in a

New

able fortune.

magnates

on

mode

wines,

and

carriages

of living

fitted

and

and

as

one of

his expenditure

in the

his horses,

most luxurious

and
;

His
style.

his cellar of rare

and

his entertain-

on a scale of the greatest magnificence.

all

its

were in

and abundant means.

up

his staff of well-trained servants

ments were

as

few years he amassed a very consider-

Orleans recognized him

mansion was furnished and

his

engaged largely

Prosperity crowned

account.

entire conformity to his position

He had

He there

speedily giving up his position

transactions,
starting

full

About the year 1800 he was

confidence of his employers.

Not-

withstanding his unremitting attention to business, he found

time to

become a

Owing

great social luminary and leader of fashion.

disappointment in love,

to a

became morose

in his

McDonogh

manners and secluded

eventually

in his habits

but

he prosecuted his acquisition of property with increased vigor,

his peculiar passion

being that of accumulating countless acres

of waste and suburban land.

the remote future.

He

cared not for the present value and

productiveness of an estate.
possibilities,

tion that

and he loved

would cover

"good time coming."

All his views branched out into

His imagination luxuriated

to think of the

his barren

At

last,

opulence and

and swampy wilderness

this passion

in

civiliza-

in the

gained such an

ascendancy over him, that he seemed to rejoice

in desolation.

He would buy

to go to ruin.

"He

cultivated places,

and allow them

could not be induced," says his biographer,

"by any

B USINESS MEN.

21

any of the property he had

offer or consideration to alienate

Abstemious to a fault, and withholding him-

once acquired.
self

from

all

the enjoyments and associations of the world, he

devoted his time to the care of his large

estate, to the suits in

which such acquisitions constantly involved him, working for

seventeen hours out of the twenty-four, the greater part of

which labor consisted

For the

Orleans he never

yond the

documents

re-

and in corresponding with his lawyers and

lating to his titles,

his overseers.

in writing the necessary

left

fifty

years of his residence in

the State, and rarely,

limits of the corporation

money-lender, or a speculator.

He

He

if

New

ever, passed be-

was not a usurer,

acquired by legitimate pur-

chases by entries on public lands.

He

dealt

altogether in

Stocks, merchandise, and other personal securities, were

land.

eschewed by him.

The wonder

is,

how, with a comparatively

small revenue, his property not being productive, and his favorite

policy being to

cultivation,

render his lands wild and unsuited for

he was able to go on every year expanding the area

of his vast possessions."

McDonogh
earth-hunger.

appears to have been the victim of a veritable

One

of his cherished designs

was the purchase of

the plantations along the Mississippi, in the belief that at some

future p ;riod they would teem with a busy population.

manner, he pounced eagerly upon

neighborhood of the towns and

all

In like

lands for sale in the

villages of the State.

It

may

be mentioned, as one of his most remarkable achievements, the

"
completion of what he called his " lines of circumvallation

around the

many
ning

city of

years with

at the

all

New

Orleans.

This object he pursued for

the persistence of an enthusiast.

upper end of the

city,

he gradually

made

Beginhis

way

JOHN McDONOGH.
tlirougti the
last,

swamps, purchasings large

belts of land, until at

a few years before his death, meeting one of his old friends,

he clapped him on the shoulder, exclaiming in joyous tones,

" Congratulate

victory of

now

me,

my life.

entirely

my

it

my

in

race

have achieved the greatest

my

arms

around the

lines

all

medium

and

city,

God

for the glory of

"
!

man we

obtain

of an article in the " Continental

Maga-

personal glimpses of this extraordinary

through the

Its writer says

zine."

friend

have drawn

embrace

and the good of

Some

my
I

" In the year 1850,

and

for nearly forty years previous,

might see almost every day

New

in the streets of

Tall and straight as a

peculiar-looking old gentleman.

with stern, determined features,

lit

up by eyes

almost unnatural brilliancy, with his hair

you

Orleans a very

of

pillar,

uncommon,

combed back and

gathered in a sort of queue, and dressed in the fashion of half

a ccLitury ago

to wit,

an old blue coat with high collar

brushed and patched, but somewhat seedy pantaloons of

well
like

date and texture, but somewhat more modern, but bearing un-

mistakable proofs of long service and exposure to sun and rain

old round-toed shoes, the top-leathers of which had survived

more

soles than

the wearer had outlived souls of his early

and companions

friends

a scant white vest, ruffled shirt,

voluminous white cravat, completed the costume of

lar

gentleman, who, with his ancient blue

his arm,

made

and

his

his fierce eye fixed

way through

along the streets of

New

the

silk

and

this singu-

umbrella under

on some imaginary goal ahead,

struggling crowds which passed

Orleans."

His strange and spectral

figure

was

last

tomed rounds on the 26th of October,

seen upon
1850.

On

its

accus-

that

day

220

BUSINESS MEN.

occurred a remarkable incident which arrested the attention of

every passer-by, and was fixed upon by the reporters of the
daily papers as a sign "portending change to nations," namely,

the venerable merchant varied for once from the routine of

nearly half a century.

He

was seen

to stop, to hesitate for a

few moments, and then deliberately enter an omnibus bound

for the lower part of the city.

Is

to

it

be wondered

at that

occurrence so unusual produced a sensation in society

an
It

was clear that only some novel emergency could have brought
about

this violation of long-established

stopped at the courthouse

The omnibus

custom.

McDonogh and

Mr.

umbrella emerged from the interior

his

blue

and both disappeared

quickly in the corridor leading to the "halls of justice."

This was the

New

Orleans.

McDonogh was

last

time

On

the following morning he " departed this

seen in the streets of

life."

The

" mixed " character of the

man may be

inferred from

the opinions he expressed in an interview with a

New

Orleans

lawyer, which has been recorded for the benefit of posterity.

The man

of law said to the

very rich man, and

know

man

that

of business

you intend

to leave all your

property to be expended on charitable objects.

thinking over your singular

life,

and

"You are a
I

want you

have been

to give

explanation of the great success which has attended you

I too

my

would

like to

become very

rich,

some
;

and leave a fortune

for
to

sons."

" Well," said he, " get up,

arm-chair, which
to the lawyer as

if

chair in which he

sir."

The lawyer

McDonogh proceeded

to

rose from his

occupy, and turning

he had been his clerk, pointed to a

had been

sitting,

and

said,

common

" Sit down,

sir.

THREE RULES FOR SUCCESS.

and

I will tell

lowing these
" I

you now

rules,

came

first

became a

rich

man, and how, by

you can become as rich

fol-

as myself."

Louisiana," he continued, "

to

221

when

it

ivas a

Spanish colony, as the agent for a house in Baltimore and a

house

I set

Boston,

in
I

had

up

to

After

dispose

to

up

settled

do business for myself.

although

had never so much

had become acquainted

After this

f 10,000.

principal officers of the

stand

gave a splendid dinner to the

mean

first

money.

make

order to acquire
ish authorities I

was enabled

money

the spending of

afraid of spending

profit of $30,000.

to

By

it.

A man who

show of

liberality,

and spend money in

the dinner which I gave to the Span-

obtained their good-will and esteem, and thus

make

a large

sum

of

money.

and of the authorities of the country

This

is

"
is

to

the

The

To

succeed in

in

the'

which you

opulive.

first rule.

natural span of a man's

too short,

if

he

is

abandoned

life,"

continued McDonogh,

to his

own

resources, for

him

accumulate great wealth, and therefore you must exercise

your power and influence over those who, in point of

are inferior to yourself,

and turn

to

the second rule."

riches,

your advantage, by making

use of them, their talents, knowledge, and information.

is

are

wishes to gain a for-

lent,

"

They

judiciously.

then, you must obtain the favor and influence of

life,

this

what the French and the Creoles do not under-

is

tune must

and through

army and the governor, and by

means obtained another contract with a

" This

a fancy to me,

flattered him,

as

goods.

of

their agency,

obtained a contract for the army, by which I

his influence I

cleared

and finished

who had taken

the Spanish governor,

with

cargoes

certain

of

their accounts

This

"

BUSINESS MEN.

222

Here he paused

for awhile, as

seeing him remain

"

silent,

No," he replied, " there

you

for

all-essential

absorbed in thought, and

if

the lawyer asked, " Is that

is

a third rule, and a

observe, in

to

all ?

which

last,

it is

may

order that success

attend your exertions."

And what is that ? "

"Why, sir," he exclaimed,
"

"it

You must pray to

prayer.

is

the Almighty with fervor and zeal, and

He

will sustain

never prayed sincerely to

all

your

life

without obtaining a satisfactory answer to

He
He

desires.

stopped, and the lawyer inquired, " Is that

" Yes,

answered,

become a

rich

sir

follow

my

you

in

God in all my
my prayer."
"
all ?

advice and you will

man."

Afterwards commenting on this curious conversation, the

lawyer

And

" I did not follow this advice, for certain reasons.

said,

yet, I

do not wish

sary conclusions from

become

rich,

look to

God

its

is

if

draw neces-

namely, that when a man

to support

'the

desires to

high, oppress the poor,

and

him."

hardly too severe for the

text.

It is dif-

conceive of a more rotten system of business morality

than that which

is

it

he must corrupt

The commentary
ficult to

to be.considered harsh

is

outlined in

McDonogh's

three maxims.

impossible to conceive of one more surely destined to

practical application, at least in Great Britain.

our most

influential

by any man

of

it

common

to

'Their prosperity

has been built up by courage, patience, vigor, and

to the second maxim,

fail in

For example,

owed nothing

mercantile houses have

the favor of the opulent and the powerful.

It

ability.

As

could never be accepted or acted upon

honesty.

could be adopted only by those

And

who

then, as to the third,

reject the

first

it

and second,

CHARACTER OF THE SUCCESSFUL.

import be understood.

if its full

It is the

223

prayer of the right-

eous man that availeth much, not the prayer of him who stoops

above him and crushes those below him

to those

the prayer offered up

of gain

and

innocence, simplicity, trustfulness

up

offered

The prayer

fervor.

in such a spirit will hardly dwell

It will

benefits.

for purposes

in a spirit of humility, childlike

upon material

ask for support and guidance, for strength to

temptation, and submissiveness to God's will

resist

that a profit

may be made upon

attend the floating of the next bubble company.

man

will

make

the best

man

of business

never presume to take heaven, as

will

but not

the last speculation, or success

it

religious

but a religious

man

were, into partnership

in his transaction.
" If

we were

to consult the annals of commercial life," says a

"

we should find that, in most instances, the

men who have been distinguished for success in business are of
the same stamp as those who have been eminent in the walks of
good authority,

literature

and

science.

denying habits,

They have been

by simple

self-

while the bold, the vain, the presumptuous, and the reck-

ners

less,

have done immense mischief

to themselves

the department of trade, dissevering the

and good
them.

feeling,

The same

that

principles

and motives of action prevail

wisdom which

is

jurious

in

self flatteries

among

all sorts

of

men.

and sagacity which

is

little

and delusions, which are often more

and ruinous than

in
It

unpretending and boasteth not, and

that quiet sort of penetration

ceived by

and others

bonds of confidence

and often creating havoc and ruin around

the good, the wise, and the prudent

is

characterised by

and by unpretending man-

tastes,

all

dein-

the worldly artifices and deceptions

which are practised upon us."

BUSINESS MEN.

224

The
marks

plain, practical, almost

commonplace

truth of these re-

impressed upon us by every chapter in

is

industrial

biography and the history of commerce to which we direct our

The

attention.

qualities

which made Lord Lytton and Fara-

day famous, or Ruskin and Turner, or Morse and Wheatstone,

are the qualities which raised to honorable positions such

We

men

and Stephenson, or Brassey and George Moore.

as Arkwright

are not, of course, referring to intellectual, but to moral

power

and we say that

in

each case the moral power was the

same.

Take

the well-known, nay, the hackneyed, instance of Josiah

Wedgwood.

His father was only a potter, as his father had

been before him, and he died when Josiah was a mere boy, the

He

youngest of a family of thirteen children.

trial

began

his indus-

career as a thrower in a small potwork conducted by his

elder brother
all his life

and

at the potter's-wheel

he might have toiled

Owing

but for an attack of virulent smallpox.

to

gross neglect, this resulted in a disease in his right leg, which

in

he returned

to his work, the pain in his limb

he was forced to
him.

rest

As he grew

intensified

it

was so

severe, that

almost constantly upon a stool before

older, the disease increased,

and

it

by a bruise or wound, which confined him

for months,
it

When

a great degree unfitted him for his humble calling.

and reduced him

was found necessary

to

to

extreme debility.

resort to amputation.

was much
to his

bed

Eventually

During the

Wedgwood took to
much on the various ways

enforced leisure of his frequent illnesses,

reading and thinking, and meditated
of

making a

living

by

his trade,

labor at the potter's-wheel.

now

He

that he could

no longer

began by moulding

potter's

clay into various ornamental articles, endeavoring at the

same

BLAISE PASCAL.

22$

time to acquire such a knowledge of practical chemistry as

might enable him to improve the quality of his work

and

oring, glaze,

untiring tenaciousness of purpose

denial,

and the most rigorous

he advanced from stage to stage, until

summation of

thirty years' perseverance,

new branch

firm basis a

In

artistic spirit.

of industry,

all this

in its col-

Pursuing his object with the most

durability.

self-

at last, as the

con-

he established on a

and infused

into

it

an

he displayed the same qualities by

which Newton mastered the theory of gravitation, by which Sir

William Jones became the greatest Oriental scholar of his time.

Let us turn for a moment to the early career of Blaise Pascal.

He was
1623.

born

at

Clermont, in Auvergne, on the 19th of July,

Almost from his

cradle, says his sister, or as soon as he

could speak, he gave evidence that he was endowed by nature

with remarkable faculties, the questions he asked and the answers he gave being beyond his years

and

his father,

animated

by the prospect of the splendid career which such a son might

be destined

to achieve, resolved

his education.

when
and

Blaise

was

For

this

devote himself entirely to

to

purpose he established himself in Paris

in his eighth year,

and watched over

He

intellectual training with extraordinary care.

against his being pretmaturely forced,

his lessons should never
tion.

He

and made

it

his

moral

guarded

a point that

be of a nature to compel undue exer-

did not allow him to begin Latin until he was twelve

years old, but gradually instilled into his

mind

the principles of

language, so that Blaise Pascal was well versed in the theory of

grammar before he began

to

study any foreign tongue.

bias of his inclinations was early perceptible.

Having remarked

struck gives forth a vibrating sound, but that

that glass

when

when

hand touches the

the

The

glass the

sound ceases, he endeav-

BUSINESS MEN.

226

made numerous minute

ored to ascertain the reason,

experi-

ments, and embodied the results of his inquiries in a

The

treatise.

ed with keen delight, and

satisfied until

However,

little

scientific researches of his father he also observ-

was remarked that he could not be

it

he knew the cause of every

in

effect.

accordance with the custom of the age, Blaise

Pascal's father, disregarding this evident predisposition towards

science, insisted

The

and Latin.
wards

him

classics

he

first,

said,

yearn after mathematics, as we

forbidden.

One

ing geometry.

"

is

and mathematics

after-

all

yearn after that which

day he put a question to his father respect-

Geometry," was the

reply,

which teaches the method of making exact

"

is

figures,

ing out the proportions they bear to each other."

definition

and not

Virgil,

And

find-

to this

to trouble himself about " exact

But Pascal could not

figures."
;

that science

and of

he added a warning that Blaise was to think only of

Homer and
genius

Greek

his applying himself to the study of

an arrangement which greatly puzzled the boy, and led

to

on

and

in his leisure

stifle

the aspirations

of his

hours retired to an .upper room,

where, with a piece of charcoal, he endeavored to describe

.

tri-

angles and circles, and to determine their relation to each other,

He

had been

so rigorously debarred

from

scientific books, that

he was ignorant of the proper names of the figures he drew.

The

circle

Thus

he called "a round," and the straight line "a bar."

the the boy's natural talent continued to assert

he gradually arrived

at a clear

itself,

and

comprehension of those mathe-

matical principles which most boys master only by the aid of

books and professors, and

One day,

after considerable vexation of spirit.

while he was thus engaged, his father entered his room,

and surprised him

in the

midst of his work.

To

his questions

BLAISE PASCAL.
Blaise replied that he was endeavoring to

a thing

problem
that

that

is,

unknown

"And what made you

in Euclid's first book.

and he described what proved

make out such and such

he was solving the 32nd

to himself,

" inquired his father.

22/

think of

" Because I

had found out

be an

problem

to

earlier

this

"
;

in Euclid.

In this way, at his father's instigation, the boy went backward

step

by

he arrived

step, until

at the

axioms and definitions

which form the foundation of geometrical science.

The

elder

Pascal could no longer maintain a prohibition which was as evidently a

war against nature

and the boy was allowed

dam

as a

to

across a river's current,

amuse himself with Euclid

in his

was marvellously rapid.

It is

hours of recreation.

Thenceforward

his progress

asserted that, at sixteen, he produced a treatise

Sections which elicited the

warm eulogium

a philosopher than Descartes.

of

upon the Conic

no

less

eminent

At nineteen, he invented the

arithemetical machine, at three-and-twenty he

wide reputation by his achievements

had won a world-

in physical science.

In

determining the problem of the ascent of fluids in tubes by suc-

weight of the atmosphere, his part

tion, or in ascertaining the

was hardly that of a discoverer; but to him belongs the merit of

correctly applying the data furnished
celli.

With these abstruse

topics, or with the extent of Pascal's

achievements as a mathematician,
concern ourselves.

by the ingenuity of Torri-

Enough

it is

for us to

not here our business to

show that they proceeded

from the assiduity and intelligence of a mind engaged spontaneously on a subject to which

We

it

must glance for a moment

cal's life

and character.

gave way

was naturally disposed.

at the religious aspect of Pas-

In his eighteenth year his constitution

beneath the pressure of his unremitting application,

BUSINESS MEN.

228
and

day of

to the

diseases,

his death

he suffered from a complication of

which were seriously aggravated by the rigorous

cism he had adopted.

sufferings,

Hence

by suggesting

came

it

asceti-

to pass that his physical

to his resolute intellect a doctrine of

voluntary martyrdom, exercised a reactionary influence on his

His rule of

spiritual consciousness.

as that bodily pain increased in

was

determined towards a

finally

One

visit to his sister Jacqueline, the

sister

steal

had

by a

when he was on

day,

sermon

He

originated.

bell

began

to ring.

repaired to church, and he himself was induced to

into

it

The

by another door.

this occasion related

to

preacher's discourse on

the difficulties

threshold of the Christian

of

increased in severity

it

of religious devotion

life

couple of accidental incidents.

His

life

which

It

life.

experienced on the

pointed out

good intentions involve themselves

in

how

persons

worldly cares, and

thereby impede their progress towards eternal truth and miss

Pascal applied to his

the prize of their heavenly calling.

case the preacher's words, and understood

direct providential warning.

warning was conveyed by

death.

own

embody

second and more emphatic

narrow efcape from a

accompanied by several

and a promenade was

which was of great

restive,

to

terrible

In a carriage drawn by four horses he was journeying

to Neuilly,

parapet.

his

them

to take place

height,

and

at

friends.

It

was a

fete day,

upon the celebrated

bridge,

one place undefended by a

Frightened by the crowd, the two leaders turned

broke from the control of the postilions, and,

in their

wild agitation, plunged over the unprotected bridge, and

into the Seine.

fell

Happily, the traces snapped, and the carriage

remained standing on the very edge.

The

frail

Pascal was severely shaken by this adventure.

constitution of

He

immedi-

BLAISE PASCAL.
ately fell into a swoon,

and

it

was some time before he regained

consciousness, while the impression

deep and enduring.

peril

made upon

side,

left

in that direction.

and of an awful chasm

was on the

It

To

the accident occurred.

this

left side of

the bridge

haunting apprehension

Pascal seems to allude in the following passage

est

mind was

his

was frequently tortured by an idea of

menacing him on the

yawning
that

He

229

"

The

great-

philosopher in the world, on a plank wider than the path-

way which he chooses

for his ordinary walk, will, should there

be a precipice beneath, be entirely overcome by his imagination,

Many

even though his reason convince him of his security.

could not endure even the thought of crossing such a plank

without a

From
doned

wan

face and a perturbed spirit."

that date, October, 1654, Pascal almost entirely aban-

He

his secular studies.

strove, not unsuccessfully, to

forget the

charms of abstract and physical science

voted

his

and

all

tianity

power of

and the service of God.

Pascal had

He

"

genius above

above the

all

felt

the grandeur of
flesh

was great
tician's

'
;

'

he

in his

its

man

clearness,

ever

felt

them, the

its versatility,

the immeasurable distance of

that

and

its

mind and

the greatness of outward and material things,

pomp and

physical perfection.

to the

Dean Church remarks

as keenly perhaps as

felt,

triumphs of pure intellect in

strength.

energy of character,

his

intellect, all

and de-

resoluteness of purpose, to the defence of Chris-

his

all

glories of riches

and power, abOve

men

kings and captains and great

won no
own

all

Archimedes, he says, needed nothing of

victories,

great order of intellect

enthusiasm kindles

he to the intellectual eye

at his

'
!

'

according

he won no crown, but he

name

quil a

'

the

O how

MaU

mathema-

glorious was

aux

esprits

"

.'
'


BUSINESS MEN.

23Q

But Pascal discovered that there was an order

higher even than the. intellectual.
"

which

is

To

infinite distance

quote Dean Church again

which played with

The

of greatness

he

interval,"

writes,

between body and mind, represents the

infinite,

more

infinitely

"

between

intellect

" The strong and

difficulties,

and

to

and

whose force

charity."

nimble mind
all

resistance

yielded, the soaring imagination, the ambition of the explorer

on the traces of unthought-of knowledge,

marked the matchless

all

that

made and

intellect of his time, the great generator,

the great physicist, the great mechanist, master, too, of the

keenest

guage

satire,

he and

and the most unapproachable

all

that he

felicity of lan-

was bowed down before the unearthly

greatness of charity, and confessed the sovereign and para-

mount

excellence of moral perfection, the supreme claims of the

moral law of goodness." The man, however, had not changed

only his object
to science he

The enthusiasm which he had

now consecrated

formerly given

to the service of spiritual truth.

Turning .from these biographical sketches, and the lessons

they have been intended to enforce, with the conviction, that,
the reader do not profit
to apply them,

by them, the

we proceed

fault will

to collect a

be

if

in his failing

few notes and anecdotes

in illustration of the various aspects of business.

That

it

suspected

has
;

its

romantic and attractive side will hardly be

and yet

it is

true.

In the

chant episodes occur which are as

entertainment as any recorded in

life

full of

fiction.

of every great mer-

exciting interest and

We may

cite in con-

firmation of our remark the circumstances which attended the

establishment of the once-celebrated financial house

of the

Barclays of London.

In 1761, George the Third, accompanied by his family,

re-

FRIEND BARCLA Y AND THE KING.

paired to the house

23

David Barclay, a famous draper

of

in

Cheapside, to witness the civic glories of the Lord Mayor's

show.

In preparing for this

pense.

The house was

the

visit

Quaker spared no ex-

new

redecorated,

furniture was ordered,

every apartment was splendidly fitted up, and the balcony,

which commanded a good view of the procession, was hung

with crimson silk and damask.

Friend Barclay, however, would

become

not allow his children to be attired otherwise than as

the grandsons

and grand-daughters of Robert Barclay

the author of the "

in the plainest cloth,

Ury,

of

;"

and accordingly the sons appeared

and the

ladies in the plainest silks, with

Apology

"dressed black bonnets."

and Mrs. Barclay, with

When

all

their sons

things were in order, Mr.

David and Jack, were ap-

pointed to receive the Royal Family below

stairs,

and

to wait

on them to the apartment especially designed for their accom-

On

modation.

the King's arrival they were introduced to

by the lords-in-waiting, and kindly received

all

his sons,

by an unusual

the

stretch of the royal condescension,

being allowed to kiss the King's hand without kneeling.

this,

him

Quaker and

the sovereign saluted Mrs. Barclay and the

girls,

After

and the

same honor was conferred on them by the Queen and others of

the royal visitors.

On

the King's departure, he thanked Mr.

Barclay for his entertainment, and politely apologised for the

trouble that

had been

scension

am

not only

(I

made

inflicted

upon him.

told) so affected the

old gentleman, that he

a suitable return to the compliment, but (like

the good patriarchs of old) prayed that

bless

him and

all his

with great goodness."

to

" This great conde-

have been, "David,

family,

The King's
let

me

God would

please to

which was received by the King

farewell words are reported

see thee at St. James's next

nesday, and bring thy son Robert with thee/'

Wed-

BUSINESS MEN.

232
Accordingly

(so runs the story) plain

man

son Robert, then a young

levee

David Barclay and

his

of twenty, attended the court

and on their approaching the royal presence, George the

Third, with his usual indifference to conventionalities, descend-

ed from the throne, and giving the Friend a cordial grasp of

the hands,

welcomed him

words he said both

Many were

to St. James's.

to father

and

the kind

In the course of the

son.

conversation he asked the Quaker what he intended to do with

Robert

and, without pausing for a reply, continued

him come

here,

and

I will find for

him a

profitable

" Let

and honora-

ble employment."

The

cautious

Quaker had no

desire,

With

son to seductive influences.

however, to expose his

suitable apologies,

and

in a

tone of great deference, he replied that he feared the air of the

The King was

court would not agree with his son.

to so curt a rejection of the

answered, " Well, David, well, well, you

best
St.

not used

royal favor, but good-humoredly

but you must not forget to

let

me

know
see

best,

you know

you occasionally

at

James's."

Soon afterwards Robert was established

bard

Street,

and

his

as a

banker

in

Lom-

rapid progress was purely owing to the

constancy and solidity of the royal patronage.

In

1781 he

joined his friend Perkins in purchasing for _;^i35,ooo the great

brewery of Thrale, the friend of Dr. Johnson, and thus was

founded the well-known firm of Barclay and Perkins.

Henry

Thrale's father had originally been a clerk in the counting-

house of a Southwark brewery, but through

acter

and

rare business qualities he

the establishment.
sold to

When

had

his

admirable char-

risen to be the

the partners wished to

him the business and premises

head of

retire,

they

for .;^3o,ooo, taking a

THOMAS COUTTS.
lien

on the property

233
This sum

as security for the repayment.

was discharged within a short period, and

in the

course of years

the elder Thrale amassed an enormous fortune.

The younger

Thrale, with the assistance of Mr. Perkins, greatly extended the

business

and though

one time he jeopardised

at

by

it

his

successful speculations, at the time of his sudden death

a property of
carried on

whom

immense

value.

By

thor of " Rasselas "

his button hole.

auctioneer,

was

have been

to

but various considerations led to

On

to

a purchaser, who, mistaking him for the

had asked

are not here to

the day of sale, the au-

was present, with an ink-horn suspended

To

his opinion of the value of the

and appliances of the brewery, he

we

it

un-

was

by Mrs. Thrale, conjointly with her executors, of

Dr. Johnson was one

being disposed of by auction.

its

his will

it

sell,

is

"plant"

said to have replied, " Sir,

a parcel of boilers and vats, but the

potentiality of growing rich

beyond the dreams

of avarice."

Mr. Barclay with his friend Perkins, made an offer for the concern as
"

it

Heaven,"
In the

and Mrs. Thrale closed with

stood,

she said, " sent this

life

of another rich

we meet with two

of

commonplace.

and

it

delightedly.

buy

it

of us."

London banker, Thomas

Coutts,

to

or three incidents lying beyond the regions

John Coutts, a merchant and

bill-broker,

one time Lord Provost of Edinburgh, had four

at

whom

good Quaker

the two youngest,

in their father's office.

sons, of

James and Thomas, were brought up

At the age of twenty-five James

grated to London, and settled in

St.

Mary Axe

as a

merchant

subsequently starting as a Banker on the same spot, and,

believed, in the

Bank

"

is still

his brother

same house, where the business of

it

is

" Coutts'

Some few

years latter (1760), he took

into partnership,

and soon afterwards gave

conducted.

Thomas

mi-.

 USINESS MEN.

234
up

him

to

the actual

management

was seized with insanity

of the establishment.

1777, and died

in

He

in the following

year.

There was no insanity

much

tainly

Thomas

in

of that eccentricity

Almost

the partition line.

Coutts, but there was cer-

which goes so perilously near

soon as he assumed the reins of

as

the great house in the Strand, he took to himself a wife, and that

wife was a certain Elizabeth Starkey, one of his brother's ser-

whom, with a handsome

vants, in

many

united

face

and a good temper, were

" rustic virtues," unfortunately not too

among domestic

servants of the present day.

aspiring disposition

is

tolerably evident.

common

That she had an

It is said that shortly

before her marriage, on a wet and dirty day, she was engaged

her household duties, when one of the bank clerks ran into

in

the house, and was about to proceed upstairs to change his

Betsy, stopping him, insisted that he should

clothes.

his shoes in order not to sully the

young man, annoyed

coolly stamped
to

do

his best

"

I'll

choose

dismissal

The

what he considered an impertinence,

them.

" Before long," shouted

pull off your shoes

and stockings

too,

as

Betsy,

whenever

After the marriage, the clerk expected instant

but Mrs. Coutts was too good-natured to remember

his offence.

station to

remove

stair.

and scraped on each step as he ascended, so

to soil

make you
it."

at

newly-washed

She proved herself by no means unworthy of the

which she had been

raised.

Though her manners

were unrefined, her natural parts were considerable, and she

quickly profited by the education which her husband wisely

provided for her.

In a few short years she became in demeanor,

as in intelligence, as
ladies "

much

a gentlewoman as

who had been bred and brought up

many

of those

in the lap of

luxury

THOMAS COUTTS.
and splendor."
trained

She bore three daughters

them with

every way

23

so

much

skill

and

ornaments of the aristocratic

lit

Mr. Coutts, and

to

care, that they

were in

which

circles into

they were in due time admitted as the wives of Sir Francis

Burdett, the Earl of Guildford, and the Marquis of Bute respectively.

Mr. Coutts was liberal-handed, and no

He

ever told to him in vain.

and took great pleasure

was

in literary

tale of distress

was

also exceedingly hospitable,

and

His

theatrical society.

fondness for the stage led to his making the acquaintance of

the celebrated actress, Harriet Mellon.

In light comic char-

acters she

was very popular, though Leigh Hunt speaks of her

as having

no genius.

She had, however, a

fine person, intelli-

gent eyes, and a good-humored mouth, which did not belie her
natural disposition.

as

She made her

Lydia Languish

stage as

Audrey

in

in

"The

"As You Like

first

appearance on the

Rivals" in 1795, and her

it" in

last

In the latter year

1815.

died Mrs. Coutts, who, since about 1787, had fallen into a state
of imbecility,

and had consequently been secluded from

society.

Within three months, the banker, who was then seventy-four

years old, married Miss Mellon, his intimacy with her having

been notorious for a considerable period.

that he found in

esteem
fidence,

for during his life

and

at his death,

be presumed

It is to

her many qualities worthy of

his respect

he treated her with the

which occurred

in

fullest

and
con-

February 1822,

at

the age of ninety-one, he bequeathed to her the whole of his

personal and landed property, besides a very large share in the

immense yearly
readers will

Duchess of

profits

remember
St.

Albans

of the banking-house.
that Mrs. Coutts in

Many

of our

due time became

but she retained in her own hands the

BUSINESS MEN.

236

disposition of her vast fortune,

and when she

died, left

it,

in

accordance, as was supposed, with her former husband's wishes,

to his favorite grand-daughter. Miss,

now

the Baroness Burdett-

Coutts.

Anything but commonplace were the circumstances which

attended the early stages of the career of Jaques Lafitte, the
celebrated French banker

was a

and, indeed, that career, as a whole,

striking proof that the successful

mands many

of the qualities

the senate, the council, or the

which
field,

conduct of business de-

raise

men

to greatness in

such as unsleeping vigilance,

untiring patience, the highest prudence, keenness of perception,

coolness of judgment, and that presence of

upon a well-founded

self-reliance

mind which depends

and boundless

of

fertility

resource.

When

the

young

Lafitte arrived in Paris in 1798, the object

of his ambitious hopes was a stool in a banking-house

order to secure

it

banker, with a letter of introduction.

removed

to the hotel of

been put up

in a lottery

by the fortunate banker.

long ago demolished

in Paris,

and planted

Parisian- world.

and

in

he called upon M. Paregeaux, a rich Swiss

This gentleman had just

Mademoiselle Garnvard, which had

by

that fair

It

was

and

frail

lady,

and won

to this very elegant habitation

that Jacques Lafitte paid his first visit

on the threshold of the dazzling

his foot

The young

provincial,

" poor

and modest,

timid and anxious," entered by that gateway which, in the

century, had witnessed

many a

last

scene of dissipation and profuse

splendor.

He

was introduced into the boudoir of the danseuse, the

banker having converted

ed

to state with

it

into his private room,

much modesty

the reason of his

and proceedvisit.

" It

is

IMPORTANCE OF A
impossible," replied the banker, " for

me

establishment, at least for the present

its full

complement.

what

will see

Should

I require

can do for you, but

have you seek elsewhere, as

in

may be

it

PIN.

