“As a rule, the small inheritance, which, to a boy, would seem large,
has a tendency to lessen his efforts, and is a great damage to him in
the way of acquiring habits necessary to success. Above all, no one can
acquire a fortune unless he makes a start; and the habit of thrift,
which he learns in saving his first hundred dollars, is of inestimable
value later on. It is not the money, but the habit which counts. There
is no one so helpless as a man who is ‘broke,’ no matter how capable
he may be, and there is no habit so detrimental to his reputation among
business men as that of borrowing small sums of money. This cannot
be too emphatically impressed upon young men. Another thing is that
none but the wealthy, and very few of them, can afford the indulgence
of expensive habits; how much less then can a man with only a few
dollars in his pockets? More young men are ruined by the expense of
smoking than in any other way. The money thus laid out would make them
independent, in many cases, or at least would give them a good start. A
young man should be warned by the melancholy example of those who have
been ruined by smoking, and avoid it.”