squarely after doing his level best, and then enters the contest again
and again with undaunted courage and redoubled energy. Have no fears for
the youth who is not disheartened at failure.
Raleigh failed, but he left a name ever to be linked with brave effort
and noble character. Kossuth did not succeed, but his lofty career, his
burning words, and his ideal fidelity will move men for good as long as
time shall last. O'Connell did not win his cause, but he did achieve
enduring fame as an orator, patriot, and apostle of liberty.
President Lincoln was asked, "How does Grant impress you as a leading
general?" "The greatest thing about him is his persistency of purpose,"
he replied. "He is not easily excited, and he has the grip of a bulldog.
When he once gets his teeth in nothing can shake him off."
Chauncey Jerome's education was limited to three months in the district
school each year until he was ten, when his father took him into his
blacksmith shop at Plymouth, Connecticut, to make nails. Money was a
scarce article with young Chauncey. His father died when he was eleven,
and his mother was forced to send him out to earn a living on a farm. At
fourteen he was apprenticed for seven years to a carpenter, who gave him
only board and clothes. One day he heard people talking of Eli Terry, of
Plymouth, who had undertaken to make two hundred clocks in one lot.
"He'll never live long enough to finish them," said one. "If he
should," said another, "he could not possibly sell so many. The very
idea is ridiculous."
Chauncey pondered long over this rumor, for it had long been his dream
to become a great clock-maker. He tried his hand at the first
opportunity, and soon learned to make a wooden clock. When he got an
order to make twelve at twelve dollars apiece he thought his fortune
was made.
One night he happened to think that a cheap clock could be made of
brass as well as of wood, and would not shrink, swell, or warp
appreciably in any climate. He acted on the idea, and became the first
great manufacturer of brass clocks. He made millions at the rate of six
hundred a day, exporting them to all parts of the globe.
A constant struggle, a ceaseless battle to bring success from hard
surroundings, is the price of all great achievements. The man who has
not fought his way upward, and does not bear the scar of desperate
conflict, does not know the highest meaning of success.
Columbus was dismissed as a fool from court after court, but he pushed
his suit against an unbelieving and ridiculing world. Rebuffed by kings,
scorned by queens, he did not swerve a hair's breadth from the
overmastering purpose which dominated his soul. The words "New World"
were graven upon his heart; and reputation, ease, pleasure, position,
life itself, if need be, must be sacrificed. Neither threats, ridicule,
storms, leaky vessels, nor mutiny of sailors, could shake his mighty
purpose.
Lucky for the boy who can say, "In the bright lexicon of youth there is
no such word as _fail_." We do not care for the men who change with
every wind! Give us men like mountains, who change the winds. You cannot
at one dash rise into eminence. You must hammer it out by steady and
rugged blows.
A man can get what he wants if he pays the price--persistent, plodding
perseverance. Never doubt the result; victory will be yours. There may
be ways to fortune shorter than the old, dusty highway; but the staunch
men in the community all go on this road. If you want to do anything,
don't stand back waiting for a better chance to arise, but rush in and
seize it; and then cling to it with all the power you possess until you
have made it serve the purpose for which you desired it, or yield the
good which you believe it to contain.
The lack of perseverance is the cause of many a failure. We do not stand
by our plans faithfully. Fashion, or criticism, or temporary weariness,
or fickleness of taste, leads us off; and we have to begin our work all
over. Look at the history of every noted invention; read the lives of
musicians who were born with genius, but wrought out triumph by
perseverance; and you will find abundant proof that without perseverance
nothing valuable can be accomplished.
GEORGE STEPHENSON.
George Stephenson's struggle for the adoption of his locomotive is
another noteworthy case in point. People said "he is crazy"; "his
roaring steam engine will set the houses on fire with its sparks"; "the
smoke will pollute the air"; "the carriage makers and coachmen will
starve for want of work." So intense was the opposition, that for three
whole days the matter was debated in the House of Commons; and on that
occasion a government inspector said that if a locomotive ever went ten
miles an hour, he would undertake to eat a stewed engine for breakfast.