237

to take

you

my

into

every department has

help at a future time I

meantime

the

would

long before a vacancy

occurs."

With a disappointed heart the young man

in dejected

mood he

left

As

the hotel.

slowly traversed the stately court-yard, he

stooped to pick up a pin which glittered in his path, and carefully fastened

it

in the lappel of his coat.

that an action apparently so trivial

fortune,

that

and open up

to

him a

Little did

was

he imagine

decide his future

to

stirring career

but

it

so chanced

M. Paregeaux had, from the windows

of his cabinet, idly

quick observer and

followed the young man's movements.

a keen interpreter of

human

character from

human

actions,

he

detected in the slightest circumstance, which others would pass

unnoticed, an

The conduct

of motive or disposition.

infallible indication

of the

young provincial delighted him.

It re-

vealed to him the forethought and carefulness of the true

of business.

economy,

He

accepted

up a

pin,

as

in a

moment

would

He

felt

of disappointment, could stop to pick

a,ssuredly

to a prosperous position.

make

a painstaking and scrupulous

and eventually

made

for

you

in

attain

In the evening of the same day Jac-

ques Lafitte received the following note from the banker

is

most

convinced that a young

clerk, deserve his employer's confidence,

place

man

a guarantee of order and

as a testimony to the possession of the qualities

valuable in a good financier.

man who,

it

my

" A

establishment, of which you

may

take possession to-morrow morning."

It is

almost needless to add that

M. Paregeaux's

anticipations

BUSINESS MEN.

238
were

The young

fulfilled to the letter.

Lafitte

and economical

lent clerk, and, to orderly

made an

habits,

excel-

was soon

dis-

covered to add an enthusiastic love of work and a strong and

He

steady brain.

rose to be cashier, then partner, and then

head of the greatest banking-house of

deputy, and acquired so

much

He

President of the

In 1836 he founded the joint-stock bank

Council of Ministers.

1844.

in

influence in Parliament and the

country, that he was eventually appointed

which bears

Engaging

Paris.

he was returned to the French Legislature as a

political strife,

name, and closed a long and busy

his

life

in

May,

one daughter, who married the Prince of Mos-

left

kowa, the son of Napoleon's favorite lieutenant, Marshal Ney,

le

plus brave des braves.

Going back

to the

merce blended

Middle Ages, we find romance and com-

in the history of the

merchant prince of Bruges,

Born about the end of the fourteenth century,

Jacques Coeur.

in the ranks of the people,

he made choice

at

an early age of

a mercantile career, and by his wonderful intellectual vigour,

enterprise,

and

soon acquired an immense fortune.

foresight,

But he was something more than a successful merchant, he was

He

a national benefactor.

found the commerce of France

behind that of every other country, but by his exertions and

example raised

To him

is

it

to

a condition of the highest prosperity.

due the credit of the idea of direct and speedy

communication with the East

realized until our

own

time.

an idea, however, not fully

Nevertheless, his dealings with

Oriental countries were on a large scale.

In the Mediterranean

he acquired more commercial power than

European merchants put

where respected

as

together.

all

the rest of the

His vessels were every-

though he had been a sovereign prince.

THE MERCHANT OF BRUGES.

They

239

carried his flag on every sea and into every port

and

from furthest Asia they brought back cloths of gold and

sheeny
still

silk, furs,

augmenting

arms, spices, and ingots of gold and

his

mighty

stores, until all

the fame of his unparalleled opulence.

hundred factors were

Coeur

"

in

silver,

Europe rang witn

At one time three

"As

his employ.

rich as Jacques

There were not wanting those who

became a proverb.

believed that he had discovered the philosopher's stone, and

popular tradition, exaggerating the amount of precious metals

in his coffers, asserted that his horses
It

were shod with

silver.

has been justly said that he proved himself worthy of his

success

by the

liberality with

which he gave

For Charles VII., who had made him

he raised three armies

at his

own

his

cost

to noble objects.

Master of the Mint,

and, in his office as

Argentier, he recruited and reorganized the finances

kingdom.

The French were enabled

of the

to turn to such excellent

account the heroic enthusiasm of Jeanne Dare through the

resources he placed at their disposal

he became in the

sense of the word, the national banker.

dial

sympathy and

" the tender

his firm

By

his frank

sagacious counsel he

and brave soul of Agnes

fullest

and corsustained

Sorel, the noblest of

royal mistresses, in her efforts to save the king."

On

her death-

bed she chose him for her executor.

Strong as he was and firm of heart, Jacques Coeur was not

exempt from human weakness, which showed

of personal inagnificence.

The splendor

itself in his

of his household

the brilliant ostentation he affected raised against

love

and

him many

enemies among the haughty nobles of France, who saw with

"
indignation the presumption of " the Merchant of Bruges in

outshining and surpassing them in the

number and equipments

BUSINESS MEN.

240

of his retinue, the bravery of his attire, and the costliness of

When

his banquets.

Rouen

Charles

made

his

triumphant entry into

after the expulsion of the English, the

Coeur rode by the side of

armour precisely similar

Dunois the

We

to his.

merchant Jacques

peerless,

Antoine de Chabannes and others,

at

whose suggestion he was

arrested on the absurd charge of having poisoned

cast into prison

The King,
and

and subjected

patriotic servant to the malice of his enemies,

pay a
fine

Sorel,

the foulest treatment.

to

and

steps to punish their disregard of law

the

Agnes

with truly royal ingratitude, abandoned his loyal

packed tribunal pronounced him

to

at

In 1450 a conspiracy was formed against him by

the result.

was

clothed in

need not be surprised

fine of four millions of

guilty,

justice.

and took no
In 1453 a

and he was condemned

crowns, to be imprisoned until

was paid, and then expelled the kingdom.

The

remainder of his property was seized by his judges and shared

as

Two

plunder.

years later, through the faithfulness and

dexterity of one of his agents, Jacques was conveyed to

where he was warmly welcomed by Pope Nicholas V.

abated nothing of his old heroic

he obtained

in

forces of the

spirit

and enthusiastic daring,

1456 the appointment of captain-general of the

Church against the

infidels,

the relief of the Greek

Turks

but at Chio he was seized with an

proved

Not

isles,

illness

which speedily

fatal.

less

adventurous, though he lived in a tamer age, when

the exploits of a Jacques Coeur had

philanthropic merchant, Jonas

"Men

proceeded with a

then menaced by the

fleet to
;

Rome,
Having

of Daring," or

become

Hanway.

"Men who

suredly to occupy a foremost place.

impossible, was the

In every record of

have Risen," he ought

The son

of a

as-

Portsmouth

"NEVER DESPAIR."

24

storekeeper, and born in 17 12, he was left an orphan at an early

His mother, with her

age.

and did her best

to give

little

family,

removed

London,

to

them a decent education.

At seven-

teen Jonas obtained an apprenticeship in the establishment of

a Lisbon merchant, to whose favorable notice his assiduous

discharge of his duties and his strict sense of honor quickly

Afterwards we find him a partner in a

recommended him.
mercantile house at

St.

Petersburg, which had embarked in the

In order to develop

Caspian trade.

its

business, he visited

Russia, and after a brief sojourn at St. Petersburg, joined a

caravan which was setting out for Persia with a considerable

load of English cloth.
to Astrabad, but
seized,

From Astracan he

crossed the Caspian

an insurrection breaking

out, his bales

of them, his enterprise was,

on the whole, a

was secretly conveyed to him of a design to

and

his property,

life

Informa-

failure.

tion

after a

were

and though he eventually recovered the greater portion

seize himself

whereupon he embarked on the Caspian, and,

dangerous voyage, reached Ghilan in

safety.

In later

he commemorated his escape by a curious device which was

emblazoned on
dress, just

his carriage.

It

represented a

man

in Persian

landed in a storm on a rugged coast, and supporting

himself on his sword in an attitude of calm resignation.

In the

background might be seen a boat tossed about by angry waves,

and

in the

foreground an armorial shield bearing the sanguine

motto, " Never despair."

For

five years

longer

Hanway remained

carrying on a lucrative business.

competency, and a relative having

at St.

Petersburg,

In 1750, having acquired a

left

him an

estate,

he

re-

turned to England, for the purpose, as he himself expressed

of consulting his

own

health,

which was extremely

delicate,

it,

and

BUSINESS MEN.

242

much good

doing as

to himself

and others

he was

as

able.

To

the last he retained an honest pride in the profession to which

he had belonged, and was fond of expatiating on the usefulness

merchant

of the

" a character for

which he entertained great

While by no means insensible

reverence."
society,

to the pleasures of

he devoted the greater part of his income for the

mainder of

his life to

works of benevolence.

re-

His inexhaustible

energy was brought to bear on every public improvement, and

while he found time to attend to the repair and cleaning of the
streets of

London, he

Marine Society

assisted largely in the foundation of the

for training

Hospital, established

and

fitting

out volunteers and boys

The Foundling
by Captain Coram, owed much of its pros-

to serve in the mercantile

and the royal navy.

and prudent management.

perity to his active

His labors on

behalf of the children of the poor should never be forgotten.

In

this

field

he was almost the

first

worker, and his exertions

were as unremitting as they were wisely directed.

.the

Such was

sense entertained by the public of his long and valuable

:labors in the cause of charity, that a deputation

'cipal

Prime Minister, and requested him

some

from the prin^

merchants of London waited on the Earl of Bute while

signal

mark

to

bestow upon Mr.

of the general esteem

Hanway

and accordingly he

was appointed to a Commissionership of the Navy, which he

held for twenty years.

He

died in

London

in 1786, bequeath-

ing to the mercantile world the legacy of a noble example, and

the record of a

life

which had abundantly shown that business

does not necessarily deaden the gentler sympathies.

That benevolence

is

no unusual feature of the character of

the

man

We

take one from an American source, because to most of our

readers

of business might

it

will

have an

be shown by a thousand examples.

air of novelty.

THE YOUNG PIANIST.

Many

years ago, a boy,

music, dreamed of

who was

and lived

it,

which numbers

passionately devoted to

for

certain large establishment in Boston,

ments were manufactured.

243

it,

found his way into a

where

his favorite instru-

Entering the extensive saloons in

of these instruments

were exhibited for

he sought out a quiet corner, and seating himself

cent piano,

at

sale,

a magnifi-

looked round to be sure that he was neither

first

seen nor heard, and then began to play some of Beethoven's

beautiful waltzes which were within the range of his capacity,

and
a

at the

dream

same time responded

to his feelings.

of melody, he did not for

Absorbed

some time observe

in

that a

person had approached him, and was listening while he played.

At

last

a benevolent face bent over him, and a kind voice

uttered words of praise

und encouragement, which, being the

first

he had ever received, sent the warm blood

The

proprietor of the establishment (for

the

boy

he would

if

like to

come and

it

live

to his cheeks.

was he) then asked

among

the pianos,

and exhibit

their qualities to intending purchasers

him, in

an engagement as a

fact,

remember

his

books and

pianist.

his school,

offering

But the boy had

to

and with many thanks de-

clined the proposition.

Years passed away.

his books.

He

still

The boy

left

school,

and threw aside

retained his deep love of music, and

it

chanced one day that he found himself again

in the pianoforte

He had

just ceased play-

manufacturer's spacious showrooms.

ing upon one of the finest instruments, and was looking dreamily
out of an adjacent window, and into the dim vistas of the
future.

Again a j>erson quietly approached him, and

pleasant and musical voice began to speak.

fore

him was

of small stature,

The person

in

be-

wore the dress and had the

BUSINESS MEN.

244
manners

though the contrast was strange be-

of a gentleman,

tween his well-worn black clothes and splendid diamond pin,

and the 'clean white apron of a workman, which he

We

need hardly say that

it

was the proprietor of the

ment again, who, wealthy as he was, had his

cabinet, with an exquisite set of tools,
finishing touch "

a task he

own

also wore.
establish-

little

working

and there gave "the

specially reserved for himself

each of his beloved instruments.

to

Of the young man, whom

he had recognized, he inquired, in the course of conversation,

what were

his plans for

life.

He

found

that, as yet,

The young man

vague and undetermined.

they were

confessed that his

passion for music had not abated, but that his friends seemed
to wish

and expect him

to enter

one of the learned professions.

He, however, had sometimes thought that

if

he could have

gone to Italy or France to study, he would have devoted himself to

music.

blessing,

His father had given him his education and

and could give no more.

battle of life unaided,

He

must therefore

his

fight the

and of music must hardly allow himself

to think.

In his quietest tones, the proprietor, as though making an

ordinary remark, rejoined, " Well, but

if

the surn of five hun-

dred dollars a year for a period of four years would enable

you

to fulfil

your wishes,

could easily be your banker to that

extent."

The young man almost staggered with surprise, and for a

moment the world seemed to grow dim before him. When he
recovered himself, there was the same quiet gentleman standing beside him, and looking pleasantly out of the window.

Two months

afterwards the young

where he spent the

allotted time,

and a

man
still

sailed for

Europe,

longer period, his

MERITS OF BUSINESS.
him with the means.

successful compositions providing

whatever of

knowledge and

artistic

ever of success in

life

and

in his

245

scientific culture,

and what-

work afterwards appertained

most eminent of the musical composers

to the

And

America,

in

must be ascribed, and always was by himself ascribed,

to the

generous pianoforte manufacturer of Boston, Mr. Chickering.

Does the reader understand the purport

ter

this

in

If so,

he

volume.

will see that

We

it

has

have been engaged

commenting on the

virtues

of the present chap-

and proper place

right

its

in

preceding chapters

in the

by which success

in life

is

to

be

achieved, and in dwelling upon and illustrating the value of

business qualities and business habits.

have brought forward the leading

famous men of business

in

these qualities and profited

dice prevails

among
show

by these

curious preju-

We

have sought, on the

that the principal merits of a

literature, or science, in

And we have

or, as it is

habits.

the middle class against business as some-

ness are precisely those which lead

field.

some

order to show that they displayed

thing vulgar, degrading, and sordid.

contrary, to

In the present, we

details of the careers of

men

man

of busi-

to reputation in art,

law or divinity, in the senate or the

pointed out that the pursuit of business,

familiarly called, money-getting,

is

by no means

in-

compatible with the cultivation of the domestic affections, of

generous and gentle sympathies.

enforcing upon the

has

its

mind

Lastly,

we have aimed

man who

romantic and interesting side, and that the

gives himself

up

to

it

at

of the reader the truth that business

as to his life-work will

have no cause to

complain of a want of interesting and stimulating elements.

And

the moral of

it all is

the best work, and the

this, that

work

the

work we have

that ought to be

done

to

do

and

is

that

BUSINESS MEN.

246

the honor and the reward will

and

our

all

soul,

and

beneath our powers,

wished

but

ing,

to be,

it

if

all

it

says, "

God

among work and work-a-day

in trial,

and

our heart,

all

may

comfort

in death,

we

is

call-

dignifj'

it.

men and

He has
He has so

find worship

the

as

we

to be.

people.

in weakness,

This

life.

it

other than

has put

was best for them

planted them that in work they

perfection

it is

us, taking care that

Dawson

For, as the late George

planted them

with

it

complaining of

reproaching ourselves because of our

women where He knew

heaven

not

not repining because

-not

do not dignify

it

doing

lie in

our mind,

in truth,

strength

sum

in

life,

of the Gospels,

the lesson of toil."

The young man

himself,
in

if

such

destined to a commercial

he be so

with

a case,

by an Englishman
country in

its

of

life

may

the eulogium upon trade pronounced

"If we consider our own

letters.

natural prospect," writes Addison, " without any

of the benefits and advantages of commerce, what an

us that no fruit grows originally

uncom-

Natural historians

fortable spot of earth falls to our share

tell

console

need consolation

pitiful a creature as to

among us

besides hips and

haws, acorns and pig-nuts, with other delicacies of the like

nature

that our climate of

make no

itself,

art,

and

carries an apple to

among

us,

and

fall

away

figs,

imported

alized in our English gardens

erate

soil.

than' a star,

in different ages,

traffic

that

and natur-

and that they would

into the taste of our

Nor has

our apricots and cherries,

were wholly neglected by the planter and

our sun and

plum

no greater perfection than a crab

our melons, our peaches, our

are strangers

and without the assistance of

further advances towards a

can

own

all

country,

left to

the

degenif

they

mercy of

more enriched our vegetable

ENGLAND'S TRADE.
has improved the whole face of nature

world than

it

Our

we laden with

ships

filled

among

the harvest of every climate

tables are stored with spices

of

247

and

oils

and wine

us.

our

our rooms are

with pyramids of china, and colored with workmanship

Japan

our morning's draught comes to us from the remot-

est corners of the earth

we

repair our bodies

by the drugs of

America, and repose ourselves under Indian canopies.

The

vineyards of France are our gardens, the Spice Islands our

hotbeds, the Persians are our weavers, and the Chinese our

[This was written,

potters.

we may remind

the

reader, in

1711, before the days of Arkwright and Wedgwood.]

indeed furnishes us with the bare necessaries of

gives us a great variety of what

useful,

is

supplies us with everything that

is

and

life,

at the

Nature

but

traffic

same time

convenient and ornamental.

For these reasons there are not more useful members

They

commonwealth than merchants.

in a

mutual intercourse of good

nature, find

work

for the poor,

to

the gifts of

converts the
his

work

for

are clothed in our British manufac-

and the inhabitants of the frozen zone are warmed with

the fleeces of our sheep.

When

have been upon

'

have often fancied one of our old kings standing

where he

is

represented in

effigy,

In this case,

how would he be

languages of Europe spoken in this

dominions, and to see so

would have been

many

the vassals of

Change, I
in

person

and looking down upon the

wealthy concourse of people with which that place

filled.

the rich, and

and exchanges

into gold,

The Mahometans

riches.
ture,

own country

offices, distribute

add wealth

in

mankind together

Our English merchant

magnificence to the great.

tin of his

knit

is

every day

surprised to hear
little

private

all

the

spot of his former

men who,

in his time,

some powerful baron,

negotiat-

BUSINESS MEN.

245

money than were formerly

ing like princes for greater sums of

to be

met with

in the royal treasury

Trade, without enlarging

the British territories,* has given us a kind of additional empire,

has multiplied the

it

estates infinitely

added

to

number

of the rich,

made our landed

more valuable than they were formerly, and

them an accession

of other estates as valuable as the

lands themselves."

Mr. Fox Bourne has written a careful book upon our " EnMerchants," and a glance at

glish

vividly

how

honorable business

honor, and what scope

it

contents teaches us very

its

may be made by

man

of

presents for energy and enterprise to

man of daring. When we read of such worthies as Sir

Thomas Gresham, Sir Josiah Child, Sir Hugh Mydleton, Sir
Dudley North of such men as Humphrey Cheetham, of Mana

Edward

chester,

Birmingham

of

and Matthew Boulton, of

Colston, of Bristol,

such men

as the Barings, the Gladstones,

William Brown, James Ewing, the Barclays, the Gurneys, Fairbairn, Brassey,

and George Moore, we

feel that the annals of

trade are scarcely less plentifully studded with noble

names

than those of art or literature, the " services " or the professions.

If

peace has

its

victories

no

renowned than war,

less

so have the pursuits of peace their heroes.

the truest patriot

who can make two blades

only one grew before.

who

But he may

He

is

of corn

said to be

grow where

also claim to be a patriot

helps to maintain that grand fabric of commercial enter-

prise so indissolubly associated with the

fame and fortune of

England.
* This is no longer true. England owes British India, and many of her
most important dependencies, to her traders.

"

CHAPTER

VII.

THE RACE AND THE ATHLETE.

" So run

that ye

may

obtain.,'

St.

Paul.

" Does

the road wind up hill all the way ?

Yes to the very end.
Will the day's journey take the whole long day?
:

From morn

to night,

" Live a

And
"

teach true

We

life

my

friend."

of truest breath,

life to fight

with mortal wrongs."

Tennyson,

shall not perish yet.

God so guide our fate.

The nobler portion of ourselves
If

shall last

Till all the lower rounds of life be past.

And we, regenerate,

Songs of Two

" Every man has two educations one which he receives from
one, more important, which he gives himself." -Gibbon.

Worlds,
others,

and

" A man so trained in youth that his body is the ready servant of his will,
and does with ease and pleasure all the work that as a mechanism it is
capable of whose intellect is a clear, cold logic-engine, with all its parts of
equal strength and in smooth working-order, ready like a steam-engine to
be turned to any kind of work, and spin the gossamers as well as forge the

anchors of the mmA."--rr-ofesso} Huxley.

**
The body has its rights, and it will have them. They cannot be
trampled upon or slighted without peril. The body ought to be the soul's
Guesses of Truth.
best friend, and cordial, dutiful helpmate."

CHAPTER

VII.

THE RACE AND THE ATHLETE.

IF

we would run

the race of

we must submit

life

so as to " obtain " the prize,

to a course of strenuous self-preparation.

The athlete before he enters on his struggle undergoes a rigorous

The soldier is useless for the purposes of war until
training.
he has learned to submit himself to discipline. Who are we
that we should take up our life-work before we have made any
efforts to

fit

ourselves for

We

it ?

all

and preparation which may be said

to

of us need preparation,

assume three aspects

the physical, the intellectual, the spiritual.

may be
I.

useful to say a few plain words

Physical.

The

relations

On each

of these

it

between the body and the soul

are such that the condition of the former closely affects the

well-being of the

It is

latter.

a matter of Christian duty to

attend to the physical health because the spiritual depends so

largely

upon

it.

The mind

the body, and to assert

disease

its

is

often strong enough to conquer

supremacy over the influences of

but, as a rule, an enfeebled or diseased physical frame

means an enfeebled or diseased

intellect,

a disordered imagination.

may be

against the body, with

all its

It

a weakened judgment,

that the

mind

prevails

maladies, for months or years, but

THE RACE AND THE ATHLETE.

252

suddenly there comes a time when the flesh conquers, and the
spirit gives

Some

way unexpectedly.

Napoleon's later de-

of

have been with justice attributed to the baneful

feats

Many an

an aggravated dyspepsia.
ill-temper

when

it

is

worthless and

burn the midnight

when, in

oil to

when

to treat the

as a

the imminent ruin of his constitution

truth, the pallid countenance, the

visible signs of genius.

body

the student was exhorted to

and the shrunken limbs, were regarded

man

Time was

explained by a disordered stomach.

was thought an admirable thing

despised slave

effects of

outburst of irritability and

seemed

It

to

bowed

as the

shoulders,

outward and

be almost a belief that no

could be a poet whose cheek did not flush with the hectic

of consumption, or a scholar

unhealthy

vigils.

whose brow was not haggard with

expression " rude health " has a

The

sig-

The

must not be overlooked.

nificance in this direction which

popular opinion was that muscles and mind were absolutely

antagonistic,

and that a good cricketer must necessarily be a

bad Ciceronian.
owing

in

The

reversion to a

no small degree

other prophets

more

to the wise preaching of Kingsley

of muscular Christianity,'

understanding that

now

sensible view

and

is

and

the better

to

obtains of the mysterious interdepend-

ence of body and soul.

It is

now

seen that a system which

produces Henry Kirke Whites cannot be described as a successful system.

It is

now

felt

that the culture of the

in fact, an important part of the education of the

the body has rights which must be respected,

goad

it

into rebellion.

A man

if

body

mind

is,

that

we would not

does not think the less deeply

or judge the less clearly because he can walk, and row, and
ride,

up

and

leap,

o' nights,

and swim.

The

pale, sickly student,

and allows the rosy dawn

to surprise

who

him

sits

at his

BRAIN AND BODY.

Studies,

makes

a very pretty figure in poetry, but

more prudent and

hopelessly out-distanced by his

"

competitors.

There

Beecher, " which

figure at

we

is

healthier

Ward
human

an organization," says Henry

is

the nervous system in the

call

he who neglects
soon have indisputable proof of
which belong the functions of emotion,
existence

body,"
its

no

In the long-run stamina prevails, and he

in real life.

all

253

will

it

" to

in-

telligence, sensation,

and

connected intimately with the

is

it

whole circulation of the blood, with the condition of the blood

as affected

by the

and by aeration

liver,

manufacture of the blood

a

man

over.

is

what

One

is

what he

part

is

he thinks the whole trunk through."

truths,

and

vital truths,

any physiologist

and the sooner he comes

will

"

be for him.

when

That these are

their

importance the

namely, the digestion of

made

fine

by oxygenation,

an organization by which that blood has free course

down

easily,

neck that

whole system so compounded

facility to

all

what a man's working power

The biography

of great

ble lesson on this point.

the

men

and

and balanced, the

susceptibilities

and

to generate resources,

and

as to

immense energy

give them out

to flow

allow the blood to run up and

will

a brain properly organized

recuperative force,

man

Man's power comes from the

in him,

nutritious food into vitalized blood,

glorified, a

will assure the reader,

acknowledge

to

generating forces that are

be

all

intimately connected with the other, from

thinks,

it

so

not in one pari or another, but

is,

the animal stomach to the throbbing brain, and

better

The

in the lungs.

dependent upon the stomach

is

have

these elements go to determine

is."

men reads us a clear and unmistakaThe men who have succeeded are

of tough fibre, strong frame, remarkable powers of


THE RACE AND THE ATHLETE.

2S4
endurance,

and steady nerve.

It

is

not to be denied that

heroic things have sometimes been done

We

bodies and feeble health.

an invalid

eighteen

at

do not forget that Pascal was

that Shelley

most susceptible organization

that

was of the

Pope was

and deformed person, and so short that

raised to place
table

him on

of

at,

had

his chair

to

company

a level with the rest of the

these cases do but confirm

Had

our argument.

and

frailest

weak health

William III. was a martyr to asthma.

or that

rightly looked

by heroes of weak

be
at

Yet,

and strengthen

Pascal been gifted with a sturdy frame,

he might have completed that magnum opus of which he has

left

And

Had Pope been

only the skeleton.

his poetry

would have gained

Shelley's ideal music

his organization

poet, like

had been

in

healthy and robust,

wholesomeness and

geniality.

would have had more substance

less acutely susceptible.

Wordsworth, writes healthy poetry.

The

if

A healthy
manliness,

the vigor, the vitality of the songs of Burns are partly due to

the fact that he walked

Behind

his

"In glory and in joy

plough upon the mountain-side."

Chaucer was a man of thews and muscle, who, when some

Londoii citizens wronged him
" Prepared his body for Mars his doing,
If any contraried his saws."

sword and shield into the thick of the

^schylus carried

his

fight at Salamis.

Byron swam across the Hellespont, and the

vigor of his limbs infused vigor into his verse.

line, copious,

strength

and

elastic diction of

and energy of

The mascu-

Dryden consorts with the

his physical organization.

He

must

have been sixty-seven years old when he wrote his "Alexan-

MUSCULAR CHRISTIANITY.
which Hallam

der's Feast," of

places

it

among the

of

first

255

justly says, that " every

its class,

and many allow

sturdy vigor, that bodily strength and

orily to

Rubens, with his

which

that

to a cer-

disappointment and mortification.

In sculpture, take Canova and Gibson

rious

rival."

own command, and without which

tain extent, are within their

mental culture leads

agility,

no

it

men need

has been well said that in every calling

It

one

in painting, the glo-

exultant vitality

Caracci,

Titian,

Michel Angelo, our own Turner, and Sir Joshua Reynolds.

Among

orators,

stone, the last

Among
of

we may

whom amuses

of

statesmen,

enormous

point to Curran, Webster, and Glad-

we

That work does not

exemplified in Lyndhurst,

who
in

by

felling

trees.

" very

tall,

weight, with every part of his gigantic frame well-

proportioned."

in the

his leisure

Bismarck described as

find

House

of

Lords

at the

activity

Palmerston,

in

when an octogenarian

was incessant long

passed the rubicon of threescore and ten.

know that Calvin had

healthy men, was

vigorous eloquence

age of ninety

ruled with a firm and even hand

Brougham, whose

kill

who spoke with

As

after
to

he had

divines,

a stout chest of his own, and John

we

Knox

would have been no contemptible antagonist in a wrestle.

Hugh Latimer was a man of fine thews and muscle. Isaac
Barrowj in his youth, was a sturdy
like Whitfield,

ance

John Bunyan,

pugilist.

was gifted with extraordinary powers of endur-

and Wesley could

never have organized

his

great

community had he not been capable of arduous and

continuous labor. Andrew Fuller, when a farmer's boy, was
religious

and

skilled in boxing,
ics

and

Adam

in later life carried his skill into

Clarke,

when

a lad, could "

roll

about " as easily as he afterwards disposed of a

sition in theology.

polem-

large stones

difficult

propo-

THE RACE AND THE ATHLETE.

2S6
It is

noteworthy how

the laboring class, and

many eminent men have sprung from

we can hardly doubt that their success

was largely influenced by the physical exercise of

in life

Ben Jonson worked

early years.

Inn with a book

in his

at the

is

sturdiness of his character.

Hugh

reflected, so to

guished physiologist, handled

and Opie, the

painter,

John Hunter, the

hammer and
was

also in his

in a

and

distin-

chisel in his early

George Stephenson began

and on one occasion defeated

speak, in the

Miller, the journalist

geologist, labored as a stone-mason.

years

building of Lincoln's

pocket and a trowel in his hand, and

the sturdiness of his frame

to a carpenter.

their

youth apprenticed
life

in a coal-pit,

hand-to-hand

fight

"

Ned

Nelson, the fighting pitman of Callerton," and the bully of the

whole

district.

hood

are

His achievements

by

attributed

his

in his

more prosperous man-

biographer to his having been

trained in a hard school, so that he could bear with ease " con-

men

ditions which, to

softly nurtured,

"

extreme of physical discomfort."

would have been the

Many, many nights he

snatched his sleep while travelling in his chaise, and

day he would be

weeks

the control of his

his

work

until

at

and

dark,

break of
this for

His whole powers seemed to be under

in succession.

on with

We

work surveying

at

will,

for

he could wake

any hour, and go"

at

at once."

are inclined to believe that

De Foe owed much

of the

masculine energy of his intellect to the out-of-door training of

his youth.

Bunyan began

the prince of

wood

life

as

a tinker, sub jovej Berwick,

engravers, in a coal-mine.

Vauquelin, the

chemist, was the son of a peasant in the Calvados.

Hodson's Horse, one

of the

most

brilliant of

cavaliers, admitted that his success in India

Hodson

of

our Anglo-Indian

was due physically


'

SPADE OF A FRIEND."

257

speaking, to a " sound digestion," and this sound digestion he

owed

to the athletic habits of his youth.

Professor Wilson,

the well-known " Christopher North " of the " Noctes

was a devoted lover of

sianae,"

and we are sure that the

vigor,

and

vivacity

style, his

his

ripe exuberance of his thought

the animal robustness, which was

fell,

the learned blacksmith,

labor necessary to

make him study

preserved by long

and much

Wordsworth addressed

to his forge

We

"Spade

and anvil

do not wonder

some thoughtful verses

of a Friend," for he doubtless

knew

"

Who

He

to

the

that his friend

had gained health and happiness by the frequent use

honorable implement.

hard

and more than

successfully,

secure the mens sana in sano corpore.

that

Elihu

fishing.

that he found

asserts

once abandoned his books and returned

to

and

enthusiasm, came from the bodily

walks, tramping over heath and

Burritt,

Ambro-

athletic pastimes to the last,

of that

exclaims

shall inherit thee

when death has

laid

Low in the darksome cell thine own dear lord ?

That man will have a trophy, humble spade

trophy nobler than a conqueror's sword

"If he be one

that feels, with skill to part

False praise from true, or greater from the
Thee will he welcome to his hand and heart,
Thou monument of peaceful happiness

less,

" With

thee he will not dread a toilsome day,

His powerful servant, his inspiring mate
And, when thou art past service, worn away.

Thee
'

a surviving soul shall consecrate.

thy uselessness will never scorri

heirloom in his cottage wilt thou be
High will he hang thee up, and will adorn.
"
His, njstic chimney with the last of thee

His

thrift

An

The spade
If

some

is

fully

of our

worthy of the homage paid to

men

of letters,

it

by the

poet.

our merchants, our traders, our

THE RACE AND THE ATHLETE.

2S8

young men, would handle

be

less

it

little

now and

an attack of despondency, and

him grasp

:garden,

would

loaded with sighs and complaints, and our ears

feel

man have

an inclination to

rail at fate,

life

Ruskin advises,

his spade, as

less

If a

fatigued with homilies on the vanity of

ilet

then, the air

sally forth into his

He

and do an hour's gardening.

will

return to his

ibooks or his business with renewed hope and recruited energy.

lEvery

man

own

should be his

gardener,

if

no other out-of-door

pursuit be within his reach.

Daniel Webster said of the English people that their flag

Nwaved on every sea and

every port, and that the morning

in

'drum-beat of their soldiers, following the sun and keeping

company

A^ith

the hours, circled the earth " with one continual,

iunbroken strain of the martial

'Of superiority is

irace

to

and the freedom of

degree,

England."

their institutions,

This position

but

also, in

no small

by the courage, pluck and daring fostered by

athletic habits.

Whether

when watching

the boys at

in

airs of

be explained by the hardy virtues of the

Eton engaged

the playfield, remarked,

Waterloo was won,"

it is

their

be true or not that Wellington,

it

" It

in their usual sports

was there that the

battle

of

not doubtful that the national prowess

has been encouraged and developed by the national love of

boating, cricketing, wrestling, sporting,

has in

it

an element of

The

capacity of endurance.

ground

is

risk

and every exercise which

and makes a demand on the

hardiness acquired in the play-

turned to good account in the senate chamber and

the battle-field.

what he fondly

So keen

is

the devotion of the Englishman to

calls the national

sports, that

'

he carries them

with him wherever he goes, and plays cricket under the burning skies of India.

boat-race on the

Thames

attracts thous-

GYMNASTICS.

259

ands of excited spectators, who cheer the winners

had done some high service to their country.

games

No

much

as

doubt

they

if

always draw a crowd, and a foot-ball scrimmage

will

awaken

as

Gymnastic

enthusiasm as the news of a great victory.

this passion for the athletic

and has tended

predominance

its

dangerous

in the curriculum of our schools

But on the whole

body brings with

its
it

who would run

and a healthy

and

side,

undue

colleges.

The sound

influence has been wholesome.

the sound mind, and in every wise system

of education provision will be

period of his

has

to give to purely physical exercises an

made

for

its

The

hygiene.

athlete

the race with honor must have steady nerves

digestion.

It

is

related of Cicero that, at one

overwork had brought with

life,

it

its

usual con-

sequence, an attack of dyspepsia, which completely overcame

him.

The

orator, instead of resorting to physicians

repaired to Greece, entered the

years observed

its

regimen

gymnasium

strictly,

and then returned to

with both mind and body in perfect health.

well said that the intellectual

philosophers, Aristotle and

that

harmonious education

sulted than the mind.

of thought to the
" Phsedon "

still

and physic,

And

it

Rome

has been

power of the two great Greek

Plato, arose in a large degree

in

two

of Athens, for

which the body was not

from

less

con-

That the Stagyrite influenced the world

day of Bacon, and that the author of the

charms and quickens the imagination of the

West, can be explained by the fact that both were

men

only of the highest genius, but of genius happily

and that

set,

the clear current of their ideas was never perturbed or

by the action of corporeal

"

To do

his

professional

impeded

infirmities.

work cheerfully and

man needs

not

well," says a writer, " every

a working constitution, and this can be

THE RACE AND THE ATHLETE.

26o

got only by daily exercise in the open

breathe

is

an exhalation of

most elaborately finished of

all

the Creator's works

all

ages disintegrated and prepared for the

champagne or cognac,

inhalations of

air,

of

the rock

of

Draughts

man.

ai?d healthful

than

so cheap at the custom-house, so dear

The thorough

at the hotels.'

life

more potent

of this are the true stimulants,

'

The atmosphere we

air.

the minerals of the globe, the

aeration of the blood

so as to bring

by deep

into contact with the whole

it

indispensable to him

who

breathing surface of the lungs,

is

would maintain that

power on which the vigorous

vital

full

working-power of the brain so largely depends.

tells

public speakers that

if

The English people

speaking they would never break down.

understand

horseback

and hence

this,

rides,

at

Universities

the

and two-mile walks, are

the educational course.

Sydney Smith

they would walk twelve miles before

boat races,

practically a part of

English lawyers and members of Par-

liament acquire vigor of body and clearness of head for their

arduous labors by riding with the hounds, shooting grouse on

tTie

Scottish moors, throwing the

or climbing the Alpine

cliffs.

Campbell, Bright, Gladstone

legal leaders, the

senate

fly

into the waters of

Peel,

nearly

all

Brougham, Lyndhurst,
the great political and

prodigious workers at the bar and in the

have been full-chested men, who have been as sedulous

to train their bodies as to train their intellects."

can leaders," says

it is

Norway,

this writer, "

accomplish

less,

" If our

Ameri-

and die

earlier,

because they neglect the care of the body, and put

will-

force in the place of physical strength."

This
advice,

is

not a " Manual of Health " or a book of medical

and therefore we

shall

attempt no detailed explanation

of the hygienic system by which the " sound

body

"

may be

TEMPERANCE.
The

built up.
is

first

consideratipn

As

open-air exercise.

control of

all

is

temperance, and the second

we mean by

to the first,

the appetites.

26

All excess

a steady

it

dangerous and

is

sinful.

Deviations from the Divine law of purity are even more heinous

and hurtful than immoderate enjoyment

Be temperate

table.

the old adage puts

ever, in

"

in all things.

it,

Eat that you may

may

"'and not live that you

live,''

as

How-

eat.''

denouncing intemperance, our moralists have generally

in

view the vice of drunkenness, and

so

many

the prolific parent of

it is

other vices that their exclusive vehemence

What good can be expected from

be forgiven.

with wine, fired and wasted by alcohol

it

of the pleasures of the

possible for a

man bemused

To what

with beer to rise

desire to enforce the tenets of

may

well

a brain sodden

standard

We

teetotalism, but the

is

do not
strictest

temperance in the use of alcoholic liquors we must plainly put

forward as indispensable to a healthy and honorable
toxication has ruined
glass of

many

wine or a glass of beer once or twice a day be or be

not allowable, or even for some constitutions beneficial,

The

our province here to argue.

on physiological

as well as

the space to enter into

the

man who

a fool

if

so

question

But we can express our

finds that he can

else

Let him be thankful for the

unwisely seek in the wine-cup.

spirits.

belief that

that water-drinking brings with

destroy him, but, unless he has an iron

to a second,

not

work upon water only would be

in their unrestrained exercise that

secure against wine or

it is

one to be decided

is

on moral grounds, and we have not

and cool judgment

and seek

many

it.

he took anything

clear brain
it,

In-

life.

Whether a

a career of promise.

The

first

and thence he may advance

enjoyment which

Water

will,

glass

will

never

he can never be

may

lead him on

to the bottle, until, at

THE RACE AND THE ATHLETE.

262

he awaken

last,

to find himself cast

down from

manhood by the dempn of drunkenness

The second

consideration

we do not pretend

is

his twelve or sixteen miles a

amply

open-air exercise.

down any

to lay

day

for another, five or six will

For our own

daily exercise throughout the year, rather than

as vacation walking-parties, or climbing

No man

boating excursion.

two hours a day

possible, the

if

two should be extended into

but the reader

is

and, on
free

to

with riding, leaping, fishing, swimming, shooting,

it

What he

will.

has to

must be proportioned
it is

The walk

or ride,

be none the

companion.

remember
amount

to the

is, first,

if

that his exercise

of his sedentariness

and

intended to refresh, and not to fatigue, the body.

next, that

whenever

feasible,

should have an object, and

less beneficial for the

we

Again,

immoderate study.

presence of a sensible

be temperate.

say,

cise as surely shatters the intellect

as

Nevis, or a week's

We strongly recommend walking as the healthiest,

alternate

will

Ben

"
such " spurts

should be in the open air less than

the whole, most pleasant exercise

he

Here, again,

One man may walk

rules.

The amount must depend on a man's physical

part, we advocate regular and moderate

suffice.

condition.

four.

his throne of

When

Immoderate exer-

and breaks down the body

man

begins to feel fatigued, he

should immediately give up.

With proper
a tonic

into the heart,

But then

care, a

to give a

it

good brisk walk may be made

fillip

to

and even

must be made

to act like

the brain, and to pour fresh hope

to

purify and strengthen the soul.

in pleasant

scenery, or in

company

with a well-informed friend, or directed towards some point of

interest.

It

must be

enjoyable exercise, so that the

mind may

benefit as well as the body, the imagination acquiring a

new

MODERA TION IN ALL THINGS.

power and
seems

freshness, the fancy gaining a

new

263

stimulus.

Nothing

to us drearier or less beneficial than the "daily consti-

tutional "

which

Bath or Tunbridge Wells the chalybeate

at

Doing sentry duty

water-drinker punctiliously performs.

front of a dead wall must be as inspiriting as a task

only

when a man keeps

his eyes open,

and has a

in

It is

lively percep-

tion of the beauties of nature or the various aspects of humanity,

that he can

make

a " constitutional " endurable.

It is

a truism,

however, that intellectual and moral as well as physical health

can be maintained only by regular exercise.

Let the exercise, we repeat, be moderate.

burden

mend

to the strength of the

to the

man

back

that bears

Proportion the

Do not

it.

of fifty an achievement that

recom-

would be arduous

for the youth of twenty, or to the victim of a sedentary career

the " over-country gallop " suitable for a fox-hunting squire.

Some

students seem of opinion that the best

the evil effects of inordinate mental exercise

sive physical exercise

The body,

both ends.

the exhausted mind,

its

strength,

upon the

is

but that

set to

is

to counteract

by taking exces-

simply to burn the candle at

from the depression of

after suffering

perform a task considerably above

and, as a necessary consequence, avenges

delicate creature

master.

We know

passed a

difficult

study, set out

is

way

"

which

is

at

once

its

slave

itself

and

its

a case of a student who, having victoriously

examination after nights and days of arduous

to pick himself up," as

pedestrian excursion.

For

six

he said

on

a week's

days he walked his score of

miles a day, and on the seventh was laid up with brain fever.

Like everything
have too

much

else,

of

it.

exercise

is

a capital thing, but you

Many men have

may

unconsciously sown the

seeds of premature decay in their constitutions by fhountain-

THE RACE AND THE ATHLETE.

264

climbing or excessive riding, just as the boat-race between

Oxford and Cambridge has injured

young oarsman by

is

a stalwart

the severity of the training enforced

We

the selected competitors.

of exercise

many

for life

are not at

all

upon

sure that neglect

more injurious than the intemperate use

of

it

for the latter

extreme draws upon that reserved force of strength

and

which we need

vitality

meet any unusual and

to

demand.

No

double

ordinary and proper speed because

its

sensible mechanician

idle for a time.

who have had no

It

is

it

at

had been lying

most mischievious thing for adults

preliminary training in early

The

gymnastics as a means of exercise.

tion,

critical

would work an engine

an intolerable fatigue, which

is

to resort to

life

result

an exhaus-

is

wholly incompatible with

brain-work, and absolutely dangerous to the nervous system.

The sum

of

it all is,

that the

man who would

think nobly, would put his faculties and

best uses,
ness,

and discharge

must be wisely heedful of

will

accomplish

An American

purely and

He

his physical health.

is

fitted to

must

perform, or

less.

jurist of

some eminence admits

that he could

have done twice as much as he has done, and done

and with greater ease

laws of health and

to their

his life-mission with a lofty complete-

not attempt more than his constitution

he

live

endowments

to himself,

life at

had he learned

as

better

it

much

of the

twenty-one as the experience of years

" In

has taught him at no small cost of pain and suffering.

college," he says, " I

was taught

planets, as carefully as

of getting off the track

orbits

but about

all

about the motions of the

though they would have been

if

my own

had not known now

organization,

indispensable to the healthful functions of

in

danger

to trace their

and the conditions

my own

body,

was

FRIENDSHIPS.

terous.

when

ought

it

down

Nothing could be more prepos-

profound ignorance.

left in

to

have begun

the beginning of

never had a well day

able to do,

my

most ruinous way, either

home, and taken the

it all

on

to

have since been

For

money.

in regard to health or

regards health, I have

it

my good

day on

stars

broke

credit instead of capital

the last twenty-five years, so far as

been put from day

second college year, and have

Whatever labor

since.

have done

at

The consequence was,

should come their turn.

at

265

behavior

and during

the whole of this period, as an Hibernian would say,

had

if

lived as other folks do for a month, I should have died in a

fortnight."
Intellectual.

2.

In

running the race of

to be careful of the friendships

known by

the

company he

we make.

keeps.

well for us

life, it is

A man

It is true that

is

said to be

may

a jnan

consort with evil persons and yet himself be not absolutely

may,
ness

in fact, oftentimes revolt in his heart against their

;

never go far wrong in judging a

shall

companions.

It is difficult to lay

man's guidance
said,

wicked-

yet even in such a case the proverb applies, for his weak-

ness will be apparent in his not separating from them.

we

evil,

in

man

down any

forming friendships

according
rule for a

but generally

So that

it

may be

that he should always look up, should always fix

minds
Cicero,

loftier

and purer than

and Cassius

Lord Brooke

to Brutus,

his

and Xenophon

Our

to Socrates,

and

friendships in this

way

of our education, and are

development of those

possibilities

of'

made

good

which might otherwise have been concealed.

we must choose

upon

own, as Atticus looked up to

to Sir Philip Sidney.

become a portion

to his

young

a friend because he

is

in

useful in the

our character
It follows that

honorable, pure, gentle,


THE RACE AND THE ATHLETE.

266

manly, refined, and truthful

weaker nature,
because he

in

growth of our coarser propensities

The

be, of sterr^ reproof.

impossible to over-estimate.

was

because he

Who

value of such a friend

shall describe all that

James Fox, or Herbert Edwardes

to Charles

Nicholson

it

speak to us the words of candid counsel, and,

will not fear to

need

him our

trust to

encourage us in our better aspirations and ruth-

will

lessly arrest the

if

because we can

the assurance that he will not betray

it is

Burke

to the gallant

There are friendships we

all

know

of,

such as that between

Southampton and Sidney, between Peel and Wellington, between Hare and Sterling, between Kingsley and Maurice,

which amount
moral and

to a

souls,

and involve a close

of the

happiest character.

golden union of

intellectual

fellowship

Strengthened and cheered by such a fellowship, the runner

on the race of

enter

wholly defeated

let

life

him

retain the heart of his friend.

fice of self to

sacrifice

it

It

cannot be

and he

will

seems to us worth any

consummate such a friendship

will forever

He

with confidence.

lose everything else,

may
still

sacri-

and without

self-

be impossible.

" If thou wouldst get a friend," says an old writer, "prove

him

and be not hasty

first,

friends for their

own

to credit

him

for

some men are

occasion, and will not abide in the day of

Separate thyself from thine enemies, and take heed

thy trouble.

to thy friends.

faithful friend

is

a strong defence

that hath found such an one hath found a treasure.

friend

is

and he
faithful

the medicine of life."

friend's influence

siderable.

John

It

upon our character must always be con-

was said by those best acquainted with the

Sterling, that

it

late

was impossible to come into contact with

EQUALITY IN FRIENDSHIP.
him, and not

some measure be ennobled and

in

ing, in

lifted

up into a

the necessity of guard-

our choice of friends, against natures of a lower order

than our own.

our

Hence

aim and object.

loftier region of

26/

own

Unless our

be strong, our purpose high,

will

down

character well balanced, they will drag us

their base level.

to

But from the wise words or spotless example

of a true friend

and

an impulse

exertion and an incentive to elevated, earnest,

to

companion, our minds

fit

On

and devout thought.

the other hand, there must be some-

We

thing of an equality in friendship.

We must really and

receive.

Southey

not king and

truly

to

must give

be friends,

as well as

like Coleridge

some extent by

his intimacy with

Johnson, as a dog does by following a kind master

profit

would have been greater

been of a

the relation between

We

different complexion.

to be the follower of a great

effect

if

upon the mind

man

but this

is

and

No

Dr. Johnson aud Boswell.

serf, like

doubt Boswell profited

will often receive

but the

them had

do not deny that

well

it is

honest admiration has a fine

not true friendship.

hardly go to our teacher with that

full

We

can

confidence, that frank

confession, that absolute self-surrender, with which

we go

to

our friend.

But even better than the best of friends

is

Perhaps we should rather say that a good wife

all

friends.

whether

We

hold

his calling

it

and marry

seems to us

to

good

the best of

young man's

be that of merchant or trader,

neer, or lawyer, artist or

well

essential to a

a
is

early.

wife.

success,

priest) engi-

man of letters, that he should marry

The prejudice against early marriages

have originated

mately connected with that

in sordid motives.

selfishness,

that love of

It is inti-

outward

ihow, and that luxurious indulgence which have corrupted our

THE RACE AND THE A THLETE.

268
social system.

be deferred

seems to be assumed that marriage must

It

until the

man has

"

his wild oats," in other

sown

words, has sullied his soul by contact with the whole circle of
the world's pleasures, and the

woman can be

Now we

of an expensive household.

observation, that an early marriage

guarantee of happiness.

We

placed at the head

are convinced, from long

young man's

is

are sure that

it is

surest

his best security

against temptation, and the most admirable incentive to honest

and independent exertion that can be presented

love a

good woman

and work for her

is

in itself a fine education

in itself

is

do

so

spirit or for

and

soul

and so do

ill,

made

marriages which are

all

mean

to

To

marry her

a source of the truest happiness.

Early marriages sometimes turn out

riages

to him.

in

late

mar-

an unworthy

purposes, which are not marriages of heart

and mind, but

reasons or no reasons at

" alliances "

contracted for worldly

a man in
much thought as in
know something of her

It is requisite that

all.

seeking a wife should take at least as

seeking a friend

should endeavor to

temper, character, and disposition

her nature

will

harmonise with

which he can respect and admire.

friend
it

to

who

falls

his,

If

should ascertain whether

and whether
it

it

be one

be unwise to choose a

below our own standard, much more unwise

the fullest equality,

tions,

who cannot

share our thoughts, our aspira-

and our hopes.

Supposing a young
he can unreservedly

man

to

have met with a maiden to

trust his future happiness,

we say

them spend

in sweet

and joyful union

whom

that the

sooner he makes her his wife the better for both of them.

tion

is

choose a wife who cannot be our companion on terms of

Let

their early years of exer-

and industry, and those early years

will furnish

them with

MARRIAGE.

269

pleasant memories to be recalled in the

when
won.

autumn days

of

life,

the battle has been fought, and, let us hope, the victory
It is

same past

a good thing for a husband and wife to have the

to look

than that a

Again, what can be more unfair

back upon.

man who

has expended his ripe manhood in gross

self-indulgence should offer his wasted, decayed, and battered

nature to a young

girl,

her mind and heart

condemn

with

For

early marriages

not for the woman.

all

it is

the

bloom

of spring

marry a woman of the same

not say that a

age.

innocence

to

who
man and

for the

man

No, indeed

maidenhood

of forty should

he

is

free to offer

and

himself, with his world-weary exhausted heart

some settlements,"

upon

to be observed that those

condemn them only

They do

still

his "

hand-

and

all its

in all its freshness

In such a case there can seldom be any thorough

sympathy, any heart-to-heart understanding, between husband

and

Not only

wife.

is

the difference of years between them,

but a past which they have not shared together

the husband's side wholly

and aspirations on the

unknown

wife's side at

experiences on

to the wife

young hopes

which the husband cannot

Let him who would enter on the race of

even guess.

life

with

reasonable anticipations of success not neglect to secure at

starting not only a

good friend but a good wife

he may haply

dispense with the former, but for his soul's sake he cannot do

without the
as

latter.

But then, he must

a boon from God,

prayer,

youthful

to be gained

first

from

look upon marriage

Him

alone by earnest

by intense repentance, and complete confession of

"

sins.

animal, and, in

Man," says Charles Kingsley,

"

communion with God's, Spirit, has

is

spirit-

a right to

believe that his affections are under that Spirit's guidance,

that

when he

finds in himself such an affection to

and

any single


THE RACE AND THE A THLETE.

270

woman

as true married lovers describe theirs to be, he is

bound

(duty to parents and country allowing) to give himself up to his

love in childlike simplicity and self-abandonment, and, at the

same

solemn awe and self-humiliation

time, with

at

being thus

re-admitted into the very garden of the Lord

" The Eden where the spirit and the flesh
Are one again, and new-born souls walk free,
And name in mystic language all things new,
Nalced and not ashamed."

To do
for

justice to the subject of the mental training requisite

him who would run worthily the race

volume equal in size to the present.

so fertile in illustration

of

would claim a

life,

So rich

is it

in suggestion,

In preceding chapters we have en-

larged on the value of habits of diligence, perseverance, patience,

and punctuality
judgment

may be

on the necessity of a strong

on the importance of

called

commonplace

will

self-reliance.

qualities,

and a

clear

These are what

on which every teacher

has spoken wise saws and repeated modern instances from the
days when

when

it

is

citement.

first

the race of

life

pursued with such

There are points

which, however, advice

are treated vigorously

is

and

began down

mad

less

to the present time,

eagerness and feverish ex-

frequently brought forward on

not less necessary.

felicitously in

Some

of these

such books as Todd's

"Student's Manual" and Professor Blackie's "Self Culture."

Others are directly or incidentally illustrated by such thinkers

as Carlyle,
Sir

Emerson, the authors of " Guesses

Arthur Helps.

at

Truth," and

Hints which the reader can hardly

fail to

apply with advantage are scattered through modern biographies,

W. Robertson and Charles

young man will learn to direct his

such, for instance, as those of F.

Kingsley.
life

From

these the

by a noble motive,

to think with clearness

and decision,

to

RESER VED PO WER.

sympathize with

all

that

true, honest,

is

271

and

beautiful, to dis-

card mean and ungenerous impulses, and in other ways so to

conduct himself

As not
insisted

mend an

running he

"may

obtain."

important than that economy of fnoney which

less

upon

as that

by

so strongly

all

is

our moralists, we would recom-

economy of mental power.

Many

our

of us waste

resources in the early stages of our career, forgetful that the

race

is

won by

power of the runners.

the staying

Napoleon

gained his victories by his judicious employment of his reserves.

The

general

who

risks all his forces in a single charge

pect and will deserve defeat.

home

the nail, and what

It is

to be

is

not the

done

if

first

we

must ex-

blow that

strength with which to strike a second, and a third, or

be a hundredth
at

war she

It

success to her

first

forward

wave

final

immense reserved power, which enables her

when her

rivals

have spent

all

their resources.

are beaten," said the French

general of our English soldiers.

No, they were not beaten

an abundant store of energy and fighting force.

still

The French

when

campaigns, and owes her

They do not know when they

they had

warrior, with the battle-light in his eyes, springs

at the

bugle-sound, and dashes against his foe like a

against a rock, to fall back like that wave, exhausted

unsuccessful

no

may

it

has been often said of England that

loses in her

to persevere
"

strikes

leave ourselves

if

the foe meet

him with a

steadfast front.

On

and
the

other hand, the English soldier advances with a slow, firm step,

and, keeping himself always well in hand, prevails in the long-

run by his persistency.

which we take
ter,

Nothing but the "reserved power,"

to be the distinctive

mark of the English charac-

enabled us to retain our position in India during the wild

throes of the Sepoy Mutiny.

THE RACE AND THE A THLETE.

2/2

Read
moral

The hare was beaten by

in this direction.

because the

latter

we

at college

whom

and the hare points a

aright, the fable of the tortoise

possessed the staying faculty.

the tortoise

At school and

frequently see the prizes carried off by the

an ignorant impatience had criticised as

men

and

dull, slow,

in-

capable plodders, while the dashing, brilliant fellows, apparently

sure of victory without an effort, were left hopelessly behind in

They had no

the race.

reserve to

fall

back upon, while the

former had a latent accumulation of strength on which they

drew

at need,

It is

enabling them to meet every demand.

which we are speaking unless we submit

We

verest self-discipline.
to

we can hold no such

hardly necessary to say that

as that of

husband our powers,

must be content

to

rigorous thought

habits of

hasty impulses, and

to wait

reserve

to the se-

and watch,

accumulate materials, to cultivate

to

conquer

upon our

passions.

and exact judgment,

enforce a strict restraint

vigor and certainty with which a great painter wields his

The

brush and manipulates his colors, until the thought in his brain

becomes

visible to all

men on

the enchanted canvas, have been

acquired by long and assiduous practice, by the discipline and

self-command of patient years.

command have

And

this discipline

and

self-

given him so thorough a knowledge of his

resources that he undertakes nothing which he cannot execute.

He

is

always sure of himself, confident that he can do

all

that

he meditates, and that when that

The

poet

that he

who wrote

"

Comus

"

is done he can do yet more.

and " Samson Agonistes " knew

had by no means expended on those masterpieces

his powers.
his disposal,

He had

still

all

a reserve, a magnificent reserve, at

and could give the world the grand organ music of

" Paradise Lost."

Turner had not exhausted himself when he

GOETHE.
had painted

his "

Carthage

"

273

many a

glorious picture was

to bear witness to the fertility of his genius.

man

policy for a
that

all

to lavish his strength

Look

poem, published

single work, so

them

a consciousness

James Bailey

at Philip

in his early

an imprudent

upon a

his after-efforts should bring with

of failure.

It is

still

his

manhood, was

one successful

his " Festus."

It

used up his powers, so that he has done nothing since to maintain the reputation he then acquired.

On

Goethe begins with " Goetz von Berlichingen

to advance to " Wilhelm Meister " and

We

the other hand, a

"
"
"

and

Werther

to conclude with " Faust."

But even

allow, of course, for the superiority of genius.

when

this is admitted,

were due to his

it is

evident that Goethe's later successes

" reserved power.''

Mr. Hayward,

essay, speaks of " the unabated eagerness with

in a recent

which Goethe

persevered in what he deemed the duty of self-culture

when he was
husbanding
hood.

his resources as

One

that which

eighty years old, he was

"

even

accumulating and

he had done in the flush of his man-

of the lessons to be

we

still

drawn from

his " Faust " is

are here endeavoring to enforce, that

it is

irre-

trievable folly to exhaust our capabilities at the beginning, that

the wise

man

demands.
defeat, as

is

he who lays up in his garner to meet

Otherwise,

we

shall finish in
at Waterloo,

all

if

after-

he should chance to encounter a

inevitably must or

life

would be no

battle,

we

a ruin as absolute as that which overtook Napoleon

and

for the

same reason

the want of a

A striking anecdote is told of the American general,

reserve.

Sheridan.

Returning to his army, on one occasion, after an absence of a

few days, he found that

it

was being driven back before the

vigorous advance of the Confederates under General Early.

" Sir," said the general

whom

he had

left in

command,

"

we

are

THE RA CE A ND THE A THLE TE.

2/4
"

beaten."

No,

beaten, but this

was the quick, stern reply

sir,"

army

by the impulse of

is

At the appearance

deficient.

means, the

of disaster the

and strengthened

ized, the other roused

When young

Sheridan had a

victory.

intellectual force in which his leader was

and

reserve of moral

"you are

rallying the soldiers

confidence, he turned the tide of

and converted a defeat into a

battle,

all his

own

his

And

not beaten."

latter

had

scarcely

one was demoral-

had spent

the former

drawn upon

his.

now the Prime Minister of England,

House of Commons, after a speech
which had provoked outbursts of laughter, " The day will
come when you will be glad to hear me," he spoke with a
made

his

Disraeli,

proud boast

in the

knowledge of the abundant power he kept

made

observers thought he had

knew

Disraeli
until

of

that he

he succeeded.

enabled

it

trial,

because

first effort,

its

yearn with

all his

that glitters high above

of eternal

snow

But

what then

mind and

if

We

the glow of victory

borrow an

avail

The Alpine

it

its

would

climber

soul to reach the lofty

is

must

lie

its

peak

crown

where he has

not for him.

from an American source, the

life

In r83o, a debate had arisen in the United

States Senate on the disposition of the public lands.

outset

all

he has wasted his energies in too

if

illustration

of Daniel Webster.

had thrown

Of what

violent exertion on the lower slopes, he

fallen

it

him with sun-glories shining on

but alas

failed.

and again

the insect succeeded at the

have been the willingness to persevere

may

and

to try again

possessed a reserve bf material which

it

to try thirteen times.

powers into

Superficial

the true moral of the pretty story

is

Robert Bruce and the spider

thirteenth

hand.

his great effort

had the strength

This

in

was not considered an

At the

attractive or an exciting sub-

DANIEL WEBSTER.
and

ject,

for

some days the debate was exceedingly

vast " reserve

power

" of

man was

one

into historical importance.

lift it

2^$

which Webster, the great

orator,

been distinguished by much

sharp attack upon

The

dull.

destined, however, to

speech of a Mr. Hayne, to

was called upon

had

to reply,

and constituted a very

ability,

New England and

Mr. Webster,

its

repre-

But Mr. Hayne, says Dr. Thomas, did not under-

sentative.

He

"

stand this matter of reserved power.

had seen Mr.

Webster's van and corps of battle, but had nof heard the firm

and measured tread behind.

He

Mr. Webster's career.

It

was a decisive moment

had no time

scarcely time to burnish his armor.

Some

him.

He was
even

new

in

forces,

All eyes were turned to

of his best friends were depressed and anxious.

calm,

calm as a summer's morning

But

to indifference.

scious power."

was

to impress

He had

in full possession of himself

composition of his "

army

was the repose of con-

his calmness

carefully

his friends thought,

measured

and

He knew

With the eye

of the reserve."

and

his strength,

means.

his

the

of a

great general he surveyed the whole field of battle at a glance.

He had

the prescience of logic, and could see the end from the

beginning.

The very exordium

of his reply

the assurance of victory.

that the Imperial

felt

He came
Defender
of

its

"

had

in

Men saw the

it

the promise, nay,

sun of Austerlitz, and

Guard was moving on

to the conflict.

out of the conflict with the immortal

of the Constitution."

delivery, a

Of

this speech,

competent authority

said,

name

of the

and the mode

" It has

been

my

fortune to hear some of the ablest speeches of the greatest living

orators on both sides of the water, but I confess I never heard
of anything

which

so

completely realized

my

conception

of

THE RACE AND THE ATHLETE.

27^

what Demosthenes was when he delivered the Oration for the

Mr. Webster's biographer adds, that " taking into

Crown."

view the circumstances under which the speech was delivered,

and

especially the brief time for preparation, the importance of

the subject, the breadth of

its

reasoning, the force and

views, the strength

beauty of

of

its

its

repressed but subduing passion,

its effect

upon

its

and clearness

its style, its

its lofty

keen

wit,

strains of eloquence,

audience, and the larger audience of a grate-

and admiring country, history has no nobler example of

ful

reserved power brought at once and effectively into action."

a certain amount of exaggeration in this description,

There

is

but

does not invalidate the appositeness of the illustration,

it

Unquestionably Daniel Webster had a large amount of reserved

power, as

all

consummate

orators

must have, or they would

easy victims to their opponents.

oratorical excellence

It is in

manifested

is

The

victory

is

yours

the reply that true

and a successful reply

impossible unless the speaker can draw

of force.

fall

is

upon an accumulation

when you can impress your

ad-

versary with the conviction that you are not putting forth

more than

To
is

half your strength.

acquire and retain this reserve of power

that part of a man's education

himself, nay, for

which he must

earnest, patient study

is

is

not easy.

It

which depends most upon

trust to himself alone.

indispensable

Deep,

continuous study, kept

up from day to day and proceeding from one subject

to another

methodical study, enforcing an exact systemization of our

When

thoughts as of our time.

Mr. Binney was asked by a

young clergyman how best he could improve

answered.

and then

Fill
if

up the cask

you tap

it

fill

up the cask

anywhere, you

his preaching,
!

fill

will get a

he

up the cask

good stream.

PATIENT THINKING.
But

if

you put

you must

in

but

The age

and then you get but a small stream

of miracles

past,

is

and the cruse of

them

so valuable as patient thinking.

We

own hand.

But patient study is not

are

none the better

similate

it.

If

we need

bee,

honey.

and

oil

fill

the vessel of meal will not be replenished unless you

with your

and

will dribble, dribble, dribble,

little, it

tap, tap, tap,

after all."

2//

we

for our daily food

store

the bee's

A man

up

we

if

are unable to as-

materials with the diligence of the

power

whose brain

them

of elaborating

is

into

wax

or

crushed beneath a superincum-

bent weight of accumulated facts has no active intellectual existence of his

He

own

he does not think or

feel,

he simply

collects.

has no idea of the relations towards one another of the facts

he has gathered, of their comparative value, of their bearing

upon particular
piles

He

lines of reflection.

up by the wayside a great heap

can he do with

it

until the engineer has

designed the bridge

engineer in one

memory has

like the laborer

is

of stone or iron

will

amassing the thoughts of other men, but

intellectual alembic until

precious elements.

What

will

stamen and petals of the daisy

out the thought that

lies

crimson-tipped flower "

And

it

if

which

his

He will study profoundly,

He will not be content with

stored and assorted.

own

be laborer and

his brain will dispose of the store

but he will also think profoundly.

through his

who
what

planned the road or

But the true student

will

he gets

avail to

know

strain

them

at their

most

about the

all

he make no attempt to think

cup of that " wee, modest,

in the

from these remarks we may

service to us in our studies.

We

strike out

must read

a hint to be of

to think

we must

bring together our material with a view to making use of

it.

THE RA CE AND THE A THLE TE.

2/8

Now
and

that chill

The

it

by

There are books

their levity.

and enfeeble instead of strengthening and stimulating.

wise student will turn aside from

all

The biographer of

of self-culture.

and confine

such,

him

attention to those books only which will help

work

their heaviness,

by

there are books which crush thought

others which dissipate

Fichte, comparing

with a dry-as-dust contemporary, remarks, that "

by the

written

may have

known

truths

The one

written.

gives us a small

number

And

it is

just this quality

writers like Fichte so valuable

divine spark set free from

unknown

which makes Fichte and

the alter of their genius alights

upon the dead bones

come
3.