"What can be more palpably absurd and ridiculous than the prospect held
out of locomotives traveling twice as fast as horses?" asked a writer
in the English _Quarterly Review_ for March, 1825. "We trust that
Parliament will, in all the railways it may grant, _limit the speed
to eight or nine miles an hour_, which we entirely agree, with Mr.
Sylvester, is as great as can be ventured upon."
This article referred to Stephenson's proposition to use his newly
invented locomotive instead of horses on the Liverpool and Manchester
Railway, then in process of construction. The company referred the
matter to two leading English engineers, who reported that steam would
be desirable only when used in stationary engines one and a half miles
apart, drawing the cars by means of ropes and pulleys.
But Stephenson persuaded them to test his idea by offering a prize of
about twenty-five hundred dollars for the best locomotive produced at a
trial to take place October 6, 1829. On the eventful day, long waited
for, thousands of spectators assembled to watch the competition of four
engines, the "Novelty," the "Rocket," the "Perseverance," and the
"Sanspareil." The "Perseverance" could make but six miles an hour, and
so was ruled out, as the conditions called for at least ten. The
"Sanspareil" made an average of fourteen miles an hour, but as it burst
a water-pipe it lost its chance. The "Novelty" did splendidly, but also
burst a pipe, and was crowded out, leaving the "Rocket" to carry off
the honors with an average speed of fifteen miles an hour, the highest
rate attained being twenty-nine. This was Stephenson's locomotive, and
so fully vindicated his theory that the idea of stationary engines on
a railroad was completely exploded. He had picked up the fixed engines
which the genius of Watt had devised, and set them on wheels to draw
men and merchandise, against the most direful predictions of the
foremost engineers of his day.
[Footnote: See Smiles' "Life of George Stephenson" (new ed., 1874);
Jeaffreson and Pole's "Life of Robert Stephenson" (1864), and article
in Johnson's Cyclopedia, Vol. VII., p. 740.]
XV.
PROMPTNESS.
MEMORY GEMS.
One to-day is worth two to-morrows.--Franklin
Whilst we are considering when we are to begin, it is often too late to
act.--Quintilian
By the street of by and by one arrives at the house of never.--Cervantes
When a fool makes up his mind, the market has gone by.--Spanish Proverb
The individual who is habitually tardy in meeting an appointment, will
never be respected or successful in life.--W. Fisk
Promptness and punctuality are among the greatest blessings and comforts
of life. For lack of these qualities, some of the greatest men have
failed. Most men have abundant opportunities for promoting and securing
their own happiness. Time should be made the most of. Stray moments,
saved and improved, may yield many brilliant results. It is astonishing
how much can be done by using up the odds and ends of time in leisure
hours. We must be prompt to catch the minutes as they fly, and make them
yield the treasures they contain, or they will be lost to us forever.
"In youth the hours are golden, in mature years they are silvern, in old
age they are leaden." "The man who at twenty knows nothing, at thirty
does nothing, at forty has nothing." Yet the Italian proverb adds, "He
who knows nothing is confident in everything."
In the most ordinary affairs of life we must take heed of the value of
time, keep watch over it, and be punctual to others as well as to
ourselves; for without punctuality, men are kept in a perpetual state of
worry, trouble, and annoyance.
Webster was never late at a recitation in school or college. In court,
in congress, in society, he was equally punctual. So, amid the cares and
distractions of a singularly busy life, Horace Greeley managed to be on
time for every appointment. Many a trenchant paragraph for the _Tribune_
was written while the editor was waiting for men of leisure, tardy at
some meeting.
John Quincy Adams was never known to be behind time. The Speaker of the
House of Representatives knew when to call the House to order by seeing
Mr. Adams coming to his seat. On one occasion a member said that it was
time to begin. "No," said another, "Mr. Adams is not in his seat." It
was found that the clock was three minutes fast, and prompt to the
minute, Mr. Adams arrived.