They send

activity.

together,

bone

"
;

upon
into

and behold a shaking, and the bones

to his bone,

who

it

forth their breath to breathe

and

tftey live."

But now we must turn for a moment

training which he

The

they teach us to think.

the inert dulness of our drowsy brain, and quickens

wholesome

of

the other gives us perhaps one truth, but, in so

doing, opens before us the prospect of an infinity of

truths."

him

the truth

all

not worth a tithe of the false which

latter is

Fichte

his

in his great

seeks success in

afford to neglect or forego.

Mind and

life

to

that

spiritual

can by no means

soul are so intimately

connected, that what acts upon the one will react upon the

The

other.

intellect

and imagination cannot be healthy unless

No man

the soul be satisfied and at peace.

ously

who does

not live devoutly.

must subject the soul

enforce upon

growth

like

wrestling.

But

can think gener-

to live

devoutly

to as rigid a discipline as that

mind or body.
knowledge,

it

Goodness

is

we

which we

no spontaneous

can be acquired only by assiduous

Purity, whether of

body or

soul,

cannot become ours

except by slow degrees, step by step, gradually and painfully.

DEVOUT LIFE.
The

evil spirit

Says

fasting.

can be driven away from us only by prayer and

S.

Francis of Sales

The work

save with

of the soul's
itself

life

us be disheartened by our imperfections,

let

perfection

"

may nor can end

purification neither

not then

279

lies in diligently

do

our very

contending against them

and

it

is

impossible so to contend without seeing them, or to overcome

without meeting them face to face.

Lord

the

couragement

and

certain to vanquish so long as

does not

It

fall

do well

Taylor's "

David continually asks

and

dis-

we

are willing to fight."

within the scope of these pages to enlarge

upon the helps and hindrances

will

our privilege in this war that we are

is

it

his heart against cowardice

to strengthen

to the

to seek salutary counsel

devout

The

life.

from such books

as

reader

Jeremy

" Prayers," Bishop

Holy Living," Bishop Andrewes's

Wilson's "Sacra Privata," the "Imitatio Christi," the "Confessions " of S. Augustine,

may

All of these he
large

profit

to his

and the " Pensdes

"

of Blaise Pascal.

study earnestly and hopefully, and with

But especially

spiritual understanding.

would we recommend the "Imitatio," because,

says, with equal truth

George Eliot
and beauty, " it was written by a hand

waited for the heart's prompting

that

as

because

chronicle of a solitary, hidden anguish, struggle,

it

the

is

and

trust,

triumph, not written on velvet cushions, to teach endurance

who

those

And

it

are treading with bleeding feet

remains to

all

upon the

time the lasting sense of

to-

stones.

human creeds

and human consolations, the voice of a brother, who, ages ago,

felt

and suffered and renounced

in the cloister perhaps,

serge

gown and tonsured head, with much

fasts,

and with a fashion of speech

under the same

difi'erent

silent far-off heavens,

with

chanting, and long

from ours

but

and with the same pas-

THE RA CE A ND THE A THLE TE.

2 8o

sionate desires, the

Next

weariness."
the inquirer

same

George Dawson
Yeast

;"

W. Robertson's and Maurice's

"Prayers" and "Sermons" of the late

some of Charles Kingsley's

to

Dr.

Sara Coleridge

"

Newman's

Sermons

and some of the higher

and Thomas Erskine.

ever a man's vocation,

this,

we

and

Christian' biographies,

Norman Macleod,

can give

this alone,

To

Christian character.
'.the

the

of

shape our

it

inculcates,

accordance with

lives in

how

The

conquerors.

as

far off will

qualities of

the more assured

And

will

burden

it

carries in itself its

how

as

if

alas

be our

serene the
it

were

own

bliss,

light

as

and gratitude, with the adoring

all

reward.

when we

may

How

are able

a spring blossom,

and, seeing the crown shining above the cross, to

my God

and,

we
the

a work to call forth the highest

It is

exalted the happiness,

in love

the task

both mind and soul, and a work which

joyfully undertake, for

to bear the

is

we would run

it

we approach

nearer,

be our nearest

prospect of victory.

discharge

to

we

excellences of a gentle,

example given us by the Divine Master, that

must accept and endeavor

,race

true

it

before us, by humble imitation of

some

realize

What-

take for granted.

which, and by entire submission to the laws

to

to

In the pages of the Evan-

with success.

gelists a Perfect Life is set

may hope

Memorials " of

in the inquirer's soul.

life

constant study of the Bible

it

Sermons " and

All these are books well adapted

preserve the flavor of devout

dignity or crown

"

the "

;"

such as those of Arnold, Patterson, Keble,

same

failures, the

primary manuals we would direct

attention to F.

"Sermons," or the

his "

same

strivings, the

to these

cry,

"

bow

My

the knee

Lord and

lastly,

we would urge upon

the reader the duty and

PRAYER.
To

the importance of Prayer.

the tossed and troubled

winds blow

fiercest

must surely be a
"

No

it

seems the sheet-anchor of

staying and steadying

spirit,

and waves

To

say that a

man

'

everything as His will and His appointment

it

shall restrain us

And what we

even

in

Him

are now, surely

To

to look

on

to submit every

His presence so

to feel

That

our wildest joy.

we

prayer

is

God

connect every thought with the thought of

thought, wish, and resolve to

life.

to say

is religious, is

For what

the same thing as to say he prays.

that

when

it

prayerless life

" will refuse to identify

W. Robertson,

holiness with prayer.

rise highest.

an unprofitable, and a wretched

vain,

one," says F.

us

281

are by prayer.

is

If

prayer.

we have

if we have resisted temptawe have any self-command, or if we live with aspiraand desires beyond the common, we shall not hesitate to

attained any measure of goodness,

tions, if

tions

ascribe

them

all

to prayer."

foolish as to enter

Can

fl.ny

upon the race

support that comes from

of

be so blind, so mad, so
without seeking the

life

communion with

the Father

It is

the staff of the feeble, the medicine of the sick, the guide of

the strong, the consolation of the sorrowful.

up to the throne of Eternal love, and binds

bonds that never

gall or

will unrepiningly to the

site

annoy.

Divine

It Hfts the soul

it

there in golden

It enables us to
will,

and

fills

consciousness of the Divine sympathy.

submit our

us with an exqui-

Into our prayers

we can convey those thoughts and aspirations and

those timid fears and heart-achings, for which we can
other channel of expression.

We

have nothing

We

Enough

for us to insist

upon

it

no

to say here in

reply to semi-philosophical refutations of prayer as a

force.

desires,

find

dynamic

as a spiritual power.

are very sure that the heart without prayer

is

like a ship

THE RACE AND THE ATHLETE.

282

without a rudder, which the currents of passion will carry

No

against the pitiless rocks.

one who has not tried can

what a security a devout ejaculation

how

tion, or

Alas for prayerless

doubt and disappointment.

"

For what are they better than sheep and goats

That nourish a blind life within the brain,
If, knowing God, they lift not hearts ot prayer
Both for themselves and those who call them friend
For so the whole round earth is every way
Bound by gold chains about the feet of God."
'

'

Many

and

great

all

their Divine Master.

The

fiery soul of

of Calvin, the rigid will of

sanctified

found

in

by prayer.
the

it

good men have been prayerful men,

communion with

seeking with humility of spirit an intimate

and

tell

prove against tempta-

singular a solace a few words of prayer will afford

in the time of

men

will

Knox,

men

Brave
of

inspiration

Luther, the stern heart

these were
truest

the

alike

subdued

CoUingwood have

like

courage.

It

has

brought a wonderful calmness of endurence to poets like Milton and statesmen like Cromwell.

Hooper

as they suffered at the

supported Latimer and

It

stake.

cheered the gallant

It

heart of Havelock as he rode into battle.

It sanctified the

genius of Fra Angelico as he breathed

into the painted

which

is

its

crown and consecration

says, " not that

done
all

life

There can be no successful work without prayer,

canvas.

that

God's

will

may be

we may be kept out

" prayer," as Kingsley

altered, but that

of

all

evil

circumstance, which will just enable us to do

that the
to

may be

may prevent our doing it that we may

aptov inioiaiov given to us in body, soul, spirit, and

temptation which

have the

it

and delivered from

name

of

Him

to

whom we

be as noble and sacred as

it

is,

pray

it

may be

and no more
hallowed,

felt

and acted on accordingly."

PRA YES.

283

Prayer, offered up in this humble trustful

down God

to us,

but

it

will raise us

" Prayer," says S. Francis,

brightness of

Divine

heavenly love

from
tions.

good

many

its

light,

up

to

may

spirit,

not bring

God.

"opens the understanding

and the

nothing can so

the

to

will

effectually

ignorances, or the will from

purify
its

to the

warmth
the

of

mind

perverse affec-

healing water which causes the roots of our

It is as a

desires to send forth fresh shoots,

which washes away

the soul's imperfections, and allays the thirst of passion."

Bishop Andrewes speaks of the uses of prayer

" There

is

the use of necessity, for

city of refuge, to the

fly
is

unto

God by

end that where

prayer.

compared with

God

There

'incense,'

is

hath
all

left

means

as threefold.

prayer to be our
fail

we should

the use of duty, for prayer

which giveth a sweet smell

to all

our works, words, and thoughts, which otherwise would

offensive to the majesty of God.
dignity,

when

man doth

Thirdly, there

is

be

the use of

abstract himself from the earth,

and

by often prayer doth grow into acquaintance and familiarity

with God."

CHAPTER

"

VIII.

SELF-HELP.
"

and self-devotion hallow earth and fill the skies,

the meanest life is sacred whence the highest may arise."

Sacrifice

And

Lord Houghton.

" YoTi will be invincible if you engage in no strife where you are not sure
it is in your power to conquer."
Epictetui ^^Enchiridion."

that

is he who hath not trod the ways

secular delights, nor learned the lore
Which loftier minds are studious to abhor
.Blessed is he who hath not sought the praise
That perishes, the rapture that betrays."

'

Blessed

'

Of

Aubrey de

" Self-schooled,

Vere.

self-scanned, self-honored, self -serene."

Matthew Arnold.
" Quit yourselves

like

men."

Sam-uel

ly. 9.

** Fungar vice istis,

acutum
Reddere quae furum valet, exsors ipsa secundi."

Horace,

"

Who breaks his

birth's invidious bar.

And grasps the skirts of happy chance.

And breasts the blows of circumstance.
And grapples with his evil star.

Tennyson,

CHAPTER

VIII.

SELF-HELP.

SMILES,
MR.ground

well-known volume, has covered the

in his

indicated by the

we have no

title

given to this chapter, and

intention of endeavoring to reap where an abundant

harvest has already been gathered by so laborious and able a

Yet from a book which purports

hand.

and

ers the Secret of Success,

make

as to

the best of

reference to
lives

the

it,

men

call

own

shoulders to the wheel

calls

it,

upon Jupiter

lie

fatal policy of

The gods long ago ceased

No

"

to

good luck,"

man who
to

it

still

in the

arms

of wealth

but even they,

to trust to their

we choose

The

be

sits

as the

world

by the wayside,

drop

frorn^

heaven.

No

doubt many are

nursed in the lap of luxury, and bred

men," must learn

to

waiting upon

send down golden images of

Pallas to the help of suffering humanity.

up

all

So many

for assistance instead of putting their

wringing his hands, and looking for

in the purple,

omit

to

shattered in the mire because

ever comes to the young

born

so to live this life

important subject of Self-Help.

So many fortunes

them

to lead

would be impossible

it

have been wrecked' by the

others

to set before its read-

great law of

own

if

they would be " true

strength.

life is

We

are

commonplace

what

man

288

SELF-HELP.

his

is

own

that the

the skies,

star

he makes or mars himself.

if

but they ought

would not be the better

to put out their arms.

the Unattainable, but

animi that

The

Men

they would only put them out.

to reach the skies,

vis

Shelley once said

Almighty had given men arms long enough

and not

lesson of self-help

do not want

for reaching

It is

is

the

that the

first

We

he

offered, but

is

not to expect

fight for his

others.

young adventurer

do not mean that he

despise the counsel or refuse the sympathy of friends,

determined " to

He

it.

is

if

the orders of a competent general,

The cheering

words, "

has been said that a

man

willing

enough

resolution

it is

one that

by

step.

maxim

of his career.

engages in the struggle of

man

men

to rise.

life

We

entertain so hopeful a

be welcome only to brave hearts

this

Probably

distinct aim.

resolves

from the

owner of such an
to

of

is

may

be, the rise

must be step

Obstacles must be cleared out of the way, difficulties

must be overcome.
have any

will

However

and sound minds.

obey

such should prove to be

with a tacit understanding with himself that he

do not think that the majority

to

Heaven helps those who help

themselves," must prove the guiding

It

if

is

such

to enter the battle

own hand," though

to stand shoulder to shoulder with loyal comrades, or to

his duty.

useless to grasp at

depend upon that of

to

should learn, and take to heart.

be

them

a good thing to employ actively the

it is

in us,

is

to reach

" It
first

at the outset neither

is

dawning of ambition

estate or bishop of such a see.

get on, and devotes

all

his

you nor I

only in books that the young

powers to that end.

to

become

But he means

He

fixes his

thoughts beyond immediate self-indulgence, chooses his friends

as they will help the

principle,

main

designs, falls in love

on the same

and, habitually deferring to a vague but glowino-

PATRONAGE.
future, learns to

work towards

denying and long-sighted.

forth feelers which

men who

mouth have no use

for

he

it,

His

and

Thus he

gift,

the most notable quality,

nounced the man made

to get

a steady will that has

Here, in a few words,

fact

is,

refines

an

and enhances

till

he

is

level,

universally pro-

on by people who do not know

made and kept him what he

is."

the whole philosophy of self-help.

lies

that the

self-

he puts

and yet keeps them on an unobtrusive

every other

The

quicken

lives in habitual caution, with

being

it is

sake to be

its

which doubles the weight and value of

that natural discretion

that

for

instincts

take their pleasure from hand to

eye always to the main chance.

itself

289

man who would

achieve even a respect-

able measure of prosperity, or do his life-work with a moderate

degree of honesty, must rely upon himself and not upon others.
Favoritism

may

place a marshal's baton in the hand of an in-

competent man, but

cannot ensure him against defeat.

it

The

Gregory the Great, can make an ape be

emperor, says

St.

called a lion,

but he cannot make him become one.

Emperor Sigismund

replied to a courtier

would ennoble him, "

who begged

can give you privileges and

The

that he

fiefs,

but

cannot make you noble."

No

thus and thus.

the condition of healthful progress.

Self-help

Many men have owed

Had

lessness.

when a

is

it is

in ourselves that

we

are

their success in life to their utter friend-

" influence " procured

for

Lord Tenterden,

singer in Canterbury Cathedral, the chorister's place he

coveted, he would never have risen to the " curule chair."

Be

it

observed that we are here speaking of " friends "in the

sense of "patrons."

patronage

is its

The mention

True friendship

is

the bliss of

life,

but

misery.
of

Lord Tenterden reminds us

that his career

"

290

SELF-HELP.

supplies a text from which

some

it is

possible to preach a sermon of

His father kept a barber's shop opposite

significance.

Mr. Abbott

the grand west front of Canterbury Cathedral.

described as a
pigtail,

upright, old-fashioned

tall,

whose only ambition was

shave his customers at a

to

penny, and to cut their hair at twopence a head.

son

named

sum

for a small

attracted the notice of his master

and

his skilfulness in

was fourteen

own

living,

He

had a

Charles, " a decent, grave, pensive-looking youth,"

who was educated

ness,

is

man, with a thick

at the

by

King's School, and

conduct and clever-

his

composing Latin

his parents thought

verses.

and put him forward as a candidate

The

place which was then vacant.

When

for a chorister's

hairdresser was satisfied

would

that his long connection with the cathedral authorities

secure this prize for his son, but the

.of opinion that

he

he was old enough to earruhis

Dean and Chapter were

young Abbott's voice was husky, and decided

more melodious competitor. Many years afterwards the Lord Chief Justice of England, while " going circuit
in favor of a

with another judge, visited

St.

Augustine's ancient

city,

and

'entering the cathedral, pointed to a singing-man in the choir.

" Behold, brother

Richardson," he exclaimed," the only

When

being I ever envied.

at school in this town,

candidates together for a chorister's place

if

had gained

you as Chief

my

he obtained

wish, he might have been

Justice,

and pointing

fellow the singing-man."

me

human

we were
it

and

accompanying

out as his old school-

In this conclusion Lord Tenterden,

the barber's son, was probably

wrong

the singing-man

may

not have possessed the innate capacity that would ever have

made him

other than one of the

For three years

after his

unknown

multitude.

disappointment Charles Abbott

CHARLES ABBOTT.
continued

29

at school, his diligent application raising

Then

captainship.

seemed good

it

him

to the

he

to his father that since

could not be a " singing-man " he should

become a

barber,

and

shave the chins and clip the hair of Canterbury citizens, after

The head-master

the paternal example.

Young Abbott was worthy

fered.

of the school intei-

of something better

and

the head-master, with the aid of the trustees of the school and

some leading townsmen,

him

go

to

to college.

raised a small

of

money

This was Abbott's opportunity

had the strength and the

Corpus Christi College

will to avail himself of

Oxford, he

at

Thereupon he wrote

ship.

sum

to a

won

to enable

and he

Entering

it.

a classical scholar-

young friend

" But a

bition

that

summit

and another appears

easy

till

is,

little

my am-

while past to be a scholar of Corpus was the height of

thank Heaven, gained, when another

still

In a word,

in view.

I shall

have ascended the rostrum in the theatre,"

not rest
in other

words, until he had gained the Chancellor's medal, and recited

a prize composition from the rostrum of the Sheldonian.

competed

for the prize Latin

poem

" Calpe Obsessa,"

He

on the

recent successful defence of Gibraltar by General Elliot and

his gallant

The

comrades.

prize fell to William Lisle Bowles,

afterwards a poet of some celebrity, but the examiners com-

mended Abbott's
on the

subject

effort as

of

second best.

balloon voyages,

Abbott's muse was more propitious.

fulfilled

his ambition by reciting

it

In the following year,

"

Globus Aerosticus,"

He won

in the

the prize,

and

Sheldonian Theatre.

Aftenvards he gained the Chancellor's medal for an essay on

"

The Use and Abuse

of Satire."

It will

thus be seen that

Abbott helped himself to good purpose and with unquenchable

ardor.


SELF-HELP.

292

In due time he took his degree, obtained a fellowship, and

was appointed junior

he

Success had not spoiled him, and

tutor.

lived, with the strictest

support of his mother,

economy

in order to contribute to the

who had been

left

He

a widow.

.meditating the important step of taking holy orders,

was invited

to act as tutor to the son of

of the most eminent of the

was

when he

Mr. Justice Buller, one

many eminent men who have

The judge had a keen

adorned the judicial bench of England.

men

eye for

Abbott's

of

ability,

and detecting the

logical

power of

advised him to embrace the legal profession,

intellect,

as better suited to

him than

the Church.

Abbott acted on the

advice, and articled himself for a year to a special pleader of

the

name

of

Wood.

had learned

that he

At the end of the year Wood

all

he had to teach.

With

him

told

characteristic

independence, Abbott then determined to practise as a special

pleader below the bar until he saw his
hiring

chambers

shillings a

in

way more

clearly

week, he sat

down

to wait for clients.

It

was always sound

business almost unrivalled.

and thenceforward

and

was under-

stood before long that clients could safely resort to him

his advice

Brick Court, with a small boy as clerk at ten

and

his faculty for

that

despatching

In 1795 he was called to the bar,

his progress

was rapid.

He had

previously

The father of the lady he loved, a

upon him at his chambers and inquired

taken to himself a wife.

country squire, called

"

how, when married, he proposed to support a household.

By

the books in this room," he answered, " and two pupils in the

The marriage proved an exceedingly happy one

next.''

on

its

fifth

"placens

and

anniversary the special pleader addressed to his

uxor" the following

verses,

which show that though a

tender husband he was but an indifferent poet

MR. ABBOTT.

293

" In the noise of the bar and crowds of the hall,

Though destined still longer to move,
Let my thoughts wander home, and my memory
The dear pleasures of beauty and love.
" The

recall

my girl, the sweet voice of my boy,

antics, their hobbies, their sports
the houses he builds her quick fingers destroy.
And with kisses his pardon she courts.
soft looks of

Their

How

" With eyes full of tenderness, pleasure, and pride,

The fond mother sits watching their play.

Or

turns,

And
" She

look not,

if I

me,

invites

dulness to chide,

be gay.

be gay, and I yield to her voice.

and my sorrows forget

invites to

And my

my

like them, to

toils

In her beauty, her sweetness, her kindness rejoice,

And hallow the day that we met.

" Full bright were her charms in the bloom of her

When I walked down the church by her side.
And, five years passed over, I now find the wife
More loving and fair than the bride."

life.

In 18 16 Mr. Abbott accepted a judgeship of the

Pleas,

Common

and afterwards a judgeship of the King's Bench, and,

a matter of course, he was knighted.

the retirement of

Two

as

years more, and, on

Lord EUenborough, he became Lord Chief

Justice of England, in which illustrious position he acquired a

great

and

suitors

understood in a

was understood
down,

it

when Lord Chief

"

venerable court.

sit

reputation.
Indeed, Lord Campbell
was the true " golden age " for lawyers

and well-deserved

seems to think that

Justice Abbott presided over that

Every point made by counsel was then

moment

the application of every authority

at a glance

his case being safe,

chance of success for

the counsel saw

his client

being

golden age law and reason prevailed.

fidently anticipated

when he might

and when he might

at

an end.

The

sit

down,

all

During that

result

was con-

by the knowing before the argument began.

SELF-HELP.

294

and the judgment was approved of by

all

who heard

Before such a

nounced, including the vanquished party.

tribunal the advocate
his

own

esteem.

becomes dearer

pro-

it

to himself

by preserving

do not believe that so much important

business was ever done so rapidly and so well before any other

court that ever sat in any age or country.

is

no doubt due

to Abbott,

The

piincipal merit

and no one could have played

his

part so well."

Abbott's chief defect was a sensitive and irritable temper.

But he was aware of

his

weakness, and was on his guard against

Lord Campbell says

it.

was a study

it

mastered the rebellious part of

to observe

his nature, to

watch

how he

this battle,

or rather victory, for the conflict was too successful to be ap-

parent on
him,

many

when

occasions.

was an edifying

It

sight to

temper had been visibly affected during a

his

see

trial,

addressing himself to the points of the cause with a calmness as

perfect

and an indifference

as

complete as that of a mathema-

tician pursuing the investigation of

an abstract

truth.

In 1827 the barber's son was raised to the peerage by the

title

of

Baron Tenterden, a

title

suggested to him by the

Kentish associations of his early years.

welcomed by

all as

lawyer, a judge, and a Christian gentleman.

was now

failing,

he continued

with his customary activity.

An

died in harness.
presided at

its

His promotion was

a just testimony to his singular merits as a

Though

his health

to discharge his judicial duties

He

felt

no

call to rest,

and

literally

important cause came before him, and he

hearing for two days.

second day he went home

On

the evening of the

The

disease proved to be fever,

and fever of so severe a type that medical science could not
arrest

its

progress.

ill.

With the words, " And now, gentlemen of

THE WAY WE HAVE WROUGHT.

29S

the jury, you will consider of your verdict," on his

He

passed away.

was seventy years of age

at the

lips,

he

time of his

death, having been born in 1762.

Lord Tenterden's career furnishes a very emphatic argument

in

He

favor of self-help.

earned

success by the most

his

rigorous adherence to the law of duty, and the most sedulous

God had given him. He did

"
not hang upon the skirts of fortune, trusting to the " influence
cultivation of the faculties which

of friends, but
true

enough

made

laborious, cannot

the lesson

is

thing in his

his

way by

his

own

become Lord Chief

He

can

be

He

sphere, however limited.

and draw water, and he can do

It is

self-helpful or

Justice of England, but

not the less applicable.

own

incessant effort.

however

that every barber's boy,

this as well as

and do some-

can hew wood

it

can be done,
" It

instead of in a perfunctory and careless fashion.

is no
man's business," says ah acute thinker, " whether he has genius

or not

work he must, whatever he

and the natural and unforced

always the things that
best.

If

a small man, small things

false,

results of

God meant him

he be a great man, they

good and

right

but quietly and steadily,

is,

always,

will

restlessly

hollow, and despicable."

God

He

if

will

will
;

if

be

be his
he be

thus peacefully done,

and ambitiously done,

will

ing to our work, but according to the

wrought.

and

be great things

but always,
if

such work

to do,

judge us not accord-

way

in

which we have

He

does not ask of us the impossible, but

wills

that we should do our best with that which we find and know

And

to be possible.

a sweet peace and serene enjoyment will

surely possess the soul of

and works

with his

The name

of

him who works, and

feels

he works,

own hand.

W. H, Smith

is

familiar

enough

to

English

296

SELF-HELP.

readers and English railway travellers, as that of the head of the

remarkable newspaper agency and bookselling firm which has

established at almost every railway station in

Great Britain

depots for the sale of books and " current literature," so that
they

who run may

The

read.

extensive system thus maintained

for the convenience of the travelling public might justly be

duced

as a striking

William Henry Smith, belonged to that class of

originator,

" self-made

born on

ad--

The

example of the value of organization.

men

" so happily

numerous

He

in .England.

was

His education was not of a

the, 7th of July, 1792.

very complete character, for a change in the circumstances of

his family

compelled him, while

small newspaper business in a

self fitted for

to

do

as well as

"

news

of

"

were the

young, to take charge of a

He

street.

it

could be done.

remove

newspapers

In this he so far succeeded

to a larger
to

shop

add that

of

in the

when

through the country, and a rural denizen

hundred miles from London waited days for the

left

"Morning

London by coach
Chronicle " of

or Liverpool until
in

Those

stationery.

mission of the intelligence of a Waterloo victory.

mails

Strand, and

dark days " before railways and telegraphs

" filtered slowly

at only a

him-

felt

higher work, but what he had to do he resolved

that he was able to

to the sale

still

West End

him the genius

at

night,

and the " Times

Monday morning did

Wednesday

evening.

of a great reformer,

trans-

The London
"

or

not reach Exeter

Mr. W. H. Smith had

and he devised the simple

but highly successful expedient of forwarding the newspapers

as express parcels

morning

and

by the coaches which

left

London

in the

as these coaches started generally before

the

papers were " out," he organized relays of stout, swift horses to

take up the papers

when

issued, speed in swift pursuit of the

H SMITH.

MR. W.

when and where they

mail-coaches, and overtake them

The

result

297

was a gain of twenty-four hours

and

could.

something

more, for there can be no doubt that the Speedy diffusion of

news quickens the national

cherishes a lively interest in public

an educational agency

and awakens and

intelligence,

It acts,

affairs.

indeed, as

and Mr. W. H. Smith may

fairly

be

regarded as a great public benefactor from the impetus he unquestionably communicated to political

At

first

life

he met with no adequate reward,

enterprise exceeded the returns

faith in himself

and

his idea,

and movement.

for the cost of the

but he persevered, having

and ultimately found himself

in pos-

session of the most extensive newspaper business in England.

Many men,

after initiating a reform, stand

development

to others, at

by the work

of inception.

H. Smith.

When

their energies

if

still,

and leave

its

had been exhausted

This was not the case with Mr. W.

the mail-coach found a rival in the iron

horse, he at once recognized,

and availed himself

of,

the superior

advantages thus offered for the expeditious transit of his newspapers.

He

And

in

1848 he made another forward movement.

purchased from the London and North-Western Railway

the exclusive right of selling books and newspapers at the

various stations along

its

line

and the public soon found them-

selves able to procure at " Smith

books of the day, with which

hour
this

of waiiting.

&

Son's bookstalls " the best

to beguile a

The conception and

idea could be possible only to a

character and organizing

ability,

not exercised in a higher sphere.

again admit that

it

man

and one

regret that such force of character

long journey or an

effective

is

working out of

of great force of

almost inclined to

and organizing

On

ability

the other hand,

were

we must

has proved in every respect a public gain,

SELF-HELP.

298
and contributed

and

largely to stimulate a love of reading,

to

popularize the productions of writers of the highest merit.

Mr. W. H. Smith,

some years acted

senior, died in

as his partner,

His son had for

1855.

and he now succeeded

entire charge of a business with

enormous

to the

ramifications.

It

was soon seen that he inherited the administrative capacity and

intellectual solidity of his father
tunity,

which

directly

and

to

his father never had, of

and expressly

him came the oppor-

employing them more

for the public benefit.

He

was returned

to Parliament by the citizens of Westminster in opposition to

the late

John Stuart

respect and attention

and

his

There he did not

Mill.

to acquire

fail

by the calm good sense of

his speeches,

thorough knowledge of commercial subjects

and he

quickly rose to so influential a position, that on the formation

of the Disraeli Administration he was intrusted with the important duties of Financial Secretary to the Treasury.

His success

in this office led to his appointment, in 1876, as First

the Admiralty

and

it

may

onerous and delicate position, which

of criticism, he has

Lord

safely be asserted that in such

done nothing

is

of

an

always open to a storm

to forfeit the confidence of

the public.

His career,

like that of his father, teaches us

accomplished by
tent to

men

what may be

of strong, straightforward character, con-

do the best they can with whatever seems

immediate work, but always ready to

portunity for doing something better.

to

be the

and

profit by an opSound commpn sense

seize

and a quick perception of the public wants were the basis on

which the Smiths built up the immense fabric of their business.

similar sturdiness of character

engineer, once depreciatingly

guided George Bidder the

nicknamed " the Calculating Boy,"

"

GEORGE BIDDER.
into the
in

highway

its earlier

of success

highway

299
bristling with thistles

portion, but afterwards blooming with

" Glossy purples, which outreddeu
All voluptuous garden-roses.

George Bidder was the son of a stone-mason in the pretty

Endowed

Devonshire village of Moreton Hampstead.

with an

intuitive faculty of calculation, a kind of instinct for determin-

ing the properties of numbers, he " learned to count " before

he could distinguish one printed or written figure from another

and before he had heard

to

most boys

of the " rule of multiplication,"

rhyme declares

as the old school

is,

" vexation," he taught himself the practice of

it

it

which
to be,

by converting

a bag of shot into a multiplication table up to ten times ten.

The

shot he disposed in

of eight shot

that 8 X

little

squares

on each side attained

At the time

4=32.

and on making a square

to a conviction of the fact

had come

that he

to this dis-

covery he formed an acquaintance with the village blacksmith,

who allowed him

o'

free access to his forge,

nights in the Rembrandtish

gloom

gossips as they told their wild legends of

their bucolic experiences.

was raised

to

and he often

As he grew

Dartmoor or

the dignity of blowing the bellows.

the

related

older and stronger, he

occasion somebody chanced to hesitate in a

calculation

sat

listening to the village

little

On

one

attempt at

boy immediately supplied the correct answer.

Knowing something

of the Devonshire peasantry,

we can

well

imagine the mingled awe and admiration with which the blacksmith and his friends observed this spontaneous outburst of
arithmetical geiiius

The

cleverest

among them proceeded

to

ask the boy a few questions, which he answered with facility

and they continued

to test

him up

to

two places of

figures.

We

SELF-HELP.

300
are disposed to think that

beyond

this limit

nobody

in

Moreton

Hampstead, forty years ago, except the "parson," the doctor,

and the lawyer (if such there were), could possibly have advanced.

George Bidder's reputation soon spread over

country round

the

all

and when he discovered that reputation meant

shillings, he did his utmost to maintain it by

pence and even

incessant practice, until from two places of figures, he advanced

to four, five,

All this

who had

and

six

and, on one occasion, to twelve places.

was done by a boy of twelve or thirteen years of

age,

received no better education than a Devonshire village

school afforded at the beginning of the present century.

But had George Bidder done nothing more,

not have found a place in these pages.
astonishing enough in
results.

itself,

name would

his

His calculating

would have been barren

A recent writer in the

faculty,

of useful

" Spectator " justly remarks that

calculating boys are rather obsolete prodigies,

and that the

schoolmaster of to-day has no ambition to foster them.

all,

they are less

The
at

After

wonderful than Babbage's calculating machine.

present generation cares nothing for the feats of

memory

which our fathers held up the hands of amazement

for

feats which were once supposed to indicate the possession of

intellectual

powers of almost incredible and certainly unprece-

One

dented vigor.

of these calculating boys, Zerah Colburn,

in his autobiography, tells a story of a notorious Freethinker,

who,

after witnessing his arithmetical marvels,

disturbed, passed a sleepless night,

infidel opinions.

one

And

illustration of the

wonder which
sult

"

him about

his

went home greatly

and was led

to

abandon

this," says the " Spectator," " was only

vague feeling of awe and open-mouthed,

performances excited.

stolen spoons

People came to con-

and he himself evidently thought

CALCULA TING BO YS.

that there

3OI

was something decidedly uncanny, something super-

natural about his

And no doubt

gift.

his

intuitive

mastery

over figures, according to perfectly credible accounts, was truly

marvellous.