Begin with promptness in little things. Be punctual at breakfast, even
if you are sleepy. Be punctual at school, even if you have errands to
do. Whatever you may have to do, think out the quickest way of doing it,
and do it at once. By and by the habit becomes a quality of mind and
action. Don't loiter about anything; it takes too much time.
We must be careful to remember that promptness is more than punctuality,
which is an outward habit, and a very necessary one, if people live
together. It is important also for one's own sake, even if he should be
a Robinson Crusoe without a man Friday.
Promptness has to do with thought. It begins in learning how to think
and reason. Behind it lies concentration, which first of all has made
one thoroughly understand a subject. Then comes the second point,--what
to do instantly in any given case; and the trained judgment ends in
instant, wise action. When a boy saves another who has fallen through
the ice, he unconsciously thought out long ago what to do when the
moment came for him to act. When a girl throws a rug over the dress of
her sister, which has caught fire, she knew long before what to do.
This knowing what to do, and doing it, is called presence of mind,
that is, having common sense all ready for use.
Promptness takes the drudgery out of an occupation. Putting off, usually
means leaving off; and "going to do" becomes "going undone." Doing a
deed is like sowing a seed; if not done at just the right time it will
be forever out of season. The summer of eternity will not be long enough
to bring to maturity the fruit of a delayed action.
Even in the old, slow days of stage-coaches, when it took a month of
dangerous travel to accomplish the distance we can now cover in a few
hours, unnecessary delay was a crime. One of the greatest gains
civilization has made, is in the measuring and utilizing of time. We
can do as much in an hour to-day as men could in twenty hours a hundred
years ago; and if it was a hanging affair then to lose a few minutes,
what should the penalty now be for a like offense?
One of the best things about school and college life is that the bell
which strikes the hour for rising, for recitations, or for lectures,
teaches habits of promptness. Every man should have a watch which is a
good timekeeper; one that is "nearly right" encourages bad habits, and
is an expensive investment at any price. Wear threadbare clothes, if you
must, but never carry an inaccurate watch.
Some people are always a little too late, or a little too early, in
everything they attempt. John B. Gough used to say "They have three
hands apiece,--a right hand, a left hand, and a little behindhand." As
boys, they were late at school, and unpunctual in their home duties.
That was the way the habit was acquired; and now, when a responsibility
claims them, they think that if they had only gone yesterday they would
have obtained the situation, or they can probably get one to-morrow.
Delays often have dangerous endings. Colonel Rahl, the Hessian commander
at Trenton, was playing cards when a messenger brought a letter stating
that Washington was crossing the Delaware. He put the letter in his
pocket without reading it, until the game was finished. He rallied his
men only to die just before his troops were taken prisoners. Only a few
minutes' delay, but it resulted in the loss of honor, liberty, and life.
Indecision becomes a disease, and procrastination is its forerunner.
There is only one known remedy for the victims of indecision, and that
is promptness. Otherwise the disease is fatal to all success or
achievement. He who hesitates is lost. General Putnam was plowing, with
his son Daniel, in eastern Connecticut, when the news of the battle of
Lexington reached him. "He loitered not," said Daniel, "but left me, the
driver of his team, to unyoke it in the furrow; and, not many days
after, to follow him to camp."
The man who would forge to the front in this competitive age must be a
man of prompt and determined decision. Like Cortes, he must burn his
ships behind him, and make retreat forever impossible. When he draws his
sword he must throw the scabbard away, lest in a moment of
discouragement and irresolution he be tempted to sheath it. He must nail
his colors to the mast, as Nelson did in battle, determined to sink with
his ship if he cannot conquer. Prompt decision and sublime audacity have
carried many a successful man over perilous crises where deliberation
would have been ruin.
Henry IV, king of France, was another leader of remarkable promptness.
His people said of him that "he wore out very little broadcloth, but a
great deal of boot-leather," for he was always going from one place to
another. In speaking of the Duc de Mayenne, Henry called him a great
captain, but added, "I always have five hours the start of him." Getting
ahead of time is as good a rule for boys and girls as for generals.