On

one occasion, Colburn was asked

to

name

the

He

square of 999,999, which he stated to be 999,998,008,001.

by the same number,

multiplied this by 49, and the product

and the

total result

he then multiplied by

figure 8 to the sixteenth

power with

was even more remarkable

respects,

raised the

Bidder, in some

his facility in abstruse

calculations surprised Colburn himself.

In both boys the cal-

culating faculty was developed very early.

age,

He

25.

ease."

At

three years of

George Bidder answered a wonderful question, which

would puzzle many of us

nails in a horse's four shoes.

At

it

pen and paper, about the

to solve with

though utterly ignorant

eight,

of the theory of arithmetic, he could answer almost instanta-

neously

how many

farthings there were in _^868,424,i2i.

Calculating boys,

however, such as Zerah

Jedediah Buxton, have usually grown into

Colburn,

ability.

for,

instance,

taneous calculation,

it

is

own

evident,

failed

of mediocre

is

when brought

something wholly distinct

"

None

of the prodigies

have named grew into eminent mathematicians, or

We could

disclosed any high talents for mathematical science.

nention,
instance

in

into

This faculty of instan-

age.

from a true aptitude for mathematics.

whom we

men

and

was placed by a patron

Westminster School, where he quite

competition with boys of his

Colburn

it

Euler and

is true, several of the latter

who were

rapid and expert calculators, but none of

them exhibited precocious aptitude

ful Pascal,

who

Wallis, for

for ciphering.

The youth-

discovered for himself (as already stated) the

demonstration of the thirty-second proposition of the First

302

Book

SELF-HELP.

'

of Euclid, or

Newton, who,

as a boy, invented cleverly

constructed windmills, belongs to another species from the lads

who

get coppers

calculating the

London and

by multiplying

by

six figures

number of barleycorns which

will

six figures, or

extend between

Paris."

George Bidder, however, was something more than a calculating boy.

He

possessed a surprising force of character, which

prevented him from being spoiled by the applause lavished on

his arithmetical feats,

and urged him forward to a position of

honor and usefulness.

Withdrawn, through the kindness of a

friend,

from the influence of public notoriety, he was sent

Edinburgh University, where he applied himself

Adopting the profession of a

with laudable assiduity.

engineer, he obtained

to the

to his studies
civil

employment under Mr. Henry Robertson

Palmer, founder of the Institute of Civil Engineers, and soon,

by his sagacity and perseverance, worked himself to the

front.

His connection with George Stephenson proved of equal advantage to both

and

in the great Parliamentary contests

marked the expansion of the railway system

he bore a distinguished part.

his perspi-

a word, his force of character,

gained him a reputation as " the best witness

He

Great Britain

His cool-headedness,

cacity, his solid shrewdness, in

a committee-room."

in

which

who

ever entered

always knew his subject even to the

minutest details, and could not therefore be taken unawares.

There was no

joint or chink in his

armor

keenest eye.

Mr. Bidder rose

a very eminent place in his

profession, as

was shown by

to

be detected by the

his election to the presidentship

of the Institute of Civil Engineers in

Says Matthew Arnold

to

860-61.

MA TTHE W ARNOLD.
"

And

there are

some whom a

303

thirst,

Ardent, unquenchable, fires

Not with the crowd to be spent
Not without aim to go round
In an eddy of purposeless dust.

unmeaning and vain.

Ah, yes some of us strive

Effort

Not without

action to die
something to snatch
From dull oblivion, nor all
"
the
Fruitless, but

devouring grave

Glut

This, indeed,

the thought and purpose of the higher class

is

among

of minds, of those

who

us

feel that

it

is

a noble and

heroic thing to sow the seed of which future generations shall

gather the harves*

We, we have chosen our path

Path to a clear-purposed goal,
Path of advance
but it leads
A long, steep journey, through sunk
Gorges, o'er mountains in snow
!

Cheerful, with friends, we set forth

Then, on the height, comes the storm
With frowning foreheads, with lips
Sternly compressed, we strain on.

Onand
Come

at nightfall, at last,
to the end of our way."

After the stress of the storm, a voiceless calm

of the battle, serene peace

the joy of victory.

will,

the

way

is

after the anguish of the struggle,

In those stirring records of

at last.

the pursuit of knowledge under

difificulties,

in those romantic

stories of great acquisitions in art or science

of soul,

seems as

if

we had but

is

we must meet with

rows as they did

intense

about to cross the threshold

to will

and we must succeed.

course there will be repulses for us as for those

before us

won by

what an encouragement throbs and

beats for the young spirit that

It

after the fury

Thus, to the ardent endeavor and the strong

opened up

labor and ardor

difficulties

but what matter

Of

who have gone

and wounds and

sor-

They conquered, and we

SELF-HELP.

304
conquer

shall

of a well-lived

to

potency of the influence

in this the

upon

It acts

life.

up so many

stirs

Mark

too.

many

so

an inspiration,

as

and the

the imitation of noble things

achievement of noble deeds.

After glancing through a biographical dictionary, one

tempted to believe that everything

"spirit

knows no heavier chain

Who

has not

man

Thomas Edward, the Scottish naturalist ?

not even a man of more than average in-

man whose

commands our

of purpose

he could gratify only

Edward
for

little

By

respect.

trade a shoemaker, he

which

few hours snatched from the

the

in

In

of his daily labor.

many men circumstanced

as

was, friendless, almost penniless, working long hours

wages, the love of Nature, even

would have quickly died

atmosphere

out, like a

but in Edward

invincible determination.
ject in natural history
until

force of character and steadfastness

for the study of natural history,

had a strong passion

monotony

to earth.

of

of genius,

telligence, yet a

down

drag him

aspiring

the might of a brave, resolute earnestness

when reading the life

Not

can

is

him who be-

Not even poverty and the

lieves in its possibility.

felt

possible to

is

he obtained

it

lamp

had once

flourished,

an unwholesome

in

was fed and cherished by

It is said of

he desired

that were at

it, if

if it

him

he never rested

to possess,
all

his

that whatever ob-

possible.

Sometimes he

lost for a while the object of which^he was in quest, because he

wished

to

study

its

traits

and

habits.

For

this

purpose he

would observe long and carefully before taking possession of

And

thus he accumulated a mass of information in natural

tory,

such as the Book of Nature could alone supply.

The

fervor

and resolution with which he

mation of a natural history

museum move

set

it.

his-

about the for-

us to admiration.

THOMA S ED WARD.
When he began he was

He

had

4s. 6d.,

powder

in a horn,

and measured out

with the bowl of a tobacco-pipe.

;

and

his

his charges

brown paper bag held

his

equipment was completed by a few small insect-

some boxes

bottles,

had an old

and was so rickety that the

be tied to the stock with a piece of thick twine.

to

carried his

shot

He

twenty-four years old.

gun which had cost only

barrel

305

for containing

moths and

and

butterflies,

a botanical book for holding specimens of plants.

As Edward did not put

aside his shoemaker's awl and needle

until nine at night, all his researches

And

hour.

he had to resume work

had

to

be made after that

morning, be-

at six in the

cause he could not afford to abridge the hours given up to his

He

bread-winning occupation.

On

either.

returning

was compelled

and money, having

carefully both his time

home from

would equip himself with

to

husband

to

spare of

little

the workshop at night, he

his insect

boxes and

bottles,

his

botanical book and his gun, and set out, carrying his frugal

supper in his hand or stowed away in his pocket.

His

thirst

he slaked at the nearest spring.

"

So long as

was

it

light,

he scoured the country, looking for

moths, or beetles, or plants, or birds, or any living thing that

came

in his

way.

When

it

longer observe, he dropped

bush, or a tree, whichever
or slept

till

gan his
arrived

observations,

when he had

came

handiest,

and there he dozed

got up, and again be-

he continued

until

to return to his daily labor.

fine starlit nights,

and moonlight

the

nights,

Weather never daunted him.

would look out

no

the side of a bank, or a

Then he

which

cold and drizzling nights.

rained, he

so dark that he could

down by

the light returned.

went out on

it

became

for a hole in a bank,

time

He

and in

When

and thrust

"

SELF-HELP.

306
himself into
out,

it,

He

feet foremost.

kept his head and his gun

watching and waiting for any casualties that might happen.

coldest places in which

The

were among the rocks by the seaside,

When

sea-braes along the coast.

Edward

he would

lie

on the

exposed to the east wind,

When

these sleeping-places were perishingly cold.

land he could obtain better shelter.

slept at night

shingle, or

on the

he went

In summer time

in-

especially

the grass and sleep soundly, with the

down on

lock of his gun for his pillow and the canopy of heaven for his

His ear was always open for the sounds of Nature,

blanket.

and when the lark was carolling

before the sun had risen,

his early

hymn

Edward would

rise

of praise, long

and watch

for

daybreak
'

When

from the naked top

Of some bold headland he beheld

Rise up and bathe the world in

A will
hardly

to

fail

We may
book

bear on the study of natural history, could

to

make

their

Pouvoir cest

naturalist.

'

and such adamantine force of character

so determined,

when brought

the sun

light.

owner a thorough and sucessful

vouloir.

take yet another example from the records of the

trade.

In the United States and elsewhere the

George W. Childs

is

name

of

He now

familiar to the reading public.

occupies an eminent position as the proprietor of the " Public

Ledger,"

one of

American

journals.

born

the

influential

Mr. Childs

to figure, in the

" Getting On."

most

The

is

and

respectable

one of those men who seem

pages of books upon " Self-Help " and

secret of his success

is

that

been the secret of the success of so many self-made

not great

of

which has
notabilities,

intellectual power, or literary gifts, or rare

endow-

GEORGE
ments, so

much

diligence,

and

he

set

W. CHILDS.

as force of character,

integrity.

It is

307

independence of

spirit,

nearly thirty-five years ago that

out from Baltimore, his birthplace, to seek his fortune in

Philadelphia, resolute with the moral courage of a strong

active

mind

to search for

it

" in the

undone on

way

it,

and

it

must have appeared a very long way

to leave nothing

imagination

and

friendless,

his part to deserve it."

off,

as completely without

was absolutely
Richard

patron as

Whittington when, pausing on the summit of Highgate

heard those mythic

which called, him back

bells

He

honor and prosperity.

he

and soon

after his ar-

he gladly engaged himself as shopboy to a respectable

As soon

bookseller.

started

as

he had obtained a knowledge of the

and saved up a small

business,

on

his

own

store of

dollars,

account, and this with so

in his twentieth year,

he received an

offer,

much

" Childs

&

he boldly

success that,

which he accepted,

of a partnership in the publishing firm of Peterson

The

Hill,

to a career of

knew, however, that an idle hand

grasps nothing, not even an opportunity

rival

Yet

even to a boy's

for this lad of fifteen years old

and

best calculated to find

&

Co.

As

Peterson " the new firm rose rapidly into popularity.

senior partner's energy, quick perception, sound judgment,

and prudent enterprise raised

and he made

" a hit "

Explorations."

it

out of the ruck of competition,

by the publication of Dr. Kane's

In i860 or 1861 Mr. Childs took sole charge

of the business, and about four years later he

of the " Public Ledger."
the "

Ledger

Childs,

" office

is

The

became proprietor

welfare of those employed in

a matter of special solicitude to Mr.

and there are various philanthropic schemes

for their benefit.

" Arctic

in operation

In 1870 his income was publicly estimated,

with the customary frankness of Americans in these matters, at

SELF-HELP

308

not an unsatisfactory

result of five

160,000 dollars a year

But Mr. Childs had also gained the respect

twenty years labor.

and esteem due

while,

by

unblemished character and business activity

to

his liberality

to the extension of

we

and

and energetic

American

action,

Amongst other

literature.

he had contributed
things,

are indebted to his enterprise for the production of that

great work, Allibone's " Critical Dictionary of English Litera-

ture

and

of fifteen

British

satisfactory

yard.

great

of

City-world has not yet put out of mind the

not a

man

monumental labor

of genius
his

sways the hearts of thousands

he

left

at the

age of

in April, 1806,
eight.

that

he was simply a merchant and

;

yet his biography

Born

not without a certain genuine interest.

Cumberland,

Bow Church-

behind him no

was not the eloquence

philanthropist of the good old-fashioned type

is

was a very

significant text of " Self-Help."

George Moore, the warehouseman of

He was

boy

friendless

to feel that his life-work

commentary on the

The London

memory

The

and American Authors."

had every reason

at

Mendsgate,

he was sent to the parish school

There he learned very

little,

was

for he

fonder of bird-nesting and other pastimes than of learning

sons.

neighboring farmers in order to earn some pocket-money.

years old got eighteenpence a day.

stout,

He

and by the time that he was ten

started at sixpence a day,

les-

In the harvest holidays he hired himself out to the

stalwart boy, he

" carried

At

the age of twelve, being

his

rig " with

the

men,

shearing with the sickle, and keeping time and pace with the
full-grown shearers.

day and

his f6od

For

this

rate of

work he earned two

shillings a

payment never before received by

a boy of his age.

At the age of twelve he was sent

foir

a quarter to a finishing

GEORGE MOORE.
"

school at Blennerhasset.
say, "

For the

learning,

and then

had no

time

first

began

tastes in

common

not hang about half

my

with

and

In pursuance of

away from home.

my brother.

I felt that I

He

determined that

These might have been

in

me

would

named Messenger.

procured his meals

an unfortunate arrangement, for

which he describes

he was bound appren-

draper in Wigton

bad company, and accustomed him

gambling.

could

fight the battle of life for myself."

slept at his master's house, but

adjoining inn
in

So

this sturdy resolution,

tice for four years to a

How-

ignorant I was.

with no better prospect before

idle,

at thirteen,

how

sort of

was some use in

resolve to go

than of being a farm-servant.

home

that there

felt

to feel

swerved from

ever, I never

leave

master," he would afterwards

was a good writer and a superior man, indeed, a

genius.

The

309

it

at

involved him

to habits of drinking

his ruin,

an

and

but for an incident

an autobiographical sketch preserved by

Mr. Smiles.
" I

had arranged an easy method

house

at night, after

my gambling

my

for getting into

bouts.

I left

master's

a lower

window

unfastened, and by lifting the sash, and putting the shutters

back, I climbed

my

But

in,

and went

silently

up

to

my

bed

master having heard some strange reports as to

winnings and losings at cards, and fearing that

end

in

some

cards, he nailed

down

the

It

the

was

window was

might

I returned,

my

at last

had gone out with

window through which

entrance to the house, and when

"

it

disaster to himself, determined to put a stop to

gambling pursuits. .One night, after

in, lo

in the attic.

my
my

I usually got

and wished

to get

firmly closed against me.

five o'clock in the

morning of Christmas Eve.

morning proved the turning-point

in

my

life

That

After vainly

3IO

SELF-HELP.

trying to open the window, I went up the lane alongside the

About a hundred yards up,

house.

to the

climbed to the ridge of

From thence

the lowest house in the row.

way up

along the ridges of the intervening houses until

down
it,

master's dwelling

the slates until

reached the waterspout.

and hung suspended over the

on

feet

to the window-sill,

street.

reached the

managed

I slid

all.

I got

hold of

often been

my

let

down by

my
my

to get

and pushed up the window with

This was no danger or difficulty to me, as

left foot.

round

the highest house, of

my

top of

my

clambered

next highest house, and then managed to creep

had

bigger boys than myself, with a rope

waist, into the old

round tower

at Whitehall, that I

might rob the jackdaws of their meat and eggs."

lad

sarily

who could accomplish such

a feat as this must neces-

have been endowed with no ordinary determination,

presence of mind, and strength of

would depend upon

himself,

will.

That

in after-life

he

and not upon others, might safely

have been predicted by any person cognizant of the circumstance.

As

a conclusion to the narrative,

when young Moore

got into his

room and

seized with a full conviction of the folly

life

we must add

retired to bed, he

and

that,

was

sinfulness of the

he had been leading, and resolved to give up drinking and

gambling

a resolution never broken.

As soon

as

his apprenticeship

came

to

an end,

George

Moore, with thirty pounds and his clothes, repaired to London

in

quest of employment.

Thursday, 1825.

On

He

there on Maunday
Monday he went from

arrived

the following

draper to draper endeavoring to obtain employment as an assistant.

He

called at as

many

as thirty shops daily for a

whole

week, meeting repulse bravely, and never losing heart.

At

GEORGE MOORE.

311

Ungth he was engaged by a Cumberland man, Mr. Ray, a

ner in a Soho Square firm,

had secured

his start in

at

life.

^^30 a year

and he had made up

of the ladder,

and he

His feet were on the

his

mind

part-

felt that
first

to get as

he

round

near the

top as possible.

But

this

" I

work.

could not be accomplished without much hard

soon found," he writes, " that, coming green from

the country,

labored under

many

disadvantages.

Compared

whom I was associated, I found my

education very deficient, and my speech betrayed that I had
Indeed, it smacked strongly
not lived in London all my life.

with the young

men

with

of

Cumberland and Cumberland

to

renedy my

after the hours of

have

employment were over

borrowed from sleep

my

provement of

mind.

that the only luck

upon

it,

make

his

power

We

way

in the

my

and many an hour

it

on the im-

is

my

merit,

is

had

previous knowledge,

termed luck.

my

Depend

and that no young man

unless he possesses knowledge, and exerts

accomplishment of

stand side by side with

Let no one rely on what

competitors.

thing I did

At the end of eighteen months

myself able to take

felt

first

employ

in order to

acquired a considerable addition to

and

The

folks.

defects was to put myself to school at night

will

all his

his objects."

are not writing a biography of George Moore, but select-

ing only such details as will illustrate the advantage of free and

independent action

in the great struggle of

therefore, to his assumption of a

new

life.

We

pass on,

character, that of a

com-

mercial traveller, in which he speedily discovered his deficiency

in the

very important qualifications of accuracy, quickness, and

promptitude, and by a course of severe self-discipline proceeded

to supply

it.

After some experience in " town travelling," he

"

SELF-HELP.

was sent into the Liverpool and Manchester

district to collect

orders and transact business for his employers, a firm of wholesale lace-dealers in

performed his journeys

"

vious agent.

he

lost

At

He had

moment

not a

first

His energy proved

Street.

irresist-

almost doubled the business of the firm, while he

He

ible.

Watling

in

shorter time than any pre-

much

nothing of the dawdler about him

in waiting for others to help him.

the result of his exertions

was the

sole benefit of his

employers, but after awhile he himself profited by them.

He

attracted the attention of another lace-dealing firm, Messrs.

&

Groucock

him a
at the

Copestake, who, after some negotiation, offered

partnership, which he accepted.

Thus,

in June, 1830,

age of twenty-three, he occupied an independent position,

The firm, however, was of very recent standing, and there was much uphill
work to be done, which George Moore was the very man to do.
and might

fairly calculate

upon a competency.

His strength of character, backed by a good constitution, was

And

equal to any amount of labor.

the

hand

of a lady, his

first

some years he had determined

he afterwards
difificulties

said, " that I

thought of her.
day, and

He

to

win as his

whom

for

" I believe,"

wife.

never could have surmounted the

and hardships which

I

he had an object in view,

love and his only love,

had

to encounter but for the

thought of her while going

my

rounds by

thought of her while travelling by coach at night."

certainly

needed some such stimulus, as his usual day's

work was about

nights a week.

sixteen hours,

And,

we should have found

ness which precluded

in truth,
it

and

had

as a rule

his

he was up two

motive been

less

worthy,

impossible to praise a devotion to busi-

all efforts at

Such perseverance had

its

intellectual .cultivation.

reward.

It is just

such

men

as


GEORGE MOORE.
Moore whom

The

the deities befriend.

313

transactions of the firm

increased every month, every week, necessitating their removal

tions,"

he

" I visited every market

says,

Scotland, Ireland, and

the manufacturers
I

Liverpool,

always unbounded

their

for

to

buy

and

lace

Independently of

For twelve years

once, starting for Ireland on the

gave up traveUing.

new men, and

"

open our operations for

Glasgow,

and Dublin

never missed, excepting

Monday of every month."

many years was fulfilled, and

established,

He

The

a strong push.

business of

and Mr. Moore par-

confined himself to drilling the

introducing them to his customers

journey was not working

confidence.

most of the towns of

his first employer.

now thoroughly

thank

first

In August, 1840, the dream of

he married the daughter of

tially

to

to

worked my own journey

this, I

Manchester, Edinburgh,

single-handed.

the firm was

England,

in

Wales, with very few exceptions.

also travelled through

Belgium and France

the future.

town

Nottingham markets, where we had

also visited the

Groucock and

my peregrina-

" In the course of

to a larger place of business.

well, to take

He worked

it

in

and when a

hand himself, and

very hard on these occasions.

give

it

He

used to say that no one was

fit

could not work sixteen hours a day.

to

be a salesman, who

He

himself had done so

for twelve years.

He

continued a vigorous worker to the

last.

His exertions

having been rewarded with ample success, he was enabled

render substantial assistance, and to devote

and energy,

came

much

to charitable projects of a high character.

to regard himself as a steward of the

to

of his time

He

abundant means

with which Heaven had blessed him, charged to administer them

for the benefit of his fellows

and

his

benevolence was so ex-

SELF-HELP.

314

and so continuous, that

tensive

in

metropolitan records he will

always be not less honored as a philanthropist than as a fore-

He

most merchant.

charity, the giving of

his advice

indulge

did not

money

said,

lazy form of

that

in subscriptions or

donations

keen sympathy.

has

which put within the reach of

Fortune's less favored children the means of self-elevation.

permanence,

faith in the inevitable

creatures, of a low
state

It

with respect to the forms of good works which he

preferred, that they were those

had no

but

and encouragement were always ready, and into cases

of individual distress he inquired with

been

in

in

state of

humanity

and

He

any of God's

and dust-trodden condition.

was not a normal

"

if

The

reptile

man, woman,

or child had the misfortune to be born in such a condition, he

would have them

Hence

lift

themselves out of

it

as soon as they could.

the heartiness with which he threw himself into the

Ragged School movement, mothers'

workingmen, meetings of cabmen at

meetings,
his

own

lectures

for

house, with any

other exceptional scheme that might be suggested for benefiting

those

whom

our older and more established

agencies

for

ameliorating the condition of the humbler classes had either

overlooked or
Kingsley, he

With the late Charles

was no human " mud " which was

at least failed to reach.

that there

felt

not worth caring

for,

or which would not abundantly repay the

pains and cost of husbandry for nobler uses.

There never was a

life,

perhaps, that more vividly illustrated

the principle of self-help, of self-elevation, than that of

Moore, and

this

George

not only from a material, but from a moral and

intellectual point of view.

He

not only

made

himself what he

was as an opulent merchant holding a high socia} position, but

he taught himself

all

he knew, and, by the exercise of a con-

; ;

WORDSWORTH'S LEECH-GATHERER.
stant vigilance

and a prayerful patience, succeeded

31$
conquer-

in

ing these defects of character which might otherwise have

fatally

impeded

his progress.

Knowingly or unknowingly, he had taken

to heart the lesson

inculcated by Wordsworth's humble leech-gatherer

"

He told me that he to this pond had come

To gather leeches, being old and poor
Employment hazardous and wearisome
And he had many hardships to endure
From pond to pond he roamed, from moor
!

to moor.
Housing, with God's good help, by choice or chance
And in this way he gained an honest maintenance.

" The

stood talking by my side

me was like a stream
Scarce heard, nor word from word could I divide
And the whole body of the man did seem
Like one whom I had met with in a dream
old

man

But now

still

his voice to

The

like a

To

give

by the old man's simple words, puts

poet, perplexed

him the
is it

man from some far region sent

me human strength and strong admonishment."

Or

significant question, "

How

is it

that

you

live ?

you do ?"
'<

He with a smile did then his words repeat

And said, that, gathering leeches far and wide

He

travelled

stirring thus

about his feet

The waters of the ponds where they abide.

Once I could meet with them on eveiy side
'

But they have dwindled long by slow decay

Yet still I persevere, and find them where I may.'

" While he was talking thus, the lonely place.

The old man's shape, and speech, all troubled me
In my mind's eye I seemed to see him pass
Above the weary moors continually.
Wandering about alone and silently.
While I these thoughts within myself pursued,
He, having made a pause, the same discourse renewed.

" And soon with

this he other matter blended,

Cheerfully uttered, with demeanor kind.
But stately in the main and when he ended.
;

to

What


3l6

SELF-HELP.
I could have laughed myself to scorn, to find
In that decrepit man so firm a mind.
God,' said I, be my help and stay secure
"
I'll think of the leech-gatherer on the lonely moor.'
'

'

And

well

by the

would

lesson

it

be for our young

men

they would profit

if

a lesson which

which the leech-gatherer taught

the poet embodies in the following words

" But how can man expect that others should

Build for him, sow for him, and at his call
Love him, who for himself will take no heed
If

man cannot

where he

rise

Patronage

is.

one which he

but

it is

will

not do justice.

square holes,

his

own

may

lift

by

will

into a certain position,

not have merited, and to which he

The round men

and the square men in

they are not there of their

"

he had better remain

labor,

him

at all ?

are

found so often

in the

the round holes, because

own choosing

or their

own working,

but have been placed in them by the will of others or by

of circumstances.

To

stress

such can never come "the rapture of

the strife," the happiness of having fought and conquered, the

healthy exultant sense of difficulties overcome, troubles endured,

temptations put aside.

prize which he has
to run a race in

What

true

done nothing

manly

to obtain

soul cares for the

Who

which there was no competition

would wish
D'Alembert,

the great French mathematician, was exposed and

by

his

mother

in a public

ling at the expense of public charity.

his foster-mother.

At an

glazier's wife

his condition,

but while his father,

who

wished him to embrace the legal

profession or the medical, D'Alembert's bias

ature and science.

became

early age he gave unmistakable indi-

cations of genius of a high order

had discovered

abandoned

market, and brought up as a found-

Nor could he be

was towards

dissuaded.

He

liter-

applied

NORMAN MACLEOD.

DR.
all

the powers of his

must often happen

by finding,

had discovered

(as

was continually

But he perse-

before him.

it

and an essay on the Integral Calculus which he pub-

1739 procured him his election as a

Academy

of Sciences in 1741.

When

years old.

He

Madame

He

had made

was then only twenty-four

What

Presbyterian divines, the late Dr.

life

he displayed an exuberance of

most genial of

Norman Macleod,

Intended from an early age for the

humorous aspect

did he owe to her

of that

view to the power of self-elevation which

out.

his mother,

himself.

very interesting to study the

It is

it

so

office of the ministry,

and a fondness

spirits

of things which, to rigid observers,

had qualms of conscience

tastes

and habits uncongenial

thought

his

for the

boded

He

which insidiously
is

till it

collect

all

round the mind,

covered.

ill

him-

he should acquire

future profession,

almost impossible to battle against the myriad

it

magnet

at times lest

to

with a

markedly brings

for his efficient discharge of a solemn responsibility.

self

of the

de Tencin, was fain to own

but he rejected her advances.

except his birth.

member

fame was well established,

his

the celebrated beauty,

;

bafifled

he conceived) an original

lished in

him

As

to the study of mathematics.

to the self-taught, he

he had struck out

after

idea, that others

vered

mind

31/

like iron filings

But he resolved that

it

and

trifles

on a

should

not be impossible, and entered on a course of diligent selfscrutiny

and

self -watchfulness

out darkening his character.

which sobered and steadied withAgainst a natural tendency to

self-

indulgence he maintained an earnest and therefore a successful

conflict.

In such a conflict no

him much
"

How

man must

human

influences could avail

own

battle against himself.

fight his

strange," he writes, " are the glimpses which

we some-

SELF-HELP.

times have of something beyond the sense

flitting as

which from infancy reared

more congenial

for scenes
it

it

But the door

feels

mingle, and, like a bird

to

in a cage, has
to

an instinctive love

habits,

and

flutters

summer

sky,

and droops

its

woods and

sees green

head when

in

strange feeling,

the aurora, but as bright, of a spiritual world with

which our souls seem longing

when

they are seen through the bars of

be opened, and the songs

shall yet

its

it

about
its

prison

has learnt

confinement shall yet be heard in the sunny sky, and

it

shall

be joined by a thousand other birds, and a harmonious song

will rise

soul

on high

Herein

victory."

We

Oh,

But sense

all

many good men have

and preserve

our resources, as Macleod did, as so

in

We

God

Man

can and

his journal,

will

can do nothing

we seek Him

if

under date of

ist

I.

To

perfect holiness.

ally possess myself,

man who

truly realizes

them with His mind and

my

life

drawing more

I believe this to
I

possible that I shall habitu-

in public

and private

spirit

among men and

to Christ

my

I shall live as

God's constant presence, who

with Christ, and therefore lives

by

it

prayer.

and exercise holy watchfulness over

words and temper, so that

a

Is

in

October, 1855, Mac-

leod notes as things he must aim at and pray for

"

must not

This self-help or self-elevation cannot be

achieved without the Divine blessing,

Writing

and gains the

done, to drive back the attacks of sense,

inviolate the fortress of the soul.

be misunderstood.

for us, but

the purity of the

the mystery (so to speak) of self-help.

lies

must summon

we could but keep

if

the giant which fetters us

is

is

one

acts towards

/,

meek, humble, loving, ever

self

be as impossible by

behind, Christ before

my own

resolving as that

could become a Shakespeare, a Newton, a Milton

yet

if

JOHN B UN VAN.
God

He

me

calls

God

to this,

shall be pleased with

"

man

idea

of,

has given him of

and

he knows

is

the faith to do

that

convinced that

I feel

God much more

What we want

what our work

it

than he has any

he can help on the world's work more than

that

of.

to realise

every talent to the utmost, whether

in preaching, writing, speaking, acting.

every

me

can so enable

me.

To know and improve

2.

3 19

is

the single eye that will see

the humility to accept

for

it

God

it,

however lowly

the perseverance to go on

till

death."

In taking
culture,

of the

this

call it

name

of

wider view of

which you

self-help, self-elevation, or self-

will,

we are

The

John Bunyan.

irresistibly

reader

reminded

who took up

Progress " without any previous knowledge

Pilgrim's

author would conjecture from

its

pages that he was a

had suffered much, sorrowed much,

striven

"

The

of

its

man who

much, but certainly

not that he was the son of a tinker, perhaps of a gipsy tinker,

was born and bred

that he

society.

It

in the lowest stratum of English

was only by a process of

self-elevation that

he

rose to the moral and intellectual fervor which gave birth to

his sublime allegory.
its

When we

richness of illustration,

all its

profound human

invention

all its

interest,

think of that allegory, with

insight into

and

and when we think of

all
its

how mean were

its

human

wealth of original

creator,

how wretched

was

his

how

wild and coarse the atmosphere of his youthful

education,

are lost in

wonder

at the

early surroundings,

apparent gulf between them.

such a tree who could have expected

We

his

all

character,

fruit so rare

we
From

life,

and glorious

know, indeed, that to attain to the height of spiritual

elevation indicated

by " The Pilgrim's Progress," Bunyan passed

320

SELF-HELP.

through a condition of mental anguish and

He

Despond."

was purified

flames clung to his soul to the

as

by

Few

last.

of self-purification

we would come

if

in

" Slough of

and the odor of the

fire,

what he bore, though we must

to bear

darker far

trial

own imaginary

than anything prefigured in his

of us are called
all

upon

submit to the work

due time

the

to

work

Bunyan's experiences, however, were excep-

of self-conquest.

He

tionally severe.

drank the cup of bitterness

to the dregs.

While hearing sweet voices from heavenly heights, and seeing

strange visions of their sunlit summits, he himself was as one

placed in a black and horrible wilderness, like the dreary ice-

bound
well

circle in Dante's

work

self actually

miracles.

behind him.

his

sell

that he

and

to

him

was a
set

Sometimes he was tempted

to start

up from

break forth into prayer.

had committed the unpardonable

vulsed his robust frame. * * *

visible

mark

on Cain."

saw

as

give

me

if

this

on

At length he fancied
His agony con-

sin.

of his nerves

made

trembling he supposed,

of his reprobation like that

In his

Sometimes a

his food, to fall

The agitation

movements tremulous, and

all his

could distinguish the

part in the salvation of mankind.

violent impulse urged

his knees,

He

He felt his infernal enemy pulling at

He spurned with his feet and struck

with his hands at the destroyer.

to

is

seized with an in-

At another time he thought him-

possessed by the devil.

blasphemous whispers.
his clothes

Macaulay's description

"At one time Bunyan was

known.

clination to

"Inferno."

own emphatic words

which had been

" Methought

the sun that shineth in the heavens did grudge to

light,

and

as

if

the very stones in the streets

upon the houses did band themselves against me.

that they all

combined together

to banish

me

and

tiles

Methought

out of the world.

JOHN BUNYAN.
I

was abhorred of them, and

cause

had sinned

Through

321

among them,

unfit to dwell

shadow

the

this valley of

death, brave, self-

of

John Bunyan struggled

helping, self-watching

into the bright

and beautiful land of Beulah, and crowned himself with

But

if

we

thus account

mortal work, we have

ing,

and

fitted

tion of the critic

always admirable

it

by

difficulties

its

how

little

rowed."

How came

school

There

no book

is

his

He

own

arts

The

in

our literature,"

which we would so readily stake the fame

is

book which shows

in

own proper

its

has been improved by

Bunyan

produce

to

he learned only to read and

humanising

by

it

"

appropriate imagery and varied yet

"

rich that language

and how

which the

and breed-

composition.

of the old unpolluted English language, no

so well

in

of his birth

must be remembered, claims the admiraits

style.

says Macaulay, " on

manner

to consider the

still

himself intellectually for

Pilgrim's Progress "

victory.

for the spiritual excellence of his im-

conquered the

tinker's son

be-

against the Saviour."

he speedily

exertions.

lost,

that

all

has bor-

masterpiece

this

write,

to recover

His boyhood was

it

wealth,

both

of

At

which

them afterwards

idle, dissolute, godless.

describes himself, perhaps with unintentional exaggeration,

as scarcely equalled for his years in " cursing, swearing, lying,

and blaspheming the name

of

God."

In

all

he was foremost, throwing into everything

juvenile mischief

evil as well as

good

the wild energy of his undisciplined nature.

Most

was given up

amusements were

bell-ringing

to athletic sports

and dancing,

in

his principal

of his time

which he particularly delighted

indulge upon the Sabbath-day.

At an early age

him

to enter the army,

in the field.

At the conclusion

of adventure or his poverty induced

and he saw some sharp service

to

either his love

SELF-HELP.

322
of the Civil

War he

dowry appears
and

to

returned

home and

have been two vohimes of practical

religion,

was the perusal of these which opened the eyes of

it

Bunyan

to the possibility of a better

life.

He

began

hearing a strong Calvanistic sermon, his

to attend

been hoped

church, but not with the result that might have

ifor,

His wife's

married.

mind became

dis-

turbed, and he was led to conclude that his soul was destined

In this conviction he grew reckless, and resumed

to perdition.
all his

old evil habits.

"playing the

But standing beside a neighbor's window

madman,"

the

and publicly branded him

most blasphemous wretch

He

woman

of the house sallied forth

youth and the

as a corrupter of

in the town.

The

home.

shaft struck

resolved that no such reproach should again be hurled

him.

He

began the work, slow and painful

time bid

his

fair

to

idle

pastimes and companions

and

and

at

develop into an offensive Pharisee.

some accidental experiences saved him from

stake,

his conscience

and

his imagination being alike

How

have already spoken.

it,

of

it

like

poor Cowper,

after

is

one

But

this fatal mis-

awak-

ened, he descended into that valley of darkness of which

in

at

case,

His vocabulary of oaths was abandoned

of self-elevation.

he gave up

Bunyan's

in

we

long he might have wandered

uncertain, but he found a guide out

some eighteen months

in Luther's "

Commentary on

the Galatians," which he studied carefully, and to the recovery

of his soul's health.

What

we know

other books he read

but the author of " The Pilgrim's Progress " and "

War " must have

read largely and thoughtfully.

It is

that he continued his studies in the seclusion of

to

which he was committed

preacher,

in

November, 1660,

"a common upholder

not,

The Holy
probable

Bedford

jail,

as an itinerant

of unlawful meetings

and con-

JOHN BUNYAN.
In his prison he planned, and,

venticles."
first

323

may be, wrote

it

the

part of, his "Pilgrim's Progress.''

We

need trace

his biography

no

Without the en-

further.

couragement of friends or the assistance of teachers, John

Bunyan, the

grew

tinker's son,

to

be capable of the authorship

Was

of the grandest allegory in our language.

very triumph of self-help

do

others, as

who

all

The fruit

pers.

he placed

in helping himself

are truly self-helpers

men might

at the world's disposal, that

struggle which

a soul has thus benefited

Bunyan bore alone and

The philosophy

helped

and not self-worship-

and generous sympathies

of his prolific intellect

How many

live.

Bunyan,

not this the

friendless

of self-help seems to be

eat of

it

and

by the laborious
!

embodied

in the

wise words which Carlyle ascribes to Professor Teufelsdrockh:

"

The

situation that has not

occupied by man.

Yes

its

duty,

its ideal,

here, in this poor, miserable,

now

despicable actual, wherein thou even

nowhere
believe,

thy ideal

is

be

live,

pediment too
art to

such

be

is

dom

Fool

in thyself

it

the ideal

thy condition

stuff

be of

and working,

is

in thyself, the im-

is

but the stuff thou

what matters whether

this sort or that, so the

!

hampered,

standest, here or

out therefore

shape that same ideal out of

heroic, be poetic

ment

work

free.

was never yet

form thou givest

it

Oh, thou that pinest in the imprison-

of the actual, and criest bitterly to the gods for a king-

wherein to rule and create, know

thou desirest
thou only see

The

first

is

already with thee,

'

this of a truth

the thing

here or nowhere,' couldst

"
!

element of self-help or self-devotion

recognition of our duty

tion of all our powers to

is,

then, the

and the second element the applicaits

performance.

Whatever our con-

SELF-HELP.

324
dition,

it

brings with

it its

law of service,

that

responsibili-

which no other than ourselves can discharge, and opportu-

ties

nities

which no other than ourselves can

quote Teufelsdrockh again, "

ness or uncertain

may

who

" Let him," to

seize.

gropes principally in dark-

and prays vehemently that the dawn

light,

ripen into day, lay this precept well to heart,

others

we keep

if

We

lies nearest thee.' "

duty which

moral, intellectual, or material, turns

or, to

change the image,

is

it

'

Do

need no help from

shall

upon

it

the only key

Success in
as

life,

upon a pivot

which unlocks

the gate of the sanctuary where reposes the

Endeavor

the

ever before us, as the mariner-

this truth

old fixed their gaze on the polar star.

of

is,

to

Holy

Grail
" Clothed

The

material

illustrated

successes

self-help

cultivate every

large fortunes,

who

new

diligence,
all

business,
to his

to the

set

men who

"good

will find that

right

hand."

life,

were and have been

of time

and

is

inexhaustible, the

and the singleness of purpose

and circumstance."

before the reader some examples of great

and he

rule

things, the perseverance

that never swerves, they conquer " chance

have

and

control the leading

economy

defeat, the energy that

iron will that cannot be bent,

We

infuse activity into municipal

method, the patience that bears

knows

who

field of enterprise,

By unrelaxing

self-helpers.

that never

have been copiously

almost inclined to say that the

feel

who make

channels of commerce,

who

of

he has brought together numbers might easily be

We

the world,

white samite as a luminous cloud."

Mr. Smiles's well-known volume

in

illustrations

added.

in

men

of

each of them owed his success

The most

celebrated

university, that of Harvard, received not long

American

ago a noble legacy

MR. BUSSEY.

325

from a Boston merchant who belonged to the same army of

Mr. Bussey was bred

helpers.

had mastered

as soon as he
his

own

amount

namely,

and

his

on

start

means were

His father placed

sternest self-denial.

" a very small

of good advice

he resolved to

but he could work and he could wait, and he

was capable of the

hands

details

its

For an independent venture

account.

assuredly limited

self-

to the trade of a silversmith,

of paper

money," with three items

be always

to

in his

spend

diligent, to

less

than he earned, and never to deceive or disappoint any one.

From

his grandfather

When

ten dollars, and he

reduced

to

money.

He made

fifty dollars in silver.

owed

tools, his capital

fifty

to

none

with a strong constitution, and rich

an incorruptible integrity and a

spirit of inflexible

In one year he

ance, he set to work.

was

borrowed

dollars

no complaints, however, and applied

Endowed

of his friends.
in

he received

he had purchased the necessary

the processes of the silversmith's

art,

made

persever-

great progress in

secured

many

excellent

customers, increased his capital, and established his business

on a

solid basis.

work

of his

own

Finely-wrought articles of gold and

hands, are

house was situated.

silver,

the

be met with in and near

his business increased

he engaged

exported his wares to England,

and became the owner of several ves-

Eventually he acquired an enormous fortune, the chief

many

object of so

made

Still

commercial operations

France, and Holland

sels.

to

In two years he purchased the land on which his

Boston.

in large

still

of

it,

aspirants

but not, to judge from the use he

of this professor of the science of self-help.

In the same connection we think of the names of the

Mr. Cassell, of London, who gave so strong an impulse

diffusion

of

popular literature of a wholesome

late

to the

character

SELF-HELP.

326

Joseph Denison, of Leeds, whose parents were too poor to give

him even the rudiments

who, by unabated

of education, but

industry, raised himself to the senior partnership in a great

banking-firm

London

and George Peabody,

are so largely indebted.

to

whom

poor of

the

Mr. Peabody's father died

while his son was yet in his early boyhood

and the lad soon

learned that he had no friend or helper but himself.

nately, he

had that

in himself

which

is

of thirteen

grocer, with

whom

all his

will.

he obtained employment as clerk

to a

he remained for about three years, devoting

earnings to the comfort of his mother, his brothers, and

Afterwards he removed from Danvers to Georgetown,

sisters.

where

than

and a firm

external support, a brave heart, a clear head,

At the age

Fortu-

infinitely better

and

his business habits

of a Mr.

Rigg, a capitalist,

finding the money,

qualities attracted the attention

who accepted him

and Peabody the

as a partner,

The

brains.

he
ad-

In due time the firm

venture proved eminently successful.

removed to Baltimore, establishing branches in

New York and

In 1832 Mr. Peabody visited England to pur-

Philadelphia.

many

chase goods, and formed

leading

joint

merchants and

pleasant acquaintances with the

The

politicians.

"

Old

Home "

so

strongly engaged his sympathies that he resolved to settle in

England, and he severed his connection with the American firm

in 1839.

his place

Prosperity

among

he emulated

in

still

efforts,

He was

its

born

London,

whom

votary the founder of the house of

in a small

town of

of a family of six-and-twenty children.

smith,

and he soon took

benevolence as in enterprise.

Self-help claims as

Phipps.

attended his

the great merchant-princes of

and a man of scanty means

New

England, one

His father was a gun-

but the straitened circum-

WILLIAM PHIPPS.

327

Stances in which he spent his boyish years did not prevent

from forming, as so many boys of sturdy

will

and conscious

At the age

courage do, a grand conception of future success.

of twenty-three, however, the conception was

him

unfulfilled

still

and Phip'ps was only a working carpenter, who had started

business with a small capital provided by a young

he had married.

and he amused

His golden dreams, however, were active

Green Lane of North Boston

this

to."

would not be

which marked

"

fair

and

it

might even be that

God would

the providence of

self-reliance

bring him

and resolute determination

his character eventually justified his apparently

many

seafaring men,

somewhere

and from one of them he learned

Bahama

off the

Islands, lay a

wrecked

on board of which was a great cargo of gold and

entering on board a ship

as a

common

sailor,

vessel,

The

silver.

idea of recovering this wreck took fast hold of his

to

to

brick house in the

His business as a shipwright brought him into con-

idle vaunt.

tact with
that,

all

The profound

still,

by predicting, that on some day yet

his wife

come, he should be the owner of " a

''

widow whom

mind

and

he made his way

England, with the view of securing the patronage of the

court for his scheme of recovering the buried treasure.

met with

the usual delays, but by

a hearing,

and being provided with a

Bahamas.

Even

yet,

however, his

of so unsatisfactory a composition that he

the old

delays,

to

There he had

were not over.

deemed

it

it

proved

prudent

undergo a repetition of

brook much incredulous laughter, and to

chafe under insolent contempt.

the favor of

to

for the

vessel, sailed

difficulties

His crew mutinied, and when he engaged a new one,

to return to England.

He

dint of importunity obtained

Monk, Duke

But having contrived

of Albemarle,

to gain

and some other high

SELf-HELP.

328

personages, he was provided with another ship and crew, and

in

good

spirits sailed

''

so well baited half an

Plata he set his

men

to

for the fishing

ground which had been

At Port de

hundred years before."

work

la

to build out of a large cotton tree

a canoe or periagua, which would carry eight or ten oars, and

might be used for exploring the dangerous shallows

Bahamas known

as " the Boilers,"

among which no

off the

ship could

safely venture.

For days and weeks the treasure-seekers continued

weary quest, and probably every heart was sick of

that of the persistent

At

and resolute commander.

their

except

it

one

last,

of the crew of the periagua, as she glided over the shallow tide,

happened

to see in the

the sea-feather,

him

luminous depths the waving plumes of

and ordered

that he might not return

Indian diver to gather

'an

The

empty-handed.

it

diver quickly

brought up the feather, and had a wonderful story to

Close by the rock where
said,

it

were lying scattered.

time and

make

had

flourished

He was

many

for

tell.

great guns, he

bidden to descend a second

further exploration.

Before long he came up

with a large ingot of silver worth several hundreds of pounds.

The crew

of the periagua, having fixed a

spot, hastened to join their ship.

of their discovery, but set

as a surprise for
it,

up the

Captain Phipps.

buoy

"

silver " in the

cabin

his glance fell

upon

sow of

When

he cried out with some agony, " Why, what

comes

this

"

we

The work

this

is

Whence

Then, with changed countenance, they told him

where and how they got

claimed, "

to indicate the

For awhile they said nothing

are

made

it.

"

Thanks be

to

God," he ex-

"
!

of exploration

was now carried on

Thirty-two tons of silver were recovered.

right cheerfully.

Over the precious

WILLIAM PHIPPS.

329

metal had grown a calcareous incrustation some inches in

which the men had

thickness,

and

''

to

break through with their

"

whole bushels of rusty pieces of eight

"tumbling out."

considerable amount of gold, pearls, and

The

other precious stones, was also collected.

whole being nearly ^300,000,

William Phipps began
der him, and carry

vowed

if

it

value of the

no marvel that Captain

is

crew should

to fear lest his

mur-

rebel,

Pious were the vows he

off the treasure.

only " the Lord would convey him safely to England

with what
seas

tools,

would then come

He

had given him

and of the treasures hid

lovers' prayers,

to enjoy of the

abundance of the

in the sands."

If

he probably does

at the

Jove laughs

at

vows of fortune-seekers

but Phipps reached England without accident, and was warmly

welcomed by

his ducal patron.

As

well he might, since

share of the booty was in

itself a fortune.

received _;^i6,ooo

we

the

present value

(equal,

of

As

Monk's

for Phipps,

he

suppose, to about _;^ioo,ooo at

money), and

Monk handsomely

pre-

The King

sented him with a gold cup of _;^i,ooo for his wife.

knighted the intrepid adventurer, and offered him employment

in

England

but he had

brick house in the Green

made up
Lane

his

" of Boston,

clung with characteristic tenacity.

Sheriff of

New

mind

to build

and

" a fair

to this idea

So, with the

title

of

England, Sir William Phipps returned home.

There, at the age of thirty-nine, he devoutly sought the

baptism.

" I have divers times," he said,

my life, and I
Him that has

he

High

"been

have been brought to see that

given a

life

so often to

me."

in

rite of

danger of

owe my

life to

His bold imagina-

tion next meditated the conquest of Canada, but the expedition

he led against the French was unsuccessful

and

at the early

age of forty-five death cut short his adventurous career, into


SELF-HELP.

330

which so much of daring, perseverance, and audacious enter-

The

had been crowded.*

prise

was descended from

What

Marquis of Normanby

late

William Phipps.

Sir

a romance of deep and stirring interest

the records of self-help

What

involved in

is

they preserve of courage-

tales

ous wrestling with fortune, of hope long deferred but finally

realized, of struggling ambition

and generous

appointments that make the heart

silent resolution, of

tations resisted

long endurance and

sick, of

arduous labor and

and the deathless

aspiration, of dis-

self-discipline, of

victories of

mind

We

tempthink

of Poussin on his road to Paris painting signboards in order to

earn the

day's

driving an

pittance

food

of

ass with milk-cans

customers with milk

on

of

its

Chantry, the sculptor,

back to supply

his mother's

of Richard Foley, founder of the titled

family of that name, repairing to

Sweden

to learn the

Swedish

process of nail-splitting, and fiddling his way from the west to

the

Dannemora

mines, near Upsala.

It is

narratives such as these which can teach us

and

is

capable of doing

complish, and

the

travail of

mind or body.

is life.

what one

who

acts
fail

plies
*
is

what he can endure, what he can

To

strive,

wills,

morally speaking."

upon

it

and

its

must act upon

are the people

who

died in

London

in 1695.

This

strive,

and

lofty aim,
is

ac-

it

strive

one can do

the truth which

triumphs enforce.

all

But then, he

The people

thoroughly.

only "half will," and self-help im-

an absolute concentration of

He

and

With a strong soul and a

histories of self-help

who

what man has done

how much of the heroic is in his nature. " In

German painter, "nothing bears fruit except by

life," said

such

only the perusal of

all

our forces.

The Duke of Albemarle,

made, was the second Duke, son of the King-restorer.

We must sav,
to

whom allusion

CHURLISH INDEPENDENCE.
with Napoleon, " There shall be no Alps."
Napier,

when

difficulties press

upon

33

Or, like Sir Charles

us, that

they do not

make

our feet go deeper into the ground.

In dealing with this subject of self-help, we are embarrassed
'

by the

fact that so

the illustrations

we should
in

life, it

many have

we should

was impossible

of

little

like to use, repeated the

these pages,

to

omit what we regard as

we

in self-help.

in our readers a

mood

would not have them

we do not

exertions,

Because we

on a friend or a patron, because we

the part of a true and honest

own

believe to be

desire to encourage

of churlish independence.

rely

when they can accept

says, "

patronage

Do we

we do not

man

to trust to himself

say that they are to shut their

or

all

As Mr. Hayknow hundreds who have got on by

who have

got their

first

step through a patron,

and with occasional help of the same kind have

and creditably

to the top

'of

risen steadily

the tree ?"

But when these questions have been answered

tive,

hand

without loss of honor.

it

not

we

as elsewhere in

ears to the voice of sympathy, or reject the generous

ward

most

Because we would

power" what we

a wholesome and

his

But here,

are unwilling to exaggerate.

profitable gospel,

and

its

culture, are all indispensable, but are

fain preach with " a forty-parson

it

anecdotes

value without those other high qualities which

regard as summed up

think

before us, and used

Industry, and courage, and determination,

and physical and mental

all

it

Yet, in treating of the secret of success

like to tell.

essential portion.

dealt with

in the afifima-

and when we have guarded against exaggeration of view

or statement, the fact remains, that the completest and most

satisfactory victories

strength and courage.

are those

We

which are won by our own

are then able to say, as Jean Paul

SELF-HELP.

332
Richter

made

said, " I

made

have

out of the stuff

"

out of myself as could be

much

as

man

and neither Heaven nor

will re-

quire of us more.

Many

of our readers will

be familiar with the story of Joseph

Marie Jacquard, the inventor of the loom for figure-weaving.

The

son of an industrious couple at Lyons, he was born on the

His father was a weaver, his mother a pat-

7th of July, 1752.

He

tern-reader.

taught himself to read and write

his parents possessed a small estate, they

indisposed to expend

it

on

his

seem

to

for

though

have been

education, and, as soon as he

Here he

was old enough, they placed him with a bookbinder.

gained a knowledge of mathematics through the kindness of his

master's cashier, who, observing his extraordinary mechanical
ingenuity, evinced

mended
it

by a number of

his parents to apprentice

would be advantageously

therefore, to a cutler

abandoned

little

him

contrivances, recom-

some trade

to

He

utilized.

in

which

was apprenticed,

but he was treated so harshly that he

his engagement,

and obtained work from a type-

founder.

His father dying, Jacquard came into possession of a couple

of looms, and forthwith proceeded to carry on the trade of a

But

weaver.

as his inventive

mind was always busy

mechanical improvements, his business suffered,

to

pay

his

debts,

fallen in love

he was forced to

and married

and as

sell

in devising

order

until, in

his looms.

He had

his indebtedness increased

with the increased expenses of his household, he was next

obliged to part with his cottage.

have been

who made
pinmaker

Destitution would probably

his lot but for the industry

and

thrift

straw-hats at Lyons, while Jacquard

at Bresse.

of his wife,

worked

Hitherto, as the reader perhaps

is

as a

think-

JOSEPH MARIE JACQUARD.

ing, self-help

had done nothing

333

Marie Jacquard,

for Joseph

He was

because he had not found his vocation.

groping in

work he was

direction, so to speak, to find his proper work, the

fitted

and destined

to

Fortune

his reach.

do

but as yet

had not come within

it

one of those mysterious caskets

like

is

which can be opened only by the touch

and men handle

it

it first

here and press

coveted

its

on one

side,

characteristic

inventiveness,

hidden spring

of a

and then on another, press

there, without finding,

The

secret.

genius was

it

all

and even

many

feature

of them, the

of

Jacquard's

in his direst poverty

he

projected improvement of the cumbrous

continued to

toil at his

draw-loom.

In 1790, he contrived to bring before the public

his

mechanism

for selecting

the warp-threads,

added

to the loom, enabled the

boy.

It

which,

when

weaver to dispense with a draw-

rose into immediate favor, and in ten years four thou-

sand were sold

in

Lyons

alone.

The Revolutionary storm now caught him

in its throes.

He

joined the Moderate party at Lyons, and enrolled himself and

his son, a lad of fifteen,
city,

when

The

tion.

to escape

in the

it

among

was besieged

city

the volunteer defenders of the

in 1793

by the army of the Conven-

was taken, but Jacquard and

his son contrived

from the hideous massacre that followed, and enlisted

army of

the Rhine.

Carrying into this new vocation the

energy and determination of his character, he rose to the rank

of sergeant, and might have risen higher, but his son being
killed in battle

on foot

to

Lyons

obscure garret,

bonnet making.
nel

by

his side,

he deserted, and made his way back

in search of his wife.

still

He

found her in an

plying with busy fingers her trade of straw-

His ideas then returned to

their former chan-

and having secured employment from a trading manufac-

SELF-HELP.

334

he devoted his hours of leisure at night to the congenial

turer,

occupation of invention.

His busy brain soon devised im-

provements of great value, and one day he indicated their

nature to his employer, expressing his regret that he had not

His master, however, had

the means of carrying them out.

the intelligence to appreciate them, and the generosity to place

a sum of
all his

money

at Jacquard's disposal that

he might give up

In three months the

time to their practical realization.

Jacquard loom was completed (1801), was exhibited

Exposition of
simplicity

at

the

National Industry, and gained a prize.

Its

and ingenuity attracted the attention of the Minister

Carnot,

who

him

the First Consul.

to

visited the inventor at Lyons,

and recommended

For a time he was employed

to

arrange and repair the models in the Conservatoire des Arts

In 1805 he gained a prize offered by the Society

et Metiers.

London

of Arts in
fell in

for

making

nets.

At the Conservatoire he

with a loom for weaving flowered silk

son, the celebrated inventor of automata,

Jacquard's

fertile

made by Vaucan-

and

this

suggested to

fancy a further improvement of his

loom, which superseded the pattern or design reader.

own
The

Jacquard loom, thus completed, received the patronage of

Napoleon

and

but in Lyons

selfish fears of

He

machinery.

it

awakened the ignorant jealousies

the weavers,

was hanged

who

in effigy,

proprid persond, and an attempt was

The

English

land'; but

silk

raised the cry against

and nearly drowned

made

in

to destroy his looms.

manufacturers invited him to

settle in

Eng-

he was too patriotic to abandon his native country,

and preferred

to wait until the value of his invention

generally known.

took place.

It

became

Then, as he expected, a revulsion of feeling

was found that

his

machine gave a new im-

BENJAMIN THOMPSON.
pulse to the weaving trade by lessening

and the workmen who would

sought, on his birthday, to

tjie

cost of production

so gladly have

make him

335

drowned him now

the chief figure in

Napoleon conferred on him a pension,

triumphal procession.

and granted a premium

that might be erected.

of fifty francs

upon each

of his looms

Deriving from these sources a com-

fortable income, he retired to Vallois, his father's birthplace,

autumn

to spend the

of his

He

life.

died in August, 1834,

aged eighty-two.

Of

the

life

Count Rumford, the friend of

of

Davy, and the founder of the Royal

justly said that

has

it

all

Institution,

some

would

be readily censured as improbable.

its

incidents,

Benjamin Thompson, by

American farmer, was born

In

setts.

mMer

It

scientific

fiction,

753 at Woburn, in Massachu-

he was apprenticed to a general

store,

experiments, read

and, in

and baptism the son of an

birth
in

by an inventor of

was soon evident that

he neglected the

related

if

his thirteenth year

dealer at Salem.

has been

it

the interest of a romance

truth,

of

Humphrey

Sir

drew

this

was not

his

dabbled in

caricatures,

the books he could get hold

all

of,

and, in a word, did anything and everything but attend to his

Being summarily dismissed, he made

master's business.

way

to

Rumford (now

where he contrived
to secure the

was then

hand and heart

free to

side,

of a

engage in the

War

of

received

Hampshire,

woman

of

good

scientific studies

He

estate.

he loved, until

Independence compelled him

and he espoused,

the cause of the mother country.

well

New

to start a school, and, in his twentieth year,

the outbreak of the

choose his

called Concord), in

his

after

some

little

to

hesitation,

Visiting England, he

was

by Lord George Germaine, the Secretary of

SELF-HELP.

336
who,

State,

September, 1780, appointed him Under-Secre-

in

tary for the Northern or Colonial Department.

however, to follow
the next year

goons

we

him

find

in Carolina.

In

command

in

of a regiment of dra-

Afterwards, he serves under Sir Henry

Anon,

Clinton as commander-in-chief of the cavalry.

he speeds

It is difficult

the variations of his stirring career.

all

in 1783,

Vienna, for the purpose of taking part in the war

to

But attracting the attention of

of Ausiria against Turkey.

Prince Maximilian^ heir-presumptive to the electoral crown of

Bavaria, he

makes such
he

is

is

induced to pay a

Munich.

Here he

intrusted with the uncontrolled administration of Bava-

rian affairs, civil

and

military.

The reforms he accomplished

state

visit to

excellent use of his talents, that in less than a year

He

were extraordinary.

in

every department of the

built barracks

and warehouses

he established an excellent police; he reorganized the army;

he introduced economy into the finances of the Electorate
suppressed mendicity

once

efficient

and enacted a poor-law which was

He

and humane.

magicians of

ful

by the magic of

whom we
their

he
at

resembled one of those power-

read in the old fairy

tales,

who,

wand, converted wildernesses into rose-

gardens, and banished want and vice from the confines blessed

by

their beneficent sway.

Yet even

this great

work of ame-

liorating the condition of a people could not satisfy his

less energies.

employed
life.

tity of

bound-

In the intervals of state business he was actively

in adapting the principles of science to the arts of

To him

belongs the credit of having discovered the iden-

heat with motion

which demonstrated the

and

it

was

his ingenious

fact of the unlimited

experiments

production of

heat from a limited quantity of matter by the expenditure of

BENJAMIN THOMPSON.
mechanical power in
science,

lation,

completed

vex

and

totus in

Whatever he attempted

friction.

in legis-

or administration, he carried into effect, he

no

left

membra of

disjecta

fruitless

His powers were always equal

his conscience.

he undertook.

337

He

schemes
to the

He

asked no one to share his burden.

to

work
was

se.

Merit does not always meet with meed, but the American

He

farmer's son had no reason to complain of ingratitude.

received the honor of knighthood from George III.

foreign sovereigns sent

and

him the

after being formally

name

chief of the

and lieutenant-general of the royal armies

created a Count of the
years

later,

in Bavaria,
in

he was

Seven

1791.

having resolved to return to England for the benefit

Elector appointed him Minister

Plenipotentiary to the Court of

fell

several

War Department

Holy Roman Empire

of his health, the grateful

ment

insignia of illustrious orders

to the ground, as

State for Foreign

St.

James's

but the appoint-

Lord Granville, then Secretary

Affairs, necessarily refused to

confirm

it

of
to

an English subject.
Settling in England, the ever-active

tion to the ventilation of houses

neys and fireplaces.

of Sir

atten-

He also took a leading part in the foundation

of the Royal Institution,

ment

Count devoted'his

and the improvement of chim-

and ensured

Humphrey Davy

as

its

its

success by his engage-

lecturer.

In October, 1805,

having been upwards of twelve years a widower, he married the

widow

of

Lavoisier,

proved unhappy, and

took place.
plete

the

The Count

seclusion,

celebrated chemist, but the union

in June,

1807, an amicable separation

then retired to Auteul, where, in com-

and engaged

in the pursuit

of

his

favorite

SELF-HELP.

338
studies,

His death took place on the

he lived for some years.

2ist of AfUgust, 1814.

That

is

daughter

make you

If

you make a habit of

this in early life,

of the accidents of fortune

Self-respect

in

anyone have

let

it

in their

take

power

think more or less of yourself than you deserve.

to

dependent

to his god-

Rely on yourself for what you are yourself

"

a modest estimate, but never

really are

Lord Balling gave

excellent advice which

is

till

you

be almost

will

in-

the day of your death."

essential to self-help.

When we know what we

we can

afford to keep our temper

and can

really do,

the face of the world's neglect.

Had Haydon formed

proper estimate of his powers, and respected himself for possessing them, or

would have

insight, neither

by

fallen

his

own hand.

and Havelock preserved

as Collingwood

similar degree of

had Chatterton attained a

Such men

their equanimity in

spite of the unjust indifference exhibited to their services,

falling

back on a reserve fund of

after months, nay, years of

that

self-respect.

It

discouragement and disappointment,

Thackeray gained a hearing from the public

taken the measure

of his intellectual capabilities,

what he could do

if

unrepiningly until

it

an opportunity were given

came.

And

what serene patience he bided

rail

and

flout,

reach home

was

so with

but he had

and knowing

to him,

Wordsworth

waited
with

his time, content to let critics

and confident that

to the national heart

his poetry
!

would eventually

Self-knowledge and

respect are to each struggling combatant in the battle of

what Aaron and Hur were

his

arms would have

have gone from

to

to Moses,

when but

selflife

for their support

fallen nerveless to his side,

Israel.

by

not until

and the victory

Says Bacon finely " Men seem neither

understand their riches nor their strength

of the former,

"KNOW

THYSELF."

339

they believe greater things than they should

much

What

less."

determines

its

which refuses
tumely.

to

is

the accurate perception which

be overborne by arrogance or withered by con-

man

bread,

and carefully
trust."

wanted

of the latter,

exact proportions, and the manly consciousness

" Self-reliance

" will teach a

own sweet

is

to

and

self-denial,"

to drink out of his

and

to learn

and

own

continues Bacon,
cistern,

and

eat his

labor truly to get his living,

expend the good things committed

to his

CHAPTER

IX.

REASONABLE SERVICE AND TRUE

SUCCESS.

" The very art of struggling is in itself a species of enjoyment and every
hope that crosses the mind, every high resolve, every generous sentiment,
every lofty aspiration,
nay, every heroic despair, is a gleam of happiness
that flings its illumination upon the darkest destiny.
All these are as essen;

human

life, as the palpable events that serve as landmarks

these would have to be computed before we could
fairly judge of the prevailing character of the career."

tially

a portion of

to the history

"

The

and

all

talent of success

is

without a thought of fame."

" What

shall I

Thy

nothing more than doing what you can do well

H. tV. Longfellow.

do

to

be

duty ever

for ever

known

This did full many who yet sleep unknown,

Oh, never, never
Think'st thou perchance that they remain unknown
Whom thou know'st not ?
By angel trumps in heaven their praise is blown.
Divine their lot," Schiller.
!

How

"
must Stephen of Colonna, whom Petrarch loved and reverenced for
his heroic spirit, have struck dumb with astonishment the base and impotent
assailants who thought indeed that he was at length in their power, and so
demanded with an air of triumph, Where is now your fortress ? ' when he
Here and one whose strength
laid his hand on his breast and answered,
will laugh a siege to scorn. " Kenelm Digby.
'

'

'


REASONABLE SERVICE AND TRUE SUCCESS.

344

thing worthless

and wearisome

Do we

training place of our spiritual nature

know

not

Do we

to

it

be the

know

not

that

the faculties cultivated here will grow into a glorious fruition

Ah, the nobleness of labor

hereafter

thought,

how

evil

impulse

it

it

wonder

at the infatuation of the fools

expend

their

in

lives

by which mind,

we mean

all

that

we

we mean

soul,

it

are lost in

idly turn

more than the

belongs to our respective callings

efited

involves,

who

from

to

it

But when we

indulgence.

luxurious

of the business day, something

cess of culture

crushes back the

it

mean something more than

speak of labor we

develops the

it

bethink ourselves of the pleasure

moral elevation which

yields, of the

how

braces up the soul,

When we

How

the occupation
that properly

toil

that general pro-

and body

alike are ben-

assiduous preparation

which carefully occupies the hours not devoted

to

and

finish

amusement

Our complex humanity has many sides, all of which

demand our assiduous vigilance this vigilance we regard as

or repose.

part and parcel of our daily duty.

In some such sense would labor seem to be regarded by

Carlyle in a well-known passage

"Two men

honor," he .says,

"and no

third.

First,

the

toilworn craftsman that with earth-made implement laboriously

conquers the earth and makes her man's.

Venerable

to

me

is

the hard hand, crooked, coarse, wherein notwithstanding lies

a cunning virtue, indefeasibly royal, as

planet. * * * Toil on, toil
it

who may

thou

on

if

the sceptre of this

thou art in thy duty, be out of

toilest for the altogether indispensable, for

daily bread.