In our own country we have had generals who were especially noted for
their dispatch. You know the story of "Sheridan's Ride" in the
Shenandoah Valley. His men, thoroughly beaten for the moment, were
fleeing before the Southerners, when he suddenly appeared, promptly
decided to head them right about, and, by the inspiration of his
single presence, turned defeat into victory.
Sailors must be even more prompt than soldiers, for in danger at sea not
an instant can be lost. Not only must a sailor be prompt in action
against storm, but he must be prompt with his sails in squally weather;
he must be prompt with his helm when approaching land. Among the heroes
of the sea, Lord Nelson is conspicuous for his prompt and courageous
deeds. He had many faults; but England felt safe while he watched over
her maritime affairs; for he was always beforehand, and never allowed
himself to be surprised by misfortune.
It is so in the voyage of life. Incidents often occur which demand
instantaneous action on our part; and these are the events which usually
issue in failure or success. Prompt movement, at the right moment, is
more valuable than rubies; and its lack often leads to utter ruin.
NAPOLEON BONAPARTE.
Napoleon changed the art of war quite as much by his promptness as by
the concentration of his men in large masses. By his exceeding rapidity
of movement he was long able to protect France against the combined
powers of Europe. He was always quick to seize the advantages of an
emergency. Though he can never be considered as the type of a noble man,
he was an extraordinarily great man. Boys who like to read of battles,
and trace the maneuvers of a campaign, will find that his military
renown was largely due to his promptness.
Decision of purpose and rapidity of action enabled him to astonish the
world with his marvelous successes. He appeared to be everywhere at
once. What he could accomplish in a day, surprised all who knew him. He
seemed to electrify everybody about him. His invincible energy thrilled
the whole army. He could rouse to immediate and enthusiastic action the
dullest troops, and inspire with courage the most stupid men. He would
sit up all night, if necessary, after riding thirty or forty leagues,
to attend to correspondence, dispatches and details. What a lesson his
career affords to the shiftless and half-hearted!
There have been many times when a prompt decision, a rapid movement, an
energetic action, have changed the very face of history; and, on the
other hand, there have been many instances where the indecisions of
generals, or the procrastination of subordinates, has cost thousands of
precious lives, and the loss of millions of dollars worth of property.
Napoleon once invited his marshals to dine with him; but, as they did
not arrive at the moment appointed, he began to eat without them. They
came in just as he was rising from the table. "Gentlemen," said he, "it
is now past dinner, and we will immediately proceed to business."
He laid great stress upon that "supreme moment," that "nick of time,"
which occurs in every battle; to take advantage of which means victory,
and to lose in hesitation means disaster. He said that he beat the
Austrians because they did not know the value of five minutes; and it
has been said that, among the trifles that conspired to defeat him at
Waterloo, the loss of a few minutes by himself and Grouchy on that
fatal morning, was the most significant. Blucher was on time, and
Grouchy was late. That may seem a small matter, but it was enough to
bring Napoleon's career to a close, and to send him to St. Helena.
[Footnote: On Napoleon, see Seeley's "Short History of Napoleon I.";
Ropes's "The First Napoleon," and articles in the current
encyclopedias.]
XVI.
HONESTY.
MEMORY GEMS.
Truth needs no color, beauty no pencil.--Shakespeare
An honest man's the noblest work of God.--Pope
The basis of high thinking is perfect honesty.--Strong
Nature has written a letter of credit on some men's faces which is
honored whenever presented.--Thackeray
If there were no honesty, it would be invented as a means of getting
wealth.--Mirabeau
There are certain virtues and vices which very largely determine the
happiness or the misery of every human life. Prominent among these
virtues are those of truth and honesty; and to these are opposed the
vices of lying and cheating.
Society is like a building, which stands firm when its foundations are
strong and all its timbers are sound. The man who cannot be trusted is
to society what a faulty foundation or a bit of rotten timber is to a
house.
It is always mean for a man or boy "to go back," as we say, on a friend.