"

second

man

honor, and

still

more highly

him who

is

seen toiling for the spiritually indispensable, not daily bread,

"

NEGLECT OF HEALTH.
but the bread of

Is

life.

towards inward harmony

through
est of

when

his

inspired thinker,

it

who

artist

his

with heaven-made implement conquers

is

evidently understood as

and even physical

intellectual,

anxious to

We

set forth.

sublimest thing a

synonymous with duty

work

deep to save the

relation,

which we have been

have sought to establish that the

man can do

is

to

do

his duty, whether, like

feeble, or

whether he

down

But taking work

common and restricted meaning,

men earn their bread or attain

as the daily labor

we draw
is

to

tual labor

body

in

all
it

fame,

a conclusion, to enunciate a caution.

intellect, soul

and body,

not of

Of

intellec-

As

possible to have too much.

one sense involves

neglect of the

the same,

the effect

is

body has

its rights,

and the primary cause

and

body

fast living, so neglect of the

another sense induces exhaustion and disease.

in

more

by which

becomes neces-

it

three parts of our tripartite nature.

is

in its

implied in our remarks upon duty, which we

have defined as the culture of

one, but of

to

into the

at the receipt of

sits

custom unhonored and unknown.

sary for us, as

in its moral, spiritual,

the soldiers on board the Birkenhead, he goes

This, indeed,

not earthly craftsman only, but

the influence of such

is

High-

inward endeavors are one

heaven for us

and

endeavoring

revealing this by act or by word,

outward and

when we can name him

Here work

not he too in his duty

outward endeavors, be they high or low.

all his

all,

345

these,

we

is

In both cases
the same.

repeat, cannot

one way without mortal injury to the

in

The

be disregarded
another

soul, or in

without fatal mischief to the mind.

We

must be upon our guard against overwork.

candle at both ends we

may

expect to burn

it

If

we

rapidly

light a

and as

REASONABLE SERVICE AND TRUE SUCCESS.

34^

an overwrought brain

tells

upon the body, racking the nerves,

checking the healthy action of the blood and

liver, irritating

the heart, and disturbing the whole organization,

when one

matter of surprise that

also

intellect,
!

Then

succumb.

the diseased frame reacts on the enfeebled

and the victim,

weeks or months of

after

high pressure.

ssurely

is

We

ceaseless in

;hand

and the

Men make

the attack

number

to

an Ixion's

In every profes-

few years, grown sharper and

fiercer

is

of those

bound

are

revolutions.

its

ssion the contest has, in the last

more tumultuous

is life

industry prevails

and those who do not press forward are

thrown out of the race.

wheel which

human

In every sphere of

a keen competition

suffering,

Life at the present day

sinks into a premature grave.

.at

cannot be

it

way the other should

gives

who

the fight

fall

hand-to-

has largely increased.

up

haste to get rich, or to keep

is

" a position," or to

rfound an immense business, and hence, in spite of terrible ex.amples .and constant warnings, they

"They endeavor

to get out of brain

There

-and body can supply.

effort,

We

is

victims to overwork.

a necessary limit to wholesome

but they foolishly overpass

do not think that

fall

and body more than brain

it.

this excess

is

due

in

many

cases to an

exaggerated conception of the true aim and end of

life.

Saturday Reviewer has condemned the worship of work for

own sake

of idleness.

The

latter

worship has

its

votaries

doubt very much whether the former has many

ciples.

All conscientious

reasonableness of work,

and

still,

but we

priests or dis-

minds must be impressed with the

will recognize that identity

work and duty on which we have already enlarged.

feel the necessity of

its

extreme as the worship

as almost as pernicious an

working while

it is

between

They

will

yet day, and before the

THE DIFFERENCE OF THE "END."

when no man can work.

night Cometh

means

as a

in

which

motive,

would

an

to

men

all

regard

iron

or

incline

Such, indeed,

end.

we

we take

to

strongly doubt

On

industry.

of

life

But they regard work

be the

whether men

the

contrary,

suspect that they have an inherent tendency towards a

ease

that

work

Lotus Eaters
hearts to cry
"

is

as

them as

distasteful to

and that

light

Unless influenced by some strong

it.

necessity,

to

347

we
of

Tennyson's

prone in our heart of

of us are

all

to

life

Why are we weighed

upon with heaviness,

And

utterly consumed with sharp distress,

While all things else have rest from weariness ?
All things have rest why should we toil alone,
only toil, who are the first of things.
:

We

And make

perpetual

moan

Hateful is the dark blue sky,

Vaulted o'er the dark blue sea.

Death is the rest of life Ah, why

Should life all labor be ? "
;

We

work because

necessity, like the

Old

Man

of the Sea en-

throned on poor Sinbad's shoulder, compels us to

us continually, and will not be denied.
necessity with

all

of us.

It varies

spirit of

clings to

not the same

according to the worker's

One may be

aim, condition, capabilities.

It is

it,

fired with as restless

inquiry as possessed Ulysses

" Yearning in desire

To

follow knowledge like a sinking star,

Beydnd the utmost bound of human thought."

Another

is

a fourth

by a

impelled by avarice
fear of poverty

a third
fifth

by love

of excitement

by an honest wish

to

make

the best use of the talents with which Providence has gifted

him.

Work

is

" the

of a Ricardo as of a

delssohn.

means

" of a

George Grote

Only how

Rothschild as of a Kepler
;

different the "

of a

end

Faraday
"!

as of a

Men-

348

REASONABLE SERVICE AND TRUE SUCCESS.

But while contending that men work because they must, and
not from any natural desire for
it

so far

assert our opinion, that

who

upon

enter

it

it

carries with

in a right spirit.

Miller, that eventually

it

In our conviction

sented

be

to

the

believe, with

still

Hugh

a delight and an

itself

that

we must

a blessing for those

Hugh

Miller repre-

best of teachers, the noblest of schools

a school in which the

spirit of

independence

is

fostered, the

being useful developed, and the habit of persevering

ability of

effort acquired.

of

it is all

it

We

proves to be in

enjoyment.
it

or any source of pleasure in

it,

majority are concerned

at least as the

human

It

has been said that the greatest productions

genius were written, not for the sake of immortal

fame, but to provide for some practical need, to supply some

keenly

felt

commonplace want.

Homer

sang,

it

is

suggested,

partly to kindle the flame of patriotism in the hearts of his

countrymen, partly
lodging, as he

to

secure the day's food and the night's

wandered along the shores of the blue Medi-

Shakespeare composed

terranean.

" Othello," not for glory, but to

"

his

Hamlet

"put money

"

and

his

in his purse."

Hooker's great work, the " Ecclesiastical Polity," was a conBurke's master-

tribution to the theological conflict of his age.

piece, with all

its

wealth of imagery, was intended to protect the

British constitution

ary

spirit.

because
true

it

from the encroachments of the Revolution-

And James Watt

invented the condensing engine

offered a prospect of honest gain.

enough

the motive

and the aim may

been the motive and the aim suggested

that to each worker his

mental satisfaction.

All this

may be

in each case

have

but who can doubt

work brought with

it

a moral and

Had Homer no pleasure in his song ? Was

Shakespeare conscious of no intellectual ecstasy when embody-

"

EXEGI MONUMENTUM."

ing in deathless verse the dreams of Hamlet

rejoice in the logical coherence of the grand

building up in his stately prose

periods and feel no

argument he was

Could Burke pen

glowing

his

gratification in bringing to complete-

ness his wonderful invention

We

Did not Hooker

of the heart, no fever of the brain

stir

And had James Watt no

349

are ready to admit that, as a rule, great

men

are seldom

conscious of any great impulse, unless a sense of duty may, as

we

think,

be

and

fitly

truly so designated.

battle of Waterloo because

When
"

the

defeat of

Thank God,

to

was

it

James Watt and

"

and that was

his achievement,

ing steam-engine because

won

the

it

all.

To

return

he completed the condens-

was the right thing

and

to do,

would be an improvement on the engine

because, as he saw,

it

previously in use

but we

Wellington

duty not to be beaten.

Napoleon was assured, he exclaimed,

have met him

his

may be

no visions of

certain that

England covered by a network of railways, or of great ships

crossing the ocean " against wind and tide," ever rose

The

imagination.

upon

his

sculptor of the matchless Apollo Belvidere

" The lord of the unerring bow,

of life, and poesy, and light,
in human limbs arrayed, and brow
All radiant from his triumph in the fight,"

The god
The sun

no other way could he ex-

wrought his masterpiece because

in

press the ideal beauty which he

had conceived, and not from

a conviction that to

We

admiring eyes.

all

time

it

would prove the cynosure of

do not say that the desire

an active motive with the world's workers.Shakespeare could predict

powerful rhyme

and Horace

of

fame

is

never

We know

that nothing would

exclaimed, " Exegi

outlive

that
his

monumentum

REASONABLE SERVICE AND TRUE SUCCESS.

350

acre perennius

"

and Milton

felt that his

was a work " the world would not willingly

believe

human labor. We
who wanted, to be one," and
outset the aspirant

would ultimately

Hie Rhodus ;

that greatness

is

" which was

Do

them

meant

a writer in

the world.

" Guesses

shame a braggart,

to

application.

me a

This

that Luther

is

will

at

admit

and T

will

his

life.

by doing

day by day, without thinking of looking beyond.

We

ought not to linger

the

moment we

in inaction until Blucher'

comes up,

but,

catch sight of him in the distance, to rise and

Hercules must go to Atlas and take his load

charge.

will

the world, not by waiting for

a favorable opportunity, but by doing his daily work,

God's

a very

standing-place,

what he did throughout

moved

Truth,"

of.

Goethe has changed the

standing plaee,

Make good thy

the world, into the precept.

it

which he

to

and make the best of them.

as they are,

and profounder

was

At the

toil.

not wait for a change of circum-

postulate of Archimedes, Give

and move

man

the unexpected

had no conception of the height

" This saying," observes

So, too,

man

attain.

hie salta.

stances, but take

different

upon

was ever a great

most instances of long-continued patient

result in

But we

let die."

very seldom exercises any direct influence

it

believe that " no

move

" Paradise Lost "

off his

shoulders perforce."

And

it

in this spirit that the best

It is patient

work

will

always be done.

and well regulated industry that wins the

not spasmodic effort

race,

and

not violent exertion at the outset, to be

followed by premature exhaustion before the road to the goal

has been half accomplished,

cess,

but adequate work.

up money,

it

is

not overwork that wins suc-

And overwork

for

to gain a high social position, to

what

To heap

buy houses and

WALTER

SIS
lands

351

are these worthy objects for immortal souls

can be more deplorable than

such as these
for the

work

poet and

and

scholar,

tortures,

kills

was warned by

would ensue

replied, "

Whether
I

and

may

am

What

at shrines

and cheers, the

When John

his physician

he persisted

if

and love

foolish than to substitute,

that strengthens, invigorates,

ruin that

last.

to sacrifice life

What can be more

that harasses,

to the

SCOTT.

toil

Leyden,

of the certain

he

in his excessive study,

to live or die, the

wheel must go round

perish in the attempt, but

if

die without

surpassing Sir William Jones a hundredfold in Oriental learn-

never a tear for

ing, let

Poor, foolish enthusiast

prived himself and the

We know

of nothing

me profane the eye of a Borderer."

He fell at thirty-six, and thus deworld of many years of useful labor.

more painful

in all literature

than Lock-

hart's narrative of the last days of Sir Walter Scott,

surely killed himself

Writing in January,

the razor.
"

Here

by overwork

1825,

the

biographer says,

The

drum

muffled

in

is

Thenceforward the beat of that drum grew louder

prospect."

and louder.

The

strong

The exhausted

will.

Work was

more.

done

at frightful cost.
first

demand of the
could be made to yield

brain ceased to answer to the

little

was the

as

must drop the curtain on a scene and period of un-

clouded prosperity and splendor.

ist

who

any suicide by poison or

as

intellect

done, but

An

it

was poor work, and

it

was

apoplectic attack in February, 1830,

revenge of overstrained nature.

The

great novel-

disregarded the warning, and thinking he had recovered his

health,

resumed

his task with his old diligence.

with his old success.

Mortality

'

How

But, alas, not

vast the interval between " Old

and " Castle Dangerous "

!

Repeated attacks of

apoplexy or palsy followed, and the poor sufferer was

at

REASONABLE SERVICE AND TRUE SUCCESS.

352

After a voyage

length compelled to lay aside his pen forever.

and

to Itdy, he returned to Abbotsford a paralytic wreck,

He

condition of semi-unconsciousness.

was only

in, his

years

last

Goethe

of

sixty-

What

second year when he died, smitten down by overwork.

a contrast with the

in a

The grand

German, though a constant thinker and active

toiler,

old

reached

the age of eighty- three, retaining his intellectual forces unim-

paired to the very

he continued

He

Down to within four

last.

was eighty-one when he received every morning a music-

lesson.

Mendelssohn playing

" This consisted in

an hour pieces by

all

All the while he would

art.

could not help

At

fire.

to further the

first

he would not

But when Felix declared he

all.

and played the

it,

for

a dark corner like a Jupiter

sit in

Tonans, with his old eyes flashing

venture on Beethoven at

him

to

great composers in chronological

the

and then explaining what each had done

order,

Minor Symphony, he remarked,

is

years of his death

Kunst und Alterthum."

the publication of his "

'

first

movement

of the

That causes no emotion

only astonishing and grandiose,'

'

and

in this

way

C
it

the octo-

genarian studied and criticised with the keenest perception the

great works of the greatest masters, incidentally proving that

labor does not

kill,

and worrying

ing,

year

when he

entire

unless

labor.

died,

it is

an excessive, ill-regulated, grind-

So, too,

and yet

Newton was

to the last

which had discovered, we might almost

say, the secret of

new

tracts of science.

the universe, and opened up and explored

Montesquieu lived a

life

his sixty-eighth year,

of unremitting industry, yet he reached

and

his last

soundness of his judgment.

by

in his eighty-fifth

enioyed those faculties

his bedside, "

words bore witness

" Sir," said the curd

you understand how great God

to the

who prayed

is ?

"

"Yes,"

reply, "

was the

OHNE HAST, OH NE

and how

without haste and without

is

Ohne

(" Qiiantilla

prudentia homines regantur

one, yet he

had never known what

death a

life

enough has been said

indeed, rescued

and

preser'^ed

Anatomy

labor

lived to be eighty-

We

to study.

the reader was

show the healthfulness

to

Quesnel

he died, closing by a peaceful

weary

of work,

but

which

of Burton,

intellect

the

author 6:

the

of Melancholy."

man

of business

honest, and acknowledges

is

a slavery, that he lives without leisure

life is

out peace

"),

idleness meant.

Cowper from hypochondriacal despondency,

the

Occasionally the
that his

until

rast,"

own maxim

his

which had been assiduously devoted

might multiply examples

"

when

in his eighty-sixth year

ohne

hast,

Oxenstjerna, the illustrious

rest.

Swedish statesman, whose career contradicted

was

353

These men acted on

"

adage, "

German

the principle of the

man

little

RAST."

but he adds that

and with-

unrelaxing and absorbing

all this

but temporary ; that as soon as he has earned a com-

is

petency, or gained the object he covets, he will gladly slacken

the reins and moderate his pace.
for rest

that his harassing

brain-work which

dog him
bed,

are

future

to his

toil,

home, haunt

is

tells

his

chills his heart, the

endured and endurable only

when he

will repose

you that he longs

gnawing

and gibber around

his

in consideration of a

under the shade of

Life slips

dreaming of the time when he

anxieties, the

consuming thoughts that

his fireside,

But that future never comes.

fool

and

He

his

own

fig-tree.

away while the poor

will really live.

Life glides

past with the silent flow of a copious stream, and carries with
it all its

all its

opportunities of home-happiness and lettered leisure,

resting-places for calm reflection

such an one

how dread

will

and quiet thought.

To

be the Master's question, " What


REASONABLE SERVICE AND TRUE SUCCESS.

354

hast thou done with the talents I gave to thee

"

Days and

nights sacrificed to " business,'' to " money-getting," to the acquisition of a fortune, to the maintenance of " appearances," or

the gratification of intellectual ambition

to

satisfactory answer

astray

ward
is

by a

Oh, the pity of

will-o'-the-wisp,

until they sink

sire of

when men

it

"

in a slough of

men overworking

gain.

"

despond

own nature and

tivating

many

for

is

who

about one

It

themselves for the

Sir

work can be driven on

is

advancing

desirous of expanding

the nature of others in

all

pursuits, of bringing himself

:him in contact with the universe on

man and

For a hundred men," says

whose appetite

their families, there

many

directions, of cul-

and those around

points, of being a

not a machine."

At the bottom of the overwork-madness

ception of duty, a false theory of
true sense of duty
it

are thus led

vanity, avarice, ambition, or a mistaken notion of

his

be a

they are impelled to this suicidal career by de-

fame or greed of

Arthur Helps,

by

will these

which draws them onward and on-

overwhelmed

seldom that we hear of

sake of others

life.

lies

We

a mistaken con-

have shown that a

would render overwork impossible, because

engages the worker to pay due attention to his physical health

and the needs of

his soul.

In like manner, a right understand-

ing of the uses and meaning of

cultivation of

that

hereafter

our faculties.

all
is

life

So

presupposes the equal

live here that

the Christian principle.

Sir

ye

may

live

Henry Taylor

puts some wise words into the mouth of his hero, Philip von
Artevelde,

when he makes him

say

" All my life long

have beheld with most respect the man
Who knew himself.and knew the ways before him,
And from among them chose considerately,
And, having chosen, with a steadfast mind
Pursued his purpose."
I

A THEORY OF
Unquestionably
life,

adapting

and when

by a

man

well for a

it is

LIFE.
to

355

form

own

his

theory of

to his means, his circumstances, his capabilities

it

that theory

close adherence to

chosen, success can be attained only

is

But oh

it.

beware that you do not

Let your

deceive yourself, or suffer others to deceive you.

theory be one of which your conscience approves, of which

Heaven

Let

will approve.

it

not be the money-maker's theory,

or that of the slave of fashion, or that of the votary of speculation, or that of the

ardent worshipper of

little

Whether

things.

you are a man of business or a professional man, merchant or

shopkeeper,

soldier

theory be the

your aim, the higher

had a

or divine, trader or statesman, let your

been so trained

in

up

live

says

youth that the body

it

capable of

is

logic engine, with all

working order

its

"

is

whose

higher

That man has

who has

the ready servant of

all

the

work

intellect is

parts of equal strength,

that as a

a clear, cold,

and

in

smooth

ready, like a steam-engine, to be turned to any

kind of work, and spin the gossamers as well

anchors of the mind
of the great

The

it.

Professor Huxley, "

and does with ease and pleasure

mechanism

to

be your attainment.

will

liberal education,"

his will,

and

loftiest possible,

whose mind

is

as

forge the

stored with a knowledge

and fundamental truths of nature, and of the laws

of her operations

one who, no stern

ascetic, is full of life

and

fire,

but whose passions are trained to come to heel by a vigor-

ous

will,

the servant of a tender conscience

tj love all beauty,

and

whether of nature or

to respect others as himself."

art, to

who has learned

hate

all vileness,

Here we have presented

almost the ideal man, and the writer's theory might seem to outline almost the ideal

life.

But look into

you become aware of a grave

defect.

it

little

Without

closer,

faith in

and

God,

REASONABLE SERVICE AND TRUE SUCCESS.

356

how can any

theory of Hfe be complete

divine satisfaction
of the two great

tender that

is

if

in

it

commandments

The conscience

it

win the

for the observance

not kept in obedience to God's laws

them must be

that ignores

Or how can

no place be found

will not

be

and the

life

as imperfect in practice as in con-

Says Mr. Aubrey de Vere

ception.

God made man's life

What constitutes that

'
'

it is

a holy thing

The

life ?

virtues,

first

That sisterhood divine, brighter than stars,

And diverse more than stars, than gems, than blossoms

The

virtues are our life in essence.

Those household
Lastly,

The

poet's ideal

is

which image

life

Man
with

of

Sorrows

Next,
ties celestial

They alone

blessed sorrows.

life's

Rehearse the
Fit us for

ties

they alone

Him."

a noble one, and

we

if

lived

up to

it,

we

should face the future with hopeful courage and prayerful confidence.

Contrast

it

with the ideal indicated in the milhonaire

maxim (and a man is known by the proverbs

Take care of the cents, and the dollars will take

Girard's favorite

he repeats

!),

"

care of themselves

wasted

his

"

Contrast

with Astor's,

who used

in

to

with Magliabecchi's,

to say that a

and having saved two thousand

life

it

existence within the four walls of his library.

him evidently presenting

dollars,

man

wishing to be rich,

had won

itself as

game

half the battle

So Mr. Freedley has

habits of business include six qualities

calculation, prudence, punctuality,
lent quahties

but are these

all ?

laid
:

down

to securing

as a law that

industry, arrangement,

and perseverance.

Excel-

Is not truthfulness necessary,

nor reverence, nor prayerfulness, nor benevolence

Surely the

man of business would be grievously defective

were summed up in the exercise of the ordinary virtues.

life-theory of the
if it

of speculation,

which one's whole thoughts should be directed

the best cards.

who
Or

ANOTHER THEORY.
"

Are you industrious

cal

are.

" says

you calculating

are you persevering

you prudent

familiar term, habits of business.

any one of these qualities

them by

cise of

man

and

fits

of business

and

equal degree,

It is

What

depicted

No

fish

are

you punctual

known by

is

it is

counting-house

the

exercise

an

all in

habits, that

as

And

eidolon

constitute

them

the possession of

their continuous

nor the occasional exer-

in perfection,

starts, as it is called, that will

but

nothing more

is

of

life

here

is

room, apparently, for charity, for kindly feeling,

for the sweet humanities

The

not the possession of

give reputation and constitute ability."

needed

you possess what

If so,

Mr. Freedley

are

357
" are you methodi-

life-theory of the

and graces of the Christian character.

man

of business

consideration of selfish interests.

is

to

be based on a

Happily our greatest

sel-

men

of business have never acted on such a theory.

We

shall

be asked, perhaps, in what way the worker

combine the preservation

of his health with

requirements of his occupation.

given

due attention

The answer has been already

by taking heed of the common laws of

work must be counteracted by

attempt must be

may

to the

exercise in the

Brain-

health.

open

No

air.

made to stimulate the jaded system by recourse

Nor is any form of excitement other than

to alcoholic liquor.

hurtful for an intellect fatigued

it is

by constant

labor.

After

all,

easy to find wholesome amusement, such as music or gar-

dening, a

game

of cricket in

summer, an indoor game

in winter

or cheerful talk with friends, or a romp with the children, or an

For ourselves, we believe that

hour's perusal of a good novel.

change of occupation

is

recommend enforced

idleness

active mind,

accustomed

a relief
;

and a
it

relaxation.

We

do not

An

wearies and depresses.

to an industrious

employment

of

its

REASONABLE SERVICE AND TRUE SUCCESS.

35 8

to divert its energies

less

absorbing object.

when weary with

and recreation

The proper

unable to stop thinking.

faculties, is utterly
is

from

its

course

some

usual pursuit in favor of

Mr. Gladstone and the late Lord Derby,

the cares of statesmanship, have found rest

Homer.

translating

in

George Stephenson

turned from the details of railway construction to the cultiva-

and peaches.

tion of grapes

Sir

John Lubbock, the well-known

banker, amuses his leisure with speculations on " Prehistoric

We know

Man."

when he

an eminent physician who relieves

his

mind,

oppressed with the burden of several delicate cases,

is

by the perusal of the

lighter

And we have

monthly magazines.

heard of a profound scholar, who,

at the first

symptom

of brain-

weariness, rushes off to the theatre.

How many
tual labor

hours a day

it is

experience, and

Much

will

much on

to us to constitute the

that

beyond

many cannot

reach

day throughout the

is

year.

it if

We

intellectual

volves a constant variety.

duties to the House,

deputations

just as

we

are sure

we

sure

the labor be continued day after

be

told, of course, of

what

but we do not believe

that,

shall
;

in reality, they give seven hours a

same form of

But

these should be

with safety, so are

this limit

and

journalists, seven hours a

sleep.

done by statesmen and judges

the

a man's reserve of force

maximum, and

balanced by an equal amount of

own limit.
much on the

himself, to fix his

phy.sical health,

For authors and

elasticity of nerve.

that few can go

given with safety to intellec-

Each man should be able by

by careful study of

depend on a man's

nature of the occupation,

day seem

may be

difficult to state.

day through9ut the year

employment.

The statesman

and thence

to

some

Their work

goes from his

reception.

he reads or writes despatches.

He

to
in-

official

He

sees

enjoys his

'DUTY."

359

vacations at Easter and Whitsuntide, and his holiday by the sea

or on the moors

when Parliament

said of our judges.

seasoned, as

upon

to

mourn

same may be

the

Yet sometimes they do break down, though

were, by long habit

it

And

rises.

and the world

the premature deaths of

men

called

is

like Sir

George

Cornewall Lewis and Mr. Justice Willes.

This part of our subject

manly words of the

" Is

to dig
shall

it

may

fitly

conclude with some plain,

George DaWson

a man's duty to scrape and rake, to

and drag

all

and everything

much more

have so

" Is

late

than anybody

else's

?
it

"

and

fret, to

the

fame

useful to them-

'

if

duty
acts

'

may have

his

Book

writing in the Lamb's

humble

of Life gives to that

no gainsaying.

is

consist in the doing of appointed work, in

of an

existence, in eating

rejoicing

the state, useful to

covet and scheme, that he

question an answer which there

" But,

a man's duty to worry and work, to bustle and burn,

written on the scroll of

The

strive,

Certainly not.

to agonize

name

children

their friends, or

their generation, useful to

" Is

and

a man's duty so to heap up wealth for them as to

it

effectually prevent their being useful to

selves

toil

together, so that his children

humble

life,

and drinking,

in

in

then, that duty

and sorrowing

the

commonplace

of

speaking and thinking, in

faithfully

done should

be the preparation for the better doing of further work in

this

world, and in the world to come."

As

to the secret of success in

life,

delivered widely differing opinions

different authorities

sometimes

in

have

language as

oracular and obscure as the Pythian utterances at Delphi

sometimes

in

words as clear and dogmatic

as

the rules

of

REASONABLE SERVICE AND TRUE SUCCESS.

350

by,

identical with the " secret " as explained

by no means

lyle, is
let

" secret " as told by, let us say, a Car-

The

Lindley Murray.

the " secret "

" secret " set before the

The

us say, a Rothschild.

world by the Christian Evangelists

is

absolutely antagonistic to

No

expounded by the modern Epicurean.

doubt,

with the majority of men, a Rothschild's view will carry in-

weight than an Apostle's.

finitely greater

New

the late millionaire of

abilities,

Mr. A. T. Stewart,

York, was of opinion that " no

however splendid, could command success without

tense labor and persevering application."

American statesman,

in-

John Randolph, the

remarked that the philoso-

sarcastically

pher's stone was found in four short words of homely English,

"

Pay

as

you go

"

Meyer Amschel,

the founder of the house

of Rothschild, declared that the secret of success

in the four following rules
profits.

bought of

made

my

i.

the manufacturer

customer

that

my
I

is,

customer, and the one I

supplied the manufacturer

with raw materials and dyes, on each of which

and took

his

manufactured goods, which

thus combined three profits.

an offhanded man.
lucky
riot

man

or place.

shoes to their

sound very

well,

and bold.

It

of caution to
it

Make

feet.

to

against

them

and

Be

great fortune

much

4.

Be cautious

and a great deal

and when you have got

wit to keep

but we are sure

Their advice

they cannot get on

me

it."

observance of these rules would make a

not prepared to say

profit,

do with an un-

never act with them.

is

requires a great deal of boldness

make a

profit,

a bargain at once.

they do good to

requires ten times as

made a

have seen many clever men who had

but fate

how can

themselves,

2.

I sold at

Never have anything

3.

was embodied

" I combined," he says, " three

it

man

Whether a
wealthy,

would make him

it,

strict

we

are

selfish.

EDWARD

MR.
Let us go a

little

seem

He

says

"

My

observations through

hoe their

own row from

be qualified by a caution from

the jump.''

Sir

may

me

in business

own heads

But

Arthur Helps

over-choice in looking out for what

own

our

satisfy

life

most successful

without any reliance except upon their

and hands

Freedley's

to us in opposition to

that at least nine-tenths of those

start in life

36

The Hon. John

further, however.

secret of success does not

advice.

BAINES.

may

this

"

Be not

exactly suit you

but rather be ready to adopt any opportunities that occur.

Fortune does not stoop

tunities will not

Nothing does."

to take

anyone up.

happen precisely
It

may be

that

in the

we may

Favorable oppor-

way you imagined.

learn something from

the following sketch of a once active and intelligent

Parliament, Mr.

Mercury."

Edward

member

of

Baines, the proprietor of the " Leeds

After receiving an ordinary school education, he'

was apprenticed

to a printer,

who was

stimulated by the excited

country at the epoch of the French

political condition of the

Revolution to publish a newspaper of

liberal views.

Young

Baines, full of energy, and industrious to the core, removed to

Leeds before the expiration of

his apprenticeship in order to

gain a more thorough knowledge of his

town poor and

tegrity,

known
on

his

friendless

combined with
to

men

own

Mercury."

craft.

his political Liberalism,

of influence

He

entered the

but his perseverance and his

and, having

in-

soon made him

commenced

business

account, they assisted him to purchase the " Leeds

This was

in the year 1804.

It

was then a weekly

paper, with a very limited circulation, and was confined to the

mere record

of local

and other

two of advertisements.
it

made no pretensions

No

intelligence, with a

column or

leading articles were given

and

either to guide or represent the opinions

REASONABLE SERVICE AND TRUE SUCCESS.

362

of the community.
to the

Mr. Baines immediately addressed himself

work of making

lishing

medium

his paper a

teaching, and, in spite of

all difficulties,

of sound political

he succeeded in estab-

on a basis equally wide and permanent.

it

half a century

its

For nearly

vigorous support was given to any measure

which would benefit the condition of the working classes and

In 1834 the services of

elevate the tone of society.

prietor

by

and

his personal

its

pro-

work and independence were recognized

member of Parliament for Leeds, and he held

1841, when ill-health compelled him to retire.

his election as

his seat until

He

died in 1848, in his seventy-fifth year.

biographical writer says of

him

" In his attendance on

parochial business he was as regular and punctual as in his at-

tendance on his own business, and the same

of

all his

up with heart
and

his

he gave his whole mind to the carrying of

duty was his pleasure.

was impatiently

driving,

still

by a love of power or
display.

To
be

He

He

to extremes.

it

was never

felt

it

out,

that he

what he did was prompted

No

one did more with

less

it

it.

was never necessary that he should

Nor were

his virtues ever

pushed

was firm without sternness, candid with-

conciliatory without obsequiousness or finesse,

out rudeness,

methodical without

rigor, deliberate

These are the

Baines's prosperity
line of

less that

influence.

horse in the team.

indecision."

Yet

neither courted prominence nor shrank from

induce him to work,

first

may be observed

Whatever he undertook he followed

public duties.

conduct

which ensured Edward

and they indicate a course of action and a

infinitely

more laudable than

of the house of Rothschild.

help shut out

without undue slowness or

qualities

that of the founder

Baines did not think that

the idea of benevolence

that the

self-

man who

PERSEVERANCE.

363

devoted to the assistance of that class

Much of his life was

whom Meyer Rothschild

the unlucky.
When John Hunter was asked
" My rule
success, he replied

deliberately to consider,

helped himself was never

was

to help others.

by

fain to pass

to

his

before

commence, whether the thing be

not practicable,

accomplish
I

do not attempt

till

the thing

Again, Sir

success."

it.

If

give sufficient pains to

it if I

never stop

longer

communicate the
is,

I live, the

To

done.

is

it

it

practicable.

am

If

be practicable,
;

be

it

can

and having begun,

this rule I

Thomas Fowell Buxton

more

secret of

owe

said

my

all

"

The

certain that the great difference

between men, between the feeble and the powerful, the great

and the

insignificant,

is

energy, invincible determination, a pur-

pose well fixed, and then death or victory.

do anything

that can

be done

in this world,

circumstances, no opportunities, will

a

man without

it."

we seem

counsels,

After
to see

at

all,

When

To

is

his marvellous

perseverance in pursuing

was generally low-toned, but

would be

no

talents,

make a two-legged

creature

the bottom of these various

identical with energy

and

in-

Napoleon- was asked by the Czar Alexander to

what he attributed
"

quality will

one great underlying principle, that of

perseverance, which, of course,

dustry.

That
and no

difficult to utter

it."
it

good fortune, he answered

Benjamin Franklin's advice

was always

practical,

and

it

more sound sense on any subject

than he has put into the mouth of " Poor Richard " on this
subject.
lives

pains

"

'

Industry, and not wish,' " he says, "

upon hope
;

will die fasting.

then help hands, for

are smartly taxed.'

'

He

'

and he that

There are no gains without

have no lands,

or, if

have, they

that hath a trade hath an estate

he that hath a calling hath

an

office of profit

and

and honor,' as

REASONABLE SERVICE AND TRUE SUCCESS.