It is still worse, if possible, to "go back" on one's self. A brave man
or boy will manfully take the consequences of his acts, and if they are
bad, will resolve to do better another time. The worst sort of deceit is
that by which one lets another bear the blame, or in any way suffer, for
what one has one's self done. Such meanness happens sometimes, but it is
almost too bad to be spoken of.
There are certain kinds of cheating that the law cannot or does not
touch. The man who practices this kind of dishonesty is even worse than
if he were doing that which the law punishes. He uses the law, which
was meant to protect society, as a cover from which he can attack
society.
Lying is a form of dishonesty, and a very bad form of it. What would
become of the world if we could not trust each other's word? A lie is
always told for one of two ends; either to get some advantage to which
one has no real claim, in which case it is merely a form of cheating; or
to defend one's self from the bad consequences of something that one has
done, in which case it is cowardly.
The Romans arranged the seats in their two temples to Virtue and Honor,
so that no one could enter the second without passing through the first.
Such is the order of advance,--Virtue, Toil, Honor.
The solid and useful virtue of honesty is highly practicable. "Nothing
is profitable that is dishonest," is a truthful maxim. "Virtue alone is
invincible." "I would give ten thousand dollars for your reputation for
uprightness," said a sharper to an upright tradesman, "for I could make
a hundred thousand dollars with it." Honesty succeeds, dishonesty fails.
The honesty and integrity of A. T. Stewart won for him a great
reputation, and the young schoolmaster who began life in New York on
less than a dollar a day, amassed nearly forty million dollars, and
there was not a smirched dollar in all those millions.
We do not count ourselves among those who believe that "every man has
his price," and that "an honest man has a lock of hair growing in the
palm of his right hand." No! There are in the world of business many
more honest men than rogues, and for one trust betrayed there are
thousands sacredly kept.
As a mere matter of selfishness, "honesty is the best policy." But he
who is honest for policy's sake is already a moral bankrupt. Men of
policy are honest when they think honesty will pay the better; but when
policy will pay better they give honesty the slip. Honesty and policy
have nothing in common. When policy is in, honesty is out. It is more
honorable for some men to fail than for others to succeed. Part with
anything rather than your integrity and conscious rectitude. Capital is
not what a man has, but what a man is. Character is capital.
For example: A man wishes to succeed in business. His studies and his
practical training have fitted him to do this. He seeks out all the
methods by which he may reach success. He shrinks from no labor of mind,
or, if need be, of body, for this end. In all this he is right. We
admire skill, industry, and pluck. There is, however, one kind of means
that he may not use. He may not stoop to fraud of any kind. He _may_
desire and seek wealth; he _must_ desire and seek honor and
honesty. These are among the ends that morality insists upon, and that
should not be sacrificed to anything else.
What contempt we have for a man who robs another, who picks his pocket,
or knocks him down in some lonely place and strips him of whatever
articles of value he may have. But the man who cheats is a thief, just
as truly as the pickpocket and the highwayman.
There is nothing that improves a boy's character so much as putting him
on his honor--trusting to his honor. We have little hope for the boy who
is dead to the feeling of honor. The boy who needs to be continually
looked after is on the road to ruin. If treating your boy as a gentleman
does not make him a gentleman, nothing else will.
There are many incidents in Abraham Lincoln's career which illustrate
this virtue; and from these we select the following: While tending
store, Lincoln once sold to a woman goods to the amount of two dollars,
six and a quarter cents. He discovered later that a mistake had been
made, and that the store owed the customer the six and a quarter cents.
After he had closed the store that night, he walked several miles in
the darkness to return the amount.
At another time a woman bought a pound of tea. Lincoln discovered the
next morning that a smaller weight was on the scales. He at once weighed
out the remainder, and walked some distance before breakfast to return
it.
He was once a postmaster in New Salem; but the office was finally
discontinued. Several years after, the agent called at his law office,
and presented a claim of about seventeen dollars in the settlement of
the New Salem affairs. Mr. Lincoln took out a little trunk, and
produced the exact sum, wrapped in a linen rag. It had lain there
untouched through years of the greatest hardship and self-denial. He
said, "I never use any one's money but my own."