364

poor Richard says

but then the trade must be worked

and

at,

the calling well followed, or neither the estate nor the office

us to pay our taxes.

will enable

shall

never starve

looks

in,

for

'

we

If

Nor

you a legacy,

rich relation left

and God gives

all

'

diligence

treasure, nor has

Then plough deep

things to industry.

Work while it is called to-day,

much you may be hindered to-morrow.
keep.'

two to-morrows,' as poor Richard says

till

and

sell

to

you know not how

for
'

any

the mother of good

is

while sluggards sleep, and you shall have corn to

leave that

con-

will the bailiff or the

industry pays debts, while despair increaseth

What though you have found no

them.'

we

are industrious,

working-man's home hunger

at the

but does not enter.'

stable enter

luck,

for,

'

One to-day
and

further,

to-morrow which you can do to-day.'

worth

is
'

never

you

If

were a servant, would you not be ashamed that a good master

should catch you idle?

Are you then your own master?

ashamed

to catch yourself idle,

done for

yourself,

Handle your

when

there

is

much

stick to

it

to

remember

ate in

and you

two the cable

All this worldly

'

the cat in

for

'

but

constant

and by diligence and patience the

and

little

strokes

fell

great oaks.'

"

may be summed up in
commandment
" Thou shalt not

wisdom, however,

'

idle."

Lord Lytton
all

be

It is true there

will see great effects

Josiah Wedgwood's eleventh

be

that

be done, and perhaps you are weak-handed

steadily,

dropping wears away stones

worm

Be

to

your family, your country, and your king.

tools without mittens

gloves catches no mice,' as poor Richard says.

is

much

so

writes,

and

here

we may remark

that almost

the heroes of this novelist, are very models or patterns of

perseverance,

" There

lives

not a

man on

earth out of a

WORK AND
who has

.lunatic asylum,

What can

mechanic

a peasant in the

do more than that

you had

talent

not,

counted the vermin on

no excuse

want

for

purpose

knew some

creature that

useless

or loitered with a

field,

and not found that each of these men

at the town,

The most

is

not in him the power to do good.

ever entered a cottage, ever travelled in a coach,

ever talked with

it

365

writers, haranguers, or speculators

Have you

had a

WAIT.

his rags

things you

knew

yawned

a club, or

at

not

under the sun of Calabria, has

of intellect.

in other

ever

What men want

is

not talent,

words, not the power to achieve, but

the will to labor."

Do

not think,

reader, that success in

life is to

charm which dispenses with the

be won by

any

spell or

Do

not believe that the Barings, and the Gurneys, and the

Childs,

and the Cunards, have possessed any

discovering the philosopher's stone.

question, "

get

necessity of work.

How

Put

"

formula for

each of these the

to

did you get on in the world

on the world

" or "

How

and though the answers may

There

words, they will be identical in substance.

road to success.

raa:gic

The temple

of Fortune

is

is

shall

differ in

no royal

accessible only

by

a steep, rugged, and difficult path, up which you must drag

yourself, like pilgrims

knees.

and

will

The
test

as

you are."

and wait."

"

man

Rome, on your

to another, " I wish I

You mean," was

We may
pilot did

was

as lucky

the reply, " as willing to work

be reminded of Caesar's speech

pilot in the storm, " Casareni portas et

and so the

of

your powers of patience and endurance to the

Said one

uttermost.

up the Scala Santa

ascent must be foot by foot, nay, inch by inch

fortunam

for Caesar's fortune

was

ejus."

to

the

Aye,

in himself, in his

capacity, his force of character, his resistless energy, his deter-

REASONABLE SERVICE AND TRUE SUCCESS.

366

mination

Napoleon's belief in his star did not

be foremost.

to

prevent him from carefully planning the details of his campaigns,

and devoting

powers to the accomplishment of any

his

all

object he had in view.

But we have written

and we

of Success,

volume

this

shall

reader have not grasped

To

it.

easily guessed

a secret which the

neither less nor

We may know

applied.

magicians

of immortal

life,

who

it

makes upon
and

strive,

bear,

in

we

shall fail

humble

fail

a secret

good

by no means

it is

in the flush of

insist

discipline, to practise the

all,

time the

is

easily

thoroughly, and yet not profit by

our faculties

and

this

it

it,

professed to have discovered the secret

and died

all

by

" doing one's duty."

manhood

How we

Is there

What' a demand

anything harder than doing one's duty?

it

unfold the Secret

if

of every great and

life

more than

But though the secret be so simple,

like the

in vain

our thinking

man

reveals

in order to

have written

must be content

submit to the sternest

to

most rigorous

egregiously

self-reliance

unless we enter

imitation of the example of Christ,

and

to

self-

after

on the task

and with a strong

resolve to walk in His footsteps.

Here, however, another question forces

sideration.

We have said

but what do we mean by " success

life,"

one

upon our con-

"

The

represents a large account at his banker's

comfortable

estate,

enclosed in

another, a high place in society

;

and to a

fifth,

own

phrase, " success in

To

has a very different signification for different minds.

it

office

itself

miich about the " secret " of success

to another, a

" ring

"

to

to yet another, a title or

an

its

the trumpet-voice of fame.

fence

It will

be

modified also by the measure of our aspirations and our sense


MONE Y-GE TTING.
of our opportunities.

So that success

embodied

modest ambition

in the poet's
'

I often

For
to Others

I had clear
three hundred pounds a year

money-getting.

other,

and

men

"

in a large or limited sense, with

Now, we do not

profess the assumption of a

we have already hazarded our

enough and honorable enough

ent position, such as only
is

shall not

a serious evil, as a means to an

We do

despise Diogenes.

tub, or a great thing to

God

substance.
for

that

money

as the great

poverty.

pour upon

On

resolve

mind

it is

it

is

stringent control.

right

is

as an

end

Of

a splendid good.

but then you and

reader,

I,

a good thing to live in a

wear a cloak with more holes

we should work

aim and object of

life

for

it

than

alone,

God

forbid

but

in

money

which

rails

at it

that true happiness lies in the lap of

seems to us very commendable

what

Money

secure.

upon earning a competence,

as to

It

this

an independ-

to covet

to the pride of humility

and pretends
It

end

not think

forbid that

we should stoop

as dross,

money

opinion.

man

for a

money can

course Diogenes despised

identi-

it is

money- getting a flood of indiscriminate censure.

point

be

out of ten

extravagant morality, and we

tone of

will

a capital of a quarter of a

suppose that by nine

some way or

fied, in

some

in life to

wish that

life,

will not fall short of

it

We

million.

3^7

if

in

a young

man

to

he can make up his

a competence, and to keep his desires under

But for a man who gives up

his nights

and

days, his heart and soul, to the acquisition of a larger fortune

than his neighbors, we feel the most supreme contempt.

man whose

aspirations point to

money, and

his feelings to

may God

money, and

money, and

forgive, for he will

The

his thoughts to

his affections to

have need of forgiveness

money,

"

REASONABLE SERVICE AND TRUE SUCCESS.

368
Is

good

it

by another,

to strive for success

Is a

man

tellectually better

and

all

that

it

happier

No

if

for;

We will answer this question

failure

he morally or

Is

we do our work

our mind; and

all

our strength, we have a right to hope

meet with

its

due reward.

will

trials, after all his

sacrifices,

If Palissy, after all his

had not succeeded

would not

the secret of enamelled ware,

his

in discovering

from his own

life,

point of view, have been irrecoverably wasted

failure generally

waste

means waste

and human

of time,

That

and

and
the

soul,

smarting with the sense of this vain expenditure,

is

conceive of the world a gloomy picture, which shadows

enjoyments, represses
disconsolateness

its

aspirations,

weakens

its

it

And

life

is

effort,

can afford no such waste.

hope

its

in-

with all our heart,

apt to
all

energies.

its

In

exclaims

it

' This world, which seems

So various, so beautiful, so new,

Hath really neither joy, nor love, nor light.

Nor certitude, nor peace, nor help for pain

And we

are here as on a darkling plain

Swept with confused alarm of struggle and
Where ignorant armies clash by night

fight.

Whereas the world

odors

all

about

really a very pleasant world, with sweet

is

and the sound of music ringing through

it,

its

garden-bloom, and a grateful interchange of starry night and

sunny day

a world

happy

and to accept thankfully as the vestibule to a world

in,

yet brighter and

good

more

it

be grateful

is

for,

and

to

be moderately

beautiful, because everlasting.

mood

to fall into a

and therefore

to

of discouragement

not good to

fail.

It

is

It is

not

and despondency,
sad to

feel,

under

any circumstances, but more especially when we have done our

best, that

our bark has been wrecked with her voyage only

half-accomplished

to see others gliding past us with

banners

HALF-HEARTEDNESS.
Streaming and canvas swelling, while
less

on the shore.

felicity

examples abound

show

to

and

is

feels that

that an object to be desired

else

all

life

is

made

in

the world

though
it is

has no more

has been truly said

It

subservient to

it

to

yet

a man's life

once the pleasure and the

at

sometimes a great object

being

take the sting

not happiness,

The moments

it.

prizes to be coveted, are few indeed.

of

may

failure is so great, that

that success

essential to

when, Alexander-like, he

ment

shattered and help-

but generally the impossibility of con-

necting the ideas of

it is

lie

" Philosophy or religion

out of disappointment

clear that

we

369

tor-

be steadily pursued,

or,

more commonly, a

succession of minor objects, rising, one after another, in sudden

succession.

If

clared that

attempt
sought,

Keats did somewhat exaggerate when he de-

there

yet

'

is

no

fiercer hell

by day,

of heaven,

and

or hardship

But, again,

than the failure in a great

must be admitted that the pleasure of a long-

it

ardently desired

toiled for

toil

'

is

it is

we

success,

dreamed

of

by night and

probably as complete as anything this side

universally lelt to be a compensation for

it is

well also,

say that this

if

all

for every sin."

book has been written

for the

purpose of making known to our readers the Secret of Success.

We

have told them the

secret,

they conscientiously act upon

and we venture
it,

to assert that, if

there will be no failure.

treasure-cave must necessarily throw wide

its

door

to

The

him who

knows the magical " Open Sesame." Only there must be no

There can be no cure unless the patient has
half-heartedness.
faith in the

use

remedy, no success unless the worker make honest

of the secret.

The dihgence must not be

perfunctory, the

perseverance must not be simulated, the energy must not be

intermittent, the self-help

must not be unreal, or the

secret will

REASONABLE SERVICE AND TRUE SUCCESS

37<^

lose

couplet Addison

In a well-known

efficacy.

its

says

sententiously
"

It is not in mortals to

But

Not

so

it.

But

We

command sacc&%%

do more, Sempronius, we'll deserve

Sempronius deserves success, he

if

we'll

it."

What is

have suggested the various answers given to

minds

money,

rank, influence,

these answers seem to

and the

like

by various

it

success

none

only,

of

meet the requirements of our positioii

Cannot there be success even

logically.

achieve

will surely

then the all-important question recurs,

man do

if

not

acquire " a fortune," or secure " a baronetcy," or gain admis-

among

sion

the upper ten thousand

higher, no truer success

calls failure

true

And may

no

Is there

other,

no

not that which the world

be a very real and true success after

all

Is

it

not

what the poet sings

" The

virtue lies

In the stiuggle, not the prize?"

Though

ceeded, or succeeded in

When
stars,

all

we

not
all

Montgolfier launched his balloon

but

its

" Paradise Lost,"

Had

he failed

make

been guilty of a

_;^ioo,ooo,

failure

why

he had

fifteen

pounds

he not clothed him-

We

and make only

but, then,

Milton completed his

Had

singing-robes of immortality

intend to

set fix his

possible.

suc-

we desired?

did not reach the

and a bookseller gave him some

for the copyright.

self in the

it

we have

inventor had, nevertheless, succeeded

shown that aerostation was

man

may

attempted,

the prize should pass to others,

grant that

_;^io,ooo,

if

he has

did he not at the out-

hopes upon the ;^ro,ooo, and succeed


FRANCES HORNER.

We

371

imagine that the unthinking would pronounce the career

of Francis Horner a failure, for he died at thirty-eight without

having attained to high

was
in

so

it

which

this

it is

he died

office or written a

What does Lord'Cqckburn

magnum

say of

But

opus.

"

it ?

The

light

calculated to inspire every right-minded youth

at the

age of thirty-eight "

true,

and

alas

is

but

" possessed of greater public influence than any other private

man, and admired, beloved,

and deplored by

trusted,

No

the heartless or the base.

greater

Now,

Parliament to any deceased member.

man

ask.

of an

How

was

this attained

Edinburgh merchant.

of his relatives ever

He

little

pay.

he had no genius
right.

By wealth

in

every young

let

He

was the son

Neither he nor any

had a superfluous sixpence.

By

office

By

talents

By eloquence

fascination of

manner

what, then, was

ciples,

He

it ?

and a good heart

mind need ever

His were not splendid, and

cautious and slow, his only ambition was to

spoke in calm good

out any of the oratory that either

By

except

held but one, and only for a few years, of no influence, and

with very

be

By rank

all

homage was ever paid

terrifies

taste,

or seduces.

with-

By any

His was only correct and agreeable.

Merely by sense, industry, good prin-

qualities

which no well-constituted

despair of attaining.

It

was the force of

his

character that raised him, and this character not impressed up-

on him by nature, but formed out of no peculiarly

by

himself.

Horner was born

to

fine

elements

show what moderate powers,

unaided by anything whatever except culture and goodness,

may

achieve, even

when

these powers are displayed amidst the

competition and jealousy of public

Now

Horner we should

thirty-eight

came

call

life."

a successful man, though at


REASONABLE SERVICE AND TRUE SUCCESS.

372

" The blind Fury with the abhorred shears

And

He

had done

ter,

all

the thin-spun life."

he aimed at doing because he had not aimed

Let us contrast with him a very different charac-

much.

at too

slit

the brilliant Bolingbroke

Pope's " IJenry

one time Queen Anne's Secretary of

some books

of

permanent renown.

John "

career

and the author of

his

"In

English Alcibiades," he says,

this

rich vitality

bounding

We first

into

life,

behold him,

less,

like his

"what

fame

audacious in profligate ex-

Still

but a

he soon wrenches himself from so ignoble a ruption

of the desire for renown.

He

had rung with the turbulent

redundant activity

Europe

but

perhaps, from the riot of the senses, than from a wild

jOy in the scandal which singles him out for talk.

stripling,

restless,

Athenian prototype,

a beautiful, ambitious youth, seizing on

notoriety as a substitute for

self

at

adopt, with compres-

and modification, Lord Lytton's elegant sketch of

sion

cess

State,

We

St.

in travel,

disappears from the haunts that

follies of

a boy

he expends his

and learns the current language

to so nice a perfection, that, in later

acknowledges obligations

to

his

life,

critical

of

Voltaire him-

knowledge

of

French."

Returning to England, he entered Parliament

at the

age of

twenty-two, and almost immediately secured recognition as an

Lord

Chesterfield, himself

one

most accomplished of public speakers, and doing

full

orator of transcendant powers.

of the

justice to

kind,"

And

Chatham,

still

that

to

whom

he ascribes " eloquence of every

distinguishes Bolingbroke as the perfect orator.

Chatham accepted

precursor's oratorical

power

as truthful the traditions of his

is

evident from his saying, that he

BOLINGBROKE.

373

would rather rescue from oblivion Lord Bolingbroke's unreported speeches than Livy's lost books.

In the

then convulsed the Legislature,

political warfare that

Bolingbroke espoused the side of Harley, and quickly made

himself of so

much consequence

Harley became Secretary of

He

Secretary of War.

Harley were forced to

and Godolphin.

as an ally, that, in 1704,

Henry

State,

St.

held office until 1708, when he and

retire

by the influence of Marlborough

In 1710, through a series of intrigues which

form a curious chapter

in English political history,

turned to power as head of the Government, and

came
the

Two

a Secretary of State.

House

he began

Oxford

of Peers

by the

title

for the first place,

Harley

St.

who

and

re-

John be-

years later he was called to

Then

of Viscount Bolingbroke.

Harley

to plot against

when

John became

had been created Earl of

two years" struggle, suc-

after a

ceeded, with the help of Mrs. Masham, in expelling Harley.

At the same time he was conspiring

to the throne,

when

to recall the Stuart

dynasty

Queen suddenly

the death of the

baffled

his ambition.

"

The

councillor of

King George.
be laid

in

Queen Anne

What a

the theatre

is

denounced

as a traitor to

scene for some high-bred novelist might

itself,

the night in which Bolingbroke

vanished from the town he had dazzled and the country he had

swayed
there

The playhouse

sits

Prior,

'

Men

is

crowded

respect and

women

" Curious tongues whisper.

Is there

any proof against him

peachment are already drawn

have

his head.

Tut

all

eyes turn to one box

handsome young statesman whom,

serene the

says

love.'

But what

is

It. is said

up, the

impossible

really the truth

the articles of im-

Whigs

are resolved to

See how gaily he smiles

at

REASONABLE SERVICE AND TRUE SUCCESS.

374

Tut

has just entered his box

The

Where

stage.
is

my Lord

disappeared

Axe and headsman

sea.

At

distrusted,

And

lo

even

there,

he

are baffled.

the playhouse in

All eyes there, as in London, are fixed on the

who had

for

hour on the mimic

that ever fretted his

a fugitive on the

Pretender

express

darkly on an actor greater than any

falls

behind the scenes has

young statesman.

An

Lord has bespoken the play

Where next does my Lord reappear?

Paris.

night.'

curtain falls

Burbage or Betterton

He

My

only the manager.

to-morrow
"

Who

moment.

this

handsome

Minister of State

is

melancholy Minister of a crownless and timid

He who

gave Europe the Peace of Utrecht, he

supplied ammuhition and arms to Marlborough,

exile in the court of the

Bourbon, or rather

of the Bourbon's pensioner, and plotting

in the

a-

is

an

mimic court

buccaneer's foray

on the shores of disdainful England."

The Pretender soon

dismissed from his service a statesman

whose courageous genius was a constant reproach

cowardice.

Retiring to a secluded chateau, he there

a remarkable vindication of his political

Sir William

life,

Weary

until a year

of exile, he endeavored to obtain per-

mission to return to England, and at

last

succeeded, through a

Duchess of Kendal, the King's German

heavy bribe paid

to the

mistress (1723).

In 1725 he was restored to his

but was not allowed to take

The

his seat in the

title

and

House

Ministry feared the effects of his eloquence.

compensation for
periodical press,

this

his

in a " Letter to

Windham," which was not published

after his death.

to

composed

estates,

of Lords.

He

sought

enforced silence in the columns of the

and some of the

bitterest attacks

policy of Walpole proceeded from his pen.

upon the

In 1735 he again

REASONABLE SERVICE.
left

375

England, and remained abroad for a second period of seven

years, finally returning in

seemed probable

The

political stage.

After the

1742.

for a time

that

fall of

Walpole

it

he might reappear on the

prospect, however, was soon clouded over,

the infirmities of age told rapidly on the intellect once so keen

and the energy once

so irrepressible

and having outlived

his

generation and his influence, he died on the 15 th of December,

1751, in the seventy-fourth year of his age, leaving to posterity

the memorable example of a brilliant failure, and tne lesson

Had

taught by the career of an unsuccessful man.

attempted

less

Bolingbroke

he would have achieved more, and the biographer

would have had no occasion

to

lament over the misfortunes of

disappointed ambition and undisciplined genius.

To be

successful

object wisely.

and

in

opportunities.

hope of

life,

we must choose our

therefore,

must be one within the range

It

It

The

attaining.

of our

means

must be one which we have reasonable

laughter would be just with which

we

should receive the proposal of a cripple to compete in a

The

two-mile race.

nounced

It

to attempt

a shoe-black an-

better to aim at nothing which

is

the definition of the impossible.

fairly within

Nor

any work which we cannot hope

All that the Divine Master expects of us

vice,"

'f

he died, a fortune of

his intention of amassing, before

half a million.

duty

laughter would be just

work proportioned

of accomplishment.

to our powers,

It will

is

is

to perform.

and within our

if

Even

it

to us

The

and cannot apply.

by a magician,
"

limits

thus be seen that success depends

neglected the " secret " will not

large for

our

" reasonable ser-

on the observance of certain conditions, and that

key be given

comes
it

it

Open Sesame

will not
"

these
if

be
the

open a lock too

which threw wide the

REASONABLE SERVICE AND TRUE SUCCESS.

3/6

portals of the treasure-cave to

AH Baba would

him admission

We

to

any other.

have defined the Secret of

Success as the performance of our duty with

of mind, body, and soul

But

if

we go beyond

responsibilities

pect, for
It is

we

which

all

those resources

we have received from

the scope of our duty,

lie

not have given

the Creator.

we undertake

if

we must

outside our proper path,

shall deserve,

ignominious

no infrequent thing

to see

talents walking in the primrose

men

way

ex-

failure.

gifted with only ordinary

of success,

when genius

is

vainly attempting to scale the rugged precipices of the hill of

How

difficulty.

often

we hear

it

adea he was so very clever

wonder
ito

"

Nor

Who

"

said,

thought that Mr. A. would have done

would have

this or that

is

he

it

had no

no matter

is

undertake nothing beyond his reach.

If a

man can

ride

horse tolerably well, he will perform his journey in safety

if

he aspire

insist

to the

to

emulate the

skill

upon riding two horses

but

and

he

at once,

Yet

will assuredly

it is

smaller than their imagination,

who

and judgment

turn with

books upon " Self-Help,'

come

individuals of this

class, with ambitions larger than their means,

to

one

of the heroes of the circus,

ground with broken bones.

eagerness

for

he has prospered because he has been prudent enough

the

" Practical

upon Business," " Young Men's Manuals," and the

greatest

Treatises

like.

They

want a talisman

to secure good luck, a charm or spell which

make them masters of fortune without labor or effort.
They will pooh-pooh the simple explanation of the secret of

will

success which

is

offered

and

illustrated in these pages.

conviction remains that wealth (for of such

sole object)

is

to be

men

wealth

Their
is

the

procured by means of wonderful chances

or lucky speculations, the mystery of which has been mastered

"

THE HEIGHT OF

'

by the Rothschilds,
Poor

fools

Why

Astors, Barings,

will they

men

It is strange that

money with

strives to "

"

make money."

We
is

it

"a

For one adventurer who

who yearn

by no means censurable

itself

Is there

the greatest of

Why

to

have already said that to endeavor to

in

surely this constant worship of

Is

should so invariably associate the idea

a name," there are a hundred

earn a competency

social condition.

and Stewarts cf the world.

the idea of getting on.

make

2)77

seek to soar without wings

not be content with the practicable

of

BLISS."

all

money

is

no other success worth

human

become

blisses to

but

bad sign of our

striving for

the owner of

fortune," to possess a house in Belgravia, and another in

the country, a carriage, a cellar of old wines, and a gallery of

nice pictures

What
"

says Mr.

What

is

Swinburne

gold worth, say,

Worth for work or play,

Worth to keep or pay,
Hide or throw away,
Hope about, or fear ?

What is

love worth, pray

Worth a

tear

" Golden on

the mould.
See the dead leaves rolled,
the
wet
Of
woods old.
Yellow leaves and cold,
Woods without a dove
Gold is worth but gold.
Love's worth love.
;

To

our thinking, the love of wife and children, the gratitude

of hearts relieved

and brightened by our sympathy, the enjoy-

ments of a cultivated mind, the consciousness of duty done, are

the chief components of that success which the wise
labor to achieve.
to others

Not

Let us leave,
for us,

" the

friend, the

man

will

worship of gold

woods without a dove," the

REASONABLE SERVICE AND TRUE SUCCESS.

378

world lying sere and drear in the shadow of the altar of

We

mon.

must not overlook one serious

with the choice of an unworthy object in

lower us to

sarily tends to

money

end and aim

his sole

We

dream money.
a

man

its

naturally

own
will

that

neces-

speak money, think money,

;

in the honest

and

they

if

come

to

performance of his

remember

duty, he will do well to take care of them, and to

what admirable use he may make of them

but we are sure

that riches should never be the "success " sought

pure,

it

The man who makes

level

do not despise riches

and lawfully

life

Mam-

connection

evil in

by a

true, a

and an elevated mind.

In connection with the practical application of the Secret of

Success, two or three considerations

And,

first,

as every

man

and means of discharging

is

Too

not for him.

side

who

remain to be noticed.

still

has a duty to discharge, and the way

it,

let

no one complain that success

we meet with

often

by the way-

stragglers

seek to excuse themselves by the pretence that in the

ranks of the great army of workers no places could be found.

They have never sought

their places

serried columns

past without attaching themselves to

any Hag.
fessions,

feast

is

These are the men who sigh

and

literature, are "

and

art,

not large enough

that the stage

is

every brave heart

must be

for all

they have allowed the

that trade,

and the pro-

over-stocked

" that the

who would be partakers of

it

too crowded for even a supernumerary to find

standing-room.

It

march

to

so.

Tut, tut

who
It is

The world

asks nothing

more

is

wide enough for

than, to do

its

duty.

not more certain that every star has

its

place in the harmonious order of the universe than that every

man
If

has his proper work to accomplish in the economy of

he do not find

it

that

is, if

he will not find

it

let

life.

him not

OPPORTUNITY.
blame the

379

but his own indolence and apathy, or his

fates,

ill-

regulated ambition, his dilatoriness or his imprudent haste.

man's work
misses

he persist

it if

We

away

in turning

climbing up inaccessible
morasses.

hills

been born into the world

have written

"

Hamlet

What
'

shall

with

intense

have

sincerity, that they

suppose that they would

" before Shakespeare, or discovered the

our time, not the past or future

is,

to the right or the left,

men lament

We

too late.

steam-engine before James Watt.

tions

that he

and plunging into unfathomable

have heard some

and apparently with perfect

bitterness,

No wonder

always close at hand.

lies

we do with

Nonsense

The

present

and the question of

is

ques-

all

it

Stay, stay the present instant

Imprint the marks of wisdom on its wings
Oh, let it not elude thy grasp, but, like
The good old patriarch upon record,
Hold the fleet angel fast until he bless thee

It

may be

accepted as a proposition capable of irrefragable

demonstration, that the

the past and

who do

"
!

would

men who

fail in

not see their duty,

Secondly,

We

fail

now would have

failed in

men

the future, because they are the

or,

seeing

it,

do not perform

sometimes read about "starting-points

it.

in life,"

about " opportunities,'' and the necessity of being on the

to avail ourselves of them.

say

if

you miss

reappear.

We

it,

"

do not believe

may be

spicuous manner.

examined

into,

is

your chance," people

that, like the swallow,

in chance,

nor in opportunities, except in

times our duty

Here

do not think

it

will

nor in starting-points,

this sense,

that at particular

put before us in a special and con-

" Seizing our opportunity,"

means nothing more than

of doing our duty.

alert

when

carefully

seizing an occasion

It is true, therefore, to

some

extent, that

REASOMABLE SERVICE AND TRUE SUCCESS.

38o

man

to every
if

he permit

certain

to glide

that,

we

if

never again be
let

comes once

his opportunity
it

the reader

in

by

will

its

to

to detect

An

and ready

is

it

shall

But do not

descend suddenly and

opportunities, because energy

own

we

the wayside and wait for his " oppor-

unexpectedly from the blue heavens above

makes

and that

because

a position to retrieve the laches.

some miraculous boon

tunity," as for

in his life,

never return

once neglect any obvious duty,

down by

sit

it

Energy

him.

always prompt

is

execute the work that has to be done.

to

engine-driver in charge of a crowded train saw lying across

some distance

the rails at

which menaced

in front of

his freight with

him a piece of timber

wounds and

Quick

death.

as

thought he crept along the side of the engine, and leaning forward, by a supreme effort swung the log out of the
the iron wheels were
his duty.

handsome

it.

He

it.

risked his

life,

gifts

he had found

Yes

"There are

there are duties which

look for them.

but

it

was

in

doing his duty that he

"which you do

things," says Goethe,

him on the danger he was

that the

Duke

Duke, "but

when

a ball

his

will

not

appearance on the battle-

of Wellington remonstrated with

incurring.

The gentleman answered

himself ran an equal risk.

" Yes," said the

He had

scarcely spoken

struck the rash intruder dead.

There was no

am

glory in his death

doing

it

my

and so

a Mr. Godfrey, Governor of the

made

The Duke

Waterloo.

"
;

we never recognize because we

It is related of

of England, that he

field of

but he did

his opportunity, his starting-

not notice only because you do not look at them

Bank

just as

Afterwards he was rewarded with promotion and

point, his chance.

found

upon

way

duty.

was a melancholy failure.

side the sphere of his duty.

The opportunity

at

He

was out-

Waterloo was


DUTY.
not for him, but for the
"

with him.

Though

381

Duke and

men who conquered

Napoleon, " may last a

the

a battle," said

whole day, there are generally some ten minutes

issue
fifty,

And

practically decided."

is

or sixty, or seventy years, there

our duty
neglect

is

clearly presented to us,

will

it,

be our success or

is

which

in

always a

life

and according as we

Only

failure

its

may last
moment when

though a

so,

seize or

us not be led

let

astray by any fancied " opportunity," any imaginary " chance."

Let

Duke

us, like the

of the

fire,

again

"

of Wellington, before

be sure that duty

We

we

enter the thick

To

calls us thither.

quote Goethe

are not born to solve the problem of the universe,

but to find out what we have to do, and to confine ourselves

within the limits of our power of comprehension,"

may

Our duty

add, of action.

we cannot complete
positions which

plainly

is,

and, we

not to attempt what

not to thrust ourselves forward into

we cannot

fill

" They also serve who only stand and wait."

Failure

certain

is

if

we

allow ourselves to be deluded by the

mirage of an imaginary opportunity.

And,

lastly, if

Success,

if

we would

turn to advantage the Secret of

we would not miss our

cultivate not only our physical

duty,

we must be

and mental

careful to

faculties, not

those admirable business habits on which

guardians wisely enlarge, but the higher moral faculties.

this

point

chapter

a few

but

it

only

our parents and

On

remarks have been made in a preceding

seems desirable

to enforce

it

upon the reader

emphatically and solemnly, before our pen inscribes at the

bottom of the page the melancholy word " Finis." In a book

now

lying before us, the following " business qualities " are care-

REASONABLE SERVICE AND TRUE SUCCESS.

382

enumerated

fully

Integrity, enterprise, energy, perseverance,

courage, shrewdness, punctiliousness, prudence, ambition, grati-

and economy.

tude, benevolence, generosity,

already
ties,

commented upon Mr. Freedley's

and the

conspicuous by their absence.

qualities

more extended

list

we have

Well,

" six " business quali-

In this

not the reader sensible of omissions

is

Does he not look

in vain for these three Christian graces, faith,

hope, and charity

included

Benevolence and generosity,

it is

true, are

but we refer to that broader benevolence, that

loftier

which extends

generosity, the Christian ideal of charity,

sympathies to the sinner as well as to the sufferer, and gives

hand

to the

man who

fails as

the Greeks," says

Lord Lytton, "the

with the graces.

Admitted into the heathen

was

to

bind and unite

charities

their attribute

which even love lacked the power

says Pindar,

graces,'

the gods

'

chorus or the banquet

"

well as to the pauper.

its

Among

were synonymous
religion, their task

was the zone, without

to gharm.

'

Without the

do not move either

they are placed near Apollo.'

its

in

the
Pre-

scribed to us by a greater creed than the heathen's, they retain

their mission

as they retain their

charity which rejects the zone.

harmonizer

and soothes

struts into the

as charity

it

name.

It is

but a

mock

Wherever the true and heaven-

midst of discord,
beautifies,

it

not only appeases

commands, and subjugates

as grace."

The

influence of charity

perity of

human

life.

is

essential to the

But not

less essential

hope, which supports us in the hour of

trial

is

peace and prosthe influence of

and darkness, and

encourages us with the promise of a golden dawn

faith,

which enables us

to

or that of

endure in calmness, and adds con-

viction to the sanguineness of hope.

Unless we had hope for

Fims.

383

ourselves, our fellows, our race, unless

we had

faith in

and

in the

how

could we bear the burden and the mystery of

Divine benediction which attends

telligible life

it

in the future,

Let us believe and hope, so that we

duty patiently and gladly.

humanity

this unin-

may do our

Let us believe and hope, so that

out of the apparent failure which the world derides we

Heaven

gain that success which

hope, so that we

may

blesses.

may

Let us believe and

bear uncomplainingly the burden of

to-

day, looking forward with calm, clear vision to the rest of

to-morrow.

Let us believe and hope in the sure and certain

conviction of the

utility of virtues for

which there

is

no earthly

reward, of the grandeur of duties which are not enforced by

any human law, of the nobleness of the impulse

to deeds

which

annihilate even the care for self-preservation, and conduct to

noble, yet perhaps to fameless graves, thus invigorating

recruiting the

life

of races

and unrewarded heroes."

faith,

and hope, and so

proval of
yourself

God and His

and your

and

by millions of " crownless martyrs

Oh, cultivate the virtues of charity,

will

you learn

angels,

brothers, the

and

to apply, with the ap-

to the eternal happiness of

Secret of Success

riNis.